I thought I would throw together a few tricks for everyone which I’ve
learned over the last year to make the battery last a little longer in
our high power Android phones.
1. Don’t use Live Wallpapers – I know they are pretty, but they can
really drain the battery.
2. Set the display brightness to a lower setting, for example 25%.
3. Set the display timeout to 30 seconds, the default is 1 minute.
4. For applications that background sync or download background data,
decrease the frequency they sync or update. Usually no more frequent than every hour or two.
5. Turn off Friendstream (delete the widget)
6. Keep Bluetooth turned off unless needed
7. Use WiFi whenever possible, but turn off WiFi when not using it.
8. Turn off WiFi network notification.
No matter what anyone tells you DO NOT install a task manager. The
latest versions of Android are quite good at doing this itself. Task
managers can do more harm then good.
This post is quite a bit overdue, but as most of you have figured out by now I have returned to Facebook. Why I did is something I have asked myself time and time again. The primary reason I came back was due to my friends. I found myself frequently missing out on happenings in my social circle because they were occurring on Facebook. Facebook can also be a good time waster when I’m bored. I still however feel as I did before. My opinion on Facebook has not changed, therefore I tread very lightly. I limit the amount of information I share and strictly control whom I share it with. For instance I prefer to share my photos on Flickr instead of Facebook. I have now opened up my Twitter feed to the public as a way to share with anyone that cares to follow me. I limit my Facebook friends to people I actually know and converse with on a regular basis.
With MySpace dying a slow painful death, Facebook has a social networking monopoly. I look forward to the next social platform which usurps Facebook’s hold on our lives.
Why are navel rings so popular with women these days? I swear, every time I see a woman with a bare midriff in magazines or on television she has a navel ring. I just do not understand the appeal. They make the woman look cheap, slutty, low class, and it is certainly not sexy. When I think of navel rings I think trailer trash. It is even worse when a woman with a navel ring wears a tight fitting shirt and you can see the jewelry poking out from under shirt. So gross!
I would like to find whomever “invented” personalized ringback tones and personally punch them in the face. This person deserves it. Personalized ringback tones are the most annoying “feature” of mobile phones today. Music ringtones take a close second place.
Most people listen to crappy music. Why these people feel the need to subject me to it while I am calling them is beyond me. I already hate talking on the phone, and having to listen to the crappy song of the week while calling someone only makes the experience worse. All I need to verify that my call is being successfully received by the other person is the standard 440 Hz + 480 Hz tone.
I am now instituting a new policy. If you feel the need to subject me to a personalized ringback tone when I call you, I no longer feel the need to call you.
I have thought for a very long time that the iTunes software, well, sucks. I tried iTunes early in its history for an extended period of time, several months if I remember correctly. In my opinion the interface was terrible and the library management was poor. Ever since then I have sworn off Apple media players and haven’t looked at iTunes since. The major redeeming quality to iTunes is their store. No one has the sheer quantity of music available that iTunes has. For me, this is not enough though to justify purchasing an iDevice. Apparently not much has changed over the last few years. I defer you to two recent posts by Paul Thurrott over at the SuperSite for Windows.
Just Say No: Is It Time to Say Goodbye to Apple? & Apple iTunes 10
