Month: October 2011

Screen Capture for Android

I have owned an iPhone 4 and probably have gained an in-depth understanding of the iOS system, and its capabilities and limitations. That was easy to do in the first place — to be familiar with the operating system without the need of a detailed manual.

As a disclaimer: I loved my iPhone 4.

Recently, I was provided with Samsung Galaxy S II as a business/office phone. And I got to play with the Android mobile operating system extensively.

And I found out, as advanced Android may be as an OS, it still lack a basic feature like a native capturing screenshots of your screen. Looking through the Android market, you’ll see apps that can only do screen captures if you root your device. If you ever encounter one that needs no rooting, you’ll find bad reviews about it that render it as close to being fake. I mean — there are fake apps in the Android market?

Oh, and there’s another way to do screen capture without rooting — but with the help of a desktop computer. You’ll find the tutorial at Android Central, or otherwise check out this Youtube video.

In my iPhone 4, screen capture is as easy as pressing the sleep and home buttons simultaneously. You don’t need apps for that.

Timing

4,066 out of the total 8,525 candidates passed the recent CPA Licensure Examinations (October 2011). That’s a whopping 47.7% passing percentage — compared to that during our time ten years ago, which was around 17-18% only.

Okay, so now I’m making a bold statement here. But this is just my opinion, and this is my blog.

I personally believe that passing the CPA board exams is not a matter of whether you pass or fail. It’s not you versus the exams per se. Instead, it’s you versus the other candidates to make it to the top whatever percent the examiners wish to pass.

That’s why I find it rather unfair that they only allowed a really small percentage of examinees — less than 20% — to pass during our time. I’m sure some many of our contemporaries would have otherwise made it if they took the exams today, and thus enjoy the status as such — a licensed CPA. Statistics, by itself, does not necessarily mean the candidates of our time in general are any less intelligent/brilliant than the candidates of today.

What Makes Globe’s PowerSurf So Unrealiable?

I was positive about Globe PowerSurf plans for postpaid subscribers when it came out. But then, I concluded that, 300MB per month is too much for my use.

So, I just availed of the 50MB plan instead last 27th of September 2011. I monitored my data usage using two crappy apps like DataUsagePro and DataMan, as well as via the iPhone’s settings.

16 days into the plan, I noted from my monitoring that I’ve reached my allocated data usage of 50MB, and now, 3 days after, I’m running around 75MB of usage.

Let’s check what the Globe’s FAQ say about this: Continue reading

My iOS 5 Top New Features

Maybe the long wait for this brand new OS has somehow diminished excitements about it. We’ve seen these new features demoed by developers.

Nevertheless, having a first hand experience with the iOS 5 today on my iPhone, here are my top “favorite” new features:

  • Notifications center – having all notifications and alerts in one place is one feature that has long been wanting in iOS, that’s why I have it at the top of the list. Yet, just like in Android, I would have preferred to have the quick toggles for cellular data, bluetooth and wifi in the same notification center. Plus, a lot other apps are not yet updated to push their notices to the notification center. Moreover, instead of or in addition to stocks and weather, I wish for an option to have foreign exchange rates and maybe LME prices to be likewise available in there.
  • Wifi Sync – you can now be fully independent from a computer system (either Mac or Windows) once you start using your iOS 5 device, but having iTunes to manage your media and apps is still a neat way to go. Now, you can even sync your device to your computer’s iTunes program via wifi. That’s one less cable system to worry about.
  • Over-the-air future OS updates – this we have yet to experience and find out how seamless it will be. Furthermore, Apple claims further updates will be smaller files compared to the past where it took around 700MB of download file every upgrade.
  • More alert tones via iTunes – now I don’t have to live anymore with the stock ringtones and alert tones of the iPhone. As a matter of fact, I just downloaded Marlon Brando’s “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” and Acoustic Pluckin alert tones for my use.

Jim Paredes on APO’s role in Edsa 2

I admired Jim Paredes’ response to a question brought to him on Twitter using the hashtag #ASKaQuestion.

The question:

@Jimparedes did you ever regret ur role in edsa 2 dat installed a more corrupt president? #ASKaQUESTION

His response posted on his Tumblr:

No. It was better to act than not to act. We came with good intentions. We did not fail the Filipino nation. GMA did. We cannot take responsibilities for her actions. We did our share.

Honestly, I haven’t looked at it from that perspective — what the Filipino people had done in EDSA 2 (no, I haven’t done any active part in that revolution). I have always thought that EDSA 2 was a failure. And now I’m starting to realize that, indeed, what Jim Paredes was saying is true! Those who took part in EDSA 2 did not fail the whole Filipino people. GMA did!

My Thoughts on the New iPhone 4S

We all know iPhone 4S has been announced last night. And a lot of people are disappointed. It fell well below most people’s expectations, especially — I guess — the detractors.

But at least let me share my thoughts about this new iDevice:

  • Lack of redesign – at least my iPhone 4, with its already great looks, design, build and construction will still stay relevant for another 12 months or so;
  • 3.5 inch display is so 2007. Everyone else is 4 to 5 inches across– I think it is still the sweet spot for a smartphone. Not too big for just call and text and not too small for internet browsing. And remember, all the 500,000+ apps that are currently available in the App Store are built for that screen size. Make the display larger, given that you maintain the exact aspect ratio, and you might find your apps already pixelated. You may not want a new screen size for an iPhone and count your available apps back from zero? What about the possibility of purchasing the same app you once purchased for use in your new iPhone 4S? If you really want a bigger screen, go get an iPad.
  • No LTE or 4G or HSPA+ support – those technologies are barely, if not at all, existing in the Philippines anyway, so why bother? And don’t tell me it’s the network of the future — because I’m actually satisfied with the current 3G + HSDPA speeds, if only the telcos could make it more consistent across all areas in the country, without the worry of shortened battery life.
  • 8-MegaPixel Camera and 1080p Video Recording – of all the new features of the iPhone 4S, these are my least favorite. Here we are again, back at counting pixels. We all know that the higher the pixel count, the larger the resulting JPEG file, the slower it will take to upload and share with friends. Even a 2-megapixel image is more than enough size for just internet sharing via Facebook or the likes. And 1080p? For my 32″ LCD TV? Obviously an overkill! Improve the lens quality — that’s what I’d say — which they actually did with the 5-element lens and f/2.8 aperture.

So, in a nutshell, the improvements introduced in the new iPhone 4S may be less than impressive but I’m not at all disappointed.

Why I Bought a Kindle?

I used to own a first generation iPad, and I intend to get a replacement in the future. I currently own an iPhone. Both have (or at least used to have) the Kindle app. Likewise, I have Kindle applications installed in both my laptops.

Last Saturday, I bought a Kindle Keyboard (see photo above) — the 3rd generation Wifi 6″ E-Ink display Kindle with Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers.

Yet, the question that often pops up: Who needs a Kindle when you can read your e-books in your other existing mobile devices like the iPad?

First, let me just reiterate some “obvious” reasons — that which you’ll usually find in other blogs — why Kindle is better than the iPad to suit the bookworm in you: Continue reading