Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by meoo

Wiimote hack turns LCD into touch screen hack

meoo — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:20:35 +0800

Low-Cost Multi-point Interactive Whiteboards Using the Wiimote

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/

Desktop for light users

meoo — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:04:02 +0800

Kind of wondering what is the cheapest basic config available for light users... mainly for net browsing

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 is a neat weee thing

meoo — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:09:37 +0800

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 is a neat weee thing
Review Eee could have been a contender
By INQUIRER Labrat: Friday, 24 October 2008, 3:33 PM

Dell Inspiron Mini 9
Price £299
Manufacturer Dell

DELL'S INSPIRON MINI 9 is at the smaller end of the mini laptop or netbook spectrum, roughly the same size and weight as the Asus Eee PC 900 and smaller than HP's rival 2133 Mini-Note PC. It is a lightweight mini laptop that crams a PC into a tiny package that can be carried almost anywhere.
Coming from Dell, this model is likely to attract more interest from business buyers, and exhibits a better build quality than some mini laptops we have seen. It has a clean design and, at just over a kilogram, is light enough to carry around.

The Inspiron Mini 9 is based on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom processor and ships with 1Gb of memory and either a 16GB Flash solid state drive (SSD) with Windows, or an 8GB Flash SSD for the Linux version. It has a four-cell 32WHr lithium-ion battery pack that can be removed from the system by sliding two catches.
To the left side of its sloping wedge-shaped case is the power connector, two USB ports and a Flash memory slot that takes SD Card, Memory Stick Pro and Multimedia Card Flash storage. The right side has an Ethernet port, VGA output, a third USB port and audio jack sockets.
The Windows box we tested was reasonably responsive. Its performance as measured by benchmarks is not good, but we found it perfectly acceptable for running productivity tools, browsing the web and accessing email.

To test performance, we used the Winstone 2004 benchmark suite, which is now somewhat old, but with which we have tested many Windows XP systems. This returned a score of 7.8, which is low for a laptop and lower even than gadgets such as OQO's model e2 ultra-mobile PC.

Battery life is perhaps more important than performance on a device like this, and the Inspiron Mini 9 is largely in line with other mini laptops at lasting for just a few hours.
Using the Battery Eater test tool, we found it lasted for two hours and 39 minutes when simulating productivity use, and around three hours and 29 minutes when in 'reader' mode, simulating the user simply viewing information.

Many of the keyboard keys are smaller than on a standard laptop, such as the right hand shift key, the cursor (arrow) keys and the return key. The row of function keys is also missing. In use, we found the Inspiron's keyboard reasonably good for typing, however.
The system's 8.9in display is clear and easy to read, but because of its hinge design the screen points more towards your chest than your face if you use the Inspiron placed on your lap. It seems to have been designed to give an optimal view when sitting on a desk.
We also found its 1024 x 600 resolution a little cramped for accessing some web-based applications, but this did not cause us any real problems.
The Inspiron's 802.11g Wi-Fi adapter proved rather less than satisfactory, however. We were unable to get a wireless connection, and Windows reported that it could not find any wireless networks within range.

We eventually discovered that we had to turn on Wi-Fi using a wireless select switch application that for some reason was not loaded into the notification area at startup, but was instead hidden away in the menus.
Dell ships the system somewhat cluttered with tools and utilities. As well as McAfee Security Center, Dell's Webcam Central, Dell Video Chat and Google Desktop Search all load at boot-time. Shame the rather more useful Wi-fi switch application didn't.

The Good Nice, cheap, light PC in Linux or XP flavour

The Bad What's not to like?

The Ugly The clutter

Barman's Verdict

First Cancer, Now Cell Phones Cause a Rash?

meoo — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:31:44 +0800

First Cancer, Now Cell Phones Cause a Rash?
October 16, 2008 | by Geoff Duncan

The British Association of Dermatologists is warning of a new allergic skin disorder caused by extended use of mobile phones.
As the world turned its ears towards mobile phones, occasional warnings abounded about the radiation from cell phones being linked to particular types of cancer—warnings that were alternately reinforced and debunked by successive studies. Now, the British Association of Dermatology (or BAD) is warning of a new allergic skin condition caused by extended use of mobile phones.
Yes, that's right: talking on your cell all day may not give you a tumor, but it might give you a rash.
Dubbed "mobile phone dermatitis," the condition usually manifests as a rash on the ear or cheek, depending on where metal parts on the phone come into contact with the skin. In some users, the condition could even manifest on the hand or fingers, depending on how folks use their phones.
The condition has only recently been reported and identified— so many cases have probably gone mis-diagnosed or unreported—but the root cause is believed to be a contact allergy to nickel and nickel alloys in phones' casings and buttons. Users to have contact reactions to nickel-plated clothing accessories or jewelry—like buckles and rings—would be at a higher risk for developing a reaction to metal phones.
"Given the widespread use of cell phones, the presence of metal in the exterior casing of these phones and the high prevalence of nickel sensitization in the population, it is not surprising that cell phones can cause allergic contact dermatitis," said Dr. Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University, one of the study's authors.
A study published earlier this year tested for nickel in 22 popular phone handsets from eight manufacturers, and found nickel in ten of them. More fashionable designs with metal accents are generally more likely to contain nickel in their cases or controls.
[Speaking first-hand for a moment: contact allergies to nickel are real. I have quick reactions to nickel alloys, although I'm more likely to be triggered by strings on musical instruments than by phones.]

http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article...es-cause-a-rash

Hotlink Active 10 RM1 charge for each change?

meoo — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:58:55 +0800

Why liddat?

Asus P535, GPS PDA Phone WM6 ->WM6.1

meoo — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:16:45 +0800

Can any P535 experts/users advise where to find a stable/good version to upgrade with no loss in functionality?

Apple 14 day return policy works

meoo — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:07:26 +0800

Apple 14 day return policy works
Dopey blogger gets new Macbook
By Stewart Meagher: Friday, 17 October 2008, 1:47 PM

WE TAKE OUR hat off to Mac bogger Cory Bohon who was brave enough to admit – despite the fact that he is a regular contributor to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) – that he was dumb (or impatient) enough to buy an old stylee Macbook just a few days before the much trumpeted refresh of the line.
Unlike most caught in this situation, who spend the next three months clogging up the Mac Blogs whining about being left out in the cold by new products, Corey sucked it up and went in search of a solution.
It turns out that Apple has a pretty friendly 14-day returns policy which protects hapless Macolytes not ony from unnanounced price drops, but also gets them out of a pickle when new ranges are introduced.
"When I took my Macbook Pro to the Apple Store, they immediately looked at my receipt and asked if I wanted a new one," said Bohon.
There is a caveat in that Apple reserves the right to charge a re-stocking fee of 10 per cent, but with a little wheedling, Corey managed to get that fee waived and walked out of his local Apple Store the proud owner of a brand new (really new this time) Macbook.
So if you've been living under a rock recently and were daft enough to buy and old stylee Macbook, get thee down to your Apple Store and flutter those eyelashes. µ

Nearly a backlit mod for keyboard - DIY!

meoo — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:16:53 +0800

http://www.myglowkeys.com/

Can You See Your Computer Keys in the Dark?
Now You Can!
When you have MyGlowKeysTM on your keyboard, you can see each and every letter like in day light.
If you have to see your letters when you type, you must have MyGlowKeysTM - Glow-in-the-dark keyboard stickers.

Fit any type of desktop/laptop keyboard
Allows work in dark
Reduces eyes fatigue
Non-toxic material!
Advanced Technology diffuses the computer monitor light from MyGlowKeysTM to make the keyboard letters glow and visible in the dark.

Upgrading Notebook to WiMax from WiFi

meoo — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:14:25 +0800

Anyone can advise how to upgrade once WiMax is more available in Malaysia?
How to hack etc..

Maxis Active 10

meoo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:16:55 +0800

Just wonder how Maxis Active 10 be like with number portability.. end up being charged more?
Why can operator just have a auto rebate on top 10 calls for the week/month??
Keep it simple for the customer!