Blog
iPhone 4
Posted by AJ on June 13, 2010
Ah, it’s that time of year again, WWDC. With it comes the glory of new Apple products and the iPhone isn’t an exception to this. This spring is like those in the past since 2008 where Apple has unveiled a new revision to the iPhone. The iPhone 4 is this year’s subject. Many people have been anticipating the launch of this spectacular product for quite some time now thanks to the images that have been around the internet of a developmental version of the device that was lost by a drunken employee. The iPhone 4 has two glass plates, one on the front and one on the back. I’ve found this to much more elegant than the previous looks of plastic and glass. It also has a stainless steel trim which also acts as the antenna for the device. Tied with the glass, the stainless steel should in theory boost the cellular signal tenfold. The real amazing thing about the phone isn’t the looks of it however, it’s the hardware. Apple has done an amazing job with the internals of this year’s iPhone. First off I would like to mention the elegance and impressiveness of the new high resolution retina display. The display has over three hundred pixels per inch, combined with a 960x640 resolution, to bring an absolutely amazing user experience unlike ever seen before. The iPhone 4 also includes a gyroscope for enhanced precision when it comes to using it to play games or using other movement sensitive applications. The iPhone 4 has been built with a thinner exterior however it has been packed with an Apple A4 chip, the same one used in the iPad, a larger battery, a front facing camera, and a rear 5 megapixel camera capable of recording in 720p HD at 30fps. Apple has kept with its roots of the device however maintaining the true originality of the single button to control the user interface rather than including a touch sensitive home button like the Palm Pre has, however that may come in the next revision which is likely to be seen next year. I can’t wait to try the iPhone 4 in person, or better yet purchase one. Until then, the iPhone 4 looks like an amazing piece of hardware that is sure to make it to the pockets of millions of users across the globe.
Mmmmmm. Spam mail.
Posted by AJ on May 4, 2010
Spammers have been flooding my Inbox more and more often with spam mail posing as managers of corporations and even Facebook. For me this isn’t much more than a pest, however these emails can seem real to some people. The emails instruct the reader to open an attachment which in reality contains a virus. My advice to computer novices is to take extra caution when there are attachments on emails. Attachments are the main way that viruses are spread through email and should be scanned before opening with a program such as Malware Bytes or your antivirus of choice. Another suggestion would be to use Thunderbird from Mozilla as your email client as it has a built in system that allows the user to manage filters for emails. Unfortunately many people still fall victim to the spammer’s scheme and don’t even realize it. For anyone who is interested, here is the configuraton of my filter as of now. http://www.ajcutshall.com/grabs/df3da9ef.png
New style, New Platform
Posted by AJ on April 28, 2010
Well this is certainly a change… I’ve decided to switch from WordPress to pure hand coded HTML and PHP for my blog. I know there aren’t as many features without WordPress however I already have plans to setup some form of comment system for the blog and have individual pages for each post. This will all come in the future, but for now, enjoy the simplistic design.
Save Money By Buying Cheap Gadgets From China
Posted by AJ on January 9, 2010
Recently I’ve been eBay’ing a lot more than I usually do. One reason is because of the cheap knock off gadgets from Hong Kong. I purchased a fake iPhone 3g dock for about $3 off of eBay and then 2 mini Bluetooth adapters for a dollar each. All three items have roughly the same build quality of a $50 or $60 product. I am currently waiting on a headphone jack extension cable, a mini tripod, and a desktop microphone, all three for about a dollar each. The only issue I have had with doing this is the long wait times for the products to be delivered. You may notice that their grammar is sub par, but the products they sell are good.
IDrive Portable – Review
Posted by AJ on January 8, 2010
Ok, so, I won a giveaway on twitter from @IDrive_Online. They sent me a 300gb IDrive Portable. I’ve had it for about a day and it seems pretty nice. The build of the IDrive is quite sturdy and it is quiet when in use. The IDrive surprisingly does not get very warm which is good. The IDrive has a mini USB port on the back of it to connect to the computer and it is powered solely by the USB connection. It also has a LED indicator lite that turns green when not in use and red when it is. I have filled it about half way with files. The HDD inside of the IDrive is a Hitachi. I would rate this product a 5 out of 5. The IDrive sells for about $70 at http://www.idrive.com/portable
HP Mini 311-1000NR Review
Posted by AJ on November 14, 2009
A while ago I got a HP Mini 311-1000NR. So far I love it. It is extremely light-weight and portable. The battery in it lasts around 6-8 hours depending on how much you use it. The Mini came with Windows XP Home Edition pre-installed (along with about 5 gigs of bloatware). I did a USB install of Windows 7 Ultimate and it is running smoothly. The HP Mini has a 11.6 inch wide-screen LCD, 1.6ghz Intel Atom processor, 160gb HDD, 1gb of RAM, and 512mb of graphics memory thanks to the NVIDIA Ion. The computer is perfect for mobile web browsing and mobile video conferencing (depending on your cellular carrier *COUGH GET SPRINT COUGH*). I would highly recommend the mini to anyone who is looking for an amazing netbook.
First Week Of School
Posted by AJ on September 15, 2009
Well, I’m surprised, high school doesn’t suck as bad as I thought it would (always a plus). I have a kick ass English teacher, and all of the staff treat me like an adult for once. Another cool thing is that I’m on the yearbook committee, and that, is just epic. We have a coffee pot, microwave, and a mini refrigerator in the yearbook room (about half of the worlds niceties). I’ve been keeping my grades up and not putting off homework until the last minute as that is how I messed up my middle school career a bit.
