HREF Tech

You Should Read This on Your Kindle

2011-01-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys I have been away for a long time, I got lazy, but I'm back with lots of info. This Christmas I got a Kindle 3 and it is amazing. If you guys have read my previous post about the Kindle then you probably know why I got a Kindle, but for those of you who haven't: I dont actually intend to read that many books on there as I am not much of a book person, instead I got it to replace my textbooks for school. I have loaded up all my textbooks on there and it is absolutely amazing...not carrying my 15 pound book bag, but carrying a 8 ounce device feels great! If any of you reading this go to school and are tired of carrying your textbooks, I highly recommend getting one, plus it saves you loads of money. So over the next few days I will be posting a few tips about the Kindle, things like: How to change your screensaver, How to load pdf's on the Kindle, How to convert pdf's to Kindle format, and even how to get free newspaper and blog subscriptions! So I hope you guys are looking forward to that and I will... talk? to you tomorrow... (I'm not sure what verb I should use...definitely not "see"...maybe "write to", but thats sounds awkward)... anyway...Thanks. If you have any questions email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com

The End of Flash in a Flash

2010-10-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

"It happened so fast...It happened in a Flash!" Remember when Adobe acquired Flash? And now look whats happening...no one seems to want to use it. Why is this?! Well firstly its because it takes too long to load Flash rather than JavaScript or HTML 5. Also Flash just takes up so much memory on servers and it really isn't all that great of a program. I mean don't get me wrong, I learned action script so I could program in Flash, but at the same time I always wanted a better solution. With HTML 5 Flash has/is become/becoming secondary. Steve Jobs decided he didn't even want flash on the iPhone which really declared that the end of Flash was near. Plus when Android declared that they would have Flash in 2.1 and up, the tech community was like awesome, but then we saw the product. It was slow, it was buggy, it was close to useless. Although Flash on Android has improved it is still not quite up to par...Moreover, more and more people are using their phones as web surfing devices and if Flash can't work right on mobile devices then a better a solution will take its place, which is what happens in the tech world. If something doesn't work in a situation it is replaced, and eventually everyone starts adopting it. Much like Chrome ehhhh? So we shall see what happens, I'll try to keep you guys posted.

What is your opinion...is it the end of Flash?

Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on tiwtter @mahirshah1

Getting Geeky In WiFi Part 2 of 3

2010-10-13T12:59:00.001-07:00

It may seem farfetched and almost unattainable, but with the rapid growth of technology, most notably the use and adaptation of the internet, accessing the web has become an integral part of our lives. The internet started as a small network of scientists sharing data and has now exploded into a vast source of more than just information. The cloud is more -- it is a way for people to connect, share, watch, and learn. “On average, American adults are now spending just under 4 hours each day online; that is an 81% increase over 2006 numbers”(BizNet) The net has replaced so many traditional objects and is now replacing even more, your mothers cookbook is now online with 200 times the recipes, your dictionary is replaced by a search engine that can find words faster than you ever could, your television is now on the web with all the shows you could ever want, the list is never ending, reaching newspapers, encyclopedias, photo albums, hand written letters, and much more. Although physical items moving to the WWW may have come as a surprise to some, even more interesting is cloud computing, in which items already found on your computer have gone to the net. The cloud has become an endless expanding wildfire, engulfing everything in its path, with those stuck outside of it considered “old-gen”. This mass movement shows the readiness and willingness that the public has on taking the internet wherever they go.

Part 1 of 3: Getting Geeky in WiFi

2010-10-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Imagine sitting in the back of a taxi, in an airplane, or anywhere in the world and being connected to the internet through a World-Wide-Wi-Fi Network. With current mobile internet access methods, most commonly through “3G”, phone companies are able to charge exorbitant rates for subpar data plans that don’t at times meet consumer needs – with overcrowded lines, slow download rates and data packet dumps, it’s easy to see that change is needed. The question now, is “How?” Is there a way in which a company could set up a Wireless Network that can be accessed anywhere? Is there such a way that a company could charge much less than a typical 3G phone plan, and yet offer superior coverage and faster data rates?

Android gets Morbidly Obese

2010-10-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Yo Android is so big that when it goes to class it sits next to everyone! Yo Android is so fat that when it plays hopscotch it goes Asia, Africa, Antarctica. Yo Android is so big it has like 10 million phones on each of the big 4 carriers. The Android operating system has gained the most market share in America, and it doesn't seem unlikely that they will soon have the largest market share in the globe. Ever since the launch of Google's Android, the buzz has always been there and now it has multiplied with the launch of tons of phones of all different prices and most recently the launch of tablets. With it's ever growing list of apps, and Google's "hand off" approach Android may soon make it to the hands of 75% of the population maybe more.
So what is your opinion on this subject? Is Android becoming too powerful and is is a force that needs to be stopped or do you want Android toasters? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on tiwtter @mahirshah1. Thanks!

Graphene I Choose You!

2010-10-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, I thought I would throw in a Pokemon reference just for fun, but today's post is actually really, really, awesome - it has even more potential that any of my other posts, even Super WiFi! Yes you are probably wondering how anything can be cooler than Super WiFi, I mean come on, it's called Super WiFi! Anyway, two Russian scientists recently won the Nobel Peace Prize in Physics for their discovery of a new substance called Graphene. Graphene, it turns out has replaced diamond as the strongest material known to man, it is extremely conductive, it is transparent, it can dissipate heat easily, and it is the thinnest material in the world!! Basically it does everything - Graphene has huge potential! In terms of technology it has 2 clear uses, the first is in computer chips - remember Moor's Law? (the Intel chip maker that said that computer speeds would increase exponentially, until we couldn't add anymore transistors because anymore transistors after a certain point would create too much heat causing the chips to be less efficient) Well Graphene solves that problem; there is no road block in computer speeds, Graphene is amazingly conductive, thin, and it can dissipate heat meaning that if we made transistors out of Graphene, we could see computer speeds growing to insane proportions! Secondly, since Graphene is transparent, we could add it to plastics to make them strong and use this on phones and such. Before you call all your friends and tell them how awesome this blog is and about Graphene, there are some problems - Graphene can't be made en masse yet, so until it can, all of its uses are useless...
Have questions, comments, or ideas for my next post? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1.

Why are our "R" Backs Hurting?!

2010-10-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yes I added an extra "R" in the title just for fun, but you know how I do homeboy. Furthermore I realize I should be hiding with my kids, wife, and husband, but I found a computer in my hiding cave. Some might realize this meme reference, but for those who were living in/under a rock check out this video and this video after. So now for the real topic of discussion - Why do our school systems insist upon a more expensive, less green, and more painful way of education! Technology is here and we should use! 50% of students experience back pains by the time their 18, and studies show this is caused by text books! Yes the culprit is text books; who woulda thunk it! Furthermore high school textbooks cost an average of $80, while e-books cost 1/3 the price! See where I'm going with this? Yeah, e-readers for high schools! Personally I think this what needs to happen in the near future-
1. E-Readers are becoming relatively inexpensive, some costing a little more than an actual textbook
2. E-Books are much cheaper and therefore will save money in future
3. Search for text, highlight, take notes
4. No more lost or stolen books
5. Students can't say they forgot their book in their locker
6. No more back pain!

So what is your opinion on E-Readers? Emai me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on tiwtter @mahirshah1.

Google Monster Eats...Anything? and Microsoft the New Ikea?

2010-10-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

Is that too many questions in a title? Will I keep asking more questions without answering them? Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No, it's Google to rescue, or to many Google to the domination. Seriously Google started out as a search engine, now it has an amazing mail service, an awesome planner/calendar, an RSS reader, blogger, maps, youtube, shopping, finance, documents, and so much more! But Google wanted even more than that - they wanted to expand outside of the internet boundaries, they wanted to create software (Chrome), they wanted to create phone OS's (Android), and now TV! It seems like Google will have their own line of toasters in only a short period of time! Considering I'm all decked out in Google, I have an Android phone, I use docs, gmail, calendar, Chrome, and their search engine, it will be difficult to be unbiased in this post, but I will try. So yeah Google just released even more information about their new TV service, which will be using Google's software running on Logitech and Sony's hardware. Basically it will be like a Roku/Apple TV, but you will be able to surf the complete internet! Furthermore, you can control the device from your Android/iPhone, stream Netflix, buy show/movie rentals, and most importantly it will have apps! There are a few setbacks, first is the price, you can buy a Logitech Revue, which will allow for Google TV to be on your TV for $299, which is 3x the price of Apple TV (this is a first - Apple is cheaper than the competitor). For information, check out the official Google site.

Remember Microsoft Surface? You know that huge table screen thing, that looked kinda cool for a while, but then you figured out the need for it wasn't exactly there yet...Oh Microsoft what are we gonna do with you. Well now Microsoft has taken it one step further and they made a frikin' room into a surface computer...Read more about it here.

Have a comment, suggestion for my next post, or question? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1
Thanks

Browser Power (Yes I'm Aware It Doesn't Rhyme)

2010-10-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hello all and today I actually have two things to talk about one is really quick so I will say it after I complete this sentence (If I had said "I will say it now", I would have been lying) So the news is that I have successfully completed HREF Tech's first YouTube tutorial that can be found here. For those of you who have been waiting for this go check it out, it's pretty awesome, for those who haven't go check it out it's pretty awesome.

Credit: Net Applications

Well now for the real discussion- browser wars continue! Ever since IE and Netscape and maybe even Mosaic(the first internet browser to display images) internet browsers have been fighting for the largest market share. Furthermore, ever since Microsoft made IE defaulted on all PC's it has been the dominant force beating out Netscape, Mozilla, Safari, Opera, and now Chrome, but are the tides starting to shift? With the introduction of Chrome (the browser that I use) things have gone askew! Chrome has completely reshaped the way humans interact with a browser and has also made other browsers to change. Chrome has molded a new view on browsing- Chrome is a browser that doesn't involve 5,000 toolbars, that doesn't number their updates, that doesn't crash when one tab crashes, it shows you what you want - the webpage. With the most minimalistic frame, Chrome has convinced others to do the same,(it rhymes unlike my title) Mozilla, Safari, and now IE are all following in this new age of browsing. With new statistics coming out IE still leads the pack, mostly because IE comes with your machine and the business world still has to use IE because of compatibility/security issues with other browsers, but Chrome has risen to about 8%, Mozilla with 23%, Safari with 5.3%, and Opera with 2.4%, while IE has declined from about 61% to about 59%. But then again, IE 9 is coming out soon, and I have tested it in beta and not going to lie, it is actually much better than before and almost looks like it wasn't made by a 5 year old. So right now it's all speculation, but I will definitely keep watching it and hopefully I will blog later about it.

So what do you think will happen? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1, do the same if you have questions, comments, or ideas for my next post. Don't forget to check out my video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQFWxku-CNM. Thanks!

"Facebook the Movie" and Texting Bans

2010-10-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Social Network came out yesterday and of course being a tech geek I was super psyched to go see, so being a super tech geek, I did like 2 hours ago. Yes, I still call it Facebook the Movie because thats what it is, but it could also go by Mark Zuckerberg the Asshole. So yea, that was pretty much all the movie was about, showing how Mark created Facebook (much of it being fiction) and how he was an asshole while doing so. As for the movie - it as entertaining and fun, but at the same time it wasn't amazing. Do I recommend you go see? Yes definitely, is it an "edge of your seat thrill ride" no, but I'm sure The New York Times calls it something like that. (Yes its OK to lol at my jokes, even if your family members wonder if you're crazy)

So another somewhat big thing in tech news for not just today, but for the last month or so, is texting bans. There has actually been an increase in accidents since texting bans have gone into affect and many people say that this is because now people,in order to conceal their phone while texting, are texting in their laps and not looking at the road. Not looking at the road+Texting = More accidents. So obviously something has to be done because even we don't have these texting bans in states, accidents because of texting will still happen! So here is what I think should happen: Technology needs to step in, much like it did with people talking on phones while driving, Bluetooth was created and spawned a whole wave of hands free calling in cars. In the same manner I think if Text to Speech was better and could convert what you say into a text, people would actually use it!

So what do you think should happen about this the texting problem? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1 or do the same if you have questions, comments, or even ideas for my next post. Tank you! (yes I purposely said Tank you!)

When Technology Becomes Evil!

2010-10-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

You know usually on this blog I talk about how great and awesome technology is and how it can solve a bunch of problems, but today I want to reveal another side of technology. I usually like to joke around, but I feel this is necessary to reveal some horrors of the internet and how the web has also turned into a weapon.

Recently Rutgers student, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide because his personal life was exposed by his roommate - through the use of the internet. Ravi, one of Tyler's roommates, was able to use iChat to stream Tyler having sex with another male. Furthermore, Ravi tweeted to all of his friends to watch the video, these things combined was enough to make Tyler jump of the Washington Bridge on September 22. This is a sad case of weaponizing the internet, I was so shocked to hear someone do something like this. We can't change the past, but in the future barriers need to be placed on what is streamed on the internet; moreover, I hope that new generations can gain tolerance towards people that are treated differently in today's society - gays, lesbians, obese people, goths, and people who believe in another religion. The battle for equal treatment for blacks and whites has been a great one and the view of African Americans in this country has changed dramatically, I hope we can apply the same change to the groups mentioned above. For more information on the Rutgers student read this article.

Although I have many more examples of technology becoming evil, I will leave those for another day.
Have another example, question, comment, or an idea for my next post? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1

Faster Web FTW!

2010-09-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

So you think Google is done revolutionizing the web for the month of September? I think not! Google announced a new image format today called WebP that will be able to reduce image JPEG file sizes by close to 40%! So essentially this will create faster web surfing and furthermore it will reduce the burden on networks - this is huge because statistics show that 65% of the data on the internet is images. But before you start going crazy and jumping around like House of Pain, I must point out some pretty major obstacles - first of all Microsoft tried to do something like this with their JPEG XR format, but as you can see that was a complete fail. Secondly, browsers, cameras, and software aren't able to read WebP format, so there has to be drastic change in order for this to actually work. But Google says they hope to make the file format avaliable and ready to Chrome in the next week so keep an eye out for that. Want to know more about the format? Read Google's blog about it or check out their gallery.

Have questions, comments, or suggestions for my next post? Email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on tiwtter @mahirshah1

Digital Real Life

2010-09-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Wikitude

Today I actually read about a really cool technology called augmented reality, for those of you who don't know, this technology allows digital information and pictures to be overlain on top of the real world! - for those of you who already knew that I say unto you in the words of my uncle "Allez cuisine!" Iron Chef anyone? No? Alright let's just move on. Well beside augmented reality having a super sci-fi name, I mean come on, really? - augmented reality, sounds like the we are dealing with the matrix, it is actually super awesome (and I don't use that phrase often). Most of you are probably still laughing at my Iron Chef joke, but for those who aren't you are probably thinking "So basically all this is, is the "fun frames" in my phone's camera. You know the ones that allow you to put a sombrero on my dog!" BUT NO, it's a lot more than that...imagine taking your phone, pointing it at a monument and the phone automatically pulls up the name and info right on the screen! There are a million examples of this technology being used/ being developed , for more just go to this gallery!

Have a question, idea for my next post, or another example of augmented reality? Then email me at mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @mahirshah1

Productivity to the Sky!

2010-09-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all, today I was debating what I was going to write about in my blog. There were a few tech stories from today that caught my attention, but then I thought you guys probably read about AOL's acquisition of Tech Crunch, the $30 movie rentals, or the HP Slate. So today I present to all of you something that everyone can use and I'm sure many of you will find interesting - key board shortcuts! Many of the shortcuts you may already know, but I hope some of them are new to you. I am going to split up the shortcuts into 3 sections so for you pros, you can skip the first two. BTW I hope to later make a video about this and will post it as soon as I'm done.Also I have the ones that I think are most useful in bold!

Obvious:

Ctrl+C - Copy

Ctrl+X - Cut

Ctrl+V - Paste

Ctrl+S - Save (Almost any program with a save feature)

Ctrl+F - Open Find (Word, Browsers)

I May or May Not Know That:

Ctrl+Z - Undo (Microsoft Word, Photoshop, and lately many others - even browsers!)

Ctrl+A - Select All Text

Ctrl+B - Bold Highlighted Text

Ctrl+U - Undrline

Ctrl+E - Center (Microsoft Word) , Jump to Search Bar (Internet Browsers)

Ctrl+L - Align Left

Ctrl+O - Open

Ctrl+N - New Window (Microsoft Office, Browsers)

Ctrl+T - Open New Tab

Alt-Tab - Switch between windows (Windows)

Ctrl+Tab - Switch between tabs (Browsers)

Ctrl+W - Close Tab (Browsers)

Alt+F4 - Close Window

Whoa I Didn't Know That! (Maybe):

Windows Key+D - Go to Desktop

Windows Key+Break - System Info (Windows)

Windows Key+E - Open Computer

Alt+Ctrl+Arrow Key - Switch Screen orientation (fun to do this to friends computers as a prank)

Obviously this isn't the most extensive list, but most of the ones that I use a lot are on here...I hope to get some more in my video which I should post pretty soon.

Have another awesome keyboard shortcut? Send it to mahir.shah1@gmail.com or follow me on twitter - @mahirshah1

Wait so It's not Called the BlackPad?

2010-09-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Credit: RIM

So as you may or may not have heard Blackberry unveiled their new tablet, the PlayBook, which was pretty much expected, but what was interesting was the name. PlayBook? So, wait up Blackberry, you mean to tell me that the words "play" and "professional" can go together? Yeah, not so sure about that... Well anyway enough about the name, the PlayBook has a 7 inch screen, which is a bit smaller than the 9.7 inch iPad screen, but the specs are surprisingly good. With a 1 GHz Dual Core processor, 1 GB RAM, Micro-HDMI out, 5 mega-pixel rear facing camera, 3 mega-pixel front facing camera, and support for 1080p HD video, the PlayBook could be a serious contender to the iPad. But just when we think Steve Jobs might actually stop being so cocky, we think again...Blackberry hasn't come out with a pricepoint, and more importantly we don't know what kind of carrier agreements this thing will be restricted to! Seems like Blackberry got together with the Galaxy Tab creators and was like "Yo let's like show off these awesome tablets that could actually contend with the iPad, but then just to play with the public, lets not say how much they will cost!" Like WTF can we please have some kind of choice in the tablet market, rather than the tyrannical dictatorship that Steve had created! Not saying the iPad is bad or anything, I actually thinks (yes i meant to say thinks) it a great product, but consumers need choices...and Apple needs more products to make look bad.

Hello World!

2010-09-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hello world - this is my first HTML text entry! Well no its not, actually this is my first blog post and more importantly my first blog. Throughout this blog, I hope to share some up to date tech news, and some of my crazy opinions on them. Periodically, I would also like to share some of my new ideas for the world of tech. So here we go...Strap in because this is going to be a crazy ride, well no it won't actually be that crazy - I just don't want to here that annoying "seatbelt not buckled" noise.