Category Archives: Opinion

A conclusion on having switched

This is a follow-on to: Nexus 5 and Android 4.4. In a nutshell, I’m switching back in the next few months. I like the Nexus 5, I like Android, but it’s just not as mature or polished as the iOS experience. There are too many little frustrations. The hardware aspect was definitely a factor in switching; the iPhone 5s, while a good phone, just couldn’t justify the price tag. It was very well-made and well-designed and fast and had a good camera, but was also relatively small. However, the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are a match, even though they cost twice as much as the Nexus 5 did. The camera on these new iPhones is a real draw for me. I’m still impressed with the iPhone 4s camera, and the iPhone 6 camera seems to be a big leap in quality (the camera on the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilisation, which is quite something.). I mean, I love taking photos with my DSLR camera, but I would probably take more with my phone if I thought I was guaranteed of getting good results, which I’m not with my Nexus 5. By all accounts, they are very, […]

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Nexus 5 and Android 4.4

For anyone who interested in such things (and there are a few of you), here’s what I think of my Nexus 5, and why I switched from iPhone. Maybe it’ll help you in deciding, if you need to, or you’re curious. Note: I originally started this back at the end of April. Since then I’ve had time to adjust to the new next thing, the software has been updated, I’ve abused the hardware, Apple and Google unveiled their Next Big Things, new memes have been released and I’ve finally finished the damn review. Amendments to my lambasting follow at the end. tl;dr: I needed a new phone and it was time to try something new while maybe getting a bit more for my money. Oh, and I like Apple stuff, but not blindly. Honest. No justifications, get me to the hardware part! » No justifications, get me to the software part! » So, I’m The Apple Stuff guy who always wades in to defend some piece of Apple kit or to say how something Apple did is better than the way everyone else did it and sticking up for the ruthless billion dollar company as if they actually needed a cheerleader. People have […]

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The having of comments

It’s a tricky issue, having comments on your site; it seems straightforward but it’s actually not. For a start, you’re responsible for the comments on your site. If someone defames someone in the comments on your site, and you leave it there, you could get sued for that defamation as much as a paper publishing a defamatory article. That’s the most serious aspect, for me. After that, there’s the work of it. Managing the comments, the spam (not as much of an issue these days) and responding to the commenters. That last one can be rewarding, although it helps to have a thick skin; things can get nasty, and very personal. Then there’s the abuse from friends, too. I’ve always thought that this kind of thing from friends is more destructive than they realise; if your friend unveiled a new painting in a gallery, would you go to the opening and heckle them and throw things? I doubt it. So, I’ve been considering doing away with comments altogether, which has been something that several sites have been publicly discussing; there are those who never had comments on their sites, those who have recently removed the feature, and those who feel […]

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