ANDROID WISHLIST 2015 SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
ANDROID WISHLIST 2015

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It’s wonderful to see you as always! I hope that you’re well and making the most of your tech! I also hope that you are wrapped up warm in this chilly period! Don’t catch a cold!

Oooh! It seems that I was right for a change in that NVIDIA has just announced its Shield Read on! It’s a living room device capable of 4K playback and capture at up to 60 fps video including Android TV! The Nvidia Shield can run both local, and streamed games via its Nvidia Grid subscription based game streaming service, up to 1080p at 60fps! At $200 it’s great for gamers (I can’t play games for toffee) and great for media consumers! Would I get one? I am not too sure... I am still waiting on the Google Nexus Player to see what that’s about... I have ideas / wishes / wants for Android this year... Read on!

#Android #Applications #Androidbox #AndroidPC #AndroidTablet

1. ANDROID PERSONAL COMPUTER
Above: My Androidbox which is really an Intel Next Unit of Computing kit. But it could happen!

Let’s face it, the Windows PC is practically on its way out. Essentially my Galaxy Note 4 has a great deal more to it than my current PCs. For a start I can capture 4K video and edit it with the Samsung Movie Editor app whereby I can download many themed movie templates. To edit 4K video on my PCs would require some upgrades! I have been thinking of about bypassing the purchasing of another PC for an Android PC instead.

The truth is that Microsoft is at a crisis point in that it doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going. So many $ Billions wasted on the Windows RT operating system where there was no call for it. Who’d want a tablet with a half baked operating system, huh? So, a bunch of Surface Windows RT slates was wiped clean just like that! I remember speaking to a representative of a well known PC manufacturer about a Windows RT tablet and when he told me how much it cost, £600-odd, my jaw almost hit the floor! I knew it wasn’t going to fly as you may as well be using a decent skinny laptop with a full version of Windows and some real software applications! The Surface Pro is a great idea badly implemented; had Microsoft used the wasted $1.2 Billion on a cost effective means of delivering a decent tablet with the full Windows OS it would have kept them (Microsoft) in the mobile device picture. Apple laughed at the Surface RT & Pro saying that “it didn’t know whether it was a PC or a tablet...” But that’s just it: a tablet IS a personal computer! And that’s where the iPad has stumbled because a) it has yet another operating system to contend with and b) cost-wise it makes more sense to get a Macbook Air rather than get a new iPad each year.

Android, as I have pointed out many times, does not suffer from any of the above; it is not a secondary operating system to a bigger one and there is a great choice for the consumer. I was looking at Intel’s Next Unit of Computing Kit and while I think it’s a great idea it works out to be expensive to get something worthwhile! Bah!

Enter the <insert manufacturer> Androidbox. What is it? Glad you asked... Essentially the Androidbox is a little computer that’s around height of a shoebox and half the length. It features a 3 – 4 USB 3 ports, 3 HDMI ports for TV, computer monitor and auxiliary device such as a Bluray player for example. Then there’s a speaker out that can connect to 2 way or 4 way set-up and microphone. Oh, you have a remote control unit for Android TV and games plus a keyboard and mouse input.

From the Androidbox I am able to cast to any screen with the Chromecast dongle for when I am not using the Androidbox as a computer.

I’d also be able to use Chrome OS when browsing the web and access the Chrome apps.

The CPU within is the NVIDIA Tegra X1 with 6GB RAM, a decent SATA hard drive (500GB) or solid state.

All of the above for around £350? Yes, why not?

2. SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

Above: Magix Music Maker Premium 2015 for the PC; it could be ported to Android. 

Although the state of Android apps is getting better with some top players developing some powerful applications Google Play is still full of Mickey Mouse apps! What I mean by that is that they are silly apps that have in app purchases to make the application worthwhile. I would rather shell out for all that I need one time! One big player behind some potentially great apps is Magix! Magix are pretty big on the PC front hand have created a couple of decent apps for Android (and iOS) in the form of Movie Edit Touch and Music Maker Jam. I think now that the age of 64-bit Android is here Movie Edit touch should be able to handle 4K video editing. Samsung’s Soundcamp music composition application that can only be, for now, found on the Galaxy Note 4 shows that porting Magix Music Maker app is possible! I would love to see a version of Music Maker for Android. I would also love to see Synapse Audio do a version of Orion Studio for Android too! While we’re still talking about music I would love to see VST instruments and effects ported over to Android; gosh that would be something!

I would also like to see more powerful applications for desktop publishing – including web design. Android should be able to utilize PC fonts without first having to be rooted. It’s time for some decent web design applications; imagine being able to design a website while you’re travelling on a train... Wow!

We need powerful software applications as opposed to these myriad of crap apps that promise a lot and fail to deliver in spectacular fashion.

I feel that we haven’t yet tapped into the awesome power of Android.

3. POWERFUL TABLETS


Above: "The ARCHOS 101 Magnus Plus Plus, by combining it’s ultra-efficient quad-core processor and Full HD IPS screen with 128 GB of storage, this tablet is an HD media and gaming powerhouse. Amazing battery life and a stylish aluminium casing with dual-front speakers puts this tablet at the top of its class." Okay, but where's the 64-bit processor? Why is it running Android KitKat? Hmmmm...

At some point I would like to jettison my PCs. It would be great if I could just install Android OS instead of Windoze – I am sure it is going to happen someday. Hopefully someday soon! Again, I would be able to keep the VST instruments and effects that I have amassed over the years. Well, we can use JPEGs, PNG, GIF, WAV, etc so I do think that porting VST instruments and effects to Android is just a matter of time!

Anyhoo, I am still after a decent tablet and I reckon this is the year! We have seen some sterling efforts from Samsung, ASUS, NVIDIA and Sony – to name a few. And now it’s time to take the tablet beyond the power of the iPad once and for all.

We really should be doing much more with the tablet besides surfing the web, consuming media and social networking. Oh, not to mention making the odd voice and video call every now and then. If I am going to buy a tablet this year it has to be pretty decent one!

I can’t wait to see what Samsung, ASUS, NVIDIA, etc come up with regarding 64-bit tablets. Archos and Acer keep promising to deliver a substantial tablet but end up being a few steps behind – I feel frustrated on their behalf as they have some great ideas but not the power to back them up!

How can I forget Lenovo? I feel that they (Lenovo) have some great designs and features but the CPU doesn’t have the power to make the user interface a smooth experience. And that is the story for many Android tablet manufacturers: not enough processing power and RAM.

C’mon! Let’s have it!

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

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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 MICROSOFT TALK SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

How much???? Are you nuts????

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT 

MICROSOFT TALK 1:
BELOW THE SURFACE
Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! What’s happening? It’s always good to see you! Good news if you are interested into making music as I have the latest Magix Music Maker software coming soon! And if you want to create 3D animations then standby for the Synapse Circuit iClone 5 competition! Whoohoo!

What’s up with Microsoft, huh?

#Microsoft #Surface #Digitalworkshop #Reallusion #Magix #Roxio #Incomedia #Roxio #Android

OH YEAH? TAKE THIS!
Sadly, for the consumer, Microsoft and Apple have a warlike attitude towards emerging technologies such as Google for example. Apple, as we all know, has taken great strides into mobile device technology out of reinventing the MP3 player, mobile phone and tablet computer. Apple’s mobile devices have overshadowed its computers for a good while and now that mobile device windstorm has petered out the consumer can see more clearly.

For a long, long while Microsoft has been trailing behind Apple’s iPod and who can forget the Zune? Oooh, it died a death! However, if the truth be known one could get great MP3 playing devices that didn’t need the iTunes ecosystem. Because the Windows PC was and still is commonplace its users could enjoy the countless free and commercial MP3 creation software. PC users could determine the quality of the MP3 from the original recording on vinyl or CD. I know... By today’s standards a generation has spawned without the warmth of vinyl or the CD... I used to love vinyl (singles, LPs & albums) but as a collector with a small abode it became impractical. I warmed to the CD especially due to the extra information / media that could be had from a collector’s edition Enhanced CD that contained a multimedia presentation not unlike a PowerPoint presentation complete with a video or two of much loved singles, interview, etc. This got replaced by the DVD. The point I am making is that Apple and its bloody iTunes killed off the music industry. I mean... ...how bad must the industry be if you can’t even give away an album? Because Apple were great at publicity it made people want to buy into its products and right from the start I could see through it!

Microsoft felt that it had to come up with an alternative to the iPod when it was impractical due to the fact that most of us PC users were happy to go out and buy the music in a retail outlet: Virgin, Our Price Records, Tower Records and HMV! Oh, not forgetting the various independent music shops in London’s West End! We were happy to go out there buy the music, convert it to MP3 and place it on our MP3 players or the mobile phones that could handle the format. We PC users didn’t care for iTunes at all! We never needed it and still don’t! I thought the iPod was a load of crap – I still do think that! I thought the Archos media players were so much better!

Microsoft started to fall down the Apple rabbit hole.

ALONG CAME ANDROID
When the first Android handset hit the market in the form of a HTC designed flip-out QWERTY keyboard it looked very raw and most importantly it was perceived by many as a fad that wouldn’t go the distance as the iPhone was all the rage! But we all know the story of Android... As Android started to take off with the HTC Hero and the Samsung Galaxy S I started to hear rumours of Microsoft working on its own handset. Can anyone remember when it made its debut? I can’t and that’s the point with Microsoft – it can’t do anything beyond the operating system and Office!

Sadly... I say “sadly” because Microsoft didn’t take – in my opinion – enough time to study the marketplace to make educated anticipations upon where Apple would end up... Microsoft was so busy lashing out to preserve this fallacy of a technological giant when all it really did was to give the IBM compatible PC a visual user interface. Okay, I shouldn’t appear ungrateful because Windows is GREAT and it is was and still is a LIBERATOR! Without Windows we would never have gotten a myriad of wonderful software houses such as:-

Serif
Magix
Roxio
Digitalworkshop
Reallusion
Incomedia

There were many, many more but they fell by the wayside as they were not able to keep up with the innovation and take initiative in a different approach to things we do on a PC! The software houses mentioned above not only showed MAC users that great things can be achieved on the PC such as DTP via Serif PagePlus, PhotoPlus and DrawPlus; Music Composition from Magix Music Maker and Music Studio; Video Editing through Serif MoviePlus and Magix Movie Edit Pro; Web Design from Incomedia WebSite X5, Magix Web Designer and Serif WebPlus and so on! Once upon a time there was a widely held view that in order to do the above well one had to:-

A. Own a MAC.
B. Own Adobe software (for the MAC).

Sure, one could own a PC and use the same Adobe software but that was very, very costly! The aforementioned software houses have done so much to empower ordinary users with extraordinary ideas! The above software houses made and still make their products cost effective to the point of mocking Adobe and MAC users that think little of the PC and non-Adobe software. For a good, good while it was a pain in the ass to take PC produced documents to be printed at MAC based print bureaus. To be honest with you a lot of MAC based designers were too far up themselves to recognize what a PC and non-Adobe software can do! The one good thing that Adobe gave us was the PDF format which helped to take the befuddlement out of the printing game! THANK GOODNESS!!!

What Apple did for its computers was very, very, very smart! Apple recognized that PC users were benefitting from these wonderful inexpensive software and decent PC set-ups that it created cheaper MAC computers with a set of bundled software to get the user going: iWork. Adobe also recognized what was happening and released consumer versions of its professional software i.e. Photoshop Elements but what Adobe failed and still fail to understand is that its direct competition, Serif, released fully professional software that produced documents that a professional printer can understand i.e. CMYK files such as TIF, PDF and JPEG. Today, CMYK isn’t much of an issue as many print bureaus have large scale domestic printers that will do the job of producing your flyers, newsletters, etc. The big music software creators such as Cakewalk, Steinberg, etc did the same thing and produced cut down versions of their respective software titles but such efforts weren’t enough to stop Magix, Synapse Audio (Orion Studio) and lately Cockos (REAPER) from producing music composition software that delivered!

At that point Microsoft could have easily gotten into PC hardware production – especially as there quite often hardware that conflicted with the various versions of Windows. Microsoft could have standardised the PC and worked with the aforementioned software houses provide a bundle of great software to match iWork. It would have made the PC even more ubiquitous than it already is and helped to make the software houses (and products) even better known than they are today!

What did Microsoft do instead? In a nutshell they went so far up its backend that it weakened its position. What do I mean?

1. Microsoft concentrated on its Internet Explorer web browser so that it dominated the competition at the time i.e. Netscape! Not only that, Internet Explorer played by its own rules and did not adhere to the current web standards: W3C

2. Produced a potentially good WYSIWYG web design software, FrontPage. The trouble with FrontPage produced websites was that they would only look good and function with Internet Explorer. What if the user viewed the website on a MAC? How about another browser such as Netscape Navigator? DISASTER! By the time Microsoft realized the error of its ways it lost the web design software market just as fast as they started it.

What a waste! As a result I do not use Internet Explorer! Internet Explorer is the Internet equivalent of faecal matter! Microsoft continued to make the imperfect operating system releases expensive. How many times have you bought a legitimate Windows operating system and you get a message to say that what you have is an illegal copy? That’s bloody annoying! Rather than perfect releases of Windows Microsoft kept releasing product that had to be fixed by these constant Service Packs that could sometimes mess up a PC even more! Grrrrrr! What? A Windows phone??? £*@% OFF!!! That’s how I feel about anything Windows and that’s Microsoft’s doing!



Above: As you can see, Windows Phone 8. Below: The screenshot of an Android handset using a Windows style launcher. 



INSIGHT
Had Microsoft taken the time to be analytical it could have foreseen that the iPad would clash with the Macbook. What business model can survive a yearly complete hardware overhaul? This is why the MAC computer and PC aren’t going away anytime soon as much as the tech media loves to report the drop in PC sales!

Analysis would have led to the understanding that Android handsets and tablets can complement both Windows and MAC computers. The Android tablet is phenomenal not only due to its cost effectiveness but its longevity! And as I have stated before, many of the productivity applications are fully functional in its own right and / or can act as a sketchpad for PC and MAC set-ups in that one can produce Office compatible documents; MIDI for music; MP4 video and so on. I would rather take out a 7” Android tablet that can, incidentally, make and accept phone calls! Why on Earth would I want an iPad? And why on Earth would I or anyone else want a Surface tablet???

Look at how much Microsoft has lost on the ill-fated Surface Windows RT tablets; $1.2 BILLION!!!! Just how much more does Microsoft has to lose before it realizes that the Surface is not going to fly???

PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL
Because of this ‘us against them’ attitude Microsoft, like Apple, does not think of unification and harmonizing with new, exciting emerging technologies. They (Microsoft and Apple) want our custom and will – if they had their way – litigate the competition out of business. Look how that’s turned out for Apple? It is ugly for the consumer! I as a PC owner feel that my custom is unappreciated with idiotic messages informing me that my copy of Windows is illegal! A few years ago I tried to update my Windows XP Professional with a Service Pack and I got a message to say that my copy was illegal and was not able to perform the update, caught a virus in the process and lost a couple of years of work! This will be the last time I mention it but I was super-pissed off at the time! All that work lost because of Microsoft’s crappy software! And they want to move into phones and tablets without perfecting what they have???? That’s insane!

That $1.2 Billion could have easily funded Microsoft branded computers with an operating system to be proud of and a great bundle of software to get the user started. There are some amazing Windows based laptops out there with a touch screen that should have seen Microsoft invest into Android phones and tablets to compliment the Windows computer! Microsoft could have set-up a division for the creation of Android applications.

The only reason why I still use the PC is because of the amazing aforementioned software houses that produce cost effective products that deliver professional results each and every time – unlike bloody Microsoft!

Microsoft, if you are reading this please compensate me for my loss and get it together! Stop scratching the surface and embrace Android!

That’s something to think about!

THANKS FOR READING...

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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: SOFTWARE GIFTS CHRISTMAS 2013 PART THREE: MAKING MUSIC!

Magix Music Maker 2014 Premium. It's great for beginners but very capable of professional results! It features great virtual instruments and effects to boot! 

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT:
SOFTWARE GIFTS CHRISTMAS 2013
#SoftwareGiftsXmas2013

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers! Have you finished your Christmas shopping? No? There’s still time! I hope that you are keeping well and avoiding catching a cold or flu!

Here’s the final installation of recommended software that will make for great Christmas gifts! In part 3 we will focus on music making software... The gift of music is so very, very special... It’s one thing to be able to play an instrument with manual dexterity – it’s awesome! And it’s something else to be able to manipulate music (or noise) with the aid of the computer!

If you ever fancied making music or wish to give the gift to someone then check out the very best that software has to offer!

PART THREE: MAKING MUSIC!
Synapse Audio (no relation – honest) Orion Studio 8.5
£ 113
Oooh, the wonderful news is that the online vendor, Synapse-Audio dot com, has a 25% off winter sale! Yay!

What is Orion Studio? Ok, I am glad you asked! Orion Studio (8.5) happens to be one of the most powerful yet easy to use virtual recording studios on the market today! While it is true that it is possible to spend 3 or 4 times more on a digital audio workstation (DAW = another word and acronym for virtual recording studio) you will find that Orion Studio has it all: virtual music instruments, a mixing desk and various effects to add professional polish to the finished track!

As with most of today’s music software you can extend the functionality through third party VST instruments and effects. VST stands for virtual studio technology as founded by Steinberg the makers of one of the earliest music sequencers that worked with physical MIDI based keyboards and synthesiser modules – including drum machines.

What I absolutely love about Orion Studio 8.5 is the wonderful interface that works so very, very well! It’s an interface that works beautifully for musicians and non-musicians! The MIDI editor is sweet! If you don’t understand the concept of MIDI editing do not worry because the interface makes working with entered notes child’s play! It has enough built in musical instruments and effects to get you going without needing anything else – but it always helps to have more to play with so to speak.

So, if you wanted to make music for yourself or to encourage someone to get into music then this would be one to get for sure!

MAGIX Music Maker 2014 Premium
£ 89.99
Here’s a fantastic DAW from the ubiquitous multimedia company that is Magix! There are many iterations of Music Maker Premium and I would have to say that this is the best one barring the professional Magix range starting with Samplitude Pro X! Music Maker 2014, like Orion Studio 8.5, has a visually stunning interface that makes music composition a chinch!

Music Maker 2014 Premium goes an extra step further in that it features video recording and editing capabilities too! Yes, alongside audio and instrument tracks you can video material! Awesome! It’s also stuffed with instruments and effects galore: synthesizers, drum machines and sample loops! Again, you can extend it through VST instruments and effects. What is great about Music Maker 2014 Premium is that it has a Mastering Suite! The Mastering Suite enables you to add a specific preset finish for the purpose of burning an audio CD, radio play and so on. Yes, good digital audio workstations come with mastering effects that, for example, can increase the volume levels to the max without distorting but not many of them are preset. Therefore, the novice can easily perfect a mix.

I would definitely recommend Music Maker 2014 Premium to musicians of all abilities – especially the beginner!

If you wish to spend less on a music program then I’d take a look at the cheaper but less functional Music Maker versions: Rock, Dance, Hip Hop and Soundtrack editions for £29.99. Then there’s the Lethal Bizzle version with samples of some of his tunes that’ll set you back £49.99. These Music Maker versions are great on many levels... For example, if you wanted to make a soundtrack composition for a video project you can do so easily. If you run a community youth project you will be able to get members to actively take part in music composition and so on.

Cockos REAPER
Full license £ 137, Discounted license £36
Over the years as a reviewer of many music software I can tell you that after a while the market gets saturated with software that it starts to get ridiculous! Some digital audio workstations vendors’ trade on the reputations forged in the development of personal home computing and emerging recording studios. As a result some of these vendors have placed a high price on their software and emerge as the industry standard. What has happened over the years is that other companies have come in and created cheaper software that could do more or less what the most expensive software could do. In turn the established companies responded by taking out some of the functionality of their main software and created products aimed at the budget market that had been established by the up and coming companies such as Magix and Synapse Audio! Also unscrupulous music technology magazines were keen to push the idea that you couldn’t consider yourself a professional unless you’re paying top dollar for the privilege of being a “professional”.

Sure, £20 wasn’t going to buy you the best and most functional software in the world but you could make some tracks! Anyway, along came Cockos and REAPER! REAPER was a breakthrough program that was solid unlike so many would be contenders that fell by the wayside. What’s more REAPER was aimed at the professional minded and not happy amateurs like many others.

REAPER did something unexpected and toppled the music software bigwigs! Sure, you don’t get as many instruments and effects but REAPER is so cost effective that you can easily purchase great instruments and effects.

REAPER is pretty much aimed at the professional in mind is so inexpensive that the amateur with ambition can purchase it and produce great music! So, if you’re making money from your music you can afford to pay the full license. And if you are not making money the discounted license is a great gesture!

I have used this software and it is brilliant!

MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab 2013
£ 39.99
Audio Cleaning Lab is undoubtedly for the most fastidious audio professional. Typically of Magix the Audio Cleaning Lab sports a great user interface that allows you to clean audio at spectral level when there is other audio cleaning software that less than and cost so much more. Magix Audio Cleaning Lab 2013 is another giant slayer!

Clean, restore and master until your ear is content! The price is gorgeous! Mac users will be pleased to know that there is a Mac version of this fabulous software!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the Synapse Circuit software selection for Christmas!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

Take good care!

Thank you for watching and reading!

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