Google Reader Shutdown a Sobering Reminder That 'Our' Technology Isn't Ours

Alex Kantrowitz at Forbes writes: The death of Google Reader reveals a problem with the modern Internet that many of us likely have in the back of our heads but are afraid to let surface: We are all participants in a user driven Internet, but we are still just the users, nothing more. No matter how much work we put in to optimize our online presences, our tools, and our experiences, we are still at the mercy of big companies controlling the platforms we operate on.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkantrowitz/2013/03/13/google-reader-shutdown-a-sobering-reminder-that-our-technology-isnt-ours/

A Short Note on the Gigaset A490 Cordless Landline Phone

I ordered and used the Gigaset A490 Cordless Landline Phone and I wanted to put down my experience with it in this post.

Gigaset A490 Cordless Landline Phone

This is a basic cordless phone with caller ID and speakerphone and can be used in addition to the fixed line telephone that sits in the living room. The fixed line land phone with all the wires gets really messy so this is more convenient to handle. Being cordless it provides mobility within the house as you can move it around.

I ordered it from Flipkart for Rs. 1,170 (inclusive of all taxes) and the unit shipped with the following items in its package:

1. a base station
2. a power adapter
3. a handset
4. a phone cord
5. two batteries
6. a battery cover
7. a user guide

Setting up

Setting up the device was pretty simple. You power up the base station up using the power adapter and then connect the telephone jack to it. Insert the batteries in the handset and place it on the base station for the batteries to charge. The handset is already pre-registered with the base station, so you don't have to do it separately. The base station is of good build quality sits steady.

Calling Features

Making and receiving calls is smooth and the audio quality is good when you are within range. You can turn on Auto Answer which will accept the call as soon as you remove the handset from the base station, so you don't have to physically press the Talk button. If you have Calling Line Identification Presentation (CLIP) enabled with your network provider and the caller has enabled their Calling Line Identification (CLI), the caller's number is displayed on the handset.

There is also a handsfree feature to direct the audio to the inbuilt speaker.

It allows to save up to 80 phone numbers with names and allows you to browse through the last 10 dialed phone numbers and redial numbers from there.

The two challenges that I have faced till now is that it won't allow to reject incoming calls and the ringer volume is pretty low.

Handset Range

The base station's signal range is rated at 300 m in unobstructed outdoor areas and up to 50 m inside buildings. In my experience, this works well within 2 floors of my house as well.

Battery Backup

The handset is powered by Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) AAA batteries of 1.2 V with a capacity of 650 mAh. The rated talk time is up to 6 hours and standby time is up to 144 hours.

Warranty

The base station and handset come along with a guarantee of 2 years whereas the batteries and the adaptor carry a warrantee of 6 months.

Conclusion

With lots of complaints about the cordless phones in the market, while doing my due diligence, I learned that Gigaset was formerly named as Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices which gave me the confidence to go for it. At this point I am considering it as a good choice and would recommend to anyone seeking advice.

Google Reader to be shutdown

Google, in its latest blog post on its newest round or services cleanup, announced its plans to retire Google Reader on July 1, 2013.

Google Reader, launched on October 7, 2005, is an RSS/Atom feed aggregator service that runs on the cloud without the need to download and install a client software on the desktop.

Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830: Low internal storage is the setback

I have been using the Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 mobile phone since August 2011 and I'll put down some words about it based on my experience with it. This entry level smartphone works on the GSM network and runs on the Android platform.

Freddy2001, Samsung Galaxy Ace, CC BY-SA 3.0

As my first Android phone after being a Symbian S60 user for several years, my first impression is that the transition to this new operating system has been smooth, but I do miss the Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V for copy-pasting.

The phone is retailing in India for around Rs. 15,000 and the box includes the smartphone, a 1350 mAh battery (Samsung EB494358VU), a stereo headset, a travel charger, a USB data cable, a Kies PC Sync software CD, one extra white back-pane, a leather pouch, a 2 GB microSD card and the Quick Start Guide.

Setup

Setting up the device is simple. Just remove the back cover, remove the battery, insert a SIM or USIM card into the appropriate slot, place the battery back again and then put the back cover on. You can optionally insert a microSD card in the slot at the right edge of the phone. Then after you have charged the battery, you are good to start the phone using the power button.

Calling

Making, receiving or rejecting calls on this phone is a breeze with the intuitive user interface. It also allows putting a call on hold, dialing a 2nd number and setting up a multiparty conference call, call forwarding, call waiting, and muting. It also stores the phone numbers of recent received, dialed and missed calls.

Performance

Running Android 2.2.x (Froyo) and later Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on the 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227-1 Turbo, ARMv6 CPU, the phone fares well on the performance front. Apps like Google Maps, Gmail, Google Talk, ThinkFree Office, BSPlayer, CricBuzz, Google Drive, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, IMDb, Opera Mini, Viber run like a breeze. The Facebook app, however, frequently freezes making it almost unusable on this mobile.

The system needs a reboot every week. Without the weekly reboot, apps frequently freeze and shutdown.

Display

The touch screen display consists of a 3.5-inch Corning Gorilla Glass TFT screen with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. The 16M color screen displays pretty vivid colors and is responsive to all touch and gestures.

Audio Quality

In-call reception audio quality is very good, and I haven't come across people complaining about the audio they receive on the other side.

Camera

The device packs in a 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash that can take photos at resolutions up to 2560 x 1920 pixels and videos at resolutions up to 320 x 240 pixels. The image quality is good. There is no secondary (or selfie) camera though. The camera also allows automatic GPS tagging of captured images.

Internal Storage

The 181 MB internal memory storage (as shown in the Task Manager) dries up pretty quickly when you install a few apps from the Android Market (now Google Play). With the Android operating system's footprint growing with every new update, much less is left for you to accommodate other apps. The low memory configuration is the biggest pain point of this phone.

Expandable Storage

The phone accepts a FAT-formatted microSD or microSDHC to extend the storage up to 32 GB for storing multimedia files. Also, the phone ships with a 2 GB microSD card in the box. I have used a 16 GB microSD to store audio, video, and document files of various formats with no noticeable lag. Most apps available at the Google Play store cannot be installed on the expandable storage.

Battery

As a portable handheld mobile device, the battery is one of the major deciding factors that come to play when you rate a mobile phone. The phone comes with a 1350 mAh 3.7V Samsung EB494358VU Li-on battery. The battery backup is okay but not that great. With moderate number of phone calls, the brightness at its lowest point and GPRS running on 2G, a fully charged battery lasts about a full day. In my experience, if you use 3G the charge doesn't last for the full day. Beyond its first 6 months, the performance of the battery deteriorates to a large extent.

Connectivity

The mobile supports GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 Mhz on the 2G network band and HSDPA 900 / 2100NA on the 3G network. On the WLAN front it supports Wi-Fi 802.11. It also has Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP. A USB data cable is also provided in the box for PC connectivity.

PC Connectivity

Synchronizing with the PC is possible using Samsung's Kies PC Sync software and a USB data cable both of with are bundled in the box.

SAR (Specific Absorption Rate)

SAR value for this phone when tested for use at the ear is 0.69 W/kg and when worn on the body is 1.31 W/kg. The SAR limit set by the FCC is 1.6W/kg.

Conclusion

Overall, the mobile runs smooth with small glitches here and there. Seldom, the phone hangs and freezes up just as you accept a call. I wish the internal storage was more because the low storage makes it almost unusable after a period of use. Here are my ratings for individual features:

My ratings for Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830

MouthShut has rated this handset 2.80 out of 5 based on 1,041 user votes.

You can read my review also at MouthShut here. The user manual is available here at ManualsLib.

Instagram acquired by Facebook for $1 billion

Facebook has acquired the photo sharing social media mobile app, Instagram, for $1 billion. Earlier this month Instagram had released an Android version of their app for the first time after being in the iOS ecosystem for about 2 years. TechCrunch has written in details about the acquisition here.

Instagram for Android available now after 2 years in iOS

After being available on iOS for nearly 2 years now, the Instagram app is now available also for Android. Read more here.

Megaupload shut down by US officials

Megaupload, one of the internet's largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US. More here at the BBC.