Technology Android

[dilla]

^ S-pen and digitizer which changes a lot if you want to do any kind of drawing or writing. That's all. For some people that's worth the money, for some it's not.

Anyways I bought myself a Windows tablet (The Asus T100) and I sold my Macbook Air. I loved it, but it wasn't useful to me since I have a PC with big screen and all that at home and I also have a company laptop, so the MBA was wasted on me.
I will probably sell my 2012 Nexus 7 as well or just keep it for playing with new Android releases and stuff.
Windows 8.1 is not ideal but it gives me lots of functionality that can't be matched by Android or iOS, even if it's far less convenient especially to use on the run.

TRAITOR!!!

I have been forced to use Win7 and Win 8 the last week or so at my dad's clinic since a lot of those computers have been having some issues. It's not that bad. Win8 is really frustrating. I couldn't get used to the tiles concept, but I can see where it can kind of be useful. But I'm too used to using the mouse a lot and keyboard. The tiles seems to use just the mouse but even be meant more for the touch screen aspect of Win8.

I use my dad's machine which is...12GB? Core i7. It's a 2012 model Lenovo, not sure on specifics but it's a very capable machine. Aside for the virus he managed to acquire....16 months ago....I'm sure it would be even snappier without all that crap bogging him down.

I'm actually about to restore his computer to factory default. The virus is blocking the installation of Norton or any other AV and even the virus definitions of MS Security Essentials. And Windows Updates too. And it's bringing up popups for installations for Flash Player like no other. It's just a mess.

I wonder if I could just download a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (the version he is using) from The Pirate Bay and do a stock install of Windows, as opposed to all that bloatware from Lenovo. I might have to go find some drivers on my own, but I don't even think that would be necessary since Windows Update is pretty good about that. He has the license key as a sticker on the side of the tower, so it's still a legit install.

 

[ARon]

If you're on a PC why do you even bother using the tiles, why not use desktop mode like normal people who try not to give themselves something to complain about

 

[masta247]

Windows 8 is more efficient and.. the tile UI, while still sucks and gives you a headache, actually makes more sense on a tablet. The Tiles absolutely and utterly suck on PCs and the apps hog extra resources and the multitasking would be fine if it really worked (ie killed processes after you close an app). I'm frequently running out of ram just because the apps I closed in Metro are hogging hundreds of MBs of Ram.. and the tablet only has 2gb. So I have to manually kill processes through Desktop view to be able to run a game without it crashing due to not enough RAM (the GPU uses RAM for graphics memory).

Anyway, while it's not convenient, it's very functional. I find I can do more with it than with the MBA due to Windows. I didn't realize how much more I can do with it until I started using that tablet instead of the MBA. I feel much safer that I'll be able to do anything without spending crazy amount of time to find out how to do something on a Mac and whether it's even possible at all.
Don't get me wrong, the MBA is an awesome device, a great laptop. Just the MacOSX is too limited for me. It's good for someone who does simple tasks or does the same things with it all the time. In that case it's much better than Windows 8. It doesn't give the same comfort of being able to do anything like Windows does for me though, unfortunately. Unfortunately, because it's still a pain to use Windows 8 for me, even though it makes more sense on a tablet and I just need Windows' program base.

Windows 7 is slowly becoming outdated though, especially on a modern portable device. Windows 8 brings a lot of under the hood improvements for laptops and tablets that unfortunately didn't reach Windows 7.

 

[ARon]

This is like a whole new Masta. I've been a fan of 8 since I first used it, it's fast and somewhat intuitive. I can get to the device manager way easier than before for instance, just little things like that make me a fan. I'd be doing an injustice to it if I didn't tell you how many times I use the windows key plus q to bring up search and find anything in an instant. Even pulling up apps with it is easier than going in to metro and finding it


Also, Masta, if you just use alt+f4 to close an app does it close it completely or no?

 

[dilla]

If you're on a PC why do you even bother using the tiles, why not use desktop mode like normal people who try not to give themselves something to complain about

Because in order to access the control panel, I needed to get to the tiles. Clicking the Start button brings up the tiles, instead of just the vertical bar thingy that's been since pre-Win8. The Start Menu, I guess it's called.

MS is trying way too hard to play catch up in terms of accessibility. I don't know how anyone deals with that shit. Win 7 is simple enough. Win8 is just another Vista.

OSX needs to really hit it out the park with the next version. Mavericks is shit. It's the Win8, to me, and Mountain Lion being the more stable Win7.

I don't do anything ridiculous on my Mac. No programming or whatever. I guess my tasks qualify as repetitive and simple, but it's done so much faster for me on my MBP than on any Windows machine I've used.

 

[ARon]

Because in order to access the control panel, I needed to get to the tiles. Clicking the Start button brings up the tiles, instead of just the vertical bar thingy that's been since pre-Win8. The Start Menu, I guess it's called.

Doesn't right clicking the Start button bring up the quick menu with control panel?

 

[dilla]

I don't know, man. I was fucking around with it to remove malware, something I haven't had to deal with on my Mac in four years. My dad just orders new computers and they came with Win 8.

Another thing I saw was Netflix makes you use the Win 8 app instead of using the browser to watch Netflix. Not sure how true it is but that's gay.

 

[Casey]

I don't know, man. I was fucking around with it to remove malware, something I haven't had to deal with on my Mac in four years. My dad just orders new computers and they came with Win 8.

Another thing I saw was Netflix makes you use the Win 8 app instead of using the browser to watch Netflix. .

I use Netflix in the browser on my Win 8.1 machine. I didn't even know there was an app.

 

[ARon]

I actually use Netflix in Internet Explorer!!! lol. I do it so I don't have to download flash on chrome, IE runs html

 

[Casey]

I actually use Netflix in Internet Explorer!!! lol. I do it so I don't have to download flash on chrome, IE runs html

Netflix doesn't use flash. It uses Silverlight (a Microsoft technology) but you can switch it to HTML5 in the Playback settings. In any browser.

 

[ARon]

I mean

Netflix doesn't use flash. It uses Silverlight (a Microsoft technology) but you can switch it to HTML5 in the Playback settings. In any browser.

I meant silverlight. I couldnt find a way to do it but whatevs

I just tried to change it to prefer html 5 in playback settings like I did a long time ago and it still doesn't work with chrome

 

[Casey]

Works fine in Chrome for me.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Netflix doesn't use flash. It uses Silverlight (a Microsoft technology) but you can switch it to HTML5 in the Playback settings. In any browser.

So, I guess I could have done this with LoveFilm Instant when I had it - my trial must have gone to waste as I wanted to use it on Ubuntu.

 

[Casey]

This is genius.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...-premium-android-sale-and-support-experience/

Android Silver appears to be an attempt to unify the sale and support experience of specially-selected Android devices - devices Google will pick at its sole discretion. To qualify for Android Silver status, a handset must "run the latest version of Android with no or very limited customizations," (emphasis ours) and only 5 such handsets will be selected by Google for Silver status at any given time. These devices will not be sold by Google, however - at least not exclusively - this campaign is aimed squarely at carriers.
Carrier stores will have an Android Silver display, showcasing the Android Silver devices available on their network. Google will be entirely in charge of how this experience is crafted, and carrier store staff must be trained and certified to sell Android Silver devices. Carriers will be required to stock a certain number of Android Silver devices and accessories.
Carriers must also help all Android Silver customers set up their devices with a Google account, assist in migrating their data from an old device, and complete the first Google Play purchase for the customer (presumably to acquaint users with the idea and process of spending money on Play).

 

[ARon]

I don't really see the point

 

[Casey]

You don't see the point in Google promoting a unified stock Android Nexus/GPE experience with full device support and promoted in the carrier stores? It's a direct shot at the market of people who buy iPhones solely because they know they can get support at the stupidly named "Genius Bar"

 

[ARon]

Comment was more directed to power users. I can really care less if an android silver associate can help transfer information to a new cell phone for the grandparents of the world

 

[ARon]

What does everyone think of Oppo?

 

[Pittsey]

Does Android want to imitate Apple with the idiots in the shop?

 

[Casey]

Does Android want to imitate Apple with the idiots in the shop?

If they want to find ways of taking more of the iOS market share, then yes.

Apple are trying to come up with ways to take more of Android's market share too. Word is the next iPhone will come in two different screen sizes including a phablet version. And they'll probably add some sort of widget system, 5 years too late.