Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Opera Mobile 9.5 beta released into the wilds

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/337937403/

We've been waiting for this day ever since Opera first announced its Opera Mobile 9.5 web browser back in February. Today, it's out for a beta 1 launch. In other words, it'll be buggy but likely far more useful than the browser already installed on your touchscreen-based (PocketPC) WinMo professional phone. The initial release includes support for double-tap zoom, landscape flip, off-line page save, tab-like browsing, auto-URL complete, and a Google-search bar to name just a few of the 9.5 features. More functionality will be added later including Google Gears and support for Flash video on WinMo and Symbian devices. CNET already has the hands-on video review up for your pickings. Better yet, download and install for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Update: PhoneArena has chimed-in with a video hands-on of its own. Check it after the break.

Read -- Opera Mobile 9.5 beta 1
Read -- CNET first look

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Evidence mounts for August Eee PC carnage with $299 Dell E launch

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/335808731/

Doing with a single E what takes ASUS three, Dell's mini netbook looks to be on track for an August kill sprEee. We've already seen Dell's launch timeline and specs, of course, and this morning we've got the hushed whispers of DigiTimes' "market sources" again claiming that the Compal manufactured Dell 8.9-inchers will launch in August for $299. For that price, assuming everything we've heard so far is correct, you'll get an instant-on Linux distro running atop Intel's 1.6GHz Atom processor, a 1,024 x 600 display, 3x USB, a wee SSD, integrated webcam, WiFi, and more in a 0.82-1.22-inch thick sled weighing about 2.2-pounds. With the netbook market now thoroughly saturated, we expect the Dell launch to mark the beginning of an industry shakeout. Any bets on who will survive?

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Tom's Hardware rescinds SSD power test, finds them more efficient

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/335751628/

Filed under: Storage

Looks like Tom's Hardware fessed up and apologized for their slip-up in that recent controversial power test, which found SSDs consuming more juice than their spinning-platter counterparts (or, well, not exactly). We're giving 'em a pass, not just because we've always had a fond place in our heart for Tom's, but because they did another comprehensive SSD test (this time under more consistent conditions) which basically confirms that many newer SSDs are, in fact, power savers in most usage scenarios. Not all drives and scenarios, but many. Tom's also namechecks OCZ's ~~Core~~ SATA II SSD (a Samsung in disguise) as the clear winner by a longshot, having "unmatched" power efficiency. Sold.

[Thanks, Chuckles and SNP]

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A Different Perspective On Social Media Marketing

By: Dr. Augustine Fou, SVP MRM Worldwide

Virtually every advertiser is asking for it. They have all heard about examples of YouTube videos going “viral” and reaching millions of people practically overnight. They have read the stats that say modern consumers’ top trusted source for information is “people like them,” that they don’t trust advertising, and that virtually everyone does research online before making purchases, even if they make the purchase offline. So advertisers have quickly jumped on the bandwagon of “social media marketing.” But doing social media marketing usually takes the form of brand pages on MySpace, Facebook fan pages, or YouTube channels of brand videos.

Doing “social media marketing” right is a different story entirely. The landscape and the consumers have changed, but known and comfortable ways of doing advertising have not (yet). Advertisers are coming from a world of meticulously crafted brand messages being blasted out at people through one-way media like TV, print, or radio — to a world where consumers can tune it all out at the press of a button. Modern consumers, who have too little time and are “information overloaded,” reject this form of “being shouted at,” no matter how clever or entertaining. However, when they are ready to make a purchase, they do their homework by researching online and reading what “people like them” have to say.

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Dell Latitude XT Tablet to Get Multi-Touch Tomorrow [Tablets]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/335415995/dell-latitude-xt-tablet-to-get-multi+touch-tomorrow

Dell's Latitude XT tablets will receive their long-awaited multi-touch firmware update Tuesday, adding multi-touch to web browsers, MS Office, Google Earth, photo viewers, and more to zoom, scroll and pinch just like you-know-who. There's also a boss-is-coming shortcut—double-tap the screen and it goes dark instantly, hiding your unsavory dealings. Looks a little jerky in Hans and Roy's demo video, though.