Send free SMS messages all over the world with e-FreeSMS.com (July 2012).

I've just discovered e-FreeSMS.com, a website which allows you to send free SMS messages to whoever you want, regardless your position or the position of the person you want to text (with two servers to choose from). It's a simple website, of course with lots of ads (it's a free service after all), but the idea is that I've tested it and it works very good, got the messages within 5 seconds (Vodafone Romania).

The website says that you can also make free calls directly from it, but from what I understood, they are available only if calling the US or Canada, regardless your position. More than this, it also allows you to watch local television channels from your own country, but you must have luck to get it working, so it's not really reliable for this (most televisions are streaming on the internet directly from their websites, which are better streams than the ones provided by this website).

e-FreeSMS.com is working properly at the time of posting this article (the end of July 2012). Give it a try, maybe you'll like it.

mysms SMS application seems to be very promising, brings many useful features over Whatsapp.

A few days ago I've presented you Whatsapp (here), a great messaging app available for a lot of mobile platforms which gives you the possibility to send free messages over the internet to all the users who have Whatsapp installed on their device. One of the disadvantages of Whatsapp is that you must be on your phone to send the messages, so you can't register on your phone and then send the messages from your computer or anything like that.

However, with mysms SMS application, it becomes possible to send messages from your computer to all of your friends from all the other platforms, using the mobile phone number you register with before. Moreover, mysms comes also as a standard SMS client, having the ability to handle all the SMS functionality of your phone's default SMS application. More specifically, you can send and receive standard SMS messages directly through mysms, without having to open the stock application separately (you'll have the option to send messages via mobile carrier or via mysms, in case your friends have it). I don't know whether this works or not on iOS because of Apple's restrictions, but on Android it works quite well.

One problem which I found is that I can't send messages through mysms from the browser (Chrome), maybe this functionality is currently unavailable, but it's still a great product. At 700 messages a month from my carrier contract, I think that it's still worth using it, considering that I don't even need to access my phone in order to view or send messages. And the ICS/JB design is a big plus over Whatsapp.

Visit the official website for more information http://www.mysms.com/, or search directly in App Store/ Google Play for "mysms".

XXLF1 radio for Galaxy Nexus, OK to install (works good).

Yesterday I installed the latest radio available for my GSM Galaxy Nexus, version XXLF1. It works without any problems, didn't occur any signal drops or anything like that. The WiFi signal seems to be the same, while the GSM signal is significantly improved (HSDPA). It's difficult to notice any battery change, but it seem to be slightly improved (30% at the end of the day).

Please note the the beginning "XX" means that this is a radio only for the European networks, so don't try to install it if you live somewhere outside the Europe. It works very good in Romania, didn't have any issues after installing (Vodafone). Tested on Jelly Bean.

Download from XDA: link (flashable zip, flash in CWM recovery). If the link becomes broken, please report in a comment and I will change it. 

Chrome 20 might be the most unreliable browser to use on Ubuntu.

I'm a big fan of Google's products, and of course that this includes Chrome, but Google's lightweight browser is not worth being considered as the best one from all the available ones, at least on Linux. Ubuntu (because that's the OS I use most of the time) comes with Firefox for this: even though it is not as fast as Chrome, it is rocket-stable and fully usable (free of bugs). But Chrome has been having bugs since a long time ago and it has some even now. And what's worse, Chrome 20 "features" more bugs than ever.

First of all, there are huge issues with Flash. Most of the content from YouTube still uses Flash (please note that YouTube is also owned by Google), and one of the most used ways make a video start again is to refresh the page. And I have to do this because I simply can't click on anything that's Flash related, for I-don't-know-what reason. Moreover, Samsung's Chromebook computer, which runs on Chrome (there's nothing else to choose) has the same problems with Flash.

Then, there is the Blogger platform. You can write everything you want (just like I do now), but you can't put a title in the article (note: the article is going to have a title put on Firefox, just because Chrome can't do it for a reason or another). And here we are talking about two Google products. Blogger, a Google product, can't be properly used on Chrome, Google's browser. I am sorry, but this is something incredible, and Google should have taken action long time ago on this subject.

And there are other, not so serious, but still annoying bugs. On 9gag, portions of the bar from the top of the screen spread across the entire screen while scrolling. On YouTube, the same thing happens with the bar located just below the videos. And more that this, while watching something, you can't see what you type when you search for something else (on YouTube), it just displays what was searched before (it still searches, if you write something and tap enter you'll see it will return what you wanted, but it's annoying).

Of course that these aren't the only bugs, but with these I have to deal day by day. My girlfriend complains that she can't enter full screen while watching some TV series on the internet (don't know whether it's Flash or not), but there clearly are some issues Google have to take care about.

I can't simply give up using Chrome because, as I've told, I'm a big fan of Google's products, and I have more computers, so I need sync across all of them (bookmarks and stuff). Owning a Galaxy Nexus is also a strong reason for using Google's products. And I don't even want to give up using them, because they make the life a lot easier (Gmail, Picasa, Drive, Contacts, Calendar, Maps etc), I use them a lot and they help me everyday, but the idea is that some of the bugs really have to be fixed sooner or later.

I don't know if they are present only on Linux, because I rarely use Windows, and when I do it, I don't usually have a lot of time to spend on YouTube, 9gag or such websites. 

Some reasons for which to use Whatsapp as your default messaging client.

I've been using Whatsapp messaging client on my phone intensively for about half a year now, and I've been really satisfied with it. Or at least, it's been working perfectly for me until now (Galaxy Nexus on Jelly Bean now), even though there are some who report serious issues with it. For those who did not use it until now, the main idea is that it is a lightweight messaging client which works over the internet (WiFi or mobile network).

I really recommend it because it is very popular (so there should be a lot of users to speak to), uses a very small amount of battery, it is very fast, and uses a ridiculously reduced amount of data. I've sent about 3700 messages since I installed Jelly Bean (very recently) and it used only 1.5 MB, which is really negligible, considering that I have a 750MB data plan and I am a lot of time in areas where WiFi is available free of charge.

But here is the most important feature: based on the mobile phone number, it detects whether the contacts from your address book have Whatsapp installed or not, and it will display those who have it. For this purpose, you'll have to give your phone number when you first run the application. And as you had probably figured out already, you are going to be in tho places, with two different accounts, in the case that you have two phones and you want it installed on both of them. For this reason (the necessity of having a mobile phone number), Whatsapp can't run and was not designed to be used on computers. So no, there's no PC/Mac version, and probably, there will never be one.

Whatsapp is available for the following platforms (click the links for download):

• Android (free for the first year);
• iOS ($0.99);
• BlackBerry
• Nokia phones (Nokia Series 40, Symbian and Windows Phone);

Make S3 ProSavageDDR graphics card work properly on Windows 7.

Over the last few days I've been using my old Fujitsu Siemens notebook, which runs on an old hardware (it is not worth mentioning its specifications). It had Windows XP installed and after a few crashes and a lot of lagginess, I decided installing Windows 7 on it, hoping it would run better afterwards. So the installation went smooth, but I got stuck at what I was afraid of, the drivers. Almost anything worked out-of-the-box, but in a limited way. For the video card, which I want to talk about, Windows 7 used some sort of basic graphics driver, instead of using a dedicated one, which meant very sluggish graphics and improper resolution (had to find the right one by myself).

Basically, S3 (the company who manufactured ProSavageDDR) dropped the support for this graphic card, along with many others, leaving on their website only links from where you can theoretically download the drivers. Theoretically, because the download links are broken, and now (at the time of writing this article), even the webpage is down. But the main problem is that many of the other download links (from other websites) for the driver for ProSavageDDR are down, broken or link to nowhere, so it is quite difficult to find the driver for this graphics card. Moreover, the support has been dropped when the driver was designed for Windows XP or earlier, so there was no driver for Windows Vista or 7 created. 

However, I managed to find the driver on a website (link posted below), and I even successfully installed it on my laptop and it works more than decent. The idea is that you can first try installing it normally (double click that file), or, if that fails, you must install it in compatibility mode: right click the file -> Properties -> Compatibility -> Check the box from "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)". Then, just reboot and you should see at Screen resolution the name of your graphics card. If that happens, it means that everything is OK.

Download link: ProSavageDDR driver (Windows XP and 7, confirmed to work). 

Review Samsung Chromebook Series 5 (3G).

Au trecut deja cateva zile de cand mi-am cumparat Chromebook-ul Samsung (varianta cu 3G), asa ca am avut destul timp sa ma joc cu el si sa-mi fac o parere despre el. Sigur ca nu am reusit sa “explorez” tot ceea ce stie acest laptop, dar in cele ce urmeaza va voi explica ceea ce mi-a placut si ceea ce nu mi-a placut la acest device. De-a lungul review-ului, am scris cu verde acele lucruri care au fost gandite bine de Google, si cu rosu cele care au fost gandite aiurea, sau care ofera anumite beneficii in utilizare dar cu care nu ma pot eu obisnui.

Incep cu hardware-ul mai intai. Ar trebui sa-l plasez sub o categorie, ceea ce e oarecum dificil, asa ca o sa il numesc simplu, Chromebook. Asta pentru ca nu e nici netbook (care e ceva mai mic decat acesta), nici notebook (Apple are MacBook-uri cu dimensiuni mai mari, incep de la 13”). Si cu siguranta nu e nici tableta. M-am tot intrebat de ce nu o fi scos Google o tableta cu asa ceva (Chrome OS, sistemul de operare), dar mi-am dat seama ca nu prea ar avea rost. Google are deja tablete cu gramada (cu Android pe ele), asa ca probabil au vrut sa scoata un produs usor si portabil, care nu e o tableta. Si le-a cam iesit. Samsung i-a plasat dimensiunea exact intre cele doua MacBook Air-uri, dar nu prea se apropie nici de ele (ca si categorie in care l-as putea plasa).

Ca si plusuri aici imi place dimensiunea ecranului, dar si ecranul in sine (LED de 12,1 inch, foarte luminos, Google zice ca se vede foarte bine in lumina soarelui dar eu inca nu l-am testat in aceste conditii). Deasupra ecranului are un webcam, microfon, si un senzor de lumina ambientala, dotari destul de folositoare, zic eu. Toata conectivitatea de care dispune (cea prin porturi) e reprezentata de: 2 USB-uri, mufa pentru curent, un port miniVGA (cred, am primit in cutie adaptor la VGA pentru el), un port de casti/microfon (da, unul singur, cred ca se pot schimba functiile intre ele) si cititorul de carduri. Tastatura are taste mari, cu destul spatiu intre ele (e island type, ca pe MacBook-uri). In partea superioara, butoanele cu F-uri (pe care eu foarte rar le-am folosit pe tastatura traditionala) au fost inlocuite cu back-forward, refresh, full screen, un fel de change screen (poti sa ai multiple screens pe Chromebook), cele de luminozitate si de volum. Google/Samsung merita felicitari pentru ca incearca cu adevarat sa iasa din tipar, ca si Apple cu ale sale MacBook-uri.

Trackpad-ul e foarteeeee mare si raspunde foarte bine la comenzi, cel putin la degetele mele (sunt multi care s-au plans de senzitivitate, dar eu nu am probleme). Pentru a face click, by default, trebuie sa apesi pe trackpad, nu doar sa il atingi, insa poti sa apesi doar de la jumatatea sa in jos (destul de ciudat, desi nu ma deranjaza). Stie si multitouch, insa doar two-finger scrolling si drag-n-drop (click pe ce vrei sa muti, si apoi cu celalalt deget muti unde vrei respectiva chestie). Ca si greutate, are cam 1,5 kg (cum eu am fost obisnuit cu multe alte laptopuri, pare foarte usor). E extrem de subtire, nu stiu cum e in comparatie cu MacBook Air, dar va asigur eu ca e chiar subtire. Toata carcasa e construita in intregime din plastic, care desi scoate unele sunete cand il iei in mana/il misti, pare de calitate. La trackpad am observat cateodata un scartait mecanic, datorat faptului ca touchpad-ul nu e fix (cum am zis, trebuie apasat cand vrei sa faci click pe ceva). Bateria nu am apucat sa o testez, dar conform Google, ar trebui sa tina in jur de 8 ore jumate.

Trecem la software. Prima data cand l-am deschis, am simtit ca ceva lipseste, si anume sistemul de operare. M-am obisnuit insa rapid cu Chrome OS, care practic e doar browserul Google, cu toate aplicatiile si extensiile sale, plus cateva optiuni (ca si setari). Cand l-am primit, nu a trebuit sa-mi bat prea mult capul cu el, si-a facut singur update, am dat datele contului meu de Google, si el automat mi-a adus aplicatiile si extensiile. Simplu, rapid, eficient. Conectarea s-a facut simplu si rapid la reteaua wireless, fara batai de cap (eu am varianta cu 3G, la care am si 100MB trafic de internet gratuit pe luna de la Verizon cat timp mai sunt in SUA).

Ca si viteza, e foarte rapid deoarece e cam browserul Chrone care ruleaza de unul singur pe laptop. E rapid in limita procesorului dual-core de 1,66 GHz (Intel Atom) si a celor 2 GB RAM. Adica se descurca bine la incarcat majoritatea site-urilor, la schimbat taburi, la taskurile ce tin de acele aplicatii din Web Store. Dar daca deschizi un website mai mare, cu multe elemente, incepe sa aiba un pic de lag (in acel website). Insa in momentul in care deschizi mai multe website-uri de felul acela, deja incepe sa se tarasca. Sa nu uitam totusi ca a fost conceput ca si un dispozitiv portabil, nu ca un monstru de laptop de 15” si 4-5 kg care numa portabil nu e.

Boot-ul e ft rapid (sub 8 secunde), din stand-by iese in mai putin de o secunda, deci ceea ce a promis Google s-a si intamplat. Un lucru cu care chiar nu m-am obisnuit dar nu ma derajaza e faptul ca in momentul in care ridici ecranul, Chromebook porneste automat. Functia de guest mode e una foarte interesanta. Cand vrei sa ii permiti cuiva sa-ti foloseasca laptopul, pur si simplu apesi butonul power pentru cam o secunda, indeajuns incat sa iasa din cont si sa nu se stinga (cam in inca o secunda se stinge), si intri in Guest. Din acel moment, Chromebook nu mai tine date despre navigare, dar nici “nu isi aduce aminte” nimic din datele salvate din timpul in care ai fost logat pe contul de Google.

Nu cred ca se putea ca acest Chromebook sa nu aiba si dezavantaje, si inca unul care chiar ma “supara”, si anume Flash-ul instalat pe Chrome OS-ul din el. Ideea e ca videoclipurile merg foarte bine, doar ca pur si simplu nu poti face click pe niciun fel de buton din acel player facut in Flash. De exemplu, cand deschizi un videoclip de pe YouTube, acesta porneste de unul singur, si asa continua, pentru ca nu poate fi oprit, nu poti regla volumul, nu poti sa il duci in full screen, nu poti sa faci nimic cu el. Din cate am vazut, versiunea instalata e 10.2.158.28 iar Chrome OS-ul e up-to-date, deci deocamdata problema nu poate fi rezolvata desi sunt sigur ca Google va lansa un curand un update la Chrome OS menit sa rezolve problema. Totusi, YouTube mai poate fi folosit si in HTML5, care merge destul de bine (e disponibil pentru majoritatea videoclipurilor, nu pentru toate, si poate fi activat de la http://www.youtube.com/html5 ). Deocamdata insa, un punct in minus pentru faza asta. Cu atat mai mult cu cat YouTube apartine Google. Puteau macar sa faca videoclipurile sa li se deschida celor de pe Chromebook-uri direct in HTML5, pentru a nu face problema asta chiar asa de evidenta.

Si acum un lucru care creeaza destula confuzie: HDD-ul. Asa cum probabil ca ati citit, e un SSD de 16 GB, doar ca nu poate fi folosit. Adica singurul care il foloseste e sistemul de oprerare, pentru cache-uri. Eu am salvat o poza pe el Chromebook, insa inca nu imi e clar unde a pus-o, dar sigur nu e in Picasa (care acum ofera unlimited storage pentru dimensiuni mai mici de 2500 x 2500 pixeli). Cred ca e undeva pe HDD, si stiu ca e accesibila prin butonul downloads din...Chrome (si da, poate fi deschisa out-of-the-box, fara un program third-party). Un lucru interesant pe care l-am facut astazi: am downloadat un .xls, pe care am incercat sa-l deschid direct de pe Chromebook, insa nu il stie deschide. Asa ca am mers in Docs (Google Docs, am aplicatia luata din Web Store), am uploadat fisierul, si dupa ce l-a convertit intr-un format compatibil pentru aplicatie, mi l-a deschis exact ca pe un PC cu Windows si un Office instalat. Doar ca in cazul asta am platit doar 499 de dolari pe Chromebook, si nu un pret care se apropie de acea valoare doar pe licentele pentru Windows si Office.

Ar mai fi unele chestii de zis despre acest Chromebook, dar deocamdata ajunge. Acum sigur ca multi ma vor intreba daca “merita cumparat?”. Depinde. Daca sunteti genul celui care are nevoie de un laptop puternic, cu aplicatii dedicate pentru un anumit task, raspunsul e...nu prea. Dar daca aveti nevoie de un laptop portabil cu adevarat, cu browserul Chrome pe post de sistem de operare, si sunteti dispus sa incercati ceva nou, atunci da, cu siguranta ca merita.

In cazul in care aveti orice alt fel de intrebare, nu ezitati sa ma intrebati si eu o sa va raspund cat de repede pot.