Don’t you think its amazing that you can now have a multifunction computer with a dedicated graphics processing unit, a high definition screen, high fidelity sound, speech recognition, touch sensitivity, satellite navigation, compass, full Internet connectivity, fm radio, voip phone, point and shoot camera and camcorder with 1080p, ftp server, print server, ebook reader, audio / video streamer, remote control and all the apps you will ever need in the palm of your hand? Crazy no? We are living in exciting times.
I have been a faithful android fanatic ever since it launched. I used to have windows smartphones before this, but I am sure you can understand why I would want to move away from that OS.
I just bought the Samsung Galaxy S 2, after flogging my Nexus S on fleabay.. what a device I tell you.. simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Its got a 1.2 Ghz dual core processor and all of the android communities prowess behind it. Its going strong and is currently the most advanced Android smartphone out there. Check out the monster specs sheet n GSMArena.com and a hands on review on Engadget
The kickass Samsung Galaxy S2
I wanted to try out homebrewed android ROMs after rooting my device over the weekend, as its the all the rave right now. I tried out a few including one called VillianRom. Although there are a few other ROMs out there, this seems to be the most mature. So anyways, I wanted to get the latest android release on my phone, which currently is Gingerbread 2.3.4 so after installing VillianRom I can report that the phone has become truly supersonic. The quadrant benchmarking scores are off the ROOF, and Linpack reports 86 megaflops on multithread.
There is a lot I can say about this phone, actually I can’t stop talking about it, so I’ll stop here. I will however list some of the apps I most frequently use.
Coolest Apps On The Android Market as of July 2011
Some screenshots for to make this post a little colourful.
Home Screen Galaxy S2 Stock ROM
Quadrant score for galaxy S2 on Stock Rom
Linpack Score for Galaxy S2 Stock ROM
I will do some more posts about Android in general and how to squeeze every bit of juice out of your android device including tips and tricks as well as some serious reviews on some Android devices I have tested and used including:
So I needed something powerful. Something that could cope with my routine resource hungry applications. Something that would effortlessly kick my HP small form factor workstation’s posterior into oblivion. So I embark on this very interesting and rewarding mission to build myself the ultimate Home Theatre PC. I had a budget in mind and I aimed exactly for that.
After a full 2 months of loitering around hardware review sites like Tom’s Hardware and Overclockers.co.uk forumsas well as taking on advice from trusted overclockers at my local “raging technophiles” committee, I started my quest for overclocking bliss. With all things IT, (or all things generally) just remember, the Goog is your buddy.
This was not built for gaming mind you, it was built to quench my thirst for super warp speed with applications as well as the desire to learn a little more about overclocking and why people do it. From the application list below, I will attempt to justify the build.
24/7 applications:
29 mailboxes on my outlook 2010
Mozy Online Backup (8TB of continuous incremental backup)
Windows Media Server for streaming media across home (PS3, Android phones, Mac mini, Laptops)
Audio Galaxy (Android Music Streaming application)
VNC Enterprise Server
Windows Server 2003 virtual machine for FTP and UAT web server
5. OCZ 120GB Vertex 3 6GBps SATA 3 Solid State Drive
Will only be used for Windows 7 OS and all the program files. Currently fully booting windows in under 8 seconds… whhaacck (judo chop impression)
6. 1GB Sapphire HD 5750 Vapor X Radeon Graphics Card
Crisis 2? Bring it. 1080p? yawnnn
7. 5x Seagate Baracuda 2TB 5900 RPM 8ms seek Hard drives
All configured with RAID 0 for a single 10TB hard drive.. oh yeah. Any recommendations for what I should name this drive?
8. Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro Series 7.1 Sound Card
Avoid the built in mobo sound card like the plague. My MP3s sound like FLAC now, and the 7.1 through my Yamaha RXV 1700 amp is MAD. THX certified, DTS, Dolby Digital all out of the box.
9. Noctua NH-U9B CPU Cooler Noctua NF-R8 silent fans
This cooler is MASSIVE. its as big as my size 13.5 shoe. Near soundless operation though.
10. Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600w PSU
PSU? yeah, PSU too.. I will PSU your ass all the way to China with this mofo.
11. Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BD-ROM & DVDRW Combo Player
Why not huh? I have a PS3 too.. but why not… come on
So thats all the hardware list apart from the odd cable, fan splitters or sticky tape etc. I was pleased when I started up the beast, WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM.. boot up perfect. All hardware detected in one go, BIOS taking a bow. I would have loved a much nicer HTPC case I guess.. but all in good time right? Have a look at this beauty by OriginAE…
AND… here are some pictures of the finished build. Click on the images to see FULL SIZE!
Windows Experience Rating
SSD Life
CPU-Z
Although I have not had the chance to properly overclock the system to tested and stable 4.9GHz speeds, I am reading up on this threadto see how far I can push the boundaries. I have meanwhile used ASUS’s own auto tuning feature. It has overclocked the PROC to 4.2GHz stable. DDR3 next.
I am pleased with this sufficiently powerful piece of modern machinery, I may well find out that it is over powered for what I thought I needed with all that serious grunt under the hood. If that may be the case (should become apparent in a couple of months of use), I am happy to put the extra horse power to good use with the Folding@Home project. This will add to the 24/7 applications list above.
I have already gotten some useless feedback from a few people I told. Most of them came back with the same “why do you even need so much power?” retort to which my response is usually a projectile spit bomb.
My next project?
I came across quite an interesting concept recently while searching for ways to play FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) in my car. Currently, there is no way of playing FLAC in your car with anyafter market in car entertainment systems. Do a search for it, you will see what I mean. But then, I came accross this very cool concept called the “Carputer“, yup, you guessed its a “car-computer”, imagine Windows 7 Ultimate in your car way hey! Perhaps my next project? Maybe………….
I always like to brag about the gadgets I have at home and what better way to do it than right here on my very own blog. I have always been a gadget freak and spent extravagantly on things that look and sound fantastic. I obviously spend without being able to afford it. God bless credit cards. I have friends with similar interests and we often challenge each other’s egos and pockets to get the best piece of kit before anyone else. Although I haven’t bought anything for a while now, I always feel the need to go to some electronics superstore and let my impulses loose.
If you are a gadget freak like myself, I highly recommend registering on AVFORUMS. It’s the most active gadgets forum in the UK right now. There are a lot of American ones that I visit too. Google em’. Do get yourselves on the syndication feeds from these great websites.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
