I regret getting a Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone 8 : I really should have gotten an Blackberry with a QWERTY keyboard

Getting a new phone is more of a hassle than anything else. I didn't mind the flip phone that I had, which was replacing my old Huawei u8350 Boulder (QWERTY with Android 2.3.4 - Icy Tiramisu custom ROM) which did not support CDMA, but now I was roaming all the time so I had to change carrier.

Koodo Mobile is the only one that made sense given I am travelling in Canada. Phones are not exciting, nor are they objects of prestige. They are consumer devices with which we use to communicate with others, or use as forms of entertainment. Spending anywhere from 200$ to 700$ on a mobile phone is not for me, so getting an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S4, was out of the question.
My choices were limited to the Blackberry 9320, the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Samsung Galaxy Ace.

Given my main operating system is Windows, I thought it would make sense to get the Nokia Lumia 520 Windows Phone. Unfortunately, I wish I could have my old u8350 back, or should I say that I should have gotten the Blackberry.


Windows Phone is very slick and smooth, but when it comes to typing a message, word suggestions just can't match a physical QWERTY keyboard. Furthermore, it is tiring to browse through pages with finger swipes. Why not just a page down or a side button? What annoys me the most of the touch screen phone is the fact that the screen is huge, but whenever you have to type something, ie. a text message, an e-mail or a web-search, you have to touch the are where you will write, and then half of the screen is lost to the keyboard.


Touchscreen are a good concept, but for day to day input, they are more trouble than they are worth. Were I not in a remote location, I would exchange this phone right away and get myself a Blackberry or an Android with QWERTY keyboard.

A few other gripes I have about WP8 (Windows Phone 8) is the access to the files via Windows, which was very easy with Android, inability to customize the notification sounds and lastly the non persistent status bar. 

What I do like of the Nokia Lumia 520? The dedicated camera button is excellent, the Nokia apps are just fine and the sound is stellar.

I would now consider spending the extra money and getting a Blackberry Q5. We'll see how often I have to use the phone. Hopefully not that often.

Super Junior's ode to Sony for the GTA V leaked content

Pre-purchases do not make much sense to me, but developers and manufacturers can bank on the revenue ahead of time and possibly turn out a better product.

It was reported that Sony apparently leaked some details about the upcoming GTA V bonus content. Some companies leak a lot of information with the intent of building up the hype. Some technologies do change lives, however many forms of entertainment are reiterations of stories of the past.

I wonder how much one needs to watch mafia or gangster style movies to understand the plot or context of the GTA series.

With regard to Sony's apology, it may just be in fact a way of saying thank you for producing the title.

Lenovo is looking into acquiring smartphone companies: Apple and other small fry

In order to keep on developing new products and stay at the cutting edge of technology, companies need to expand by increasing in-house R&D, contract out product development, form partnerships or make acquisitions.  The Beijing based technology company, Lenovo, has bucked the trend of most computer manufacturers and has seen growth since 2011. It has also increase its market share of mobile devices.

The iconic ThinkPad trademark became part of Lenovo's product line in 2005 and the the team's innovations continue to shine. There are high hopes for the potential new acquisition. A recent report suggests that Lenovo is making acquisitions of smartphone manufacturers. Blackberry may be too troublesome, albeit its great array of patents, but the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC may also be in Lenovo's sights. The acquisition of a HTC by Chinese company will not only stir up the technology industry, but also fire up the nationalist debate around the China-Taiwan ongoing cultural, political and economic integration.

With the regard to the purchase of Apple, Lenovo may not have to wait long. As Apple is losing market share in smartphones as well as tablet computers, the obstacles remain cost and politics. Even falling to near half of its peak value in 2012, Apple (APPL) is overvalued and investors, like consumers, are being shown less reasons to jump on the bandwagon. As for the political aspect that may make the acquisition doubtful, there are security issues: American lawmakers have proved to be reluctant to the presence of Chinese. companies such as Huawei, in the domestic market. The acquisition of Apple by  Lenovo may also be dissonant with one brand's perception which reflects vanity, entitlement and a lack of responsibility, to the other image of traditional values such as hard work, frugality and modesty.

I was called a hipster in 2005 - great offense was taken

In the 24 hour day, I devalued everything else and thought it was important to learn about food.
No, I was a musical hipster. Actually yes, there was nothing musical about me, just a sense that name dropping and political hair statements were enough to get by with in this world.

Mixing old and new technologies - producing alcohol

Over the past year, I made far more alcohol that I ever want to drink. Sure I can store it and let improve with age, but the tinkering side of me started to think about a) distillation and b) the alternate use of alcohol.

Where does learning about technology come in when it comes to the production of alcohol? Here is a brief list :

• Biochemistry - yeasts, moulds (Aspergillus orzyae), sugars, amylase, starches, acerobacters etc.
• Heat transfer and fluid dynamics
• Physics and chemistry - miscibility, properties such  freeze protection and specific gravity, tears of wine
• Materials science - metals ( electroplating, welding, soldering ), plastics, glass
• Control systems ( temperature, pressure, flow measurements, level sensors)
• Cultural history ( Ancient Egypt to Modern China to the Segram's Empire )
• Public Health ( Bootlegging and violence in remote communities, consumption, social interactions in Asia, domestic violence, FASD, controversy, vice, documentary making )
• Manufacturing  and graphic design - bottles, caps, printing and labelling
• Marketing - Social status, symbols, taboos, values, DNA survival
• Engineering - cost, planning, layout, ergonomics, regulations and business plans

The above list could be further developed, but those are just a few things that come to mind when I started to become more interested in the production of distilled alcohol. Human consumption is obvious but there are quite a few other uses in our daily lives :

• Antiseptic for cuts and wounds ( aftershave, perfume etc. )
• Mouthwash
• Fuel ( bio-ethanol )
• Degreaser ( cleaning surfaces and windows )
• Food preservative
• Solvent
• Anti-freeze
• Cooking
• Infusion and creams

To avoid irony in this post, there are only a few links ( which is not good for SEO ) which should encourage the readers to do their own research and thinking.

Now is the time to "commit sociology"

News reports are sensational. They have to be when the networks are competing for advertisers' business. Unfortunately, it means that politicians will be playing along : rash comments, reactionary views - something to appease their supporters.
As much I would like to have confidence in the people in Parliament or legislature, I was appalled by Prime Minister Harper's comment about the bombing at the Boston Marathon when he said that it is no time to commit sociology.

No social science is perfect - no social science is objective whether it be economics, history, anthropology or sociology. For that matter, no applied science like physics, biology, chemistry or medicine is objective either : they depend on funding, ideology and a cultural legacy.

Buttonless Trackpoint?!!

The new S431 makes me think again about the ThinkPad line. A new keyboard design was controversial, but changing the trackpoint too?

I am not sure I will like the buttonless touchpad. I exclusively use the trackpoint on my ThinkPad. It works flawlessly : I know what I am pressing thanks to the textured buttons.