I found another review floating around for the Samsung Galaxy Player that seems to be a bit more complimentary & unbiased (?) than
the review link I posted on here yesterday.
Again, I have personally taken this device for a spin or two
& I really dig it, despite being a Sammy (don't care for Samsung). It's
very fast, light, speaker is fairly loud (no problem hearing inside busy,
crowded Best Buy), good video, & best of all- it has an earpiece, unlike
the iPod Touch (4th Generation).
This, in my honest unbiased opinion is slightly better than
the iPod Touch for the simple fact that it was faster, has the built in
earpiece, & has a larger screen.
My daughter has an iPod Touch & I've noticed that it
lags quite a bit. I didn't run into this issue with the Galaxy Player. Also,
most will love the larger screen for web browsing & video. Fast &
responsive. But, what I believe could be the best feature of all of these is
the earpiece for phone calls. No, it's not a phone by default, however, one can
easily configure this device to be one, unlike the iPod Touch which does not
have an earpiece, so one must insert the earphones to hear or put it in
speakerphone mode.
Since the Galaxy Player runs on Android, it has Google Voice
& Talk preinstalled. Just go here & set up a FREE
Google Voice account. You can choose your own Google Voice number & as a
parent myself, I have to say that it's a parent's paradise as far as implementing
controls & security.
I hope this helps. Christmas is right around the corner
& I know alot of teens & tweens will be bucking for something like
this.
As I stated in my previous review, this is a
great iPod Touch alternative that gives users the added benefit of being used
as a phone with ability to send/receive calls & text, without having to add
a line to your current mobile phone account ($10 extra/mo!)
I'm disgusted by what I'm seeing & reading about on a daily basis, about this ignorant "movement" currently going on called "Occupy". Basically, it's a bunch of people who have bought into this whole self-entitled, why does he have more than me? mentality.
I was raised to believe that if I want something, the first thing I need to do is get off my butt. The next thing is figure the price, the cost, the expense to me. Whether it be monetary, time, or education. It'll be one of those aspects. If you want this or that, you have to earn it. And that brings me to my next point...
I've been noticing, over the last decade or so, that there are more & more people running around claiming to have "the right" to do this or have this or say that. I've noticed that the mentality of my generation has become so different from what my parents' generation believed. It's certainly different from my grandparents' generation's mentality. They believed what I mentioned above: If you want or need something, you earn it.
Why earn? Simple. You appreciate it much more than if it was given or taken. I understand this mentality. Why don't more of my generation get it? Why have so many become so ungrateful for what they do have? I'll tell you why.... I don't mind at all:) This whole "occupy movement" crap is entirely unfortunate & could've been prevented. It begins with "Johnny" throwing a temper tantrum about a toy & Mommy or Daddy (sometimes both) not wanting to be the "bad guy", buys that toy for Johnny. Mommy or Daddy coddles him & even at times, attempts to tell him "no" but doesn't have the balls to follow through with the proclamation & caves; giving in to Johnny's tantrums & ends up giving him whatever he wants, again. This turns into a routine. The problem here is that Johnny's Mommy & Daddy don't understand what it means to be a parent. They didn't wrap their brain around the fact that parenting means disciplining your freaking kid. They don't want to be the bad guy, so they try to be Johnny's friend... but atsome point, want Johnny to obey what they ask or tell him to do. What happens? You're exactly right: Johnny doesn't obey. Johnny, in fact, runs all over them. Johnny, believing he is entitled, throws a temper tantrum & gets his way again, and again, and again. Parents cave each time because they slowly lose power & control over their household to... a kid.
Fast forward 15-20 years. Johnny, now in his late teens or early 20's, is seeing how that guy over there is driving a really nice car. Maybe it's a really nice house. Johnny wants one, too. Johnny tries to buy one & is turned down for a loan because he has no money or doesn't earn enough money. Most of us ( yes, most of us, contrary to what the media would have you believe....) would either pursue a better paying position and/or save until we have the money or enough for a very good down payment. But see, Johnny doesn't understand this because Johnny's parents didn't enforce that mentality; that principle. So Johnny just gets jealous. And over time, that jealousy becomes bitterness. After awhile, that bitterness becomes a mentality, as well.
Take "Johnny" & multiply him or her by several thousand. All have that same bitterness inside. They each have a chip on their shoulder against anyone who has more than them, regardless of the fact that those people worked for & earned what they have. These bitter folks blame the fact that they don't have all kinds of cool stuff or money on the people at the top of the hill being greedy, & plotting to keep the little guy down. They use terms like "corporate greed", "Big insert-name-of-business-or-industry-here" to explain why they don't have or can't get what they want. So they begin to assemble together & decide to protest against businesses & the government. They set up shop in public places, in front of large business or institutions around the country, & protest. Keep in mind, alot or even most of them, have no job. They block the entrances to the businesses so that the people that do have jobs & work there can't get in. They block city traffic. They can't understand why the police begin to force them to move out of the way (blocking business & traffic is illegal & a safety hazard, folks...) & become aggitated. The police begin using pepperspray & physical force. The police don't cave in like "Johnny's" parents did. The police kick their asses & hand them back to'em. Street cleared. Business entrance cleared. Traffic resumes. Business resumes. Commerce is now back in session. The Police had to do what Johnny's parent's didn't do. The police were forced to assault & injure Johnny because Johnny's parents didn't spank him, ground him, take things away for a little while, or force him/her to earn by doing chores.
That, in a nutshell is what caused the stupidity that is, the Occupy Movement. Your tax dollars are now going toward paying for extra enforcement of the law in these areas around the country where these protests are occuring. It's paying for the doctor bills & miscellaneous other expenses birthed from this crap because the majority of those "Johnnys" out there protesting are unemployed. Unemployed people still normally have access to healthcare, only they don't pay for it; you & I do through the taxes you & I pay. From our paychecks. From working. From earning. This is unacceptable.
My opinion through observation, is this:
The current administration is & has been pushing a thing called "distribution of wealth". These protesters are pushing the same thing. Basically, it means taking the money you & I earn & reallocating it to people who don't make as much as you or I do. Currently, if I go to work, I earn a wage. That wage is mine to do what I will with it. If I choose to work harder or extra hours, I can earn more money. That extra money is still mine to do what I will with it. Doesn't matter if I choose to build debt or build wealth with it- it's mine. Under distribution of wealth, or Communism or Socialism, as it really is; you work & earn but that money is automatically calculated & spread out across the board. Your money is my money & my money is yours. Nobody can get ahead or have more than the other. Assets you current own are taken & you are forced to move into something more "accommodating" to you- this could be a step up if you haven't got much or a step down if you worked your butt off to succeed & excel. Sound appealing?
I personally, wish to keep things as it is: a Capitalistic society (for the most part). A place where I decide what I want to do for a living, how hard I want to work for the things I want or need, who I want to help with the money I earn, & whether or not I want to save it or spend it.
Watch the video, below. It is a commentary by Adam Corolla describing what's going on & how it happened. He absolutely hits the nail on the head, here. I encourage you to listen & let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Thanks.
I have to admit, I'm having fun lately. There's so much going on in the world of Tech that its hard not to. Each day, someone steps forth with more exciting news to proclaim.
And as hard as I'd prefer not to take sides with one company or another, mainly because of the wild swings tech companies may take over a decade or so, but I am obviously partial to Google. The biggest reason is because these guys are clever, innovative, & fun. Yep, I said fun.
And they've undeniably been on a roll, lately. It's like they've been quietly building something, piece by piece, & finally flipped the switch to... take over the world. Overdramatic? Maybe. But to those who say so, I venture to suggest you check out Google+. Or g+, as we regulars call it (jk). It's honestly changed how I interact online- literally. Google has managed to effectively create a universe that includes all of the pieces of the puzzle Google has been putting together for over a decade, all under one roof, or um, browser.
The best way I know to 'splain it is to think of a supermarket years ago & supercenters of today. Before, one had to go to multiple locations to pick up the goods they needed. Fast forward to today, & we have places like Walmart that offer nearly everything under one roof. Same idea. Each day, I'm finding less need to ever really leave Google. Paired with Chrome, I can install various extensions, or plugins, that allow me to stay connected & view my notifications at any time. Throw in an Android device, & you're in media heaven.
I know I probably sound like a commercial but it's definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. Enjoy;)
In tech news, specifically, it's been a wild ride:) Google buys Motorola, HP throws up the proverbial white flag, Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, & now Blackberry may be borrowing that same white flag HP waved.
This is great in different ways... for Google's Android OS, anyway. How? Why? Well, it's actually very simple: Google needs patents, & quick. With Moto under their umbrella, that helped tremendously to evade being nailed by patent infringement suits. If they purchase Research In Motion (RIM), they gain even more patents to ward off the evil empire known as Apple or even Oracle, in court. See, what makes this theory even sweeter is the fact that RIM was one of the boys in the consortium that purchased & divided up all the patents up for bid at the Nortel patent auction recently. Some say that Apple, Microsoft, RIM, & others teamed up to go in together to screw Google out of all those valuable patents. Whether this is true or not, remains to be seen... but I subscribe to the theory that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, & sounds like a duck, it must be a duck. So, now you have RIM with all these patents that Google got "screwed" out of getting, but may get to laugh last if Google does indeed absorb them.
It should make for another interesting few months, though... QUACK!
Today, news of Steve Jobs' resignation chirped out across PCs & mobile devices seemingly all at once. My Tweetdeck notifications were popping up at such a rapid pace, one could almost mistake it for a small cartoon playing on towards the bottom right-hand part of my laptop's screen. Would've been easy to mistake for a nest of small birds; chirp...chirp...chirp, chirp, CHIRP.
So, Mr. Apple himself, finally handed the reigns over to someone else after so many years of building not only a brand but a culture at Apple that will be missed by many, I'm sure. Love Apple or hate'em, the fact that the man who brought that lowly company back (with some monetary help from Microsoft, of course...) can't be denied especially after the recent news of Apple's becoming the wealthiest company in America.
So Cook's gonna take over as the new CEO of the company, having been formerly employed with Compaq not too long ago. Does anybody else see the irony in that tidbit of info? If not, do let me explain: Compaq is owned by HP. HP is selling off crap left & right in hopes of possibly getting out of the computer hardware business altogether after posting some large losses over the last few years. Ever hear of the Touchpad? Anybody? Anybody....
The timing couldn't come at a better time for Jobs to step down, as the iPhone 5 is merely a blink or two away & Apple's as strong as ever. I bid him farewell, despite the lawsuits & locked-downedness of their products. The fact still remains that both Apple (under Jobs) & Microsoft (under Gates) pioneered an era of computing & communications the likes of which, no other generation has ever seen. I'm proud to have witnessed it: GREATNESS. At the end of the day he's human. I think I am, too:)
Google just kicked Apple, threw them into the ropes, & speared'em by purchasing Motorola:)
As I noted a few weeks ago, if Google could/would buy a manufacturer then almost all their troubles as far as fragmentation would go bye-bye & Apple wouldn't be as much of a dominant force in the smartphone world any longer. I am extremely happy about this, especially since I myself own a Motorola device. Hopefully this will mean more & better updates & a better, wholesome Android experience from here on out.
I've read that Moto was seemingly hinting around to going after Samsung & other manufacturers to collect royalties: I didn't understand this until now. As part of Google, it makes sense to an extent.
Anyway, to learn more about this acquisition click the link below for more details...
This whole patent violation thing has gotten out of hand. If the US courts keeps siding with Apple, nobody's going to be able to compete with them. It's abuse of a hole in the system on Apple's part. Since when can you patent "the internal wiring" of a device? It's horsecrap.
You see, Apple is & has been submitting patents on every minuscule piece of their devices, including the colors, wiring, etc. Doesn't sound like a big deal at first, at least until you dive deeper & see that in order for Samsung, HTC, Moto, etc. to be able to compete with a device of their own, they can't use the color white. Or run/connect the internal wiring a certain way. Can't even have a similar form factor (which is almost impossible mind you, but will need to be done). And lately, as a company is set to launch a new device, Apple has even had the audacity to try to get a court's ruling that they must first let Apple see it & disect it... BEFORE it can be launched?! Hmmm... That didn't fly with the courts (thank goodness) but you can see the abusive nature of this situation.
To put this in perspective, imagine if the company that invented the automobile or any car manufacturer throughout the last 100yrs had patented every minute detail of the machine including 4 wheels, a steering wheel, bucket seats, etc.? Then sued every other car manufacturer for patent infringement each time they installed a bucket seat or a seat that RESEMBLED a bucket seat, a muffler configuration (they're usually snaked over & around components under the vehicle to exit out the rear). Wouldn't you say it would be extremely difficult if not close to impossible to effectively compete in that environment? I would.
In order to foster competition, companies should be able to patent certain aspects of the device, however abusing the priviledge only destroys competition & eventually drives up prices for the consumer. The less competition around, the more I can charge you for this or that- where else are you gonna go?
Just another reason why I hate Apple, folks...
Alright guys, I bring AWESOME tidings: AT&T has announced that ALL postpaid (all phones bought in 2011) shall get the Gingerbread update. This means that those of you that bought your device waaaaaaay back in January should finally get it. I personally dig Gingerbread on my Atrix. I've had CM7 (which is a variation of Gingerbread) on my Nook Color for quite some time & loved it.
Hey guys, probably not gonna hear too much from me this week because I'm on vacation. I'm posting this from my condo in Destin, Fl:) It's absolutely beautiful here.
That being said, I had to throw this nugget of awesome out there for all my fellow Atrix owners whose devices are rooted & wanna take advantage of the new (official) Gingerbread update.
I'm actually downloading one of the files to my computer as I type this so that I can do the same:) I've done this before, in order to get the last update Moto pushed out, & I can attest that the process is not difficult to pull off at all- it's very easy & mostly automated.
Below is a link that includes all the instructions for how to easily flash your Atrix back to a stock ROM (unroot) so that you can get the update.
Anyone that came over to Google+ from Facebook has most likely experienced the difference & reacted in one of two ways: They either freaked when they couldn't figure it out in under 2 min or they recognized the awesome tool that was now at their disposal.
Google+ is a hybrid of twitter & facebook, guys. Will it replace either of those services?? Who cares. Fact is, some ppl dig twitter & hate facebook. Others; it's vice-versa. For still, others, they dig both & have discovered how to implement both to compliment each other. I fall into the latter category.
Below is a commentary that explains a key difference in Google+ compared to the other two services. They get it: Google+ offers more ways to connect & share.
Click the link below to read more...
Via Tweetdeck Stop Treating Google+ like facebook!
This is another great thing that's got me excited regarding Google+: a Google+ desktop client.
What this means is that by downloading/installing this onto your computer, you won't have to actually open up your browser to access Google+ & I'm assuming that notifications will thus be pushed directly to you on your desktop via a simple notification on your taskbar perhaps. This is great news for Google+ users! It really looks like Google has gotten it right this time; dare I say "nailed it". Now, if Tweetdeck would just allow me to sync my G+ account....
If you're one of the early adopters of Google+ then this is right up your alley.
If you're not on Google+ yet, but are curious about it- this may give you a better idea what it's about & how it can be used.
I'm on Google+ ( follow me here ) & I really like it. I can really see the potential in it. It's going to really take off & expand once aggregate services like Tweetdeck get on board, allowing you to post directly to G+ & when Google opens it up to the public.
Right now, in order to post onto it from my phone, I must tap the app/widget & post onto it separately before or after I post on Tweetdeck to all my other social network accounts. However, since I've been using Google+, I don't really spend much time at all on fb anymore. I've noticed my visits to fb have decreased, as has the amount of time each visit.
Clicking the link below will take you to the guide on Mashable. Enjoy;)
My senses are becoming overloaded lately, between Google rolling out Google+, their new social network, & Android Market getting a makeover that will not only bring a whole new look but more content as well, such as books & movies.
I've already downloaded the apk & tried things out; so far so good. Everything runs really smooth & looks great.
Heard any new rumors lately? If you follow tech news at all, then of course you have. However, the rumor that has me most excited right now is about the possibility of Google purchasing Research In Motion (RIM). RIM makes Blackberry devices. RIM is having an increasingly tough time competing with Google Android & Apple iOS (iPhone). Lately, the question is being asked more & more: Should Google Buy RIM?
I personally would love to see this happen. Why? Because unlike Apple, which owns iOS as well as their own hardware for it (the iPhone), Google only has an operating system- Android. The problem with this scenario is that while Android is an awesome platform, it's used on many different devices, made by many different manufacturers, whom of which seem to love to tweak Android each time they release a new device, which in turn interferes with consistent updates & the overall uniformity of the operating system. I've thought this over & I can't see any downside to the acquisition. It would make Google a manufacturer. Now, they would not only own their operating system (Android) but they would also have way more control of how Android would be used on their devices. It would put a stop to the bleeding called "fragmentation", which is what happens when Android is spread out across so many different devices & tainted, changed, & modified to death on each one. For example: Your Android phone isn't the same as my Android phone. Yours acts a bit different than mine because, say, yours was built by Samsung & mine was built by Motorola. Google building their own devices would eliminate this, moving forward.
So what do you think? Any other ideas why Google should or shouldn't take over RIM? Share your thoughts.
Here's a little tidbit I came across recently. Apparently in an upcoming version of Android, users will be able to choose how they'd prefer their device to scale an app to their Android device's screen (rather than Google sifting through thousands of apps in the Android Market, retrofiting each one to fit a larger tablet), which makes some sense.
Cool, I suppose. Anyway, click the link to learn more...
It's getting even more interesting in the magical land of Google+. A new site has emerged called Gplus.to that allows you create a custom URL for your Google+ profile, making it easier than ever (all 2 weeks) to hook up with your friends on the rapidly growing social network.
I've personally tried it out & it works. It will look like this: gplus.to/username when complete.
And, as always...ENJOY;)
Since Facebook's trying to block every attempt at exporting your own data uploaded onto the site, some folks are using the Download Your Information feature in order to export to other social networking sites (clears throat) "Google+... ahem...".
This is a fairly simple process but requires that you navigate facebook's myriad of settings menues (yawn) to get there. Below is a tutorial on how to do this. Enjoy;)
Hey guys, so by now you may or may not have gotten an invite to the elusive Google+ (pronounced Google Plus) & if so, then you're probably wondering how to get more out of it. Just merely having access to this magical place isn't enough; it's a social network, right? So, let's drag some of our friends, family, co-workers, enemies, haters, clowns, cats, dogs, etc. into the fold along with us so that we can enhance our all important, social networking lives!
Currently, Google+ is in beta form & is on a "by invitation only" status. Check out the video for step-by-step instructions on how to invite your friends to join.
In case you were wondering how to easily export your entire Facebook contacts list over to your new Google+ account, below is the link to a great utility that will allow you to do just that, called Facebook Friend Exporter. It's free & quite easy to use.
I personally take issue with Zuckerberg being greedy with my stuff... I understand his greediness, but it's gonna happen one way or another:)
Click the link below & enjoy. Heads up, though... I've come across several other tools/sites having been disabled by facebook, preventing exporting of fb contacts list. May wanna use this ASAP...
Hey guys, so now Google has (sorta) unveiled Google+, their all new social networking site (beast) that may very well be the most competition Facebook has seen in at least 2 years. My question is do you plan on making the leap over?
It's something of an understatement to say that Google doesn't have what it takes to (eventually) overtake rival Facebook, being as how they've built up a very healthy & productive portfolio of services over the last 10+ years & now seem poised & determined to pull all of these "weapons" together to concoct a super-social networking site. Only time will tell. But, till the site actually opens for business (it's still in invitation-only beta stage) to all potential users, let's take a look at one other shell in the barrel that no serious social networking site considering going head-to-head with the Great Facebook should forget: the mobile app.
Can you guess which mobile platform will receive the app first?? Yup... ANDROID:)
Surely you didn't think the iPhone was gonna win yet another app rolled out for it first, did you? Yes, Android has this app exclusively but I suspect that Google will eventually roll out more apps for the "other" guys very shortly. They will if they wanna compete, that is.
Motorola Atrix 4G users may be excited to hear that they may be receiving the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update sometime next month. Test builds have been sent out, and users can expect the update to hit through an over the air update.
TheTegra 2-toting handset will be updated to version 2.3.3 of the Android OS, and will receive the latest version of the Motoblur UI, which attempts to smooth out some of the mess that it is. When you’re dealing with a heavily customized user interface like Motoblur, sometimes you may not even notice that you’re on the new version of the OS, as the skin itself hides it. Luckily, Motorola has implemented some of the nice touches found in Gingerbread, and you’ll find things like the overscroll glowing effect you’d find on stock Gingerbread. The updated version of Motoblur should bring a handful of enhancements as well, including a redone keyboard, tweakedapplicationsand icons, enhanced camera software, and more.
While it’s still unknown, it may be a bit too soon to expect that the Gingerbread update will unlock the bootloader of the handset. Motorola has made promises that it will begin to unlock the bootloaders of its phones sometime in late 2011, and July is just barely past the mid-way point, so to expect an unlocked bootloader may be wishful thinking. Still, we certainly can’t say it’s not a possibility.
The first dual-core phone in the US is definitely a powerhouse, but we’re beginning to see devices thatbest it in specs, and come with Android Gingerbread out of the box. Hopefully the Gingerbread bump will help the Atrix maintain its allure once the hordes of dual-core competition make it to market.
Here’s to anAndroidphonegetting an update in a (somewhat) timely fashion! Now if it was only the latest version, we’d be even more exited.
