Jared Wong

Stories By Jared Wong

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  Apple

  Apple By Jared Wong

  Opinion: On Apple's Latest Presentation

  I'm fully aware that a lot of people love to hate on Apple. I'm also fully aware that many people like Apple. That being said, I'd really like to take a moment to reflect on some of the more absurd moments from yesterday's Apple presentation. 1. The Apple Pencil First off, notice how nobody commented on why it's not called the iPencil? Many people still say iWatch despite it officially being the Apple Watch - this seems to signal a new direction for the company. Something that basically says "Hey, we know we're not being innovative anymore. So instead of calling it "iSomething", let's just call it the Apple Something. Because we're Apple, we made something, and it's now inherently better than the other ones on the market." Now, let me describe for you the Apple Pencil. It's "Completely Familiar" and "Entirely Revolutionary" (pulled directly from Apple's website). Also, "You may never have seen Apple Pencil before, but you already know how to use it." - Apple Website. Don't worry, it's only $99. If you're reading this article without hearing the news from yesterday, you might assume I'm exaggerating and that Apple would never do something that ridiculous. Uhm, *cough*. 2. The iPad Pro iPod -> iPhone -> iPod version of iPhone -> huge iPod Touch -> Slightly less huge iPod Touch -> ridiculously large iPod Touch iPod -> iPhone -> iPod Touch -> iPad -> iPad mini -> iPad Pro Connections? 3. Apple TV They call it tvOS? Really? Ponder these things, iSheep. Ponder these things.

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  Computing

  Computing By Jared Wong

  Love and PCs: Your first computer memories

  First Days My father always tells me the story of when I was not more than four years old and first began to use the computer. According to the legend, he showed me how to left-click and drag objects around. I then proceeded to drag every icon off of his desktop until it was completely empty, and then proudly showed him my work. First PC It was a Dell with a single-core Celeron and Windows XP from roughly 2006. I used that PC until 2012, and it ran Windows 7 when I retired it. Later Years There was a day, when I was not more than 9 years old, when I told my father I was bored. He proceeded to give me a boxed set of Visual Basic 6.0 and told me I might enjoy figuring it out. I did. How did technology influence your childhood? Reply in the comments! P.S. I'd love to hear from one of the children who grows up on Windows 10.

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  Wearables

  Wearables By Jared Wong

  Who is a smartwatch for?

  Think they look too geeky? It's not for you. Think they look too bulky and non-fashionable? It's not for you. Who is it for? Me. When reading reviews of the current crop of smartwatches, you will find that most reviewers feel compelled to discuss how fashionable they are, and how close they look to normal watches. I believe this is wrong. A normal watch doesn't accomplish what a smartwatch does. A normal watch doesn't try to be a smartwatch. Why should a smartwatch try to be a normal watch? I proudly wear my LG G Watch, which was well-received for the promise it showed but panned for its appearance (it is a large black slab on your wrist). To me, however, it looks great. Sure, it's a bit nerdy. Plain? Perhaps. This watch, however, replaces the calculator watch I've worn proudly on my wrist for the past 9 years. Was that equally unfashionable? Perhaps. Do I care? Not one bit. Think back to the days when nerdy people loved their Blackberries and Palm Treos, the days when people wore large Bluetooth headsets because Bluetooth devices weren't as small as they are today. Those people, too, were "unfashionable". The fashion-conscious would scoff at these people as they whipped out their Motorola RAZRs and made calls. Today's smartwatches are large, geeky screens that only the most tech-obsessed will attach to their wrists. If the public forces smartwatch manufacturers to conform to traditional fashion standards, there will be no revolution. Today's smartphones are neither RAZRs nor Blackberries, but they have carved out their own niche. Smartwatches, too, must be given the freedom to evolve. Today, most people use either Android or iPhone. Many people use some sort of Bluetooth headset or handsfree in their car. Nobody thinks anything of it. Are smartwatches there yet? No. But that's just fine. Until then, the truly tech-obsessed (myself, and at least 30-40% of Engadget readership) will proudly wear our geeky smartwatches, and in 10 years everyone will wear the mainstream style.

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  News

  News By Jared Wong

  Buy or Sell: Windows 10

  Windows 10. Windows 10. Windows 10. Everyone seems to have nothing but positive things to say about Windows 10, and this is not unjustified. Windows 10 relieves us all from the not-too-distant reality of Windows 8, and the inherent user-interface disaster that accompanied the years 2012-2015 for new PC owners. Windows 10 is a combination of Windows 8's sleeker internals and the usability of Windows 7, so what's not to like? Best part? It's free. I began installing the release version of Windows 10 at approximately 10:00pm on July 28th (West Coast FTW), so it may surprise many that I am not as apt to lavish praise upon Microsoft's newest product. Buy or Sell? Definitely buy. Buy now or buy later? Depends. Within 20 minutes of restarting my laptop with Windows 10, I was hit with my first blue screen of death. This was perhaps partially my fault - I was attempting to modify a registry key for a trackpad setting that was disabled after I updated my trackpad drivers. Don't know what that means? Don't worry, you're safe. Within 40 minutes, I was desperately trying to restore sound after a botched driver update. Within an hour, I was cruising along as I had been approximately 3 hours before, with the operating system running as smoothly as Windows 8.1. Windows 10 is not without its bugs. As I was writing this post, I left to go take care of some other chores around the house. When I came back, my laptop was completely unresponsive with a completely blank screen and I could not wake it up. However, after forcibly powering it off and restarting it, it is once more operating very smoothly. Microsoft's new software as a service model has caused Windows 10's release to be peppered with issues and promises of future fixes. Buy later? Definitely. Buy now? If you are a techie like me who loves the latest and craves new features, yes. After all, it's free. A word of caution to the wise, however: make sure that your device manufacturer has released Windows 10 drivers for your PC, however, otherwise you may be in for a shock when you find that your trackpad function with more than one finger. And now for all of you who think, "I love Windows 7. Why should I move on?" My advice is: don't bother. Truth is, if my current laptop ran Windows 7 there is a good chance I too would still be running Windows 7 and refusing to upgrade. Perhaps this results from my previous status as a Windows Insider: as an Insider, I played around with Windows 10 long before it released, so none of it was new to me when I upgraded my PC. The new features and interface tweaks are all things I could live without, and quite honestly I still miss easy Jump Lists in the Start Menu (Microsoft, if you're listening, why does a program have to automatically appear on the left side of the Start Menu before I can interact with its Jump List? I used to be able to pin a program to the Start Menu and access its Jump List whenever I want to; now I pin things and they become squares. Fix it!). And let me have the courage to say what nobody else does: Windows 10's window borders are, quite frankly, rather unattractive. Aero Glass in Windows 7, in my opinion, still retains its charm (even more than 8 years since it was released in Windows Vista). Say what you will about eye candy, but I think colored glass will always look better than the stark white of Windows 10's default borders. If you are happy with Windows 7, the only benefit of Windows 10 is its extended support; Windows 7 will not be supported much longer, but Windows 10 will be supported for a long time (and the promise of free future updates means it will be supported even longer). If you have a PC that you plan to keep for many years, upgrading might be a good idea. Otherwise, I recommend waiting and eventually buying a new PC that runs Windows 10. If you have a PC running Windows 8, I highly recommend upgrading. There is no reason why anyone should be forced to suffer through the abomination that is Windows 8 any longer. Windows 10 is here to save you. Buy or Sell? Answer these questions: Is there a feature in Windows 10 that you're really looking forward to using? (Yes/No) Do you like the idea of automatic updates keeping your PC up to date? (Yes/No) Are you OK with working through the occasional quirk/freeze/bug/"Something Happened"? (Yes/No) Do you want to move to a newer operating system? (Yes/No) Are you planning to keep your current PC for more than 4-5 years? (Yes/No) If you answered yes to more than two of these questions, you should definitely think about upgrading soon. If you answered yes to at least one, you should definitely upgrade within the next year while it's still free, but perhaps wait till this winter or next year. If you answered no to all of these, you'll probably be better off waiting until you buy a new PC.

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