Tag Archives: Laptops

Are you a farmer on facebook ?

farmville-game-facebookWe usually start our weekends at the Forum Mall, here in Bangalore. This weekend, while we were in the Mall, She said,

“let’s go to the apple store”.

I was surprised, because apple store is one of the two restricted areas for me inside The Forum;  reason ? : gadgets are dangerous for me. ( the other restricted place  is Landmark, coz, I am addicted to books too ).

I asked her “what for ?” and she said …. ” I want to check my facebook” … and I was ..

” WHAT ?”

This happened 10 minutes after we left our home , where we have broadband Internet, and  where we are supposed to be back again in another two hours of three. Why can’t she wait for few more hours before she can check facebook again ? The answer is, A facebook app, or a game called “Farm Ville”

I decided to see  what this is all about, and I have to admit, I got myself addicted to this game now. So, if you have a facebook account, and going to check this out, take this as a warning. You may get addicted.

This is a simple flash based game, that you can install as an app on your facebook account. You get a small area or, farm which you can develop with plants, trees, sheep and goats etc. Slowly, you develop your farm and earn points, add your friends as neighbors, etc etc ..  There is a stupid option where you can purchase points, ( yea, pay using your credit card .. no !! I am not kidding )  with which you can buy virtual trees and seeds … interesting uh ?

I usually ignore all app requests on facebook and I was ignoring this one also, so far. But, when I started using this, I found out that almost all of my friends are already in there, living in their virtual farm houses. With straberries, Apple trees, and orange trees.  I got a chat message from a friend asking me to send him an orange tree as a gift ( yes, you can send people trees and more as gifts ).

What makes it sooo addictive ? I don’t have an answer. But, there is something that you will notice. Each plant or tree gets ready for harvesting in certain amount of time. So, if you have a plant that you are supposed to harvest in 2 hours, you should login to facebook and connect to this app on that time, and if you are late, your fruit will be gone as in the real world. ( now you know why she wanted to go to apple store and login to facebook from there !! )  So you are connected to this app all the time, you check back at certain intervals to make sure that everything is fine ….

If you get started after reading this post .. let me know !!

Android, You are a Smart Boy !!

Live Android Logo

Live Android Logo

Android is smarter than we thought. It was created for cellphones. Then we figured out that it will work on Laptops and netbooks too. Now, read this.

MIPS Technologies, a company which designs processors for various home entertainment devices, says it is working with partners to design Android-based platforms for set-top boxes, digital TVs, mobile Internet devices, and home media players. The company expects Android-powered digital picture frames to come to market later this year, followed by digital TVs and set-top boxes in 2010.  ( source )

So, that’s news indeed. We are going to see android running on digital photo frames, PDAs, and even TV set top boxes !! Well, I’m confused again … Chrome OS … Android for mobile .. and then android for laptops, and then they said chrome os on smart phones, now this. Where are we going ? Do you have any clue ?

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Will Android Bring Down Netbook and Laptop Prices ?

google android netbook laptop

google android netbook laptop

Android is being picked up by Laptop and Netbook manufacturing companies. We saw Dell testing Android on their netbooks, and Acer announcing an Android based netbook being developed. So, an important question that we need to find answer for is, about the future of prices for these android based Netbooks and Laptops.

What makes Netbooks popular ? Yes, small, light, compact etc .. agreed, but price is also a very important factor for their growing popularity. When the world started noticing netbooks coming, most of the geeks expected Linux making it big on Netbooks market. Well, it did,  to a large amount, and then Microsoft gained their space too, with their Windows XP running most of the netbooks. So, right now,  most of androids come with windows XP, and that adds a certain amount to their cost.

Netbooks can go further, if we can bring prices down, and the best way to do this, is to get rid of the additional cost of an Operating System. Now, not everyone will accept Linux on Netbooks, just because it is not windows, or it does not look like Windows. What’s the solution ?

My answer to this question, is Android. As mentioned on another blog post here about Android, google can be a motivation for people to try another OS, it will be a “feel good factor” for this open source OS, that it is from Google, the great.  With a free OS that’s popular, and easy to use, prices will come down, and more people can afford a Netbook, and I think that will be really good.

How to Make Linux for Popular : The next step.

I am  only  a Linux user, not an expert. I feel good to tell you that I am linux user. Because, when I look around, I see only linux geeks, or linux experts and very very less linux users.

Understanding Linux as a user

The open source theory is not my attraction. I use Linux because it is a good operating system and that’s the only reason.When I write about Linux, I am not  preaching freedom and open source or any of those theories…  but I am trying to tell you about a good operating system that I use.

My job introduced Linux to me as an operating system  that does almost everything that windows can do, and lot of things that Windows can not do. I used linux because I had to, and I did not leave Linux because I started loving it.

This will not happen very often. We do not have platforms where general public get introduced to Linux. Linux and most of the things related to it are shared within the Geek Communities around the Internet.

The next step, reach the common man

What Linux should do now, as early as possible, is to introduce Linux to the common man. This should happen online and offline. There is a great community of Linux users. They can easily do this, using their online and offline contacts.

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Google’s View of Micorsoft’s Bid for Yahoo!

I was wondering what will Google‘s response be, when it comes to the Yahoo! Microsoft deal. I came across this post which has some interesting points and it gives a clear idea about what Google’s concerns are, about this deal.

Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.

Yes, that is a serious concern. Microsoft is always for copyrights, making the PC costly, making the computing itself costly.. and it kept it away from masses for a long time. Now, do you see low cost laptops entering market with Linux OS on it ? don’t you think it could have been much earlier, if Microsoft’s approach was different ?

Another question

Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft — despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses — to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions — and consumers deserve satisfying answers. Continue reading →