OnePlus One vs Nexus 5

Last month in July, I purchased two Android phones: The Nexus 5 (N5) and the OnePlus One (OPO). I initially ordered the Nexus 5 because I was sick of waiting for an OnePlus invite that I signed up for in April. Up until then, I was using a Galaxy Nexus for two years and its overall performance was rather sluggish and could no longer hold a charge for half a day.

I got the white Nexus 5 (16GB). I had it only for a few weeks before I got a OnePlus invite in mid-July. I had to act quickly since the invite was good for only 24 hours. I was already happy with the Nexus 5, but here I was given an opportunity to try out something highly sought after. So after some talking I was able to find a new home for my Nexus 5 and decided to move forward to be one of the lucky few OPO owners.

My OnePlus invite email:

Nexus 5

I consider the Nexus 5 to be the best Nexus device that Google has made to date. I've used the G1, Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and the current one-- basically all the Nexus devices except for the Nexus 4 (I have a list of all the mobile devices I've ever owned).

Prior to the N5, I've always felt that the Nexus One was the best Nexus device for its time. I even wrote about my unboxing of the Nexus One back in 2010. The device still works well running an old Cyanogen ROM on it.

What I love about the N5 is that it's light, fast, and has a great battery life. I can get through a day easily with it. My carrier is T-Mobile and the reception is amazing on it-- I have 4G/LTE everywhere I went in Los Angeles. It's also a cheap device: $400.

At first I thought that the phone would be too big and uncomfortable to use. After using it for only a few weeks, I found that this wasn't the case at all. The Nexus 5 fits really well in hand and because it's so light, it's easy to maneuver around with one hand.

I cannot think of a single thing to dislike about this phone. None.

OnePlus One

The OPO is running Cyanogenmod 11s and it runs it rather well. A concern I had about ordering this device is that it is even bigger than the Nexus 5!

What I love about it is that it boots and feels faster than the Nexus 5. The screen is nice and big and the CM build is rather nice. It's a cheap, 64GB black model ($350)-- which has incredible value. A device of this build would normally sell for twice the cost! The battery life is also even better than the Nexus 5-- I can get through almost 2 days of regular use!

It comes with it's own special USB charger, which gives it a nice flair. The 64GB model comes with the black backing, which a lot of people like how it looks and feels. I can't agree with that, as I prefer my mobile devices to look more sleek than sandpaper.

The CM Theme chooser is nice, but for the most part it's not something I really care for. I actually prefer the standard icons from vanilla Android as opposed to any of the custom themes, wallpapers, icons, etc. I also don't care for the Trebuchet launcher that comes with CM. But again, I prefer Google Now launcher, which is available for devices running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and higher.

I also don't care for the camera much. Since I use my DSLR for my camera needs, I rarely use my Android devices to take pictures. As to the quality of the pictures produced, I don't really care for them as I tend to post process pictures I care about anyway.

What I don't like is that it's a heavier device than the Nexus 5. I can really notice it. The buttons aren't as nice as the Nexus 5. All the buttons don't feel as nice nor do I like the placement of the power button. It just feels a bit off in that I have to feel for where the buttons are. I also end up using the capacitive (software) screen buttons instead, and disabling the phone actual navigation buttons. The phone's navigation buttons are located too low on the phone, so it makes it hard to reach them without fumbling the phone out of your hand-- the balance is not there. Plus it's limited to just back, home, and menu-- which isn't quite the standard anymore.

The CM 11S build is also a bit buggy. I get app crashes consistently on certain workflows. I do hope that they get fixed in the next update. Even the Android L Preview is more stable than this ROM.

Final Thoughts

Between the Nexus 5 and the OPO, I actually prefer the Nexus 5. This is because my needs for disk space isn't very high. 64GB is more than I really need for my on the go device. I don't store my music collection or movies on my phone. The Nexus 5 has zero drawbacks, while the OPO is a bit uncomfortable to use with the build and bugs I experience.

I will of course be keeping my OPO device. I am considering flashing the Android 4.4.4 stock ROM (official) onto it. It's really awesome that it's even available already. But I think I'll stick it out until the next CM update.

**Edited August 10, 2014**
Added some more information on Cyanogenmod 11S regarding the theme chooser, launcher, and camera.

Cloud Storage Services Review

There are so many cloud storage services out there now vying for our attention and data. I thought I'd share my thoughts on the popular choices out there. I'm only looking at the personal or free plans. I'm leaving out anything for businesses or enterprises-- those are just a different beast with very different needs altogether.

Things I try to consider:

• Size of free storage (either from the start or earned through referrals)
• Sharing and collaboration on files
• Ease of use
• Anything else more than storage

Amazon Cloud Drive

I really do not use this service. It just does not fit into any workflow whatsoever. They currently offer just 5 GB free and no referral plan, but they do offer storage subscriptions.

Music purchased through Amazon is stored for free-- it does not count towards cloud storage. They do offer 250 imported songs for free-- which really isn't that much.

They offer a 100 GB plan for $50 per year.

Box.net

They once had an offer for Android users to receive 50 GB of storage by signing up and installing their app. I very much took advantage of this deal and ended up dropping Dropbox because Box offered me such a large amount. But normally, they offer just 5 GB free.

They offer several pricing plans for both business and enterprise-- which seems to be their target client. Other than basic storage and file sharing, that's as far as a free personal account goes.

Their desktop client sync tool isn't easy to find on their site. Their site isn't very user friendly overall, it's as if only an IT guy would refer his/her company to use them because the average person probably wouldn't enjoy using their product personally.

I'm moving away from using this app. It's causing me a lot of problems with my Mac OS X. It's just eating up a lot of storage space. Here is a screenshot of the log folder that just grows to outrageous size over a few days:



The command I ran in the terminal is:

du -sch ~/Library/Logs/Box Sync

This will give the size of the logs folder for BoxSync. So my workaround is to just remove the log folder altogether and disable automatically syncing-- which basically defeats the purpose of a desktop app.

Copy

The latest I suppose in the "Game of Storages". What I like about them is that they are currently offering 15 GB to start, with an additional 5 GB if you are referred by someone (5 GB is also given to the member that referred). This is a really nice promotion going on which helps new and current users spread the news about this new service. This is yet another reason for me to just not use DropBox.

They offer monthly pricing plans. They offer 250 GB plan for $9.99 per month.

My Copy referral: https://copy.com?r=1u9vhV

DropBox

Possibly the most well known and most senior of all the services. This is what everyone started using at first. But their referral rate is only at 500 MB per friend. Their setup and sync tool is much easier to setup and use than Box's. They start you off with just 2 GB of storage.

They offer a 100 GB plan for $99 per year.

I don't really use them anymore as other services do everything they offer and give more storage.

My Dropbox referral: http://db.tt/pHCTifn

Google Drive

What I love about Google's implementation is that it spawned from Google Docs, which I was already a big fan of.

Here it is in a nutshell: If you use Google Docs, you already use Google Drive. It's just a nice perk now that you can upload other files into the cloud-- such as PDFs.

I'm not sure how to measure how much storage they offer as Google is always upping the amount of free storage across their products, which all add up to some amount. I personally have 30+ GB of storage across my Google services. I want to say that average users probably start off with 15 GB free storage, but I'm not 100% sure.

SkyDrive

This is Microsoft's cloud storage service. I don't use it as much as I don't really use Windows too much these days. But they should be mentioned because a lot of people still use PCs and devices. What's nice about them is that they have both a Mac desktop sync client as well as an Android/iPhone mobile apps.

They start you off with 7 GB, but I went to a Microsoft event and got upgraded to 15 GB.

iCloud?

You may have noticed that I left out iCloud. Well, right off it just doesn't work for me. I have only one Apple product that I use regularly-- a Macbook Pro. I also have several Android/Linux devices, which iCloud isn't available on. I have a Windows virtual machine on my Macbook, but I already have Skydrive for that. So the question is, what the heck would I be syncing with iCloud? Nothing, so I don't use it. Plus, it's a bit of a pain to setup. I've set it up for my mom, and I find it to be not terribly useful. It just doesn't work the way I would want it to-- wirelessly.


Speaking of apps, on my phone I have all the apps installed, but really only use half of them.


screenshot of my Android phone's folder of Cloud apps

Conclusion

My current favorite is: Copy.



It may have to do with the fact that it's pretty darn easy to sign up and set up. Their referrals are crazy good by giving 5 GB to both people. Their pricing plans are monthly, so commitment is friendly to individuals. Using my referral link starts you off with 20GB! I believe if you tweet out a link, you can earn another 2GB!

Box does offer me more free storage currently, but they are geared more for businesses than individuals.

Google Drive is really great for Google docs, but their folder structure can be confusing for storing anything other than their documents. Note: If you love Google Docs, continue using it! Nothing wrong with using multiple services!

So straight up, Copy is a clear winner that stands above the rest for cloud storage. But to be honest, other than Dropbox and Amazon Cloud Drive, I still use the other storage services. If they offer a substantial amount of free storage, I tend to use it for something.

Your needs are different from my needs. My pick and opinion may not the same as yours, so go forth and try these services out yourself if you don't like or trust my pick.

Man of Steel Review

Man of Steel is the best take on Superman movie since Christopher Reeve donned the role. For me, he set the bar as to what Superman was before anything. Immediately after watching the movie, I said I liked it. But after sleeping on it and thinking about it more and more, I've come to like it less and less.

*** SPOILERS below. You have been warned. ***

What I liked:

It's a new take on Superman. It's a slightly darker, more gloomier Krypton/Metropolis/Smallville world which we are introduced to. We get a much richer view of Krypton as a technologically advanced civilization unlike before. This helps emphasize that Superman is an alien, from another planet. It has a sci-fi feel to it, and the movie isn't a campy superhero movie.

The action sequences are also very good. Only in the animated cartoons do fans see Superman take such punishment time after time. It's nice to see a movie fully imagine someone with god-like powers fight on this planet.

The first act, covering the origin on Krypton and Smallville-- everything before General Zod's appearance on Earth is very good. I almost cried.

How Lois first meets the Man of Steel is reversed from traditional canon. In the movie, she meets him before he even dons the uniform, and even before he is goes to the Daily Planet as Clark Kent. I'm open to this idea-- we saw this spin already in the Smallville TV show.

Similar to Superman Returns, there is a touch of loneliness that Superman feels, that he doesn't know where he came from, who his people were, his parents etc. I liked how they touched on that once again. In the animated TV show, this is rarely touched upon. Superman is always expected to always be strong, save people, do the right thing, and just appear to be happy with his god-like powers.

The father/son relationship between Kal-El (Superman) and Jor-El is solid. I'm a sucker for father/son relationship stories. Russell Crowe nailed it as Jor-El. Kevin Costner is just okay as Jonathan Kent.



Their choice of the Man of Steel, Henry Cavill is fantastic. I really believe he is Superman. He does look a bit like Tom Welling from Smallville, but way more buff and grittier. No doubt Cavill's role in Immortals may have something to do with it.

What I didn't like:

Lois and Clark's relationship just wasn't deep or strong. Maybe this had something to do with the editing. The way the movie ended maybe really is just to say that there's more between them to look forward to, which is good. But if that's so, then maybe their relationship in this movie should have been a bit more platonic.

Choppy editing throughout third act, and some degree throughout the movie. This is endemic in the movie industry now, where the trailer leads us to believe that the movie is super awesome, when really, it's just that one clip, chosen, if not created specifically for the trailer.

The amount of flashbacks feels like one third of the movie. That's too much! I would prefer that stories be told forward. Again, it seems like better editing could be done.

Jonathan Kent's is overly concerned with Clark being discovered by the human race. Somehow he puts more value into his son keeping his abilities secret over human life-- which doesn't sit well with how Superman should act. I don't understand how the Man of Steel would ever come to be if Jonathan Kent keeps encouraging his son to not help people because it would reveal that he's not human! It doesn't make sense to have that much emphasis! Maybe just the scolding after the bus scene should be enough. The death by tornado was a bit much too.

After the appearance of Zod's ship, there was fear and hopelessness felt by Earth humans against superior alien technology, that's not unusual, but the only demonstration of power by Zod was a global takeover of broadcast TV and blackout. The US government should have fought before simply giving in to Zod's demands. America loves it's guns and wars!

The movie is a little too bleak. The colors throughout the movie matches the color of steel, with heavy use of grays and silver. There really isn't any bright or contrasty colors anywhere. This effect does help give a sci-fi feel to the movie, which I like, but the choice was consistent throughout.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked the movie. It's not a bad movie by any means. It very much diverts from the traditional Superman stories. I would describe it as Sci-Fi Superman, which it succeeds at.

I'm being critical of one my favorite superheroes. Up to this point, my generation has had a Superman that is more lively and colorful than presented in this film. I wonder now, for the first time not only in this movie, but in some comics and video game, we are seeing a more darker Superman. See Injustice: Gods Among Us (although it deals with another universes's villainous Superman).

Superman is the modern-day mythology's hero. He says a lot about us as humans, what we wish for; incredible powers, strength, speed, invulnerability, compassion, truth, justice, etc. But it seems that there are portions of the movie, coming from Jonathan Kent of all people, that he should somehow not act on what Clark thinks is right, out of some concern that people will not accept or fear him-- that the world isn't ready.

The movie should have ended differently with a positive theme. Throughout the movie it's Clark in hiding because he's being told that the world isn't ready for him. The theme at the end of the movie is that the world is ready for a superman. He represents the best of all human cultures. We do want a Superman. We even want to be Superman, do the things he does such as act selflessly, etc. The tone should have changed since Superman just saved the entire planet! But what do we get? A scene where Superman destroys a tracking drone out of the sky and telling the commander chasing him not to try, that he grew up in Kansas, that he's practically American. Where is the trust in and appreciation for this guy that just saved everyone? It still ends on a bleak world of distrust.

But maybe that is exactly the mission of the sequel.

Apple Compatible External Hard Drives Are Over-Priced

Buying any technology related products online is still by far the best way to save money over buying from traditional brick and mortar stores. The likely products you would buy for your PC/Mac are keyboards, mice, external hard drive, and headphones.

I'd like to focus on the external hard drives, since they are currently priced differently between the PC and Mac market. For all intents and purposes of these drives are to backup data of a machine running either Windows or Mac.

Comparing 1TB and 2TB external USB 3. 0 Hard Drives for Macs from Amazon and Apple's web stores:

1TB: $116 (Amazon)

(Note: above product not sold directly from Amazon, but a reseller)

1TB: $120 (Apple)

1TB: $120 (Apple)

2TB: $135 (Amazon)


2TB: $150 (Apple)




Comparing 1TB and 2TB external USB 3.0 Hard Drives for Windows:

1TB: $80 (Amazon)


2TB: $128 (Amazon)


Note the screenshots of the prices above were taken on June 13, 2013.

The 1TB Mac drive is 45-50% more expensive than the comparable PC drive.

The 2TB Mac drive is 5-17% more expensive.

Comparing them, they are the same size and basically do the same things. It's just this Mac compatible product is priced at a premium.

Well, yes the file system for Macs, HFS+ Journal, is different than Windows' NTFS. But here's the kicker, Mac OS X can format NTFS drives to HFS+. Simply formatting it will make it function just like the marketed Mac compatible product.

I verified this with an Apple genius when I asked what difference would be between a 1TB external hard drive sold at the Apple store, and a 1TB external hard drive with the same specs sold for a PC, but formatted into HFS+ Journal in Mac OS X. He sighed and said, "None".

I just don't think an intelligent person should spend $10-40 more on something just because it's marketed as an Apple compatible product, when there is a functionally equivalent PC compatible product that is cheaper that can be used instead with a little know-how. See below.

Here's how:
After connecting the external drive to your Mac, open up Utilities -> Disk Utility, and find the drive and select Partition tab, and choose Format Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

A screenshot of my system with my external drive(s) already formatted:


If you want to have an external hard drive that is compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows operating systems (OS), choose to format in exFAT in this program. Both OSes will be able to read/write to this type of partition without any third party program.

This is just like how geeks wouldn't let their friends/family, or anyone really, buy Monster brand HDMI cables at Best Buy, when they're so much cheaper to buy online. The marketing is misleading and is trying to part more money from you than it should.

So in a nutshell, these Apple compatible external hard drives are over-priced. They're functionally equivalent drives that does the same exact thing that's much cheaper.

Y: The Last Man Review

For the past seven months I've jumped back into reading comics and graphic novels. I used to read them a lot when I was a teenager, but just lost interest by the mid/late 1990s. I find myself struggling to enjoy reading monthly issues and going to the comic book shop every week-- or even getting them online via Comixology.

The problem I have is that I don't like reading them month to month-- it's too little to read bit by bit. I prefer reading a story arc in a sitting or two. My taste is turning more towards graphic novels and/or completed series-- just like I did when I was a teenager.

Don't worry, this review is spoiler-free.

So I recently finished reading Brian K. Vaughan's and Pia Guerra's, Y: The Last Man graphic novel series. I really enjoyed the books. The story is pretty solid and artwork pretty consistent.

This is how I would sum it up:

The story is about the world where one day, all the men and animals with a Y chromosome drop dead, except for one guy, Yorick Brown. This is his journey through a world with only women in charge. 

It's got a bit of romance, science fiction, adventure, politics, action, and all around good story-telling. Each volume has 100+ pages, and I generally read about two volumes at a time. This book does involve adult content, so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of seventeen. By movie standards, it's R-rated.

That said, there are certain parts-- or rather characters hard to believe in. Just some. It nags at my brain a bit, but I generally suspend disbelief and let it go. A few chapters does jump around a bit to the past a bit, so readers should keep in mind the numerous characters.



Here's are links to the full set of books (paperbacks):

1. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned
2. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 2: Cycles
3. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3: One Small Step
4. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 4: Safeword
5. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: Ring of Truth
6. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 6: Girl on Girl
7. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 7: Paper Dolls
8. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons
9. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 9: Motherland
10. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores

They are available in hardcovers too, but I just prefer softcover format because it's lighter to carry around and read, especially in bed.

I can see this graphic novel being adapted into a TV show. Maybe HBO or Starz can pick it up? I can see this kind of story compete against True Blood or even The Walking Dead. The drama is that good. 

If you enjoy Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic series (currently ongoing) and other post-apocalyptic stories, you should give Y: The Last Man a try.

Why I love Google Reader

Yesterday some sad news hit me with Google's decision to close Google Reader on July 1, 2013.

Why? As The Next Web wrote, Former Google Reader product manager confirms our suspicions: Its demise is all about Google+. See Brian Shih, former Google Reader Product Manager's answer on Quora.

This is sad for me because other than Gmail and Search itself, Google Reader (GR) is the service I use the most from Google, and is a browser tab I always have open. I did write a post years ago my favorite Web App is Google Reader. You could say that GR is my gateway to the Internet!

As much as I like Google Plus, it's no Google Reader in terms of importance for my daily reading.

What I love about Google Reader

It syncs my read items as a web-based RSS Reader. I use multiple devices, so having a central place is key. This is why I don't care for fat/local client apps.

I have the choice to socially share an item to a Facebook, Twitter, and G+. It's not socially driven by default. I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with a mess of streams on social networks I already listed.

It's simple. I know what websites I like, there's not many, but I do like to at least skim the headlines every day. That's right, EVERY SINGLE DAY.

My Reader Trends screenshot shows I have read 300,000-plus items! Although I'm pretty sure I used Reader since maybe 2007 or so.

What it means to see Google Reader shut down

In short, it makes me feel that no Google service is safe from being shutdown. I use Blogger, which is also owned by Google, as my blogging engine. But are they one day going to take it down in favor of Google Plus? Should I switch to some other blogging platform in anticipation that G+ is going to swallow everything else that is Google?

Google's axed other services that I didn't care for much, such as Google Wave and Google Buzz. But those services were short-lived and never got much traction to begin with. They never housed so much useful data for me, and maybe most anyone.

Going Forward

Are we to believe that Twitter feeds and G+ posts are a good replacement to RSS? I certainly don't think so. The social web is certainly great, but not everything needs to be social or curated material. This is especially true when your social network doesn't even cover the material you're interested in!

The point of RSS feeds is for me to go over the content on my own time and speed. With the large fire-hose stream of material from social networks, I just don't bother to even skim over the thousands of tweets/posts from a mere eight hours ago. It's just not feasible as it's more suited for real-time or rather, recent-time.

As Mike Elgan points out, Google Reader is used by tech-journalists and bloggers. These are the people that generate content that social networks share with each other! If GR is also the gateway to the Internet more so than social networks-- it's going to have a dramatic change in workflow.

If and when Google Reader really does shut down, I'm going to have to figure out how I view the Internet. I remember using iGoogle and Netvibes several years ago, but immediately switched to Google Reader because it was such a better way to view and consume information. This is very sad news for me. :(

More Info

Thankfully, Google is giving the option to download your stuff via Google Takeout. I'll be sure to do that before the end.

As my Facebook friends have pointed out, there's a petition to keep Google Reader Running on Change.org. I've signed it, but I doubt it will do anything.

On reddit, there's a nice AskReddit thread: What are some good web RSS readers to replace google reader?

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things comes highly recommended on Coding Horror's recommended reading list as well as many other software developers. After giving it a read, I thought it was good, relevant today, but slightly dated with their examples.



After reading the book, I am reminded of the light switch to my bathroom in my current apartment in Los Angeles. See below.



It's such a horrible design! The left-most button, which is red, is for off. And then there are three switch combination to turn lights on. Three. It's just, awful.

Anyway, I got the book as an ebook from Amazon for my Kindle Fire. The book has some good examples of common design issues in today's world, but some of them are a bit dated. An example would be the hardline telephone. I haven't used one of those in such a long time since we currently live in an age of smartphones.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"... websites are often unusable, cellular telephones grow ever more complex, and automobile dashboards look like airplane cockpits. The new products impose themselves upon us in the bedroom, in the automobile, while walking down the street. As each new technology emerges, the companies forget the lessons of the past and let engineers build their fanciful creations, driven by marketing insistence on a proliferation of features. As a result, confusion and distraction increase."

"Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly. The principles, the examples, and lessons of The Design of Everyday Things come from an understanding of people. They remain true forever."

"But what good is technology if it is too complex to use?"

"The same technology that simplifies life by providing more functions in each device also complicates life by making the device harder to learn, harder to use. This is the paradox of technology."

"But human thought-- and its close relatives, problem solving and planning-- seem more rooted in past experience than in logical deduction. Mental life is not neat and orderly. It does not proceed smoothly and gracefully in neat, logical form. Instead, it hops, skips, and jumps its way from idea to idea, tying together; forming new creative leaps, new insights, and concepts. Human thought is not like logic; it is fundamentally different in kind and in spirit. The difference is neither worse nor better. But it is the difference that leads to creative discovery and to great robustness of behavior."

I recommend the book for designers and developers, but not as an ebook format. It doesn't translate well from paper to digital for my Kindle. A lot of examples and pictures did not fit well on the screen and really was a distraction in the reading and flow of things. As for the content, I think developers should have some idea how things are designed with the user in mind, thus I agree with many high-profile developers that recommend this book.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Just got back from watching a special advanced screening of Jiro Dreams of Sushi at the Landmark. Special thanks to Aisha and Foodspotting for putting me on the list!

The documentary is wonderful! Besides the very appealing video of sushi on the big screen, there is quite a story of Jiro Ono and his sushi restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. There certainly is craftsmanship and art to making sushi-- which Jiro has dedicated his life to.

What was really nice about this showing was that David Gelb was there! He stayed after the screening to answer questions. He shared that he started filming with a DSLR, the Canon 1D Mark IV, before bumping it up to a Red One.

When asked what his favorite sushi restaurant is in LA, he said it was Sushi Nozawa, which as it turns out will be closing down on February 29.

The movie will be out in the US on March 9, 2012. I recommend everyone check it out!





The trailer:


Please check out my food blog: Foodishappiness.com. I also tweet at @foodishappiness.

Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots

As a foodie and photography enthusiast, I found Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots to be a good read, mostly. Although, I did find myself skimming the later chapters as they deal with post-processing using Adobe Photoshop.

The first three chapters on fundamentals, equipment, and lighting I thought were the best for foodies interested in improving their skills as a photographer. The chapter on framing and composition is good too. These chapters I think are the best chapters to read for foodies looking to improve their skill on taking pictures of food.

The rest of the book talks about styling/props and the post-processing, which may be a bit much for those not interested in doing studio-like setups. To be honest, when I take pictures of food, I don't cook it myself, I don't have a setup in place, and most importantly-- I plan on eating the food I take a picture of!



I do have a food blog over at Foodishappiness.com. Please check it out!

Steve Jobs biography

I really enjoyed reading the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. I bought both the hardcover and the Kindle book version. Isaacson's writing is superb and flows very well. However, if you read articles or even watched some Steve Jobs documentaries, it covers a lot of similar ground. I am reminded of the TV movie, Pirates of Silicon Valley. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it.

I think it's fair for people to compare him to Thomas Edison, as Jobs was our modern day inventor and businessman-- a visionary if you will. Perhaps it's a stretch to even consider him an inventor as he was more of an innovator. I personally find that Jobs gets a little too much credit, considering all the people he used and collaborated with, to get Apple to achieve the success it's found today. That's something that does bother me. That and the fact that he was an asshole to quite a few people throughout his life. But I suppose, as humans, we're all assholes at some point in our lives.

Apple does owe everything to this man and his vision. I consider Steve Jobs to be the greatest CEO to date. I think Apple today can survive without the business savvy of Jobs, but we'll see where they are at five years from now. I personally think Steve Jobs should have been Times Person of the Year 2011.

Here are a few of my favorite Steve Jobs clips from youTube:

Canon Powershot S95

I bought the Canon PowerShot S95 for my trip to Hawaii. As much as I love my Canon EOS 60D, I find that there are times when I don't want to lug around a DSLR around, and would prefer a simple point and shoot camera.

I really wanted the Canon PowerShot S100, but they've been sold out for quite some time and I couldn't wait for reorders. To me, the big selling point of the S100 is the built in GPS. I think all cameras, sooner rather than later, should have such a feature built right in.

So I thought I would compare some photos taken with my Canon Powershot S95 with the 60D (with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens and a simple UV filter). Note: on my 60D, I shot in P mode with auto-ISO, and on my S95, auto.

S95 (f/4, ISO 100)

60D (f/8, ISO 100)

S95 (f/4, ISO 200)

60D (f/7.1, ISO 100)

S95 (f/4, ISO 100)

60D (f/6.3, ISO 100)

S95 (f/4, ISO 200)

60D (f/7.1, ISO 100)

Overall, I'm very happy with the quality of the S95. The colors are vibrant and sharp in the well lit pictures. Although I would say that compared with my 60D, it doesn't quite pop some images out as well. It's still exactly what I want, a small point and shoot that performs well for the times when I want to leave my DSLR at home.

Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player

Since I moved to LA, I've been without my old PC that runs XBMC. For a Home Theater PC (HTPC), the PC is decent, but it's large, loud, and not in California. So I went on Amazon and bought the Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player for $90 US. Behold, my new HTPC.


I've been using it for a few days, and overall I'm pretty happy with it. I was able to hook up my external USB hard drives to a D-Link DUB-H7 High Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub, and connect that to my new HTPC. It detects all the externally connected drives, but it won't mount them all at once-- you'll have to swap through the user interface, which is pretty simple.

Oh, I also recommend getting some HDMI cables, to make wiring simple.

So now I can watch all my movies, TV shows, tech videos, and so forth, on a big screen LCD TV. For those of you that own a lot of digital content and don't want to build your own HTPC, this is an incredibly cheap and simple solution. I highly recommend it.

Kindle Fire Review

I pre-ordered my Kindle Fire in early October. I've wanted an eReader device for a long time, ever since I've been traveling so much. Carrying books around is such a pain.

Like many others out there, I got my Kindle Fire on November 15, 2011. After a few weeks of using the  Fire, I felt I could give it a good review. I've used it for playing Words With Friends, some basic browsing on Amazon, and I finished reading the Steve Jobs biography on it.

Overall, I like the device. I like the size, weight, and dimensions. It's easy for me to throw in my bag on the go, and the battery life is pretty decent.

I'm a very happy Amazon Prime customer. I buy just about everything off Amazon as well as use their Cloud player. The device is ideal for someone those who uses Amazon's services. It's so easy to buy books, music, movies, and other items on Amazon. The device is inexpensive itself at $199. It's also literally half the size of the iPad2-- which I think is a good size as it's very portable.

There are some improvements I'd like to see, both hardware and software.

For hardware, the touchscreen isn't as smooth or responsive as on Apple's iPad2. This can be seen when touching the screen buttons. Often times I have to tap several times for it to register. There is no hardware volume controls. The volume is buried one level deep under the top right menu setting-- which is absurd from a user-interface perspective. Also, the power button, which is the only button, is located on the bottom of the device. It can be pushed accidently very easily.

For software improvements, I'd like to see Amazon wishlist integration. Also, the bookshelf home screen doesn't sit well with me. I wish there was an option for the regular Android desktop feel. The Facebook app that is installed by default, isn't actually a Kindle app. It's actually is a link to the Facebook mobile site in a browser-- very disappointing. And finally, I'd like there to be a setting to lock landscape and portrait mode. I tend to lie on my side reading, and hate it when my Kindle reader app switches to landscape view.

I know I've made comparisons to the iPad several times already. But I feel that I should formally say that the Kindle Fire isn't quite an iPad competitor, let alone a full fledged tablet. I think of it more as a really nice Kindle that has touchscreen, based on Android, and is cheap by today's standards.

If you are looking for tablet with tons of apps, this device probably isn't for you. If you are looking for an eReader, love shopping on Amazon, and play only a few app games, and don't want to spend $300-700, then you should consider the Kindle Fire.

Purchased a Herman Miller Aeron Chair

A few weeks ago I purchased a Herman Miller Aeron chair from Home and Office Solutions up in Northbrook, Illinois. I've wanted an Aeron for the longest time, but just never felt comfortable spending a thousand dollars on an office chair. My seven-year old Ikea chair was falling apart and wasn't comfortable anymore. To be honest, it started to fall apart after two years. I really needed to get a new chair.

Not long ago I came across a blog post written by Joel Spolsky. From the post he mentions Herman Miller Aeron chairs for developers:

They are much more comfortable than cheap chairs. If you get the right size and adjust it properly, most people can sit in them all day long without feeling uncomfortable. The back and seat are made out of a kind of mesh that lets air flow so you don’t get sweaty. The ergonomics, especially of the newer models with lumbar support, are excellent.

They last longer than cheap chairs. We’ve been in business for six years and every Aeron is literally in mint condition: I challenge anyone to see the difference between the chairs we bought in 2000 and the chairs we bought three months ago. They easily last for ten years. The cheap chairs literally start falling apart after a matter of months. You’ll need at least four $100 chairs to last as long as an Aeron.  

So the bottom line is that an Aeron only really costs $500 more over ten years, or $50 a year. One dollar per week per programmer.

I think that blog post pushed me over to finally take the plunge and buy one. And so I did.

And I'm really happy I did. The chair is comfortable, sturdy, and encourages good posture with excellent support. It's a real joy to sit in this. At first I got a blue medium sized one. It is fine, but then I decided to give that one to my parents and get the large, as I am able to fold my legs comfortably in that size.

If you are thinking of getting a better chair because you sit in front of the computer all day long, I recommend you go try out a Herman Miller chair. I've looked at the Mirra line, which is slightly cheaper than Aeron, but I really felt more comfortable in the Aeron. I think you'll be glad you did.

Green Lantern Movie Review

Green Lantern was the movie I was looking forward to the most this summer. I watched it last night and wanted to share my thoughts on the movie with other fans and others that may have watched the movie already. I still recommend people to go watch the movie though, to read the comics, and/or then come talk to me.

Please note, DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET. SPOILER ALERT.

As you may know, I'm a comic book fan. I'm currently reading Green Lantern: Blackest Night. The story by Geoff Johns is amazing. I totally recommend Green Lantern: Rebirth Green Lantern: Secret Origin (linked to wrong book, correction made), for a more modern retelling of this highly underrated superhero.

In a nutshell, the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am in the movie. The movie spends time on scenes that don't really add to the story or character development. Instead they should have focused on the basics of what a Green Lantern is: an intergalactic police force. They should have left out the scenes with Hal Jordan's present family. Only the father's death back story is really needed.

The premise of a Green Lantern is that the ring is based on willpower, the color green. The ring is able to let the wielder create things based on their strength, willpower, and imagination. Traditionally it has a weakness to the color yellow. For example, if you throw a yellow ball at a Green Lantern (GL) rookie, even if they will a shield up to block, the yellow ball would go right through it. Only when a GL is able to overcome fear, can the ring be used against yellow-- which is the color for fear.

Another oversight was the lack of character development of Kilowog and Sinestro. I'm fine with how little they showed the Guardians of the Universe, because they're always portrayed as mysterious. But Kilowog and Sinestro are Hal Jordan's mentors and friends. They help make Hal Jordan into a great GL, and there just wasn't enough time dedicated to this. I understand the movie is titled Green Lantern, not Green Lantern Corps, and so are the comics, but these characters need to be developed in order to give the audience the idea of what GLs role is across the universe. Such a shame too, since the casting of these two in the movie look and sound so fantastic.

In terms of villains, Parallax should have been put off to be dealt with in a movie of it's own-- possibly a second movie. Unfortunately Hollywood doesn't work that way. Parallax is a major villain to Hal Jordan, which another movie could have been dedicated to solely. He is the very embodiment of fear, and the reason why GL rings do not work against yellow.

This is how the movie should have gone: Hector Hammond should have been the main and sole villain in the movie. They should have only hinted at what Parallax is, and saved him to be a villain in a second GL movie. Tell the story of what GL is, develop the relationship between Hal and Sinestro/Kilowog-- especially Sinestro. The movie should have spent less time on Earth, and more time exploring what the GL Corps do policing the universe. The setting needed to be an intergalactic adventure, on an alien world. They needed to emphasize the weakness to the color yellow. In the end, Hal is able to overcome Hector and the color yellow, to some degree.

That's it. These things alone would be enough for one movie to introduce Green Lantern. Plenty of story and character to be covered with just that. If you read GL comics, the conversation and stuff that happens on earth is for the most part, boring. The interesting and exciting things about GL is the stuff that happens across the universe. 

I mean, just use your imagination! This is the problem with the Aliens vs Predator movies being set on this planet. Earth is boring to tell stories about way cool futuristic weapons, alien races, and cosmic forces! Come on Hollywood!!!

With this all being said, I still say go watch the movie. I think it's entertaining and Blake Lively looks absolutely gorgeous as Carol Ferris. Hint hint, I would love to see more of her in future GL movies.