Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera Tip: Should You Leave Picture Stabilization on for Low Light Photos?

Samsung is doing something a little different with the electronic image stabilization on the Galaxy S5 Camera. Does it really result in better pics with less noise?

Let’s take a look!

Galaxy S5 Pro Tip: How to enable developer options and speed up system animations!

galaxy s5 developer optionsQuick pro tip for you fine folks rocking the Galaxy S5. Even though it’s one of the most powerful phones on the market, doesn’t mean we can’t tweak it!

Here’s a handy trick to tighten up the animations so transitions will feel a little faster. All we have to do first is turn on the developer options in settings…

Continue reading “Galaxy S5 Pro Tip: How to enable developer options and speed up system animations!”

The HTC One (M8) shipping experiment – Making up for lost time…

BjlVMumCUAAdNS6There used to be a time when a company would announce a new product, and that product would be available to purchase roughly around the time of the announcement. In the every increasingly visceral pace of tech advancement, now we hold previews to announcements, and once a gadget is announced it can take weeks or months before it’s actually available to consumers.

With the unveiling of the M8 yesterday, HTC launched an agressive campaign to make the phone available to consumers. Critical timing as Samsung has already taken the wraps off of the Galaxy S5, but hasn’t yet started shipping it.

Working with AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, HTC is already selling and shipping the phones through carrier websites. Those signing up on Big Red can walk into select stores and see the phone in person. How refreshing. Announcing a product which is actually ready to ship. Continue reading “The HTC One (M8) shipping experiment – Making up for lost time…”

Your Podcast Audio SUCKS! Here are some pro tips to make it a little better…

I work in voice over and spoken word recording, and it’s kinda killing me how many people are still pumping out bad audio for their podcasts.

With all of the radical improvements in our technology, it really does drive home the point that nicer equipment doesn’t guarantee better results. If you’re wanting to produce more professional sounding audio, you’re still going to have to learn the basics of how recording works.

So, in true internet geek fashion, allow me to insult you for a bit while we take a look at some tips to improve your home recording.

Editorial: HP’s Catastrophic Mistake – Bringing Windows 7 ‘back by popular demand’…

hp-logoHP has a bold new move to spark customer’s interest in PC’s again. They’re going BACKWARDS! That always works! People love a good nostalgia play!

Announced recently on their site and through an email blitz, HP proudly proclaimed they’re “listening to the consumer” and offering up systems running Microsoft’s last popular OS. It’s a desperate move from a company which has been struggling recently to adapt to a post-PC market. The parallels with Blackberry here are astounding. As BB was caught unprepared for consumers buying pretty smartphones, HP hasn’t been able to figure out their offerings in a world where iPads exist.

Pandering to a media narrative which is all too ready to baselessly criticize Windows 8, HP seems to be banking on the technology “hater” market to pull them out of their slump. You know, that group of people who rail against change and spend TONS of money on things like old laptops. That last sentence was sarcasm by the way. Regardless, I’m sure this will prove a winning strategy for the beleaguered tech firm (also sarcasm).

lenovo 2012-13 salesHere’s the fault in their logic. With all the haterade being dumped on Windows 8, You’d think every manufacturer would be in trouble. As a whole the entire industry is down 15-20% depending on who you ask to track the sales. Unfortunately for those taking glee in Microsoft’s stumble, companies like Asus and Lenovo exist, and both are actually improving their sales during this transition which is unprecedented. Built on the backs of innovative and creative design, Lenovo profits over the 2012/13 fiscal year were up almost 18% over the 2011/12 fiscal year. Embracing Windows 8, and providing consumers innovative products at competitive prices, seems to have worked for Lenovo.

The other major problem with HP’s reasoning is Apple. Continue reading “Editorial: HP’s Catastrophic Mistake – Bringing Windows 7 ‘back by popular demand’…”

My Favorite Phone of the Year 2013 (And What’s Wrong With It)

Question_markI hate writing articles like this. I really do. I cherish all the people who read my reviews, watch my videos, and I have a healthy respect for what my small sphere of influence represents. My entire life I’ve been a problem solver, and I like heading off bad situations before they happen. My most valuable contribution to this system is how I share my experiences using various devices. As we wrap up the year now on News Years Eve, and say goodbye to 2013, I felt it important to discuss what one phone had the biggest impact on my daily gadget use.

I feel it necessary to deliver this disclaimer: There is no such thing as a one size fits all tech solution. Just because this was my favorite phone of the year, it doesn’t mean I’m endorsing it for everyone, and I find debates surrounding which phone is “best” quite tedious. I chose the title “favorite” for a reason.

Enough preface.

My favorite phone of the year is:

Continue reading “My Favorite Phone of the Year 2013 (And What’s Wrong With It)”