Yodi Collins

Stories By Yodi Collins

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  Smartphones

  Smartphones By Yodi Collins

  I'm Quitting Windows Phone. Here's Why.

  I have decided to sever my ties with Windows Phone. I'm genuinely heartbroken over the decision. I'm a die-hard Windows geek, always have been. And I adore my Nokia Lumia 925 Windows Phone. In fact I've never owned a smartphone that wasn't a Windows Phone. But the decision is final. Why? Well the writing, as they say, is on the wall. Here's what it looks like: -- According to the IDC, Microsoft only claims 2.2 per cent of the entire smartphone market. -- Microsoft's contract with Nokia, arguably the best cell phone Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) on planet Earth, is only for five years. It ends in 2016. -- Nokia has already announced its intent to produce and distribute Android phones after their contract with Microsoft expires. -- The Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL are big expensive devices designed to function more as portable desktops than plain old smartphones. -- The success of the Surface Pro line of devices. -- Chatter regarding a possible Surface Pro smartphone. A phone that docks for PC-style interaction isn't intended for the average smartphone owner. With the advent of Continuum, Microsoft is again targeting its enterprise market, one that is paying closer attention since the release of the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book earlier this year. It is also making Microsoft seem less like an innovator and more like a one-trick pony. For me, the combination of Microsoft's mobile operating system and Nokia's hardware is unbeatable. It's everything I need my smartphone to be. But with the expiration of Microsoft's contract with Nokia, however, goes Nokia's hardware. And with Microsoft's insistence on making every device conveniently mimic a desktop computer goes the delusion that Windows 10 Mobile will be enough like Windows Phone 8.1 in its heyday to make it worth me waiting for. I suspect Microsoft made a decision to cut smartphone losses ahead of the 950 series' release. My "wag-the-dog" sense tingles every time I read something that perpetuates the notion that Microsoft will continue to support status quo smartphone development. I don't plan to be one of the Windows Phone users wondering what to do after Microsoft's inevitable announcement that they will no longer support the smartphone OS as-is in favor of evolving technology commitments. And I don't want to have to make phone calls on a PC. It's not who I am. So I say farewell to my Windows Phone. It's been an enriching collaboration. And I wish Microsoft the greatest success in future technology endeavors, whatever those happen to be.

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  Big Tech

  Big Tech By Yodi Collins

  Dell Apparently Pulls a Lenovo

  Dell has apparently pulled a Lenovo.Today Ars Technica reported that Dell PCs are being shipped with easily cloneable root certificates. Personally, I'm shocked. I had Dell figured to be a company that wouldn't stoop to such chicanery, but it appears I am mistaken.What is the point of the deception? A contention is that Dell wants greater visibility into consumer browsing habits in order to generate more customized adware. Presumably, efforts to conceal what we do online are making an impact. But why would an OEM like Dell be willing to risk consumer loyalty in order to perpetuate adware?Perhaps I am the naive one who believes there is any value in consumer loyalty. Maybe I can't comprehend the potential net worth involved. Maybe Dell is just desperate to get back some of the money they spent acquiring EMC, and as soon as possible. I don't know. What I do know is that I shared the Ars Technica article with a colleague, who alerted me a short time later that he had discovered the certificate on his own recently-purchased Dell -- and eradicated it.I have to applaud the possibility that as consumers we are taking even simple action against our own exploitation. It pleases me to know that SSL protocols work when properly implemented. And I, for one, am glad that vigilant end-users are sharing their discoveries with others on behalf of our digital preservation (thanks guys!). I make it seem like a crusade, don't I? Well, in enough ways, it is. Lenovo has gone out of its way to ensure that its ads are visible to us, even to the company's detriment. The penalty for the consumer's lack of reaction in the face of that kind of predatory action is the sacrifice of our tenuous and long-suffering privacy. We have to keep getting smarter about guarding our online activity, consumer loyalty be damned.

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  Social Media

  Social Media By Yodi Collins

  Has Twitter Had Its Day?

  Recently I read this Techcrunch article discussing the C-level casting changes at Twitter, and the company's recent efforts toward attracting new users, and found myself shaking my head the entire time.I fall into the category of "I've never used Twitter". In March of 2006, when Twitter became a thing, I was a regular user of Livejournal and Deviantart. Facebook still hadn't managed to convince me that fandom would be a more enriching experience on their site over Livejournal's, and the change of ownership at Livejournal that occurred later in the year was not enough to scare me off. I watched, over time, as Livejournal peaked and declined due to user migration to Facebook and Twitter, and then waited for a compelling reason to follow.I never got one.In the meantime, Tumblr became a thing. I joined the site because Tumblr caters to human attention deficit in a different way. Or maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's just the way Tumblr postures itself that convinced me. Regardless, joining the site wasn't a zero-sum decision. I felt no need to leave Livejournal and Deviantart for good to hang out on Tumblr. The site managed to integrate itself into the social media landscape in a much more congenial way than Twitter. And how many times have I read a negative article about Tumblr since its inception?Twitter's reputation, on the other hand, has consistently been controversial. Most of what I read in the media about it involves some user putting a reckless tweet into his or her proverbial mouth and getting slammed for it -- either by the media, an employer, the torch-and-pitchfork-wielding Twitterati, or all of the above.At one point, and in terms of popularity, Twitter's greatest competitor was Facebook. Now Twitter has been left in Facebook's dust. I don't believe there's genuine hope of recovery. Twitter seems to have established itself as a cautionary tale, but with far fewer resources to deal with their tarnished reputation than their biggest competitor. Moreover, it seems that all the logical ideas for social media have been actualized, and that Facebook is the amalgam of them. What would Twitter do now to attract new users that isn't a reiteration of what Facebook has already achieved (and with less guerilla marketing behind it)?Whether on browser, mobile web or mobile app, the social media standards are firmly defined at this point. And I think people have chosen where they would like to socialize on the Internet. So anyone who isn't already on Twitter isn't going to be.For the record, I'm still active on Livejournal, Deviantart and Tumblr. I'm also active on Google+, another website I consider to be an amalgam of all the best ideas in social media. But that is a topic for another article.It will be interesting to see how Jack Dorsey manages to turn around Twitter -- if in fact he can. I'm not holding my breath.

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  Buying Guides

  Buying Guides By Yodi Collins

  E-readers Remain a Viable Device Purchase

  I am a latecomer to the e-reader game. I already owned a smartphone and a tablet with the Kindle Reader app installed on them and was not in the market for a targeted e-reading device. It went against my minimalist, many-to-one relationship principles. Then my curiosity about the operating system got the better of me. I now own a Kindle Fire HD 7 -- one of the older, heavier ones, purchased refurbished via third-party seller. I enjoy the experience of reading a book or magazine on my Kindle in a way that I never have on my Dell Venue 8 running Kit-Kat. For me it isn't the same as using a garden-variety tablet with an e-reading app installed on it. When I reach for my Kindle, one experience is halted in order to accommodate a different one -- and my thinking shifts accordingly. Yes, it's psychological, but then that's in part what e-reader OEM are counting on -- the perception of Kindle use as a niche experience. And I have to say, they are certainly on to something. The design of the device -- in particular, its bulk and weight -- discourages me from carrying it around; I'm used to my lighter, thinner Dell Venue. Consequently, when I use my Kindle I am typically in the same quiet, cozy spot. The infection of advertisements that plague the device serves to keep me focused on what I picked it up to do. Consequently I have isolated its tasks to: 1. reading 2. playing word games 3. reading 4. making amazon.com purchases 5. reading 6. listening to music When I'm done, I leave the device where I found it. Unlike my Kindle Fire, my Android tablet is designed to facilitate multi-tasking, with an Android app store boasting increasing entertainment options and expandable device storage. It is not designed to cater to a primary task. Since obtaining my Kindle, not only are Amazon purchases faster (which I didn't think was possible), but I spend more time reading books than I have since I was young -- a much better use of it, I have decided, than goofing off on social media.

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