2009: When the PC changed

The new Mac OSX snow leopard and windows 7, along with the chrome OS, are sure to change the way all of us use computers
Wow, what a year! When you look back at 2009, you will see how technology has moved towards a world that is free from the clutches of old corporations, letting you do things the way you like to. 2009 was a year in which the alternatives became the mainstream.

There are thousands of things that come out each year, but two major releases and a major announcement this year changed the PC world like never before. Apple announced its OSX Snow Leopard while Microsoft moved on to Windows 7, by far the best Windows yet, optimised for speed even on the slowest of Atom machines and full of eye candy. The Mac OSX Snow Leopard took all Apple machines to the world of 64bit. Though there were teething troubles, this was truly a move that allowed use of the latest dual core and quad core processors. Windows, though still available as both 32bit and 64bit, also became a bit cheaper making its 7 the fastest adopted Microsoft OS till date. Though there is always a debate about who stole what from whom, both the operating systems are without doubt friendlier to the user. Meanwhile, Google jumped into the OS war announcing that its Chrome would be available in 2010.

Along with the operating systems, 2009 also changed the way we looked at PCs. People finally came to terms with the fact that a fast processor was not always what they wanted, but something that worked. Atom laptops, popular as netbooks, took over and everyone wanted to own one. While Lenovo and HP came out with stylish but slightly pricey Atom netbooks, Samsung followed with multiple colours and Dell with its own Mini.

Atoms made big sense; you could buy a laptop for as little as Rs 18,000 and get up to six hours of battery life with screens that started off at six inches. But that was before the 10 and 12 inch models started appearing on the scene, bridging the gap between notebooks and netbooks. Sony came up with the icing on the cake, its ViaoX, the thinnest and lightest laptop I have ever come across, though at a fat price of Rs 65,000

Finally, Amazon launched the international edition of their bestseller Kindle. However, Kindle still ships from the US and you still have to buy it using a credit card on the website and not at a store. But the launch definitely made the world flatter, with all serious technology players looking at India as a big market.

I think the most looked forward launch of this year was the Blackberry 8520 which you could buy own for under Rs 15,000 — you no longer had to get a home loan to buy a Blackberry. With service providers also making it cheaper by offering e-mail only plans at Rs 250 a month, more and more people were seen sporting Blackberries.
The other big thing was the aluminium body laptops. The war was started by Apple, before HP, ViewSonic and Dell followed suit with their own aluminium avatars. However, only Dell thought of a lighted keyboard while others are still wondering how they can manage the increased heat of the light under the keyboard.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 20th December 2009
Now, to see what 2010 holds for us.

The one-stop media centre - Review Boxee

Boxee plays all formats of video, audio and pictures. It can also play DVDs from DVD Rom drive, download info from IMDb on the fly

There are signs that things with your TV will improve. Despite over 200 channels streaming high-quality pictures using a DTH or an IPTV feed, you get to see what the broadcasters want to show. So the prime time slot is hijacked by all the saas-bahus of the world, leaving those who hate soaps with very few options. Broadband did come to the rescue, since they could stream videos from YouTube, download electronic content likes songs and movies and watch the content on demand. The iTunes store from the Apple even streams live television shows. So, if you missed Bart and Homer having fun in The Simpsons, you could always have it streamed on your computer. But this had a problem: the small computer screen. And, all said and done, most computers are not as user friendly as the TV. Though the front row on the Apple computers and the Windows Media Centre on the Windows PC made browsing media slightly better, a company called Boxee is improving things.

So, what is Boxee? As per Wikipedia, it’s a cross platform (it runs on a Windows, Mac and Linux) media centre with a 10-foot user interface— it’s designed to be run on a TV with a TV Remote—but built in social networking features.

Though Boxee is still in beta (it actually went beta on December 7), it is making heads turn, especially for features such as automatic album art download. It will run through your local library and download the album art automatically, so that you can see all what you have— right from the song, the movie it’s in, its singers, lyrics, reviews and the film’s trailer, depending upon their availability on the Internet.

Friend recommends a movie on a social networking site, and the movie is paid for, the Boxee will download and stream its trailer and other people’s review, so that you can figure out if the movie is worth your time. If it is available for free on the Internet, the Boxee will straight away stream the content for you. So, you need to no longer go hunting for that funniest video on YouTube, which your friends were talking about at the party. Just Google it and Boxee will play it for you.



The best part about Boxee is that it plays all formats of video, audio and pictures. It is your one-stop media centre. It can also play DVDs from your DVD Rom drive, download information from IMDb on the fly. It also has a built-in karaoke and many other audio visualisations (which I believe are a fancy only for the first few days). Besides, it can make multiple screensavers with your photo collection or the pictures you like on sites like Flickr, and your favourite music. And if you were always impressed with the Ken Burns (pan-and-scan) effect of photo shows, which only your friends with Macs could do, well Boxee does that also for you!

But there are limitations too. Boxee can’t play DRM (digital rights management) protected content. So, if you have bought music from the iTunes store, or maybe ebooks you bought from Audible.com, the boxee will not be able to handle these for you.
However, since Boxee is based on opensource software, it is only time before these hassles get sorted out.

This week, Boxee signed up with DLINK to make its hardware (expected to be available at $200 in 2010). So, if you are thinking of buying the next media centre for your home, wait and see how the market evolves in the next few months. And maybe you and I will get a chance to change our Idiot Box into something more fun, more useful and more interactive.
Just in case you don’t want to miss out on the action till the hardware is available, and are fine with using a 2-foot user interface (computer), go to www.boxee.tv and download the software and start enjoying media like you never did before.

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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 13th December 2009

The ebook challenger - Preview of the Nook (B&N Ebook Reader)

Both Nook and Kindle have 2GB built-in memories, but in the former you can plug in an SD Card with ebooks in it
Kindle changed the way the world looks at books some years back. Since the launch of its international edition earlier this year, I have noticed a lot of Kindle in India, especially at our airports. Though the Sony Reader and iLiad have been around longer, getting ebooks that work on them have been a bit of a pain. Amazon answered the problem by integrating Kindle with their Whispernet network, which is now available in India. But since the charges are yet unclear and 3G still looks like a distant dream, the Barnes & Nobles Nook makes more sense for us.

So, what sets it apart from the Kindle?
Personally, I love anything with a QWERTY keyboard, so the first downer on the Nook was the absence of one. But that was till I looked closely and saw that the Nook actually has two LCDs — a touch sensitive colour LCD at the bottom and a monochrome e-ink display on top. The e-ink makes it easier to read the ebook and reduces strain on the eyes, while the 3.5” touchscreen display at the bottom adds some serious style. You can flip through the book covers in colour and go to the keyboard mode to search for a book or text.

But the second LCD also adds weight to the Nook, making it about 28 gm heavier, at 317 gm, than the same-sized Kindle. It is also a bit thicker due to the SD Card and built-in wireless adapter. Though the Kindle has a 9.7” variant for the American market, the Nook is available only with the 6” display. The built-in Wi-Fi makes it easier for you to download books on the Nook and this makes more sense till we get 3G in India.

Nook has some other unique features. It has Android as its Operating System, which means users will be able to add more applications down the road. Both Nook and Kindle have 2GB built-in memories, but in the former you can plug in an SD Card with ebooks in it.

The Nook is available in four replaceable back colours, unlike the all-white Kindle. My personal experience with white coloured gadgets is that they get dirty very fast, especially in India with our oily hands, the dust and grime. The replaceable covers let you add an identity of your own to the Nook. It also comes with a free software for your iPhone, Blackberry, PC and the Mac OS, thus letting you read the same book from the same page you left it at on any of these devices.

The problem with ebook readers was that you could buy books but could not lend them to a friend. The Nook lets you e-lend the book to a friend who can read it on any device.

Kindle supports Word documents, though not many people used it due to the costs involved, but it is surprising that even with the SD Card Nook has disabled this function. The lack of a text-to-speech (TTS) engine is also surprising, after all, the Android adds great processing capabilities and the TTS would taken the Nook to a larger audience. The company claims the Nook has about 10 days of battery time on it, but that will have to be verified.

The Nook ships with a number of accessories, including a reading light, covers that help you personalise your Nook, a travel adapter kit, device backs and protective frames and a matt film for the screen.
So, if you like reading, it’s time you went and checked out an ebook reader, and trust me it will change the way you looked at books. The Nook costs $299.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 6th December 2009