And Now, An Update On My Quandary

So now that I've waxed philosophical about the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, it's time to update my personal views, in re the quandary that I discussed in the prior blog entry.

The new keynote was a great success. The unveiling of iPhone 5 was done right. Tim Cook did a good job this time of delivering the address with his own style (albeit sometimes with too much emphasis on certain words, but he's getting there). He no longer looks like an attempt at Steve Jobs 2.0. The team has gelled since Steve's death, and Phil, Scott, Greg et al were all solidly behind Tim in this address, and each played their own parts well. The redesigned iPhone 5, in my opinion, is suitably wowing. I really like the new chassis. It retains the successful elements of the 4 chassis, while innovating that design and updating it with cleaner lines, and a beautiful surface. Johnny's team did a fantastic job with it. Rolling in an 8mp rear facing camera, 720p front facing camera, Facetime over LTE, upgrades to Siri and iOS 6 in the wings, not to mention the 2x faster Apple A6 processor and an increase in battery life, all makes for a great new model of an already great line of smartphone.

Has my quandary been solved? Mostly. In fact, it was greatly narrowed down even before the Sept 12 release of the iPhone 5. I don't trust Google. Yes I know, this blog is on a Google site. That may be changing. It may not, I'm not sure yet. Google is admittedly a front for the US gov't's data mining efforts, and I simply don't want to willingly give them that much of my personal information. My blog is one thing, as is my email. But all the information that gets stored on a smartphone these days? No. Even though I am an Alex Jones fan and viewer, I honestly do not believe that Apple participates in those data mining efforts. At least, not on behalf of the government. Steve was very anti-big government, and I really don't believe he'd have stayed on as CEO if Apple were involved in spying for Big Brother. It is true that the iPhone is capable of being used in that way, but I don't believe Apple actually does. I do however believe that Google does.

So that brought me to a choice between a Windows 8 phone or iPhone 5. Honestly, that choice is a fairly easy one. Microsoft, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates are a part of the global elite. Would a Microsoft-branded or -powered phone mine data for the gov't and NWO? Most certainly. Again, Steve Jobs was anti- NWO, anti - Big Brother, and pro - individual privacies. And although Steve is no longer with us, I like to believe that Tim, Phil, Scott, Johnny, Greg, etc still follow Steve's ideals in that regard. I believe that the iPhone and iOS will actually allow me to protect those privacies more than its competition.

It's not just the privacy issues though, although that is a big factor in my decision making process. It's also design. The Galaxy is huge. I've played around with one at the local big box store, and it's uncomfortably huge, in my opinion and perception. As is the Nokia Lumia 920. Both sport screens of 4.5 inches or more, making the overall frame of the phone uncomfortably large. That alone tips the scale in favour of the iPhone 5, for me. Combined with the updated features of the iPhone 5, as revealed this week, I believe iPhone 5 is still the leader in this race. At least for me it is. I admit to still being a little unwowed by the New iPad's specs, as compared to the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, but the iPhone 5 has brought me back.

I also revealed, in my first 'quandary' blog post, some thoughts and ideas about Samsung, Android, Apple, and the lawsuit. Well, some of those opinions have been modified, some still stand. One notable modification is my opinion of the lawsuit. After educating myself more on what the lawsuit was about, I'm on Apple's side.  I wish more people would educate themselves before dissenting. I don't care if your opinion still differs from mine after educating yourself, so long as you took the time to do so. I really hate it when people form an opinion without getting all the facts. I still think Samsung has some great products, by the way, and I think Samsung can provide strong competition for Apple. I think Samsung has it within the company to be able to truly innovate, not just copy, and really give consumers a good reason to be undecided. But as my opinions and understanding of Google have changed, my opinion on Android has changed as well, and not for the better.

And that's how my mind wanders. Scary, innit?

~Mahalo~

The Apple vs Samsung Lawsuit

Well, it's over. It's decided. And Apple won. The court decided to award Apple $1 billion of the $2.5 billion they were seeking in damages, too, so it's not a superficial win. It's pretty much a slam dunk. So now I get to rant. Incidentally, I just may start using YouTube for rants. But this one will be typed.

Now, I've been seeing videos and reading blogs with all sorts of arguments about this lawsuit, and a good many of them are chiding Apple for suing in the first place, or the courts for granting this judgement. One vlogger stated that Apple is stifling competition, and they used to be all about competition. Well, I disagree. In fact, I think this is promoting good and fair competition, and attempting to stifle piracy. Now before all the Galaxy/Android fanboys get all up in arms, consider the products that Apple was saying infringed upon their patents. It's not just rounded corners that's the problem. The problem is how Samsung's entire design strategy changed when Apple released the iPhone. And yes, other companies have changed their design strategy similarly, but none as aggressively as Samsung. If Samsung is to compete against Apple, then Samsung should be forced to be as innovative as Apple, not simply take Apple's own design and try to improve on it. The people who argue that the Galaxy looks nothing like the iPhone are being intentionally obtuse. It's a flat bar rectangle with rounded corners, a large screen, volume buttons on the side, and a home button at the bottom of the screen. Sure it's a bit larger, sure the back is curved, but seriously, without seeing logos, and without seeing the screen turned on, first time buyers who know nothing about them wouldn't know which is which. And I know that in the narrow world view of some people out there this may be hard to believe, but there really are people out there who know nothing about the designs of various cell phones on the market, and need to go to various stores to be educated. When they see such similar designs, it makes it difficult for each company's sales personnel to educate the consumer on the differences.

The iPad/Samsung Note 10 issue is another prime example of that. Again, Samsung fanboys don't like to hear it, but Samsung is literally riding on Apple's success and by copying it so blatantly, hoping that consumers won't know the difference, and will buy the lower priced offering. But lower price is not necessarily better price. The consumer needs to decide for themselves which OS is better suited to their needs, as well as which hardware serves them better. Again, for consumers who know nothing about these devices, the difference is hard to see when companies copy each other.

Samsung has even done the same thing with their latest offerings of laptop computers, looking very much like a MacBook Pro. Now, Apple isn't concerned about those of us who know the differences. They're concerned about those who don't. Apple really does appreciate fair competition. But copying their design so close that the uneducated consumer can't readily see the difference in hopes that they'll buy your product because it's a little lower priced is not fair competition. That's not innovation that pushes your own company, or your competition, to do better.

And let's not forget: The jury (none of whom owned Apple products) decided that certain Samsung documents requested by the court indicated quite clearly that Samsung fully intended to copy Apple in this way, and was fully aware that they may be infringing upon Apple's patents. So fanboys, your beloved Samsung is far from innocent here.

Incidentally, I saw a comment on a YouTube video stating something to the effect basically that this decision meant that Microsoft could sue Apple for copying their OS. The poster was rather young of course. Obviously not old enough to have educated him or herself on the actual OS timelines. Apple came out with the graphical OS first, not Microsoft. So going by that person's logic, this decision would mean that Apple could sue Microsoft. Now, it doesn't, of course. That would be a great stretch of the ramifications of this decision. But I just wanted to set that straight. Apple had the GUI first, not Microsoft. And in case anyone reading this thinks I'm just a diehard Apple fanboy, read my previous blog entry. You'll see that I'm currently on the fence with my loyalties. All I'm doing here is pointing out the facts of the lawsuit, which some Samsung fanboys would rather gloss over and intentionally obfuscate.

~Mahalo~

Apple? Or Samsung/Android?

I find myself in a bit of a quandary as of late. Those of you who know me will know that I am a pretty diehard Apple fan boy. I'm not exactly a card carrying member of the Church of Jobs, I don't worship everything Apple does, or Steve did. But I've owned Apple equipment since the Apple IIe. I currently have an iPhone4, a 3rd Gen iPad and a (core duo model) MacBook Pro. I'm not exclusive though, my desktop, self-built, is a Windows 7 system, and my primary laptop (because the MBP is old) is a Windows 7 Samsung. So I'm not one of those fanboys who uses only one in exclusion of all else. I'm also a big fan of Linux-based Operating Systems, and have watched Android's progress with great interest.

But come we here to the aforementioned quandary. I'm disappointed in Apple. There, I said it. Tim Cook has not been wowing me like Steve Jobs did. The 3rd gen iPad was released to very little fanfare and lack lustre reviews. I'll grant the display upgrade was phenomenal, and a dual core processor was a nice boost. But how about the camera(s)? 5Mp is nothing to sneeze at, but when the competition is using 8Mp cameras, it leaves the consumer a little wanting. Even the iPhone 4S has an 8Mp iSight camera, so why doesn't the iPad? Yes I know, it's still 1080p. I know, it sports Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n, and 4G LTE. I know. But they hardly even tried to wow us with its release. And honestly, Tim looked like an attempt at Steve Jobs 2.0 as he delivered the keynote address. I'm sorry, but he needs his own style. 

But ok, the iPad isn't my biggest gripe. My biggest gripe is the lawsuit. These Samsung lawsuits are already ruining Apple's public image. Apple wants to make the statement not to mess with them. Not to steal from them. (Whether or not Samsung *did* steal anything from Apple is a topic for a totally separate debate.) But that's not the message they're putting out there. The message the public is seeing is that Apple fears Samsung. Apple fears Samsung's innovation. The public is seeing Apple saying "Samsung's products are just like ours but less expensive." Now of course, that's not what Apple *wants* to say. But it is what the public is seeing. 

And to be totally honest, Samsung's products are becoming as good as Apple's, and are indeed less expensive. There was a day when I'd have backed Apple's refutation, and their rebuttal that their products cost more because of the higher cost of manufacturing such high quality products and designs. And I don't know, maybe this is a case where Apple spend millions on R&D to come up with these great manufacturing processes, and along comes Samsung and follows those same processes, but because they didn't have to spend the millions on R&D, they can sell it to the consumer for less. Maybe, I don't know. But even if that's the case, it's time for Apple to stop trying to recoup the R&D money. They have to stay competitive, especially if they're going to survive Steve's death. And maybe that means they have to stop trying to recoup that money, and instead, price their products more at par with their competitors.

Has anyone reading this really looked at Samsung's latest offerings? Their hardware is really, really good. And paired with Android 4.0 ICS, they have a really good platform. Steve once commented on how the reason why he didn't think Android would be as successful in the developer marketplace, and therefore in the consumer marketplace, was because it was Linux-based, and therefore inherently insecure. Not meaning that the Linux kernel was insecure, but that the Open Source model is insecure, because if anybody can write code for it, anybody can break it too. I thought he may have been right at the time. But Android has come a long way since then, and I haven't heard of any significant security issues or exploits.

So, to the specifics of my quandary. With my cellular providor, I have the "new every 2" option, meaning every 2 years, I can upgrade to a new phone and extend my existing contract, as though I were a totally new customer. That 2 year mark will arrive in January 2013, and I'm faced with the choice of upgrading to an iPhone 5 (which is supposed to be coming out around October of 2012), or totally switching and picking up a Samsung/Android phone. If the latter, I would also likely sell my iPad and pick up a Samsung Note 10.1. 

I'm going to wait and see if Mr Cook manages to wow me in October. What are your views? And please, let's keep the Apple or Android bashing to a minimum. I'm looking for reasoned input, not inflexible and often untrue dogma. Comments of the latter variety will be removed. This blog is not a democracy, it's a totalitarian dictatorship. :)

~Mahalo~

SHTF prepping

What is it? Well, the SHTF stands for "s**t hits the fan". Basically, it's a reference to some sort of societal collapse or apocolypse. So SHTF prepping is preparing yourself for said societal collapse or apocolypse. I've been watching, out of a morbid curiosity, lots of YouTube videos that people have posted about their own preparations. And it's caused me to have a lot of questions. Or perhaps caused me to notice certain.. inconsistencies.

One of the biggest issues I've noticed is that a lot of people are simply buying extra groceries, storing them, and rotating as they buy fresher groceries, so that the stored groceries are always relatively fresh. Eating the older stuff before the newer stuff, which makes sense in that way. But here's the thing. If you're one of those people who believes the government is corrupt and trying to dumb us down and control us, if you're one of those who believe the global elite are trying to bring about a New World Order... why would you stock up on all the same foods that those people are promoting to you now? If you believe in this, then you believe that the GMO foods are bad for you, you believe that all the big name processed foods are bad for you, so why would you want to keep eating them after a SHTF event?

Personally, I'm not a fan of most processed stuff, but not because of the conspiracy theories, rather because I believe that the more natural a food is, the better it is for us and our bodies. So, if I'm going to store food for an SHTF event, I'm going to find a way to store natural foods, not canned ravioli, and sugary cereals, and canned vienna sausages. Call me crazy, but it's something to think about.

~Mahalo~

Doesn't Anybody Read?

In having a Facebook account, a Google+ account, and a few of the other myriad social networking accounts available these days, I've come to notice something really annoying: People don't read. In an age when we have more information available to us than ever before, people read less of it than they ever used to. There are exceptions of course, because there are those who will choose the comments section on a FB or G+ post to argue and debate, and show their net prowess. But for the most part, people don't read, and here's what I mean. I'm reading a Google+ posting that had a mathematical equation in it. Something + something - something x zero + something. Now, anyone who remembers even high school mathematics should know the order of mathematical equations. PEDMAS = Parentheses, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction. So, in the example I listed, the multiplication comes first. Anything multiplied by zero is zero. So if, for example, the equation were: 5 + 9 - 3 * 0 + 7, you break it down thus; 3 * 0 = 0, leaving us with 5 + 9 - 0 + 7. Now that's where people get mixed up, because most will just do it one step at a time, left to right.  But if you do, your answer will be much different than if you followed PEDMAS. As expected, there were a lot of wrong answers. But then, at one point, a college mathematics student posted and cited PEDMAS, then broke the equation down correctly. Hours later, there were still people giving wrong answers, and explaining why it was right, and with no regard to the PEDMAS post, making it obvious they hadn't even read it. Had they read it, they could have looked that up to see if he was right, and saved themselves the embarassment.

Another example. Today, +Guy Kawasaki shared an article originally posted by Alan Taylor in The Atlantic. The article was about Neil Armstrong, his life and career. This article contains several pictures of Neil, particularly during his NASA career. One of the pictures, the one that was highlighted on +Guy Kawasaki's Google+ share, was of Neil in a Gemini 8 capsule, during training before the Apollo program. Now, the picture wasn't captioned, so I can't fault many people for not realizing that this was not an Apollo capsule. But very early on in the list of comments, it is explained by somebody who went to The Atlantic and read the article, that this was a picture of a Gemini capsule, not an Apollo capsule, and it was not taken upon Neil's return to Earth from the moon. It was also explained that the green colour in the water was not antifreeze, as many +'ers wondered, but locator dye, used by NASA and the USAF to locate the astronauts upon splashdown. One of many methods of location. Yet again, many, many comments after this, people are still talking about it being an Apollo capsule, and antifreeze.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: READ! You'll probably manage to prevent yourself from looking the fool more often than not. Nobody has ever died from being too educated. Foot in mouth disease is as prevalent in type as it is in live speech. Do some research instead of talking out of your ass. It will stand you in good stead, trust me.

~Mahalo~

iPad wins the day

So I just bought a 3rd gen iPad. I just can't even begin to describe how awesome this thing is. You know why iPad wins over so many other tablets? Many analysts and bloggers will list off features and tout the quality and design, etc. But there is one factor that wins over all of them: when you pick it up, you just don't want to put it down, and that overrides any other consideration that the competition might claim to be able to do just as well or better and/or less expensive. There are good reasons for Apple's pricing and I'm not going to go into them. You can research interviews with Steve Jobs where he talks about that. What I will say is that I agree with those reasons and at the end of the day, what really matters is that you just don't want to put this thing down. It can almost replace your desktop and that's simply amazing. Of course, I typed this on my new iPad. 

~Mahalo~

Top Cop Dead at 86

Sheriff Andy Taylor, Defense Attorney Ben Matlock and beloved actor Andy Griffith has died at the ripe age of 86. Andy was probably one of, if not the last of Hollywood's true 'heroes'. What I mean by that is those actors and actresses who, through their TV shows and/or movies, instilled wholesome decent values into the viewing public. Nowadays, Hollywood is just the propaganda machine for globalist governments. Everything on the big or small screen today has hidden messages and hidden political agendas. The Andy Griffith show was wholesome entertainment. Matlock was wholesome entertainment. He put away the bad guys, plain and simple. And they were always very obviously bad guys, no grey areas. Nowadays, the 'bad guys' are, more often than not, dissidents. Those who go against the grain, or more specifically, the government. Terrorism plays a large part now in movies and TV. Usually middle eastern terrorists, or former Russian Republic terrorists. Hell, if a terrorist had ever come to Mayberry, Andy would have had Aunt Bea fix him some cornbread and grits, and lectured him on the error of his ways. And it would have worked, too.

Andy Griffith's death isn't the final symbol of the end of an era. It's just one that made me focus on that end. And the beginning of the new one, for better or worse.

~Mahalo~