Interesting graph about Job Outsourcing. Makes sense too
![Where in the World are American Jobs? [INFOGRAPHIC] |](http://c212093.r93.cf1.rackcdn.com/files/2011/08/AmericanJobsSm.jpg)
It’s been a while tater……
Posted: 19th July 2011 by Garaxiel in General, PhilosophyTags: Android OS, Facebook, google+, nook, nook color, plus
Wow………….talk about no time.
I’m actually putting off some work and giving my brain a rest to type this, because i need it.
I’m not dead, i plan to keep this site alive, i also plan to use it more especially as my life evolves. I plan, until something better comes up, to use this site as my home, my base of operations for my life and my voice. Facebook, Google Plus, all these are great services, but they are not mine, like this. Leo LaPorte really summed it up well saying that you need something that is truly your own in today’s world, and this is it.
What has been going on in my life? oh lots of work, but that’s boring so let’s talk about Fun Stuff
First, let’s talk about Google Plus. It’s pretty awesome, it may not be as full featured as Facebook, but i think that is why i like it. I think i also like the fact that not everyone and their brother is on it, i can read statuses and updates of people that are directly related to what i am looking for, and very easily too. I know that if i geek out on a post, like minds will read it for the most part. I think this is something that has long been lost on Facebook. there is a million and 50 updates a second about everything and it’s not what i want. I truly don’t care about your farm, city, or whatever and what color duck you just got, that does not interest me at all. Then there is the inane updates, the i’m eating cereal, while cool you can do that, i don;t care, that’s more of a personal skip over thing. When you tell me something funny, or useful, or insightful about your life, i care. and i feel that is what is lost tot he Facebook community at large and is still active on Google Plus because all the other flotsam is not present. That’s not to say that the Flotsam won’t appear over time, but i feel Google has better controls in place to help keep it at bay. Personally, i would love to see a “game notification” thing that keeps them completely separate from your normal stream so when they do arrive, you have to go looking for them should you choose. I also hope you don;t need to “add people” to play games and they find a better way of doing it. In fact, i just posted that in Google+ so lets see what happens.
Next, i’m looking at a Nook Color. I have had a Dell Streak 7inch for about a month now from my Dell rep to play with, i like it, i’m enjoying it, but i don’t have a ton of use for it……except for reading. To be honest, it was pretty useless until i rooted it and put Honeycomb on it because 2.2 just plain sucked on it. Decent hardware but 2.2 just did not work fluid on it. I’ll post my review i am sending to dell on here soon, after i send it to them. But anyways, i think the Nook Color for it’s size and price point, plus the openness of it (putting Cyanogen on it and such) really makes it one of the cheapest options out there for what i want. i admit i was looking at the HTC Flyer and the Samsung 10.1 and while i am drooling over the 10.1, i think i like the 7 inch formfactor because it is much more conducive to reading. Then again, i do also find myself using things like Netflix more and i wonder if it is that much better on the 10.1 versus the 7. I really wish i had a 10.1 to compare it to the 7.
Well those are my 2 fun things, at least for now, comment on here with your thoughts and let’s get talkin!
Now that we’re back….
Posted: 9th February 2011 by Garaxiel in GeneralTags: Basement, life, Vizio, work
I admit, part of me not posting was the lack of comments. The other portion of it has been, well, real life.
Being in charge of this project at work has led to me having less then little time for anything. Now yes, i admit at night, i could be updating this blog. But to be honest when i get home my brain is fried and my creativity is Nil so writing just doesn’t seem to “work”.
As far as things go, like most people, it’s been working around the house and playing with the dog and hanging with the wife.
One thing not expected was my DLP TV going south. Interestingly enough, DLP’s can be affected by a “dead pixel” sort of death like an LCD. The difference is that the DLP is a chip going bad that starts to lock the mirrors in an ON position giving us “white dots” like a dead LCD.
Regardless, my TV was replaced with a nice new Vizio 42 inch LCD TV. Now, while i like my new TV very much, one thing i noticed is some programs look grainier on it. All in all though, things are much brighter and cleaner on the new tv.
Well, i think it is time for me to get back to learning about GPS and Modem setup and everything associated with our new deployment program. Ugh. Not fun.
So today we have the last official day of 2010.
Some people are excited for the year to be over, some are not, but regardless everyone is excited for the new year.
Things i want to leave with people for 2010:
This year, be it filled with more ups or downs had both. Remember the up’s, they will keep you going on days ahead when you need them, but also remember the downs. In some ways the downs are more important. The down’s this year were because of a choice you made, or because of something natural (like death). Now sure, you can’t control Death, but you can control the lessons you learned. Those lessons from the down times are infinitely more valuable. The happy memories will get you through the hard times, but the lessons will keep you from having the same hard times.
Other things to remember: Being sick sucks, family is great, and everyday you should strive to do something to make your life better, it could be cleaning a room, or waking up early to workout.
Also, do things in small steps. All those small steps add up more then one large leap, and it’s easier to maintain.
So cheers everyone, enjoy and the end of the year, be safe, and let’s make it a great new year together 
EDIT: Ok so i know comments cannot be left, not sure what is up, i will fix it
I awake on Christmas morn you see
To friends, family, and childhood glee
i check my email, and facebook too
and see a message from a friend, boo hoo
it says my website has been hacked
i check it and see, and i shed a little tear
on the website i get, for the tech support i need
and like a flash, things are back, weehee!
SO to you the hacker, i say good game, it was not malicious, just silly (and kinda lame) but good call on finding the loophole you used.
So i Hope everyone has an awesome Christmas, i will attempt to write more in the new year, hopefully
But i also need more things to write about, well, we shall see…….
Even though this movie may or may not be good (and to be honest, i don’t care i still am going to see it) i think this is an awesome poster for the movie
Via: Term Life Insurance
Along came a boy…
Posted: 27th July 2010 by Garaxiel in ComputersTags: Blizzard, Pricing, Starcraft 2
And he sucked horribly at updating his blog. And he is sorry. And And And……..
Well I’m not dead, but I am busy. Hopefully though, that will all change
As in, I’ll just sit and write and not keep forgetting when I have good things to write about.
So Starcraft II Comes out today. I want it, i really do. I want it just because i enjoy playing it. Do I think they did anything major as far as how the game is played? In a way, new units, new rebalancing. It’s still a solid product.
So why did I not go get it and am not out playing it? Because I don’t agree with how it is being released. for $60 today I get the game, all the online play, new battle.net (which is pretty awesome) and the Terran Campaign.
All that, ok pretty cool. But there will be 2 more expansions, speculated at being again $60 a pop, and one will be the Zerg campaign, and the other will be the Protoss campaign. Now if you would have said 10 or even 15 an expansion, sure, no problem. But a Full on $60 a pop for another chapter???? that’s total CRAP.
Needless to say I have ranted on for hours and hours about this, and while I’m still on the fence, and I may still buy it, I won’t be happy about it. Then again, i may just wait for the collection to come out and do it that way. Who knows.
Hopefully there is more info soon and a clear outline of prices.
Returning….and updating…at least for now.
Posted: 25th May 2010 by Garaxiel in GeneralTags: Honeymoon, Jobs, life
Well I gotta say, I just have a hard time Updating, Life takes over and I have alot on my plate. But I’ll try and rectify that (since work has been a little slower).
The Wife and i just got back from our Honeymoon. 4 days in London, 6 days in Ireland. What a great time that was.
Also, The Wife today had a job interview today. needless to say GOOD LUCK HONEY!!! even though i been saying it all day and i know she will do well, i wanted to say it again.
Also, the puppy is doing well, got my backyard landscaping done (well ready for plants and some got plants planted, still need more plants)
And unfortunately, that is the bulk of my update. Sorry, but it happens
more later especially links to pictures.
My lord all, and I apologize, I thought I would be better able to keep up with this Blog then I have been! I guess I’ll just have to set aside a specific time during the week to make at least 1 post to keep people interested 
Considering all 3 of you that are left reading here would like an update, probably
Well life is good for the moment, just workin on the house, going on 6 months of married life and I’m not dead, that’s a bonus in my book
All in all, things are just moving along.
More later. Sorry this is short, but i thought i had more to write about.
Guess not
Sorry for the dealy. Been geeking out…
Posted: 16th March 2010 by Garaxiel in GeneralTags: FFXIII, Final Fantasy XIII, gaming, PS3
The Macbook is back. Yay!
Posted: 3rd March 2010 by Garaxiel in Computers, Games, GeneralTags: Apple, Dante's Inferno, geek, Heavy Rain, Macbook Pro, PS3
Ugh. What a couple of weeks this has been. I seriously missed my Macbook. It wasn’t anything major, i simply has a nut that was built into the lid of the Macbook give way causing the whole thing to bend and creak and not quite shut right. So since I am the geek i am, took the whole macbook apart, went on Ebay, got the lid i needed, and now i am back in business
So finally got the lid today and am back in action. It’s amazing how much i hated using a foreign laptop at home. I had a spare one i was using simply because it was here, but it was smaller, ran windows, didn’t;t have anything on it hardly at all because it is just a spare, and while it did the job, every time i opened the damn thing up, i was like “for the love of pete please get me my parts soon damn it” because it was just brutal to use.
So now, i am back in action and it is wonderful to be back on my old macbook again
Other than that, life is good. Beat (at least one time through, definitely has re-playability) Dante’s Inferno on the PS3. Wow, amazing game. Really is one of the funnest and best games i have played in a very long time of it’s Genre. Currently i’m getting into Heavy Rain for the PS3. Now this game is amazing
No, it’s not always the prettiest/slickest game. Yes it has it;s flaws, but the style of gameplay with the flowing actions and reaction, no save points to load from, and every action is reaction/gut based rather then carefully planned out makes it a joy. Main character dies? too bad! move along! you forget an important piece of the game? guess your playing it again!! regardless though, it is a fantastic game and a lot of fun and a very very deep and engaging storyline. I recommend it to anyone looking for something different.
Anyways, other then that, life is normal, will report more later, hopefully. Take care internets.
I would like to put out a call for help….
Posted: 12th February 2010 by Garaxiel in GeneralTags: Call For Help, Facebook, Please, Rob Thomas, Shaun Manley, Win
Hello all, this is a quick update and a quick call for help. I know most of you are already getting this form me on Facebook, but i need you to re-tweet this article, Digg it, anything you can. Here is the story.
Shaun and I have been friends for many years, i have been with him through think and thin and he is like the brother i was separated at birth from. Here’s the long and short of what i am asking. Rob Thomas has a contest going on to help pick the design for his next single. Great marketing and a great setup if you ask me. Shaun, who is very talented, entered a picture for it. Here’s the thing though, we think someone is scripting themselves to win, and maybe they will get caught, maybe they won’t (heck maybe they are just that much more popular, i dunno) But here is some background on Shaun. Besides being a good friend, he is a talented Writer and a talented Graphic Designer. He has actually been shunned form jobs in journalism because he spoke up when others just dropped their heads and followed the pack. Now, in this hectic economy, he is Jobless, going to school to finish his Masters to make him more marketable, trying to make ends meat with his wife, and soon to be born baby girl. He works Sub Teaching Jobs while his wife also works full time to make ends meat. It’s the story of that one friend who can;t seem to catch a break in this world and does need one. So here is my call for help. I want you to take this blog post and retweet it, digg it, put it up everywhere as i have and vote, daily, to help him win. He gets no money form this, but he at least can put it in his portfolio and possibly help to get him a job where he will be able to showcase his talents. So please, internets, please help.
Goto this link http://bit.ly/9WNuil to vote. His design is the White on top Black on bottom mirror image cover (currently at this time in second place, thank you facebook). Please vote, pass it along, and lets see if we can help him win. If there is ever a need, this is it. thank you.
Apple…..I had such high hopes…..
Posted: 27th January 2010 by Garaxiel in GeneralTags: Apple, facepalm, fail, iPad, Let Down, technology
Ok, I’ll open with this. I love apple products. Their fit and finish is amazing, and i think they have a fantastic lineup. Even the Apple TV and Mac Mini, which many will call a bust, I think are great little machines.
But the iPad, well, it falls way way short of expectations.
Now, granted, I’m not sure of the target market, but let’s call it your general use/commuter market. Guys on buses and trains, mobile people, that sort of thing.
Ok, so let’s look at the good parts. Pricing? 499 for the base model going up to 829 for the full blown mother of all models. Of, not bad, personally, i wish they would have just gone 499, 599, 699 and had 3G and wifi in each (especially since it is not a contract needed, cancel anytime, don’t even have to use the 3G thing) but that’s my gripe. Personally, i think by Christmas or this time next year that will be the pricing model, but I’m just speculating.
Next: app store. Ok cool, it grabs my old apps, and sync’s over and blows them up. Cool, fine, i like the idea, good going there apple. Wireless sync though? really? why can’t i sync my stuff from my computer to my iPad wirelessly over my network? why do i still need a wire past initial setup? come on Apple, your better then that. So in that category, i call it a slight fail, they could have knocked it over the fence, but didn’t, and who knows why.
Ok, now here is the big one for me, and if you ask me a big fail, Ebook Reader. Sure, they were not DIRECTLY going after the kindle but sure was hoping to knock it down a few pegs. As far as it being a Newspaper/Magazine reader, with it’s size, color, and in-line video application. Good deal! heck, I’d even pay for a subscription to certain things on the device if they were priced low. And i like the fact it is big enough to comfortably read books on, and using ePub as a standard, and even showing what looked like pages rendered with Graphics in them for like kiddy books, ok, that is pretty neat.
But pricing? WHAT THE HELL!! So an amazon Kindle book, max i saw in their store was 9.99 for a book. Apple, they didn’t say a max, but it could be whatever. Boo to that. Also, let’s take this example from their own Demo.
The book they picked was 14.95. On the amazon Kindle, same book 9.99. same publisher, not in a proprietary format like the kindle, so why can’t the price be the same? color? please!! it’s probably easier to leave the color in then to translate it to the Kindle format!!
And here is my idea. HEY APPLE PEOPLE ARE YOU LISTENING!!!! IF YOU ARE AND YOU DO THIS, I WANT A FREE COUPLE OF COMPUTERS FOR THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS I AM ABOUT TO HAND YOU!!!
So let’s use whole numbers to make it easier, Hardcover books cost 20 from the store, for an extra 5 you get a digital copy at a discount (cuz you know they aren’t gunna give it away, the publishers that is) Or without buying the book a straight digital copy is 10 dollars. Now once you have read the book, you can SELL IT BACK on the iBookstore for 7 dollars. Of those 7 dollars, 5 goes back to the seller, a dollar to Apple, and a dollar to the Publisher/Writer (let them figure it out). Now why is this a good idea? publishers and writers are now making money where they were not before from a used book store!! it’s a damn GOLDMINE of new money for these people! Now having the Bookstore setup like that would have made it a MUCH better platform and i might be salivating on when i can get my hands on one. But as it stands now, overpriced books and such, i don’t want it, I’d rather have the Barnes and Noble Nook then this thing (and that’s not even getting into how good or bad the screen might be in a park on a bright sunny day).
So now mopving past that my other big gripes are:
30 Dollars for all the iWork apps? sure they are great and i am sure alot of work went into them, but let’s try 15 for the suite, or gimme Pages for free and for $20 i can buy keynote and numbers. That’s a better solution
And so with Pages and stuff i can type and make things. SWEET!! what if someone wants a physical copy? can i connect to my Network printers at work? can i connect to my Domain at my job and put it on a network drive? no? WHAT THE HELL!! how do i get ti to people? Keynotes are generally too big for email!! Wait, i might be able to buy more apps for that? to me it sounds like you have hamstrung this device from getting data off it in a timely manner. Sure i can hook it up to a Mac and sync it off and then move it around, but what if that is not an option as a business traveler?
As far as this unit goes, from a technology point, and from a proof of concept, it is really really awesome!! but past that, the software package, and the functionality, it loses, badly. It doesn’t do anything in my life that a iPhone and a laptop can’t already do, and to be honest, they can do more, and sure, it’s not as heavy or whatever but do i really care if i still have to carry around a bunch of extra crap to use it?
Sorry apple, it’s a great product, but as far as functionality goes, either make it do more, or throw it away, cuz in it’s current setup, while cool, and you will sell them, i really don’t see a need for one, and i won’t be buying it.
Sound off though, I’m curious to hear other people’s ideas.
Side note: IPAD IS A DUMB NAME!!! i liked iSlate much better. Hell even iCoaster is a better name I think.
This is the Droid I was looking for.
Posted: 8th January 2010 by Garaxiel in Computers, GeneralTags: Android OS, Droid, iPhone, iPod, Motorola Droid, Skype On iPod, Verizon
So it has been a little over 2 months with my Droid. So far, quite impressed by the phone.
Now, before i go all Droid happy in this post, i want to clarify some things. I am not 100% happy with this phone, there are things i DO NOT like about it. Also, i am an Apple/Mac guy at heart and i do still covet the iPhone. I refuse to leave Verizon because a: i get excellent service and b: it’s cheaper with my work discount then it would be with AT&T. That all being said, do i feel this phone is better then the iPhone? Some areas yes, some no. So it really will in the end come down to a: how you use your phone, b: our area you do use your phone, and c: your comfort level with a little learning curve.
But going forward, i needed this phone to do alot, and to come close to doing everything i did with my iPod touch and also be a good phone to even consider it.
And boy does it live up to my expectations
Now first off, what do i do with my phone? I’ll tell you. I manage 2 Gmail account, and 4 other email accounts. I also use it as a side business phone and as a GPS unit. I use it to do a little web surfing and a little bit of downtime game play, but i also use it as a tool for doing what i do in my daily work.
It does it all, and then some. Some people might say, what apps do you have and what are you missing? with the exception of Fieldrunners and a good Scorched Earth game, the only application i am missing on my new phone is the App i had for mint.com.
Otherwise, this thing has been fantastic. First off, i have an exchange account on my phone and i did not have to pay extra for it. If you have more then 1 exchange account you have to pay extra but how many people really have that on their personal phone?
As far as multitasking? PERFECT! I don’t know how the commercials you see get away with it, but i have been on the phone with someone using GPS or surfing the web or looking in an application for some data, i mean, it just works, flawlessly thus far.
I dunno, i am super happy with the phone. I could go on and on about the phone, and if there are things you want to know about it or have questions, ask and i will answer. But for what it is worth, this is easily the second best phone on the market. Now, i have never “used” and iPhone in my daily life. I have used them before, and i had my iPod touch setup with skype and stuff to sort of act like an iPhone, but to say i used one in my daily life, i haven’t. But for me, the integration of Google Voice is the killer deal breaker. When i can use my personal cell phone for personal or business use, and not have to pay for a second line and get great functionality, i mean, sold. It’s just amazing.
If only it was a little nicer on contacts and the information it takes in from it’s functionality
I mean, the iPhone may be the best phone on the market, and it very well may beat my Droid, I wish i had a unit i could use daily and compare it on Verizon. But for my money with dependability, and speed (cuz the web on this thing does fly, no doubt about it) this phone edges out the iPhone. Maybe it is because of the network, i dunno, but whatever it is, for now, this phone wins for me, hand down.
A post about finances….and how the system is flawed.
Posted: 7th January 2010 by Garaxiel in General, PhilosophyTags: banks, Credit Cards, homeownership, loans bail me out, shitty
This is not only going to be a negative post, but a bitching post too
So we all know the economy is bad, so allow me to share a bit of a personal story. In fact, a current personal story. Now before we go much farther, yes, these are my problems, yes they are mostly the results of my actions, yes doing things differently would in turn give me a different outcome, and yes, i take full responsibility of everything in my life.
Now, i bought my house a couple years ago, and being young in buying a house, and the current downward trend at the time, i got a pretty high rate of interest on my Mortgage. Now while i can afford the mortgage, that s not the problem, with all my other bills, it just makes living tight.
Let me throw a little tidbit in there. Now, I’m going to give highly exaggerated (for my case) yet relevant numbers out just as a stable groundwork for this post. Let’s just say i make 80K a year, and bring home 4K a month. Let’s also say i have a 2500/month mortgage. Now so far, this is all very reasonable, and pretty good. I’m making good decisions. Now add in bills, cost of living, etc, alt let’s say that i pay out 3000 of my 4000 a month
1000 saved!! good number……except for problems. While trying to save money, let’s say i have to replace a transmission in mine, and my wife’s car. I also have some windows that leak or are broken i need to repair before winter. I also say, have a baby and have alot of medical bills i have to pay off. That 1K a month is is quickly reduced to say 100 spare a month as i have racked up say 40K in credit card bills and 900 a month is going to pay those credit cards off. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this is an overnight thing, this is say, over the course of 2 years. Life happens, you need things, like a roof, car repairs, etc, and these things can happen. Too make that 40K more reasonable let’s say that 5K of that is repairs and 25K of that is financing a car after my repaired vehicle dies. So now you see where a Conundrum can begin to appear. While i had unexpected expenses happen, and also have done my best to keep things in check, life happens and now i’m in a hole. Now I’m playing catchup, if something else major happens, i obviously won’t have the liquid cash, credit cards got me to this point first because banks were not really lending, so trying to stay away from them is a priority, so you can see where this just gets bad. though 900 is being paid out, with increased APR’s, and the fact that the payment is being spread out over say 4 cards, you make very very little headway in that format. And while the classic solution is pay minimums and focus on one car at a time
So let’s say your trying to fix this. how do you begin? well, like everyone does!! with a mortgage! trying to refinance though, is wretched. If your not missing payments, there really isn’t any help for you. If your being good, paying all your bills, on time, maybe even a bit extra, you can get no relief. there is NOTHING in place for you. So for being an ass and screwing over banks and other people, there is help for you, but if your doing the best to NOT be one of those people,to NOT become a statistic and a burden, your just stuck sitting there, hanging on, with little choice for change. Why is it this way? why is the guy trying to do right, but just wants a little safety net shunned?? it makes no sense to me!
Ok so let’s try another approach, the credit cards!! Hrmm……
We already know traditional methods of focus, while it will work, will take FOREVER and will not work in the aspect of having some spare cash for emergencies. Now there is the whole new fad of “debt consolidation” but that rips your credit score up one side and down the other and really just messes with you long term. This is an extreme action and is really just not a good option at all. Why people do this tactic, i don;t get it, but i am sure there are some justifiable reasons or scenarios for it.So let’s look at this angle then, how can we lower the payments? well the easiest way is to get a better APR RATE! YEAH!! so how can we do this? well with the credit card companies fun new practice of just upping rates, that won;t happen. so what about a loan? well one idea that makes sense, is to take out a loan with a lesser APR, say, from a bank. Say your credit cards APR is 15% or more, and a bank can get you a personal loan for 12% APR. that is a huge savings! So let’s go try that…..wait nope, wrong again. It’s a risk. But you pay all your bills, on time, and your never late. You should be a great candidate right? Nope, because no one will see that you pay on time and more then minimal, all they will see is your Income to Debt ratio, and you get denied. Wow. Shot down again.
So is it just me, or does this whole system seem flawed? i mean, how is it that a system will not help those who are doing good by the letter of their agreements?how is it that it does not get setup that way? it just baffles the mind. It appears as if there is no system in place to help the good people, only the ones who screw up.
Now mind you, i don’t have a huge mortgage like i talked about, i don’t have 40K in credit card debt, and my situation is not as bad as the one i laid out, it is just as frustrating, and i just needed to let it out at how i find it all so very hopeless in trying to do the right thing, but am fearing i just may become another statistic.
Ok so this morning, I woke up just a little extra early to go to the Verizon Store to pick up my fancy new Motorola Droid cellphone. Granted, I am still TOTALLY geeked out about this thing and it is quite amazing. So far the phone is a joy to use. It has a nice heft to it, and a great feel. Everyone wants thinner lighter phones, but I tend to always pat down pockets/jackets looking for mine, so the slight extra weight is GREAT for me, as I have a much easier time finding my phone.
Now in a few here I’ll go and just Bullet list things, but there are a few things i wanna focus on:
The fit and finish of this phone is amazing! i did not know it is not a spring assisted screen to open the keyboard, and to be honest, i don;t want it to be. The extra little bit of pressure and the non-snapping open feature makes me feel like the phone is tough, and not going to break if i open it. Some people say it may not be easy to open one handed, but then again, i don’t seem to have a problem with it. So i say Kudos to that. The screen is also AMAZING, i was reading text on it all day trying to set this phone up and read random things, and it was so crisp it was amazing. I looked at the same pages on my iPod touch and it was just that much nicer and easier and comfortable to read. Also, the little things like the icons are just a nice touch. The icons not only look nice and clear but they have real nice non-uniform logos. I like the fact that not everything is square and can be moved around. And the little battery icon in the top corner, it doesn’t just show you battery status or charging status, but when you do plug it in to charge, i shows the little battery filling form the point of your current charge, so you know that your half full, or almost gone in case your thinking abotu pulling it off the charger to see how much is actually charged. It’s just a little thing like that that is a nice afterthought to the OS.
Also, i love the widgets. Sure you can add icons on the desktop for applications, but some also have little widgets, like for facebook, or FML, or Pandora, giving you a little more control outside of having to open the app to use it. Also, the multiple apps thing. For instance, on the way in to work, i was using the turn by turn GPS, i had the Pandora radio going in the background just for some new music, and i wanted to take a picture of a funny bumper sticker. I was able to do al of those, without one application stopping and without much hassle switching between them. That coupled with the fact that there was virtually no lag between apps was just, well, downright freaking awesome.
Now, those are the major things i wanted to point out, now, I’ll get to the fast stuff
- app store: just as easy to search through as the apple one IMO, and the quality of many of the apps are great. I think it is quite mature and i believe it will offer just as many quality apps as the apple store.
- the color, is great on this phone, as is the sound.
- the menus are different, not really any better or worse, just different, but quite easy to get used to, or at least so far.
- I like the trace the dot’s lock ability.
- onscreen keyboard: just fantastic
- tactile response: granted it’s just an option, but i turned it on and it is sure nice to know when im touching something at times, especially in my pocket.
- car and multimedia adapter: totally awesome!! the auto changing screen and stuff, and the menu layout is super intuitive, and just a great great job.
Now for the things i am displeased with so far
- yahoo mail does not wanna setup, everything else synced fine, even work, but this one just does not want to sync up. not sure why
- screen is sensitive!! when typing, it doesn’t quite seem to keep up all the time with my fingers using the onscreen keyboard, or it detects my finger gliding. I’m sure that will just take some getting used to and be fine after a while
- Visual Voicemail: i set it up as a test, and immediately took it off. if yoru connected to Wifi, it turns it off, to get the visual voicemail, and then it doesn;t even turn it back on. Really? why can’t they both be on? I’m utterly baffled by this.
- the hard keyboard: ok maybe if your a teenager, or a woman, it’s fine, but any of us with normal hands, not only is it a fat finger fiasco but you have to twist your fingers to hit the top row of keys right. I would rather they ditched the Directional Pad entirtely, extneded the keyboard, and gave me 4 little arrow keys and i used the enter key. i think that would be a much better solution.
- Car tilt sensor: ok i love the whole auto landscape and portrait mode when it is turned and int eh docks and stuff. and mind you , i drive a Jeep, it’s like a truck. So far, goign down anything but a smooth road, the screen likes to flip back and forth cuz the sensor is movign around, and after abotu the 8th flip the navigation application crashes. granted it usually starts rigth back up, but i can easily say that i can quickly crash this phone, just by driving.
- emails: why can;t they just all be in one area, nicely seperated and laid out? the gmail emails are in one place and everything else is in another. also, what if i want my conatcts and calendar’s from my Mobile Me account, or i want from both my exchange and my gmail, just color code them differently on the same calendar?? why can’t i do that?? if my MP3 player can do it, i would have thought for sure this awesome phone could. i say boo on that.
- and on contacts, personally, i don’t like the idea of all my contacts being in my gmail account, or even my exchange account for that matter. i do like the fact that there is a place on the phone for contacts, but i would have rather had them taken from my Mobile Me account which is stored on my computer and just sync’s to the cloud. paranoid? not really, but after something like the Sidekick debacle, i want that level of safety for my contacts.
Well that is all i have so far. more to come in the future i am sure, but that’s my first set of things. overall, this phone is amazing and i give it a solid 8. and to be honest, so far i love it way more then my iPod touch, and quite possibly more then the iPhone, but we shall see. As this OS matures, and i find things out both ways, I’ll keep posting more. Hell i even already have the app to post from my phone if i want