A Suggestion for Android Phone Makers

Listen up, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG, or whoever is making the next big Android smartphone.  You want to be an instant hit with both mainstream users and enthusiasts?  Become both a big hit and a cult classic?  Here's a suggestion for you: make a stock Android experience ROM available for download for your phones that you fully support.

This will work better with HTC or Samsung, who already have a huge mainstream market share.  It'll work because there are many users who are actually in love with the customized skin.  I'm talking about the HTC Sense and Samsung TouchWiz.  Come to think of it, I think HTC may benefit more since there are more fans of Sense than TouchWiz.  If that's the case, HTC should also think about going back to removable batteries and expandable storage.

I know every manufacturer of Android phones want to differentiate from every other manufacturer, which is why they make these custom skins.  I don't think it's a bad thing necesarily.  A lot of non-technical people find them a lot easier to live with.  Some even add real features missing from the stock Android experience.  However, there are those "minority" who still want a stock Android experience.

Those people will flock towards Nexus phones.  However, after the Nexus One, the other Nexus phones didn't really push the boundaries when it came to hardware.  The Nexus S came out with a single-core CPU and a 5 MP camera when phones were coming out with dual-cores and 8 MP cameras.  The Galaxy Nexus seem more like what the Nexus S should have been, but they still stuck with a 5 MP camera.  Neither of the two had expandable storage.  But, they were the only phones available with stock Android and (supposedly) frequent Google-sanctioned updates.

While the Nexus line of phones were behind, HTC and Samsung were producing excellent phones with drool-worthy specs.  Of course, you do have to give up the stock Android experience for whatever HTC or Samsung decides to put on the phone.

So my suggestion?  Why not also produce a fully-functional non-warranty breaking stock Android ROM that's downloadable for those people who want it?  It can be updated quicker, and you'll appease both the mainstream and the cult users.  It'll be an instant hit!  And the kicker?  Since you're the only company doing this, you will garner a lot of attention as well as customers.  And guess what?  If everyone else follows, you'll be a legend since you will be known as the company that started it!

To sweeten the pot, the stock Android experience ROM can be fully open source.  This means that the community can improve the OS for your hardware, making it more desirable to have.  You may have to make a deal with some hardware vendors (camera, GPS, etc) for making their closed-source drivers available to users, though.

As for proprietary technology such as Beats Audio and S Voice?  Well, you can leave those out of the stock Android experience.  After all, those who are looking for the stock Android experience don't care for such things anyways.  Since it's open source, if they want these extra features, someone in the community can create something like it to fill in those gaps.  And those who want it can support those programmers.

So who will be first?  Any takers?

If I Was in Charge of T-Mobile USA

I'm sure we all of us has fantasized being in charge of an established company.  Maybe you have an idea that could turn them around, or make them better.  My ideas seem to keep me up at night, so I decided to write them down.  Maybe someone who matters (or their competitors) will pick it up.  If so, don't forget to write me a check.

T-Mobile has always been looked at as the underdog, but they are also looked at as the favorite carrier of smartphone enthusiasts.  They are more flexible than any of the carriers here in the US, and they are the only other carrier that uses GSM.  GSM allows us to swap phones easily due to the use of the standard SIM card.  However, their use of the AWS (1700 MHz) band for UTMS and HSPA+ (3G/4G) limits their phone choice.  However, they are already changing for the better.

The Ship is Already Turning Around

I am happy to hear they are starting to refarm their 1900 MHz band that's currently being used for GSM for HSPA+.  This will allow more unlocked phones on T-Mobile's network, and will also allow the use of Apple's iPhones and iPads at full speeds.  My international model of the Samsung Galaxy S II will also work on T-Mobile, as do other global unlocked phones.  I can't wait!  If you can't make them come to you, why not come to them?

Another benefit to this move?  Areas where T-Mobile does not have 3G/4G coverage (1700/2100 MHz HSPA+), but already have EDGE (2G) and voice will now have coverage!  That's because the area is already being blanketed with service in the 1900 MHz band for EDGE.

Their primary reason to refarm their 1900 MHz band isn't to make more phones available to them (though I wished it was - they could have done this sooner!).  Instead, their motivation is to reclaim their current AWS (1700 MHz) band for a new LTE network.  That's good news!

However, I wonder if the rest of the world will deploy LTE using the same band.  LTE is a good reason to start with a clean slate - lets collaborate and make everything work!  But alas, it doesn't work that way.  Every country and region has their own way of assigning or licensing bands.  Here in the US, we have the FCC.

Still, T-Mobile USA is heading in the right direction.  Of course, I still have some ideas that I would implement if I were in charge of T-Mobile.

Be the Most Open Carrier

As stated before, T-Mobile is the choice of smartphone enthusiasts.  This is because T-Mobile as a whole is more accepting of unlocked phones.  However, almost every T-Mobile store I go to, their employees are ignorant of cell phone world that's beyond T-Mobile's sandbox.

Unofficial iPhones on T-Mobile may be the only exception, but I've seen many confused looks when I brought in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GSM international model) which supports the AWS band.  Also, the enthusiast customer-base is more interested in contract-free plans because they are the ones who bring in their own phones. 

T-Mobile should start training their retail stores to be more accepting and open.  If you are number 4 carrier, you should start thinking differently.  You should also start marketing yourself as such.  There's no shame in being a "dumb pipe".  In fact, it's a great selling point.

In advertising, push your contract-free plans more than your contract plans.  Make sure to let people know they can bring in any unlocked GSM phones.  Educate people on how to unlock popular locked phones.  Point them to Newegg, Expansys-USA, and Apple to purchase new unlocked phones that T-Mobile doesn't carry natively.  And of course, sell unlocked phones in retail stores.  Market them as "unlocked global phones".  Hell, make sure to point out it also works on AT&T.  If you can't get them on your service, get them with a one-time sale of a phone!

In the spirit of being open, start selling contract-free SIM cards with service at retail stores!  Those nice "online exclusive" plans such as the 100 minute voice, unlimited text, unlimited data (5GB high speed) for $30/mo - make them available in stores, too!  There's something about instant gratification.  It can be a deal maker.

T-Mobile should mirror the experience found overseas.  When I was visiting Hong Kong, I was able to walk into any 3HK store (their local carrier) and purchase a plan that made sense for my short visit and just their SIM card.  The kicker?  They even knew the APN settings for MMS and data.  Very few employees in T-Mobile and AT&T know what APN is, nor do they know how to deal with a customer who just wants a SIM card and a short-term plan.  Cater to the visitors from abroad, and cater to your US customers who think differently.

Plans that Makes Sense

Play to your strengths.  So you say your number of contract customers is down?  Why not play up your no-contract plans?  With the economy the way it is, people see value in a low-cost monthly bill that's possible due to unsubsidized phones.

They should also use Ting as an inspiration.  Ting is a Sprint MNVO that lets you choose to have voice, text, and/or data.  They let you mix and match.  Also, any unused minutes, text, or data in your chosen tier gets refunded or applied to next month's bill.

There are some people who simply do not talk on the phone much.  Heck, I don't even text all that much.  I'm a data man who occasionally uses minutes and texts.  I was doing fine with 500 minutes, 1000 text, and unlimited data - which is what I used to have with AT&T (and it still cost $85/mo - damn AT&T).

Right now, T-Mobile's offer of 100 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data (5GB full speed) for $30/mo works for me.  Add the $10 for unlimited mobile-to-mobile and the plan is sweetened.  But I'd still like to see the uncoupling of these services.  It allows the customer to feel like they have control over their plan and their bill.

The Upshot

While I know this was a long read, I do believe they make sense for both the consumers and the company.  It's a good way to bump up to number 3 at least.  Their competitor who can steal these ideas and bury T-Mobile would be AT&T.  AT&T is the only other GSM carrier in the US.  If they become more flexible, push out discounted no-contract plans, and offer unlocked unsubsidized phones.  Because they already have 3G/4G (HSPA+) on the "right" bands, unlocked phones from all over the world can already benefit on AT&T's network.  However, AT&T has their heads deeper in the sand than T-Mobile and won't acknowledge this.  Heck, I've had the Samsung Galaxy S II (international GSM model) on AT&T when the iPhone 5 didn't come out as people hoped for (July 2011).

So if I was in charge of AT&T, I'd do all of this.  But since I like the underdog, I'd like to see T-Mobile take the ideas instead.

T-Mobile is Faster on EDGE When Throttled on 3G/4G

Yes, I got throttled on T-Mobile, too.  I have a 5GB full speed plan, and I was pushing it the first month just to test them out.  I hit the limit only one day before the next billing cycle.  Unfortuneately, the full speed data came back around mid afternoon and not at midnight of the new billing cycle.

During that time, i found out that if you turn off 3G/4G (HSPA+) on your phone to drop down to EDGE, you actually get faster speeds!  Here's my demonstratin of EDGE actually being faster than 3G/4G (HSPA+) when throttled.

Why T-Mobile $30 - Monthly 4G 100 Minutes, Unlimited Data & Text Makes Sense

I recently changed carriers due to AT&T throttling me at 2 GB ($30 unlimited plan), even though the same price can get me 3 GB of data. That didn't make sense to me, and seems like this is how AT&T is trying to snuff out their remaining grandfathered customers.

Instead of going with a limited data plan, I jumped ship and gone T-Mobile. They have prepaid plans called Monthly 4G. There is one plan that is very interesting for people who don't talk all that much but instead rely on data and text. I'm talking about the $30 plan that only have 100 minutes but gives you unlimited data (5 GB high speed) and text.

If you rely on nights and weekends, this isn't for you. However if you make calls mostly in the day, the math makes sense. You get charged $0.10 a minute beyond the allotted 100 minutes. So if you add the usual $40 for voice (what AT&T and T-Mobile charges for 500 minutes usually) into the bucket, you get an additional 400 minutes. With the 100 minutes you already get, you're Even Steven with the other plans - same price, same minutes (again, with the disadvantage of no free nights and weekends).

And like with AT&T, your unused minutes "roll over". Well, actually, because it's prepaid, what you didn't use for the month stays in the bucket in dollar amounts.

Because of this, even if you talk more than the 100 minutes, you might still end up saving more than the T-Mobile $70 plan that has 500 minutes.

The only time this $30 plan will cost more than the $70 plan is if you talk more than 500 minutes a month. And remember, this plan doesn't have free nights and weekends.

For me it works. Even including day, nights, and weekend minutes, I don't ever go over 500 minutes. I'm usually just under 400 minutes. If I cut it down by using VoIP (such as Google Voice via GrooVe IP), I save even more. Now that I have more data, VoIP is a choice I can easily make.

Just a word of warning though: VoIP (at least with Google Voice via GrooVe IP) doesn't work consistently on the 3G network. Even when both up and down throughput is fast, some people say I am coming through crackling. Sometimes I am clear but a few seconds delayed, making conversations awkward. Sometimes I can hear them, but they can't hear me. An vice versa. Of course sometimes it works great.

Even on WIFI, it can get bad, but the experience is better and more consistent than 3G. Strangely, it can work as well as 3G when you're throttled (tested it on my throttled AT&T SIM card) which is to say hit or miss.

So this plan is essentially a data and text plan for $30. It is a very compelling plan for a niche demographics, but I'm glad it exists.

Thank you, T-Mobile. Good bye, AT&T.

AT&T Throttles at 2.2 GB for $30, Less than 3 GB $30 Plan

So earlier this week (Janurary 21, 2012), I was warned about aproaching the top 5% of data users when I was only at the 1.5 GB mark.  And today (Janurary 25, 2012), I recieved another text informing me that I am now in the top 5% of users, which means I am throttled to EDGE speeds.

I checked the usage on their myAT&T app and online and confirmed that I have only used 2.26 GB this month.

Remember that I am grandfathered into the Unlimited Data plan for $30/month.  I am paying more than the current $25/month which only gives you 2 GB of data.  So that extra $5/month only gives me 200 MB extra?

Consider this: AT&T just recently changed their data plans again.  This time, it's $30/month for 3 GB of data.  So I'm paying the same price but getting screwed out of 800 MB?  How does this even make sense?

This "top 5%" is BS, and is a cop out.  In practice, it lets AT&T throttle at any point they choose.  Even if they go by the book, the chilling effect will cause the throttle point to lower using this method of throttling.  Customers will be more afraid to use data, and thus the "top 5% of data users" will lower the throttle point further.  It's an evil plan that works in AT&T's favor.

1) People will relent and get rid of their Unlimited Plan for a tiered plan, which fulfill AT&T's wish to get rid of this plan.  This is much like Sprint and $30 SERO when they didn't allow newer smartphones into the plan.  Most customers dropped SERO for other carriers (I left for AT&T and the iPhone).  However, they changed their tune when they realized people weren't dropping SERO for another Sprint plan, they were simply leaving (at the time, Sprint didn't have any compelling phones - Palm Pre was their only baby, and the EVO was barely a blip on the map).  Sprint decided to give the option to pay an extra $10 for newer 3G smartphones, or an extra $20 for a WIMAX (4G) smartphone.  Even though you had to pay, they made sure it was a comparable deal, which it was - $50/month for 500 minutes, unlimited text and data.

2) People will just leave, but will be dinged for early termination fees.  I tried to cite breach of terms and conditions, but they said we had ample warning since it was announced on August 2011.  However, they said "top 5%", so who knew it was going to be this low?  Even so, they said it wouldn't be considered a breach because the fine print even says that AT&T can change the terms without prior consent (or something like that).

So AT&T wins either way.  They get your money if you leave or stay.  It's BS all around, but in the end, even if you pay the termination fee to ditch AT&T, they ultimately lose out.  They will not get a reoccuring payment.  They have no incentive to let you leave without a termination fee if you're still under contract.

To AT&T, I say good-bye.  It's been fun (and frustrating at times) while it lasted.

Update: I found a few threads on the internet with people who also have the same experience.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1285695

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1300409

Galaxy Nexus "Slow" Proximity Sensor

There are some people who complain of the Galaxy Nexus's slow responding proximity sensor.  I've experienced the same thing.  It doesn't matter if you have the CDMA or the GSM model.

The problem is when you hold it up to your ear, the screen is still on for about a second.  This causes your face or ear to dial a few numbers before the screen finally turns off.  This causes confusion for people on the other line, or cause havoc on automated systems.

However, I found out this wasn't a hardware issue.  In fact, it's by design, and it can be remedied in software.  I found this out when I used a 3rd party app called GrooVe IP, which is a dialer for Google Voice.  It lets you make calls using your Goolge Voice number via the internet (WIFI or 3G).  As a dialer, it also turns off the screen when you hold the phone up to your ear.

I noticed I didn't have any of the ear-dialing problems.  So to test, I placed the phone on a flat surface, dialed, and put my hand over the proximity sensor.  To my surprise, when using the stock dialer, the screen did not turn off.  I knew it did, because when I pulled away from my ear, I saw a black screen turning back on.  As a hunch, I placed the phone in a vertical position and covered the proximity sensory again.  This time, the screen turned off!

What I found out was the stock dialer needed two requirements before it shuts off the screen.  First, the phone needs to be in a vertical position (using your acelerometer sensor), then proximity sensor needs to sense your ear or face.  The order is important because if you place your hand over the proximity sensor first (the screen does not turn off), then put it in a verticial position, the screen will not turn off.

To prove this is a software and not a hardware issue, I used GrooVe IP and dialed a number.  Even on a flat surface, as soon as my had goes near the proximity sensor, the screen turns off right away.

So it isn't an issue of a slow responding proximity sensor (a hardware issue).  It's an overly complicated design that resulted in this behavior.  I guess it was designed this way so that the screen stays on if you accidentally covered the sensor with your hand while holding it, but that rarely happens.  Even the iPhone does not do this.

I hope Google fixes this in the next update.  We haven't recieved the Android 4.0.3 update yet.  I hope the fix is in the works.  However, there aren't a large number of complaints, so it may affect a small amount of people.  This might mean that word hasn't reached the Googleplex yet.

Hopefully this changes it.  Of course, who reads this dinky little blog?

AT&T Warns Data Usage Below 2 GB

This is what we were up in arms about when AT&T said they will be warning, then throttling the "top 5%" of high data users.  It's a floating number, not a hard one.  AT&T can claim that most people in your area are only using, oh lets say 1GB of data.  It's a flawed curve.

It just happened to me.  I got a text warning me that I am one of the top 5% of data users.  I checked the myAT&T app, and even online, and it says I used 1.5 GB of Unlimited.  So why did I get warned?

I pay $30 a month for the unlimited plan I was grandfathered in since I bought the iPhone 3GS on launch day.  I even "re-upped" by contract when I heard I can keep the same plan when I bought the iPhone 4 on launch day.  And now they are changing the terms?

That's not the only issue I have.  The other is that I'm paying $30 a month and getting warned at usage that is 500 MB below what a 2 GB capped plan costs ($25 a month).  Why?  That doesn't make any sense!

I called their customer service rep, and while she was friendly, all she can do is appologize and informed me it was a flawed system.  She said it was set at corporate, and she cannot do anything about it.  I understand the situation, and appearently, I wasn't the only person who called.  As she put it, she "tries to be honest and notblow smoke".  I guess you can get some honest reaction when you're super nice to them.  However, it didn't solve my issue.

I always figured a reasonable self-imposed cap would be 5 GB, which was the unspoken limit when AT&T didn't have any asterisks on their "Unlimited" data plan.  Even so, I try to keep around 3-4 GB of use, which is what I expect paying the extra $5 a month should afford me.

Anyone else getting warned below or at the 2 GB mark?  Hit me back here in the comments section.

Dear Microsoft, Please Rename Windows Phone 7 to Microsoft Tiles

When Windows debut, it was called that because applications ran in different window panes. You can move them around and have multiple windows on one screen.

So now that Microsoft is using tiles, I don't see any reason why they want to call it Windows. Brand recognition is not a good reason as the reputation of Windows is Luke warm at best.

Time for some thing new. The OS is new, and Microsoft wanted a fresh new start for Windows Phone 7. It's a radical departure from Windows Mobile of the past. So why saddle it with an old name that doesn't invoke excitement?

Microsoft Tiles. I think it has a nice ring to it.

Truly Stock Android 4.0.3 from Source Code

When people say "stock Android experience", they usually think of the Google Nexus phones.  Believe it, if you download the source code from Google and compile it yourself, you don't get any of the nice Google apps, such as Android Market, Maps, Gmail, and even Google Search.  Even the boot animation isn't the same flashy ones found on the Nexus phones.  In fact, it's just a boring green Android logo, which is the same found on the Android SDK Virtual Machine (pictured here).

I was curious about compiling the code myself, since Android is open source.  If you're curious of what it looks like, make sure you root and backup your current phone, then flash the correct ROM image.

These are only for the GSM versions of Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus.  Crespo is the codename for the GSM Nexus S, and Maguro is the codename for the GSM Galaxy Nexus.

Enjoy!

Download link here.

Notes:  I included Google Apps and Face Unlock as separate download.  You will have to disable the built-in Search by going to Manage Apps to enable Google Search.

Warning: Root is not included.  Please obtain root from Wug.  This will also restore your recovery back to stock.  Again, this is a straight AOSP ROM compiled from Google's source.

Why Isn't Google Full Throttle With Nexus?

HTC Nexus One

Google's first foray with their own phone was a spectacular thing.  It offered hardware no other Android phone manufacturers were doing.  A gigahertz Snapdragon processor, 3.7" display large for it's time), 800x480 resolution (high resolution for it's time), and excellent material choice (thanks, HTC!).  However, their next two Nexuses (Nexi?) weren't ground breaking.  They just tacked on a few experimental features.

Specs and feature-wise, it didn't feel like it was missing anything.  Of course, it did have a problem with multi-touch, which was never fixed because it was a hardware limitation.  Here are some sites that reported on this.  You can also search for videos demonstrating this problem on YouTube.  Oh, and lets not forget issue with the constant switching between Edge and 3G reported at places like here and followed up at places like here.  Spoiler alert: Google just gave up.

Samsung Nexus S

The Nexus S was a single core Hummingbird SoC, which is fast, but it came at a time where dual-core SoCs already exists.  They took away expandable storage.  The other stuff (Super AMOLED display, 5 MP camera) were considered standard fare, since the Galaxy S was already on the market.

Of course, Google added NFC, which is the experimental sauce I was talking about earlier.  The curved glass was more of a gimmick, though.  It's a nice touch, but it doesn't really add any new functions.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Next was the Galaxy Nexus.  First off, the name is dumb.  Because Samsung already has a line of Galaxy phones, this just causes confusion.  Every time I hear "Galaxy Nexus", I keep thinking "Galaxy S" or "Galaxy S II".  Every time I want to say "Galaxy Nexus" I end up saying "Galaxy S" which confuses people and myself.

Name aside, it also wasn't very ground breaking compared to other phones in the market (especially when compared to the Galaxy S II).  It's got a better screen (720p 16:9 display), even though it's a PenTile matrix.  They also did away with buttons on the front, instead putting them on the screen itself.  Other than that, nothing else is really new to us.  And yes, NFC decided to stick around on the Nexus Galaxy.

It's now a dual-core SoC, but quad-cores are coming now (they should have waited to add this in, honestly).  The camera is still 5MP, but what's worse is that it's not as good as the 5MP sensor Apple used on their iPhone 4.  To add insult to injury, Samsung already has an excellent 8MP sensor that's used by their 2nd gen Galaxy phones (Galaxy S II, Inspire, Galaxy Note, etc).  Of course it can capture 1080p video now - that's just a matter of processing power, not the camera sensor.

There's still no expandable storage, which is a bummer.  You're stuck with the 16 GB internal storage that isn't even accessable on a computer or car stereo as a USB mass storage device.

So What's Missing Now?

The Galaxy Nexus is the first Nexus I actually bought.  After using it for some time now, I have to say I like it.  However, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE my Galaxy S II.  Aside from display, NFC, and stock Android ICS envy, the Galaxy S II has everything the Galaxy Nexus have and more!

To round out the Galaxy Nexus, I would have liked to see expandable storage (micro SD, please!) and better camera (use the Galaxy S II's sensor, please!).

I find those as major parts of today's smartphone experience!  The storage issue is a huge part of Android experience especially (Titanium Backup and ROM flashing addicts).

Of course, the Galaxy S II has it's list of shortcomings as well, but it's mostly software-related (things that stock Android ICS won't have).

The search for the 100% perfect phone still eludes me.  I guess it would only be perfect if I made one myself.  And even then, it'd only be "perfect" for me, myself, and I.

Join me in Turntable.fm!

After using turntable.fm for a while, I decided to start my own room!  Join me in the New Alternative room!

If you haven't heard of Turntable.fm, it's a site where you can be one of five DJs.  You add music to your playlist (there are already lots of songs to choose from within Turntable's own library!).  Each DJ gets to play a song, then it goes to the next, so each DJ will get a turn to play.

You can be a DJ to play your music, or just be part of the audience and leave your browser up just to listen to the crowd-sourced playlist!  It's an interesting idea - people created playlist instead of an algorithm such as Pandora and Slacker.

I've been listening and DJing in the 90s Alternative room for a while now, but have decided I want to listen to more than just 90s.

For now, I don't have any hard-set rules, but please be curtious.  For example, please don't be away from the keyboard if you're DJing for long periods of time.  You're taking up a seat in the DJ booth that others can use, and to do this just to listen to your own playlist is plain selfish.  Also, please stick to the genre (no rap, country, or R&B).  I left it pretty wide open for you.  "New Alternative" is just a name.  My favorite radio station in my city before it shut down was called "The New Rock Alternative".  So I decided to just go with "New Alternative" for mine.  This means from 80s to today, Alternative Rock, Industrial, and Indie Rock.

Let me know what you think!  And also, start DJing or listen in!

Go Daddy Supports SOPA - I'm Joining the Boycott

I was a Go Daddy customer, but not anymore.  Why? Because Go Daddy is a strong supporter for SOPA.  In a nutshell, SOPA will allow both the RIAA and MPAA take down a site by messing with the DNS if it even suspect there is pirated or copyright infringing content on the site without due process.  SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) may sound good for the non-techies because they don't realize how it would actually work.

The problem is that we've seen instances where takedown notices were given and executed even when there were no infringing content at all!  Without due process (actually needing to take you to court to prove you were in the wrong), your website can get canned, which means you're out of business, just like THAT.

Either way, you can read more about SOPA at Wikipedia.

Of course, just a mere 30 minutes ago as of this writing, Go Daddy decided to back away from their stance.  Unfortunately, their previously strongly worded statement about why they supported SOPA leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  Apparently, Wikipedia, who used Go Daddy, already switched.  So have I.

The way I see it, the only reason why Go Daddy changed stance is because of the boycott.  I'm sure they still feel strongly about SOPA.  What does this mean?  It means they're collective mentality is still not in the right place.

If you are using Go Daddy for your domains, consider Go Daddy's stance on SOPA.

Download Adobe Flash and Reader Standalone Installers

Are you sick of having to install Adobe's DLM (Download Manager) just to install their free viewers?  Why do we need a download manager for small applets and plugins?  Worse yet, if you are behind a firewall or proxy, you the Adobe DLM may not even download the actual installation files you need!

Here are direct links to the full standalone installation files for Adobe Flash and Reader.

Adobe Flash Player

Link seems to point to latest version no matter the updates.  Currently at version 11 as of this writing.

• 64 bit Flash Player for ActiveX (Internet Explorer)
• 64 bit Flash Player Plug-in (All other browsers)
• 32 bit Flash Player for ActiveX (Internet Explorer)
• 32 bit Flash Player Plug-in (All other browsers)

Adobe Reader

Link is hard-coded to link to newest version as of this writing (Adobe Reader X v10.1.1).

• Adobe Reader X (10.1.1) for Windows

Here is Adobe's FTP folder that contains ALL versions of Adobe Reader for all platforms.  Just navigate to the version you want to download.

• Adobe Reader FTP site

Hope this is helpful to someone out there.

UPDATE 3/9/2012:

Adobe has a page that's specifically for distributing Adobe Flash.  They are standalone installers, as well as MSI packages for those who would like to deploy Flash in their organization via SCCM or WSUS.

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

If you would like an MSI file for Adobe Reader, you can follow this blog by MooreMN to extract the MSI package from the EXE installer.

http://mooremn.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/adobe-reader-x-%E2%80%93-extracting-the-msi/

Apple, Please Don't Forget the Mac

Apple has prided itself in making things easy to use, wonderful, and magical.  The Macintosh was herald as their first.  After all, before the Macintosh, there was no graphical user interface or a mouse (at least not something you can buy at the store - just for those who will cry "Xerox").  It lost to Microsoft and their Windows 3.0, and then Windows 95 since it was left to languish without Jobs at the helm.

In the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Issacson, Steve had asked Mark Markkula for advice on to make Apple a company that will endure the test of time.  Mark told Steve that it would have to be able to reinvent itself.  He gave Hewlett Packard as an example, where it started as an electronics instrument company, then a calculator company, and now they are in personal computers.  (I should also mention Nintendo used to make playing cards.  Look at them now!).  Mark said Steve should reinvent Apple as a consumer product company.

Steve took his advice.  Where Apple used to be just a computer company, they broke out of this mold by making the now iconic iPod.  From there, they went on to make other things that were decidedly not traditional PCs and laptops, such as the iPhone and iPad.

They are wonderful and delightful to use.  There is still one product line that Apple need to pay more attention and that is their Macs.

What's Wrong with The Mac? 

"What?" you say?  Hear me out.

Apple, after you create and market the next best thing in television (oh, we're already anticipating this), maybe you should start focusing on the Mac.  Specifically the OS.

Don't get me wrong.  Lion is a good step up from Snow Leopard.  What I like is how they implemented the multitouch trackpad in a way that it feels natural and iOS-like.  It's hard to make a desktop-based OS feel that personal, responsive, and agile.  I still don't get the iOS home screen launcher, though.  But I do love after getting used to it) how the "realistic" scrolling gesture feels (after getting used to it), as well as the way Safari now takes multitouch gestures further.  The way you can use two fingers and flip pages back and forward (I wish they would implement this in iOS's Safari).  The scrolling of pages has a bounce when you reach the top or bottom, and zooming in with pinch is smooth like on the iOS.

I like the way they implemented Spaces, too.  Not many people used Spaces before.  I sure didn't.  But now, with simple gestures to flip between the different Spaces paired with Mission Control, I use Spaces every chance I get.  It's like having multiple monitors without actual physical monitors!

But that's just adding spit and polish to an old interface.  It needs to be revived.  Rejuiced.  Renovated.  It needs to be reinvented.

I'll Tell You What's Wrong

"What so wrong?" you ask?  I hate Finder.  I also hate windows management.  I hate their network resource management, namely accessing shared folders and printers.  I hate that there is no central application management for uninstalling apps that insist on actually "installing" itself instead of just being content with being dragged and dropped into the Applications folder.

I've given the Mac OS a chance to convince me, but it still hasn't.  How much of a commitment did I give?  I spent $1000 for a late 2009 13" white MacBook (without the multitouch) as a toy.  iMovie sucked me in, but I hated the trackpad.  Seeing that the trackpad was a huge experience I was missing out, I sold the MacBook a little over year later for a real one - an early 2011 15" MacBook Pro.  The one with Thunderbolt.  The one that's been spec'd out to cost over $3000 with Apple Care.  Don't tell me I didn't give them a chance.  With that kind of commitment, I was ready to give myself completely to Mac OS X like I already did with iOS.

As stated before, there is a lot to love about Mac OS X, especially Lion.  However, there are still things I just hate.

Finder

File management is horrendous.  Finding out file details in one view shouldn't be this difficult!  Windows Explorer allows a view where you can see the full filename, file size, date created and modified, and other necessary info all in one shot without needing to view them in Properties window.  Why can't Finder?

After spending so much time with Mac OS X, I fell in love with the quick preview (hit space key on a file).  It's not perfect (hit space key on a folder and I would expect to see a sample list of files in that folder), and a bit quirky, but it's effective and productive.  However, hitting the enter key and not actually opening the file or app seems unintuitive.  Instead it allows you to rename the file!  Windows, Ubuntu, and other OSes have trained users to expect the Enter key to open or run whatever is highlighted.  Not with Mac.  After a year, I'm still not used to this.

Being different for the sake of being different isn't the way to go.  If they can add a simple double pane view with a folder tree on the left, and a files/folders list on the right, I'd be happy.  But as they have it now, I find it hard to browser files and folders quickly.

Multiple Finder windows are also hard to manage, especially when they aren't minimized.  That leads me to...

Windows Management 

When there are multiple windows open and on screen somewhere, it's hard to switch between the two easily.  It's not just switching between the two, but interacting with the two, such as dragging and dropping items from one window to another.

This is why Windows 7 was the first OS that I actually had personal connection to.  Yes, I'll say it.  I fell in love with Windows 7.  I haven't said anything like that about software!  Apple made me feel that way with the iPod Touch (my first Apple product), which was both hardware and software.  But Windows 7 was the first software that made me feel that way.  And it was a Microsoft product.  On a PC.

The Aero Snap feature is simply awesome. You move the window to the left, and another to the right, and they snap into place and give you side-by-side view of two apps.  Double-click on the top of the window, and it will expand vertically, but leave the horizontal alone.  And of course, double-click on the title bar itself, and the window will just maximize and take up the entire desktop.  You rarely have to resize the window manually.

And that's the problem.  In Mac OS X, I constantly have to fiddle with the window size manually.  I need the edge snap feature badly, at LEAST.  Traditional "full screen" (maximizing) isn't there.  Instead, Apple decided to go full bore and make "full screen" truly full screen, ala iOS style.  That's a nice option, but can you make it just that?  An option.  Sometimes I want an app to take up the full space of the desktop, but leave the essentials alone.  By essentials, I mean access to the Dock and menu bars.

The old Expose on Snow Leopard was decent.  I actually liked it.  I wish Windows had it.  But the new Mission Control was supposed to be better.  It grouped similar windows together.  I hate that.  It actually made finding a single window harder when that window is a part of a group.

Windows has a taskbar that shows icons for every application that is running.  This makes it easy to switch windows, even if it's hiding behind another window.  On Mac OS X, only minimized windows show up on the Dock.  Opened apps that aren't minimized only show up as an icon with a dot under it.  What's worse?  If you think you closed an app, you didn't.  It will still be on the Dock with a dot underneath it.

The Dock itself is a problem.  Because it's just floating there, I find that it gets in the way when I resize the app window to take up most of the desktop space.  In Windows, when I maximize, it takes up the entire desktop space, but leaves the taskbar anchored at the bottom.  The Dock needs this as well.

For now, I made the Dock auto-hide.  However, it's still annoying when I move my mouse close to the bottom, and it pops up, even though all I wanted to do was to access buttons or items at the bottom of the app window, not the Dock.

It's a visual cluster F***.  There is no simplicity.  There is no elegance.  I actually find Windows 7's taskbar more elegant and simple.  And useful.

Oh, and that menu bar that keeps changing depending on the window in focus.  That's annoying, too.  Again, I've dedicated myself more than a year to the Mac OS X, so it's not just me getting used to the ways of Windows.

Although that thought entered my mind, too.  If Apple wanted to gain market share, they need to steer existing Windows users to them.  The population of computer virgins (that is, people who never used a computer before, not nerds who never scored) is shrinking.  To gain market share, you now have to steal users away from other platforms!  So don't design an OS that alienate Windows users!

Which leads me to...

Windows Network Resource Management 

Face it.  Most networks are dominated by Windows computers.  My main file server at home is Windows-based.  Even Linux-based shares like NAS boxes use Samba (a way to allow Linux to share files and folders that emulates Windows shares).

The Mac does too.  However, it's not very elegant.  I had to drop down a menu to type in "smb://fileserver" and add it to a list.  Every time I want to access any shared folders and files, I have to navigate to that list.  "Go, Connect to server" is the path you'd have to take.

Windows has a place for servers with shared resources just show up!  Why can't we have that?  Even Ubuntu is easier to browse the network.

And shared printers?  Even following the steps provided by Apple's own web page, I can't get it to work.

Why Don't You Go Back to Windows? 

The Mac faithful will probably tell me to just go back to Windows, or that I don't get it.  To those blind to their faith, I say "it's you who don't get it".  Adding those features to make Mac OS X more complete and more usable for Windows-oriented users won't make Mac less Mac-like.  As some of my friends would say, "it won't bother you none!”

The truth is, Mac OS X is very flashy, and I like that.  It panders to the normal users with great fan service.  The overscroll bounce, the zooming, the multitouch gestures.  They're great!  But doing anything more than just surfing the net, or more than one thing at a time, and I find it frustrating.

There are other oddities, too.  The reliance on iPhotos and iTunes for photo and music management is one of them.  There are photos and other JPGs I want to incorporate into my movie, but iMovie seem to only want to see resources available only if they were imported to one of its media cataloging siblings.  What if I don't want to import the picture assets into my own personal photo album?  What if I don't want these sound effect files mixed in with my music collection?

I can drag and drop them from folders, but they aren't really integrated into iMovie.

The largest barrier for me is the windows management and file management.  They are preventing me from doing things I need to do.  I do like the fan service. I really like the spit and polish.  Now, I want substance behind it all.

New Comments System by Disqus

After using Disqus on other people's blogs, I was impressed enough to try it myself! Let me know what you think by breaking it in here.

Intel HD 3000/2000 Graphics Problems?

I haven't built any computers based on the Sandy Bridge core, which of course includes the integrated GPU Intel calls the "Intel HD 3000" in some of their mid to high end CPUs (Core i5 and i7).  The "Intel HD 2000" are found on some of the low end CPUs such as Core i3.  Besides the difference in GPU performance, they are basically the same in terms of architecture.

Fry's Electronics had an amazing sale on some Patriot 16GB DDR3 memory ($59.99 after mail-in rebate), but none of my computers uses DDR3.  The memory sparked a whole new computer build, which led to my experience with the Intel HD 3000 and Sandy Bridge.

Some Background

Currently, I have a PC serving as my virtual machine farm and file/print server (a Drobo is attached to it).  It's a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz) and has 8 GB of DDR2 RAM.  There is no onboard video, so I picked the slowest, fanless ATI PCI-E video card at the time.  It is running a RAID 0 of 500GB laptop HDDs to further save on power while allowing for some protection.  The computer itself sucks down 70 to 100 W depending on load.  Of course, that doesn't take the power consumption of the external Drobo unit into account.

My HTPC runs Windows Media Center, streams from my server, and is a Core 2 Duo E7200 (2.53 GHz) and also has 8 GB of DDR2 RAM.  When I chose the video card at the time, only the high end ATI cards had bitstreaming audio, so I went for a budget and fanless nVidia GeForce 8500GT.  It had an HDMI jack and a SPIDF passthru, so that was the best choice at the time.  I have a single 1TB HDD because it was on sale for $99 (which was cheap at the time) and because I didn't feel my HTPC was all that critical.  It sucked down about the same amount of power as my server.

So I figured if I could build a single powerful but green PC based on the quad-core Core i5 2500K (3.3 GHz) and have it do the job of both of my PCs that run 24 hours a day, I would be doing the planet a favor.  Indeed, as I was putting it together, I measured a low idle of 38 W, while peaking to 100 W on load.  This would be awesome!

The Build

Besides the Patriot 16 GB of DDR3 memory and the Intel Core i5 2500K CPU, I also bought Gigabyte's Z68MA-D2H-B3 motherboard.  It uses the new Z68 chipset for the LGA 1155 CPUs and allows for both integrated GPU and discrete GPU to function simultaneously, while still allowing the CPU to be overclocked (which I didn't plan on doing anyways).  I would be reusing the RAID 0 setup from my server, and the HTPC case, Blu-Ray drive, and PSU from my current HTPC, all in the name of saving a few bucks.

Of course, I would not dare to take down the server and HTPC until I was good and ready, otherwise my household occupants would revolt.  Instead, I put everything together in a barebones way.  No case. Just a PSU, a hard drive, and a USB DVD-ROM drive for installing Windows 7.  My plan was to install Windows and all drivers to get the OS and software down properly, migrate my Windows Media Center settings and schedules to the new PC, then finally bring down the server and HTPC to harvest their parts.  I would then transfer the new PC's image to the RAID 0 drives.  Minimal downtime was the goal.

The Head-Scratcher

I thought I was home free after Windows 7 was done installing.  I installed all the drivers, rebooted, and then was staring at a black screen with a mouse cursor that I could move.  Unfortunately, that's all I could do with the mouse.  When out of frustration, I would sometimes leave it in that state, only to come back to find different behviors.  One time, I would see a grabled desktop, but it was a hard freeze.  Other times, it would reboot on it's own, where Windows would boot into it's own recovery partition to repair or do a System Restore.

I was going nuts!  I reinstalled Windows from scratch, played with BIOS settings (maybe I accidently overclocked it?), updated the firmware, replaced memory, stomped my feet... same results.

The Revelation

After much troubleshooting, I found that if I were to install the driver for the Intel HD 3000 video, Windows would bomb on the next reboot.  It didn't matter if it was the included driver on the CD, Gigabyte's website, or the ones found on Intel's own website.

Some say it was bad drivers, and that getting the oldest version would work.  The oldest version available on Intel's website did not work for me.  Gigabyte's site actually had something newer than Intel's own site!  And the CD?  Forget it.

Their stories were similar - BSODs, hard crashes, or sometimes just random pausing.

There were others that told stories of motherboard RMAs, memory RMAs, and eventually after 3 CPU RMAs, one person found that it worked without changing anything else!

Was that it?  The GPU core on the Core i5 that is bad?  That's odd.  CPUs rarely comes out bad from the factory.  But all signs point to either a bad GPU core on the CPU or just bad drivers.

People who have Z68, H67, and H61 chipsets (not P67s because they do not even use the integreated GPUs) are reporting the same thing, from all different motherboard manufacturers.

Intel hasn't responded to the complaints.  It may not be happening to everyone, but there seem to enough people experiencing this to warrent some kind of response.

So the lesson here?  Wait for a response from Intel before buying your next Sandy Bridge CPU, especially if you plan on using the integrated graphics.  Or hedge your bets and go for it anyways.  After all, not everyone got bad GPU cores, right?

Your's truly returned everything and just gave up on the project.  I'll just wait.

Related links (including Intel's own forums):

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/308429-33-intel-hd3000-graphics-driver-causing-system-freeze

http://communities.intel.com/thread/21932

http://communities.intel.com/thread/20439

http://communities.intel.com/message/135995

http://communities.intel.com/message/135937 (me)

Sandy Bridge Overclocking - A Window Closed, But a Door Opens

Remember back in the days of the original Pentium and K6 CPUs?  It's been a while, hasn't it?  There were many ways to overclock.  You could overclock the front side bus (FSB) and basically overclock the system as a whole (CPU, memory, PCI slots, etc), or you could play with the multiplier of the CPU and not mess with anything else that may be critical.

Starting with the slot-based CPUs (Pentium II and Athlon), multipliers on the CPU were locked, so we were left only with overclocking FSB to get the desired results.  Memory multipliers helped us overclock the FSB without pushing the memory out of spec, while the expansion bus were ran asyncronis from the FSB.  And that was how the way things were.

Then Intel introduced the Sandy Bridge "2nd Generation Core processor family".  With many things being highly integreated for the sake of cost and power consumption, it can become a double-edge sword.  Sure there are up sides to the integration, but there are also down sides.  Here, there is no longer a FSB to play with.  The clock is not on the motherboard, so you cannot really play with it any more.  It is now integrated on the CPU itself.  You can overclock it by a little, but it doesn't make much difference.  Everything is now based off this clock, so even a small change can throw something out of spec.

However, Intel did something unexpected.  For decades, their stance on overclocking was "hell no".  They have a few CPUs that had fully unlocked multipliers for enthusiasts to overclock, but they were always at the very high end CPUs that cost a grand or so.  Intel now brought unlocked versions of Sandy Bridge CPUs to the more affordable ones that cost $200 (Core i5 2500K) and $300 (Core i7 2600K).  The "K" is the only designation that clues you in that they are unlocked versions, and the best part is that they only cost a bit more than the locked (non-K) versions ($10 and $20 more respectively).

Oh what a great move on Intel's part, especially since these CPUs can reach up to 4.4GHz on the uber small stock cooler!

I'm still trying to justify buying a Sandy Bridge-based system since my current Core 2 Quad Q9550 at 2.8 GHz is still no slouch.  It used to be overclocked to 3.8 GHz, but over time, it started giving me stability issues, so I went back down to stock speeds.  Even so, I didn't miss the overclock at all, so all that CPU horsepower isn't as important as it used to be.  I haven't had anything that would stress the CPU enough to make it worth while like I used to.  It's all about the GPU now.

If you're looking to upgrade from dual-core CPU, this is a great time to do it!  With what I have now, I think I will see what the next "tick" or "tock" Intel has in store for us.

Samsung Galaxy S II - Things I'd Like to Change.

After using the Samsung Galaxy S II for a month, I have to say I absolutely love it!  The TouchWiz 4 UI is also winning me over.  The darn thing is fast and light, but I found a few things I'd like Samsung to address.

• Notification of battery fully charged.  Why do we need this?  It would wake me up in the middle of the night to let me know it's done charging!  No other phone does this.

• Camera noises can't be turned off.  When you touch the screen to focus, when you take a photo, and when you start a video, it makes a noise.  Even if you put the phone to no sound!

• No green icons in notification bar.  In stock Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), the WIFI and/or 3G signal bars would turn green when it is able to sync to Google.  It's actually pretty useful in finding out if you're actually connected and syncing.

• Sleep/Wake button in the wrong place!  I used to think it was a good idea to put it on the right side, but I found myself accidentally hitting the button when I use the volume rocker on the other side.  Or vice versa (hitting the volume rocker when trying to use the sleep/wake button).

I haven't found anything else wrong, actually.  If Samsung would address these issues in the next update (or with the hardware button placement in the next Galaxy S phone), it would make their Galaxy S line of phones perfect in my eyes.

Creating a Bootable Mac OS X Lion DVD

Selling my Apple iPhone 4 32GB - Black, Jailbroken, & Unlocked!

That's right!  I'm selling my Apple iPhone 4!  It's the 32GB Black GSM model.  I take good care of my stuff, and this was no exception.  I'm kind of pissed that I even have 2 small nicks on it, but the glass and everything else is perfect.  I had the Ghost Armor full body skin installed since day one.  It's still the original 01.59.00 baseband for easy unlocking with ultrasn0w.  In fact, this is why I didn't consider bringing it to the Apple store to see if they would replace the phone because the new basebands still haven't been unlocked yet.

Check out my eBay auction here!  It's almost like-new (box, headphones, charger, plastic glass covers).  The only thing I used from the box is the sync cable.  I am super anal with my stuff!

So why am I selling my iPhone 4?  Well, I am now a proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S II!  Yep, I'm jumping into Android feet first!  So far so good.  I'll write about what it's like to switch away from my iOS phone.  Don't get me wrong, I won't be completely iOS-free.  After all, i still have my iPad 2.  But I'll be honest - the iPad 2 is not the same as using the iPhone.  It's a totally different experience.

Also, there is always that iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone Mini, or iPhone Unicorn that's coming this fall.  Will it sway me from my 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos beast?  We'll see.

In the mean time, my iPhone 4 is up for grabs!  Happy bidding! 

PHOTOS

(PS: The photos were taken with the Samsung Galaxy S II.)