As the head of this here thing I think it goes a long way when people do good deeds and as only I have control of the good deeds AFDIT does it falls on my shoulders to walk the walk.

I’ve had a few ideas on the best way to do this – and it may be that in the future you find out about some of them – but now and again I just do something small and I consider them a step in the right direction.

Yesterday a friend said she wanted a new dress. She said the dress was too costly and that she couldn’t afford or justify it’s expense and asked (albeit jokingly) if someone would buy it for her.

Well I thought about how people like presents (and I’m not sure if I’ve ever bought said friend a present before) so tried to justify it for myself somehow. Then it hit me: Kiva!

Kiva offers people a mechanism with which to lend entrepreneurs in poorer countries money. Those entrepreneurs repay their loans and the Kiva lender can start lending the money again to another Entrepreneur. It’s like giving money to charity but the money can be given again and again because the lenders get repaid.

Well I was going to put some money in my Kiva account anyway – roughly the same amount as this dress – and so why not bring someone else in on the deal?

The deal was struck. I proposed that I buy the dress as a present if, and only if, the recipient put the equivalent amount in to a Kiva account and start lending and never take the money out again.

I thought this was a good way to get someone started with Kiva – bribe them / pay for the first loan. Having thought about it I may bribe more people and ask them to bribe others. In fact most friends+family can expect Kiva vouchers for their foreseeable birthday and Christmas presents.

Unfortunately you can’t comment on this post until I fix my commenting system – but bare with me… it’ll be there soon.

Inspired by ever increasing publicity and debate I’ve decided to write a post on Linux Operating Systems and Free Open Source Software (FOSS).

For the uninitiated, the Linux Kernel is a bit of code at the heart of any Linux system, be it Ubuntu (a popular desktop Operating System), Android (Google’s mobile phone Operating System) or what runs inside everday gadgets (like this)

The Kernel is like the foundation Lego brick that any Linux system uses at it’s core. That’s why Linux can look and feel different depending on it’s release. It could look like a mobile phone, it could be a media player or games console, or it could be an Operating System a little like Apple’s OSX or Microsoft Windows.

Here’s a few things that make Linux and FOSS different from OSX and Windows:

• It is free (“as in beer” / £0)
• It is free (“as in freedom” – I’ll explain further in a moment)
• It’s stable (Nasa/Google/NSA etc all rely on it)
• All the code is “open” to explore and change
• The transparency/openness breeds trust.
• Don’t like it? Change it! (Wikipedia model)
• And finally – Microsoft are criminal – just look at the fines

To give a little added insight – the first mentioning of the term free means just that – it costs nothing. Although this does not apply to all FOSS products it is common throughout Linux OSes and FOSS. “How do the companies/programmers make their money?” you may ask – well, it’s usually through services (such as support) rather than the product (the software).

The second mention of being free refers to freedom. Those behind FOSS wanted to allow things to flurish in the open and they knew that keeping ties on how this would happen hindered that development. The result is a vast array of different people trying to achieve frequently similar aims. They can do this together by joining Open Source projects or they can take different routes like the major desktop interfaces, KDE and Gnome. Those two do roughly the same job but in different ways. This gives the user total freedom to choose and the choices often seem endless.

But, as with everything that has quality to it – the critics rave, people on the internet catch on and in no time at all – it’s a hit

For most people – this is the entry point for using Linux OSes or FOSS. If there enough other people using it you can get answers to questions in Forums or on official support sites and, hey “that many people can’t be wrong” has some truth to it.

To dip your toes in to FOSS as a Mac or Windows user try the following:

Open Office – If you have used Microsoft Office before (Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc) this software is deisgned for the same purpose – word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows and so on. It will save to open formats like .odf as well as being able to save as or open .doc files (as created by Microsoft Word). If you have ever felt the need to pirate MS Office just to open and work with files, here’s your opportunity to try a different approach.

Firefox – I’m guessing you’ve already heard of this high flyer. Firefox is one of the most highly used web browsers on the internet today and it’s all open source. It is easily expandable through the use of add-ons – which, are more simple to create as developers have access to as much or little of the open source code as they would like. Thanks to it’s transparent code it has also seen development of better security at it’s core than closed rival Internet Explorer. This has come in the form of companies and individuals all providing feedback when they noticed something in the code that could be improved.

7-Zip – When you receive a compressed file you need to decompress it. Windows has a program built in to Vista and Windows 7 that does this for you sometimes. Well getting a copy of 7-zip lets you open and create compressed files of all types! Finally you can have one great application that you know will handle all variations of compressed file.

VLC - This is an all-round video and media player. As with Open Office and 7-zip the power of this application comes with it’s ability to play all manor of file types without the need for additional codecs. VLC is soon to be releasing a video editor as well, building on the success of it’s media player.

For the more adventurous among you I can suggest 3 ways to try out Linux based Operating Systems.

Wubi - It’s an acronym for Windows Ubuntu Installer (you’ll find a lot of acronyms used as FOSS names) and with it you can install a copy of Ubuntu alongside your Windows installation with the same ease as installing any Windows application. This has to be the easiest way to try Ubuntu (or any Linux OS).

LiveUSB / LiveCD – Simply put this is an install disk which can sit on either a CD or a USB stick. But it’s more than that! You can also try the whole Operating System before you install it So, to achieve this just grab a recordable CD or a USB stick and use the appropriate link in the title of this paragraph. The USB link will take you to a program called LinuxLiveUSB – this manages the process of putting a LiveOS of your choice. I’d recommend Jolicloud/Ubuntu/Fedora/Mint from it’s list of options as they are great for beginners to get going. If instead you don’t have a USB stick click any of the following to get the .iso file (this is a CD Image ready to burn to disc) Jolicloud, Ubuntu, Fedora or Mint – please note that if you use the Mint link you’ll need to click on a link in the list of “Mirrors”. The Live method should let you get started with the Operating System as a whole, although if you would like to make certain changes and then come back to those changes when the machine is rebooted look for the “persistence” options. Jolicloud / LinuxLiveUSB and Wubi should offer simple set up of this.

Virtualisation -Virtualisation refers to the ability to install an Operating System within a virtual environment that replicates a normal install. Think of it as a testing environment which is like a spare machine you have lying around. The only difference is the spare machine is a program on your current Operating System – in this case we’re using Virtualbox. This allows people to try one or more versions of different Operating Systems and figure out the pros and cons without having to continually reboot. The virtual environment will be accessible inside your current OS! If you have ever seen a Mac user using Windows inside their MacOS then this was how it was done. Just as with the LiveCD option you will need a .iso once you have Virtualbox installed, so go ahead and use of those above links to download that file and install it in your new virtual environment.

I’m going to end this post here but stay tuned and I will continue from where I’ve left of and provide more news of where Linux and FOSS is going next.

Thanks for reading this far – now get back to work!

Ok – this is the last post of the day (3 in such a short space of time is overkill after so little blogging for so long).

After discovering the majestic awesomeness which is Mahalo I soon found myself participating in asking questions and getting in a few answers of my own. Immediately I was hooked and still can’t leave the site alone.

My favourite and most affirming answer to write was a little fun one where the question was simply to write a short story. There was only a very slight premise within which to keep the story based – it was to be Sci Fi in a cafe called Starport where all the races of aliens came together to share a coffee.

I hadn’t done any creative writing since school but I started to sketch down an idea (it was 4am and I was ready for bed) and it all just flowed. The asker of the question was even so kind as to tip me for it. Flattered and confident I have decided to carry on. This is where you can follow my Starport series : http://putfingertokey.afdit.co.uk

Also, as some of you may know, I am off travelling for a while and again I’ve given myself a new subdomain to issue my route, pictures tales of adventure and a schedule of where I am to keep my mother calm.

Track my travels here : http://travel.afdit.co.uk

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back again soon (but not too soon).

In the theme of getting back in to the blogosphere here at AFDIT I have to start by introducing you to one of our latest and greatest client – Caz Haigh.

Caz is an environmental Illustrator based in Sheffield. She excells in her field being head-hunted by all and sundry for her excellent skills in design and illustration. She even helped with the creation of her website!

We pointed out all the benefits of WordPress and Caz was hooked. With some extra food for thought and a little coaxing to munch through the most important aspects we set to work. Knowing Caz’s design was to offer her work in a portfolio themed to echo her own styles we offered to do the coding and gave her the job of coming up with mock-ups and even the wire-framing. This seemed like the perfect match as we love our coding and Caz loves her designing – neither wanted to tread on each other’s toes.

The entire process took about a month start to finish and Caz has been working her way up the organic SEO ladder ever since.

We at AFDIT wish Caz all the best in the future and are confident of her unreserved success. Keep up to date at her site : http://cazhaigh.co.uk and between you and me she has some big things in the works just now – but lets try our best to keep that under wraps!

Oh and you can also follow her on Twitter here.

Adios amigos.

Hello stranger!

If you’ve ever read posts from my site before you’ll know there has been something missing of late – namely me and any posts.

Well I’m back and the posts will commence once again.

I could fill you in on all the things I’ve been doing but you will read about all that in the other blog posts I’m about to add.

Thanks for tuning back in and, just for a short while, stay tuned – there’s lots coming up.

AFD

The Danes tend to know what they’re doing from my experience but unfortunately this is one of those examples where theory is all that’s being exhibited.

Bonnier and BERG teamed up to publish a concept video surrounding the requirements of publishing for tablet format devices – entitled MAG+

According to the Bonnier website this video was primarily a launch spot for discussion as to what exactly  issuing magazines to tablet format devices would entail and how best to fit in refined gesture tech along side natural, intuitive human computer interaction.

Once you’ve seen the video I presume there will be questions, of which these are mine:

• The hardware is designed to do the job of a colour ebook reader with multi-touch, video playback, connectivity etc, so how will this formatting distinguish itself from online magazines (usually free) using good web design. Ie. Any android based tablet would be able to find a site designed along these guidelines and read with similar interaction. With the publishing industry working on this sort of platform/system looking for revenue comparable with paper magazines – this will have to weave in to a web-based revenue model to work across all access points and not soley focused on ebook/tablet formats.
• Have I got it all wrong? Could this style of “browsing” with touch and gesture translate into web 2.5 – the start of sites being designed around touch specific controls?

Video and official blog entry can be found here.

Since the Fusion Garage engineer Chandra Rathakrishnan gave a webcast yesterday concerning the Joo Joo and it’s legal / branding adjustments people have been eagerly awaiting a hands-on demo as was promised by Rathakrishnan.

Well Cnet seemed to be first in the queue and have plenty of pics and a video to demo the device for all to see.

The specs at this time are as follows and the release date is the 11th December 09.

• 12.1 inch, 1,366 x 768  HD capable capacitive touchscreen
• 4GB internal memory
• 5 hours of battery life
• Built-in mic, and speakers
• 1 USB port
• A card slot (multi-format or SD – we’re not sure)
• No details on the CPU, GPU or screen manufacturer
• Linux-based OS designed to only boot to browser which happens in 9 seconds and includes Flash.
• Gesture based browsing support – to include dog-earing of webpages for bookmarking them in the future.

Of course it would be great to see a strip down of the device hardware and better still a Linux full OS hack – I’m thinking Moblin, Chrome OS, CrunchBang or your favourite Linux flavour.

We’re really keen to see this device come to market and the competitive bandwagon be hoped on by all and sundry. And with rumours around of a Google handset being released next year (not just Android OSed but actually Google branded) how long before they edge in to the tablet market?

Hands-on demo @Cnet

Of course the news of the Crunchpad being cancelled was going to shock readers and leave some without hope of ever seeing a decent tablet device available for purchase (sorry PMPs but you’re just not up to scratch).

Well prepare to be shocked all over again. Fusion Garage – the folks who were working on the original Crunchpad tablet – have issued news that a non-Crunchpad branded Crunchpad will become available soon.

Rebranded as the Fusion Garage Joo Joo Tablet (bit of a mouthful compared to Crunchpad) this should include almost everything the Crunchpad was promised to utilise. But what they left out could lead this tablet to it’s own death before it even takes off – a decent battery life, a reasonable £250-300 price tag, 3G amidst others.

Whether it is greeted with acclaim or dissent, you’ll have to wait till the 11th of December.

TheJooJoo.com

Following from the article we worte about upcoming tablet tech we are now interested in the Camangi WebStation and it’s 7″ Android based device now available for pre-order.

Watch this space to see how it is received and how much they have made of the platform destined to take over the world.

The gadgets that are cirulating this year in the run up to Christmas are much the same as last years but this time in HighDefinition, multi-touch and always with the better battery life or new Operating System… That’s why I’m choosing to write about what should have been the big product this Christmas – the Apple Tablet.

I have been yearning over a decent size tablet-only form factor device coming to the UK for a while now.  And as the idea isn’t exactly a new one what with swivel-screen laptops having been available for a decade -  why could this Christmas be the best time to enter the market?

Lets start with talking about the proposed functionailty of such devices. If I can just dream outloud for a moment, I would liek to see my new tablet made to support the following:

• Android style social network integration (Facebook/Twitter/Flickr ).
• Fully developed apps for web browsing, media playback, image viewing and video conferencing.
• Decent and simple server syncing for Email/Webmail, Contacts, Calendars.
• Android/iPhone style app marketplace for all those little things like PDF viewing, touchscreen PC media remotes.

This should be relatively simple given the strength of the Android system on phones so far. The required hardware would not even need a speedy CPU if the hardware was not to run a full blown Linux distro and simply a lightweight Android system. Saying that – I’m not sure how video would fare especially when the world of HD is moving into the mainstream. – but there are low cost solutions to these quandaries.

The issue is that I know I would always want to do slightly more than an Android system would allow, such as use that touchscreen for drawing and graphics editing, possibly even video editing, but if it were HD video and the OS were Android that would not be a lot of fun. The other thing is the low low cost of netbooks over the past 18months has lead people to understand how little they need spend to get great functionality. This article for instance is being written on an Acer Aspire One netbook which is just a N270 Atom powered 9″ £150 bargain! Luckily a Linux OS – Fedora 12 – picks up where the hardware leaves off and I achieve a large amount of my workload using an inexpensive piece of kit.

So, bar the cost of a multi-touch screen this should all be acheivable on a budget right? Well… that depends on what you want to run on it – whether you’d accept an Android system, a full Linux based distro, Windows 7 or OSX. Obviously Android and Linux can run on cheaper specialised hardware like Via/Qualcomm/ARM etc whereas Windows and OSX will likely only be supported or even workable on more mainstream CPUs.

In terms of those wanting the iTablet (or whatever they’re going to call it) to be capable of everything their £800 macbook can do – you’re going to have to wait. Jobs isn’t bringing anything out in time for Christmas so late and he will have also priced many out of the sweet spot for these devices. What I would concentrate on is the convergence of digital photoframes / alarm clocks / touchscreen remotes / ebook readers etc but all with an expandable OS and larger screen than any current smartphone (or even the Archos PMPs). And that is the next point – to PMP or not to PMP?

The answer is that these devices will converge like just about anything else (sat nav / mp3 / calendars) onto the appropriate smartphone or tablet.  For me that means I will continue to play my mp3s back from a netbook/desktop/smartphone as and when it takes my fancy. But do I want to take a massive collection of media everywhere I go? Well, massive no – but 8-16GB SD cards are cheap enough now for me to think 16GB in my phone and 16-32GB in a tablet (via expansion slot obv) is not too much to ask. As both my phone and the tablet would be wirelessly bonded via bluetooth or Wifi I could playback videos taken with my phone on the tablet. Or I can sync important folders between the two. But where does this leave PMPs? I would say, dead in the water unless they bring much bigger touchscreens to their PMPs and only offer an Anrdoid OS / Linux / Windows option. No more homegrown OSes. They’re worse than useless and people expect more.

If you happened to be wishing for the same gadgets in your stockings as I am, here is where I would keep a watchful eye:

Engadget’s Apple Tablet page (face it they’ll know about it within seconds of Apple’s announcements)

Camangi WebStation

Amtek Tablets

ICD Vega Tablet

RAmos W7

Crunchpad

Update : The Crunchpad will not be available anytime soon