Stefano Marinelli's Blog

Never say never. This is my philosophy of life. I once showed my aversion to the iPhone , without going into too much detail. What we do not tolerate was the Nazi philosophy of Apple. Not tolerate even now: behind the shield of "we want the experience is always on top", they decide what can be installed in phones, impose restrictions absurd (Bluetooth, multitasking, etc.). And the user can choose: or accept the whole package or nisba.

Thanks to the visissitudini now I will not get to write, I have in my hands a brand-new iPhone 3G. The 3G model still on sale for 499 euros, was the first iPhone officially arrived in Italy. On sale since July of 2008 (almost two years), had many competitors and it was released commercially winner. Sales were so high as the highest number of users. Satisfied or not is not for me to say, the fact is that sales are still skyrocketing, and Apple does not mention having any setbacks. In short, a real commercial success.

Rate now an iPhone 3G is like taking the road test of a model first point: The competition has innovated and Apple itself, in June, will bring out a new iPhone completely revised. Since I have it in my hands, it is worth writing those are my impressions. Since then a Motorola Milestone as a reference point, things get even more interesting.

Let's talk a little while this iPhone, seen by whom the iPhone has never appreciated too. The terminal is aesthetically valid. Many have tried to emulate but few are able to do something equally beautiful. I feel beautiful even while the rest Milestone always very satisfied with the look of various HTC (Dream, Magic, Tattoo, Hero and now Nexus One, Legend, and Desire). The phone is light (or, at least, seems to light) and is well into his pocket. Certainly we need a better case: that beautiful shiny bottom does not seem too delicate but it could be slippery (as I have confirmed some friends).

On the boot time is slightly lower than the Milestone. Nice strength, while Milestone party must also activate all my services in the background, something absolutely impossible to the iPhone, given the lack of multitasking, less than do the jailbreak.

Display: Coming from a Milestone known the difference. Less bright and less defined, but the touch is much more accurate and rapid. The Milestone has a good touch screen, but sometimes not very precise. The iPhone does not miss a beat and the interface is streamlined, much more than any Android has so far seen.

Sound: good audio portion. The calls have a sound clean and clear. Pity about the low volume of ringtones and various system sounds. To me the yardstick is always the same: if I choose a ringer on the grounds that I like but only because it is strong enough, something is wrong. Then as I always the same, but is a way to judge.

Operating system: iPhone OS 3.1.3 on board, the latest version. This is the curious part of the whole thing: Android, because of its open source it should provide constant updates and repeated, delaying the obsolescence of the device. The producers, however, do not behave properly and in fact very often cut out some of the older terminals by the various updates. Apple iPhone in the near 4.0, also support the older terminals (albeit with some limitations). Marketing decisions or not, certainly slow the obsolescence of phones. Besides the first iPhone 3G, now two years old, scratched and worn batteries are sold in numbers that reach and often exceed $ 300. iPhone OS is lean and fast. The lack of multitasking you feel in certain situations. Think that if you're browsing you can not answer a call (without losing the browser) is castrating. Let's see what happens with the 4.0, at least on more recent terminals (the multitasking, it will not be enabled on "old" 3G). For the rest, all very sharp and clear. Some features of Android, however, actually do feel his absence on this iPhone. Consider the notification bar, or resource management. Android snap a picture, click "Share" menu and automatically fills in all applications that have said that it could somehow work with the images. IPhone does not happen and if I put a picture on Facebook I'm forced to shoot, go on Facebook and make the upload program. Significantly more cumbersome. Android is made of pieces and each can be replaced or complemented. In Milestone, for example, I have two applications "Phone", each with its pros and cons. iPhone OS is a monolith.

Applications: This is perhaps the strength of iPhone applications. But not as many as quality. Generally are better equivalent on Android and make the experience more enjoyable. The Android Market has however the advantage that it can cancel the purchase within 24 hours is not something to be underestimated. Apple's appstore, its applications, indeed of all kinds. For example, I installed Liligo (which allows me to find flights looking at hundreds of companies) and HRS (hotel booking). The GuidaTV Sky, which allows me to schedule recordings of MySkyHD ... well, really comfortable and useful applications.

The battery tests in hand, does not seem to me worse than the Milestone. Autonomy is more or less the same, the same use. Sure, the battery is not replaceable and can cause problems, but are in the market of portable battery charger with internal battery. Solve the problem.

Camera: avoid. Really, avoid comments. I have not taken even a photo. For me 2MPX without flash and autofocus is a joke. Let's pretend there is. The 5MP of Milestone is quite another thing. But we must consider the age of the project. But since that is still being sold at 500 euros, is certainly not a negligible detail.

Keyboard: I tried to use the virtual keyboard on all Android that I had. The result was always bad. So I always avoided and folded on the physical keyboard. IPhone I have not alternative but ... just two days after I wrote already more velocelemte on virtual iPhone that the physics of Milestone. I am surprised, to tell the truth about this. I accept that and I see part of my positions on the touchscreen. At least on some touchscreen.

GPS applications are many and there are all major commercial navigation systems. I tried surfing this morning and I'm lost. Really, a disaster. Maybe there is something to see or fix. I'll do more thorough testing, although I see many people complaining about the GPS of the iPhone. Many, however, say they have never had any problems. A cell phone is not a standalone browser and has its limitations, so we understand who is right. There is in fact also to consider that many iPhone users had a Nokia 3310 in 2001 until the other day and this is their first smartphone, so everything looks great. NOTE: The iPhone GPS is very susceptible to applications background. If some system applications "crazy" and when resources should not ask, GPS suffers. A reboot of the phone and, usually, everything goes fine.

Conclusions: This is not meant to be a real road test of the iPhone 3G. There are hundreds, is now dating a terminal, it makes no sense. I just wanted to highlight those that are my impressions of use in daily life. The Milestone is faster in some areas, allows me to have a real push in my inbox and the more advanced features in its operating system.

But ... in fact the iPhone has an excellent user experience, all applications that I need and seems to play very well on his work. I realize most often pick up the iPhone's Milestone for which there is to know which one to keep and which to give away. At the moment I would say sell the Milestone, keep this and wait for the new iPhone due out in June that, perhaps, fill many of the shortcomings of this unit. Meanwhile, I note. In all sincerity, are (unexpectedly) happy with my iPhone.

I watch him from before came out. I want it from the first picture I saw. I had to give up because, when I took the Dream , was not yet on sale. Just out I thought it cost too much. Eventually I gave in: I sold two HTC Dream I had, my BlackBerry Bold 9000 and I bought the Milestone. Why, after only three months of Dream? Well, the reasons are varied. Dream with me of some fun, but I was tired of having to load a daily battery of 2300 mAh ... and beyond.

What I missed when I had the HTC Dream (or major defects, in my opinion):

• decent battery autonomy
• the light sensor. Sometimes I was at home and the screen was too bright. I went out and it was too dark. Having to adjust by hand, in 2010, it seemed absurd.
• a decent camera. Snap a few photos, but I wish they were not to throw
• ringtones from audible volume. The Dream of ringtones, even after the hack was too weak to be heard in traffic (unless you use the usual trill)
• a jack 3.5 ". I was used with the Bold, I never wanted to give it up
• a phone that starts in seconds, not a minute and a half as the Dream
• a high resolution screen

Milestone taken, I immediately amazed by its speed. The Dream had some peaking occasionally, probably due to a low amount of RAM. The Milestone does not seem to be ever in crisis and is always quick and agile. We list now the things I appreciated most.

What I liked:

• The Web browser is better than the Dream, is even more interesting about this Motorola because of its high resolution screen and the quality of its touch screen
• autonomy: although not too hard, can still get great rates at the end of the day (and also to cover two days, if the use is not too intense). There is a bug, which I'll discuss in a few lines, which seems severely undermine the independence of this great terminal
• sound: she has a huge speaker on the back and the sounds are loud and clean. Excellent work.
• the physical keyboard is comfortable, can not get used to the touch screen to write. It is not excellent, though: the keys are small and neighbors, as well as chewy. Work, but certainly we are far from BlackBerry keyboards
• build quality: Open the battery compartment and found metal is certainly something to which we have been unaccustomed
• speed to boot. Few seconds and is ready to work. Dream I had to leave permanently switched on (even in "flight mode") would otherwise have taken too long to finish booting

What I did not like:

• the bug on fast networks. It would seem, reading specialized forums, there is a bug related to the management of data connections on HSPA networks> 7.2 MBit / sec. TIM and Vodafone in Italy, started long ago to speed up their data connections that I noticed as early as the second day that sometimes the Milestone becomes hot (the heat is so close to the camera) and consumes battery an impressive rate. The problem that seems to afflict even the Nokia N900 with Maemo (albeit minor), but is not exactly the Milestone linked to poor communication between the BTS and the terminal itself. It would therefore be solved with a firmware update of BTS or, probably more simple operation, telephones themselves. Too bad that the networks so quick there are not many, so are bugs sectorialized enough (at least geographically) and identification difficult for the average (which, however, say only that his phone every now and then heated and much battery power). In my case I noticed that every 30 seconds the following message (when it begins to heat):

/ NotificationMgr (1373): updateNetworkSelection () state = 0 new network ...

D / PhoneApp (1373): mReceiver: ACTION_ANY_DATA_CONNECTION_STATE_CHANGED

D / PhoneApp (1373): - state: CONNECTED

D / PhoneApp (1373): - Reason: null

D / NotificationMgr (1373): hideDataDisconnectedRoaming () ...

D / NetworkLocationProvider (1180): 10 onDataConnectionStateChanged

D / MobileDataStateTracker (1180): Received default state = CONNECTED, CONNECTED = old, reason = (unspecified), default = apnTypeList

Assistance Motorola, which I requested, is still waiting to see what I am saying. The last message says "Excuse me, what does BTS? Our technicians do not understand. " I refrain from commenting. In the meantime keep the phone on 2G networks, switching to 3G when I need. The mail is downloaded automatically, so no matter if it takes a few seconds more. When I surf, active 3G. It is not a cumbersome thing and assured me a good autonomy.
• the camera is level with the body and gets dirty very easily. It would be good quality but it is almost impossible to take decent pictures because it is almost always full of fingerprints
• Motorola myopia. The Droid (American equivalent of Milestone) is completely open, so anyone can install the image of Android Preference (always between those for Milestone, of course) while his twin Europe needs the image properly signed by Motorola. Alias: If Motorola does not prepare an update, you can not install it. Motorola executives continue to work around the problem by saying that we are considering, but in fact nothing has moved yet. Considering the level of their technical assistance, the images created by users of Android can only greatly improve the user experience of the terminal. Wake up, Motorola! Gone are the '90s (and '00)!

Overall, therefore, I am really happy with this terminal. Makes my daily operations easy to do, is quick and fast and has good reception. I can safely say that it is a smartphone that I was more satisfied with the BlackBerry Bold 9000.

Metto solo un link a quello che ho ricevuto via e-mail . Non voglio commentare nulla. Sono interessi commerciali. Di fatto, però, non abbiamo più un navigatore funzionante su qualunque terminale.
Forse Nokia, proprietaria di Navteq, ha voluto fare in modo che la gente comprasse i suoi prodotti con OVI Navigator gratuito? Non ne ho idea, ma le due cose sono temporalmente così vicine da insospettire molti.

Sempre più spesso, negli ultimi mesi, si è sentito di nuovo parlare di pirateria informatica . Con questo termine, ormai conosciuto anche dai sassi, si tende ad identificare qualunque tipo di utilizzo non autorizzato di software o materiale audiovisivo .

Vorrei fare una premessa: sono contro la pirateria. Ogni prodotto, sia esso musicale, cinematografico o software, richiede moltissimo lavoro da parte di persone che, in qualche modo, devono mangiare. E' giusto che il lavoro venga ricompensato sufficientemente per cui scaricare è (eticamente, oltre che legalmente) sbagliato .

Vorrei però chiarire alcuni punti visto che, come sempre, si tende poi ad essere eccessivi.

Oggi, in Italia, la pirateria informatica è reato penale. Questo significa che scaricare illegalmente materiale protetto dal diritto d'autore equivale, come importanza, ad un danno grave nei confronti di una persona. Eccessivo? Senz'altro. Non credo che un cantante venga lesionato permanentemente nella sua persona se scarico una sua canzone da Internet. Quei bit non verranno succhiati via dalla sua linfa vitale. Il mio mp3 non andrà ad accorciare la sua esistenza di qualche minuto. Però sottraggo un potenziale guadagno dal suo portafogli. Questo è vero. Ma analizziamo il fenomeno più a fondo.

Alcune persone scaricano tutto da Internet. Non acquistano CD, non acquistano DVD, usano solo software pirata. Causano un mancato guadagno agli artisti e ai programmatori e mettono a repentaglio la propria sicurezza informatica utilizzando programmi (o sistemi operativi) di dubbia provenienza. Questo è assolutamente sbagliato.

But there are cases where the situation is less serious than it appears. For example: high school boy wants to make a good thesis for a research class. He shared a computer with his brother or his sister, and neither has enough money to buy high-level software. Decides to download important editing or page layout (I do not do names, otherwise someone could say that I encourage piracy of a particular program) and use one wants to give special effects to their work. Do not know how to use, does not have the manual so its learning curve is initially very high. Able to use and produces good work. Question: this guy could never buy that specific software, which costs over $ 1000? No. Absolutely not. That damage caused to the company? No: she would not buy, he would still not reached any gain. What took away the company? Nothing, not a material taken nothing. Just a bit stream. By law has still stolen, but I wonder: what stolen? Stealing, according to the dictionary, means "subtract unfair to other property." But the boy did not hide anything from anyone! Course, has used the software without authorization from the rightful owner but, in fact, no damage to anyone. Indeed, there may be passionate and decide to pursue a career as a photographer or in any image editor. At that point, I'm sure glad invest the thousands of euros in setting up a primary tool of his work.

In the case just reported, none has suffered loss and, indeed, this could lead to a gain.

Then go into a rage when I read phrases like "Ruberesti ever car parked? Or an object in a store? Pirating software is the same thing. "But let me pleasure! Stealing a car cause material damage to someone who has bought and paid for that car (or paid and worked to produce the components). An object in a shop ditto. But if someone downloads a program that never buy (for various reasons) still commits an offense and does something wrong, that's for sure, but does not cause any material damage to anyone.

Then there are the stevedores' personal demonstration purposes "when they are uncertain (a singer, a director, a program), downloaded from the Internet that they are interested to try. If it is to their liking, they will be happy to buy a regular CD, DVD or program. A recent study would seem that people who are downloading more then those who spend more to purchase audiovisual equipment or software. Download, then, turns on the interest.

So how should behave? Respecting the laws, ever. The average Italian feel if a law is not just (by his personal evaluation), it is necessary to respect it. The light is too slow? Turning the red! My Mercedes does not deserve to go 130 km / h on a straight road to 4 lanes? Well, let's go 200! No, gentlemen. This does not. The laws should be continued. But who decides should have a minimum of brains.

Making the criminal offense of illegal downloading of copyrighted material from the internet is ridiculous, especially in a country where politicians have mostly been convicted of crimes far more serious.

Poco meno di 3 mesi fa ho effettuato una sorta di “prova comparativa” tra lo smartphone che ho utilizzato per un anno ( BlackBerry Bold 9000 ) e il mio ultimo acquisto, un HTC G1 Dream. Le impressioni a caldo erano positive. Sostenevo che sia BlackBerry che Android hanno dei lati positivi e negativi. Soppesarli però era complesso in quanto soltanto dopo un utilizzo più approfondito avrei potuto capire e giudicarne le prestazioni.

Credo di essere ora giunto ad un punto fermo e di poter esternare le mie considerazioni.

QUANDO HO APPREZZATO L'ANDROID:

• Arrivano spesso e-mail di sicurezza della mailing list Debian. ConnectBot è un'ottima applicazione e lo schermo del Dream permette di aprire sessioni ssh senza far rimpiangere troppo lo schermo di un computer. Latenza bassa e emulazione di terminale perfetta.
• Spesso ho voglia di leggere delle news in tempo reale. Newsrob si connette al mio account Google Reader e vi si sincronizza. Nessun ritardo. Su BlackBerry ho usato per anni Viigo , ottima applicazione. Peccato però che vi sia spesso una certa latenza per cui un articolo postato viene “pescato” da Viigo solo dopo alcune ore.
• A volte ho dei minuti da perdere. Ci sono decine e decine di bei giochi gratuiti sul Android Market, basta scaricarne uno e divertirsi.
• Spesso sono al computer e ricevo delle e-mail. Le leggo dal mio client di posta elettronica o da Webmail. Il client che uso su Android, K-9 Mail , si sincronizza via IMAP utilizzando tecnologia IMAP-Idle (leggi: push e-mail in tempo reale). Dunque dopo averla letta su computer, il G1 smette di lampeggiare e toglie la notifica di “e-mail non letta” dal display. Il BlackBerry, invece, avrebbe continuato a lampeggiare. La connessione al server di posta è diretta, per cui una caduta dei server RIM (BlackBerry) non causerebbe alcun problema.
• Spesso voglio navigare via web dal cellulare. Il display del G1 e il touch-screen migliorano l'esperienza di navigazione mobile. Il browser del BlackBerry (anche aggiornando all'OS 5.0) non è minimamente paragonabile agli eccellenti browser basati su WebKit di Android e iPhone.
• I have a VOIP PBX. Sipdroid , starting from the latest release, you can connect without any problems and to allow conversations is VOIP over Wi-Fi and UMTS even EDGE (provided you accept a slight latency, though tolerable).
• The connections are directed. The only constraints are the router (wifi or the phone company). BlackBerry all must pass through RIM's servers, so many activities are not feasible and the latency tends to be very high. No problem by mail or web but I guess it is virtually impossible to make decent VOIP. Incidentally, when there are VOIP applications for BlackBerry. Even ssh sessions are annoyingly late. On Android, are imperceptible latencies and an ssh session in UMTS is fast as that on a DSL.
• The variety of programs and integration with the Market. When an application is updated notification arrives. Take advantage of the first wifi network that I find and update. No manual search, no problem. Everything happens so quickly and easily. I want an application to try? I open the market and seek. Convenient.
• Various alternative firmware (homebrew) allow you to install applications on the card. No limits, therefore, dictated by the internal storage of the phone. BlackBerry I've seen e-mail deleted or applications that are not installed for lack of space.

When I 'MISSING THE BLACKBERRY:

• Often use "normal". The BlackBerry (Bold, especially) has a speed of use disarming. In two clicks (three seconds) reads a new e-mail, respond in the same time. Any transaction "basic" is simpler and more immediate. Android is an operating system with the above applications. BlackBerry OS is an operating system on an interface designed and finished to the specific operations.
• Quality and volume. The Bold has an excellent speaker, quite capable of playing good quality music and ringtones at decent volumes. Need to hack the G1 and still is often too quiet.
• Camera. On paper that the G1 is better but it is not difficult to image blur in low light and lacks the flash
• When I use some IM system, the BlackBerry regret. BeeJive is unbeatable, has a very low impact on battery life and does not produce too much traffic. If you exit out of coverage can take and deliver messages sent when there is signal, without the caller noted nothing unusual. Android there are dozens of IM programs. He saved a couple but, unfortunately, are all "computer type". They open their connection, they send constantly keep-alive servers, consume battery and bandwidth. The only really good IM program is integrated Gtalk. Use the "network ticks" for notifications, which does not constantly active connections and does not consume bandwidth or battery. I tried to write to the creators of BeeJive, asking if it was a version for Android. I never received any response.
• BlackBerry regret with regard to autonomy. I understand that the large screen and touch consumption, I understand that it is less hateful BBOS Android (offering less opportunities), but think that with a 2300mAh battery (almost double the original, as size) you can hardly reach the evening of the second day ... Even for the Bold bought a battery plus. The aim, however, was reaching the fourth day.
• I regret the 3.5mm jack of the Bold. In the machine connected to the system and often felt the mp3 within it.
• I miss a program such SocialScope . Vodafone Update works but has many problems and crashes often.

So pulling the money, I can only reconfirm what I said in previous post. Both solutions have pros and cons and, unfortunately, when there is no terminal / operating system that manages to put together two things. The G1 Dream Android was the first terminal in use, and therefore its limitations were partly overcome by his successors. Apart from the Motorola Milestone (or droid), many of them lack a physical keyboard. I can not get used to the touch screen to write, but good. Therefore await with interest the roar Nexus One with physical keyboard. Meanwhile, taking advantage of SuperInternet that 3 has kindly given for 1 month (within the Bold, since I discovered it also works on blackberry.net appointing authority, and is a beautiful thing) and Maxxi Internet iPhone (hehe) sull'Android.

... But their site

Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders we're getting in tune
The music's played by the mad men

Forever young, I want to be forever young
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
do you really want to live forever? Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
why don't they stay young

It's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fleeing horse
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
and diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

Forever young, I want to be forever young
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
do you really want to live forever, forever and ever

Forever young, I want to be forever young
do you really want to live forever?

BlackBerry 9000 Bold

I return finally to write the blog after long absence. Commitments of all kinds and the absence of specific stimuli led me to avoid filling the site of rubbish. My philosophy, in fact, is to avoid writing if I have nothing to say. Sometimes it is better to remain silent that say things wrong or boring.

The most recent of which I speak is linked to my latest acquisition in the field of mobile phone, a HTC Dream G1 .

For more than a year are intrigued by the operating system Android . Since it was announced, in fact, I decided that sooner or later I proceeded to procure such a device. The reasons? Few, but to me fundamental:

• Linux-based operating system
• System is completely open and free
• Endless possibilities of modification and customization

The first model ever to assemble Android was just the ' HTC Dream G1 . A terminal big enough and heavy but with capacitive touchscreen (like iPhone), accessible QWERTY keyboard below the screen, and a large screen set, GPS, electronic compass, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, UMTS, bla bla bla bla ... and operating system Android , developed by Google. Released at the end of October 2008 in USA and England, arrived in Italy in May this year. The launch price? Too high, or almost 500 million (although, to hardware, the iPhone is even higher). But now I have kept an eye on. From all the evidence, and not on specialized sites, showed a terminal with excellent potential but with an operating system is too immature and unripe, so far behind the competition from iPhone and BlackBerry.

After a few months thanks to community development and open source, there was a substantial improvement of Android and applications associated with it. It 'also led to a market, or the equivalent of the iPhone AppStore. There are currently over 10,000 applications, mostly for free. In short, a real explosion. Just think that in one year there were three new versions of Android that, each of the previous revolutionary changes.

Thanks to its customizzabilità, many people bought these terminals and prompted major manufacturers to release new ones. These releases have resulted in lowering the price of Dream and ... at this point I've got one too. The reasoning is indeed similar to what I have done little more than two years ago when I bought my first BlackBerry: I take a "cheap" to try, knowing that the gaps. And if this world I like, after a few months I take a more bodywork. Otherwise the rest stop where I am. I wanted to take it a glittering Droid Motorola , Android 2.0 already installed, but the 500 euro required are, in my view, exaggerated.

The phone in my possession is marked TIM and contained inside the Android operating system 1.1, customized by TIM itself. Although dated February 2009, is light years behind the latest version available for the Dream: the 1.6.

Just brought home, I opened the package and immediately started to play around. I immediately noticed the lack of some features typical of this type of smartphones like the onscreen keyboard. I knew, however, that with newer versions this problem could be easily resolved and I immediately set to work.

HTC Dream G1 (Android)

Non descriverò i dettagli tecnici in quanto ci sono ottime guide in circolazione, ma posso dire di essermi subito divertito. Fare boot con una immagine di recupero, aggiornare la flash da dentro l'apparecchio, vedere i messaggi del Kernel di Linux che scorrono sullo schermo, partizionare la scheda di memoria, usarla come swap…insomma, ho fatto di tutto e ho installato l'ultima versione di HTC e un set di modifiche di Cyanogen , atte a abilitare alcune ottimizzazioni e miglioramenti del sistema stesso. Ho poi installato un software di e-mail alternativo, chiamato K9 Mail , che altro non è che una versione migliorata e potenziata del client predefinito dell'Android. In questo modo riesco ad avere la push email anche sul Dream, cosa che decisamente non mi dispiace per niente. Ho inoltre scovato un paio di problemini e gli sviluppatori sono stati molto solerti ad identificarli e risolverli. Questo è quello che chiamo il perfetto spirito opensource.

Ho giocato col Market e installato una serie di applicazioni più o meno utili. Per come è strutturato Android, ogni applicazione installata e poi cancellata non lascia tracce sul dispositivo, per cui si è liberi di divertirsi quanto si vuole (così come con l'iPhone, a onor del vero).

Sono passati 5 giorni e posso dire di aver riscontrato i seguenti pro e contro:

PRO:

• Libertà totale. Posso installare qualunque cosa, modificare qualunque cosa, capire tutto quello che accade all'interno del dispositivo. Ho messo un kernel che toglie memoria alla scheda video (ottimizzata per i giochi in 3d) e ne fornisce di più al sistema operativo stesso. Non ci gioco (per ora) e poi comunque fare boot con un kernel alternativo è semplicissimo.
• Sistema logico e ben strutturato. Gestione molto intelligente delle applicazioni e delle interazioni tra di esse
• Ottimo schermo (anche se la mancanza di un sensore di luminosità si fa sentire)
• Touch screen buono (ma non amo i touch screen, per cui tendo ad usare la tastiera fisica)

Cons:

• Autonomia ridicola. In uso intenso si rischia di non arrivare a fine giornata (ma credo ci sia lo stesso problema sull'iPhone). Ho già ordinato una batteria più capiente. Diventerà enorme, ma per me non è un problema
• A volte non proprio responsivo (credo sia colpa del sistema operativo ancora giovane visto che l'hardware è potente.
• Tastiere non comodissime
• Suoni troppo bassi ( risolto applicando una patch )
• A volte ha degli strani comportamenti con la gestione delle connessioni, ma sto indagando alla ricerca di una soluzione

Dunque, cosa penso di questo HTC rispetto al mio Bold? Bella domanda: al momento mi sto rendendo conto che molte cose continuo a farle col BB. SocialScope, ad esempio, avrebbe come alternativa Vodafone Update, su Android, ma ancora non sono riuscito a trovarlo. Prendere l'apparecchio e controllare una e-mail appena arrivata può inoltre richiedere una decina di secondi. Col BlackBerry, entro pochissimi secondi si è già nel messaggio.

They are two completely different terminals, both as a vocation and as usage. Generally I can give a positive assessment against the Dream, but I do not think the terminal suitable for the general public. If only for the firmware that provides castrated and outdated it could become a nightmare for the average user and, as we read about, many shopkeepers were seen returning Dream saying they do not work well. Luckily I already left more mature models (such as the aforementioned Motorola Droid ol ' HTC Hero )

The Dream is a computer and should be treated as such. The OS is open and allows many customizations. Newer models have already satisfying its shortcomings, providing complete and stable firmware already. Dream, then, is the "dream" of geeks, especially the price at which it is now and with all the changes that were implemented this past year.

For business consumers with extensive use of centralized than other e-mail, I still suggest a solution based on the BlackBerry. Years of experience does not recover in twelve months, even if the student is Google ...

Quando si attiva un abbonamento ADSL, il gestore fornisce spesso le apparecchiature in comodato d'uso. Che sia gratuito o meno, l'utente deve preoccuparsi di pochissime cose. Una di esse è il memorizzare i dati della rete wireless poiché spesso non sono modificabili.

Gli utenti più esperti o che hanno esigenze particolari, però, odiano questa procedura in quanto le apparecchiature fornite sono spesso troppo “semplicizzate” e non consentono impostazioni avanzate specifiche per l'utilizzo richiesto.

Il 90% degli utenti ha bisogno solo della procedura per mappare le porte per il file sharing e quasi tutti i router in comodato permettono di farlo, ma altri vorrebbero delle funzionalità diverse (VPN, QoS, ecc.) che non sono contemplate. La soluzione di solito consiste nel mettere un router avanzato dietro a quello fornito e utilizzare quest'ultimo, relegando il primo al semplice utilizzo tipo modem.

Quando un gestore, invece, è abbastanza in gamba da permetterti di usare l'apparecchiatura che preferisci, si comincia a porre la questione del: “e adesso che apparecchio compro?”

The malls are full of different brands and models, but going to tighten, they are all very similar. Asking directions to a friend expert (or a salesperson), you probably hear say "take what you like, are all more or less equal."

This may be true in many cases absolutely false, but in many others. I recently set up an ADSL on a central remote . This resulted in a decrease of line quality and very strong in these conditions, you can really see what the highest level equipment.

At home now I have:

• D-Link DSL 320T - tried firmware original and amended
• Trust MD-4050 - with firmware Billion
• Alice Gate VoIP 2 Plus - on loan, related to Alice Adsl Anti Digital Divide
• Vodafone Station - left me a gift from Vodafone after having canceled the activation request for "technical reasons"
• Alcatel SpeedTouch Home - said to be particularly suitable for plants with the d-slam brand Alcatel
• Thomson SpeedTouch ST605 - exceptionally robust, sensitive, reliable and relatively inexpensive to find
• Thomson SpeedTouch ST716WL - complete with WiFi, VOIP, etc.. A router all in one quality.

I got to try as well:

• Zyxel Prestige P-660HW
• Siemens Gigaset SX763

We analyze the behavior, to understand the quality of the product. Some might object to my yardstick, but I think an ADSL modem / router as the first feature must have good sensitivity line. Not everyone lives 200 meters from the central (or the center at 200 meters is Anti Digital Divide)

• D-Link DSL 320 T - not even hear the carrier. Continua a ricercarla all'infinito. Connessione impossibile.
• Trust MD-4050 – si aggancia e si connette stabilmente con 544 in downlink e 640 in uplink. La connessione resta costante anche a distanza di giorni.
• Alice Gate VOIP – Dopo aver visto che aggancia la portante a 704 in download e 640 in upload, ho sbloccato e modificato il firware per testarlo sulla mia nuova ADSL. Stabile e ben funzionante.
• Vodafone Station – si aggancia a 672 Kbit/sec. Il firmware è bloccato da Vodafone per cui è impossibile utilizzarlo. Peccato, è un bell'apparecchio.
• Alcatel SpeedTouch Home – si aggancia alla stessa portante del Trust, ovvero intorno ai 540. Stabile, ma nessun vantaggio rispetto agli altri
• Thomson ST605 – il campione . Si aggancia stabilmente a 704 e, a volte, a 736 Kbit/sec. Performante, customizzabile, l'ho utilizzato per circa 15 giorni senza avere il minimo problema (a parte qualche sporadico reboot, ma sempre dopo aver effettuato qualche operazione nella interfaccia web)
• Thomson ST716WL – si aggancia abbastanza rapidamente a 672 ea volte a 704 Kbit/sec. Ho deciso di tenerlo, pur andando un pò meno veloce del 605 in quanto il WiFi integrato e il VOIP mi permettono di non avere altri due apparecchi collegati. Quei pochi Kbit di differenza neanche li noterò, tanto la connessione è lenta comunque.
• Zyxel 660 Prestige – si è agganciato una sola volta, a 320 Kbit/sec. Poi ha iniziato a ricercare la portante e non l'ha più trovata
• Siemens SX763 – non ha neanche rilevato la portante

Riassumendo, quindi, le prestazioni di questi apparecchi possono essere raggruppate in tre famiglie: quelli che neanche si allineano, quelli che si allineano a basse velocità e quelli che cercano di tirar fuori “il meglio” dalla linea disturbata.

Investigating around I discovered that it is often not so much a matter of build quality but more compatible chipset: D-Slam has a chipset of a certain brand and there are certain modems are performing with specific D-Slam. In fact, my tests have shown that Thomson (Broadcom chipset), the Pirelli Huawei and Vodafone are the most sensitive. I had always regarded as Pirelli equipment of poor quality but it's all a matter of firmware, as often happens.

Strange that a device like the Zyxel has miserably failed the test, but it shows that my multi beliefs are not entirely wrong (read: the Zyxel I never liked).

Result: ADSL modems are not all alike, and not just a question of more or less advanced functionality. Sensitivity is one thing to be taken into account. Especially if you have very noisy lines or subscriptions to very high speed (20 Mbps), the sensitivity factor becomes paramount. The differences can be abysmal.

Un breve post, solo per raccontare una cosa interessante. (I hope)

Molti di voi sapranno che sono connesso ad Internet in Anti-Digital-Divide (alias: ho la 640Kb/sec). Bene: questa connessione di Sabato e Domenica sembra comatizzare perché moltissimi utenti si collegano e la centrale collassa.

Ho scoperto che nella mia zona è presente anche un cavo che arriva da un'altra centrale, ad un paio di km da qui, e che se si effettua una specifica richiesta si può ottenere un collegamento con quel cavo.

Ho approfittato e per ora la procedura sembra muoversi: Lunedi verranno i tecnici Telecom a portarmi i nuovi cavi in casa. Il profilo dati è un 7 Mbit/sec ma, come mi hanno detto, probabilmente non supererò i 2 Mbit in quanto sono molto distante dalla centrale. Almeno, in teoria, saranno costanti.

Let's hope so. Ne scriverò a cose fatte.