While most things that get posted on this blog are generally computer related, it's without a doubt that science is hardly something we should ever ignore. With that said, I think it's time for the second ever obituary to ever show itself on this blog. This time, it's to the ever amazing, Neil Armstrong.
When US President John F. Kennedy made a speech on May 25, 1961 to kick start the program to put a man on the moon, many people laughed and jeered. In fact, to this day, many people believe that the Apollo landings were nothing but a hoax, and that July 20, 1969 was nothing worth mentioning. However, for everyone else who believes that mankind has made the giant leap forward by landing on the moon, this was no hoax at all. It was very serious. Throughout all this time, it's without a doubt that space exploration was just starting and the big names such as John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, Alan Shepard, first American in space, Edward White, first man to walk in space, weren't even known yet. At the time, there was no such thing as docking space craft, landing on unknown terrain...nothing.
Kennedy's speech was nonetheless a multi-staged taunt directed at the Soviets. First, America has more money. Second, America will conquer space before the Soviets, and lastly, and most important of all : America was better than the Soviet Union. With that in mind, a lot needs to be done. Mankind had no idea how humans behave or survive in space. They also have no idea how spacecraft will handle in space. Now that those questions needed to be answered, even more questions presented itself in the form of how humans and spacecraft will behave on the moon.
The next 10 years would be the biggest leap in technological advancement with regards to space travel. Not only were we to determine how best to get off Earth, how best to go around Earth, and we also had to figure out how best to keep something off of Earth and on the Moon. The next 10 years also saw many records being broken, two of which involved the great Neil Armstrong.
Neil Armstrong was a man who was nothing short of extraordinary. This may have been the defining quality that made him the best candidate for the missions he undertook. Armstrong's first spaceflight was the docking of 2 spacecraft in space. Being part of the Gemini program, Armstrong took his Gemini 8 and managed to dock with the unmanned Agena in orbit. The mission was unfortunately cut short, when the two craft began to roll uncontrollably. This was a great setback for Armstrong but that didn't stop him from trying for a second mission.
The mission that truly defined Armstrong's career was the Apollo mission to the moon. It was just slightly more than 8 years after Kennedy wanted to put a man on the moon, and Armstrong had done it. Along with the lesser known Buzz Aldrin, they successfully completed a series of tests on the Moon and established the superiority that Kennedy had wanted to show. All of this, in a span of 8 years.
It is without a doubt that a man like this is greatly revered. The first to manage something is always someone who is far more than just "someone" who had managed something new and unique. Only a handful of people could ever have the chance to leave Earth, and even then only 24 of them have ever made it to the Moon. However, despite these distinguished and unique things that Neil Armstrong had managed, there was one way to honour him as laid out by his family. They wish for nothing much, but if you look upon the moon, and it appears to smile at you, just think of the great and humble man who first landed there, and wink.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Post 021
I mentioned last time that I had a love hate relationship with tablets. The computing world is of course getting absolutely flooded by this new platform, but what is really revolutionized at the heart of all this is nonetheless, the smartphone industry.
The first tablet to be of any commercial success is the iPad. Like the iPhone that preceded it, Apple was the first to launch it, and annoyingly, like the iPhone, everyone tried to copy its commercial success by actually trying to put one out. Amazingly, unlike the original case, anyone who DID make a tablet after Apple, sort of failed miserably. I mean, yes, Samsung has almost made 3 tablets for every iPad that's ever come out, but does anyone seem to care? I didn't. I even made the number 3 up because I keep hearing Galaxy Tab Something. There are so many iterations of it, I don't even know which is which. I'm pretty sure they made a second generation one, but like the first iteration, not that many people seemed interested enough to buy one.
That brings me to the next point because Samsung is crucial to this bit. Samsung is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, mainly because of it's successful Galaxy S smartphone line. Not only has it managed to provide an entryway into creating two iterations of Nexus phones for Google, but it's also launched them into the most intense series of lawsuits with Apple.
But I digress. My main focus is the Galaxy Note. Samsung has done many things to shake the foundation of iPhone's customer base. They've even jumped the gun on NFC, which Apple still can't manage to push out. Hardware-wise though, Samsung has managed to outdo the iPhone consistently, but at a price that many people somehow are willing to pay.
I remembered how in Zoolander, there was a joke made about how cell phones were getting smaller and smaller, so much so that Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller was using a phone that was smaller than his thumb when unfolded. I also remembered how people made fun of Apple when they introduced the iPad by saying that while everyone is going forward by making smaller devices, Apple was going backwards by introducing a larger device.
It was funny, because everyone made a fuss about it, and at the same time, they still flooded the stores to buy it, and even worse, they went and promoted it with the dawn of the second generation of Android phones. Android phones are getting larger and larger as I continue to type this out, starting with the launch of the Galaxy S II, the LG Optimus, and...a whole slew of other ridiculous Android powered devices that basically just decided to be bigger in size, but gain nothing in battery life. Yet, like I said, people bought these devices. They were humongous. They were absolutely stupid and bizarre to the point where they barely even fit into a person's pocket.
That's when Samsung stood up and said : "hey, let's bridge that gap between cell phone and tablet by making the Galaxy Note". That was the thing, people believed they somehow needed this ridiculous item. People made fun of Apple for launching the iPad and yet not a word was said to Samsung about releasing the Galaxy Note? That can't be fair. There has to be some harsh words thrown at them for releasing such a stupid device.
I tried one of them. Yes, on the display at the local Best Buy, it looks shiny and promising. However, I've managed to find it cumbersome. I borrowed one for app testing one time, and aside from being absolutely annoying how every time I tried to swipe sideways to turn the page in the menus, I ended up dragging an icon to the home screen. It was stupid. The largest smartphone in the world, is also the largest pain in the ass because it won't fit in your pocket, and because it won't let you navigate your apps menu. How is that even forgivable? Compared to the iPad's absolutely suave handling, and absolutely insanely captivating interface, this Android powered device was nothing but an eyesore.
That's the thing, people somehow believe this larger screen will help, and I've found that it didn't. People believed that it'd be amazing. It wasn't. That's the irony behind all of this. In spite of many smartphone purists like myself who believe that the Galaxy Note was stupid, Samsung has decided to make a decision about the Galaxy Note. Samsung believed it was a success and decided that the second generation of the Galaxy Note be even bigger. I love how corporate management can be so stupid sometimes.
There are reasons for Apple's choice of a 3.5" screen. The idea was, when you're holding onto the phone with one hand, the average person should still be able to reach all 4 corners of the screen with their thumb alone. When other companies copied the iPhone, they made similar sized phones as well, until they realized their phones weren't fast enough. They wanted more speed so they put in a faster processor. That drained more battery, so they needed a larger battery, thus a larger shell, and a larger screen. That's why no Android device can have a standardized screen size, and to make matters worse, no two of them could work in the same way.
Now, I know I sound like I'm ranting, and I am, because that's what this blog is all about. However, what's the point of a phone that can't fit in your pocket, is too big to operate one-handed, and covers half your face when you try to make a phone conversation?
See, if new technology isn't solving existing problems, then how is it even a good new solution? It isn't, that's why they fail.
The first tablet to be of any commercial success is the iPad. Like the iPhone that preceded it, Apple was the first to launch it, and annoyingly, like the iPhone, everyone tried to copy its commercial success by actually trying to put one out. Amazingly, unlike the original case, anyone who DID make a tablet after Apple, sort of failed miserably. I mean, yes, Samsung has almost made 3 tablets for every iPad that's ever come out, but does anyone seem to care? I didn't. I even made the number 3 up because I keep hearing Galaxy Tab Something. There are so many iterations of it, I don't even know which is which. I'm pretty sure they made a second generation one, but like the first iteration, not that many people seemed interested enough to buy one.
That brings me to the next point because Samsung is crucial to this bit. Samsung is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, mainly because of it's successful Galaxy S smartphone line. Not only has it managed to provide an entryway into creating two iterations of Nexus phones for Google, but it's also launched them into the most intense series of lawsuits with Apple.
But I digress. My main focus is the Galaxy Note. Samsung has done many things to shake the foundation of iPhone's customer base. They've even jumped the gun on NFC, which Apple still can't manage to push out. Hardware-wise though, Samsung has managed to outdo the iPhone consistently, but at a price that many people somehow are willing to pay.
I remembered how in Zoolander, there was a joke made about how cell phones were getting smaller and smaller, so much so that Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller was using a phone that was smaller than his thumb when unfolded. I also remembered how people made fun of Apple when they introduced the iPad by saying that while everyone is going forward by making smaller devices, Apple was going backwards by introducing a larger device.
It was funny, because everyone made a fuss about it, and at the same time, they still flooded the stores to buy it, and even worse, they went and promoted it with the dawn of the second generation of Android phones. Android phones are getting larger and larger as I continue to type this out, starting with the launch of the Galaxy S II, the LG Optimus, and...a whole slew of other ridiculous Android powered devices that basically just decided to be bigger in size, but gain nothing in battery life. Yet, like I said, people bought these devices. They were humongous. They were absolutely stupid and bizarre to the point where they barely even fit into a person's pocket.
That's when Samsung stood up and said : "hey, let's bridge that gap between cell phone and tablet by making the Galaxy Note". That was the thing, people believed they somehow needed this ridiculous item. People made fun of Apple for launching the iPad and yet not a word was said to Samsung about releasing the Galaxy Note? That can't be fair. There has to be some harsh words thrown at them for releasing such a stupid device.
I tried one of them. Yes, on the display at the local Best Buy, it looks shiny and promising. However, I've managed to find it cumbersome. I borrowed one for app testing one time, and aside from being absolutely annoying how every time I tried to swipe sideways to turn the page in the menus, I ended up dragging an icon to the home screen. It was stupid. The largest smartphone in the world, is also the largest pain in the ass because it won't fit in your pocket, and because it won't let you navigate your apps menu. How is that even forgivable? Compared to the iPad's absolutely suave handling, and absolutely insanely captivating interface, this Android powered device was nothing but an eyesore.
That's the thing, people somehow believe this larger screen will help, and I've found that it didn't. People believed that it'd be amazing. It wasn't. That's the irony behind all of this. In spite of many smartphone purists like myself who believe that the Galaxy Note was stupid, Samsung has decided to make a decision about the Galaxy Note. Samsung believed it was a success and decided that the second generation of the Galaxy Note be even bigger. I love how corporate management can be so stupid sometimes.
There are reasons for Apple's choice of a 3.5" screen. The idea was, when you're holding onto the phone with one hand, the average person should still be able to reach all 4 corners of the screen with their thumb alone. When other companies copied the iPhone, they made similar sized phones as well, until they realized their phones weren't fast enough. They wanted more speed so they put in a faster processor. That drained more battery, so they needed a larger battery, thus a larger shell, and a larger screen. That's why no Android device can have a standardized screen size, and to make matters worse, no two of them could work in the same way.
Now, I know I sound like I'm ranting, and I am, because that's what this blog is all about. However, what's the point of a phone that can't fit in your pocket, is too big to operate one-handed, and covers half your face when you try to make a phone conversation?
See, if new technology isn't solving existing problems, then how is it even a good new solution? It isn't, that's why they fail.
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