Chrome OS vs Windows 7

Recently Google announced that it would be making an operating system which it called "Google Chrome OS". Now this is quite a bold move to make with Windows 7 just around the corner (releasing on October 22, 2009). Chrome OS is going to be open source and based on Google Chrome their browser. It will be targeted at net books when it is released sometime at the end of 2010. It is based on the Linux kernel but it will have a new windowing system.

They say the design will be minimalistic and it will be mainly web-based with focus shifting from the desktop to the Internet (Cloud Computing). They also said that there will be a completely different security structure making it very difficult for viruses to infect the computer. And best of all it will be completely free.

The big question is will this move hurt Microsoft? Will people be put off from buying Windows 7 and use the free Google Chrome OS instead? We need to wait until Windows 7 is released to know.

Nintendo DSi Review

Today, at around 9 o'clock we finally received the DSi. We already have a DS Lite and many people were recommending that the DSi isn't worth it if the owner already has a DS. But we took the plunge anyway and bought it...

I had long waited for this moment eagerly anticipating what was in store. We opened the box and there it was. It looked really good. It is slightly bigger than its predecessors - the DS and DS Lite. But its screen is also bigger and its graphics are really good. It had a matted surface which I didn't like. I liked the shiny polished surface of the DS.

It didn't take very long to set up and we were ready to go. First we tried out the new camera and it seemed to work very well, even though it is only 0.3 megapixels. Then I tried setting up the Internet. A good thing is that the DSi has support for WPA which is another feature the DS doesn't. We got it working and then I tried to find the Internet channel that had been promised to come with the DSi. I didn't find it. I was quite surprised that Nintendo had not held up their promise.

But then I figured out that it was hidden away in the Shop channel, the same as the Wii. We downloaded it and it worked really well. There is a feature that allows the user to switch between the touch screen and the top screen. I actually managed to write some of this post on it. But it got tiring after some time so I had to come to the computer.

Overall it is very good and I recommend buying it. I still haven't played a game on it yet but as I explore the features of the DSi there will be updates on this post every so often for a few days.

Update - 12:36 - The DSi only plays AAC files and not MP3. This is quite shocking. An easy way to convert from MP3 to AAC is by using iTunes. Search on Google for this.

Update - 2:32 PM - I have now played Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros. on it and they both look very good on screen. The DSi has a much more sensitive touchpad. Its touch screen is also very good.

Update - 4:32 PM - The music player doesn't allow music to play through the speakers if it is closed. The only way to listen to music when it is closed is to put headphones before you close it.

Update - 5:38 PM - I forgot to say that another good feature of the DSi is that the brightness can be changed when playing the game. If the battery is running in the DS you had to exit the game and go back to the menu.

Update - 5:46 PM - Some disadvantages of the DSi:

1. No GBA slot so you can't play and GBA games and some games which have extra hardware that slot here can not be played.
2. No Flash support for the browser so many things like YouTube will not work.
3. You can't play any audio streams on the browser.

Update - 05.04.09 - 5:46 PM - I have found another advantage:

1. If you want to change the game then you can just take it out when you are in the menu unlike the DS where you had to switch it off. THe same is true after changing system preferences.

Some Pictures of the DSi:

Microsoft Surface

A few days ago Microsoft launched its new computer - Microsoft Surface. This computer looks just like a coffee table but is actually a highly sensitive piece of equipment that has a computer embedded inside. There is no need for a keyboard or a mouse - it is touch sensitive.

This computer looks very good. It actually looks like a coffee table and it seems to be very sensitive. It is selling to businesses only currently at £8,500 in the UK. Microsoft want to release it to public soon. It is a very good idea and I like it.

Universal Mobile Phone Charger

A few days ago I read in the Daily Telegraph that the big mobile phone companies such as Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola have agreed on a universal charger which would be the same for all phones. The charger would be a Mini USB one. And it would only consume half of what other chargers would consume in standby. This would be implemented by 2012.

Although it didn't say in the article, I figured out that this also meant that there wouldn't need to be a separate socket to connect the phone to the computer. This would reduce the weight of the phone.

One of the best ideas ever thought out but it is long overdue. It should have been introduced when mobile phones were first made.Well at least now the companies have had some sense to do this. I am hoping that there will be no delays and it will work.

Windows 7 Beta

Recently my dad downloaded Windows 7 Beta 1 to test it out. It is not very surprising that Windows 7 was launched only 2 years after Vista since Vista has received a lot of criticism.

Windows 7 is a very good operating system. I have tested Vista briefly and Windows 7 is very similar but I like the improved taskbar very much. We have never switched over from XP because my dad thinks that Vista is not very secure. When I used Vista I never found any bugs in it but I only tested it briefly so I can not say.

We installed Windows 7 on 3 computers and we have never had any problems with any of them. It even worked perfectly on a 6 year old laptop (except the Aero theme)! It seems very secure and we have never encountered any major bugs in it.

I think most people will switch over to Windows 7, even people who recently bought Vista. The only criticism I have of Windows 7 is that Microsoft should have thought of a better name!

For a more detailed insight into Windows 7 please visit my dad's blog.