tudy .ro – Tudor Damian
I plan to live forever. So far, so good.
My HTC Touch Diamond
Jul 22nd
Yup, a couple of weeks ago, I bought myself a cool new gadget: a HTC Touch Diamond. Among the features:
- Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
- ROM: 256 MB, RAM: 192 MB DDR SDRAM, Internal storage: 4 GB
- Weight: 110 g (with battery)
- HSDPA/WCDMA, Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- GPS and A-GPS
- Bluetooth® 2.0, Wi-Fi® 802.11 b/g
- Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus, Second (front) camera: VGA CMOS color camera
- The new TouchFLOâ„¢ 3D interface
All in all, an awesome little device. Expecially if you consider the new, custom ROMs appearing almost on a daily basis, which feature a lot of interface and performance improvements.
I’ve got this from the local Vodafone store, and even if the Internet option I have on my mobile only allows connections via a proxy (so no IMAP/POP3 for email), I used MobiPush to mimic the DirectPushâ„¢ feature from Microsoft Exchange, so now I get my email directly to my mobile inbox, without the need to use a webmail solution.
I’ll come up with a later post, describing all the tweaks and apps I use. 
Microsoft Surface
May 30th
Microsoft Surface represents a fundamental change in the way we interact with digital content. With Surface, we can actually grab data with our hands, and move information between objects with natural gestures and touch.
Surface features a 30-inch tabletop display whose unique abilities allow for several people to work independently or simultaneously. All without using a mouse or keyboard.
The Surface display is capable of multi-touch interaction, recognizing dozens and dozens of touches simultaneously, including fingers, hands, gestures and objects placed on the surface.
The Surface custom software platform runs on Windows Vistaâ„¢ and has wired Ethernet 10/100, Wireless 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity.
Beginning at the end of this year, consumers will be able to interact with Surface in hotels, restaurants, retail establishments and public entertainment venues. More info on the official Surface website. 
My new toy has arrived
Aug 31st
A couple of days ago, I’ve received my Top Gun AfterBurner Force Feedback Joystick.
Here’s a quick description:
Prepare to be blown away by some truly incredible Force Feedback effects! The Top Gun™ AfterBurner™ Force Feedback joystick is the first joystick combining a full size detachable throttle with Idle and Afterburner settings plus powerful Force Feedback effects to thrust you right into the game. The Top Gun™ AfterBurner™ Force Feedback joystick also features 8 programmable buttons, an 8-way hat switch with point-of-view capabilities and an original design that has been widely praised by gamers and the trade press alike. Now you can feel the blast from missile launches, rattle through rough crash landings and get a healthy dose of shell-shock from head-on collisions. Adrenaline rush, anyone?
And the features:
2 motors in joystick base (Immersion TouchSense™ technology)
Full size detachable throttle with Idle & Afterburner detents
Twisting handle with locking mechanism
7 programmable action buttons with Thrustmapper software + trigger
8-way hat-switch
Dual rudder: twisting handle and rocking button on throttle
Ergonomic rubber-textured grip
Comfortable enlarged hand rest – Rubber-textured grip on handle and throttle
Stable weighted base with non-slip rubber pads & spare wing
Up to 60 programmable functions thanks to Thrustmaster® programming software
The Force Feedback effects on the joystick are simply awesome. I’ve been playing the demo for Microsoft Flight Simulator X, and now I’m definitely waiting for the full version to come out (oct/nov 2006), so that I can purchase it. Until then, I’ll stick to X3:Reunion, which I bought through Steam earlier this month.
Smallest WiFi Module in the World
Jun 5th
I just stumbled upon this photo, and I started digging after the source of the information. It appears that earlier this year, Sharp has unveiled what they are calling the smallest WiFi module in the world. This obviously doesn’t directly mean much for us consumers since we can’t rush out and buy one, and even if we could most of us couldn’t do anything with it. What it will mean, though, is that a WiFi module can be used with more devices. A smaller module will hopefully mean a module that demands less power. Smaller should eventually mean cheaper, too. That means soon everything will have WiFi incorporated into it as a standard feature in anything just as rechargeable batteries or a color screen are now.
But that’s the long term. As far as I could tell, there’s no word yet on which companies other than Sharp are planning to use the module or how close it is to being in commercially available devices. Check engadget for more details.
Multi-touch screens
Feb 18th
This post is about the technology of multi-touch screens, developed at NYU. The interesting part is that Apple has patented these interactions. Check out this link for more details.
Optimus Keyboard
Feb 1st
For those of you who didn’t know about this, the Optimus Keyboard project is nearing completion, and we might expect to see it on the shelves this year. It’s quite an interesting gadget, I might add – and the cost is estimated to be somewhere near the price of a good cell phone.
