Nike Hyperfuse not so tight

In a previous post, I wrote about how I appreciated the features of the Nike Hyperfuse shoes, but they were tight, and may be too tight for some people. I believe I have now found a way to address that - by re-lacing the shoes. After some quick searching, I stumbled upon Ian's Shoelace Site - and in particular Lattice Lacing. Here is the final result:

Nike Hyperfuse Lattice Laced

Shoes are now more comfortable, and easy to slip off and on. The lacing opens up the midfoot and stops them from being so tight, while also giving the shoe an interesting look. I will not recommend this to the shoe if you use it primarily for sport, as you want to take advantage of the tight and responsive feel of the shoe. If you are going to use it primarily to play basketball in, then leave them in the default lacing configuration (out of the box), and for the extra support, lace them up to the top eyelet.

As a final note in praise of Ian's website, he has investigated why tied shoelace bows look crooked or slip, and offers suggestions to address the problems. Well worth the read!

Short comings of the N900

Overall, I am pleased with the Nokia N900. I think it is a great phone, and is a good example of what GNU/Linux can do in the hand-held space. It also demonstrates how open source / free software can improve over time. When I first purchased the N900, the phone did not have any MMS capability or FM radio functionality. Now the phone can make and receive MMS, as well as acting as a FM receiver and transmitter. The phone is also very stable - and will perform admirably under heavy loads.

It also is a demonstration of how a corporate entity (in this case Nokia) have adopted an open source platform, and then declined to develop it any further. Stating that, they have released the source code for their other platform - being the Symbian Platform. I would have thought that Nokia would have stood behind their product for much longer than the initial release period. Fortunately, due to the open nature of the device, development will continue. It will continue to be improved. It will continue to get better.

There are some other minor factors I am not pleased with, when it comes to the N900. I would have preferred if it had some internal video conferencing, as opposed to relying on an auxiliary company like Google or Skype to provide the video conferencing. It has also come to my recent attention that either Google or Nokia have withdrawn the video conferencing functionality, leaving N900 users to have to choose another provider for video conferencing. Skype video conferencing also does not work between N900 and the Apple Mac client.

Lastly, searching using Ovi Maps is broken. Whether you search for an address in Melbourne, it will always show the suburb being Moonee Valley. It is the same whether you use the N900 or the Ovi Maps website. In the image below, I searched for 216 Smith Street in Collingwood. As you can see, the map is right, the post code is correct, but the suburb says Moonee Valley.

Hopefully all these problems will be addressed soon...

Rajon Rondo's Nike Hyperfuses from the 2010 NBA Finals

During the 2010 NBA Playoffs, a series of the best of 7 games, to which the Boston Celtics eventually lost in the finals in Game #7 by only 4 points, Rajon Rondo stood out as a point guard with a lot of future potential. On several occasions, he accumulated triple double statistics, and ensured that the Celtics would play another game. During these games, Rondo debuted his first signature shoe - but it was not his signature shoe. Unlike shoes worn by Michael Jordan (Air Jordans), Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, or Kevin Garnett, Rondo's shoe did not bear his name. They were not even called Rondos. They just had his number on them, they were in a colour similar to Celtics green, and they were called the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse. Rondo has single handedly put these shoes on the map, and now Nike are actually releasing a Player Exclusive (PE) shoe for the 2010-2011 NBA Season for Rondo. They are similar to the shoe he wore in the 2010 NBA Finals, but they have a white Swoosh Nike Logo, as well as a white #9 on the side - with no other apparent design changes.

I have recently purchased the Playoff model from crazyforsneaker.com, and have worn them for the last 4 days. The reason I purchased them off the internet is that the shoe is not due in Australia until just before Christmas this year, or early 2011. Just as a side note, the guys from crazyforsneaker.com provide quick service and shipping. They do their best to be competitive in price.

This is what they look like:

Pros for the Hyperfuse:

• Snug fitting shoe.
• Very light.
• Breathable - your foot is well ventilated and you do not get sweat build up as much as other shoes.
• Seamless - no seams that will dig into your foot due to the snug fit. The whole upper of the shoe is one piece fused together.
• Extra sole area on the outside of shoe adds to the stability of the shoe.
• Very responsive shoe - when laced up correctly, there is very little movement, which means that all your foot's movements are translated into shoe movements (think of this as a stiffer version of a Nike Free running shoe).

Cons against the Hyperfuse:

• The snug fit may be too tight for some people - if this is the case, order the shoe a half to a full size bigger if you cannot get into a store to try them on.
• When laced to the top eyelet, the cuff (although padded) does dig into your ankle / calves - but I believe this will diminish with time. If it is too uncomfortable, then just lace them one eyelet less.
• The heel does not have the same cushioning as the forefoot - they do not feel as floaty to walk in as Nike Hyperizes (I believe this is due to the use of Lunar foam - and that the floaty sensation fades over time). This may lead to lack of impact protection when landing on your heel in comparison to other basketball shoes.

Other links of interest:

• Hyperfuse review on solecollector.com
• Hyperfuse introduction by Nike on youtube.com

Reading some of the comments about this shoe before I purchased them, people have mentioned that they are simple, yet so good that they could set a new precedent on how basketball shoes will be made in the future. I will not go so far as to agree with them, as companies like Nike will always be trying out new techniques and methods to sell shoes, but I will admit that are unlike any other shoe you would have used before.

Software Freedom Day in Melbourne 2010

I've always considered Open Source or Free Software to be very important in my life, and in my career. I would not be able to do many of the different tasks I do on a daily basis if it was not for the existence of Free Software. I'm sure there are proprietary alternatives, but why would I want to give up my freedoms in supporting other products.

In my daily life, I choose to have a Nokia N900 - a phone that is a computer, that runs Maemo Linux. The computer I am using to type this post is running Ubuntu as its distribution of Linux. It provides the operating system, the desktop, and the browser. All those components are also Open Source. My main desktop is a Gentoo Linux PC.

I have utilized the services provided by Mediawiki to install wikis at different places I have worked in an attempt to share knowledge and make a job easier. I use Wikipedia as a starting point for research into new topics I wish to obtain an understanding.

The company that provides this blog service is also reliant on Free Software. Google (who currently owns Blogger) use Apache, as well as many different components of Free Software to provide their services. According to netcraft.com, many other sites also use Apache as well. Google appears to use Linux as their operating system to host the websites.

I use the term "Open Source" and "Free Software" interchangeably. I know other people that would disagree with me. I'm not here to start a war - just to show there are many definitions to a similar product. Stating that, I have much respect for Richard M. Stallman, although I find some of his views to be extreme. He has to be who he is to have done what he has accomplished.

This leads me to talk about Software Freedom Day in Melbourne for 2010. If you are unaware of what I have been discussing, and would like to find out more, then make your way to it. This year, it is on the 18th September 2010 (Saturday) and, in Melbourne, will be at the State Library of Victoria.

If you are not in the Melbourne, have a look in your local area to see if there is some type of event on. This is not something that is limited to just Melbourne, or Victoria, or even Australia.

If you are interested in more information, the following links may be useful:

• SFD2010 in Melbourne - on kattekrab's blog
• SFD.org.au's Melbourne Page
• softwarefreedomday.org

The last pair of Salomon Vortex on the web

Some of you may know I take photo of shoes I own. Well not all the shoes, but the interesting ones. I mainly write about the sporty type shoes, but I may soon expand this to all my shoes - as any shoe person may say - every shoe has its own story.

This post will be about a shoe that was made about 10 years ago, but has long stopped being made - the Salomon Vortex. Thanks to the guys at macski.com, I believe I have the last pair that was available on the Internet. I've looked for other pairs, but cannot find them. 10 years ago, Salomon was an emerging company in Australia. They had already established themselves in Europe, and were well known to skiers as manufacturers of very good quality boots, bindings and skis, but they were attempting to establish themselves in other markets. I first noticed them when I was looking around for a pair of replacement in-line skates. My Rollerblade Aeros broke in the cuff (after about 6 years of use), and I wanted something that was as comfortable. I found the Salomon TR9 Custom - a skate that was even far more comfortable than the Aeros (I may dedicate a post to these skates in the future). The reason for the high level of comfort was the Custom heat-molded foot liner in the skate itself. Those skates were so good, I went onto buy the Salomon ST9 Custom skate. This eventually lead the purchase of the Salomon Vortex shoes.

The pros of the Vortex:

1. Good solid stiff shoe - useful for walking, casual, pickup games of football, cycling, and skateboarding.
2. Long lasting sole.
3. Unique lacing system - pull the lace loop and push the lace lock down. This would take around 2 seconds per shoe to secure onto your foot.
4. Easy to keep clean sole.
5. Good level of comfort.

The cons of the Vortex:

1. Not ideal for running, or any court sports.
2. If you did not engage the lacing system in a certain way, you would wear out the lace loops, and hence render the shoe useless. This would take over a year - even with standard daily use.
3. Does take some "breaking-in" to get it to a comfortable level - around 1 week of daily use.
4. High cost when it was originally available.

These days, Salomon still make shoes, but not the Vortex.

I recently met Sunny Boy, and he knows his shoes - mainly Globe shoes. I've asked him to see if he can offer me a similar shoe in US size 11. Until then, I'm looking on the Internet for deadstocks of Salomon Vortex shoes.

Blog photo game in Melbourne

Here's the mark:
Ignore the blurring in the photo. If I didn't blur it, it would be too easy to get. The clue is - To get this mark, you'd better factor in a jam.

If you want to know more about the game - read the rules.