Samsung hard disks in Seagate clothing

Yes the title really says it all. It is a bit shocking and uncomfortable to know that Seagate have been shipping the Free Agent Go (The portable version of its external hard disks) external drives with Samsung hard disks in them. I, initially came across this bit of information from www.notebookreview.com and my worst fears were confirmed by Seagate themselves.

When one of the members of notebook review forum, alias- XStylus, ripped open his 500GB Free Agent Go to use the hard disk in his laptop, he discovered that the inside the casing was a Samsung! The computer to which the drive is connected also identified the drive as Seagate, because the controllers on board were programmed to show the drive as a Seagate. I was initially perplexed as to weather this is some sort of a hoax, but later I found this exchange between Seagate and another customer who was bitten by the same bug as me, conforming that Seagate indeed did momentarily ship their Free Agent Go's with Samsung drives.

Seagate say, they did source 500GB drives from Samsung for a short while as they were in short supply of their own drives when the holiday season was fast approaching. They add that, they began to ship its own 500GB 2.5-inch drive a few weeks later. A few weeks!! for the world's best and one of the biggest hard disk production facility a few weeks equates to a quite a healthy number of hard disks! And add to the fact that they were merely casing Samsung's drives means, the numbers could be much more than one can imagine.

But the serious question is what were Seagate doing with the production of their drives when its obvious that a holiday season is approaching? Obviously Seagate cannot say they forgot the dates! Thinking deeper, does that mean Seagate actually found a defect with its own drives to momentarily pause its production and slot in Samsung drives? These questions only Seagate can answer. I am one of many out there who would wait for a Seagate drive rather than risk buying infamous Samsung drives. Although Seagate say they uphold the same warranty of the Samsung drives, as a consumer I feel cheated. Its like finding a Hyundai engine under the hood of an Audi. Quite embarrassing.

Image credit: XStylus@Notebook Review Forum

The Bucket List

Fitter
happier
more productive
comfortable
not drinking too much
regular exercise at the gym
3 days a week
getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries at ease
eating well
(no more microwave dinners and saturated fats)
a patient better driver
a safer car
baby smiling in the back seat
sleeping well...no bad dreams
no paranoia
careful to all animals
never washing spiders down the plughole
keeping in contact with all friends
enjoying a drink now and then
will frequently check credit at, moral bank hole in wall
favours for favours
fond but not in love
charity standing orders
on Sundays ring road supermarket
no killing moths or pouring boiling water on ants
car was also on sundays
no longer afraid of the dark
or midday shadows
nothing ridiculously teenage and desperate
nothing so childish
at a better pace
slower and more calculated
no chance of escape
now self employed
concerned but powerless
an empowered and informed member of society
pragmatism not idealism
will not cry in public
less chance of illness
tyres that grip in the wet
shot of baby strapped in back seat
a good memory
still cries at a good film
still kisses with saliva
no longer empty and frantic
like a cat tied to a stick that's driven into frozen winter shit
the ability to laugh at weakness
Calm
fitter
healthier
and more productive
a pig ..in a cage... on antibiotics

The next big thing! - Virtual Sound

We all are witnesses to the revolutionary change that digital camera bought to photography. And now brace yourself for a similar one,  this one about how we hear sound.

What it's about?
This idea enables one to focus the sound to a specific location, just like we focus light using reflectors and lenses.

What's the big deal?
Since its invention, some 80 years ago, loudspeakers have been giving out sound in all directions. If you have a loudspeaker turned on in a room, you will undoubtedly hear it regardless of whether you want to listen or not. With this revolutionary idea for a  speaker by Woody Norris, we can actually focus the sound to a particular person or area and them and only them will be able to hear the sound, as if the sound source was right next to them!!!. No one in the room will even hear a whisper! Check out the video talk by Woody Norris below.

Brace yourself for change!


The patent details for this invention is available here
 
About Woody Norris (from TED.com) :When Woody Norris won the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2005, his official prize bio called him "a classic independent inventor ... self-educated, self-funded and self-motivated." His mind seems to race toward things the world needs, though we don't know it yet: a nonlethal acoustic weapon that has been used to ward off pirates, a bone-induction headset, radar that can scan the human body, a tapeless tape recorder ...

Norris' educational background is a key to his restless mind. He is not quite "self-educated" -- he's taken many classes, but always at his own speed and in his own style, studying the things he knew he wanted to know and working closely with professors. Ironically, it's a model that cutting-edge colleges are now embracing.

His inventions have seeded several public companies. Recently he has been working on the AirScooter -- a sort of propeller-powered counterpart to the Moller SkyCar.

Corporates X panded

Here are some of the famous brand's acronyms and their expansions:

• ABN - AMRO (banking) : Algemene Bank Nederland -                 AMsterdam ROtterdam Bank
• DHL (logistics) : Dalsey Hilliblom and Lynn . The names of the three founders of the company
• TDK (Electronics, media) : Tokyo Denki Kagaku. Japanese for Tokyo Electric and Chemicals
• SAAB (automotive, aerospace) : Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget. Swedish for Swedish Aeroplane Limited. The 'Ab' acronym denotes the type of corporation, just like we have Ltd. or LLC etc
• IKEA (furniture, home making) : Inguar Kamprad Elmlaryd Aggrenaryd. Inguar Kamparad is the founder of the company; Elmlaryd is the farmhouse in which he grew up and Aggrenaryd is his parish!!
• CEAT (tyres):   Cavi Electrici Affini Torino Italian for Electrical Cables and Allied Products of Turin

More to follow. Coming up with a bumper story!! Do check back. Thanks!

The OmniBrand

This is about something that undoubtedly touches everyones daily life, something that changes the way you live. You will have undoubtedly used it in you daily life, but would be at loss if you were asked a thing or two about it. It might appear in commercials, but you would hardly even notice it. You may see it in hoardings around the city but again hardly ever heed its presence. Invented more than 50 years ago, many regard this as one of the smartest inventions in the world.

This seemingly modest brand to the layman is the 'Tetra Pak', ask any industry expert and they will tell you its 'magic'. And, so it comes of no surprises that Tetra Pak is even featured in curriculum of some design schools. If you are just wondering whats so smart about a juice box, press on and you'll be amazed.