Nokia N9

I read the GSMArena review of the upcoming Nokia N9 and I was quite impressed. The hardware, as with the Nokia N8, is quite good. The software, MeeGo, seems to be as good, if not at par, with iOS and Android. And with Alien Dalvik, it can actually run Android apps via emulation. Yet, the N9 will be coming out under planned obsolescence: it was confirmed to be the final MeeGo phone as Nokia’s dark union with Microsoft bears fruit to the N9’s lesser twin. Nokia already knew what MeeGo was and what MeeGo will be when they decided to go to bed with Microsoft. MeeGo was even then better than WP7. And yet they pushed on. What’s up with that?

Android Assault

Android has pretty much won the smartphone operating system wars. Not that Apple or Blackberry will be going away anytime. In fact, given the historic resilience of Apple, it will probably remain as a major player catering to a specific market. Now, with the release of Android 3.1 Honeycomb Google encroaches more and more into tablets and netbooks operating systems. Soon it will be notebooks and desktops. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually go to server operating systems.

Bedtime Antics

Jeanne is a late sleeper. Maybe it’s because of her afternoon nap. Often, we hand her the iPhone and she would browse through the photos and videos. Last night, she was doing just that, going forward and backward and playing the videos. As it was already a bit late, when she temporarily let go, I hid the the iPhone under the pillow. When she realized that it was missing, she peeked under the pillow, found it, retrieved it, and unlocked it. When Michelle said, “You’re so smart!”, she immediately pointed at her head and repeated “Smart!” She then proceeded to launch the Photos app and browse through the photos and videos again. After a while, she got tired and lay down. And then she held up the iPhone and continued browsing while lying down. She never ceases to amaze!

Mech Zero vs Mech Zero

I was finally able to get all the Mech Zero equipment. I got the overly-expensive X-SC2 Sword last but with it’s Drain hits, it was a relative breeze dispatching Ealoseum, Zero Mech, and the ancestor. I hope they release another content pack soon because there’s really no point going through New Game++.

iPhone DLNA Players

I’m a fan of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) because of its promise of using standards-based technology to make it easier for consumers to use, share and enjoy their digital photos, music and videos. When I got my Buffalo Linkstation, I started streaming movies and music from it to the Playstation 3. But I had to stay in front of the TV.

When I got my iPhone 4, I got a media player that I can use anywhere in the house. I was lucky enough to be able to get VLC from the App Store while it was available. However, it meant copying files using iTunes to the iPhone. Somewhat, archaic to say the least and definitely a far cry from what’s possible with DLNA. So I went around searching for a DLNA player. Here is the result of my research.

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