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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

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Too bad they didn’t have these when I was a kid, or I would have gotten my Eagle Scout!  Here are the requirements:

Requirements

Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts may complete requirements in a family, den, pack, school, or community environment. Tiger Cubs must work with their parents or adult partners. Parents and partners do not earn loops or pins.
Belt Loop

Complete these three requirements:

1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.

Academics Pin

Earn the Video Games belt loop and complete five of the following requirements:

1. With your parents, create a plan to buy a video game that is right for your age group.
2. Compare two game systems (for example, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and so on). Explain some of the differences between the two. List good reasons to purchase or use a game system.
3. Play a video game with family members in a family tournament.
4. Teach an adult or a friend how to play a video game.
5. List at least five tips that would help someone who was learning how to play your favorite video game.
6. Play an appropriate video game with a friend for one hour.
7. Play a video game that will help you practice your math, spelling, or another skill that helps you in your schoolwork.
8. Choose a game you might like to purchase. Compare the price for this game at three different stores. Decide which store has the best deal. In your decision, be sure to consider things like the store return policy and manufacturer’s warranty.
9. With an adult’s supervision, install a gaming system.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
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This is totally a flag thown up that guarentees Steve Jobs will announce the next gen iPhone next week at the Apple Developers Conference.

Stay tuned for more.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
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It still looks a little clunky and isn’t quite as fluid as my Nexus One, but this opens a whole new world of opportunity.  Although this is running on an iPhone 2G, I’m sure a version for the 3G, 3GS and 4G will be coming down the pipeline.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
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A release date has not been set for the new iPhone, but history shows that it will more than likely launch this summer.  Some of the new features Gizmodo has uncovered include:

What’s new

• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

What’s changed

• The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound
• An aluminum border going completely around the outside
• Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution)
• Everything is more squared off
• 3 grams heavier
• 16% Larger battery
• Internals components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery

Gizmodo has done a pretty in-depth report on what they found.  Much more info and photos can be found here.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

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Chances are there will be no headshots or sweet rides in this game, however, the Nation’s budget is a hot topic.  Could this be a simple PR stunt so that Americans can appreciate the difficult task, or something deeper, which will allow the government insight on how to fix the budget?

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
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The Good News – What we WILL get from OS 4:

Multitasking

Everyone saw this one coming.  Apple has taken alot of slack lately as this feature is not currently available on the iPhone.  Although not an “expose” type of multitasking, at least its something.  Per Apple:

Developers will have access to seven multitasking services, which will allow tasks to be performed in the background while preserving performance and battery life. So you’ll be able to make a Voice over IP call while playing a game or checking email, find a restaurant on Urbanspoon while listening to Pandora, and more.

Folders

When I had the iPhone, I had it jailbroken for most of it’s life.  It isn’t until the App Store came around that I stopped jail breaking as “most” of the features were now available.  One of the features I would always use is “folders”.  It’s easy to have a TON of apps flooding your iPhone, however, with folders you are able to keep the organized nicely.  Per Apple:

Organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity. Get faster access to your favorites and browse and manage up to 2160 apps at once — many more than the current limit of 180 apps.

Upgraded Mail

Basically, you can have multiple email addresses show up in one inbox.  Other sorting features will be available as well as the ability to open attachments in third-party apps.

iBooks

Much like its big sister, the iPad, OS 4 will be getting a version of iBooks.  The nice feature is that you only have to purchase your book once, the devices will stay synced including notes, bookmarks, etc.  Per Apple:

The best way to browse, buy, and read books on a mobile device. Easily flip through the pages of a book you’ve downloaded from the iBookstore while listening to your music collection. Browse tens of thousands of books — many of them free — by title, author, or genre. You can even check out reviews and read sample pages before you buy.

iAd

Just what you always wanted, a new way to receive ads on your mobile device!  Your prayers have been answered, per Apple:

iAd is a breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For developers, it means a new, easy-to-implement source of revenue. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information.

Other items
Smaller, notable items include: 5x digital camera zoom, Bluetooth keyboard support, local notifications and fast app switching.

The Bad News – What we WON’T get from OS 4:

Sorry, Old Guys
So here is something that will effect MOST iPhone users, ONLY the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (3rd-gen) devices will get all of the new features.

The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G will get “many things“, not including multitasking.

The old iPhone 2Gs will be left in the dark, no update, nothing…according to Apple, just let it go, man.

An Updated UI/Homescreen
This will never happen.

Flash Support for Safari
Anyone that knows Apple has come to the realization that Flash will never find a home on an Apple mobile device.  Some say Steveo has a grudge, but most think its because Flash is a battery sucker and Apple doesn’t agree that people need it.

Mass Storage Mode
Some were hoping that the iPhone would be able to be plugged into a computer and used as a USB flash drive…a mode to transfer files from place A to B.  Yeah, not going to happen.

Tethering with AT&T
This may be more of an AT&T restriction that Apple, nevertheless, its still a no go.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
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Alot of App creators release a “lite” or free version so that a user can test out the software before he/she buys.  I know from experience that it is a pain getting a refund for an App via the iPhone, however, Android has a “return/get refund” option if you see the App sucks within 24 hours.

If you have an App that you would like to suggest users download, or would like an App reviewed, please let us know.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
Playstation 3 Repair |  Xbox 360 Repair |  Nintendo Wii Repair |  iPhone Repair

A little time passed, and Google announced a version of the device that was now compatible with AT&T 3G, I paid a little more attention to the device.  The more research I did, the more impressed I was with which is considered the “most powerful and fastest smart phone to date”.  I placed my order around 3:00 pm via www.google.com/phone, and had the device in my hands by 11:00 am the next day, thanks to the free FedEx overnight shipping.  I ignored the free engraving Google was offering, as the 7-10 day wait was just not an option.

I opened the box, powered on the device, and was truly blown away.  Within a few hours, this had easily become the best smart phone I had ever owned.  Yes, and I apologize to my friends, more so than the iPhone.  Here’s why:

Hardware:

Holding the Nexus One is very comfortable and feels sturdy.  The smooth edges and gray/black combo make this an attractive device.

Although the devices utilizes “cloud synchronizing” via Google, there is a micro USB port on the bottom that is used for PC connectivity and charging.  There are also volume buttons and a main power button to wake or power down your unit.

Similar to the Blackberry device, the Nexus One is equipped with a trackball.  In the week or so of using the unit, I used it once and it was just to see what it would do.  In my opinion, this additional hardware is a waste of space and functionally, and will never be used.

Inside the Nexus One, the Snapdragon CPU from Qualcomm powers the experience raising the bar to a whole new level.  512MB of both RAM and ROM leave some disappointed again with internal storage.  My unit shipped with a 4GB microSD card, which was quickly upgraded to 8GB out of my Blackberry.

The display is stunningly rich and bright.  It is an AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or AMOLED) touch screen with 480×800 resolution.  The Nexus One also contains a proximity sensor, an accelerometer and a light sensor for dimming the screen if selected.  WiFi capabilities bundle up the deal nicely.

Other than the Snapdragon, there is nothing groundbreaking or new here, but the phone seems pleasantly responsive nonetheless.

Software:

The Nexus One ships with the Android 2.1 OS.  Not having much experience with Android, I still felt I needed to set the bar high…I was not let down.  It is HIGHLY customizable and just plain fun to use.  Unlike the iPhone, Android allows multiple applications to run at once…this is an awesome feature which feeds “widgets” that live on your screen updating 24 hours a day.

The introduction of “live wallpaper” is a neat idea for a minute, but not practical and distracted me from what I was doing.  One live wallpaper is water than when touched on the screen will ripple and move nearby floating leaves.  After tinkering with live wallpaper,  I switched to a still background almost immediately after setting up my device.

I thought about creating a video so that our readers can see Android 2.1 in action on the Nexus One, by why recreate the wheel:

Voice Quality:

The voice quality on the incoming calls is decent, however, not the best or loudest I have ever heard.  One nice addition is a noise-canceling feature, which is a lifesaver for the person on the other line.  There are two microphones built into the phone, one near your mouth, and one on the back of the device.  All of the incoming noise via the back microphone (noisy traffic, people near you, etc) is canceled while your voice is amplified for clear conversation, the feature works very well.  The only downside of this feature so far is resting the phone on your shoulder covers the back microphone and converts your voice to that of a robot (from what I’m told).

Camera:

The camera on the Nexus One is pretty impressive.  It’s 5-megapixel lens and flash took crisp, detailed images shown here.  The office photo shows off the inside capabilities while the outside shows, well, outside.  These images are scaled way down due to size.

The camera application loads MUCH faster than most other smart phone camera apps.  With my iPhone and Blackberry Bold, I was losing the “perfect photo opp” waiting for the app to load.  All around a nice camera that finally gives a reason to leave the “point and shoot” camera at home.

Apps:

Apple really set the bar with an amazing and user friendly App Store.  Although the Apple App Store boasts an insane 150,000+ apps, the Android Marketplace only has 30,000+ at press time.

The games in my opinion are of equal quality, and prices are around the same on each platform.  I have downloaded a handful of fun and productive games and apps, however, could not find a decent golf scorecard/GPS/do everything I need it to do app via the Android Marketplace as I easily did via the Apple App Store.  The Marketplace is still young, and holds a lot of promise for great apps moving forward.

Cost:

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I am very happy with this device thus far, it has met and exceeded my expectations.  Having gone though more smart phone devices than anyone I know, this is by far one of the, if not, the best one I have used.  I highly recommend this device and am excited to see where the Android OS will go from here.

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
Playstation 3 Repair |  Xbox 360 Repair |  Nintendo Wii Repair |  iPhone Repair

The event will be on April 8th at 10:00AM Pacific.  I’m sure blogs will be on fire with predictions and expectations.  Stay Tuned!

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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix

Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
Playstation 3 Repair |  Xbox 360 Repair |  Nintendo Wii Repair |  iPhone Repair