apple

Thank You, Friends

That’s right. I went there, we’re… Friends. And I’m so glad to be able to share this moment of reflection with you all, because The Big Cheese (and of course, NekkedSnake) and I have turned ONE on WordPress. That’s right. We’ve been throwing useless babble, rants, and bad music at you lot for just over a year now.

And we’re all genuinely sorry for slowing down. But we’re getting old-for Pete’s sake, we’re one!-and we try our best to cover what interests us.

Incredibly, we’ve kept such a solid basis of readers after only doing this according to what tickles our fancies. Thankfully several thousand of you share the same fancies!

In the course of the year, we’ve spread word of songs that were unheard of until shortly after we spoke of such (Gangnam Style and Thrift Shop), blamed HTC and Verizon and Samsung for the world’s problems, and updated the bunch of you with great songs and tech news.

So from all of us here at JWAB, thank you!!!! Keep supporting us and we’ll make it our mission to pleasure ourselv-I mean, keep you informed- with what goes on. Stay awesome!

Don’t forget, by the way. Our blog is

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And remember our premise.

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iOS 7… Beta 2?

Already been using this iPhone for almost a month… I’ve gotten used to its innate quirks and undeniable flaws.
But that’s not what I’m here To complain about. In fact, I’m not even here to complain. (shocker, right?!?!?!) anyway. I actually want to inform anyone using an iPhone 5 for Verizon* and wants to beta test the iOS 7 beta 2, to actually go ahead and do it, so long as you don’t actually watch people’s Vine videos.
On the first beta, The features that I found most annoying were these 5.
1) Instagram wouldn’t load properly if you wanted to scroll back up.
2) After watching several Vines, the app would freeze and crash. Simply return home and kill the app to unfreeze it. Which was a bit of a bummer and inconvenience.
3) I can’t see the things people replied to on Twitter. Did Jimmy reply to this tweet or that? UGH
4) Google Translate (actual app) wasn’t working.
5) FUCKING BATTERY LIFE MAN oh and to go along with this the phone reboots (2 seconds really) which is also an inconvenience)

Alright, well, here’s how that list has updated in Beta 2.
1) INSTAGRAM WORKS!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!
2) Vine is destroyed and refuses to play videos. I cannot wait for Beta 3 to see if they fix this.
3) Twitter is still broken in this aspect.
4) Google Translate is still broken.
5) BATTERY LIFE IS IMPROVED TO NEARLY iOS 6 MAGNITUDE!!!! Still a bit horrendous honestly but it totally trumps Beta 1’s battery draining ass. Also it doesn’t reboot as much.

HOWEVER. I did find new bugs in Beta 2. Killing an app has an adverse effect on the wallpaper… Sometimes, not all, it removes the wallpaper leaving black nothingness. Also, I don’t know whether or not this is a bug, but in all iterations of iOS (including 7 beta 1) it was possible to view the big clock on the lock screen and double click to get to music controls. Now, iOS 7 Beta 2 has music controls permanently in place of the large clock. Inconvenient.
But some other improvements other than battery life are present. You can now swipe left on texting to see what time the messages were sent and received, which is a lot more sensible than 15 minute card time checks, which I do believe are still there for those too lazy to swipe.

Anyway that’s my observations on the topic. Feel free to leave comments about your findings!
*I am not entirely sure if these apply to the AT&T or int’l or any other iPhone build model, or if these apply to the iPads as well. Please leave a comment about these too!

I have joined the Dark Side.

By the Dark Side, I mean the dreaded iPhone nation. I have made the transition from Android to iOS. Now, iSheep, do not revel in this ‘defeat,’ for I’m still Android at heart. Partly why I’m actually documenting this reality is because of my heavy bias.

Let us remember  https://justwroteablog.com/2012/09/15/time-to-catch-up-apple/ , an article I posted much earlier in the days of JWAB.

Read that prior to the rest of this post, that way you get the full experience of my experience.

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POV: When Old Things Finally Die

[Our POV pieces are based on the fictional accounts and direct Points Of View from the subject, or subjects in the matter. Just for off the cuff entertainment. And for fun.]

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Maybe it was because it was time. Or the fact that she’d been replaced by a stronger, faster, YOUNGER version of herself. One does tend to contemplate the usefulness of themselves once they become ‘over the hill.’

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HTC and Verizon FINALLY Bring ICS to HTC Thunderbolt

It’s too late now, though.

The Thunderbolt, the first 4GLTE phone on Verizon, has always been a disappointment in the Android community. It’s processor was nothing to write home about, it’s connectivity issues were definitely something to complain about, and it’s bulky (and faulty) design made this phone one of the most hated in America.

It came out of the gates with Android 2.2, and only now in 2013 has it been confirmed to have an Android 4.0 update ready to roll out any time soon. At this point, 4.0 is 2 updates behind the second iteration of Android Jelly Bean, Android 4.2 (and it seems as though Google is prepared to launch Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie [or, and I’m dreading the name, potentially Kandy Kane] in the coming months at Google I/O 2013).

It’s been 5 months already. 5! The Thunderbolt (and it’s younger sister, the Droid Incredible 2) were promised to have gotten the ICS update by September 31st!

I think people have finally come to grips that HTC on Verizon has been a failure and have actually given up hope on both devices, leaving for newer, more premium devices on the carrier (or even on another carrier, or even worse, to an iPhone on another carrier).

–I am very much for Android. I am fascinated with how much better it is overall than other mobile operating systems; however when companies fail to appease the customer, it makes me very angry. HTC and Verizon have failed me in the department of customer satisfaction, and in the future, I shall not be purchasing from HTC. At the moment, I cannot do anything about being on Verizon (in fact I would not want to leave VZW because of how amazing their service is), but when upgrade time comes, goodbye HTC devices. I’m really hoping I can grab a SG Note II or an SIII, maybe even the GNex like The Big Cheese. And if worst comes to worst, if my mom sees that an iPhone 5 is on BOGO come upgrade time, iPhone 5 I shall settle.

Related articles

HTC Rant: Broken Promises

This is my second Android phone (owner of just about over a year, now), The Droid Incredible 2 by HTC. As a member of the red-eye family, you’d expect the phone to be top of the line, but no. The Droid Incredible 2, at release, was a disappointment. No 4G LTE, apparently HTC decided to give that to the Thunderbolt, a non-Droid phone, which also disappointed many. The feel of the Dinc2 is very premium and sturdy, but it IS a mid-range device, even with the Droid moniker.

Now, being a late adopter of Android, I’m not too disappointed with only having 3G, I don’t travel all that often, so I do get to utilize Wi-Fi, and Verizon’s 3G is no slouch with full service, even at rush hour times.

What DOES disappoint me, however, is Verizon’s (and especially HTC’s) broken promises. The HTC Droid Incredible 2 and the HTC Thunderbolt, after just over 1 year since the release of Android 4.0, still have not received the update to Ice Cream Sandwich. The update was promised by HTC and Verizon to be given before September 1, 2012. It is, at this very moment, November 5th, 2012. Still no update.

The Droid Incredible 2 being a highly capable phone for Ice Cream Sandwich, it shocks me that Verizon still hasn’t rolled out the update. The Incredible S (int’l version of Dinc2) has had the update since July!

I wish I had $250 to spare, then I’d go and pick up a Certified refurbished Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, just like The Big Cheese.

And with the recent release of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (also the name of Android 4.1), my phone is now three upgrades behind. Thanks, Verizon. Thanks a shit load.

Random Flickr Photo of the Day: September 22nd, Cheesecake Edit.
Andy: The Conqueror by This Guy Patrick
Andy: The Conqueror, a photo by This Guy Patrick on Flickr.

Today’s photo of the day is brought to you by me, for your amusement, of course.
Andy the Android shows his dominance over Apple, and with the recent release of the iPhone 5, he is still showing some luster. Androids go!

Via Flickr:
Andy the Android is showing his dominance. He ravaged an apple and I couldn’t be any more proud.

Time to Catch Up, Apple.

iPhone 5. I hope people out there are disappointed by this lackluster device, because I am.

I’m not an Apple guy by any means, but I was actually hoping for a well spec’d phone from them this time. Not to say that the specs of the new iPhone 5 aren’t good, I’m just saying that it’s nothing new or impressive.

The two biggest upgrades to the iPhone are 4G LTE and the 4 inch screen. Apple will probably go as far to say that they are the pioneers of 4G technology, when they aren’t. Of course, now many more people will know about 4G LTE, considering that the technology is now on an Apple iPhone. Then there will be the people (especially those on AT&T) questioning how it is different from HSPA+, called 4G on the AT&T iPhone 4S. On Android devices running HSPA+ it is titled as such, or H+.

The 4 inch screen is lacking as well, and it isn’t even HD. It’s a 4 inch screen! Most phones are of 4.5 inches to 5.2 inches, with 4.8 being the average “sweet spot.” This iteration is a 16:9, a widescreen Retina Display. Of course, the pixel density is stellar, something I actually can complement an iPhone about. But it still isn’t HD. Apple is going to continue with its Retina display.

They added Facebook sync in iOS 6, so now all Facebook contacts will be on the phone if desired. Guess what? Android did that. From the start. Another thing Apple has blatantly stolen from Android is the notification pull down from iOS 5. Catch up, Apple.

They’ve used the same camera as the iPhone 4S, just with a newer, thinner, more durable cover. Improvement, but won’t change the fact that the iPhone will produce blurry images and pretty much work like a brick in low light situations. Even so, this overshadowed the brilliant Nokia PureView Camera on the Nokia Lumia 920, a gorgeously designed phone with a simple and clean user interface on Windows 8.

The processor it’s running is the Apple A6 chip. A dual core CPU with quad core graphics, essentially making the media experience smooth. But internationally, there are Android phones running quad core CPU’s along with quad core GPU’s. Apple is behind a bit on this one.

Apple decided to get rid of Google Maps in favor of their own native Maps. The native Maps app has a fly-over feature, essentially mimicking Google’s Street View and Building View. Oh, and the biggest thing improved for the iPhone’s maps? It now has turn-by-turn navigation! Isn’t that a surprise, the Maps application has features that Google Maps and Google Earth have had nearly from the get-go! Oh, Apple, catching up.

Siri has also had some updating, and now it copies the Google Now, Android 4.1’s native voice actions app. Siri can now tell sports scores and allow you to make reservations on the go.

But perhaps one of the most talked about things is the new dock connector, misleadingly called the Lightning dock connector. For one, the Lightning cable is only a USB 3.0 cable. Most iMacs are at USB 4.0, making for insanely fast data transfers. Also, people with all the speaker accessories will now need to buy special adapters so their new iPhone 5’s will be able to fit on the dock! A question asked moreover about this new dock is why didn’t Apple just go with the industry standard MicroUSB? The world may never know.

With all the similarities to Android phones, why isn’t Apple the company getting sued?

Point is, Apple is merely evolving the iPhone brand, but in the process making it less innovative, and less… Different.

Exciting, isn’t it? Apple is the one having to play catch up in the technology world.

Will you be waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5? Or will you wait for it to cool down to get it? Maybe you’ll wait for the inevitable launch of the iPhone 5S? How about switching to an Android 4.0 device or a Windows 8 device?

Time for a laugh.

What am I, taking crazy pills?!

This is just too funny. If anyone remembers Ben Stillers movie, Zoolander, they showed his calendar with Zoolanders different poses, and they were all the same. (i’m going to see if I can track down a clip)

In any case, Marky Mark sent this to me, and it’s really funny.

I read the released specs and whatever for the new iPhone, and it is a bit lackluster. I was impressed with the iPhone 4, but this…
I’m quite sure it will sell by the squillions, and it will be a great device, but it is an Apple product, and I just cannot buy anything from them.

(on a side note, I do recommend them if necessary)

 

The iPhone 5 ain’t no Magnum