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Samsung Galaxy S6 Tweaks 7 May 2015 12:56 PM (9 years ago)

UPDATE: See below for proof of over 5 hours of effective screen on time after following the instructions in this post. I've also added my personal list of disabled apps for you to use as a reference as you debloat your S6.

I finally bit the bullet last week and replaced my Samsung Galaxy S3 with a Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G920W8). The internet does not lie, the S6 is a beautiful phone and seems to have been packed with some of the best hardware to date.

That being said, the software is a bit of what I expected... bloated. The 8 core processor shows no sign of strain with all the extra bells and whistles, but I'm a big fan of longevity and speed. The Samsung phone comes with way too many processes running, a lot of which are unnecessary for most users. Sure, Samsung cut parts of TouchWiz out, but they didn't cut deep enough. We can free up a lot of processing power and ram by clearing out the unnecessary apps and processes. Here are the 3 best bang for your buck steps to get the most out of the Galaxy S6.

Step 1 - Swap that Launcher. TouchWiz is Samsung's launcher, it is what you see when you look at your home screen and app drawer. TouchWiz is known for excessive features, but at the cost of speed and efficiency. What you really want is something similar, but with half the bloat. I'm a big fan of Nova Launcher, that being said, you'll have to invest a few bucks to get Nova Launcher Prime if you want all the fancy customization options. Even still, the free version of Nova Launcher is less resource hungry and generally faster than TouchWiz. Swapping launchers is the first step to a smooth Galaxy S6.

Step 2 - Come to the dark side. The Samsung line of devices use Super AMOLED screens. The brighter the color on the screen, the more power they use to display them. So if your wallpaper is a glistening image of a unicorn under white clouds and bright rainbows and you stare at it endlessly, you'll be able to watch your battery life drop off. However if you have a picture of my hero, Batman against a night sky, you'll have significantly improved battery life. This is true not just for wallpapers, but anything you view on your phone. Switch text messaging apps, browsers and even your system theme to "night" mode or customize them dark for maximum battery life.

Step 3 - Cut the fat. With all my favorite apps installed, my new Samsung Galaxy S6 (android version 5.0.2) has 436 packages installed. Thats personal apps, system apps, processes and everything else in between. That is a LOT of things installed. Of course, Android is smart and doesn't run all of these at the same time, but you have to think, the less I have, the less there is to drain the battery. Now obviously you don't want to start uninstalling everything at random, as some apps are very cooperative and won't run in the background unless you tell them too, while others are sneaky and refuse to disappear. The S6 comes with an easy to use app called Smart Manager. Take a look in that app under the Ram section and Detailed view. See all the active and cached apps? All those have been running, are running or will be run at some point. Some of those apps you'll want to stay like important system and social messaging apps that provide core functions or important notifications. However a bunch of them are apps that came with the phone that you have no intention of using, and just sit there collecting dust. Lets get rid of them...

Debloater by GatesJunior

Download a program called Debloater from here. I didn't make this program but fully support GatesJunior in its development as it works wonders to remove bloatware from our S6's (and most other Android phones). I'm not going into great detail on the specific use of the Debloater software, so if you need your hand held with it, try these instructions. Essentially, without rooting your phone, this software can disable/hide these apps from your phone with virtually no risk as you can simply restore them at any time. That being said, disable a core package and you could find your phone crashing and/or not booting, so take some caution.
You need to identify the apps you don't think you need, and check them off in the Debloater software. Don't just start rapid clicking everything or you'll end up with force closes and maybe boot issues. I've disabled 112 packages on my S6 so far, and still find one here and there worth disabling. Some things include the "S" apps like Health, Planner and Memo. Other system apps like Email, "Play" store apps, Print Spooler, Printer Service Facebook Account Manager, GearManager, GalaxyApps and Context Service just wasted ram too. Some apps you might use a lot and won't want to disable them, such as Ebay, Amazon and Youtube. Each of those apps have individual notification settings that when turned off, prevent the app from running in your Ram list, thereby preventing unnecessary battery and performance drain. If you're not sure about a specific package, google it and prevail. Keep in mind, disabling apps and notifications improves performance, but costs you the luxury of live updates and sometimes popular smartphone features. I'm willing to make certain sacrifices and my S6 is running super smooth and battery life has increased noticeably. Check the shots below, over 4 hours moderate use. Probably could of gotten another 15-20 minutes out of the remaining 5%.

Chocolates from Bell Mobility 24 Apr 2015 3:07 PM (9 years ago)

The weirdest thing happened today.. I received a random box of Leonitus chocolates from my cell phone provider. A little card with the Bell logo saying "Just a little treat to say thank you for being with Bell" and inside, "We look forward to continuing to serve you".

I have to say I've never received an edible gift from any kind of service provider, and never would have thought I'd get one from a cell company. Usually cell providers spend all their money attracting  new customers, not thanking loyal ones.

Nice work bell, now let's get me an even bigger discount on my next phone!

IaN

Frustrating Situations 12 Feb 2014 9:41 AM (11 years ago)

I went to visit my Grandmother last week and stumbled upon a very frustrating situation. Prepare to read a short story as I set this up properly. A couple years ago she went through me to find her a laptop, meeting her requirements, for a good price. I searched high and low and decided on a Dell 17R 7110. It's not a powerhouse, but for browsing the internet and checking email, it is a great desktop replacement. The only issue she's had with it is the wireless connectivity. It seems to drop WIFI connection every 6-8 months and for whatever reason, will not reconnect. It's actually to the point where I have to do a system restore to get the internet back.

Now I know you know I write this blog, and have talked a lot about phones, and getting deals on things, but it's important for you to know I have over 20 years experience with computer hardware and software support. I can assemble and disassemble any computer and understand it's workings. I have the experience and the certification to do so. I am no means an expert at everything, but I'm proficient enough to never need to take my own computer to a shop, which leads me to the frustrating situation...

It turns out my Grandma has had this connectivity issue a few more times than I had known, and decided to take the computer into a shop a couple times. The first time the technician charged her $80 to clean some things up and eventually do a system restore to resolve the problem. I've walked my Grandmother through the system restore process a few times so this technician didn't really fix anything, but he did get it working for her, and for a reasonable (?) price. When I went to visit her the laptop had been having the same issue and was in the shop with a different technician. She dropped it off on Monday morning and it was now Friday afternoon. Grandma explained she had called the tech a few times over the week and he was very short with her, telling her he hadn't gotten to it yet. She said she called him earlier today and he said he still hadn't gotten to it yet. That's almost 5 days in the shop with it just sitting there, collecting dust! Some people need computers for businesses and important communication and he was just holding on to it for her. I decided to give them a call as I could make further attempts to fix it myself since I was physically there, and not on the phone. I called the tech and he said he had just started working on it, and had found some infected files in a spyware scan. I explained my experience with the issue and he proceeded to talk about how he had plans to replace protocols and the network stack (good ideas but still not likely the solution as I had done it before), but it would likely take a few hours and he wouldn't have time to finish it today. It's Friday, and he won't finish it today!!! That means the earliest it could be done was Monday. I asked him what the "damage" would be if I picked up the laptop right now. He said he had invested an hour into it and it would be $50. I won't argue with the rate as some shops charge $70-100 an hour, but I was annoyed with the fact he had done nothing over the week and wanted $50 for a quick scan. I spoke with my Grandmother and she agreed it would be fruitless to leave it with them as they had plans to do several hours of work, that likely wouldn't fix it, and she would probably end up with a $150-200 bill.

We rolled down to the shop and spoke with the technician directly. He was a social reject who was clearly computer smart, but hardly ever left his mothers basement. I very kindly advised him we would be collecting the computer and we were concerned about the bill, as a full hours rate was high for a quick scan, over a 5 day period. He just sat there, said nothing, and eventually handed us the laptop and a bill for $49.99. He immediately said we'd have to talk to his manager about the cost. We approached the manager, a slightly older fellow, who clearly had less computer knowledge, but more customer service skill. I explained the above to him and he was quick to ask "what do think would be fair to pay?" as I replied "I just don't think the full amount is fair" when he quickly repeated "what do you think would be fair to pay?" I thought about the fact it took them a week to do a 5 minute scan, and that the problem was not addressed at all, and decided paying even $1 would be too much. I told him it should be free and he scoffed at my suggestion, telling me he wouldn't lower the price at all, but he would ensure it was fixed without increasing the price beyond the original $50. The offer wasn't bad, but it took them a week to do nothing, so how long would it take to get the problem solved. My grandmother wanted it fixed 3 days ago, not a week or two from now. We reluctantly paid the $50 bill and vowed to never return.

I won't get too nerdy with you, but I ended up having to wipe the whole computer clean, and install everything from scratch. It definitely fixed the problem, but I'm not confident the problem isn't hardware related and/or something to do with the internet service in the home. Needless to say, these computer shops are like automobile repair shops, they pray on people who need their help and charge whatever they want for services people may or may not even need. These sort of situations are frustrating for everyone.

IaN

Small Batteries for Big Phones 22 Oct 2013 12:00 AM (11 years ago)

I think almost anyone can recall the cell phones of the 80's. They were those massive bricks with the thick 12" antennas. They were horrible, but that's where technology was at the time. Slowly over the years, the cell phones minimized and became almost too small. The thought usually makes me think of a Nokia flip phone, sitting alone on a bus stop as it fell out of a pocket unnoticed. Now, Smart and Superphones are the cats meow and they are getting bigger, and bigger and sometimes so big we're not sure if we are holding a tablet or a phone. With the device changing dramatically over the years, one thing has stayed the same, the size of the batteries. 

Turbo Camaro 19 Oct 2013 7:42 AM (11 years ago)

Over two years ago I wrote a post asking Can 6=8 For My Camaro? The only logical answer would be "sure, if you want it to." Since then, I've purchased books, DVD's, magazines and read hundreds of articles on engine swaps, crate motors, performance upgrades and several months ago I finally made a decision. My 250 cubic inch Chevy Inline 6 engine will not only equal 8 cylinders, it will surpass the norm. I've got the parts list together to rebuild the engine and outfit a forced induction system.

For those of you who don't want to go read Wikipedia on forced induction, I will give you the straight goods. I'm going to install a Turbocharger, which takes the exhaust gas and recirculates it at high pressure back through the engine, allowing for an accelerated fuel burn. If that makes sense, then you should guess more burn, means more power. This upgrade allows the engine to remain mostly stock, thus keeping stock fuel economy until the gas pedal is firmly pressed. I'll end up with a unique engine, decent fuel economy and the performance of a V8.

I'm actively tracking down the required parts off Ebay and Craigslist and hope to have them pooled together within the next year or so. There will be some fabrication to be done, but nothing I can't manage. I probably won't update my blog as I go, but will certainly post the outcome.

Ian

Block the Ads Now! 16 Oct 2013 1:08 AM (11 years ago)

I think it's interesting to see how people manipulate the internet. I find myself opening web pages, skimming paragraphs and targeting new links at a great pace, but "less experienced" users seem to sloth through pages, look at all the pictures, and even spend time trying to distinguish the legitimate links from the advertisements. I find I can look at a page, and not even notice the advertisements where as others not only see them, but are... yikes, actually tempted to click them. I've heard people actually make money off online advertising ;O

Mobile Gaming 9 Mar 2013 8:58 AM (12 years ago)

Trolls Attacked My Blog! 4 Mar 2013 9:33 PM (12 years ago)

If you were to look at the post before this one you'd probably notice that it's been many months since I've updated my site. Between work, my daughter and my normal day to day life, I just haven't found the time, or inspiration to hammer out a quality post. I've got several draft posts from last year but they are fairly irrelevant now.

My Samsung Galaxy S3 7 Aug 2012 9:21 PM (12 years ago)

If I think back 5 years, I had a different job, different home and I really only thought about food and computer games. I won't lie, I had a semi-serious addiction to World of Warcraft. I've long since pulled the plug on WOW and am now into home entertainment and tech gadgets.

A week ago, I sold my Samsung Galaxy S (SGS) and jumped into a blue Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) 32GB model. The SGS was a great phone and, actually still is a great phone. The only real problem I had with it was that I was operating at a level that was faster than the phone. I needed a device with enough power to keep up with the applications, games and tasks that I use on a day to day basis. The SGS was able to do it, but it took 2-3 times longer than it does with the S3. I think my favorite part of the SGS was its popularity. You could Google it, and have endless amounts of information about special apps, custom roms and valuable user experience. I was able to sell my SGS on Ebay for just under $200, covering for the cost of the S3.

The S3 has been out for a while now, so their has been some developments with the software. The S2 ships with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) but is expected to get an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (JB). The great people over at Cyanogen have already released an early version of their rom,  that's based on JB. I don't think I'll get into the custom roms until the S3 has stopped getting official releases. That being said, I think I waited about 15 hours before I flashed a modified stock rom to root my S3. Rooting a phone allows the user full access to the system files, as well as cool abilities that are impossible without it. I discussed rooting a lot more in my SGS post.

The S3 is a beautiful phone, boasting a 4.8" HD Super AMOLED (720p) display, in a very minimalistic form at only 133 grams. The stock S3 was able to complete the Quadrant benchmark almost 3 times faster than my SGS. With such a big screen, battery life can be an issue, but I was able to play with the settings and load Juice Defender Ultimate to keep it alive. I couldn't be happier with my  decision to upgrade. Now I just have to wait until their is a super stable version of Cyanogen Mod or DarkyRom, so that I can unlock its full potential. I can only hope that the Samsung Galaxy S IV doesn't leave my S3 completely in the dust.

IaN

The Dell Experience 11 Apr 2012 10:23 AM (13 years ago)

I found this while looking for a suitable Dell logo (below). It was so true that I  felt it needed to be posted. Drop Microsoft while you still can!

A few months back, my grandmother called me and said that she was having trouble with her computer. If I remember correctly it was an issue with the Internet and how pages weren't being displayed how they should. Of course the real problem was that her computer was purchased in 1999 and Windows 2000 just wasn't cutting it anymore. I could have thrown some more ram in it and tried for Windows XP but in the long run it would just be a bandaid.

So I did what I do best and researched online for the best deal on what she wanted, a laptop with a full keyboard, big screen and that had enough processing power to prevent the need to upgrade anytime soon. Unfortunately with laptops, you can't build them yourself, so for the most part you need to find a store to buy a complete unit, or at least a base to add components to.

After exploring several local and online stores, Dell had the best deal. I had some reservations about Dell before I even browsed their site, but after looking at hundreds of independent reviews and comparing stats, Dell had just what I wanted for the best price. If I had to pick apart the Dell experience, I would blame their customer service.It's Dell's reputation for overseas ESL phone support that hurts them. That being said, I called them once to ask a question before I bought the laptop and the guy I dealt with spoke better English than me.

So, based on the above experience, Dell is probably one of the first places I'll look when I need to buy a new computer. If your a big gamer you might want to check out Dell gaming laptops as they're built for high end graphics and are nice to look at as well. I'd be interested to here from you if you have had any recent issues with Dell's customer service.

IaN

Dexter Review 1 Apr 2012 2:00 AM (13 years ago)

I have to say that for the most part, TV programming has become total crap. I usually keep myself busy with movies or reruns of shows from back in the day. Their are only a select few TV shows that can keep me entertained these days.

One of those shows is Dexter. The series is about a blood spatter technician who works out of the Miami Metro police department. It's more that just another cop show as Dexter has a secret, he uses his cop connections to seek out the guilty, and slay them. That's right, he's a serial killer, and he's the good guy! The series has completed it's 6th season and I'm impatiently waiting for the 7th season, as the last episode left the biggest cliffhanger yet.

The great thing about Dexter is that their are a lot of complex characters that have been built up over the seasons. Dexter has a sister, who is a police officer that works with Dexter, and she has a special relationship with her brother that could almost be made into a show of it's own. These characters, along with some crude humor and a decent amount of blood and boob, make for a real TV treat.

I highly recommend you check out Dexter, especially if your a fan of shows like Criminal Minds or CSI. Don't screw around and start by watching season 6 as you need to start at the beginning. It took me almost 3 months to watch the first 6 seasons, but I'm so glad that I did. I can hardly wait until season 7, sometime in September/October 2012.

IaN

The Best Android Apps of 2012 28 Mar 2012 11:40 PM (13 years ago)

I've spent a lot of time going through the android application store (aka Google Play), searching, downloading, reviewing, and usually deleting new apps. Google Play has hundreds of thousands of apps, and is constantly growing in size. The problem is that most of the apps are garbage and not worth downloading. Obviously not everyone is going to like the same apps as the next person and not all phones and versions of Android are compatible with all apps. I'm going too tell you my favorite apps, in no particular order, and you can do whatever you want with the info.

I'll start by saying that I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy S i1900m. It's a Canadian model but it's the same hardware as the American and international models. I have flashed to DarkyRom running Android 3.36. It's not the newest version of Android but it runs most of the apps on Google Play.

Titanium Backup - Allows you to backup all of your applications to your phone or a cloud service. Great if you mess around with your phone a lot like me. Note that this app has extra functions if your phone is rooted.

Opera Mini - the stock Android Internet browser is smooth and fast but lacked the viewing functions that I like. This version of Opera doesn't do flash but makes up for it with pure speed.

Screen Filter - allows you to apply a special filter to your screen to dim the brightness beyond the stock setting. This is a lifesaver if you use your phone in a dark place and want to save your eyes.

Avast Anti-Theft - this app actually installs as a full mobile security suite but the firewall and scanners can be uninstalled to leave you with a great anti-theft app. Note that this app has extra functions if your phone is rooted.

Juice Defender - I purchased the extreme edition, which after making dozens of adjustments, has provided my phone with an average of 86% more battery life. Note that this app has extra functions if your phone is rooted.

GO Launcher EX - the GO suite of programs provides easy to use replacement apps for the stock launcher, messaging and calendar apps. All of the GO apps give extra functions and a ton of themes.

Baby Rattle with Child Lock - your stuck in traffic and your 12 month old is strapped in the rear seat, screaming bloody murder... Out comes Baby Rattle! This is the final answer in keeping your screamer at bay. Note that baby slober can be hazardous to your phone.

I use a lot of other apps but the above aren't as common. Maybe I'll make a list of my favorite Android games at some point. Do you use any great apps that I haven't mentioned?

IaN

La Casa Gelato Review 26 Mar 2012 11:19 PM (13 years ago)

We had family from out of town staying with us this week, so we tried to keep the days full of activities. We watched some movies, played games, went to the lake and best of all, ate all kinds of food. We had pizza, subs, hamburgers, wings and marvellous ice cream.

We stopped in at La Casa Gelato in Vancouver, BC and let me tell you something, they have a lot of ice cream! 218 flavors to be exact. Some of the unique ones were Guiness Beer, Curry and Maple Bacon. Leave it to us Canadians to have a bacon flavored ice cream.

the free "baby" cone

The best part of the place was the samples. I managed to sample the above flavors and a few others before deciding on what I actually wanted on my double scooped cone. The prices were probably the highest I'd ever seen ($6.50 for my double) but I got exactly what I wanted and it tasted great. They even gave my 12 month old a free baby cone. If your ever in the greater Vancouver area, I highly recommend you take your family into La Casa Gelato!



IaN

The Hunger Games Movie Review 25 Mar 2012 8:35 PM (13 years ago)

I bought my Hunger Games movie tickets almost two weeks before the opening date, and I'm glad I did as the theatre was sold out. We went to the new AVX theatre that has a wall to wall screen, 7.1 digital surround sound and reclining leather seats. Even if the movie had sucked, the theater experience was great!

I want to note that I read the whole book in a rush, the day before and day of the movie. I think it's important because I had a strong memory of the book and had no trouble picking out the differences between the two. I felt that the movie did a great job of keeping the story moving and the selected actors and actresses did a great job portraying the characters. the star of the movie, Jennifer Lawrence (played Mystique in X-Men: First Class) played the main character, Katniss and could not have been better. I was surprised to see Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, but he was very convincing throughout all of his scenes.

I think the biggest problem with the movie is that I had read the book first. The movie skipped over a lot of important content and actually changed events to keep the flow going. This isn't uncommon with movie adaptations but I would have rather had the movie extended 25-30 minutes to get more story. The books target audience was teenagers and young adults and the movie delivered to them as well. I would have liked to see the rated R version of the movie as it was short on scenes of struggle and given that it had a high body count, their was almost no blood.

Overall the movie was solid, very entertaining and I bet people are going to really like it. I wouldn't say the book was better but the movie was missing some important pages from the book.

In one word, the Hunger Games was: Exhilarating

IaN

Protect Your Cell Phone! 18 Mar 2012 11:50 PM (13 years ago)

It seems like I've talked a lot about cell phones lately. Androids, iPhone's, Samsung's and all that, but their is an avenue I haven't covered yet on any of my previous posts. No matter what phone you decide to buy, you need to protect your investment. A brand new super/smart cell phone can, and likely will cost you anywhere from $300-700. Just because you got it for $0 or $100 when you signed your 3-year contract, doesn't mean that it won't cost you big money to replace if you break it somehow. So, you buy a new super phone for $500, what can you do to protect it? You need to buy a screen protector and a good quality case.

I cannot stress enough how important a screen protector is. You can have the best case in the world, but if your screen is all scratched up, it won't matter how clean the back of the phone is. If you buy a dollar store screen protector it might protect your screen from everyday scratches and maybe the keys in your pocket. However, it will likely get peeled off within only days of use because it is ultra thin, flimsy and just didn't have enough stick for the long haul. Spend a few dollars (maybe $15 at a local electronics store, probably only $5 on eBay) and get a pack of 2-3, that are specifically designed for your phone. Be sure to CLEAN the screen before you put the film on. People say that they don't use screen protectors because "they bubble and don't stay on right". If the phone is super clean and scratch free, the film will apply and any bubbles will swipe away with ease.

As equally as important as the screen protector, is the phone case. Do not skimp out and buy your $500 phone a $2 case off eBay. I personally like to use a rule of thumb for pretty much any property I buy under $1000; be prepared to spend 10% of the items value on it's protection. So with a $10-15 screen protector, you should be looking at a $35-40 case. I'd like to note that this is the retail value, as if you can get a $40 case for $25 on eBay, that still counts as a $40 case. In my mind, the most popular, quality driven cell phone case brand right now is Otterbox. I hear that a lot, and I have people asking me "is that an Otty?". I always reply with, "It's an Otterbox." The company mascot isn't Otty the otter! no more Otty! Back on track though, Otterbox makes a decent quality case, in several variations for a good number of popular phones. Their are a ridiculous number of case manufacturers out there, and I don't have the time or energy to list off even the top 10. I will however recommend my runner up to Otterbox. Trident Cases has caught my attention as they seem to offer cases that are very similar in specification to their Otterbox counterpart, but with a curvy, almost more flashy design. Trident seems to offer the same number of variations and colours as Otterbox, and I believe that they would protect your phone just as well. The big difference between Trident and Otterbox is the price. You can go on eBay and find a Trident case for $25, when it's Otterbox competition (of comparable stats) will be $35. If the case works as well, and looks as good, but costs less... isn't that a good thing?

Long story short, buy a case and a screen protector for your expensive pocket computer. Those cheap silicone and TPU cases off Amazon and Ebay will cover your phone, maybe even make it look pretty, but when your phone hits the cement you'll wish you had a quality case.

IaN

Meguiars G110v2 Polisher 15 Mar 2012 5:30 AM (13 years ago)

Well, you probably know that I'm a vintage car nut. I went on a bit of a rant when I talked about vintage auto wrecking last year. I'm not going to talk specifically about vintage cars, but I will keep it focused on auto restoration. I want to talk about my new toy. I picked up a Meguiar's G110v2 dual action polisher.

The Tester on PSN 13 Mar 2012 4:36 AM (13 years ago)

I think it's safe to say that anyone who has read my past posts and comments will know that I am not a big fan of television, especially reality TV. I'll quickly repeat, that reality TV is not reality at all! Shows like Big Brother, The Bachelor and survivor are crudely designed to take groups of people who are pre-screened and then re-screened to fit a specific target audience and then pitted against each other to make as much drama as possible. How this kind of preparation can be considered "reality" is far beyond my comprehension. It's poorly nicknamed to say the least.

My Samsung Galaxy S 11 Mar 2012 3:06 AM (13 years ago)

This is the first blog post I've written entirely on my phone. I thought it would be interesting to write about my phone, using my phone. Right off the bat some of you are probably thinking, why the hell would Ian write about his outdated phone? It's because I had planned to write about it almost a year ago but never got around to it. Now of course their is a very popular Galaxy S2 that is an upgrade to my phone in every way imaginable. So why don't I upgrade you ask? For one, I'm still in a contract and would need to pay full price for a new phone, and two, the Galaxy S3 is just around the corner and will likely be a significant improvement over the S2. Besides, my phone is still holding up very well, especially with some of the customization that I've done.

The Galaxy S is an Android phone that, according to Google, is not designed to handle the newest Android software (version 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"). Obviously this news was a bit upsetting as with anything else I want the latest and greatest and my phone apparently can't handle it. So what does one do when your stuck with Android version 3.2 "Gingerbread"? Well it's not a bad version but it's not the newest and maybe isn't the best available anymore. What I decided to do was research the available Android versions for my phone. I quickly discovered that every phone has different software/firmware versions that are released in many different regions. I found out that the non-Canadian version of my phone, the international version had Android 3.4, 3.5 and a 3.6. So I checked out the differences and found that their were lots and it was safe to say that these other, newer versions were compatible and an upgrade for my phone. I managed to "flash" my phone with a program called Odin and get into 3.6. It was nice to see a new version of Android on my tired phone but in the long run it just wasn't what I was looking for.

Image credit: "Hanne" of the DarkyROM forum

During my research I found a whole new direction for software, "custom roms". A custom rom is like a home made operating system for your phone. It might be very similar to the stock Android rom that came with the phone, or be very different and have many performance enhancements that you didn't know were possible. Anyway, the custom rom that I stumbled upon was called DarkyRom and is built around already stable versions of android but with vast improvements. I'm not going to get into all of the differences between DarkyRom and Android Gingerbread but two obvious ones are the speed increase and the fact that it is "rooted". If your phone is rooted, you have the ability to access all of hidden and sensitive files burried in your phone. This ability actually lets you install apps that can do really neat things like control battery drainage better, remove advertisements, use overclocking and other "advanced" functions. The point of the matter is that DarkyRom really took my phone to the next level and I was happy about it.

My phones best Quadrant benchmark score

So for anyone here as a 1st time reader of my blog, you should know that I'm a performance nut. I like to tweak settings to get the absolute most out of my stuff. I was able to install some apps that really put the Galaxy S in a completely different league of phones. I've run several benchmarks and managed to get about twice the original battery life and get it about 35% faster. Also, because the phone is rooted, I was able to easily remove tons of "bloatware" like Samsung's app store and messenger app to name a couple. Being able to delete those, and many other apps freed up a ton of storage space that I can now use to store 5—10 more Angry Birds sequels.

Lastly, it's important to mention that a major reason that I experimented with my phone is that my phone was out of warranty. You must understand that their are risks involved with these operations, as it is possible that your phone might hiccup in the middle of an install and just never turn on again, it's not likley if you know what your doing, but it can happen. I'd be happy to help someone who wants to breath life into their good ol' Galaxy S. So please feel free to comment or email me.

Ian

D-Link Boxee Box Review 9 Mar 2012 6:36 AM (13 years ago)

I have to admit, I'm not really a big television fan. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy several specific shows but I would say that it's been several, in the course of my entire life. That being said, I'm a huge movie buff and have hundreds of movies and have easily seen thousands. With all my favourite shows and movies, the only thing that has really changed is the delivery method. It started with VHS and went to laserdisc then DVD and is now kind of bouncing between blu-ray and digital storage. I love my blu-ray collection for the supreme quality but I still enjoy the convience of a digital media collection. The trick to a digital collection is that if I spend time collecting, I also want it catalogued and displayed as nice as my blu-rays. The point is that the digital collection needs to have an interface that is not only functional, but nice to look at.

Star Wars Sith Costume 7 Mar 2012 1:49 AM (13 years ago)

Thank You Readers! 5 Mar 2012 2:06 AM (13 years ago)

I was reading some of my archived posts the other day and having a chuckle over some of the dumb stuff I've spewed out over the years and noticed something huge! Upon reviewing the statistics portion of my site I noticed that I had over 31,500 unique visitors. That means that over 31k different people have come on to my site at one time or another. Maybe each person only read one post, and thought it was crap and left, but that's still a lot of random people reading my verbal diarrhea.

To some sites this is a landmark to mark on the calendar and others it is probably what they get in an hour, but for my little blog, with one causal writer, with no funding and a very specific target audience, it is fantastic. I'm also very happy that over 90% of my incoming readers are from Google searches. That means that people, maybe like yourself, are finding my posts as a direct result of it being relevant to your own search, probably indicating that I wrote about something that you were interested in. Also, my blog seems to have 15-20 high volume posts and not just 1-2 that have gotten a lot of publicity.

All in all it's great to see that my blog is getting consistent attention from all over the world. Thank you to everyone for supporting me by visting and reading my blog.

IaN

Battle: Android vs iPhone 3 Mar 2012 12:04 AM (13 years ago)

To really start this post off I need a Michael Buffer announcement "in this corner, weighing in at 140 grams, the iPhone 4s...". In reality though the real competition is iOS vs Android as I really want to compare platforms but I wanted to keep it as straight forward as possible. I'm really only hoping to scratch the surface of this topic as their are a lot of pros and cons of both and depending on who you talk to, it can go either way.

Let's start with Google's powerhouse, Android. Android has been picked up by a wide variety of phone and tablet manufactures as their operating system of choice. Android is very popular right now and has a ton of fantastic features. I won't lie when I say that I'm an Android fan. I love the customizability of Android and how if I want different colours, different icons, a different sms application, a new feature, I can simply download an application to make it happen. I've found that time and time again, their are several applications for Android that do the same thing as their Apple counterpart, but at a cheaper price or maybe even free of charge. The fact of the matter is that out of the box, Android allows you to customize a lot more of it's features and appearances. Android gives the user excellent tools for battery, processing and storage space monitoring. I'd also like to note that, being that Android is a Google OS, it works much better with Google functions, like email syncing and calender manipulation. If your not a Google services user then that need not apply. Android has a near endless number of widgets as well. Widgets let you customize the phones home page with applications or almost any content you want, providing you with exactly what you want within just a click or two.

Apple's iPhone has been around for many years now and has had a lot of time to perfect it's iOS masterpiece into what we have today with the iPhone 4s. iOS is a very stable, user friendly system that provides a smooth experience for phone calls, games, Facebooking and just about everything else. iOS has always had excellent social media integration that has attracted people of all ages. Two of iOS' almost exclusive features is the iMessage function that allows one iPhone to message the the other for free and it's legendary overall security. You can really feel confident that if your using an iPhone, you don't need to worry about searching for the best anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall app to prevent the haxzors from infecting your phone. I think one of the biggest aspects of the iPhone is that people truly feel that the user interface is smoother than that of the competition. I've had lots of friends tell me that when scrolling through menus, text message logs or webpages, that it just "feels" smoother. Don't get me wrong, iOS is super smooth, but I think it really comes down to user preference at this level.

I have to make sure that I mention the big money point, the hardware. iOS runs on it's own hardware, the iPhone (and other non-phone hardware). Android runs on just about every phone, from every manufacturer that will sign the dotted line. You can get Android on a cheap, no camera, no touch screen 7-11 phone for $60 with no contract, or you can go spend $600 on the latest and greatest super-duper phone. Android can be found on a phone that suits your 95 year old grandma or one that can keep up with your 15 year old daughter text messaging 12 friends at the same time. The great thing is that iPhone is (almost) always provided as solid, up to date hardware in a clean package that anyone (seriously!) could use. That being said, your poor Uncle Bob might not be able to afford the $500 iPhone, even with a 6 year contract. It's important to keep in mind that Android is not only successful because they have a great system, but because it is installed on a wide variety of phones, although some drastically better than others.

I hate to drag this topic through the mud even further but something I didn't bring up that needs to be mentioned is non-stock software. More advanced users (or those who wish to become more advanced) might be interested to dig deeper into their phones to get the absolute most out of their hardware. iPhones can be "jailbroken" while a good number of Android phones can be "flashed" or "rooted" to allow supreme customization. It's like installing a patch that allows you total access to all of the software files. I dare you to look into this further but beware that with great power, comes great responsibility, and this level of power can kill your brand new phone in an instant. Ohhh but the features and benefits can be worth the risks!

As a closing thought, you probably didn't learn a whole lot from this. What's important to determine is what kind of phone user you are, how much you have to spend and exactly how much time you have to tinker with buttons and settings. I can tell you one thing, I went Android and I'll never go back!

IaN

Black Friday Deals! 15 Nov 2011 11:52 AM (13 years ago)

As you may know, I'm writing from Canada and we do not have Black Friday or Cyber Monday here. However that doesn't mean that we don't take advantage of it. Tons of stores will have sale posters in the malls showing their support for Black Friday. I guess if they can cash in on the shopping associated with Black Friday they may as well.

I try not to bother too much with local mall sales as they may be decent, but not the best I can get. If I spend a little more time and drive over the border to the United States I can get wicked deals on the same items I'd buy here. The great thing about crossing the border is that sometimes you can find things that aren't carried locally and they may be better than what you wanted in the first place. Border hopping is probably is a must for any Canadian who wants deals before Christmas.

Now as any smart shopper knows, looking online is very important to finding the best deal. Even if you cross the border and find the item on sale for $20, you might find it online for $15 with $2 shipping. The issue with shopping online is that you have to know where to shop. I'm the kind of guy that likes to find a great online store, and stay loyal. On a recent post, Replace DLP TV Bulb or Buy a New TV? I recommended a great electronics company called Northstar AV. I was looking for a good deal on a DLP TV bulb and they were able to give me the lowest price, and an additional 5% off with a coupon code. I was so happy with them, I contacted the Sales Manager and made a deal to provide 5% off to all Ian's Blog readers. That code has since expired but we've decided to bring the deal back for Black Friday. So if you're looking for a great deal on projector and TV lamps between now and Cyber Monday you should click the banner below and use the special Northstar AV coupon code, brought to you by Ian's Blog

Star Wars Ultimate FX Light Saber 3 Oct 2011 11:08 AM (13 years ago)

I posted about how I drool over the Force FX light sabers a few months back and now I've finally got one... kinda. The Force FX models have metal hilts (handles) and long blades but tend to sell for $99-$150 depending on the source and features. Now to me that isn't a ton of money, but it is when you are buying a movie souvenir. I just don't have that much in my budget for this type of thing.

However, if they offered a cheaper version I might be interested in it. Well it turns out that the Ultimate FX light saber, also made by Hasbro, goes for $30-$35 and is very similar to it's more expensive Force FX brother. The Ultimate FX light saber comes in a blue (Anakin) and red (Darth Vader). Both sabers are made of plastic but keep the detailing of the movie hilts. If you are a fan of the Force FX blades you'll be used to the 36" blade, but with the Ultimate FX blade at 23", you're going to notice the difference.

Even with a shorter blade and a plastic hilt, the light saber is very functional. It uses the same motion sound effect and lighting technology as the Force FX models. For me, this is exactly what I wanted. I plan to use my new light saber as a Halloween costume prop and I might even clash it against a few ninja swords or harry potter wands while I'm out there. The best thing about it is that if it breaks, it was only $30 at Costco so I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Don't get me wrong though, I still plan to get myself the red Darth Vader Force FX blade... some day.

Check out my quick video review of the blue Anakin Ultimate FX Light Saber below. It's not my best work but you get the point. In the store, I found that the blue blade was brighter and the LED gaps were less obvious than with the red one. Enjoy!

Shaw Gateway vs Telus Optik 10 Sep 2011 5:25 PM (13 years ago)

A recent comment from an anonymous blog reader brought up the topic of Telus Optik vs Shaw Gateway. One of my most read posts is my review of the Telus Optik service. Telus offers a solid television package with Personal Video Recorder (PVR) abilities and they do it for a decent price. Our other local home service provider, Shaw has been getting hammered by Telus since Optik was released, and continues to get hammered on a quarterly basis. However Shaw would not sit on the sidelines forever, they have been offering their new service, Shaw Gateway for several months and it wants to prove that Telus can be outdone. Outdone... but at what cost?

I'm going to start with the positives. Shaw Gateway has superior hardware. The PVR and remote HD boxes have HDMI ports that can output in 1080p resolution (best television quality to date) and the head unit carries a 500GB hard drive. These Shaw boxes are also 3D and DLNA ready meaning you won't be left behind when 3D television channels become more popular and you'll be able to integrate your local video, music and picture content from your home computer network. The DLNA feature is really nice (assuming it's implemented properly) as it could save you from getting a separate media server device. A big bonus with Shaw is that they do offer a higher end internet bandwidth. Telus Optik currently tops out at a constant 25mbps (approximately) while Shaw can get you well above 50mbps, if you are willing to pay for it. These internet speeds were once only to dream of, and now they are a constant reminder of how technology is rapidly advancing.

I think it's important to note that Shaw Gateway is also capable of the PVR Anywhere technology. Being able to pause live TV and resume your shows on any one of your other TV's is a great feature that both Optik and Gateway share. Also keep in mind that Shaw Gateway and Telus Optik are both capable of steaming up to 3 HD channels at the same time, and the ability to record more on the side. Keep in mind that both services will likely evolve and you may need software, hardware or even service updates to obtain the new features.

Telus really doesn't offer much (currently) over Shaw Gateway. Telus has a few small features like their Iphone and Android application to view the guide and record channels while not at home. As well Optik has Facebook integration that allows use of common Facebook features while still being able to watch TV. It is my understanding that the Telus hardware is not as advanced as the Gateway hardware but that being said, a lot of features could be added to Telus via software update that could allow it to match capabilities.

I find that Telus Optik is the solid choice for a great service at a fair price. Telus customer service has improved drastically over the last 2 years and is there to help you and keep you happy. Shaw is now the new kid on the block and is hoping to win back a lot of the lost Optik customers with their fancy Gateway service. Gateway is great but keep in mind that once you get the hardware and installation done, you need to be happy with the programming and it has always been my experience that Shaw loves to gouge people with content costs. You might get into Gateway for a good price but don't get wrangled into paying an extra $80 for another 5 HD channel packs that you didn't realize you wanted. I currently have Optik with about 80 HD channels and I will not pay more than $110 a month during my 3 year contract.

As always, be sure to call the companies and find out exactly what you can get for your dollar before you sign the dotted line. Also watch out as if you are an existing customer with either company, they will likely spit in your face when you ask for a mailed in promotion or deal. I would love to hear some experiences from current Gateway subscribers.

Ian