I am a blogger, concept designer, future engineer and content writer. Follow this blog for some quick reviews of existing and upcoming mobile devices and much more..
Two months ago, a close friend and colleague of mine asked me if I would be able to design a smartwatch device for him. Always up for a challenge, I accepted, and later I found out, that the device I was designing was going to be a competitor at the annual GPHG event.
A little about the GPHG –
The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix) is the name of an annual watchmaking prize as well as the organization that awards it.
Awarded in November of each year since 2001, the GPHG includes prizes in important categories, including men’s/women’s, sport watch, technical innovation, and complication. There is also a prize for the best watch maker and a special jury prize. Originally given by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), the GPHG became a registered public interest organization in 2011.
The Musée International de l’Horlogerie/International Museum of Horology (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds
The Geneva Laboratory of Horology and Microengineering (Timelab)
The Edipresse group
With the exception of a special audience prize, only a selected jury of watch professionals are allowed to vote, and price is one consideration. Although still very young, GPHG has become one of the most important prizes in the world of watches. One can compare it with the Academy Awards (“Oscars”) of the U.S. film industry. An Asian Edition is also held.
The way to the winner of the Aiguille d’Or (Golden Pointer) automatically gets a seat in the jury in the following year.
This is probably the first time ever that an Indian designed smartwatch will represent a Swiss company at the awards, which is a matter of pride and immense honour for me. I would once again like to thank Luxius Suisse for this opportunity, and look forward to a successful campaign.
I would love it if you all could check out the device and show us some love 🙂
Its always good to learn something new during a semester break and this time, since I had a relatively smaller one, I decided to go big, and try out something that had been on my wishlist for quite sometime – The Raspberry Pi.
Being a total beginner to this new interface, I did head into a few minor speed bumps, but in the end, I successfully got it to work. In this article, I will walk you through my journey into the world of Raspberry Pi, and how exactly I got it to work. Hopefully, my write up will be of use to those of you aspiring to try this amazing device for themselves.
Basically, a Raspberry Pi is a card sized computer that can be used for everything between electronics projects to more arduous tasks like media playback and even word processing. Think of it this way – A credit card sized mother board which, when plugged into a display, and coupled with a mouse and keyboard, acts like a computer. Raspberry Pi, has been around for a while now, and with every new iteration of their product, their board keeps getting better and better.
When I went to the electronics store to get myself a Raspberry Pi, I had to choose between the Raspberry Pi 2 and the newer Raspberry Pi 3, and while there supposedly isn’t a lot to differentiate between the two, I decided to go for the latest model, just so I could get full functionality , and when I would eventually document my experience, I would be writing about a more market relevant model.
Alright, so , the Raspberry Pi 3 ( Model B ) costs around INR 2500, and you should be able to get it in stores that deal in electronics kits for students. In Bangalore ( where I reside ), I
The Raspberry Pi package
was able to get it at OM Electronics on S.P. Road. At first, I thought that the Raspberry Pi, will have to be purchased with some additional accessories, but contrary to all my doubts, you can just buy the Raspberry Pi board, and get started. You do get a slew of add ons for the Raspberry Pi, but I would recommend that you first get fully acquainted with the basics of the Raspberry Pi and then go in for the add ons.
Coming to the Raspberry Pi 3 ( Model B ) – The board comes choc a bloc with features –
The board features 1GB of on board RAM
Bluetooth 4.1
802.11.b/g/n Wireless LAN
4 USB ports
1 MicroUSB port ( For the power supply )
1 HDMI port ( To connect to the display )
A 40 pin GPIO port mainly for connecting add-ons
A MicroSD slot as well for you to place the USB containing the OS
To get the board going, you will need the following additional components –
A Laptop or a computer
A display ( if you have a TV that has a HDMI port, that works too )
An HDMI to HDMI cable ( This will allow you to connect the Raspberry Pi to the display
A microUSB cable ( The same one you would use for charging most smartphones ) . Do keep in mind, that the MicroUSB port on the Raspberry Pi is purely for power supply, and nothing else.
A MicroSD card – Make sure you use an SD card that has more than 4GB capacity, because the OS files usually stretch to around 3 GB space after installation, so any SD card between 8GB and above is OK.
A USB mouse and Keyboard. You will have to connect the keyboard and the mouse directly to the Raspberry PI, using the On -board USB ports.
Also get an SD card adapter, for formatting your SD card and placing the OS files onto it.
Once you have got all the items on the check list, we can now move to the next step.
First up, head to the Raspberry Pi Website , and download the OS of your choice. The link I have provided will take you to the download page for the Raspbian OS. It is one of the most widely used OS for the Raspberry Pi, and its easy to use . It is also the OS I have used for my sojourn.
Once you download the ZIP file for the OS, place your SD card into the SD card adapter, and insert it into the Laptop using the card reader. Once detected on the PC, right click and format the SD card, and then place the OS zip file into the SD card, and then keep the SD card aside. In case your Laptop does not have a multi card reader, you can do this simple trick – insert the new SD card into your smartphone, and connect the smartphone to your laptop.Once detected, just right click and format the SD card, and copy paste the OS Zip file onto the SD card, and then disconnect and remove it from the smartphone.
Once the SD card has the OS Zip file , place the SD card into the SD card slot on board the Raspberry Pi. There is only one way of inserting the SD card, so it shouldn’t take time.
Now, connect the Mouse and Keyboard to the USB ports on board the Raspberry Pi. Now, take the HDMI to HDMI port, and connect one end to the Raspberry Pi, and the other end to the display you are going to use. In my case, I used my TV as I didn’t have an independent display on hand, but really, you can use any display with an HDMI port.
Once you have made these connections, take the microUSB cable and connect the Raspberry PI to your PC or laptop, as the latter will act as the supply. Mind you, the Raspberry PI doesn’t not need a dedicated supply, connecting it to your laptop will do just fine.
Once the Raspberry Pi is powered on and the display is connected, you will be greeted by a NOOBS interface which will show you the SD card you have inserted and the corresponding OS ZIP file, that you have placed. Use your Mouse to navigate to the Zip file, click on it and then select the install option that you will find on the top bar. The installation is automatic, and in a few minutes Raspbian OS will boot up.
This concludes the setup and installation.
The Raspbian OS is more GUI and therefore, very simple to use. It has got a truck load of features that will cater to programmers and general public alike. I saw a BlueJ Java editor, a few editors for python, while there is also this nice little application that teaches the essentials of programming to younger audience.
The Raspbian OS home screen
We also get the Libre Office Suite, which is the open source version of the MS Office Suite. We also get a web browser to do some browsing. The exact run through of the entire feature set, I shall cover in my next article, and subsequently, I’ll also walk you through projects that you can do using the Amazing Raspberry Pi.
I hope you found this article useful. The Raspberry Pi community is growing, and I am proud to be a member of it .
Xiaomi was wrestling a block for the last couple of month, with most people going as far as saying that they had now run out of ideas when it came to smartphones. I am glad all the nay sayers were put to rest at the MWC, when the company unleashed their own full fledged flagship, in the form of the Mi 5.
Its another year, and Apple have started off their proceedings for 2016 with a brand new iPhone, or should I say, an iPhone reborn. Dubbed the SE, the new offering from the guys at Cupertino is nothing but an iPhone 5s fit with the innards of the iPhone 6s
The MWC event this year saw a wide range of new devices come to the fore, and while android took away the spotlight when it came to smartphones, Microsoft had a little surprise of its own. Microsoft’s ambitious Windows 10 mobile platform owns only about 1% of the global market share right now, and if anything can bring about a change in fortune, its the new HP Elite X3.
A lot of experts have claimed that electricity is the future for automobiles, and while most automakers are still coming to terms with this prediction, one company is already making a living out of it. Say hello to Tesla Motors.
Back in 2013, Elon Musk unveiled his concept of a modern transportation system, which if implemented, could truly revolutionize the future of human transportation.
The MWC event of 2016 has officially ended , and while the Android brandwagon had yet another boisterous campaign with some ground breaking devices joining the already star studded catalogue, Microsoft decided to show up and do some campaigning of their own.
Ok, so I guess I am a bit late on this front, but I really had to try it out for myself first before letting you all in on the action. Firstly, I would like to tell you that my experience with Windows 10 mobile has been a bit of a 50-50 affair, simply because the OS is not fully ready yet, and using it as a full on primary OS right now will only lead to tears more than smiles.
A lot of experts have claimed that electricity is the future for automobiles, and while most automakers are still coming to terms with this prediction, one company is already making a living out of it. Say hello to Tesla Motors.
The Entertainment and Sports Report 