29 February, 2012

Can tablets give you a pain in the neck?

Read this. Are you getting it (the neck pain, I mean...)? I get 'inflamed' eyes right after playing with race car on my android phone, so I don't do this frequently, just once in a while...
-----

Posted: 26 January 2012

A tablet PC (AFP Photo/Noel Celis)
PARIS: Users of tablet computers should place their device on the table and tilt its screen, rather than have it flat on their lap, to avoid potentially painful hunching of the neck, a study suggested on Wednesday.

"Tablet users may be at high risk to develop neck discomfort based on current behaviours and tablet designs," it warned.

A team led by environmental health researcher Jack Dennerlein of the Harvard School of Public Health asked seven men and eight women who were experienced tablet users to carry out tasks on an iPad2 and a Motorola Xoom.

Using a motion-analysis system, the team filmed the 15 volunteers as they worked on the tablet in four common configurations.

In the first position the tablet was not placed in its proprietary case but held on the lap in one hand while the other was used to touch the screen.



Tennis Serve Instructional Video




In the second the tablet was placed on the lap, but stayed in its case. The user worked with both hands on the screen.

In the third, the tablet was set up in its case on a table, with its screen set at a lower angle, and the user worked with both hands.

The last configuration, dubbed "table-movie," entailed placing the tablet on the table in its case, tilted at a higher angle. The user did not work on the screen and instead watched movies or other programming on it.

The experiments showed the angle of the head and neck varied hugely across the four configurations and between the iPad and the Xoom.

Compared with the Xoom, the angles were more acute in the iPad, which the researchers attributed to the different case designs.

The study found that tablet users generally had more acute angles of head and neck flexion than with desktop or notebook computers.

Only when the two tablets were in the "table-movie" configuration - when the screen's angle was at its steepest - did the user's posture approach a neutral position.

"This suggests that tablet users could place the tablet higher, on a table rather than a lap, to avoid low gaze angles, and use a case that provides steeper view angles," the scientists said.

A 2009 study found that the "gaze angle" for looking at computers should be roughly 45 degrees or more to avoid straining the neck's extensor muscles.

The gaze angle is calculated as the downward direction of the eyes in relation to the horizontal.

The paper, published in the accident-prevention journal Work, did not assess the impact of tablet use over a long period, nor did it address the positions of the arms, wrists and hands, an issue it said needed further research.

But it noted that tens of millions of tablet computers have already entered circulation and there remained no posture guidelines for using them safely.

The history of ergonomic science is littered with designs, from car seats to office desks and phones, that can cause discomfort or even pain if the user uses the wrong posture over time.

- AFP/de



Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
Can tablets give you a pain in the neck?

AIDS casualty figure in China unveiled

Was this supposed to be kept from the public? Now it will be in the Google search, but maybe not in China...
-----

Posted: 21 January 2012


Photo illustration of HIV testing
BEIJING: AIDS killed 28,000 people in China last year, and another 48,000 new infections from the HIV virus were discovered in the country, according to an official report on Saturday.

In China 780,000 people live with the HIV virus, of whom 154,000 developed AIDS, a report jointly produced by China's Ministry of Health, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organisation said.

In September 2011 there were 136,000 people receiving anti-viral treatment for the disease, it said, making the treatment coverage rate 73.5 percent, an increase of 11.5 percentage points compared to 2009.

The report, quoted by China's official state media Xinhua, said some new trends had appeared, notably "a rise in the number of imported cases and those transmitted sexually".

Sexual relations are the first source of contamination of the HIV virus in China, where a huge blood contamination scandal erupted in the central Henan province in the 1990s.

HIV/AIDS sufferers have long been stigmatised in the country, and rights groups estimate the number of sufferers to be higher, but increased government education has helped raise awareness.

- AFP/wk



Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
AIDS casualty figure in China unveiled


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26 February, 2012

Dolphin Browser HD

Dolphin BrowserImage via WikipediaImage representing Firefox as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase26-Feb-2012

Somewhere in mid-Feb, I have decided to uninstall Dolphin Browser HD.

And no, it is not because it is causing my Android Phone to crash or hang, or reboot. It is not that. It actually functioned very nicely, where searches are carried out accurately, but comparing with Firefox, especially when downloads are involved, this is where I find that Dolphin Browser HD sometimes work, and sometimes not.

I didn't see this happening in Firefox, but in several cases, it did happen for Dolphin Browser HD.

And it is for this reason alone that I am uninstalling Dolphin Browser HD. Other than that, I don't have any issue with it.

I hope that I have given this android app a fair chance.

Till then!
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23 February, 2012

Uninstalling Some Android Apps

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - FEBRUARY 02:  The Google A...Image by Getty Images via @daylifeSecure digital card usb-adapterImage via Wikipedia
21-Feb-2012

I need to free up space on my Android Phone's SD card, even from the device memory space, so I am uninstalling a lot of the apps that I have downloaded and installed some time back, which I thought are nice to have, but I haven't had time to play with them and explore their capabilities. A lot of these are dictionaries and encyclopedias, and boy, encyclopedias easily take up as much as 130MB! And of course, it is the small, small things, when they go by the number, that would come almost unnoticed, but they end up cluttering the Apps Drawer and taking as much space as they can, not to mention the battery drain and data usage spent whenever they get an update.

Well, this time I am removing the apps that I am not using, but will definitely take them up again when the time comes.

Photo Editors
LittlePhoto
Photo Editor Ultimate Free
PicsArt
PicsArt Kids
PicSay

I am retaining Photoshop Express for now.

Notes
FreeNote+
Note Everything
Simply Notes B/W

I retained ColorNote, which I prefer to use for now.

Misc
Funny Facts Free
Today In History
Offline Dictionaries
Inspirational Quotes
Gingerbread Keyboard
mVideoPlayer
plan B


After all the installing and uninstalling done, you might be asking, is there a safe way to uninstall android apps? I'd like to present my method in my next post.

Till then!

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20 February, 2012

Android Launchers

Android MarketImage via WikipediaNew Homescreen Transition on LauncherPro for A...New Homescreen Transition on LauncherPro for Android Phones and Tablets (Photo credit: DanieVDM)LauncherProLauncherPro (Photo credit: Johan Larsson)English: Google Nexus S - Samsung Android PhoneImage via WikipediaLauncherPro home screenLauncherPro home screen (Photo credit: markuz)20-Feb-2012


There are so many launchers available
in the Android Market, and there is no ‘perfect’ candidate that satisfies each and every user’s whims and wants. One would be graphically-enhanced, another functionally-boosted, and the rest are just midway deliveries, half of the functionalities, and half of the graphics.

I was thinking, why not I take the strength of each piece, and put them all in one launcher, and put it up in the Market? Wouldn’t that be the ‘final thing’ for an android phone launcher?

Definitely not. You see, our individuality is proof that we have our own preferences, and the disagreements, rather than the compatibilities, would be the major focus. What’s best for me only applies to me, and may not be true to others. We like what we like, and we don’t need to explain that.

Having said, I would just be putting up my own observation and judgment on the launchers that I have evaluated.


ADWLauncher/ADWLauncher EX


Customizable, and easy to use. I’m okay with this, but the only problem that I find, comparing with the rest, is the home dock, which only allows 2 apps other than the Home/Apps switch. Or maybe I just didn’t know how to do it… Hey, there’s no manual, as in all the rest. But that the acceptability of an app is that even without a manual, the average user (where I belong) should be able to navigate and tweak to one’s liking in the minimum time spent. Just like our old friend iPhone… still there?

There, I recommend ADWLauncher EX for those who are looking for an alternative to the phone’s stock launcher.


Regina 3D Launcher


Didn’t have much time to play with this launcher, and even just its icon is already turning me off. And why not? Every other app in the Market, even the very simple ones, are in full color, so what were they thinking when they created the drab and colorless icon? Simplicity? That would kill the cat!

One thing that could be nice is that they don’t have a grid snap. I find that very, very flexible. When adding an app to your home screen, you can position it anywhere you like within the screen bounds. I didn’t see that anywhere else.

I can’t say much anymore, so I am leaving the decision to the user whether or not to try Regina 3D Launcher.


LauncherPro


Almost within the graphics and performance level of ADWLauncher EX is LauncherPro. The home dock is easily populated with apps of your choosing. And pressing or hitting the Home button spreads out the panels on your screen, where you choose where you want to go – that I find most desirable – since you don’t need to flick and flick and flick, and turn and turn and turn the panels left and right.

Did I like LauncherPro? You bet I did. I used it for as long as I can, customized it as much as I wanted.

But all good things have to come to an end, but I highly recommend LauncherPro, as I would ADWLauncher EX.


SlideScreen


This isn’t really a launcher, but an app to show what you would want to see all in one screen. But that immediately puts up a question, ‘How many?’, since there are many things that we’d want to see, on the average 20 items (basing on my own use of the android phone), any time.

This is yours to try, all at your own risk (Okay, the risk is only losing some time, in exchange to learning something…)


GO Launcher EX


I like this launcher the second best! With so many themes to choose from, and many of them free, with some of the free items coming so close to the paid ones, this is a very, very good choice. Home dock isn’t an issue: you put in as much as you would need; there’s always a limit to what we can do, but this allows as much as I wanted.

In the apps list, I like the horizontal movement, since I would usually read left to right, or right to left; some launchers give you the vertical movement, and well, they have their own reward (and problems)!

You can even adjust the grid size to your liking: 4x4, 4x5, 5x4, 5x5, etc.

What’s more, GO array of apps is a vast array, and there just an app for each and every thing you may be needing and using: GO Dialer, GO SMS, GO Notification, GO TaskManager, Go, Go, Go!

I may just try it again sometime again (I just saw the Greenscree Theme), and I think I like it.

Highly recommended: Go Launcher EX!


GO Locker EX


I’m not a bird or a reptile, but boy, I was attracted to the 3D Worm Locker, and for this to work properly, you have to set the GO Locker as the home launcher. Works almost seamlessly with you phone, as if you are operating GO Launcher, but I got tired of the worm thing.

If you like it, this is okay. At least better than many of those out there that call themselves home launchers. They don’t even come close!


MXHome Launcher


What do I say about this launcher?

Uninstalled as soon as installed…


SPB Shell 3D


This is what I am using now. Heavy on the graphics, and the only thing that I don’t like, topping the list, is the scroll movement of the apps list: vertical. I would exchange this with Go Launcher EX, if not for the superb graphics. The others that I don’t like, well, maybe somebody else would find them useful, the extra panels of whatever.

This is resource hungry, but I have characterized my Samsung Galaxy R’s behavior, with its internal 8GB SD card.

Don’t go beyond 75% of what you have, and this launcher is performing best. All the others, you can use up to about 100MB more than 75% of capacity, before your phone starts its self-reset cycle.

So for me, that was 3GB usage of my 4GB partition, and 50% of the rest (1GB/2GB for the SD and Phone Only partitions). I would have to actually review all the apps that I have installed when the box of many-colored candy was opened up to me, pick those that I don’t use, and uninstall them. I got to free up more than 1GB afterwards – good for the launcher!


Home Manager


Home Manager app comes with Home Switcher, and that made it easy, if not easier, for me, to switch between the home launchers. No need to ‘clear the defaults’ by going to the apps’ setting, etc., etc.

You’d be better off trying out the launchers with this apps as you primary aid.


Other launchers that I haven’t tried:

Gingerbread Launcher
Ks Launcher
Launcher 7
Zeam
Balancer
Nemus Launcher
QuickDesk
HeLauncher
PandaHome
Open Home
Crazy Home Pro
MIUI ROM


Out there, what will you find?

If you will, you can Google ‘best android launchers’ and you would find many, even those that tell you the strengths and weaknesses of the apps, but then again, we all look at one picture with different eyes, and with different perception.

I ask then, when will we ever unite?

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03 February, 2012

Android and iPhone, my view

English: Google Nexus S - Samsung Android PhoneImage via WikipediaAndroid MarketImage via WikipediaImage representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBaseImage representing iPhone as depicted in Crunc...Image via CrunchBase
03-Feb-2012

I have been wanting to put this in writing, my view on the lifecycle of iPhone, the entry, the bubble, the compression, and the explosion it will go into later on (maybe sooner than we think). And all the while that this is happening, the blip, the steady spot, and the ever-growing hold of Android’s worldwide presence.

What iPhone is in my view

Come to think of it, iPhone was decided to be a very unique device: closed system, and why not? It was the only phone that got the very formula of being accepted by people all over the globe with its very user-friendly touch screen, very responsive, doesn’t need a stylus or a pen, and doesn’t need a manual to be operated even by toddlers and unlettered hawkers. And because it is a closed system, the apps that were available to users from the AppStore were simply the better make, if not the best. I could be hearing moans and groans of disagreement, but hey, that is my view. That was the catch and hold of iPhone – and it may be its own cause of demise.

What Android is to my view

The other device isn’t having an entrance to the electronic world like iPhone had, but if I were to put it in my own words, it is like an ant that crept, almost unnoticed, but once in position, it made the bite, and what a sting it made! I could be prejudiced, since I never was enamored with the iPhone, however pretty it was, there’s no amount of fairness in it that charmed me. Hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you can’t blame me. But with Android being open, the entry it made was logarithmic: the single cell dividing into two, and two diving, and four dividing, and on, and on, and on. It would seem like a virus, and if it is, it is the incurable virus that will attack and hit iPhone to its very core, unrelenting, allowing no chance of recovery until complete takeover is accomplished.


With this I bring to mind Google OS, which was not a success. The world simply wasn’t ready for that idea, I believe. That was in 2009. The size and presence of Google didn’t help Google OS, or perhaps, the timing wasn’t right, since there isn’t an accompanying electronic device to advertise the new OS. Thus the flop.

Android Phone

Android's first device was unveiled somewhere late 2007, and it was an immediate hit. And why not? Even at the inception stage, the agreement and understanding was already on an open-source, open-market foundation. And from that structure, the development and marketing was opened to the whole wide world. That’s the attack and impact that Android phone made.


What now?

Design

iPhone doesn’t change its design. It is still the same size, and the screen remains the same, since iPhone 3 till iPhone 4S. If the story is true, that iPhone 5 will all be a device of built-in accessories, battery, memory, SIM card, etc., to me that is a fiasco in process, a phone designed to doom, designed for doom. It will be on both sides. If you buy that kind of phone, and if a part breaks while under warranty, it is to the iPhone company’s cost, and out of warranty, it is to the consumer’s burden. So either way, a device will all built-in parts is not a good design at all, a lose-lose situation. I think iPhone is way out of hand in its closed-system strategy.
Well it has somehow changed, but it is on the reverse path: curved corners becoming squared and pointy, that’s all.

Implementation

iPhone remains a closed system, and it is still iPhone. Then there is iPad, but these remain a closed system. Just a very annoying limitation that it makes. It’s like saying to you: “I give you a wonderful device to use and play with, but only you can do such and such…”

Android is opened to the world, and anybody can develop, for free (iPhone isn’t), and sell your products out in the market. Now this free-ness of the Android Market is its own problem. While AppStore presents you with the better and best of the deals, you find all kinds in the Android Market. Actually there is a thing called Android Black Market, where apps are purchased and the paid versions are uploaded for anybody to ‘search and acquire’ later on. Talk about freedom…

Which is why more and more phone manufacturers are hitching to the Android bandwagon with each days that passes.

Acceptability

iPhone is very well accepted, there is no question to that. To date, iPhone still commands a queue whenever the next release is announced or simply rumored. But the experience later on could very well be described as a sudden burst, a flame that ignites and is gone as quickly as the fire was lit. Am I making the wrong judgment here?

Android gives user a much more realistic mobile experience. E-mails, browsing, YouTube, streaming media, what have you, not to mention social networks - on the go. So the initial feud between Google and Facebook can’t be avoided, but the differences have been settled, or a compromise has been reached. I now do Facebook on my Android phone.

I am able to install a lot of apps from the Android Market, try them out, uninstall, rate, reinstall, rate again, or blog about them, and even root my phone. I’m not worried about the warranty, since I got my unit for only $11 as a promotional price, but I have tried rooting many times afterwards, and I will do even more things with my Android phone. What am I saying here? Freedom to the max!

Simply put, I like a phone that enables me, and frees me to do what I want. Caveat: With freedom comes accountability.

My wife sees me installing so many apps for kids, like read-me stories, alphabets, puzzles, memory games, and our toddler is tirelessly playing with my phone and learning in the process, and she spends less time with my wife’s iPhone nowadays. What’s the message? Kids cannot lie. They like Android phones. Not so much apps of those kinds can be found in the AppStore, if not for a fee. A small fee by the millions isn’t small money, you know.

She actually asked me, “can we exchange phones?”

Verdict

iPhone got a beating, and a good one at that, making her black and blue all over. PSP also got knocked down with a right hook: who’s holding PSP nowadays, if not an iPad, a tablet, an iPhone, or an Android phone?

Finally, who knows, with the undeniable presence and impact that Android is making, stronger with each passing day, just one fine day, it will be able to rise up against Microsoft, brandishing a completely overhauled, redesigned and retrofitted Google OS that is already equally capable as, if not better than, Windows OS?

Just my wild view, fired by Android phone.

Till then!


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02 February, 2012

Test back Dolphin Browser HD

Dolphin BrowserImage via Wikipedia02-Feb-2012

Today, I wanted to give the chance to Dolphin Browser HD, whether it really is causing the problem of android phones self-reset cycle. After finding the cause of my phone’s first such self-reset mystery, and finding out that the actual reason was the over-transferring of apps from the phone memory to the SD card, I believe it is just right to clear the slate for Dolphin Browser HD, and declare it a ‘clean’ apps.

And I have decided to do that today, not later, as I may forget, and things become worse later on, since having the chance now, I didn’t grab it, and I lost the opportunity, just because of procrastination.

So that’s today. I have already installed Dolphin Browser HD, and a number of its auxiliary apps installed as well: like Dolphin Google Services, Browse Faster for Dolphin, Ultimate Flag and Text Sizer.

So if my phone don’t go loco, then I will have to tell the world that Dolphin Browser HD is okay! At least on my phone it is… hey, an hour, and my phone’s not dying on me after installing Dolphin Browser HD.

But I will give it enough days to prove itself before I declare it myself.

(Just to be clear, I have installed MX Video Player together with Dolphin Browser HD, in case there is a conflict of apps, I know which ones to hunt…)

Till then!

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01 February, 2012

Some issues I encountered with my Android Phone

English: see filename. Taken with Canon EOS 50...Image via Wikipedia01-Feb-2012

After rooting my Samsung Galaxy R phone, and my daughters' SE Neo V and LG Optimus SOL phones, I played a lot with my SGR, installing, evaluating and uninstalling all those free and not-so-free apps from the Android Market, and from the Android Black Market, if there is any color to it, and after many days, and still not tired myself, the phone seem to have been caught in some cycle of self-reset.

I cannot use it anymore, and I have to take out the battery just to stop it from its endless, useless, cycle.

I read through the forums, and I came across some articles saying that it can be due to Dolphin Browser HD, which, incidentally, I have just installed.

I uninstalled it without hesitation, and it worked. Or so I thought.

Half a day passed, and the excruciating self-reset cycle resumed.

So what now?

I decided to remove SPB Shell 3D, or what's left of it after I switched and tried LauncherPro, ADWLauncher EX and GO launcher EX, and not without a reason: it seems slow to 'rebuild' the pages, or the panels, after going to home screen, coming from some applications or screens.

And I thought that also fixed the problem. But it didn't help. SPB Shell 3D isn't the culprit, and to my relief, because I like SPB's products, then in Windows Mobile, and now, in Android phones.

What could really be the problem?

Not really knowing what the problem is, I went to desperate modes, and when I searched on self-reset problem for the android phone, I came across the many others who lament the same sad story, their own, and what was the last resort? factory reset.

And with a rooted phone, that recourse is STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED.

So the problem was aggravated, knowing that something could probably help, but at the same time, that step cannot be taken. And no, I didn't force the issue, I didn't do factory reset.

I calmed down a bit, and I observed the phone, and I was able to catch the error msg being thrown out before the screen blacks out, and it has something to do with Activity Android System being non-responsive, and what's more, it is when the phone is completing the indexing of the SD card.

The process error, and the media card scanning process, finally  brought me to some other forums, who not surprisingly, are also swamped with many users and android phone owners who experience the same: issue with the SD card media scanning process, which is just when the phone executes its self-reset.

What was the thing being observed? moving the apps from the phone to the SD card, or having some corrupted media files (video, mp3, etc).

I didn't have problems with my media files, but I have been, like a child freed into a mysterious playground, installing and installing and installing apps, one after the other, as much as my phone memory and external card can take... or so I thought.

So with each brief moment that my phone stays alive, first, I uninstall those that I believe were installed simply by impetus, not need. Then, I moved many apps from the SD card, back to the phone.

After moving about 15 apps, the phone showed some stability, and a longer 'up' time. Then some 10 more, and the phone has snapped out of its self-reset limbo.

I continued to move more of the apps back to phone, until finally, the free space was about equal, both for the phone and the SD card. And it's not even the external SD card we are talking about. It's the phone internal SD card.

Summary:

  1. Android Phone entered into self-reset cycle; have to remove battery to turn off.
  2. Uninstalled Dolphin Browser HD; momentarily gave relief, but self-reset resumed.
  3. Uninstalled SPB Shell 3D, but problem still persisted.
  4. Uninstalled other 'unwanted' apps, many apps.
  5. Finally, moved remaining apps from (internal) SD card to phone.
  6. This is what solved the problem.
So what's the message? Moderation. Actually, it is a kind of caveat, and a caveat emptor, this Android Phone. But I still choose it over the iPHone.

Till then!
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