MichaelJacob.net

John 3:16

2012-01-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

Some atheist fan page on Facebook shared this video earlier today and before I even opened it, I immediately assumed that the comments of this video are disabled, as well as this video received so many dislikes. --- I am correct.

Let me guess why this is for many religious videos online:

1. Atheists and people who are reasonable dislikes these videos.

2. Religious organizations keep on disabling comments because they do not have any good replies to combat comments that do make sense.

And with that, I thank you.

I'm back!

2012-01-08T00:49:00.000-08:00

Internet -- How has it been! It's always have been this idea of mine to go back and write again with my blog. I have this site for so long and I still have one and a half years left on my domain before renewal, so I guess my comeback is inevitable.

Can you imagine that my last post before this is 7 months ago. 7 months. Two more months a baby could have been born. Anyway, life has just been pretty busy for me since I moved back to the Philippines. I know I should do a proper review after my first year back here again, but let me tell you today that my life is in a complete turnaround. I hope this still gets better.

So, what plans do I have with this comeback? Well I couldn't promise anything big, but what I am planning to do is to finish any articles that is pending on the site. I think there are around 3 of those. But I guess I couldn't finish them all in a week, so probably the new posts that you will be seeing are new posts, where I assume very short new posts of some random opinion I will have with things.

I promised myself that I should be creating at least three blog posts a week. I want to do this because of [1] ad revenues, and [2] to make me feel that I am being productive. Work is so hectic recently but I still do want to do something different, but at the same time doing what I love.

While I am here, I hope you did not miss my one and only post on The Verge, [it's just a forum post that looks like an article] and I plan on posting something there in the future, and I don't even know if I will be allowed to do redirection to this blog.

Anyway, See you in my future posts!

some thoughts about going home

2011-06-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have traveled a lot before, but I never really wrote about it. So I decide to try it today. It maybe the most boring thing you'll ever read on the internet, but that's fine -- you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

So, I recently went back home to the Philippines. No other flights could have been any longer than what I have experienced, as I traveled literally halfway across the earth. The timezones from where I was compared to the Philippines are exactly opposite of each other. If it's 6AM where I came from, it's 6PM in the Philippines. So yeah. Let's revisit my journey, shall we?

The first flight I had was going from St. Croix, VI to its brother island, which is St. Thomas. These very tiny islands aren't that far apart, but people need to fly by plane to travel within these islands. Planes that travel within these islands are usually not that big, considering not too many people travel frequently. My idea of small planes before is the one that I had ridden in the past, like the one that American Eagle flights use on domestic flights.

But I had honestly no idea that my first plane is this small. The cabin is no bigger than a big van and it just houses 10 passengers. It's so small -- that our carry-on bags had to be placed on a compartment located on its wings. It's so scary! What if it was not locked properly and our bags fell to the sky? My phones and documents are all in my carry-on bag.

See how small that plane is?

If that isn't scary enough, the flight itself would terrify any person that is riding the plane the first time. You would think that flying a smaller airplane feels safer than a big one because it is mobile, but that is just plain wrong. There are 2 small propellers that are exposed, and the overall noise that the plane is having really made me nervous. Not to mention that the flight was incredibly bumpy.The passengers that are with me kept on praying and doing their sign of the cross, to make them feel safe. But me knowing that no religious ritual or prayers could prevent any air crash, it was the worst feeling that I had ever felt. I do not badly need to die on an air crash.

St. Thomas Airport.

That flight lasted for just 24 minutes, thankfully. And once I arrived at the St. Thomas airport, I immediately noticed how much better looking it is compared to St. Croix. I also saw the University of the Virgin Islands' St. Thomas campus, which is just near the airport itself. Our St. Croix campus is definitely bigger and has more facilities. I arrived there at 8:24am, and my next flight was still 5 hours away. So I sat on a corner,listened to music, read a book, and stared on different things. I think waiting is a trend that you can never get rid of when you're traveling.

My next two flights are from Delta Airlines. The first dropped me to Atlanta, Georgia, and no matter how much I wanted to take pictures and describe how Atlanta is, I didn't see it very much. I had to walk for a good 20 minutes to get to my next gate (that contributed to a great sore feet later), and when I arrived there, the plane was already boarding. The plane is heading Los Angeles.

LA is incredibly cold for a summer. I had to go outside the domestic terminal because the international terminal is on the other side of the airport. As I go to the counter where to get boarding passes, I immediately recognized a large group of people falling in line with tons of boxes and baggage with them -- my fellow Filipinos.

LA Airport.

I do not know why, but my first impulse is that I don't want to talk with any of these Filipinos. I do not know if it is the fact that such a large gathering of random people with the same nationality in another country can ever be considered a good thing, or the fact that they have these massively oversized baggages. I mean every single one of them has these large boxes I suppose to be full of to-be exported goods to be given on their relatives in the Philippines. It's overwhelming seeing these packages that made me worried if the plane would be over in capacity and would result in an air crash. And for that, I hated my fellow Filipinos.

And for the record, I just brought one luggage, and one carry-on. I already checked in my luggage at Delta Airlines, and a Filipino asked me and was surprised that I am only carrying a bag and nothing else.

The thing I hate more than waiting are the baggage check-ups, where they check your things and you have to remove your shoes, belt, and anything that may trigger that metal detector. I think it is so archaic that we still need to do this. I know it is for our safety, but why hasn't someone invented something that detects any bomb materials in a quick scan? Damn you terrorist bombers. Why do they need to f*cking kill other people? Why don't they just kill themselves?

Philippine Airlines is my last flight. The plane is a Boeing 747 which is a really large aircraft that would explain why there are too many Filipinos falling in line earlier. I chose to seat in the last row of the plane, as the last isle seat available is in there. Trust me people. Being in a middle seat is the worse seating you can have on a 15 hour flight. Being in the last row also has its advantage. First, you are the closest to the bathroom, and second, you do not need to worry about tilting back your seat because there are no people behind you that may get angry.

Unlike with Delta Airlines where each passenger has a personal touchscreen display and built in WiFi, Philippine Airlines has these archaic monitors that are positioned on every 20 rows or so. But they served 3 meals though, so I think it's ok.

Oh, and lastly -- apl de ap, the Filipino member of the Black Eyed Peas is on the same flight with me! I saw him at LA and I was blocking his way and he said, "Excuse me," I didn't realize it was him at first but then people behind me started talking. He kinda smelled funny -- like a fragrant vegetable.He was on business class seats on the upper deck of the 747 and I thought I would not see him again, but right after we landed, He was right behind me, again! But I am too shy to ask for a picture, so I ran fast.

It is not just about pixel density

2011-05-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Borrowing my little brother's laptop, and when I mean borrowing I meant using it while he's away, I just can't wait to show you guys quickly about this revelation I had with display technologies.

It turns out,it's not just about pixel density after all.It also matters what technology your screen have. Having seen the Nexus S 4G, a phone that sports Samsung's Super AMOLED display technology, I immediately can see the difference with the display on my phone, which is Super LCD.

So, is Super AMOLED better? Well, if we're talking about the contrast and how completely dark black colors are, yes, it is certainly better. But remember the time when I reviewed HTC Surround, where I suspected that the Samsung Focus (also has SAMOLED) has edges on the texts has some abnormality in them. Well it turns out, the whole display has these weird dots and is more visible on edges on texts, buttons, and any other edges.

Here, I took a picture of both my phone and the Nexus S on a similar book on the Kindle app, take a look:

Even though the Nexus S has a greater pixel density, it is clear with the naked eye and on the image above that Super LCD (the one HTC Inspire 4g has) is a better display with the two. Super AMOLED makes the display appear lower in resolution, as it gives you these weird dots that you can clearly see above.

You may ask, hey, of course Super LCD will perform better on white background, but Super AMOLED excels on black displays! Well, unfortunately, you're wrong. Here's the same screen on black background:

So as you can see, Super AMOLED keeps on putting colors that do not belong. You can see orange-y dots on a supposed to be white-only text. Although texts may look crisper on Super AMOLED, these weird dots just make it look otherwise. It really looks like an old technology.

Engadget recently compared Super AMOLED vs the newer Super AMOLED plus, and I just hope this fixes the problem with these kind of technology on displays. Until I get a hold of a Samsung Galaxy SII, or Apple's retina display, I think I am going to settle with Super LCD. There's really no comparison.

Is prohibiting religious beliefs within the workspace considered discrimination?

2011-05-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

I glimpsed a TV show today tittled "What Would You Do?" and basically what they do is that they cause different scenarios, and they are capturing different people's reactions on what they were seeing. The episode I watched today involves some applicants being interviewed for a job in a restaurant, only not being accepted because they were wearing something that their religion is prohibiting them to be unworn. So, is that discrimination? Here's my take.

First of all, the Federal law thinks that this is discrimination. According to Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act, it is illigal to discriminate individuals on their association with particular race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Employers are "prohibited from treating applicants or employees differently based on their religious beliefs or practices." The TV show quotes.

Unlike with the other things listed above, no one is born with a religion. You might think a Christian couple will automatically have a Christian child but that is simply wrong. A person will establish his/her religion when he/she is old enough to realize what he/she believes in. Yes, it is often that what his/her religion will be what his/her parents' religion is, but a person's religion can always change. It can be a choice, or in my case, as an atheist, it is a realization.

I also think that these religious "beliefs and practices" has contributed a lot to slow down the progress or innovation of the entire human race. Take evolution for example. A lot of people have still not accepted this scientific fact because it wouldn't fit with their beliefs. Churches in my home country also prohibits the use of contraception to eliminate the problem of overpopulation. These examples of beliefs and practices do not solve anything. In fact, they cause problems. In our case today, they hinder the opportunity of an individual for being accepted into a job.

So on the TV show there is this woman who is applying for a job in a restaurant. She wears a "Hijab" which is a headgear that covers her head, and removing so would be against her religion. The employer said that she couldn't work there if she didn't remove the attire. I mean it is a little thing. It's just a head dress. I wouldn't be scared or offended if I see someone wearing it and serving my food.

But what if the job requires modeling, for example. What if that woman needs to model different dresses? She can't possibly still wearing her head dress right? So is it still discrimination for an employer to not accept her?

I think it is not a discrimination. See, unlike sex, color, race, or national origin, religious practices are easy to be changed. Changing your sex, color, race, or national origin would cost you a lot of time and money if you ever wish to change them. But for religion, changing it is the easiest on the list. It also doesn't cost you anything, and you will end up earning money because you got accepted to a job because you are willing to discontinue a religious practice.

So yeah. I think of religious practices as bad habits. For example, you have a bad habit of drinking, thus not qualifying you to any jobs. If you discontinue drinking, you will get qualified.

That sounds just fine, right? But why a woman wearing a hijab that can't get any jobs sounds otherwise? A woman on the TV show said, "What if a religion's practice is to dress naked? Is it discrimination to not accept that person?"

PS: Like many other blog posts from the past, I couldn't get this one to work properly. I have deleted many paragraphs. I don't know. Something is not working for me today.

Updating the HTC Surround to NoDo

2011-05-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

I saw a tweet from Joe Belfiore hours ago stating that the HTC Surround has finally able to get the long awaited NoDo update. Now that I am not a NoDo virgin, I actually have gotten myself one of the hacks to enable the update to come sooner, but there's no better feeling to receive the official update, as HTC and AT&T delivered some extra goodies with this update as well.

So you may ask, how did I revert back from 7390(nodo) to 7008(pre-nodo)? Well, it's actually easy. The Zune Software runs a backup of your current state whenever you do an update, so in this case I had one right before I updated to the generic 7390 update. I only had 7008 backed up instead of the much older 7004.

Now I have reverted to 7008 days ago, since Microsoft updated the Surround to "Scheduling" phase. I can see a prompt that an update is available to 7390 back then, and I suspect that is showing because I have debranded my device, and just today I have modified a CustClear.xml to add "ATT-US" thus rebranding my phone again.

Expecting that I shouldn't get any more update notifications, I still got one. I said, "Screw this, I'm going to wait for a few days when the official update comes out! I'll deal with this later." But then seeing the said tweet I realize that I could be having the official update. So I tried going through the update and one clue that it is the actual update, from the description I saw that itsays "HTC Update for Windows Phone" just like what it says on this screenshot from WPCentral:

So I continued the update, and I think it took longer than a normal update, like more or less about 30 minutes, but viola! I finally got to the success screen:

Once it booted, another proof that I officially got the update is the new AT&T logo:

...and the before and after of the About page. Notice the updated firmware version:

My only problem with the new update is that the colors are set to 16bit.

iPad 2 review

2011-04-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

The iPad 2. Successor of the tablet that went from being a complete joke to one of the best-selling device in tech history. I never thought I would lay my eyes with one of these things, but here I am, already reviewing it. So go ahead and join me in this magical journey (Apple’s word not mine) into the review of the iPad 2.

Let me just remind you with the specifications of the iPad 2. Minor changes has been done since the original iPad, like having front and rear facing cameras, a new A5 chip dual-core processor, a slimmer body, and that is pretty much it actually. You still have that really old 1024x768 resolution, no noticeable changes within the operating system, and still doesn't include Adobe Flash. Ok, now let's talk about the iPad's design.

Design

I really love the design of the iPad. On the front side, you are presented with a massive piece of glass display, that is really gorgeous, although if you have owned a touchscreen phone, you'll be disappointed to know that smudges are a greater problem with this tablet. Although smudges do not obstruct you in viewing anything on the display on the iPad, it just doesn't look good when the iPad is on standby. Dusts and other particles are also a problem (more on that on a bit).

On the back side of the iPad 2 is a silver aluminum cover that fits and feels nicely in the hand, just like the metallic alloy that is found on my Inspire 4G. The texture is great on a smartphone, but for a 9.7 inch tablet, I prefer a material that is not slippery. I think more than half of the time I held the iPad it almost slipped out of my hands.

I am really amazed with the engineers of the iPad with how they have made this device thinner. Comparing it to my Inspre 4G on the image above, it is my phone looks fat. But for a tablet that you carry around everywhere you go, this device is prone to damage more than any other devices you could own. That's why I think if you're going to own an iPad, you'll going to need to buy a cover for it, thus losing that benefit of it being thin. I don't know, the iPad feels sturdy but at the same time feels really really fragile.

Display

On my previous blog post, I showed you how awful the resolution is on the iPad 2. I compared it with a large text against other devices, but I realized that iPad's resolution performs worse on smaller texts. Here is another comparison of iPad's display versus my HTC Surround:

See, having a 1024x768 resolution on the iPad is really like using a device from the past. It's like a Nintendo DS, or the display on the PSP. In this modern times, fuzzy edges on screen texts should not be welcome anymore. As I have said with the previous post, It is really traumatizing.

I am really wondering what would Apple do with the next version of the iPad. Obviously an increase in resolution is the solution (slogan right there), but how high would Apple make it?

Now let's move on with the iPad's aspect ratio. 4:3? Really Apple? Really? I hardly know any other tech company that still releases a device that is with that aspect ratio. I admit, playing an HD content with the iPad is clear and smooth as butter, but HD content, or any other modern video content is made in 16:9 aspect ratio. Now you have two options in the iPad, both of which has their own disadvantages.

1. You can play the whole video at 16:9, but you will have it letterboxed, thus making your video look smaller. Or you can

2. stretch the video to fit the iPad's screen. Now this looks better in my opinion, but details on the video will be cut, specially texts.

So yeah. Either way, it is not a pretty picture. I really would love Apple to move on and adapt 16:9 aspect ratio, or if not, at least 16:10.

Camera

Uggh. I'm sorry that the camera is the next feature to review. This one is also a disaster for me. The camera reminds me of Nintendo DS. The DS has a poor resolution camera because kids that are going to use it will not know the difference between a decent photo and a poor quality photo. Are kids the one who are going to use the iPad 2? I mean, just look at the photos below. They are horrible. They looked like they were captured from a cell phone camera that is released in early 2000's. This is 2011. This kind of abomination is not welcome in this decade.

720p video capture is a little better, but it's still bad. Here's a sample shot:

Performance and Apps

I haven't used any iOS device before, but the iPad 2 is really fast. As I have said earlier, it plays HD content without any hiccups. Loading and switching to applications are also fast, I have not encountered any delay or lag to any of the apps I have used, except for Safari. I see checkerboards every now and then while loading a webpage, but pinch-and-zoom wise, this device excels when it comes to that.

One of the built-in apps on the iPad is the iBooks. There are plenty of books both free and paid on the iBookstore, and the page turn animation is what really makes this app cool. Unfortunately, reading on the iPad I can imagine to be really straining to the eye, not because it uses LCD, but (you guessed it) the low resolution screen.

Key things missing on the iPad that is present on the iPhone: Voice control and Coverflow. I don't get it. Coverflow would be amazing in this big screen. Instead you just have this big album art when you try to play something. Thankfully though, some apps on the app store at least try to mimic this missing features.

There are also a lot of apps that you can install on the iPad. I think I have never found an app that really made me busy (as with other OS's). Downloading an app is an easy process, if you do not want to view a description of an app, you can just tap the "free" button and tap it again to install the app. But what I do not like with Apple's app download mechanism is that it will always ask you for your password when you want to download an app.

I do not have a paid iTunes account so I can only test free apps. Another downside with having an iPad is that apps tend to be more expensive than their iPhone counterparts. The lite Fruit Ninja lets you play with another person, which is really fun and really fast paced. I also have downloaded Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and while it is fun steering your iPad, the graphics just doesn't compare to any PC game, and I can tell that to many iPad apps, except for Infinity Blade.

Facebook app on "Pixel Double" which is really ugly.

One big disadvantage of having a mobile OS on a bigger screen is that you are going to face many apps, Facebook in particular to have no iPad version. It's a really ugly place, specially when you zoom in the app (Apple fancily calls it "Pixel Double" which is crap) and it just gives you pixelated images and texts to a already ugly screen resolution. "There's An App for That" huh? Well apparently there is no official Facebook app designed for iPad.

Notifications and Keyboard

You might already know this, but iOS has the worst notification system in all of the modern OS's today. When you get a message, a mention, or anything that requires notifications, it will pause whatever you are doing and then asks you whether you want to cancel it or to view it. You don't get a chance to view your notifications later.

The keyboard on the iPad is pretty standard I think, although it is really hard to type on if the iPad is not laid on a flat surface. You'd think that Apple would create some sort of smaller keyboard if you're using the iPad using two hands.

Smart covers

Smart cover as a stand.

Now this isn't necessarily a part of the iPad, but just an accessory. I think the smart covers functions better as a stand than a cover. It works well as a stand, but it couldn't cover or protect the iPad in anyway in scratches or in case you dropped it. It also do not clean your screen as advertised. In fact, it even gives your screen dirt from what it gathered wherever you placed it as a stand. I really wonder what does Steve Job mean when he said it cleans your display? It doesn't clean fingerprints, it even gives you dirt. That is not cleaning guys.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. iPad 2 just isn't for me. There are a lot of things that are bugging me such as the low res screen, missing features, and low quality camera. I think I would prefer the iPhone 4 or the next dual core iPhone against this one. I don't understand why this tablet gained so many positive reviews, like Engadget for example, that gave it a 9/10 just the same with the iPhone. I strongly disagree. That being said, the iPad still have a great market share and people do not really care about the things I pointed out. So yeah. I just hope I helped someone into deciding what to pick on their next or first tablet.

iPad 2 resolution vs other devices

2011-04-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have used an iPad 2 for a decent amount of time now, and it is arguably (really arguably) the best tablet on the market right now. But one major problem I had everytime that I am using (and after I am using it) is its screen resolution. Being used to high-res phones, and my laptop having 1080p resolution on a 15 inch display, I really couldn’t stand the resolution on the iPad. It is just horrible. In fact, I think it is a little bit traumatizing. Images of its low resolution flash in my head and I couldn’t erase it.

But what could Apple really do? They couldn’t bump up the resolution this early, developers would be angry! They also couldn’t put a retina display that we see on the iPhone into it, because the minimum requirement to attain this is to have 300 pixels per inch, which would make the resolution to 2328x1746. That resolution is way too big for a screen this size, and developers would really have a hard time making their apps compatible with this resolution as their development environment is smaller than the said resolution. Not to mention apps (specially games) would increase in terms of app size.

But anyway, all of that aside, I decided to compare the iPad’s resolution with my other devices. This first one is the text test, and that is where the iPad really sucks at. But you be the judge. Notice the edges on the text:

Next is a photo test. Again, look at the edges of the picture:

Windows 8 mockups

2011-04-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Seeing some Windows 8 beta screenshots recently inspired me to do some photoshops of how I would like the metro UI on Windows 8. Here, take a look (click on them for bigger image):

After you selected the user, you swipe up, and just like on Windows Phone, it will prompt you for a password:

Here is the start screen. Yep, those are live tiles, but I got tired of adding more so there are blank tiles!

Here is a mock up I made several months ago. I do not know if I still want explorer to be like this, but I since I am doing this blog, might as well show this to you!

where angels walk: chapter 1

2011-04-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have been posting for weeks or months now just about phones and nothing but phones. I love blogging about phones and I am very passionate about it, but one thing that I am really passionate about is atheism. I think atheism is good, it's good for people that are atheists, but not for people who are not atheists. That's why I am here in a mission. If I cannot convert you into being an atheist, I can then try hard to at least convert you into thinking that atheist people are not possessed by the devil, nor will be going into eternal hell. So go ahead! Read on!

"Where Angels Walk." That is the title of the book a friend of mine gave me when I left the Philippines more than two years ago. She told me to read it while I am on the airplane. She also added a note stating that I should finish reading the book because she has given it way to me without finishing the book herself. I think that was really sweet, but more than two years later I only had just finished reading chapter one. And that's what I am going to talk about today. Chapter 1 of "Where Angels Walk."

I'm a slow reader ok!!

Anyway, the story goes like this. Buddies Tim and Jim had to travel somewhere during the greatest snow storm of some place I don't bother looking again. Their car broke down and they were almost going to die when suddenly, a tow truck came to the rescue and sent them home safely. They realized the tow truck didn't left any traces nor required any payment and they believed it was an angel in disguise sent by God from above.

First of all, if God really loves us, why would he allow snow storms? Why couldn't he just stop the storm once and for all (because he can, as stated that he created the earth.) and eliminating any need for an angel to go down to earth and save these kids. A lot of people had died on these snow storms and if God sent angels for every one of them (it will be unfair if he didn't right?), well, God's angels fail.

Second, is the tow truck and the driver. Why would an angel present itself as a tow truck driver? Many writing on the bible shows angels in their true form. Why not present themselves in their true form in this instance? Are they hiding themselves to people in order for them to be not considered existing? If I am an angel, why not just show myself and get these kids into a protective bubble or anything supernatural for them to not doubt that I am really an angel? What kind of twisted mind that angel has to make them wonder?

Third, is that the book's trying hard to convince you that the tow truck didn't leave any traces. It said that they didn't see any lights going away, no noises, and no wheel tracks.

Well first of all, didn't they say there was a snow storm going on? So probably that's why they cannot see any trailing lights because the visibility from the snow storm is bad. Also, I do not know about snow storms, but when it rained it is noisy. Can the noise of the storm overcome the noise of the tow truck? I think it can. Also, isn't it snowing? Isn't it possible that the traces of the wheel will be covered in snow that's why there are no traces?

And lastly, the tow truck driver not requiring any payment. I mean is society nowadays that bad? Is a person not requiring a payment after a hard work cannot be considered to exist naturally that's why we need consider it to be not human?

Anyway, In the end, believe what you want to believe. I do not have any evidence more than their evidence towards having an angel encounter, but I believe mine because they do not require you to explain things that are not naturally happening in this world. But then I am not closing myself into other possibilities. Maybe the driver lives next door, and possibly been stealing that family for years and so he decided to payback? Maybe the tow truck and the driver had suddenly abducted by aliens that's why there are no traces? Maybe it is just the kids' imagination for having been exposed to snow for so long and they actually drove themselves home? Maybe it is a prank? Or maybe, just maybe, the story is fake?

So ask yourself. What is really the most plausible explanation?

really, android? really? edition 1: fragmentation

2011-04-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! This is the first ever "Really, Android? Really?" Where Michael Jacob rants about different things that he hates about Android! This first edition he talks about what else, but Android fragmentation! So read ahead! Hopefully there will be more to come in the future!

Ahhh... Android. More like Shmandroid! That's what I say!

I think "Android" is just the appropriate term for this Google's mobile operating system. Well, take a look at real Androids. In the Terminator movies at least. Androids that are made during the current generation will be stronger and will have more features to kill humans than the older generation. This is what's happening with Androids today, without the killing part.

I often compare Android with Windows 7. I have been thinking that these two OS's have too many things in common. First, they both run on different form factors. Android can be found on phones, tablets, media players, etc. Where Windows 7 is found on PC's, Tablets, and portables. They also both run on different specifications. - Different RAM's, processors and processor speeds, graphic processors, screen sizes, screen resolutions etc. They are also offered by many OEM’s. Yep, companies like Samsung, LG, Sony, Acer, Dell, and many more offer Android and Windows 7.

Not only that, these OS’s also have so many things in common with the OS’s themselves. For example, both operating systems let you chose the default programs, both let you install off-market apps, both can really be customizable, and many more.

But then here comes the updating process. If you have an older version of Windows, what you need to do to upgrade to Windows 7 is that you buy a DVD. That’s it, It’s that easy. On Android, well, if you do not have a device that isn’t named “Nexus” you will not get the latest Android version for months to come, or more accurately, you will NEVER get any more update forever.

Really, Android? Really?

Why can a 5 year old PC is able to be upgraded to a currently released OS version, and a phone that is currently released, (like Atrix 4G for example) cannot??

Updating on Windows 7 is also a breeze. I get OS updates almost like, every two weeks or so, and if you live under a rock and doesn’t have an internet connection, you can ask your friend to give you a Service Pack (that has just been released) and send it to you from a USB stick. It is that easy.

On Android, again, if your device is not named “nexus” you will not get those OS updates. If you really want to update your phone, you can, but you need to root it. ROOTING is a very hard thing to do for most people, and flashing an updated ROM is not easier either. Is this the way Android wants their customer to update their phone? By getting an unsupported ROM file that is released by some unknown developer? Really Android, Really?

MIUI (Android ROM) - Review

2011-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

I love my Inspire 4G. I really do. I love the uni-body design, extremely gorgeous 4.3 inch display, and its 8 megapixel camera. But one thing I hate about it is Android. Yep. I really hate Android. I think Android is ugly, makes your daily task more complicated -- at least compared to Windows Phone that is. So last night I decided to flash a custom ROM on my Inspire 4G, in hoping to find a solution to my desperate newness longing.

I stumbled upon this MIUI ROM posted at XDA. Looking at the screenshot posted, I immediately noticed that it changed the default font of Android to Helvetica. I would choose Helvetica over DroidSans in any day.

Anyway, I thought it is just that. Custom lockscreen, custom icons, and that's it. I never realized MIUI's other perks and features. And that's what I am going to talk about today. So join me will ya! (Tip: You can click any of these images for the full view.)

Note: I will often compare MIUI with Sense UI because Paras on Twitter says that Sense UI is better. I strongly disagree and I hope by this blog post I will change his mind!

HOMESCREEN

Homescreen on the MIUI on the first look right on the image above you might say that it is just like any other custom ROMs of Android. However, it is really different from any other homescreens.

First off, notice that there is no app drawer. I was kinda frustrated at first because I couldn't find it, but once I found out that the apps are automatically placed on the homescreen, I just realized how genius that was. No more uncustomizable app drawers. Your apps can be placed wherever you want on the homescreen, Plus, you can group them in folders, unlike the stock Android UI or with my previous Sense UI where you cannot put apps in folders on the app drawer. Sure you can put your apps in folders in the homescreen, but I think MIUI wins here because organizing and finding apps is now easier.

App folders work just like on the iPhone.

And let me just say, how beautiful it is that they removed that ugly rounded box that used to surround application names. With MIUI, you will see a very subtle shadow on the app names, which I think is beautiful.

But what I think is the best benefit of having no app drawer is that when you press and hold an app and drag it to the trash can, it will automatically go to the uninstallation process. It should be that easy when you want to uninstall an app, unlike on Stock Android or Sense UI, where you still need to go to Settings-Applications-Manage Applications.

Uninstalling an app is easy and fast as hell.

Another great thing on the homescreen on the MIUI is that you can have any number of homescreens as you want. For a minimalist like me, this is heaven. I can set my homescreens into just 3, and removing or adding is as simple as clicking an x button or + button on any one of them. But, if you prefer to have dozens of homescreens, YOU CAN. There are no limits here from what I can tell. Plus, you can set anyone of them to be your default homescreen just by pressing the home button on the button of each. You can also drag and move any of these homescreens to the order of your choice. You cannot get these customizations in any of the launchers and UI's out there.

Adding/removing homescreens is a delight.

Last with the homescreens, are the transition effects. These transition effects are like with the ones you get with the LauncherPro, but one thing that is unique I think is the falldown and it is my favorite. You cannot get these screen transition effects on the stock launcher or Sense UI.

NOTIFICATIONS

Notifications is where MIUI also excels at. There are basically 3 panes. Notices, apps, and toggles. On the stock Android or Sense UI, when you swipe down on the notifications bar, you will get only to the notifications screen. On MIUI, they changed that. If you swipe down on the left side, you will go to the notifications pane. If you swipe down on the right side where the indicators are, you will go to the toggles screen. I think that implementation is genius in every way.

Implementation of Notifications on MIUI.

On the notices, this is where all of your notifications go. Next is apps, where it lists your most recently used apps, and guess what. There is a "Kill Apps" button, where it eliminates any need into downloading a task killer. And the last pane is the toggles. I do not know about you, but this is the best toggle settings I have ever used. It has toggles for WiFi, cellular data, screen brightness, and even a toggle for the camera flash!! It is just amazing, where unlike before you need to go to individual settings or apps if you wanted to toggle these.

THEMES

But then the main reason why MIUI exists are the themes -- and there are a plenty of them. Unlike Sense UI, where yes, it has themes, and you can download some, but the customization is very limited as well as the downloadable content. With MIUI, not only a lot of developers are making themes for the MIUI, there are also a lot of customizations you can change.

The Theme Manager App.

Customizing your theme

You can download and manage all of your themes on the "Theme Manager" app. One downside though, is that a lot of themes are named in Chinese. But it doesn't really matter that much when you've implemented them. And one great feature of the Theme Manager is that you can edit your theme. Here, let me list the things that you can change:

BOOT ANIMATION
BOOT AUDIO
WALLPAPER
LOCKSCREEN WALLPAPER
RINGTONE
NOTIFICATION RINGTONE
ALARM
ICONS
FONTS
MESSAGING STYLE

I mean you can change FONTS! There are plenty of downloadable fonts, both online and on the theme manager, and once you clicked apply, you're done! Again, you cannot do this in any other UI's out there. On other roms, changing anything that I listed above you need to flash a .zip file under the custom recovery, and then you need to restart multiple times which is a really slow process.

Anyway, I tried changing the font to Zegoe UI, and it is amazing how fast the change was.

Changing font is so fast.

OTHER CUSTOMIZATIONS

So yeah. By now you can agree that MIUI is by far the superior customization of Android. They changed and tweaked a lot, and it is by far better than my old Sense UI. Not to mention MIUI runs Gingerbread. Anyway, here are some more of MIUI's customizations, which undoubtedly they changed for aesthetics, but also for functionality.

The lockscreen. If you swipe down holding the phone icon, it will redirect to the phone app. If you swipe down with the messaging icon, it will go to the messaging app. It also has a nice animation while you are charging the device.

The music app -- It automatically gather the song's lyrics and album art.


The Calendar App.

Settings. I agree it looks more like the iPhone, but it does well on categorizing your different settings. I definitely prefer this one over the stock settings.

The Camera App

The Keyboard -- It is beautiful and I experience lesser errors using this keyboard. Plus, symbol arrangement is just like with the Windows Phone, so I am really familiar with the arrangement.

Contacts app. Again, iPhonish, but as long as I do not see the green Android's face in here, I am good.

CONCLUSION

So yeah. I hope you enjoyed MIUI's features as I did. I honestly think this is the best Android implementation out there, and for the first time ever, I think that Android is on par, or maybe better looking than Windows Phone. Now that is saying a lot. But MIUI has proven it.

why do engadget and everyone hate the HTC Surround?

2011-04-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

I love my HTC Surround. I think it is the best HTC built device to date. Yes -- I find it more attractive than my HTC Inspire. But my mind is just been boggling about the whole reputation of the Surround throughout the mobile industry. Reviewers and readers alike seem to hate this phone. Engadget in particular, which numerously criticized and poked fun of the device during their podcasts and shows. I love Engadget, no doubt. But if you really love someone, you need to be honest with them.

Anyway, I will present you a comparison with their Surround review and their most recent HTC Arrive review, which is the latest Windows Phone 7 device to launch. Here is their scorecards:

So the HTC Arrive, that came out more than 5 months later after the release of the Surround, got a 7 out of 10, where the Surround's original review 5 months ago only got a point lower. Let us enumerate their pros and cons shall we:

So they both got pros for being well built, which I agree, as HTC makes phones nowadays that do not feel plasticity (ahem Samsung.). Next, the Arrive has a pro on having a Superb keyboard, which doesn't imply on the Surround as it only has a slide out speakers. And last of the pros of the Arrive is that it has a solid battery life. Ok fine. the Arrive beats the Surround in this one as it has 1500mAh compared to just 1230mAh on the Surround.

But then there comes the Arrive's cons. This is the fun part.

First of, it has a mediocre display. The reviewer said it is not a Super LCD, a technology which is found with the Surround. The Arrive also has a 3.6 inch display compared to a bigger 3.8 inch display on the Surround. So yeah. There is no denying here that the Surround is better.

The second con, which is "Windows Phone is still behind competition" (which I strongly disagree) can be implied with the both devices, so we move on.

And last with the Arrive's cons is that it is not a global phone. Well guess what? The Surround is a global phone.

Now we go to the Surround's cons.

Speaker's is not worth the size/weight penalty. -- It maybe true, but then the Surround is thinner and lighter than the Arrive.

Camera doesn't take good pictures -- But then both got 5 megapixels camera, which takes good (but not great) pictures.

No landscape support in software -- This is NOT true at all, as WP7 has landscape support, although not implemented entirely in the OS. But anyway, isn't this more of a con in the Arrive because it does have a landscape keyboard therefore you will use the device more in landscape?

And lastly -- The Surround has better speakers. Sure it will not move a room but it is the best speaker you will find in a smartphone. Comparing my Inspire 4G speaker with my Surround there is no question that the Surround is better.

So yeah. Considering how the Surround was reviewed 5 months ago, and having the Arrive a 7, and their review on the Trophy (it is just like the Surround minus the Speakers and smaller screen) is also 7 -- I honestly think that the HTC Surround deserves an 8. Yes, a point higher than the Arrive as it has better features like a bigger screen, it has Super LCD, better speakers + kickstand, and it is a global phone.

So anyway, that is the end of my rant. Hopefully by now you will know that the Surround a great phone. I may have given you an impression that the Arrive or the Inspire 4G are bad phones, but they are not in any way. The Surround is just better than the two in my opinion, but those phones are going to have a better reputation than the Surround, which saddens me a little bit. I think the Surround just got the bad reputation as it is a unique device, and few appreciate phones that are unique. I mean I think it was also not good before, until I got one.

why I think the DFT Windows Phone Mango update leak is fake.

2011-04-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

"Dark Force Team" is responsible for getting the HD2 run Windows Phone 7, and we thank them for that, but the recent video (around 2:45 mark) that is floating around over Windows Phone 7 websites that is reported to have this search button on the start screen that is rumored to be included in the Windows Phone Mango update, I immediately (well not really, I went for a second look) noticed something.

The first app it listed was "Games" and it contains a significant gap at the top of the device. See, on Windows Phone, the applications on the app list is arranged alphabetically. So I really doubt that "Games" is the first one to be in the list, as Alarms, Calculator, Calendar, and the Camera app are all apps before the letter g and cannot be uninstalled.

And I am not sure why the camera in the end on their video supposedly showed this second device, which is really a good way to fake people into them thinking that they actually noticed something.

Now I could be wrong with all of this, and I am just saying that because I do not want to look stupid if it was actually proven true. Peace out!

Update: Look what Microsoft sent me! The latest Mango build has a + button!!!

update on my thoughs about Windows Phone update process

2011-03-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote a short article about how disappointed I am with the updates on Windows Phone. I said that Windows Phone's update and Android's update is going to be similar. I couldn't be more wrong.

See, I already got the 'NoDo' update. Which I know, isn't yet officially available on AT&T devices. But I got it on a fairly easy hack involving connecting your computer to a VPN in a country of Hungary. And then, the trickiest part of the hack is that you need to have a precise timing for the update to show up. But after all that, Microsoft has a present for you. The NoDo update.

No need for you to flash a ROM, back-up anything, lose your data, and/or going through those root menus that Android users seem to experience if they want to update to a non-carrier supported update.

I also had an idea on my last post. I said that they shouldn't wait for other carriers to do the update. Microsoft should deploy the update to the carriers that already did their work. And guess what -- they are already doing that.

As you can see in this link, the NoDo update is already deployed with T-mobile devices, while AT&T devices are still on testing phase, with a little assurance that it'll be finished in early April. See, what platform has this kind of update system? Android can dream of having a list of every partner carrier they have and provide when is the update coming on their phones. Can you imagine the possibility of all of the Android devices on one carrier being updated to 2.3? I just couldn't. Where on AT&T, no matter how delayed their update will be, all of their Windows Phones will receive the update.

And looking at the chart, including the international ones, I see that almost half of them are delivering the NoDo update. And the rest are going to get it within the next month or so. Now that is incredible. NO WAY similar on how Android is updated. No way that is close.

my thoughts on AT&T and T-Mobile joining.

2011-03-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, a pretty big news was announced by AT&T when they decided that they are going to buy T-mobile for $39 billion. It was shocking for me, and for many others, since Sprint was the one to be rumored to buy the 4th national US carrier. But what is more shocking than that, is that there will be only three major networks in the US.

But it turns out that was not the case. The reason for AT&T's purchase was to enhance their network with the deployment of (real 4G) LTE technology. It means that both AT&T and T-Mobile will share LTE towers that will be covering 95% of the US population.

In anyway I see it, that is a good thing. Not only both carriers are able to reach out to more subscribers with these networks, but theoretically phones that will be released in one carrier could also work with the other. And that, is a smartphone heaven to me.

A lot of people may say that the merge will result to lesser competition, and higher prices. I simply think that will not be the case. I see a small percentage on how the carriers contribute with the new releases or new features from smartphones. Apple, Google, Microsoft and the device vendors are the ones who are really competing, And these companies release many devices accross the carriers they want. The iPhone, which is the only one that is exclusive to AT&T has also chose to be on another network.

And with the worry about higher prices that T-mobile users might face, well I obviously couldn't predict that, but let me use Sprint and Virgin Mobile for example. VM is owned by Sprint, where with Sprint, you get unlimited data & text + 450 call minutes for $70 a month. On Virgin Mobile, you get unlimited data and text + 1200 minutes for $40 a month. So I just hope this will be the strategy of AT&T here.

So that's it. that is my take. I still wouldn't wanna be on a postpaid plan by any of the carriers because they are freaking expensive. I have bought a $25 prepaid GoPhone credit and I still have more than $2 dollars in it and it is already three months. Suck on that monthly contract and plans.

my thoughts on the very much delayed Windows Phone 7 update

2011-03-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Microsoft posted a blog post today on how is the update process with Windows Phone 7. I for one have been quite frustrated on why my February update (which is just a preparation for the real update) has not yet been seen on my HTC Surround, which is already 20 days after it started rolling out with consumers. It is really frustrating, specially we have been hearing this "NoDo" update that includes the copy-paste functionality since December. It's March now, and like an Android device that hasn't been updated to version 2.3, it is long overdue.

I get it Microsoft. 9 devices in 60 mobile operators are plenty. I understand why the device manufacturers needs to get involved, as they are the ones who created the phones. But what I do not understand is the involvement of the mobile operators. Why do they need to get involved with these updates? This paragraph from today's blog states,

This combination makes up our update, which we dispatch to the cellular carriers around the world that sell Windows Phones. The carriers then conduct their own tests to help ensure that the new software works correctly both on their networks and the Windows Phone models they sell.

Aren't the phone models that they sell are the responsibility of the device manufacturers? And I don't understand why do they need to test if copy-paste works with their network? Does improved load times on games, improved marketplace search, and all the included updates affect their network as well? And if they do affect their network, does it really take three months for them to test it out?

But now here's the thing. The latest Windows Phone 7 device, which is the HTC Arrive on Sprint, would already have the copy-paste update. That is unfair for me, as the last one to be in running in the race gets to have the reward. Another thing that is confusing is that the HTC Arrive is the first Windows Phone 7 that will have a CDMA radio in it, which therefore the device should have the update much later, as Microsoft worked with GSM radios before they worked with CDMA.

I wouldn't blame it all on carriers though. As with the February update screwing some Samsung phones, device manufacturers are also to be blamed. With Samsung's track record with updates on Android, which by the way a lot of had been pulled because of crazy issues, I think Samsung just can't update their phones properly. That's the truth and everyone knows that. It's an absolute shame on Samsung's part -- as the Omnia 7 is such an awesome device made by a manufacturer that doesn't know how to do updates.

But one company I applaud, is HTC. Not only they have the highest number of Android phones that was updated in 2010, they also developed amazing software whether it is the Sense UI on Windows Mobile or Android, but also with the HTC apps and the HTC hub on Windows Phone 7. If you own a Windows Phone 7 device that is not made by HTC, I bet you dream of having the HTC hub, don't you? Not only that, as HTC already leaked ROMs containing the copy-paste updates with their WP7 phones. Unfortunately, there is no Surround love, but I blame AT&T for that.

So I guess Windows Phone's update process is a step closer to how Android's update process is. These damn carriers are so lazy to update their phones thus resulting a device to be updated so late. But in Windows Phone's case, ALL of the devices are updated late. I just repeatedly say to my mind that at least all Windows Phone 7 devices will be updated eventually.

But this whole update ordeal is a mess. Here's a million dollar idea, Microsoft. Proceed with the updates sooner. Do not wait for every carrier or manufacturer to give you a go sign to deploy the update. Deploy them to the carrier or manufacturer who tested and approved it. I mean, why would we wait and suffer for an update just because a carrier in that is halfway around the world hasn’t tested the update yet? I think when we update that way, I think carriers and manufacturers will speed up to do their part to stay competitive. We'll also know who's carrier or manufacturer is the laziest to do updates. But I think we already knew that.

HTC Inspire 4G review

2011-03-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Before I begin the review I would like to thank the awesome TechnoBuffalo staff for giving away this awesome device to me. Make sure you visit their site and their YouTube channel to find a lot of great tech news and giveaways. You may never know, maybe one day you'll be the one reviewing stuff that you won from them!! Once again, THANK YOU TECHNOBUFFALO!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, The HTC Inspire 4G. One of the first, or I think the first ever device that sports AT&T’s HSPA+ 4G network. This monster has a 4.3 inch Super LCD display, 1Ghz next generation Snapdragon processor, a mighty 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, and runs Google Android 2.2.

So, does this phone live up to the hype? Or you’re better off with other phones like its more expensive cousin, the Motorola Atrix 4G that is also on AT&T? But more importantly, will this high-end device make a Windows Phone 7 enthusiast turn to the Android side? Well, put on your reading glasses because we’re here to find all of that out!!!

Design and Display

HTC has a reputation of building quality smartphones and it does show on the Inspire 4G. The absolute beauty of the body of the device is made with a uni-body metal alloy that in my opinion, one of the nicest things to touch. The device feels so premium in the hand and it also feels sturdy as well. The metal alloy back does a good job on restricting any fingerprints, as well the soft touch plastic covers, that houses one for the battery, the dual LED flash, and one for the SIM card and the microSD card slot. And yes, the battery cover will be one of the hardest thing you will ever remove in your life. But, fortunately, the SIM and the microSD card slot are the ones you may have to access more often, and opening their cover is way easier than the battery cover, so yeah. It is not the biggest flaw in the world.

The first time I touched the Inspire I couldn't believe how thin it is.Sure it is not iPhone thin, but considering how wide this thing is, it surely feels thin. So thin that HTC had to make the camera bump a little bit just like on the EVO. Not a huge problem when the device is in your pocket but when you're using the Inspire on a flat surface, the device tends to wobble a bit when you press something on the upper part of the screen.

Going to the front of the device, you'll see a a 4.3 inch WVGA display. This display is a monster. I thought I wouldn't notice that much of a difference comparing my 3.8 inch HTC Surround, but it does. It really does make a big difference. But you may be wondering how is the pixel density holding up. Well, the pixels are just as good as with my HTC Surround. You'll know if a device has a bad resolution as texts seams to be blurry on their edges. That is not the case on the Inspire 4G. I think the bigger display makes the the text of course bigger, but also clearer.

One confusion I am going have with my two devices is that HTC placed the lock button on the Surround on the top right, but it placed it on the top left on the Inspire. The volume rocker is now on the other side as well. The Inspire also lacks a dedicated camera button, Not a minus in any way with the Inspire 4G's part, but I kinda hope that HTC would be consistent with the placing of these buttons on their devices (Although I blame Android for not requiring a dedicated camera button!).

Camera

The Inspire 4G's camera is the best mobile camera that I have used so far. Sure it won't replace your DSLR cameras, but it does capture great photos. Take a loot at some shots I did on the slideshow below:

One thing I like about the Inspire 4G, or Android in general, is that the settings are remembered when you exit out of the camera app, unlike where Windows Phone 7 forgets it and sets it to default. Most of the time remembering your settings is a plus, specially for video where you always want it to be 720P, but like where you see on my sample shots where I forgot to set the white balance to default, so some of the shots became to look a little bluish.

You'll see no noise when you capture shots during daytime, but on dark places and during night you'll have some pictures with a lot of grains. No big deal, as today's mobile camera tend to do that.

Battery and Performance

The Inspire 4G's battery has been criticized by a lot of reviewers, but for me having the same milliamp hours with the Surround, I have gotten used to the performance of the battery. I can safely say that it can last you throughout the day with a moderate use. If the battery is less than 15%, you'll have the option to put it on power saving mode, in which for me could last still up to four hours of stand by.

I tested how long the battery will last after a full charge, and it lasted 19 hours before it finally shut down. I did some photos, some fruit ninja action, and my brother watched some YouTube videos. I noticed that watching YouTube drains the battery quicker than any other tasks.

Let's talk about the device's performance. The Inspire 4G sports a newer version of snap dragon, so when I tested it on Quadrant it scored averaging from 1700+. That is much faster than other devices listed on the Quadrant results chart. On Linpack the device scored about 30-50 mflops, slightly higher than what I get on the Surround, which has the older Snapdragon chip. On Neocore, which tests the performance on 3D graphics, the Inspire 4G score a crazy fast 57FPS. That is really fast.

Browsing on the Inspire 4G is a smooth experience as well. I was going to say that Windows Phone trumps every Android with the browser speeds, it does still, but not by a lot. Pinch-to-zoom works without any lag, as well with scrolling up and down.

HTC's Customizations

So I have talked about the browser a bit, but one of the things that HTC has customized with Android is the browser (They call it "Internet"). The most notable change with the browser is that when you pinch out on a page, it'll go to a coverflow-esque mode where you can see all of your recent windows. With the stock Android browser, windows is not that discoverable, so I hugely like what they did here.

Another customization I ~~like~~ love on the Inspire 4G is the music application. Of course it is not as good as the music+videos hub on Windows Phone, but what they did is more like an Apple approach. On the now playing screen, you'll see an album view of your songs, presented in this 3D interface that is really nice looking. An option you can find on the top is the sound enhancement button, where you can choose whether you want a Dolby Digital, or SRS Wow enhancement. I personally prefer SRS over the others, as it gives more bass to the music.

The music app on the Inspire 4G. Sorry for the quality I took it with the Surround!

When you're listening to music while the phone is locked, you'll see the album art of the song, and when you tap it you can skip, or pause the song, just like on Windows Phone 7. I don't think that was a feature on a stock Android. But I could be wrong.

The HTC Sense, which what HTC calls its customization on Android is not just a UI anymore. It has become so much more. I think HTC's customization of Android is the best compared to other companies that are just trying hard to differentiate. HTC's widgets for example, are super good-looking, specially that flip-style clock widget. HTC may also have the most widgets to offer than any other manufacturers out there. A lot of widgets are stored into the device, and a lot can also be downloaded on the HTC Hub (I know, they coined the name obviously from WP7.), but not only widgets, you can also download additional skins(which are not that many right now), wallpapers, sound sets, and ring tones.

HTC Sense extends outside of the Inspire 4G, as you can access HTCSense.com on your desktop. In it, you can ring your phone at full volume, if ever you turned it silent and you can't find it, lock your phone when it got lost, or erase all of your data when it got stolen. You can also locate your phone anywhere in worldwide. Now all of these sounds really good but unfortunately it is not working for me yet. It detects that my phone is somewhere near the seas of Nigeria.

Conclusion

So yeah! I can't tell you enough how awesome this device is. Sure it is not perfect, but what phone is? And I think I have answered all of your questions but one -- Will it replace my Windows Phone? Well, right now I am using the Inspire 4G as my primary device, but I can't imagine losing my Windows Phone. So an answer for that is no. I don't know how will it be in the future, but right now I am an Android and a Windows Phone user -- which is definitely not a bad thing. Definitely not a bad thing.

ANDROID <3 WINDOWS PHONE

for once, please!

Hello there from Inspire 4G

2011-03-08T07:39:00.001-08:00

Just testing how the Blogger app works on the inspire 4g. Here's a picture I took earlier!

my android honeycomb frustration…

2011-03-07T08:20:00.001-08:00

This picture says it all.

Google, if you want to make me happy, let me try and please send me a Xoom. Thanks.

an open letter to Gizmodo

2011-02-20T09:06:00.001-08:00

As a technology enthusiast I know a bunch of technology sites. One site in particular that I visit often is Gizmodo – at least it was until they recently redesigned their site.

First of my problems is the lack of a “support” button, in where supposedly I was going write about my concerns, but since I can’t find one, I decided to publicly write about it instead. I don’t know if a support button existed before the redesign as I didn’t really need it before.

My next problem is the site width. I don’t know if the actual size of the width of the redesigned Gizmodo is smaller, but it really does look smaller compared to the old one. I think the reduction of 1 column definitely affected the whole site experience. The whole site looks a lot like those older sites from the 1990’s, the articles looked a little bit crammed together, and even though they have added some HTML5 capabilities, it just feels old. I guess what I’m saying is, the site feels so static.

I also have a problem with your font selection. Serif? Really? It’s not good when Engadget did it, and it is not good when you did it. We’ve seen tech companies like Apple and Microsoft had moved away from Serif fonts. In my opinion, Serif fonts are a pain in the eye. It’s harder to read them and they look unorganized. Please please move back to san-serif fonts.

And then, here we go with the presentation of the news. Back in the old site, you’ll get a uniformed list of the recent news that contains the headline, a little summary, and a “more” button handy if you want to read it. On the new site, most of the time you’ll be presented with one article up front, whether you want to read it or not it’s the one presented right in front of you. If you want to view the featured picture of that article, you can’t for like 10 seconds, as a flash advertisement covers it and obscures your view. I don’t mind the ads covering some of the featured articles at the top from the old site, I usually think they were artistically made, but now, they really feel like a pain to wait for them to go away.

And with the old site, news were presented chronologically. Right now on your site, I don’t know what are the most recent news, as not only the articles are not listed with dates, but also located on a sidebar, in which most people ignore nowadays because they usually contain ads. The headlines are also presented on a smaller font, and smaller space. And oh, I don’t know why you are giving such importance on tags, as they cover almost 1/4 of the sidebar. Clicking on those tags puts you on the news anyway the same as clicking the headline itself, as opposed to presenting the news having the similar tag with the one you clicked – which is what an average user would assume. All in all, I just don’t want to read the headlines on Gizmodo as I used to. Sure I can go to the classic mode – in which it would be presented on the main pane, but when I visit again next time, that view is gone and I am lost again.

So yeah, Gizmodo. I didn’t like the redesign. Every time I go to my computer to open my browser and check my bookmarked sites, I have skipped you Gizmodo several times. As before I was eager and hungry to be fed with news, it just seems to be a chore and a bad experience going to your site today. I am really frustrated. I want to go back to the experience where going to your site is a joy. Right now it is not, and I’m afraid to continue being this way.

Vote me on TechnoBuffalo HTC Inspire 4g contest!

2011-02-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Please vote me as I became a finalist on TechnoBuffalo HTC Inspire 4G! Please vote for the "TechnoBuffalo Trailer by MichaelJacob02" Thank you!!!

Poll: Shout it From the Mountain Tops! Finalists!

Windows Phone 7 (OS) review

2011-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

Ah, Windows Phone 7. I said it once and I’m going to say it again. This is my dream phone. Ever since I had a Zune I am pretty much in love with what Microsoft has been doing with this typography driven operating system. It has been my inspiration with my designs; as you can see with this blog. So, if you’re a Zune HD owner, a Windows Mobile owner, or a non-Microsoft device owner at all, do you consider on getting a Windows Phone? Well, I hope this review will get your questions answered.

START SCREEN

I thought it was just proper to "start" off the review with the Windows Phone 7’s "start" screen. Yes, it's an equivalent of a home screen, but the same metaphor that Windows have had since Windows 95, when you click on the "Start" button on the taskbar will give you your list of applications. It was later replaced with the recent applications and replaced the word "Start" with just the Windows logo. Same here with Windows Phone 7. You tap the Windows logo and whatever you are doing, it will send you to the start screen.

In the start screen you'll get two panes. Your pinned items, and when you swipe to the right, you'll get your alphabetically organized application list. You can pin almost anything on the start screen - games, apps, documents, artists, websites, and more. Some "tiles" are live; so you'll get some information like miss calls, new email or text, etc. It serves as like your notification system, in a non-intrusive, see-when-you-want-to approach. Because with Android for example, when you get a miss call or a text, the notification will always show up on the top bar of the screen and will always be prone to clutter.

I said you can pin almost anything. That's because there is one thing that you can't pin, and that is, the individual settings. Yes you can pin the "settings" app, but you cannot pin things like brightness settings, wifi settings, airplaine mode, or color scheme settings. Quite annoying at first specially I don't have any data plan so I'm constantly going through the WiFi settings, but now, with the help of homebrew, you can get these settings to be pinned on the start screen. But I didn't change mine yet.As I got used to just having the settings app pinned on the start screen.

Settings pinned on Start Screen.

These pinned tiles are almost like widgets on Android. but their difference is, Tiles are just squares or rectangles, unlike widgets where they have different shapes and sizes. I have no problems with Widgets, but with tiles, you get a uniformed arrangement of your pinned items. Sometimes widgets are really scattered to look at, and that's Microsoft's reason why they decided to limit the flexibility of these tiles.

And it won't be a review if I didn't address the "just one homescreen" that everyone has been complaining about the OS. True, you only get one customizable homescreen, but when I was using Android, I found myself not really using the multiple homescreen feature of Android. On the left, I got the toggle settings widget, on the center I have the Google search widget and some app shortcuts, and on the right I only have, guess what? The Advanced Task Killer widget. Plus, the home homescreens on Android are not scrollable from top to bottom, are they? So technically, you'll get more shortcuts and tiles to the Windows Phone 7's start screen as you can pin unlimited amount of stuff than you could ever do with Android, even if you have 7 or 9 homescreens.

Swipe the start screen to the right -- you'll see the alphabetically arranged application list. There's no Grid view here. Microsoft has made it clear to not use a grid of application icons as that has been quite the norm for mobile OS's today. Which really feels like they've become to look so similar today.

A side note: When my Windows Phone came with all that AT&T clutter on the app list, I was surprised that you can uninstall those apps if you don't want them. Unlike with Android which you cannot do anything with it unless you root your device.

TOP BAR

With Android, the different notifications I talked about earlier on its top bar will not go away unless you pay attention to them. So most of the time you'll have a busy and unnecessarily occupied top bar. With Windows Phone on the other hand, most of the time it will just show the time of the day on the upper right corner. That's it! When you tap on the upper edge of the screen it will show you some icons that are not app-related, but related to the device as a whole. Things like your signal strength, WiFi indicator, battery, and silent mode indicator. Some of these indicators will show up just when there is something going on involving them. For example, when you're charging, the battery icon appears with a charging animation. If the device connects to a wifi, a wifi signal animation appears.

Some people don't like the idea of tapping on top to get these indicators, but honestly though, do you always look at the signal strength, the battery level or the wifi settings? I don't think so. And if you do, they're just a one tap away. I think it would be good to have an ability to always show the indicators to shut up the complainers, but for me, I just love how genius this implementation is that makes your screen look cleaner. Here's a comparison between an Android top bar versus the Windows Phone 7.

See, less clutter and way more beautiful.

LOCK SCREEN

The Windows Phone 7's lock screen is a lot similar on the lock screen of Zune HD's where a background image covering all of the screen and you'll unlock the device with a swipe up gesture. But with WP7, you'll get information about the time, day of the week, the date of the month, and the indicators such as battery, signal, wifi and silent. On the bottom of the screen you'll get your notifications. Your missed calls, unread texts, unread emails (you'll see the icons if it is on Hotmail, Yahoo!, or Gmail.). If you have a calendar appointment coming soon, it'll show up too -- with the complete location information and time details.

The information laid out on the Windows Phone 7's lock screen is far more informative than any of the other mobile operating systems, and yet it feels like it is the simplest and cleanest-looking lock screen from the rest.

NAVIGATION AND USER EXPERIENCE

Navigating and the user interface on Windows Phone 7 is simply put, you'll always feel that it is in motion. Everytime you get out of a screen, you'll see the tiles or items flying in or out on the view. It's not the typical zoom out or zoom in animation that you see with iOS or Android, it is much better. I just realize how important these transition animations to the user experience. For example, when you tap on something on your start screen, the tiles will quickly fly through the left and the item that you tapped is the last one that will move; making you know that that is the item that you tapped. So even though there is an animation effect, it still gave you information. Unlike on iOS or Android, which has these unnecessary zoom in effect.

Another major contributor of a good user experience is a good user interface. I have talked about how ugly mobile operating systems has become and the largest reason for that are those non-evolving UI elements such as buttons, icons, and those gradient or striped backgrounds. On Windows Phone 7, all of that are doesn't exist. The way how Windows Phone 7 was designed to not include gradients, gloss, reflections, shadows and any popular UI elements today, is beyond my understanding on how Microsoft can make the user interface look absolutely beautiful. And instead of having gradient or patterned backgrounds, Windows Phone 7 has usually just has a black or white background. If you're on a hub or an app with a panorama view, you'll have a background COMPLETELY relevant to the app or the hub. These backgrounds also change; meaning you'll not going to be bored with a single and none moving background image.

Windows Phone 7's UI design

When we go to Windows Phone 7's buttons, you'll have icons that is outlined by a circle or a square; for you to know that it is a button. No unnecessary gradient or bubbly effect in to them that is proven to look old over time. Windows Phone 7's Metro UI design language looks simple, clean, classic looking yet modern; kinda like retro. Hey retro and metro!

Small things that they have added to the UI sometimes contribute a lot to the experience. An example for this is that when you tap a tile or a list, the item you pressed will react to the corner you pressed. It's a small thing that makes you feel that the OS sits on a rich 3D environment. But what a surprise for me in the user interface is that how you long-press items. Wait, what? How can someone love long presses? They're a pain! (Or at least what Android people are telling us.) But anyway, on Windows Phone 7, long press is all throughout the platform. If for example, you want to pin an app, delete a message, uninstall an app, you'll need to long press. But what really is a thing to love for with them is how an item reacts when you long press it. When you long press an item on a list, a small line will appear until it reaches the edge of the screen to show the menu available. And you can cancel the long press as long as it didn't touch it. That's an indication from long presses that you don't get with other mobile OS. And then, other items displayed that you didn't tap and hold will be somehow shrink in size and dim a bit; a visual cue that letting you know that the item you pressed is the one that is closer to you.

And I gotta refute what Pocketnow had said about there are 30ish locations where you can tap and hold. I thought that was a little bit misleading, as there's just only 4 UI elements that you can tap and hold. Here's the list:

Tiles
Lists
Backgrounds(on certain apps)
Websites and links

See, way shorter than what Pocketnow had suggested. I think it's automatic when you see these elements, you immediately assume that they can be long-pressed. But if they can't be, then you move on.

KEYBOARD

Portrait and Landscape keyboard in Windows Phone 7.

I probably don't need to tell you how great Windows Phone 7 keyboard is, as I think every review I have read agrees with me. But what is really awesome about the keyboard is how it sounds. There are different tones when you press a key and it's soothing to hear. Sometimes, when I am in silent mode, I feel a little sad to not hear the key sound, so I immediately turn off the silent mode before I begin typing. I think it even helps to minimize errors while you type.

HUBS AND INTEGRATION

Another important feature of Windows Phone are hubs. These hubs are like mini-collection of things that are categorized with one another. Think of hubs as places to visit to. People hub is like a club that you meet people to socialize. The games hub is like a game store where you get your games from. The office hub is like your desk with documents in it. You get the point.

The People Hub

First you have the people hub, in where all of your contacts (Hotmail, Facebook, Yahoo!, Gmail) are in one place. If you synced with your Facebook account, when you go through a person's profile, it will show his/her latest status, friend comments, etc.Of course you can comment on these updates as well as comment directly from the person's wall. This is also similar with the Pictures hub. In the pictures hub, you'll see your captured images and videos from the device, as well as recent photos from friends, and yes, you can comment on them. A great feature of Windows Phone is that your photos uploaded from Facebook and Windows Live are also viewable on this hub and saves you the time into syncing them manually. Think of that as your cloud storage for photos. It really seem that way.

The games hub

Next up is the games hub. I really like the idea of all of your games in one place. Sure you can put games inside a folder on iOS or Android, but in Windows Phone 7, once the app is classified as games, it'll be automatically placed on the games hub. I think it helps a lot to minimize clutter. As for Android, you'll see every game application icon on your app drawer. Which often makes me scroll up or down just to find yourself lost while getting the game application you want.

Also in the games hub is your Xbox Live avatar. I don't have an Xbox so the experience is new to me. I love the idea of having a centralized place to find all of your achievements. But unfortunately, I don't know any friends to boast my profile in the moment as 1; my gamerscore's pretty low and 2; I have no xbox live friends yet. So add me! (MichaelJacob02)

Then there's the marketplace hub. In this hub you get all of your application downloads and updates. You'll also see some of the featured and newest apps and games. But also included in this hub are items on the Zune marketplace. I am kinda wishing that they include movies and tv show purchases as well in the future. Speaking of purchases, when you purchase an app and tried to download it again in the future, you'll no longer be charged again as long as you have the same Windows Live account signed in with the device.

And no, apps on Windows Phone aren't downloadable and syncable via the Zune Software. Yes, you can purchase and make the Zune PC application to install it to your device, but applications are not visible anywhere on the PC software, unlike the Zune HD.

The Music + Videos hub

The next hub is the Music and Videos hub. Here, you'll see all of the media you synced with the device. Your music, videos, and podcasts. You'll also see an image of the last artist that you recently played. Some of the applications can also be viewed in here, such as YouTube and Slackr Radio. Although I love the new interface of the now playing interface, I am missing such features from the Zune HD like the changing artist background (you only get one artist image with Windows Phone) and the screensaver mode. But no biggy, I can honestly say that I have been using my Windows Phone Zune player than my Zune HD.

But what is really missing from Windows Phone is the ability to go into a part of a video instantly. You'll have to press the fast forward button or rewind to get to the part you want. Plus, the overlay of these controls are a little bit too big in there. It often intrudes your video viewing as it covers almost half of the screen.

Windows Phone 7's Video player overlay is too big.

And the last hub is the Microsoft Office hub. Similar with other hubs, this hub has all your office files like documents, powerpoints, and excel files. When you download a document from an email, it'll be automatically be saved and located on the Office hub. Synchronization with SharePoint I am sure is great, although I do not know how to set up one. I am hoping in the future to be able to sync documents through the Zune software.

MULTITASKING, WEB BROWSING, SPEED, AND THIRD PARTY APPS

Right now, Windows Phone lacks a real multitasking. But it does have some sort of multitasking. For one, music playback on the Zune player can be done even when you're on a different application. Plus, throughout the operating system and for some third party apps, it'll let you continue where you are the last time you accessed the application. And, when you're in the start screen, when you press the back button, Windows Phone will send you to your recently opened applications. It's there when you need it, but doesn't bother you when you don't, unlike Android and iOS that needs task killers to free up some space; in Windows Phone, it don't let you worry with that. It gets you to the application you want at the moment, focuses you with that, and then go to another application without even thinking about closing your last app.

I just know that the web browsing experience will be really fast and fluid with Windows Phone as the Zune HD performs so well. I think with the loading times, scrolling, pinching in and out on webpages are faster than any of the other mobile OS. Here's a video proof for that. The guy making the test doesn't even believe with the results.

Talking about speeds. I honestly have not experienced any lag from this device at all. Although with Microsoft's requirement to get at least a 1GHz processor, I think Windows Phones are way more responsive not only during web pages but also on games compared to Android at least. I don't understand why Android is so laggy. Here's a video of the not yet released Motorola Atrix 4g, in which it has a dual core 1 ghz processor and still experiences sluggishness. I think I understand the need for better processors on Android, but I think the 1GHz specification for a Windows Phone will be a standard for a long time.

Thought you'll miss Twitter? Twitter has an official Windows Phone 7 app along with many third party Twitter apps. Most of them are free!

But what do you really need a good processor for? That's right. Applications. Windows Phone 7 might only have 7000+ apps, which is not that bad considering webOS has been here for almost two years now and they only have 5000+ apps and it survived. Windows Phone's three months in the market I can safely say that on the games department -- it has better games than what is offered to Android. I really like "The Harvest", "Fruit Ninja" and "Jame's Patterson's Women's Murder Club" all of which are Xbox live games that has been making me waste time. But there are also free games such as "Ice Ball," "Chicks'n'Vixens" and "Swipy Man" has been making me not do my work as well.

CONCLUSION

So, Is Windows Phone 7 good for you? Well, one thing's for sure. It is good for me. It's not perfect, as you read, but the only person who can tell if you would really enjoy a Windows Phone is you. If you are impressed with it, then get one. You can always return it if you don't like it. I'm sure you'll be in the spotlight and be envied by friends if you decided to.

HTC Surround review: Goodbye, Android!

2011-01-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well here it is guys, my first ever Windows Phone device, the HTC Surround. I got it yesterday and so far, I am obviously loving it.

But before I review the device, let me just talk about how I got the device a little bit. As you may have probably know, last month I just had a Samsung Intercept, an Android device, which on my review I ended up saying, screw Windows Phone for now, Android ftw. But after a month of using the Intercept I found myself in a really uncomfortable place not only with the Intercept's low specs, but also with the Android OS. I said I wasn't too bothered by the low resolution screen (and odd 240x400 resolution) but everyday my experience just got worse. Angry Birds for instance looks crap, Swype won't work because the res is not supported, and Pandora's displaying the album arts with wrong aspect ratio. I may not be that keen on pixel density, but I am on aspect ratios.

So I decided to look on eBay for cheap Windows Phone 7 devices. I was wanting to buy the Samsung Focus, because it is thin and the highest praised Windows Phone in the US, but I couldn't win on bidding wars because most of the devices got sold for more than $350. I also looked for the LG Quantum, but again, no luck. I didn't intend to buy an HTC Surround because of bad reviews I read online, and I think that's why less people bid on it on eBay, so I got one successfully for $310. Which is cheap enough because if you buy one without contract on AT&T it would be $499.

After I received the Surround yesterday, I immediately went to Sprint and returned their Intercept to get my $250 money back. And now here I am, reviewing the HTC Surround!

Ok, let me review the technical specifications of the phone first. The HTC Surround is one of the launch devices of Microsoft's reboot OS, Windows Phone 7. The unique feature of the Surround is that it has a sliding Yamaha speakers that will also reveal a kickstand that is really useful if one wants to watch a video, hands free. It also has a 5 megapixel camera with flash, 16GB of storage (other websites say it's only 8, they're obviously wrong), 448MB of ROM and 512 of RAM. The Surround sports a 3.8 inch capacitive touchscreen, 1Ghz processor, and a 480x800 screen resolution.

BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN

I honestly thought that the Samsung Focus was the best Windows Phone device in the US, until I looked at the HTC Surround. A lot of reviews said that the Focus has a plasticky feel in it, and that is not the case with the Surround.

As you can see from the image above (compared with Samsung Intercept), it is the better looking device. The Surround also looks and feels sturdier than most devices. It is one of the heavier Windows Phone 7 devices, but honestly, I don't really mind at all. At 58 ounces, it makes the device to feel like a bad-ass phone, and feels like a premium device. PhoneArena had a comparison with the HTC Surround and the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4 looks really ugly, small, and full of bezel when it is next with the surround.

Engadget complained about the device's thickness a lot, saying that the extra thickness that the sliding speakers is not worth it. I completely disagree with them as the HTC Surround is the second thinnest device in my household. It's thinner than the Palm Pre, the touch Pro 2, and the now gone, Samsung Intercept. Here are the comparison on with these devices along with the really thin Zune HD:

DISPLAY

I like to compare the HTC Surround to the Samsung Focus a lot, because I really originally wanted the Focus. The major feature I like with the Focus is its Super AMOLED display, where in the Surround the display is only Super LCD. But when I went to the AT&T store yesterday to get a SIM Card (they call them "chip"), there's a Samsung Focus on display and decided to check it out. I immediately see the difference between the two displays. Sure, the Focus has some more deep blacks and presents more saturated colors with pictures, but there is a one major abnormality that I found on the Focus screen. There are these weird coloring on the edges of the texts. It's visible every time you are in a black background on white text, which is most of the time you are in on Windows Phone 7. You might think that making the background white will solve the problem, but no. I find the screen dimming by itself sometimes, and you'll obviously drain the battery more quickly when using white background on a SAMOLED display. Here's a comparison shot of what I am talking about when you look at the screen close up, and notice the strange coloring on the edges of the text with the Samsung Focus:

So I am now happy with the HTC Surround's display. It doesn't have that weird coloring that the Focus have. I can imagine it also performs better on Sunlight than AMOLED displays. I'm also amazed how crisp and smooth texts are on the 3.8 inch display. Segoe WP is so handsome looking in this device and the obvious big texts are obviously awesome, but for smallest texts as well. Take a look at the title of the option menus below and notice no matter how small the texts are, they're still visible:

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life on the Surround has been said to not perform well. Coming from the Samsung Intercept, with a 1500 mAh battery compared with the Surround's 1280 mAh, I can say that the battery life performs about just the same. I opened the device yesterday for the first time, and without charging, It lasted till nightime with my serious usage of the device. I charged it fully yesterday night, removed it, played The Harvest and other 3D games, Wi-Fi on the whole night, and today I played some loud speaker in it, and still has less than half battery. I couldn't say it is the best battery life out there, but it will just perform ok on a daily basis. Battery life is not an issue for me at the moment, as I am always at home, and I can just simply plug it in on my laptop.\

SPEAKERS

The sliding speakers on the other hand, is a disappointment. I mean, sure it is better sounding and louder than any other smartphones, but the Dolby Mobile and SRS logos in the back are misleading and they are in no way in comparison with other dedicated speakers that can be bought with these companies.

But with that problem it is not stopping me to use this device to play music while I am in the bathroom, in the car, or in any other place that I want to listen music to.

CONCLUSION

I love the HTC Surround in many ways like its design, built quality, and the display. Although I hope they could have added extra milliamp hours on the battery, but that is just a minor thing. I also wouldn't miss a landscape keyboard which I used to have with the Intercept because of Windows Phone 7's excellent on screen keyboard. Speaking of Windows Phone 7, I really love how smooth and fast all things are. I may or may not review the software in the future, but right now, all I can say is I love it. I don't miss Android one bit.

my wishes and ideas for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 updates

2011-01-04T15:37:00.001-08:00

The Microsoft’s CES keynote will be kicking off tomorrow, and everyone is speculating about what the company has been working on with Windows Phone. Here I give you my 7 wishes and predictions that I am hoping Microsoft will grant its Windows Phone users in 2011.

COPY/PASTE
Since the rumors of Windows Phone 7 not having a copy past feature, they have been criticized numerously by users and technology websites all over the interwebs. I remember Microsoft’s tone during those time, in where they defended not having copy/paste because users don’t really do that. But months later during the launch keynote, Joe Belfiore specifically mentioned that copy/paste is coming the first half of 2011. So there you go. I don’t even have to wish that anymore. Copy/Paste is coming to Windows Phone 7. Here is an early sample video on how it may be implemented:

I think it looks odd at the moment, but I’m sure Microsoft had already tweaked it to be more efficient and feel part of the whole OS.

MULTITASKING

Other complaints from reviewers is the lack of multitasking with Windows Phone 7. Microsoft says that they’re still figuring out how to efficiently implement multitasking on their mobile OS.

Well here are some ideas Microsoft. I think Palm webOS’s implementation of multitasking with their live view cards, are really going to drain the phone’s battery. Plus, I find the experience of always having an open card within webOS is a little bit discomforting, and I always close every other application that I didn’t notice that is still open. So I think implementing this kind of multitasking is out of the question for Microsoft.

So I think the way how multitasking work on Windows Phone is more like how Android/iPhone implements multitasking. With iPhone, you press the home button twice and the icons of the open applications will be presented in the lower portion of the screen. On Android, you press and hold the home button and 8 icons of your most recently used applications will pop up on the screen.

Since the back button on WP7 devices when you’re in the start screen will send you to your most recent app, I think pressing and holding the back button is just appropriate if a user wants to view his/her open applications. What I want Microsoft to do is just have open applications to show, not the most recent ones. I think users are smart enough to know what application they’re using if they got lost. Either add an x button to close an app (just like on the browser) or as usual, press and hold to close. It would also be nice if there’s a menu available via the pull up menu to access settings, close all applications, and see resource usage. Here are some photoshops that I made on how multitasking will be like:

LANDSCAPE MODE

Windows Phone 7 supports some landscape orientation, but a lot of reviewers complained about not having a landscape orientation 90% of the OS (says Engadget). I for one don’t mind it, so this one is for you, reviewers.

For the start screen to have a landscape support I think they have no choice but to do what I did below. If Microsoft decides to rotate the whole thing (meaning only 2 tiles can be completely viewable). And instead of swiping right to get to the app list, The user is now going to swipe to the top.

I really can’t think of a better way to implement the app list on landscape mode, but put the icons like this below. You can’t swipe down because it is your live tiles, so you’re swiping left or right now to find your apps.

I’m curious how Microsoft will implement landscape mode on WP7. I hope they will have a better idea than mine. Anyway, here’s another render for a landscape mode on the Zune player;

RESIZABLE LIVE TILES

And last on my wishes for the Windows Phone 7 update is the ability to resize live tiles. Aaron from Phonedog repeatedly complains about this when he reviews a WP7 device, so I am really hoping that Microsoft will finally add this feature so he can stop saying it.

Anyway, resizing the tiles can be done horizontally or vertically, however you want it. I tried making some half sized tiles, and they don’t look good. So the smallest of the tile can be is today’s square live tile. Including the photos or the calendar that today occupies 2 tiles can be shrinked into a square tile. Universally shrinking the tiles so that we can add a third or a forth tile in the first row. But that is a little too much don’t you think?

THE REST
I really hope Microsoft would surprise us tomorrow. Like for example, unveiling of Windows Phone 7 tablets, added feature like front facing cameras, gyroscopes, and games like Angry Birds, or Infinity Blade. I also don’t want to stop wishing that they’ll update the Zune HD to be compatible with Windows Phone 7. But I doubt that will happen.

So do you have anymore ideas/predictions/updates on the keynote tomorrow? Feel free to comment yours!

operating systems are destined to become ugly; even on mobile

2011-01-01T12:55:00.001-08:00

Along with hardware, operating systems are the one you consider when choosing a device, whether it is a desktop, laptop, tablet, or a mobile phone. You’ll spend most of your time on that device looking on that operating system more than you will on the hardware, so I think operating systems are more important. Software companies are responsible for the user experience on these devices, and users often want newer, better, and faster experience. And these software companies do update their operating systems, and do bring new functionalities, but over time, these operating systems will start to feel like a messy, unorganized, and inconsistent piece of software.

Windows 7 is a great example. I love Windows 7 don’t get me wrong, I really do, and I don’t use a mac, but no matter how new Microsoft tells us Windows 7 is, which is true by the way, they changed many stuff, there are still some instances where you’ll find old icons and menus that were made way back 15 years ago. Long Zheng started a taskforce to notice these old icons and graphics that helped Microsoft to update from Vista to Windows 7. But old icons still exist today on Windows 7, and yet another taskforce was made in attempt to fully update the upcoming Windows version or update.

In the mobile space, icons are somewhat younger compared to the desktop operating systems. But the iPhone icons for example. Maybe four years ago, the rounded and glossy icons maybe cute before, but today for me they really look ugly and fat, and trying too hard. But what I like about the icons on iOS is that their shape is uniformed, unlike with other mobile OS’s like Android and webOs, where they allow different shapes of icons, those tend to look more messy in my eye. But what’s new in the market today is Windows Phone 7, where iconography is presented with a single color square with a simple icon on it, and are not presented on a grid. I obviously prefer Windows Phone 7’s icons over the other platforms, but it is hard to admit that maybe someday, they will also look outdated.

But icons are not the only problem. In fact, icons are in a way easier to implement than having a different feel into the operating systems. I’m not quite sure on how to explain this, but I’m just going to give you an example. I don’t think that any of the modern mobile operating systems are going to change their system fonts anytime soon, right? Plus, the way transitions are implemented, like the zoom in and out when you go to an application that can be found on iOS and Android, are really getting old. Take a look at this chart below for further examples:

So yeah. I bet these elements of the UI from these mobile operating systems are not going away anytime soon. I mean it is nice the first time you look at these designs, but specially for Android (which I am using for less than a month), I can honestly say that I am tired of seeing that gray app title. It is just so ugly.
That’s why I think Windows XP was so popular back then, because for the first time in 7 years from Windows 95, Microsoft change the appearance of Windows. It was also exciting when Vista was shown to people for the first time with those new awesome looking folder icons that shows your recent documents.
But the problem with Windows is that, we technically still have the same functionality of a desktop since Windows 95. Here’s a desktop from back then, with my current desktop:

A lot has changed, yes, but it is basically the same. You still have a desktop, a start menu, taskbar, and icons. That was the same problem that Microsoft faced with Windows Mobile. I remember back in 2003, there was a phone released in my country that was so popular and had Windows Mobile 2003 in it. Make it 7 years later, and Microsoft introduced Windows Mobile 6.5, in where how much Microsoft tried to modernize its operating system, you will still see old user interface designs on it, take a look at the settings on Windows Mobile for example:

SO WHAT COULD BE THE FIX?

Well, the easiest answer is a complete reboot of the operating system just like what Microsoft did with Windows Phone. I think that’s the only move to not only make underdog companies (or dying companies) compete with the more modern platforms but to make users satisfied as well (yes, I’m looking at you, RIM!).

But other than a completely different new operating system, I think the operating systems are forever doomed to have an ugly and outdated element on their platforms. I’m sure iOS and Android and other OS’s will continue to grow and have more and more apps with the coming years, but it will never be forever.

But who would really know what will happen?

a phone from the past: Sony Ericsson P910i

2010-12-18T10:53:00.001-08:00

Being an Apple hater made me love things irrationally. Some of them are simple interfaces, pixilated displays, and here’s the latest one, the Sony Ericsson P910i. Why do I love the P910i you say? It’s because it was one of the first phone to have a big touch screen on it (well, if you remove that obstructive folding keypad) that debunked the claim that Apple started these kind of form factors.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this phone earlier this week, and I planned to do a video regarding its user interface, but no, I tried charging it, but it won’t work. It won’t boot up anymore. Bummer, right?
It was a premium phone back then, 2004 to be exact. It only has a VGA camera, which is a decent resolution that time. It runs at 156Mhz processor and with 64MB of RAM. Don’t you just miss when these kinds of specs don’t matter to a phone?

I decided to compare it with my Samsung Intercept. Being a high-end phone back then, it is quite unfair to compare it to a mid-range phone today. But you’ll know enough on how far we’ve come today.

I can’t stress the fact that the Samsung Intercept is only a mid-range phone today, but still, it outperformed the P910i in every aspects. It’s also lighter and smaller, compared to the P910i, but the Intercept already includes a slide out keyboard. Take a look: at them along with the Zune HD:

Samsung Intercept (Virgin Mobile) review

2010-12-09T10:05:00.001-08:00

Here’s my second device review so far from this blog, and this time, I have the Samsung Intercept for Virgin Mobile. It is $249.99 without contract, which is always good as it means you will not be locked down for two years on one carrier. Another great thing about this is that you are not required to pay every month, I talked to a Virgin Mobile representative yesterday and she said that I have 90 days before I need to top up my account again.

Another cool thing about having Virgin Mobile is that you can get as low as a $25 plan. That $25 will give you unlimited text and data, and 300 minutes.

So, enough with that, let’s get on with the review of the device after the break!

Design

I think the Samsung Intercept is one of the better designed Android phones out there. In my taste, it is definitely better looking than the Evo 4G, Optimus S, and on par with Samsung’s Galaxy S line.

In the front, you’ll see a 3.2 inch touchscreen, a low-res screen (only WQVGA), and below that you’ll see four capacitive buttons, and below those buttons are three hard buttons, the call button, the trackpad, and the end call/wake/power key. I was a little confused with the power key at first, because from my old phones before, this key will take to to the home screen if you’re anywhere on your phone. Pressing the end key on this device anywhere will turn off the screen. On more common Android phones, this button is usually placed on the sides or at the top of the device, but with the intercept, it is the power key. These buttons by the way are rested on a brushed-metal like plastic, which I think is the best feature on the design. I wish they could have made the device with this finish.

But what they’ve done with the back though is not that bad. The back has a matte finish plastic which is really soft to touch, and what is surprising about the back is that I thought the Samsung Nexus S is the first one that had what the Engadget editors call as a “back booty”, but it turns out that the Intercept also has one. I think it was made to raise the speakers a little bit, so that sound coming through it will not be blocked when rested.

Keyboard

The Intercept’s keyboard is spacious enough, although they don’t feel that good to type on, specially the lower row keys, and specifically the small space key that is oddly paced between the V and the B. I honestly am still getting used to the arrangement of the keys because at the moment, they are not where I want them to be, and I sometime prefer the on screen keyboard.

But I have seen and used worse keyboards over the years and this is not in any way the worst.

Performance

Not really being a high end phone, the performance on this device is not really the best, but is not that bad. I have played with Angry Birds with this device and sometimes it runs smoothly, but other times it just is plain unplayable. I also changed the launcher to LauncherPro and have enabled the 3D drawer, and runs surprisingly smooth, as this device only can run Quadrant’s 3D benchmark at 4FPS.

Loading websites on the browser is also not laggy, pinch to zoom works on desktop sites, but for sites that is formatted for mobile, you actually can’t zoom in anymore. Not really an issue, but something I noticed.

Regarding the Intercept’s low-res screen, if the pixel density is an importance, then this device is not for you. I for one is not really bothered, I really didn’t even know that it was only WQVGA until I looked it up.

Conclusion

I know how I am ranting about how I want to have a Windows Phone so bad, but I’m quite happy to own an Android phone for now, and just wonder how mature the operating system really is. I’m still figuring out what are the apps to download, how to root the device, and side load applications. And by the time when I think Windows Phone 7 is already mature enough (and affordable enough), then I am ready to switch. But for now, Android FTW!!!

ConsumerReports lies about Xbox 360’s pricing

2010-12-06T18:38:00.001-08:00

I used to trust ConsumerReports.org, but their rundown of pricing of video game consoles are just plain wrong. Around the 3:50 mark on the video below, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

So here’s their listing on prices:

XBOX 360 – $300

Wireless controller – $50

Gold Subscription – $50

Games – $50-60

Kinect $150

TOTAL $690

PLAYSTATION 3 – $300

Wireless controller – $55

Games – $50 – 60

Move – $50

TOTAL $465

Literally after they said that the Move costs $50 dollars I said, “WHAT!!!!”

OK, now here’s the truth.

The older generation XBOX 260 can be priced for as low as $120 nowadays. That $300 they said is priced on the 250GB new generation XBOX 360, or a 4GB console with the Kinect ALREADY bundled. So you can already remove the $150 Kinect on the list there.

Both XBOX and Playstation offer paid and free online service. I wonder why they didn’t include the Playstation Network Plus on the pricing for the Playstation 3, but included the Xbox one.

Next is the Move. The move if bundled with the PS3 will cost $400. OMG! $50 dollars less if you bought it separate! It’s stupid right? Anyway, the Playstation Move actually costs $100. It includes the eyesomething camera and one (yes one) Move motion controller. It doesn’t even include a nunchuck (they call it navigation controller). Which costs you for another $30. What is that $50 that they say the move cost? It’s the price of the motion controller alone, which will be useless if you don’t have the camera.

…but…

YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER CONTROLLER! So, those additions they added are just plain wrong. Of course you know that it’ll cost more if you buy more stuff.

So here’s the true and bias-less chart of the prices:

You notice there are no games there, because you’ll not going to buy a game once, you’ll buy games many times. I don’t see why you should add a price for games, and by the way, game prices vary. THEY GET CHEAPER OVER TIME!

Take this ConsumerReports! XBOX 360 is not $225 more expensive than the PlayStation 3! I once trusted you during that “We don’t recommend the iPhone 4,” but turns out, in this case, consumers will get wrong information from you, which is really sad for a website name that has ‘consumer’ in it.

Let me just clarify that you don’t need the extra accessories. I’m definitely good with the good old $120 Xbox 360. You now know what I want for, err, the gift giving celebration they do on December 25. I’m an atheist.

the terror of losing your data must read

2010-11-25T10:46:00.001-08:00

I’ve got the Asus G51JX for a few months now, and you know that I love it. But problems with it started I think about a two months ago, where I had my very first blue screen of death.

I know I’ve said to my review that I haven’t experienced one, but when I finally did, I thought, no biggie, I mean, my computer experienced a blue screen, like any other computers out there.

Second blue screen happened. I still think that it is normal, as maybe I need to clean up files and delete some unnecessary processes. So I did. multiple times.

But then the blue screen were still happening. From once a week, it happened twice a week, then almost everyday, to more than one per day. I know something is going on, but I still not worrying about it as blue screens interrupt me maximum of 5 minutes of my time.

Although now writing and thinking about it, I really had so many blue screens. My memory is filled with blue-colored darkness.

Anyway, most of the blue screens I got are pretty normal ones (if there’s any), but what I’m saying is, they all looked like this:

Usually when this happens I usually get an unresponsive system first, where you can’t click anything, and then the blue screen will appear.

But I got this error one time which is pretty unusual. It just says, “STOP: Unknown hard error.”

This instance I got no warning that it will happen. It just displayed this and about a few seconds it restarted itself. I said, well that’s strange. But my system got back normal.

The second time this happened was yesterday. Oh yes, here we go. I was watching some National Geographic special that tackles something about our brains listening to music, and that Stop: Unknow Hard Error happened.

It restarted, but then guess what? It is stuck on a blinking cursor. It’s not going anywhere.
Ctrl+Alt+Deleted multiple times nothing happened! It’s always stuck there. I know I had to do something, but I wasn’t that nervous, I don’t know why, but I am sure that I am not going to lose all of my data.

My first guess of why this is happening is one of the parts inside my laptop got loose, or worse, got fried. I searched for a screw driver and opened the back of my laptop. It’s my first time opening my laptop, and it’s interesting that I found some adhesive tape in there to make the wires running around in tact. It’s not that ugly, but it’s not that pretty as well. Made me question ASUS’s build practices a little bit, because I’m sure you’re not going to see that on a Macbook. (Yes, I just praised an Apple product.)

But anyway, no. I see no signs of burnt parts or anything, I removed some parts like the ram and hdd and put them back again.

I rebooted, and then nothing happened. I am seriously in trouble.
What I did next is I put the Asus recovery CD, hoping that jut some boot file was deleted on the machine. I am surprised to see that there is no repair options on the Asus recovery CD!

So I spent hours trying to find a Windows 7 DVD inside our house. Some DVD’s are incompatible with my laptop, and when I got the same version of Windows 7 repair disc that I burned with my mom’s computer, it says that it couldn’t identify what the problem was. Great!

I was left with no choice but to remove my hard disk and put it on a desktop and perform some back up. I’ve got 100GB+ of data on my hard drive (minus programs) and it was really frustrating how long it took to back up those files.

When I was on my way of backing up the files, the computer that I was using detected a threat. It was called “Trojan:DOS/Alureon.A.” Microsoft Security Essentials wanted me to restart, so I did, but then after I restarted it appeared again. I am confused what to do, I ignored it, as MSE has suspended me anyway.
After I removed my hard drive, get this, that malware didn’t show up. So I’m pretty sure that it is the cause of why my computer doesn’t boot up.
Further research of this trojan I found out that it can, in fact, cause blue screens of death. According to wikipedia:

Microsoft has confirmed that Alureon is the cause of a series of BSoD problems on Microsoft Windows systems which were triggered by Patch Tuesday update MS10-015.Microsoft will not install the patch on these systems.

It then made clear to me that this was the cause of my computer not booting because just recently, it evolved to something that can edit the master boot record. Here’s a bit of the article reporting about Alureon:

According to research published on Monday by GFI Software, the latest TDL4 installation penetrates 64-bit versions of Windows by bypassing the OS's kernel mode code signing policy, which is designed to allow drivers to be installed only when they have been digitally signed by a trusted source. The rootkit achieves this feat by attaching itself to the master boot record in a hard drive's bowels and changing the machine's boot options.

So after all of that, I got relieved that it was just a trojan. Because that means that I don’t have to buy a new hardware for my laptop. But still, the experience I had was really scary, specially now I did I fresh install and it would take days to make my computer the way it was.

Anyway, I hope that I have informed you to be careful, and be aware of this malware. I definitely have increased my User Account Control from now on, and maybe those warning boxes can be annoying, but it makes me safer, and I can deal with that.

Project TRANSPORT world premiere with exclusive blooper reel!

2010-11-16T20:42:00.001-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen… I present you:

CLICK HERE or the image to view the video!

So what do you guys think? Is it good? Is it bad? Tell me in the comments!

Anyway, as I have said, this is the most epic project I have ever done in my whole entire life! I think this comes close to a lightly produced small budget film!

As I have said a million times, I could have never done this without my group mates. They are so amazing, and supportive, and 100% hard working.

So, Did I create those 3D scenes and logos? Well of course I did! But I had some help. You can see some of the tutorials I found on the internet that is listed on the credits.

As you can see from the bonus EXCLUSIVE blooper reel after the break, it’s also the first time I used a green screen, It’s so awesome to get video overlays on them, they look really cool.

When I presented the final composition with my group mates, It was really awesome. Of course they loved it as much as I do. But when we presented it in the class, well, not so much.

See, I was hoping that this sentence from our professor, “The presentations are really great, everyone.” would be followed by, “Specially Project TRANSPORT.” But he didn’t. Because of the three groups, we’re the only one who did a video presentation, other two just being a discussion with a PowerPoint.

After our presentation one of my classmate asked, “Did I hear ‘pilotless aircraft? na-ah!” She also said that we will have trouble selling it to people, if it was ever made. I told her that the technology is already existing, and it is possible for the future. But what I could have said is, “Are you afraid of getting on a cable car? a roller coaster? those water rides on theme parks? I mean all of these technologies seem like they don’t have drivers on them, but people trust them! I’m sure the only way to move forward is to be on air!”

She continued, “Simpler controls for a pilot maybe, but pilotless?” I could also have said that maybe on earlier versions of the CQ-1 it will have pilots. But why would our presentation be on that stage where we could already dream of an aircraft that is pilotless? Plus, CQ-1 will have people on board, doing what a pilot could have been “simply” doing such as telling the aircraft where to go, and where to land.

By the way, the CQ-1’s concept is not my idea. My idea was only for the Drivers and the consumers part. It is included our presentation so I am defending it. There, I said it.

Anyway, the other 2 groups’ presentations were. (1) about some kind of device to modify human brain. I don’t know much about it as they’ve talked 10 slides out of 13 about problems of the brain or something. (2) A device made for kids with different brain boosting applications. It is 7 inch touch screen (no word if capacitive or resistive, so don’t know about multitouch), 1600x1200 resolution (high, but why not just make it 720p or 1080p?), it has a stylus (oh, so maybe it is resistive? ) and it auto detects 800x480 resolution (huh?) And get this, 8-32 GB memory.

But anyway, I think we really made a great job for our presentation. We were asked to grade other group’s work, but I said to our professor that we should all have perfect scores for our effort, but he didn’t want to accept it. Now I depend on my grade to our competitors.

Anyway, here’s my promised MichaelJacob.net-only viewable bloopers!

Don’t forget to comment, and share this to your friends!

Please dislike my logo submission on “How Low Can Your Logo?”

2010-11-16T18:23:00.001-08:00

Long Zheng twitted about this site that has a competition to make the worst logo for a company. I submitted one, and right now it is the third most disliked logo. Please dislike it so that we can make it as number 1!

To take a look at it, please Click here and DISLIKE!!!

UPDATE: The current number one offered some prizes if he win, I’m not going to do that. Please dislike mine if you really think that it is bad, and if you don’t, then vote others. I honestly voted for others that I think are really bad. Not that they matter, because judges are going to pick the winner. But even though I didn’t win, the dislikes that I got I think are way better than the prizes. Thank you al for the dislikes!

“The Gadget Blog” trailer (Parody) UPDATE

2010-11-13T23:17:00.001-08:00

So the latest Engadget Podcast talked about rumored Nexus S and Josh, Nilay, and Paul told the story on how they had exclusive scoops on the device. They then talked about creating a movie about it based on The Social Network, and quickly I though it would be funny to create a mock poster like the one they did on The Social Network. I eventually trashed my unfinished work and decided not to pursue it. Until Josh tweeted that someone actually did it.

Challenged by that commenter, I said to myself that I’m gonna make a parody trailer!!! Here it is! Hope the engadget gang will notice it! What would really be an honor is that if they even make this as a post! That would be awesome!

UPDATE: Nov 14th 2010 2:43PM, That’s the time that Engadget posted this on their site. I feel so awesome right now. Thank you Engadget.

project TRANSPORT preview

2010-11-05T21:35:00.001-07:00

Project TRANSPORT is definitely my most epic assignment that I have ever made in my whole life. I’m lucky enough to work with my fellow classmates that are so awesome while we were creating this masterpiece.

Presentations are on November 10 (I said 11th on the video), so I am uploading it that day, or sooner, if we are given permission to present early then I can upload it on November 8th.

But in the mean time, here’s a very short sneak peek on Project TRANSPORT!

Apple’s argument against putting a touchscreen on their latest macbooks.

2010-10-21T10:07:00.001-07:00

You heard it from Steve Jobs, you heard it from Phil Schiller (who has an incredibly large, err, zit in the face?") that no, they will not be implementing touchscreens in their MacBooks because they said it is uncomfortable.

uhmmm??

I think that is not the case. In Windows 7, touch is enabled as long as you have a hardware that supports touch inputs. We own an HP TM2 tablet, and Windows 7 and touch gestures works just fine. Of course it is not perfect, you’ll find some items that are quite little to touch, and some inconsistencies with the whole experience. But all in all, it is there, and I find having a touchscreen on a desktop operating system quite useful, for example, closing a window is faster, because you don’t need to find the mouse pointer, as well as scrolling through webpages, zooming in photos, maps, and as simple as playing touch based games.

It is no way uncomfortable, and I find having a touchscreen efficient in the long run, in contrast with Steve Jobs saying that it isn’t.

What really is the case with Apple I think is that they are lazy. They don’t want, or they don’t know how to modify their Mac OS to be touchscreen friendly. OR they don’t want to add a touchscreen because they don’t want to lessen their at least $500 profit on every $999 Macbook Air. But in the end, it’s a classic Apple behavior, in which they have an elegant excuse into not implementing stuff in their devices. Photons Steve Jobs, Photons. That’s all that matters.

delving into our new dslr.

2010-10-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

Ok, I have now entered into the world of professional photographer’s world. Until I read in Wikipedia that what we bought is used by amateurs, students, and hobbyist photographers.

Oh come on!!!

But anyway, I used it for a bit this morning, shooting anything that I can, and for the most part, I love it. I’m pretty much more interested video capture, and depth of field, and that’s what you will see in the video.

I didn’t change the settings at first, so I recorded it on 720p, instead of 1080p.

coming out as an atheist in school

2010-09-30T05:13:00.001-07:00

Recently in my political science class, we we’re talking about republicans and democrats. My teacher first asked us if we are in favor of not tolerating prayers in school. A lot of us raised our hands. Next question was about abortion. A lot of us also raised our hands saying we’re supporting it.

Abortion for me is still morally wrong, because you’re killing someone. I still stand on my old opinion that if you don’t want a baby, use protection. But then some people may realize that they were too late. I now understand that they might not have the ability to support one’s life, that’s why they chose it. Plus, the earth is overpopulated enough.

The next question was about gay marriage. A lot of us also supported gay marriage but some were against it. I mean, how could you restrict someone from being with someone they love? They’re not doing anything to you, why don’t you want them to be happy? You might say that god doesn’t want them to get married, but then, why would god create them in the first place?

Then after those questions my teacher discussed about some democrats secretly agrees with republican views. And then I don’t remember what lead the discussion for her to ask, “Is there anyone here that is an atheist?”

After she asked that I heard some laughter. I kinda hesitated for a quarter of a second not to raise my hand, but I did. Then there was a quick awkward silence, or maybe I just died a little.

After I raised my hands my heart was really beating so loud. I never really did came out to a group of people before. I was so nervous that I couldn’t speak. I could have asked to the people who laughed, “what’s wrong with being an atheist!”

I was also surprised that I was the only atheist in class. I mean, majority of people were anti-prayers and pro-gay marriage, so there’s some kind of hope there, but no. Well, that tells me one thing. Americans were more open minded than I thought. Compared to Filipinos! :)

I was also surprised that I am a freaking democrat. If I could vote.

mac os and their windows counterparts

2010-09-25T17:12:00.001-07:00

I’ve had a mac on a VMWare for a while now, and I just decided to compare it to Windows. Not being biased, I will not comment on anything, I will just say what they are.

Mac Finder.

Vs. Windows Explorer.

iTunes.

Zune. (I picked a tab that is empty because I don’t have any song on the iTunes, so I thought that would be unfair.)

Safari.

Internet Explorer. (same to zune, I can’t get the network to work on the Mac, so I disconnected myself for a sec.)

So what do you think? Apple’s been bashing Windows since I ever heard of the company, and honestly, it’s just with one’s opinion. And with me saying that, I meant, WINDOWS FTW!!!

Internet Explorer 9 site update + custom LS logo Windows Start Orb

2010-09-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, you are seeing it correctly. MichaelJacob.net is now fully compatible with Internet Explorer 9 beta. If you visited my before today on IE9, you' probably know that the blog titles disappear when you load the page. Not anymore!!

Plus, as you can see on the image above, you see it right! Jump List! I now added some quick links to Windows 7. All you have to do is pin this site to your Windows 7 taskbar, and poof. It’s there baby!

All of those XP or Vista users, you really are missing all the fun. So I really suggest you upgrade to Windows 7.

In other news…

I tried to make the LS logo as my Start Orb. It really complements Windows Aero. What is really cool right, is to put this on all LS computers. That will be awesome. But, computers there I think are still Windows ME.

UPDATE: I forgot to tell you about my new footer links. Yep, those new links work.:-)

Introducing Me - Cover

2010-09-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm that bold to share the world my cover of Nick Jonas' "Introducing Me" on the movie Camp Rock 2. I just wish that it continued to be slow, because as you can hear, I got out of sync with it. Heck, I'm not auditioning for any musical shows or anything.

My Metro UI inspired notebooks

2010-09-07T07:56:00.001-07:00

I love Metro UI and Windows Phone 7 that I created a Metro UI inspired notebooks. It’s as minimalistic as it can be, at the same time, for me, are really beautiful.

MichaelJacob.net’s new commenting system

2010-09-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

Well yesterday I saw comments overlapping each other, I tried to fix it, it won’t work, so now I am happy to introduce a new commenting system, powered proudly by Disqus.

Now you can post a comment if you’re on Yahoo, or Twitter. If you don’t have both, well, you can always post as guest, or sign up for a Disqus account.

I am NOT going to have a facebook integration as I think it is a lot of work.

Peace out double rainbows.

UPDATE: Known issue: Sometimes the number of comments wont appear. I don’t know if it is just me having a slow connection, or it affects everyone.

Asus G51JX Review

2010-08-20T20:51:00.001-07:00

This is my first review ever for a laptop. And I hope it is not the last!

Anyway, last Monday I received my new laptop from eBay. It is a brand new, Asus G51JX-X2 Republic of Gamers Laptop. The name is a mouthful, But I already memorized the name after all those time to finally open this monster as I got the package slip as early as Friday last week, but I couldn't get it because the post office was already closed.

And I remember after I finally unboxed it I didn’t want to open it for a second and just stare at it, because it is really beautiful. My mom said, it is the best looking laptop she has ever seen. And it is really true.

Design

People who will think that this laptop is ugly is crazy, or just wanted the minimalistic designs of Apple. Which I think their Macbook products looks like something you will see on the bathroom. Specially that white glossy Macbook 13. It just look like a toilet. What’s something that you absolutely will not see on the bathroom is the Asus G51JX. When the laptop is closed, the first thing you’ll see is it’s black and blue styled cover and in the center the design is like wolverine scratched it. It is really awesome. It is a rare trend on laptops today to have an instant design on the back of the screen. Most of the laptops only have a plain color, or a pattern on their covers. Right on the center of the laptop you have the Asus logo, but it is not the priority, as below Asus logo it has a shiny, backlited Republic of Gamers logo. On the sides of it, there are side lights like on cars. They only light when you’re using a power cord, but it will not light up if you’re on battery. It is a nice battery saving feature (trust me, it needs it!) but I kinda hope you get the option to change the color, like on the recent Alienware M11x.

When you open the laptop, you are welcomed with the full high definition resolution on a 15'.6 inch display. At first, I was a little uncomfortable with the small letters, but when I look back on my old computer that has a 1366X768 resolution, it kinda looked like, well, old. Full HD is the future baby.

The backlit chicklet keyboard are easy to type to, and it is good they added a num pad, but what I really like is the calculator shortcut, just press FN plus the numpad enter. The lighting on the keyboard has 3 dim settings, although the dimmest one is completely readable at night, and I don’t see why you need a brighter light. What I don’t like on the keyboard is the font they used on the letters, and ok, I admit. I prefer the font they used on the Macbook Pros. Happy?

The trackpad is seated on a bushed metal border that houses the left and right click buttons. the brushed metal and the trackpad itself feels nice to touch, and it really looks like the transformers logo. But what’s really the nicest thing to touch is the G51’s palm rest. It is made from a hard rubber, and it feels really natural to rest your hands on it. It is spacious, and it is simply beautiful. Adding the ROG logo on the right side is a nice touch as well.

Comparison with my old laptop and of course, on a Macbook Pro.

My old laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1545, and let me tell you first what am I gonna miss with it.

First and the major thing I’m going to miss with my old laptop is it’s mobility. The Dell 1545 is not that thin, and the G51 is almost a half thicker on every sides. It is also heavier of couse, 2 pounds heavier, and add the ridiculously big power brick.

But then, that’s the only thing that I’m going to miss! Performance features, ports, design, are all better than my old laptop. Here. I made a list on those features, along with the Current Macbook Pro 15 that is offered by Apple.

As you can see, the Macbook Pro has 2.4 GHz of Core i5 Processor, and my G51 only has 1.6 GHz of Core i7. You may argue that the Macbook’s processor is faster than my G51’s, but it turns out, you’re wrong. Notebookcheck listed the benchmark ranks of notebook processors’ performance. It turns out, my processor’s rank is 18, while the Macbook’s processor’s ranking do not even come close, because it was ranked 29th.

The only thing that the Macbook is better as is again, on mobility. But paying extra $650 for thinner and extra 5 hours of battery life with really low specs I think is stupid. Plus, I use this laptop as a desktop replacement, heck I don’t even have a desktop. So, I am not really going to carry it around and spend too much time using it on battery.

Performance

Let’s just put it this way. This is the fastest freaking computer I have ever used. Playing Command and Conquer 3 on highest settings while on full HD? It is ridiculously awesome!! Same too on Modern Warfare 2, Grid, and Left 4 Dead. Crysis on the other hand runs smoothly on high settings, but not on maximum settings. Heck I don’t know with Crysis why is it like that.

And of course playing videos on it is awesome smooth too. But one downside of having a Full HD screen? Well, Standard Definition videos will look more pixilated because they are now being stretched much bigger. But all in all, performance on the G51 is solid as a rock.

False Reviews

I read the reviews of this laptop on Newegg and there were two of the most common complaints about this laptop is that it runs really hot, and it always gives you blue screen of death (BSOD).

What I found on the G51’s temperature is that, it is not that hot. In fact, the only place that is hot is the left side of it, as it is where the vent is located. But it’s temperature is consistent. I am having a practice now where I always put my hands on the vent, as the hot air it releases really feels good. And I am not even on a cool place. I never experienced having a really hot temperature where I can’t touch it, unlike on my old computer. But with those reviews, I worried too much that I bought a cooling pad. I ended up giving it to my mom as she needs it better than I do, as her new HP TM2 tablet (which I hope I get to review too) runs significantly hotter than mine.

I also have not experienced any BSOD’s. I had on my old computer, but not on this. Again, with false reviews they said it is a widespread defect, but no, I haven’t and I already put the laptop on it’s extremest conditions.

Conclusion

I really like my new laptop. I’ve always been an enthusiasts for new technology, and finally I own one. So the G51JX is quite expensive. But is it worth it? I proudly say yes. Before this laptop, I’ve been using a lot of yesterday’s technology, yes, I was stuck with a Celeron laptop until 2009, and I was ok back then. And now, I think I am going to be future proof for a very long time baby.

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC OF GAMERS!

love is true, so now God is?

2010-08-15T10:55:00.001-07:00

I am really annoyed with TV shows or movies and people asking this similar question over and over again. It goes like this: In the movie “Contact” where a character played by Jodie Foster said that everything should have a proof or evidence. Then her friend asked, “Do you love your parents?” Jodie replied yes, and then her friend said, “Can you prove it?” And then Jodie with her face confused never said anything.

That scene was really irritating. I’m an atheist and the character that Jodie Foster is portraying is an atheist too, and I think if you’re an atheist you will not look confused or don’t say a thing if you were asked that question.

Because you CAN prove that you love someone.

First and a really shallow explanation of proving that you love someone is that if you go get yourself on those lie detector tests. The inspector will ask you, “Do you love your parents?” and if you love them, it will show on the lie detector that you’re telling the truth.

BAM! You proved it.

Second, there’s another famous quote from movies and tv shows are two couple arguing and then the girl asks, “DO YOU LOVE ME!!!” and then the guy will say, “OF COURSE I DO!!” then the girl will reply, “Then prove it!!”

I don’t know about the guy, but if I were him and I love the girl, I will really prove to her that I love her. Proving someone you love them I think has some rules:

1. Always make them happy,
2. Keep them safe,
3. Always think and do whatever is the best for them,
4. Let them go.

So, if the girl will ask again if the guy loves her, the guy should reply, “OK, I will prove that I love you.” Then the guy should list all the things he has done during their time together and the choices he made proving that he loves her.

So there we are, we proved it again.

But then you may argue, “What if the girl disagrees? What if she’s not convinced?”But then aren’t all facts with evidence today still requires double checking? The girl should test her partner. Make some instances on what she believes that the guy will chose to be able to confirm that he truly loves her. And if the girl confirmed that the guy really loves her but still don’t believe in it? Well that’s craziness.

You may also argue that some people may not demonstrate the signs that they love a person, they hurt them, always make them sad, put them to danger, and even kill them. Some people may still think that they love that person but the truth is, they’re living in a lie. You do not go cheating in a test and still think you did your test fair and clean. You don’t go killing other people and say it is for their own sake.

So yeah. If you love someone there’s proof for it. There are signs, evidence, actions that you do to fully prove it. I think believers just make this argument because maybe they don’t show love to other people. Or, they think that God loves them but they don’t really experience “God’s love” that often, so their mindset is that love cannot be proved.

So next time you try to be a smart-ass trying to argue with this question, just don’t. You know it will not work for me.

testing the new united lsians on different browsers. oh yes it is painful.

2010-07-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

If this is the peak of the second browser wars, it is. Because as a designer, and not a coder, it is SO difficult changing codes to make sure that every browser out there is showing what you expect them to show.

And today it was really difficult. After numerous hours I finally did it. Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, and Internet Explorer are showing the same things!

FIREFOX

SAFARI

CHROME

OPERA

last and definitely the worst, INTERNET EXPLORER

See on Internet Explorer, it will not show the font embedding unless you were signed in.

photosynthing laboratory school

2010-07-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

I love my high school life so I decided to do a Photosynth on it. I took this pictures way back in 2007 and if I can just go there now and create better shots I would. But still, I think it is still awesome.

Some of the pictures are not showing when you drag pictures, so what you do is to make use of those right and left arrows.

mj’s research: the ultimate preview

2010-07-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

If you didn’t know, a part of my English summer course is a research study. My topic is about the drop calls on the iPhone, whether it is the fault of Apple or AT&T. I’m going to present on July 27, and I can’t wait to show you the things that I will present. Here! I posted some images from my presentation!

It’s unfortunate you will not see me present, as you’re not my classmate. Haha!

my 98% essay.

2010-07-17T19:11:00.001-07:00

Ok, I am so busy doing my research and I got no blog posts for many days now so I decided top post my essay where I got a grade of 98%. I honestly think I don’t deserve it, but you be the judge. And if my teacher read this I hope she doesn’t take back the grade!

I Think, Therefore I am

For me, life is the universe’s greatest miracle. So it is just reasonable that I think that life is so important, that is why I need to think clearly on the decisions I make. But when you think of it, picking the right decisions seem really hard. In most cases, if the wrong decision was made, it can be really disastrous. So how can I keep up with life? How do I deal with my everyday decisions?

Well, first, I take all of the decisions I make logically. It will not make sense if I make it out of order or in the sense, lack of reason. For example, it is just right to choose the cheapest cable TV provider if I am on a low budget. Or if I am really broke, it is just right to cancel my subscription into it and stick to antenna, or do not watch TV at all. Choosing the most expensive cable TV provider when I do not have money, well, that just does not make any sense.

Next, I make sure that all my decisions were made thoroughly. I try to avoid any premature assumptions. I make sure all of the options, and ideas were all thought through. I try to look at further evidence, or conduct some testing first before I conclude anything. For example, if someone said something bad about one of my friends, I should ask my friend about it, and find out if it is really true or not before believing in it. This method is also widely used in our justice system, schools, and especially with scientific experiments. I mean, can you imagine scientists just concluding things without having some tests?

The last thing I do with my decisions is that I doubt and I try to reconsider. Once you made a decision, nothing is final, and you can always change it. Doubting and considering lets you see the other options in whether those decisions might be better than your first choice. I often doubt something that I already decided when I find a new better choice to consider. For example, there is a job offering that pays more than my current job, so I consider taking it. But if I find myself trying to change my choice quite too often, I may question myself of lacking any commitment on something. That is why I limit myself, and I make sure I made all the necessary steps before making another decision.

Sure, making the right decision should be thought thoroughly and carefully. But I think making a wrong decision once in a while is just a sign that I am experiencing life. When I make a wrong decision, it may be painful, but it is not the end of the world! I just try to make sure I avoid it the next time, and remember to make my decisions logical, thought them thoroughly, and consider other choices.