Review: NextBit Robin

Preface:
I wrote this review in the first week of January. I have not been able to publish it because of our blog's publishing schedule and because I have important things outside this blog to attend to. During this time, major changes have happened that have altered the course of this phone's manufacturer, Nextbit. They were purchased by Razer, and they are now in the process of potentially being shut down and swallowed by the larger company; Razer itself claims that NextBit will be allowed to run as their own company, but I don't see any real positive prospects. Eitherway, I am not quite clear how this affects the product as a whole, but I have updated the parts of the review where I know there will be changes to. 

On with the review.

I love this phone. A lot. As of writing, I've used it for over a month. A family member purchased this on my recommendation and they've been kind enough to let me use this as a test device. It's a phone I've slowly fallen in love with, because it's simply so unique and brilliant. I'll be going over the phone under specific titles so you can keep up with it.

First, my unboxing video:

Design & Speakers

Countless friends and acquaintances have expressed surprise at how unique and distinctive this device looks; they were always very impressed. 

The device feels so good in hand! The plastics are soft touch and have a very solid feeling; the phone has a good weight in the hand, and it feels sturdy. The materials are also very durable to drops and scratches (maybe not bending apparently- as tested by JerryRigEverything on Youtube, but not a concern for me). 

It is a shade too big in height for a 5" phone, but it's for those great speakers so it's worth it. They have great balanced sound and get quite loud. The phone's boxy retro radio shape also allows you to keep upright in most places and use it as great front facing speaker. 

Here are some photos of the device itself: 

Note the NextBit Cloud logo

NextBit Logo

Top Speaker

Bottom Speaker

Note USB C Charger to the left

The round volume up and down buttons

Headphone jack

The softtouch plastic is prone to fingerprints

Very clean and elegant front

Looks very unique; easily distinguishable

Display (1080p)

The display has a slight vintage-esque tint to it, but I like it, it doesn't interfere much with viewing anyway; it's good for reading and entertainment and doesn't strain your eyes, and the resolution is more than high enough. It's a good screen, and probably better than the rest of the screens at that price.

Original NextBit lockscreen, it looks gorgeous

Fingerprint Sensor

The fingerprint sensor is also something that almost no other phone of this price offers, it's very fast and pretty reliable. It allows upto five fingers registered and it's right side edge placement is something I love, as it's very easy to get to, while pressing the power button. Reminiscent of the Sony fingerprint sensor actually.

Note the coloration difference of the sensor itself

Software (Tested on Android Marshmallow)

I don't really like the NextBit home. It doesn't have an app tray and it's home screen interface is quite non-intuitive and very easy to clutter.

However, Pop a 3rd party launcher, as always, and you're good to go.Otherwise, the software experience is superb. It's quite close to stock android, so the experience is smooth, easy to navigate and very simple. The Cloud Storage features are the NextBit's biggest thing, but to be brutally honest, I don't really care for it. 

I find my Google Photos account and 32GB storage more than enough. Nevertheless, having it is just great extra value I guess, as I'm the person to delete many apps, and 100GB is a pretty large amount for archiving; I appreciate its presence.

Update: Android Nougat will come to the Robin in due time, and NextBit has pledged to provide updates till Feb 2018. I am not entirely sure about how the Cloud Storage thing is going to work after that, so I wouldn't recommend you depend on it.

Battery (2680mah)

Battery life is okay too, it usually lasts a working day. 

If it doesn't, it doesn't really matter because a USB C Aukey Fast Charger (which you have to buy anyway- the phone doesn't come with a charging brick) can pump it to full from 0 to 100 in less than 1 hour 45mins, and 0-50 in about half an hour. Fast charging is amazing!

Internal Hardware

The Snapdragon 808 and 3GB of RAM are a very able duo, so the Robin speeds along very well, and has not failed me in any task I've thrown at it. It is able to handle most games at a reasonable quality, and it certainly won't fail the daily stuff; my G4 with the exact same spcs is still great, after almost a year. No problems here.

Camera (13MP rear, 5MP front)

The rear camera... it isn't amazing, but it's good. I don't think you can expect LG G4 or Samsung S6 quality here, but it's okay for FaceBook sharing and the sort. The viewfinder is a tad bit annoying (it's pretty quick though) and quality suffers a lot in low light. The different quality modes aren't great but I guess they do the job. 

I'd recommend you use HDR where possible. 

Here are some shots for you to decide for yourself. So sorry about the portrait orientation of these photos, but I didn't take them! My relative took them on a trip to Sri Lanka, and let's just say they're not the most photography savvy. I did take some photos but I lost my copies....

Cropped

The front camera is good, and it does the job. It suffers from many of the same faults as the rear one, but if SnapChat and Instagram are your deal, it works.

The camera is good in broad daylight but mediocre in lowlight, but like I expressed before, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to take, because the phones other features make it up for me.

Market

The closest phone with this spec is the LG G4, which is £250. The higher resolution screen and better camera are the only trade offs for me, but in daily use they haven't made a huge difference to me (I have both). You can also look into the Moto X, which compares more or less equally to this as the G4. 

At the price of just £159 on Amazon, you don't get these specs elsewhere. You find cheap lower mid rangers with barely half the specs or pedigree of this, so it's tremendous value. Major credit for the seller and NextBit for making this device available at this price.

Major Update: Nextbit has sold itself to Razer. While this is good news for the company itself, it isn't necessarily good for the buyer. While the device itself is stunningly good value, the warranty period on the device if brought brand new has been reduced; it is only 6 months from purchase now. I am sad this had to happen, but it seems these days all the startups are being brought up and scrapped by the big companies. Hopefully, Nextbit will stand by their promises to make a great smartphone with Razer. I look forward to seeing their creation, whatever shape or form it takes.


Verdict

Overall, the Nextbit Robin is very highly recommended for someone who wants a upper-midrange phone for a lower-midrange price. It's certainly worth way more, but the reason, I think, Amazon is selling them so cheap is because NextBit needs to get rid of stock, and to gain more exposure as a brand capable of making a great phone. It's good thing for both customers and the sellers. Good job, NextBit.

I rate this device a solid 9/10.
Update: Because of the warranty and sale affair, I am reducing the overall rating to a 8/10. 

Thanks for reading! If you're looking for more tech to check out or buy, do check out our Technology section. Our reviews section also offers many reviews of devices and games/apps we use.

Face Off: Evernote vs Google Keep (App)

Hi there! Welcome to our first contradictory post on the blog!

(Intro by Thisath) 

This started off as a review of Evernote by Yasaru. However, I didn't agree with him that Evernote is any good, because I have my dibs elsewhere, in the name of Google Keep. In my opinion it is waaay better than Evernote. But we're gonna let you decide which you like best. Here's to the battle of the notetakers! Read on!

EverNote

I'm Yasaru and this my review of Evernote.

Evernote is an app by the EverNote corporation released in 2007. The app has been on my phone for a solid 2 years after I saw it a while back as a "recommended app" on the google play store.

I got through the initiation process and was done with the app the day I installed it, never getting around to actually using it. That is until recently I found the app tucked away in a folder, so I decided to give it a try, and boy was I missing out on a lot.

The app is a master at getting me to plan out all of my work. The first few days might be tough when you don't know what you want to write, but with time you'll find out what you want to get done.

You'll manage to ask just that from the app, from planning down to what you want to complete the next day to jotting down small notes when needed, the app will always be there on your phone (silently judging your work ethic).

If you're like me (rather 'were' but eh.) and like to procrastinate about everything that is gonna get you to your goals, then Evernote is the app for you. The app isn't only meant for us, so even if you're a person who likes being organised (totally not envious of your skill to do so. and like to help sustain the your time on earth by reducing wastage of trees then Evernote is for you as well.

                              Interest Concentrated (Yasaru) rates the app: 8/10

Google Keep

Hey! I'm Thisath and this is my review of Google Keep!

First, I'm going to clear the air on why I think this is superior to EverNote. There is one reason. Google.
I'm a HUGE Google fanboy. I just like anything that works well with Google, Google makes and is Google. That was why I choose Evernote over every other app out there, and I do not regret it.

The Keep app shines because it works perfectly and incredibly simply with Google accounts.
The app itself is simple, easy and well designed. It's easy to make notes and it has all the features you'd need; archiving, reminders, lists and colour sorted notes.

It is available on multiple platforms, be it iOS, Android or Web based (just like EverNote of course). I just love how it easily syncs everything I write across all of my phones and computers, which makes it really easy to transfer texts between them.

On the face of it, it is really similar to EverNote. But what puts it across the finishing line for me, is that you only need one account and one app on all your devices and boom- you're set. Google Keep is a much more "wireless" experience than EverNote, and it's way less hassle. That's why I'm sure you need Google Keep. It is simply the best. Sorry, Yasaru.

My rating? Keep is one of my favourite apps, ever. I give it a very fair 9/10!
That minus one because I don't really like how you can't make text bold or italic, which is important to me (which Yasaru tells me Evernote has... smh). Otherwise, perfect!

Interest Concentrated (Thisath) rates this app 9/10

Upcoming Sony Cameras: Round Up and Overview

Hey, I'm Duruthu and I'm camera geek who has a deep interest in all things photography. For my work I use a Sony A6000 paired with a mixture of Sony, Canon and Nikon glass, and my primary interests are in event, portraiture and creative photography.

So, Sony has always delivered new camera bodies at a fast pace, and now with 2017 having arrived we can expect a brand new sweep of them. This article focuses on the latest leaks, rumors and expectations from mirrorless shooters and photography enthusiasts.

Sony is expected to come out with the following bodies in 2017:

• ·        Highly Likely: Sony A7 III
•       Highly Likely: Sony A7R III or A9
• ·        Sony A7S III
• ·        Sony A77 III
• ·        Sony RX5

             Sony A7 III

The A7 lineup is the Entry level Full Frame mirrorless from Sony, so we can expect some things to stay similar like the resolution to keep their lower price. Like its predecessor the A7 MkIII will come with a new 24MP sensor, along with improved AF possibly giving a bump to the number of AF points this time unlike in the A7II where it stayed the same to the first generation. This of course means better low light and higher ISO performance, other additions may be the inclusion of dual SD cards hopefully.

While rather unlikely since it is the entry level of the full frame series a back-illuminated sensor may be included which would further push its low light capabilities, but more likely than not it’ll instead show up in the A7r series again.

The A7ii

            Sony A7R III or A9

In 2016 Sony Japan Managers hinted that the New Flagship A7R was in the works saying;

   A7RIII the new sensor will be between 70 – 80 Megapixels. They are working on improved IBIS as well. Although officially the new lenses per the 24-70 F2.8 GM and the others have been tested for QC at 60+ Megapixels and 6K+ Video they achieve even better results than that.

                                                    

                                                           

However the Flagship of the A7 series may be no more as there is a possibility that Sony will introduce it as the Sony A9 for its high resolution Full Frame series. As hinted this new camera will feature a new higher resolution 35mm FF Sensor (70-80MP) to its predecessor which came in at 42MP. Improvements to the AF is to be expected with it likely receiving a bump in AF points from 399 phase detection points on the A7RII to 425 Phase-Detection AF points, following the standard set by the new A6500, Sony’s Flagship APS-C Sensor camera.

Here’s hoping that the A7RIII (or A9) will also follow in adding a touchscreen to the back also like the A6500. The sensor like its spiritual predecessor will definitely be back-illuminated, meaning the camera will have both high resolution and high speed, along with increased low light performance.

Other rumors suggest the body will be bigger than A7RII and possibly more similar in design to a DSLR than the previous more compact design of the A7 series. Featuring a bigger grip, hopefully this means a bigger battery, since although battery life isn’t horrible, they still don’t match up to DSLRs.

Other inclusions may be support for dual SD or even XQD cards hopefully, along with the ability to shoot unlimited RAW files in continuous burst, 4K video will of course be included as the A7R II already had it.

          Sony A7S III

 Recently, shortly after Sony revealed the new A6500, an image wasp published by CameraBeta in what they claim is a leak of the forthcoming A7SIII, and granted if we can go by this leak, reveals the specs of the coming flagship.

Specs

– 15.4MP BSI-CMOS with LSI
– Variable IR Filter can be used as variable electronic ND filter
– Native ISO: 100-102400
– Maximum ISO: 409600
– 3” 1.23million dot articulating LCD screen
– 4:2:2 8bit 4K recording support

                                 

As the leaked images shows Sony might finally upgrade the resolution of their A7S series from 12.2MP to 15.4MP as well as the sensor itself being new, as the leak suggests it’ll be BSI-CMOS (Back-Illuminated) further adding to the already insane low light performance in the A7S series.

On another note there is a low rated rumor going about that Sony might be developing a RGBW sensor for its A7S line, which in short is an RGB sensor that carries an extra white pixels inside it which increases brightness in images by 32% and decreases color noise by 78% when compared to the normal  CMOS sensor, this means it would make sense for Sony  to fit a RGBW sensor in its high sensitivity cameras for much improved low light performance.

         Sony A77 III

Sony announced the A77 II in the spring of 2014, we can expect an update to their APS-C fixed-mirror DSLR lineup. Latest news about the upcoming A77 III suggest it will support 4K video and have built-image stabilization.

                                                     

                                                       

We can probably expect to see a new sensor sporting the same resolution at 24.3MP although this might change have and an improved AF, as the A77 is marketed for its high speed shooting capabilities. Besides this there isn’t much to say about the expected A77 III other than speculations.

         Sony RX5

According to newest rumors the RX5 is expected to be a cross between the A6500 and the RX1R II, and to come with the same sensor found on the recently released A6500 meaning it will feature a 24.2MP sensor which means it will feature the same AF system of the A6500, that being 4D Focus with 425 Phase-Detection Points. However it is also expected to come with a fixed 23mm F/1.8 lens.

                                           

AF points on the A6500

   

The body is expected to house 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization and be a similar body to that of the Sony RX1R II along with the same XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF. While an exact announcement date is unknown it is expected to show in the CP+ show in February this year.

So that’s all the information I could round up for now, thanks for reading! I hope you'll enjoy reading my posts and I'll do my best to keep them coming for all the photographers and camera enthusiasts out there. I look forward to seeing you around in future posts!

Follow me on social media to see my photography:

Instagram:
@untamed_heart_  (https://www.instagram.com/untamed_heart_)
@taming_the_heart (https://www.instagram.com/taming_the_heart)

Review: AKG K451

Hello, it's Shehan aka Tyrant Beast!

Today I'm going to review something different. I'm going to review my headphones, my AKG K451!

Released at £50, you can soon understand why it won the "What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year Award" in 2012.

They're a pair of a foldable mini on-ear headphones. The earpads are super soft and just touch your earlobe, so like all on ear headphones, they aren't noise cancelling. The adjustable ear pieces are really comfortable for long listening sessions. The ear cups rotate freely and can be fit however you like!


They can also fold  in (like I suggested earlier) when you're not using them for easier transport, a very nice touch if you don't have a large bag or need a very compact pair of cans.

The headphones are also very stylish, with the contrasting black and silver plastic build. It feels pretty good in hand and is quite premium.

If you buy your very own AKG K451 headphones you get:

•Two detachable 3.5mm cables, one with an inline remote control and microphone and one without.
•A 3.5 to 6.3mm converter
•A carrying case

The headphones are able to reach from 11Hz to 29.5kHz so it has amazing bass and treble. Weighing in at 120g, its also very light. The headphones are specifically engineered for portable devices, but that doesn't stop you from using it at home full time, like I do!

Overall it's a great add on for any commuter.  I myself found it very relieving to upgrade from my old Philips headphones (which were really, really bad, trust me on this one) to these AKGs. I would highly recommend it!

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out our tech reviews by clicking the Reviews and Technology labels.

Note: I recently purchased a new phone (which I will make a review of very soon). I will be able to write more often, so expect to see more of me :)

Why Do Macs Suck at Gaming?

This here is an article I wrote last month for a school project. I covered the ever interesting topic, Mac gaming. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of why this is such a big issue. It had to be written assuming the readers had no understanding of the topic, so please excuse any over simplifications and the like.

“For years, Mac gaming has almost been an oxymoron” states TechRadar in a post from 2015, writing about how there was being in explosion in the Mac Gaming scene. As someone who’s lived and worked with Windows and Mac computers all my life, I decided to dig deeper in the truth of this claim, having heard it countlessly myself. In this article, I’m going to present my findings, running over why exactly Mac has such a bad reputation as a platform for gaming as well as why that might be about to change!

So why are Macs renowned for being so bad at gaming compared to their Windows counterparts? It's a topic which has plagued the computer communities for years. There is a list of problems, both with the software and developers themselves that contribute to it.

The biggest issue is simply the number of Mac gamers, or the lack thereof. If you look at the Steam statistics, out of all their users, Apple users only make up about 8% (which, I admit, has probably increased since the time the survey was taken) of their total users. If you think about it, this is a very niche group of people, and game developers aren’t people with a lot of time on their hands. Porting their games to Mac OS would simply be too much trouble for too little. While stats show that Apple users are more likely to pay more for products than other users, for developers, there simply wouldn’t be enough revenue to be made from the effort they’d have to put in. It’s also worth reporting that many developers also say that Mac is much harder to programme for than its counterparts, because of its API.. Time is money, the initial cost to the final income is simply not enough to fund the development of these games.

The next key issue is that MacOS uses a different Application Programming Interface to Windows. While Windows uses Direct3D, a subset of DirectX, Apple uses OpenGL. What is an Application Programming Interface? An API is a tool that applications use to render 2D and 3D computer graphics. The key difference between them in general is Direct3D is a proprietary API created by Microsoft for Windows. On the other hand, OpenGL is an open standard API, which comes from MacOS’s roots as Unix based operating system, that provides the same or similar functions to Direct3D.  This doesn’t mean however, that Direct3D is superior to OpenGL, a topic which I will get onto again.

The problem lies in the fact that many PC developers write their rendering engines implementing only DirectX APIs and don’t really concern themselves with the OpenGL side of things, so therefore leaving behind the Mac gamers. The problem with creating a DirectX game into an OpenGL game is translating them from one API to the other API, an issue which is only now slowly being fixed through OpenSource translators.

There are functional differences in how these two APIs actually function. For example, while Direct3D expects the Application to handle hardware resources, OpenGL expects, in essence, the computer to handle it.  This makes developers rethink the foundations of the software when porting a game from Windows to Mac, which again links back to my previous point where it simply takes too much effort to actually make games for MacOS.  

Apple themselves haven’t been very helpful in getting developers interested in bringing games to Mac. They have always been slow in bringing updates to their APIs, and even then, they fail to deliver the latest possible. Apple hasn’t shown much interest in pushing the gaming capabilities of MacOS primarily because if they focused on that, they would undermine their professional market. That said, if you don’t consider the price tag, Mac’s do have respectable specifications, with usually pretty capable graphics and processing power.

So rounding up, why do suck at gaming?
1. It’s due to the lack of gamers on their operating system,
2. The fundamental difference between Windows and MacOs
3. And finally, the fact that Apple themselves haven’t been interested in catering to gamers or game developers.

Lately, however, developers have begun to take steps to make MacOS a better place for gamers. The number of ordinary people using Apple computers has been steadily increasing, and developers are finally seeing a market big enough for them to invest in. This means that they can finally focus on bringing out new games that work on Apple’s OpenGL API. There has been a noticeably high number of new games hitting both the Steam and Apple library of games, and while they are generally just Indie Games, the future looks bright for bigger and more capable games to make themselves onto MacOS.

Apple has also recently put in effort in bringing the latest versions of OpenGL to all their new operating systems, and as they showed in their new MacBook Pro presentation, they have started to think about how games perform on their computers. Given, they don’t have the best graphics or the fairest price, but the fact is, they too have begun to transition from catering primarily to just professionals to a more general market.

This brings with it the challenge of catering to all types of people, and these people may need good gaming performance, today and in the future. For developers, open source DirectX to OpenGL translators are becoming increasingly widely available so it’s only a matter of making sure they optimise this so that performance will be similar on both platforms, which is currently not the case. It is still noticeably more efficient to dual boot Windows onto an Apple computer through BootCamp to get better performance in gaming.

So there we go. Mac's are inherently bad at gaming because of the fact that people simply haven't bothered with gaming on a Mac. Because, at the end of the day, who buys a Mac to game?

Is VR a Gimmick?

I recently had a keyboard warrior tell me, “VR is really, genuinely unhealthy. There are case studies to prove that VR is damaging to the brain and mind. VR is unnecessary because they are gimmicky and tricky, to convince you to buy them, when in reality they have no true technological merit besides the engineering”. 

Of course, there was a lot more to it than that, but it got me thinking, do people really see VR as a gimmick?

On the face of it, it really does look like a phase, a gimmick that will come and go out in a few years. I mean, smartphone VR is pretty bad- there are hardly any good experiences and the experience is very fragmented. At best it’s mildly annoying and at worst it’s plain irritating. I’ve got a Google Cardboard headset and I use it on a LG G3 and LG G4. To be clear, when it works, it’s amazing. The way it transports you into space, a singer’s stage, a roller coaster or even your own mind, it’s simply stunning. I was wowed by my first experience.

But soon enough the annoyances set in. First, the lack of good apps to use on VR. There’s hardly any good VR apps that truly give you the experience that you want from VR. I found some good games, about three of them, that give me the experience of mind blowing that I was seeking. Not much more than that. Second, the annoying way you have to take your phone out every time you want to switch apps- there’s little to no form of a VR platform. I found an app that offered to do this but I didn’t find it useful to do what I wanted. Other things like the lack of controls you have to see where you’re going or the fact that it’s simply quite expensive to get into VR for real, make VR pretty much look like a gimmick for the ordinary person.

The better VR experiences offered by devices like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive are simply too far off for ordinary consumers to ever buy or experience, because the amount of power needed to run them is very expensive- you need a highly specced gaming PC, and the total cost for all of that will be over a £1000 pounds at least.

So it’s easy to come to the conclusion that VR is just the next big gimmick that manufacturers want you to buy, but while that, in essence, is true, there is more to VR than meets the eye.

Let’s start off my dissecting my keyboard warrior "brother’s" argument against VR.

He says, “VR is really, genuinely unhealthy. There are case studies to prove that VR is damaging to the brain and mind”. How true is this?

First, let’s put this into context. VR is a new technology. People are scared of it; just like they are with every other new technology. There are studies done on our mobile technology and computers too, they too "damage your brain". Everything we use has some element of harm; we have to use it properly to not harm ourselves, it's obvious. Heck, when TVs first arrived everyone was just as worried about them as we are of VR: “they hurt your eyes”, “they hurt concentration”, “they are distracting”, the whole lot. There is an element of truth to them, you can’t deny it, but we’re still alive aren’t we? We haven’t been doomed by them, we haven’t become a lesser species because of them. Go back even further and look at radios. I’m sure there was as much of a fuss about them as there was for TVs. Your grandparents survived the radio and our parents survived the TV. What on earth is there to say about the VR generation? We’re going to survive that too.

So to answer the question, there’s always going to be some “bad” effect on us, but let’s be clear: it’s not “dangerous”. I mean, they’re going to be about as bad as any technology we’ve met before them. There is no real evidence to say that they damage our brain, that’s utter rubbish. If they do, it’s down to the adverse effects of our reward seeking nature binging on it to get a dopamine rush, which is something we’ve always done- it just has to be controlled and used correctly. So unless you’re an absolute nut and watch VR to seek a dopamine rush every time, which is very unlikely- there are better ways to get this done- you’re perfectly safe using VR in the correct environment, in the correct way, for a safe amount of time, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE. I wouldn’t even go as far as to say it’s in anyway bad, hence inverted commas.

The next thing, our friend says “It’s unnecessary because they are gimmicky and tricky, to convince you to buy them, when in reality they have no true technological merit besides the engineering”.

We’ve already covered the point as to whether it the next big thing that manufacturers are trying to convince us to buy; it’s true, but like everything else, if you think about it only as a trick, what good thing on this earth isn’t advertised to us?

So, is VR a gimmick or not? At face value, to us, it does seem like an awful lot like a gimmick, but I strongly beg to differ.

VR and Augmented Reality are amazingly practical and it's shown by how it’s being used in their science, in policing and journalism as well as entertainment. My favourite example is how NASA is using the Microsoft Hololense to build their next Mars Rover and prepare astronauts for Space Travel. It's irreplaceable to them: They have said many times that is indispensable in aiding their development, and it is one of the most useful technologies that they've ever got their hands on. There are some amazing videos of how NASA engineers are using AR and VR on the Microsoft HoloLens to visualise the next Mars Rover and the surface of Mars.  Virtual reality training has also made it easier for the teams of future astronauts to work together and communicate too, which is a classic application of the technology.

Police Agencies are using them to train people or to recreate crime scenes so that people can remember the incidents and so that other people can experience them. Auschwitz camps victims are given VR experiences which recreate the conditions during the war so that survivors can remember what the camp was like and hopefully flash back and remember the soldiers who tortured them, data which international agencies will use to relocate those soldiers and give them the punishments they deserve. They've already managed to use it to aid the prosecution of a surviving Nazi soldier.

VR is also being used in Journalism. The Guardian used a VR film to give ordinary people the experience of living in solitary confinement in 2016 as one of their first forays into the world of world of VR. Mobile phone companies have started to release phones in VR worlds, most notably beginning with OnePlus’s OnePlus Three launch and Samsung’s S7 launch which featured VR extensively, and the “Project Syria” VR experience by Nonny de la Peña sought to give people the experience of being a Syrian child refugee.

We all know how extensively the entertainment industry plans to use VR! Gaming is obviously a big one. Steam already has a huge section dedicated to VR games and there are some games to buy, if you can run them. VR on mobile is also mostly focused on gaming too, but like I said there aren’t many great apps to choose from yet. You can’t, however, deny that VR gaming when done right, is just amazing. You can see how much fun you can have with VR gaming if you simply search YouTube, and in my opinion, it’s the next logical step for gaming technology.

So is VR a gimmick? In actual reality*, hell no it ain’t!

It’s the next big thing; it’s about as important as TVs or smartphones. It’s a real technological advancement, it has the potential to change our lives, our society. Right now, it doesn’t have quite enough development to make it so influential, but I look forward to the day the ordinary person can buy one like they buy a TV or a smartphone. It’s an amazing piece of technology that can be applied in so many ways that we never thought was possible. It’s our own reality, and it takes us back into sci-fi, heck, it takes us INTO sci-fi! It should be given the time and attention necessary to become a very enriching experience as part of our society. Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality is the next generation of magic that is technology. Give it some time, it can get better.

Thanks for reading!

*virtual reality- actual reality? Haha, haha! No?

Ponderings:

VR could probably replace the TV in future- but at the expense of losing the social aspect of TV, which I think should be given a lot of thought. Instead of cocooning a person in their own world, like a smartphone or tablet, developers need to work on keeping some aspect of social interaction in VR. TV, it has that ability: it can connect people- bringing together in one place- in front of the sofa, the store front or hotel lounge. Smartphones, they connect us to the distant world while separating us from the immediate world, which I think is their biggest flaw. VR, while it has all its perks, looks like the next big advancement in isolation technology, and I don’t there’s anything good about that. 

What do you think? Comment below!

MacBook 2016: Impressions and Opinion

This is the MacBook Pro 2016 (non touch bar)

This is the MacBook Pro 2013

I decided to cover this new MacBook Pro 2016 as this has been fairly trending news these days and it's a laptop line up which I've grown quite attached to.

I've used the Mac Pro's, the MacBook Pro of both 2013 (retina) and 2008, and several other Mac products over the years. While I never owned one myself (I came close to a MacBook Pro or MacBook 2016 while shopping for a PC a few months ago), I have loved having them in my household and I've loved using them. 

They're amazingly well made products with a very wide field of use in both the amateur and professional world. Don't agree? Look how many professionals use them. Stupid, you might say, they don't know the power of the Windows. Well shucks, they still bought one and a majority of them love using it, so in practical terms, that's your argument dis-validated. 

Firstly, I've got to make a bit of a disclaimer. I own a Surface Pro 4. A very Windows PC. All of the computers I've owned in the past have also been Windows. I love, and I mean LOVE my Surface Pro 4. It's an utterly, utterly magical computer and it's so good I've been through 4 replacement Surfaces because the first impression of my first one was so good. Their quality control however, not so good. That's another story right there, but this is on the MacBooks so I am not gonna go there. 

So that said, while it might seem like I'm hypocritically bashing Windows in general at some points in the article, I don't want to. My Surface was in the range of the MacBook Pro price bracket and I could easily have gone with one but I didn't. I'm Team Windows.

(Fun Fact: I'm writing this on a MacBook Pro Retina.) 

Onto the MacBook Pro 16.  An overpriced hunk of jewellery. A twist to what the MacBook Pro of old represented. Isn't that what it was? I watched the keynote. While I hate them on some sense, I really want them to start wowing me the same way they did when they made the iPhone 5. That thing blew my mind at the time. But for the last 3 years, they have consistently depressed me. 

This MacBook reveal was very lacklustre. It felt... fake; forced. Apple is now at this point where they realise they say 'thinner, lighter, faster' way too much. You could sense it. The cheesy jokes? They felt like it was Apple mocking themselves from the inside. 

But you know what's sadder? The fact that the people at Apple seem to have lost faith in their products. To those who watched the KeyNote 2016 October, I dare you go onto Youtube and watch the reveal videos for the iPhone 4 and MacBook Retina and not feel the excitement and passion the designers were feeling for the product themselves. Go on. Pause this now and go do that. 

I'm not going to bother you with the specs and the technicals. You probably already know them. That's not why I'm here anyway. I will bother myself with saying this one thing. It's overpriced. A lot overpriced. for what it offers at least. Then again, Microsoft does more of the same on it's Surface Book, but it offers way more besides basic MacOS privilege.

I think the MacBook Pro 2016 is Apple ditching the professionals they initially made the Pro for in 2006 up till 2016. They differentiated this product as being capable and offering reliability for tasks that needed it, and being powerful enough to do anything that a professional could want to do, with gorgeously elegant looks casing it all in a slim and elegant package- something that was almost unheard of at the times.

A state of the art Windows laptop in 2006: Toshiba Portege m400

MacBook Pro 2006

 That there sums it up.

Apple, from the day they last released a redesigned (arguably) MacBook Pro in 2012 (which was still great) has transitioned from being a professional's toolkit essential to a typical 'Starbuckers' essential, if you excuse the huge generalisation there. But that is what it is. Apple has gone from the Pro's expensive laptop that everyone wants to the laptop everyone has.

Is that good? Is it really? Does it really retain any of the Pro-ness that made it special when all it caters to is the ordinary person? Given, most people like to think that they are pros and want to buy a MacBook Pro to feel like a pseudo-pro, and be more productive; but if you switch your demographic from the Pros to the ordinary, won't you be loosing the original Pro appeal? You won't have a laptop packed with real professional specs like before; you'd have something for the ordinary person.

There is the overhanging thought that maybe ordinary people are becoming more and more demanding while the pros are becoming less and less demanding, but if you look at the other side of the world, the Windows world, you're going to see that actually isn't the case. Pro users still demand more than the ordinary person.

If you look at Apple as a whole, they've abandoned their real professional tools, like the Mac Pro, or the Mac Mini and are making iPads which tarnish what it really means to be Pro in the first place. They don't understand what a Pro is now- but I'll admit, it's hard to describe what a Pro is the first place. I'm talking graphics designers, editors and the like, to whom the efficient Mac exclusive software really appealed to. This MacBook is only the next one to fall prey to Apple destroying their own Pro lineup.

The lack of ports is stupid and very easily showcases that Apple only cares about your money. I cannot think of one reason why they would not put a single USB A 3.1 port in there other than to make you pay for adapters.

You might say, "Hey, they're getting ready for the future!". But I ask you, why the hell would they pack in a Intel 6th Gen chip with some mediocre graphics if they really cared about the future? The KabyLake chip has been out for a while now. There's really no excuse to not have packed either that with all USB C or minimum 1 USB A port with the SkyLake.

The lack of a SD Card is either a hilarious oversight or an example of how Apple has transitioned from Pros to Bros (sorry). It was an absolutely essential port that had no reason to go anywhere. A huge majority of MBP customers are photographers or editors, and Apple very well knows this. The SD Card port was simple and slim, and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere in the future. Why would they remove it? Why?

Money, of course.

Actually, I wouldn't be going down so hard on my beloved MacBook Pro if Apple wasn't so greedy and actually included an adapter with all the lost ports to make up for it in the box. I really wouldn't.

The SD Card still hasn't been replaced, and it's the most efficient way to transfer data from a camera to a laptop. Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior VP, said they removed it because "it’s a bit of a cumbersome slot. you’ve got this thing sticking halfway out". Which is absolutely genius, because I mean how beautiful is a huge, chunky, heavy adaptor with an SD Card sticking halfway out, right?

This SnapChat by Marquees captures the struggle creators are facing

You're paying 3000 pounds for an already overpriced as is computer, and you have to shell out another, what, 100 pounds to use it properly? What?! I mean how simple could it have been: include a single hub adapter with a USB A port, a MiniDisplay port and a SD Card port. Apple probably makes these for about 5 pounds each so why the bother, right? Except it'll hurt their ego so bad to do this, to admit that they were perhaps wrong.

I just don't get this about Apple. They think they are so perfect, so visionary and so amazing, that they can't admit it when they make a mistake and amend it.

One last point. The Touch-Bar. I see how useful it. I see the point.  It's a new way of thinking and I think if Apple does it right, they can do something good with it. But there is one major flaw with it.

It can't be used if the laptop is docked. My father uses a MacBook Pro (it's what I borrowed to write this on), and he has always used it docked to a Monitor and with an external wireless keyboard and mouse. It's only removed for transport. This, I'm told, and have seen, is how a lot of professionals actually use this. You see where I'm going with this. That Touch-Bar is pointless if you dock it, and completely inaccessible. It's a great idea, but I think this flaw really devalues it. Oh and those emojis? No, that oughtn’t be a feature. That's the 'hipstery’ things I’ve going on about the whole while.

That said, this isn't all going to be bad stuff. There's somethings which I inherently adore about the MacBook Pro 2016.

(now changing to the SurfaceType Cover)

First, the trackpad. Awesome! I never felt the current MBP’s one was small, but it’s nice to see it bigger. Mac's have always had the best trackpads, hands down, and this is just where it needed to go. Reviewer have complained that it is too big, and when I used it, it did seem a bit too big, but I think it’s alright all around.

That's how big the TrackPad on the 13" MBP16 compared to my hand.

This is the old 13" MBP13 trackpad compared to my hand. Note the difference of the keyboards.

The keyboard, whatever you might think of the ButterFly mechanism, is actually not bad! I hated the keyboard on the 2015/6 MacBook (the tiny one) because it had almost no feeling to it at all. It was exactly what a keyboard shouldn’t be, and I had similar expectations for this one.  This time Apple has taken heed of the raging reviews and have tried to give it some depth and feeling to it. My favourite keyboard right now is the SurfaceBook and Surface TypeCover (I like the flex it has), and while I think the older MacBook keyboards were good, but comparing it directly to the new one, it’s a bit too mushy for my tastes. I’m going to go as far as to say it’s, for me, a good improvement.

The display is also a good improvement. Microsoft has truly been killing it with the display tech lately, and it was time Apple needed to change their stuff up a bit. They essentially added the iPhone tech to their laptops, and I’m guessing it wasn’t much of a hard task for Apple. Apple has caught up with the market, but not beaten it. I LOVE my Surface Pro display, and I think the Mac is now more or less on par with that.

I guess I now have to comment on the improved specs and graphics, but I really have to? The competition offers better specs for almost half the price, and these specs aren’t very impressive on the Mac either. I’m just going to avoid this, and I’ve already raged about an aspect of it above. The new faster SSD though is a nice addition.

There’s also something I’m divided on. Why does this laptop need to be so thin? Having felt around it, I can agree it’s very appealing, but it just doesn’t feel any better. I never thought the current MacBook was fat, and I don’t think anyone else did either. It seems like Apple fulfils some their huge ego every time they needlessly make a product thinner. It is though much lighter, which is probably what people wanted, but the cost of better battery life, which is not what people wanted. It doesn’t seem to have quite the fantastic battery the old one did, as several reviewers have complained about.

I can’t comment on the speakers because I didn’t get to try them out, but they’re supposedly very good, much better than the old one. I think the old ones are great, so I expect the amazing.

To round this post off, what is the MacBook Pro? Has it filled the shoes of the old MacBook?

The MacBook represents the new direction Apple is taking, now trying to cater to ordinary people more than the professionals; pushing the prices up as far as they can to increase their brand value. It’s trying to become the laptop to the laptop world that the iPhone is to the smartphone world. Unlike the iPhone however, the MacBook already reigns king among the creative professionals, so Apple had a hard task in making the replacement Pro any better. Have they done it? To me, partly. To you, maybe not. To the rest of the world? They’re split over what it actually brings to the table with that huge price tag. And so am I. If Apple priced this fairly with the $4000 one at about $3000, I think the reviews would be raving. 

The MacBook, as Dave2D says is, “a thousand dollars overpriced”, and at the price it’s hard to justify this purpose unless you are a huge Apple fan, absolutely need Final Cut (or other exclusives), or don’t really care about the price. My verdict on whether or not to buy this is a resounding no. As I’ve highlighted in the points I’ve made above, I have slowly grown from hating to loving to disliking it. As even my long time Mac user (and 'never going to switch') father would say, it’s simply too much for too little. It hasn't got the presence of the 'older' MacBook.

This remains the sweet spot of the MacBook Pros

This, I believe, is the future.                

Thanks for reading! I look forward to writing more of these tech articles; I've already written ready for  publishing in the next few weeks. Don't forget to drop your email address in the gadget thingy below for updates on our latest posts. You'll get notified every time we post. 

If you have any suggestions of want you want me write about next, or want to hear my thoughts on something (I didn't know I was this interesting..), pop a comment in below! 

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