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	<title>euicho.com &#187; Reviews</title>
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		<title>Come join the Shelfari</title>
		<link>http://euicho.com/2008/come-join-the-shelfari/</link>
		<comments>http://euicho.com/2008/come-join-the-shelfari/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:44:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>euicho</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Books, Movies, Music, and TV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://euicho.com/?p=300</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Those who know me personally know that I love books, especially fiction. As such, I spend a lot of time on Shelfari.com. I found Shelfari a little over two years ago. Back then it was in private beta I believe, and it had the usual kinks and errors to work out, but it was even [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Those who know me personally know that I love books, especially fiction.  As such, I spend a lot of time on <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/">Shelfari.com</a>.</p>
<p>I found Shelfari a little over two years ago.  Back then it was in private beta I believe, and it had the usual kinks and errors to work out, but it was even then a well done and well integrated website.  Its grown into a very beautiful site with a great community of friendly interesting readers with some really nice discussion groups.<br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="420" height="130" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="flashvars" value="UserName=euicho&amp;ShelfType=list&amp;verE=s1.5&amp;ListType=top&amp;booksize=small&amp;Alpha=0&amp;BGColor=FFFFFF" /><param name="src" value="http://www.shelfari.com/ws/shelfH.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="130" src="http://www.shelfari.com/ws/shelfH.swf" wmode="transparent" flashvars="UserName=euicho&amp;ShelfType=list&amp;verE=s1.5&amp;ListType=top&amp;booksize=small&amp;Alpha=0&amp;BGColor=FFFFFF"></embed></object><br />
<small>A sampling from my shelf</small><br />
<a id="more-300"></a>I'll leave the formal reviews to other sites, and suffice it to say that Shelfari has some really neat features like everyone having their own interactive bookshelf to display and personally track the books they own, have read, want to read, etc.  When I first got on I entered in every book in my apartment, and although I am far from having every book I've ever read in there, I sure as heck have most of them.  If you ever want to buy me a book but are unsure of whether I already own it, just <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/euicho/shelf">check my shelf</a>!</p>
<p>I was reading reviews of some Robert A. Heinlein novels, one of my all-time favorite authors, and I came across a really short, unintellectual, un-cited review of <em>Stranger in a Strange Land</em> that I should have ignored but made me fear others would take it seriously, so I decided to write my own.  You can search for my review on <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/books/32650/Stranger-in-a-Strange-Land">the book's page</a>, but I figured it'd be a lot easier if I just reproduce it below.  I certainly won't be offended if you don't read it, but if you've ever wondered about the book, you may find it useful (BTW: You'll notice I referenced the passage I quoted in the Garfield Minus Garfield post, because it really is one of my favorites).  I hope I did it justice and if you agree or disagree or if my memory just plain sucks, please do let me know in the comments or email (euicho at euicho dot com).</p>
<h3 class="heading">Stranger in a Strange Land, A Review</h3>
<p><small>Thomas S.E. Gagnon</small></p>
<div class="rightfloat"><a title="Stranger in a Strange Land book cover" href="http://euicho.com/pics/strangercover.jpg" rel="lightbox[300]"><img class="displayed" src="http://euicho.com/pics/strangercover.jpg" alt="Stranger in a Strange Land book cover" width="130px" height="214px" /></a></div>
<p>Stranger in a Strange Land is a story I hold quite fond in my heart.  This novel taught me a lot about life and human nature.  Some say it was Robert Heinlein's way of coming to terms with what Hubbard was doing at the time, while others think it's just a dated and closed minded book.  I find it to be an insightful comment on being human and dealing with all that entails, as well as challenging our own set ways of thought.  I am by no means a subscriber to the philosophy of "free love" that finds its way into this novel, but I still absolutely loved this book.</p>
<p>If you're not sure what this story is about, the short, short synopsis is that it's about a human male, raised as a martian, coming to earth and learning how to be human, and about human beliefs vs. the martian ones he grew up with.  However that description is unjustly simplified--it is really so much more than that.  Stranger in a Strange Land challenges common views on organized religion, sexuality, and family structure.  Although written by a SF grandmaster, and dealing with an "alien", the story is set on Earth and deals strongly with character development versus cheap techno-thrills, so if you're not really into SF this book should still strongly appeal to you.</p>
<p>Now, as I've read some of the other reviews on here, I feel a need to defend this novel against attacks.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including those who hated this novel, and what follows is my own.</p>
<p>Some people have claimed Stranger is a racist and/or misogynistic work.  I just didn't see either of those.  I think of myself as very supportive of equality of men and women of all races, and even philogyny to some extent, for all that woman do for us, and I felt this book exalted women.  Recall how smart and dynamic Jubal's assistants were, for example.  They all had a firecracker-quick wit and never buckled under pressure.  They did whatever their desire was and only obeyed their boss Jubal, because they where his employees, and they cared for him as a father figure.  I found no objectification or sexism.</p>
<p>I agree that there is an overabundance of sex in this novel.  But I am quite aware of the double standard in society where promiscuous men are applauded while women are called "slutty".  In Stranger in a Strange Land, some of the women are quite promiscuous, and yet are never judged, but seen as loving, and never forced by the men in the novel to do so.  As I said, I don't feel women should be treated as objects by any means, but this book shows a woman can have sex with whoever she pleases and it is nobody's right to judge.  I cannot find the misogyny in that.  Heinlein wrote several novels that portray how strong and equal to if not better than men, that women are.  See Friday for one example.</p>
<p>As for the terrible comment Jill makes about rape in one passage, I think that shows how wrong Jill's way of thinking was at the time, and is not to be taken as Heinlein's belief.  If an author writes about how a Nazi character thinks "Jews are evil", that does NOT mean the author believes this.  He is simply exposing the character's own terribly wrong ideology.  Whether these are the author's views, speaking through his/her characters, or not, cannot be judged by reading their work of fiction.  This is likewise with Jill's comments about gay men, whom she calls "poor in-betweeners".</p>
<p>As for racism in this novel, all I can say is that I cannot find any!  Some of Heinlein's novels do sadly have racist elements, like The Day After Tomorrow (which reflects the common thinking at the time I'm afraid), but Stranger in a Strange Land is not one of them!  <a href="http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm">See Ender's Game</a> if you want a REAL racist <a href="http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2005/5/28/22428/7034">pile of...</a> ugh, let's not get me started on <em>that</em>.</p>
<p>One Caveat:  If you are a Christian, you may find this book blasphemous or at the least quite critical of Christianity toward the last half of the story, but even many Christian friends say they really enjoyed it by treating it as just a story and its not an attack on their own beliefs.  That said, if you do not take kindly to criticism of your belief system, you may want to avoid this one.</p>
<p>The characters in Stranger in a Strange Land are both well developed and intriguing, and you don't have to subscribe to any of the ideals outlined in this book in order to benefit from the sparking off of a good deal of deep thought and introspection.  I recommend this book to any adult that wishes to broaden their exposure to philosophical ideas or just read a great book.</p>
<p>I'd like to, quit typically, end this review with a quote from the book--One that makes me tear up every time I read it:</p>
<p>I’ve found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much… because it’s the only thing that’ll make it stop hurting.  -Robert A. Heinlein, <em>Stranger in a Strange Land</em>-</p>
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		<item>
		<title>iPwn</title>
		<link>http://euicho.com/2007/ipwn/</link>
		<comments>http://euicho.com/2007/ipwn/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:44:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>euicho</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology and Gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://euicho.com/?p=195</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You've read the speculation, you've seen the renditions, now experience the truth! (image Copyright Â© 2007 Apple Computer) Yes, the iPhone is here! No, not that one, you sneaky Cisco devils. This is the true iPhone, the one that has been discussed and dreamed about for what seems like years. Catch the full scoop after [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You've read the <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/09/20060913215342.shtml">speculation</a>, you've seen the <a href="http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&amp;hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&amp;q=iphone&amp;btnG=Search">renditions</a>,  now experience the truth!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/ipod/"><img src="http://euicho.com/pics/eyephone.png" alt="aye, Phone!" /></a></p>
<h5>(image Copyright Â© 2007 Apple Computer)</h5>
<p>Yes, the iPhone is here! No, not <a href="http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&amp;childpagename=US%2FLayout&amp;cid=1127783455701&amp;packedargs=site%3DUS&amp;pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper">that one</a>, you sneaky Cisco devils. This is the true iPhone, the one that has been discussed and dreamed about for what seems like years. Catch the full scoop after the jump:<br />
<a id="more-195"></a></p>
<p>As expected, its a perfect blend of an iPod and a phone, with loads of other features tossed in for good measure.</p>
<h3 class="heading">The nitty, as well as the gritty</h3>
<p>So whats this hot little number packing? Oh, just a 3.5-inch multi-touch wide -screen! That means you can touch two places at once, and it recognizes them. That's something completely new in the mobile device arena. But don't worry, the proximity sensor will shut off the key bad when you have the phone close to your ear, so your cheek doesn't decide to get click-happy while you're on a call. Touchiness aside, you can now also watch wide-screen videos on an actual wide-screen... Wide, thats a funny word. Say it out loud with me, "WIDE". Funny, huh? Anyway...<br />
It still plays music and audio books as well, but there is oh so much more.</p>
<p>First off, lets get some specs out of the way:</p>
<ul>
<li>11.6 mm's thin (damn!)</li>
<li>3.5-inch multi-touch wide-screen</li>
<li>480 x 320 resolution, 160 ppi</li>
<li>Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900)</li>
<li>135 grams</li>
<li>5 hrs battery life for talking/video, 16 hrs for music</li>
<li>Cingular exclusive prices of $499 for 4GB (ouch! but MANY will fork out for it) for a 2 year contract, and $599 for 8GB</li>
<li>Ships this June in the US, Europe this Fall</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="heading">For the Talkers and Texters</h3>
<p>Just like the name would lead all English speaking humanoids to conclude, its a phone. As such, its got a dialpad(via touch-display), call logs, and an address book (that syncs with your computer), but it also has easy to use conference calling (my Razr isn't exactly intuitive in this department), and stores your voicemails so you can listen to them whenever and visually navigate through them like email. No more listening to your first 6 messages Bob sent you to get to the 7th one from your wife. On the negative, there is no built in VoIp support, which I suppose is to be expected since Cingular would rather you use their minutes on this phone, but it would be nice to have the VoIp option when in a wireless hotspot. Perhaps Gizmo Project will run on it, but that remains to be seen.</p>
<p>For SMS the iPhone has a soft-keyboard with predictive entry and auto-correct, with an iChat style interface that always makes me drool. With this style of display you can easily see which conversation you were in, just like what gmail did for multi-reply email.</p>
<h3 class="heading">Ahem... Camera?</h3>
<p>Of course, being a modern cellular phone, it must have a camera... probably one of those dinky 640X480 ones that everyone loves to use, right? Nopers. You know Apple never does anything half-assed, and as such the iPhone has a big-ole 2 Megapixel camera. One oversight is that its a fixed-focus camera, which somewhat reduces the grandure of it all. I would think Apple would see this as a big downside. Also, the camera is on the back, which makes sense for taking photos with the viewfinder, but cuts out any hope of video chat/calling, something that could have really be a deal-maker for this device.</p>
<p>The photo management system that kicks the crap out your regular cell phone's list-o-pictures. On the iPhone you get a thumbnail grid of photos. Select a photo to view it full-screen, and drag your finger horizontally to go to the next or previous photo. Grab a place on the photo with your thumbs and drag toward the edges of the screen to get a Minority-report-like zoom on that portion of the photo. You have to watch the <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/phone/">QuickTour</a> to see just how rad that looks (select the "Photos" tour on the right of that page).</p>
<h3 class="heading">You call that a smart phone?</h3>
<p>Like your Daddy's 4lb brick of a  "smart phone", the iPhone has web and email. Apple does it up proper with a rich HTML email client and a portable version of Safari, accessing the web with either Wi-Fi or EDGE (Its got Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR as well, of course, though I don't know how integrated it is with things like iTunes and the photo app). It automatically syncs your email as well as bookmarks from your computer, and it's fast enough to surf the net while downloading your email in the background. You can view websites either portrait or landscape, and can zoom as well. So i guess its more like an iPod blended with a phone and a Nokia 770 (though my 770 blows it away in resolution :p ) As for the email client, it is both intuitive and much easier on the eyes than a regular cell phone. It has a large enough screen to read text and view inline photos without strain.</p>
<p>The iPhone also comes with its own map viewing software that downloads maps, satellite photos, and points of interest from Google Maps. Its not GPS, so you have to know where you are, but it'll definitely help you get to any destination.</p>
<p>Did I forget to mention it runs OS X? Oh, well it does... somehow. This gives it the ability to, among other things, run widgets. To you non Mac/Konfabulator... er Yahoo Widget Engine users, widgets are little applications that provide useful tasks like the stock widget that tracks your favorite stocks, or the weather widget that, well, tells you the weather of course! Calculators, notes, clocks, timers, RSS readers, and nearly anything else you could ask for are available in the form of widgets. No word yet on how whether all OS X widgets will run on this or not, and more importantly, we don't yet know what 3rd party application support there is. It may not be open to anything but widgets, or it may run ported versions of OS X apps, or it may have a full SDK waiting to be unveiled. Nobody knows at this point.</p>
<p>And so faithful readers, thats all we know for now about the new Apple iPhone. I'm super excited about this thing, though I won't be getting one any time soon, nor do I need one at the moment. Its got some really innovative new features, and a few downsides as well as a dash of question marks. However, as this slick gadget has been the subject of endless speculation, you can bet your copy of <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Marshall#Theoretical_contributions">The Economics of Industry</a></em> that many will pay any price asked by Jobs for this little gem. Oh, and be sure to go to <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/">the iPhone Website</a> for QuickTours of all the features packed into the iPhone.</p>
<p>Update: <a href="http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/TheRealAppleiPhone/">Gizmodo has a ton of photos of the iPhone on display</a>, and more <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2370">at apple insider</a><br />
and <a href="http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2007/01/09/apples_iphone_m.html">this is interesting</a>...</p>
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		<title>Impressions of the Nokia 770</title>
		<link>http://euicho.com/2006/impressions-of-the-nokia-770/</link>
		<comments>http://euicho.com/2006/impressions-of-the-nokia-770/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Apr 2006 19:55:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>euicho</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology and Gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://euicho.com/?p=154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Introducing: The Internet Tablet &#160; the Nokia 770 is an "internet tablet". I know this is a new term to most of you, but it comes to us by way of two more familiar words: Internet (as in websites, e-mail, rss, and IM), and Tablet (as in a portable computer built into a screen). Put [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 class="heading">Introducing: The Internet Tablet</h3>
<div class="rightfloat" style="margin-right:20px; margin-top:34px">
<a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/fancy.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbfancy.png" alt="nokia 770" /></a>
</div>
<div style="clear: left"> &nbsp; </div>
<p> the Nokia 770 is an "internet tablet". I know this is a new term to most of you, but it comes to us by way of two more familiar words: <em>Internet</em> (as in websites, e-mail, rss, and IM), and <em>Tablet </em>(as in a portable computer built into a screen). Put 'em together, and the definition is exactly what you'd think: A small, portable computer, built into a screen, that is meant to access the web!</p>
<p>It looks like a PDA, but it's not. PDAs handle contacts, calendars, and to-dos. This puppy's all about the Net with some bonuses on the side (we'll get to those later). It's main applications are accessing webpages, reading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29">rss feeds</a>, and checking email. Before we get too into things, I have to tell you the coolest part... </p>
<p><a id="more-154"></a><br />
It runs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux">Linux</a>! A version of <a href="http://www.debian.org/">Debian</a> to be exact. I ask you, how cool is that?</p>
<h3 class="heading">The Web, Anywhere</h3>
<p>The 770 receives its connectivity wirelessly through 802.11g. It also can mate with your bluetooth enabled cellphone to place data/dial-up calls. While data calls are slower than a wireless LAN, it is definately a wonderful feature to have when you are not in range of an open Wi-Fi hotspot.</p>
<p><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/connect.png" alt="connection dialog box" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /><br />
<h6 class="caption">the many ways to connect</h6>
<p>The browser is a version of Opera, and it renders pages like no other handheld ever has. The display is a crisp, bright 800x480 65,536 color touch-screen beauty. At 4.1 inches, its screen is about the size of a Sony PSP's. It displays websites, photos, and videos vividly and crystal clear. On a side note, I've read that a few reviewers were disappointed that they had to "scroll sideways" on webpages to view all the content. A few seconds of research found be the "optimized view" option in the menu. Voila, perfectly formatted text that can even be zoomed as large as you want , all without horizontal scrolling. I might also add that this baby is a dream come true for reading web-comics since the screen is so beautiful and wide.</p>
<p><a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/1.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumb1.png" alt="holding the 770" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a></p>
<h3 class="heading">Lay of the Land</h3>
<p>On the desktop there is a feed reader, internet radio, web shortcut, and clock. All of these can be customized or hidden. The internet radio is a bit superfluous, but everything else fits nicely. The system tray is along the top-right and has brightness, sound, connection, phone-link, and battery indicators. In the screenshot below you'll see a custom indicator at the far left that I installed. It's a cpu/memory plug-in that takes screenshots too, but we'll address customization in just a bit. Desktop icons are along the left and include the browser, email and the program menu. Below these, running applications are displayed.</p>
<p><a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/desktop.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbdesktop.png" alt="the desktop" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a><br />
<h6 class="caption">the desktop</h6>
<h3 class="heading">Hand-Eye Coordination</h3>
<p>Input is done via touchscreen and stylus. The included styli are flat, which is new to me, but they have more surface area than my clie and visor styli and seem to cause less fatigue to my hand. When you're not using it, the stylus stowes away in a compartment in the back of the unit as usual. Text can be input through either the on-screen keyboard, or handwriting recognition. </p>
<p><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbstylus.png" alt="stylus" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></p>
<p><a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/keyboard.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbkeyboard.png" alt="on-screen keyboard" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a><br />
<h6 class="caption">on-screen keyboard</h6>
<p>The keyboard is faster for me, but I'm getting faster at the handwriting as I tweak the characters I teach it. A quick button tap switches input styles.</p>
<p><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/handwriting1.png" alt="handwriting" /><br />
<img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/handwriting2.png" alt="recognition" /></p>
<h6 class="caption">handwriting being converted to letters</h6>
<p>On the front of the Nokia 770 there is a d-pad with select button for navigation, and a back button for exiting out of menus and going back when in the browser. There are also home and menu buttons, guess what their functions are, heh. Along the top are widescreen, +/- rocker, and power buttons.</p>
<p><img class="centered" src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/buttons.png" alt="top buttons" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /><br />
<h6 class="caption">the top buttons (L to R: power, rocker, full-screen)</h6>
<p>The widescreen button is very useful when in the browser, viewing pictures, and watching videos. The power button isn't used too much as the 770 is designed to sleep when not it use. Close the cover to set it to standby, and open the cover to wake it up. The rocker button's main function is zooming, but it has another great use I'll discuss in the next section.</p>
<h3 class="heading">Goodies</h3>
<div class="rightfloat" style="margin-right:20px; margin-top:10px">
<img src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbmenu.png" alt="application menu" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></p>
<h6 class="caption">application menu</h6>
</div>
<div style="clear: left"> &nbsp; </div>
<p>In addition to the browser, rss feed reader, and email application, the 770 also has an audio (and internet-radio) player, a Video player (which BTW comes with the Ice Age 2 trailer that looks absolutely stunning on the screen), PDF viewer, image viewer, calculator, sketchpad, notepad, and a couple of games. </p>
<p>I've added a few videos to my MMC card and they looked really amazing. Hitting the full-screen button gives you a display that knocks out the iPod, though video playback isn't always as smooth.</p>
<p>The media formats it supports are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Audio: MP3, MPEG4-AAC, WAV, AMR, MP2</li>
<li>Image: JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PNG, Animated GIF format,SVG-tiny, ICO</li>
<li>Video: MPEG1, MPEG4, Real Video, H.263, AVI, 3GP</li>
</ul>
<div class="clearer"></div>
<h3 class="heading">Did Someone Say Open Source?</h3>
<p>The real clincher on this baby, for me anyway, is the ability to customize it. No, I don't mean adding thousands of pink rindstones to it like a pathetic-looking sidekick, I'm talking about free software via a super-supportive and thriving development community. This thing runs Linux, remember!?</p>
<p>There is a <a href="http://pymaemo.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/moin.cgi/">python port for the Nokia 770</a> (tres cool) but most development is currently being done with the <a href="http://maemo.org/">maemo</a> platform. There are already <a href="http://maemo.org/maemowiki/ApplicationCatalog">over a hundred ports, applications, and games</a> available for the 770 on the maemo wiki alone, and more are coming out every day. Instalation is a breeze with the package manager, simply click on a link to a package and hit yes when asked whether you wish to install it or not.</p>
<div class="rightfloat" style="margin-right:20px; margin-top:10px">
<a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/reading.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbreading.png" alt="reading an ebook" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a></p>
<h6 class="caption">reading an ebook</h6>
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<p>I spend a lot of time checking out sofware to add to mine, as well as looking at different used people are putting theirs to. For example, some people have coupled theirs with a $70 gps receiver to create a GPS solution for their car, or hacked an iPod cable to be able to mount their iPod and watch all their movies on the big widescreen display.</p>
<p>I prefer to use my Nokia 770 as an ebook reader. After a quick download and install if FBReader, I can open an ebook, turn it sideways, and hit the full-screen button to turn it into a more than capable reader that kicks the pants off my clie. To scroll pages I just use my thumb on the rocker switch.</p>
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<h3 class="heading">Under the Hood</h3>
<div class="rightfloat" style="margin-right:20px; margin-top:10px">
<a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/card.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbcard.png" alt="RS-MMC card and slot" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a></p>
<h6 class="caption">RS-MMC card and slot with cover open</h6>
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<p>The Nokia 770 is a bit underpowered, I assume in order to keep the price tag down, and although it doesn't impair use much, I wouldn't have minded a bit more RAM and a faster processor. As it is we have a Texas Instruments OMAP class 250 MHz processor, and 128 MB RAM with 64 MB for the system and 64 MB for storage and applications. Memory can be expanded via the RS-MMC flash memory slot, which comes equipped with a 64MB card. There are tutorials online on how to crate a swap partition on a larger RS-MMC card to boost performance. I've yet to try it, but be sure that I will in the near future.</p>
<h3 class="heading">Bad Press</h3>
<p>I apologize, but it's time to do a little ranting. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the 770, and all the bad ones pretty much complain about it not having telephone capability. Although it <em>will</em> have a stable VoIP program soon, they are missing the point. They think that because it is made by Nokia, the fact that it doesn't have a phone means it is somehow crippled. The iPod doesn't have a phone, so what? I don't hear anyone bitching that it doesn't have a keyboard, phone, or PIM suite. It is meant to do one thing, and do it well. So is the 770, and it does. Please stop trying to pigeonhole Nokia, thank you.</p>
<p>Every device that comes out does not have to be some all-in-one convergence solution that does your laundry and calls your grandma on her birthday. Part of what makes gadgets so fun is that they are all unique and do different things.<br />
"Yay a wifi-locating key fob!"<br />
"Does it have a bottle opener?"<br />
"No, who the hell cares?"<br />
How boring, not to mention pointless, would it be if one owned even 4 gadgets that all were telephones and multi-function (web, PIM, etc) devices? Some things need to be specialized. I like being on the web, and I don't want to carry around a 4lb notebook to do it, so this baby is a dream come true.  </p>
<p><em>*Sigh*</em> if you <em>still</em> want to use it as an organizer, there are a couple of PIM suites available, and more are sure to come.</p>
<h3 class="heading">The Cons</h3>
<p>Of course, the Nokia 770 does have it's shortcomings. For one, it has an inadequate 128MB of memory, causing it to hang while loading some applications or when too many browser windows are open. A 1GB RS-MMC card can solve the lack of storage to an extent, for an extra $70. </p>
<p>It also boasts a less-than-staggering processor speed (250 MHz). I know clockspeed isn't the only determinant factor in a processor, but a 500MHz would definately pep things up a bit. I believe these decisions were made to deliver a lower-priced product, and the trade-off seems worth it. Also, it should also be noted that all non-application processing should be handled by web servers (as per it's intended usage) anyway.</p>
<p>Unless you get really good at the handwriting recognition, text input is slower than it would be if there was a thumb keyboard. Not including one keeps the footprint of the 700 to a pocket-sized minimum, but if you desire a faster input method, for writing blog posts for example, I suggest picking up a cheap bluetooth keyboard (thumb or fullsized, your choice).</p>
<h3 class="heading">La Conclusion</h3>
<p>In summation, if you want near-constant access to the internet wherever you go without lugging around a bulky notebook pc, the Nokia 770 is your device. Its screen is beautiful, its very versatile, and it's super convenient.  Besides being somewhat lean in the CPU/RAM department, only shortcomings are the ones you'll find if you want to make it be something it's not (ie: use it as an all-in-one such as a pda phone). I love mine, use it every day, and am more than 100% hapy with it, if thats mathematically possible. It's not a replacement for your desktop PC, but it is a pocket-sized portal to the web, and I have no real urge to own a notebook computer after having this. Nokia is big on open source software, and has, in my opinion, hit the nail on the head with this specialized device that fills a niche previously left void.</p>
<p><a href="http://euicho.com/pics/154/palmed.png" rel="lightbox[154]"><img src="http://euicho.com/pics/154/thumbpalmed.png" alt="beautiful" style="border: 2px solid #333333" /></a></p>
<h3 class="heading">Extra Credit</h3>
<p>For more information on the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, visit these fine folks:<br />
<a href="http://europe.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html?orig=/770">Nokia's 770 page</a><br />
<a href="http://europe.nokia.com/nokia/0,,75023,00.html">Nokia's feature list/specs</a><br />
<a href="http://www.internettablettalk.com/">Internet Tablet Talk</a> and their <a href="http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/">forum</a><br />
<a href="http://nokia770.xantus.org/index.php?title=TipsAndTricks">A couple hacks at nokia770.xantus.org</a><br />
<a href="http://zackex.blogspot.com/">The Zack eXperiment: Usability Experiments On The Nokia 770</a><br />
The <a href="http://maemo.org/">maemo website</a>, <a href="http://maemo.org/maemowiki/">wiki</a>, <a href="http://planet.maemo.org/">blog</a>, and <a href="http://maemo.org/maemowiki/ApplicationCatalog">application list</a>.<br />
The <a href="http://www5.a2hosting.com/~alslayer/770fan.html">770 Fan blog</a> has great articles,<br />
as does <a href="http://n770.herraiz.org/">Connecting Geeks</a><br />
and <a href="http://www.mulliner.org/blog/blosxom.cgi/n770/">mulliner.org</a><br />
<a href="http://nokia770.com/">nokia770.com</a> has good news stories,<br />
so does <a href="http://www.dillernet.com/apple/">The Syncing Apple</a><br />
Somebody made a <a href="http://maps.i40.com">customized version of Google maps for the 770</a>, it fits perfectly when you zoom the screen to 150%.<br />
Guides on how to rip DVD movies into your 770 are at  the  <a href="http://maemo.org/maemowiki/VideoEncoding">maemowiki</a> and <a href="http://thoughtfix.blogspot.com/2006/02/howto-free-video-content-on-nokia-770.html ">thoughtfix</a>.</p>
<h6 class="caption">All photos copyright 2006 Thomas S.E. Gagnon.</h6>
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		<title>TiddlyWiki</title>
		<link>http://euicho.com/2005/tiddlywiki/</link>
		<comments>http://euicho.com/2005/tiddlywiki/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Aug 2005 21:57:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>euicho</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Software and Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiddlywiki]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">/?p=123</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just realized that in my absence I never posted about TiddlyWiki! "What the heck is a TiddlyWiki," you ask? Well duh! Its a reusable non-linear personal web notebook. Please Read On... "What does that mean?" TiddlyWiki is a single, self-contained html file, like a web page. It is like a blog, but each entry [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I just realized that in my absence I never posted about TiddlyWiki!</p>
<p>"What the heck is a TiddlyWiki," you ask? Well duh! Its a reusable non-linear personal web notebook.</p>
<p>Please Read On...</p>
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<p><a id="more-123"></a></p>
<h3 class="heading">"What does that mean?"</h3>
<p><img alt="" src="http://euicho.com/pics/thumbTiddlyWiki2.png" title="The TiddlyWiki Page" class="alignright" width="228" height="226" /></p>
<p>TiddlyWiki is a single, self-contained html file, like a web page.  It is like a <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blog">blog</a>, but each entry is like a little index card, called a tiddler. Before I really lose you, <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com/" title="TiddlyWiki Home Page">this is what it looks like</a>. Each entry in the center of the screen is a tiddler. Go play around with it, close and open some tiddlers. Your changes wont affect the website once you reload or leave it.</p>
<p>A TiddlyWiki is like a blog because it's divided up into neat little chunks, but it encourages you to read it by hyperlinking rather than sequentially. So instead of reading one long page in a notebook to find something, you have a pile of index cards (tiddlers) that are searchable, tagged, and link to each other. Picture yourself selecting only the index cards you want to read, and laying them down in a column on the desk in front of you. That is what TiddlyWiki does with tiddlers on your browser. It's like a <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wiki">wiki</a> because anybody can edit it. <a href="http://tiddlywikitips.com/#SaveChanges" title="tiddlywikitips.com SaveChanges tiddler">Saving it is another topic</a>.</p>
<h3 class="heading">"I'm still not <em>quite</em> following you."</h3>
<p>I know, its a difficult concept to grasp, but stick with me here! Once you get your brain around the concept, it's so <strong>easy to use</strong>, and so <strong>versitile</strong>!</p>
<p>TiddlyWiki isn't just a blog with short entries, because YOU customize it as you use it. As for what it actually is comprised of, its just one html file. So go to <a href="http://www.tiddlywiki.com/#DownloadSoftware" title="How to Download TiddlyWiki">this tiddler</a> and follow the simple one click instruction to save your own blank TiddlyWiki on your computer. Then you can save your changes. Some people use TiddlyWiki as a webpage. They can easily edit it on their computer, and upload it to the web where it can be viewed in it's own wonderful fashion, but not edited by readers.</p>
<p>It's written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run on any modern browser without needing any ServerSide logic. It allows anyone to create personal SelfContained hypertext documents that can be posted to any web server, sent by email or kept on a USB thumb drive to make a WikiOnAStick.</p>
<h3 class="heading">"So it's a personal wiki then?"</h3>
<p>Almost. Though TiddlyWiki tends to follow Wiki concepts, it diverges in one key area: Presentation. Most Wikis are page-oriented: They present content and WikiWord links, but when you click on a link, the Wiki opens a new page of content. You view content a page at a time. To go back to the calling page, you click the Back button on your browser. This is very useful for long articles. The Wikipedia is an excellent example of this concept.</p>
<p>TiddlyWiki, however, is more element-oriented. TiddlyWiki presents content and <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com/#WikiWord" title="The WikiWord tiddler">WikiWord links</a>, but when you click a link, the content pops open in its own space on the same page. The huge advantage of this is that you are seeing the linked content in context along with the content of the calling link. It really makes working with the content more intuitive because you see not only the related information, but you see it with what it's related to. This is especially useful when using TiddlyWiki for Notes and Documentation. The caveat to this is that it doesn't work that well for long articles. TiddlyWiki is more suited to MicroContent or short, related chunks of information.</p>
<h3 class="heading">"Ah, I see! So what use is it?"</h3>
<p>TiddlyWiki has almost limitless possibilities:</p>
<ul>
<li>It works great as a documentation manager for products, software, etc.</li>
<li>Do you have a desktop full of tiny .txt file reminders and notes? It can store little bits of information, reminders, and notes like that with ease.</li>
<li>It makes a great FAQ page.</li>
<li>Turn it into a todo list, with items as tiddlers.</li>
<li>Some use it as a blog.</li>
<li>Some use it as a website.</li>
<li>Make it your own personal dictionary/encyclopedia.</li>
</ul>
<p>Or, if you require more than TiddlyWiki can do, try one of the multitude of adaptations:</p>
<ul>
<li>Jacques TurbÃ©'s <a href="http://avm.free.fr/tidlipo.html">TidliPo</a>, in French</li>
<li>Joe Raii's <a href="http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~joeraii/siglet/">Siglet</a></li>
<li>JÃ¡roli JÃ³zsef's <a href="http://innen.hu/MagyarTiddlyWiki">MagyarTiddlyWiki</a> in Hungarian</li>
<li>Yoshimov's <a href="http://wiki.yoshimov.com/?page=EncryptedTiddlyWiki">EncryptedTiddlyWiki</a></li>
<li>Tiago Dionizio's <a href="http://mega.ist.utl.pt/~tngd/wiki/">TsWiki</a> using Tcl and SQLite</li>
<li>Tim Morgan's <a href="http://timmorgan.org/ZiddlyWiki/">ZiddlyWiki</a> based on Zope</li>
<li>Steve Rumsby's <a href="http://www.rumsby.org/wiki/yatwa.html">YetAnotherTiddlyWikiAdaptation</a></li>
<li>Phono Hawk's <a href="http://ccm.sherry.jp/tiddly/">PerlTiddlyWiki</a></li>
<li>Nathan Bower's <a href="http://shared.snapgrid.com/gtd_tiddlywiki.html">GTDTiddlyWiki</a></li>
<li>Simon Baird's <a href="http://homes.jcu.edu.au/~ccscb/">homepage</a> with various enhancements including a SortableGrid</li>
<li>Geet Duggal's <a href="http://www.geetduggal.com/PileTiddly/">PileTiddly</a></li>
<li>Dan Phiffer's TiddlyWikiRemote at http://phiffer.org/tiddly/</li>
<li>Jonny LeRoy's <a href="http://www.digitaldimsum.co.uk/">TiddlyTagWiki</a></li>
<li>Jody Foo's <a href="http://informationality.com/tagglywiki/tagglywiki.html">TagglyWiki</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.christianhauck.net/html/14300.html">Christian Hauck's</a></li>
<li>Tony Lownds's <a href="http://tony.lownds.com/tiddly/dev/cgi/index.cgi">TiddlyHacks</a></li>
<li>Tim Cuthbertson and MattGiuca's <a href="http://codestar.lidonet.net/misc/tiddlywikicss.html">TiddlyWikiCSS</a></li>
<li>Patrick Curry and GabrielJeffrey's <a href="http://www.patrickcurry.com/tiddly/">PhpTiddlyWiki</a></li>
<li>There's also Kevem Buangga's <a href="http://www.kevembuangga.com/hwk/hailiwiki.htm">TiddlyWikiClone</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 class="heading">"Can I see some examples?"</h3>
<p>Sure! Many people are using TiddlyWiki for many different reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>Christopher James has compiled a comprehensive guide to TabletPCs at http://www.tabletpcwiki.net/</li>
<li>Miguel Centellas has created an extensive guide to Bolivian politics at http://www.centellas.org/politics/politiddly.html</li>
<li>Bruno Tiago Rodrigues has created a geocaching community site in Portuguese at http://travelbugrace.geocaching-pt.net/</li>
<li>Charles Stross, a celebrated British ScienceFiction writer, has used TiddlyWiki for his 'Tough Guide to the Rapture of the Nerds' at http://www.antipope.org/charlie/toughguide.html</li>
<li>Kristoffer Nilaus Olsen, a member of the Danish Student Group of Amnesty International, has used TiddlyWiki to collate reports of breaches of human rights. His site is at http://www.resultat.dk/sg/tw/students.html</li>
<li>Elise Springer, a philospher at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, USA, is using TiddlyWiki for her homepage at http://espringer.web.wesleyan.edu/</li>
<li>Martin Silcock, an brand researcher working with Millward Brown, is using TiddlyWiki for his homepage at http://www.explorate.co.uk/</li>
<li>Many people are using the GTDTiddlyWiki variant for personal productivity, and there's been some interesting experiments in <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com/#TiddlyWikiFiction">TiddlyWikiFiction</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 class="heading">Help, Tips, and Resources</h3>
<p>If you still can't get your head around TiddlyWiki, just <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com/#DownloadSoftware">download the html file</a> and play with it! You'll see its easy as pie.<br />
I suggest you check the TiddlyWiki website first, as Jeremy has really streamlined the <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com">TiddlyWiki homepage</a>.</p>
<p>There are many resources for Tiddlywiki, a lot more than when we first wrote about it anyway! A great beginner's guide is at <a href="http://www.giffmex.org/twfortherestofus.html">TiddlyWiki for the Rest of Us</a>. For a good guide, check out the <a href="http://tiddlywikiguides.org/index.php?title=TiddlyWiki_Guides">TiddlyWiki Guides</a> wiki, or <a href="http://tiddlyspot.com/twhelp/">TW Help</a></p>
<p>If you have a specific question, check the <a href="http://twfaq.tiddlyspot.com/">TiddlyWikiFAQ</a> by the Bairds, or drop me a comment! And if you're looking for formatting help (embedding images, making text different colors, etc.) then check out the <a href="http://nothickmanuals.info/doku.php/cheatsheets">TiddlyWiki Cheat Sheat</a> provided by Dmitri Popov, or <a href="http://tiddlyspot.com/twhelp/#FormattingTiddlers">the formatting guide at TwHelp</a>.</p>
<p>For fun tips, check out Jim Barr's <a href="http://tiddlywikitips.com/" title="Jim Barr's TiddlyWikiTips">TiddlyWikiTips.com</a> site. And lastly for plugins, extensions, macros, and styles, see Jeremy's <a href="http://tiddlywiki.com/#AbegoSoftware%20BidiXTW%20Gimcrack'd%20JacksTiddlyWiki%20LewcidTW%20MonkeyPirateTW%20PeachTW%20RedMountainVista%20TiddlyStyles%20TiddlyTools">list of content publishers</a>.</p>
<p>I do hope you give TiddlyWiki a try. Its really fun to play around with, and has still, two years later, completely changed the way I save small bits of information on my computer.</p>
<p>PS: The Official Euicho.com Tiddlywiki is <a href="http://euicho.com/wiki">Here</a>.</p>
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