5 worst things about G1

5 worst things about G1:

1
I don't care what anybody says the gPhone is Google's Beta phone, and the consumers are its Beta testers, fortunately the typical consumer of this type of device is more likely to fix its bugs than not. The iPhone, alternatively came out with a well crafted hardware device out the gate and has had time to mature and flesh itself out and keep the Beta testing to the Apple experts and its price point testing to the consumers.


2
Lacks applications, not really the fault of the gPhone, its just hard to develop for a hardware platform that is emulated and not real. The applications it does have need to be debugged better and should be screened for malicious wares since it is a free for all marketplace. This is where Apple's Market tariff of 30% could be arguable as justified, but with the "I am Rich" application slipping past their QA guard or the fire-walling of interesting, but competing, applications destroys the investment value of the 30% tax.


3
Battery Life sucks, but to the HTC's credit the battery is interchangeable. Thank you Apple for making it easier for us to make better decisions concerning non-removable, proprietary changing of lithium Ion batteries. At least its good to know that HTC thinks we have enough brains to swap out batteries by our selves. Battery life can be improved.


4
I have heard of the G1 has a lack of modem tethering and the 1gb cap, but I think I heard this was the ISP T-Mobile's call, while it this is not bad for the Android environment as it is fully capable of being programmed to allow tethering, etc. But when you deal with the ISP, (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) T-Mobile seems the best current choice since I passed their credit check with my FICO score in the low 600's and AT&T wanted some ridicules deposit to hold in their coffers for a "limited time" to prove my worthiness to their snobby iPhone "bitch plan". To AT&T I middle finger salute your offer and go with the German firm, T-Mobile.

I can't say I like the contract for 2 years and a $200 per line early termination "fee", but when you choosing between the lesser of two evils, at least currently until the networking options are sorted out, that is the current price of doing business.


5
Remote removal of code by Google, yeah its open. Why this would be a bad thing for the Gods are the same reason that makes it a good thing for the mere mortals. It levels the playing field, Now its a developers race. Gentlemen, start your Sdk/Eclipse engines? The real question is can *you* harden this open box of Pandora before anybody else does this for you.

Where to go?

Where to go?

It is hard now, our economy is diminishing, contracts are few and far between giving a feast or famine future and local prospects just don't recognize an entrepreneurial spirit.

I have been contracting as a web designer, since early 2000 and have been reassessing and shifting to freelance photography and even to shooting video trying to build my skills in a diversified manner that marks me as "indispensable" to future patrons. But the truth is, I am just a clone of all the other "hopefuls" that are doing the exact same thing.

The reality is, while knowledge of computers and enthusiasm for writing and creating videos are fun to do. They tend to leave one standing beside themselves.

While I have had dreams of working for Google and Apple, even to the extent of bettering my odds by actively promoting Google's technology with the gPhone and proudly attended the Apple's Developers Conference. Not a single offer has come to my table. Oh I get recruiters calling me to no end, promising me the moon and all the cheese it is made of but as the date progresses I am just another name and number for their little black book and I don't even know how many stars they give me.

So, I stick to my freelancer ways, insisting to contract out my professional services as opposed to delude myself into thinking that a job will really give me security, not that I believe that any corporation could truly provide anything more stable than I could.

True to my nature I find it hard to work for people than to work with them for a mutual business advantage. To be an employee seems to be a joke, not because I am adverse to working as a team or to work for a greater common goal of fiscal success, far from it. The frustrations of dealing with the politics of nepotism and playing favorites to under-qualified "buddies" of the manager is a constant theme of working a regular job, with regular people as opposed to an interesting gig that will allow for more dynamic possibilities.

All things being equal, I must confess hindsight being 20/20 I do not feel that my focus in freelancing endeavors are a waste of time or my resources. To be honest, I don't think I would of been introduced to the variety of opportunities (even if those opportunities did not land anything or go the direction I had hoped for). But that is just me.

So, would I ever consider conventional employment? Well, as strange as this may sound I do not see the distinction between a full time job or a contract that requires my full time attentions. The legal world seems to create a artificial circumstance for a full-time employee, a W2 employee seems to be more controlled and dummied down control of creativity and time (punch in the time clock, do work, clock out for lunch, eat lunch, clock back in for lunch, do more work, clock out).

As a contractor you have more control over this time to use it creatively and more efficiently and here in lies the problem as described to me by the CEO of Javaground:

I was interviewing with the CEO who explicitly told me that he would never consider incorporating me into his company as a contractor for the main reason that he could not have complete control over me. As an employee he could better have control over me and my loyalties would be more to his company and not my own consultancy.

I protested and told him that as a consultant, contractor he would have access to my entire professional network and as far as my loyalties to his company, Non Disclosure Agreements would legally prohibit me from playing the field and compromising secrets of his company. He still wanted me to be a regular employee, he still wanted that illusionary control over my time and loyalties. To my perception as a contractor/consultant the demand on my time and the loyalties to my new patron would be no different than being a regular full time employee.

My rational words fell on deaf ears, he didn't care, he wanted an employee and I wanted a business partner and I politely disengaged from further negotiations on the subject and consequently did not receive an offer to work for his company.

It would of been a cool company to work for, but in retrospect I am glad he never followed up with me. In my eyes if he was honestly that adamant over the semantics of my professional relation to him and his company then we probably would not of been able to work well with each other in the first place.

So, Where to go? Is probably not the right question to ask, more to the point should be the question Whom do I ally myself with?

High Expectations For Android

The great battle of the cellphones.   iPhone vs./ Android (gPhone).   This is a big deal for both companies both Apple and Google.   Each company has advantages and disadvantages attached to them.   Slashdot has a great link on the story.

Apple, well, put their iPhone on the market.   Its a slick phone, with touch screen capabilities and a sweet GUI interface.   Actually a nice phone.   But it has some serious fatal flaws attached.

First off, Apple mandates AT&T as the sole service provider, yes the same AT&T that has a monitoring station in San Francisco for the Government ease dropping program.   AT&T mandated the need for social security numbers just to activate one.   In addition to the insane initial price of the phone itself $600, a 2 year minimum contract was required, figure at least $100 a month for 24 months...$2,400 + $600 = $3,000 total.   I call bullshit on that.

Also, initially there was no SDK (Software Development Kit) for the iPhone.   Well, now there is but the insanity of the Non-Disclosure agreement prohibits any other developer from advising or helping further the development of this platform.   Are they serious?!?

The iPhone has been hacked only to be patched to turn the hacked iPhone into a bricked $600 paper weight.

Apple, did some very bone-headed maneuvers with the iPhone, but they have a real phone on the market.   A phone that I have absolutely no desire to have.

Don't get me wrong, I love Apple's products.   I have a PowerBook G4 (PPC) that I have had virtually zero downtime with and a MacBook (Intel) that, aside from a Battery Bug with Leopard that does not charge my battery.   Works very well.

But, even with their newer systems like the Mac Air, altho beautiful, lacks an optical drive and has only one USB port!?!   But I digress, back to the showdown between Apple and Google.

What does Google have to bring to the table?   Well, nothing, but virtually something...the Android platform.   Yeah, they don't have a phone, they have many phones that only need to be Linux compatible.   Google, is smart, they have a actual open OS available to any and all that care enough to develop for it, literally any way they choose.  Hell they even put prize money out to sway developers.

Now, I will be the first to say that Google is not just being altruistic, they are in business to make more money, just like Apple, but the main difference is this they are smarter about how they approach business.  They know enough to give a little to get a little.

Android, Mobile Device Emulator

Android is the platform for the gPhone. The gPhone is Google's own Linux compatible, hardware platform. The device is not available to the public, yet, but the emulator allows programs to be written and tested be for the actual release of the gPhone itself.

Android, of course, is the complete solution for cellular phone services and specialized applications. This has the power of Linux on a cellular device, that trumps the iPhone, hands down.

I would trust Google to engineer this right, the first time. Since they have the stance of playing the field of cellular business, but not an actual "player" in the cellular business, meaning, they do not have any biases or ties, like Apple does with AT&T.

Google is offering a reward for applications developed under their Android system. It is very nice but still lacks in demonstrating very key features.


And now the downside...

• No support for placing or receiving actual phone calls. You can simulate phone calls (placed and received) through the emulator console, however.
• No support for USB connections
• No support for camera/video capture (input).
• No support for audio input (capture). Output (playback) is supported.
• No support for device-attached headphones
• No support for determining connected state
• No support for determining battery charge level and AC charging state
• No support for determining SD card insert/eject
• No support for Bluetooth

But the upside, rocks.

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The Day my MacBook died

Merry X-Mass.

Yikes, I never thought I would see the day where a Mac bit the dust, but it has in fact done so. Specifically, the native hard-drive that came with the unit. I was able to save and back up the crux of my work but not everything.

This is a picture of the boot-up screen. I am now looking to get another SATA Hard-drive and a new installation of Leopard.

I am on my PowerBookG4 now, old faithful with a PPC chip-set (not the Intel)

It just goes to show that all machines are prone to wear and tear, I am not a snooty Mac user, and in Mac's defense it was just a hard-drive failure not a virus that bricked the thing.