Category: Microsoft

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Amazon Apple Chrome Firefox Google Internet Internet Explorer Microsoft Mozilla Safari Silk

Amazon Silk

First lets start with the browsers I’ve used so far. I’ll list any issues I may have had with the browser. I’ll list which OS’s I’ve used the browser on without giving specific versions as I don’t remember which versions I’ve used them on.

  • Netscape Navigator; I stopped using because it wasn’t being updated frequently enough. (Windows)
  • Internet Explorer; for a while I used this because it came with Windows & eventually I only used it when I had no other choice or to download a different browser. Also with IE 8 & 9 I have been forced to add code to my site to them to use the IE7 rendering engine. (Windows)
  • Safari; I only used it because I didn’t want to wait for Firefox to open & it was already open. (Mac OS X)
  • Firefox; It only launches one process for all windows & tabs that are open, as well as poor memory management as the only way I know to have it release the memory used by closed tabs is to close all of the Firefox windows. (Windows, Mac OS X, & Linux)
  • Chrome; If you have a bunch of tabs opened it will eat up memory fast, but every tab is its own process so if one tab dies it doesn’t kill everything. (Windows, Mac OS X, & Linux)

With what I’ve read & watched recently about Amazon Silk on the Kindle Fire I have decided that I want them to make Amazon Silk as a browser for Windows, Mac, & Linux. I think it would have the possibility to make the other browsers to become better as they would have another competitor.

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Amazon Android Apache Apple BlackBerry Google Internet iPad iPhone iPod iPod touch Kindle Networking Open source Hardware plugin Research In Motion TCPIP Windows Phone 7 Wired Wireless WordPress

Ultimate alarm clock

I’m thinking about making an alarm clock as none of models I see in stores have all the features I want. I was thinking some of the features could be upgrades that you connect while the clock is off.

Here are some features I’ve thought of so far in no particular order.

  • Auto-snooze (If you don’t hit the snooze button in x seconds it will assume you want it to snooze.)
  • Color selection for display. (Could also include fine level brightness controls. RGB LEDs or LCD screen. I have a friend that wants his alarm clock to have a purple display.)
  • Multiple alarm sounds (Also allow custom alarm sounds.)
  • Battery powered (Some features might need to be disabled on battery power.)
  • Auto time set (Either through the Internet or at least in the lower 48 states use the Colorado nuclear time clock.)
  • Web interface to program alarms, & upload alarm sounds & make changes to device settings. (Password protected)
  • Version for hotels when guest requests a wake-up call to have a recording play to wake them up. (The alarm clock could call the worker to remind them that the room X wanted a wake-up call.)
  • For hotels in the lower 48 a device that will pickup the time from the Denver Colorado Nuclear time clock to broadcast over hotels network. (Some buildings construction could block the signal from the individual alarm clocks.)
  • Line in for speakers to play from any audio device.
  • Multiple USB ports for charging devices with a 5 volt & 2 Amps per port & configured to work with devices like the iPhone.
  • HD radio.
  • Internet radio apps, Pandora, Last.fm, etc…
  • Day of the week & date on display. (Could be just a button to display it.)
  • Can tell the temperature. (With a local & a remote sensor.)
  • Ability to tell time verbally.
  • Option to have display dot matrix or the more traditional digital display format.
  • Ability to have a custom enclosure made.
  • When powered on upgrade door(s) are auto closed until power is lost.

Some questions about options to do a feature.

  • For time zone should it be set by a switch or stored on SD card & also if DST is used. Which way should it be done?
  • Would you want a solar panel on a battery only version?
  • Should the web interface WordPress with a plugin be used for the interface or something else?

Are there any ideas you want to add?

I’m also thinking about making the hardware open source & using as much open source hardware as possible, unless a closed source chip is cheaper I might use that instead.

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Amazon Bing Club Bing Internet Explorer Kindle Microsoft

Updates on the Kindle & Club Bing

I was looking at Amazon.com today & I noticed they not have added another variation of the Kindle. It is the Kindle 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 6″ Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers. So if you want your Kindle to have 3G you now have the option to get it for $25 less than you normally would.

I had also gone over to Club Bing to play some games when I noticed an announcement. “As of June 9, 2011, we will discontinue support for the Club Bing toolbar and Club Bing VIP program. As of this date exclusive VIP prizes and ticket discounts will be made available to all Club Bing members while supplies last. As part of this change, the Club Bing toolbar will no longer be supported and you will not be able to earn Club Bing tickets for searches from the toolbar. We recommend that you uninstall the Club Bing toolbar.”

Nothing to major but since I’d recently written about both subjects I thought I’d give an update.

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Bing Bing Rewards Club Bing Internet Explorer Microsoft

Club Bing and Bing Rewards

I’ve been using Bing Rewards & Club Bing for over a month now. I’ve learned several interesting things out on the way as well. First off they extended Bing Rewards through the end of 2011. They have made some changes to the number of points it takes to get Microsoft points & have changed the limit on how many Microsoft points you can get per rewards account. I also found out that because my wife doesn’t go & do the searches everyday like I try to do when a period is up she will get a different set of rules for the number of points earned per day & how many searches it takes to get one point. I also found out that the searches I was getting 3 points for are not done every day.

After I had been using the Bing Rewards program for a while I found out about Club Bing which is similar in some ways & different in other ways.

  1. Most of the items on Club Bing will only be issued once per household. There may be a few exceptions.
  2. You can earn up to 500 tickets per day. (They may decide to limit you for their own reasons.)
  3. They have a “VIP” group, which have access to additional prizes & some of the prizes can be had for fewer tickets. Which means you have made Bing your default search engine, have the Club Bing toolbar installed, & are using Internet Explorer. (You can still play in other browsers if you want.)
  4. They have multiple games that you can play to earn the tickets all of which will do searches on Bing since that is what Microsoft is promoting with both programs.
  5. Both have a toolbar but if you do a search with at least the Club Bing toolbar installed you can earn one ticket per search up to 10 tickets per day at the time I wrote this.

I’ve also notice that if I play some of the games on Club Bing it will count toward my searches on Bing Rewards. Also each game can give you a certain number of tickets per play & some will only let you play once per day for points. You can see the current list at Maximum Tickets for each Game in the FAQ. Since Microsoft may change the number of tickets per game I’m not going to include the list here other than the name of games that they currently have to play.

  • Banana Shuffle
  • Chicktionary
  • Clink
  • Coffee Break
  • Crosswire
  • Dingbats
  • Flexicon
  • PickNick
  • Quote a Pillar
  • Seekadoo
  • Spelling Bee
  • Taxi Wrangler
  • Time Capsule
  • Travel Tracks
  • Word Duel
  • Word Slugger

So far I’ve only played Chicktionary, Crosswire, Taxi Wrangler, Time Capsule, & Travel Tracks so I’ll mention a little about each game. As I’ve played Travel Tracks the most it is going to end up with the longest description.

Chicktionary is a game dealing with anagrams. They give you 7 letters & you need to come up with words that are 3-7 letters long. Each game will have a certain number of 3, 4, 5, 6, & normally one 7 letter word. (I haven’t played enough that I can guarantee a puzzle will always have only one 7 letter word.)

Crosswire has three rounds where there will be something like names on one side & something they did on the left & you have to connect the items in both lists to the correct item. In the final round two items are incorrect & clicking on either one will reset the existing lines made already for that round.

Taxi Wrangler has several taxi’s that are listed to go to certain types of places & you have to put the passengers into the right taxi & send them off. It is a timed game so it can be frustrating at times.

Time Capsule will have one question about something that happened on today’s date one or more years ago. I’ve only ever had one question asked & subsequent times I played the same day I got 0 tickets.

Travel Tracks has three rounds where they have 20 pictures presented to you & only five will be places the game wants for that round. The pictures will change from one round to the next as will the places. You will start with the first place & can use up to three clues to figure out where the location is. when you click on a picture it will do a search for that City & State. The clues will also do searches based on the clue & the results of the search may tell you which picture that want. after you put the picture in the slot you click on the magnifying glass to see if you got the right one. If you did it will show that picture & the clues will go to the next box. if you put in the wrong picture it will say sorry try again.

I haven’t earned enough tickets for the first prize that I’m trying for on Club Bing mainly because it is more expensive than the 400 Microsoft points I’ve been going for on the rewards program.

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Amazon Android Apple Barnes and Noble BlackBerry Google Internet iPad iPhone iPod iPod touch Kindle Mac Microsoft Nook Research In Motion Windows Windows Phone 7

Amazon Kindle versus Barnes and Noble Nook

I’m going to start out by warning you that will be a long post as I plan to cover everything I’ve known so far about both the Kindle & the Nook. I know of at least two people who have a Kindle & I have seen them. I have not yet laid eyes on a Nook.

Well I decided the other day to look at any updates there may have been for the Kindle as I have wanted one for over a year now. I was happy to see the following "Kindle Library Lending

Later this year, Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from more than 11,000 libraries in the United States through the new Kindle Library Lending feature.

When Kindle Library Lending is launched, you will be able to check out a Kindle book from your local library and start reading on any Kindle device or free Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone. Kindle Library Lending will provide the same unique features as Kindle and Kindle books, including the ability to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app, Whispersync technology that synchronizes your notes, highlights and last page read, real page numbers, and more. After a library book expires, if you ever decide to check it out again or purchase it from Amazon, all of your annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.

You’ll be able to borrow Kindle library books from any of the more than 11,000 libraries that work with OverDrive, the leading provider of digital content solutions for libraries.

Availability of books and length of loan will vary by library. Kindle Library Lending will only available for U.S. customers at launch."

I guess now is as good a time as any to list the versions of both the Kindle & the Nook. I’ll start with the Kindle Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers, Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display, Kindle 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, 6" Display (In either Graphite or White.), Kindle DX, Free 3G, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 9.7" Display. On to the versions of the Nook Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook Reader (Wi-Fi only) [ Black & White ], Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader (Wi-Fi + 3G)[B&W], Barnes & Noble NOOK Color eBook Tablet.

I’m not sure what Barnes and Noble mean by the "Borrowing" listed as only on the Nook color only means at See which Nook is right for you.

With that announcement I have dropped all consideration I had for a Nook as the only feature it had that the Kindle in a lower standing in my opinion is now gone. Since both devices are going to or already support the same network I don’t see that as being a major difference between them. If you want to find out if your library is participating you can do a search at OverDrive to either find books or if your Library participates. You can also check for a full list of devices that are supported at OverDrive’s Device Resource Center

There are a few other minor issues but none of them are deal breakers for me. Here in the order that I can think of differences between the Kindle & the Nook.

  • The Kindle does not have a user replaceable battery & the non-color Nooks do. The color Nook does not have a user replaceable battery. From what I’ve read the battery in the Kindle’s battery typically lasts for three years so not a deal breaker in my book.
  • The Kindle does not have any support for color while one version of the Nook does. The color screen means it has a backlight & will run the battery dead faster.
  • The Kindle can run for up to one month of reading while the Nook gets only 8 hours for the color & only 10 days for they grey scale. (All mentioned times are from the respective manufactures site & are with the wireless turned off.)
  • The Kindle does not have a port for expansion, the Nook can accept a microSD card of up to 16 GB for the non-color versions & the color version can accept a microSD card of up to 32 GB . But since Amazon says "Delete with abandon. We automatically keep an archival copy of your Kindle books-—re-download for free, anytime. We even back up your last page read and annotations, so when you re-download to the device you can pick up where you left off with all of your notes still in place." I don’t care as much about the lack of expandability on the Kindle.
  • The Kindle has 802.11 b/g for the wireless models. The Nook has 802.11 b/g on the non-color model, while the color nook has 802.11 b/g/n.
  • The Kindle uses buttons for the interface while the Nook uses either a small 3.5 inch color touch screen or a 7 inch touch screen in the case of the color Nook. Remember the color interface means it has back lighting which will eat up the battery life & will most likely have issues when trying to look at it outside.
  • The Kindle has 4 GB internal storage (approximately 3GB available for user content). The Nook has 8 GB for the color & 2 GB for the other versions (Actual formatted capacity may be less. Approximately 5GB available to store content, of which up to 4GB may be reserved for content purchased from the Barnes & Noble NOOK Store.).
  • The Kindle comes in 6 inch or 9.7 inch display sizes. The Nook comes in either 7 inch for the color or 6 inch for the other models.
  • The Kindle has "Free Access at AT&T Hotspots". While the Nook only has Free Wi-Fi® in all AT&T hotspots for the versions that are not color. Obviously the Nook also has Internet access at Barnes & Noble stores.
  • The Kindle can do Portrait & Landscape View on all currently sold models while only the Nook color has that feature. The non color nooks are Portrait only. (I don’t remember if the 1st generation Kindle had the landscape view option.)
  • The Kindle has the following dimensions 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" while the Kindle DX is 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38". The Nook is 7.7" x 4.9" x 0.50" for non color versions & 8.1" x 5.0" x 0.48". (Where " indicates inches.)
  • The Kindle is 8.5 oz. for the Wi-Fi only, 8.7 oz. for the Wi-Fi & 3G, & 18.9 oz. for the DX. The Nook is 11.6 oz. for the Wi-Fi only, 12.1 oz. for the Wi-Fi & 3G, & 15.8 oz. for the color Nook.
  • The Kindle has WebKit-based browser in the 3rd generation as well as the DX. Only the Nook color has any mention of having a web browser.
  • The Kindle has apps for the following devices Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Macintosh, Windows PC, & Windows Phone. The nook has apps for Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Macintosh (beta), & Windows PC. (Sorry Nook but I want a Windows Phone & I don’t like beta software either.)
  • The Kindle can read books to you I only see mention of the Nook color having this feature.
  • The Kindle has native support for
    • Documents: Kindle (.AZW, .AZW1). Text (.TXT), Unprotected Mobipocket (.MOBI, .PRC)
    • Audible: Audible (.AA, .AAX)
    • Music: MP3 (.MP3)
  • The Nook color has mention of support for other formats & they are Word, Excel and Powerpoint document support. I didn’t see any other formats listed for the Nook.
  • The Kindle does have support to convert the following formats over to the Kindle format.
    • Microsoft Word (.DOC)
    • HTML (.HTML, .HTM)
    • RTF (.RTF)
    • JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
    • GIF (.GIF)
    • PNG (.PNG)
    • BMP (.BMP)
    • PDF (.PDF): (PDF support added to 2nd generation, 3rd generation, & DX devices.)
    • Microsoft Word (.DOCX) is supported in our experimental category.
  • The Kindle has two ways to send the converted documents to your computer either via email or through the USB cable. I assume the Nook can only do it through USB as I was not able to find any information on that subject. If you send it to your @free.kindle.com address it will be sent to your Kindle via Wi-Fi or if it is sent to your @kindle.com address it will send it to your Kindle via 3G & you will be charged according to the size of the document up to your per document limit. If the document exceeds the limit it will be sent to your @free.kindle.com address and a notification will be sent to your Kindle.
  • The Nook color has support for POP & IMAP in email, while the Kindle & other Nook models do not have that support. (I was not able to find an app that adds email support for the Kindle)
  • The Kindle has an app store with several free games along with some paid games & other apps. The Nook comes preloaded with Chess & Sudoku & only the Nook color can do crossword puzzles or download additional apps in the Nook store.

At the time I wrote this you can get the Kindle for $114 Wi-Fi with special offers, $139 Wi-Fi, $189 Wi-Fi & 3G, or $379 DX. While the Nook is listed as $149 Wi-Fi, $199 Wi-Fi & 3G, or $249 Color. (These prices are coming directly from amazon.com for the Kindle & from barnesandnoble.com for the Nook.)