[OFF-TOPIC] Important Please Read OP (7/1/13)

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shrome99

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May 11, 2011
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Wow, i recognize every single person who posted here, but didn't really know anyone :p

PS - Barca just got screwed 2-1. La liga is definitely gone, hope they get something out of the champions league.....


Sent from a device waiting for Kernel 3, WAKE UP HTC
 
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suku_patel_22

Senior Member
Jun 22, 2011
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OnePlus 7T
Google Pixel 4a
I am Sukumar, a 28 yr old Java software professional.
My first smartphone was back in the hay days of Nokia, the Nokia N72, E51, E66 (don't think we can call those smart now :D)

Desire S was my first android, got it as my last birthday gift from wifey. I have loved the phone ever since and my wife refers to it as the other woman in my life :D

I am very fickle minded and have had multiple interests, but never pursued them for a long time. be it photography, or guitaring or swimming.

Guess I am best suited to lazing around at XDA..
 

olyloh6696

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Oct 20, 2009
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Well done again Oly, quality thread.

Reading the input into this thread, makes me appreciate how lucky we are here in this forum/community.

Swyped form ym Dersie S unsig XAD Permuim

Cheers Ben :D although I must give credit to Enigmaamit for coming up with the 'introducing yourself' thing - a good way to kick off the thread!

@Shrome I'm a little surprised at Barca's performance lately, I honestly thought it was going to be a draw yesterday.

@Ben ready for the united game? :p

Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium
 
Cheers Ben :D although I must give credit to Enigmaamit for coming up with the 'introducing yourself' thing - a good way to kick off the thread!

@Shrome I'm a little surprised at Barca's performance lately, I honestly thought it was going to be a draw yesterday.

@Ben ready for the united game? :p

Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

Okay, second idea : I see a lot of you have mentioned Games (as in virtual) as your hobbies. Care to detail your gaming rigs (PC config, XBox, PS3) and the favorite games you have ever played?

I'm a PC gamer here in Delhi, where I work. But back home I have access to both a PS3 and an XBox (non-kinect) I just finished Mass Effect 3 a couple of days ago on my PC, and Boy! was it a rush!!

My list of favorites includes the following franchises:

1. Call of Duty - The Modern Warfare Series only
2. Assassin's Creed - nothing like it!
3. Mass Effect trilogy.
4. Crysis (The original Crysis was waaay better than the sequels)
5. Far Cry 1 (FC@ was crap)
6. Devil May Cry 4
7. God of War (Of course!!)
8. Gears of War
9. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Series
10. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
11. Need for Speed Underground
12. Just Cause 2 : Timepass

What say you?
 

olyloh6696

Senior Member
Oct 20, 2009
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Okay, second idea : I see a lot of you have mentioned Games (as in virtual) as your hobbies. Care to detail your gaming rigs (PC config, XBox, PS3) and the favorite games you have ever played?

I'm a PC gamer here in Delhi, where I work. But back home I have access to both a PS3 and an XBox (non-kinect) I just finished Mass Effect 3 a couple of days ago on my PC, and Boy! was it a rush!!

My list of favorites includes the following franchises:

1. Call of Duty - The Modern Warfare Series only
2. Assassin's Creed - nothing like it!
3. Mass Effect trilogy.
4. Crysis (The original Crysis was waaay better than the sequels)
5. Far Cry 1 (FC@ was crap)
6. Devil May Cry 4
7. God of War (Of course!!)
8. Gears of War
9. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Series
10. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
11. Need for Speed Underground
12. Just Cause 2 : Timepass

What say you?

I currently don't have a Xbox/ps3 yet! I'm looking to get one pretty soon though! Which do you recommend? :)

I do have a Wii though, but hardly ever go on it. I also have a PSP which I use when I'm out and about on holiday, I usually play GTA, FIFA, a couple of racing games etc.

I also use the Galaxy Tab to play a couple of games, I have completed GTA III (24% completed :D really longg game!), FIFA 12, 9MM HD, Modern Combat 3 (excellent game - especially the multiplayer online option) Shadow gun etc.

On the ipad, I'm looking to buy these games, (especially GTA - it would rock on the A5X chip & 9.7" retina display, rather than on the Galaxy, where it lags due to the single core chip, and tiny 7" screen)

But I can't justify paying for these apps, AGAIN from Apple, when I've already licensed them from Google...

Yep, so not much of a real console gamer, I usually play on tablets etc :)
 

shrome99

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May 11, 2011
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OK, here's my take on these -

1) CoD is awesome
2) Never really understood AC, since i started playing from Brotherhood, and now AC 1 seems to old to be played...
3) God of War is the best game i ever played. Only thing i miss on my Xbox 360 (coming from PS2)
4) NFS seems to have become crappy lately, Most Wanted and Carbon were great, after that they removed the stories, so i didn't play them. The Run was nice, but pretty short.
The others, i never tried....

@Oly - PS3, hands down. Free online gaming, and Sony's exclusive games are too good to forgo. My brother bought the Xbox despite my advise of getting a PS3, but it's pretty nice too.

Also, since David Villa's injury, Barca seems to be short of strikers, i just hope they win the champions league, or else the Madrid supporters at school will torture me all year :p
 
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I currently don't have a Xbox/ps3 yet! I'm looking to get one pretty soon though! Which do you recommend? :)

I do have a Wii though, but hardly ever go on it. I also have a PSP which I use when I'm out and about on holiday, I usually play GTA, FIFA, a couple of racing games etc.

I also use the Galaxy Tab to play a couple of games, I have completed GTA III (24% completed :D really longg game!), FIFA 12, 9MM HD, Modern Combat 3 (excellent game - especially the multiplayer online option) Shadow gun etc.

On the ipad, I'm looking to buy these games, (especially GTA - it would rock on the A5X chip & 9.7" retina display, rather than on the Galaxy, where it lags due to the single core chip, and tiny 7" screen)

But I can't justify paying for these apps, AGAIN from Apple, when I've already licensed them from Google...

Yep, so not much of a real console gamer, I usually play on tablets etc :)

Which console you buy is a very personal choice, oly.

It depends upon what kind of games you play and which franchises you consider indispensable.

If you're a Gears of War or Halo fan, you will take a plunge for the xbox, while if games like God of War (interesting, isn't it, the two top games from competing platform having almost identical names??) get your heart pumping, PS3 is your calling.

Secondly, I personally feel that the PS3 has better graphics, and an overall excellent BluRay DVD player thrown in for free!! I'd go for the PS3 (You HAVE to play God of War in HD to understand what I'm talking about), although I understand that there are more game titles available for the xbox currently.

Since we are off topic (is there a topic here?? Guess not :D), just saw some leaks of the new Samsung Galaxy SIII : looks like a Quad Core ARM7 processor - I don't know if this is an early prototype or the real thing, but for the first time, the Galaxy series seems to have done away with that iPhone clone central hard button. Time will tell.

Have a look :

screenshot.jpg
phoneinfo.jpg
hardware.jpg


Source : http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2012/04/20/is-this-the-galaxy-siii/

Video :
 
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pughie

Senior Member
Nov 26, 2011
528
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Cardiff
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Could never really get into PC gaming more of a console based gamer since the days of the Sega Genesis/megadrive...my age is showing here...

In no particular I enjoy :-

Call of duty games especially online multiplayer team games ie capture the flag
Gran Turismo 5 ( I work with cars so i guess that was a given ;) )
Assassins Creed
Portal 2
La noir
Wipeout (great with a 3d tv)
Little big planet
Street fighter series ( fan since coin op sf2)
Mario kart (my daughter can't get enough of it, therefore neither can I :) )
Metal gear solid series are probably my favorite all time games though
 
Could never really get into PC gaming more of a console based gamer since the days of the Sega Genesis/megadrive...my age is showing here...

In no particular I enjoy :-

Call of duty games especially online multiplayer team games ie capture the flag
Gran Turismo 5 ( I work with cars so i guess that was a given ;) )
Assassins Creed
Portal 2
La noir
Wipeout (great with a 3d tv)
Little big planet
Street fighter series ( fan since coin op sf2)
Mario kart (my daughter can't get enough of it, therefore neither can I :) )

Yup... don't know how i forgot to mention it...Portal 2 is A.W.E.S.O.M.E..!!
 

shrome99

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May 11, 2011
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One X > {Insert name of one of the million Galaxies}

If you look at Samsung's strategy, they are just spamming the market with tons of phones. Some of them are just pointless (Galaxy Ace Plus for example, considering the much better Ace 2). Also, i can bet that there will be many variants of the S3 like the S2. One of the S2 variants has an Exonys chip, the other one has a Snapdragon S3 (the one in Sensation) and there's a third one with a PowerVR. That's not it, all of them have the same name, Galaxy S2. The Note is even worse, one has a Dual core exonys (very nice) and the other one has a single core Snapdragon S2 (the one in Sensation XL), since they have the same name, the buyer mayget confused and buy the device he doesn't want.
 
One X > {Insert name of one of the million Galaxies}

If you look at Samsung's strategy, they are just spamming the market with tons of phones. Some of them are just pointless (Galaxy Ace Plus for example, considering the much better Ace 2). Also, i can bet that there will be many variants of the S3 like the S2. One of the S2 variants has an Exonys chip, the other one has a Snapdragon S3 (the one in Sensation) and there's a third one with a PowerVR. That's not it, all of them have the same name, Galaxy S2. The Note is even worse, one has a Dual core exonys (very nice) and the other one has a single core Snapdragon S2 (the one in Sensation XL), since they have the same name, the buyer mayget confused and buy the device he doesn't want.

Have to agree with you there - Samsung product naming is such a counter-intuitive headache that it is really difficult to keep track of exactly how may Galaxy products are actually out there!!

Following up on your example, there is the Galaxy Ace 800MHz, the Galaxy Ace Plus 1GHz, and then the Galaxy Ace 2 800MHz Dual Core

Then there's the Galaxy S, SL, S Plus, R, Y, Fit, Pop, yapity yapity yap, S2, S2, and S2 yet again, and I think we should be prepared for a deluge of 3 different S3's now!! Sometimes I think the mission statement at Samsung is to conquer the English Alphabet - a Galaxy for every letter, A thru Z *Chuckles*

The only reason I'm looking out for the SIII is to see how big a hit it will be to HTC. Been following the One X forums, as i was planning to get the device - but i'm not sure anymore. Too many bugs with the software (which i can live with, because XDA will come to the rescue) but there are actually major issues with the build quality itself - the body separating off from the screen under heavy load and heat, light bleed from screen edges, screen flex issues, and what not. And very, very surprisingly, a lot of users report that the camera is only average...and not a leap in terms of Imaging as it was made out to be by the HTC promos. Similarly, the One S is plagued by their space age ceramic body not quite able to tolerate the earth's atmosphere, with chipping and flaking. These are manufacturing and design flaws, which can't be fixed just by claiming warranty and replacing. There are users who are having problems after replacing 4!! HOXs and have finally given up on it. This is going to need HTC to take a complete relook at their design and manufacturing process. Looks like half-baked, improperly tested products were pushed out.
And you know why I think they were not properly tested? It's because of this stupid "secrecy" hype that Apple had introduced into the phone industry. Companies are now so paranoid about leaks, they don't let out enough of the handsets to be tested out in the open by users like us. You can't field test a product in a controlled atmosphere! It needs to be out in the open - get reviews from users, ask them what they like and dislike- then make the final product and launch it. Hell, they could have a poll here on XDA for crying out loud!!! It's not like they don't snoop around here anyway. I think half their bug fixes are siphoned off from here, lol!!

P.S. : Didn't realize i got carried away and ended up typing this monster post. Please forgive me if it seems inappropriate. I'm just very frustrated as I had almost decided to get the One X in June. But now I'm not sure they'll fix everything right. What'll they do with the faulty pieces? Dump them in Asia, of course! Come 2013, you better get your act together HTC - I'll be watching you!!
 
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olyloh6696

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Oct 20, 2009
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OK, here's my take on these -

1) CoD is awesome
2) Never really understood AC, since i started playing from Brotherhood, and now AC 1 seems to old to be played...
3) God of War is the best game i ever played. Only thing i miss on my Xbox 360 (coming from PS2)
4) NFS seems to have become crappy lately, Most Wanted and Carbon were great, after that they removed the stories, so i didn't play them. The Run was nice, but pretty short.
The others, i never tried....

@Oly - PS3, hands down. Free online gaming, and Sony's exclusive games are too good to forgo. My brother bought the Xbox despite my advise of getting a PS3, but it's pretty nice too.

Also, since David Villa's injury, Barca seems to be short of strikers, i just hope they win the champions league, or else the Madrid supporters at school will torture me all year :p

Which console you buy is a very personal choice, oly.

It depends upon what kind of games you play and which franchises you consider indispensable.

If you're a Gears of War or Halo fan, you will take a plunge for the xbox, while if games like God of War (interesting, isn't it, the two top games from competing platform having almost identical names??) get your heart pumping, PS3 is your calling.

Secondly, I personally feel that the PS3 has better graphics, and an overall excellent BluRay DVD player thrown in for free!! I'd go for the PS3 (You HAVE to play God of War in HD to understand what I'm talking about), although I understand that there are more game titles available for the xbox currently.

Since we are off topic (is there a topic here?? Guess not :D), just saw some leaks of the new Samsung Galaxy SIII : looks like a Quad Core ARM7 processor - I don't know if this is an early prototype or the real thing, but for the first time, the Galaxy series seems to have done away with that iPhone clone central hard button. Time will tell.

Yeah, thanks guys!
Specswise, I think the PS3 is better than the xbox. Yeah, Blu-ray is a major plus, I don't have a blue-ray player yet! However, most of my friends have xbox's and they previously had a ps3 :(

So, even though Ps3 gaming is free, none of my friends actually really use it! But then again, I'm not much of a heavy gamer, and to be honest, i think i will be using the blu-ray feature more than gaming! Can the ps3/xbox browse the internet? I mean like actually use the game controller to surf the net? Because I see that the PS3 has a dedicated browser app. If so, that would be epic!

The 2 main games that my friends mostly play are FIFA & COD. God Of War has always been fantastic since the last time I played it on PS2 - I can't wait to see how graphics have evolved on the PS3!

------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, I saw those SGS3 leaks yesterday! To be honest... I'm not really impressed! The specs are on par with the One X. The last SGS series were groundbreaking, and way ahead of the competition. With this new SGS3, I would actually still consider the One X over it, given the choice!

Even though MP don't mean much, I expected the SGS3 to be a 12MP shooter... How is it going to differentiate with the One X ImageSense? Average consumers only care about the MP, and if they see the One X has ImageSense, they would think it's an extra feature that puts it ahead of the SGS3.

Also, the most disappointing thing, is the SGS3 has Mali-400 GPU - the same one used in last years model!! :eek::eek:

What a silly move by Samsung, using last-gen hardware on their new flagship :(:( TouchWiz looks the same old, you really can't tell the difference from TouchWiz 4.0, or whether it has ICS under it.

Of course, my assumptions are only based on the supposed specs of the leaked SGS3.

Also, I dunno if it's just me, but lately, I've noticed a lot of tech journalists / reviewers actually criticize manufacturers for skins. I can totally understand their POV on crappy skins like MotoBlur etc, but they have even started it on Sense. Even the new Sense 4.0. If you read a lot of reviews, they still say that Sense 4.0 UI is bloated & sluggish. They much prefer pure ICS. :confused:

I remember a few years ago when Sense came out, it received a great response, everyone loved it. Thats why the Desire went on and beat the SGS as phone of the year in 2010 - purely due to the innovative Sense UI (even though it had weaker specs) Then in 2011, we saw the SGS2 was phone of the year because of it's killer specs toppling the Sensation with Sense UI - skins didn't really matter at this point anymore.

Now in 2012, most reviews I see are reviewers bashing manufacture skins, and how they should leave it stock ICS and not tamper with it...

What are your thoughts on this? :confused::confused:
 
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Forwox

Senior Member
Feb 5, 2011
106
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Riga
Hollla,

Roland my name is. I am 19 years old telecommunications student from Latvia, Riga city.

First of all, I am really passionate of doing sports, skating, what I am doing already 13 years of my life. I just love to skate fast, do Freeskate, slalom and speedskating. Secondly, I am video maker. You can check out videos I have captured and edited right here => http://www.youtube.com/user/PioneerLv/videos
;)

However, few years ago somehow I found my interest into mobile devices and OS systems. Now I am studying telecommunications. That's why I am here, hanging around with my Android device, reading tips and tricks, finding solutions, making my own experience. Well, have some practice in python, c++, but so far I haven't started any programming look out on android os.

Also I am really interested into motorsports and technical things. For few years I am a part time Sim racer. Maybe you have heard about racing simulations etc. Well, that's different story.

Hello xdadeveloper forums and specially Desire S users. ;)
 
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shrome99

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May 11, 2011
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@Oly The early versions of Sense UI just modified some parts of Android, making it better while not removing the essence of it. Sense 2.x/3.x removed EVERY SINGLE THING from stock android, and added tons of bloatware and useless features which traded speed for looks. A non-tech savvy user would never be able to tell the similarity between Sense 2.1 and stock GB. Now, Sense 4 is much better, it keeps the best parts of ICS while adding some more features. The only issue reviewers have is that the multitasking is more like WebOS than Android, and that's kinda weird for them. Most of us love it, and can't wait to get it here.


Also, versions of stock android before Eclair (2.0) were just too ugly too be used. While usable, Eclair, Froyo and GB were ugly too. ICS brings a very polished new interface, so most UI skins are useless now.
 

pughie

Senior Member
Nov 26, 2011
528
155
Cardiff
Google Pixel 6 Pro
My contract expires in August so unsure what ill be upgrading too loved the idea of the one s and x as never had a HTC device before and I love this phone however I too have been put off by user feedback. Can't say I want the sgs3 either a couple of colleagues own a sgs2 and it just feels cheap in my hands prefer the sensation to hold if I'm being honest although its performance is epic.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA
 

olyloh6696

Senior Member
Oct 20, 2009
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@Oly The early versions of Sense UI just modified some parts of Android, making it better while not removing the essence of it. Sense 2.x/3.x removed EVERY SINGLE THING from stock android, and added tons of bloatware and useless features which traded speed for looks. A non-tech savvy user would never be able to tell the similarity between Sense 2.1 and stock GB. Now, Sense 4 is much better, it keeps the best parts of ICS while adding some more features. The only issue reviewers have is that the multitasking is more like WebOS than Android, and that's kinda weird for them. Most of us love it, and can't wait to get it here.


Also, versions of stock android before Eclair (2.0) were just too ugly too be used. While usable, Eclair, Froyo and GB were ugly too. ICS brings a very polished new interface, so most UI skins are useless now.

Yeah, I guess so! IMO, Sense 2.1 was still good! In fact I prefer it over Sense 3.X. (purely because of the 2D screen transitions, and the music player)
I never really got to use it long, before I jumped over to the leaked VoidU, Sense 3.0.

I would even consider using a Sense 2.1 ROM now, if it has 2.3.5 & some new apps from Sense 3.5 (HTC Watch, Notes, Tasks etc)

We only used Sense 4.0A, and impressed with the speed, but if you look at full Sense 4.0, you can still see it is heavy actually.


I like pure ICS, it really is beautiful! I think I might go ahead and use CM9 as a daily driver when it comes out...

My contract expires in August so unsure what ill be upgrading too loved the idea of the one s and x as never had a HTC device before and I love this phone however I too have been put off by user feedback. Can't say I want the sgs3 either a couple of colleagues own a sgs2 and it just feels cheap in my hands prefer the sensation to hold if I'm being honest although its performance is epic.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA

Same situation here mate, my contract is up in August :) Don't think I'll be getting a One X/SGS3; they'll be out of my budget.
Hopefully the One S might get a price drop. I check HUKD every day for good contract deals (exactly what I did to get my DS at a decent price)
Or, I'm actually thinking of getting a Galaxy Nexus. Although it will be old, the price will be nice, and it will be the first to get JellyBean. (I'm fed up with HTC/Samsung slow updates!) I might miss Sense though... At least I can get a good taste of pure ICS first, on CM9 for DS. If I do decide to upgrade, the screen has to definitely be bigger then the DS!

Or, ultimately just hold off, and keep my beloved DS for a little longer and what for something big to come along :)
 

eyahl

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2012
1,070
336
berlin
Was too lazy to write about myself the last fee days.. Now I'm gonna do it..

Hey :) I'm Florian, 21 years old graphics design student from Germany. I live near Berlin, planning to move to the city this year after I finished my studies.
I'm drawing stuff since ever, as long as I can remember. I like graphics, digital arts, good typographie, illustrations and so on...tell me if you want to see some of my work, i could spam the whole forum with all that stuff...

I'm also very interested in music (specially psytrance and electronic music) and i am visiting a lot of music festivals.

I love being outside, just chillin around or riding my bike.
my hometown has 7 lakes (one of the biggest in Germany though) so I'm much into water sports.
I like playing video games though, but the time does not allow me to do so very often.

Like the most of you I have a passion for technic. Anyways the ds is my first smartphone, I always was convinced by not needing that.
Until last summer I was using my wonderful Sony Ericsson Walkman crap :) had it for about 6 years. Then I decided to go high tech, didn't regret it :)

I don't like Facebook and it's privacy policies (main reason for me not to be there) but you can find me on tumblr, skype etc...

Btw I'm proud owner of an xbox360 :)
Reason for this choice was the ability to play own music while playing a game. I don't know if it changed until now, but afaik the ps3 does not allow you to do so.

Due to the lack of time (and money :) I sold most of my xbox games. gta4, FIFA 09 and battlefield 3 are the ones left.

I'm really enjoying these times here at xda, I stumbled into and you all gave a lot to me :)

Sent by my fingers to your head.
 
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outsidetown

Senior Member
Jan 9, 2012
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Nice thread oly!

I'm James, 27, I live in Brecon, south Wales, and am a professional children's illustrator. You can check out my work here: www.daviesjames.com

Aside from drawing, I love hiking, working out, and fiddling with my phone.

Got to say this is one of the friendliest forums I've ever seen, a nice "community" feel to it (mostly thanks to oly, Ben, and enigmaamit!)

Currently running Endy, but always ready to switch...
 

ben_pyett

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2006
5,566
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London, Colchester, Wivenhoe
@oly
Fortunately someone knew the non result that was the che v arse game so we simply deleted it, and watched spurs instead.

Getting my game face on for the early united game. Just past midday so can start on the booze...


@shrome
Was seriously disappointed with Barca's performance, very poor, should have started with Sanchez, looks like that's the league gone.
Although being a united fan watching real, with Ronaldo is like watching an ex girlfriend, that you still have feelings for, although that was some quality goal.

I'm hoping that both real and barca both win this week and we get a super champions league final to look forward to.

Swyped form ym Dersie S unsig XAD Permuim
 
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  • 15
    Hello old friend... long time no see. Seems like yesterday.... me flashing your roms zero hour on my ds and irritating you with bug reports and requests...

    And i just realized how much i've been away from this forum when i saw your recog dev title... Hearty congratulations!!

    :p I'm catching it. But I'm still a skeptic towards the whole extinction of the desktop. BTW, congrats on Recognized Developer!

    Yes, long overdue! Congrats LOWVELD! :D


    Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

    Thanks guys!

    Enigmaamit: it's quite recent, just 2 days ago and caught me by surprise. Not only I am not nearly as active as some months ago, but the new rules for the RD status are quite stricter than before.

    Anyway, I've always been recognized by those who in the end really matter: the DS community.

    Cheers
    12
    I'd like to know why that is as well. Seems similar to AMD selling the X3 which is actually an X4 with a locked core. Never understood it but to be honest I've never cared enough to understand why. This seems interesting though. I'm sure there's a valid reason though

    Sent from my Desire S using Tapatalk 2

    I worked on semiconductor manufacturing for a few years. That behavior is typical for increasing the wafer chip yield.

    What you do at the beginning is test a batch of chips, those that meet the full specifications go to specific speed bins. There are no specific batches of higher and lower speed processors, they try them at all speeds and sell them according to what each individual can handle. It is actually much more complicated than this, it's not all about speed. By the way, this explains why not 2 chips are the same, and some handle over clocking or under volting better.

    Now imagine you are testing a batch of quad core processors. There may be a lot of chips with poor performance on one core, but all other are good. You can't sell them, as the end result is a ****ty quad core processor. But lock that core, come up with a fancy name, and instead of scrapping the chip, you now get a new product with good performance at a very small added cost compared with the quad core, which you already spent money on trying to build anyway.

    Depending on the manufacturing process, it can be very hard to get a decent percentage of fully working chips. For instance, the PS3 cell processor has a main core and 8 auxiliary cores (this is very simplified by me here). But all PS3 Cell processors on he market have only 7 auxiliary cores working, because it is assumed that getting a chip with all 8 working is rare, and as such, it would be too expensive trying to guarantee it. So even in those rare fully working chips, one core is turned off. This avoids fragmentation, and when developing for the PS3, you know you can only use those 7 cores.

    Ok, I'm rambling now. Cheers...


    Sent from an undisclosed dimension
    11
    This thread will serve as a off-topic place for fellow Desire S users.

    Instead of starting New threads, we can always ask here, and get a quick, fast answer.

    Feel free to talk about anything, and we can all engage in a discussion :)

    There is now an IRC channel for off topic users.

    #sagaofftopic on freenode. As recommended by Shrome99, use this on your phone.

    AndroIRC, - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androirc&feature=search_result


    ATTENTION

    Following the recent decision by xda moderators, this thread will no longer exist. To keep it simple, I have created this thread again over at the off topic forum.

    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2087824

    Can all of you please subscribe to this thread and alert any others?

    Will be much appreciated. Sad to see this thread go, after we've been through so much. Hopefully DS and Ex-DS users will still be together on the new thread.

    See you guys there! :)

    Oly.
    10
    Hey all,
    We have been blessed with a baby boy today morning.
    He was born pre-term by 3 weeks.
    Both mom and son are doing great.
    :beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

    Tapatalked from Desire S running Andromadus
    10
    The Samsung Galaxy S3 - My Review

    As most of you aquainted with me know by now, I've gone ahead and got myself Samsung's flagship for this year - the Galaxy SIII. I've had it for a week now, and I think i'm now in a position to write a small review about my experience with it. I waited a week because of two main reasons - The first is that with any new device, the excitement quotient is high, and most opinions are defensive or biased. The second is that I wanted to post a review of both the Stock setup (4 days) and the Rooted, custom ROM scene (I know my signature says Stock, Rooted...but that ship sailed a long time ago - just haven't updated it yet) - I'm currently very ROOTED and on a custom ROM, the Omega v6, running the Siyah kernel.

    So here it goes :

    SIZE :

    While the phone initially struck me as huge and unergonomic at first look, it grew up very creepily on me within barely a day, and now I feel seriously emasculated when I try to use my Saga. Even the Sensation XE my friend gave me (to root) felt puny in my hands. Don't even get me started on how guilty I feel when I see my trusty DS staring at me with accusing eyes lying unused next to my laptop. I just can't pick up anything smaller anymore! But then I have also contemplated the Galaxy Note previously and that is really REALLY big, so this is where the size maxes out for me. 4.85 inches - no more, no less.

    FORM FACTOR & BUILD QUALITY :

    For a phone as big as this one, it is surprisingly easy to hold in one hand. It is very curvaceous and fits very comfortably in the hand unlike many phones with large screens (those of you who've had the misfortune of using Sony's new flagship, the Xperia S will know what I'm talking about). Do notice that I say easy to hold and not easy to use with one hand. Trying to get to the top edges of the screen is definitely a juggling task if you decide to use just one hand. Typing on swype is just manageable one-handed, but I prefer two handed tapping any day, since the portrait real estate is quite abundant.

    The phone is breathtakingly slim. This is highlighted even more by the relative proportions of the depth when compared to the length and width. The photos don't do any justice to the phone and you need to hold it in person to realize just how satisfying it feels in the hand. I would like to mention the One X here - I still feel that it is a much better looking phone, and the design philosophy is completely different in these two phones, but I'll come to that in detail shortly.

    Did I mention it is very light? It's a dream to hold... unlike the aluminium chassis we've come to love on our phones. That is a great material for smaller phones, but a 5inch slab has to be made as lightweight as possible, and Samsung have nailed it just right with this one.

    The build quality is very good, no "cheap" feel whatsoever. No creaks, groans, etc etc. The physical home button is a boon, doubles as the power button for screen wake up purposes, so no hunting for volume rocker wake mods. Tte Power button is placed on the side, so you don't have to juggle the phone in one hand to reach the top...your thumb/index finger is already there when you're holding the phone in your right/left hand respectively. One gripe I have is that the Volume rocker is very small, and the Home physical button tactile feedback is poor.


    SCREEN :

    It's a 4.85inch screen
    It's a HD screen
    It's an AMOLED pentile screen.

    The first two do not need any explanation and are definite no-brainers if you want to buy the phone. The third one warrants some explanation.

    Coming from "LCD only" screens in the past, the AMOLED has been a revelation of sorts to me. It is a completely different screen tech and hence behaves very differently from the LCD siblings in many ways.

    Colors :

    1. Blacks : Blacks are much better on the AMOLED. Black means the pixels do not light up at all, hence massive battery saving. AMOLED suffers from "Black Crush" which means when the greys start getting really dark, they are are seen as just plain black on the screen. How does this affect daily use? No effect unless you're the kind that sits with a GS3 next to a HOX and compares the screens side by side.

    2. Whites : No contest, hands down victory to LCD here. Whites are at best bluish or yellowish, or pinkish on AMOLED screens. Period. If you want to buy an AMOLED screen, EVER, you have to deal with it. That said, this is again apparent only when comparing the phone to an LCD screen nearby, and in itself, the whites are quite satisfoactory.

    3. Colors : No contest, hands down victory to the AMOLED here. There is just no arguing that the colour depth and contrast on this screen are way better than any LCD available today. This is what has blown me away and has made me fall in love with this screen tech. There is LIFE in the screen, it is so vivid that the images relinquish the phone to a blurry background and jump up at you from the screen. It's like orgasm for the eyes.

    Brightness : : To understand perception of brightness, you'll have to read a bit about the screen tech used in displays. In LCD, the pixels mix sub-pixel colors to create a certain tint, which is then made visible by LED back.edge lighting that shines white light through the LCD panel so that the colors can actually be seen. Without the assistive light, LCD screens are nearly impossible to read. AMOLED on the other hand, is made up of self illuminating sub-pixels, which means each pixel is independently capable of making itself visible without need of a separate light source. While a black pixel on an LCD is an actual black color formed by the subpixels, and is still illuminated by the backlight even when it's dark, hence never ever appearing completely black. On AMOLED however, when it need to show black color, the pixel simply turns off! This does two things - Infinite contrast ratio, and huge battery saving on black backgrounds (pixels are off).

    All that mumbo jumbo aside, the SLCD2 of the HOX has a much brighter screen than the AMOLED on the SGS3 and consequently horrid battery life too (we'll get there soon). Sunlight visibility is very good on the GS3, no problem in outdoor usage - texting, viewing photos, etc. But if you want to watch an entire movie on a 4.x inch screen sitting under the sun at 1 pm, this phone is not for you.

    Sensitivity : The touch is very very good. As would be expected from a phone that you're paying through your nose for. Also, anything metallic can be used as a stylus, as long as it's touching your body. I play Draw Something with pals and regularly use my car keys to sketch images on the screen (What's that? - Of course I have a screen protector!)

    Screen conclusion : If you chuck all technical specs charts and graphs aside, and want my opinion in one line - "The screen is awesome." It is the best combination of colour, contrast, luminance, power efficiency and overall satisfaction that is currently available in the market. There is scope for improvement, but when is there not??

    SPEED :

    VERY, V.E.R.Y. fast.
    As in lightning fast.
    As in Chuck Norris six-shooter draw fast.

    Fraction of a second app launches, excellent multitasking, smooth scrolling, etc etc. The UI is a dream, the browser is very snappy, though it doesn't reflow text like sense browsers do, so lets be fair there. I've always been a hard core gamer, and finally I can say I have a device that can play games like they were designed to be played. N.O.V.A. 3, Asphalt 6, Mass Effect: Infiltrator are testimonials to that.

    2012-06-23%2020.03.24.png
    2012-06-23%2019.59.27.png


    BATTERY LIFE :
    By far the best battery on any smartphone out there. Yes, I'm including the iPhone, the HOX, the X and the Y and even the Z. NOTHING lasts longer. I used to be scared of 3G on the DS. It was like a vampire to my battery blood, but no more. I'm on HSPA all day - never switch it off, have auto-sync always on with the same apps and sync profiles I had on the DS, and with regular use, I still have half the battery remaining at the end of the day. Even gaming does not drain the battery at the rate I expected it would. Very respectable drain. Lasts longer than my friend's 2500mAh GNote battery. Couldn't ask for more.

    This in the one single thing I would have bought the phone for, even if every thing else was a little wanting...fortunately nothing is.

    CONNECTIVITY :

    Everything works. Have yet to try out S-Beam/ other NFC thingies.

    NATIVE APPS :

    Gallery : Extremely user friendly, very fast and smooth.

    Video Player : Supports an astounding range of video formats. The video gallery is animated, with all video thumbnails actually looping though the entire video - looks very cool.

    Pop-up Play : Meh...

    S-Voice : Meh... (disabled it without using even once). Nothing near what Siri is. (I still hate Apple though - just to be clear on that)

    Motion sensitive actions : Direct call, tap to top, Palm to mute, flip to mute, shake to refresh - Meh... But there are a few that I use regularly now : Touch and rotate to launch camera from lock screen, Palm swipe for screenshot (excellent)

    Smart-Stay : Good idea in theory, but dodgy in practice. Basically it uses the front camera every 15-30 secs to take a photo of your mug and decides if your eyes are open and keeps the screen awake if they are. To work, the camera needs enough light to take a photo where the eyes can be seen. Always works outdoors and in bright light, and almost never works in low light. I don't think it will ever work in those conditions until they add an infrared sensor.

    FM Radio : Excellent, crystal clear sound, and natively supported FM Radio recording on Stock, non-rooted ROMs!

    USB OTG Support: Natively available, this is the coolest trick I have shown my colleagues. Once you use this, you will always miss it.

    GPS :

    Best in class. 3-5 second locks. Getting good locks (10m accuracy) even indoors. Apparently the boost is because of enhanced GLONASS support.

    CAMERA :

    Very good. Not a DSLR.
    Video recording is very smooth at 1080p - continuous autofocus works very well as long as you don't move the camera very vigorously. No stuttering and focus-seeking issues that plague the HOX. Flash is very powerful. Other bells and whistles like zero shutter delay etc, which I think we can attribute the the Google engineers behind ICS development. If I had to nit-pick, I'd say low light photos without flash are grainy, but that's about it. More than satisfied with the camera.

    1.9 MP front camera - very crisp video on Gtalk chats. Native video calling (carrier charged) also available on phone (missed that on the DS)

    Noteworthy mention : The auto face tag feature is very neat. Works as advertised. Google search please.

    TOUCHWIZ :

    All of you that know me are well aware of my fetish for the HTC Sense UX. When i went for the SIII, I wans't sure I'd be able to live without it. It is still much more premium looking and pleasant to look at than any UX has ever been, and that includes TouchWiz. But a couple of days of using it without any functional handicap, I've now begun to like it. I would still give an arm and a leg for Sense 4 on the GSIII, but what I'm trying to say is that the UX cannot justify the entire device, as I've learnt from the HOXgate debacle.

    Sense UX
    Do I miss it? Yes.
    Is it a problem? No.

    Almost everything that Sense did is now available on Touchwiz, including contact auto linking, scrolling widgets, etc. Actually the resizeable widgets are much much better than Sense on the new TouchWiz. Will post screenshots if people are interested. The one thing I do miss is the Dialer on Sense... Nothing comes close to that one.

    DEVELOPMENT :

    Far, far better support than HTC. Factory unlocked phone (S-On is an alien concept), no hboot nightmares, friendly warranty policy (my brother-in-law got a phone replacement on a Stock ROOTED ROM), ODIN!!, easily restorable to stock without having to be a rocket scientist. Source codes and kernel sources released by Samsung sometimes even before the device is launched, same happened with the LTE SGSIII. Some very talented kernel developers and rapidly emerging alternate non-stock based ROMs.

    CONCLUSION :

    If you can afford it, Buy it. Period.

    Congratulations to those of you who've managed to read the lengthiest post I have ever typed. You don't have an attention deficit disorder. Those of you that felt that this was a waste of bandwidth, my sincere apologies (@shrome99, very very sorry). I took the time (considerable) to write this up because I see a lot of you hunting for new phones, and have many questions... hope this answers at least some of them, at least as far as the SGS# is concerned.

    You guys have given me a lot over the past year and I sorely miss you now. So maybe this is my selfish way of luring you over to the SGS3 so we can hang out a little longer.:eek:

    Happy hunting!:D