SAMSUNG, A GALAXY TOO FAR?

Really? 

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SAMSUNG: A GALAXY TOO FAR?  

Good afternoon, Synapse Circuit Readers! What’s happened to British Summer Time, huh? It’s another wet day following on from yesterday! Bah! I hope the weather is nice where you are! Are you a Samsung fan? Even if you are not, do you wonder have they produce yet another...

...GALAXY TOO FAR?
Recently I have found myself wondering if Samsung are diluting their premium Galaxy range what with the seemingly endless array of handset designs based around the Galaxy S4 and Note2:

Galaxy Mega, S4, S4 Mini, Zoom S4, S4 Active and Note. And these are just the tip of the iceberg! I have seen a few more Galaxy handsets aimed at the Asian market i.e. the Galaxy Grand. It is bewildering! Of course, I have left out the various tablets as I wanted to focus on the handsets.

I also wonder if the Galaxy S4 couldn’t have a few features of both the Active and Zoom. Could there have been the standard S4 with a bit of an optical zoom – even it was x5 or x3? Could the standard S4 have been made with clumsy users in mind? The amounts of times I have seen people drop their precious handsets... Jeez! Or why not make the S4 a little bigger, 5.3”, thicker to house a zoom lens and made out of waterproof material?

The mind boggles! And why not release the different colours at the same time to capture a wide range of handset users? I keep saying that one of the most sought after colours is pink! So many women (and some men – I don’t mean Gay men) would love to have a pink handset. But we are presented with the facts in plain black and white; it’s annoying! Ok, mildly annoying! I am very happy with my White Frost Galaxy S4! I just think it would make more sense to capture those who would like different colours to have those colours available when launched onto the market. I had wanted an Electric Blue S4 and the Arctic Blue comes very close... I wonder if I can convince my network, Three, to take my S4 back kept in pristine condition in favour of the Arctic Blue version? Probably not! Lol! I guess it’s cheaper to purchase a coloured case.

Design possibilities and colours aside I wonder who would be up for any one of those new S4 variations? I do love to take pictures and I think I would have gotten the S4 Zoom! It’d be interesting to see what the demand will be for an S4 Active and Zoom.

GALAXY S4 MINI
As predicted the S4 Mini isn’t really a “mini” as such because the hardware is different. Don’t get me wrong... The S4 Mini is still a great handset but, as I said with the S3 Mini, you can be forgiven for thinking that all the contents of the S4 are stuffed into a smaller phone for those with dainty hands. It’s not the case (no pun intended). However, I can see the S4 Mini doing well as the monthly rental should be considerably lower than that of the S4! 

GALAXY ACTIVE
It is an interesting handset that is identical to the standard S4 except the main camera is 8MP! I guess if I lead an active life I would probably want it too! But the way Samsung has presented it, the S4 Active appears to be a niche market for your Bear Grylls type of person... Hey, why not get the man himself, Bear Grylls, to do some advertising for it?

GALAXY MEGA
The Galaxy Mega has a split personality... There’s a 6.3” and 5.8” Mega; I believe they are coming to the UK at some point... I vaguely heard that the Three network will take them both on as they want to be seen as giving their customers a great choice of handset. I am guessing that these handsets will sell around the same price as the S4 Mini on rental thus appealing to those who want the size but not all the premium features of the S4.

STOCK RUMOURS
Although the S4 sold over 10 million units within a month. However, there has been news that the demand for the S4 has slowed since then. Now this could be rumour as I have noticed that whenever Apple has a major event such as the recent WWDC we get to hear some bad news concerning Samsung. Last year it was the mysterious exploding S3 which was exposed as a hoax and rumours that the S3 sales had slowed after initial release. But in the end the S3 as a great big seller for Samsung!

Sales of the S3 notwithstanding I think that the investors of Samsung on the stock market were expecting the S4 to break records sales and it hasn’t managed to do that according to the stock market news. If that’s the case I do think that Samsung will beat the S3 sales over a longer period, plus it has the mighty HTC One to contend with.

On the one (no pun intended) hand the Galaxy S4 and Note 2 variants will pick up some more sales for Samsung... And on the other, those variants could eat into the potential S4 sales. How many of you stretched to get an S3 or Note2 last year because there weren’t any real alternatives? Now not only do Samsung have to contend with the HTC One they are potentially cannibalizing the S4. Yes, just like how the iPad Mini sold more and continues to sell more than the iPad. But of course, Cook won’t tell you that.

ULTIMATELY
I do feel that although the S4 is a smashing super-phone, Samsung can now see that the competition is hungry – ravenous! So, as a result it will make Samsung work harder on their design because I feel that the S4 has more features than the HTC One, but people have gone for the looks and it has eaten its way into the market share.

Yet, even though I am a Samsung fan I am very happy for HTC! As well as owning the Galaxy S2, S4 and Note2, I also own HTC Hero (the screen doesn’t work very well to the touch), Desire (can’t store many apps on it) and the One X. I have always admired HTC’s design and it is about time they had a hit!

Ultimately, it’s a result for not just HTC and Samsung but for the consumer as well! I have a few friends that just love HTC and friends that are pure Samsung! Me? I go for the features over looks and – in my humble opinion – that’s where Samsung rules.

Is the Galaxy Memo for real????

What do you reckon?

Take good care!

Please enjoy the video below! Feel free to leave some comments and subscribe!

Thank you for watching and reading!

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Synapse Circuit Dot Com

#Samsung #GalaxyS4 #GalaxyS4Mini #GalaxyNote2 #GalaxyNote3 #GalaxyZoomS4 #S4Active #GalaxyMega 

FIGHTING TALK / THE CHINESE ARE COMING.

Huawei Chief Executive Richard Yu shows off the Ascend P6. 

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT: 

FIGHTING TALK / THE CHINESE ARE COMING...

Good afternoon, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope you are enjoying the tennis and the good weather of late – well, at least I imagine that the weather is good where you are! If you love technology like I do you must be excited at what the Android platform has been developing... I’ve got news for you... 

THE CHINESE ARE COMING
And they are coming with Android handsets that will have the mobile world marvelling. The two biggest names from China, Huawei and Oppo have every intention to usurp the power houses Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony!

Huawei’s Richard Yu was in London to launch the Ascend P6 – the world’s thinnest smartphone - and to also let the press know that they are looking to be Number 1 on the world market. Huawei has the drive and determination to be known for making the smartphone in the world and to put a price tag on it that undercuts Apple, Samsung, LG, etc.

I think Huawei can possibly achieve their ambition but the major competition shouldn’t be taken lightly. I know Samsung are always hungry and they never seem to stop innovating. If you saw the video footage from the CES at the beginning of the year then you will know what I am on about. Huawei and any other challengers will be foolish to take Samsung lightly.

Apple? Hmmmm... If Apple can concentrate on delivering a new iPhone design or designs then they can be very dangerous too! I am quite sure that Cook is considering an iPhone phablet and a budget model for the everyman/woman.

Oh, the one major underestimated manufacturer is Google Motorola. You may have noticed that Google has given Motorola a little make over on the logo and I can imagine that they have a lot to prove.

Here’s what Huawei’s Chief Executive Richard Yu had to say about Samsung...

“We want to provide the best, most beautiful, slimmest smartphone – this one’s much thicker.” Capitalizing on the (in)famous Samsung plastic builds... “We’re not made of plastic."

As you know, I feel strongly that Samsung handsets can look pristine after a good 4 years of use! My Galaxy S2 looks as it came out of the box 4 years ago! I understand how some might see metal and glass as better but it may not be the case when durability is taken into consideration. Again, the HTC One looks amazing – like an ET dropped it on upon entering the spaceship to go back home but I would like to see the One after 2 or 4 years of use.

And with regards to the Galaxy S3 and S4... ...they have been about functionality above the looks which I happen to like very much. I love minimalism. Remember that Samsung are now own 50% of a carbon fibre company in Germany!

ADVERTISING IN A FLASH
Yu continues... "We don’t have so much money to do marketing and branding so we have to make our products better. The best smartphone in the past was from Nokia, then from Apple, then from Samsung. And who is number one? The industry is so dynamic – no matter how successful you are, if you’re currently number one, doesn’t mean tomorrow you’ll be number one.

“Samsung, they have such huge money – if you invest in marketing and branding then people will always buy no matter how good the products are. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is just a so-so smartphone.”

One can chart Nokia’s descent from the top... Nokia simply didn’t see touch screens coming and when the iPhone landed on the market there were other clued up manufacturers waiting to jump on that bandwagon. Had Nokia discovered Android’s potential instead of contemplating Symbian who knows where Nokia would be right now?

To be honest I can barely remember ads for the initial Galaxy S. I can’t for the life of me remember a single Galaxy S2 ad. What Samsung seems to have done is to let the media do the talking on its behalf. I think they mastered the art of PR. At one time you couldn’t pick up a tech or dedicated mobile magazine without reading the headline, ‘iPhone Killer’. Samsung ran with that and it worked. Samsung used the Adobe Flash compatibility greatly to its advantage like HTC and BlackBerry did. Again, hardly any need to spend on publicity there. All the media – including Synapse Circuit – were keen to weigh up the pros and cons of having Adobe Flash on a mobile device. It is the one time where Steve Jobs unwittingly gave the competition a chance to shine! 

Do I miss Flash today? It’s a yes and no... Yes, I miss what Flash could have become. Ordinary people could create a similar app experience without knowing how to program by using Flash. Even if the end product looked like a PowerPoint presentation at least it would be better than having produced nothing at all. Put Flash in the hands of a skilled user / programmer and we could have had some interesting games, multimedia applications and so on. And, no: Adobe just gave up the ghost. They decided that if Apple weren’t going to have Flash on their devices then it wasn’t worth pursuing. I think that decision is wrong and as a result I don’t really miss it. But if Adobe should change that they’d have my attention. I am not holding my breath on that one.

Samsung used that bitter competition with Apple to their advantage because the tech media industry and consumers alike were just waiting for the S2! As you know the S2 delivered and it won awards over the iPhone for being the best multimedia handset in the world. The S2 still holds its own today! That’s how great that phone is.

When the S3 came along Samsung could afford to invest more into advertising and this was the start of Samsung’s own separate product launches. The S3 delivered in many, many ways:

Design; while the S3 design came as a shock to me I warmed to it when I had it in my hands.

Functionality; sure Smart Stay needed good lighting to work but it did work. The video on top was very good too despite that there is an app that can do the same thing. S Voice worked quite well as a means of launching apps and getting weather updates and it wasn’t meant to compete with Siri.

Camera; the videos and pictures that I made with the S3 are superb.

Samsung did some great adverts for the S3 to drive home the great functionality. The S4 videos – in my opinion – haven’t been as great. We’ll get to the Note in a bit...

INNOVATION
What sets Samsung apart from the competition is that they aren’t afraid to innovate! The Galaxy Note could have dived like a lead balloon where the 5” Dell Streak crumpled but the Galaxy Note opened up a new market niche for other manufacturers to follow, the phablet! The Galaxy Note 2 has enjoyed great success.

Let’s not forget the online YouTube campaigns against the iPhone! Those ads were so funny! So cheeky and inventive; so many iPhone owners switched over to Samsung as a result.

If Huawai and Oppo are going to grab spots held by the Android greats then they will have to deliver on all levels:

Camera; this is where both Huawei and Oppo are taking the lead with the 5MP front-facing camera on the Ascend P6. However, the main camera is an 8MP compared to that of the 13MP on the S4!

Oppo Find 7 is said to be coming with an 8MP front-facing camera! WOW!!!!! The Find 7 may have a 13MP main camera. That could change by September when it is expected to be launched.

Who knows what the Galaxy Note 3 will have to offer? Maybe, just maybe they’ll be able to deliver a higher MP on the front-facing camera. It could already be too late as I would imagine that Samsung must be in production on the Note 3 if they are going to reveal it in August. I can’t say that I have heard too many rumours on the Note 3.

RICHARD YU ON APPLE
“In its latest update, Apple makes the phone extremely simple to use,” he says. “But if we are just learning from them we can’t catch up, because they are now slipping. We want to go higher than them.”

Not being disrespectful to Apple and their legions of fans... The pure Jelly Bean operating system has surpassed iOS 7; again, I am not interested in putting Apple people down. If I honestly thought that iOS and the iPhone were better I would own one or two but I don’t! 

I wrote an article a while back that Apple and the iPhone has lost its “cool” factor. I predicted that the iPhone 5 would be DOA and I was right.

“We have a good relationship with Google,” says Yu. “We want Android to be more user friendly, so we have made a lot of enhancements. Google is good for an engineer but it’s not good for the consumer: It’s a little bit too complicated.”

That is the one good thing of many aspects of Android is that one can create an interesting skin / user interface over it. I think what Huawei has done with their Emotion UI is potentially very good. I personally do not think that Android is complex to the user... Uh-uh... If anything the consumer is so spoiled for choice that it is overwhelming. See my ‘Understanding Android’ for those jumping ship from other devices. I wrote that article with for and / concurrent BlackBerry users in mind. As a consumer I would rather be overwhelmed than under!

Currently it is not difficult to be better than Apple iPhone; they have been beaten already by Google, Samsung, HTC, LG and Huawei & Oppo! Hey, Apple Fans: don’t be mad at me! It’s not my fault that Cook talks himself into a corner regarding the future of iPhone handsets. The man says the most stupid things and feels that he can’t go back on them. So, blame Cook!

Apple is trailing behind with their iPhone and iOS at a premium level. Add to the fact that Apple has yet to enter the budget market. If you have read my article on ‘The False Economy of Budget Android Handsets’ you will understand that the market is still virtually untapped because these budget handsets aren’t up to much – if anything at all!

Can you believe that some manufacturers of budget Android handsets are releasing Gingerbread based phones today???? C’mon! Stop messing around! A 10 year old would know better than to think any budget handset with Gingerbread on it and to some degree Ice Cream Sandwich is a worthwhile phone. FORGET IT!

Just in case you are hard of reading and you like to read things that aren’t there... FORGET IT! Budget Android handsets are no good! They are lacking in CPU, RAM and storage. Nobody expects the camera to be great on these things but the budget market is screaming out for a decent handset!


GOOGLE MOTOROLA
While these manufacturers are content to deliver underpowered and ultimately useless handsets Google Motorola is looking to sweep in with something called DVX that promises to deliver quality with an affordable budget! I have no specs at the time of writing. If Google Motorola get it right... I shudder to think about the impact Android will have on the market again!

If you were paying attention to the Google i / O 2013 developer conference you’d know that Sundar Pichai, the new head of Android (and Chrome) stated that the aim is to get Android handsets into untapped markets around the world. I am expecting big things from Google Motorola. Even former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt has been saying for the longest time that the smartphone of today will end up being the budget smartphone in the future.

I do think these manufacturers are wasting their time and squandering their potential with underpowered budget it Android handset which would be fine if the size of apps were under 8MB but they are constantly growing.

MY ADVICE
Forget surpassing the iPhone – it has been done already. It wasn’t hard to do due to the aforementioned stubbornness, stupidity and endless patent spats from Apple. Cook and co seems to live in a bubble. They aren’t being fair to their consumers.

My advice is this:

Up the ante on the hardware! More CPU power, 4GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage and a massive battery capacity 8000 mAh! Why not? We’re not seeing a great leap in premium handset specs. In order to bring forward good budget handsets the hardware of premium must go up!

Don’t get too hung up on being “the thinnest in the world” if it comes at the expense of the battery. I feel forced into buying a protective case for my S4 because it’s so thin that it makes handling a tad cumbersome when taking photos... One accidental nudge from a passerby and that could be the end of it!

The Android handset market is solid. What about the apps? What about the tablets?

In the meantime look out for Huawai, Oppo and ZTE. 

 What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

Please enjoy the video below! Feel free to leave some comments and subscribe!

Thank you for watching and reading!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit website for video, i-PDF and more! 

Synapse Circuit Dot Com

TECH NEWS 27 JUNE 2013

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT.
TECH NEWS 27 JUNE 2013

#Samsung #Apple #Apple vs. Samsung #Sony #Microsoft #Windows8.1 #Huawei #Yu #Acer

Good early morning / very late evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope your day has been a good... The weather today was gorgeous! Perfect for tennis! Lol! Let’s see what has been happening in the world of tech...

THE TECH WARS CONTINUE: SAMSUNG HAS LOST A RUBBER-BANDING PATENT TO APPLE IN GERMANY & JAPAN.
Apple prevails on rubber-banding patent in Japan, loses minor hardware patent in Germany a few days ago and earlier in Japan... What does it mean? It probably means that there will be more of the same for some time to come.  

The patent spat between these two tech giants is kinda boring now. Will it ever end, you wonder? You and me both! I think both Apple and Samsung should just call it a day and share the patents. But Apple really needs to get rid of Cook! Let’s get Good Steve (Wozniak) to take over the reins and make Apple great again! I think Tech Lovers would welcome an end to the constant bickering that has started with the Death Will of Jobs and may he rest in peace. The vendetta against Android and Samsung should have been buried with him.

Sort it out Cook! Let this ugly thing die and restore the faith in Apple and Tech Fans alike!

ANDROID HAS SURPASSED iPHONE 5!
No surprise there. Android has become pretty much ubiquitous what with Samsung’s Galaxy assault, S3, S4 and Note 2. Now HTC One is doing well too! Not to mention a bunch of premium handsets coming from LG and Huawei!

SONY GOES ULTRA PHAB
Sony's has a huge 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra phablet that is gunning for  that the Samsung Galaxy Note II that is 5.5”!

Here are the powerful specs:

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, the Xperia Z Ultra is the first to sport the quad-core 2.2GHz processor

The 3000mAh battery pack is expected to provide 11 hours of battery life

6.4-inch full HD 1920x1080 Triluminos display works with a stylus — or even a pen or pencil, according to Sony

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

16GB internal storage, with about 11 GB available to the user

MicroSD card slot for up to 64GB more storage

Just  212g and 179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5mm thin (but thicker than the 6.18mm Huawei Ascend P6)

It has more waterproofing than other Xperia devices at IP55 / IP58: A waterproof headphone jack means you should be able to listen to music while underwater

Primary 8MP camera, 2MP front-facing camera. I’m interested to see what the slightly disappointing primary 8MP camera is all about — hopefully better than Sony's flagship Xperia Z smartphone which was not up to the standards as set by the Samsung Galaxy range or premium handsets, iPhone and even HTC One!

Sony has yet to reveal prices. So far there are two colours, black and purple. The Xperia Z Ultra could be out by July / August – just before Samsung offloads the Note 3! Oooh! Fight! Fight! Lol!

SPEAKING OF SAMSUNG... CARBON FIBRE
It seems that us Galaxy fans can wave goodbye to our beloved plastic phones... C’mon, you know plastic makes perfect sense! Just look at a used iPhone (no offense meant to iPhone / Apple users); the aluminium and glass just isn’t robust enough.

Samsung has set up a partnership with a carbon specialist in Germany, SGL Group, to develop carbon materials for its products, which have been criticised – unfairly - for the cheap feel of their premium handsets made from plastic.

The South Korean company's materials arm, Samsung Petrochemical, has established the joint venture with carbon manufacturers SGL Group and will own 50 per cent of the joint company, Samsung SGL Carbon Composite Materials.

Expect to see tablets, TVs, etc made from carbon fibre. I guess it’s going to be too late for the Galaxy Note 3... Hmmm... You just never quite know with Samsung. Naturally, I am so very curious to see what the carbon fibre inspires in future designs. I think Samsung has been caught by a left hook that is the HTC One. Nobody can take anything away from HTC regarding the One – not even Apple! The HTC One is superb – a great looking handset.

People say that I am biased but I still think that the functionality beats the HTC One. But we all know that the design is sometimes the first and foremost function for some. Each to their own!

HUAWEI TO KNOCK SAMSUNG OFF THE TOP SPOT BY 2015
Chief executive Richard Yu's message was clear, "The industry is so dynamic – no matter how successful you are, if you're currently number one, doesn't mean tomorrow you'll be number one..."

It goes without saying. But I like that fighting talk. I think it brings out the competitive edge in every manufacturer. Yu also dismissed the Galaxy S4 as hype! Maybe that is a topic for a complete and dedicated article... We’ll see... Personally, I don’t like such disrespectful talk – it reminds of pre-boxing match hype where it could get nasty and personal. You have to respect the competition because a company like Samsung doesn’t get to where it is on advertising alone. If the Galaxy premium handsets weren’t up to much I would have said so. And I certainly wouldn’t have gotten them!

Be respectful, Huawei! Talk is cheap! But I have to say that the P6 could do some considerable damage and by 2015 the Android handset will certainly be something else... Possibly something like what was shown in the remake of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell. Farfetched? Let’s not forget Google Glass!

It’s clear to see that Android handsets are driving design and innovation and it is so very exciting to see all these new releases happening now let alone in two years time!

MICROSOFT DEVELOPER CONFERENCE 2013
Windows 8.1 is here and it looks better. It looks like there is some potential to be had. Wow, Microsoft could actually redeem itself after all! It’s not a total overhaul but some improvements as requested by users.

Like Google, Microsoft is also going to a new and improved music service.

The Acer Iconia W700 Tablet PC looks sleek and sexy but at £766.49??!!

Here's what you get:

Intel Core i5-3317U 2.6GHz

4GB RAM + 128GB SSD

11.6" IPS FHD Touch

2 x Camera + Bluetooth

Windows 8

Includes Keyboard Dock

Is it worth it? Hmmmm... It does look tempting! I would want one!

Well, that’s your tech news in context!

What do you reckon?

Take good care!

Please enjoy the video below! Feel free to leave some comments and subscribe!



Thank you for watching and reading!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit website for video, i-PDF and more! 

Synapse Circuit Dot Com

SOCIAL NETWORKING: DON’T BE PARANOID.

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT.
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
DON’T BE PARANOID.
DON’T BE STUPID.
DON’T BE SPITEFUL.
DON’T BE HUMAN.

#G+ #Facebook #Twitter #Humans #SocialNetworking #AntiSocialNetworking

Good afternoon, Synapse Circuit Readers! I hope you are having a great day so far! And if your day has just started then there is still time!

A funny thing happened to me at around 04:30 AM. My Google Blogger account had me as logged out when I didn’t log out. So, just in case I was being hacked into I took some precautions that had me close and re-launch the Chrome. I logged back into Google Blogger to receive the following message: There’s unusual activity on your account. Please submit your phone number for verification (words to that effect). I obliged and received a call from an Unknown source at 04:37 AM. I was given a numerical verification code which I entered to confirm my status...

...DON’T BE PARANOID

What happened there? Could it be that because someone, me, is using Google Blogger instead of Word Press – and quite prolific too?! Amazing... Someone posts a couple of blogs per day and it gets logged as “unusual activity”. That has got to be so freaking stupid. Oh and guess what?

Did you guess? I used Google Plus (G+) to post links to my articles within their communities. Now, isn’t that the idea? Hmmmm...

Anyway, I came across a term that I had never heard of before regarding my article, ‘Understanding Android’, “Clickbait”. “CLICKBAIT”????!!!!! Jeez! I swear these computer-dork-nerd-geeks make life harder for themselves... Lol! These people are so paranoid that they feel that if they click on a link to an article that somehow the article writer has got the better of them. Gimmie a break! The ‘Understanding Android’ article was posted in an Android community and I guess some ardent Über-Android Fan took the article as a slight against the Android operating system. Here’s the nonsensical response...

“I read it. It's clickbait. Not only that, it's almost a useless article talking about how people from other phone experiences get pissed at Android because they can't figure out what they used to do. It's actually the opposite of the clickbait title.

I'll not be reading anything else you post, sir or madam.”

The point is that the person didn’t read the article or read it with the view that there’s a malevolent agenda hidden somewhere in the context.

DON’T BE STUPID

Yes, you! Don’t be so bloody stupid! Read first, judge later.

Speaking of bait... When the likes of Facebook and Gmail first started out there wasn’t such strict rules as there are now – especially regarding what you want to call yourself.

Here’s the rant of a delusional iPhone / Apple Fan:

“You don't even use your real name on G+ and you're obviously just here to troll. You won't win any hearts and minds here. Go away.”

Oh, I am not suggesting for a second that he is delusional because he is an iPhone / Apple Fan. But mind you, if Tim Cook and cohorts are delusional... Hahahaha! C’mon, you have to have a sense of humour! Anyway, it just so happens that Blue Gene is my real name. I had to scan my passport and send it into Google! For crying out loud! Hahahaha!

Do you really think that Google didn’t know that people were being spied upon? I think they, Apple Facebook and others knew. Why do you think they are insisting upon users using their real name? What is so stupid about this rule is that anyone could withhold their name by using a typical English one i.e. John Doe and that name will get through. You couldn’t make it up. Well, actually you can’t if you subscribe to an alternative lifestyle such as Punk and its upgrade, Cyber-Goth. If you wanted to call yourself Putrid Peter or Vicious Vagina you can’t – well not on Facebook or Google Plus. Not anymore.

In fact what Google + and Facebook have done with this rule is antisocial. If people can’t be themselves then what’s the point? Sure, I am sure that there are those who will try and push an alternative name but the reality is that if the likes of the NSA wanted to track human behaviour then it is best to leave people to their own devices regarding what they wished to be called. People reveal more about themselves through self-expression and for most people self-expression starts with their name. Google, Facebook and others should know that – especially psychological profilers working for intelligence (hee hee hee) agencies. 

Some people don a name to mark an adjusted state of mind for good or bad like a superhero or villain. Sometimes you can guess the nature of the name i.e. Sunshine Flowers (fictional, I don’t know anyone by that name)... But what kind of person do you think Sunshine Flowers is? Male? Female? An enthusiastic environmentally conscious person? Yes, that could be. It could also be that Sunshine Flowers is so extreme about the plight of the planet that he or she could be willing to assassinate the CEO’s of companies that wilfully pollute the Earth.

On the flipside of the coin someone could be calling his or herself Nigger Killer and that person could be an Afro-American rapper. This issue of identity is a complex one and the likes of Google Plus and Facebook shouldn’t mess with it. It is wrong to exclude people on that basis; we should be free to call ourselves whatever we want.

DON’T BE SPITEFUL

Often I come across spiteful people that love to dish out terms like “Clickbait”, “Troll” and “Spam” when such terms aren’t even justified. These spiteful people often cause the accounts of others to be closed / deleted without warning. I know that if you have been in that situation these “Customer Support” people are less than helpful and seem go out of their way to be an ass! And when you get into a position where you’re actually talking to a human like I did with someone from Twitter and ask them what I was supposed to have been spamming there’s no answer. These misguided folk do not take the time to look at the nature of the links.

Often I link my articles on relevant Facebook Pages and Groups. It just takes for one spiteful person to complain “SPAM” and I lose all my posting privileges. It is DUMB! In fact I had my posting privileges restored when the Facebook people or person took the time to see what I was posting did not constitute as “SPAM”. But it’ll happen again if I keep posting links to my articles on Facebook. All it takes is just one! It is bloody annoying to say the least and that is why I hardly use Facebook nowadays. Facebook has decided that “SPAMMING” includes writing to people that aren’t on your Facebook “friend list”. Say, aren’t they going to charge users to write to celebrities? Hmmmm... Anyway, I think anyone crying SPAM without just cause should be banned for 30 days on any social network. Surely there ought to be algorithms to determine where a link is going, no? How difficult would it be to detect if a link is going to ‘That Magic Blue Pill dot com’ or ‘Blogspot dot com’? But please... NO MORE SPAM, CLICKBAIT or TROLL talk; shove it up your a$$e$!

Google Plus is a little better. I am actually connecting with wonderful, intelligent people which more than makes up for the paranoid people who write in a way to let people know that they are intelligent. The difference between me and them is that I write because I am intelligent. I wouldn’t say I am exceptionally gifted but at least I am able to read an article and understand the intent.

“I'll not be reading anything else you post, sir or madam.”

Yeah! See if I care! Don’t read my articles. And please don’t post your crap responses! Bah! I do find that I have to restrain myself when taking such negative people into consideration. I shouldn’t be spiteful back. But that’s human nature...

DON’T BE HUMAN

I think that Technology (I see it as a quasi-religion) should unite the planet. I prefer Android (despite the weirdness that can be demonstrated by Google Plus or G+) because of their willingness to include apps that spans platforms as was demonstrated at the Google i / O 2013. But if you happen to like Windows or iOS then good for you! I don’t get why people take it so personally when their chosen technology is being scrutinized and criticized; I think these criticisms is what makes the developers strive to accomplish more. As an Android user I am keen to know what will be the makings of Key Lime Pie. Phone users have been delighted with what promises to be iOS 7 and I don’t hold it against them.

Isn’t technology supposed to be making us smarter? Hmmmm... I don’t know... About 4 or 5 years ago ore more I was using my Nokia 95 and I had ex amount of texts to my monthly rental plan so I had to use Text-Speak i.e. l8r, cre8, w8, m8, etc. Thankfully, I don’t remember these word abbreviations but I could swear that at one point it was making me forget how to spell. And a girlfriend who I was seeing at the time couldn’t spell for toffee and she was using Text-Speak even when she didn’t have to i.e. in a short text. I am so very thankful for apps like Viber, WhatsApp and LINE, etc where I can write normally.

I think people who have time for such idiotic words as “Clickbait” are dumbing themselves down. People would rather distrust me than to distrust a government and social networks that has no respect for the privacy of their citizens. Every time I accept an add request on Facebook the question comes, “Did I know this person offline prior...” It’s none of your Goddamned business!  But just for the record in case I am being spied upon...

I do not know or willingly anyone who holds racist, misogynist and homophobic views.

As much as I would like to erase some people off the face of this Earth I do not know or willingly condone any acts of violence. Violence is abhorrent. Murder is an abomination of humanity. There is no religious or political justification for it. The act of personal self defence is different. As far as I am concerned there is no bravery in blowing oneself up and to kill and maim others in the process. There is no bravery in harming / killing innocent people – especially women and children.

I do believe that a life should be taken by the law of those that commit murder and sexual crimes against children and adults. I do not want my taxes going on keeping these criminals locked up to enjoy a roof over their heads, food, TV and computer games. My motto is this: Can’t rehabilitate. Incinerate. I don’t want paedophiles to be let out of prison only for them to be re-housed near schools.

The taxpayer money should be spent to better healthcare for law abiding citizens.

What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

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UNDERSTANDING ANDROID

"Doh!" 

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT:
UNDERSTANDING ANDROID, REALIZE YOUR POTENTIAL

Good late evening or early morning, Synapse Circuit Readers! Take it as it pleases you! It has just come to my mind that there are a lot of people who do not seem to understand Android and the various devices such as the Samsung Galaxy premium handsets...

CASE No. ONE
SCENARIO: TRANSITIONING FROM BLACKBERRY TO ANDROID, GALAXY S3 TO BLACKBERRY Q10

Here’s what this person says...

“The S3 is a good phone but inefficient for an on the go businessman. Even with the notification pull down I have to go in and out of all my messaging apps. The long press on the home button which displays all the current open apps hardly resolved the in / out inefficiencies. Typing long emails on the virtual keyboard (with Swiftkey) even though I got pretty good at it is just plain inefficient because I have to have my eyes glued to the keyboard as I type or else I will get a whole lot of gobblygook on the screen that has to be edited out...”

That doesn’t make any sense because with the advanced notifications present in Jelly Bean one can reply from the notification pull downs. It even says, “Reply”.

Hasn’t this person heard of widgets? So many email apps have a widget so that it can be placed in the optional 7 home screens! One can easily see and respond to push emails. The app is already open, so to speak.

As for typing... There are so many great keyboards available for Android; some are free and some you have to pay for. I LOVE Kii! I have it and gesture typing with it is more hit than miss! I can type long emails very quickly! Also one can set the haptic feedback on the keys to intensify the feeling of typing on a physical keyboard. Oh, on the Kii one can change the typing sound to suit and customize the way it looks and therefore if the looks are important to you then it determines the feel too!

Then there is Swype; again it is another great keyboard – especially for gesture typing. He continues...

“I got the Q10 a month ago and it is a pure pleasure to work with. Most of the inefficiencies have gone away. The always on HUB has consolidated messaging in one place including a quick view of my upcoming calendar events. The multi-tasking is brilliant.

The keyboard? Well I can type without mistakes again and I don't have to keep looking at the keys. The tactile feel allows me to feel the keys and type while looking away a little. Even the suggestions are non obtrusive like they are on Swiftkey. Integrated Evernote within the reminder system and really handy...”   

Most of the inefficiencies have gone, huh? It comes across that there are inefficiencies that are a part of the BlackBerry interface. I couldn’t hack it (no pun intended). Again, the equivalent of the Hub on Android is the widgets! Did he ever use Google Calendar? I live by Google Calendar; I know I am lousy at remembering appointments and times... I don’t know what I would do without it! And Gmail is the best email invention ever! I hardly bother with any other mail service for business... ...the recent updates to Gmail is nothing short of excellent.

Why is it so important to not look at the screen when typing on a mobile phone? When one is driving? Uh-uh! That’s extremely dangerous! No business is that important whereby one has to run the risk of causing a traffic accident where people could be seriously hurt or killed. Can his business survive without its CEO?

How about Google’s brilliant Voice Typing? I have laugh at myself for being so freaking lazy and can’t be bothered to gesture type that I turn to the Voice Typing facility on the keyboard. Even on the bus when I am trying to gesture type some long word I just dictate into my phone! It works!

But if the gentleman is happy with his newly acquired Q10 then good for him!

CASE No. TWO
SCENARIO: TRANSITIONING FROM BLACKBERRY TO ANDROID, GALAXY S4

Here’s what this person says...

“I can’t get used to typing...”

He’s a friend of mine who wanted to move away from the BlackBerry as he was experiencing so many problems with the last model he had. He has had to take his BlackBerry to repair so many times. I feel responsible for what he is experiencing as I am the one who advised him to go for a Galaxy S4 (like have).

I have given him the same information regarding the many Android keyboards and that most keyboards can easily be customized to suit. He didn’t even realize that he could use the Voice Typing facility! Jeez! Lol! I guess a substantial piece of tech that the Galaxy S4 is takes a bit of getting used to as one can be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of options... But I can sympathize with getting used to typing using a touch screen after using a physical keyboard for so long! I went from a Nokia 95 where I managed wear the keys down to a HTC Hero which got excruciating after a while because the touch screen turned to poop for some reason (this phenomenon can be found via YouTube: HTC Hero malfunctioning touch screen). It took me a while to get used it.

“What does this (S Voice) do?”

I was surprised that he didn’t know – after two weeks of having the S4 – what the S Voice is. The least he could have done was click on the icon to see what it does! Lol! But I do remember having a similar attitude to tech, “Oh my! What does this do? I better not touch it just in case...”

“I am not used to the battery running out so quickly...”

Many, many Android users do not realize that they can turn some options off when not in the home such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, some of the Air and Gesture functions (on the S4), reduce the screen brightness and so on.

One can survive a good day with moderate use i.e. receiving and sending emails, social networking and texting. It is the minute one starts to consume media is when the battery starts to deplete rapidly. However, I do recommend a spare battery to power users. Personally, I can get much more done on my S4 than on my Nokia 95 (which a very, very basically liken to the experience of BlackBerry from having played around with another friend’s BlackBerry). I cannot stand small screens anymore. I think small screens are defunct today! It’s like what I say to my Adorable Friend, “Why on Earth do you bother looking at media on your small (iPhone) screen?” Watching a movie, web surfing, social networking, email, etc is a fantastic experience on my Android handsets: HTC One X, Motorola RAZRi, Samsung Galaxy S2, 4 and Note 2. You can’t really beat the experience with any other handset!

PROGNOSIS
Some new Android users get overwhelmed by the possibilities that they do not see how logical everything is from customizing any of the 5 or 7 home screens to contain the widgets for the most used apps. They don’t seem to understand that notifications can be expanded to read a message in its entirety and a reply can be instigated from the notification.

In other words they aren’t adjusting their mindsets... They are used to thinking in the logic as set by another operating system.

THE CURE
Think of Android as what it is: A computer that can make phone and video calls. Case 2 asked, “Where is the clipboard? I copied something to the clipboard and I can’t find it (the clipboard)...” So, I told him that this function is no different to copying and pasting i.e. copying and pasting a URL from the web browser into any other app. But he is getting there.

Explore and enjoy! Look stuff up on YouTube if you’re not sure! Android is easy!

What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

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BARNES & NOBLE GET SLATED

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT:
BARNES & NOBLE BOWING OUT RATHER ODDLY...

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! As I have just not long posted up yet another article on the Android (and Windows hybrid) tablets I got the news that Barnes & Noble are quitting the business of tablets... It makes me think that I just might be onto something...

CHRISTMAS 2012
I cast my mind back to Christmas or for the non-Christians, The Winter Holidays and for Pagan’s, The Winter Solstice... I walked into a branch of W. H. Smith’s and looked at some interesting looking tablets from Barnes & Noble. Oh, W. H. Smith’s is a large book and magazine store that has recently taken on eBook Readers and lately tablets.

Let’s look at one of their tablets:

NOOK HD

Screen

7" Fully Laminated Screen

1440 x 900, 243 pixels per inch

Displays HD @ 720p

11.1 oz

1.3 GHz Dual-Core Processor OMAP 4470

Expandable Memory

Battery lasts up to 10.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video3

Dual Stereo Speakers

Hmmmm... That’s not bad. But what is to distinguish it from similar lesser known brands from China that can be found in the likes of Maplins? I think the screen isn’t bad at all; one of the best screens that I have seen on a 7” tablet. The CPU is pretty good too. But that’s about it.

The design is not very inspirational and it does remind me of what you’d see in a 90s Sci-Fi movie. The design is BAD! The bevel looks like something Joan Collins would wear. I don’t know who designed it but that person should be collecting social money.

OBSERVATIONS
Bad design and screen aside, there is nothing really outstanding about the Nook HD. And that is the trouble with a lot of Android tablets... They have blanket blandness about them. The specs seem to be just enough to appear competitive with every other 7” tablet out there. 

I think it is pretty defeatist of Barnes & Noble to quit, but if there’s no money in the kitty to continue then so be it. I can’t help but replay what Google CEO, Larry Page revealed about the costs to produce a handset, “$1”. So, I would imagine that a 7” tablet would cost around $3 - $5 – maybe even $10! Handsets have 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, thus tablets should have all those wonderful connections by default. The problem is that many Android fans put up with this crap! Nobody really questions what they are presented with. Instead of saying, “I’m not going to buy that crap!” it’s... “You don’t really need 3G or 4G; I could just use my phone as a hotspot...” That’s not the point! Fellow Android Fans / Users, if you want the best you have to insist upon it!

IF IT’S BROKE, FIX IT
I think Barnes & Noble shouldn’t quit – it’s not noble (sorry). All they have to do is up the screen ante because reading stuff on a tablet for extended periods requires a darn good resolution. If it’s broken, fix it. I honestly believe that the Android tablet market is a little broken because there is so much crap out there and the known manufacturers seem to be standing out in small margins. They are giving us stuff in a piecemeal fashion. I don’t think it’s a good thing. It’s no wonder Cook and co can take up a considerable amount of time ridicule the Android tablet in their product launches.

MANUFACTURERS ARE YOU READING?
Forget about kicking Apple’s ass! I’m kiddin’! In my most humble opinion the Android operating system kicks a$$! There isn’t an operating system out there that is as good! But you need to take hold of the reigns... What’s next? A tablet from Fisher Price? Actually, there are some good inexpensive tablets for children but we Androids want something more than distracting rug rats from the main computer or mobile phone. We want something cost effective too!

To stand out from the iPads and Surfaces we do need a great design, robust materials, all the connectivity going, quad-core, 2GB RAM, good internal storage, external SDcard and sockets i.e. HDMI, USB, etc.

Well, I will finish up now as I am pretty much starting to repeat myself. In my mind I see a pile a mile high of cheap Android tablets polluting the planet.

What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

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HYBRID ANDROID AND WINDOWS SLATES: WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT: 

HYBRID ANDROID AND WINDOWS SLATES: WHAT DO THEY MEAN? 

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! Thanks for reading my article on the ‘State of the Android slate’. I don’t know about you but I keep wondering if this latest trend to have hybrid Android and Windows means. What does it mean for Android? What does it mean for Microsoft?

MICROSOFT
C’mon, let’s face it... Windows 8 RT has been an unmitigated disaster. Who on Earth would want to get a Surface tablet with RT on it? The real Windows 8 deal tablet costs a blinking fortune but at least it runs real software instead to toy town apps. However, because of the RT fallout people do not seem to be in a hurry to pick up a Windows slate...

ANDROID
My goodness... It doesn’t seem so long ago since the first HTC Android phone, the Dream. Now look at how Android handsets have taken off! It’s nothing short of amazing... It also doesn’t seem so long since the Samsung Galaxy Tab came on the market and to be honest – as much as I liked it – the 7” tablet was an overgrown phone...

But now look at the Android tablet market... I open up a tech magazine and I see yet another advert for yet another Android tablet! Whoohoo! It has a “bright” IPS display, support for Adobe Flash, Jelly Bean 4.1 and a dual core CPU! Yay! Apps?

THE SOLUTION
Of course! How did I miss it? The solution is to put the two operating systems together in one device. Maybe Android fans wishing for more serious apps would go for the hybrid and thus it’ll give Microsoft a leg up.

It’ll also give Android some breathing space to continue developing great tablet oriented apps. I think it all started with the Galaxy Note and more importantly the Premium Suite set of applications that came with it. The Premium Suite showed just what is possible on the Android platform. It does baffle me as to why Samsung or any other manufacturer sets up an app division to strengthen the tablets when they come out.

PLEASE ME
The manufacturers just can’t please me can they? The last time I was talking about standardizing tablets to include 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, etc. I think the hardware side of things are not as good as it can or should be. Now I am complaining about the applications and how I am not entirely happy about having to fork out for a dual Android and Windows operating system.

I just don’t know my own mind... One minute I am considering the Samsung ATIV Q and the next I can’t be bothered about an Android tablet.

Maybe my approach to the Android tablet is wrong... I have been looking at it from an accessory point of view; I have the handsets and now I need to tablet to go with it.

Through the ‘State of the Android Slate’ article I learned a great deal; I was able to gauge how people are using their Android tablets. As a result I am thinking more about my needs as opposed to wanting a tablet to show off for the sake of it. Lol!

Hmmmm... What are my needs? I know what my expectations are, however I know that they do not appear to be realistic where the hardware is concerned. Can I find a good compromise? We shall see!

What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading!

Take good care!

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SHE’S AN iPHONE / MAC, I’M AN ANDROID / PC

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT:
MY ADORABLE FRIEND & ME: SHE’S AN iPHONE / MAC, I’M AN ANDROID / PC (KINDA RELUCTANTLY).

Good afternoon, Synapse Circuit Readers! I don’t know if you have read my blog that wonders if ‘Apple Brainwashes their users’, have you? I am now convinced that most Apple product users have been brainwashed... Yes, my Adorable Friend has started her mini-Apple campaign on me... Hee hee...

...iOS 7
Yes, my Adorable Friend and I had a little chat over the weekend via the Viber app... Sadly, we hardly find time to talk these days... She’s busy with her new business venture and I with my reviews, blogs, etc. But as always towards the end of our conversation she teased me about getting an iPhone and a Mac. She has just gotten wind of the forthcoming iOS 7 operating system and she was telling me how wonderful it is and how it is better than Android and that I should stop “deluding” myself. Lol! The she swiftly moves on to the subject of me getting a Mac... Lol!

I had to point out to my Adorable Friend that a lot of the “new” features such as multitasking, quick access to settings and advanced notifications have been enjoyed by Android users for at least a couple of years! Of course there is no comeback to the assertion of this fact. My Adorable Friend claims to “love” technology and admits to being a Star Trek fan yet she, like a lot of Apple users, does not seem to look beyond Apple where the love of technology is concerned. She should know more about what’s going on with other technologies.

As you know I LOVE technology big time and while I can’t profess to know every detail, trends, etc I do try to keep an eye and ear open to see what’s happening across the board... I can’t deny that there are times when I find it hard to keep up or understand certain concepts, but I do try. If anything my enthusiasm for all things tech opens up my mind a little more than the average person.

If you are a power Android user there’s no point in me going over the same things that you already know. This article is not necessarily aimed at the Android know-it-all-dork-geek.

WHY PC OVER MAC?
Despite the fact that I hate Microsoft for the inconsistencies in their Windows operating system I prefer a PC to a Mac any day of the week! When I see past my hate of Microsoft I do realize that they have a tougher time in that there are so many darn components for the Windows operating system to contend with... Ex amount of graphics cards, sound cards (even though sound is upon the motherboard these days), CPUs and what have you! I can see that it is not always easy to maintain a consistent support throughout. Not to mention the various bits of software that can cause a system shut down – oddly enough these instances came from Windows XP Pro and Internet Explorer 8! And do not get me started on these bloody service packs... Grrrrrrrrrr! The old adage that you get what you pay for rings true always! With a PC I have noticed that the more you spend on it the lesser the chance of something going irretrievably wrong! But that chance is there nonetheless!

I have two PCs... One I use for all manner of graphics / web design and general office duties and another for making music – not that I have time to make music lately! Lol! The design PC is pretty cheap and the darn thing can never perform an automatic upgrade for some reason I have yet to figure out. The music PC is able to auto upgrade but bloody constantly to the point where it’s around two to three or even four times a day! Jeez, gimmie a break! It’s annoying; why can’t the upgrades be performed one time? At least it is able to upgrade without reverting the changes. Small mercy!

The amount of money you can spend on a good Mac you’d be, probably, better off investing into a decent PC! If you have just joined me I will tell you briefly that I looked into buying a Mac once upon a time... I visited the Mac section of PC World and I tell you, I wanted to punch the Mac salesman out! Lol! I am not violent! Honest! Throughout his pitch one word came up too many times to count and that world was, “professional” (and the variant, “pro”). I’m standing there wondering if this guy thinks that the more he says “pro” or “professional” the more likely I am going to buy a Mac. I am looking at him thinking, “$@%£#*# idiot!”

HACKINTOSH?
Now this is where I think that these computer geeks have nothing else better to do... Some people would actually build the perfect PC just to run the Mac operating system on it. It is a complete waste of time in my humble opinion because once you have the perfect PC components you are then able to run the Adobe suite of software with ease! Most people who use a Mac tend to use Adobe stuff. I guess the only good thing about going to all that effort to build a Hackintosh is that one can complete the challenge. It’s like that guy who did a tightrope walk over a stretch of Grand Canyon without the aid of a safety net; what was the point? Well, no doubt everyone has a sense of what an achievement is but if I was going to achieve anything in the computer world I would love to put together a PC that runs on Android. That would be a worthwhile achievement. I still think the desktop has its place and Microsoft has squandered opportunities. Why, Microsoft? Why? I am considering Ubuntu. Funnily enough my brother has installed Ubuntu on his laptop after being fed up with Windows and a couple of years ago my brother was not very computer literate. Well done!

Look up on how to build a Hackintosh; you might find it amusing... All those wonderful components...

CHOICE
The main reason why I stick with the PC – for now – is that there is a vast range of choice when it comes to software. Just go into a store such as PC World and you’ll see that PC easily outnumbers what is available on the Mac.

When I was considering the Mac I was impressed by the iWork suite of software that came as part of a Mac mini. I was interested in web design and music making. Garageband looked really enticing and it reminded me a little of Magix music making software.

In the end, as you know, I stuck with the PC! For a couple of months now my Adorable Friend wishes to create her own website for her business, she owns a Mac and for all her one woman Mac campaign she is unable to create such as site. I told her that if she had a PC or a PC emulator then she could use a great range of excellent WYSIWYG web design software that can deliver professional results. I am tempted to pack up one of my PCs and go over to Sweden and get her site done; but time doesn’t permit. She now has a WordPress site which isn’t a bad compromise; it is what it is... ...a compromise... So much for the Mac as a creative tool... Of course, a person with some graphic design skills and experience with web design software for the Mac should have no problem in creating a site. 

The point is that the Mac is supposed to be easy enough for anyone to use at an entry level. My Adorable Friend claims that she can hack Facebook accounts and jailbreak (root) her iPhone but she can’t do any graphical design work let alone build a site. Well, I started out the opposite direction: I was largely self-taught as a graphic / web designer. Taught myself how to build a PC from scratch – it wasn’t as easy as it is now.  And I eventually learned a little about rooting my Android handsets. I would say “hack” my handsets to sound more clued up; however, it is not the case. I am still learning. The next stage of my technical evolution is to learn how to program... I will probably start by learning how to create apps for Android. How? At this moment in time I have not much of a clue!

As much as I have had some problems with Windows I do appreciate the great range of software available to me... From expensive Adobe software to inexpensive equivalents; oooh, not forgetting the amount of freeware! When it comes to music... My goodness... There are so many freebies out there for the PC owner in the name of music making: digital audio workstations, virtual synthesizers and effects... WOW!!!! Just take a look on the Synapse Circuit website for some freely available resources.

COMING ROUND...
I guess the more I think of the Samsung ATIV Q the more it makes sense... A dual boot Android and Windows 8 tablet... Hmmmm... I am just thinking of the amount of music making software I have amassed over the years...Sheesh! I’d be happy to replace my antiquated PCs... I think I’m starting a PC museum. If I told you how many PCs I have owned over the years and how many I have lying around doing absolutely nothing you’d probably wonder about the state of my mind. But seriously, I used to love tinkering with them... Taking them apart, swapping out components, etc. You have to love messing around with technology... You do get to learn quite a lot from it. The only thing I didn’t learn was that I should’ve gotten rid of the darn things earlier! Lol!

For all my frustrations it is truly a wonderful thing to be able to put together your own PC!

WINDOWS OPSYS UPGRADES: ASSISTANT
What many Mac folk don’t understand is how complex it is for Windows users to upgrade to the latest operating system. As discussed earlier, there are so many component incompatibles to consider that it’s a pain. There is the ‘Assistant’ software that scans to see if a PC / laptop can take on the upgrade.

Mac owners are lucky in one sense that Apple keeps a tight rein on their computer builds. Another thing that has been so annoying is that Windows operating system upgrades have been so bloody expensive! I think that the recent trends in smartphone and tablet technology have had a critical impact on the cost of Windows operating system upgrades. There may be some life in Windows yet! C’mon, Microsoft! Get your act together!

HYPNOTIC?
Check out this edited video below and tell me if Apple fans aren’t being hypnotized / brainwashed...

Let me also leave you with the rants of an iPhone fan... The following is real... 

"Android is a cheap knockoff.

Always has been and always will be.

If Apple borrows something, well that's just too bad -- that's the price you pay for being so "free" and "open". You know, those 'qualities' the robots are always bragging about.

And Apple will do it better anyway.

Leave your dirty 'droids at the door.

No one here wants to hear about them..."

This was in response to an article I posted in an Apple community to find out what they thought of the recent WWDC.

What do you reckon?

Thank you for reading! 

Take good care!

Please enjoy the video below! Feel free to leave some comments and subscribe!

Thank you for watching and reading!

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