Gadget Update!!

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Howdy Guys???? I hope things are well and sound. I have been quite busy with work which I believe you do not want me write about. So instead let me talk about my NEW Phablet (cell phone + tablet) and some other cool gadgets I gifted myself ;)

1st -

Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

So yeah, I got another new cell phone. Pretty cool I should say as this phablet is superb and just by fetching the thing out of my pocket at work I have managed to sway many of my colleagues in favor of Samsung for their next cell phone up-date. It seems every every one wants a piece of the action.

1 - It is an upgrade from my Note 1!!!

2- It's BIG. Big for gaming, big for videos, big for web browsing. Simply put, if you want a phone with the most real estate on the screen size, then there is no alternative. Don't be so mesmerized on the 1080p screens that will come out soon. Unless you want to destroy your eyes and use the phone from an inch away, you will not notice the difference in everyday use.
3- It's fast. Yes, the Qualcomm S4 Pro quad-core beats this Tegra 3/Exynos 4 CPU in most benchmarks, but again, unless you are a hard-core geek that is OCD on numbers, you will not notice any difference in everyday use. There is no discernible lag anywhere (it's probably just your slow Internet connection).
4- It's beautiful. Not HTC or Sony beautiful, but this is one sleek and stylish phone. The white is classic, but this Titanium Gray is awesome. Just check out the back cover and you will see what I mean (yes, even with that cheap-feeling plastic material).
5- Did I mention the screen? It's BIG, it's bright, and it's beee-ay-eeww-ti-ful! AMOLED screens have awesome color saturation and contrast (most times even overkill, actually). Some people say it's not good in daylight. Um, have you tried cranking up the brightness??
6- The Samsung/Android touch. Not everyone may like Samsung's Touchwiz user interface compiled onto Android, but I dare you to find a phone with more features than this one (and similarly the Galaxy S3). Here are the main highlights:
a. Samsung utilizes the front facing camera almost to perfection. You can use it to control your music player; it has facial recognition to sense you are directly in front of the screen so it won't dim and turn off the screen (for reading, web browsing, video playback, etc.); it recognizes your facial orientation so that when you are lying down sideways looking at the screen, the accelerometer will not kick in to auto-rotate the screen in the wrong orientation. That is something that has always bothered me with other phones and FINALLY someone has added that feature! Granted, not all these features work flawlessly, but it's a great start.
b. Integration with Google is finally starting to show off in good ways. It was always once that Apple had the superior ecosystem. But now we see the future is bright indeed. Not just evolution, but finally innovation!
c. The S Pen and all the neat things you can do with it. Preview a point in the movie before skipping to that point, and other things like going old-school back to the PDA days!
7- It accepts up to a 64GB microSD card.


2nd

Musical Showerhead - Kohler Moxie

Music when I am showering!! I think that alone is enough to make this a COOL product, a must have for me!I love it. The idea behind this product is ingenious. The only complaint I have is the water pressure. It is not horrible, just a bit low. It is less than what I got from my regular shower head but not low enough too make me go back. I love that I can pair it with my playlist from my phablet. 

It was very easy to pair with my phablet and anything else with Bluetooth. To pair just press the button on the device and then clicked on the moxie on my phone and it was ready to go. Once I charged it up i put it in my shower and it was ready to go.

Gadget Update!!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, February 8, 2013

With 0comments

Tag : Adore, Essential, Family, Gadgets, musically, Share, Tech

THX Certified!

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Okay, I know the title is very cheeeeeeeesy! But I could not think of anything better.. or I just was not trying hard enough! But in any case the fact remains I did buy the Onkyo HT-RC270, the equivalent to Onkyo TX-NR708 to replace my aging 10 year old Onkyo HT-S580S amp. I figured that after 10 years I could use a audio update even though the old Onkyo is still a amazing piece of equipment but at the same time I didn't want to spend $$$.

I wanted a receiver that had all of the newer DTS and Dolby surround formats and could power the 4 ohm Onkyo and Jensen speakers. I use/d the new and old amplifier to drive 4 ohms speakers. Most audiophiles will tell you to get external amplification to drive them. I am usually skeptical of these claims. (FYI- if you are gonna use this post as a review please use your own judgement for the speakers ;) And I also wanted to clean up the wiring mess by substituing all the digital in/out, component in/out, composite in/out and coax to a single ( maybe two or three ) HDMI!!!! Being able to use the HDMI really cleans up the cabling since it can also send the audio over the same cable. Same thing goes for my HD cable box (just upgraded too), HDMI no seperate audio cable needed... This new reciver some with an ethernet in, enabling though me to stream music via my in home server!!!

The Onkyo RC270 is a huge beast (comparetively) with a very hefty heat sink with dual fans. It has every single high-end adjustable settings you can think of. The only thing I discovered is that the noise correction caused my Netflix stream to ghost. However, that may be due to the noise correction algorithm coupled with the 120hz mode on my TV. Turning off the noise correction fixed the ghosting for me. The quality of the up conversion is good but perhaps a little soft for SD. But on the other hand it woks out well for my online streaming of Tamil Movies! LOL!

PROS:
135 Watts
Drive 4ohms speakers well
OSD for volume
Excellent Internet radio functionality
Regular cable for IPOD (I don't use one..will never use one)
Dual fans to cool heat sink
Per input level gain
Per speakers cross-over
Dual subwoofer output
Trigger
Firmware upgradeable (make sure you update right away **MUST MUST MUST)

CONS:
Warmer than the older Onkyo
Update 1/11/11: No dialogue enhancement

All in all, I'm very happy with this receiver. I originally wanted a Onkyo TX-NR808 as a replacement but as it is not budging on MSRP right now which means it would have cost me almost twice as much as this one. And also because there are currently no other receivers on the market that has the comparable features as this one at this price range!!

THX Certified!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Thursday, January 13, 2011

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Tag : Adore, Digital Impression, Essential, musically, Review, Tech

A bigger problem..

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Occasionally, I'll write a post that I truly wished everyone would read. This is one of those posts for me. But first, let me clarify that this is by no mean a generic advice to you my friend. All I’m doing here is jotting down my point of views. I am and will always be encouraging you or anyone for that matter to continue enriching themselves with knowledge as much as possible; be it through school/system education or self education. Now, I am not old enough to say “back in my day” but I do remember having my head in books for countless hours during my secondary (high) school and college years. At the same time, I have to admit that I was really blessed for I did not have to work or get a student loan to pay for my education.

Yes, this post is about student loans. A big problem in the financial industry that the big wicks are trying so very hard to hide. Thus, when I stumbled upon a little factoid today, I couldn't’t believe it! By factoid I refer to our current educational system, which I believe is the root cause of this financial mess we have entered in the name of student loan. See graph below:
The above graph from frontline suggests that the for-profit colleges cost three times more than the public and non-profit colleges. Yes, we all know that it is a no brainier for any for-profit company to be non profitable! duh!! So, I am not going to take my fury on these legit for-profit colleges. But, the system which allows it to happen. Student lives and taxpayer/investor cash are all at stake. What was once a cost-benefit decision is now a foregone conclusion: You must get a college degree. Like all bubbles, the college bubble has been pumped to excess by societal and market failures. Among these: the societal failure that for many, a public high school education is often inadequate or irrelevant; and market failures created by distortions in what passes for the market place for a college education - e.g., tax-payer funding that encourage unbridled growth in supply and unchecked appetite for it. (And in an environment where super-loose monetary policy already encourages mallinvestments in education, fiscal distortions are the last thing you need.) But how many of us are actually aware of this? Is it time to be paying close attention to our failing system?

Although the for profit colleges enroll only ten percent of all post-secondary students, for-profit schools receive almost a quarter of federal financial aid! yes! FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID!! Go figure! And, FYI - the the Department of Education figures for 2009 show that 44 percent of the students who defaulted within three years of graduation were from for-profit schools, leading to serious questions about one of the key pillars of the for-profit degree college movement: that their degrees help students boost their earning power. Isn't it time we expose this failing industry, and why it may be the biggest scam foisted upon Americans since the ARM swindles that have practically crippled our economy...permanently.

On the contrary, I do agree that there are some benifts in a for-profit college; read the previous post. But at the same time, as much as I believe that a college education is a good investment, it is not priceless! So go get your college education but be bright while choosing it; here are some alternatives to think about: work while you attend school to help pay expenses; go to a junior college for the first two years; go to a public university instead of a high-cost private institution; seek out an employer than offers tuition assistance and last but not the least save money in advance to pay for college.

A bigger problem..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Wednesday, August 11, 2010

With 1 comments:

Tag : Education, Essential, I, Perspective, Share

Students?

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Al right folks, as promised here is my view on the Student loan legislation that Obama signed recently. Before that just sharing something that I think about student loans; I feel that like the current mortgage fiasco we are dealing with, this is another big big problem that the US is going to have to deal with at some point, likely sooner rather than later. But that's another topic... The real issue is that the "loanees" (AKA students AKA generally young and naive and with generally little true financial acumen) carry a burden that few other borrowers face - the inability to discharge your debt via bankruptcy. So my point; no loan is a good loan! Trust me I know!! I am dealing with a few myself.

Basically this legislation takes away the student loans from banks and funds it directly. So many would be happy to know that the money borrowed from in college will be the lenders they pay every month to. No need to worry about loans being sold and resold. But like are any other legislation's obviously there are good and bad. So, let look at the Pros first:

Basically all schools starting this 2010 summer will be offering "direct lending" which cuts out the corporate lending middleman, meaning a lower interest rate! This legislation also reduces IBR (Income-Based Repayment) to 10% of above-line income instead of 15%, and forgives non-PI (Private Investor) loans after 20 years instead of 25... but this part will only apply to loans initiated after July 1, 2014. Nobody currently in or applying will benefit from this part of the reform (although it will definitely benefit the future generations). This makes me sad face, as a few I care about are currently in schll.. lol

Now the bad part; The biggest losers obviously would be the middleman, banks. So banks' easy profit off of these student loans while the government bears the risk would now be gone. Which also means there is no competition. It also means banks would now be down in profits that is used to lend back to the community. So this might create a slow but a clear way for a few banks to go down.

So the bottom line; though waste will decrease, I doubt and will be very surprised if the program becomes more efficient and has less problems. Here is another perspective for you guys to think about; How are college graduates supposed to juggle student loan payments with the realities of an imploding job market and family members too caught up in their own financial turmoil to help out? With all the attention focused on failing banks and government bailouts, the very legitimate panic felt by such graduates risks getting lost in the shuffle.

There you go my two worthless pennies ;)

Students?

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, April 9, 2010

With 0comments

Tag : Education, Essential, I, Perspective, Share, Support Obama

Open!

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Recently I read a paper entitled “Open Access: Why should we have it?” As someone who promotes open thinking, open source software, open data formats and other forms of openness, it is rewarding to see that there is tangible evidence of the value of these practices. Although the paper focuses on open access journals/articles in the physical sciences, I think that it is safe to generalize the results to all areas of academic research.

Talking of academic research, I had to do a statistic analysis report recently.. whew! I don’t miss my school days at all!! LOL Well, this specific article I was given to report on was a disaster! Personally, I'm not very much of a "stick to a diet" for health benefits kind of person. I believe in eating what appeals to me but in the right quantity. And a good mix of exercise would do the trick for a healthy life, no need for any Cocoa/Tea diet!!

I am all about being open and clear with my thoughts and ways. That does not mean I am going to discuss my life history with everyone who comes around. Rather, I am someone who values open communication of my thoughts with the people that matter to me. As many of my friends would agree, it is dangerously easy for anyone to get the wrong idea about me and my intentions without talking to me. I am not to be blamed for it too; I do carry myself with pride. Nothing wrong with that in my book, though, I will agree that it can intimidate many. Egoistic some call, hard headed others say, vein some murmur, full of your self many joke.

But those of you who have had the opportunity to know me would (hopefully) agree otherwise. And honestly it does not matter if they (the one who knows me) agree or not ‘cause I know what I am and that is all that matters! Et voila, a brilliant finishing statement to the above paragraph! Lol

In other stories I recently got my second!! ticket for not wearing my seat belt!!!! It was a spell cast by my angel, who was only wishing me well. I have promised myself to always wear my seatbelt from then on. So, if I am with any one of you guys and not wearing my seat belt, please remind me and I promise not to argue or ignore.

I have not forgotten the take on the student loan post that I promised.. so look out for it soon :) Also check out Kurbaan, a Hindi movie which was quite interesting. My review to follow..

By the way, start being more open to your thoughts of me, with me! Please..

“asamyatatmana yogo
dusprapa iti me matih
vasyatmana tu yatata
sakyo ’vaptum upayatah”

Open!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Monday, April 5, 2010

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Tag : Adore, Education, Essential, I, Perspective, Share

From the White House

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The post below by Kal Pen representing the White House triggered enough interest to be re posted here :) I will be posting my view about it soon.. till then read on..



Making Higher Education More Affordable
Posted by Kalpen Modi on March 30, 2010 at 12:00 PM EDT

The President believes that for America to compete in the 21st century, we’ll need a highly educated workforce that is second to none. But one of the things holding us back from this achievement is soaring tuition costs at colleges and universities around the country. Too many students and families struggle to make ends meet just to fulfill the dream of a college education. And when students are unable to afford access to higher education or graduate with a degree, our economy suffers.

That’s why President Obama signed today a historic piece of legislation that delivers real reforms and critical investments to our higher education system. By strengthening the Pell Grant program, investing in community colleges, extending support for Historically Black Colleges and other Minority Serving Institutions, and helping student borrowers manage their student loan debt, we will make college more affordable and enable more Americans to earn a college degree.

Lifelong educators like Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, know how important these reforms will be to our higher education system.

This legislation means $40 billion more dollars in the Pell Grant program to ensure that eligible students receive an award, and that awards increase to keep pace with rising tuition. And a $2 billion investment over four years for community colleges to develop, improve, and provide education and career training programs. Students will be able to choose to limit their student loan payments to 10% of their income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. And public service workers can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.

Because special interests have been benefiting from taxpayer subsidies for too long, we’re cutting out the middlemen by ending government subsidies currently given to banks and other financial institutions that make guaranteed federal student loans. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, ending these wasteful subsidies will free up nearly $68 billion for college affordability and deficit reduction over the next 11 years. So these investments are not only paid for, but they’ll reduce the deficit in the long run.

Because of the legislation enacted today, we’re finally undertaking meaningful reform to our education system and making college more affordable and accessible.

For more information on these federal student aid programs, please go to http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/, or call 1-800-4FED-AID.

Kalpen Modi is an Associate Director for the Office of Public Engagement

From the White House

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, April 2, 2010

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Tag : Education, Essential, Perspective, Share, Support Obama

Jotting down..

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I know I have said "it"** before and this does not mean I do not believe in it anymore but just for the fun of it.. And also just to say WHY NOT? Here, some things I would like to see accomplished in the next 7 years..

I should have achieved these things:
1) Healthy lifestyle (maintain no bouncy tummy)
2) Publish at least two books
3) Establish my own corporation
4) Identified business partners
5) Have started building up my retirement capital

Optional plans
1) UK? France? Australia? Canada? Singapore? Japan? NZ?
2) Anything else luxurious

What am I doing to achieve this
1) Educating myself
2) Already drafting my business plan
3) Looking out for business opportunities
4) Building the mindset required. The business world is cruel =\

** "it" means - I believe in embracing today with love and passion and not worry about tomorrow..'cause that which you manifest is before you!

Jotting down..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Thursday, February 25, 2010

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Tag : Essential, I, Perspective, Wishes

State of the Union!

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So, I watched the State of the Union address in its entirety, this being the first one of my adulthood that I could stand to listen to and look at without getting angry!! I'll keep this highly biased, flag-waving post with my first State of the Blog. It is shorter than the President's.

Ladies and gentlemen:
I have always supported Obama for various reasons. I think he is a brilliant speaker. And last night's speech is a testimony, his speech should be a model for presidents to follow: be informal and colloquial, come out swinging, don't be afraid to ad-lib, point out your successes, point out the other side's failures, and lay out a specific, short-term agenda. However I was not in agreement to a few things one of which as follows;

"To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants.

And let’s tell another 1 million students that, when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years, and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college."

OK, let’s take away any incentive for banks to give student loans. That makes complete sense only if you want to ensure that government is the only place where you can get one (hint, hint). But what floored me the most was that if you take a student loan, you don’t have to pay back more than 10% of your income. Suppose I get my degree in social work and work primarily pro bono for the first ten years, then become a politician! FREE EDUCATION!!!!! Your debt will be forgiven? Really? We will tell banks that if they make a loan, they get no perks from government, and on top of it, after a certain period of time, the students will not be required to pay the bank back! BRILLIANT. Talk about a socialist sentiment.

Anyway, I believe Obama has real integrity. For one thing, he has been triying to run a decent presidency. Some tactics that could be considered underhanded are probably impossible to avoid, but I really believe he is committed to the mush needed change.

Thank you!

State of the Union!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, January 29, 2010

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Tag : Digital Impression, Education, Essential, Perspective, Share, Support Obama

Intuiting

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Ruth said she is very good at intuiting people she meets after a few conversations; she says; "Jegan, you express love only sometimes and when you do, you don’t do it literally." To many it may sound accurate; and I have to partially agree, I do feel that my love for you need not be expressed for it should and would be felt. A contradicting statement to many; how can love be felt if it is not expressed?? It is like the love between a newborn and its mother. No expression is needed but the bond is there, it is felt! I have always adored this unspoken bond between one another that just shows how much they care for each other. I do believe that life is not always full of multiple choices or the yes-or-no questions, but application questions; every application needs a different treatment, answer. Anyway Ruth continued; “I am frustrated at things because I feel that they have not met my expectations.” I do agree, but my expectations are minimum; I expect open communication, and if I cant even get that then you bet I am going to a bad child! Go here: Anyway I cannot stand being still, I need to be occupied with someone, something, tomorrow will always be a question so let us cherish today and be open about anything and everything. Make today the happiest day of our lives! But again you do have "them" who spin me. They spin me round and round. Stop spinning me! And this heart of “them” is a glass holding water. It is full but seems to have nothing inside. I have only one thing to say to “them” Don't lie but if you do; please don't comfort because each sewing has to meet stinging pain..

p/s: eat lots of pomegranate :)

Intuiting

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Wednesday, January 13, 2010

With 2comments

Tag : Adore, Digital Impression, Essential, I, Perspective, Share

What does it meant to us?

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It would increase the use of veto pen ;) But seriously it could mean roll back on tax cuts; end of war profiteering; boost for minimum wages; easier/faster means for immigrants to earn citizenship. Just to name a few.. a Tamil proverb comes to my mind now ( Appan Arumai Maandal Theriyum) meaning; it is only when we pause to look back and to take our bearings, that we realize what a long way we have come and what we have missed.

What ever it may be I’m not a republican or a democrat. So I care less ;) What about you? Remeber each one of us has to try and delve as deeply as possible within him/herself to see what really is the propelling force or hidden motive behind his/her activities. Lies your answer!

What does it meant to us?

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Wednesday, November 8, 2006

With 2comments

Tag : Essential, Perspective

Knack away..

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Drawing on skills learned in a comprehensive two year training course/program/actual, I have now the art of the consultative process to keep me in demand. At least that is what I think.

My first day in the field(new) was lovely than expected! I am very thankful to Tracy for that. She had influenced me to this adventure. It is too early to say much, but the first instinct usually says at least this much!

Keep your eyes and ears open..

Knack away..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Tuesday, April 25, 2006

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Tag : Essential, I, Perspective

Work Fact..

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I have to realize to hold fast to my unique view of the world while at the same time being open to others and to the knowledge they have to offer. Je pense à des personnes en particulier et si elles viennent sur ce site, elles se reconnaitrons, j'en suis sûre.

Work Fact..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Wednesday, March 15, 2006

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Tag : Essential, I, Perspective

Yesterday

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While standing in the grocery food store line, somethings I noticed in my neighbor's basket. And I think: 4 Case of beer, 3 gallon of red wine, 4 chicken breast, 2 liver, 4 bacon, 4 ham, 4 steaks, 4 fish, 5 lobster, 4 clams, 8 dz. eggs, 3 gallon milk, 2 cheese, 2 cottage cheese, 2 butter, 4 pk potato chips, 4 assorted dips, 5 pickles, 2 ketchup, 2 mustard, 3 pk hot dog, 4 hot dog buns, 2 loaf of bread, 2 flour, 3 bag of sugar, 4 box of oatmeal cereal, 4 orange juice, 3 assorted can goods, 2 cooking oil, 3 spices, 2 ice cream, 20 assorted t.v dinners, 2 bag of flour, 3 bag of sugar, 2 box of brown sugar, 3 gallon of vanilla ice cream, 25lb can of coffee, 125lb of rice, 3 Max pack of macaroni & cheese & about/atleast 20 candles. And one mini box of Lactose!!! ( digestive advantage med) ** ermm ** Don't you think?? Maybe it is just me! Or maybe it is a bachelor preparing for the End of the World!

Yesterday

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Monday, October 31, 2005

With 1 comments:

Tag : Essential, Perspective