chw42

I was surprised to see two girls playing in the LLWS. One of them pitched a shutout today.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 9, 2014 -> 01:18 PM) So Barcelona have spent around £30m on Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen. 2 aging, kind of average CB's. Seems an interesting/odd move. It's because they're planning on playing a 3 man back-line this year (2 CBs, 1 FB). Mascherano is going to move up as a CDM, so they need extra CBs along with Pique and Bartra. At least Vermaelen's not 30. I think he might get the starting nod over Mathieu.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 11:09 PM) I'm devastated. I think if it was a powerhouse club they would be receiving a fine and a slap on the wrist. It's a huge f*** up on Legia's part but I think UEFA did them wrong. He was on the pitch for 3 min of extra time in a match where everything was already settled. 18 years I'm waiting for Legia to get back to Champions League, this is the closest they've gotten and now this. Story. That's terrible. Turns out he didn't serve his full suspension since he wasn't registered for two of the games he didn't play.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 01:37 PM) I wrote they're wrong 70-80% of the time, that should have read they're RIGHT 70-80% of the time, but that means 20-30% of your message will often have incorrect words in it. I can ALWAYS tell when someone sends me a text via voice. I know what they were trying to say, but you can tell a computer wrote it. That happens with typing on your phone as well. Auto-correct will get in your way at least 10% of the time. It happens to everyone.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 12:43 PM) This has NEVER been my experience with voice commands, be they via iOS or Google Now. They're both decent, but they're still both wrong 70-80% of the time, and a single word written incorrectly in a message can change the context or meaning of the entire message. I have friends who do nothing but send massive walls of text in text messages with using Google's voice recognition. It works fine most of of the time. The only complaint I have is that Google Now is kind of broken (it won't really listen for your commands for some reason) when you have your phone hooked up to a bluetooth sound system.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 12:32 PM) That's a bit of an overstatement. Google's voice recognition is good, but only when you're in decent conditions. The issue with voice commands is that they're largely invasive. I don't need to be listening to you rambling into your wrist on an elevator, or at a restaurant, etc. So, yea, while you can respond, you can only do so in a limited and often annoying fashion. You know what else you could do? Pull out your phone and respond since you have to have it with you anyway, and if your watch is working because you're in a place where you can use voice, you're phone won't be an inconvenience either...which also can be used hands free with voice. These are redundant applications. Everyone I know with a Pebble uses it to tell time now...when they first got it they were using it for basically everything it could do. Now they realize their phone is just easier. That's because the Pebble kind of sucks. Like I said before, Android Wear is the first real OS developed specifically for a smart-watch.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 09:27 AM) Most of these features are what I call show & tell features, and are limited/gimped at best. You'd need near perfect conditions for voice, and/or they require you to pull out your phone (which they already require you to carry) and use it anyway because the screen sizes are simply too small to do much of anything with. And from the looks of some of these, they're already reaching ridiculous "clock" like sizes where you're going to look like a complete idiot if you wear one. It's just not enough of an inconvenience to pull out your phone in the first place. What they COULD do, however, is tap into the fitness world... First and foremost, it needs to tell the time/date. Then, if it kept a log of heart rate, distances walked, perhaps blood pressure, body temperature, etc., it could be worth something at the right price. But getting limited messages or a tiny map on your wrist isn't going to cut it. I play music in my car a lot and my phone picks up the "Google Now" hotword just fine as long as it's not ear-screeching loud.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 08:28 AM) What good is reading notifications if you can't reply? I don't guarantee they will be a thing, it's an outlier use case to me for only a subset of the population. You can. Google's voice recognition is actually very good, as long as you're not at a concert or something.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 09:07 AM) Yes, you could do it on a 3-4" phone, but it was MUCH better doing it on a tablet. You're downgrading that experience on a smartwatch. Notifications and getting traffic updates don't need a bigger screen like watching entertainment or reading books. To me this screams Kinect. "ZOMG guys! Look at all this fun stuff it can do! It'll change gaming!" Oh well, actually no it was a costly gimmick that was fun for about 30 minutes and from that point on just became a pain to use. Wearables as in Google Glass, yeah, I can see THAT being a thing. Real time notifications, maps, email, texts, taking photos and video, etc., all without requiring ANY hands. Now that's an enhancement. Making me look at a 2" screen and use my hands basically the same way I use my phone BUT still limited in what I can see/do - makes little sense. Kinect's voice commands are actually useful, if somewhat flawed. I'd rather yell Watch ESPN twice at my TV than try to find my remote and change the channel. Google Glass is going to be better than smart-watches, but that doesn't mean smart-watches are going to be useless. If you see a use for Google Glass, you're more or less advocating for smart-watches, because they'll do the same thing, just different form factor.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 8, 2014 -> 10:53 AM) Sounds like the Sixers are in on Love deal and would send Thadeus Young to Minn for Bennett. That's a terrible move for the Sixers. Young is like their only good player and they're going to give him away for a guy who was absolutely dreadful in his first year.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 03:50 PM) The tech was basically around for the last 10-15 years with tablets. They were a little bulkier and not as good with the touch screen, but it was more than doable. The issue was there wasn't a need for it. We didn't need tablets because they couldn't (and still don't really) replace a real laptop or desktop. Over time books and movies and tv shows and web browsing came about, thus a need was created. We still don't need anything that a smart watch provides. It also doesn't really enhance or replace the experience of the smart phone. Until the smartwatch provides a vastly different experience than the smartphone, it's not going to sell. Maybe the athletic angle is the way to go with it, but I don't see that being a huge selling point either, especially since you can by something like the fitbit for way less money. I'm not trying to be a downer. I love me some electronic gadgets. But this one, I just don't get. Well by that logic, you also technically didn't need tablets either. You could have watched your TV shows on your phone. You could have read your books on your phone. You could have browsed the web on your phone. It just so happened that bigger screens fit those things better. You can also read your notifications on your phone, but that requires you to take your phone out of your pocket, unlock your phone, and use your hands. It just so happens that a smart-watch gets rid of all of those needs. Thus, smart-watches are better for viewing your notifications along with an array of other hands-free activities that make it more convenient than looking at your phone. And I'd much rather spend $200 on a watch that does more than read how many steps I took than spend $100 on a Fitbit. Wearables are going to be a thing, I pretty much guarantee that. And the smart-watch is going to be the first wave of said wearables. It hasn't really taken off yet because the first watches to market (Pebble, Samsung Gear) have been very limited and somewhat terrible. Android Wear is the first real OS developed specifically for the smart-watch and it's a great foundation for developers to build upon.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 5, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) Because how else are we going to try and bring "The Walking Dead" to fruition? Right on. Who doesn't want a zombie apocalypse?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) It also took 20 years and multiple advancements in the entertainment industry for them to sell. That's not the point. The reason why tablets never took off is because they sucked for 15 years. The technology wasn't quite there yet. You're basically saying smart-watches won't take off because the technology isn't there. It clearly is.

Landon Donovan's retiring at the end of the season. Getting the game-winning goal against Bayern last night is a nice way to go out I guess.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 7, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) But you're telling people they should fork over $300-400 bucks to basically save themselves about 6 inches of movement. Your hand/wrist are already down near your pocket. The only "convenience" a watch like this provides is not having to take a half a second to reach into your pocket and grab your phone. You'll still probably have to scroll with your other hand on the watch. You'll still have to hit a button and interact with it. I use Google Now and nothing about it is perfect (often giving you information you don't need or want). Hopefully that gets better over time, but it might not. I dunno, the whole smart watch thing is, to me, another gadget they're trying to market as the next big thing when in reality it probably won't take off because it's just not necessary. It's $200 (at least for the watches that are available now). A lot of people also thought tablets wouldn't be necessary and look what happened.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 08:23 PM) Marion to Cavs all but done. NBA, still good despite itself. Pacers could pay him the MLE for a year, that's a lot more money than the minimum.

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 11:38 AM) TAKE MY MONEY!!! That thing is beautiful and watching the demos at I/O finally made me figure out how tremendously useful a smartwatch can be. This is the only one that looks good enough to wear IMO I would have an Android Wear watch already if it wasn't for the 360. Hopefully it comes out this month or next month.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:21 AM) Viciedo unfortunately, but would Rios play LF without moping? Why not move Avisail to LF. It's not like he's good at defense or anything.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:59 AM) who ever used their ipod for videos though, that always seemed silly to me I know a few who did, but that was back in like 2005.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:52 AM) You didn't have an alternative in your pocket though. And the Nano was used to provide you two simple lines of text, not recipes, maps, pictures, etc. It did support pictures though. The iPod Classic supported video/pictures and it had a 2 inch screen. And part of the reason for a smart watch is so that you don't have to take your phone out of your pocket.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:38 AM) It's still going to be a pain to use it for those things though. The screen is just not big enough for practical use IMO. iPod Nanos had 1.5 inch screens when they first came out and I don't remember people telling me it was too small to use. The iPod Classic had a 2 inch screen and people watched videos on that... The Moto 360 has a 1.8 inch screen, FWIW.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:38 AM) I think the screen size is far too limited for these functions to be any good. Also, voice control *still* sucks in anything but the quietest of environments. I have a mount in my car that holds my phone and basically accomplishes all of that, only with a screensize that's useful. I don't get the smartwatch thing either. Other than for fitness tracking...I don't get it. But you're not mounting the watch 3 feet away from you. It'll be on your wrist. You're also not going to look at the watch's screen in your car, nor should you. I think you guys are underestimating how big the screen on that watch actually is. Of all the videos I've seen, it looks huge (the screen that is) for something that's on your wrist.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) For the 2% of the population that downloads files that big, maybe. But even then, is it worth an extra $50/month to gain like 5 minutes of wait time to download a big file? I'm not saying that at some point that kind of speed will be nice to have. But right now? No way, not for the additional cost. I have 24MB/s and it's more than enough for downloading big files, streaming movies, playing games, etc. Files will be that big though, they already are. People who download games on Steam, next-gen consoles need fast internet connections or they'll end up waiting forever.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) That does look nice, but I still don't get the need for a smartwatch. Reach into your pocket and pull out your phone. It's not that far away... It's great for when you're in the car or can't use your hands. You can text someone just by saying "OK Google, text so and so". You can also use it for navigation (for when you walk or bike), get notifications at a glance, and there's apps that have special functions just for the watch (like a recipe app allowing you to view recipes step by step on the watch). It's an area that's yet to be fully developed and I think there's a use for it.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 6, 2014 -> 10:24 AM) Oh, had no idea...then meh. A watch with only 2.5 days of battery life is a useless piece of s***. Watches need battery life that lasts weeks, if not a full month on single charge, and that will include Apple's if/when they release one. That's assuming people wear their watches 24/7, which they don't. You gotta take it off sometime. If getting a full charge is as easy as taking it off and putting it on a Qi wireless charger on your night-stand once every 2 days, then people have nothing to complain about. It's also the best looking smartwatch available by far.