::Wondering Mind::

so, two weeks after the earth stopped turning because Google announced they would stop censoring the results on their .cn domain, we’re still around and not much has changed!
The blogoshphere is full of posts, rants and articles from everyone and their dog about why, how and what now but truth must be said, it’s all just chit chat and distraction from other issues!

The Romans used gladiators to distract the mass popula from real problem and state trouble. Other rulers used similar tactics to distract their citizen from whatever issues were at hand and disguise them. They’ve used comedy, games, wars, tragedy and music amongst others. This whole Google thing feels much like that right now.

In a few more weeks, it will be all but forgotten! the ones that want results can get them with or without google making their move! It’s not gonna give me a more table access to picasa or google docs, not that i care much to use them. It’s not gonna get the folks that lost their job at Fanfou their jobs back…
what it did/does very well was to provide us with a good opportunity to pretend we can use out analytical abilities for the first time in a while

just a sham or a scam..

It’s an iphone and wordpress world and i am lucky enough to use both so it is about time i actually combine them!
so this is my first post from brsingr and a prelude to keepin track of my upcoming journey through china. For once, i m doing a test drive before taking this puppy on the road

the geek is back in town!
The last two weeks have been pretty darn good to my inner geek: After years of stagnancy, I got back into the whole SEO scene juggling bounce rates and goal management. WP fun is also high on the list with a couple of new blogs launched ( yeah I know, WonderingMind has been kinda neglected) and getting ready to meet some of the biggest geeks in the world (visit geeksonaplane.com for details).
There is some cool stuff happening out there! From trying to bring china cool into the US all the way to new mashup concepts. it’s gonna be an interesting summer.

that said, it will be nice to get full access to the internet sometime soon and that this “sanitization” is extremely temporary.. It would definitely be nice to get back on youtube and flickr without the need for alternative connection means.

I wrote about this a few weeks ago with an inventory of my gadget collection that’s just sitting anf collecting dust. Since then, I’ve been a good boy and avoided any personal gadget purchase despite my desire to get a new camera. The rationale is that I do have all the stuff I need at the moment!
Part of it was T-mobile dash (win-mo phone manufactured by HTC) that had been collecting dust for the most part of last year due to a lack of Chinese capability. Since then, after one too many frustrations with my Nokia N95 8GB, I decided to give the Dash another chance.

I browsed online for hours seeking a way to make it fully multilingual and to make a long story short, I succeeded! Not only is it multilingual but it’s running a modified windows mobile pro 6.1 ROM thanks to some good folks online that have the knowledge and the time to “cook” said ROM.

I’ve made the Dash my default phone over the past 2 weeks and I am pleased with the results. The phone is fast, snappy, can run quite a few apps and handle English and Chinese. With a bit of time, I could even make it speak French which would be an added bonus.

While definitely not iphonesque, the WinMo interface runs miles around that of the S60…. I can’t even begin to comprehend how anyone would put up with such a slow beast! Yes, the N95 is a few years old now but it still retails for a pretty penny…. and it’s not worth it IMHO… not at all!

Came across a great little site today on my twitter feed about “last year’s gadgets” which is promoting using older models of electronics and gadgets in an effort to save the planet. It’s an approach that does make sense when you think about as last year’s top of the line models are usually at the same price level as this year’s bottom of the line while being better (in most cases).
I can’t help but think of all the marketing and sales folks that are cringing at this proposition! what would happen if suddenly, folks stopped feeling the urge of upgrading? think about how all of them folks that just need/want the latest and the greatest!

I’m more or less a big fan of the approach already as I tend to buy the best thing available at the time and just milk it for all it’s worth. Every time I’ve taken the cheap approach, I have regretted it! My arsenal right now for DAILY use is made up of (in somewhat of a chronological order)

- Ipod 2G, 10GB hard drive with a replacement battery that lasts up to 20 hours.
- Konika-Minolta Digital camera from 2004 that is still kicking ass and taking names.
- macbook 2007 model with 2 GB of RAM and 250GB HD (upgraded from original 120)
- Nokia N95-8GB mobile

All of those babies still work 100% and feel like they can last for quite a bit longer despite my constant desire to upgrade some of them.

My closet is also home to a few more gadgets that just don’t have space to fit in my life at the moment:

- A canon ZR25 camcorder bought in 2002.. still in mint condition
- ibook G3 from 2003 that needs a replacement HD
- Sony-Ericsson W850 mobile phone in mint condition (currently used for my HK mobile)
- a T-mobile Dash smartphone collecting dust because I can’t get chinese to work on it without paying for extra software
- my first ever digital camera ( Toshiba PDR 21) bought in 2001 that still works technically.
- Wacom tablet currently on loan to a good friend

So, I got electronic plenty and don’t really need to consider anything new…

1- I’d love to upgrade the camera to a newer model but not for Megapixels, I just want better optical zoom. I never print the damn things so what’s the point of higher res?
2- Iphone just because I want one… however, my army of available phones suggests i definitely do NOT need yet another one to sit in the house.
3- a new Ipod.. the old one is heavy and makes a great home music device but it would be cool to have another one to carry with on the road. That said, the Nokia or the SE phones are both multimedia savy and all I would need is newer earphones for both of them.

so, with this in mind, I think I’m just gonna stay put for now and not buy anything other than a HD for that ibook and use it for TV watching. I might splurge in a replacement battery for the Nokia as well as a proper set of nokia earphones to match.

here is to being frugal!!!!