• Category Archives Computers

  • Imagine a life with no computers……ahhhh……bliss…..

  • BeagleBone Blue

    Posted on by beno Comment

    New single board computer just been announced.

    The BeagleBone Blue.
    (I am NOT going to rant about the broken marketing department naming on this one… Their original was the BeagleBone Black, or BBB, their next one was the BeagleBone Green, BBG, so far so good, why oh why then would you name your third one BBB????)

    http://beagleboard.org/blue

    Right then, naming aside, why am I excited about this one?

    On board the BeagleBone Blue is a 2 cell LiPo charger with cell balancing and a 6-16 V charger input.
    Sensors include a nine axis IMU and barometer.
    Unlike all previous BeagleBones, the BeagleBone Blue also comes with wireless networking: 802.11bgn, Bluetooth 4.0 and BLE. USB 2.0 client and host ports are also included.

    Finally, a computer with built in connectivity options!!!!!
    The battery port is a plus as well.
    This thing also has a bunch of robot parts on it, but I am looking at it for its connection options.

    Very Sweet.


    Computers

  • UPS shipping

    Posted on by beno Comment

    A blog for some other time, but my Moto 360 watch died.
    I miss, like really miss, having a smartwatch, so what to replace it with?

    The list is both lackluster and expensive.
    This is the very reason I was nursing the Moto along for so long, I just did not find anything that I was happy with to replace it.
    The day it blew up Terry and I went to the local Best Buy (the same one you got your laptop from Gary) and looked over the selection.
    The Garmins were interesting, but expensive and had almost no apps.
    The fitbits were not smart enough.
    Almost went with a Microsoft SmartBand, but the notifications were not detailed enough.
    I knew that a Pebble was not going to be visible enough.
    The latest crop of always on watches are around 400 bucks. Waaaaay out of my price range.
    The one that took my attention the most was also out of my range at $350 and so we walked dejectedly out of the store.

    eBay to the rescue. Turns out you can get a referb version of the one I sorta liked for $170. Samsung Gear S.
    Photos will be forth coming, along with a hopefully not yelling review.

    So, I pulled the trigger, clicked the mouse button and ordered the watch.
    Here then, finally, is the topic of the blog.

    Take a look at how UPS figured this was the best way to send me the watch!

    ups watch route

    Ok, that’s the tracking details that I have been keeping an eye on.
    Now, unless you are somewhat familiar with the layout of the good old USA, that might not look too scary. I mean, the thing is on time for 2 day shipping right? What’s the big deal about it?

    Well, take a look at a map of the route it took…..

    ups watch map

    Thats nuts. Just nuts.
    I have no idea at all how anyone makes any money from sending something slightly more than halfway across the country…. the aviation fuel needed, the manual handling, the sorting…. I just can not wrap my little head around how this is the most efficient route to get a watch from north of me.
    I. Just. Cant.

    Should get the watch tonight when Freddy picks it up for me.


    Computers Life in the USA

  • Pi Zero is expensive

    Posted on by beno 2 Comments

    I really want to finish slamming this thing, I really do… It is just pointless going on and on and on and on about it, but to try and draw it to a close….

    http://betanews.com/2015/12/17/the-5-dollar-raspberry-pi-zero-is-too-damn-expensive/

    When I found out that there was a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero being sold, I rushed to buy one. I did no research as to what it was, but for such a paltry amount of money, I couldn’t resist. For whatever reason, I even bought a case for it, which is arguably silly — why protect such an inexpensive piece of tech?

    When it finally arrived, I was impressed with the small size, but very disappointed overall. This may sound incredible, but the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero is just too damn expensive. Quite frankly, it is ridiculous that such a useless computer is being sold. Do you agree?

    In order to add the same ports as the $35 Raspberry Pi 2, you will need to buy the following. I have added approximate pricing and links.

    USB OTG Cable — $4
    4 port Powered USB Hub — $11
    USB Ethernet Adapter — $10
    mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter — $2

    Total plus the $5 Pi Zero is $33. Yes, you are reading that correctly. The $5 computer, after buying essential accessories, is almost the same price as the Raspberry Pi 2. Plus, it is now a Frankenstein-like mess of wires and adapters. The $35 Raspberry Pi 2, with all of these things integrated, is clearly the smarter buy. Heck, you even get double the RAM and a more powerful processor!

    That about wraps it up.
    To make the zero anything less than zero takes a good chunk of change, and as pointed out in previous blogs, you have a real rats nest of wires to make it talk with anything.

    One thing I had missed when I first blogged about it is that the USB port on the Zero are not USB hosts, but slaves, so to get them to talk to an interface of any kind you need an OTG cable to convert it. Blah.

    I am going to try and leave it there.
    It’s dead. If we ever find a use for a Zero, I will be sure and let you know, but honestly, I would not be holding your breath.


    Computers 📎and tagged

  • AR is still young

    Posted on by beno Comment

    I need to blog about this (yeah yeah and part 2 of the Canyon… I have not forgotten).
    VR vs AR.
    I have been tinkering a teeny tiny bit with VR the past week, enough to know that I am not really a fan (just yet).
    On the other hand, everything I read about AR gets me all sorts of giddy excited.

    VR, or virtual reality is movies or computer generated 3D content that is able to be controlled by the user (mostly head tracking – so as you look around, you can really look around the view).
    Think of the old Viewmaster slide wheels you used to have (or your kids).
    That cartoon 3D view has grown up.

    AR or augmented reality is a bit similar, but has the cartoon (or computer) generated content overlaid with reality, the room you are in for example.

    This is about AR.

    http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/17/microsoft-hololens-is-for-developers-not-the-public/

    It is a long write up, I want to block quote a lot of it because it is the first article I have read that fits with what I have been thinking for a while.
    Computer gamers are all over VR, Terry is saving like crazy for his head set, but devs are more for AR.
    It is going too far, but roughly thinking (mine), VR is for computer games, AR is for work.

    Microsoft seems to be looking to the latter.

    HoloLens, the augmented reality headset Microsoft’s been touting as a future pillar of its Windows business, isn’t “fun” to use. At least, it wasn’t for me during my whirlwind round of developer-focused demos at Microsoft’s flagship store in New York. That’s to say, any and all comparisons to emerging virtual reality tech and related gaming or entertainment applications should be excised from the conversation for now. It’s not “immersive” as one Microsoft rep stressed to me, clearly keen to avoid the confused commingling of AR and VR buzzwords. It’s “complementary.”

    That is where I am going to leave it since it is very young and not many of my readers will be all that interested in something that is both expensive and rare.

    I will blog about my adventures in AR which is a lot more affordable and approachable at the moment.


    Computers 📎and tagged

  • Sore looser

    Posted on by beno Comment

    This makes me sad.
    I get that they used to be the world’s most prestigious watch maker, I have drooled over Swiss watches many a time….. And while I love my smartwatch so much that I would not go back to a mechanical watch, it pains me to see such a tactic unfold.

    http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/11/swatch-patent-hoarder/

    Bloomberg Business believes that the Swiss firm is playing the long game by quietly hoarding a pile of (173) patents related to the technology.

    So in a nutshell, they are going to sue everyone they can for breach of patents in order to keep the company alive.

    My beef is that this will only stifle innovation.


    Computers