Civilization is one of my favorite games of all time. But good god man, this is torture.

According to my Last.FM profile, here are my top artists (and number of times I’ve listened to their songs) for 2011.

1. Bob Dylan (557 plays)

2. Hot Water Music (556 plays)

3. The Wooden Birds (502 plays)

4. Daft Punk (433 plays)

5. Johnny Cash (422 plays)

6. Bad Religion (406 plays)

7. State Radio (358 plays)

8. Otis Redding (338 plays)

9. Against Me! (329 plays)

10. Amos Lee (325 plays)

Hey folks,

Today is my last day at gdgt. It’s hard to believe that I joined the team almost 3 years ago. Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s been a wild ride, but it’s time for me to pursue some new opportunities in 2012!

I want to thank the gdgt community for making my job an absolute blast and helping create something awesome! It’s been a fun experience chatting with everyone on gdgt, on Twitter, and even in person at our gdgt live events. I’ve met a countless number of great people, and for that, I’m super thankful.

Thanks for the fun times and happy memories!

Until next time,

-Dave

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I heard that Walter Isaacson was doing the Steve Jobs biography, I was quite excited about the potential. I loved his biographies on Albert Einstein and Ben Franklin (and his Henry Kissinger bio has been highly recommended). Needless to say, it was an instant pre-order.

The biography takes a look at the various parts of Steve’s life, from his upbringing as an adopted child, to his care free lifestyle and travels through India, to starting a company, getting kicked out, and then ultimately coming back.

Overall, the book was an interesting read and had some fascinating nuggets of information. But I found myself disappointed as I read further and further into the book. Isaacson had unprecedented access to Steve Jobs. I was really hoping that he could get inside his head, pick him apart, and come up with what made him tick, his thought processes, etc.

Unfortunately, he really didn’t. What we’re instead left with is a superficial look at Steve’s life in the first half of the book, and a look at Apple’s various product launches in the second half of the book. As I write this, news comes out today that Isaacson is planning an addendum to the Jobs biography in the future — adding more information and filling in some gaps.

Overall, the book was still an interesting read, and I think anyone who is a fan of technology will find it enjoyable. I just wish it was more fulfilling.

View all my reviews

I’ve censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet–a bill that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/4757/uncensor

As ███████ who █████ for a ███████ ████ ██████, ████, and ████████ the ████████ and its ███████ ████████, it is █████ ████ we ████ ████. ████ ████████ ██████████ of the ████████.

████ me in ██████████ ████ ███████████████ and ███████ ████ ████ we won’t █████ for ████.

Hah. My sister sent this to me.

  This piece was originally posted on gdgt. Check it out, here.

Abstract: The latest Android mobile phone under Google’s flagship phone line, the Nexus family, currently has a diagonal screen size of 4.65 inches (118.1mm). This follows a trend that Google started with the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1 — their first Android flagship phone. Released in 2008, it had a diagonal screen size of only 3.2 inches (81.3mm). Since then, screen sizes in Google’s Nexus line have grown at an average rate of 0.48 inches (12.2mm) per year.

I. Introduction
In 2008, HTC released the first Android phone, the HTC Dream on T-Mobile[1]. Known as the G1, this phone kicked off the Android revolution. At the time, it featured a screen size of only 3.2 inches (81.3mm) — which is rather paltry by today’s standards. Since then, subsequent releases of Android phones by Google and its partners have featured larger and larger screen sizes, culminating with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus[2], announced earlier this week in Hong Kong.

II. Methods
For this experiment, we only used specifications data provided by Google and its partners to determine the screen size. We listed each of Google’s flagship phone ordered by release date. Then we divided the total change is screen size by the total number of years.

From there, we’re able to extrapolate the potential screen size of future Android phones.

III. Results
Here is data from all of Google’s stock Android phones.

• T-Mobile G1 (2008) – 3.2 inch
• Nexus One[3] (2010) – 3.7 inch
• Nexus S[4] (2010) – 4.0 inch
• Galaxy Nexus (2011) – 4.65 inch

We see that over the course of 3 years, Google’s phones have gained a total of 1.45 inches (36.8mm). This factors out to an average growth rate of 0.48 inches (12.2mm) per year. With this result, we can now predict the screen size of Android devices over time.

• 2012 – 5.13 inches (130mm)
• 2013 – 5.61 inches (142.5mm)
• 2014 – 6.09 inches (154.7mm)
• 2015 – 6.57 inches (166.9mm)
• 2020 – 8.97 inches (227.8mm)

IV. Conclusion
Over the last few years, it’s clear to see that the market has spoken with regard to its preferences over the size of mobile devices. Google has recognized consumer’s preference for larger devices and has moved toward a “bigger-is-better” strategy for mobile phones. At the current rate of growth for Android phones, by 2022, they will eclipse the 9.7 inch screen (246.4mm) size of Apple’s tablet, the iPad[5].

V. Footnotes

HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Nexus One

Samsung Nexus S

Apple iPad

Seeing this post on Gizmodo earlier today made realize something. Android phones are getting bigger and bigger. So, I decided to write this tongue in cheek “research paper” to highlight the increasing “screen bloat” of Android devices. Bring on the 9.7 inch phones, baby! 2022 can’t come soon enough.

At the end of this month, I’ll be down in Los Angeles for our gdgt live event. It’s our first time coming to Southern California. If you like gadgets and want a chance to play with some of the latest and greatest devices out there (and also win them), you should come out!

It’s free, all-ages, and open to the public.

When: Friday, October 28th, 2011 from 7:30pm – 10pm
Where: Club Nokia, 800 West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles
Who: Over 20 of the hottest brands in tech. See who will be there!
How: This event is free, all-ages, and open to the public. Invite your friends! RSVP here.

[more info gdgt blog]

Our friend, Amit Gupta, was diagnosed with Leukemia. He needs help in a major way.

I got a call from my doctor, who I’d gone to see the day before because I’d been feeling worn out and was losing weight, and wasn’t sure why. He was brief:
“Amit, you’ve got Acute Leukemia.

“You need to enter treatment right away.”

I was terrified. I packed a backpack full of clothes, went to the hospital as he’d instructed, and had transfusions through the night to allow me to take a flight home at 7am the next day. I Googled acute leukemia as I lay in my hospital bed, learning that if it hadn’t been caught, I’d have died within weeks.

I have a couple more months of chemo to go, then the next step is a bone marrow transplant. South Asians are severely under-represented in the bone marrow pool, and I need help.

There’s a few things you can do to help. Are you of South Asian descent? Swab! Or help organize a drive!

[more info Amit Gupta Needs You]

Cats are basically the official currency of the Internet. Combine them with science, and it’s equally amazing. Lately, I’ve been getting an absolute kick out of Chemistry Cat.

Science puns are awesome!

[via I Can Has Cheezburger?]