Absolutely Sickening...

Just in case anyone doesn't understand why it's important to be nice to customer support reps, even when we're frustrated and ticked off at the company, this should help us understand:

http://www.woio.com/story/15681533/time-warner-workers-death-sparks-a-carl-monday-investigation

Seriously. I don't think I can add anymore to that. Just my deepest prayers and condolences for the family and those involved.

Okay, they were going somewhere....

Okay, good, Nokia brought out their new Lumia 800. Their new Windows Phone device. And the design is absolutely beautiful. I can't deny that. Stephen Elop is being totally stuck up. He claims that it's "the first real Windows Phone" - I bet Microsoft's other partners aren't too happy hearing that. The person introducing it - Kevin Shields screamed "IT LOOKS AWESOME" - and judging by the video, yes it does. But it's plastic. They call it polycarbonate, and they're pointing out that provides excellent antenna performance. Seriously. A plastic premium smartphone that they're saying uses plastic. "It's a Nokia, it's gonna have a great camera." Yikes.

I will admit it's interesting. It does look good, and it's completely different from anything else on the market. But is that going to be enough? It's hard to tell from a video, without the device in my hand. But going on specs, I'd much rather have an iPhone 4S. Apple's using glass and metal, with a state-of-the-art camera and AI voice assistance. Nokia's providing Windows Phone in a unique (and seemingly really small and well designed) package. Hmm... the guy just referred to "what you don't see is a lame grid of application icons." When your major keynote introduction refers to the competing products as "lame"...

UPDATE - they also introduced a lower-end Lumia 710. And they do have some really cool features. Like free offline navigation. I still don't think it'll be enough to save Nokia, but they are nice products. For anyone who loves to complain about American mobile networks, Vodafone UK failed for Nokia (they were unable to call between phones on stage); and their Wi-Fi network at the announcement also apparently had issues.

UPDATE 2 - Nokia is not bringing these devices to the United States it would appear, instead they have promised a "portfolio" of devices for the US in early 2012. They also hinted that at least one of the carriers would be Verizon by stating that in addition to W-CDMA/HSPA they planned to bring CDMA and LTE devices for "specific local market requirements" - without getting into detail. Obviously, that combination is pretty much unique to Verizon Wireless worldwide. I'd be a little surprised if AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint don't also see some of Nokia's new goodies, but they're definitely strongly hinting that Verizon will see something from them early next year at the least.

Nokia's Focus on Emerging Markets

Today, Nokia's talking about bringing smartphones to the "next billion" at their Nokia World conference. Calling them "young and aspirational" and living in "high-growth economies" with a median age "below 25." In other words, to put it bluntly, it appears as if Nokia's giving up in the developed world. Apple and Google have completely destroyed Nokia. By being excited about developing markets (a good thing, do not get me wrong), Nokia has given me the appearance that they're done here. "It's gotta be about affordable, it's gotta be about irresistible, it's gotta be about easy to use, it's gotta be about inviting, it's gotta be just great." They marketing to people who don't have "a hell of a lot of disposable income." She gets the Asha 300 touch/type phone.

They're showing off people in developing countries and telling their stories to show how Nokia's new phones fit these users. And the boy in Nairobi supposedly is "fantasizing" about a dual-SIM phone so he can have two phone identities. Thus the Asha 200 phone. This lady is seriously a little over-enthusiastic about phones, more than Steve Jobs got. And Steve Jobs was introducing products that "change everything." These are low-end Series 40 Nokia phones (NOT the new Windows Phone devices). And the big draw is that Nokia's bringing Angry Birds to Series 40. Seriously.

We shall see what comes later in the presentation, but so far, I'm thinking this is death to Nokia...

PenTile and the Galaxy Nexus

I've heard a lot of whining about the PenTile matrix (RGBG) pixel layout being used on the Galaxy Nexus. The image above is my Galaxy S (poor color uniformity is a result of the iPhone camera used to take this photo, NOT the display). It's sharp, really sharp. But it's got a weird characteristic to that the iPhone couldn't quite focus well enough to capture. There's a red "fuzz" around letters. That's the result of the PenTile 2 subpixel-per-pixel structure. But, I don't think it's a problem in the Galaxy Nexus. It may even be a good thing. How? Well, first we need some background...

PenTile is controversial, and the fuzziness caused by the PenTile layout annoys me. It makes text less crisp, plain and simple. For photos and videos, it looks beautiful. The human eye is more sensitive to green light than to red or blue. The science, there, is solid. For blue, which is the point, PenTile is just fine. But you can see the structure of the red subpixels on the Galaxy S. The human eye is sensitive enough to red. That results in a weird red fuzziness around text.

Some people see this, some never notice it. That's on an 800x480 display. With the 1280x720 pixel display, even the red subpixels are now close enough together than even fewer people will notice the reduced number of red subpixels (the blue doesn't matter so much).

PenTile has a purpose, and a benefit. Like all emissive displays, OLED displays are subject to burn-in - uneven wear. Green OLEDs have the longest life, Blue the shortest. On my Galaxy S, the blue channel has the status bar very noticeably burnt in. The red channel also has noticeable burn in. The green channel does not.

The PenTile layout keeps this from being even worse than it already is. The most important color visually (to the human eye for sharpness) also lasts the longest? Bigger OLEDs last longer. So if you make the red and blue ones substantially physically bigger and pair only red OR blue with each green, you have a display that's going to exhibit less burn-in, and less shift towards green over it's service life.

Combined with advances in OLED lifespan, PenTile helps make OLED displays last longer and is keeping them more competitive. I agree, it was an issue when it came to sharpness of text. However, I have not seen one of the new 1280x720 displays, and I'm sure you haven't either. The pixel density of the whole thing is so high that I expect it to look VERY good, and I do not expect the problem of visible red subpixels to exist.

We'll see, but wait until you have it in your hands to judge. There are some very good engineering reasons to use the PenTile subpixel layout, and as pixel density goes up the disadvantages become less and the advantages greater.

P.S. I'd like to make one additional note, there's a site online claiming that the PenTile subpixel layout results in worse color rendition. Actually, NO, part of the point is to IMPROVE color rendition by reducing uneven wear between channels over the life of the display. No part of this scheme worsens color rendition. The PenTile layout that worsens color rendition is their RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White) LCD layout. That is a completely separate system that reduces the color gamut to gain brightness (a similar system has been used in single-chip DLP projectors for years)

Happy Spirit Day!

Okay, so I'm a few hours late on this one, but I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Spirit Day, October 20th. What is Spirit Day you ask? It's some gay pride thing, right? Well, yes - and no. Spirit Day was started by a teenager, Brittany McMillan, in remembrance of LGBT youth who took their own lives. No matter what you believe, where you stand on political issues, religious issues, etc, I hope that we can all agree that suicide is a horrible tragedy. Everyone's life is valuable, and I just want to take a moment to tell the families, friends, and loved ones of those youth - you are loved, there is hope, life is valuable and precious. I stand with you, and I support you as you go through such a difficult loss. Let's set aside the politics for a bit, and focus on the most important thing of all - love. Showing every person how valuable and important they are, no matter what.

P.S. I hadn't mentioned it yet, but for October, I'm sure you've also noticed my black and white theme is wearing pink date headers. This is in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - my best friend's mom had a horrible struggle with breast cancer. She's one of the lucky ones who made it - but it is an unbelievable struggle. Please join me in praying for a cure for all cancers!

iPhone 4S GLONASS

One of the first things I noticed when I looked up the specs for the new iPhone's baseband chip is that it supported GLONASS, Russia's GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Now, just because the baseband supports it doesn't mean the device does. The baseband also supports UMTS Band IV (T-Mobile 3G/4G) yet the iPhone 4S does not. It looked like GLONASS was the same situation.

Until today, someone noticed Apple now lists GLONASS support on their Tech Specs page. GLONASS is similar to the US Air Force GPS system. There are some minor differences, but accuracy, availability, etc is similar for most of the world (and actually MUCH better on GLONASS at extreme northern latitudes, part of Russia's interest in the system). The GLONASS constellation was just completed weeks ago, bringing it up to full design availability. GLONASS on the iPhone (or any other GNSS receiver) serves as a backup/alternative to GPS.

GPS is ran by the US Air Force and is such a key part of our national and international infrastructure, that if the US were to shut it down for some reason, the political situation would be so dire that you'd have far bigger concerns than your iPhone not getting a position fix. But a backup is still useful. Have you ever been in the forest? Sometimes when it's dense it's HARD to get a GPS lock, you have to see three satellites (ideally more) through the clearings. GLONASS support gives the iPhone 4S another GNSS system to use for a position fix, and while I don't know how Apple's implementation works (and no one likely ever will), there is the potential for it to be a simultaneous search where which ever system can calculate a position fix first wins. It could even potentially use both systems for better accuracy.

This minor change is major. It should mean better, more accurate position fixes quicker by giving the iPhone one more high-accuracy source for a position fix. The basic operating principles of GLONASS are the same. You still need to see relatively low-powered satellites. Wi-Fi and cell sites will still be used for indoor position fixes. But, more than anything, the magic in this is the availability of a cheap, mass-market GLONASS receiver in a phone. The newest Garmin eTrex units also support GLONASS. And that's where the real magic of GLONASS will be. Better, more accurate fixes in even more remote places thanks to the powerful combination of two GNSS systems. Plus the symbolic lack of dependence on a military operated system (GLONASS is a project of the Russian space agency, not their military. GPS is a project of the US Air Force)

CellularSouth Gets The iPhone

Remember CellularSouth? They're the obscure rural carrier, now doing business as "C Spire" wireless that tried VERY hard to keep those of us living in ex-Alltel areas from having AT&T service. Their argument? AT&T shouldn't be allowed to grow unless they give up the iPhone exclusive. Well guess, what? C Spire is getting the iPhone.

Normally, I say the more competition the better, but did Apple really need to give it first to the carrier that took their business complaint before the FCC in unrelated proceedings?

The Galaxy Tempts Me

Today, Google and Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Nexus. The newest in the Android world, and possibly just enough to tip me away from Apple. Remotely possibly. 720p Super AMOLED display (no sign of it being Super AMOLED Plus though - which means it'll probably be PenTile Matrix unless someone can correct that?). Ice Cream Sandwich. HSPA+. Totally open source.

It's tempting, it's a fantastic piece of hardware (even if it is PenTile, that resolution is killer). The problem is that the best hardware in the world, and even the stellar - galactic - improvements to Android that Ice Cream Sandwich seems to be bringing - doesn't make up for the lack of real-world device support and usability. Things we take for granted on iPhone often just don't exist - or don't work as well - on Android. So no matter how beautiful the hardware and OS are, the dev support has to be there before I could consider switching. And devs won't switch to a minority platform. Thus, the catch - though Android is rapidly gaining popularity among average folks so it may not be a minority platform in the eyes of developers for long - I'm pretty sure it's already outselling the iPhone actually - but remember, when you develop for iOS, you're also developing for the iPod Touch. Which outsells any smartphone...

Thinking Fire?

It's the HOT new thing - Kindle Fire, Amazon's $199 tablet - but what makes it burn? It sure isn't tech specs. No cameras. Some unknown Android version, presumably rather old, with Amazon's custom interface hacked on top. No Android Market. No Google Apps. This is Android, in some form, under the hood - but it's a uniquely Amazon device. It is not a Google Experience product. There's only one mention of Android on the product page. Amazon is not selling this as an Android tablet. They're selling it as an Amazon tablet. It's use of Android means little. The seven-inch screen won't win many fans in a ten-inch world. So why is it selling like hotcakes?

The price. Nobody can compete with Amazon's price. Even with the features missing, $199 is a bargain for this device. Most likely too good to be true, in fact. The Kindle Fire is almost certainly a subsidized device, something Amazon is selling at a loss in order to push content. This is no surprise, since that's what Kindle has always been about. Just, realize this before you buy it as an iPad alternative. This is a Kindle for video, kids' books, and magazines - one that has basic tablet functionality to help people justify the pricing.

But there's other choices - Lenovo offers the IdeaPad A1 - a cuter, more functional device. Coming out a couple weeks before the Kindle Fire, the A1 will also feature an old Android version, and a 7" screen. But it will be a much less customized Android experience. It'll be a real Android toy. With all the accompanying Google apps. $199 for a 2GB version (Kindle Fire is 8GB) and $249 for a 16GB version. Seems like the better deal to me. It has cameras, too :) Guess what - with the Kindle App for Android, you'll even be able to read your Kindle books on it !

The Kindle Fire is a good choice for some. It looks like Amazon has made easy-to-use a top priority. I'm recommending it to my Grandma, who'd love some form of email and Facebook but can't figure out her computer at all, partially because mouse control is a major challenge for her. But unless simplicity comes above all else, or the the Kindle picture books, magazines, and Amazon video tempts you dearly, I think there will be lots of better choices at the same price point as we get closer to Christmas shopping time.

Why We Do What We Do

Okay, so I know a few people thought I was crazy when I told them I took a DLP projector with a broken color wheel and turned it into a greyscale projector. Here's why. Do you see the words on the back wall? They're coming from that greyscale DLP projector. Not only that but do you see all of the stars (much more visible in real life) that extend well up onto the ceiling? All coming from that projector. The projected image is nearly 40 feet wide. The extra brightness not having the color wheel gives us makes this possible. Is it BRIGHT? Nah. But it's competitive with the rest of our stage lighting. As a greyscale unit, it's purpose is NOT to show bright, sharp, crisp video. It obviously can't do that anymore anyways (unless you like pre-1930's movies). It's to be a fun lighting instrument to play with. And it does that extremely well:

Melting A Lighting Gel :) (aka Greyscale DLP)

At my church we recently lost two Optoma EP759 DLP projectors. Both had color wheel failures within a few weeks of lamp replacement. So I decided to hack one of them to function without the color wheel by removing the remainder of the glass from the wheel (leaving the wheel assembly since the projector needs to believe it's there and see it spinning in order to function). The result is a much bright projector, with one of the main sources of light loss gone. It's greyscale only, but very bright for a portable projector. It has potential theatrical applications in our church, but I'm posting this to demonstrate what this bad boy does to a lighting gel directly in front of the projector. It burned this hole in the gel within a couple seconds. Yay for high lumen greyscale DLP projection. And re-purposing seemingly broken equipment :)

Epinions Deactivated Me - And Took My Earnings

Okay, wow, I guess my blog is starting to sound like a rant about bad tech companies. Perhaps it is, but that should only be a bad reflection on the fact there are so many bad tech companies. Long before blogs even entered my mind, I wrote reviews on a site called Epinions. Epinions pays their members "Eroyalties" - a tiny (and tinier over the years) percentage of their advertising revenue. My last "Epinion" was written nearly two years ago, but I still logged in every few months to claim a $10-$20 check. It had probably been six months, so I figured today was the day. I should be at the $10-$20 range by now. Guess what?

I was informed my account was deactivated, and that all unclaimed Eroyalties had been revoked. Wow. They were still making money off my reviews, but not sharing it with me. I suppose their contract allows that, but I sure won't be writing any future reviews on Epinions. Product reviews of note will be posted *here.* Epinions and other sites are useful for what they are, but they've really lost their base of strong writers that made them special. Now most of the reviews are similar to the ones you find on sites like Amazon. Who can be remotely surprised, with decreasing commissions and stupid stunts like this?

Dear PsPrint

Tonight, a company I have recommended to others many times, and used my self a fair number, might have forever lost me as a customer. Here's an open letter to them. Does anyone have suggestions on a replacement?

Dear PsPrint,

My name is Mark Uhde and I use PsPrint for my small business printing needs, and more significantly - I recommend your services to others constantly. However, after my experience tonight, I've started searching for a replacement company both for my own needs and to recommend to others.

My dissatisfaction with PsPrint began this summer when I received a telemarketing call from you guys. Junk email (which you're good about to be fair) is bad enough, but if there is one thing I absolutely do not tolerate well, it is telemarketing calls. I pay a phone bill, and am charged by the minute, so that I can do business with clients - not so I can deal with telemarketing calls from the company that printed my business cards. You already *have* me as a customer. But the calls make it so I don't *want* to do business with you in the future, just so I don't have to deal with your calls when I could be doing something productive with my time.

Okay, so, PsPrint. Your telemarketing call already made me mad enough. Now, the final straw. Tonight, I received a call, while I was setting up for an event (so I ignored it, thus having to call back) that you were putting a hold on my order. Not because of any technical problem whatsoever (that I could understand), but because your press person didn't like my design. See, the point of online printing is this - I send you properly prepared files and you print them, as is and mail them to me. It's supposed to be quick, easy, convenient, and cheap with minimum hassle. Getting a call asking me if I'm sure I really want the file I sent printed is not minimum hassle. It's a lot of hassle. Yes, I'm sure I want it printed. I don't care if your person prefers rich black. I don't care if he doesn't like my rotated back. I designed it the way I did because *THAT IS HOW I WANTED IT.* I chose an online printing service so that I would NOT have to deal with the hassle or expense. I just send you the files, and you print them. Why make it more complex than that?

Thank you for your time to consider these issues. Hopefully the feedback will be taken so that you might have some ideas on how to retain (and how not to lose) future customers.

Sincerely,

Mark Uhde

The Crazy Ones

"They change things. They push the human race forward." This is how Apple once described "the crazy ones" in a famous television commercial. Love him or hate him, and honestly, both are probably too extreme. He was another business man. Well known for being a jerk to his employees, firing people at will over silly reasons, and not reuniting with his birth father; Steve Jobs was also the co-founder of a company that changed the way people interact with technology.

There were MP3 players before the iPod. But they, quite frankly, sucked. The iPod was revolutionary. It had a 5GB hard drive in it. In the days of cheap, readily available flash memory, that may seem like nothing. But a decade ago it was incredible. Unheard of in a portable device. It was small (ish), portable, lasted a full work day on battery, and held a massive amount of music. The $399 price tag was very high, but you got a product that could finally do the things people imagined being able to do - easily carry their music library with them, anywhere.

There were computers before the Mac, but you had to learn how to use them. The Mac brought the familiar "desktop" model every major platform uses today. This allowed people to relate to their computer in a way that made sense and connected with people's pre-existing knowledge of real-world objects.

There were touchscreen phones before the iPhone. They didn't even suck. They worked pretty darn well, and did a lot more than the iPhone did on launch day. But they were confusing, difficult to use, and geared towards professionals. The iPhone brought a user interface that made sense to "every man", and a fashionable product people wanted to carry with them.

Did Steve Jobs invent these products? Nope, not really. His staff did, especially Jonathan Ive in recent years. But Steve Jobs knew how to bring revolutionary products to market. Products that changed the way people interact with their world. That picture above? I took it on my iPhone 4. Unedited, straight off the phone. Absolutely stunning, because Apple (usually) knows how to get products right. In the little ways that don't show up on spec sheets, but make all the difference in the world to real users.

What can companies learn from Apple? Quit worrying about spec sheets. Only geeks care, because they're so smart they're idiots and don't pay attention to how the product works. Design beautiful products that work well. Don't load your computers with garbage and adware that makes them slow and barely functional out of the box. Create a product you want to use. Something you'd open and start using yourself. Something you could live with every day. Then sell it to everyone else :) That's what Jobs knew how to do. Hire the right guy to design the products he would use himself, then sell them to everyone else. Revolutionary? Yes. Only one who can do it? Absolutely not.

Netbook vs Tablet

There's a tech question not many people are asking anymore. But they should be. The question is - netbook or tablet? Most people want tablets. Actually, no. Most people want the Apple iPad 2. But today I'm comparing the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the Acer Aspire One Happy2. Which is right for you? Well, they're very different products but to put it quite frankly, the Aspire One is a computer and the Galaxy Tab is a toy. The Galaxy tab is almost twice the price, but it's gorgeous. The screen makes the iPad look dull and washed out. And the iPad makes the Acer screen look bad. The Galaxy Tab is simply stunningly beautiful. And it definitely is a lot more usable out of the box. Quite frankly, Windows 7 Starter is worthless trash. Ubuntu is a free, open source alternative operating system that runs great, however.

Which brings us to - what do you want to do? If your goal is to use the device as a computer, the netbook will be much more pleasing since it is a computer. It can visit most websites, do most things you expect from a computer. It's a little slow, but it works. I was just watching a TV show on Hulu. You're not going to do that on a Galaxy Tab - Hulu blocks Android devices (no Hulu Plus on the Tab either). Granted, the low-quality screen made it a less than perfect experience, but quite workable never-the-less.

Want all the cool tablet apps you see for iPad? You're not going to get them on a Galaxy Tab. Most of the great tablet apps are strictly iDevice only. Most Android Market apps on Honeycomb are blown-up phone apps. Meh, not worth it. Camera? The Tab is far better, but a modern smartphone camera puts either one to shame. Video watching? The Tab's screen is gorgeous, but Netflix is a low-quality blown up phone app (no Netflix on Ubuntu though to be fair), and Hulu doesn't exist. Which leaves YouTube. And YouTube looks beautiful on the Tab. But is it enough?

I don't think so, and that's the feeling that I repeatedly get when using the Galaxy Tab... not enough. The software isn't enough, the hardware's gorgeous. But if it's a pretty toy that doesn't do much, who cares? The Acer Aspire One is a powerful (for it's size and class) miniature computer. You have a keyboard and word processing software to write your next great novel on. You have a full keyboard. You have the full range of... being a computer. The Galaxy Tab's a fun toy. It's great for the right person. A non-techy person who mostly wants YouTube, email, and Google video chat. If that sounds like you... enjoy. I choose the full computer :)

 

Netbooks dying? Acer Aspire One Happy 2

A new netbook! This weekend I was helping a good friend to setup a new Acer netbook with an Atom N550 dual-core processor. I was so impressed by it's performance, compared to my Dell Mini 1012, that I decided to buy a new Acer Aspire One Happy2 in "Papaya Milk". While I wait to see how this fruity, drink-flavored netbook turns out, I wanted to address the "death of the netbook." This is a concept I've heard repeatedly "the netbook is dying! the netbook is dying!" Sadly, it's true. Products like Apple's iPad have received all the glory. And they have a great purpose. But so does a netbook. Unlike an iPad, a netbook is a computer. It's an open development environment, with a world of resources, a full keyboard and connectivity, and an immensely different purpose. They're great computers for kids, teenagers, and anyone who needs the capabilities and connectivity of a computer without the size and cost of a full-power laptop. An iPad is great too, but I don't think we should let the tablet drive the netbook out of the market. There's so much they can do we barely realize.