The Year of the Geek

Let me set the stage up for those who don’t know much background. In 2005, Android, Inc. (a small company in Cali) was acquired by Google. Android, Inc. was a start-up whose business was in developing software for mobile phones. In 2007 Google helped fund the Open handset Alliance (OHA) which is a consortium of several technology companies whose purpose was to develop open standards for mobile devices. Motorola, Samsung, and T-Mobile and among these companies. These companies should all be first in line to make phones more open and free, right?

Well…

Yesterday’s post has already shown us that Motorola should really rework some of their business practices, but it also puts them in a precarious position in the OHA by going against what the OHA is exactly trying to stop, carrier and corporate lockdown of mobile devices. Some even think that because of the eFuse Moto should be asked to leave the OHA, and I’m not entirely sure that they’re wrong in asking this. If they are supposed to abide by the OHA terms, they should. No deviations.

Now for another punch in the OHA/Android face, T-Mobile and Verizon are now installing “junkware” in their new Android phones that cannot be removed in most circumstances. The LA Times blog is reporting that, “the Droid X comes loaded with several nonstandard applications for Google’s Android, most of which cannot be removed” and that T-Mobile’s new Samsung Vibrant is also loaded with some extra apps that cannot be removed. What kind of apps are installed? Here’s a few snips:

Among the [Droid X's] so-called junkware is a Blockbuster video app and a demo for an Electronic Arts game called Need for Speed: Shift….The EA racing game, which provides limited functionality and a large button on the introduction screen urging players to buy the full version, can be removed…

Skype, which is included with other Android handsets Verizon sells, is a permanent fixture, as is a utility called City ID. The latter program provides location information about phone numbers on the incoming call screen. But it works for only 15 days before asking users to pay $1.99 per month…

The T-Mobile Vibrant phone from Samsung, meanwhile, has four of these extra apps staring you in the face.

One is the movie “Avatar,” permanently loaded onto the device…Another is a live video channel called MobiTV — good for only 30 days. The third is a link to install an EA game called The Sims 3: Collector’s Edition. The last is an outdated version of Amazon’s Kindle app.

There’s also Slacker Radio, which cannot be used before providing an e-mail address, and a button leading to Gogo Inflight Internet’s website, which includes a one-month trial for Web surfing (only on plans that provide the service).

Try as you might, none of these apps can be uninstalled.

That is an awful lot of software to load onto a phone that runs an operating system that is supposed to be “free” and “open” for it’s users. The fact that most of them cannot be uninstalled is the most enraging part. I’m also sure that these apps take up a good deal of storage space.

Samsung, Motorola, Verizon, and T-Mobile are completely going against the principles of the OHA which they are all (with the exception of Verizon) a part of. But I’d probably blame the carries more because in the end, they are the one’s with final say on what is loaded on their devices.

So, should all of them be asked to leave the OHA? I’d say that if they continue this trend then yes. The OHA should give them an ultimatum to stop and they should take it or leave. If the OHA fails to even deliver on that then what is the point of the OHA? If you’re not going to stand by one of your most basic principles then you have failed.

While I don’t think this is worse than the eFuse in the Droid X, it certainly is something that needs to be resolved just as rapidly. Putting a few small applications on a phone specific to your company is not really a problem, not allowing your customers to remove them is.

So I was supposed to write about the other 2 posts on TUAW regarding the iPhone wish list, but I figure I should just skip that and go right into the iPad, the latest gadget from Apple.  For the last year I’ve been seeing rumors about the all mysterious “Apple tablet” that they’re working on.  I couldn’t go one day without some site I browse having something about this damn thing.  I actually was hoping that it would be something more than “a big iPhone.”  I think my hopes got too high, and when I saw the announcement online I was just confused.

First thing, I’m really not a tablet PC type of person anyway, so I was hoping that it would at least have something different than other tablets, or even something so good that I might even want to get one.  Lets face it, I do like my Apple products; my 80GB iPod, my old 40GB iPod, my MacBook Pro, the lab machines, the servers, etc.  I enjoy using them for the most part and I believe that Apple does make quality products.  And you already know my disdain for the iPhone from my last two posts, so you can’t really say I’m a fanboy; meaning I’m not going to buy everything Steve Jobs says because he said to, NO. I’m going to buy a product I feel has a use in my life, and that I will like to use.  And the iPad just doesn’t do it for me.

There are many things that they should/could have done differently with it, but they didn’t.  I admit, it’s very nice looking and I can see some uses for it (below) but I just don’t think it’s practical for most.

The iPad would be an excellent control for, say, a media system or a professional presentation.  I can see people buying one of these for their office to use as a datebook or a replacement for magazines and newspapers or even to control things in their office (lights, music, etc). Using it as an eReader or an internet device when on the road? I just don’t see it.  Reading the screen would probably be like reading a book on your computer screen, you’ll go blind.  Why is the Kindle so popular? It uses e-ink and doesn’t blind you with back lighting.  That’s the whole point of it.  Don’t get me wrong, using the iPad as a magazine or newspaper reader would be great, you can’t do that shit with e-ink but $400 for a magazine reader? I don’t know…

I also don’t see people buying this thing as a gaming device.  (Yes, I know that’s not the point of the iPad) Sure, it can do some nifty graphics and tilt functions, but it’s so big compared to a Nintendo DS or a PSP.  And those systems won’t make you look like an idiot steering a box in public.  And about the games and apps; all iPhone apps work on it, great, now I can have an iPhone sized app running on my 9 inch tablet, way to utilize the screen space.  Yeah, you can zoom in, but what happens when you zoom in on things that weren’t meant to be zoomed in on? That’s right, it looks like a piece of mosaic.

The drawing features are nice. I can see many artists or designers wanting this to sketch out things on the fly and be able to send it to someone without a scanner or whatnot…but why not take that a step more?  Make a deal with Wacom and allow it to become an actual Wacom tablet.  Charge like $50 for an app that when you plug it into your PC it shows the screen of the PC and allows you to draw on it! Genius! That would actually make it multifunction; hell I’d consider buying it then.

Speaking of multifunction, I must say this:

HAHAHAHAHA!

They didn’t learn that people really wanted multitasking. I know many folks who were very pissed off about this and I just ask them, “you’re surprised?” Good luck on the next update.

Oh and another one: Think they’d learn from their AT&T problems?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Unfortunately, sticking with AT&T was inevitable; the iPhone is AT&T only, so why in the hell would they move to another carrier?  If they released a new iPhone for Verizon then I’d see it to be more plausible…until then, enjoy your AT&T iPad users!

Oh and the name…iPad?  You’re fucking Apple! You couldn’t have used one of the much better names like iTablet or my personal favorite, the iSlate? You went with the name in which MadTV did a skit on already making the joke that everyone is making now? Wow. Someone missed that joke from like 3 years ago. That’s why people are making those jokes, not really because of the maxipad/pad reference, but because it was already a stupid joke on MadTV.

I’m not saying that the iPad is a failure, or it’s a completely useless product, because it’s not.  I’m just giving my $0.02.

With Windows 7 RC1 being released to the public soon (not just developers) I thought I’d write a little something about my impressions of Windows 7 since I’ve been using it.

A few months ago Windows 7 build 7000 came out, I signed up for the beta and downloaded it.  I figured I’d give it a shot.  I had been using Windows XP on my MacBook Pro for a bit and I wasn’t really into Vista much so I decided, what the hell.  I installed the 32-bit version on my computer (I know my laptop is 64-bit but there’s a weird issue with installing 64-bit windows on this version of the MBP, can be fixed but didn’t know at the time) and began using it.

The first thing I noticed was the look and feel of the OS.  It’s very aesthetically pleasing; much nicer than XP and a small step up from Vista.  I noticed that the taskbar at the bottom was now like the dock in OS X, programs show up there when running (icon only) and you can “pin” the icon there permanently for later use; also, if you mouse over the icon you get a small snapshot of the window or program running, clever.  Windows 7 ups the graphics a bit in some visual effects which drastically challenges your graphics card at times, but of course the effects can be disabled; however, I only noticed this issue with it when attempting to run Windows 7 in Parallels (note to self, don’t try again).

Another thing I noticed about 7 is that it’s fairly speedy and responsive.  After installing my MBP drivers on the system the computer runs very nicely; no hiccups, no glitches, no lockups, very solid.  I began testing some small duties on it after a bit: typing, searching, surfing, etc.  I have yet to install and heavy programs like Premiere Pro or Photoshop yet, but that’s only because I don’t need to…I use Mac OS for that.  The main use of my Windows install is for Steam.  I installed steam and Left 4 Dead (among other games) and the games play fine.  I have had only one lockup playing Left 4 Dead and I don’t think t was a Windows issue.  The game loads FAST so I have no complaints about that.

I’ve also been using the latest Windows Media Player on it; another program which I used to avoid at all times.  The new WMP is pretty nice; it plays what I want it to play, and it looks better.  I even like how it organizes your music when loaded up with album art.

One surprising thing I was very happy to find was when I was repairing my girlfriend’s Sansa View media player.  In Windows XP you can load it up like a regular drive, or using windows media player, it only gives the option to open or play, thats really about it.  I was shocked to see that when I plugged the player into Windows 7 it gave me a window with the correct product, the ability to update the firmware, sync pics music and videos, play, etc.  This made me very happy to see it had built in Sansa support (and if it didn’t at first it downloaded it from the internet!).  It made it so much easier to fix the player and organize the music on the player.

Now Windows 7 isn’t completely without it’s problems.  While the interface is beautiful it does do some work on your graphics card at times.  I have an ATI Radeon x1600 with 256MB video memory in my MBP, the graphics did hang sometimes (not too much) but it was definitely doing something.  It might also be about the drivers, ATI has released some Windows 7 beta drivers, but again they are only beta.  Another thing I noticed was that I couldn’t install some programs; MacDrive and Symantec EndPoint Protection.  This is possibly the case in Vista also, but it did kinda suck that it wouldn’t install them.  The system also still complains a lot about security issues which gets annoying after a bit, but you can decrease the sensitivity of the annoyances to a certain extent.

So, the good definitely outweighs the bad here and I’m looking forward to seeing Windows 7 when it’s complete.  I believe that if this beta is this good, then Windows 7 has a damn good change of being “the next XP.” Overall, I’m very happy with Windows 7 and I’m very happy to see a Microsoft OS that functions well and is easy on the eyes.

Note: I am running Windows 7 build 7000, I have not installed 7100 or RC1.  I may have to update if anything changes with later builds, but for now I’ll leave it at this.

A few weeks ago I picked up a quick freelance job from one of the cab drivers who drives me home often.  He had a computer he wanted me to take a look at and attempt to upgrade for him.  He doesn’t want to spend more than $200, and he just wants basic things done to it, nothing major to me. He drops off the machine and to my surprise it’s an old HP Pavilion mini-tower.  I take it in and stare and it and realize that this is not really worth it; it holds a maximum of 512MB of PC100 RAM, it has a 20GB hard disk, and it’s only got a Pentium Celeron 667 in it.  I let him know this thing is basically worthless and he informs me that a friend of his has given him a newer eMachines computer.  I tell him I’ll take a look at it.

The machine is an eMachines T3092 with an Athlon XP 3000+ processor, 512MB DDR RAM, 160GB hard disk, CD-ROM and DVD-R.  It’s got onboard nVidia gforce 4 video and sound, and it actually works fairly well.  He wants the maximum amount of RAM (2gb) and a fresh install of XP, nothing really major.

Step 1: Order RAM

Easiest part, right?  I order 2GB PC2700 RAM from New Egg for $54 and have it shipped to me at work.  It ships from Edison, NJ…about 30 mins away.  It takes 5 days to reach me. This is annoying to me because I could have used 2 of those days (the weekend) to install and test the RAM.  Why would this have been important to me?  See below…

Step 2: Install RAM

I install both 1GB sticks, computer boots, I rejoice.  While working a bit I notice some issues.  Freezing, slow loading, and finally blue screens.  This is not good.  I’m thinking it’s a driver issue because of the new RAM.  I reinstall the chip-set drivers and still blue screens.  Finally I run Memtest on the RAM, right away both sticks come up with errors.

Step 3: Test RAM

I pop out 1 stick and test only one.  Same deal, red flags like China.  I pop that stick out and test a stick that I know to be 100% working, one from a computer that is used all the time.  Memtest: CHINA!  What next?

Step 4: Begin Google and BIOS

Looking through the BIOS for memory settings; speed, voltage, etc.  Nothing to change that would help.  Google brings some light on this; many people have the same issue, works with 512MB but nothing more.  Some people say it’s the power supply unit (PSU), some had RAM issues.  Since I know it’s not the RAM, it might be the PSU. That’s my next stop, testing a better PSU than the Bestec that’s in there. Many people on forums complain that the PSUs in eMachines are crap, and they tend to burn out boards, RAM, or just don’t give enough voltage. Hopefully it’s the PSU.

If after I test the PSU tonight it does the same thing it’s time to get a new motherboard for this guy.  Now, keep in mind he wants me to try to stay below or as close to $200 as possible, at this point I’ve been VERY generous with costs only charging him 50% of my normal labor costs. If he needs a new motherboard I need to eBay it because no one has them in stock.  The price on eBay with shipping is approximately $60, the same price as the RAM.  I told him I can either get a new motherboard or he can stick with the 512MB RAM for now.  Only issue with the latter, he has to pay for th 2GB RAM still, it’s not returnable, and I only bought the brand I bought because it was well rated, has a lifetime warranty, and was cheaper than the other more known brands.  He wanted me to save him money, so I did.  Now it might bite him in the wallet.

Thursday night my roommate and I decided to buy new hard drives for our Mac’s. I was running very low on my 100GB drive, and he wanted something better than his 160GB 5400RPM drive. I was looking into upgrading for a few weeks by now and was very tempted to buy this 320 GB Western Digital Scorpio that runs at 7200RPM. This is the same one that my boss, Carl, purchased for his MBP. The major difference is that he bought it from iFixit.com for $199.

I use one of the best programs for a Mac to backup your hard drive simply and cleanly, Carbon Copy Cloner, and best of all, it’s 100% free. The backup takes roughly 2 hours using an external drive interface via USB, and I begin the dissection.

I’ve installed and replaced several parts in Powerbooks before but not a MBP. It’s relatively the same,, with the exception of a few screws and innards. I like using the How-To’s on iFixit.com, they have everything from drive replacement to replacing the screen for Mac laptops old and new. I use the one suitable for my laptop of course, and in the end takes about 45 minutes or so to replace.

Almost 3 hours to backup and install a new 320GB hard drive into my laptop, not too shabby I think. Of course my roommate was done in about 2 hours because it is a lot easier to get to the hard drive on the new MacBooks, but that’s how it works.

The Good:

• Very easy to backup drive, CCC is very quick and safe
• No BIOS settings, plug the drive in, you’re done
• Fairly easy to get to drive once case is opened

The Bad:

• Too many screws to open MBP
• Apple uses some TORX screws to secure case and drive

The Verdict:

• Noticeable increase in speed with new drive (16mb cache)
• VERY quiet drive
• No vibrations (some people online complained about vibrations from the new drive)
• Well worth the $100
• Stay away from iFixit for hard drives;-)