Google’s Nexus 7 or the iPad mini ? What will be under your tree ?
Dec 20In a household where both the iPad mini and a Google Nexus snuggle up alongside each other at the charging station, we regularly get the question : “What is the best one to buy”. The question is the same as asking Darth Vader which of his children was his favorite ? The one with the worst hairdresser in the universe, or the one that chopped off his hand. You can’t choose between your children. Personally I’m also struggling with that very question ? Which is the better tablet. The anser is ” It all depends on a certain point of view” (Thank you Obi-one Kenobi, you’ve been no help at all !) So we have a nice review online we found from Pocketnowvideo who do the hard work of putting both tablets side by side … and letting you decide.
So whats YOUR opinion ? Which is the better tablet ? What should you buy ? What have YOU chosen to be your 7 inch companion .. and why ? Share it with us in the Comments Section.
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Inside every phone is a pc trying to get out.
Nov 16When I take a look at what I cram into my bag every morning, I try not the think of the redundancy that huddles inside. Should my Tablet, Phone and Laptop ever play together using a magical protocol made of fairy farts, I would be able to have a small load balanced computer cluster with a shoulder strap. Each device houses at least both the storage capacity and the cpu power of a 5 year old desktop computer. In essence : I have at least 4 different “computers” in my bag. Never mind the fact we give them different names and use them for different things, in the end they all have the muscle power under the hood .. to do the same thing.
So why should your phone be just your phone ? Why not make it so much more ? “Ubuntu for Android” looks down that path of possibilities. In essence they want to put a desktop operating system inside your mobile device and have it “morph” into whatever you need , depending if the device is “docked” or not.
The whole thing is just an “idea” right now, but Canonical is putting some serious thought and effort into it. As recent builds of “Ubuntu for the Nexus 7” are downloadable for anyone who wants to give it a try , can only indicate .. the term “My Phone, My Tablet and My Computer ” might soon find themselves in the history books.
Thanx to @Sharky for the heads-up !
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#KWPOW : Jay’s Sliders World
Oct 02This weeks picture of the week comes from listener Jay as he shows us a cross-platform setup that would probably rip a hole inside a proprietary universe. However it does make us proud as Jay lines up his Windows phone, his Nexus tablet and his 13 inch Macbook pro running Ubuntu 12.04. Quite a setup if you also consider that Jay manages to “slide” his productivity from OS to OS without breaking a sweat.
Do YOU have a picture you want to share with us ? Feel free to tagg it #kwpow on twitter or shoot us the link via the well known email address.
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Size doesn't matter : The 12-inch mobile office.
Sep 20Since we are doing some home renovation over at Casa del Knightwise for the moment, living space is at a premium. While our downstairs looks like its been raided by a group of angry drunken Constructicons, both @Niejana and I need to “flee” to my upstairs office to spend our evenings watching tv and doing stuff. The otherwise pristine (and organised) room is now packed with boxes, our tv, a couch, @Niejana’s desktop , 2 doggies and a cat. Needless to say : Space is scarce. That requirement comes at a convenient time, since I’ve just shrunk down my “Digital survival kit” to the size of a 12 inch messenger bag. Bigger is better ? Not always, let me show you.
What do I need : In order to digitally survive this era of grime and dust I need a mobile setup that allows me to do the three crucial things : Communicate , Consume media and compose content. An added “required factor” is that the setup has to be completely mobile and fit inside a bag that can be carried around ANYWHERE leisurely without yelling “This is a laptop bag, mug me now”
Bag : Finding the right bag is an art. Call me metro-sexual or just someone with a right balance between appreciating both practicality and esthetics : Finding the right bag is crucial. The trick is to find the sweet spot between ” Too small” Where you cannot get all the gear you want into the bag OR damadge your gear by cramming it in. Samsonite’s 12 inch horizontally slung messenger bag is ideal for this operation. It has all the compartments you need and comes with extra padding and a safety latch to keep whatever you need tucked in safely. With the “Horizontal” orientation the weight is distributed equally so the strap doesn’t wear into your shoulder. The extra “Handles” make it easy to grab and sling anywhere you need to while the whole formfactor is just big enough to encompass anything, but small enough to be casual and unobtrusive.
Laptop : My newly purchased 11.6 inch Macbook Air is a dream here. Dual booting into both Linux and OSX the device offers me the 2 platforms that I need in my daily routines. OSX for content production, Ubuntu for advance geek stuff. The 128 gig SSD might be small but with the addition of cloud storage AND using storage on my home server over SSH connections, disk space is not THAT important. The Air is delightfully light, well built and has a great screen. It lacks the “Hussle” of consiously ” getting out your laptop”. With the size of an A4 piece of paper (or an iPad) it just pops on the table, gets the job done and slides back in the bag when i’m done.
Phone : The pinnacle of communications here is my smartphone. The 16Gig iPhone 4 might not be the top of the line model, but it does preform the tasks it needs to do. With the Hootsuite and the Google+ app most of my social media channels are covered. I’m tied in to my multiple email and calendar accounts via the mail app. Aside from the music, Downcast takes care of my podcast subscriptions and the Webbased interface of Google Reader together with the Buffer and the WordPress app let me do most daily chores for the website. Crucial here is the presence of headphones (so I can “Zone Out” anywhere) and the “Hotspot” functionality turns it into a crucial component to “connect” the entire setup while on the road.
Tablet : The Google Nexus 7 proves to be invaluable when it comes to this “Compact but Crispy” setup. It’s 7 inch size and relatively long battery size help me get through the day with ease. Reading books, Doing my “communications” on a bigger screen and watching the downloaded Video Podcasts are just cut out for the Nexus. An extra “slide right in” protection sleeve and the vertical orientation of the tablet in the bag, make it great to “grab and check” your device in a tricorder style. The only downside is the smaller ‘diskspace’ (8 gig) and the absence of 3G. But the latter is easily overcome by using my iPhone as a hotspot.
Cables and chargers : The trick here is to have the smallest amount of cables with you, while still covering all the bases.
- Macbook air Charger (with just the plug connector, not the long cable)
- Apple iPhone/iPad cable : Used to charge the iPhone using the Macbooks usb port.
- Usb Microsim cable : Used to charge the Nexus (from the Macbooks usb port.)
- Usb charger : Small usb charging plug to wallcharge the iPhone / Nexus
- 16 gig Usb stick : Small and compact but packing 5 extra “Live” linux Cd’s to have any OS I want at my portable disposal.
- iPhone Tripod : A little tripod to make sure I can use my iPhone as a one man camera crew in a pinch.
- In the car : The trick of such a compact setup is to make sure you have some “extra’s” nearby. So in the car I have a small bag with a longer powercord, a Usb to Ethernet adapter, a network cable and an iPhone / iPad charger just in case.
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Kc308 : "Reviewing the Nexus 7"
Aug 30We take a look at one of the hottest devices currently on the market and stare down the bellybutton of the Google Nexus 7. After looking at hardware software and specs its time to answer the important questions : How can this technology work for us AND what will it do to the market. A different approach at a product review this time that will surely enlighten you in some way or form. Spice it up with some great feedback from the voicemail and twitterspheres and we have another Knightwise.com podcast .. in the can.
Shownotes
- Intro
- Nexus 7 Specs
- Hardware
- Software
- Feedback
- #KWQOW and #KWPOW
- Doortodoorgeek on Serversultimate
- Mr Gadgets on Kc303.
- New Google Voice number for US listeners : (218) 262-9237
- New website by @moonenmoonen
- Knightwise.com wallpapers.
- Signoff
