So here is my ramble – it’s got a fabulous 5 megapixel camera with a dual led flash (I loved the camera and features),  32 gigs of internal storage. 1 gig of application memory, up to 16 GB of additional storage with a microSD card, a slide out keyboard (you can use an onscreen one in lieu of or in addition to) , a huge touch screen interface, all the bells and whistles of an iPhone, and it runs Linux. LINUX. Maemo 5 to be exact. This is the phone for the hackers and geeks.

Want to add whatever applications and functionality that you want? You can. Want to use an app style store? You can (Ovi Store). Want to SSH in or out of your phone? Yeah, you can. Want to dual boot your phone with Android? Go right ahead! Want to compile code? Not a problem.  Want to hack your phone without violating a terms of service or add functionality without being sneaky about it? You can (maybe not on AT&T, I hear that they like to force phones to comply with approved install sources for apps).

The downfall is that the product needs more developers. Everyone seems to be forgetting about the platform and going gaga over Android and iPhone. It’s a shame really because this is just so much better. This is freedom. Are you a Linux developer? Get a crackin’ and push some of your eye candy this way!

What else can I say about this little gem? It’s from Nokia – which holds a lot of weight for me. I do love Nokia – I like the ability (even on my little candy bar XpressMusic) to add jar file apps. The platform is stable and the hardware is tough and reliable.

Other things I loved about the hardware:

• TV out
• Non-proprietary headphone jack
• Easy peasy setup of Exchange, Gmail and Flickr
• No tears for lost address books – popped in my SIM and off I went
• Ability to add icons for not just apps but contacts right on the home screen
• FM transmitter – played my tunes & podcasts through my radio with no additional hardware
• Bluetooth
• GPS
• Wifi and 3G
• Widgets (and anything else you want) on the home screen (four of them!!)
• Dashboard interface to see what you have running on all your screens
• System notifications are superb.
• “Lens cap” for the camera – the sliding cap activates and deactivates the camera without needing to push any buttons.
• Skype works amazingly well
• Ogg support

Get one. You’ll fall in love with it. Want to read more? Check out the review at Engadget.

PDF version available for download & printing here. This pattern is also available as a project on Ravelry.

The approximate finished size should be about 7 inches around at the top by the knuckles and 6 1/2 inches at the bottom after the wrist decreases. There is little stretch at the starting chain (near the knuckles) but quite a bit of stretch throughout the rest of the wrist warmer (about an inch or little more in stretch). The finished length is 8 inches.

Supplies:
Size F (3.75 mm) crochet hook
Sock Yarn – Approx. 200 yards give or take a little. The yarn in the picture is Hobby Lobby Yarn Bee Walk Away in the Footsy colorway.
Sewing needle for weaving in ends if you don’t want to crochet them in.

Special Stitches & Abbreviations:
BPDC: back post double crochet – Dc worked around the back post of the stitch. Yarn over, insert hook from the back side of the work right to left around the post of the indicated stitch on a previous row;
yo and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yo and draw through two loops (2 loops on hook), yo and draw through two loops (1 loop on hk)
FPDC: front post double crochet – Dc worked around the front post of the stitch. Yarn over, insert hook from the front side of the work right to left around the post of the indicated stitch on a previous row;
yo and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yo and draw through two loops (2 loops on hook), yo and draw through two loops (1 loop on hook)
DC Decrease: double crochet decrease – Work a dc in the next stitch without completing the very last step (2 loops on hook), then dc in the next stitch without completing the last step (3 loops on hook), yarn over and draw through all the loops. Decrease made.
Sl. st.: slip stitch
Ch: chain
Dc: double crochet
Yo: Yarn over

Hand:
Ch 30 loosely. Making sure not to twist the chain, slip stitch chain together.
Row 1: Ch3. Dc in each chain. Sl. st. to previous ch3 to close the round. Ch2.
Row 2: Ribbing: BPDC in first DC, FPDC in next DC then BPDC in the following repeating from to the end of the round. Sl. to previous ch2 to close the round. Chain 2.
Row 3: Dc in each dc to end of row. Sl. st. to previous ch2 to close the round. Ch 2.
Row 4-6: Repeat row 3.

Thumb Hole:
Row 7: Turn work rather than continuing in round and dc across to next to last stitch (leaving one stitch in previous round unworked). Ch2. Turn.
Row 8-9: Dc in each dc. Ch2 turn.
Row 10: Dc in each dc. Chain 1. Sl. st. across skipped stitches to first dc and join. Ch2.
Row 11: Return working in the round. DC in each dc then across ch1 joining the round with a sl. st. to top of previous ch2. Ch2.
Row 12-16: Dc in each dc. Sl. st. in top of previous ch2. Ch2.

Wrist Decreases:
Row 17-19: Dc in each dc making 3 dc decreases throughout round joining each round with a sl. st. to top of ch2.

Arm:
Row 20-24: Dc in each dc joining the round with a sl. to top of ch2. Repeat this row for as long as you want your warmers to be. (I didn’t add any more rows to the ones I made in the pictures.)
Row 25: Dc in each dc joining the round with a sl. to top of ch 2. Cut thread and weave in ends.

Now make another one!

Wired is reporting that according to an unofficial T-Mobile blog:

“…the first version of the multimedia Google Phone will be released by HTC starting on September 17 for one week, for T-Mobile customers only. This offer will be immediately followed by a general release a week later. It will be called, ostensibly, the G1.”

T-Mobile offering a special early release to their current customers, with or without discount, would play perfectly into their customer base who tend to be faithful and loyal to the cellular provider.

While some may be wary of being an early adopter for a brand new mobile interface, I for one look at the potential of being able to work with something that isn’t locked down and closed source as the iPhone is. At least I won’t have to modify firmware to make it work.

Regardless as how it plays out, I am saving my lunch money in anticipation for the Android phone. Now I can stop scouring the market for an old beat up, overpriced iPhone to jailbreak & unlock while I wait for T-Mobile to release something better than their current Sidekick 2008 dud.

If you are interested in the project or want to grab the code, head over to the Reddit Trac Open Source Project.

• GnuCash - GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income, and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. It is backed by an active development community and is blossoming into a full-fledged accounting system. GnuCash has also released a Windows binary. GnuCash is open source and free.
• Buddi - Buddi is a personal finance and budgeting program, aimed at those who have little or no financial background. Buddi will run on almost any computer which has a Java virtual machine installed. This can include Windows, Macintosh OS X, Linux, and many other operating systems. Buddi is released as an open source application and is free (donations accepted).
• PearBudget - Free while in beta, PearBudget is a simple system that helps you build a clear spending plan and track your spending record.  It removes all the overkill in other financial apps and just helps you track a budget. A wizard interface and simple language takes the frustration out of planning (and sticking to) a budget. Multiplatform.

Image "Money Rose" from Flickr by distinguish 

Photo credit: onesevenone at Flickr

“In what may well be one of the most unusual computing tasks performed by the Linux operating system, Terra Soft Solutions integrated its Yellow Dog Linux distribution and the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 to guide a specially designed driverless car competing in the qualifying rounds for the DARPA  (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) autonomous vehicle challenge in Victorville, Calif.“Integral to the on-board, real-time image processing system, the YDL PS3 rode atop a set of 1U rackmount servers inside the experimental car, dubbed the “Spirit.” The team used the Linux equipment to navigate the vehicle through simulated city traffic and obstacles during the qualifying rounds the last week of October.”

Read more at LinuxInsider

At first blush, the new offering, with a proposed release this fall, appears to have the makings of a serious competitor. Designed as an add-on “EDU-CD” to accompany the upcoming 10.3 release of openSUSE, the so-called “SLEducator” is designed to “[ease] the installation and configuration of an educational network and student desktop.”

Read more at ZDNet Education Blog

Technorati Tags: Linux, Open Source, Education

There’s no denying that Linux is a popular operating system and is genuinely seen by many as a viable alternative to Microsoft’s market domination.

However, once having decided to go with Linux, the next question is which Linux distribution to use? Fans wax lyrical about their favourite “distro”. Understandably, this can cause further anxiety to newcomers keen to make the right choice.At heart, what we mean by “Linux” is two fundamental items: the kernel and the non-kernel parts. The kernel is the central component of most operating systems which manages resources and communications with hardware. It typically makes the lowest-level computer components available to software applications. This is the heart of any operating system. When people speak of Linux being created by Linus Torvalds, it is specifically the kernel that is meant; it was this which provided the basis and framework for all other applications.

The “non-kernel” therefore is everything else. This is software like the raft of networking tools for which Linux is well-known – web servers like Apache, programming language compilers and interpreters like Java, GNU C++, Perl and Python – and more.

The reason why Linux distributions are called “distributions” in the first place is because each distro is a collection of the kernel plus any of a number of software packages, distributed together. These packages are largely drawn from the GNU free software project. All distros provide facilities for managing the installation, removal and upgrading of discrete software packages.

Read the full four page article at ITWire

Technorati Tags: Open Source, Linux

Register your boss here….

Microsoft has fired new shots in its war of attrition against the Open Source Movement, the latest being Bill Hilf declaring that Linux is dead:

“They are full-time employees, with 401K stock options. Some work for IBM or Oracle. What does that mean? It means that Linux doesn’t exist any more in 2007. There is no free software movement. If someone says Linux is about Love, Peace and Harmony, I would tell them to do their research. There is no free software movement any more. There is big commercial [firms] like IBM and there is small commercial [firms] like Ubuntu,” he said.

Read More…