Author: robinbmac

Novice Blogger!

The State of Mac! – Feb 23

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When I wrote the article Return of the Mac! in Oct 21 there was an overwhelming feeling that the Mac was making a comeback with the new processors and the possibility of a step change in the workflow of a lot of industries. Though still considered a really high-end product for most of the industries of the world, for those in the creative industries i.e. music, movie, arts, marketing, advertising, communication, photography & graphic design – this is the device of choice. And most importantly, these are such intuitive and fun-to-use devices with most claiming this makes them so much more productive and efficient compared to any other PC.

In the last year, the company has released the 2nd Generation of their homegrown processors – the M2, M2 Pro & M2 Max and they have now clearly taken an unprecedented lead in the home computing device race due to one key factor that not many have given the importance to – battery life. Yes, the M2 series of processors are quite amazing in their computing capability and can compare to a similar beefed-up PC with a higher-than-average graphics processor but more importantly it can help you be more portable than ever before. In in this world slowly drifting towards remote now more than ever – this is one key feature that can really make all the difference. After all, you don’t buy a MacBook for gaming – but because it’s sleek, light-weight, and still powerful for 90% of the tasks required. And if you are in one of the creative fields then even more. And now with the longer battery life it lets you be more mobile without having the need to rush to a charging spot in a coffee shop or anywhere else and still be productive – and yes, even more creative.

Battery Life – the big differentiator (Courtesy Apple.com)

Having managed to buy myself top-of-the-line MacBook Pro just before the M Series processor revolution, I end up looking up the specs and stats of the newer Mac’s quite often – to see what gives me the incentive to actually spend a whole lot of money to upgrade. And now with a more budget conscious eye – look for what is actually a great deal. Keep in mind here that I am looking at the small size MacBook Air’s & Pro’s as I prefer portability for travel.

To be more specific, the sleek look, the portable size, the amazing performance, and now the incredible battery life is the ultimate combination for a laptop user on the go i.e. the M2 MacBook Air or the Pro depending on the kind of workload you expect to put your device through.

MacBook Air M2 compared to Intel (Courtesy Apple.com)
MacBook Pro M2 compared to Intel (Courtesy Apple.com)

The new MacBook Air M2 is 15 times more powerful in dealing with video editing compared to the last generation with Intel Processors. And the the New MacBook Pro M2 is almost 16 times more powerful than my top of the line intel machine from 3 years ago. And all of this while providing me a much better battery life than my device provided during the days it was new.

The best deal if you are budget concious and do not put your laptop through tough workloads is most probably the M1 MacBook Air right now and if you are not in a hurry to upgrade like me then might as well wait for the M2 MacBook Air when the M3 gets announced. If you are however looking for a powerhouse of computing for your tasks then the budget is the only limit – but do ensure to get the Pro, as that fan in the pro is the only limiting factor for Air’s to reach that level of performance.

Hope you enjoyed the read as much as I like spending time on Apple.com! Do let me know on the comments which MacBook you decided to get or if you have any questions that I can help with.

Cheers!

Apple Event #FarOut – Sep 22

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Techtober has officially begun – in late September! Apple kicked off tech season with the unveil of the Apple Watch 8, Watch SE, Watch Ultra, AirPods Pro (2nd Gen), iPhone 14/14+, iPhone 14 Pro/Pro+. All minor iterations and improvements of previous products – except for the Watch Ultra.

1st up, Apple Watch 8 (not worth the money)

  • Temperature Sensing
  • Low Power Mode to get 36 Hours Battery Life
  • ECG
  • Crash Detection
  • Better Fall Detection
  • Better running, swim & sleep tracking
Apple Watch Series SE

2nd, Apple Watch SE (the watch to buy if you need one)

  • 20% faster than the previous SE
  • Larger Display
  • Also, crash detection & fall detection

Finally some innovation, the Watch Ultra (just take my money!)

  • Built for athletes, extreme sports – Extreme Desert, Snow, Dive, Hiking capable
  • Improved Compass, Pro running, depth gauge
  • Customizable Action Button
  • WR100 – 40m depth – EN13319
  • MIL-STD 810 – 49mmTitanium casing covering the edges of the cover sapphire crystal display
  • Precision Dual Frequency GPS
  • Night Mode
  • 60 Hours Battery Life on low power setting
  • Track back, put map markers for key locations when hiking
Apple Watch Ultra
AirPods Pro 2nd Gen

Next up, the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) (Not worth upgrading from 1st Gen)

  • Precision finding, alert speakers in case
  • Touch/Swipe controls
  • 6 Hours listening time, 30 hours with case charge
  • Better Transparency modes
  • Better Noise Cancellation
  • Lanyard Loop
  • Apple Watch charger compatible

Apple iPhone 14 & 14 Plus (Not worth the upgrade)

  • Photonic Engine – better photo capture, better night mode
  • Autofocus Front Camera
  • Crash Detection
  • Emergency SOS via Sattelite
  • Better camera
  • Brighter flash
  • Action Mode & Cinematic Mode
iPhone 14 & 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max

Last but never the least, iPhone 14 Pro & Pro Max (Again, just take my money!)

  • Dynamic Island, a pill shaped notch that opens up with quick app info – pretty creative!
  • 48MP camera, Pro camera system
  • Promotion Display
  • Always On Display!
  • 12MP UltraWide
  • A16 Bionic
  • Plus everything that the iPhone 14 has

All in, a very iterative event apart from the Watch Ultra, good iterations of course – but they have settled into the iPhone users upgrade every 3 to 4 years or more philosophy. Very far behind on the innovations compared to the Samsungs & Huawei’s on hardware and far behind Android on software – but because of the Apple EcoSystem lock-in and doing things the refined ‘Apple Way’, they always seem to stay in the game better and longer than most.

Link to the Apple Event: https://www.apple.com/ae/apple-events/

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Let’s talk about USB-C, & e-Waste – Jul 22

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The EU this year finally ruled on USB-C being the charging standard for all Smartphones going forward from Fall 2024. The rule will also apply to other electronic devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers. Laptops will have to comply with the rule at a later date. Source: Verge Article – USB-C will be mandatory for phones sold in the EU ‘by autumn 2024’

This would bring about such an amazing development in the Apple Ecosystem where we do not need a separate cable to charge the iPhones and Airpods we own; if only this applied to smart watches as well and the single cable for all tech dream would be finally true. But why does apple just not want to fully commit to USB-C, even though they have already seriously committed to it on the Laptop’s and iPads, something that perplexes most people; most think it is backward compatibility with existing cables that users already own, however that does not hold as true today as it did 3 to 4 years ago as almost all other devices have already standardized to USB-C or have committed to it.

There is a caveat here tho – in specific the EU’s press release says the new legislation applies to devices “that are rechargeable via a wired cable.” This means the previously mentioned dream of Apple Devices going portless is a possibility as well, which would be extremely unfortunate.

USB-C: Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge – https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/23/22626723/eu-commission-universal-charger-usb-c-micro-lightning-connector-smartphones
  • Why did the EU do this?
  • Will the world follow suite?
    • The EU is a usual stalwart when it comes to making sensible rules that supports the well being of consumers and the world in general and hence is a good standard to follow. For example their rules on GDPR and on CyberSecurity are rules that have pushed the industry in general to hold better standards toward privacy and security of data and people. It is also worth considering for tech companies in particular that making a region specific product creates production problems and logistics issues for them and their customers as well – hence it follows that if the EU rule is a sensible one with a positive global goal, might as well follow them for the longer positive impact on the companies image as all we the bottom line.
  • Will Apple follow suite as the largest smartphone maker?
    • This however is a trickier question, as the motivations at Apple are obviously very Apple specific and not very widely known to the public. Would apple rather go the wireless way 2 years down the line rather than put in a USB-C. Was MagSafe cases and chargers for the phone and the new MacBook Air with M2 signal the move to the MagSafe strategy rather than a USB-C. Only time will tell and USB-C is not a given by any means. And Apple fans are loyal enough and tied to the ecosystem enough to follow suite.

Apple has taken positive steps such as active recycling and recycled parts and no chargers in the box which have been successful steps to reduce e-waste and also successful due to others following suite. And logic would dictate that USB-C is the best way forward for all, but is it for Apple – that remains to be seen.

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WWDC 2022 & the ‘Meta’verse

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This year’s WWDC was not a game changing one, it was a rather iterative update on all things Apple, and probably the way Apple likes it. Post the M1 in-house customer silicon and the upgrades of M1 Pro and M1 Max, they did come up with the M2 which is more powerful and helps a battery last longer – can’t wait for the time my MacBook Pro gets old and I can upgrade to the latest at the time; kinda sad that I got the most powerful 13″ of the intel generation with all the bells and whistles just before they switched to M1 – that is what I would call unfortunate timing. Still love all my Apple gadgets.

Source: Apple.com

All of this only gets me thinking of what’s the next big step, is the update only iterative or is it a piece of a bigger puzzle that we do not yet see. Think about it, all that power in a little chip with the efficiency & battery life in that small form factor – could it be to power some other experience apart from just being an efficient video & photo editor. And that brings us to the next big thing on the horizon, the Metaverse – Virtual and Augmented worlds of the future which will be the next iteration of Social Media and bring it to a whole new digital level.

The way I see it the overall journey is a long way away –

  • first the world builds virtual worlds, as that is a lot easier first step as I understand it
  • then we get better at building those worlds in terms of resolution, quality and our interaction with the virtual world
  • all this buys us some time to develop the augmented tech that would better understand how to place digital objects in real life i.e. are we projecting into the world or into our eyes so we see it in the world or is there a 3rd option we haven’t even thought of? The answer is very unclear as we have a lot more to develop in order to get there
  • next with augmented tech comes new challenges to overcome such as interaction, how to better understand depth perception, interaction of the digital with the real
Source: Facebook.com

Such exciting things to look forward to and some people betting their companies on the promise of such a massive business case that the risk is worth the reward to be the first mover in this technology and industry. And the industry that makes the first foray successfully ends up defining the market. And that really bothers me some days, our entire virtual worlds formed and defined by a company that makes money currently via social media and selling our personal information – shudder at the thought. Talking about Facebook (now Meta) incase you are still left wondering. They are a software company that are making the biggest push in hardware ever in a ‘bet the company’ moment their CEO is having.

On the other hand we also have a contender in Apple, that says it is all about privacy which ensures some scrutiny on them ensuring they follow that path. It is a company that builds good technology and believes in privacy, if these two are my only choices then I of course choose the latter. However, it still feels the world is quite helpless that we have only the big juggernauts that can take a crack at this problem and even if smaller disruptors enter the market with an actual feasible challenge, they most probably get bought up and absorbed by the big players. It’ll of course be unbearably expensive, but any product that Apple makes in the Virtual or Augmented reality space will be an amazing contender based on their track record of hardware, software and their integration.

Source: Playstation.com

As my first foray into testing this technology out I am looking forward to the Playstation VR2, a new and improved version of the Playstation VR that promises a higher resolution, eye tracking and better interaction capabilities via new design of controllers. Might seem like a small insignificant step in gaming but it is the best use case as of today for Virtual Reality and its success propels the success of the industry.

As glued as we are to our screens, this technology will probably have the biggest impact on our lives as this will be the next screen we use to meet friends, watch movies, play games, work and experience new places and things. Looking forward to what happens next!

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DJI Mavic 3’s are out! – Travel Tech – Nov 21

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The weather’s improving, a good time to start traveling plans locally and globally – a key part of travel tech? Those awesome drone shots that just zoom out and around you. Let’s see how the DJI’s new drones help us novice’s become pro videographers!

What got launched?

  • DJI Mavic 3 @ $ 2,199 (Fly More Combo)
  • DJI Mavic 3 Cine @ $ 4,999 (Cine Premium Combo)

Whoa! Expensive – Yup, this lineup is definitely not for the casual traveller but rather the enthusiast and the travel vloggers amongst us that are rather increasing in numbers of late due to the influencer ‘epidemic’ so to speak. Haha.

What do we get for that price?

DJI Mavic 3

DJI Mavic 3 Cine

  • 4/3 CMOS Sensor Dual Hasselblad Camera System
  • 4K at up to 120FPS
  • 20MP Photos
  • Hybrid Zoom 28X Digital
  • 162mm at F/4.4
  • 46 Min Flight Time compared to 31 min of Mavic 2 & Air 2
  • Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing
  • Apple ProRes 422 HQ Footage at 5.1K uptown 50FPS
  • 1 TB SDD Inbuilt
  • Plus everything on the Mavic 3
  • Omnidirectional Vision System – Picture Courtesy DJI.com
  • Omnidirectional Vision System – Picture Courtesy DJI.com
  • Features – Picture Courtesy DJI.com
  • Accessories – Picture Courtesy DJI.com
  • Additional Features – Picture Courtesy DJI.com

The new drones have some great camera improvements and also an improved omnidirectional object avoidance that can detect objects 200m away. This enables some incredible features such as advanced RTH (Return to Hand) that finds a better route back, better active tracking to follow and chart a path around you, APAS 5.0 (Advanced Pilot Assistance System) that help guide it effectively past complex path’s as it follows and an Explore Mode that uses the tele camera to effortlessly scout and plan your shots.

This coupled with Wi-Fi 6 quick transfer and a great accessories ecosystem makes this the drone to beat. The combo’s packs provided for the price mentioned above also make it a complete package in one for travel.

  • DJI Mavic 3 – Fly More Combo – Picture courtesy DJI
  • DJI Mavic 3 Cine – Cine Premium Combo – Picture courtesy DJI

The DJI RC also helps make it as effortless as possible to maneuver the drone, the portable charger, wide angle lens and the cellular transmission dongle help make it more portable and travel further than before.

If you are considering a drone and have the money to spend, you cannot go wrong with this one!

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One Phone to rule them all? – Pixel 6 Launch – Oct 21

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Google finally did it! They launched an actual smartphone worthy of competing with the big shots in the industry. Though their focus is on their technologies – AI-based – it shows some actual interest in competing, which should excite all of us. Read on for more.

We should not mistake this for a full-blown competition with the smartphone market leader, not yet at least, as the iPhone has an ecosystem backing it which makes it sticky i.e. makes it difficult for someone to leave the iPhone behind. The way it works with the AirPods, the Apple Watch, the Mac. There is evidence for this to actually happen though as there are products in the market and all we need is software to make it all work together – which might very well be the next most logical set for Google to pursue. Which in all honesty is exciting! The Pixel Slate, the Pixel Book, the acquisition of FitBit, Google Buds – it all makes sense now! Let’s get back to the topic du jour for now – the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro – Google’s new flagship phones that have dedicated large scale marketing dollars promoting it, something rather rare for Google to do.

The Pixel 6 & Pixel 6 Pro

Launched mid-month in October, this is what they look like …

Pixel 6

Pixel 6 Pro

  • Pixel 6 – Colors – Picture Courtesy Google
  • Pixel 6 Dimensions – Colors – Picture Courtesy Google
  • Pixel 6 Pro – Colors – Picture Courtesy Google
  • Pixel 6 Pro Dimensions – Colors – Picture Courtesy Google

The difference between them is quite minimal, to be honest for the price difference – both of these are still are compelling buys:

Pixel 6 from $599

Pixel 6 Pro from $899

  • Screen
  • 6.4″, FHD+ OLED, 90 Hz
  • 6.7″ , QHD+ OLED w LTPO, 120 Hz
  • Battery
  • 4614 mAH with fast charge, fast wireless charge, battery share
  • 5003 mAH with fast charge, fast wireless charge, battery share
  • Camera’s
  • Rear: 50MP Main, 12MP Ultrawide
  • Front: 8MP
  • Night Sight, Portrait, Super Res Zoom, Motion Autofocus, Motion Mode, Magic Eraser, Face Unblur and more
  • Rear: 50MP Main, 12MP Ultrawide, 48MP Telephoto
  • Front: 11.1MP Ultrawide
  • Night Sight, Portrait, Super Res Zoom, Motion Autofocus, Motion Mode, Magic Eraser, Face Unblur and more

The Good?

The big announcement here isn’t even the phones – it’s a custom SOC (System on Chip) – called Tensor, similar to how Apple has the A-Series chips for its iPhones. And this chip will help make this a pure ‘Google’ phone – faster processing for AI-enabled features such as image and video processing, Live Translate for conversations, Dictation, Google Assistant, faster performance, and better gaming.

Google already had one of the best camera’s since the Pixel launched with a frankly bad image sensor which hadn’t changed for the past 4+ generations of the phone, this time around they have updated this sensor so expect much better photos and videos – though this is a work in progress as the software still needs to be tweaked further a little bit to take better advantage of the new sensor. It still has tough competition from the iPhone as it hasn’t necessarily competed in the market for a while and had been absent from the premium phones lineup completely for a while.

There is a new motion mode to have objects in the background with long exposures and a magic eraser in the edit mode to remove subjects from the photo that you do not want there. Both of these features alone are going to make the Pixel 6 series the standout phone for photos.

The more google features, however, work better than ever – you can now have flawless and fast transcription with good grammar too without effort; you can also speak much more fluently with someone whose language you do not speak. Live translate via the camera works blisteringly fast too.

The screen has a 90 Hz display for the Pixel 6 and 120 Hz for the 6 Pro now too for that smooth scrolling action and gaming. This coupled with a fast charge (50% in 30 min), Adaptive Battery, Underscreen Fingerprint Unlock, Extreme Battery Saver Mode, IP68 Water & Dust Resistance, Titan M2 Chip for security, battery sharing, and higher peak brightness only make the case to buy this more compelling at the price.

The Bad?

This would be an empty section if not for Google’s claim that this is the new smartphone king contender – well, not in those exact words, but almost that.

The expectation from Google’s photography capabilities are some of the highest there are – due to the benchmark that the Pixel 2 set. However, now with the new image sensor, they are still auto compensating for the images as they would with the old sensor; this needs to be improved upon and something that can be done with just software and hopefully soon.

The Material UI feels unpolished and needs to be improved upon to feel cohesive with the overall capabilities of the phone to make the OS simpler to use. The default assistant features when you slide to the side need to show more useful information.

The Ecosystem is lacking overall – however, with the Pixel Buds, Slate, PixelBook, FitBit – there is an obvious and real opportunity to make a real contender against the Apple Juggernaut.

The Verdict?

If you are looking to switch from an Apple Ecosystem and have the money to do it – the case hasn’t been made as of yet. But if you are in the market for an Android Phone – this is the best there is, hand’s down. It’s the most Googley Google phone out there and you simply could not do better. We just need to see some long-term commitment and investment from Google to make it all work cohesively and also that this isn’t one of those side projects that Google is just trying out as it has with Pixel in the past.

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Return Of the Mac! – Apple Event – Oct 21

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Techtober is in full swing as of mid October as we had long awaited product reveals from Apple and Google, all of this in one week too. First up, we look at the long awaited MacBook Pro event where Apple announced their new lineup of M1 MacBook Pro’s and the new generation of AirPods (3rd Gen).

What did they announce?

  • MacBook Pro 14″ & 16″ with the M1 Pro & Max Chips
  • AirPods 3rd Generation

Though the event was for the MacBook Pro’s the real stars were the new M1 Chips designed for the Pro’s – the M1 Pro and the M1 Max – WHY? Because these chips beat the already industry leading M1 MacBook Air’s which in turn leave almost all laptops in the same price range in the dust. And not to mention Mac’s last you twice or thrice as long as Windows Laptop’s on average.

  • The new Pro’s – beating the previous generation by miles!
  • M1 Pro and M1 Max SOC’s – Blistering Speed
  • Pro CPU Performance
  • Pro GPU Performance
  • Pro Battery Life
  • Pro SSD Speeds
  • Pro Screen
  • Pro Resolution

Oh and yes, they brought the ports back .. the new Pro’s come with HDMI and SD Card Ports – apart from Thunderbolt and MagSafe Ports. Yup, MagSafe charging for Laptop’s is back too now.

Overall, these laptop’s are amazing value for money if you are someone who already have an older MacBook Pro and do a lot of video editing or programming that needs performance. The only thing missing now is gaming and games compatibility for AAA Titles for these laptops.

They also announced new AirPods – and try not to confuse this one. If you remember the original AirPods then these are the next (3rd Gen) of those. Yes, they look like the AirPods Pro and you could also call them cheaper Pro versions too, sure.

The main thing about these is the improvement in battery life as well as the introduction of Spatial Audio – which is awesome I tell ya. The only thing missing is the Transparency and Noise Cancelling modes which are still a Pro feature.

Hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. 📝

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Windows 11 is here .. well, kinda! – Oct 21

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They said Windows 10 was the final version of Windows, they said it would just be updates from here on out! But lo and behold – here’s a refreshed visual design of Windows being called the next generation of Windows .. read on to know more.

What’s new?

  • New Start Menu & Visual Changes to the interface
  • New Widgets Menu – with quick glance information
  • New Settings Menu – easier to use
  • New Snap Assist Tool – to easily position your windows into sections of the screen
  • New Microsoft Store & XBox Apps
  • Work in Progress updates:
    • Support for Android Apps
    • Support for Direct Storage for Games
    • Performance updates for Games
  • All New Snap Assist
  • All new Microsoft Store
  • All New Widgets
  • Snap Windows
  • Microsoft Teams used for SMS as well as Video, Audio and Text Messages

Should you update?

As tempting as it may be to update, I would recommend that you wait a few months for all the bugs to be smashed and for the teething issues in the interface and guts of the software to be sorted.

To summarize as of now though, there is not much in terms of new and noteworthy in the performance or the visual redesign.

If you have a 3 years or older desktop or laptop however, I would recommend to definitely hold as there are some compatibility software updates that need to be resolved. Even probably

The Details? Mostly good, some bad.

As much as the Windows team have tried to ensure that they do not copy MacOS, there are quite a few ideas taken straight from there. However, as soon as you click that start icon – which now is in the bottom center of the screen – you see that you are still using Windows.

  • Start Menu:
    • The center start menu now opens up to an app gallery where you can pin favorite apps right up to, it also features a search bar right up top with buttons to take you to all apps installed and also a button to get you to recommended i.e. recent files.
    • Plus the Shutdown, restart button and settings icon – all of which can be customized along with shifting start to the left similar to the old way.
    • You can also pin apps to the taskbar for easier access similar to Windows 10.
  • Visuals:
    • Rounded Corners, refreshed icons, emoji’s and overhauled + simplified look
  • Widgets:
    • Widgets now slide from the left side out and has some prebuilt widgets – however, something I rarely used (called tiles in Windows 10), and I don’t see the appeal, function or use of it still – time will tell.
    • Currently you can add the below, but no 3rd Party apps:
      • Outlook Calendar
      • To Do
      • Photos
      • Tips
      • Entertainment
      • Family Safety
      • Weather
      • Watchlist
      • Plus a newsfeed at the bottom
  • Settings Menu:
    • Easier to use and Navigate compared to before making it faster to change via the quick access to the left side of the window
    • Light Mode and Dark Mode Options + plus switching without reloading the window like before
    • You will also be able to switch on Auto HDR if you have a monitor that supports it
  • Snap Assist:
    • This is something they have copied from the Mac and improved upon in my opinion where the windows snap as before as well as you have snap layouts that fit your open windows into some useful preset options
  • Microsoft Teams and Messages are now one app:
    • They have updated Teams to now handle SMS messages so you can send and receive messages from the app on your desk
  • The Bad Stuff:
    • Cannot drag files into the task bar folders and apps as before
    • There are still barebones of Windows of the past still visible via the Command Prompt, Task Manager and some other windows some of which do not even switch on the Dark Mode switch
    • Only the primary monitor displays the easy access icons on the bottom right such as time, date, battery, bluetooth etc. The rest of the monitors do not.

Work in Progress updates !!

  • Performance Improvements:
    • There were supposed to be performance improvements with the introduction of Windows 11, however, as of now this doesn’t seem to have made any noticeable changes
  • Android Apps:
    • This is purely a workaround, but there will soon be an Amazon App Store that will have it’s own collection of Android Apps that you will be able to access via that store; how well these apps work and perform however is something that we need to wait and watch
  • Direct Storage Access:
    • Provided Games support it (which most don’t currently) the data can be loaded directly from the SSD via the GPU rather than the CPU which would result in much faster load times, which will have a significant boost incase you do not already have SSD’s

With all of this and more, hopefully Windows has a much better time going forward – keep in mind, every alternate version of Windows has been a disaster – Windows 8, Vista, ME; so this has a lot of history going against it.

Hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. Do like and subscribe for more.

Cheers! 🙂

Tesla in the Middle East? – Oct 21

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Have always been a techie at heart and one of the things I have been pondering on lately is a wish list item – A Tesla. I always push myself to have goals for fear of being bored by life in general – be it a skill, spiritual or materialistic. And now that my Mustang is about 5+ years old and I think about my next goal – my love of technology, cars and want for being sustainable – a tesla seems to check a lot of boxes for a worthy goal.

After a bit of research, here’s a summary of findings that you might find useful to either satiate your curiosity or if you, like me, are also pondering such things.

Tesla at a Glance : S3XY (Oct 21)

Tesla At A Glance, Data courtesy Tesla.com UAE, summarized by @robinbmac

Which one should you get?

  • Budget Conscious?
    • If you are budget conscious first and foremost, this car is probably not for you as even the cheapest of the lot is quite so very expensive. But if you still do want to get one, then I’d recommend sticking to the Model 3 or the Model Y.
      • The Model 3 if you are either single or have a small family and do not need to carry around too much when shopping.
      • The Model Y if you have a regular size family and also do need space when traveling or shopping. Waiting for a 7 seater model to be available in UAE however, which isn’t the case as of now.
  • Tech Savvy?
    • If you are Tech Savvy, any of these machines would actually do depending on the space you need for yourself or your family. It is completely stocked with tech from a mobile app, self-parking, sentry mode to other cool things. Maybe even spring some extra money for the full self-driving.
  • Traveler?
    • If you love to travel, then definitely consider the long range models of the car that you prefer as it would most definitely come in handy in the ‘long-run’ (get it, haha – sorry I had to).
  • Best of the Best?
    • If you only want the best of the best, you have to consider the Plaid versions seriously – why you ask?:
      • Quickest accelerating and highest torque
      • 3 High Performance Motors
      • Torque vectoring (Torque vectoring is a technology employed in automobile differentials that has the ability to vary the torque to each half-shaft with an electronic system. This method of power transfer has recently become popular in all-wheel drive vehicles.)

Other things to keep in mind?

  • Firstly, the Tesla isn’t cheap (even the cheapest of the lot) and to be able to use it regularly you definitely need to know when and where you can charge your car. So if you do not have a house where you can overnight charge or an area where you have multiple fast chargers you can access – this is not the car for you.
  • If you can wait, please consider that the deliveries take up to 2 quarters (4-6 months) on average; also check out the competition from Ford, Porsche and others. Tesla definitely is a tech company before anything else and they are learning how to manufacture cars and consider ranges etc., however, car companies producing electric cars have much more experience with what car owners expect. So expect a bit of a shock on how a car functions when buying from Tesla. One example of such a case is – when Tesla is approaching 0 km in distance to empty, consider fueling up asap as zero is actually zero and sometimes earlier; whereas a Ford Mustang Mach-E even at zero has some way to go before it stops fully.
  • If you have a place of your own, consider getting a Tesla Powerwall and also some Solar Panels – consider going fully green, this would be great for your bills (car & home) in the long run and the planet. 🙂

Go to Tesla.com to learn more and maybe order one for yourself if you are the impulsive type.

Hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. Do like and subscribe for more.

Cheers! 🙂

Ski Days @ Gudauri, Georgia – Apr 2021

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Ever had that feeling of being in snow because you’ve had enough of the desert for the last 20+ years; okay maybe not that latter part, but at-least the want for the snow. Well if you live in the Middle East or Europe – Gudauri, Georgia might be that spontaneous break you might need. This was our second time in the country and still an amazing one.

We had a similar feeling back in April this year, and after a year and then some of being stuck at home – and we did, thanks to my wife ‘the amazing vacation whisperer’ us and two friends dashed off to the snowy side of Georgia for some sun, snow, ski and fireside pizza on the slopes of Gudauri. If you are itching to do the same, read on – details on what we recommend.

But First, the checklist:

  • Visa Related – for UAE Residents there is visa on arrival
  • Travel Essentials:
    • Toiletries – the usual depending on hostel or hotel stay
    • Tech – just your phone+power-bank would do apart from a universal power adapter; GoPro, Drone, Insta360 if you love good video captures
  • Snow Gear – the usual snow jackets with a hoodie, pants, socks, shoes, gloves at the minimum
  • Thermal Underwear – Trust me, do not go cheap on these, totally worth the spend; and get more than one as things don’t dry as well in the snow – even indoors.
  • About 50 Georgian Lari or GEL (local currency) per day – depending on how much exploring you plan to do – does not cover hotel stay. 1 Lari = 1.18 AED (Sep 2021) plus some extra for the Covid Test you might have to do based on the length of the stay and for the exit out of the country. Skiing is relatively cheap in Georgia.
  • Translator App – since most don’t speak English well, though do expect quite a few english speaking people even if broken english, the Georgians are a very kind people mostly we’ve found
  • Roaming Data or Local SIM – would be useful out of the airport to use the Bolt App (similar to Uber/Careem) for transport, really cheap compared to Taxi’s & booking.com travel service + there’s a cash option to pay. Also keep in mind once you get to Gudauri, there is no bolt so better make friends with the local cabbies – cheaper than hotel transport I assure you.
  • Also read up on the most current Covid Regulations to be aware – during our time, curfews started at 9pm i.e. no one outside after 9pm or else you get fined. And no restaurants open on the weekends (Saturday & Sunday) and I mean none of them.

The Flight & Drive to Gudauri

  • Dubai International to Tbilisi International
  • Flight from Dubai
  • Arriving to Georgia
  • Arriving to Georgia
  • Tbilisi International to Gudauri
  • Tbilisi International Airport

The Flight is a relatively short one from Dubai International Airport to Tbilisi International in Georgia clocking in 3 Hours 30 min. And if you are traveling from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, it is a frequently travelled route that would cost in the range of AED 1000/- to AED 1,600/- on average in 2021 depending on the time of the year. Though if it is specifically for snow days then best to go between December to April.

If you go through the slide show on the left, you would see that once the scenery passing your window shifts to pink lakes and then snow you know you are in Eastern Europe. And then finally it is a 2 Hours 30 min drive from the airport till snowy Gudauri that cost about 60 GEL (Georgian Lari).

Day 1 – Walking around in snow

Once we landed and drove down to Best Western in Gudauri, we rested up for a bit, got into our snow gear and walked up the mountain to the ‘Drunk Cherry’ restaurant – always look to Google & Trip Advisor Reviews to find the best places.

Slide show on the right showing the snowy areas around our hotel and the scenic snowy mountain sides; the walk up towards Drunken Cherry and finally the delicious food there.

Was a first day well spent, we even ran into cops on the way down back to the hotel as we were a little bit past curfew. The cops were sweet enough to tell us not be out past 10pm and to plan our outings accordingly. The curfews of course are in place due to the Covid pandemic and impact not only evenings but also the weekends – when no restaurants are to be open. Apart from that it’s pretty free up in Gudauri.

  • Snowy Views from Best Western Guduari
  • Snowy Views around Best Western Guduari
  • Snowy Views around Best Western Guduari
  • Walks around Snowy Gudauri
  • Drunken Cherry, Gudauri
  • View from Drunken Cherry, Gudauri
  • Drunken Cherry, Gudauri
  • Food @ Drunken Cherry, Gudauri
  • Food @ Drunken Cherry, Gudauri
  • Best Western Gudauri

Day 2 – To Ski or not to Ski

When around on the first day we did enquire around about the rental’s for the ski equipment and for the ski slope pass to use the snow lifts. So as we began the second day we had a plan after breakfast on where to go and what to do. Surprisingly enough the ski equipment and the slopes were relatively inexpensive. We even got a training instructor each in order to learn the right way to ski. I decided to learn snowboarding whereas the rest chose to ski.

  • Traveling uphill on the snow lift
  • The View from the 1st Slope Restaurant in Gudauri
  • The View from the 1st Slope Restaurant in Gudauri
  • The View from the Slopes in Gudauri
  • Restaurant VITA MIN at the top of the slope
  • Kachapuri from VITA MIN in Gudauri
  • View down hill from the snow lifts in Gudauri
  • View down hill from the snow lifts in Gudauri

The Bill for Skiing comes up as below:

  • Ski Pass x 2 Days = 80 GEL
  • Ski Gear x 2 Days = 80 GEL
  • Ski Instructor / Hour = 60 GEL

Apart from the above to consider would be the food and drink to get through the day as it does get quite exhausting, especially when considering the effort exerted when learning and more importantly when you see kids 5 years old that ski effortlessly and want to be half as good.

The pictures to the left don’t do justice to the actual view in person – but seeing that the pictures itself are so good that the in person view is truly magnificent. Some good restaurants along the slopes as well to satisfy the appetite that comes along and you get to meet some amazing friends along the way too.

Other things to do before you head out

There are other restaurants that we visited during our time there apart from Drunken Cherry, VITA MIN and the food at the Best Western.

We had some good food and drink at the Platforma Restaurant and Varstla Restaurant as well. These places were good too; not great though. Platforma was such a good ambiance and service comparatively though for a big meal and some variety. Varstla was more a home cooked feel though the variety wasn’t the best.

In particular there is a Sparkling Pear Lemonade popular in Georgia that you have to try; quite a unique taste that most might really like in my opinion.

Also keep in mind to make friends with the local taxi drivers as the hotel transfers are always far more expensive – i.e. double if not more.

  • Food at Platforma Restaurant
  • Food at Platforma Restaurant
  • Food at Platforma Restaurant
  • Food at Platforma Restaurant
  • Ambiance at Platforma Restaurant
  • Ambiance at Platforma Restaurant
  • Taxi’s in Gudauri
  • Khinkali from Restaurant Varstla

Last but not the least, we chose Best Western primarily because of the Hot Tub Jaccuzi on the roof in the open snow, which was definitely an amazing highlight of our evenings and nights there. Something about being in the snow in hot bubbly water that is just plan enjoyable.

Hope you enjoyed the read. Do like and subscribe for more.

Cheers! 🙂

The Surface that could – Microsoft Sep 21 Event

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The market is in such bad a state that it is currently only a monopoly that could aspire to break up another monopoly. Microsoft took a well deserved hiatus from mobile hardware to focus on the cloud but now that their cloud act is at the top of it’s game they have been focusing on the Mobile Products division with the help of Panos Panay. And so the Surface Strategy is back with a new line of up of products to tempt you away from the iOS or Android Monopolies that you are already a part of and these are the products they announced.

The Surface Duo 2

Yup, Duo 2’s the name and it isn’t Deja-Vu. The second iteration of the Surface Folding Phone – all improved with a curved center edge, a thinner and lighter form factor, a slimmer pen and a new camera line up. Better specifications to boot as well. A pure ‘workaholic’s’ & Multitasker’s delight in my opinion. The only thing I would consider to replace my iPhone but only during work hours and not anything else.

Link to Technical Specifications here

The Refreshed Surface Laptops Line-Up

Next up is the refreshed line-up of Laptops and at first glance all you see is that they have upped the specifications and not much else for all except the Surface Laptop Studio which apart from the specs also had a new form factor to go with it.

Surface Laptop Studio

The screen is quite an amazing achievement, it also folds from it’s center back position to lay flat over the entire body so you can use the pen that hides under it’s mouse pad to write, draw and more. However, an overall bulky device with a box underneath for ventilation via fans and vents. Unsure how this performs in the market with better value for money options that are more powerful.

Link to the Technical Specifications here

The rest of the devices are nothing to write too much about, we have the Surface Pro 8, which is probably the best of the lot for its power for form factor ratio and also the detachable keyboard with the hidden pen slot. If you need a windows laptop + tablet for portability and work – this is the device for you. Well worth the spend just for the portability alone. The upgrades on this are nothing more than the spec’s tho.

You also have the Surface Go 3 if you need a budget friendly device, however the sacrifices it makes ensures it isn’t a great value for money. For this price range there are definitely better deals from other manufacturers out there. An new iPad would be a much better value for money with lower cost in this case.

Oh and yes, just to tick the box of being environmentally conscious, they also released a mouse made of recycled ocean plastic. So there’s that. Awesome, I guess.

Would you recommend buying one?

At this time, the only one worth recommending is the Surface Pro 8 in case you are looking for a portable windows machine with the emphasis on portable. The Surface Duo 2 can also be recommended if your work productivity is front and center in your list of priorities especially if tied into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Apart from that the rest are not ready for prime time and do not justify the price for the value they deliver.

Hope you enjoyed the read. Do like and subscribe for more.

Cheers! 🙂

How do we perfect perfection? The Apple Sep 21 Event

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So we just went through a whole week where we had anticipation before the event and then disappointment after, and this brought me to think over the weekend about why Apple took this route – and most of this might be glaringly obvious and some of it might not at all. But here’s my thoughts on why Apple had the product launch it did. Read on.

So .. What happened?

Apple launched iterative updates for all its products in a sense implying their products are quite perfect already and they could just get away with improving on the things that matter such as the display, camera and the battery – some would say this is the right way to go but as always there are also quite a few that disagree and call this a slowdown in the pace of innovation as compared to their Android competitors. Below summary details on the products launched and the updates made on these products:

  • iPhone 13 / 13 Mini / 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max – With improvements in the processor, camera and the battery life for the 13 & Mini + the additional telephoto camera and the 120 Hz Display for the Pro versions

  • iPad / iPad Mini – An updated standard iPad for a relatively cheap option with an Apple Pencil, an updated Mini that is just an iPad Air in a smaller form factor for those who prefer it

  • Apple Watch – A slightly bigger + brighter screen, more durable and faster charging (with a USB-C connector now)

  • Apple TV+ & Apple Fitness+ – New shows and seasons for the TV and new + better workouts for the Fitness App

Why would Apple do this?

So why does Apple think they can get away with only iteration and a lack of innovation. So many theories, such short attention span’s to contend with.

  • 5G – Let’s start with the biggest incentive of all to have an event in the first place, sell product+service. With carrier partnerships all across who want to promote their 5G networks and are ready to subsidize your old iPhones to give you new ones – there’s no better time than the present to launch a shiny new phone, iPad and Watch even if the updates are only iterative.

  • Why mess with perfection? – The phones and the ecosystem as they are, are pretty amazing and at the #1 charts across the world in Phone sales. So why take risks by putting in an innovation that might not be well received. Which is why it makes sense to just make the safest of updates to improve products that are already good.

  • The Supply Chain? – There is a robust supply chain that has parts sourced for the massive demand for Apple products worldwide. So it makes sense to stretch out the parts for more years which results in price optimization and more importantly profit optimization.

  • Legacy – There is a whole world of legacy, Apple approved accessories that have to pay Apple for the usage rights to be apple certified; all of which goes away then they switch away to more open technologies such as USB-C. There are also other devices in the eco system that still have to switch over such as the iPad and the AirPods. This creates a kind of lock in as well for the accessories ecosystem of Apple’s most popular product, the iPhone. Revenues for which it needs to find ways to compensate for.

Would you recommend buying one?

This is subjective and relatively straight forward – if you own one of these products from 2 to 3 + generations ago, this is an amazing upgrade to get and well worth the money. If however you have all the latest from last year – definitely do not spend and either spend it on something else you might need or save for next year.

What next?

There is of course innovation in Apple’s future, purely because the market forces would enforce innovation lest they perish similar to the likes of Nokia and Blackberry. What can and will they do next? Thoughts below:

  • Competition – Apple is currently a market leader despite the lack of innovation it seems to display. If you hear the experts discussing this you would mostly hear that Apple usually implements innovations after they have been tested and proven in the market, and they they innovate on top. There are innovations and technologies that are still in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd generations that still need to prove themselves, a few to name as below:
    • Foldable Screens
    • Underscreen Fingerprint Scanner
    • Underscreen Selfie Camera’s
    • USB-C for the iPhone’s
    • Stylus for the iPhone

  • Augmented Reality – One of the big focuses for Apple post the Services push (Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+) has been augmented reality. Current speculation is that this would result in a Mixed Reality Headset that incorporates both Virtual and Augmented Reality; however very little is known on the final product they plan to release as well as when they plan to release it. However, they have started working on this with the Lidar sensors added to the phone and AR apple such as Pokemon Go etc.

  • Apple Car – the edge of the rumor mill is always the Apple Car, speculation stating that Apple will eventually get into Tesla’s business using its design philosophy and computing chops. However, we are still to see proof on how this shakes out eventually since this isn’t something the company will take lightly and would want to refine and get approvals for before they roll a product out.

Looking forward to the next Apple Event for the MacBooks and who know’s what else which might happen in the October/November timeframe of the year.

Hope you enjoyed the read. Do like and subscribe for more.

Cheers! 🙂

Pictures courtesy Apple from the Apple Event on 15 Sep 21