Technology catch-all thread

[Y2HH]

A lot of people like texting/messaging while watching videos. That's the main use for it on mobile.

 

Also not a bad use for it...though I'm not a great multitasker, if I'm texting someone I'm not actually watching the video or paying attention. Then again, most people aren't good multitaskers even though they think they are.

[bmags]

Also not a bad use for it...though I'm not a great multitasker, if I'm texting someone I'm not actually watching the video or paying attention. Then again, most people aren't good multitaskers even though they think they are.

 

I thought that was a weird use case but then I thought about how when I'm on a train reading on a browser or choosing music how I'll forget to answer texts that pop up because I need to exit the app, go to the text app, answer, then return. This would be nice to just answer from a pop up screen.

[kev211]

I thought that was a weird use case but then I thought about how when I'm on a train reading on a browser or choosing music how I'll forget to answer texts that pop up because I need to exit the app, go to the text app, answer, then return. This would be nice to just answer from a pop up screen.

On ios8 you can kind of do this by swiping the notification down.

 

I love the feel of the iPhone 6 in my hand.

[chw42]

I got a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with my ATT Gigapower. I used it for 5 minutes and decided I didn't want it. Touchwiz is just awful.

 

I can't imagine how Samsung can take the stock Android UI and just crap all over it.

Edited October 10, 2014 by chw42

[Steve9347]

iPhone good

 

I'm very pleased to see I can use Swiftkey!

[Y2HH]

iPhone good

 

I'm very pleased to see I can use Swiftkey!

 

The 3rd party keyboards still need some work, but they aren't far of.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I guess I'll put this in technology thread, since it's the most advanced form of technology in a car, but my god the new Tesla that Elon Musk unveiled last name is just amazing. I can't stop talking/thinking about it. Probably no coincidence that my favorite inventor of all time lends his name to my a car company by my favorite innovator of all time.

 

 

*drool*

[Y2HH]

I guess I'll put this in technology thread, since it's the most advanced form of technology in a car, but my god the new Tesla that Elon Musk unveiled last name is just amazing. I can't stop talking/thinking about it. Probably no coincidence that my favorite inventor of all time lends his name to my a car company by my favorite innovator of all time.

 

 

*drool*

 

It's another awesome car for rich people, who already have plenty of awesome cars.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

It's another awesome car for rich people, who already have plenty of awesome cars.

 

30K model by 2017-2018.

[Y2HH]

30K model by 2017-2018.

 

This promise was made years ago and all I've seen is pushback on the date.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love what they're doing, but at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, these are cars for rich people, by rich people...so forgive my lack of excitement until it actually happens.

 

And make no mistake, the 30k model will NOT be this model, nor anything close to it.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Y2HH

[chw42]

This promise was made years ago and all I've seen is pushback on the date.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love what they're doing, but at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, these are cars for rich people, by rich people...so forgive my lack of excitement until it actually happens.

 

And make no mistake, the 30k model will NOT be this model, nor anything close to it.

 

I'd buy one if the infrastructure was there. I'd have to live paycheck by paycheck to keep up with the payments though.

 

Maybe when I get a few more raises.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

This promise was made years ago and all I've seen is pushback on the date.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love what they're doing, but at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, these are cars for rich people, by rich people...so forgive my lack of excitement until it actually happens.

 

And make no mistake, the 30k model will NOT be this model, nor anything close to it.

 

You mean, they aren't going to cut $90K from their price in 3 years? Whaaaaaaat?

 

 

Of course it's not going to have all the insane bells and whistles that this one does, but I'd be willing to bet their $30K model will stand up very nicely against similarly priced models from other brands. I don't plan to ever own another 100% gas car. This tech we are seeing now may be tech we see standard 10 years from now, same way that navigation and heated seats and multi-disc CD changers and rear view cameras were only in the really expensive luxury models. This $120K (or whatever they price it at) is not something I'll probably ever afford, but it's good for the future of cars that it exists. Starts the clock on when these types of things become standard.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I'd buy one if the infrastructure was there. I'd have to live paycheck by paycheck to keep up with the payments though.

 

Maybe when I get a few more raises.

 

It's set up nicely in California and in Europe. They got the Tesla stores and Supercharger stations networked pretty heavily there. Across the Midwest it is spread much thinner, but luckily the Superchargers are only a luxury added bonus, not a necessity. Road trips outside of that pipeline are really the only drawback right now.

[Y2HH]

You mean, they aren't going to cut $90K from their price in 3 years? Whaaaaaaat?

 

 

Of course it's not going to have all the insane bells and whistles that this one does, but I'd be willing to bet their $30K model will stand up very nicely against similarly priced models from other brands. I don't plan to ever own another 100% gas car. This tech we are seeing now may be tech we see standard 10 years from now, same way that navigation and heated seats and multi-disc CD changers and rear view cameras were only in the really expensive luxury models. This $120K (or whatever they price it at) is not something I'll probably ever afford, but it's good for the future of cars that it exists. Starts the clock on when these types of things become standard.

 

Not really my point, whatsoever.

 

Tesla is known for quality cars, however, it's not hard to build quality when they run upwards of 90k+. Tesla is going to run into major hurdles (they already are), when trying to build a car that they can sell for 30k, hence the repeated pushback of the date it will be ready.

 

I never said I expected the quality to be the same, but when competing in a market of 30k vehicles, that's where the issues of quality will begin to arise that Tesla has not had to deal with up to this point.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Y2HH

[Y2HH]

I'd buy one if the infrastructure was there. I'd have to live paycheck by paycheck to keep up with the payments though.

 

Maybe when I get a few more raises.

 

The technology is still far from being ready for mainstream, and the infrastructure is only one piece of that puzzle. It's good Tesla is pushing for this, however, so in 5-10 years, things will be more in line and ready for the mainstream, but a lot more has to happen with battery technology and recharge times.

 

It has to be cost effective, and when you spend 100k on a car that's cheap to run (for the time being), it will take 5+ years to recoup that savings with a lot of similar sized gas vehicles getting 45mpg+ these days (and they'll get even more in the future), despite costing 25-30k.

 

Also comes the question of replacing one hard to produce resource (gas) with another (electricity). Right now, since the majority of people are driving gas vehicles, gas costs a lot...but what when 90% of the people are driving electric vehicles? Do we honestly think electricity prices won't skyrocket?

[Steve9347]

The iPhone 6 is amazing.

[Y2HH]

The iPhone 6 is amazing.

 

iOS8 can use some work, but I really like the phone thus far. A lot of people complain it's too thin, but I have to admit I love how thin it is.

[Jake]

My dad, who I regard as the quintessential average upper-middle-age consumer, killed his iPhone 6 Plus pre-order and grabbed an LG G3 that he'd been admiring for a while. He's had a couple "huh?" moments thus far but I think he likes it. One thing I don't think iOS or Android do well is help new users learn all of the features of the device - but iOS has the advantage of being the de facto reference system for most people who have used a smartphone before. So my pops has really enjoyed his G3 more since I've walked him through a few things over the phone (which isn't super easy, I might add). It sounds like he's getting some use out of watching YouTube videos created for that purpose as well.

 

He'd been wanting a bigger screen since he saw one of his buddies with a Galaxy Note (Dad was using an iPhone 5). So he was willing to reward Apple for building a phone that addressed his concerns. Already liking the G3, though, he realized how much smaller the actual device was with the same screen size as i6+. He also has a couple irrational grudges against Apple for various feature/design changes implemented over the years, I think (typical consumer, I tell ya)

[Y2HH]

My dad, who I regard as the quintessential average upper-middle-age consumer, killed his iPhone 6 Plus pre-order and grabbed an LG G3 that he'd been admiring for a while. He's had a couple "huh?" moments thus far but I think he likes it. One thing I don't think iOS or Android do well is help new users learn all of the features of the device - but iOS has the advantage of being the de facto reference system for most people who have used a smartphone before. So my pops has really enjoyed his G3 more since I've walked him through a few things over the phone (which isn't super easy, I might add). It sounds like he's getting some use out of watching YouTube videos created for that purpose as well.

 

He'd been wanting a bigger screen since he saw one of his buddies with a Galaxy Note (Dad was using an iPhone 5). So he was willing to reward Apple for building a phone that addressed his concerns. Already liking the G3, though, he realized how much smaller the actual device was with the same screen size as i6+. He also has a couple irrational grudges against Apple for various feature/design changes implemented over the years, I think (typical consumer, I tell ya)

 

If it works for him, that's all that matters.

 

The G3 is a nice phone, and at least it's not skinned with Samsung's bloat.

[Steve9347]

iOS8 can use some work, but I really like the phone thus far. A lot of people complain it's too thin, but I have to admit I love how thin it is.

With one of those Spigen cases on it, it's the perfect size.

[iamshack]

iOS 8 seems to have just killed my battery life on my 5

[Texsox]

I'm trying to think of a time that a new OS on anything that wasn't designed for it didn't have more negative than positive. I'm thinking back to MS-DOS 3.0. If the device wasn't designed for the OS it was probably a bad move to update.

[Y2HH]

I'm trying to think of a time that a new OS on anything that wasn't designed for it didn't have more negative than positive. I'm thinking back to MS-DOS 3.0. If the device wasn't designed for the OS it was probably a bad move to update.

 

This is an interesting topic of conversation, and I'd agree to a point. However, when it comes to technology in the modern era, a lot of these devices aren't meant to last beyond a year or two at the most, especially for power users or gadget/tech lovers. The things we expect our devices to do today are things we never even thought of or expected just a year or two ago, and with that added functionality comes added overhead. The upgrade cycles come so fast that this effect your speaking of is much more apparent than it was in the past where upgrades were much slower to come.

 

Also, battery technology is lagging behind the rest of the industry, especially today. The answer is always the same, make a bigger battery, carry a spare battery, carry a battery "juicepack" (which is a phone case which doubles as a spare battery). The answer needs to be, "we need smaller batteries that last 5x as long", which of course is a tech fantasy at this point, but we need to get there. Also, it's important to keep in mind that these batteries are only meant to last a few years before the capacity they hold drops to less than 80%, and they also discharge faster over time, so the initial battery life you were once used too wouldn't exist on your device today whether you upgraded it to the latest OS or not.

[Brian]

iOS 8 seems to have just killed my battery life on my 5

 

My battery life on my 5 was awful before iOS8.

 

It's like a whole new world with my 6.

[justBLAZE]

My battery life on my 5 was awful before iOS8.

 

It's like a whole new world with my 6.

 

Best new feature of iPhone6 is battery life, coming from my 4S.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Knuckles