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G1 Impressions

G1 Impressions

T-Mobile just announced the G1 phone, an Android-powered phone scheduled for release on October 22 for $179 with a two year committment. Android is an open and free mobile platform from Google.

From the hardware perspective, the G1 is slightly bulkier than the iPhone at 5.6 ounces. The G1’s screen is a bit smaller at 3.17 inches compared to the iPhone’s at 3.5 inch. The difference is offset by the G1’s full QWERTY keyboard.

The G1 is capable of synchronizing to online applications automatically. The phone can be configured with instant messaging and pop or imap email. The Google Browser and Google Search works with a Wifi signal.

The other cool application that runs on the G1 is Google Maps. The G1 comes with GPS and is capable of running Google’s Street View. The phone comes with a built-in compass. Pointing the phone in any direction changes the vantage point of Street View. A very cool feature indeed.

In terms of music, the G1 music player is capable of playing MP3, WMA, AAC and Ogg Vorbis files. The OGG format is welcome addition to open-source fans since OGG format is open and patent-free.

Unfortunately, there is no video player for the G1. The other drawback is T-Mobile 3G service is only available in 21 markets, otherwise the G1 has to use an older EDGE network.

Batch Resize Images with Gimp

Batch Resize Images with Gimp

Most digital cameras nowadays, have resolutions that are far bigger than the normal monitor screen size. On average most point-and-shoot digital cameras have resolution anywhere from 3 megapixels to 10 megapixels. Most monitors these days have resolution of either 1024×768 or the slightly larger 1280×1024 pixels.

If you ever need to upload pictures online to a gallery or to a webpage, you will need to resize your images to fit the screen as well as reduce the image size. If you use Gimp, an image manipulation program, you can use David’s Batch Processor, a Gimp plugin to manage the resizing of multiple images in a single command.

To download the Batch Processor, open your Synaptic Package Manager located under System > Administration. Search for “Gimp Batch” and the result will give you “gimp-plugin-registry.” Install the package. You may need to supply the admin password to continue.

Start Gimp. Access the batch file plugin via the Xtns > Filters > Batch > Batch Process menu.

You can select a single file or multiple images for our purposes here in this article. Just click over to the Resize tab and choose resize aspect ratio or set the absolute width and height. Click Start to begin the batch process.

So, the next time you have to resize multiple images. Use the Gimp’s Batch Processor, a batch plugin that is capable of resizing multiple images in just a few clicks.

Dropbox

Dropbox

Today, I finally got a chance to play around with Dropbox, an online file sharing service. Shared files are accessed online via a web browser or a mobile device or client software. The client software looks just like any folder.

The software automates the synchronizing of files and photos. The Dropbox works just like any other folder on your computer, but with a few differences. You can drag and drop move files around, just like you normally would in any folder.

Any files or folders inside Dropbox will get synchronized to Dropbox’s servers and any other computer linked to your account. Green checkmarks will appear on top of your files to let you know that they’re synced and up to date.

Your files are always safe. All data is transferred over SSL and encrypted with AES-256 before storage.

Dropbox keeps track of every change made to any of its contents. Any changes are instantly and automatically sent to any other computer linked to your Dropbox. The Dropbox clients for Windows, Mac and Linux all play nice with one another too!

Dropbox’s shared folders make it easy for you to share a bunch of stuff with other people. This makes Dropbox perfect for team projects, music/video editing, and much more. Easily share files just two clicks away. share photos. There is a 2gb limit.

Visit Dropbox to learn more about the service or watch this screencast.

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