Data Tracking & Smartphones

Just about anywhere you turn today, there are users complaining about data tracking, whether it be for Android or iOS devices. I am frankly amazed at the blissful ignorance of those individuals. The very services they love to use and that have greatly accentuated their mobile lives they seem to think was all done by magic. (Sure, I resent just as much as the next person that location-based ads will start becoming more pronounced—especially in light of the fact that AT&T has now put a choke chain on the amount of data that a user can consume. It would sure irritate me if I started receiving numerous, unsolicited ads that count against my data plan. But that is another story.)

The fact is that the whole reason the government mandated more accurate GPS systems was specifically for the reason of tracking. (We were spoon fed the idea that it was for our own safety but that was just to get us to buy in.) It doesn’t take brain surgery to realize that. But I am not suggesting that the intent was nefarious either. Did we really expect that social media and other apps would just be NSA? Apparently so. But the fact is in order for those services to work correctly, just by definition there would have to be some data caching. The greater population of users do not realize that. If anything, what this all argues in favor of is that we users need to educate ourselves. If we don’t want all this monitoring, then perhaps we should settle for nothing more than QMD (Quick Messaging Devices). You love your smartphone? Then stop your whining.

(Maybe we should get rid of mobile phones all together--after all, every time a phone hits a tower, it can be tracked and movement charted. Gasp!)

Samsung Galaxy S2 coming to AT&T & suggested summer release

Interesting. I found this quote on androidauthority.com in reference to the G2:

"Our inside sources have told us that it has indeed been approved, and ***WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AT&T***. As for ironing out a specific date, it’s still unfortunately too early to tell, but we are suspecting this has more to do with AT&T wanting to sell as many Atrix’s as possible before debuting the Samsung Galaxy S II. Still, we suspect it will be available before the end of Summer."

Full article (dated April 6, 2011) here:

http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-clear-fcc-release-dates-confirmed-for-europe-11910/

I also had a feeling they were trying to bleed as much blood out of the Atrix turnip as possible. Now that Atrix has shown up on Amazon for $50 and at Best Buy for $30, I'm hoping the rivers of buyers are drying up on it. Couple that with the numerous negative reviews from users, it is definitely time for "the next big thing."

Seeing as iPhoney5 is reported to be released in September, I'm sure they will try to space release of this somewhere between the Sammy Infuse and the iPhoney.

Western Bars & the 21st Century

For anyone that’s sat through an old western movie or TV show, you know exactly the imagery I’m conjuring up here—you have the old men gathered around a table playing cards; the quiet, strong-charactered bartender; the floozy who thinks she can sing; and finally (what we all were waiting for), some action from the gunslinger(s) who come barging into the joint, and shooting a round just to get everyone’s attention (he suffered from poor self-esteem and was compensating with a wild entrance).

Well, not much has changed in the world. The bar has given way to online discussion groups. Pretty much everyone is playing on level ground and fair deal. They just want to deal their card for whatever its worth, knowing that it will probably be challenged. Someone always has a hidden agenda to steal the game & enrich him/herself with adulation from others. The bartender (moderator) always has his gun of censorship right where he can grab it at a moment’s notice.

Then there’s the floozy. These characters have no interest in the beverages being served, the games others are playing or anything else. They merely want to entice someone, anyone, to listen to their overtures. They usually post right in the middle of any interesting discussion offering such absurd services that wonder why the heck they are there in the first place. "There’s a brothel down the street with plenty of activity, honey, go play there."

Finally, the gun slinger enters. This character also has no interest in the communal activity. He just wants to come in blazing. He gets some sick enjoyment out of destroying peace. Problem is, his distraction techniques can be very effective—and hence everyone breaks into a bar fight. You feel like saying, “Look, if all you have to offer is your hate, there are plenty people like you, why not go join around your own campfire and enjoy your bravado there?” But you don’t say that, because you will be their next victim.

Now, you’ll notice I’m missing one key character—the sheriff. Sure enough, policing of the internet is still in its infancy and none of us really want to see Big Brother involved in running all the internet. So, for the most, we try to be peaceable and amicable, that is, until the hidden ACE falls out of someone’s sleeve.

Yup, more than a hundred years and nothing changed. The setting may have changed, but the characters are all the same.

Bellyakin' & Impatience.

I just turned 60, so you'd think that by now I'd have a whole lotta patience. Well, actually, when it comes to people, I do. When it comes to other things, nope....

At the beginning of 2011 AT&T announced they would release 20 new devices in 2011 (this year). Supposedly 12 of those will be Android devices. It doesn't take anymore than 4th grade math to figure out that should be about one device per month, right? So how many Android devices has AT&T released as of April 6th? Two. (Count them, one...two!) Hmmm. Slight disparity here… Four months, two devices. (On 4/12 AT&T announced two LG Android devices, so I guess that catches them up, 4 for 4). So they still have 10 8 devices to go in less than 9 months and still no news about when the coveted Samsung Infuse will be released. (There is also some industry buzz about the "Samsung Galaxy S ii" coming to AT&T but AT&T doesn't even mention it. In fact, if you check their website (as of today), besides the Infuse, the only other phone they have identified as "coming soon" is the LG Thrill, which I'm not thrilled about at all. Talk about gimmicks—come on now, really—a 3D camera and you can only view the 3D images on the phone?!!)

So AT&T, when are you getting off your duff and releasing  another phone? Or are you still trying to bask in the light of those sorry excuses for advanced technology (Moto Atrix and HTC Inspire phones)?  (Okay, I’ll admit it, those phones really aren’t that bad. I just despise Motorola and don’t like the screens on the HTC phones that much.) Will you really wait until May or June to release the Infuse as some have suggested? That will mean you'll be play major catch up toward the end of the year to make your goal. I can't imagine you flooding the market with a slew of new phones all at once, its just not good marketing sense.

So why are my britches all bunched up? Becuz, pappy, I want the Samsung Infuse and I want it now! What does it have that isn’t currently available? I want a phone with a front-facing camera for video conferencing. Yeah, yeah, I know, the iPhoney4 and the M-Atrix both have front-facing cameras. You already know how I feel about Moto and the iPhone, well, let’s just say I haven’t drank the Apple Cool-Aid and never will.

So again, here we are in the 4^th month of the year and AT&T hasn’t even released three devices. Doesn’t molasses run faster than that?


Addendum: Someone had asked about the dimensions of the Infuse. What I was able to find was a video from CES of someone holding a Samsung Captivate alongside the new Infuse. After some image editing for perspective, Here is what I came up with.

Confused Loyalties

It is so easy to read history and completely miss its lesson on us today. Military strategists are not that naive. They closely examine history to find out what worked and what didn’t. Professional sports coaches and players are the same. However, the history I am considering is that of people and their relationship with God. (Due to the overwhelming evidence, I will dignify the one I am speaking of by calling him by his unique name—Jehovah. Perhaps you have read other renderings like Yahweh; that’s fine. The points are twofold: 1) praise him as Jesus did (Matthew 6:9), and 2) to set him apart from all other (false) gods--1Corinthians 8:5,6) But I digress.

The history lesson I am referring to is found in what some may consider an obscure book in the Bible, Nehemiah. But the lesson is not unique there. It is echoed time and again—the matter of loyalty, specifically confused loyalties. To many that I know, doing what is “right” is circumstantial. That must have been the case with Eliashib, a high priest in Jehovah’s service. That man had a relative named Tobiah that had no respect for Jehovah’s clean worship.  The Insight book sets the dynamics here: “An opponent of Nehemiah. Tobiah was “the servant,” likely some official under the Persian king. (Ne 2:19) Both he and his son Jehohanan married Jewish women, and Tobiah was also related to High Priest Eliashib. This put Tobiah in a position of advantage for undermining Nehemiah’s authority, in that many Jews looked up to and spoke highly of Tobiah”

Focusing on chapter 13 of Nehemiah, we see that Eliashib had taken a section of property dedicated to worship and made it into a dining hall for Tobiah. It must have seemed right to him to show this official such honor but it was definitely confused loyalty. In contrast, Nehemiah set him right by drawing a clear line as to what is acceptable and unacceptable—removing the furnishing of Tobiah from their place.

Today, it is easy to become confused when someone we care for does things that are not in keeping with Bible standards. We might be afraid of hurting that person or losing their friendship. Especially within the Christian congregation when we see a fellow believer acting questionably, especially if they are close friend, we might be reluctant to speak up. But really, if we didn’t, what would be the outcome for them at Armageddon? They would lose their life—and  then we would have lost our friend forever. On top of that is the principle stated at Ezekiel  3:17 & 18, “Son of man, a watchman is what I have made you to the house of Israel, and you must hear from my mouth speech and you must warn them from me. When I say to someone wicked, ‘You will positively die,’ and you do not actually warn him and speak in order to warn the wicked one from his wicked way to preserve him alive, he being wicked, in his error he will die, but his blood I shall ask back from your own hand.”

Yes, if we aren’t bold enough to stand up for what is right and help our friend, even if it means losing their friendship for a while, we also could be in jeopardy of losing our life. But the motivation should always be 1) love of Jehovah first and foremost, and 2) true unselfish love for our friend.

Another "phone" post

For years my wife had referred to me as "Mr. Pushy Buttons" because of my fascination with electronics. It started when the first LED watches came on the market around the mid-1970’s (http://www.ledwatchstop.com/store/history-watch-eip-22.html). Prior to that, I had always used Timex analog watches—they were cheap and somewhat dependable (and easily replaceable when they were no longer dependable, LOL). I’ve always been an “early adopter” of any technology but limited funds kept me from having all the toys I wanted.

When the Commodore64 computer came out, I was at Gemco (now defunct) and bought one, along with a monitor & printer. When I showed a peer (we were both in our early 30’s) how “neat” it was to write “Hello world” in Commodore’s implementation of BASIC, he was not impressed. I was. My wife also wanted nothing to do with them—“I won’t touch that thing until it learns to wipe my ….” (I’ll spare you the details.)

Years later I was proud owner of an HP “Jornada 720” Handheld PDA that was a miniature computer with a touch-screen full keyboard in a clamshell design. It fit inside my suite jacket and I really thought I had something very special. Well, within 2 years the touch screen stopped working and I pretty much vowed to myself I’d never ever have another touch screen device. Well, it turns out that “never ever” was actually only about 8 to 9 years. That was when I got the Samsung Impression touch-screen phone. It wasn’t an iPhone, but it was affordable and had a touch-screen. Other manufacturers were playing catch-up. And actually, I love this phone. I’ve had it for nearly two years now and I must say that the touch-screen has never given me any problems at all.

My wife had also had a Samsung product, the Eternity, but it was having problems—inexplicably powering down. It was just occasional at first, but then it got to be a real issue, powering down several times a day, sometimes in the middle of a very important call. My upgrade option was available so I took her to AT&T. I had previously looked at the Samsung Captivate when it was first released, but paying for early upgrade was not something I was interested in. When she saw it, she was very impressed.

Now, I knew about the Android OS, but not really any particular details. I had never played with it. So after my wife chose the phone & we got it home, I was more than mildly impressed. I had actually thought it would be nice to get one of the new Windows Mobile phones because of it having Word & Excel. Though editing on these phones is not anything I relish, I still felt it was better than nothing. What turned me off to the Windows phones was that they still (as of this writing) haven’t resolved the “phantom data” issues the phones are sending. It wasn’t until we actually got the Captivate home and I started reading the PDF user manual that I discovered it came loaded with QuickOffice. (No printed manuals are included anymore, which really irritated me). That application allows not only viewing but editing of Word & Excel files as well as viewing Power Point (I never use it) and PDF files. That alone sold me.

When my wife & I started discovering all the apps we could download for free, I started to drool. Now I feel deprived. She has a virtual computer in her hands and I have what I now view to be an anemic proprietary OS by Samsung that is very limited. So why don’t I go out and upgrade? Because around the June 2011 timeframe, Samsung will be releasing the Infuse. AT&T calls this a 4G phone, but industry writers say it is more like 3.5. It is not LTE, but rather an HSPA+ phone. It is supposed to have Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) loaded on it, whereas the Captivate is still using 2.1 (Éclair). (What gives with the slow OS upgrades on AT&T anyways?! After all, Gingerbread (2.3) has been out for over a month; Honeycomb (ver. 3.0) was previewed this month and Ice Cream Sandwich (version number yet to be announced) is expected in the middle of 2011. So unless the Infuse is updated, it will be coming out with a version that is 3 generations old!)

Anyway, the point I started out making is that I have always been a gadget enthusiast (ok, “freak”). I am very much looking forward to upgrading my phone to something that is considerably smaller than my HP Jornada and yet infinitely more powerful. If you haven’t checked out Android phones (and, like me, you are not an iPhone fan) I highly recommend you check out Android phones, regardless of which carrier you are on. (Yes, the “Droid” phones offered by Verizon are Android. For some reason, they chose to “brand” their Android offerings by making it sound sci-fi current.)

Being A True Friend

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I wrote the following as counsel to myself more than decade ago. I had reason to review it again and thought I'd share it...


Have you ever had a friend that made you feel constantly guilty because they claimed you did not call  frequently enough or take the initiative to say hello as often as  they  felt you should?  Eventually you probably stopped  dealing  with  that   person because  all  they did was  make  you feel obligated to them.  You may even have felt like telling them: "Get  a life!"

By using the above example, we begin to see the difference between a selfish love and a selfless love.   A selfish love feels self-pity when others do not respond to our love the way we want them to and at times even goes to the extreme of imposing guilt on others when they don't act like we want/expect them to.

So when we become discouraged over a relationship problem we can  consider this:  Upon  becoming  a  responsible adult,  did  we not feel we  had  the right  to  choose  our  friends   and terminate  relationships?   Why then should we make others feel they have any less right to make the same decisions?   Why  should  someone  be obligated  to us whereas we  are  not likewise  obligated  to others  in  a similar situation?

What viewpoint will aid us in having a positive attitude in our relationships with others?  An attitude of selflessness.  Selfless love looks to enhance  others' lives and  by  doing so,  we  may reap the  by-product  -- mutual and requited affection.  If the love is not returned or is deceived, the selfless one, strong of character, has the choice to discontinue the relationship or to attempt an understanding/reconciliation.  But Godly love need not dwell on failed relationships.   Instead, it carries on attaching itself to other prospects for expressions of love.

Realize that the only absolutely lasting friendship is with God himself.  He can not and will not fail us as long as we are faithful.  With this relationship as  our primary  friendship,  central focus and benchmark, human  relationships  become an enhancement  to  our lives  for the present time,  a  gift from  Jehovah, an encouragement  from God  to  help us meet  current  challenges.   So just as when a child receiving a gift from a parent should realize  that  the  gift  is  not  as important   as  the parent's love, likewise we need recognize that human friends  are  not the center  of  our lives -- only Jehovah is.

Yes,  imitate Jehovah  with generous love  but also remember that  Jehovah allows  even the wicked to  pursue their  life  and this  doesn't  "ruin God's day."  Though Jehovah pointedly condemns wicked acts, he does so as a statement of what his standards are for those that want to be his friend.  He does not use guilt as a tactic to discouragingly torment other’s with their shortcomings.   He encourages all seekers of truth and right to put forth their personal best.

So too, the best we can do for others is  to sincerely love them and  share our lives with them without  smothering  their personal growth nor  obligating them beyond what is  scriptur­ally supported.

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