Joseph Muniz Jr

WordPress On The Go

Joseph — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:14 +0000

Last time I wrote about the WordPress app for Android I was unimpressed with it. Since then there have been a bunch of updates that add functionality to the app. The look of the app has changed drastically. It is now a more uniformed and appealing look. The App has a nice white and black theme that really brings out the simplicity of the app.

No longer does the app feel unintuitive to use it or clunky in it’s appearance. The WordPress team deserves a bunch of credit for their work on the redesign.

The layout is now a nice set of 10 buttons that reflows nicely between landscape and portrait view. The buttons give you quick access to creating new blog posts and changing settings. These bring creating content on the go to the fore front. The best part is the quick posts for video and photos. With smartphones this is a very welcome improvement.

The post editing experience has gotten a lot better. The new content window allows you to scroll through long posts and edit it seamlessly. With the ability to directly add links, photos, or format text right on the phone makes this a very welcome update. This entire post mins some editing was all done one my phone.

You can check out the updates on WordPress at the Android Market.

The Digital Lockdown

Joseph — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:11:27 +0000

Today we are a highly digital society. We are beginning to move away from the physical and more to the digital. I know my media buying habits have changed. I buy my music and books digitally. I buy the books I want for my miniature gaming in pdf format. Movies I still buy in physical formats because Hollywood hasn’t caught up with technology. They are packaging in a digital copy of the movie you just bought in new releases, but you are restricted to viewing it on a PC or approved mobile device that works with their DRM scheme. Thus your options are a Windows Media file or an iTunes file. This seems so backwards to me.

To me when I think about a digital file I think about being able to take the file on my tablet with me. The digital file then can go with me where ever I bring my tablet. From waiting at the mechanic to the beaches of Waikiki. I could view the movie I purchased. With being tied to iTunes or Windows Media files there are no current players in the Android market that allow you to view the videos. This in my mind completely defeats the purpose of having a digital copy. It makes me tied to my PC.

I could go out and buy an iDevice to be able to access the digital copy on the go, but that defeats my decision of picking an android tablet. Another option is to get a laptop to be able to watch the movies. While this is probably the best solution, it will allow me to do what I want. This also defeats why I purchased a tablet.

Today’s technology changes at a quick pace that old media are slow to be able to embrace new technology because they fear that all their customers are pirates. In today’s digital lifestyle it is far easier to pirate a movie then it is to get a digital download to play nice with your computer or mobile device. I believe that when the digital movie copy becomes as open as the mp3 has in the last 5 years that there will be a drop in piracy. Piracy will never really go away, some people will refuse to pay for any entertainment.

The group that won’t face this issue is the one with the tech smarts. They will be able to successfully figure out a why to format shift their media to take it with them. I do not advocate piracy. The format shifting topic is being discussed by the FCC as an exception to the DCMA and would make it legal for users to do that, like it is legal to root/jailbreak your phone.

Amazon Kindle Newsstand

Joseph — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:30:16 +0000

This week Amazon released the Kindle Fire. Along with the Kindle fire they have released their version of the newsstand. The Newsstand is basically the ability to subscribe to magazines and be able to read them on an electronic device in full color. This gives the ability to create an almost seamless transition for magazines to be converted into the digital space. The only problem right now is the magazines are only available for the Kindle Fire. I was hoping that there would be an update to Amazon’s Android Kindle app that will allow them to read the magazines. As of this posting there has bee no update released to spread this to any of Amazon’s apps.

This could be because Amazon wants to keep this exclusively for the Kindle Fire right now and not undermine the success of this launch just yet. They probably will update the Android Kindle app with the ability to read magazines in the future. I was just hoping that they would be able to do that now with the launch of the Fire. I am slowly turning my Acer tablet into a dedicated reading device for full color items and this will give me even more of an incentive to get some magazines.

Amazon will be competing with Barnes & Noble, and Zinio for digital magazines. Which both of them allow you to read their digital magazines on any device that supports their apps. Hopefully Amazon will be updating there Kindle apps quick to get a larger user base to read magazines through Amazon.

The Clash of the Superphones

Joseph — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:30:52 +0000

In this ever-changing world of smartphones we have a new class of phones called Superphones. These phones are even more powerful than smartphones. Superphones have been slowly taking over the market in the past couple of years. They have redefined what you can do with your phone. These superphones have almost completely taken over the smartphone market, with the exception of RIM still producing smartphones. Two of these superphones (Driod RAZR and Galaxy Nexus) are about to be launched against each other.

For the most part these two phones are very similar from the thinness to the phone specs. Both phones are supposed to launch on the same day November 10th. Compared to each other I say that the phone most people will want is the Droid RAZR. Either phone will be fine but since the RAZR is part of the Droid line it will receive a marketing push behind it. It also has standard features that most Android users have come to expect like expandable storage.

It will be interesting to see how well the Galaxy Nexus does on Verizon’s network since this will be the first time that a pure Google phone will be on a major carrier. I am very eager to get my hands on the RAZR though.

Update: It looks like the Galaxy Nexus will be out on Black Friday.

Android’s new coat of paint

Joseph — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:15:59 +0000

Last night Samsung and Google announced The new Galaxy Nexus phone and Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). This is the merging of Gingerbread (2.3) and Honeycomb(3.0) into one OS. Google has fundamentally streamlined the interface and apps. They brought what they learned from Honeycomb into the phone field. There are even new features like facial recognition to unlock your phone.

Google has also created a new typeface for ICS that looks modern and sleek. ICS will start to usher in phones with now hard or soft menu buttons. The Home, back, menu, and search buttons are now part of the user interface. The web browser now has tabs which bring it up to date with the other browsers being offered in the market.

Googles own apps receive a much needed face lift. Also there will be a data usage application integrated into the system. This looks like it will be a very nice upgrade for Andriod. I am very stooked about the new version of android. I can’t wait to get it on my tablet.

The Kindle Goes On Fire

Joseph — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:35:33 +0000

Amazon announced the new kindle line-up last week. The new e-ink kindles got updated with touch and no keyboards, but the real star of the show was the kindle fire. This is Amazon’s answer to the Nook Color. They are about a year late to the 7 inch tablet market, but they look like they are ready to make a big splash. The kindle fire looks like a refined Amazon experience.

What really sets this apart from the Nook Color is the media integration. Amazon is not only an e-book store they also serve up videos, music, and house your files. The ability to include all the above content is really nice. Plus you can order anything you want from Amazon through their included app.

While I am not a fan of the 7 inch tablet form factor they are appealing for certain people. To me this form factor seems like a large phone. I love the 10 inch tablet form factor better. I am excited to see what a large format tablet will do next year from Amazon.

What I like:

Amazon integration (Apps, music, movies, and cloud drive)
sleek look
Nice custom version of android
New magazines
The price is right

What I dislike:

7 inch form factor
battery life

I never really have been a fan of customized versions of the Android OS. I always like the ability to do the customizations myself. This version of Android though is what open source and customizing Android is all about. The ability to create something completely new out of it.

The fire will be a very interesting product and should sell well.

The Netflix Split

Joseph — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:19:43 +0000

This past week has been very interesting in digital media. The main topic is that Netflix is splitting off its DVD-by-mail service. The new service is called Qwikster. They have decided to go all in on the streaming media. This is can be both good and bad. With Netflix streaming only they will have a chance to expand their catalogue. The DVD section while not a black hole on the company will at some point become one in the future. The problem is though right now no one can predict what the future holds.

The major obstacle Netflix has right now for its streaming service is content. While there are some gems on streaming like UP and Toy Story 3. If they can get more streaming content they will be ahead of the game. The problem is that content creators don’t like this because if you can just stream their new releases then they lose money by lower DVD/Blu-ray sales.

As part of the next generation I want to be able to have access to all the digital media. I want to be able to sit down and just search for the program I want to watch. This allows me to take control of the media that I consume.

Now with Netflix, even if they didn’t have a title available for streaming you could get as a DVD in the mail. It was integrated and made things easier. Now with the split they are separating their services and making it harder for subscribers who use both services to continue using it.

Do I like this move by Netflix? No not really, but I understand where they are coming from. I would like to have my streaming and DVD rentals under one roof. When I need to rent DVD I will have to rely on Redbox for new movies that aren’t on Netflix.

Washed away

Joseph — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:00:51 +0000

Right now my postings are indefinitely on hold until I can clean up from Irene. Here are a few links of the damage that this storm has caused. Right now we have to get focused on getting cleaned up and go from there. Just have to talk it day by day.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/slideshow/Aerial-photos-of-Irene-damage-30587.php

http://www.watershedpost.com/2011/schoharie-county-irene-update

Vacation

Joseph — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:00:57 +0000

I will be on vacation until early August and I will resume normal posting.

Netflix rising cost

Joseph — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:00:29 +0000

This week we learned that Netflix will change its pricing structure. The DVD service is increasing its pricing by about $3 and then you will have to add in the streaming option. If you have the base DVD/Streaming option the price will go from $10 to $16 a month. While this is not a large jump in price it will make people who don’t use the DVD portion of the service to think about if the increase is enough to keep the dvd by mail service.

The price increase email

Many people who comment on this are threatening to cancel their Netflix subscription. To me this is a rash decision. I don’t mind paying for quality service and I find Netflix to be a quality service. My current plan with Netflix is the DVD/Streaming for $10 a month. I haven’t used the DVD portion in a while and mostly get DVDs from a local Redbox. I am probably going to drop to streaming only when I am forced to choose in september. I have a Netflix DVD sitting at home just collecting dust since sometime last year. In the end Netflix will still be receiving my money and I will be very happy with their service, plus they will save on the shipping costs. I do expect that the streaming cost for the consumer to increase in the next several years and I hope that Netflix will increase their streaming catalog aswell.

One Final Step: The End of an Era

Joseph — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:30:34 +0000

Today we are witnessing the final mission of the Space Shuttle program. The Shuttles have served with dedication for the past 30 years. After today we will be without a manned space program. In the past we had about a 9 year wait from the end of Apollo to the beginning of the Space Shuttle. We are facing a similar wait between the end of the Shuttle and the beginning of the Shuttle replacement. The difference this time there is no replacement rocket developed. The one that was going to replace the Shuttle was canceled last year.

This is very much a piece of history we are witnessing. Over the next several years NASA will be facing the difficult nature of our financial issues and it will be interesting to see how they get ready for the next part of space exploration. We as a race have done amazing things with our space program and it is sad to see the shuttle go, but that is the future we look at now. after this lauch we need to look to our next biggest goal and get working on that ASAP. The science and technology that we learn from space exploration is something that will help everyone.

Imagine a modern rocket built using cutting edge technology will allow the next generation of astronauts to journey farther into space and allow a new generation to be influenced by our Apollo moment. The future of our species is out there in space. We can not stop going out into space.

In the next several years private companies are working to take over the shuttling of men and materials to the ISS. SpaceX is the most far one and hopefully they can pull it off. I await the day that private companies land a man on the moon to prove they can do it. The future of space travel does look bright but right now we have a small dark ages to go through and when get out the other side we have some large goals to accomplish.

Verizon’s DataGate

Joseph — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:00:18 +0000

In less than two weeks Verizon will be implementing tiered data for new smartphone activations. The policy is very draconian in nature and unfair to users. It represents a major step backward in the way companies are trying to handle new technology. While yes current users are grandfathered into the plan it will be a matter of time before that will be taken away. The problem with tiered data is not that they are charging you for X GB for $N. It is a unfar pricing structure.

The structure is currently looks like this:

Image from Android Central

The unlimited plan will turn into a 2GB cap for $30. If you go over you will have to pay $10 per GB after that. Your first two GB’s are charged at an upfront cost of $15 per GB and you have to pay for both of them even if you only use half of the alloted price per month. If Verizon wants to charged on a tiered model going toward a pay what you use model is a good idea. If you only use 1 GB you can pay for that, if you use more than that you pay for that total use.

This is a good scare tactic to get people out there to sign up for Verizon or upgrade their phones now. The problem is this doesn’t fix the “problem” of data hogs. If you already are on Verizon’s network and being a data hog you are not punished If you are or were data hog on another network you will run to Verizon to get grandfathered in on the unlimited data.

If you are in contract with another cell provider I don’t know why you would buy out you contract for the prospect of “unlimited” mobile data. I use about 1GB of data a month. I don’t know how I would even cross 2 or 3 GB in a month. Tiered data packages will start to kill the streaming media that is making its way to the cell phones. How much Hulu, Netflix, or streaming music can you use on a two GB plan with out going over?

Green Lantern – Movie Review

Joseph — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:00:07 +0000

Typically I usually don’t end up at movie preview events, but I managed to check out the Green Lantern at one such event. I saw the movie on Wednesday night (6/15/2011) with a few other people I know who managed to get passes also. I have never had any interest in the Green Lantern at all, so the source material is not something I am very familiar with or know about. Before I begin to get into the review I want to warn you there will be spoilers in the review and if you don’t want to read them you should click back now.

Green Lantern opens up with the typical encounter with the escape of evil that was locked away ages ago. This evil is referred to as Paralax, which seems to be a play on being paralyzed from fear. Paralax is the embodiment of fear or is supposed to be. Once Paralax escapes he tracks the Green Lantern that locked him away down and attacks him. This is a Green Lantern called Abin Sur. During the fight Abin Sur is mortally wounded and manages to escape his ship. Crash landing on Earth he sends his ring out to find a new guardien. This ends up to be Hal Jordan, a cocky test fighter pilot.

During Hal’s introduction to the audience we get to see how cocky, reckless, and self-serving he is. It’s hard to get to like him or really identify with him as he is a complete jerk. He shows off his flying skills and we meet his human friends. We never really get much of a back story on how they became friends or why people stick around Hal. They are just there and support him not matter how much of a jerk he is.

From this point we get to see Hal training in the Green Lantern Corps and his self-doubt about his ability to do this. The main human bad guy is a man called Hector. He is introduced and a lazy and socially awkward person who gets taken to a government facility to do an autopsy on an alien. Where are never introduced into the agency that does this or why they want it done. This is where he gets infected with a part of Paralax that is still in Abin Sur.

We continue to move the plot forward but it never seems to really be all that entertainment. Hal’s love interest Carol Ferris is never really believable in that role. He jerks her around and she still stays by his side. Hector we learned is “friends” with Hal and Carol, apparently knowing them since they were little. His father is also an US senator who wants to give him political favors to help Hector’s career.

During the climax of the movie Hal actually fights and defeats Paralax and using his cocky attitude to outsmart the evil alien being. Never once during the movie did I think Paralax had a chance of winning or putting our hero in danger. There felt like no difference between if the Green Lantern or Paralax wins. The victory seemed hollow and empty. I felt this way when I saw Ghost Rider.

I saw this in 3D and felt like if you wanted to see a reason why 3D is a fad this is it. the 3D effects were bad. I did not feel like I had a better experience with this movie. I felt like the 3D effects were like watching cardboard cutouts act on-screen. There was no depth of field at all. If you see this in theaters see it in 2D and save some cash. If you want to save more cash rent it when it comes out on DVD.

Basic Customization of Windows

Joseph — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:00:57 +0000

Windows 7 has become a bit more customization friendly for users when it was introduced. During the XP lifespan MS offered a few different themes for the OS, now they have well over 100 themes and over 100 wallpapers to choose from for Windows 7. Themes are a nice way to customize the OS with some personal flavor or just to stand out. I didn’t really explore this option until a few weeks ago. For me usually just changing my wallpaper to something from either the Astronomy Picture of the Day website, something off of flicker, or a nice image off of NASA.

The windows 7 themes are really nice. in each pack you get a handful of high quality images that cycle through your desktop at a set interval. Along with the images your task bar will become a color that matches the theme of the images. Like for the Fireworks theme the taskbar will be a shade of red.

You can find the link to access the theme website if your right-click on the desktop and choose Personalization. Then just scroll down to “Get more themes online” and you are good to go. You can also just click on this link to access the same website.

This is just some basic customization of Windows 7, and it’s quick and easy. If you would like to do some more customization there are plenty of websites that can help you. I’m not a fan of spending too much time thinking about making windows look good since I would be tweaking it all the time.

Spring Fresh, Spring Clean

Joseph — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:30:18 +0000

New Design

I decide a couple of weeks to make one final design change. I never really found a design I absolutely loved until now. The layout is exactly what I was looking for. It stands out from the “crowd” a bit and offers a nice layout that works for me. Every time I look at the design it shouts “me.” I know I am supposed to pick a layout and stick with it for a while, but I am never one to follow conventional wisdom. There are a few things I am still need to complete like a header image and one or two more pages I have some ideas about plus update the about section.

Spring Clean

Since spring has come and almost gone I have been working on cleaning out things from old magazines to digital files I have kept around. In am effort to keep things in order and cut clutter down I have begun to move items of interest into digital format. I do plan to keep some physical items that I deem important, but that will be the exception not the rule. I am also going through my digital items and making sure things are sorted and tagged correctly. I will be reuploading items to my flickr account in the coming months.

Spring Fresh

Since I have a new layout I plan to reboot of sorts. There will be a bit of change in what I am going to be posting about. I will expand to write about my hobbies and talk about other things that interest me. I will still talk about technology, but it will also be about ways it impacts our lives and what the future may hold for it that I can in vision.

I hope you will continue to let me entertain you and I hope you enjoy reading what I write.

The Mac Attack

Joseph — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:30:24 +0000

Being a windows guy I have had to deal with malware for years. It’s a skill I’ve learned to hone over the years and I know how to deal with an infected system. Running windows is something that is mocked by Linux/Mac don’t have viruses/malware. It is kinda funny to start reading that Mac users have been dealing with this problem for the past month and it has been mostly quite in the media until now. It seems That this malware was known by Apple and while they have been working on a solution. This MalWare is called Mac Guard and it acts like a fake virus scanner. There are many different versions of this malware for windows and it changes on a frequent basis.

The common reason why people say they like Macs better than PCs is because they are very secure and there are no viruses or other harmful programs that infect them. This entire claim is really false. You don’t know how secure/unsecure a system is if there are no attempts to violate the security settings. The Mac hasn’t been targeted until now because it represented a small market share of users. In recent years it has been gaining market share. While the Mac is not going to take over Windows anytime soon it is now going to become a prime new market for malware.

Apple’s Response

Apple has been mostly silent about this malware. They have even gone as far as telling their support reps to not mention the problem or how to fix it on the customer’s side. The way that is handled is completely ridiculous and it is the wrong way to handle this situation. When this first arose it should have been acknowledged and fixed asap, their supports reps should have been given the clearance to resolve this for users when they call in. This past week Apple has said that they are working on a fix and it will be released soon. We will see how quickly this gets resolved.

No one is safer

Anyone under the assumption that their OS is safer than any other one is incorrect. This attack proves that if presented with a big enough target malware writers will find a way to target that OS and attack. I never liked who some people tried to use their OS is safer because it’s part of the minority and it’s not Windows. The only thing that will prevent attacks is knowledge about how these attacks happen and how to avoid it. No one piece of software is going to be the end all for malware attacks.

The left behind app

Joseph — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:00:14 +0000

Over the course of the past year or so I have noticed that owning an Android powered phone is both good and bad. I have the ability to create any look I want for my phone from giving the home screens a minimalistic look to loading a bunch of widgets on each screen for maximum blingage. The down side is that the phones can be all over the place with their OS versions and apps you can download. While some apps can be available for all Smartphone OS’s the app versions are not kept the same.

Looking at the official WordPress app for Android and iOS shows the disparity between the two apps which should be the same. The iOS version just got updated to look and function better than before.You check out the newest features in the iOS app on their blog. Compare that to the Android side and I get the feeling of being a second class citizen waiting to catch up to the gold standard. Hopefully the Android side of things will catch up to the iOS side and both apps’ features will be developed in tandem.

Microsoft Buys Skype for Massive Coinage!

Joseph — Sat, 14 May 2011 15:30:44 +0000

Microsoft bought Skype earlier this week for the massive sum of $8.5 billion. That is a lot of money for a company that has struggled under different operators in years past and even replicates part of Microsoft’s services. MS has their own Live messenger platform that offers IM, video calling, and voice chatting services. The only logical part of this deal is MS wanted the Skype name so it can brand all it’s products that do the same thing it Skype does as “Powered by Skype.” That will depend on how well most people understand Skype as a brand. They also say they will keep support for non-Microsoft platforms going, but will that mean they won’t continually develop the software for those platforms and let them linger? There are a lot of questions around this deal that have yet to be answered.

MS has squandered $8.5 billion on Skype. There is no way that Skype is worth that much money. The last two times Skype was sold it was bought for around $2.5 billion. How did it go from a $2.5 billion company to an $8.5 billion in a span of several years? There is no reasonable explanation for it. I have to congratulate the current owners of Skype for getting an awesome deal.

If Microsoft’s past purchases (Danger) may have any indication of what Skype’s Future may hold this will be a very expensive disaster for MS. Ben Brooks has an excellent write-up about what Steve Ballmer has done in the past 10 years as CEO of Microsoft, it is very much worth the read. I do agree it is time for Steve Ballmer to step aside and let an outside face step as CEO.

Carriers block tethering

Joseph — Sat, 07 May 2011 15:30:33 +0000

As of Monday Verizon is blocking all tether apps in the Android Marketplace. You can still search for the apps but trying to install them is impossible. While you can sideload the apps on to your phone at some point the carriers will move into other ways to stop tethering. The problem is it this is only the beginning of this fight. The carriers will keep pushing people for tether plans on their networks.

What I see is that there is no difference if you surf the web on your phone or share your connection with the laptop. The same bytes are sent to both devices. On the mobile side you used have to deal with mobile browsers that displayed a phone ready version of a website. Now the smart phones are able to display the same website you get on your computer. With Firefox Mobile you can change your user agent to be one of several different ones including masking it as a desktop browser.

The web on your smartphone is now no different than the web on your desktop. The cell carriers what you to think there is a difference but there isn’t. People who know this are confused on why there is an extra $20 fee to tether their laptop. The fee is another way that the carriers get more money from their subscribers. Now with the 4G rollout starting they will look to add even more fees to access faster speeds.l Hopefully one day there will be an end to the extra fees for the cell carriers.

The Kindle goes to the library

Joseph — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:00:11 +0000

Last week amazon reveled that the their eReader, the Kindle, will be able to lend e-book from your local library. All generations will be able to participate with this new feature. Amazon is partnering with OverDrive who is the leader in eBook lending to libraries. This update effectively closes the gap in differences between the Nook and Kindle. This makes the Kindle a more attractive e-reader device for e-books now.

Now this news does raise a question of is this coming in a software update or is it just part of the software already on the kindle since the first generation? The last new update was Real pages numbers for newer Kindles only. I am glad that something like this is going to available to all Kindle owners. This is a core feature that will only help Amazon in the long run.