Friday 31 October 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT THE LANGUAGE OF HOMOPHOBIA

"So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me..."
 SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING:
THE LANGUAGE OF HOMOPHOBIA


Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s wonderful to see you! I hope that all is well in your world and that you’re getting the most out of your tech!

Hey, have you heard? Tim Cook is Gay and proud! And why shouldn’t he be (proud)? Were you shocked at this revelation? If so, why?

If God wanted us to have labels he or she would have placed one on us from birth! Do you wear a label? What does it say about you?

BEING “GAY” IS A BAD THING!

WARNING: SOME OF THIS MATERIAL CONTAINS HOMOPHOBIC & RACIST LANGUAGE. TAKE TIME TO READ THE ARTICLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT. SADLY, MANY PEOPLE CAN DISCERN ENGLISH WHEN IT IS SPOKEN / WRITTEN BUT WE ARE LIVING IN AN AGE WHERE NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND CONTEXT. BIZARRE. WHERE LIVING IN AN AGE WHERE PEOPLE FIND THE OPENING OF A BOX COMPULSIVE WATCHING... JESUS WEPT IN HIS BEER!

GAY PRIDE
BLACK POWER GAY PRIDE
WHITE SUPREMACY GAY PRIDE

Labels... Bloody labels! What part do they play in today’s society? Labelling one’s self is understandable especially when one sees his or her self as a minority. It is a survival instinct to want to become a part of a likeminded clique. Essentially we sign up to movements with the best of intentions – primarily strength in numbers! Out of fear we can commit to movements that act as a Frankenstein’s monster and take over who you – we are! It’s nature that has us humans feel the need to be a part of a tribe. As you know we’ve expressed our musical tribal affiliations by declaring ourselves as: Punk; Rastafarian; Teddyboy’s & Girls; Skinhead’s and so on. Sadly, there are instances where we feel compelled to belong to tribes based on shades of skin colour. An analogy of us humans is very much like dividing cells; will we keep dividing until there’s nothing left. Or are we building something else? Are we creating the next stage in our evolution?

PROJECT NIGGER
Let’s go back to African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68); it was known then as the ‘Black’ Civil Rights Movement – at least that’s what I learned at school. Doctor Martin Luther King had a simple dream that one day we’d live together as one, August 28, 1963. For that one simple dream he was assassinated, April 4, 1968.



Above: Dr. Martin Luther King (left) and Malcolm X. When Christianity and Islam meets. Cut off the heads and the followers will lose their minds!

Prior to Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination another prominent leader of the Black Civil Rights Movement was Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little. Malcolm X was once an activist for Black America to be separated from White and referred to the White oppressors as “Blue eyed devils”. X was a part of the Nation of Islam and upon going to Mecca himself on a pilgrimage he learned that there was a true brotherhood as he discovered that men of different nationalities and skin colour came together as one in the Islamic faith. When Malcolm X returned to America he came to the realization that separatism was and is not a part of the Muslim faith and became a proponent of integration and equality through the Civil Rights Movement. As a result he was assassinated, February 21, 1965.

To ensure that the “Niggers” stayed in their place, the Ghetto Crib, the James Brown Funk music anthem, “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud” capped off the Black Civil Rights Movement when it was recorded and released, August 7, 1968 on King Records. The effects of this single served a multitude of purposes:-

1. It created a soundtrack to the rioting on the streets after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King where Brown championed peace. “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud” and advocating for peace saved a lot of lives as the police were only too willing to cull the growing “problem”.

2. White people became angry and fearful that Blacks were adopting a militant stance and the last thing they (the Whites) needed was a super-aggressive strain of Black militants ready to kill and be killed for the cause. But this also created a counter mindset that eventually dissipated the riots.

3. The soundtrack kept Blacks “Black” within a mental containment matrix, the Ghetto Crib. “Ghetto Crib” because Black Americans – before they became Africanized in the mainstream media – would wax lyrical about the “Ghetto” and referred to their homes as “Cribs” hence the MTV show entitled, “Cribs” which aired September 2000. The Ghetto Crib was very much like an incubator in a biological humanoid experiment lab that fed fed dog food, marijuana, heroin, PCP, cocaine, crack cocaine, etc to the subjects. Have you ever seen a baby born without a brain due to its mother ingesting crack cocaine? It’s one of the most tragic sights that one could ever see...

There was a feedback effect that had “Blacks” breaking down, subdividing into groups, The Crips and The Bloods. This subdivision served as a self-culling practice as these groups became deadly rivals.

And today some of us are wondering why Black men – many of them teenagers – can be picked off by the police seemingly at random.

What’s ironic is that James Brown stated that the track, “Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud” was aimed at instilling a sense of pride to the “Black” youth. Oh, no! That’s a soundtrack auto-genocide! It’s repetitive, hypnotic and instils an idea that has no reality: The Black Myth

Sounds like “blacksmith”; the “Blackman” forging his own demise. Is “Afro-American” the same as declaring one’s self as “Black”? Can one be “Black” and “Afro-American”? However, one cannot deny the commercial aspect of “Black” culture which appears on the shelves for anyone to purchase yet ironically the “Blackman” does not seem able to profit from it. Well, the product the “Blackman” has access is substandard.

The “Blackman” is pretty much sold like a bull in the sporting arena; I’ve understood that when he, the “Blackman” signs a multimillion dollar sports contract one of the provisos is that he cannot invest those multimillions in his community. “Show me the money!” “I love Black people!” Jerry Maguire, Starring: Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renée Zellweger; 1998.

The result is that being “Black” and the need to reinforce this myth has created a divide whereby people who identify themselves as “Black” seem to have a psychosis where they want to be accepted yet see themselves as being special or need to be treated as such. Hence the stereotypical behaviour that includes an acute aggression that can lead to homicide, an intelligence centred around myths pertaining to Africa and a sense of entitlement (likely the cause of these African myths).



Please note
: I am not refuting African history. If you use the same Black Myth paradigm and substitute “Black” with “White” we get similar results. The Ghetto Crib then becomes the ‘Trailer Park’. Naturally, there will be crossovers; there are "Black Nazis" believe it or not! Did you know that Hitler sympathizers were supportive of Malcolm X’s separatist views?

PATRONIZING & HATRED
I don’t know about you but one of my pet hates is somebody trying to tell me who I am or what I should be. When I go out to party and I got accosted by a “Gay” man taking a liking to me telling me that I should “try it...” and that I “don’t know what you’re (I’m) missing...” I try not to lose my temper and use anti-Gay language but some Gay men have been known to take their patronizing haranguing too far; lesser tolerant men have reacted violently. I have always refrained from violence but I have had to use it as a threat on occasion to make it clear that I want to be left alone. And when lesser tolerant men (and women) react violently it can get easily misconstrued as a “Hate Crime”. I would totally understand a Lesbian reacting violently if I kept harassing her, telling her that she doesn’t know what she’s missing and that she should try it! It’s ridiculous! It’s so odd that some of us cannot exercise common sense and respect for one another.

While the compulsion to join a group / tribe of likeminded people is logical what is illogical is that the founding members of the tribe set out rules that its joining members must adhere to in order to be accepted as “one of them”. One example of such rules is that Lesbians shouldn’t wear make-up and to let their facial hair grow. I would know about these things as I shared a flat with a bi-sexual woman who went through a Lesbian phase. I was surrounded by Lesbians of all different descriptions who mostly had their own ideas on what a Lesbian should be. The subject of wearing make-up often came up in their arguments / discussions.

The point I am trying to make is that the banner, in this case, “Gay / Lesbian” can become an albatross for the members beneath it. Yes, it can also be weaponized pro and anti. Again, pro is an understandable counter against dominant heterosexuality. But then heterosexuals can turn the weapon on those it suspects are “Gay / Lesbian” by accusation, “outing”. As you know, singling individuals for the purpose of “outing” is unpleasant. In this day and age, why should such things matter? Why should I know the sexual preferences of another? Why should a heterosexual man / woman take it upon his / herself to physically assault someone who is homosexual? Here we are with these amazing technologies at our fingertips and we are still savages. Why? How?

What a hell stew that we have created for ourselves...

“I’m a white man and I am superior even though many of our inventions destroy the Earth...”

“I’m a black man and I am superior because we come from Africa and we live with nature...”

“I am a gay / lesbian and superior because we do not reproduce haphazardly and we raise better humans...”

“I’m an Android user! Death to iOS users!”

“Oh, Jesus! I pray for these people...”

We’re nuts!

TIM COOK: COMING OUT, BENTGATE


Say it loud! I am Gay and I am proud!
Good for you, pal! But that's your business! I want a proper iPhone phablet! One that doesn't bend! 


Hmmm... I don’t know why Apple CEO Tim Cook decided to come out in public yesterday. I am in two minds if it was a good thing or not. No, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest as I have known than Cook is a homosexual for a good while. I mean, when you hear Google CEO Larry Page talk affectionately about his wife and children at a keynote event I don’t think anything of it. I suspect that Page is not talking about his family to assert that he is a heterosexual; no! So, if Cook were to mention his boyfriend / manter (I made that up from ‘man’ and ‘partner’) I would not take it that he has an Illuminati Homosexual New World Order agenda! Hell no! As far as I am concerned homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality and bi-sexuality. Such matters have no significance whatsoever! I shudder to think as to what goes on in the heads of those who seem constantly preoccupied with who is putting what where! Dare I say that I am an advocate of Trashumanism, “Add a couple of female to male ports while you’re at it...” Maybe being able to determine your body as you’d like it will help people get over such trivial matters as sexuality and preference. That some of us believe that our bodies were engineered by a God that they – those who believe in a God – think that they do God’s work by policing the sexual preferences of others, “Hey! That’s not meant to be inserted there! The punishment is death!” Is the Pope Catholic? Good, Lord! If Apple and / or Google could erase this notion of “God” from humanity that would a great start! Apart from the clergy interfering with male and female children – I don’t think that’s what is meant by “Suffer the children unto me...” so many of today’s wars originate from religious beliefs. What’s more is that none of these Gods come down from above to save the chosen! Godamnit! Here’s a transcription of Tim Cook coming out in public:-

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now," he wrote.

"So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," he added.

He said he didn't consider himself an activist, but that he realised he had "benefited from the sacrifice of others."

"So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he added.

Mr Cook said that he had been open about his sexuality with many people, including colleagues at Apple, but that it still "wasn't an easy choice" to publicly announce his sexual orientation.


He quoted civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King, saying: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

The first thing that came into my mind was, “Oh, I didn’t know Tim Cook believes in God...” There you go! Still, some of the unrepeatable comments on social networks about Tim Cook coming out in the open are so backward! Will there be a bunch of anti-homosexual Christians burning iPhones, iPads, etc in condemnation thus polluting God’s beautiful Earth in the process?

I guess it can only be a positive move from Cook if he felt that it was time for people to know and to get over it! I hope that we will stop preoccupying ourselves with our sexual preferences and get on with living! Often people say, “Get a life!” and the sad thing is that we are squandering our uncertain time on Earth hating on each other for skin colour, musical tribe associations i.e. Goth, sexual preferences, religious beliefs, etc! Surely, opposition is NOT the purpose of life, is it???

DON’T LABEL ME!


Above: Comedian and activist, Eddie Izzard. 

 I don’t mind revealing to you that, as a younger man, I used to wear what was considered “women’s clothing”. I find such articles of clothing to be very comfortable. The experience was an eye opener as many women found this attractive as well as homosexual men & women thinking that I was also a homosexual. Not to mention the amount of abuse I received from heterosexual men and women too! Thankfully, the abuse never got physical as I looked as though I could handle myself in a spontaneous bout of fisticuffs! This gave me an insight as to what it must be like for Gay / Lesbians. And, again, most annoyingly, some Gays / Lesbians thought it would be a good idea to encourage me to have sex with a man. The point I am making here is that you’d have thought that (some) Gay & Lesbians of all people should understand to let others be – to let people like myself, back then, express his or herself without feeling the need to interfere.

“Why don’t you wear this?”
“Why don’t you wear that?”
“Are you a tranny?”
“Are you bi?”

GO AWAY!!!

I have to say that lately I get the hankering to put on a pair of leggings as they are so very comfortable. Some of my female friends have let me know that this is a no, no! Oh, the burdens of living up to what expected from masculinity! Hahaha!

Things to think about...

THANKS FOR READING...

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT REVIEWS HUDL2



SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

REVIEWS:

TESCO...
...
HUDL2
PRICE: £129

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! Thank you so much for reading my articles! Here I am at crazy o’Clock writing up this last review for the hour!

Yes, it’s getting to that time again... Time for Christmas! If you are looking for an inexpensive tablet for you, child or children then read on!

#Tesco #Hudl2 #Android #AndroidTablet

GATHER ROUND...

Last year, UK super-mega-market chain put out a 7” tablet, the Hudl. It was okay, the design was a little, uhm, tacky. A tablet reconstructed out of recycled baby potties; that’s what the first incarnation reminded me of. It wasn’t going to challenge the Google Nexus 7 but at the very least it was a cheaper alternative which wasn’t too bad for the purpose of general entertainment. Being a Tesco product it gave consumers the confidence that it was a worthy family tablet.

Hudl2 came out a couple of weeks ago and I must say that the design is so much better...

DESIGN: FORM & FUNCTION
Hudl2 has undergone a wonderful transformation! It’s sleek, slim and rubberized to ensure that it can take some knocks that children will dish out! I actually like the 8 different colours available: Jazzy Blue, Zesty Orange, Slate Black, Rocket Red, Tropical Turquoise, Dreamy White, Perky Purple and Bubblegum Pink. Dare I say it that these colours should appeal to women of a non-technical background, children and men who are tired of these black devices like I am!

At the back are the two large mesh speakers and the main 5MP camera.

The overall effect is very pleasant to look at and it feels good in the hands. It’s quite light.

The screen is quite decent and the way it has been put together makes the 8.3” HD screen seem smaller considering the rather large bezels. The large bezels does go quite a way to prevent the screen being touched when held – especially by a child.

Summary: A very good improvement upon last year’s slate!

HARDWARE: POWER RATINGS
For £129 you do get some pretty powerful hardware: 8.3 inch 1920 x 1200, Intel Atom 1.83GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, stereo speakers with Dolby optimised audio, 5 MP main camera, 1.2 MP front-facing camera, 16GB storage and 32GB microSD card! I couldn’t get an exact fix on the battery other than it lasts up to 8 hours!

The hardware pushes things along quite nicely; the interface is pretty snappy but at times the Tesco user interface was a little sluggish. We’ll get to the software in a bit...

To sum this section up: The hardware is very, very good for the asking price; 1.83GHz of quad-core CPU is very satisfying. In addition the 16GB storage is great and should store enough apps and media from the 5MP camera. It’s a good move by Tesco to add expandability with a microSD card up to 32GB!

SOFTWARE:
ANDROID & DEFAULT APPS

It’s good to see that Tesco has KitKat 4.4.2 running on it. But as with most user interfaces on top it can slow the process down somewhat. There is occasionally some noticeable lag and that happens when switching between apps and some games. This can be solved by ensuring that you stop apps running in the background when going from intensive applications that uses a great deal of media such as video and graphics.

Another way to improve the lag is to install another launcher that could reduce the lag a great deal.

Tesco has placed its shop specific apps and widgets, as you’d expect, as a main feature. In addition as a parent, you can set-up different user profiles that are child friendly. The time on the tablet can be set and website can be prohibited too! Nice!



Summary: Hudl2 uses Android KitKat 4.4.2 and it may be possible that Tesco has factored in an upgrade to Android 5 Lollipop! Tesco’s user interface overlay isn’t bad but I feel that it attributes to the occasional lag which may be reduced by installing a launcher such as Nova (Prime) instead! If you are a regular Tesco shopper the specific apps and widgets should help to make your shop more economical.

USAGE: DAY TO DAY
Because of the inspired redesign I really enjoyed using the Hudl2. The one let down for me was the speakers which sounded very, very tinny! As you should know by now I dabble in music composition and I have been looking for a tablet with a decent sound in order to do so. I thought the Fonepad 7 LTE ME372CL was going to be satisfactory and it wasn’t. The same thought occurred to me with the Hudl2 looking at the “Dolby optimized” speakers that quite frankly look weaponized! The speakers sound like a wet fart coming out of them! Yes, you will be able to enjoy video from YouTube, BBC iPlayer, etc but the experience is little more than watching and listening on your smartphone – depending on what you’ve got! The Motorola Moto G second generation with its stereo front-facing speakers are quite loud and not as tinny as is the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 2! Tesco really ought to put more effort in the speakers for Hudl3! In fact, Tesco ought to consider a tablet aimed at adults as Hudl2 is proving to be quite a success! For a little more cash Tesco could up the hardware ante to include a stronger set of speakers (possibly at the front).



But these criticisms are not meant in a harsh way; the Hudl2 is a very usable everyday tablet!

CONCLUSION
At £129 the Hudl2 can be an additional tablet specifically for a child or children while you enjoy a more powerful beast such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S that boasts a superior screen, CPU, and everything!

I see the Hudl2 as a multifunctional tablet:-

It can be used as a children’s teaching aid.
In the kitchen it can be used to follow recipes.
For the older 11 to 16 year old it just might come in handy to do school homework.
Less demanding adults can use it as a portable entertainment device to access the Internet, YouTube, social networks, receive email, etc. Fling it in an over the shoulder bag and away you go!

SCORE
I give the Hudl2 a solid gold because the hardware is very good for the money and the build is solid! The 8.3 screen is quite nice for watching movies and working with productive apps such as Google Docs for example. You won't be disappointed!



SPEC:-
8.3 inch 1920 x 1200

Intel Atom 1.83 GHz quad-core processor
2 GB of RAM
Android Kitkat 4.4.2 operating system
Stereo speakers with Dolby optimised audio
5 MP main camera
1.2 MP front-facing camera
16 GB storage
32GB microSD card
8 hour battery life
Dual band Wi-Fi, micro-HDMI
8 colours: Jazzy Blue, Zesty Orange, Slate Black, Rocket Red, Tropical Turquoise, Dreamy White, Perky Purple and Bubblegum Pink.
Pre-loaded with Parental filter and controls

There you go!

 Things to think about!

THANKS FOR READING...

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

REVIEWS & COMPETITIONS ARE COMING SOON!!! PLEASE STANDBY!!!


Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

Thursday 30 October 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT HELLO LENOMOTO


SOLD!
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
HELLO, LENOMOTO... MOTONOVO...

#Motorola #Google #Lenovo #LenoMoto #MotoNovo #MotoX #MotoG #MotoE #AndroidLollipop #Android #Chrome #ChromeOS #AndroidWear #AndroidAuto #AndroidTV #Chromecast #Glass #Nexus #Silver #Lollipop #Android5 #Android5Lollipop #ChromeAndroidOS #ChromeAndroidPC


Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers. How are you? Do you happen to own a PC? Did you see the Reallusion article on the forthcoming iClone 6 3D animation software? If you want to start your own animation studio you NEED to check it out: iClone 6 Pre-Launch Offer!

I also don’t suppose you’re an Android fan? Have you heard the good news?


LENOVO COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF MOTOROLA MOBILITY FROM GOOGLE

WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR ANDROID & COMPETING MANUFACTURERS...


A DONE DEAL

Over the past two years we have transformed Motorola by focusing on what matters most -- consumers. We’ve made huge strides in bringing the mobile Internet to millions of people around the world and improving their lives through exceptional technology, experiences and value. While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we recognize that there is still much more we can achieve -- in innovation, reach and impact.

In Lenovo we have a partner that shares our mission and that brings global scale, a diverse product portfolio and a track record of seizing strategic opportunities and making the most of them. Together we will go farther, faster. With an impressive portfolio of smartphones, wearables and PCs, our two companies will be uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of choice and value, and bring exciting new experiences to people everywhere.

As excited as we are about what’s changing, we’re also pleased with what we are carrying forward with us. We will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Lenovo and remain headquartered in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart while maintaining offices around the world, including in Silicon Valley. The iconic Motorola brand will continue, as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled our growth over the past year. We will continue to focus on pure Android and fast upgrades, and remain committed to developing technology to solve real consumer problems. And we will continue to develop mobile devices that bring people unprecedented choice, value and quality.
Motorola is a company that has long helped to define the course of the mobile telecommunications and mobile computing industries. With Lenovo backing us, we look forward to being able to reshape the industry for decades to come. We’re ready for the challenge and hope you’ll join us on the journey.

Motorola Mobility President Rick Osterloh

WHY, GOOGLE, WHY?

ANSWER: ACCELERATION

To accelerate Android’s world domination. In this year and especially in the month of October – Happy Halloween – Google have made enormous strides in technological advancement. CEO Larry Page has truly delivered on his promise to bring the cost of the smartphone down to sweet price point and as a result the Nexus 5 has become a main driver for many Android fans; it sold out on the first day it hit the UK retail outlets. I tried to get hold of one and they had flown out of the stores! This was the breakthrough Nexus that gave the iPhone a run for its money.

No, I still maintain that Android is not directly competing with Apple iOS simply because there are millions of Mac users around the world and therefore the iPhone enjoys a readymade marketplace (opened by its range of computers). As you know or may not know, the Mac computer was aimed squarely at the desktop publishing / graphic designer and these, often pompous, elitist folk felt that the combination of the Mac, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and a desktop publishing program for printing arty design magazines, etc liberated them from the mechanical processes of print. As a result they were prepared to pay what I feel is extortionate prices for a Mac. Once upon a time – if you hung around the graphic design circle – all you heard was, “Yah, Mac... Yah, design... Yah, Adobe...” That’s my attempt at visually reproducing the snooty, annoyingly smug Mac person. And I guess they had some justification for being that way...

The Apple Mac and Adobe revolutionized the print, publishing and design industries almost overnight! It was relatively easy to start, back in those days, a publishing company, design house and advertising agency, etc. If you could afford the top of the range Mac computers, high resolution scanners, software, etc that was half the battle won. And since the magazine industry was very much in its infancy it was not too difficult to create and publish new titles. In fact, it was thanks to technological advancements that created a whole new publishing industry based on computer aided design and music. Not to mention the handful of dedicated Mac magazines. Then the Windows PC came along and burst that elitist bubble! Steve Jobs was pissed and so were the Mac owners! From there we got the “us against them” mentality. Only the PC owners outnumbered the Mac elitists. As a result Apple was able to retain its high prices by maintaining that to own a Mac meant that one was a committed professional media producer. Owning a high-end Mac was and no doubt seen by many (Mac owners) as the Ferrari of the computer industry. The PC, in comparison, was like the American custom car build in that the PC allows folk to swap out components as and when. Need a new graphics card? Sure, remove the old one and insert the new one in. And with enough knowledge one can build a PC from scratch!

Fast forward to today, we can see that Apple has been usurped again. Jobs tried – and quite successfully – to make the iPhone seem like it was a precious stone made from rare meteorites. Jobs made a move to block Adobe and the Flash phenomenon was a dying wild beast in the jungle and maggots started to multiply in the thousands from that savage bite. Fancy that, eh? Flash, Adobe Flash had been entertaining a worldwide web audience from the mid 90s until now. It makes me laugh upon recalling the smirking Jobs’ face whenever he talked about Adobe Flash. For a while Google used Flash as a selling point, “Compatible with Adobe Flash...” as did BlackBerry with its Playbook tablet. It worked. However, Google dropped support for Flash as it had YouTube and that it was in its best interests to push for the HTML5 standard and wrestled a key medium from Adobe. Not only did Google put the wounded Flash beast out of its misery it killed off Apple’s QuickTime movie format too! Do you remember the days when you went to the Apple QuickTime site to watch movie trailers? Those days are gone thanks to YouTube, MP4 and the HTML5 video player format.

Effectively, Google was able to push its YouTube platform into the stratosphere and to move Android away from utilizing a media technology owned by Adobe. What Google has been doing and has done is to place its music, book and newsstand solutions over any other. And by making Android open source Google knew that the battle for world domination had been won already! Apple with its elitist ethos was not going to dominate the world with overly expensive handsets and tablets; this is what Jobs realized. Jobs had effectively shown that he hadn’t learned from making the Mac so expensive that it is often seen as specialist. Had Jobs looked more deeply into the future just about every household on the planet would have a Mac computer today! Instead the man had a thermonuclear meltdown! Imagine that, eh? Imagine missing the mark AGAIN!!! Cook, with a clearer head, can now see that iOS can never be as popular and it is futile to keep Jobs’ legacy of vengeance. Cook as recently said that he’ll, “...never produce a cheap iPhone...” He has also come out in full as being Gay. It’s amazing what the feeling of liberation can do! It must be a huge weight off his shoulders to be able to bury Jobs’ vendetta against Google Android with the man himself.

Google had taken the Microsoft model by making Chrome the antithesis of Internet Explorer and on top of that it made Chrome into an operating system! Essentially, Chrome OS could usurp Windows based computers as the relationship between them and Microsoft is quite frosty and every hybrid Android and Windows device has been blasted out of the sky (by Google). I get the feeling that Google is biding its time... Chrome OS is going to grow into something else... Now that Android has gone 64-bit and spans across many CPU architecture the next logical step has to be a dual bootable Chromebook / Chromebox or instead of a dual boot it would be a symbiotic boot as it is now! Google has recently made it possible to run some Android apps on Chrome OS. This is why Chrome OS and Android is not going to merge in the foreseeable future. In a sense they (Android and Chrome OS) have merged already; Yin and Yang.

What better company to sell Motorola to than Lenovo, a PC manufacturer? I can envisage that Lenovo will be one of the first computer manufacturers to produce a Chromebox Android PC and from that position Lenovo Motorola can push compatible smartphones, wearables and tablets in a way that Microsoft is struggling to. Microsoft has lost over $1 Billion pushing Windows RT. Apple is doing this seamless transition from device to device but the iPad is very much surplus to requirements. With Android and Chrome OS Google has made it so that just about everybody can own a device.

Together we will go farther, faster. With an impressive portfolio of smartphones, wearables and PCs, our two companies will be uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of choice and value, and bring exciting new experiences to people everywhere.
The desktop / laptop computer isn’t dead... Because Chrome OS can work on Windows based PCs it potentially makes the Windows PC a cocoon waiting for this Chrome / Android OS Symbiote to emerge. If and when this happens I can only hope that Google will be sure not to go the way the Amiga computer went: Great operating system, Workbench, but no blinking software worthwhile running on it!

We’ve seen very interesting shake ups with Google of late besides Android 5 Lollipop; CEO Larry Page has put Sundar Pichai in charge of all of Google’s major consumer products including Maps, Search, and Google+ as well as commerce and ads. Page is going to step back to take a look at the bigger picture! And the latest Nexus products: 6 & 9 (69 symbolizes perfection) and these products look perfect! Android 5 has come to herald a New Age of personal computing.

This could very well be the reason why Samsung has pulled out of producing PC products for the foreseeable future.

Android 5.0 Lollipop, which comes on Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, will also be available on Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 and Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks...

What better company other than Lenovo to pass the Motorola baton to?

The iconic Motorola brand will continue, as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled our growth over the past year. We will continue to focus on pure Android and fast upgrades, and remain committed to developing technology to solve real consumer problems. And we will continue to develop mobile devices that bring people unprecedented choice, value and quality.

Just look at the great portfolio of Motorola handsets that literally came out of the blue and reinstated the Motorola brand as being amongst the top mobile device players in the world! In the meantime Nokia has bitten the dust and BlackBerry has produced another dud! Look at them:-

Moto X (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.)
Moto G (1st Gen. & 2nd Gen.)
Moto G with 4G LTE
Moto E
Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini

These handsets are getting the sweet Lollipop upgrade! Yes, even the 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 dual-core Moto E with 4GB of internal storage is getting the Android 5 Lollipop upgrade! It makes me wonder as to how many budget Android handsets can receive the upgrade.

We are going to be seeing some awesome looking handsets in the future! I think the next Nexus devices will come from Lenovo!

In any event this lazy headline attention grabbing, Apple vs. Android thing should be well and truly dead now. Different operating and ecosystems yet Google have applications running on both platforms. Genius!

WEAR IT WITH STYLE

MORE WEARBLES ARE COMING

Glass and Moto 360 are just the tip of the iceberg... I am predicting that Google and Lenovo have already started exploring new designs of Glass and smartwatches; the quest is to make them even more cost effective to manufacture so that Glass can come in well below £700! I can only hope that will be the case! And as for smartwatches... I can see that they’ll morph into smartwristbands ranging from a 4” rectangular wrap-around band to the current wristwatch design. We’ll have to wait and see!

A BLANK SLATE

ANDROID TABLETS RISING

8 and 9 seems to be the magic numbers where Android tablets are concerned and I have been practically campaigning for 7 to be the new phablet size! Why? I want the 3G / 4G LTE enabled tablets to be able to utilize the standard mobile SIM. Because the 7” phablet is still seen as a tablet the mobile network providers wants to extract more money from the consumer with data only SIMs aimed at tablet users. I would like to change that! Anyhoo... The Nexus 9 looks superb and very, very desirable. But I do like the idea of a 7” 4G enabled tablet with a 64-bit CPU and made from modest materials! I’ve told you and will keep telling you that plastic is ultimately the most durable materials for tablets and handsets! Not only does plastic go some way to making your devices last longer it makes them very cost effective! Give me a 7” version of the Moto G any day of the week if it’s going to cost me around the £150 mark! Okay, £200 if it has a 64-bit processor and full HD screen! Make the darn thing thicker, place a super-high capacity battery in there and add a couple of USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and so on!

Look, the iPad Air 2 may possibly be the thinnest tablet in the known universe but this thinness comes at the expense of the battery! Tell me, what... ...is ...the ...point??? The prices of the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3 are very high but what are these consumers really paying for, an LCD screen with an LED light underneath it??? C’mon, let’s stop this “the thinnest” nonsense and let’s have slates that are up to 12mm thick! Try it! Put a decent price on it and some USB 3.0, etc as stated above and I reckon they will fly off the virtual and physical shelves!

PACK IT IN OR PACK UP

OFFICIAL BATTERY PACKS

Finally, I would like to see official battery pack extensions that plug into the micro USB port for smarpthones and tablets because if Google (Apple and Microsoft) wants us to use our devices productively some serious longevity has to be built into the battery or have some way of juicing up our devices with official battery packs. Using an unofficial battery extension in my Galaxy S caused it to malfunction like an ED-209 (Robocop, 1987). This ties in to having thicker tablets (and handsets).

It remains to be seen if Lollipop will add some longevity to Android devices in general! Despite my absolute HATRED for non-removable batteries in smartphones – my HTC One X is finished after taking a few pictures and checking my Facebook in less than 2 hours – I had to get the second generation Moto G! I wanted to be amongst the first wave of fortunate individuals to experience pure Lollipop! What a milestone!

Roll on, Google! Roll on, Android 5 Lollipop! Roll on, Motorola Lenovo! So long, Andy Rubin! Thank you for Android!

There you! Some things to think about!


THANK YOU FOR READING!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

Wednesday 29 October 2014

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT iCLONE 6 PRE-LAUNCH



SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

iCLONE 6
PRE-LAUNCH SPECIAL
BUY iCLONE 5 NOW AND GET iCLONE 6 WHEN IT’S RELEASED!

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It is so good to see you! And, boy have I got great news for you! Check it out!

The time is fast approaching when YOU will be able to realize your animation dreams! iClone 6 is nearly with us and from what I have seen so far it’s looking great!

HIGH DEFINITION
Just look at the stunning images! You can be creating stunning animation very, very soon!




What’s there to think about? Head on over to the Reallusion iClone 6 site right now!


iClone6 Pre-launch

THANKS FOR READING...
Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT THE LANGUAGE OF RACISM

Above:  The Black Panther conceptual art render.
Above: Chadwick Boseman who will be playing The Black Panther. Will Disney mess it up?
Above: The first true Afrocentric superhero, Blade played by Wesley Snipes.
SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANTISOCIAL NETWORKING:
THE LANGUAGE OF RACISM


Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s good to see you as always! I hope that all is well in your world! Yes, more reviews are coming as well as great competitions!

Y’know, it’s hard to believe that with all the technology that we have access to the world is still plagued with racism – amongst other diseases of the mind i.e. sexism and homophobia. What’s wrong with us, huh?

Are we insane? Are we selectively “racist”? Hey, I’ve got Asian and “Black” friends!

WE CAN BE HEROES...

WARNING: SOME OF THIS MATERIAL CONTAINS RACIST LANGUANGE. TAKE TIME TO READ THE ARTICLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT.

WHAT IS A HERO?
Is he white? Is he a he? Does he have big muscles? Yes, Synapse Circuit Readers! I am referring to the recent announcement made by Marvel Studios regarding the first “Black” starring role in the Superhero genre. Yes, the much talked about and belated chapter in the Superhero Marvel Studio franchise owned by Disney has a date, ‘Black Panther’, November 3, 2017! May we live to see it! Chadwick Boseman of the recent James Brown movie biopic will play T'Challa aka Black Panther on superhero duty!

Black Panther is being hailed as the first Superhero movie from Marvel that features a “Black lead in the starring role...” <The sound of a record being scratched!> What does that mean? Does it mean that in the past a white person would be blacked-up to play the role? Or would the role have gone to a less Africanized looking, er, Black man? Mario Van Peebles, anyone? Oh, the role would have gone to a white South African actor with deadly good looks such as Oscar Pistorious as there are no “Black” heroes in Africa – only a bunch of half naked men (and women) beating on bongos and chucking spears... Of course, I am kidding! Or would the ‘Black Panther’ superhero movie be played out as a comedy? Jive turkey, motherfuffer!

But wait! <The sound of a record being scratched!> What about Blade??? Blade is a Marvel character and the 1998 movie of the same title, ‘Blade’ went down a storm! Did you see ‘Blade’? Blade was a fantastic take on the Vampire genre and it flipped the Superhero genre upside down!

Just in case you have no idea about the Blade character here’s he is in a nutshell:

Blade aka Eric Brooks became a human / Vampire hybrid aka a Daywalker through his mother having been bit by arch Vampire, Deacon Frost whilst in a late stages of pregnancy. The Vampire bite transferred a viral metamorphosis that turned the unborn child into a brilliant “half breed” subtext. It seemed that the trauma of a Vampire bite caused the premature arrival of Eric Brooks, Blade.

Blade has the advantages of being part Vampire i.e. slow aging, a regenerative healing immune system not unlike the X-Man, Wolverine and superhuman strength. The trade off is that he has to drink blood every once in a while to be, uhm, healthy! Hee hee... But the good news – as if being superhuman can be considered a bad thing – is that Blade’s human side allows him to be able to walk around during the day hence the term, Daywalker!

Blade was played on the silver screen by the impressive actor and martial artist, Wesley Snipes. And on the small screen - yes they made an odd but entertaining (just) TV series - he was played by Rapper, Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” (or should that be Stinky Fingaz) Jones. The TV series was hit and miss. Kirk Jones cut is acting fangs (hee hee) on this short-lived TV series and got better towards the end at filling Snipes’ boots. It was alright. Anyhoo...

In the Blade movie, the Vampire hunter, killer was accompanied by a mature father figure of a white man by the name of Abraham Whistler who discovered Blade as a child and raised him; taking advantage of his strengths in a bid to defeat the Vampire enemy that destroyed his family. Nothing wrong with that... Blade was running the show and was kicking (mostly) white Vampire ass!

But just look at the beautiful racial metaphors in the Blade movie and comic book... Check this out...

Blade the Black man (you are probably wondering why I capitalize “Black” – this will be revealed later if you haven’t already worked it out) is able to walk around during the day in the sunlight. It feeds into “racist” ideas that Black people can’t get skin cancer through prolonged exposure to sunlight and that it ages white skin thus giving it the appearance of leather and that in order to extend the white bloodline it has to be filtered through the Black man’s blood. Yes, “interbreeding”. Wow! In the Blade trilogy of movies the Vampires are after Blade’s DNA so that they can create hybrid babies with none of the (white) Vampire weaknesses. How many times have you heard the myth that the Black man is naturally stronger than the white man? Amazing! Considering there’s talk of “blood purity” throughout Blade but they need his DNA. Amazing because there are individuals who’d rather die than to entertain a life saving blood transfusion from someone of a different “race”!

CABIN FEVER
It is amazing when you see that how in the States and in the UK (where I am from) that we’ve been fed non-threatening light-skinned “Black” artists into the mainstream media with a massive crossover appeal: Prince and Beyoncé are the ones that come to the top of my head. Don’t get me wrong there were a few “Black” artists to come through such as Sydney Poitier but the light of superstardom and acclaim often falls upon De Niro, Redford, Pacino, etc and their effects on Hollywood. It’s great that there are fine actors such as Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson starring in good Hollywood fodder. But more often than not their roles are mostly inert, Uncle... ...they tend to play a supportive role to the white protagonist. Ironically, Samuel L. Jackson plays a Marvel comic book character that was once painted white, Nick Fury. The Nick Fury character that appears in the Iron Man movies and Avengers can be looked upon as playing a managerial role like a football coach to these omnipotent whiter than white heroes.

In the UK many, many “Black” music artists have tried to break into the mass mainstream to little or no avail. Roughly, 10 years ago the NME (New Musical Express) paper claimed that “Black skin didn’t print well...” and that’s why Black artists did not appear on its front cover! If I am correct, Black artists started to appear in the later years on the cover (of NME). Today, not much has changed; I can go to the newsagents right now and white artists will be featured on the cover as if Black or “Urban” music has no place on the musical map!



Above: Blending in, effeminate and nonthreatening. The incredible artist known as Prince. 

Remarkably, the USA has become a haven for British Black artists (musicians and actors) to thrive. Billy Ocean has been able to have a long lasting career thanks to the US of A. And lately there has been a Black invasion of British Black actors: Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor & Ghost Rider sequel – Marvel movies and BBC’s maverick detective, Luther); Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave, Salt) and David Harewood (Homeland). Why is it that these incredibly talented actors have to go all the way to the USA to have a distinguished career? Do the British lack imagination? “Right, you’re playing a drug dealer...” “Yes, you are the leader of a violent gang...” “Okay, you are playing the role of a violent pimp...” “You’re playing a dirty cop...” “It’s a period piece where you play a slave and your master’s daughter falls in love with you...” “You play a boxer...”

YAWN!!!

JUNGLE FEVER
Don’t you find it odd that Black characters have mostly white partners in the movies, TV shows and adverts? Of course it is not something that I frown upon. You love who you love! Beauty and the Beast, the subtext there is an interracial or interspecies relationship. But it seems a rarity that Black characters are partnered to themselves when depicted in the media, arts & entertainment. Are the subject of interracial / interspecies relationships one of the many metaphors / subtexts within the Blade trilogy of movies? In Blade 2, Blade appeared to be falling for the enemy Vampire Princes (she was of a noble stock) Jungle Fever (you ought to watch the movie of the same name, ‘Jungle Fever’ by Spike Lee which incidentally stars Wesley Snipes)? How many times have I heard black women say this of black men who have come into fame and fortune, “As soon as they’ve become successful they marry a white woman...”? If I didn’t know better I would say that Black characters on the big and small screens are deliberately partnered with whites to demoralize both Black men and women. Well, I don’t really know better as the notion of an, albeit fictitious, Black family appears to be a non-practice nowadays. No doubt that this upsets white supremacy fanatics too! The most successful family on TV was the Cosby’s! I never saw them as “Black”; I saw them as a family. Race and “interbreeding” weren’t a focal point of the show; it was about family and responsibility. The Cosby Show was a stark contrast to the Fresh Prince, starring Will Smith, where the focal point was a fight to retain the notion of a “Black” identity within Middle Class America when an Afro-American middle class family struggles to absorb a family member from the “Ghetto”. Hey, didn’t Elvis Presley do a song about the ghetto? Interesting song, that... Did the white drug dealers, junkies and prostitutes move out of Detroit, for example, and the Blacks moved in and took over?



Above:  Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs before the divorce announcement. Othello Syndrome?
 
Well, going back to the ‘Black Panther’ movie... It is set in the fictitious African state of Wakanda and does that mean that the only way a “Black” hero can be accepted as a hero is if he is based in the country of his origin? I mean, Superman came all the way from planet Krypton yet he turned out all white (and American). He got accepted! The Black superhero today hasn’t advanced much from the first mainstream Black American superhero... Do you know him? Think Scatman Crothers, Benjamin Sherman Crothers to be exact. Now does the famous Black superhero come to mind? No? Here’s a clue: Kung Fu! Have you got it now? Yes, Scatman Crothers gave his voice to none other than Hong Kong Phooey (a popular children’s cartoon). A janitor by day and a proto-Mr Bean / Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) Kung Fu fighting idiot  superhero at night... Oh, the character was a dog! Incidentally, in poverty stricken Afro-American neighbourhoods the biggest selling food was... ...dog food! Ta da! So, what better hero is fitting than Hong Kong Phooey? The dog with a Black man’s voice... Great! How novel!



Above:
 A love that lasts, David Bowie and Iman. 


Above: Olivier Martinez and Halle Berry.  

But isn’t it true that we humans started life in what is commonly known today as Africa? When the inhabitants ventured out to other parts of the world the climate and dietary habits changed the physical appearance, no? Don’t shoot me! This is what many scientists have been saying of late and I have watched a few recent documentaries on the subject that points to the idea that migration have mutated us thus dividing ourselves into different species. Some would say “sub” species either way back and forth across the skin colour spectrum. Now going back to the original Black star of a Marvel based superhero movie, Wesley Snipes, Blade... I find it odd and quite disturbing that both the character and the actor are being written out of the Superhero Myth / Folklore. Don’t you find this disturbing? Granted that I believe that Blade didn’t exactly come out of the formation of Marvel Studios – if memory serves me correctly I think it was Iron Man that was the first outing for Marvel Studios. But still... ...I was going to say that there is no denying but Blade and Wesley Snipes are being denied! In my most humble opinion I think that the Blade movies – apart from the last one – were and still are up there with the best of the Superhero movie genre. Spiderman was okay but essentially it is the same tired Coming of Age paradigm that is at the heart of many hero / superhero movie genres.



Above:
 Are interracial relationships doomed as they could be predicated on racial myths? 
IN THE SHADOWS
Yeah, yeah... You can’t see the Black man (woman) in the dark black shadows... Lol! Anyhoo... If you watched the TV series ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ and the sequel to the Captain America movie, ‘The Winter Soldier’ they shared the thread of a shadow organization, Hydra, infiltrating America’s infrastructure. Another amazing metaphor for the idea and countless conspiracy theories that have it that the Nazis have managed to prevail within the shadows of governments around the world – most of all America! Gee! I thought that all the Nazis did was to help NASA land on the Moon by utilizing V-Rocket technology that once shook the foundations of the UK – literally! Yes, the USA quickly snatched up the clever German Nazi scientists after the War! I think Hitler would have been proud that an Austrian became the “Governator” of California! A-oak-ay!




Above: Hydra ideologies...  

I have to hand it to the writers of Captain America, The Winter Soldier, for managing to squeeze in the best of the Shadow Government conspiracy theories into an action packed explosive 136 minutes! Hail, Hydra! Captain America teams up with The Falcon, a Black man with an advanced jetpack who acts as a super-janitor and cleans up the mess in the wake of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D (introduced in the first Iron Man movie: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics) when Hydra is forced out of the shadows albeit temporarily.

However, in Blade the shadow government are aptly Vampires because they can only exist in there –the shadows! It’s a great metaphor that tells us that it is really us that is being kept in the dark while men in suits gather in secret to make decisions that we have no say in. Naturally, the Vampires feed off us humans: we work, eat, sleep, and die! Repeat! Then along comes this super-no-nonsense alpha male... A Black male that kicks (mostly white) Vampire ass! Is Blade such a threat to the establishment that it has to be written out of history??? It is arguable that Blade 3 was sabotaged as the notion of a Black man toppling a vampiric shadow government is considered dangerous.

WHY SHOULD IT MATTER?
Why should it matter that we have to keep referring to ourselves based upon our skin tones? I can kind of understand it when giving a description to someone to describe another. But I don’t understand why a majority of Black people, for example, try so hard to be, er, Black. As if the media putting the idea out that being Black is so removed from humanity isn’t enough. That they, Black folk, have to do cartwheels when a man, Chadwick Boseman, who happens to be of Afrocentric descent should land the starring role of a superhero movie (of all genres) who happens to reside in Africa who is African. Why??? Was Marvel Considering Justin Timberlake for the role? It’s funny, right? Laugh out loud funny! But many years ago white actors had to black-up to play Othello which is ironic given the premise of the story that a white man becomes jealous of his African Moorish General superior and his white wife who then sets about to destroy him (Othello). How many times does this story have to play out in real life?

We are human. The Earth is Zion. You go upstream and you poop there only for the poop to come downstream where you reside! Name one planet like ours? We only get one planet and it is high time that we start to make the most of it. And no, this doesn’t mean more genocide that has the usual suspects sitting pretty (ugly) upon a throne of death. It’s about loving: you, I and we and taking care of this beautiful planet! Harmony has never stopped beckoning and it is never too late to take heed.

Black is a myth! White is a myth. Life shouldn’t be a game of chess. “Racism” does not make any sense because we are of one human race! We make up cultures and pretend that we’re better than those who have made up other cultures for themselves like we have nothing better to do!

Technology should unite us but sadly some of us use it as a weapon of propaganda!

Oh, Marvel Studios have also announced a woman superhero movie that stars... You’ve guessed it, a woman! ‘Captain Marvel’ is due July 6, 2018! I can’t wait!

Things to think about...

THANKS FOR READING...

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com