The Android Developer Challenge

Prior to the official release of Android, Google held the Android developers challenge, a contest for developing cool apps that surprise and delight mobile users. Prize money - $10 mil.
There is gonna be another one when the first handsets built on the platform become available.
Anyways the first one is over and with excellent results (the apps). The 50 teams that qualified for the second and final round of the ADC each received a $25,000 award. The second round had ten $275,000 prizes ten $100,000 prizes. The applications of the winners have set me drooling for the first handset with the platform (HTC Dream) which will be released tomorrow i.e 23 September.

Android Market

The place where the user will download the apps made by people with the
Android SDK will be called the Android Market. Talk about competition!
Only time will tell how it fares up against Apple's App Store. Google chose to call it a "market" instead of store was because they want to make available a free environment like a marketplace without any obstructions unlike Apple where the developer has to go through a gauntlet of restrictions while pertaining to its terms of agreement. No doubt this will end up in a lot of trash at the market but as long as they aren't forcing you to install anything, there isn't a problem eh? Infact some of the apps created by beta developers for the Android Developers Challenge are uber-cool!
Also according to Google, uploading an app for distribution will be extremely simple, like a YouTube upload, you register and upload and publish your content.

Google Android

Google Android..... is not a scary AI freak coming straight out of DBZ or Terminator.
sorry..
So, Google Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile phones based mostly on the Linux OS. Yes, it is the same thing as Mac OS for the iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian. Only its more open source, more flexible to developers who can create apps using java. According to Google it will be 100% open source, "Android does not differentiate between the phone's basic and third-party applications - even the dialer or home screen can be replaced." - GOOGLE
Unlike Apple, though Google won't be launching its phone alongwith its own handset, we won't have a gPhone around. The first mobile carrier to launch it will be T-Mobile and the first handset is HTC Dream. It will be priced at around $200 with contract and $4oo at retail. This price band is contagious!! Android is set to give the iPhone some competition. While the Android would have been a real knockout if it had come before the iPhone, the glory will now be somewhat dimmed as many of the apps will have similar counterparts in the mac os.
Google unveild Android on 5th November 2007 along with Open Handset Allinace, a business alliance of Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Nvidia and Wind River Systems to develop open standards of mobile devices.

I hope we have another kinda dev team to unlock the phone so that it can work with other carriers as well.

Some more iPhone apps

I figured the earlier iPhone post was too old and had very few apps. Here are some new ones which I use. I am only listing those available in the 1.1.4 firmware. I haven't upgraded to 2.0 as I feel there aren't that many apps out there as yet.

Fring : Fring is one of my favorite applications. Its the only way(as far as i know) you can use Skype on the iPhone. Plus it has a great user interface, a separate dialer for Skype and SIP. Besides skype you have MSN Messenger, ICQ, SIP,Google Talk, Twitter(chat only), Yahoo(chat only) and AIM(chat only). I use msn, yahoo and skype and trust me its way better than other apps that give you messengers. I prefer it over Apollo. You can use other apps while using fring, it will not close if you go back to the home page and best of all it still gives you notifications if you're doing something else and someone starts a chat or sends a message or calls you via skype. It starts showing that red notification bubble that you get with a new mail, sms or missed call. Great app and a must have for those who talk over the wi-fi or use im. Fring was founded by Avi Shechter VP of AOL and its there on the iPhone courtesy iSpazio.

MxTube: The first native YouTube video downloader remains the best You-Tube video downloader. Downloading videos is now easier done than said. It features YouTube style search (without the description and related videos though) and you can also select the quality i.e. high or low according to your connectivity thru wi-fi or edge. The best update MxTube has had is that downloads continue when suspended otherwise tapping the screeen now and again just to keep the app on was such a pain in the ass. Future updates include Video Descriptions, "Play in YouTube" button and iPod app + iTunes sync. I am not too sure about the last one (neither is the creator). It has been created by MxWeas. His site MxWeas.com.
Splendid app if you want to see youtube videos on the go without having to wait each time for it to finish buffering.

iWOL: Too lazy to wake up from the bed to switch on your pc? Nah... that isn't how you quite define the practicality of this really cool app but basically that is what it'll enable you to do. You can wake up your computer from hibernation, sleep, shut-down (not zero power though). Wake On Lan sends the comupter you want to switch on, a magic packet (read the wikipedia article for what a magic packet is). To get it working you'll need to add the computer in the iwol app. Details on that can be found here - http://www.sk4.co.uk/. You'll also have to change a minor setting in the pc concerned. Follow the steps - Right Click on My Computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Network Adapters > Intel(R) PRO/**** PL Network Connection(the adapter you use) > Power Management > check "Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby"
The one on the iphone is by iSpazio.

weDict: It is quite convenient to have a dictionary around when stuck on a word, more so when you don't have to carry that big fat mass of one portable dictionaries are handy and isn't it a BOON to have it on your phone?? No not on the internet, a local dictionary available for you right there, OFFLINE!! I know weDict has been there for quite some time now but I thought it deserved a mention nevertheless. For people who want a simple basic lexicon, the Oxford Advanced Learner pack is ideal. Yeah even I was surprised how they could've cramped up about 1500 pages into 4.1 mb but its there alright. I didn't need to download any other pack. Though you also have other packs available like oxford collocations, britannica, cia world factbook, translators, etc.., OALD sufficed for me. The app is provided by Ste Packaging.

Make it Mine: This ones a cool tweak to show off to your friends! Its already there in some phones and now Ste Packaging brings it to the iPhone. Make it Mine allows you to change your carrier name to whatever you want. There is a problem if the name you set is too long coz it will get obstructed by the wi-fi symbol. 7 letters is fine.
Its not AT&T, baby!!

Dystonia

I was going through socialspark.com trying to find a sponsorship opportunity where i could start earning some quick bucks. I realized my blog had not been qualified for the roll so I had no option but get frustrated at the time it was taking and look up in the sparks that are free of cost. There I came across "Help Tyler Find a Cure". Well out of all the sponsorships waiting in those sites, this is the one that is an "opportunity" in the true sense of the word.
Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The cause is not fully known or understood but it is generally concerned with the central nervous system and it forces the body into abnormal, sometimes painful, movements or postures.
Tyler is one such boy affected by Dystonia and "Tyler's Hope" is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization committed to funding pediatric neurology research to prevent and cure DYT1 Dystonia; while creating awareness of this disorder. I request everyone reading this post to take out some moments and visit the foundation's site at http://www.tylershope.org/ and contribute in any way you can be it by spreading awareness or donating to find a cure.

Links: Dystonia (wikipedia)
Facebook
"Tyler's Hope"

Success!!

They fired it amidst protests and prophecies and ta dah!!! It worked. They successfully circulated the beams through the 27 km long tunnel. And we're all still alive aren't we? I still don't know what became of the Stephen Hawking bet but what i do know is that the Higgs Boson, the primary reason for the experiment will take another year to be discovered. Now they also say that this was just a minor experiment compared to the high energy collisions that will take place on 21 October, 2008 when the LHC will be officially unveiled.
Maybe there will be another(and possibly bigger) threat to mankind then. *yawn* Till then, whats on the other channel.

Here Goes!!

The LHC is about to be switched on at 3:30 am Eastern Time. It will answer questions that have eluded scientists so far including the discovery of the Higgs Boson (no idea what'll happen if they don't find it!), dark matter, properties of mass, how energy is converted into mass and also many other questions involving dimensions, time, anti-matter, and so on and so forth.
Basically the scientists will try to create a condition inside the particle accelerator which resembles the condition of the universe one billionth of a second after the Big Bang.
All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and wait for it to happen.
Damn it I don't wanna die.... not now, I'm still... I'm still............. an undergraduate!!! :p