Saturday 30 November 2013

If you have got a apple ipad, is it worth purchasing a nexus 10?

It in fact holds up very well. Actually, there is little to choose between the two.

I have to say that both devices are utterly brilliant. Neither one would make for a bad tablet decision, so anyway you’re onto a winner.

Due to the closeness of the competition, a lot of the response is going to be subjective. Because I am a bigger admirer of Apple’s iOS than We are of Google’s Android (though I do like Android lots) I will say that the iPad is a better package. Again, that is just my view. I’ve been using Apple computers for numerous years now and We would personally not go over to anything else.

So, so as to respond this title in more detail, I went in for a 2nd opinion. To this end, I spoke to Seb Warren, who is the founder of the modern online customer tech group AppleFanBoii, as well as the technology expert and all-round polite chap.

For Seb (who, admittedly, is really a little biased) the Nexus 10 has instantaneous benefits over the iPad within the areas of cost and the customizability of Android (compared with iOS). “Personally, and it’s coming from an Apple fanboy, Android wins” he said, “The iPad 4 is still running iOS 6, which includes a tedious, stale layout. However, you may make the Nexus 10 your own”

He followed on to redeem himself in the view of his fellow ‘Apple-ites’ (they dislike it when I call them that) by admiring the iPad’s user-friendliness “If you want a tablet for easy use, then its apple ipad 4 for sure” he laughed, before adding “…and the display is gorgeous”.

When it comes to basic stats, the Nexus 10 is lighter than the apple ipad 4 by some 50g, that’s significant and renders the Nexus as a more transportable of the two. Though, the apple ipad 4 has a slightly enhanced battery life. The iPad also has an option for up to 64GB of storage space, whereas the Nexus only goes as high as 32GB.

What really stunned me is that the Nexus 10 actually has a higher screen resolution than the iPad 4. The Retina Screen may become a great bit of branding, but recent tablet pc’s, like The Microsoft Surface, have equalled it (and perhaps bettered it a few times) in terms of display quality.

Oddly, the more tech minded amongst you might find the Google nexus 10 to be a better experience; it’s also the selection to make if money can be a large factor in your decision. Though, the apple ipad, with its winning mix of reliability, sterling popularity, simple use and access to best app store around is unquestionably definitely worth the extra money in my view.

Friday 29 November 2013

Koudounaris’ book, ‘Heavenly Bodies’ is on the market now.

Paul Koudounaris, who is also identified by his nickname ‘Indiana Bones’ is an author, photographer and foremost authority on bone-decorated places and ossuarys. Earlier this year, Koudounaris published a book that includes high definition images of that 400-year-old ‘catacomb saints’ of Rome, a bunch of corpses that was carefully decked with charms and finery before being offered as the remains of saints to congregations across Europe.

Through the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, Catholic churches were routinely stripped of these relics, symbols and finery. In order to defy this, The Vatican had very old skeletons removed out of the Catacombs of Rome and lavishly decorated as a remains of acknowledged saints.

Even though mostly forgotten until Koudounaris published his book, the catacomb saints still fascinate concerned parties; they may also still encourage religious zeal. In 1977, the township of Ruttenbach in Bavaria worked hard to raise sufficient funds to buy back two of their primary saints from secretive collectors, the decorative skeletons had originally been auctioned off in 1803.

The book, that Koudounaris has surreptitiously titled ‘Heavenly Bodies’ sees its author attempt to find and photograph each of the surviving tomb saints.

In their heyday (a age that lasted over 200 years before finally coming to a close in the 19th century), the saints traversed all over the place, being transported at huge expense by the Church. They were venerated as things of devotion, or conduits for prayer.

However the saints could appear unusual to modern eyes (one Telegraph reporter described these as ‘ghastly’), it’s important to understand that people who prayed at the feet of those gilded cadavers were a great deal nearer to demise than their modern counterparts. While in the wake of The Black Death (which recurred frequently right through Europe from the 14th to the 17th Centuries), art, literature and even worship had moved to accept such ghoulish, macabre images.

The remnants were regularly adorned by nuns and sometimes placed in various realistic poses, before being secured in glass cabinets. Some of our careful decoration took as long as five years to finish, with jewellery and costumes being exceptionally impressive.

Koudounaris’ book, ‘Heavenly Bodies’ is available now.



Monday 25 November 2013

The Microsoft surface Pro, What browsers are the best for that tablet

The Surface Pro is a varied bag, at least in the eyes of most critics.

Consider this review by Marc Weber Tobias of Forbes.com,

“Microsoft has created a sophisticated piece of hardware that can perform the functions of a tablet and ultrabook. The reality is that the Surface Pro works well in both environments but is too much of a compromise. If that works for you, then the Windows tablet will be a great addition to your travel tools arsenal. Just be sure you don’t stay too far from a power outlet for too long a time”.

One or two reviewers/buyers loved it, but most were a little bit let down. A few hated it, but the remainder did not go that far. The truth is that the Microsoft surface Pro did not turn out to become the ‘iPad killer’ that it was speculated to be. Arguments that it is finicky to work, overpriced and unfamiliar all held water, but it’s also worth noting that it is not really a terrible tablet.

In reality, despite most of the aforementioned drawbacks (many of which I touched upon in earlier reviews) this was still a top-end pc tablet and a wonderful display and superb hardware. It handles the Internet better than most tablet pc’s, as well.

Now, when it comes to Internet use, particularly on lightweight devices, many of us have moved from Internet explorer and in the direction of other browsers. Microsoft acknowledges this (albeit grudgingly) but evidently they’d choose Windows 8 buyers to choose IE 10.

So, is Internet Explorer 10 it any good? In fact, when used on the Surface, yes it is.

If you are planning on having a Surface or Microsoft surface Pro, you will actually be at your finest, Web-wise, with IE 10. Several have recommended Google Chrome as the best option, but if Pastor Shaw (writing for a Surface-based blog back in April) is accurate then I doubt that may be true forever, (S)he says:

 “Chrome doesn’t pinch to zoom, but it handles Google’s stuff really well, especially with extensions.  If only Chrome was more memory efficient and had pinch to zoom.  The forums don’t believe there’s much hope for Google to try to support pinch-to-zoom on Windows 8, because of a not-so-secret cold war brewing between Microsoft and Google.  Soon we’ll have to pick sides.  If you use many services like me, this expanding gulf may force you to pick sides”.

 At the end of our day, Microsoft do their best work within their own back garden. Straying too off from the ‘Microsoft Method’ does not usually lead to good things when it is brought to using Microsoft products (same with Apple, #in that# regard).

Like anything else, there can be conflicting opinions plus the question itself is extremely subjective. Personally, I consider that Internet explorer 10 may be the best browser for that Microsoft surface and Microsoft surface Pro. It’s the default browser plus the device is intended to use with it. So that’s the solution I’m going with.



Friday 15 November 2013

Sena SR10: Wirelessly Add 2-way Radio to Your Motorcycle Ride

Latest news – We have said for a while, Bluetooth is the future for 2 way radios and earpieces. With so many different incarnations of the tech to try and adapt it for that walkie talkie market, nobody has yet got it small enough to work stealthily enough. This analysis from a motorbike website may give us an indication of how the tech is progressing.

Sena SR10 Two-Way Radio Adapter Review with Midland Radio BT Next and Midland Two-Way Radio

I’m an admitted tech addict and enjoy looking for and finding new gadgets that enhance life’s experiences. This is especially the case for moto-related kit and, lately, Bluetooth (BT) gizmos. While writing our recent BT headset reviews, I became interested in pairing a two-way radio to my helmet’s headset.

Some riders to whom I’ve spoken eschew the use of any newfangled item that could distract them or in some way diminish the riding experience and I respect that.

Personally, I find only enjoyment and an extra margin of safety in being able to communicate with other riders, listen to music or FM radio, GPS instructions and make or take the occasional phone call.

Until now, to communicate with my buddies I’ve used the intercom function built into virtually all BT headsets on the market today. Most offer full duplex operation (like a telephone, all parties can talk at once without having to press a push-to-talk (PTT) button) and a line-of-sight range up to a mile but, often, much less.

I read that some headsets allow pairing to a two-way radio which offers not only greater range but the ability to have an unlimited number of participants on the conversation, unlike headset intercoms that have a limitation on the number of pairings.

Also eliminated would be the need to stop and pair the headsets to one another in advance. Wouldn’t it be great if our group did this and agreed upon a certain radio channel? We could shout out to one another when heading to a meeting and converse during the ride. Changes in plans could be made on the fly without waving hands in some, often misunderstood, hand signals. Then there’s “that guy” who always takes the lead on a ride just when there is a critical turn to make and he doesn’t know the way.

The solution is easier than you might think. All you need is a two-way radio and a BT adapter since no consumer priced radios to date have BT built in (that’s on the way but not yet). For this review I used Sena’s SR10 BT adapter along with Midland Radio’s BT Next headset and GXT1000 FRS/GMRS radio.

The SR10 adapter connects to most popular radios via a short cable unique to each brand, so check Sena’s list to make sure they offer one for the radio you want to use. As an added bonus, the SR10 has two AUX ports that enable you to connect non-Bluetooth devices such as radar detector, GPS navigation and non-BT MP3 player but I didn’t try that for this review.

Once all your devices are charged up the SR10 (which utilizes a micro-USB cable – my favorite for simplicity’s sake) pairs easily with the headset with just a few key presses. One important caveat to note here is that the SR10 must pair with a BT channel that supports Hand-Free Profile (HFP) on the your headset. All headsets have at least on HFP channel but that is usually paired to the phone. Some headsets, like the BT Next, have more than one channel supporting HFP and that is a key feature, allowing the two-way radio to coexist with the phone and music player. If your headset only has one HFP channel you may pair it with the SR10 then pair your phone to the SR10 as well. I tried this and it worked but I could not use the music player built into my phone. There are often trade-offs to be made in the world of BT.

For this review my buddy Rick and I each placed a radio and adapter in our tank bag. The SR10 offers VOX (voice-actuated talk) but also has a wired PTT switch included. During our initial testing we found that the VOX worked well but usually required several loud spoken words to switch over so we opted to use the PTT buttons. We zipped our tank bags to allow the antenna to peek out and the PTT cable was routed to the left handgrip and attached with the included rubber strap.

We liked the ease of use with the PTT button which allows quick back-and-forth conversations. The GXT1000 produces a soft beep upon releasing g the PTT button and advises others that you have closed the connection. Better than having to say “over” each time you end a sentence.

Priorities are important in BT as they instruct the headset as to what devices override others. In this case, when receiving from the other rider, the headset quieted the FM radio or music player to allow us to hear the other rider.

As with all BT and other moto devices, my advice is to set them up, test and get acclimated to them before going near your bike. Once we were done with that we rode the freeways for 10 miles to some hilly back roads. Operation was easy and I let Rick head out while I waited near the on-ramp. At a range of about a mile or more I started to lose him even though the radios were set in high-power mode. This is still a far greater range than the intercom but illustrates the limitations of UHF radios. In our canyon segment of the test, range was reduced further but was always better than the intercoms.

The GXT1000 is rated to 36 miles range but Midland advises that this is greatly affected by the surroundings and we proved that. I chose this FRS/GMRS static-free UHF radio because of the relative quiet as compared to CB radios.

Range can be improved by mounting the radios higher up on the bike or by buying a radio with a connector to a better, permanently mounted antenna. CB, on the other hand, while producing more audible noise, is affected less by terrain due to the characteristics of the frequencies in which it operates.

When asked about range limitations, Midland’s Emily Frame replied, “While they (FRS/GMRS radios) do have the capability to be used with the BTs, we find this is not our customer’s first choice. Our CBs are made more for use in vehicles, such as trucks, and are great for communication on the road.” Live and learn.

Our BT to two-way test was, everything considered, a success. We proved that one does not need a degree in electrical engineering to make this technology work for you. I am going to try to get my hands on a pair of CB radios and, when I do, I will do another review, hopefully, extolling their virtue.

Look for more reviews on BT headsets and gadgets in the coming weeks with Uclear’s HBC200 Force headset with boom-less microphone technology scheduled for my next review.

http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/sena-sr10-wirelessly-add-2-way-radio-to-your-motorcycle-ride/

Tuesday 12 November 2013

(Potential) Explanation Presented for ‘After Death’ Experiences

The latest scientific analysis has recommended that dying rats encounter an odd flow of extreme neural motion throughout their final moments of existence. This amplified brain use may be in line with (and thusly clarify) Human accounts of close to or after death experiences, as reported by some people worldwide.

Approximately a fifth of all those who have survived a cardiac arrest have reported having an ‘After Death Experience’ or ADE.  This is quite an alarming statistic, particularly as ADE tends to use a profound effect within the existence of that survivor. Having an ADE is seen by many as certain substantiation of an afterlife or a continuation of the individual’s soul after death.

Equally, a ‘Near Death Experience’ (or NDE) is believed to be like to an ADE, but clearly occurs whilst the patient remains to be technically living. Most people who experience NDE’s report a floating sensation or ‘Out of Body Experience’ (OBE), as well as encounters with angels, late members of the family and loved ones. Both NDE and ADE survivors often portray traversing a long tunnel in the direction of an intense light.

Negotiations of life after death appear in early scriptures, archaeological sites and many following works of philosophy and also have fascinated (and frightened) Persons, regardless of creed, ethnic group or culture, since time immemorial.

After recovering from surgery in 1979, Jazmyne Cidavia-DeRepentigny of Hull, Georgia, USA, reported a classic NDE account that was ultimately published in the book ‘Beyond The Light’ by P.M.H Atwater in 1994. Like many people, Jazmyne recounts facts of her surgery that would be very difficult to obtain were she lying.

Jazmyne says that “I was suspended over my body.  I could see and hear everything that was being said and done.  I left the room for a short while and came back to where my body lay.  I knew why I died.  It was because I could not breathe.  I had a tube along my throat and the health staff did not have an oxygen mask on my nostril.  I had also been provided excessive general anesthetic”.

She went to illustrate her efforts to remove the tube from her throat in a relatively disturbing account.

Prior to that aforementioned study, it is established proven fact that brain activity ceases once the heart stops. This has now been demonstrated as being untrue, at least so far as rats are concerned. It’s also the strongest hypothesis thus far concerning the reasons of ADEs, OBEs and NDEs.

One of those scientists responsible for these results, Dr. George Mashour of the University of Ann Arbour, Michigan, USA said that the team was “astonished with the high levels of activity” in the rodents. “In truth, at near-death numerous identified electrical signatures of consciousness exceeded degrees found in the waking state, suggesting the brain is able of well-organized electric activity during the early phase of clinical death.” He said.

The team’s lead scientist, Dr. Jimo Borjigin added that “This research paper tells us that degradation of oxygen or equally oxygen and glucose during cardiac arrest can stimulate neural activity that is characteristic of mindful processing,”

However, Dr. Martin Coath on the University of Plymouth, United kingdom was somewhat critical of the team’s findings.

Dr. Coath said, because the rats were anaesthetized, the findings better demonstrated the unconscious brain’s reaction to the dangerous lack of blood flow and oxygen. He also said that the study had not essentially showed that any ‘sharp cognizant processing’ had in fact taken place, suggesting the wording of that conclusion was “a bit of a stretch”. He commented that, while the consequences were “genuinely interesting” they were also “hardly amazing”.

The results of the report will little doubt be of great importance to many inside the scientific community, also as religious groups, those fascinated in the paranormal and those who have experienced an ADE or NDE.
 
SOURCES:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/paranormal-death-experiences-explained-204403437.html#7mbMENa

http://www.iands.org/nde-stories/17-nde-accounts-from-beyond-the-light.html

Saturday 9 November 2013

Could we have discovered possibilities of life from another planet?

A team of British scientists believe that they have found organisms in earth’s atmosphere that originate from outer space.

As difficult as that could be to judge, Professor Milton Wainwright, the team’s chief, insists that this is definitely the instance.

The team, out of the University of Sheffield, exposed the tiny organisms (misleadingly known as ‘bugs’ by a lot of demanding journalists) living on a research balloon that had been sent 16.7 miles into our atmosphere during last month’s Perseids meteor shower.

In response to Professor Wainwright, the microscopic creatures couldn’t have been passed into the stratosphere on the balloon. He said, “Most will presume that those biological particles have to have just drifted up into the stratosphere from Earth, but it is usually accepted a particle of the volume found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km. The one well-known exemption is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within 3 years of their sampling trip.”

Wainwright maintains that only salient end is that the organisms originated from space. He went on to mention that “life just isn’t restricted to the planet and it almost definitely didn’t originally come here”

However, not everyone is so convinced. Dr. Seth Shostak, senior astronomer with the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) project stated, “I’m very skeptical. This claim has been made beforehand, and dismissed as earthly contamination.” The team responds to this by saying they were thorough when they prepared the balloon before the experiments begun.

Yet, they’d acknowledge that there might be an unidentified method for those organisms to achieve such altitudes. It should also be well-known that microbal organisms discovered in the 1980’s and 1990’s and called ‘extremophiles’ surprised the scientific community by living in environments that will immediately kill the majority of life on earth.

These creatures have always been observed living deep under Glacial ice or even 1900 feet below the ocean floor. In March of this year, Ronnie Glud, a biogeochemist in the Southern Danish University in Odense, Denmark was quoted as saying “Inside the most remote, hostile areas, you can even have higher motion than their surroundings,” which “You can find microbes in all places – they are extremely malleable to conditions, and stay alive where they’re,” so this indicates more plausible that either the team is in error, or that this is just another case of microscopic life showing up in an unusual place.

In addition, it is not the first time this particular team has come under fire for stating such claims, either. Back in January of this year, astrobiologist Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe reported that ‘fossils’ found from a Sri Lankan meteorite were evidence of extraterrestrial life, an assertion that was widely criticized by the scientific community.


Other scientists have complained that there frankly isn’t enough proof to generate such a claim, as a theory this significant would require a huge body of proof to prove its validity.


What that says to this reporter is that microbes can exist pretty much anyplace and that it simply is not good science to jump to wild conclusions like aliens each time a more plausible answer is most likely present. Science should not be subject to such wild leaps of fancy. Imagination is a superb aid to science, but it really isn’t a science in and of itself. Sadly, Dr. Wainwright and his group seem to be seeing what they want to see.

SOURCES:

http://www.livescience.com/27954-microbes-mariana-trench.html

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/09/22/news/entertainment/have-we-found-alien-life/

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/alien-bugs-discovered-earths-atmosphere-152253962.html#13B0NDB

Tuesday 5 November 2013

The new iphone 5s is released, what do we think?

Given the reliability, capacity to entertain and user-friendliness of the iPhone, its a small wonder more people don’t fall in madly love with them. You love your iPhone, it’s only natural to want to protect her. You can start by buying some iphone covers from this very site!

Your iPhone is beautiful, gets on with your friends and is always there when you need her. She’s smart, funny and the envy of everybody you know. So who wouldn’t hire a bodyguard for their iPhone? She’s in constant danger!

iPhones need iphone covers to keep them safe. In the course of a day iphone covers protect her from being dropped, waterlogged, smashed, cracked, burned and otherwise mistreated. In fact, sometimes the only thing standing between iPhones and their total annihilation are iphone covers.

iphone covers come in a variety of colours, designs and prices, so why not look around and see our selection of iphone covers? Ultimately, you may end up cradling your iPhone whilst leaving a busy London nightclub crooning “And iiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeiiiiiiiieeeeeeiiiiiiii wiiiiiiiil alwaaays loooove youuuuuuuu!!!!” at the top of your lungs, but this only happens in very rare cases.

The rest of us, after nestling our little beauties safely in their iphone covers, go on to lead mostly normal lives and in no way ever end up sitting behind a dumpster in Soho, holding our iPhones ever-so-tenderly. “Hey, why are you singing to that iPhone?” “Uh…No reason, officer…”



Sunday 3 November 2013

Sony Make all kinds of Television"s and this 42 inch Smart Television is one to take into account

Similar to lots of people looking at this, I enjoy the holiday of Christmas time a great deal.

Although I am not religious (in fact, I’ve often described myself like the ‘spiritually inclined’ atheist – despite the fact that I have taken to observing all 8 Pagan Sabbats over the course of the year), I still view Christmas time as the joyous time being spent with family, friends and those you consider as belonging to the closest ring of the ‘inner circle’.

My relatives is one with lots of enduring Christmas traditions, a lot of that will no doubt be passed on to my kids (should my girlfriend and I ever decide to have any). We bring out the same decorations year after year (a number of which have been in the household for over a century).

On Christmas Eve, my Mum will still read ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’ by Clement C. Moore to my brother and myself (and latterly my girlfriend too), albeit we’re now in our twenties. Until recently, we would go out into the road and chime the ‘sleigh bells’ for our neighbours’ children to listen to from their house (just like their mom and dad did for my brother and I when we were children).

Conceivably our best family tradition, however, often is the ritual viewing of the Frank Capra Christmas tradition ‘It is a Wonderful Life’. The flick stars Jimmy Stewart as the perennial ‘nice guy fallen on misfortune’ George Bailey, Donna Reed as his wife Mary, Henry Travers as Clarence, George’s guardian angel and of course, Lionel Barrymore as a truly dishonorable ‘Old Man Potter’.

It doesn’t matter what else goes on (or how hectic Christmas Eve could be, particularly now that travel may be a consideration our coming together), we ALWAYS find time to stream that particular film on that individual evening.

By the time George runs happily through the streets of Bedford Falls shouting “Merry Christmas you superb old building and loan!” My Father is welling up, by the point George’s brother Harry declares him being “the richest man in town”, I’m right there with him. There’s just a specific, sparkling, honest-to-goodness enchartment to it, the writing is wonderful , the direction is miles ahead of its time and the performances, well, (to quote Bernard Black of ‘Black Books’ fame) “Ah, they would melt your face”.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, seeing as there’s no way to boost upon the movie itself, the event would almost certainly only be bettered if we have a Sony 42 inch TV. With the jaw dropping ‘X-Reality’ picture, a wireless smartphone link-up feature and much more besides, this innovative 2013 smart tv is a doozy. It might lack some of our more attention grabbing features of Sony’s other smart TVs, but, after considering the screen and shiny, futuristic design of this TV, it hardly does matter.

With the new Bluray edition of ‘It is a Wonderful Life’, a gleaming Sony 42-Inch TV with a good speaker, you’ll never be happier to see an angel getting his wings.