Urbanus Magnus

The Ubuntu Phone OS made a noticeable splash as its initial developer preview was released for public download February 21st - and rightly so, as the Unity and screen-edge-based interface set this smart phone experience apart. Though this developer preview lacked a lot of functionality - an 'alpha' designation would be appropriate - the preview demonstrated a lot of interesting features that show a lot of promise. Initial Impressions: The design of the unlock/welcome screen is well thought out, in that the reticule in the centre warmly greets the user back to their phone. Once up and running, an animated version of the unlock screen should be a visual treat. Definite strength here. Once inside the phone, I really liked the unique layout of the separate screens: one for Music, one for Apps, and others for other content. It uses the page idea common to android and iPhone, but makes it so that one is specific to a type of content. I can see power users loving the abi...

Update 13/05/13: After one bicycle trip abroad and probably 2500km more, I have not developed any issues with this headset. Nor have I disassembled it for maintenance - the seals have held up and it has been a solid performer through-and-through. After a little more than 1000km, I thought I'd start doing a follow-up on some components. Full Speed Ahead's (FSA) The Hammer headset is the first up for review. The FSA "The Hammer" headset is a cheap/economical loose-ball headset for threadless systems, and I managed to purchase mine for $16 + ~$2 shipping. Not bad for any headset, especially one billed as "Heavy Duty". But how has it fared? Well, when I bought it, the box had opened during shipping, and the bottom bearing seal had fallen out. Disappointing, but no fault of FSA. So, in order to use it right away after installation, I used to top seal on the bottom - not a great seal, but more protection that none at all. Later, the seller sent me ...

UPDATED 07/03/12: Now with pictures! I've had the O8 CX700 for nearly 9 months now, and so have put it through its paces by now. That's about 1000kms of mixed onroad/offorad/singletrack with tweaking, tuning, and general fettling in appropriate proportions. The Good: 1. Big Wonkin' Tires. There are quite a few things this bike has going for it, not least of which includes the capacity for large tires. I've concluded that you can shoehorn a 29x2.3 with fenders in there if you wanted. The 51mm (2.1in nominal) wide CST Critters have been a good fit so far. There is room for maybe 2.3in tires w/fenders, or 2.4 without.   2. A Nice Fork Design. I have had a good experience with the straight bladed fork that came standard with the frame. I know many people dislike them, because of the 'harsher ride' they supposedly give, or for their non-traditional look. Well, I can say that the ride certainly didn't feel "harsh" when riding road with 23...

I wanted to see how fast this bicycle would go when it had on more road-oriented tyres, so I pulled off the hulking CST Critters and pumped up my discount Nashbar buys - the now-discontinued "Transition" line of tyres. They are basic commuter/ touring tyres, with a 35mm tread. I picked them up after I had a terrible streak of annoying tire flats on crummy $5 rubber. These Nashbar models feature a layer of kevlar protection, just under the tread; it works - no flats to date, and these year-olds have been tried on >350kms of glass-covered city streets. I give the thumbs up to Nashbar for this one, but I have a sneaking suspicion these are re-branded Panaracer models (if one looks carefully, it has a  "Panasonic" hidden on it). The rear tire is the Nashbar, the front is a 23mm Hutchinson road offering... Anyway, they are a ton faster than any bulbous mountain tire could be, as anyone should expect. I'd say average rolling resistance for its width, due to t...

All is well on the bike front, and I've now made it up to the 200km mark. I know, not a lot of riding in three weeks, but I've been completing the final push of school into exams (I finished my Chemistry exam today, yay! Only physics left, which is tomorrow). The tires are wearing well enough, but the compound of the CST Critters is fairly soft, so even gravel skids have worn the rear tread down a *weensy bit*. Just enough so that the "herringbone" pattern imprinted on each of the knobs is barely visible. The Herringbone pattern is wearing away quickly... the skid spots are worse than the above picture. So far, here's what I'm liking: - Off road handling - On road handling! - Overall weight - Load Capability - Comfortable seat/steam/handlebar height and position - Top Tube length is good - Rolling resistance ( Speed!) - Gear range (it hasn't been changed from before ) After about 125km offroad (light trails, gravel, a bit of chip seal road...

This is the first post of what I like to call "2010 in Review" - a review of all the notable events and achievements of the past year. 1. Started to do some real UEing (that is to say, urban exploring) this year. What an experience, I didn't know what I was missing! I particularly like draining: Trying my hand at 'light painting' - look it up. Taken in "O'Malley's Lair" # Drains explored: 5 # Building explored: Really, none, but that's cuz there are no abandones in my area! (There are, however, lots of little tunnely-drain things!)  Map of some recently found or explored drain systems.  I've never done really technical drains, only the fairly linear systems. A good few to check out are "Beefy McFistpunch's Tunnel" (nick-named after my burly friend who showed me it) and "O'Malley's Lair" (another friend's nickname - we like Irish nicknames). Nothing dangerous in these - the first is actua...