Archive for November, 2006:
Calculating Battery Capacity
Posted by: Steve Laser on Nov 30 2006 - 2,428 viewsWhile testing the Boxwave Battery Adapter I noticed that my Mugen 1800mAh battery wasn’t performing up to par anymore, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what capacity was left. The battery is only 9 months old, and I was really curious as to how much of its power it retains. So I did some research.
I started off with this article by Menneisyys that discusses tips on extending battery life. He points out the use of AbcPowerMeter, a utility to measure battery load. Next, user YawGlenn in this post, describes the method used to determine battery capacity. Armed with that information I am determined to do some math!
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Subscribe to the comments for this postBoxwave Battery Adapter Review
Posted by: Steve Laser on Nov 30 2006 - 1,974 views"The first rule of Fight Club is - you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is - you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. Third rule of Fight Club, someone yells Stop!, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes. Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight."
Receiving the Unit
That’s right, the first thing I did when I received the Boxwave Battery Adapter was to load it with brand new, freshly charged Duracell 1.2v 2650NiMH batteries and repeatedly play the movie Fight Club. More specifically, I charged my Dell Axim x50v battery to 100%, then I played the movie until the battery adapter stopped supplying power and the Axim started using its own power. I just wanted to measure how much power the battery adapter would provide above and beyond the battery in the Axim. And remember, the Dell Axim is a power hungry machine. If you use any other pda, chances are it uses far less power so you’ll get even better results.
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Maybe New Axim Models Next Year?
Posted by: PatrickJ on Nov 29 2006 - 704 views
"I now expect to see a new series of Axims running Windows Mobile 5.5 (or whatever it’s called) on the fastest mobile processors available, and I’m hoping for a significant jump up in internal memory."
Ed Hardy has a post up at Brighthand.com where he speculates that Dell may well be bringing out a new Axim line next year. He cites a comment within a recent IDC research study on the worldwide handheld market, as providing a glimmer of hope that Dell has maybe not left the handheld market for good.
As Ed’s article says, part of the reason Dell has gone so long without releasing a new Axim is probably just that they have not had to, they are still the best straight PDAs out there.
What do you think? Should we expect to see a new Axim line? Does anyone still want a straight (non-phone) PDA from Dell?
Check out the Brighthand post at:
There Just Might Be New Axims from Dell After All
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RC Helicopters - New Dedicated Section Needed!
Posted by: PatrickJ on Nov 29 2006 - 892 views
The future of R/C fits in the palm of your hand!
The Micro Mosquito is the world’s smallest, lightest and most stable indoor R/C helicopter. Fully assembled only inches long and whisper silent, its packed with high-tech ingenuity. Based on award-winning BladeRunner coaxial rotor design, the Micro Mosquito flies in all directions with 3 channel digital control going up, down, forward, reverse, turning left and right and it even hovers. Its open structure design combined with glowing green eyes lets you see the inner workings while you watch in awe at its total control flight performance. A great gadget toy for the home or office.
OK, I am rapidly becoming addicted to RC Helicopters, mainly the small ones - and I don’t even own one (YET). When I see a cool writeup, or even better a nice video showing off the aerodynamic exploits of these tiny wonders, I’m gripped and filled with desire to go out and get one of these very soon. And I think the Micro Mosquito is going to be the one - I’m sold on its size, glowing green eyes, and that ’seeing the innerworkings’ deal.
I’m also thinking we may need to develop (train?) a crack team of RC Aircraft Reviewers, or possibly groups for Fixed Wing and other as well. And create a separate category for news and reviews on these.
If any of you have test-driven the Micro Mosquito, or own one, and want to share YOUR review, we’re well into that and waiting to hear from you.
Thanks very much to Judie at Gear Diary for highlighting the Micro Mosquito as a gift suggestion for gadgetmeisters.
In the meantime, check out the video and product page for lots more detail on the Micro Mosquito (the site also has several other cool-looking RC copters):
Technorati Tags: Micro Mosquito - RC Helicopters
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Rockbox - Opensource Firmware for Portable Media Players
Posted by: PatrickJ on Nov 29 2006 - 1,207 views
Source: CrunchGear
Rockbox is an opensource firmware replacement project designed to allow you to customize your audio playback hardware (like the Zune, or iPod) to your liking, everything from interface to features. The idea is that you can brew your own Rockbox, and then run it on the hardware of your choice, giving the power and control over the user experience to you.
Now that sounds very cool. Not happy with the software and DRM and so on, on your Zune or iPod or whichever choice of media player - give Rockbox a spin when it is available for your device. Apparently a version for the Zune is being heavily worked on right now.
Of course, using an opensource firmware replacement like this is very likely to kill your Zune Marketplace compatibility and void your warranty - but still a potentially attractive option if you’re the type who is ok with ‘No Net’ when trying it out.
More details at the CrunchGear post:
Technorati Tags: Rockbox - Zune - iPod - Portable Media Player - Opensource - firmware
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New Windows Mobile ‘Frank’ Ads
Posted by: PatrickJ on Nov 29 2006 - 729 views
Via: Jason Langridge’s Mr. Mobile Weblog
The videos centre around “Frank,” the world’s most dedicated Business Power User and a series of overwhelming situations Frank finds himself in, such as getting stuck in an elevator full of snakes
These new Windows Mobile ads are actually pretty cool, pretty funny. With Frank faced with a series of those overwhelming situations, but still focused on sending an email with his Windows Mobile device and similar tasks.
And the out-takes are good as well, especially the one with tons of snakes.
Have a look at them at:
Technorati Tags: Windows Mobile - Work Wherever
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