Dandandin.net

Probably you already see them, but I list the jokes that Google did this 1st april:

• Google Maps 8-bit
• Gmail tap, the morse keyboard is much more practical than the normal keyboard
• Autopiloted cars at nascar
• Chrome multitask, for who wants to use two mices at a time
• The YouTube Collection, All YouTube in 126 trucks full of DVDs
• Google Fiber Bar

A prototype of a japanese camera doesn't have viewfinder or display, just insert a finger in a slot and frame with finger. Explain with words is much more difficult than really it is, this is the video:

At job I bought a Xerox Phaser printer, and it's not bad. That printer has an optional kit to that enables to take extra thick media. Cool, I say, and I order it. I open the box, that is a normal dvd case, and the content is this:

The kit it's just a cheap spring???????

Before that I tell you how much this spring is sold, let's do a survey: How much this spring is sold for?

After answering the survey, you can see the price on the official Xerox price list.

Remember my BlackBerry app to learn the Japanese Colors? I have submitted it to the App World, but it hasn't been approved yet. Maybe RIM it's still busy approving the thousands of PlayBook apps that has been submitted last month to get a free developer device.

Meanwhile I ported it to Android and published on the Android Market Google Play. It's an easy game, but it's lightweight and I think that in a few minutes you will know the most common Japanese Colors.

Ps: did I mention that it's free?

I bought an app on the Android Market and I got this message:

They changed the name in order to sell music, movies and books (of course those three are not available in my country). I don't like the new name, I preferred Android Market...

For my upcoming japanese course, I created an app for memorizing the most common japanese colors.

(Tweet says: Who has a BlackBerry? There's an app for you!)

(Tweet says: BlackBerry? Nobody ^_~)

The app is not available on App World, due to some bugs, it's in private beta, just contact me to have it.

Fun facts:

• It was working on BB OS 6, crashed on BB OS 5
• Edited to work BB OS 5, crashes on BB OS 6
• The back button does not work (possible fix)
• Japanese words had to be romanized because BlackBerry OS does not support asian characters...
• I used an "iPhoney" style for the user interface, because the default one looks so 2006...

Today at the MWC in Barcelona was officially announced Windows 8. It will be available for x86 processors in 32 and 64 bits flavors and also for ARM processors.

You can download the consumer preview from here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download there is a program that will download the version you need.

Otherwise, you can just download the iso from here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso and then install with this serial number:

DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Compared with the developer preview, you can notice that the start button is missing, but the appstore is working, and all the apps are available for free for a limited period. There are also some small improvements, and it looks faster than Windows 7.

After the installation, I bet that you want to disable Metro, the new graphical interface: here is how to do, I wonder if this hack still works.

Due to the inclusion of Hyper-V, if you want to run Windows 8 in VirtualBox you need to follow some directives, otherwise the installation won't be completed.

Set your screen resolution higher than 1024x768, otherwise you can't open any app.

Android, due to its openness, it's rapidly spreading, and every month new Android-based handsets are released.

But, to sell more units, manufacturers are making low-end devices for a cheaper price, maybe too chep to have a decent experience. What to take in account to choose a device that won't disappoint us? Here is my experience:

T-Mobile G1

• Release date: October 2008 - the first Android-based mobile
• CPU: 528 Mhz - just the minimum, not fast, not too slow.
• RAM: 192 MB - it's impossible to have more than two apps opened at the same time. Open the browser and the home will close. Close the browser and you have to wait 5 seconds to load the home. Open contacts and wait other 5 seconds. Extremely frustrating. With cyanogenmod it's possible to add some cache, but it does not make a miracle...
• Internal memory: 256 MB - but just 50MB can be used. The browser takes 15 MB, Google Maps takes 10, Gmail 5, just install THREE apps from the Market and you've got full memory!
• User experience: awful - slow and unresponsive, a little better with cyanogenmod and various hacks

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

• Release date: June 2010
• CPU: 600 Mhz - Whoa, much better than the G1! This is next-gen, with integrated GPU. You can really feel the difference!
• RAM: 512 MB - Yay!!! You can open dozens of apps, and you'll never run out of memory! Just a few minutes and my G1 is forgotten in a drawer.
• Internal memory: 512 MB - but just 150MB can be used... you have to hack the system and repartition if you want to install more than 20 apps.
• User experience: much better! Maybe a little slow in some cases, but it's ok.

HP Touchpad

• Release date: June 2011 - the first webOS-based tablet (+ Android 4 in dual boot)
• CPU: Dual core 1.2 Ghz - wow!!! Extremely fast!!!
• RAM: 1 GB - If with 512 MB was impossible to run out of memory, think what you can do with the double!
• Internal memory: 3 GB! You can install hundreds of apps!
• User experience: Awesome!

So, from my experience, those are the minimum requirements to have a decent experience:

• CPU: 600 Mhz - does not matter THAT much, it's better to have more RAM - once the app it's loaded, it's fast
• RAM: at least 320 MB
• Internal memory: at least 256 MB accessible to the user

If one of this requirement is not met, I can guarantee you that you will be disappointed from your Android mobile. (unless you use the phone just to make calls and send text - but you can just use a dumbphone for that)

All Apple fan-sites are publishing that there is in the works new connector for the iPhone, slimmer and with new useful features like Thunderbolt.

Reading this story makes me wonder: what is the point to use a special connector instead of using the micro usb, (which can also bring HDMI signals, with MHL) that it's a standard, it's cheaper, it's used by the rest of the world, and it's required to use in the European community??

Option A: in this way they can sell for 20 bucks the data cable (real price: $1)

Option B: in this way they can sell for 30 bucks the plastic dock with no electronic parts inside and which still requires the $20 data cable to work (probably the beautiful box it's more expensive to make than the dock)

Option C: in this way they can make millions with the "made per iPhone" certified accessories, like radios and so on

Option D: in this way they can make millions selling another adapter to who already owns the dock connector accessories

Option E: all the other options

On this italian blog, today I come aware of a pearl of wisdom on the Italian ministry of education website.

Probably the Florence university researcher that wrote the article did not know English (well, on that course - biotech - the mandatory English exam it's just of the European level A2: Elementary English - can communicate in simple and routine tasks) so he translated using Google Translatore.

In this way, the title "From sheep to pecorino cheese", become "From sheep to doggy style" 

This is the original text from the Ministry website:

The project represents the implementation of a study at the local level already achieved by an individual dairy producers and confer, is developed through the use of components for the detection and recording of events, apply a methodology that uses hardware and software between their integrated.
Each collection rounds is uniquely identified through the development of a communication protocol based on GPS technology, with the possibility of recognition of the coolant tank manufacturers, tank truck and tank at the dairy.

This is the text in italian, automatically translated: (edits in bold)

The project represents the implementation of a study at the local level already achieved by an individual dairy producers and confer, is developed through the use of components for the detection and recording of events, applied a methodology that uses hardware and software between their integrated.
Each collection rounds is uniquely identified through the development of a communication protocol based on GPS technology, with the possibility of recognition of the coolant tank manufacturers, tank trucks and tank at the dairy.

There is a reason if I translate Dandandin.net by myself... yes, maybe it is not 100% accurate; maybe sometimes I write nonsense, sometimes it's tiring to translate my long posts, but at least I won't write nonsense like that.