Google play Services announced at GDC 2013

The Google play services is the new and improved Game services by Google announced at the 2013 Google Developers Conference.

I/O  
This Annual conference is attending by young developers and press from the tech community agar to find out what is the next big thing what is the next special feature from a smartphone, a app and in Google's case what is new for Google maps what is new in chrome  what is new in android.  I sat at desk and partially watched day one of the keynotes speeches. and yes they kept them really short. I guess that is why they are keynotes. They all have such deep accents too.

Ever speaker for the first part of the keynotes were talking so fast i could hardly keep up. Most of the time they seem to have been talking about features that i already used on my android device. They got rid of some boat that was not needed like the Google messenger, Google chat that no one use any way. The G+ page got some improvement and the Google hangout also got a face-lift with the G+ page.

Would you believe that out of the seven or so billion people in the world. 900 million of them are subscribed to the android platform. OMG Google, what are you trying to do take over the world like pinky and the brain. I guess the hint was when i learned that the game developer team member were called jet-brains.LOL.
I laugh at my own jokes. 

The Samsung galaxy S4 IR function

Amazing, the way that Samsung as done the ir function of the Galaxy S4. The IR port function on the Galaxy S4 is that remote control capability of this phone. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is also more than a smart phone. This S4 is also a device that can replace you standard remote control.
Samsung is not the first device that allows you to do this type of thing. There are apps from the app store that allows the Ipad or iphone to do this as well
Have you seen the iPad mini yet? We're giving you the reasons you've got to get one! # 2 is a no brainer! http://bit.ly/12XoCro
The Ipad does this all. Not as the S4 thou. Samsung has incorperate this functionality more into the hardware parts of the S4.Samsung made this small added function that may change the way people are now using their smart phone devices.
More and more smart phones are completely becoming a full functioning part of your life.
Do i like this Ir function? Not fully yet. I am not fully comfortable with using my smart phone as my remote control, because i use it already for so many other things, It is not that convenient for me.
I don't think it is a bad idea, some people may find it fits there life more than i do.
With the Samsung S4, It is possible to control your TV with your phone. I am not sure if this is possible for all bands and types of television... The Samsung Galaxy S4 have all the functionality of a standard universal remote added to its features. That may be one more thing might win your love for the device. Many people who used to be strong Apple defenders are now saying they love this Galaxy and have teleported over to the Samsung android dimension. All because of the new Samsung features Once you have programmed your phone to be a remote control. You may use it the same way as a standard remote. Changing channel, increasing the volume, viewing program schedules. Wait ... you can't view program schedules on most universal remote, can you?

HTC one Worse phone on the market?

Is the HTC one worth your money?  Lets take a look, at some of what the HTC one is offering. For starters... The HTC one, try to be the thin phone; that everyone is bragging on. Well, yes it is thin. Not the thinnest phone on the market up today. There are several phones that are thinner.(IPhone 5,Samsung S4) Just to name a few. Therefore the HTC one is not, the thinnest phone out there. This phone is very thin none the less.

The network capabilities are sub par? Because of the dynamic network choices... The HTC one is able to connect to almost all wireless network hotspot even LTE where it is available. This is a standard requirement for new phones in 2013 to compete in the LTE market.. Therefore HTC is nothing special in that aspect.

The display of the HTC one, is smaller than most; new phones that are out now. Even smaller than the Samsung S4,  the iphone 5, that have been out for some time before the HTC one.
The screen display on the HTC one is good quality. One of the only 1080p display with over 460 ppi. The Htc one is running out in front with this display; even the Samsung S4, with a 1080p display, does not have the amount of ppi of the HTC one. Samsung is not close enough to be in the same category. With a little over 440ppi.  This is where the HTC one out shines; many smart phones that are out right now. The display is definitively impressive, in viewing quality. Which makes up for the lacking in size. I guess you compromise with that sore of thing.

The HTC one "feels really good and solid to hold" is a quote from a tech reviewer. I may agree with that statement. I also like the aluminium case. Seem to be more durable, and it makes the phone feel rugged, like if dropped it, it will with stand a good fall. So it would be fair to say that the phone is rugged in the way it feels.

The Gyroscope makes for some fun gaming experiences. They are so far unmatched by any other phone, that i have used for mobile gaming. If you have the HTC one. Try playing any need-for-speed game that you have that require using the phone to turn and control the experience. You would love it!. This HTC one shine  in this department. If you play games? you will love this very much.
So i am slowly noticing that the HTC one, has some good qualities  To answer the question... No!, HTC one, is not the worse phone on the market.  It actually out performs and does many thing better that other phone with more hype. One of which was the sound quality, while gaming, or even just listening, to some songs play on the phone. The speakers, were louder than any phone. I have never heard, or have I owned a phone that sound this way. After hearing the sound quality and volume, of the HTC one, I was sold. I wanted the phone just for that. Which was kinda funny; Because, up to that point, i did not even make one phone call, and didn't know if the thing could even make phone calls, It was better than the mp3 player that i already owned.

I made some calls, and was pleased, to know that  the speakers worked well, with phone calls also. The sounds, came in clear, there were no complains; from the other end. Only, one small thing, gets annoying for me, it is some parts of the software. Other people may like it. This is just a personal annoyance, getting notifications, from Facebook when i turn on the phone. It was just a small annoyance, till i just signed out of the Facebook app.

The HTC one uses Android 4.2 jelly bean, with a HTC skin. That i find intuitive; very smooth and easy to work with, and understand. After using it once or twice, going through the settings. I picked up on, the theme really quick. Many options for home screen, to choose from, and add to customizing.
Now that, i have gotten to see what this phone can do. It is the opposite. I can say HTC one is one of the best phones on the market with no reservations.

Review of the Samsung Galaxy S4

So far, The Galaxy S4 is an impressive phone. I can tell it is an upgrade on the Galaxy S3 for sure.  The S4 as a more sophisticated feel to it, for starters. Even thou the S4 is only a little bigger than the S3 sources and tech reviewers are claiming that they don't feel much of a difference. They are not complaining. They actually thing that the S4 is a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy Note 2, which is another impressive phone from the Samsung library.
The Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S3 as very similar button and port layout. This as not changed that much. You will not need to search too hard to find the volume, power buttons or where to put your charging cables. So if you have the S3 now, The S4 would be a smooth transition.
Just as advertised. You will have the ability to easily change batteries, by removing the back cover if you need to replace the battery for any reason.
The S4 software platform is Jelly bean 4.2. Upgrade from the 4.1 on the S3,with several new feature in the way the software performs,  and offers a wide array of customization for the look and feel of your new phone. I also see many of the Google features incorporated in the software, which is very understandable since the O.S. is written by Google.  Which also makes the S4 seamless  with any other services that you use from the  Google market/playstore.

The camera on this phone is definitely one of the best cameras out for smart phones to date and it shows in performance. As you may know there is a camera on both sides of the phone. I am referring to the rare facing camera which is a 13 megapixel camera. Coupled with some of Samsung's Trademark camera features. This camera shines with quality pictures, good clear zooming that minimal pix elation hardly noticeable at all. Samsung added some feature to the camera app that are just quite notable to say the least. since no other smart phones do what this camera allows you to do with your phone. these feature are typically found in high quality photo editing software. One function allows you to make gifs with a snippet of video. There was an app that the iPhone used to do this also and Samsung incorporated it well in the camera features of this phone.

I may have mention this feature in previous post on this blog. The Air view feature still impresses me, by allowing the use of many features without actually touching the screen,of your. But, by merely just hover over the screen, with your fingers, to manipulate what is on the display. You would not need worry of getting greasy paw prints, on you screen, if that is a concern. You are able to turn all the smart features on or off, that work with this software. The one that i think would be liked most, is the automatic scrolling. You may use this, if you are looking for a specific part in an article; That your are reading online, or even, a page in a book; That you are reading on your phone. If you look away the, screen pauses itself; It resumes when you are looking back at the screen. While all these feature can be helpful. You can simply turn them off, when you are not using them.

The Galaxy S4 has  a LED display. means you have better power consumption and a wider range of illumination This is a HD screen also. With 1920x1080 screen display.The spec super AMOLED HD with a Snap dragon processor gpu powerful enough to handle the clear crisp screen quality. Generating 441 ppi of sharp images, defined curves and text lettering, smooth video viewing, and just a pleasing view for the eyeballs. This with air gesture/air view, makes this phone a good upgrade.
The negative about this display is that it has a dull look when viewing outside under direct sun light, It gives better quality viewing inside or at nighttime.

Overall i would recommend this phone only for the display and the gesture hands free controls.  Those are the only significant feature about this phone that are different from what can be done with the S3. There are better phones out now that are good performers and will be a good buy. I donot think the Samsung S4 is a must have, If you already have the S3. So my recomendation would be to wait till something better comes along, and in the meantime you just need to upgrade you S3 software to 4.2 jelly bean, if didnot already do that.

                       

Gaming Computers

I want one. Over the years, i have seen many computers. My first computer was a Macintosh. Nothing fancy    at all. I can barely remember what it had in it. I work for a year or something like that. I spent very little money on anything because i wanted a computer for myself. We had a home computer for the family to use. At that time, Big ideas was all in my head. I knew i wanted to do drawing and designs.
The computer that i bought was brand new. In the late 80s to early 90s computers cost as much as a good used car a desktop could run you any where in the $1800 range and going up. At that time i had no car, yet i saved to get a computer.Now computers are more affordable in windows operating systems and more variety. Quality thou. still come at a slightly high cost.  There are more people involve in gaming now . computer games have always been around, in the 

ASUS 17.3" Gaming Laptop, 3rd Gen. Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.4GHz, 16GB DDR3, 3GB NVIDIA GTX 670MX, Blu-ray Player/DVDRW - $1,449.99, Normally 1,529.99.  the things that makes a good gaming system. To get a gaming system that is rugged and be able to handle the rendering and responsiveness of gaming environment, brings back these  memories of my first computer for me. A gaming computer means a quality computer. It rely on what is inside and not how much is inside. I good bawse gaming laptop just needs, at first a good graphic card with at least 2 gb of memory takes some of the burden off the processor. Next you will need a reliable processor something with compatible speeds to the graphic card, Remember

these key things in building or buying a computer. Keep components like processor, graphics card and mother board especially at the highest speed, they will be the back bone of you system. I would try to find some thing with an sdd instead of hdd, for low heat and most quietness  I don't really think a good computer needs to be heard all the way across the room.
  The Asus Republic is    



not a bad choice of part selection. The price thous is over kill. Yes it is a laptop and more convenient to take with you on the road. I would buy the slightly cheaper    

Thecomputa: Samsung S4 Benchmarks (Video)

Thecomputa: Samsung S4 Benchmarks (Video): Slightly bigger screen, 2 GB ram,wave through photos with gesture control, S health, and so many other fun apps that work...

Samsung S4 Benchmarks (Video)

Slightly bigger screen, 2 GB ram,wave through photos with gesture control, S health, and so many other fun apps that works so well on the S4, the integrating of Google maps, hover  features are also cool. In a recent post about the S4. We talked about some of the Samsung Galaxy Features. We wanted to review it through and through to see what the tech improvements are. I found this video from,  iFixitYouorself’s  YouTube page. This review is the most through and through tear-down that we like to see as technicians and as consumers.

 This video as to be the most consumer friendly that i found. The Samsung S4 specs are mentioned and the breakdown of what they mean for clear understanding. Like the recent post mentioned. Not much as improved in the design and materials. The phone is still made from plastic for the body.

Samsung S4 uses the snapdragon 600 processor, This is a quad-core and is used, also, the debated Exynos processor that is said to be of a slower speed. However the Exynos 5 Octa 8 cores has more cores to work with. The Exynos processors are mostly in Europe and other countries.  May also be requested as there are in some versions of the S4. Which processor is better?  It is a close call with each having attributes of their own.

What is Google Babel

You would think that we are flooded with social media and ways to interact online. From all the ways that are available to communicate. Gmail, G+, Google talk, etc., you may notice that Google alone have so many different plat forms to interact.
Well according to rumored sources on the internet... Google is planning to introduce the all in one interaction/message platform hub for all their services.
The new platforms is said to be called Babel, which is loosely defined as a confused noise typically that made by a number of voices. Also a scene of noisy confusion.
The new service is expected to unify all the services according to sources, that intercepted a piece of code in an email communication on a Gmail page saying that Babel is Google's new messenger with clients for Android, IOS, Chrome, Google+ and the other Google mail service will be able to access the same conversation list from anywhere! is a loose quote from the Google Operating System blog Stating "That's how Google describes the new service."
Droid life as also wrote about the new "Babel " service which was rumored to have merged Google's email and chat services together into a cross-platform chat solution. Droid life's wrote "While most of those reports were on the right track, we believe that the actual name of the new Google messenger service is called “Babel” rather than “Babble,” at least internally."  correcting their previous post about the name. This picture from the

 Droid Life page showing the tower of Babel is attached to an exclusive news article that stated that other features like photo sharing  and live video chat access and on the record history of chat viewing  from anywhere. According to sources for DroidLife. May just be part of the rumor. So far these have not been fully confirmed yet.

These reports are getting Google users, very exited to have an all in one platform to sync their communication across devices and platforms. They can't wait to have this. Seems like Google is on the right track. They may be late, following Apple. Who already have such services.  Leaving Google's Android users feeling a little lacking of the feature.

The Facebook home also have a cross platform/cross device OS with chat heads incorporated into there software and people seem to like that feature. We would like to see that in the Google Babel also, if Google decide on paying FB some patent fees to make their users happy.

Consumers are always asking for more and companies are required to produce what the demand is. This PR from around the web is definitely good for Google. Now it is up to them to produce.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Another celebrity of the phone business was released recently and people are exited about this new phone with some reservations.
Samsung as the latest in the gesture control technology. But do people really feel ready for that? Maybe or maybe not. What ever the case, Samsung is innovating and that is what really matters. The fact that this new device is released so quick after the Galaxy note is typical of Samsung to be consistent in rolling out device after device.
The Samsung platform is very neat. I have had many geekogisms just from videos that shows the first look and features. And yes (geekogisms) is a word i made up.

I fell in love in March when the S4 was announced. The software features was so entreating to me, because of the air swipe feature ooooohhohohho, i just came to my heaven, and Samsung S4 is an angel. No other phone sport this feature at the time and that makes me so exited that i can't even explain why i feel this way.
Now a month later, and the phone is getting into hands of anyone that can get their hands on it. These features are explained better in this video.

              

Of all the videos that i have watched of the Galaxy S4 these videos explained the features very well i think. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is in itself a worth while investment.

I have a phone that is not old enough for an upgrade right now. I feel like it might get lost or i may have an accident with my S3 or who knows where i leave my phone sometimes. These things
 get lost. It's a thing. That happens sometimes and we just have to replace or upgrade and move on with our lives.
Maybe i am sharing too much. I am still feeling really impressed after watching  and reading up on this phone.
Nice hardware to work with and offering so much on the software side. Still some bench marks for  network speed and we good. 

HP Z1 vs Gateway 1 ZX series

After looking at the specs briefly.  Comparing the Hp and the Gateway all in one computers got me thinking...

Other than Brand loyalty, "why would i buy the Hp Z1?, The new all in one desktop unit.  Hewlet Packerd  (HP) has on the market for consumers.
First let me tell you a little about the HP Z1. This all in one desktop is a 27" beast of a desktop. The manufacturer managed the feat of allowing this design an size to work at the advantage of using no tools for servicing or swapping out parts.  At Hp  U.S. you may find the features and the indepth specs of the machine.This unit carries an hd web cam, that is easily adjusted for several angles, The HP Z1 have a quad core Intel Xeon processor. This would be important to an architect or designer that requires a certain set of hardware to make a high quality work station. This also could apply to gamer, video and photo editors that do high volume of rendering. However this Z1 does not have the touch screen feature capable, which i feel that is becoming the common thing since windows 8 launched. Instead for the Windows 7 users that have trusted windows 7 for a while now. This desktop is perfect for you. It comes with 32 or 64 bit version of windows professional, you may also get this machine with Linux installer kit or even no software preload. Yes there are many technical access available to a standard user. The design is made so anyone can service this Z1.  Yes the Z1 is able to be serviced even without tools. This is the biggest feature with this computer. Franky,  this is one computer that could last for a long time and be up gradable. The HP Z1 score a 90% A- for repairable without tools. A overall score would only at this point is 87% because of the lack of a touch screen capable feature. Every other hardware component seem to score very high and therefore may explain the price been so high compared to other All in one desktop.

Gateway also have and All in one desktop. You may not know much about the Gateway brand . They have been manufacturing computers for a long time. They have been owned by several different owners and have been recently purchased by Acer. Gateway have been making the All in one style desktop for previous model years and this is not their first. However the newest version of Gateway's all in one. The Gateway One ZX series. First notable is the price range from $749.99 up to $949.99

which makes it significantly cheaper than the HP Z1 which is $1699 or more.
The Gateway 0ne Zx series trys to sell it self as a wall mounted multipurpose Tv/desktop computer with a touch screen, which is not a bad design since that maybe the direction that we going with technology. The Gateway Zx uses forms of hand gestures to interact with the 23 screen. This is seamless with the windows 8 operating system, The design of the Gateway one is  slim, 2.28" deep, with a standard 23"screen. This Gateway one Zx series of computers claim style and balance stated by the Gateway product site in the U S.
This computer also have good graphics for gaming and streaming video for Tv viewing at the high end. This desktop also offers video editing and gaming . The determining factor would be if it comes down to wether you want the freedom to upgrade when you choose or the touch screen technology. Because each unit have many of the same attributes and if price is a factor for students and just basic family home use the the choice is clear. The HP Z1 is more of a professional build desktop and the Gateway ZX is more home / student machine.