Big Software Upgrades This Year

Autodesk and its partners have been constantly reminding and marketing the end of the upgrade option. Today is the last day. I’m not sure if the office did about it until yesterday.

I’ve been almost half-hearted about software upgrades. For programs like AutoCAD and office software, I think they are vital. These can’t be perfect when released and not have room for even the slightest improvement. For operating systems, though, I think major upgrades are unnecessary and overrated. I came across an article that android’s problem is how slow its new versions are deployed to the many android phones/tablets out there. I thought, why? Phones used to have specific firmware and worked with minor updates. And why would a phone people usually replaced in a year or two need to be updated a year or two after being bought? Then it hit me, hardware improvements are incremental and the devices are actually meant to last longer than people normally do as i actually constantly say.

Enter Windows 10 free upgrade announcement. This got me excited. Interestingly, one of the biggest problems with Vista was its high hardware requirements. It now seems like a necessary “evil” given how very uncommon bad hardware specs is despite looking so bad on paper. The excitement also came from the fact that I once wanted an updating Windows similar to OS X. Incremental changes that build up to major revisions similar to how service packs worked, only bigger.

I’m incoherent now so I’ll probably stop. Point is, I’m looking forward to how these big software updates are going, Autodesk software and Windows. These steady updates are a sign of a more stable progress in both software and hardware, and in general, an assured evolution in our computing lifestyle.

a good year in techie acquisitions

It turns out I got a number of upgrades and new tech stuff this year. this is gonna be quick.

I got to sell my HAF 922 and after getting a CM 690 nVidia edition both via tipidpc.com. the sli pc looks slicker on its table now and I’m pretty much satisfied with it. Later in the year, I installed Windows 10 Technical Preview on it and so far so good.

Thanks to the Western Appliances (?) sale, I acquired a 12mp Kodak digicam. I find it hard to handle especially in lowlight, but it works well enough especially when mounted on the tripod that we also got from there.

Mhaelord and I went to globe one day and applied for a postpaid mobile internet subscription. We got the plan 999 and paid a few thousand pesos for a bundled 8-inch skyworth tablet to go with the free pocket wifi. The 8-inch tablet runs impressively well for its price. It must be thanks to its quad core processor. Good thing the 7-inch Samsung was out of stock, and we chose the quad core skyworth over the dual core 7-inch acer.

I’m supposed to be calling this a booklet but it really didn’t get into my system. I also jumped the tablet bandwagon but with a windows 2-in-1 netbook/tablet. I’ve been using my father’s mypad2 a bit but it really wasn’t mine and significantly used. I really can’t remember what made me consider this 64gb asus t100 with a 500gb hdd in the keyboard dock but it was a fine decision. I got to upgrade my netbook and got a new tablet as well. Best thing is the more productive windows environment. This is one of the devices where windows 8.1 makes sense.

The 8-inch tablet was a birthday gift for mhaelord, but I also convinced her that since she wanted my sister’s iphone 4s when she decided to sell it, we’ll also have that as another birthday gift. For an old device, it unsurprisingly smooth. That’s apple for you.

My last purchase for myself this year was the sony xperia z1 compact which I hoped for since the announcement of the xperia z1f japan exclusive. At last, I got a smooth running top-tier smartphone that isn’t as big as the flagships. Funny thing, though, it’s still as large as former flagships like the xperia T. nevertheless, compared to its contemporaries, it is the perfect smartphone for me. It’s a worthy successor to my xperia pro. And thanks to the absence of side-slide qwerty phones, I finally made the transition to a completely touchscreen phone. One fun thing too about this purchase is how I got it a couple of months since its successor got released, and I think I did get the best possible deal with it.

The last one that isn’t really just for me is a 32” Sony TV. At last, we got to get a new TV. I bought it as a year’s gift for my mother although it is something for the household. Favorite feature that’s one for me is screen mirroring since it works with my xperia z1 compact.

A third last, the last tech acquisition was a usb3.0 flash drive. I actually haven’t opened the package. I got it from our struct exchange gifts. I think it was my wishlist item no. 1.

This year was a good year in tech and was also a good year in spending. Hopefully this coming year won’t require me to upgrade. My tech needs are pretty much covered now. As I’ve said, new tech product are released every year, but that doesn’t mean we have to upgrade as often. Good tech lasts. i’m thankful I got to get what I got this year. I look forward to saving in 2015 and seeing just how good these tech stuff are.

Some More Gadget/Tech Upgrades for Me

Gadget upgrade for the month is an Xperia Z1 Compact. At last! And I got it at a pretty good deal with extended warranty. I opted for the brick-and-mortar store purchase over the internet sellers because of the warranty. My strategy of getting the Z1 Compact when it’s successor has been released worked quite well with a little bit of savings and even more value for money given the incremental upgrade in the Z3 Compact.

The Windows part of my geeky life is a bit less interesting with just a few little more time spent on Windows 10 Preview. I’ve upgraded the build once and so far, so good. It complements my Windows 8.1 experience in my T100. Speaking of the T100, I seem to have influenced Dogi to get one. Cara surely got influenced as she got one the day after I told her about it as a recommendation for a “laptop for work stuff”.

Quickly After a Year

It’s been more than a year since I started this geek/tech blog and I have not been as into it as I would have wanted. It’s been mostly monthly lookbacks like my personal blog. I’ve been consistent, at least.

Quickly now, a year ago, I noted the release of the Sony Xperia Z1f in Japan which later became the Z1 Compact internationally. Last month, Sony released the Z3 compact as a successor. It was a minor update and I noticed how I had a draft regarding smartphone upgrades. Yep, to-do list. Of note on that matter is that my girlfriend is using an iPhone 4S now and it still is a very decent phone 3 years after its release.

Also last year, Windows 8.1 was released. I’m using a netbook/tablet hybrid with Windows 8.1 which I got almost a year after. Earlier this month, I’ve installed the newly released Technical Preview of the next Windows version, Windows 10. Due to drive space limitations, I haven’t tried to install it on this hybrid and on my main desktop PC. I managed to install it on my spare SLI PC. Usage isn’t very frequent though so a review of sorts won’t possible anytime soon. Not to mention the frequency of blog activity.

That’s all for this month. Oh, and I found some Youtube channels habit-forming. TechQuikie is one. I’ll link that and some others later—again, hopefully.

Gadget Catchup

My Gadgets

It’s been a month since I got this ASUS Transformer T100 netbook/tablet. I’m still torn between calling it a booklet or a notepad. End up calling it a netbook since that’s what I’ve come to need. The tablet aspect comes in handy and entertaining, but it still is a netbook.

This is my most significant gadget update since I got my Xperia Pro more than 2 years ago. Hipster me, when finally I got a touchscreen smartphone, I had one with a slideout keyboard. When I finally got a tablet, I got one that’s a Wintel device with a keyboard doc. I have now started to transition from my Sony Ericsson Elm feature phone and Neo Vivid netbook for my mobile needs.

Probably the best thing about it is Minion Rush.

Mhae’s Gadgets

Mhae now has devices on the three major platforms—her netbook with Windows, her tablet with Android, and her iPhone 4S with iOS which used to be my sister’s then her husband’s. The iPhone has yet to get action because of urgent matters that we don’t get to get a microSIM.

Parent’s Gadgets

As for my parents, my father doesn’t have a recent gadget update. I’m waiting for price drops for Seagate’s laptop SSHD’s to upgrade his netbook. I’m hoping that would give enough improvement on performance in a similar way an SSD upgrade improved my mother’s Pentium Dual-Core-based Acer laptop.

I finally got my mother a replacement for her failing MyPhone Android 2.3-based phone in an LG L40. I find its price very reasonable for its specs. It’s got decent speed on KitKat and has been serving my mother well and saving us both from headaches.

It’s been quite a gadget blast although noticeably on the more budget-friendly side. It’s nice to know that this is possible in a time of hyped and (un)reasonably expensive products that, whether we acknowledge or not, have become more needs now than wants.

Tablets

Quickly, 10 days ago, we got an 8-inch Skypad quad-core Android tablet for PhP 999 above a 2-year globe tattoo subscription. And today, we got an asus T100 10-inch Intel Atom-based Windows 8.1 netbook/tablet for around Php 24,000 at 12 months 0% installment. Good deals in my opinion.

The skypad’s with mhae now and is currently minion rushing. I’ll do so later on on my t100, or maybe on papa’s mypad from earlier this year.

I’ve finally started going with the tablet trend.

Complete Rebuild

Not as intended, though, but yes, it’s practically complete. Thanks to my sister’s spare generic speakers, I’ve been using my SLI-PC more these past weeks, especially since I’ve been sick at home for a lot of days.

The computer’s chassis is positioned at ang angle so that when I sit on my bed with my back on the headboard, I can see the 22” screen clearly and fully. The right edge of the screen is just a small measure form chassis’ edge so it doesn’t obstruct the view. The green LED fan on the front cannot be turned off when the unit is powered on but it actually has a cool effect. The position of the PC is also good in that I can continue my viewing even when lying down.

Of course, thank to Unified Remote, I can keep my comfy position when I adjusting the volume, turn the subtitles off, skip a few seconds forward, etc.

It feels good that I get to use my second PC more this time. Sure, I still watched some episodes on my main PC and this is still my blogging and surfing PC since it’s more power-saving and more silent, but still, at last, the SLI-PC has been completed. I’ll be buying the better speakers I’ve been planning for it sooner, since I’m enjoying its new-found use. I intended the rig to be a Physx gaming machine but this seems to be more practical since I watch and relax more than game, anyway.