Archive for the 'Tech' category

What I Think of Google Chrome

Sep 06 2008 Published by under Tech

This past week was all about Google’s public beta of Chrome. Being primarily a Mac user, I was a little disappointed that no version of the browser was available for OS X, but fortunately I keep a copy of XP running under Parallels for just such occasions.

My first impression of Chrome was that it looked similar to what I would expect from a Google product: clean, simple and intuitive. I like the tabs-on-top design and the combined search and URL box. However, aside from those features, I didn’t find anything too compelling or innovative to make Chrome stand out from the pack.

Opening up multiple tabs and surfing around seemed smooth and uneventful, but I decided to cut my test run short when YouTube crashed and I figured I had seen enough. Currently, I am happy using Safari and Firefox, but I’ll be giving Chrome a serious chance when the OS X version makes its debut.

After my short stint with Chrome, I hit my favorite tech sites to see what others had to say about Google’s new browser. What I read was a lot of discussion about Chrome’s speed – particularly its JavaScript performance – but what really got my attention was its multithreaded architecture.

Chrome, like the IE 8 beta, runs as a multithreaded application, which means it’ll make better use of dual and quad core CPU’s that are common in today’s computers. Furthermore, each tab runs as a separate process, which means that if one browser tab crashes, the other tabs will not be affected. This is a wonderful feature for people who surf with many tabs opened at once or use web-based applications like Google Docs.

It seems that Chrome has been programmed to be both speedy and muscular, but such traits can come at a cost. For instance, Chrome eats up plenty of RAM and its multithreaded design allows it to hog the CPU like no browser before it. For power users seeking a faster and more stable web browsing experience, Chrome will likely satisfy their needs, but for users running power sipping laptops, bare bone netbooks or even less brawny smartphones, it remains to be seen how well Chrome can accommodate these platforms.

Despite the challenges ahead, I feel confident that Google will deliver a solid product across many platforms. In particular, I can’t wait to see the mobile version of Chrome running on Google’s Android platform for mobile devices. I’m sure it’ll be a worthy competitor to mobile Safari and mobile Opera. 

So, what’s currently your browser of choice? And am I the only one who wishes that Firefox plug-ins were available for more than just Firefox?

One response so far

Do You Micromanage BitTorrent?

Sep 03 2008 Published by under Tech

For most people, I assume, when they’re downloading videos or whatever with their bittorrent client, they simply queue up their torrents and let the program do its thing. This is how bittorent worked early on, before the advent of uTorrent, Bitcomet, Vuze and the many other clients that allow serious tweaking in the options menu.

Impatient as always, I have found myself tinkering with these settings any time a torrent is seemingly dragging its feet. The problem is, I have already set my client (I use Azureus) to optimal settings for my connection, but I can’t seem to stop myself from adjusting things like the upload speed and peer connections in the hopes that I can somehow accelerate the transfer.

The idea that I am somehow shepherding the file fragments onto my hard drive, like some RTS where I’ve sent my peasants out to chop wood and mine gold, is a thought I can’t easily put to rest. I realize that most of the time I’m probably not contributing very much to the outcome of the transfer, but it feels better than remaining passive through a long, arduous download.

Do you ever find yourself obsessively managing your torrents? Drop me a comment if you’ve turned file sharing into a computer game.

No responses yet

Rogers iPhone 3G: A Deal With Frustration

Aug 31 2008 Published by under Apple

A few days ago, I posted about my defective iPhone 3G. I received this phone last Monday, but by the evening, I realized that it was broken beyond repair. That night I went through some troubleshooting with a friendly and responsive Rogers iPhone specialist and she assured me that I would receive another unit within 48-hours. So, assuming that the phone would ship out on the Tuesday, I expected it to arrive sometime on Thursday. Thursday came and passed, and by midday Friday I felt something was wrong.

I called up Rogers and went through the usually steps to speak with a representative. After a couple transfers I was connected to an iPhone specialist. I told the representative that I was still waiting for a replacement unit, and he perused my file to see what had happened. After putting me on hold to chat with his boss, he came back to tell me that my order had been cancelled!

Apparently, the lady who submitted my request for a replacement iPhone did not complete the troubleshooting checklist correctly, and as a result her boss decided to scrap the entire order. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. Clearly, I was expecting the imminent arrival of a replacement phone, but I guess this didn’t concern someone in management who deleted my order without making any effort to contact me or to correct the mistake made by his or her subordinate.

Later that night, after my frustrations had died down, I looked over at my almost-perfect iPhone with somewhat mixed feelings. The thought that it was going back was good and bad. On one hand, I felt annoyed by the extended delay of receiving a replacement — I hate being stuck at home waiting for deliveries and it’s almost impossible to get a tracking code from Rogers — but on the other hand, I’ll have a brand new iPhone 3G to unbox next week!

So I’ve begun to see my current iPhone as much like a test model that I’ve been allowed to take home and review. I have it in a soft case with a screen protector so that it’ll remain pristine, but short of destroying or losing it, there’s really nothing holding me back from pushing it to its limits. I’ve thought of running some battery tests, like draining it from full charge under various settings, or seeing how many free apps I can install until it breaks or shows signs of slow down. There’s always a silver lining if you look for it, and I have to remind myself that dealing with telecoms is rarely a smooth process when you have issues.

Do you have any suggestions for testing my temporary iPhone 3G? Do you want to know how many hours of continuous Youtube it will play before dying or catching on fire?

No responses yet

Iphone 3G Inaccurate Accelerometer

Aug 27 2008 Published by under Apple

If you couldn’t tell from my last post, I am somewhat infatuated with the new iPhone 3G. So with a lot of joy, I found a UPS box sitting on my counter top when I got home the other day. Inside, was the nicest phone I’d ever owned, but an hour later I knew I’d have to send it back!

The iPhone 3G, like the original iPhone and the iPod Touch, have accelerometers that sense the orientation of the device. Unfortunately, the iPhone 3G that I received had an inaccurate accelerometer. In fact, you could describe the tilt sensor as being ‘stuck’.

Using the Dual Level app that I downloaded from the iTune’s app store, I confirmed that my iPhone was getting incorrect readings from one of the accelerometers. Because of this defect, my phone believed that it was permanently placed in a landscape orientation. After witnessing the anomaly in a couple tilt-based games, and also when using the built-in calculator, I called up my telecom and got a replacement shipped out pronto.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. During the phone call to tech support, they had me reboot the iPhone a couple times and they also activated my SIM. By the end of the call, the accelerometer was no longer stuck, but it was still showing a heavy preference for the left landscape orientation — it wouldn’t even sense a right tilt. But then, several hours later, I noticed that it was suddenly responding to right tilt movements and that the Dual Level app was showing the accelerometer’s inaccuracy down to just ~15 degrees. Had the phone came like this, I probably would not have requested a replacement. However, the problem is more noticeable when apps, like games, delicately use the accelerometers. I could easily live with the phone in this state, but reselling it down the road could be a bit sketchy, and I have no plans to keep this thing into the next decade.

I’ve dealt with a lot of tech gadgets in my time, and to occasionally receive a defective product is not surprising at all. Sure, it’s disappointing, and I’d really like to start loading my iPhone with all sorts of apps and media and be on my merry way, but I’ll have to tough it out for a few more days while I wait for the replacement. In the meantime, I still get to use this almost-perfect iPhone, and it’s already made me realize that having a web browser in my pocket at 3G speeds is something that I’ll never be able to live without now that I’ve experienced it!

Do you own an iPhone or have an opinion about it? As much as I like the product, I am a bit weary of Apple’s quality control measures…

One response so far

« Newer posts Older posts »