Indestructible

“Life is short”

This expression has always struck me as an overused cliché. Life isn’t that short. For most people, life is long and can be incredibly fruitful, filled with road trips, weekends at camp with your friends and family, and trying to understand the human condition while finding the beauty in your day-to-day grind to make ends meet. However, life, and its circumstances can change very quickly and it is in these moments that it seems awfully short. It is in these moments that one is forced to come to grips with how precious each day is. One is forced to appreciate and cherish each morning their husband pours their coffee, watching the morning news with a loved one, driving to work, doing laundry, making dinner, and setting the alarm to wake up early enough to do it all again the next day.

My grandmother, or Nanna if you will, has always stuck me as a sturdy rock. We used to listen to Van Zant in the car together. I’d listen to her sing “Help somebody” and the lyrics would always ring so true to me. “Granny said sonny stick to you guns if you believe in something no matter what.”, “She was five feet, of concrete~ She’ll cold stare you down, stand her ground, still kicking and screaming at 93”. Nanna has always been that to me. Five feet on concrete, a steady constant. Her rough, callused hands from working too hard, always being a metaphor for her character. There has never been anything that she wasn’t strong enough for. No task too tall for this barely five foot tall woman. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.

And last week she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Nanna doesn’t get sick, she doesn’t have time for it. She’s always been too busy being the stronger person, shouldering the burden of her own problems never becoming an excuse to not take care of someone else. She’s the classic person who’d give you the shirt off of her back, always doing what she could to help somebody, if she could. Maybe that’s why the Van Zant song has always rang so true with me.

So now, the strongest person that I know is sick. Now she has to be strong for herself for perhaps the first time in her life. It’s an awaking realization, a reminder to how precious life can be. There has never been something that my Nanna wasn’t strong enough for, nothing she couldn’t work hard enough to overcome. But this time it’s not in her hands. This time we have to rely on prayer, or faith, or karma, or whatever it is that you do or don’t believe in that says, “prepare for the worst, and hope for the best”, a phrase my Papa has told me just about every time that I see him.

Whatever will be, will be. Remember to cherish your friends and loved ones. Try to enjoy your 10 minute drive to work. Stick to your guns if you believe in something. Tell your Nanna you love her. And Help Somebody, if you can.

I love you Nanna.

Apple products are expensive, but not overpriced

With my experience working in retail electronics, I have heard my fair share of customers and co-workers talk about how overpriced Apple is. The thing is, they’re not, and I’m hear to prove it. Not to validate my purchases of Apple products and not to stick up for the company, but just to tell the truth because it’s awfully annoying putting up with the same misconception.

People often regard Apple as a snobby company with a cult like following, and to a point that is true. The reason they have this reputation is because Apple is awfully proprietary. This is a good thing as long as you don’t mind paying a little bit extra because by being proprietary it allows them to control the experience. Therefore, assuming you are willing to pay a little extra and go all Apple, there is almost no chance that you’ll have a poor experience. With that said, let’s talk about dollars and cents.

The reason most people think Apple products, specifically their computers, are so expensive is because they compare them to inferior products. Someone might look at a $1300 iMac and think “wow what a high price tag” and they will look at a Windows option. To most, an iMac is just a desktop like all the rest, therefore it’s hardly any different than a similar Windows machine. They will look at a $600 desktop and $200 monitor and think, “why would I pay $500 more for the same package?” but it’s not the same package.

Just to start with a run down, the $1300 iMac (a model I personally own) is an all in one computer made from an aluminum chassis. It features 4 USB 3.0 ports, 2 thunderbolt ports, an SD card reader, internal speakers, and the display itself is a 21.5″ 1920 X 1080 resolution. Counting none of the internals that is a damn impressive computer case. It’s also quite an expensive one. When comparing a similar case (at least as far as specs are concerned) it would cost a person about $400 or more.

Then, when you move on to the internals it all starts to come together. I priced out some parts from PCPARTPICKER.COM that would be similar to the internals of the iMac (although probably a slight step down in some cases). A 2.9GHz Intel i5 Processor – $200. A motherboard that supports similar components as the iMac $130 (but keep in mind that this does not include thunderbolt ports and the SD card reader feature, which would likely bump up the price another $70 or so). 8GB of RAM $75. A 1TB 7200RPM HDD $80. The iMac also comes with an Apple bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Similar peripherals from other brands would cost about $50 for the keyboard and $30 for the mouse, maybe more. Lastly, if you bought an iMac it would come loaded with Mac OS X Mavericks (Roughly a $120 value when compared to the cost of Windows 8) and it would be prebuilt.

If you add all of that up its roughly $1155. That’s just the value of all the parts and the OS, not even considering the labor to put the machine together. After all of that, Apple would still need to make some money by selling this bad boy. Therefore, if you’re telling me that charging $1300 for a $1155 prebuilt computer is overpriced, you’re dead wrong.

-T.Yelle

Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S5

Unless having a smartphone with an (almost) point and shoot quality camera is actually important to you.

Sorry Samsung fans but as it sits right now, the competition (HTC One M8, iPhone 5S) is just overall, better. In comparison to the GS5, the competition has a better build quality, better software, and a less intrusive user interface. While Samsung did revise the TouchWiz Android skin
that it features, users will still notice a stuttering and lagging (but at least prettier) software experience. Offerings from the other manufacturers feature much less intrusive, and “smooth like butter” software. Both iOS 7 (put to use on Apple’s flagship iPhone 5S) and HTC’s Sense 6 (running one the One M8) glide from animation to animation. Apps run smoothly, rarely crashing, not overrun by useless Samsung features (ie Smart Scroll and Air Gestures) that are only for those users that need their fix of Harry Potter esque movements while using their smartphone. Futuristic and fancy selling points featured on the commercial, useless processor and memory taxing features in practice.

As far as hardware is concerned, the GS5 features a plastic build quality boasting IP67 certification (the phone is dust proof and water resistant (assuming all ports are properly sealed) up to 3 feet for 30 minutes. Compared to the HTC One M8 and the iPhone 5S, the build of the GS5 is a joke considering it is the company’s flagship phone. The competition utilize unibody aluminum builds for their devices, feeling much more premium in the hand and worth the flagship title. It also has a micro USB 3.0 charge and sync port recycled from the Galaxy Note 3 which will give users faster charge and sync speeds than other phones. (The HTC One M8 has micro USB 2.0). The camera on the GS5 is a 16 megapixel shooter which overall, takes excellent photos with good dynamic range but tends to over saturate colors. It also doesn’t perform extremely well in low light. As I noted in the beginning of this article, it’s a great smartphone camera, however if you are really using it for anything more than simple shots and taking Instagram pictures of your lunches and Starbucks drinks, pay a little extra for a separate digital camera. Smartphones aren’t quite yet capable of completely replacing other digital cameras. For most users, the camera on the HTC One M8 will still give you stunning pictures (considering they’ve been taken from a smartphone) and you won’t need or want more. The 8 megapixel iSight camera on the iPhone 5S actually outperforms the shooter on the S5 in the opinion of some.

Am I saying that the Galaxy S5 is a bad smartphone? No, not by any means. What I am saying is, don’t buy it. It has the same flagship pricing as the competition from HTC and Apple ($149-$199 for the standard configurations) but doesn’t match up punch for punch to the other phones. It lacks in software and build quality and is overrun with mostly gimmicky features rather than actually useful ones. The screen is brilliant and the camera is outstanding, however the screens on the opposition are just as crystal clear and the cameras are more than capable. Besides, if you really need more camera than what is featured on the other phones, it is in your best interest to purchase a DSLR camera. If the Samsung software is your niche and you don’t mind a plastic build, you’ll love the GS5. However, if you’d like a phone with better build quality, better features and faster, less intrusive software, choose one of the flagships from the competition and you’ll be happy you did so.

Why do we love our technology?

People purchase technology and gadgets for one of two reasons; business or pleasure. In my personal experience of working with consumer technology, the line between business and pleasure is becoming more and more blurred. Nowadays, a business customer may purchase a new device for his or her work related needs, but when off duty that is the same device that will bring them hours of entertainment. In today’s smartphone era, it’s a time when your devices are always at your side, like a right hand or a personal assistant. For this reason, the relationship between technology and people, is becoming a more and more personal one. We choose the devices that we purchase based on that device’s compatibility with its user, its sex appeal, and the features it offers.

Nowadays the technology in our hands is a reflection of the person holding it. Our devices can say a lot and sometimes some very personal things about us. From the build quality of the device, the apps we download, and the photo we choose as the wallpaper, our gadgets hold quite a bit of insight into the user. We love our technology not just because it is fun or helpful but because we can share a private and personal connection with it. A device is not just a tool used for work or a toy for play, it is an extension of the individual.

Getting back into the flow

To start, I wanted to apologize for my (roughly) two month hiatus. In February the hard drive in my laptop failed and it took me roughly a week to get it up and running again. From that point on however, my lack of content updates dealt with nothing more than classic procrastination. With that said, I’m back and ready to blog again and I have a lot of content ready, leaving me no true excuse to not make weekly blog post for some time. With the constantly updating nature of technology, I will have something to talk about just as long as I motivate myself enough to do so. For those of you reading this, thank you for your support of my blog and be sure to check back soon as I will follow with more content soon. 

Media Free Day

            Recently I participated in a “media free day” in which the goal was to us as little media as possible in a twenty four hour period. I chose to do this on Friday January 17^th because I did not have to go to any classes or work on that day, making it the most realistic day for me to attempt to go without media. I currently live with my grandparents and by the time I woke up they already had the television on so I asked them to mute it and it became apparent to me quickly, how difficult this task might be.

            My girlfriend and I made plans to spend the day together so I got ready and picked her up from her house. On the drive over I had to shut off my radio and drive in silence, which for me was very difficult. We went into Marquette to go shopping for some things and all the while I was doing my absolute best to avoid any source of media. My girlfriend was pointing out Valentine’s Day cards and certain books, forcing me to use my restraint as I couldn’t look at them. A couple of the stores had music playing and we had to leave those ones as soon as possible. I felt like a little kid covering his ears and singing “la-la-la-la” trying to block out his sister’s voice as she described the end of a movie I hadn’t yet seen.

            After we did our shopping we chose to go and eat dinner and I cheated a little bit because the restaurant was featuring some especially cheesy, (no pun intended) outdated Italian music. Thankfully, it wasn’t much for the ears anyway. At this point we drove home and at about six in the afternoon, I had finally given up and we chose to watch a movie together. I still ignored all other sources of media though so all in all I felt as though my “media free day” was fairly successful.

            Skipping out on as much media as possible really opened up my eyes to how present it really is and how much of an unconscious influence it can be. Cell phone, television, radio, computers, and even books. I had to avoid media in places I didn’t even realize that it existed, leaving almost zero parts of my day the same, compared to an average day. Normally I would answer some text messages, check various social networking sites, watch television, send an email, play video games, and listen to the radio, essentially enveloping myself in media as if it were a warm blanket on a blustery winter day. Wiping all of those things out left me feeling both liberated and naked at the same time.

            In one hand it was a great sensation. I didn’t feel tied or attached to anything, as if I was a sea vessel that had just gotten rid of its barnacles. The experience was cleansing. I wasn’t distracted which left me more focused in every sense. Even the conversations with my girlfriend were much more deep and meaningful. I was my whole self rather than the person I would have been playing on my personality eliminating phone. In the other hand though, I felt odd, like a newborn giraffe learning to walk. Although I was rid of distractions, I was also incredibly disconnected, something that most of us are not used to in today’s society. I had no idea what was going on in social networking sites, had no connection to the sports world, and I wasn’t even at liberty to answer text messages from friends.

            Although the day left me with a feeling of disconnect, it gave me a greater feeling of personal connection. Whether it was the deeper conversations with my girlfriend or just the overall feeling of clarity and a calmer mind, going media free was of a great benefit. I challenge myself and others to look up from their phones and laptops and use a little bit less media in their day to day lives. Especially in public. When you’re alone and want to watch videos on the internet that’s fine, but take out the headphones and have a conversation with someone. Commit to having a personal connection to the people close to you, and wherever you are, be all there.  

Google

Okay, first things first. I have decided that on weeks in which I have no thought provoking ideas in regards to today’s technology that fuel the inspirational fire, I’m going to write a review on either a tech product (i.e. iPhone 5S), group of products (i.e. iPhones), or a service/ application that has some sort of relevance in the tech world. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, this week I’d like to talk about Google.

To purchase one share of Google it would cost you upwards of $1000 dollars and there are many very valid reasons for that. Google’s search engine google.com, the operating system Android, Gmail, Google Chrome, YouTube (owned by Google), and the Google Play store. Out of smartphone owners overall, more people use Androids than iPhones or Windows Phone. So why is Google and Android so successful? One word: Integration.

When I Google search a tattoo studio on my computer using and signed into the web browser Google Chrome, later when I pull out my Android based phone, the built in Google Now service will recommend directions (through Google Maps) to that studio and perhaps even reviews done by Google users. That’s a lot of Google. The integration however, is both seamless and practical which is why Google is such a winner with so many users.

Although some companies may only be promoting their product(s) for the sake of generating revenue rather than any sort of practical application for their users, Google is just the opposite, and more of a companion and an extension of the user’s web based activity. The apps and services are relevant and useful. And most of all, Google is always learning and evolving. By helpfully compiling a history of the things that you search, the products you subscribe to, the things that matter to you, Google can tactfully pop its way into your phone and web browser. All the while Google is making useful recommendations and quietly promoting itself. A brilliance that has earned it every penny of that $1000 dollar share.

 

 

You Get What You Pay For

Perhaps it’s a small scale observation or perhaps it’s a mere microcosm of our consumerist, gluttonous, American society, but technology consumers expect so much, for increasingly little. When looking at our behavior from a more analytic position, we as a society of consumers take so much for granted. Just five years ago, if society would have known the types of expectations that we would have for our technology, and the types of disappointments we complain about if they don’t work exactly as expected, we might have metaphorically backhanded ourselves across the chin. Just for the sake of making a comparison, less than a hundred years ago we were given consumer air travel and an average Joe like myself could, for the first time ever, purchase a ticket, get on an airplane, fly somewhere (defying gravity), and arrive at their destination in a fraction of the time it would have taken them to drive. Now-a-days layovers are a hardship, bag fees are “outrageous”, and the price to have food (in the sky I might add) is “premium”. That’s right America, we have found a way to complain about something that in our great grandparents’ childhood, wasn’t even a possibility.. The same theme holds true in our consumer tech world. If you take a second to think about it, even the worst smartphone is a nearly unbelievable feat. In an era of technology that shows off mobile connectivity as its center piece, a consumer can pick up a mobile device with the computing power that would dethrone a heavyweight desktop computer from just a few years ago. Oh and don’t forget, that pocket sized powerhouse is also connected to cellular data towers giving its users high speed internet on the go. Those facts are incredibly impressive on their own but then you throw in that these devices boast cameras that rival those of the point and shoot quality cameras. Stack all of those specifications together and you’re given a product that, less than a generation ago, was hardly conceivable, let alone commonplace. Now, they’re in everyone’s pockets. That is unbelievable. Even more unbelievable than that though, are the complaints we make about these same devices. And before I stuff my foot into my mouth, I am more than willing to admit that I am just as, if not more guilty than the next guy for complaining about my devices. “This page takes forever to load”, “my pictures are junk”, “apps crash sometimes”. Yes, I’ve heard them all. But why? Why would it be perfect when it already is as good as it is? For all the reasons that I’ve mentioned we should be amazed with technology every time we reach into our pockets to check a notification or snap a picture of our lunch to share with an online community that could care less. But we’re not. No, instead we complain that something was weird for a second, or that an animation didn’t look quite as expected. And as much of a marvel that our new age of tech should be, it seems as though consumers are blown away that these amazing products aren’t cheap, rather than being amazed with the impressiveness of their laundry list of features and benefits. Just the same as we treat air travel, we lack appreciation for the magnificent mobile technology that graces our purses and pockets every single day. I guess what I’m really trying to accomplish with this particular post is to bring life to the phrase “you get what you pay for” and in the tech world, it can’t be any truer. If you want the absolute latest and greatest, the top of the line features, and the fastest connectivity speeds, don’t become upset when presented with a device that happens to be more expensive than all the rest. A premium product should and will reflect a premium price.

Smartphones for everyone

 

 

It’s January 1st, 2014 and let me first say that my presence on this blog has a lot to do with the fact that it was a resolution of mine, nevertheless I intend to make appearances on here more and more frequently. Who knows, perhaps this year will have loyal followers/fans in it somewhere. Now, with that said, I have something to say about unlocked smartphones.

2013 marked a year where manufacturers made advanced technology available to the masses. In the fall Apple, for the first time in it’s “iPhone history” released two completely different phones together. First was the iPhone 5s, a successor to the iPhone 5. The phone retained much of the same design with a light and beautiful metal build quality, but it also featured upgrades to many of the phones specifications such as an improved processor, camera, and added a futuristic fingerprint scanner who’s full range of capabilities is far from being tapped into. Then though, Apple left us with a splash of color in the iPhone 5C. The 5C, lacking very much, if any computing differences at all, also failed to retain Apple’s beautiful design. The phone physically is made from dyed polycarbonate, a fancy word for slightly less flimsy plastic. Plastic.

Now, before I get ahead of myself and spend the next 500 characters continuing to bash a company’s product, let it be known that the iPhone 5C is actually a fantastic phone. While internally it might not be much of an improvement from the iPhone 5 and it is far less superior in build quality than any of the previous generations of iPhones since the iPhone 4, this iPhone still has a lot going for it. Admittedly, when it comes to computing power, it is everything that the iPhone 5 was including slight improvements to the battery and camera. Addition to that, at $99.99 on contract it is actually $100 dollars cheaper than the $199.99 “premium” iPhone 5S. That makes a fairly high quality smartphone available to the masses for only $100, and in 5 different colors to boot.

What if you don’t want a contract though? Or perhaps you are in contract and you hate your phone. Or, goodness forbid, you broke your phone and have no insurance to back you. Thanks to Google and Motorola we now have some pretty incredible unlocked options.

Motorola gives us the Moto G

The Moto G, boasting a 4.5″ HD display and a quad core processor, is pretty comparable to many of the average phones of 2013. What’s not so average about it? The price. At $179 unlocked, meaning you don’t sign a contract, you don’t pay an insurance deductible, you just order the phone and get a new-in-box and fairly capable, 4G LTE smartphone. So what exactly does that mean? Well, for $179 consumers can get a not-to-shabby smartphone that they can use on their postpaid contract, their prepaid account, or just use as a device to play with and browse when on WiFi. That is an insane deal.

Not quite enough power for you? Hey, i get it. I, probably more than most, demand a lot from my phone. If I see any lag at all when scrolling through a web page or running an application I become enraged for reasons that I can’t accurately describe because of how irrational they are. Thankfully though, if you’re any bit like me, and I know some of you are, Google has supplied us with an incredible option in the (LG built) Nexus 5. 

Featuring a more than impressive 4.95″ 1080p LCD HD display (meaning it will be incredibly crisp and bright), a 2.26 GHz quad core processor (ranking as high as some of the best phones on the market right now), and a starting price point of $349 dollars off-contract, Google has given consumers a dynamic option when looking for an unlocked handset.

So what’s the entire point of this article? Well, think back to a few years ago when the best phones on the market were something to the sort of the iPhone 4 or perhaps one of the Android devices from the DROID lines. These phones were the first to give us 3G data connectivity, and quality cameras that gave you the choice to leave your point and shoot at home. However these phones would cost you around $200 dollars plus requiring you to sign a contact and in addition to that, if you chose not to purchase insurance, if your break your phone, to replace it your only option is to buy it at its retail price which normally hovers around $700 dollars. That left people required to pay hand over fist for a nice phone, or stick with their clam-shell flip phones and physical QWERTY keyboard multimedia phones. Now in today’s market, manufactures have given the masses, average consumers, beyond valuable options. Access to information and advanced technology is now at the fingertips of everyone more than it ever was before.