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Showing posts from April, 2014

Nexus 5 snapshots taken with the Google Camera app

Cyborg Superman through the Google Camera App Regular readers of my blog will remember my Nexus 5 pictures post which showed off snapshots taken by my non professional photographer self.  With the recent Google Camera  update now installed on my Nexus 5, I decided to take some new snapshots to see if picture quality has improved.  In my opinion, it has.  The camera has a faster response time switching back and forth between HDR modes (you should really just leave it on all the time) and is now able to capture fast moving scenes with little to no blur compared to the prior stock android camera app.  With the app being fairly new, there are some features still missing such as time lapse, and a self timer, but I suspect that they will return with time. As for now, I find that picture quality has improved dramatically, along with the shutter speed.  Compare these shots to my last blog post about the camera quality and decided for yourself. Fast movement in ver

Why I chose the Dell Venue 8 Pro over the Surface Pro 2

On the Surface, (Ha! get it?)  the Surface Pro 2 seems like it is a great compromise in regards to the sum of its parts.  At 10.6 inches, you get a good amount of laptop with some tablet mixed in.  Just shy of a month ago, I took a trip to the Microsoft store, excited to buy the Surface Pro 2.  It was to replace my aging Acer Aspire 1810TZ, which all things considered, is still not a terrible laptop.  So why did I end up with the Dell Venue 8 Pro instead?  Read on to find out. First, let us compare the basic differences.  The most obvious is the price difference.  The Dell Venue Pro 8 is $299 for the 64GB version while the Surface Pro with the same amount of storage is $899.  The Dell tops out at 64GB, while the Surface Pro 2 tops out at 512GB.  The problem is that high capacity version costs a ridiculous $1,799.99 without a keyboard. Maybe I am picky, but honestly, even 512GB on a computer is anemic in this day and age.  I understand that it's faster flash storage, but

Retro-Bit Wireless Super Retro Controller (for SNES) review

Can Retro-bit bring the Super Nintendo gaming to the modern era? Lifesperience is now Raycommend, which can be found here:    Ray Commend   Over the recent months, I have acquired a serious retro gaming habit.  The latest gen systems have not really appealed to me at this time since they have not offered anything new in terms of gameplay, while the classic systems are still attractive to me due to their pick up and play gameplay, instant on functionality, and games that are simply fun to play . The only issues of course are the poor video cables supplied with these systems, and of course, being tethered via a corded controller.  Luckily, there is now an option if you want to wirelessly play from over 30 feet away from your console.  Is it any good?  Read on for my opinion. Snes connected via S-video on the left, while using standard composite on the right.  First things first.  If you still have the original SNES (or even a clone) around and your TV has the appropriat

Run Android Apps on the Dell Venue Pro 8 with Bluestacks

Android Apps integrate into the Modern Start screen. Those of you that follow my blog are aware that I recently purchased a Dell Venue Pro 8 ( reviewed here ) and am pretty happy with the performance and usability for the price.  In that review, I compared it to the Google Nexus 7 , another one of my favorite devices.  For those of you who are not that familiar with the various ecosystems, when it comes to touch apps, Microsoft is a distant third place behind Apple and Google.   While the Microsoft store has been slowly getting more apps geared towards touch devices, there are still many notable apps missing such as HBO GO, or Showtime Anytime, Temple Run, Instagram, etc.  Some times there are third party replacements, and some times there are not.  The good news is that you may not have to wait to use your favorite app on Windows 8.x.  There is a program by the name of Bluestacks  that will allow you to run Android apps in Windows as close to natively as possible.  Think of