Scratch Pad

Alienware M17x :A Gamers Delight !!

Aravind P Unnithan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:06:02 +0000

Alienware is an american boutique computer maker famous for its powerful machines and unique sci-fi themed designs.All their machines are high on power and heavy on the wallet(generally). Alienware became wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell in 2006 but still operates separately.Now dell brings Alienware to india .Alienware takes the place of dells old gaming line -XPS laptops and desktops which are being phased out now.

The first of Alienware gaming line is Alienware M17x a mammoth machine which is easily the largest(40.5X32 cm),heaviest(>5kg) and most imposing laptop in indian markets now.The specifications of Alienware M17x are such that it dwarfs any other in the indian technology arena .

Alienware M17x comes with a quad-core Mobile core 2 Extreme QX9300 CPU running at 2.53 Ghz with a 12MB L2 cache.The standard memory is 4GB extendable to 8GB.Graphics are handled by dual Nvidia GeforceGTX 260Ms in SLI mode with 1GB of RAM each with option to upgrade to dual to dual GTX 280Ms.The storage option available are 160GB, 250GB, 320GB, 500GB at 7,200RPM.

Other Specifications are:

Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio

Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Combo (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 (1000 Mbps)

Internal Wireless a/g/draft-n with MIMO (2×2) Technology)

Internal Wireless Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

4 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports

1 eSATA/USB 2.0 Combo (2-in-1 port) with PowerShare

IEEE 1394a (4-pin) port

ExpressCard Slot

DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA – Video Output

Front Speakers Audio Out Connector / Headphone Jack

Center Speaker and Subwoofer Audio Out Connector / Headphone Jack

Rear Surround Audio Out Connector

Audio In / Microphone Jack

Two Built-In Front Speakers

Now on to other features

BinaryGFX:This technology gives users the ability to switch between discrete or integrated graphics

Stealth Mode:This mode can also be called the power saver mode,in this mode discrete graphics cards are turned off and other components throttle down to achieve a 65W power limit.

Numeric key:It have separate numeric keypad as in desktops which is uncharacteristic for a normal laptop.

Lighting:There are customizable lights in the glowing alien head logo keyboard,track pad edge ,media control button and speaker grill.

All these said but now comes the factor which guides the deal in india the most “price” , According to the dell site the price is Rs.138,000(includes taxes and delivery charges).

Barcamp Kerala 6 at Rajagiri College Campus

Aravind P Unnithan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:52:15 +0000

The 6th edition of Barcamp kerala is scheduled to be held at Rajagiri College Campus, Ernakulam on 11th October, 2009.

For some , the concept of Barcamp would be alien ( few months back i was in that catagory!!) so a few words on it is in order here.

Barcamps fall in to the category of ”unconferences” ,ie they are not bound by the rules and customs followed by the usual meetings,where every thing had to be done in a predefined format.The best words that describe Barcamp is “NO SPECTATORS , ONLY PARTICIPANTS” .Here any participent can come up with a sessionon his prefered topic provided it is thought to be worth listening by others present at the barcamp. If a session is boring we are free to walk out from it.But everyone who attends it must support it one way or the other.

The first Barcamp Kerala was organised in November 2007 at Technopark after that it had been to CUSAT(BCK2 in February 08 and BCK3 in December 08) ,IIMK(BCK4 in January 2009) and it was back in technopark for BCK5 in May 09 and now it comes to kochi in its 6th edition .

There are no registration fees or any charges for a barcamp as this is a user-generated conference .Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

Hope to be a part of BCK 6.

If a session is boring we are free to walk out from it.But everyone who attends it must support it one way or the other.

The first Barcamp was organised in November 2007 at Technopark after that it had been to CUSAT(BCK2 in February 08 and BCK3 in December 08) ,IIMK(BCK4 in January 2009) and it was back in technopark for BCK5 in May 09 and now it comes to kochi in its 6th edition .

There are no registration fees or any charges for a barcamp as this is a user-generated conference .Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.Hope to be a part of BCK 6.

Windows 7 XP Mode :”"Last Mile” compatibility Technology

Aravind P Unnithan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:47:02 +0000

Windows 7 Xp Mode entered into next phase of its life cycle with the announcement of its RC* on 4th August.Its beta phase started in April and this RC is built on it based on the feedback’s which they got.

Before going into details of what are3 the improvements in in RC from beta version a brief introduction of Xp mode is in order .According to Microsoft in majority of cases Xp mode is not necessary as Windows 7 is highly compatible with windows Xp and Vista.So naturally most of the Xp application will run natively on Windows 7.Microsoft do not want to overburden clients who are shifting from Xp environment to Windows 7 in terms of newer W7 compatible software of which the had the Xp version.So the concept of Xp mode surfaced which Microsoft terms as the last mile in compatibility technology.It is a virtual system which run Xp above the Windows 7 and all Xp software can run in this environment.Microsoft had a word of caution for their clients,Microsoft recommends for a separate Security software for Xp mode so that it is well protected.

Windows Xp mode works with RC and RTM* versions of Windows 7 Professional,Ultimate and Enterprise.

Now moving on to the changes in RC from Beta version

* Direct USB Access: Now USB can be attached directly to the Xp mode from the Window 7 task Bar .Thus USB devices like printers,scanners,flash drives etc are available to applications in Xp mode.

* Jump List: Right clicking on Windows Xp mode application in the Windows 7 task-bar will list most recently used Xp files.

* Differencing Disk File: We have the flexibility of customizing where Xp mode differencing disk files(related to virtualizing)are stored.

*Drive Sharing: RC version gives us the privilege to disable drive sharing so that drives are not shared bet ween Xp and windows 7.

* Tutorial: The RC version comes with a new user tutorial for convenience.

With the release of add-ons to windows 7 it seems that Microsoft is trying to recreate the magic which Xp once created and which vista failed to create .

RTM : Ready to Manufacture

RC : Release candidate

FIAT 500 : Dont Go By the Look !!!

Aravind P Unnithan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:18:49 +0000

Few days back while at Ernakulam i spotted two pieces of unusually shaped(for Indian standards) small car of FIAT at a TATA – FIAT outlet alongside a TATA nano.The size of the car made me feel that it is something in line with the nanos but this time from FIAT.

The shape and look made me curious about the model .The curiosity made me to visit the official site of FIAT India,there i found out that the car was FIAT 500 a reincarnation of the retro classic Fiat 500.But a surprising truth was waiting for me “Indian price is 1487500(kochi)”.I checked if there is any decimal point before the last zero ,no there wasn’t any.This increased my curiosity on this” small car” or “Lifestyle Car”(A term which i found repeatedly user for describing it in my reading) and left out in the web of information to explore it.Here i would like to share with you the facts that i came across during this exploration.

According to the literature at the fiat India website FIAT 500 made its first appearance in Indian automobile arena on 18th July 2008.As stated earlier it is the reincarnation of Classic FIAT 500 which was originally designed way back in 1957 by Dante Glocosa in Turin.FIAT 500 in its new incarnation had many coveted accolades to its credit like European car of the year 2008 award.

The price might be the reason behind it not becoming a common sight on Indian roads.This heavy price tag is attributed to fact that it is imported as CBU(Completely Built Units) which attracts many types of cost including the taxes and levies.

Now let us have a peek into the features of this “small” car.The variants available now are the 3-door LOUNGUE and SPORTS with null difference in their price tags.FIAT 500 is powered by 75bhp Fiat’s State -of-Art 1.3 litre 16-valve multijet turbo diesel engine.On the safety front it comes with 7 airbags(a first in its class) that include a knee bag.The level of security it provide to the passenger have earned it a5-Star EURO NCAP Safety rating.

FIAT also provide us the option of styling our fiat 500 the way we want by their FIAT 500 Personalisation Program.

We can hope to see more FIAT 500s on Indian roads in future ,But still the price tag is a constraint.