World Cup
Well, England were well and truly whipped by Germany. 4-1. 12 of the English "stars" were hopeless (inc subs). David James played well. I'm not going to go on about it too much, suffice to say, I now support Holland who have a quarter final clash against Brazil. A lot of work needs to be done to get some pride back. A bunch of the older generation need to be dropped and the FA need to look to the young English stars of the future. That's that.
Rugby
Despite a generally poor showing in Australia, England did win one match against the Aussies. That's good. And, to be fair, a lot of young players are finally being given the chance by Martin Johnson. The team can probably take some momentum into the winter tests and then into the 6 Nations. That should hopefully set them up well for the 2011 RWC - yes, it's come around again!
Cricket
England have just completed a 3-0 whitewash of Australia in the 50 overs form of the game. Easy, peasy! The one day team is simply awesome at the moment. I'm loving it!
Tennis
It's Wimbledon again. Murray is through the quarter finals. Federer keeps winning, despite "poor" performances. Nadal is also looking strong. I like a good match, but I'm no that into it...
Le Tour de France
It's on its way...
28 June 2010
25 June 2010
RealPlayer App
Downloaded the RealPlayer app this evening. first impressions are good although it looks as though tracks are sorted alphabetically and not in track no order. however, videos start where they left off... will review in a few days...
Published with Blogger-droid v1.3.6
24 June 2010
23 June 2010
Android Battery Life - Pt II
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to follow some of TechRadar's suggestions for increasing Android battery life...
So, yesterday, I unplugged my HTC Desire @ 8:15ish to see how the battery would fare having changed a few settings.
This is what I did:
So, yesterday, I unplugged my HTC Desire @ 8:15ish to see how the battery would fare having changed a few settings.
This is what I did:
- Reduced the screen brightness from full to 1/3. This hasn't had a big effect on visibility, but must have contributed overall.
- Changed updates for Twitter and Facebook to every 4 hours (instead of every 15 mins!). It's not so bad as you can manually refresh when you open the app.
- Turned the data connection off when not in use. This has its implications, but if you're not waiting for an important email, it's not essential.
- Only had WiFi turned on at home - from about 5pm until the end of the test.
In terms of phone usage, it looked something like this:
- Sent a handful of texts
- enjoyed a 16 minute phone call
- browsed the Internet (not sure of time)
- Used the notepad (with screen left on for about 30 minutes)
And the result? After 15 hours and 9 minutes of time since unplugging (yes, Android tells you that!) the battery life went down to just half. Usually, by the end of the working day, it's gone at least onto orange (which I think is a third) and sometimes to "less than 14% remaining."
This is by no means an accurate test, but it is a fair reflection of my daily use of a phone, albeit a smart one. It's impressive in that I didn't miss having 3G turned off - I have a widget to quickly toggle that - nor was I frustrated at having the social apps refresh on a slower basis (although they can't refresh at all with 3G off!).
Today, I have left my USB cable at home. I believe that, whilst at work, I have a battery saving set up that does require it.
Long live Android!
22 June 2010
Android App Review: Blogger-Droid
So, I've used Blogger-Droid for a few posts on The Photos of Timo and have a few things to say about it.
Start Up
On start up, the app asks you to log into your blog host - I logged in with my Google credentials. You're then asked which blog you'd like to be the default (this can be changed in preferences later if desired).
Entering a post
From then on, when you start the app, you're taken straight the entry screen. You have the title, a picture and the main text. You complete the fields with the relevant information and hit the "Post Blog Entry" button. Simple but effective.
Preferences
Preferences allows you to change your blogger account, set your default blog, decide whether to have a picture or not, set image size and image quality. Finally, you can choose to receive notification if the blog was successfully posted or not... These are a basic set of options, but they are intuitive and are essentially the ones you would expect to see.
Overall Impressions
The application really is a simple one, which may not be to some tastes. However, for blogging on the move, it's ideal. There isn't any faffing around with editing options etc. Also, when you are viewing a photo in the native photo app and select "share," Blogger-Droid is now an option, so you're always only a couple of taps away.
Start Up
On start up, the app asks you to log into your blog host - I logged in with my Google credentials. You're then asked which blog you'd like to be the default (this can be changed in preferences later if desired).
Entering a post
From then on, when you start the app, you're taken straight the entry screen. You have the title, a picture and the main text. You complete the fields with the relevant information and hit the "Post Blog Entry" button. Simple but effective.
Preferences
Preferences allows you to change your blogger account, set your default blog, decide whether to have a picture or not, set image size and image quality. Finally, you can choose to receive notification if the blog was successfully posted or not... These are a basic set of options, but they are intuitive and are essentially the ones you would expect to see.
Overall Impressions
The application really is a simple one, which may not be to some tastes. However, for blogging on the move, it's ideal. There isn't any faffing around with editing options etc. Also, when you are viewing a photo in the native photo app and select "share," Blogger-Droid is now an option, so you're always only a couple of taps away.
iPod Touch 1st Gen now out of date...
In November 2007, I received an iPod touch for my birthday. It's been a faithful companion for music, videos, email and web browsing. Apple have continued to update the software along with other iterations of the Touch and the iPhone. Until now. iOS 4.0 has been released, but not for 1st gen devices. It means I don't get any of the new functionality of the new OS, nor do I get to use iBooks.
Thankfully, I have my HTC Desire, but that's a generic smart phone (albeit a top of the range one), very good at doing everything, but not excellent in a specific area, namely music and video. Compared to the Touch, the Desire is lacking. Yes, it plays music and has a basic, very usable interface, but there is no equaliser coverflow doesn't work anywhere near as well as on the iPod. And, yes, it plays videos, but with a very simple player. It doesn't even start where you left off if you close the App. And you have to find your vids in the photo album.
So, some questions have been raised - do I get a new iPod touch? I'm guessing a new one will be released in September, as is the norm with iPod and Apple. Or, do I wait for a version of the Android OS that includes better music and video playback with more options to suit one's listening and viewing needs?
The second option would be cheaper (or indeed free). And I don't really want a variety of devices in my pocket. It looks like I've answered my own question... :o)
Be good,
T x
Thankfully, I have my HTC Desire, but that's a generic smart phone (albeit a top of the range one), very good at doing everything, but not excellent in a specific area, namely music and video. Compared to the Touch, the Desire is lacking. Yes, it plays music and has a basic, very usable interface, but there is no equaliser coverflow doesn't work anywhere near as well as on the iPod. And, yes, it plays videos, but with a very simple player. It doesn't even start where you left off if you close the App. And you have to find your vids in the photo album.
So, some questions have been raised - do I get a new iPod touch? I'm guessing a new one will be released in September, as is the norm with iPod and Apple. Or, do I wait for a version of the Android OS that includes better music and video playback with more options to suit one's listening and viewing needs?
The second option would be cheaper (or indeed free). And I don't really want a variety of devices in my pocket. It looks like I've answered my own question... :o)
Be good,
T x
21 June 2010
Android Battery Life
Smart phone batteries do not last all day, discuss...
I've had my HTC Desire for sometime now and, whilst it functions exactly as I would like it to, the battery life is poor.
If I'm using Google Navigation in the car, with the in car charger attached, the battery life still drains quicker than the the phone can be charged!
So, what am I doing about it? Well, the guys at Tech Radar posted an article suggesting 13 ways that battery life could be increased.
I'm going to follow maybe 8 of their tips and see what happens...
18 June 2010
Blogger App
Found one... it's called Blogger-Droid.
I've just found it on the Android Market and made my first post (to my mobile blog - which is my photo blog).
I'll return with a review...
I've just found it on the Android Market and made my first post (to my mobile blog - which is my photo blog).
I'll return with a review...
It's a Girl!
That's right folks, I'm going to have a baby girl! (Unless the sonographer was wrong, and she said she is right only 85% of the time!). Anyway, very exciting!
What's happened since my last post? Well, I've fitted a kitchen in my house. The whole process has offered up its challenges and its rewards. Mostly now rewards. There weren't too many hiccups thankfully, but, when they arose, I dealt with them. So, it's looking very nice. Just some tiling and a few bits to finish off...
I have got on very well with my HTC Desire. No regrets going Android. iOS 4.0 has arrived as has iPhone 4.0. Nothing new under the Sun! Nothing that Android and HTC won't top in the next few months. I believe that iPhone are playing catch up now, rather than Android. Market share is still skewed to iPhone because of the consumerist nature of the device. Technology wise, I think we've hit level pegging, but not for much longer.
The world cup is under way. All teams have played at least one match. Most of which had low score lines - the stand out teams have been Germany, Uruguay and Argentina. England should have won, but, well, we all know about Robert Green! I'm going to be listening to the England-Algeria match in the car this evening, and I'm hoping for a 2-0 victory. But anything can happen!
Finally, I'm only going to be the Head of Year 11 for 2 more weeks! When we get our new timetables and transition occurs, I'll be the Head of Year 7. And I'm really excited about it!
God bless,
Timo
What's happened since my last post? Well, I've fitted a kitchen in my house. The whole process has offered up its challenges and its rewards. Mostly now rewards. There weren't too many hiccups thankfully, but, when they arose, I dealt with them. So, it's looking very nice. Just some tiling and a few bits to finish off...
I have got on very well with my HTC Desire. No regrets going Android. iOS 4.0 has arrived as has iPhone 4.0. Nothing new under the Sun! Nothing that Android and HTC won't top in the next few months. I believe that iPhone are playing catch up now, rather than Android. Market share is still skewed to iPhone because of the consumerist nature of the device. Technology wise, I think we've hit level pegging, but not for much longer.
The world cup is under way. All teams have played at least one match. Most of which had low score lines - the stand out teams have been Germany, Uruguay and Argentina. England should have won, but, well, we all know about Robert Green! I'm going to be listening to the England-Algeria match in the car this evening, and I'm hoping for a 2-0 victory. But anything can happen!
Finally, I'm only going to be the Head of Year 11 for 2 more weeks! When we get our new timetables and transition occurs, I'll be the Head of Year 7. And I'm really excited about it!
God bless,
Timo
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