Category: Reviews

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Microsoft’s New – Surface Book – Review

I had the chance to go to Microsoft Store and check out the new Surface Book. This is the video review below:

I personally was not wowed about it. Here are my comments:

  • When you close the lid, it is not very convenient to open it up. Unlike other laptops I used, say the MacBook Air, with the Surface Book, you need two hands to open the lid and you need to push a bit harder
  • The screen does not detach without first pressing the EJECT button for a couple of seconds
  • The keyboard is good. If you’re a programmer you may get used to it, it has a nice feel to it.
  • It is relatively heavy 3.3 pounds
  • The competitors have already a hybrid laptop where you can detach the screen from the keyboard and have a dual experience: tablet or laptop.

I also shot another video showing the new stylus:

What is hard to capture in the video is how it feels when using the stylus. Each stylus tip gives you a different feel / drag on the screen. That’s pretty nice!

In conclusion, and in my opinion, the Surface Book does not deserve to be called “The Ultimate Laptop”, at least not yet.

You may also like:

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Announcing the new Apple TV – 2015

Today Apple announced to all new Apple TV. These are the important new features.

Photo gallery at the end of the post.

Apple TV

  • Revolutionary remote with Voice support (Siri button) and a glass touch surface (to move around)
  • Full resolution animated videos that act like wallpapers and backgrounds
  • A4 chip 64-bits
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • HDMI and Ethernet Ports
  • Use Siri to chose what to watch by interacting with Siri via voice and natural language
    • Skip ahead
    • If you missed something, you can say: “What did she/he say?”. Siri will rewind 15 seconds and temporarily enable captions
    • Ask suggestions from Siri about movies to watch
    • Ask for in the moment info
  • Future of the TV is apps
  • tvOS – for developers to write apps for the Apple TV
  • Apps: Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Zillow, …
  • Games: Disney Infinity game, Shadow Matic, Crossy Road, Hipster Whale, etc…
  • The Apple Remote allows you to swing it to play games (that require swing to hit)
  • Cooperative play with anyone that has an iPhone or iPod Touch
  • Online shopping from your couch
  • Watch multiple sports games at the same time, take screenshots, etc…
  • Universal apps: apps for iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, etc…
  • Continue playing games where you left of
  • App Store
  • Pricing:
    • 149$ for 32GB
    • 199$ for 64GB

The Apple TV will be available in late October. Continue reading “Announcing the new Apple TV – 2015”

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Announcing the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

Today Apple announced to all new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. These are the important new features.

Photo gallery at the end of the post.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

  • “They are the most advanced iPhones in the world” according Tim Cook
  • Rose Gold aluminum finish – Custom alloy. A total of 4 finishes
  • Running iOS 9 – Available on September 16, 2015
  • 3D touch
    • New gestures
    • Easy multi tasking
    • Easy app switching
    • New quick actions avail in apps
  • New Taptic engine
  • New A9 chip: 3rd gen 64-bit chip
  • M9 motion coprocessor – always on
  • “Hey Siri” feature. Siri always listening even if the phone is not power plugged. Something like Moto X’s always listening feature
  • All new 12MP iSight camera. Incredible photos, HD videos, 4k videos, panoramic pictures
  • 5MP FaceTime camera
    • The screen can act as a front facing flash to take front facing pictures in low light environment
  • Live Photos – an entirely new technology. Ala Harry Potter where picture seems to be alive
    • Force touch to see the live photos getting animated
    • Taking Live photos is very easy, this feature is one by default. It captures 1.5s seconds along with the picture to animate a little
    • Live Photos will be available on all devices (Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac OS X El Capitan)
    • Facebook will support Live Photos taken using this new iPhone
  • LTE Advanced and WiFi are now twice faster
  • Move to iPhone: an app to transfer Android settings to iOS and help you switch to Apple iPhone from Android phones
  • 2nd generation Touch ID
  • Older iPhone 6s and Plus are now 100$ cheaper
  • Pricing scheme with the new iPhone Upgrade Program:
    • Unlocked Phone
    • Get a new iPhone every single year
    • $31/year

By the way, iPhone 6s, when read, it sounds like: “iPhone success”. Continue reading “Announcing the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus”

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Announcing the new iPad Pro – 2015

Today Apple announced to all new iPad Pro. These are the important new features.

Photo gallery at the end of the post.

iPad Pro

  • Partnering with IBM and Cisco for Enterprise iPad features
  • 12.9 inch Retina Display
  • 5.6 Million pixels
  • Retina display
  • Use it like a PC to do professional and productivity tasks
  • Uses the 3rd-gen A9X chip. 1.8X faster than common desktop processors
  • Faster than 90% of portable PCs
  • 10 hour battery life
  • 4 speaker audio system
  • 6.9mm thin / 1.57lb
  • Software keyboard used to type on the iPad Pro
  • Smart keyboard is a new cover with a keyboard. Butterfly
  • Smart connector: a new connector to connect power or data devices (for example the smart keyboard)
  • Apple Pencil: A new stylus for iPad Pro. Lightening connector to recharge directly from the iPad Pro
  • New Notes app with drawings support
  • New Microsoft Office for iPad Pro: excellent productivity features
  • New Adobe creative tools shipping in October
  • Pricing
    • 799$ for 32GB
    • 949$ for 128GB
    • 1079$ for 128GB and Cellular support

The iPad Pro will be available in November. Continue reading “Announcing the new iPad Pro – 2015”

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How to remote control your Android phone or tablet

android remote controlI have the Nexus 7 (2013) that is sitting around and not being used too much since I got an iPad Air 2 a few month ago. I figured why not use the Android tablet for security related work such as application protocol auditing and debugging android apps.

After researching, I discovered the Mobizen software. I tried it on my rooted Nexus 7 and it worked nicely for what I needed. In this blog post I am going to review this software and demonstrate some of its capabilities!

Let’s get started! Continue reading “How to remote control your Android phone or tablet”

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CostcoCouple blog

Hello,

This is a quick review about the CostcoCouple.com blog which is run by a couple, Olli and Andy, that have been Costco members for 10 years.

Their blog is dedicated to giving Costco shopping tips, coupons and reviews of other interesting Costco items.

costco-couple-logo

You may also follow Olli and Andy on twitter @costcocouple

Other reviews you may like:

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4 things to consider when looking for an apartment to rent

Apartment-for-rentThis year I set about to start looking for a new and cheaper place to rent in the Pacific Northwest / Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue area. I tell you, apartment hunt was like an adventure.

I learned a lot from this ordeal, so I am going to share with you a few tips on how to make an informed decision about renting an apartment. Continue reading “4 things to consider when looking for an apartment to rent”

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An encounter with an Amway / WWDB recruiter

amway-logoThe other day, I was in Starbucks, working on my laptop, until I said hello to the lady that just came in and sat next to my table and started chatting.

What follows is my story and experience about meeting an Amway/World Wide Dream builders recruiter.

I will make efforts to be as objective as I can and share with you the short journey that unfolded thereafter. Continue reading “An encounter with an Amway / WWDB recruiter”

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A brief interview with Dan Green from TheMortgageReports.com

Hello,

Today I met Dan Green, the founder of TheMortgageReports.com at Starbucks. It was fun to see him blogging.

Here’s a short bio from Dan’s blog:

Dan Green is a mortgage market expert, providing over 10 years of direct-to-consumer advice. You can also connect with Dan on Twitter and on Google+

I kind of interviewed him about how he started his blog and I took some advise from him about blogging and how to succeed.

Continue reading “A brief interview with Dan Green from TheMortgageReports.com”