Mars retrograde aai hulhangun iru erun: kamuge hageegaiy

Saturday, January 26. 2008
The following goes out to the elderly and all those who aren't versed in English, to all those who are disadvantaged by the sorry state of science in Dhivehi and to all those who were misinformed and deceived. Hope this helps.

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މާސް ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑް އާއި ހުޅަނގުން އިރުއެރުން: ކަމުގެ ހަޤީޤަތް


މިލިޔުމުގައި މިބަލާލަނީ ރާއްޖޭގައި ދާދި ފަހުން ފެތުރިގެންދިޔަ "މިއުރީޚަށް ހުޅަނގުން އިރު އަރައިފި" މިސުރުޚީގެ ދަށުން ދުނިޔެއާއި ކައިރިގައި އޮންނަ ޕްލެނެޓެއް ކަމަށްވާ މާސްގެ ދައުރުވުމަށް ބަދަލެއް އައިސް އެޕްލެނެޓްގައި ދެކުނުން އިރުއަރައިފިކަމަށް ބުނެލިޔެފައިވާ ލިޔުމަށެވެ. އެލިޔުމަކީ އޭގައި އެއްވެސް ކަހަލަ ހަޤީޤަތެއް އެކުލެވިގެންވާ އެއްޗެއްނޫންކަމަށްވާއިރު، އީމެއިލުންނާއި ހަވީރު ނޫހުގައިވާ ނޯޓިސްއަކާއި އަދި އަދާލަތު ޕާޓީގެ ވެބްސައިޓް މެދުވެރިކޮށް މިބުނި ލިޔުންވަނީ ފެތުރި ގިނަބަޔަކަށް ކަމުގެ (ސައިންޓިފިކް) ހަޤީޤަތް އޮޅިފައެވެ. ވީމާ މާސްއާއި ބެހޭގޮތުން ފަތުރާފައިވާ ވާހަކަތަކަށް ބަލާލާ، ކަމުގެ ހަޤީޤަތް ހާމަކޮށްދެވޭތޯ ބަލާލަން ޤަސްދުކުރަމެވެ.

"މިއްރީޚަށް ހުނޅަގުން އިރުއަރައިފި" މިލިޔުމުގައި ސައެންސްކަމަށް ބުނެފައި ހުރި ހުރިހާ ވާހަކަތަކަކީ މުޅީންހެން ދޮގެވެ. އަދި ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްއަކީ ކޮބާކަން ވަނީ މުޅީންހެން އޮޅުވާލާފައެވެ. ނުޖޫމީއިލްމުގައި ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްއޭ ކިޔާއުޅެނީ ތަރިއެއް އެތަރިއެއް ބައިވެރިވާ ނިޒާމުގައިވާ އެހެން ތަރިތަކާ އިދިކޮޅަށް ނުއަތަށް ދަތުރުކުރުމަށެވެ. ނަމަވެސް އެލިޔުމުގައި ހަޤީޤަތުގައި އެދައްކަނީ ތަފާތުވައްތަރެއްގެ ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްއެއްގެ ވާހަކައެވެ. ދުނިޔޭން ފެށިގެން އިރާ ދުރަށް ހުންނަ ހުރިހާ ތަރިތަކަށްވެސް ދުނިޔޭން ބަލާއިރު "އެޕަރެންޓް ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޓް"އޭކިޔާ ހަރަކާތެއް އަންނާނެއެވެ. "އެޕަރެންޓް ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑް"އަކީ ކުރިންމިދެންނެވި "ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑް"އާއި ޚިލާފަށް ފެންނަފެނުމުގައި ތަރިއެއް އިދިކޮޅަށް ނުއަތަށް ދަތުރުކުރުމެވެ. މިހަރަކާތަކީ އެއްވެސް ހާލެއްގައި އެއިން ޕްލެނެޓެއްގެ ހަޤީޤީ ދައުރުވުމަށް އަންނަ ބަދަލެއްނޫނެވެ ނަމަވެސް ދުނިޔޭގެ ނަޒަރުން ބަލާއިރު ފެންނަ އޮޕްޓިކަލް އިލޫޝަން (ލޮލުގެ އޮޅުވާލުން) އެކެވެ. އެއީ ދުނިޔެއިން ބަލާއިރު އަހަރުމެންގެ ފެނުމަށް ހީވާގޮތް ކަމުގައިވިޔަސް ހަޤީޤަތުގައި ކޮންމެ ޕްލެނެޓެއްވެސް އެއެއްޗެއްގެ ދައުރުކުރާ އެލިޕްޓިކް (ކުކުޅުބިސް ފަދަ ބައްޓަމެއް ހުންނަ) ބުރުގައި ބަދަލެއްނައިސް ދަތުރު ކުރަމުން ގެންދެއެވެ. އަދި ކިއެއްތޯއެވެ؟ ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޓް ހަރަކާތް އަންނަމުންދާތާ އެތައް މިލިޔަން އަހަރެއްވެއްޖެއެވެ. މިކަމަކީ ކުރީޒަމާނުގެ ގުރީކުންނާއި މާޔަން ނުޖޫމީއިލްމުވެރިންނަށްވެސް އެގި ސުވާލުކޮށްފައިވާކަމެކެވެ. މިހަރަކާތަށް 16 ޤަރުނުގައި ނިކްލައުސް ކޮޕަނިކަސް އަދި ފަހުން 17 ވަނަ ގަރުނުގައި ޖޮހަނަސް ކެޕްލަރގެ ހޯދުންތަކުން ފުރިހަމަ ޖަވާބެއް ލިބިގެން ދިޔައެވެ. މާސްގެ ރެޓްރޮގޭޓްއަކީ މިހާރުގެ ސައެންޓިސްޓުންނަށް އާކަމެއްނޫނެވެ.

މިފަދަ ލިޔުމެއްގައި ލިޔެވޭނޭ އެއްޗަކުން ފަސޭހައިން ދޭހަވެ ސިފަކުރެވޭނެ ގޮތަކަށް މިކަން ކިޔައިދިނުމަކީ އުނދަގޫ ކަމެކެވެ. މިލިޔުމުގެ ފަހަތުގައި ހިމަނާލާފައިވާ އެވަނީ ދުނިޔެއާއި މާސް، އިރު ވަށައިގެން ދަތުރުކުރުމުގައި އަހަރެމެންނަށް އުޑުމަތިން މާސްގެ ހަރަކާތަށާއި ދުވެއްޔަށް ބަދަލު އަންނަގޮތް ދައްކައިދޭ މަންޒަރު ތަކެކެވެ. ކޮންމެ މަންޒަރަކުން މާސް އާއި ދުނިޔެއާއި ދެމެދުގައިވާ ދުރުމިނަށް އަންނަ ބަދަލަށް ސަމާލުވެ ތިއްބަވާށެވެ. ނަމަވެސް މިކަން އެންމެ ފުރިހަމައަށް ދޭހަވާނީ ކޮމްޕިއުޓަރ ސިމިއުލޭޝަންއެއް މެދުވެރިކޮށެވެ. ވީމާ ޔުނިވާރސިޓީ އޮފް އިލިނޯއިގެ އެސްޓްރޮނޮމީ ޑިޕާޓްމަންޓުން ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑް ހަރަކާތް ދެއްކުމަށް އިންޓަނެޓުގައި ތައްޔާރު ކޮށްފައިވާ ސަފްހާ (http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/projects/data/Retrograde) އަށް ގޮސް އެސަފްހާގެ މެދުގައިވާ "Run" ފިތަށް އޮބާލާ ވާތްފަރާތުން ދައްކާ ދުނިޔޭގެ ހަރަކާތާއި ކަނާތްފަރާތުން ދައްކާ ދުނިޔެއިން މާސް ފެންނަ ގޮތަށް ރަގަޅަށް ބައްލަވާލާށެވެ.

މިދެންނެވި ލިޔުމުގައި ބުނެފައިވާ ތާރީޚުތަކަކީވެސް ނުބައި ތާރީޚުތަކެކެވެ. މާސް ރެޓްރޯގްރޭޑްއަކީ ކޮންމެ 26 މަހަކުން ހިނގާކަމެކެވެ. 2003 ވަނަ އަހަރު މާސް ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްގައި 30 ޖުލައިގައި ފުރަތަމަ ހުއްޓުން އައިސް ނުއަތަށް ދަތުރުކުރުމަށްފަހު 29 ސެޕްޓެމްބަރގައި ދެވަނަ ހުއްޓުން އައިސް އާދައިގެ މަތިންދަތުރު ކުރާންފެށިއެވެ. އަދި 2005 ވަނަ އަހަރުގެ މާސް ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްގައި 1 އޮކްޓޯބަރުގައި ފުރަތަމަ ހުއްޓުން އައިސް ނުއަތަށް ދަތުރުކުރުމަށްފަހު 10 ޑިސެމްބަރުގައި ދެވަނަ ހުއްޓުމަށް ފަހު އާދައިގެ މަތިންދަތުރު ކުރާންފެށިއެވެ. އެންމެ ފަހުގެ ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޓް ފެށީ 15 ނޮވެމްބަރ 2007 ގައެވެ. މިދުވަސްކޮޅަކީ މާސް ފަހަތަށް ދަތުރުކުރަމުންދާކަމަށް ފެންނަ ދުވަސްކޮޅެވެ. މާސް އޭގެ އަސްލު ދައުރުގައި ފެންނާނީ މި ޖެނުއަރީ 30 ހުން ފެށިގެންނެވެ.

އަދި އެލިޔުމުގައި ބުނެފައިވާ ގޮތާ ޚިލާފަށް، (ވީނަސް ފިޔަވާ) މިސޯލާ ސިސްޓަމުގައިވާ ހުރިހާ ޕްލެނެޓެއްގައިވެސް އިރުއަރަމުންދަނީ އިރުމަތީ ފަރާތުންނެވެ. މިކަމަށް ބަދަލެއް އައިސްދާނެ ކަމަކަށް ސައިންސްގެ އެއްވެސް ހޯދުމަކުން ނުދައްކައެވެ. ދުނިޔޭގައި ހުޅަގުން އިރުއަރާނެ ގޮތެއްކަމަށް ހަމަ އެކަނިވާނީ ދުނިޔެ މިހާރުއެނބުރޭ ކޮޅުގެ ނުއަތަށް އެނބުރުމެވެ. ނަމަވެސް ދުނިޔެ އެބުރުމުގެ ސަބަބުންވާ "އެންގިއުލަރ މޮމެންޓަމް"ގެ ސަބަބުން ދުނިޔެ މިހާރުމިއެބުރޭކޮޅަށް މިލިޔަނަށްވުރެ ގިނަ އަހަރުތަކެއް ވަންދެން ބަދަލުނުވެ އެނބުރެމުންދާނެކަމަށް ހޯދުންތަކުން ދައްކައެވެ. އެއަށް ބަދަލެއް އައިސްދާނެ ހަމައެކަނި ގޮތަކީ ވަރަށް ބޮޑު ގިނިހިލައެއް ދުނިޔޭގައި ވަކިގޮތަކަށް ވަކިބާރުމިނެއްގައި ޖެހުމެވެ. ނަމަވެސް މިފަދަ އެއްޗެއް މީންދުވަހަކު ޖެހޭނޭ ކަމުގެ ނިޝާނެއް ނެތެވެ. އަދި ދައުރުބަދަލު ކުރާވަރުގެ އެއްޗެއް ޖެހިއްޖެނަމަ ދުނިޔޭގައިވާ ހުރިހާ ދިރޭއެއްޗެއް މަރުވުމަކީ ޔަގީނާގާތްކަމެކެވެ. އިރުވަށައިގެން ދުނިޔެ ދަތުރު ކުރާދިމާ ނުއަތަށް ބަދަލުވިޔަސް އިރުއަރާނީ ހަމައިރުމަތިންނެވެ. ކައުނުގައިވާ ހުރިހާ އެއްޗެއް ތަބާވާ ޤާނޫނުތަކުގެ ސަބަބުން އެފަދަކަމެއް ވުމާ ވަރަށް ވަރަށްވެސް ދުރުކަން ސައިންސުން ދައްކައެވެ. އިރު ނުވަތަ ދުނިޔެ ހިނގާގޮތް ކޮންމެ ގޮތަކަށް ބަދަލުވިޔަސް އެލިޔުމުގައި ޝަރުއީ އިލްމުވެރިންނާ ހަވާލާދީ ބުނެފައިވާ ގޮތަށް އެންމެ ދުވަހަކަށް ހުޅަގުން އިރު އަރާ އޭގެ ފަހުން އާދައިގެ މަތިން އިރު އެރުމަކީ ނުވާނޭ ކަމެކޭ ސައިންސްގެ އަލީގައި ބުނުމަކީ ދޮގަކަށް ނުވާނެއެވެ.

ވީމާ ސައިންސްއަށް ނިސްބަތްކޮށް އިސާހިތަކު ދުނިޔޭއަށް ހުޅަނގުން އިރުއަރާނެކަމަށް ދައްކާކަމަށް ބުމުނީ ކަނޑައެޅި ދޮގެކެވެ. މާސްގެ ރެޓްރޮގްރޭޑްއާއި އިރުއެރުމާއި ބެހޭގޮތުން މުހިންމު މައުލޫމާތު ކޮޅެއް ދެވިއްޖެ ކަމަށް އުންމީދުކުރަމެވެ.


އިރުވަށައިގެން ދުނިޔެއާއި މާސް ދަތުރުކުރާއިރު އުޑުމަތިން މާސް ފެންނަގޮތަށް އަންނަ ބަދަލު














Ovvalhu(gondi): an African game?!

Tuesday, January 22. 2008
I was watching a presentation tonight titled "African fractals, in buildings and braids" (on TEDTalks) and was totally absorbed in it when an African game board shown in it caught my eye - the board looked eerily similar to something I knew: an Ovvalhugondi. I had always been under the impression that "Ovvalhu" was a distinctly Maldivian game but just like many other supposed Maldivian games of the likes of "Koraa" and "Baibalaa", I wondered if Ovvalhu too was just another foreign game that had been absorbed into our culture. Anyway, I was compelled to look up more about the mentioned African origin game called "Mancala".

Finding out more about Mancala was a much easier task than I thought. Rather than it being an obscure game played in a lone part of Africa that had little mention in any literature, Mancala was literally something of a global phenomenon that had many a mention of it, played all over the world and had dozens of online shops selling the boards. There even were online versions of the game! Mancala or Manqala in Arabic, basically refers to a class of games that all have similar game play - the objective always being to capture more "stones" than the opponent. There are a number of variants (see Wikipedia's list), as adopted by different countries or areas, that differ in the finer details of how its played. Apparent differences obviously include the number of pits in the board and the number of "stones" used in play.

I might be wrong (very wrong, infact) but from what I read I suspect that Ovvalhu takes after the version played in South India or possibly the version played in Ghana. Ovvalhu may not be our national game but Ghana's Mancala variant called "Oware" is supposed to be their national game. I found it amusing that the names sounded similar but that might just be mere coincidence(?!). A similarity that certainly is not a coincidence is that Maldivians also used to play Ovvalhugondi with "Laagulha" (picture), ie. the seed of "Kashikumburu", which is what Oware is supposedly played with (in the Caribbean atleast).

What was even more interesting, to me, was to learn that Mancala (or atleast some variants of it) had been analysed using combinatorial game theory. The game of Awari was tackled by two Dutch scientists who generated the entire state-space for the game - mounting upto almost 9 billion positions - and cracked the perfect play for the game (here's their paper). Perfect play is a game theory term for a strategy or set of moves that guarantees a certain outcome in a game - a win or a draw at the least - if the game allows so, mathematically. I have no interest in Ovvalhu but I find such computational challenges almost erotic. I'm very much tempted to attempt analyzing Ovvalhu for a perfect play as well, so I've added it to my list of future boredom-killer projects.

Anyway, though it is pretty conclusive that Ovvalhu is not a Dhivehi game, I think it is interesting to learn that it certainly is one with an exciting history and background!

Guide to using Dhivehi on the WWW

Friday, September 14. 2007
Developing web pages in Dhivehi is pretty easy and there are quite a few methods to do it. However, information on how to go about it seems to be lacking, leaving newbies stumped. Here is a general overview on the various methods for displaying Dhivehi on the WWW and should contain enough information to help anyone, designer or programmer, get started.

1. CSS: rtl + bidi-override
This method works on browsers supporting CSS and requires that browsers have the required Dhivehi fonts available to it.

Apply the following CSS settings to any tag or class to enable the target to be displayed in Dhivehi using standard non-unicode fonts. You cannot use this method for unicode text and doing so will result in less than optimal pages that will mess up in some browsers, including Firefox. Basically the CSS defined here works by setting the font face to the desired font, setting the text direction to right-to-left and finally setting the unicode bidirectional override to force (Unicode) algorithms to stick to the text direction we asked it to use.
font-family: Faruma;
direction: rtl;
unicode-bidi: bidi-override;

This maybe the easiest route to getting Dhivehi documents written using MS Word in non-unicode fonts (perhaps with Recorder with the popular custom macros for Dhivehi entry), Accent (Express), MLS and Faseyha Thaana on the web. Thus, it is no surprise that this is the most common approach taken: eg. Haveeru and Miadhu.



2. Unicode Dhivehi
This is the most straight forward and perhaps the best way to go about implementing Dhivehi on a web page as long as the text exists in Unicode. You have your text in Unicode if you have been relying on the Windows language bar to switch to Divehi before writing your text in MS Word 2003 and later. Web pages using Unicode Dhivehi should display just fine on all recent browsers.

To display Dhivehi in Unicode, first set the page charset to UTF-8 and then set text language to "div" for the entire page or specifically your desired tags as shown below.
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<div lang="div"></div>

This method is used in the online Radheef.



3. Image
This approach basically renders the Dhivehi text as an image. This is perhaps the most obvious and was the only method available early on. However, this method is still a pretty lucrative solution especially given that many computers just don't have the required fonts available. Using an image for the text rids the requirement on the client browser/computer to have the proper fonts available.

The basic approach of rendering the text into an image using Photoshop, MS Word etc is pretty tedious as the process is entirely manual. However, there is a more sophisticated approach that renders the text into Dhivehi on-the-fly on the web server side (perhaps coupled with caching to reduce load). A server-side scripting language such as PHP can be used to render text into an image using any font of choice by the designer/programmer. The rendered images (typically PNGs) are of very small size and hence have a negligible effect on the page load time in most cases.

Refer to the imagettftext function for details on how to do it in PHP.



4. Flash
This method uses text loaded in Macromedia Flash with the required font(s) being embedded in the Flash clip. ActionScript and/or Flash variables are used to load the text into text areas in the Flash file. This method has the advantage that it works whether the client computer/browser has Dhivehi font available or not but then again it does require the client to have Flash installed and enabled. If you are only seeking to have nice one-line headline sort of text in Dhivehi then you might consider using sIFR.

Refer to Font Embedding help page at Adobe LiveDocs for details on font embedding in Flash.



5. WEFT
Web Embedding Fonts Tools is a Internet Explorer only solution offered by Microsoft. It involves using

the Windows-only WEFT utility to create font "objects" that can then be placed on web pages. This method is not recommended unless the target only involves use of Internet Explorer.

Refer to Microsoft WEFT page for more information.



6. TrueDoc
TrueDoc is a solution offered by Bitstream Inc. It is a solution similar to Microsoft's WEFT in that TrueDoc solutions create a embeddable font resource called a Portable Font Resource. Any font (ie. Dhivehi font) can be loaded once users install a custom font "viewer" (called the Character Shape Player by the company). This solution is NOT free and requires the purchase of special software from BitStream to produce the custom embeddable font packages.

Refer to the TrueDoc site for more information.



Good luck ;-)

Web Operating Systems: a personal review...

Friday, May 11. 2007
There are Web OSes springing up on the internet left and right these days. The web operating system, in its broadest definition, includes everything from complete browser based operating-system-like environments to terminal access-like services. I've been keeping a keen eye on the developments, partly because I think it will become one the next big raves on the internet and partly because I find such a services quite useful.

The currently active Web OS services all have free sign up available or at least demo versions for try-outs. Here are a few I've jumped through:

Oos

I quite liked the looks of Oos although I must say it is very very basic and very much incomplete for the moment. However, their interface loads fast, is clean and uncluttered. They've gone to lengths to copy the Windows looks and styles though and may not settle with die-hard users of other OSes.
- Oos homepage


EyeOS

EyeOS is an open source project towards the development of a web operating system and has the source available for download, allowing you to install it on your own site or intranet. The basic package has office, PIM and some utilities bundled in the download. They have a separate website EyeApps where further "applications" for EyeOS can be found.
- EyeOS homepage


YouOS

This is one of the more famous of the current bunch of WebOSes despite not being the best. There are a few applications available on it - a text editor, an instant messenger, notes app and a couple more utilities. The interface isn't too pleasing and the menu systems aren't that user friendly either. That said, it is quite usable though if all you want is the very basics.
YouOS homepage


AstraNOS

AstraNOS failed to impress me a single bit. The interface was ugly and cluttered and lacked any decent feature. Their approach seems to be more towards amalgamating existing independent web services and applications and provide links for those services. Seems like just another WebOS attempt which totally fails to hit any mark, in my humble opinion.
- AstraNOS homepage


Desktoptwo

DesktopTwo is definitely one of the better web OSes around. There is a number of simpler web-based applications (e.g. an instant messenger, mail application, address book, mp3 player) available in addition to the full OpenOffice package and Acrobat Reader applications which seem to be instantiated separately via VNC connections. The interface uses Adobe Flash and is quite pretty and usable. They also offer 1GB of storage space for free to get started.
- Desktoptwo homepage


Fenestela

This WebOS is totally based on the Windows looks - Windows XP to be more exact. There are a few applications such as a HTML editor, a text editor and some utilities available already. This is a commercial product, although I can't really see why anyone would want to purchase this... Ahem.
- Fenestela homepage


Glide

Glide is definitely one of the better and more feature rich WebOSes around. A text editor, music player, email, calendar, contacts and even a photo editor application are available. They also provide 2 GB of free storage space. I'd use this as soon as I get over my disgust for their appalling interface!
- Glide homepage


CorneliOS

An open source project that seems to be producing a quite impressive platform. It is a multi-user web OS software that is available for download and comes complete with user management, access control as well as a content management system. It maintains separate user directories and individual desktop environments. It is quite feature rich with office applications, calender, development applications and has a number of settings for controlling the operations and looks of the desktop environment.
- CorneliOS homepage


Goowy

Goowy is far from being gooey and sports a pretty and very nifty interface. At the moment is has instant messenger, email, calendar, contacts and files management features available. Sadly, it is missing an office package which I reckon should be essential to any web OS. They have a feature called minis, which are basically widgets/gadgets that perform little utility tasks or as information displays. Goowy makes itself less lucrative thanks to the lack of the office package and may well be gooey for now feature-wise.
- Goowy homepage


SSOE

One of the worst Web OSes I've come across! It's done in all Adobe Flash, extremely slow and buggy. Nuff said.
- SSOE homepage


DesktopOnDemand

DoD takes a different approach to a web OS in that theirs is not browser based but rather provides a remote terminal access to a hosted OS environment - one based on Linux and Gnome. Personally, I think this is the best approach to go for creating a Web OS as browser based OSes can be notoriously slow and makes the mistake of relying on the stateless (and inherently vulnerable) HTTP protocol for communications.

The DoD approach provides access to the OS via any NX client and has the option of using a browser based Java plugin as well. They provide 1 GB of free storage and the data can be accessed without entering the OS by using their web based file manager. NX technology uses compression on its data communications and achieves surprising performance. The DoD desktop was as fast as, if not faster than, using any of the browser based web OSes listed above, atleast on my broadband connection. DoD also benefits from NX's use of SSH encryption for data communications making it a very safe way to browse. It won't leave any discernible logs, can't be sniffed/tapped easily and you can store data and browse/chat without leaving any traces behind on the computers that are used to access it. These are great plus points when considering using a practical web OS that is can be accessed from anywhere and is safe.

There is a useful set of applications available as well: office apps, GIMP, instant messenger, browser, video/music player etc. This is my favourite for now and I reckon many others will like this one - especially the Linux fans!
- DesktopOnDemand homepage


CosmoPOD

CosmoPOD takes the same approach as DesktopOnDemand by providing remote terminal access to a KDE-based Linux desktop. CosmoPOD provides a lot more applications bundled in with their service: there is the complete OpenOffice package, IRC/IM clients, mail/newsgroup readers, project/money management software, web development package, a programming IDE, raster/vector graphics editors and a bunch of the usual KDE utilities as well. This alone makes this one of the most desirable web/online OS services around!

CosmoPOD also provides 1 GB free storage and an online browser based file manager that can be accessed without using the NX client.

Sad thing is the free offering is annoyingly slow and also shows advertising banners on the desktop. They do offer the option of switching to a premium service that gives fast access, more applications and control.
- CosmoPOD homepage

Enjoy :-)

Developing apps for mobiles with Adobe Flash Lite

Sunday, April 29. 2007
Writing (simple) programs and games for mobile phones has gotten a whole lot easier thanks to Adobe/Macromedia's Flash Lite technology. It basically extends their flagship Flash presentation engine to the realm of mobile handsets by providing a player, similar to that which is installed on desktop PCs, to many of the mobile phones. The product effectively paves the way for the many animators, web developers and even beginners to easily develop rich programs for mobiles without having to delve into C or Java and presents a more lucrative solution than MIDP or BREW for creating device-independent light applications.

Anyone familiar with the standard Flash development techniques can quickly develop/port to Flash Lite and get it working. Transparent internet access, XML/HTML support and ActionScript are all supported - allowing for quite sophisticated applications to be built with ease. Flash Lite is included in the recent Adobe Flash CS3 release or can be added to Flash Professional 8 by downloading the free Flash Lite authoring update from the Adobe website. Many of the popular phones are supported and developers can download/update development profiles for different phones.

The possibilities for applications are numerous - games, data access front-ends etc and might be a great way for businesses to provide interactive information or services to customers with probably a lower development cost!

- Adobe Flash Lite product page
- Adobe Mobile & Devices Developer Center


Quick n dirty implementation of a Reverse Number lookup application in Flash Lite for Nokia phones running S60