Category: Notes

Galaxy S7 & Edge thoughts

After trying-before-I-buy with both models side by side in two different Best Buys, some thoughts:

  • Edge has a wider/better viewing angle — the S7 gets much darker than the Edge when the screen is not exactly straight on. Also much darker than my current iPhone 5.
  • At first store, the Edge gave whites a yellowed tone compared to the S7. At second store, Edge had a pinkish tone on whites compared to S7. Both had same settings, and tested on all screen profiles. 
  • Even straight on, and with the S7 showing better whites, there was a dullness I the S7 that could be annoying over long term use. 
  • The main value I see in the novelty of the edge menu is in taking quick actions on open articles, which will actually be immensely useful for taking notes when reading, or sharing articles. Any other use as a launcher is probably beat by the ease of keeping those apps on the home screen. 

I am really interested in why I’m seeing colour differences between these two models. I’m leaning toward buying the S7, largely due to the wider viewing angle, and the slight ease of use I think the edge will give me in my phone-based activity (reading). But I’m a little uncomfortable with the colour (quality?) inconsistency I’m seeing in the Edge screens.

The closest I’ve come to finding a review that goes beyond comparing just the published specs of the screens (resolution and ppi) and actually looking at the quality of the displays is at DisplayMate, but even though they pride themselves on measuring the color accuracy of the screens, they still only measure the S7’s colors and assume the two screens will be the same.  The two screens are different sizes and are made of different components, so I don’t know why nobody is looking at the non-PR-kit differences between them.

this post will be taken entirely out of context.

Something felt a little bit off in one particular line of “Critical Praise / Review” for Rob Bell (and ostensibly, his new book How to Be Here):

Bell will be joined by the likes of Brian McLaren, James Martin, Diana Butler Bass and Carol Howard Merritt.

— Christianity Today

I could see it working if Bell “joins the likes of…”, but there’s something about how it was written that sounded like a high-schooler’s essay pieced together with sentence fragments taken from all over the internet.

Not far off, that line is actually taken from a Christianity Today article about a podcast/YouTube channel that Rob Bell is involved with — where he is “joined by the likes of Brian McLaren, James Martin, Diana Butler Bass and Carol Howard Merritt.” (It’s so important the article states it twice.)

Now, I know pull-quotes are used out of context all the time, but at least they’re usually coherent. 😛

And then I then read the first pull-quote from Publisher’s Weekly….which sounded familiar because it was already used wholesale as part of the publisher’s product description.

I’m going back to my cave now — the internet is making my head hurt.

PDF problems

I don’t like that I now have to think twice before printing PDFs — I find more and more they’re not actually designed to be printed — just viewed.

The reason: all the background colour. White text on a dark background looks nice on a produced brochure or report, or on a website, but not when I’m printing it at home to read in detail. It just hurts to think of all that ink being wasted — even if I print in grayscale.

Here’s a possible guideline: don’t design a PDF page that will be so wet with ink that it will warp as it comes off a consumer printer.

Orange Pi PC

I decided it’s finally time to get a mini server running at home to handle the basic webserver stuff that my shared host can’t handle (python, etc.).

I recently bought an Orange Pi PC from a friend, and it’s got a little more oomph than my old Raspberry Pi Model B, so that’s what I’m going with for now.

The issue I kept running into with the rPi was forgetting what hardware version I had, and the specs of that version. To avoid that with the OrangePi…

Stats for future reference (from OrangePi.org):

Orange Pi PC

Same chip and RAM as:
– Orange Pi 2
– Orange Pi Mini 2
– Orange Pi Plus

  • Board imprinted with: PC v1.2
  • CPU: ARM H3 Quad-core Cortex-A7 H.265/HEVC 4K 1.536 GHz
  • GPU: ARM Mali-400 MP2 @ 600 MHz
  • RAM: 1GB DDR3 (shared with GPU)
  • SoC: Allwinner H3
  • Storage: TF card (max 64GB) / MMC card slot
  • NIC: 10/100M Ethernet RJ45
  • Video Input: A CSI input connector camera:
    • supports 8-bit YUV422 CMOS sensor interface
    • supports CCIR656 protocol for NTSC and PAL
    • supports SM pixel camera sensor
    • supports video capture solution up to 1080p@30fps
  • Audio Input: MIC
  • Video Outputs:
    • supports HDMI output with HDCP
    • supports HDMI CEC
    • supports HDMI 30 function
    • Integrated CVBS
    • supports simultaneous output of HDMI and CVBS
  • Audio Output: 3.5mm jack and HDMI
  • Power Source: DC input can supply power, but USB OTG input don’t supply power
  • USB Ports:
    • three USB 2.0 HOST
    • one USB 2.0 OTG
  • Buttons: Power Button (SW4)
  • Low-level peripherals
    • 40 Pins Header, compatible with Raspberry Pi B+
  • GPIO(1×3) pin: UART, ground.
  • LED
    • Power LED
    • Status LED
  • Key
    • IR input
    • POWER
  • Supported OS
    • Android Ubuntu
    • Debian
    • Raspberry Pi image
  • Product Size: 85mm x 55mm
  • Weight: 38g
Orange Pi PC board (click for larger version)
Orange Pi PC board (click for larger version)

Starting out with Debian Server for OrangePi2.

237 words on the election

I care more about the institutions of government in this country than the political parties. These institutions are generally structured to protect the citizens and the country, while politicians work within them for their ideological ends.

In my mind, the greatest existential threat to Canada is any government that disregards or undermines our system of government. We can bounce back from most external things, but slow-boil systemic changes will shift the structure of Canada in ways we don’t even realize today.

In this current government I’ve seen a continued and increasing disregard for Parliament and the Supreme Court, including the Prime Minister publicly trying to convince us not to trust those institutions because they have challenged him for breaking or ignoring various laws.

There are also the personal attacks to discredit the head of Elections Canada for defending our election laws (i.e. doing his job).

And the huge issue of the lobotomizing of our collective public knowledge (see “Vanishing Canada”, in Maclean’s), which, intentionally or not, serves to undermine decision-making in government. (If we don’t have scientific research and data to base decisions on, we’re only making decisions based on political ideology.)

Before considering the short-to-mid-term policies that everyone is promising, I had to eliminate Stephen Harper’s Conservatives from the options, because it’s evident to me they do not respect — and are actively undermining — the long-term system we are ultimately electing them to uphold.

.:.

Cross-posted to Facebook.