I'm Back with a Tips for HTC and Mac User

Hi, It's been a while since the last time I wrote on this blog. I was very busy with all of my school final project. Now that I'm done, I'm back with blogs and YouTube. For my first comeback post I would like to share a little tips for all HTC and Mac users who can't use their Android File Transfer apps.

As many of us know, Mac OS is not the best friend with Android smartphone. We need 3rd party app called Android File Transfer (AFT)  to connect our smartphone and enable file data transfer between it and the computer. This is getting worse when we use an HTC phone. Not only HTC has this annoying habit to mount an app called HTC Sync Manager but also blocking AFT from detecting the phone. Some people say the solution is to reboot the computer while keep plugging the phone. It works as a temporary solution. What if you want something more permanent? Then here's the solution for you.

1. First you have to settings on the phone
2. Enter the Apps menu
3. Go to the "All" section to the right
4. Scroll down till you find HTC Sync Manager and HTC Sync Manager Package Installer app
5. Force stop the app and disable it
6. Next, go back to the apps menu, Force stop the HTC Sync Manager Package Installer app and disable it

Now your HTC phone can sync to your mac using Android File Transfer app without having to reboot your mac. Enjoy.

Long Hiatus

Hello everyone, long time no see. It's been a long time since I wrote on this blog. I've been busy with my school lately and hope to graduate as soon as possible. So, I write this post as announcement for my long hiatus till my graduation time. Till then...

-Mr. Koala-

Apple WWDC 2014

Apple finally revealed their latest Mac OS X and iOS in WWDC 2014 this Monday. For you who missed the keynote can read this summary of the event here. 

OS X Yosemite

Apple kicked off WWDC 2014 with a presentation about their next generation OS X, Yosemite. This iteration of OS X give us a glimpse of Apple plan ahead. There are many changes made to this operating system. If you can’t wait to get your hand on next gen OS X you can try public beta this summer. 

New Look

OS X Yosemite borrowed its design from iOS 7. It has bold, colorful, and translucent user interface which gives the desktop operating system a fresh and modern look.  

Notification Center

Notification center on OS X 10.10 also got a few changes. The most noticeable is the translucent background similar to the iOS 7. New ‘Today’ view also added to the notification center which allowing us to see our schedule from calendar, reminder, and weather forecast. Lastly we can customise the notification center by adding widgets from third-party apps from the Mac Apps Store. It is very nice change considering everyone has their own preference on how the notification center should be.

Spotlight

The new spotlight will appear as a window in the middle of the screen instead of small box on the corner. It can launch apps by typing just the first few letters, browse local documents (complete with in-line preview), and search everything from Wikipedia and Apple Maps to contacts and events, all from within the new tool. In my opinion, it is very similar to google now in android or chrome, but with a little touch of Apple of course.

iCloud

Apple iCloud got some new feature like iCloud Drive and iCloud Photo Sharing. Drive services will allow us to sync our data across Mac OS, iOS, and Windows which resemble Dropbox and Google drive. You can also add your own folders and tags to iCloud Drive, and everything syncs across your Macs — as well as on iOS and Windows. Meanwhile iCloud Photo Sharing will automatically upload our photos and videos to iCloud so we make the most out of the space available on our iOS device.S

Safari

Apple has given Safari huge tweaks visually and functionally. First is looks. The address bar on top of the window is shortened and placed at the center. The address bar has also gotten smarter and can suggest relevant Wikipedia articles based on what you type in. There is also new share button which identical with its iOS counterpart. But the most spectacular feature the new “bird’s eye” which allow users to view all of the open tabs, which closely resembles the multi-tab view in mobile Safari. 

Finally, Safari got some updates you will never see directly, but that are huge nonetheless. Private browsing on a tab-by-tab basis is possible, letting you enable private mode for one tab but not for the rest. You can also watch videos (Netflix was the example Apple used) without the need for a “Silverlite” plugin. Better still, Safari's native support for this kind of video is more efficient, letting you get more battery life out of your Macbook even when watching online videos. Similarly, new engines and optimisations make Javascript and other web technologies run even faster, speeding up your overall browsing experience. 

Mail

Apple promises more reliable syncing on its new Mail apps. It is a fix on problem that has been bugging many user on the previous version of Mail. Apple also upgraded the app feature as well. The new Mail app is focused on attachment. The most notable new feature is new built-in editor for image attachments, completely separate from Preview called Markup. Markup is smart enough to automatically transform your messy scribbles into clean, steady lines which reminds me about Samsung Galaxy note’s feature. The other big change is MailDrop, a feature that lets you store attachments up to 5GB in size in iCloud and send recipients a link to download it on their own. Although it is not the most groundbreaking feature it’d certainly be trending among those whose emails attachments so big they are rejected by a recipient’s email client. 

Continuity

Handoff

Handoff is a new feature of OS X that helps you share work across devices. You can start an email on your phone, open your Mac and start working where you left it, for example. Or you can start a document in iWork and your iPad will suggest you continue your work there once you move away from your laptop.  

AirDrop

One of the most requested feature from the start is AirDrop share between Mac and iOS finally added on OS X 10.10. Previously AirDrop was only able to share data between iOS to iOS and Mac to Mac.

Instant Hotspot

Have you ever use your iPhone as Wi-Fi hotspot for your mac? Too many steps needed to do that? Well, Apple has new feature called Instant Hotspot to solve that problem. With Instant Hotspot your Mac can automatically use the personal hotspot on your iPhone when they’re within range of each other. No setup is required. 

SMS and Phone Calls Sync

Among all other new feature in Continuity I personally think this is the best. Now, on Yosemite, SMS and phone calls from your iPhone will appear on your Mac. How convenient it’d be if you can answer phone calls and reply to SMS on your computer without pulling out your phone. 

iOS 8

This year Apple will bring the biggest change to their mobile operating system, introducing iOS jellybean… (just kidding) Introducing iOS 8. There is a ton of new feature in iOS 8 which I think is a compilation from other mobile OS like android and blackberry. Lets take a look.

Interactive Notification

Apple clearly got this one from android by letting you respond directly to messages, Facebook post, or the other from the Notifications view and lock screen. For example, if you are in the Map app and get a text, you can just pull down the text, type your response, send it, and you're back in Map. Android complex anyone?

Spotlight  

New Spotlight is better than ever,not only it will show data from your iOS devices but also web search results, iCloud Drive documents, news, and more when you search. It can even find apps, movies, and music you do not have yet and suggest them, a feature which I currently think pretty similar to Google now.

Keyboards

Finally, in iOS 8, Apple lets you install and use third-party keyboard which android user has been using for long time now. It has been years now since people asked Apple about third-party keyboard and yet didn’t get one until iOS 8. Apple’s keyboard has an improvement as well. Its new predictive keyboard will provide you smarter auto-complete suggestions by giving you a choice of several words and phrases based on the context of the text you or your contacts just wrote, as well as on your full typing history. 

Messages

Messages got a ton of new features. You can name threads, add/remove people (including removing yourself) from threads, temporarily share your location with others in a thread, and more. You can even send audio or video clips, or still images, right from the messages app itself. You can also set ‘Do Not Disturb’ for single threads, letting you mute a busy thread you don't care about but still receive all other notifications.

Family Sharing

Family Sharing is a new feature which will allow you to share iTunes purchase up to six family member as long as they are linked to the same credit card. It lets parents approve or deny purchases made on their children’s devices, making it more difficult for kids to run up large bills from in-app purchases. 

Health

Apparently Apple is paying more attention to health apps on iOS 8. This is proven by the “Health” apps which provides an easy-to-access hub where iPhone owners can monitor important health metrics on a daily basis, and also step back to examine their fitness trends over a longer period of time. Health will integrate with third-party apps including Nike and Mayo Clinic.

Brand New SIRI

On iOS 8 SIRI get an upgrade, including real-time transcription, so you can see what Siri thinks you are saying. Siri can also recognise a song playing nearby, and offer to let you buy it on iTunes. One feature that was not discussed extensively is a new way of invoking Siri: Apple said that, when your phone is plugged into a car, you can say "OK Siri" to bring up the digital assistant. Again, pretty similar to Google Now on android.

App Store

Last but not least, on iOS 8, App Store get a new configuration. There will be an "explore" tab for you to search through apps by category and sub-category. Apps will now be in what Apple called a "continuously scrolling list”.

Developers can now do a couple new things with their apps. They can offer bundles, letting users pay a single price for multiple apps (so long, of course, as all those apps are from the same developer). Imagine buying several games from the same company, and having them all download at once, or taking advantage of a "buy this app, get this one free" deal.

Developers can also upload app previews. Sadly, previews are not "try before you buy" options for users, but rather videos used to showcase an app. while useful, I think everyone of us thought that Apple was letting people test out apps when the presenter said "app previews”.

Final Thoughts

Before I jump to conclusion I’d like to tell you one thing. All the summary I wrote above is only a part of all the presentation. There is a lot more happened on Apple WWDC last Monday but I only cover the consumer part. You can find developer section on the video here. 

Ok, now lets move to the conclusion. After analysing all the stuff happen at the event, I can say this year WWDC show us a glimpse of where Apple headed in the future. First, new unified design for Mac and iOS indicates Apple intention to merge tablet and computer world. Of course we won’t see any full power tablet computer just yet, but someday in not so distant future I strongly believe we will get one device as a computer and a tablet.

Second, judging by the introduction of the new Health apps we may see a smartwatch or perhaps some kind of fitness tracker from Apple soon. Also, with Samsung, Google and other companies jumping into the battle with all guns blazing, this year would be the time for Apple to act.

Last thing I want to talk about is the software improvement. This year Apple actually taking a lot of stuff from another mobile operating system, combine them, and put it into their own iOS. Of course there are some stuff another company should consider like SMS and phone calls sync or the Instant Hotspot but basically most of it is just a combination of Android JellyBean features rip off. Sorry Apple fanboy, it is what it is. Anyway, thanks for reading my thought and summary of Apple WWDC 2014. Let me know your opinion on the comment section down below. Till we meet again

-Mr. Koala-

Apple WWDC Live Blog

LG G3 Preview

LG G3 Preview

On May 27 we finally get a glimpse of LG G3, the successor of G2. Last year G2 was one of my favourite smartphone because not only it packed a lot of power but also it has one of the best displays I’ve ever seen. Long story short, I set my expectation very high on its successor. How does it turn out to be? Will G3 hold up to its predecessor? Let's find out on this quick preview.

Design

As its predecessor, G3 retain similar design and looks, although LG has made few changes to the phone. With dimensions of 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm this phone is definitely not a small phone, but don’t take me wrong, this phone is actually smaller compared to another 5.5-inch android like One+, One, or Galaxy Note 2. This phone also quite light at 149 g thanks to its plastic body.

Unlike the LG G2, G3 has redesigned its back cover that simulate the look of brushed metal. I found this new design is very attractive. However, in the end, it’s still just a plastic. No matter how good it looks those plastic back cover will collect scratches and lose its beauty (I guess). LG also made a little change on the power and home buttons. Moving to the back side, we’ll find similar power and volume button like the G2, but those buttons are rather rounded, more flat, and hopefully easier to press than before.

Display

For me, the most interesting news is the display. After months of speculation we finally get a detail about the display. Unlike many other flagship that has 1080p display, LG G3 has 2K display or QHD instead. For you who don’t know, 2K display is 2560 × 1440 pixel display. In 5.5-inch screen we’ll get around 530 pixel per inch by which is far higher than last year HTC One (HTC One M7 had the highest density display last year). In theory it’s supposed to be a lot sharper even from phones like Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8. To be honest, I don’t see any pixel in 1080p display on 5-inch screen phone (well… At least I can’t. I guess…), but things could change when I see the new 2K display.

Having a device with the highest density display has its own drawback though. I don’t have the phone yet, but I suspect everything will be just like an HTC J Butterfly back then. LG’s original apps, icon and user interface will look great although many other apps that are not optimised for 2K display will suffer some pixelation. This may not stay for long because many other Smartphone companies are moving towards 2K display. For now we can only wait to see what happen next.

LG G3 powerhouse

Actually there is not much to talk about in this part. LG G3 has a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor like HTC One M8, 2 or 3GB of RAM depending on whether you plump for the 16GB or 32GB model and an Adreno 330 GPU. It is not like the rumours which said G3 will have Snapdragon 805.

There is no benchmark yet but my guess it will not be as fast as Galaxy S5 because of the display. I think those resolutions will slow the GPU down because there’s a lot more pixels to process. Well, we have to wait a little longer for that.

Camera

LG G3 is focusing their attention into a camera this time. Like HTC, LG is retreating from megapixel war, instead they are focusing on features which we will talk about in a few second. The G3 has 13-Megapixel sensors, LED flash, and optical image stabilisation just like the G2. However this phone has a phase detection technology/ Laser Autofocus, where a laser will be fired and measured by sensor to give more accurate details on the distance between the camera and the object so that the camera will very quickly focus on the object.

For the front facing camera, G3 has 2.1 Megapixels sensor which can take a picture simple by a finger gesture. I think this is more like just a gimmick than a real useful feature. I myself barely take a safe though, so my opinion on this is not 100% valid.

Final words

After analysing all the feature from the launching event, I really can’t wait to get my hands on LG G3. Beautiful design, over the top specs, and all things I love from the G2 makes this phone really interesting. There are actually a lot more new  features that I didn’t mention in this first preview of the phone. I’ll write more detailed review later when the phone is available. So… Till we meet again.

-Mr.Koala-