Author: Lukas Rox

Ubuntu 11.10 coming this October

Lukas Rox Software , , , ,

On 1st of September Beta 1 of the new Ubuntu was released on the Ubuntu releases website. This build is a big leap forward since the last time I tested the new Ubuntu.

Unity & Unity-2D

  • Unity Greeter is now the default login screen.
  • Dash has been improved a lot since 11.04. A mechanism similar to Windows 7 Libraries is now in place and is calles Lenses (Application Lens, Files Lens, Music Lens). The Dash button has been moved from the top ribbon to the to of the Unity launcher, which provides more streamlined experience.
  • Windows controls (min, max, close) are now hidden by default and are only displayed on mouse-over. This reminds of the EVE Online GUI, which also had this feature introduced at around 2008.
  • Alt-Tab switcher made it back (there has been a great alt-tab switcher in Compiz, which has been missing since introduction of Unity) and now displays previews of windows contents, even those minimized.
  • The rightmost shutdown icon has been changed to include a small gear, so it suggests there is “settings” menu hidden under it.
  • Messaging and login buttons have been merged to “Messaging menu” which now includes all messaging applications, social websites, mail and status updates.

By default, if 3D acceleration is not available, Ubuntu 11.10 will now fall back to Unity-2D (instead of GNOME in 11.04). Unity-2D also contains most of the upgrades of its 3D-enabled counterpart, including Lenses and new Dash. If you don’t like Unity at all, it is still possible to install GNOME 3.1.4 from the Ubuntu Software Center.

Software

By default, the new Ubuntu delivers the following software:

  • Kernel 3.0.0-9.15
  • Firefox 7.0 beta 3
  • Thunderbird 7.0 beta 1
  • Nautilus 3.1.4
  • LibreOffice 3.4.2
  • Gedit 3.1.4
  • Totem 3.0.1
  • Banshee 2.1.3
  • Empathy 3.1.5.1
  • Shotwell 0.11
  • Gwibber 3.1.6
  • Transmission 2.33
  • Deja Dup 19.90

The next milestones for Oneiric are as follows:

September 22nd – Beta 2 Release
October 6th – Release Candidate
October 13th – final Ubuntu 11.10

PS. If you already have Ubuntu 11.04 and would like to upgrade your exisiting system to the current beta release, run this command:

sudo do-release-upgrade -d

Please mind that this is still a Beta, so it can be unstable. I am not responsible for any damage this causes to your system.

PS. II Development branch is currently very unstable, some processes die for no reason; there are multiple bug reports on launchpad, so think twice before installing the current build on a production system.

iPad 2 on sale on ispot.com.pl

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , ,

iPad 2 is now on sale on ispot.com.pl. The prices of all models have been reduced by several percent.

Storage WiFi WiFi + 3G
16GB 1999 PLN 2529 PLN
32GB 2499 PLN 2949 PLN
64GB 2899 PLN 3379 PLN

If you still haven’t decided between WiFi and 3G iPad, this post might help you make a decision. Personally I don’t think a 3-5% sale is going to attract many customers. A 10% or more would have a much better effect.

How to tether tablet PC to mobile phone

Lukas Rox Mobile , , , , , , , ,

Many people ask me recently how to tether a Wifi iPad to mobile phones. Fortunately, a guide already exist under this link: Internet Tethering vs 3G Tablet. I hope this guide helps those who already have a Wifi-only tablet, and all those, who still haven’t decided between 3G and Wifi tablet PC.

Galaxy on Fire 2 THD released in TegraZone

Lukas Rox Games, Mobile , , ,

Galaxy on Fire 2, a famous game developed by FISHLABS has been updated for the nVidia Tegra 2 chip, which is powering some of the most desired Android tablets, such as Motorola XOOM. Xoom owners can now enjoy GoF 2 with updated graphical assets (shaders and high quality textures for example).

If you are a lucky Tegra 2 based device owner, you can download the game here: http://www.tegrazone.com/games/galaxyonfire2

Tegra HD screenshot12 Tegra HD screenshot11 Tegra HD screenshot10

EDIT: iPad 2 will not be abandoned by FISHLABS either; Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD is already available for Mac and is coming soon to iPad 2, according to ign.com and developer forums. A Windows version is also on the roadmap. Screens from the Mac version look quite tasty 😉

Incarna 1.1 on the horizon

Lukas Rox EVE Online , , ,

CCP has been working on the Minmatar CQ while pushing forward with the development of the remaining racial quarters. CCP Fallout also mentioned that CCP is working on establishments (my second name is Quark and I wanna have my own space-bar). Incarna 1.1 will bring some improvements to the existing CQ, and later this year CCP will bring the remaining racial quarters as well as established.

Compared to space-barbies, space-bars might actually be quite interesting (I am definitely going to try this out).

Incarna 1.1 patch will be deployed on Thursday, 1st of September.

Beasts of the field (c) CCP 2011
Beasts of the field (c) CCP 2011

New tablet PCs in Orange Poland

Lukas Rox Hardware, Mobile, Tablets , , , , , ,

Polish network operators do not necessarily go along with the Tablet PC boom. Last thursday Orange has introduced two new Android-based tablet PCs into their offer:

  • HTC Flyer
  • Motorola XOOM

Orange already had two slates in their offer: Samsung Galaxy Tab and Orange Tablet (rebranded Huawei S7 device). Pricing looks quite good, compared to no contract option, so this might shake polish Tablet PC market a little bit (and actually make it grow):

HTC Flyer and Motorola Xoom pricing with a 24 month Orange Free contract is as follows:

  • Orange Free 99,90: 1799 PLN
  • Orange Free 129,90: 1479 PLN
  • Orange Free 159,90: 978,99 PLN
  • Orange Free 189,90: 839 PLN
Tablet PCs in Orange PL
Tablet PCs in Orange PL

Source: www.orange.pl

EDIT: Wojciech Jabczyński, spokeperson for TP and Orange Poland, has confirmed on his blog, that two more tablet PCs will be introduced in Orange: Dell Streak 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Curious thing is how Samsung goes around the ruling from a german court, stating that Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 cannot  be sold in European Union. It seems however, that this ruling does not apply to Poland, and the new Samsung slate will be available soon.

Starcraft II: Starter Edition

Lukas Rox Games , ,

Blizzard has recently released a free Starter Edition for Starcraft II, which is supposed to replace the small SC II demo. StarCraft II: Starter Edition allows anyone to play the following content for free (Battle.net account and Internet connection is required):

  • The first four missions of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty single-player campaign, including Mar Sara 1-3 and the choice of Tychus’s first mission or Dr. Hansen’s first mission.
  • The first two Challenges: Tactical Command and Covert Ops.
  • Access to the terran race in Custom Games and Single-Player vs. AI.

Any campaign progress and achievements earned while playing StarCraft II: Starter Edition are automatically saved to Battle.net account, and will carry over after upgrade to the full version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

 

Cockroach frigate design: fake or not?

Lukas Rox ((IC)), EVE Online, Games, Role-playing , , , ,

There have been rumours in the capsuleer community recently about a new vessel designed around Rogue Drones technology codenamed the ‘Cockroach’. There has been footage of this vessel (on which it is able to destroy a Control Tower along with a complete set of structures – please see here), but there has been no data on the ship itself. An anonymous source has published a file on galnet which seemed to be an industrial database backup. One of the hackers employed by the Torchwood Archive corporation has found the following record in forementioned file:

Cockroach class ship
Cockroach class ship

Cockroach

The specially adapted rogue drone scanning technology integrate into this unique frigate-sized platform is reserved for the exclusive use of the elite Equipment Certification and Anomaly Investigations Division (ECAID) agents. The femtometer wavelength scan resolution allows the pilot to virtually dissect and analyze any object at a subatomic scale, divining all flaws and defects with an uncanny level of quality. Flying one of these amazing ships is also a great mark of achievement. Any ECAID agent worthy of such a command can be said to have reached the pinnacle of his career and is worthy of all capsuleer’s deep respect.



There is also a record of a ship of this class destroyed about a year ago here. Unfortunately it is impossible to confirm if footage mentioned above was real or just a clever fake. A ship with such capabilities should easily be able to fend off a group of other ships.

((OOC: I found this ship while surfing through the inv_items table from EVE Data dump))

iPhone rapidly discharges battery

Lukas Rox Mobile, Software , , , ,

Hanged background process to blame?

I become worried with the battery life of my iPhone over the past four days. Out of a sudden, the battery of my phone would become half-drained just after 12 hours of standby, which would indicate that the battery is dying and needs to be replaced. On the fourth day I did not connect the phone to the charger overnight, and the battery was drained completely by the following morning.

I have connected the phone to its charger and booted it. To my surprise battery life is now back to normal and the phone UI is not sluggish anymore. It seems, that there was some process running continuously in the background. iPhone 3G has no multitasking, so it had to be one of the native iOS background processes. I have not restarted nor completely discharged my phone for over half a year now, so the system uptime was quite long.

What does it mean for iPhone users?

Restart your phone now and then – memory leaks and bugs in the iOS might surface after extended uptime.

Model: iPhone 3G (2 gen.)
OS: iOS 4.2.1 (not jailbroken)