Update-Samsung Solid=Samsung m110

Just found out that the samsung solid is now known as a much more appealing name(sarcasm), the m110.

JCB Tough Phone Rival - Samsung Solid

The JCB Tough Phone has been out for a while now and has become the phone of choice for someone whose phone regularly gets run over, falls in water or is confronted with a dust-storm. It is a very sturdy and strong piece of technology and although lacking in features, serves its purpose.
Samsung has now released its own Tough phone rival, the Samsung Solid (not very original names are they). Like the JCB Tough Phone, it is shock-, water- and dust-resistant. It comes with a built-in flashlight. Its body is made of thick rubber to take anything you care to throw at it.
One feature of this phone which is very interesting is the SOS function. This function, activated by pressing the volume button three times in quick succession, sends out a distress message to a previously-nominated number. This, apparently, niche market of mobile phones has two very able contenders and although they are practical for some people this is a very small minority and I can't see too many other mobile phone manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon for this particular niche market when there is so much money to be made in much larger markets such as multimedia phones. However, I could be mistaken and many mobile phone manufacturers may see this as a great opportunity. The Samsung Solid is an O2 exclusive and is available now.

Nanomaterial turns radiation into electricity

Nuclear power usually generates electricity by heating water and making steam rotate turbines. Thermoelectric materials were then used which generated electricity from the heat. Now new nano-materials are being developed which generate electricity by using radioactive decay rather than the heat. Scientists estimate that 20 times more power could be generated from from radioactive decay than from thermoelectric materials.They are conducting tests using layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride. Radioactive particles that slam into the gold push out a shower of high-energy electrons. They pass through carbon nanotubes and pass into the lithium hydride from where they move into electrodes, allowing current to flow.
It is a very efficient system and will probably be one of the ideas which get us closer to unlimited energy. If this happens we could see entire countries run off one nuclear power plant if they use the right system to generate electricity. Radioactive waste will also be reduced which would be another huge positive of these new developments. The main problem with nuclear energy apart from the danger involved in some instances is the amount of waste which must be disposed of as all the nuclear radiation is used for is to heat water to generate steam whereas if we were to use the radioactive decay we could use the full electricity generating potential of the radioactive substance. Here's hoping!

My Thoughts 1.0 - MacBook Air

MY OPINION OF THE MACBOOK AIR

I am going to tell you what I think of the MacBook Air. Overall it's an amazing piece of technology. It's extremely thin. I was amazed when I first saw it. It's a beautiful looking machine and Apple hasn't skimped on power as many other thin, ultra cmopact laptops have. You can get a 1.6 ghz or a 1.8 ghz Intel dual core processor which Intel made smaller for Apple for the MacBook Air. You can get either an 80GB hard drive or a 64GB SSD (Solid State Drive), which is extremely fast and also extremely expensive. It has a 13.3" screen and a full size keyboard. It was also the first Mac to incorporate multi-touch technology. It uses this technology, as used on the i-Phone and i-Pod Touch, in it's trackpad to scroll, zoom and move objects. It only incorporates one USB port, one Ethernet port, and a headphone jack.
One of the features of the MacBook Air that has put a lot of people off getting one, apart from the price, is that it doesn't have an optical drive. Apple has developed an external USB optical drive for the MacBook Air which is very sleek and well designed. You can also use the Remote Disk functionality which allows you to access another computer's optical drive to install software or import music, etc. This is a very useful feature for the MacBook Air to have as you may not want to purchase the external optical drive. The MacBook Air's thinnest point is 0.16" and its thickest point is 0.76". This is extremely thin and I'm amazed that Apple managed to engineer it with sufficient cooling in place as there are no external vents visible.
In the next few years I plan to buy a Mac and I think I am going to buy the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air is a distraction from the MacBook Pro for me, however, as I will be doing a lot of travelling to and from college as well as visiting different places and countries. The main reason I want to get a MacBook Pro is because of the power and hard drive capacity and also the 17" screen, as I think that the 13.3" screen would be too small for me. An ideal situation would be that I would be able to get both, but, I am eventually going to have to choose between them and the price difference will play a big part in this decision. The power and hard drive capacity which I have already mentioned are pulling me towards the MacBook Pro rather than the MacBook Air. We'll see what happens. Who knows? They may release a MacBook Pro Air!

Just Cause 2 for ps3

Just cause 2, the sequel of just cause for the xbox 360, is due to be released for the playstation 3 in august of this year. This game looks great, both graphically and in terms of gameplay. The game is centred around an island which is 1000 square km and it is said that there will be 100 vehicles in the game. This would be great for online play. I'm looking forward to this game and I will probably buy it when it's released. It is being published by Eidos and developed by Avalanche Studios.

i-Phone to be released in Ireland

The i-Phone is going to be released in Ireland on March the 14th. It will be sold exclusively with O2 just like in the uk. It will be €399 for the 8gb model and €499 for the 16gb model. A lot of people believe that there will be an i-Phone update in the summer or autumn. If there is an update it probably won't be released in Ireland until late next year. Some people may be willing to wait that long but I am considering switching to O2 and buying one in the next few months.

i-Pod shuffle 2GB now available in Ireland

Apple has released the 2gb i pod shuffle in ireland now for €65. It was released here later than it was in america but its finally here. Apple should see a large increase in sales for this i pod as it is cheaper than the previous 1gb model and is very competitive with the other 2gb mp3 players currently on the market. The lack of screen may still put people off but it's still a great product.

Apple remote now an option

Along with long awaited updates to the Macbook and Macbook Pro Apple has left us an unwelcome surprise. The Apple remote is now a €19 / $19 option whereas it was previously included for free. This is a very bad idea, as one of the perks of buying a Mac was the free Apple remote. I have no idea why Apple decided to do this as it was always something people liked to have. I'm sure they could have made the €19 / $19 extra with a different strategy.

Macbook/ Macbook Pro Updates

As many of you may have heard Apple has updated both the Macbook and the Macbook Pro. They both receive higher capacity hard drives, new graphics and processors. However, the Macbook Pro now includes the multi-touch trackpad which is featured on the Macbook Air which is great! No multi-touch trackpad for the Macbook, though. It also now includes an LED backlit screen for the 17" model although it's only available on the high resolution option.
Unfortunately, there haven't been any design updates which many people, including myself were looking forward to seeing. Maybe next update around.

PS3-Play tv

Play tv, which most of you have probably heard about, is a TV tuner and recording device for the PS3. It will allow you to pause rewind and record live TV. The Play TV box will feature two 1080p tuners, which utilize the European Digital Video Broadcasting system (DVB-T) - which should dash any US hopes for the time being. The system will allow you to store recorded broadcasts on your PS3 drive, and also transcode and transfer the saved files to your PSP. Additionally, you'll be able to use the PSP's "Remote Play" feature to program and watch your PlayTV away from home.
Prices are yet to be released, however, as well as a release date although there is a claim of an early 2008 release.

New i-Pod dock due for release in April 2008

JVC is due to release a new i-Pod dock in April. It is also a radio and an alarm clock but the main function that makes this an interesting prospect is that it can hold two i-Pods and can also hold an i-Phone. You can switch between the two devices with great ease and the control panel on the front of the dock is very user friendly and easy to use. Not only can it charge two iPods, but it can be setup to ring at two separate times with two different tunes as well.
This is one of the most functional i-Pod docks and should be a hit for many a home on release.

Blu-ray / Hd-dvd format war ended?

Toshiba recently announced its withdrawal from the production of Hd-dvd players which may mark the end of Hd-dvd. Warner Brothers Studios has also decided, after supporting both formats, to go exclusively Blu-Ray. There are also rumours that Microsoft would use Blu-Ray if Hd-dvd were to fail although they would continue to support Hd-dvd. Reported approximate figures are that Blu-Ray movies were outselling Hd-dvd by a ratio of 2:1. In america, Wallmart is phasing out Hd-dvds on their shelves. Netfix, the online rental website is also beginning to phase out Hd-dvd.
More recent occurences that show how Hd-dvd is faring in this format war is the further reduction of prices of Hd-dvd hardware. Judging by all these events, rumours, etc. it seems that it is safe to say that Blu-Ray is officially the new High Definition format.

Shuffle Update

Most of you probably know this already but I thought I would blog about it anyway. The i-Pod shuffle price has been dropped. It is now only €45, or $49 for the 1GB i-Pod shuffle. This now makes it much more interesting to the average consumer as many considered the €79 price tag a little steep as the Zen creative stone was only €39. This also adds a little more competition to the small, affordable mp3 player market and this should encourage the development of new small mp3 players at a more reasonable price for what is offered.

Welcome (and what I'm doing)

Welcome to my blog.
As you see from the description on the side I am very interested in technology. You can also see from my header that this blog will also be about what I'm up to as well as me going to college. I'm not entirely sure how much I'm going to blog about my life and college but I'll just play it by ear and see how it works out. My main blog topics will be technology. I decided to start a blog as a first step towards posting youtube videos as I don't feel that I'm ready for Vlogging yet. Anyway, hope you find my blogs interesting and I'm looking forward to any comments or suggestions you might have.
Thanks.