Technology catch-all thread

[chw42]

Reviews say not so good for working on because sweat shorts them out.

 

It depends on how much you sweat. Mine are still working fine to this day and I've had them since 2010.

 

I guess the only bad thing with Bluetooth anything is that if you plan on using this with a lot of devices, pairing is a b****, especially if those devices just happen to be in the same area as all your other devices. Plus, even though A2DP is pretty decent, it still makes a high pitch noise when there is nothing playing through the headphones. Kind of annoying.

 

Other than that, these have been worth the $30 I spent on them.

Edited October 2, 2012 by chw42

[G&T]

anyone try those new iphone 5 earbuds yet? do they make any kind of difference?

 

I think significantly better but I don't know that I'd pay for them.

[flippedoutpunk]

I think significantly better but I don't know that I'd pay for them.

 

im still waiting on my iphone 5 to ship (damn you sprint) and its weird that the thing im excited most about is the headphones. I've just always loved the iphone headphones for going to the gym or running miles outside on the pavement.

[Soxbadger]

When you get it tell us what you think.

 

I went with the SGIII. The Iphone just didnt make a lot of sense for me, I dont have any apple products and I dont plan on buying any apple products.

[flippedoutpunk]

When you get it tell us what you think.

 

I went with the SGIII. The Iphone just didnt make a lot of sense for me, I dont have any apple products and I dont plan on buying any apple products.

 

I had the Galaxy S2 and i loved it and android with all its customization options. Im a huge dork and i love games on my phones and the android app store doesnt do it for me. I imagine its harder to create gaming apps on a platform like android when theres about a billion phones with different specs, as opposed to the iphone where there is one set of specs for developers to work with. All the gimmicky stuff like sharing files through touching phones doesnt do anything for me, I will say this though, i used my S2 maps app almost every day, even drove down to florida, new york, and alabama using it, and im a little scared to hear that the iphone 5 maps will have you drive into the Atlantic ocean if you search for directions to schaumburg illinois.

[Soxbadger]

Yeah im the opposite I dont ever plan to use my phone for games. I just want to use it for netflix, music, movies, etc.

[danman31]

All the gimmicky stuff like sharing files through touching phones doesnt do anything for me

Does that do anything for anyone? Not only do you need the scenario to actually use it, but you also need someone that has the same phone/OS. I never understood why phones advertise that. I've used bump with my iphone a couple times and once I got past the neatness of it I kind of thought it was dumb.

[Quin]

Thats my only issue is I cant stand the ones that are like plugs, so I got the on-ear beats on a whim. They are ok, good enough, and dont noise cancel either.

 

For journalism/music editing, I need the lack of noise cancellation or it'll come to bite me in the ass.

 

And yeah, they are overpriced, but bookstore discount made them worth it.

[chw42]

Does that do anything for anyone? Not only do you need the scenario to actually use it, but you also need someone that has the same phone/OS. I never understood why phones advertise that. I've used bump with my iphone a couple times and once I got past the neatness of it I kind of thought it was dumb.

 

I use my phone and Google Wallet to pay for drinks/food at vending machines once in a while. If I had a car and bought gas all the time, I can also think of a good use for it. NFC hasn't really taken off yet.

 

As for sharing stuff by touching phones, I've done that a few times before. You need to know a person who has such a phone first (not too easy). But it's pretty convenient. I needed a friend of mine to test something on his phone at work. I found him, tapped phones while my phone was running said application, bam, he got directed to the Play Store where he downloaded the app in a few seconds. He was on his way out too, so that saved him some time as opposed to looking the application up in the Play Store, etc.

[danman31]

I use my phone and Google Wallet to pay for drinks/food at vending machines once in a while. If I had a car and bought gas all the time, I can also think of a good use for it. NFC hasn't really taken off yet.

 

As for sharing stuff by touching phones, I've done that a few times before. You need to know a person who has such a phone first (not too easy). But it's pretty convenient. I needed a friend of mine to test something on his phone at work. I found him, tapped phones while my phone was running said application, bam, he got directed to the Play Store where he downloaded the app in a few seconds. He was on his way out too, so that saved him some time as opposed to looking the application up in the Play Store, etc.

I'm not talking against NFC in general, but sharing photos or something is ridiculously easy via a text message as is. It just doesn't seem like a major selling factor for a phone yet I see it in commercials.

[chw42]

I'm not talking against NFC in general, but sharing photos or something is ridiculously easy via a text message as is. It just doesn't seem like a major selling factor for a phone yet I see it in commercials.

 

I did see one of those Samsung commercials where a group of people pulled a stranger over to take photos for them. All of them wanted the photo, so the stranger ended up taking like 10 pictures, each with a different phone.

 

Then 10 feet away, you had a group of people with Galaxy S IIIs and they just took one photo and shared it to each other instantly.

 

Sharing to everyone around you definitely is easier than emailing/MMSing the picture to everyone, but you're right, it's not a major selling point.

 

 

[IlliniKrush]

Guys,

 

Below is a short survey about technology, mainly smart phones. This is to help out a family member.

 

No personal information has to be filled out, just answer 13 multiple choice questions and you're done.

 

Anyone that fills this out, thanks in advance!

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VTBZGJ5

[Y2HH]

As a internet security professional, I urge people to stay away from NFC for the next few years, it's a dangerous, infant, unsafe technology in a world where personal identity/credit card theft is skyrocketing. These manufacturers putting it to work are doing so without regard to your personal information or financial security. They don't care so long as it means you'll spend more money because you have less time to think about making a frivolous purchase 10 times a day, because all it requires is the waving of a magic wand near a receiver.

 

NFC essentially transmits, albeit a short distance, all the information necessary to make a purchase, without requiring a password/PIN or any further means of identification to complete said transaction. Is it convenient? Of course. But while a convenience, this is equivalent to having a ATM card that doesn't require a PIN, only the card isn't even necessary as someone merely needs to intercept your transmission which would allow them to retransmit it.

 

NFC can be "harvested" and logged by those that live on the wrong side of the law, and used/tossed...just remember, if it's a convenience for you, it's that much more of a convenience for them.

 

Stay away from this technology until the industry finds the holes/issues and fixes the majority of them before you decide it's worth saving yourself an extra '8 seconds' at the risk of finding a maxed out credit card or empty bank account.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Y2HH

[Y2HH]

I did see one of those Samsung commercials where a group of people pulled a stranger over to take photos for them. All of them wanted the photo, so the stranger ended up taking like 10 pictures, each with a different phone.

 

Then 10 feet away, you had a group of people with Galaxy S IIIs and they just took one photo and shared it to each other instantly.

 

Sharing to everyone around you definitely is easier than emailing/MMSing the picture to everyone, but you're right, it's not a major selling point.

 

...so in other words, everyone needs a Galaxy Sx? How is that any different from everyone having an iPhone (any version of it) and using shared photo stream via iCloud?

 

These are silly features that require everyone around you to have the same model or brand of phone. These features amount to nothing more than "eye candy" so you can show your friends how cool your device is, whether it be an iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, or Windows Mobile 8...these are the types of features people only use when they want to show off their device, but 99.9% of the time never use them in a real world situation.

 

Like the Samsung "bump to share a playlist"...seriously wtf is that? Thanks for your playlist. Now if I only had those f***ing songs I could actually play it. Useless. I remember the early version of the iPhone had a very similar "bump" tech that nobody ever used, either. These are all what I call "feature creep" additions that do nothing but bloat software.

[Soxbadger]

Guys,

 

Below is a short survey about technology, mainly smart phones. This is to help out a family member.

 

No personal information has to be filled out, just answer 13 multiple choice questions and you're done.

 

Anyone that fills this out, thanks in advance!

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VTBZGJ5

 

Done but tell them they have a typo "Somewhat often, I download apple on a weekly basis" apple = apps

 

 

[RockRaines]

I havent played a single game on my iphone since I've had it. I know multiple other people do, but I've never had the desire. Weird. I'd rather read news and message boards.

[StrangeSox]

I use an NES emulator, but that's about it.

[Jenksismyhero]

I use an NES emulator, but that's about it.

 

I have a tablet and want to get that on there. How'd you do it?

[Steve9347]

Guys,

 

Below is a short survey about technology, mainly smart phones. This is to help out a family member.

 

No personal information has to be filled out, just answer 13 multiple choice questions and you're done.

 

Anyone that fills this out, thanks in advance!

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VTBZGJ5

Did it. FYI, there's a typo - "I download apple on a weekly basis".

[StrangeSox]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?...YW1lLmxpdGUiXQ..

 

I paid the $3.99 or whatever for the premium version.

[IlliniKrush]

Thanks for the heads up on the typo, passing that along.

[StrangeSox]

Guys,

 

Below is a short survey about technology, mainly smart phones. This is to help out a family member.

 

No personal information has to be filled out, just answer 13 multiple choice questions and you're done.

 

Anyone that fills this out, thanks in advance!

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VTBZGJ5

 

I knew what you were driving at with the last question (would the promotion influence your decision in a positive manner), but it could be read to mean that you won't go back to the store as a result of some promotion.

[chw42]

I have a tablet and want to get that on there. How'd you do it?

 

If it's an Android tablet, there are a bunch of emulators on the Play Store. I'm not sure which one is actually good since I don't use an NES emulator (GBA FTW), but they will definitely be playable. Although you will need to find one that is compatible with tablets.

 

If it's on iPad, you need to jailbreak and get it through Cydia. I'm not sure if they have a tablet mode one though. You might have to play it at an iPhone's resolution.

Edited October 5, 2012 by chw42

[chw42]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/06/workers...factory-strike/

 

According to China Labor Watch, three to four thousand workers stepped off the production line to protest the new standards, which only allow for a 0.02mm appearance defect. "

 

.02 mm? Seriously? These workers are getting paid $10 a day (about 70 RMB) and now they're forced to look for .02 mm defects? A 2000 RMB per month wage is considered just about average in China, but there are people who sit on their asses and do nothing while making twice that (in China, not here).

 

Part of the problem is how China goes about where people can work, as companies like Foxxconn are simply taking advantage of younger people from rural areas without much of a choice (either stay home and do nothing or hope to get somewhere by working low-end jobs in the city). But if Apple and Foxxconn had any kind of human compassion, they'd at least give these workers living quarters that don't smell like crap and adequate time to rest (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57510975-37/undercover-reporter-details-work-at-foxconns-iphone-plant/).

 

Before the Apple lovers in this thread point out that a lot of other companies use Foxxconn as a means to manufacturer their electronics...when was the last time you heard Toshiba or HP tell Foxxconn and its workers to look for .02 mm defects? When was the last time Foxxconn workers rioted because they couldn't take the pressure from overproducing Toshiba laptops? Yeah...those things never happened and they probably never will.

 

Give these workers better conditions. Pay them slightly better. Does Apple really need an extra $10 per device that could be used towards making these workers happier and more productive?

[SleepyWhiteSox]

C'mon now, advertising new headphones as some sort of amazing new phone feature is WAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more gimmicky than NFC...

Edited October 6, 2012 by SleepyWhiteSox