Kishyr Ramdial

I have the best friends

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:50:29 -0800

My desktop background was changed today with this collage. So many memories! Thank you, my friends! You've made today extra special :-)

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May the 4th be with you!

Tue, 03 May 2011 23:16:48 -0700

Happy Star Wars Day!

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Happy Pi Day!

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 07:59:25 -0700

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Microsoft release Firefox plugin that enables H.264 video

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:10:00 -0800

The HTML5 Extension for Windows Media Player Firefox Plug-in is an add-on that enables Firefox users to play H.264-encoded videos on HTML5 pages by using the built-in capabilities found in Windows 7. This Extension adds to the functionality of the extremely popular earlier Windows Media Player Plug-in for Firefox to enable web pages that use the emerging HTML5 standard.

via interoperabilitybridges.com

Firefox has issues with H.264 and its patent-protected technology (even though, users will be allowed to encode HTML5 video using H.264 for free, forever) and has refused to allow HTML5 videos encoded using H.264 to playback in its browser because of its policies. And then *Microsoft* release this.

*Microsoft* of all companies, release a *Firefox* plugin that enables H.264 video! (Okay, albeit for Windows 7). #whowouldvethunkit I gotta say, I've been very impressed with Microsoft over the past few months. First Windows Phone 7, and now this. Very impressive.

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How do you compete with free?

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:59:00 -0800

But iTunes did succeed. Apple's relentless emphasis on simple, attractive user interfaces, backed by Jobs' steely negotiating power in dealing with music studios, produced a streamlined, curated service with which you could download and transfer music with a minimum of fuss. And we did — even though it cost us money and our purchases were bogged down with DRM that constrained what we could do with them.
It turns out that there is something that can compete with free: easy. Napster, Gnutella and BitTorrent never attained the user-friendliness that Apple products have, and nobody vets the content on file-sharing networks, so while the number of files on offer is enormous, the files are rotten with ads, porn, spyware and other garbage. When Jobs offered us the easy way out, we took it. Freedom is overrated, apparently — at least where digital media are concerned.

via time.com

I remember the first time I bought an iTunes track, back in 2007. It was so effortless that ever since that day, every song I downloaded was bought and delivered through iTunes.

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AppleInsider: iOS 4.2 supports technology for reducing network congestion

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:50:00 -0800

Network Controlled Fast Dormancy (NCFD), which was developed by Nokia Siemens Networks, reduces network congestion by keeping smartphones in an "intermediate state" instead of alternating between idle and always active on the network.
From this intermediate state, smartphones can "wake up" more quickly while conserving battery life when not in use. NCFD also reduces the number of signals needed to start a data connection between a smartphone and a network.

via appleinsider.com

I've noticed the battery efficiency first hand. Since my iPhone 4, I don't leave it plugged into charge at night (since it's perpetually on its dock during the day while I'm coding). My iPhone 4 used to drain about 8-12% during the night while I slept, and since upgrading to 4.2.1, it only uses 2-3% battery now.

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David Pogue: Lessons Learned in 10 Years on the Tech Beat

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:04:00 -0800

Today’s gadgets are intensely personal. Your phone or camera or music player makes a statement, reflects your style and character. No wonder some people interpret criticisms of a product as a criticism of their choices. By extension, it’s a critique of them.

via nytimes.com

Really great post by the one of the best tech reviewers on the planet. Pogue commemorates his 10th year writing for the New York Times with this two-page look-back.

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Umhlanga Ridge circa 20th Century

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:55:41 -0700

Yahoo Maps imagery for Durban, is very old.

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"Blank screen" issue when updating your app for iOS 4 compatibility

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:11:00 -0700

The other day, we were updating our apps to make them compatible for iOS 4. And by "compatible" I mean just compiling them with the iOS 4 SDK so that they get some fast-app switching love.

What was weird though, was when running certain apps on the device, it launched with just a blank black screen. The console showed no errors, and the app didn't fault in any way. It was as if the view didn't load at all. Turns out iOS 4 requires a single line of code in the -applicationDidFinishLaunching: method to make the view visible - this wasn't the case previously.

I'm not sure in which version of the SDK this crept in, but when creating an iOS app using the UITabBar template in XCode, there is no [window makeKeyAndVisible] call. This didn't matter in previous versions of the SDK, but it does now.

[TL;DR] So, if your app starts with a blank black screen, just check if it calls [window makeKeyAndVisible] in your -applicationDidFinishLaunching: method (usually it's the last line). If it doesn't, add it in and the world will once again be safe. For now.

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STOP! It's Vader Time!

Fri, 07 May 2010 07:53:15 -0700

New life checklist:
1. Buy a Darth Vader suit
2. Learn the dance
3. Be awesome

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13 ways of looking at an iPad

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:45:00 -0700

Neil Young, CEO and cofounder, ngmoco: "Forget the netbook. It’s a slow, clunky piece of junk. Do I want to look like the guy who couldn’t afford a real computer or the guy who went to the future and brought back a device that’s as cool as I imagine I am?"

Steven Johnson, Science writer: "With the arrival of the tablet, we have crossed a critical threshold: Where text is concerned, we effectively have infinite computational resources, connectivity, and portability."

Kevin Kelly, Technology pioneer: "Don’t think of them as tablets. Think of them as windows that you carry."

James Fallows, National correspondent, The Atlantic: "Will the tablet computer catch on? In one specialized realm, it already and decisively has: aerospace."

Bob Stein, Codirector, Institute for the Future of the Book: "As conventional publishers prayerfully port their print to tablets, my bet is that the gamemakers will invent the new forms of expression that will dominate the media landscape."

Martha Stewart, Magazine publisher and TV host: "I already have the digitized version of National Geographic, but it’s not the same thing. It’s just like the magazine. The tablet could be like going into Africa."

Nicholas Negroponte, Founder, One Laptop per Child: "The unsung advantage of current ebooks is being able to use them in bed."

Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning: "A smartphone is mobile, but it isn’t fun to browse on. On a laptop, the technology is built in, but few want to carry around a 6-pound computer for the privilege of using a browser. The tablet bridges this gap."

George Lois, Advertising pioneer: "The magazine is dead. Long live the magazine."

Jack Dangermond, President and founder, ESRI: "A location-aware tablet will let us use what’s called geodesign to compose participatory, what-if scenarios onsite, using maps that several people can share."

Marshall McLuhan, Prophet of the electronic age (channeled by Gary Wolf): "The long story of humanism — by which I mean the emergence of individual consciousness as a byproduct of our language and literature — comes to an end when we return, futuristically, to doing everything by hand."

Fake Steve Jobs, Not the CEO of Apple: "I wasn’t put on earth to save The New York Times. I was put on earth to restore a sense of childlike wonder to people’s empty, pathetic lives, and I must say that so far I’m doing a pretty outstanding job."

Chris Anderson, Editor in chief, Wired: "Bigger than a phone, funner than a laptop, more cuddly than a Kindle. I think they’re going to sell like hotcakes."

via 13 ways of looking at an iPad - Apple 2.0 - Fortune Brainstorm Tech by Philip Elmer-DeWitt

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View from my balcony at Amanzingwe Lodge

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:18:00 -0700

via tweetie

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Underwater scuba video at uShaka

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:25:00 -0800

I used my new Flip UltraHD video camera with its underwater case on my scuba dive today! The video came out great!

Scuba_Diving_at_uShaka_Marine_World.m4v Watch on Posterous

Really, really enjoyed myself on my 2nd scuba dive today at uShaka Marine World in Durban. I shot this video with my new Flip UltraHD video camera and edited it in iMovie 09.

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The Scoin shop is giving away free bronze Mandela coins to comemorate Madiba's release. Here's mine:

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:45:49 -0800

via tweetie

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The ANC honours my late grandfather, K Ramdial.

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:19:55 -0800

via tweetie

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Our Android dev phone arrived today - the Nexus One

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:13:14 -0800

And just like that, the magical DHL man arrived at our offices today with our brand spanking new Google Nexus One - our Android development phone. Yeah, we do Android development too!

See the full gallery on Posterous

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How I'm following Apple's Special Event

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:02:00 -0800

via tweetie

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Rocking to Star Player live! These guys are awesome! Our own @paul5000 is on keys!

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:55:04 -0800

via tweetie

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Sunrise on Umhlanga Beach #5amWalkAndTweet

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:41:20 -0800

via tweetie

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Walked with @anicehassim this morning on Umhlanga Rocks beach. Man, Durban is beautiful at 5am.

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:18:20 -0800

via tweetie

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