Showing 41 - 50 of 150
Free stuff, TVs, and hacking
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/02/2015
» If you use email and the internet then you will have been bombarded with offers for free stuff. These offers take various forms, but the most common one is the chance to win something for free, where your chances increase with the more friends you get involved with and then there are the mandatory pages of offers that you need to say "no" to, in order to complete the application.
Xiaomi Redmi ticks all the boxes
Life, James Hein, Published on 18/02/2015
» So after a few weeks use of the Xiaomi Redmi 5.5-inch phone, which cost me about 6,500 baht shipped, for the price this seems an excellent product. It has a removable battery, supports a Micro SD card up to 64GB and comes with a 13MP camera. It supports 4G and connects quite well to Wi-Fi networks. It has a 720 x 1280 pixel screen which gives a pixel density of about 267, so it is not as sharp as units three times the price but still works well. Battery life is quite good, supporting all day use driving Android 4.4. With a quad core CPU it is snappy enough for most tasks. GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct round out the functionality with even FM support included. The price-per-function ratio is therefore very high for a 4G device. For the majority, this kind of phone will be fine for making calls and usual smartphone functionality. Best of all it uses a non Samsung-ed version of Android minus all those add-ons I find annoying. As usual shop around and make up your own mind.
Producers don't give a 4K about Ultra HD
Life, James Hein, Published on 11/02/2015
» Will Ultra HD, sometimes called 4K, technology take off? As someone who likes new technology that provides a sharper picture, I hope so, but the industry pundits are lukewarm on the subject for the simple reason that there are very few ways to get any content with movie studios and TV producers slow out of the gate.
It's all about connections
Life, James Hein, Published on 04/02/2015
» There are many types of networks. People create social networks through using social media apps. A local area network, LAN, connects a number of computers together, for example, in an office.
Window to tomorrow's technology
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/01/2015
» Windows 10 will be the best version ever. Yes we have heard it all before and all you need to respond to such a statement is Vista, Windows 8 and Windows Bob. Does anyone even remember that last one? These three versions and a couple of others were hardly the "best version ever" as Windows XP and Windows 7 has proven to all in more recent times.
There's no such thing as free tech
Life, James Hein, Published on 21/01/2015
» Can hackers really ruin your day? Consider the story a friend of mine recently told me. He has been playing the game Stronghold Kingdoms for a couple of years now. Apparently, as a result of hacking, some players gained points and certain advantages and had their accounts spoofed.
Apple is being sued by iFans
Life, James Hein, Published on 14/01/2015
» Apple is being sued, not really news. Apple being sued by fans, however, is news. The issue is the memory claims for the Apple devices being 8GB, 16GB and so on. The problem is that up to around 23% of the memory can be taken up by the operating system restricting how many media files and applications it can support. iOS 8 takes up quite a bit of memory and will not even fit on some older devices. Not sure the claimants will get away with this one but it does make an interesting point and highlight how bad any iDevice is that does not support plug in memory cards.
The Chinese are coming
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/01/2015
» This will be the year of the Chinese phone manufacturers.
Samsung's market share drops
Life, James Hein, Published on 24/12/2014
» Based on the third quarter figures, Samsung's global market share in smartphones dropped close to 8% year on year. It is still top of the heap, but their loss was Chinese mobile manufacturers' gains. Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi increased their shipments along with Lenovo, which leaves three of the top five manufacturers now in the Chinese camp. Xiaomi is the biggest mover to date, quadrupling their shipments over the past year. The fastest growing market on the planet for smartphones is currently in Africa and the Middle East so even though they are losing ground in China, Samsung could still make it up in those countries.
Asking the right questions
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/12/2014
» As I write this, I am in the US conducting some training for a new software system. While a lot of work went into the specifications, design and expected results, when I was actually presented with the system a number of things became apparent. For those involved in business analysis, systems analysis, design and related fields, the following will not be a surprise, but for those on the other side (the user community) here are some observations.