November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 31, 2013 -> 04:01 PM) They dont do that because I did an upgrade from 4s-5 with the 2 year agreement I guess what you COULD do is take the iPhone 5C and flip it on eBay for $500-550. Then use that money to buy a 5S without the subsidy. Or buy a new 5 off eBay or Amazon.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (Y2HH @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 08:23 AM) Knew this was coming eventually, was hoping major reforms were in place before it would come to this... Rockstar (Microsoft/Apple/Sony/RIM/Ericsson) launch nuclear patent attack on Google/Android using the dangerous LTE/4G/Search patent portfolio they bought as a consortium off of Nortel for almost 5 billion dollars. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/10...ar-sues-google/ The fact that you can buy a patent portfolio just to sue other people after the fact is just...so mindbogglingly stupid. New Zealand banned software patents and I agree 100% with that decision. Either don't have them or reform the rules. Edited November 1, 201312 yr by chw42
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 09:04 AM) I guess what you COULD do is take the iPhone 5C and flip it on eBay for $500-550. Then use that money to buy a 5S without the subsidy. Or buy a new 5 off eBay or Amazon. checking more reputable places now actually, we think alike. Im going to see if I like the plastic case or not. I will say although I love the 5 and its very light FF, it does scratch very easily.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 09:07 AM) The fact that you can buy a patent portfolio just to sue other people after the fact is just...so mindbogglingly stupid. New Zealand banned software patents and I agree 100% with that decision. Either don't have them or reform the rules. You cant ban software patents, that would be crazy. It would destroy a great bit of the software industry.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) You cant ban software patents, that would be crazy. It would destroy a great bit of the software industry. A lot of software patents these days are so freaking trivial that they shouldn't be patents. From a financial standpoint, I don't want them to be banned. I can make a lot of money in the future off of them as a software engineer. But they're being abused so much that I don't think they should even exist anymore. At the very least, how long you can hold a patent and what you can do with it must be reformed. Plus it takes forever to get a software patent approved, the process is a joke.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 09:22 AM) A lot of software patents these days are so freaking trivial that they shouldn't be patents. From a financial standpoint, I don't want them to be banned. I can make a lot of money in the future off of them as a software engineer. But they're being abused so much that I don't think they should even exist anymore. At the very least, how long you can hold a patent and what you can do with it must be reformed. Plus it takes forever to get a software patent approved, the process is a joke. Yes, some of them need to be banned, but not all...there are some great things being done with software, and to outright ban patents on it doesn't make sense, either. As for those Nortel patents, many of them aren't software patents.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 09:22 AM) A lot of software patents these days are so freaking trivial that they shouldn't be patents. From a financial standpoint, I don't want them to be banned. I can make a lot of money in the future off of them as a software engineer. But they're being abused so much that I don't think they should even exist anymore. At the very least, how long you can hold a patent and what you can do with it must be reformed. Plus it takes forever to get a software patent approved, the process is a joke. Probably true but major corporations are funded and grown by software patents. That still needs to be protected. I believe in open standards as much as possible but I still think there is room for protection of IP.
November 1, 201312 yr QUOTE (Y2HH @ Nov 1, 2013 -> 10:01 AM) Yes, some of them need to be banned, but not all...there are some great things being done with software, and to outright ban patents on it doesn't make sense, either. As for those Nortel patents, many of them aren't software patents. Not all of the patents in the portfolio are software, but the main ones used against Google/Samsung/Huawei are software related. Google is accused of infringing seven patents. The patents cover technology that helps match Internet search terms with relevant advertising, the lawsuit said, which is the core of Google's search business.
November 2, 201312 yr What's a good app to enable ringtones/toggle vibration based on GPS location for iOS? Cydia or App Store... The only thing I've found is this and it doesn't look so promising: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/auto-mute-b...d650303758?mt=8
November 2, 201312 yr Woooop my Nexus 5 comes in by the end of the day Monday Ordered it at 1:11 PM as soon as I got the alert and could get myself to a computer
November 2, 201312 yr QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 12:32 AM) Woooop my Nexus 5 comes in by the end of the day Monday Ordered it at 1:11 PM as soon as I got the alert and could get myself to a computer Lucky. Mine still hasn't shipped yet.
November 2, 201312 yr Author Actually used that Find My Phone app that Apple has...pretty neat. Was able to find my phone in my yard using the signal overlayed onto a satellite image of our yard. Must have fallen out when I was warding off my idiot dogs or something.
November 2, 201312 yr QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 08:57 AM) Actually used that Find My Phone app that Apple has...pretty neat. Was able to find my phone in my yard using the signal overlayed onto a satellite image of our yard. Must have fallen out when I was warding off my idiot dogs or something. I used that in my old dorm. It was accurate enough that I could tell that it wasn't in my room, but was in the room next to me. Used the Android equivalent to find my girlfriend's SGSIII the other day and it was just as accurate. Very cool to see these features becoming standard. It has limitations for an expert thief, but for self-induced problems it's great.
November 2, 201312 yr QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 12:29 PM) I used that in my old dorm. It was accurate enough that I could tell that it wasn't in my room, but was in the room next to me. Used the Android equivalent to find my girlfriend's SGSIII the other day and it was just as accurate. Very cool to see these features becoming standard. It has limitations for an expert thief, but for self-induced problems it's great. What's it called?
November 2, 201312 yr QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 01:17 PM) What's it called? Cheatin GF tracker
November 2, 201312 yr QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 2, 2013 -> 01:17 PM) What's it called? Android has its own service now called Android Device Manager. Works on all 2.3+ devices I believe.
November 4, 201312 yr http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB1BY3...=UTF8&psc=1 I was buying another wall charger for my phone, then came across this guy (if I bought it, I got the charger I was looking at for free). I went ahead and bought it. Seems pretty cool. Not entirely sure how I plan to use it, but I have a feeling I'll be really happy to have it whenever I need it.
November 4, 201312 yr QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 3, 2013 -> 09:52 PM) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB1BY3...=UTF8&psc=1 I was buying another wall charger for my phone, then came across this guy (if I bought it, I got the charger I was looking at for free). I went ahead and bought it. Seems pretty cool. Not entirely sure how I plan to use it, but I have a feeling I'll be really happy to have it whenever I need it. I have a battery pack kind of like that and I use it a ton on airplanes/airports etc
November 5, 201312 yr My wife wants a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I can get the Fire HD for 169.00. Or, the Fire HDX for 229. But, for $229 I could get a Nexus 7. Thoughts? My wife has an Android phone, so i think it might make sense to go with the Nexus (unless I go cheap and get the Fire HD)
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:05 AM) My wife wants a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I can get the Fire HD for 169.00. Or, the Fire HDX for 229. But, for $229 I could get a Nexus 7. Thoughts? My wife has an Android phone, so i think it might make sense to go with the Nexus (unless I go cheap and get the Fire HD) The Fire line has good hardware, but Amazon's fork of Android really deviates from...well...Android. There's no Play Store, so all the apps you bought on your Android phone don't carry over. You can side-load Android apps from the Play Store, but it's a hassle and not everything is compatible. The selection on the Amazon App Store is also limited compared to the Google Play Store. If you're heavily invested in Amazon stuff, then the Kindle's not that bad. If you're heavily invested in Google services, the Fire would be an awful buy compared to the new Nexus 7. I own one and it's a great device.
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:14 AM) The Fire line has good hardware, but Amazon's fork of Android really deviates from...well...Android. There's no Play Store, so all the apps you bought on your Android phone don't carry over. You can side-load Android apps from the Play Store, but it's a hassle and not everything is compatible. The selection on the Amazon App Store is also limited compared to the Google Play Store. If you're heavily invested in Amazon stuff, then the Kindle's not that bad. If you're heavily invested in Google services, the Fire would be an awful buy compared to the new Nexus 7. I own one and it's a great device. My thought was Nexus with the Kindle app. Seems to make the most sense with regards to felxability. My wife already has the Kindle app on her phone Edited November 5, 201312 yr by Athomeboy_2000
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:14 AM) The Fire line has good hardware, but Amazon's fork of Android really deviates from...well...Android. There's no Play Store, so all the apps you bought on your Android phone don't carry over. You can side-load Android apps from the Play Store, but it's a hassle and not everything is compatible. The selection on the Amazon App Store is also limited compared to the Google Play Store. If you're heavily invested in Amazon stuff, then the Kindle's not that bad. If you're heavily invested in Google services, the Fire would be an awful buy compared to the new Nexus 7. I own one and it's a great device. Its limited but for alot of people its a perfect fit because they kind of want that Amazon/Kindle experience. The Fire is a really nice device.
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) Its limited but for alot of people its a perfect fit because they kind of want that Amazon/Kindle experience. The Fire is a really nice device. That's what I'm saying. If you're heavily invested in Amazon services, then go for it. That's literally what the Fire is built for. However, as someone who has around 200 apps from the Play Store, it was an awful experience for me. There's always the option of rooting and installing a custom ROM on it though.
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:22 AM) That's what I'm saying. If you're heavily invested in Amazon services, then go for it. That's literally what the Fire is built for. However, as someone who has around 200 apps from the Play Store, it was an awful experience for me. There's always the option of rooting and installing a custom ROM on it though. Really the only "investment" she has in Amazon is a few books. She doesnt have much of an investment in Google/Play (I think all of her apps are free). But, if she does buy an app, it's nice to know it'll go across both of her devices. Edited November 5, 201312 yr by Athomeboy_2000
November 5, 201312 yr QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) Really the only "investment" she has in Amazon is a few books. Yeah, I'd say go with the Nexus 7 then.
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