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Review: Samsung Ultra HD 4K UD590 28 inch monitor

3840x2160 Desktop

Having been spoiled by 2, large $1,000 each 32” Dell 2560×1600 resolution monitors with my work-from-home job over the last 3 years, when I switched jobs with a new company, I was left monitor-less after I returned the company owned hardware.  I opted for a one monitor, but higher res, and cheaper solution.  I first ordered a Dell 4K monitor, which was a disaster.

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imageWhile I was waiting for that monitor to arrive from Amazon during my 1 week vacation between jobs, I went to the local BestBuy to buy another to tied me over until the Dell arrived.  I bought the Samsung 4K UD590 28 inch monitor.  I ended up keeping the Samsung monitor and returning the Dell because the Dell monitor (see link above for why I ditched the Dell).

What I like

  • Picture Quality
    • Compared to the Dell monitor, the picture is brighter, has more vibrant colors, and a higher contrast.
  • Screen resolution
    • The screen resolution is a whopping 3840×2160 pixels.

image

      • See that screen shot at the top of the article?  That’s my desktop at the full resolution.  Those two little windows in the middle and lower left are 1024×768 desktops in 2 separate virtual machines.  One is running Mac OSX, the other is running Windows XP.  That should give you a sense of the huge desktop real estate you get with all those pixels.
    • Response time
      • 1ms response time means the mouse is not delayed.  Video is not delayed.  Audio from your speakers is not ahead, in time, from the video displaying on the monitor.  This is HUGELY important.
    • Simplicity
      • 1 DisplayPort, 2 HDMI ports.
    • Screen Size
      • 28 inches large.  This provides a lot of screen real estate for your high-end computing needs such as software development, CAD, Graphics, etc…
    • PIP (Picture in picture)

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What I don’t like

  • Price
    • While ~$600 is lower than it was when it first came out and lower than the $1,000 Dell monitors with lower resolutions that I had before, it’s still a painful pill to swallow.
  • Ghost effects
    • I honestly don’t know if this is a problem with the monitor or the video card I bought, but it’s annoying as hell.  Here’s what I’m talking about:  When I move the mouse or scroll a window with a light background and dark text, there’s a ghost image left behind for a few milliseconds of where the mouse used to be or where the dark text used to be that is BRIGHTER than the white background.  It’s a poor user experience.
  • Lack of DVI and VGA ports
    • While I listed the 3 simple ports as a positive, it’s also a huge negative as it meant I couldn’t use my existing video card.  It was a high end card a few years ago, but lacks DisplayPort and HDMI.  It (my old video card) does, however, have 2 DVI ports and a VGA port and supports multiple monitors.  So, that meant I had to go buy a new video card.  I opted for the EVGA GeForce GTX 760 with 4GB of RAM.  Sadly, after I plugged that into my motherboard, I discovered that my power supply lacked the appropriate plugs to power this new video card, so I had to go purchase a new 600w power supply too…. all this just to run a new monitor!
  • Screen Size
    • Yes, I’m putting screen size in as both a positive and a negative.  While I’m used to a 32” screen, this one is a 28” screen.  I obviously do NOT blame Samsung for that.  It’s a 28” monitor… PERIOD!  But, when running the monitor at full resolution, the icons and text are so incredibly tiny, it’s ridiculous.  You really need a physically larger screen to run your desktop that this native resolution.  As a fix, I up’d the Windows DPI 150%.  That’s a feature that Windows has had for more than 20 years and this is the first time I’ve actually needed it.  This brought almost everything up to a large enough size that I can actually see it.  It also makes the text really crisp.  Think of it like a high-res display on your tablet… how it improves the text quality.  Same thing there.  If you want to run your desktop at 100% DPI with the full, native resolution of 4K, I strongly recommend getting a larger size than 28”.  I’d say 32” would be the bare minimum.  BUT, just crank up the DPI in your OS and you should be good to go.  MOST things scale up properly these days.  In the past, playing with DPI just hosed many apps.  Not true today.
  • Tilt
    • This monitor lacks usable tilt features.  You CANNOT tilt it forward.  So, if you place this monitor a little high, then you CANNOT tilt it down.  You CAN, however, tilt it UP, a little bit.  My computer desk has a shelf about 6 or 7 inches above the desk where I place my monitor.  The monitor stand holds the monitor about another 4 or 5 inches above that.  I’d prefer to have the monitor tilt down a little, but I can’t do that, so I have a cable running underneath the back edge of the monitor stand to tilt the whole thing forward just a little.
  • Raise/Lower
    • You CANNOT raise or lower the height of the monitor.  It is what it is as far as height goes.

Conclusion

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For the most part, I’m satisfied and happy with this monitor, but the ghosting and tilting are problems I’ll have to live with.

Have you had any experience with any 4K monitors yet?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

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Review: Dell P2815Q Ultra HD 28-Inch LED-Lit 4K Monitor

The Dell 4K 28 inch Ultra HD 4K computer monitor has an incredibly high screen resolution, but has some serious problems.

41pMDFAHevL

Serious Mouse Lag

The first thing you’ll notice is the incredibly frustrating lag with your mouse.  It turns out, there’s no fix.  The problem is because of how the monitor works.  There’s a full 100ms delay from when the monitor receives the image signal to when it displays it.  That means that your mouse movements and keystrokes are not seen until at least that delay.

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This causes you to overshoot your targets with your mouse (both in games and on the desktop).  It causes a very irritating and frustrating sluggishness sensation, like you’re forcing your mouse through syrup.

There’s a thread on the Dell website’s user forum where many people are complaining about this and Dell’s official response is not comforting.  The following is a response to a customer who purchased it from a retailer who won’t accept it as bad because it performs per Dell’s specs.  At least Dell did provide a direct response to that retailer, explaining that the problem is real.

DellMonitorResponse1
Due to the hardware architecture, the mouse lag is a result of the P2815Q requiring 100 ms to process video data. This cannot be changed with a firmware update. It would require a new architecture from the ground up which we will not do. If you have this complaint, your only recourse is to return the monitor for refund. Outside of the initial 30 days from the invoice date, it will take manager approval to get a refund. Using the Dell service tag number from the P2815Q, contact Dell Technical Support for your region. Explain that we do not have a fix for this complaint. The technician will need to escalate to their manager.

 

Here’s another Dell response on the same thread indicating that the only fix is to return the monitor.

Due to the hardware architecture, the mouse lag is a result of the P2815Q requiring 100 ms to process video data. If you have this complaint, your only recourse is to return the monitor for refund. Outside of the initial 30 days from the invoice date, it will take manager approval to get a refund.
Due to the hardware architecture, the mouse lag is a result of the P2815Q requiring 100 ms to process video data. If you have this complaint, your only recourse is to return the monitor for refund. Outside of the initial 30 days from the invoice date, it will take manager approval to get a refund.

They also explain that they WILL NOT fix this issue.

Stale Colors

Sitting this monitor next to my Samsung UD590 4K monitor of the same size, the colors on this Dell monitor are not as vibrant.  I tried changing the settings to equal those of the Samsung Monitor, but it could not be achieved.

A Little Hope

Back to the mouse problem…  There are several preset options for the Dell monitor, like you’d expect on most modern display devices such as:

  • Standard
  • Movie
  • Warm
  • Cool
  • Game

etc…  As it turns out, if you set it to “Game”, the lag is diminished a little bit.  It’s still unacceptable for my needs, but it MIGHT be enough to satisfy other users.  Unfortunately, that setting also changes the display settings.

You’d think that a preset display setting would have no effect on this, and I thought perhaps it’s just my imagination.  So, I called my teenage daughter into my computer room, and without telling her what was going on, I set the video mode to “Standard” and asked her to move the mouse around (I hid what I was doing by having the Dell dialog on a second monitor that she could not see.  It changed the settings for the Dell monitor).  Her response was that the mouse was laggy.  I then changed to “Game” (again, without telling her what I was doing) and asked if it was better, worse, or indifferent.  She said it was clearly “better”.  Then I set it to “Cool” and asked again.  She confirmed that it was just like the first one… laggy.

My recommendation?

Avoid the Dell P2815Q Ultra HD 28-Inch LED-Lit 4K Monitor.  The lag is just too much to deal with.  And if you’re a gamer, this is an absolute “NO!”.  More like a “HELL NO!”  For non-gamers, it will be frustrating for you too, but if you change it to “Game” mode, it MIGHT be OK for you, but you’ll have to accept the color settings that go along with the game mode setting.

I would also recommend getting a LARGER monitor if you’re going to be using desktop apps if your screen is going to be 4K resolution.  Text, menus, buttons, etc, are crazy small on this thing.  I’d say a 32″ monitor would probably be the smallest you’d want to go.

Alternatives?

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If you need a monitor that can rotate like this Dell P2815Q does, I do not have a recommendation other than to choose something else.  If you don’t need rotation, the Samsung UD590 4K monitor has great color and no noticeable lag with the mouse.  However, it does NOT have the ability to rotate from portrait to landscape mode AND it CANNOT be tilted to face down a little.  So if where you place your monitor is a little high, it may be aimed at an odd, upward angle.  It CAN be aimed higher, but NOT lower.

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DynDNS.org e-mail database compromised

The compromise of the DynDNS.org e-mail database is not “news” on this day, though it may be news to YOU.  The point of this post is not to broadcast news, but to demonstrate:

  1. Why you should protect your E-Mail address.
  2. How to protect your E-Mail address.
  3. How people have a responsibility with the E-Mail addresses people have entrusted with them.

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1. Why you should protect your E-Mail address

What do I mean by “protect” your e-mail address?  After all, you HAVE to give it to people in order for them to send you e-mail, right?  Well, kind of, but you don’t have to give everyone the SAME e-mail address.  I’ll explain shortly, but first, here’s what happens when you don’t protect your e-mail address.

You get spam

If you give out the same e-mail address to everyone (and again, I’ll show you how to not do that shortly), then at some point, someone you gave it to is going to spam you or sell it to a spammer or their user database will get compromised and your address will be stolen and sold to spammers.

You get phishing attacks

Once spammers have your e-mail address, they’ll send you fake e-mail messages trying to trick you into signing into a fake bank website or some other fake site that replicates a business you probably have an account with, then will STEAL your REAL money.

Look at what happenned to ME when a spammer somehow compromised DynDNS.org’s email database and got MY e-mail address:

DynDnsHacked

 

There are no toll roads where I live and I don’t have an account with E-Zpass (I’ve never even heard of it), so I knew immediately that this was a phishing scam, even without Google’s warning.  Also, the English is poorly written.  But, if I weren’t as alert and if Google hadn’t flagged it, AND if I were an E-ZPass customer, it’s possible I’d have been tricked, and I’m sure many other people are tricked frequently.

 

You can’t trace who leaked your address

If you give the same e-mail address to EVERYONE, then you will receive spam on that address and have no way to determine who leaked it.  In my example above with the fake “E-ZPass” phishing scam email, I know EXACTLY who’s responsible for leaking it.  It was DynDNS.org.  How do I know?  Because that phishing email was sent to an email address alias that has only EVER been given to dyndns.org and is NOT one that would have been guessed.  Here’s DynDNS’s response.  They are STILL ultimately responsible.

2. How to protect your E-Mail address

I promised above I’d tell you how.  Here it is:

  1. HOW TO STOP SPAM: BASIC TIPS
  2. HOW TO STOP SPAM: ADVANCED TIPS
  3. HOW TO STOP SPAM: EXPERT TIPS

In short, you use a different email address for EVERY website you sign up with (and that’s VERY easy to do!!!!).  View my links for instructions on how to do that.  It’s actually quite easy, but I go into detail on 3 different levels (basic – for beginners).

Once you do this, if you ever get spam, you can look at the TO address and that will reveal which website you gave that address to, which reveals who’s responsible for either spamming you, selling your address to spammers, or having compromised the protection of your e-mail address.  Then you can block that address so you don’t have to deal with the spam anymore.

In DynDNS’s case, they claim it was their e-mail marketing company that accidentally leaked the addresses.  Doesn’t matter though.  DynDNS should never have entrusted that third party or should have researched their security measures.  DynDNS is fully responsible since they’re the ones that collected the addresses.

3. How people have a responsibility with the E-Mail addresses people have entrusted with them

If you’re on the receiving end of people signing up to your website or newsletters or services of any kind, you have a moral/ethical responsibility to protect those e-mail addresses.  In DynDNS’s case, they failed.  Even though they’re claiming it was their partner marketing company that failed, the responsibility still lies on DynDNS’s shoulders.  It is YOUR (you, the custodian of other people’s addresses) responsibility to ensure the security of them.  If you share that e-mail address with others, you MUST inform your users BEFORE they give you their e-mail address as AS PART of the process of receiving their e-mail address.  It is also your responsibility to ensure the integrity of the security of the partner with whom you give those e-mail addresses.  In short, you really should NEVER give those addresses to partners.  If you need to send out mass mailings to your customers who have entrusted you with their e-mail address, you must honor that trust and have your own, in-house e-mail marketing.

YOU are the gate-keeper of those addresses and if it falls into the wrong hands, even because of lax security by a third party, it’s STILL 100% your fault.  You shouldn’t have given that trusted data to someone else OR you should have fully researched their security measures.

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If you ever discover a breach, either internally or externally, it is your responsibility to inform all of your users as soon as you find out.

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Is Samsung really cloning all the Google Apps?

Last year, there was an image floating around the net, supposedly showing all the cloned apps that Samsung has made of the Google apps.  Today, there’s an updated one for 2014 with even MORE apps in it.  The claim is that Samsung is cloning existing Google apps and making their own.  Then the people passing this around are espousing some kind of evil intent on the part of Samsung.

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Let’s examine each one.  First, here’s a listing of all the apps in the popular meme going around:

SamsungGoogleApps

Now, on each line, let’s highlight which app came out first in green… the Samsung app or the Google app:

SamsungGoogleAppsGreen

As you can see, the vast majority of these apps came from Samsung first, NOT Google!  So, now that you know that, you can help the proliferation of the actual truth by:

  1. Not spreading the false information.
  2. Correcting people when THEY spread the false information.

Additionally, not all of these apps are direct comparisons and in many of them, the Samsung version has minor or major advantages.

Some apps that need special mention…

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Camera vs. Camera

The Samsung camera app was not only out YEARS before the Google camera was released to the play store for all phones, but the Samsung camera is actually quite good.  In fact, it’s superior to the Google camera app in functionality.  It was won much praise.  Now, it’s not better on ALL accounts, but it WAS first.  The Google camera has the much coveted PhotoSphere feature though.

Chrome vs. “Internet”

Chrome was only recently released.  Before that, Samsung HAD to provide a browser and they could NOT provide Chrome… because it didn’t exist!  Also, Samsung’s browser has a few features that Chrome doesn’t like the ability to scroll pages by simply nodding your head without touching the screen.

Chromecast vs. Samsung Link

Again, Samsung Link was out YEARS before Chromecast.  Additionally, the two are not directly comparable.  Chromecast is intended for use with additional hardware.  Samsung Link was designed to communicate with multiple devices.

Google “Device Policy” vs. Samsung “Knox”

Aside from being first (not a clone), Samsung Knox and Google “Device Policy” are not exactly the same thing, though there IS some overlap.  Samsung Knox has two primary features:

  1. Divide the user’s phone into two, untouching environments (work vs. personal) so apps and settings in one don’t affect the other.
  2. Provide very strong security to give Samsung devices the OK from corporate I.T. departments, giving them the ability to control the “work” side of the user’s phone without interfering with the user’s personal side.

Google’s “Google Apps Device Policy” is intended for admins and users of Google Apps.  It does not divide a phone into a work area and a personal area AND it arrived AFTER Samsung Knox.

NOTE:  Android L will be incorporating Samsung’s Knox security.  Not only did Samsung NOT copy Google, not only was Samsung FIRST, but Google is now taking actual parts of Samsung Knox and embedding it into the base Android OS.

GMail vs. Samsung “EMail”

Yet again, Samsung was first with their EMail client (as was every other Android device maker).  GMail is a relatively newcomer to the Android E-Mail client scene.

Also, the GMail app works ONLY with GMail.  It does NOT work with any other E-Mail service.  Samsung’s E-Mail app is a general purpose E-Mail client app.  it works with ALL POP3 and IMAP email (including GMail).  It also works with Microsoft Exchange.  In addition to that, it also enforces Exchange’s security policies.

These apps are only barely comparable, but, as stated above, Samsung’s E-Mail client was out YEARS before GMail.

Google vs. S-Voice

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Do I need to say this?  OK, I’ll do it just to be complete:  S-Voice was out long before Google’s app.  S-Voice was available as far back as AT LEAST the Galaxy S2 (as of this writing, the S5 is the current Galaxy phone).  That’s several years ago.  “Google Now” came out YEARS later.

Additionally, S-Voice has more local features than Google’s app does for integrating with the phone.  “Google Now” is slowly catching up though on the local features, but is still not there yet.   They overlap in many areas and each has features the other doesn’t.  S-Voice is also FASTER than “Google Now” in search test results.

Hangouts vs. Chat-On

Google Hangouts is another relatively NEW comer to the game.  Chat-On has been around longer AND it integrates with more chat services.  Hangouts uses ONLY Google chat services.

Keep Vs. S-Note

Not only has S-Note been out since AT LEAST the Galaxy S2 and Google Keep only recently came out, but S-Note’s functionality is vastly superior to Google Keep.  S-Note is a highly functional and very mature note taking app.  Google Keep is like notepad in comparison.

Google Photos vs. Samsung Gallery

Google Photos only came out in very recent history.  Samsung Gallery has been out almost since the beginning of Android time.

Google Play Games vs. Samsung S-Console

Once again, Samsung’s was out first.  It may be confusing to some people because S-Console went by another name in prior version.

Google “Play Movies & TV” vs. Samsung “Watch On”

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As with everything else, Samsung was first.  BUT, these two apps shouldn’t really be compared.  Samsung’s “Watch On” is an app that turns a Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 (and I think some of the Samsung Note models) into a universal remote control for your TVs, DVD players, and other set top devices using the IR blaster built into certain Android devices.  Google “Play Movies & TV” is essentially digital media online store.

Google “Remote Control” vs. Samsung “Smart remote”

Yet again, Samsung was first, but again, these two apps shouldn’t be compared.  The Google app is really called, “Remote Control for Google TV”.  It’s an app that lets you control your Google TV device (which is so new, it’s umbilical cord hasn’t even been cut yet.  Samsung Smart Remote is essentially a scaled down version of “Watch On”.

There’s a growing, vocal community of people that really really hate Samsung.  Some of it is justified and some of it is not.  One of the memes that just won’t stop is that Samsung is going in a direction away from Google.  That may or may not be true, but the evidence provided to support that claim is the false list above.

In fact, almost all Android phone makers provide many NON Google versions of these apps, especially a browser and e-mail client, because until recently, Google provided no browser and they STILL don’t provide a general use e-mail client.  Other apps that ARE overlaps of Google apps are so, with both Samsung and others, because there WERE NO Google equivalents when those apps were made.

Editorial

All of the above was just historical facts.  The following is a bit of opinion…

Even if Samsung were or is intentionally making an ecosystem that doesn’t rely on Google, can you blame them?  Well, sure, you CAN.  But SHOULD you?  Does it make sense for ANY company to have so much of their business rely upon another company that’s not under their control?  of course not.  Every company wants to be in control of their own destiny.  So, I personally do not blame Samsung IF that is what they’re doing.

Now, what about the CUSTOMERS?  What’s best for THEM?  Is it a GOOD or a BAD thing for customers IF Samsung is actually INTENTIONALLY positioning themselves to survive WITHOUT relying on Google?

Of course.  Why?  Because if you’ve read this far, you are clearly an Android supporter and if you support Android, you almost certainly support it for many reasons, one of the big ones being that Android provides CHOICE.  Not just choice for something other than Apple, but choice WITHIN the Android platform.  If Google Maps is the ONLY mapping program out there, then you have no choice but to use it.  BUT, if there is competition, even IF you choose to continue to use ONLY the Google version, the mere existence of the competition will keep Google on their toes and incorporate features sooner than they would have had the competition not done it AND will cause Google to add features they may not have thought of to start with.

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Competition and choice are GOOD things and THAT’S why you love Android.  NO ONE IS FORCING YOU USE THE SAMSUNG APPS NOR EVEN TO BUY A SAMSUNG PHONE!  Even if you want the Samsung hardware, but not the apps, YOU CAN DO THAT!  (if you root it, of course).

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Dragon Touch Tablet–High End Hardware–Low End Price

DragonTouchTablet

This is going to be a quick and short review.  The Dragon Touch 9.7” Android tablet by TabletExpress (as U.S. company) has fairly high hardware specs considering its low price of $179.99.  Most tablets that size are much more expensive.  But, it’s not just a 9.7” screen tablet, it also has a ridiculously high resolution of 2048×1536 (again, hi res for that price).  It also sports a Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core.

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Here are the specs:

  • 9.7” screen
  • 2,048×1,536 pixels “Retina” display
  • Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core
  • Front and rear cameras
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone jack
  • SD card slot, up to 64GB
  • 12v DC proprietary adapter
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
  • 16GB internal storage
  • 2GB RAM
  • Wifi

Here’s an unboxing of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xZP8B3V46k

The Good:

  • 9.7” screen
  • 2,048×1,536 pixels “Retina” display
  • Rockchips RK3188 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU at 1.8Ghz per core
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • HDMI port
  • SD card slot, up to 64GB
  • Screen Protector

Remember, this “goodness” is all based on getting this for $179.99.

You almost never see a screen larger than 7 inches for this price.  Remember, the Nexus 7 is only 7 inches, only has a resolution of 1920×1200, same amount of RAM and internal storage, and is only 1.5Ghz and NO SD card slot for expandability and IT costs $229.  Hardware wise, this thing kicks butt, especially for the price.

That screen resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 is insanely high for such a cheap tablet.  Even many more expensive tablets don’t even have that resolution.

The processor is a fairly fast Quad Core with a higher clock speed than what you get with the much more expensive (and small) Nexus 7.

It has an HDMI port so you can view it directly on your computer monitor or HDTV.  That can turn it into a game console or a cheap way to show the family photos and videos while on the go or to give presentations.

The Micro USB port is both a pro and a con.  Since we’re in the “Good” section, let’s focus on the good.  This is pretty standard on Android devices and any device without a MicroUSB port would be a joke.

It comes with 2GB of RAM and 8, 16, or 32GB of storage.  I’m reviewing the 16GB version here.  It also has a Micro SD card slot so you can add up to 64GB of more storage.  “Officially” it supports up to 32GB, but reviews on Amazon.com say that 64GB cards do indeed work.

The build quality is pretty robust too.  It doesn’t feel like a light piece of plastic.  This thing is solid.

It also comes with a screen protector already installed for you!

Google Play:

Yes!  This tablet has all the Google Goodness, including the Google Play store.  I do have to mention this because many tablets in this price range do NOT have any of the Google software and lack the Google Play store.

The Bad:

  • Front and rear cameras
  • MicroUSB port (data only, not for charging)
  • 12v DC proprietary adapter
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Let me first say that the good outweighs the bad.  I highly recommend this tablet.

BUT!  It’s not perfect.  For example, the front and rear cameras are both only 2 megapixels and the quality is not that great.  So, you’re not going to use this for keepsake photos and videos, but it’s good enough for scanning barcodes and doing video chats.

The MicroUSB port does NOT charge the device!  This is a pretty important thing to note because to charge it, you have to use their supplied, proprietary charger with a  very short 2 foot cord.

Also, the OS is not the latest.  It comes preinstalled with Android 4.2 Jellybean.  Today’s version of Android is 4.4.4 Kit Kat and the next major release, code named “Android L” is just around the corner.  I can’t confirm this, but rumors are that there will be no updates for this.  BUT, Jelly Bean 4.2 is a robust and powerful version of Android and as long as you update Google Play Services from the Google Play store, you’re going to get most of the important updates from Google.

In spite of the powerful hardware, it’s quite laggy and choppy.  My wife hasn’t complained, but my son noticed and I noticed and the reviewers on Amazon noticed.  Read below on “Make it better” for a fix.

The Box Contents:

There’s absolutely no paperwork or manuals in the box.  You get the tablet, the charger, a Micro USB to standard USB (PC to tablet) cable, and a USB PC female adapter cable.  I mean, one end plugs into the MicroUSB data port on your tablet and the other end is an open USB female port so you can plug in things like PC mice, keyboards, and external hard drives.

Make it Better:

For the technically capable… You can root this tablet with TPSparkyRoot.  Once rooted, you can then flash an alternative firmware (more commonly mislabeled as a “ROM”) and reports are that it makes this thing liquid smooth, like butter.

Conclusion:

For the money, you’ll have a really hard time finding this much bang for the buck.  With the screen resolution so high, and a decent enough size screen, you can even remote control your high-end desktop PCs with it.   –>Get it here<–

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What is Bitcoin?

Production Of Bitcoins By Mike Caldwell of Casascius

BitCoin, also known as a “Cryptocurrency” is not as complex to understand as one might think.  To understand BitCoin, let’s first review what “real” money is (or what it’s supposed to be):

In the United States, “Real” money is paper and coins, manufactured by the Federal Reserve.  It has no real value on it’s own.  It’s a low cost representation of gold.  At least, that’s what it used to be.  When it’s backed by a real world and limited resources that can’t be duplicated, it can represent real value because the item behind the money (the gold) is rare, limited, and can’t be duplicated.  Instead of exchanging actual gold for goods and services, we exchange the paper and coin representations of that gold.

So, what about BitCoin?

Now, think of this:  You have a set of incredibly complex mathematical formulas that you want to calculate the answers to.  The problem is that it takes a high speed computer days (or more) of crunching numbers 24/7 before it can find an answer to just ONE of those formulas.  That’s what a BitCoin is!  It’s an answer to one of those complex numbers.  You can’t duplicate it.  You can’t fake it.  You have to mine it, just like you have to mine gold.  But instead of picks and axes, you use CPUs.  It’s still a LOT of work to “find” the “nuggets” of answers.  Additionally, there are a limited number of answers… about 21 million.  So, once the last one is mined, that’s it.  No more manufacturing of more BitCoins.

Now, as you know, gold is represented by paper and low cost metal coins.  How is BitCoin represented?  Well, it’s NOT represented with tangible things you can hold in your hand.  It’s just numbers… the numbers that represent the answers to the formulas.  You CAN print them out on paper and store them under  your mattress, if you like, so in a way, you CAN make paper representations of it.  But, you CANNOT counterfeit it.  When you buy something with BitCoin, you don’t just hand someone a printed piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it.  I mean, you COULD, but that, by itself, won’t fly.  You give them the numbers (either electronically or on paper) and they then run the numbers through one of many transaction processors (actually, I think it goes through many).  The processors are servers run by many people around the world.  They VALIDATE that those numbers are, in fact, an actual BitCoin… an actual answer to one of the 21 million formulas.  Once validated, the person you’re buying form can accept it, then give you the goods or services you’re wanting to buy.

In short:

A BitCoin is a limited and non counterfeit-able asset, just like gold.  But instead of a tangible asset, it’s an answer to a complex math problem.  Your “money” in BitCoin is usually kept in digital form and is validated on each transaction as being real.

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Quicken 2014 Bug

I’ve reported on many Quicken bugs over the years and have reported them all to Intuit multiple times.  I’d be embarrassed to admit how many hours I’ve spent on the phone, walking them through their own bugs.  It’s all been 100% fruitless.  They don’t care or can’t comprehend that their precious product isn’t perfect.  So, I will now only report it on their website and blog about it here, hoping that maybe they’ll feel just a tiny shred of embarrassment.  And, of course, for your benefit to know that it’s not just you experiencing this bug.  It is a real thing.

So, what’s the bug THIS time?

If you download your transactions from your bank, and one of them is a deposit, then you attempt to change the name of the deposit from say, “DEPOSIT” (which the bank gave it) to the actual payer, say “John Smith”, Quicken will CHANGE THE TRANSACTION DATE to a date in the future, saying “It’s too late to make a payment to John Smith”.  Here’s an actual screen shot:

Quicken 2014 Deposit Bug

Forget that this is a deposit of only a penny (that’s a whole other blog post!)  The point is that this IS a deposit and I want to change the name from “DEPOSIT” to “Verizon Wireless”, who is the one that sent me the check.  Quicken 2014 insists that I must be setting up a payment and refuses to keep the actual transaction date that’s already there.

I even accepted the transaction as “DEPOSIT”, hoping that after it was already in the registry, that I could change the payee to the right name and it still exhibits the same bug.

Solution

I know of no solution.  As a work around, I just put “Verizon Wireless” in the memo field instead, leaving the bank’s choice of “DEPOSIT” in the payee field, which is NOT the right solution.  So, no solution, only a less than desired work around.

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BEST ANDROID APPS TO START OFF 2014 (PHONE/COMMUNICATION APPS)

This article is one of a series of articles about the best Android apps available as of the beginning of 2014.  Click here for the main article that includes links to this article and links to all the other categories of “The Best Of” apps for beginning 2014.  Let’s get started with the Phone/Communication category, which lists the best phone and communication apps available at the beginning of 2014.  For last year’s list, click here:

Groove IP and Talk-A-Tone (Free VOIP)

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If you have a Google Voice Account (and if you don’t… WHY NOT???), you can install Groove IP (free version or paid version $4.99) or Talk-A-Tone to make and receive calls over your data plan with your Google voice number.  As far as your mobile carrier is concerned, no call took place, so NO MINUTES ARE USED!

Groove IP is one of the few apps I’ve actually purchased.

I don’t know how many times I’ve explained this to people… they just DO NOT get it, so hopefully you WILL (pay attention!):  The official Google Voice app DOES NOT MAKE VOIP CALLS!!!!  The official Google Voice app does everything EXCEPT make VOIP calls.  Yes, you CAN change your GV settings to forward calls placed to your GV# to your real cell phone number, but when you answer, you’re USING MINUTES because you’re actually using your mobile carrier’s phone connection.  But if you use Groove IP or Talk-A-Tone, you can send and receive calls ON DATA ONLY.  As far as your mobile carrier is concerned, nothing is happening except “stuff on the internet”.  I’m hoping you can see the difference.  Making “real” phone calls with your carrier USES YOUR MINUTES.  Using Groove IP or Talk-A-Tone, you have UNLIMITED minutes.  (note: it DOES use your data, so if you have a data cap, be mindful of that).

[GARD]

So, eat my shorts Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and everyone else!

Sadly, Google is turning off 3rd party APIs for VOIP in May, so these apps will ONLY work until then.  Then it’s lights out. Sad smile  ALL 3rd party VOIP apps that use Google Voice will cease to function.  This is a huge downer for me as my home phone is actually a 100% free Google Voice phone.

Both Groove IP and Talk-A-Tone have both free and paid versions.  The free versions work only on your Wi-Fi connection.  The paid versions will use your mobile data connection too.  But, if you do pay for them, remember, they stop working in May 2014.

Red Phone (Encrypted Phone Calls)

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New in my list this year:  With Red Phone installed, your cell number is registered with them.  Then, when anyone else with Red Phone calls you, Red Phone notifies them that you have it to and they can place a secure call with you.  This bypasses making a real phone call and instead makes a VOIP call and it’s encrypted.  This not only encrypts your call, but it does NOT use minutes from your cell phone provider because you’re not really making a “real” phone call.  As far as your carrier is concerned, it’s just “stuff on the internet”.

Eat my shorts, NSA!

TextSecure (Encrypted Text SMS)

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New in my list this year:  Make by the same people that gave us Red Phone, is TextSecure.  this is a texting app, but with a special feature:  Anyone you text that’s also using it will receive your text messages securely.  Both of your messages are encrypted locally, before sent out.  Just like RedPhone, when you install TextSecure, it registers your phone number with their servers so that your contacts who also use it will automatically detect that you have it and will encrypt your text messages.  You can use this app as your standard SMS app too.  If you text someone that does NOT have TextSecure, it just sends the text messages in the normal way any other SMS app does.  If your text messages ARE encrypted, it’ll show a lock icon by them so you always know whether you have a secure or unsecure connection.

Eat my shorts, again, NSA!

Chomp (SMS)

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New in my list this year:  Chomp SMS is my favorite SMS app (aside from the encryption provided by TextSecure.  You have a LOT of customizations of the look and feel of your text messages.

Of course, if you want encrypted messaging, this is not the app for you.  But if you want a great looking messaging app, this is one of the best.  You can even make it look like the bubbly iOS texting app, if you like.

One thing to note about encrypted messages:  If you are running CyanogenMod 11 (if you’re not sure, then you most certainly are NOT), it has TextSecure’s encrypted technology built directly INTO the Operating System so ALL your SMS apps can send and receive encrypted messages!  So, since I am running CM11, I continue to use Chomp SMS and I also get the benefit of encrypted messages without the need of the stand-alone TextSecure app.  Yes, I have the best of both worlds!

Yes, it’s supports EMOJI and themes as well.

Thanks CyanogenMod!

Google Hangouts

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New in my list this year:  Google Hangouts is Google’s latest offering for messaging.  They are integrating all of their various messaging apps into one.  This app does SMS, Google Chat, some of Google Voice, and Video and Audio chatting all in ONE app.  If you like the Google card like interfaces (I personally do NOT for this type of app), then you’ll love this.  It can even be your default SMS app.  This is almost an all-in-one messaging app.

Google Voice

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Staying on the list this year:  Not to be confused with the Google Voice SERVICE, this is the Google Voice Android App.  Yes, it sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but the Google Voice SERVICE is much bigger than this lonely, single, Android App.  Of course, this app gives you a user interface into the Google Voice service.  This app does SMS (only via your Google Voice #, not your real cell #) and provides you a great UI for your Google Voice voice messages.  BTW, you can make Google Voice your REAL voice-mail provider for your REAL cell phone number, instead of your cell phone providers very limited voicemail service.  If you use GV as your standard VM provider, then you get everything you had before PLUS you can get your v-mail sent to you in e-mail.  You get automatic voice to text transcriptions (which are searchable!), can access your v-mail from any web browser, from the GV app, from your e-mail.  You can play them on your phone or in a web browser.  You can SEE them as if they’re e-mail with a GMail like UI.  Once you try it, I promise you, you’ll NEVER go back to that crappy old v-mail service your cell provider has for you, wasting all that time listening to messages with just your audio and phone pad interface.

[GARD]

Note that if you have CyanogenMod 11 or higher (again, if you’re not sure, then you definitely do NOT), then you have Google Voice support DIRECTLY in your phone’s operating system.  You PHONE can use the free, unlimited texting service from your Google Voice number.  ANY SMS app on your CM11 phone can use your Google Voice # for sending and receiving SMS messages.  If you do NOT have CM11 (or Sprint), then Google’s free SMS via your Google Voice number has utility ONLY in the Google Voice app.

But, with your Google Voice service and this app (or any SMS app on a Sprint phone or a CM11 phone), you can cancel your expensive texting plan and use ONLY your Google Voice service.  It’s free and it’s unlimited.

Oh!  And calls to your GV# can be filtered for telemarketing spam.  So can SMS messages.  It’s an optional (and free) feature.  Of course, you want this feature turned on!

See my 2013 “Best Android Apps to Start off 2013 (Phone/Communication Apps)” for a more, in-depth description of this service.

Eat my shorts, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Virgin, etc…

Mr. Number (Spam Blocking)

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Still on my list this year:  This is an oldie, but a goodie.  Install Mr. Number and it will instantly lookup any incoming call and compare the caller ID information to a known list of telemarketers.  It will actually WARN you with a popup notification that the caller is a suspected spammer.  At which point you can choose to answer, hang-up, or block it.  If you block it, it gets added to your block list and you’ll never receive a call from them again.  If you get a call from a telemarketer that Mr. Number didn’t recognize, you can then tell Mr. Number that this number is a telemarketer and block it.  The great thing about that is it registers that number with the Mr. Number servers as a spammer so OTHER users get notified too.

This service is a crowd sourced service.  All of you are helping each other out.  You can even leave a description of the telemarketing call.  Even iOS users have a version of this app, so they too are contributing to the crowd sourced information.

Eat my shorts, telemarketers!

YP Mobile

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Same as last year:  YP Mobile (available here in the Google Play store) provides your basic yellow pages phone book, plus the familiar stuff you find in other “local services” apps for finding restaurants, gas prices, etc…  Not much more to say about it.  This app is no more or less special than others of its type, but I’m including it as one in that type of category.  Others are Yahoo!, Yelp, and Where.

[GARD]

Personally, I find Google Maps a superior tool for finding local businesses and their phone numbers as it shows a map of your results, so you can see, visually, immediately, what’s close by, then just tap whichever one you want on the map to get the details and phone numbers.

Google Maps

imageNew on my list this year:  Why Google Maps in a list of PHONE apps?  Because, I’ve found this is the most convenient way to find local numbers by business name OR by category (such as “Pizza”).  The search results are pins on a map, showing me WHERE these places are, which is almost always important to me for local places.  Touching a pin shows you that company’s contact information, INCLUDING their phone number, which you can tap and call immediately.  It is UBER useful!  I actually use Google Maps more than anything else for finding phone numbers.  To be honest, I don’t even have YP Mobile installed anymore.  I do want to leave it on my list, because it is useful and I just can’t bring myself to not recommending it, even though I honestly do NOT use it myself, anymore.  Google Maps is just awesome for finding local (and even non-local) businesses.

Dropped from this year’s list

imageNot all apps from last year made this year’s list.  Among them is Call Master.  Now, this is actually a GREAT app and works even better than Mr. Number, but it has one terminal flaw:  It sometimes pops up a nag screen in front of an incoming call, making it impossible to answer the phone.  I’ve missed a couple of very important phone calls.  For that reason, I’ve removed it from this year’s list.  BUT, if you’re wanting to pay for the full version, I’m sure this nag screen problem would go away.

What was better about it than Mr. Number was that it embeds itself DEEP into the OS so it would actually PREVENT the telemarketing call from making its way into the phone’s notification system.  The phone won’t ring.  You’ll have no call log.  Not even Mr. Number will be aware of it.  With Mr. Number, when a blocked caller calls, you hear a short ring before Mr. Number shuts them down.

You Chime In

What are some of YOUR favorite apps in this category?  Let us know in the comments below.

Conclusion

This completes my list of “Best” phone-specific apps available to start off 2014.  There are, of course, other communication types of apps and this is, by no means, a comprehensive list.  These are the apps in this category that I use on a daily basis and install on a new phone or tablet as soon as I get it.

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Best Android Apps to start Off 2014

Here are my “Best of” Android apps to start off with in 2014.

I’ll list them by category and explain the purpose of each one and why I’m choosing it.  Each category will be a separate post because, as you can see of the length of the list, it would be quite long if it were all in one post.  Each bulleted category below is a LINK to the article about the apps in that category.  The list of categories below will only have hotlinks to articles for which I’ve completed.  Note that when I did this for 2013, I did NOT get a chance to make articles for all of these.  I will attempt it again this year.

Keep checking back as I post more articles… one for each category below

•    Phone/Communication Apps
•    Finance
•    Shopping (Everything here is FREE)
•    Imaging
•    Utilities
•    Audio
•    Games
•    Calculators
•    File Management
•    Security
•    Geo Location
•    Launchers
•    Productivity
•    Social
•    News & Reference
•    Time (Clocks/Alarms/Calendars, etc…)
•    Networking
•    Weather

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Sick of the NSA Spying on you?

imageSetting aside the tin foil hat and paranoia jokes, no one likes being tracked or their private text messages being scraped up by the U.S. government’s massive computers, nor their phone metadata being logged, nor even the possibility of someone being able to listen in or record your phone calls (the NSA denies they listen to calls, but others with even FEWER ethics CAN).

 

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself on your Android SmartPhone

  • Encrypt your text messages.  There are 2 good options:

Install the TextSecure app.  This app will automatically detect which of your contacts also has this app installed and will automatically encrypt your SMS text messages with those individuals.  TextSecure is available on iOS too!  This means you can have encrypted texting sessions with both iOS and Android users!

Root your phone and install CyanogenMod 11 (or higher).  CM 11 has built-in support for TextSecure encryption, coded directly INTO the Operating System.  This means, you don’t have to install the TextSecure app.  Automatically, ALL SMS apps on your phone suddenly support TextSecure encryption.  But, you have to turn it on.  The feature is called “WhisperPush”.  Simply find the WhisperPush app on your phone, run it, and follow the instructions.  It’s the simplest setup you’ll ever experience.

  • Encrypt your voice phone calls (yes, you can do that)

This used to be stuff of only fiction in spy movies, but it’s a reality today and YOU can do it within minutes of reading this article.  First, install the app RedPhone from the Google Play Store.  This app is made by the same people that make TextSecure.  Both you and the person you’re calling (or receiving a call from) have to be using this in order to have a secure, encrypted phone call.  When you install the app, the first time you run it, it’ll ask you to register your phone number.  Now, anyone else with the app, when they call you’re number, the app knows you have it and will offer the caller the option to make the phone call encrypted.  Note that this uses your DATA connection and NOT your phone connection.  You’re not actually making an actual phone call.  It’s more of an internet audio chat.  But you don’t need to know that other than if you have a data cap, this will use your data.  As far as you and the other caller are concerned, for all practical purposes, it’s a phone call.  But your carrier will have no record of it AND anyone trying to listen in will only see a stream of random bytes streaming.  It’s totally encrypted… just like in the spy movies! Smile

  • Encrypt your E-Mail

This is a bit more difficult.  I’ll provide another article on how to do this.  The short version is you need to install djigzo from the Google Play store to manage your keys.  Then you’ll need an e-mail client that can use those keys to encrypt and decrypt your e-mail.  K-9 Mail is supposedly one of those apps.  For the record, I’ve NEVER gotten this to work.

  • Encrypt your phone

Android can encrypt your entire phone.  Don’t confuse yourself.  This does NOT encrypt ANY internet traffic to or from your phone.  It encrypts the files on the phone itself.

Go to Seetings –> Security –> Encrypt Phone

Warning!  This can take an hour or so!  Make sure your phone is plugged in AND has at least an 80% charge.  You do NOT want this failing in the middle of  it.  It will also require you to set a lock screen PIN or password, if you don’t already have one.  Once you do this, you CANNOT flash anymore ROMs on your phone (if you’re rooted).  So, make sure you’re good to go with the ROM you have.

  • Add a PIN or password to your phone

This one is obvious.  You need to set a PIN or a Password on your lock screen, otherwise, anyone can use your phone and see your data.

  • Add extra PIN for individual apps

Install the app AppLock from the Google Play store.  Open it up and set your settings.  You’ll set a PIN and you’ll select the apps you want to have an extra layer of protection.  Hint:  DO NOT use the SAME PIN here that you’re using for your phone lock screen.

This app will pop up a PIN prompt whenever someone tries to open one of your extra protected apps.  For example, you may want to enable your backing apps and credit card apps via AppLock so that you have to know that extra PIN in order to lauch them.  This way, if you let someone borrow your phone, they can’t go snooping into your financial data.

  • Hide apps and/or files on your phone

Maybe you have some apps that you don’t want other people to know or use.  Go to the Google Play store and download an app called Hide It Pro.  When you install it, it’ll show up on your phone as “Audio Manager”.  It’s deliberately deceptive.  The purpose of this app is to hide apps and/or files on your phone.  You protect them with a password of your choosing.  If someone’s snooping around on your phone, all they’ll see for this app is a music icon with a label, “Audio Manager”.  And if they launch it, it’ll even have working audio controls.  Those controls are totally for faking out people snooping on your phone.  Long press on the app title at the top of the screen (inside the app) and you’ll be prompted for a password, which then takes you into the real app where you can select apps and files to hide.  They won’t even show up anywhere on the phone with the regular phone interface.

  • Hide your browsing and internet traffic

Your ISP can see all the sites you go to, and so can the NSA, and so can anyone else snooping on your wireless connection (or even your wired connection).  And websites know what IP address you’re using, which means they can ask the ISP that own’s that IP address who is using it, and they’ll give them your name, address, and phone number.  What you need is something that bounces your web page requests to random computers all over the world.  Yes, this is exactly what you see “hackers” doing in hi-tech spy movies and YOU can do it too… VERY EASILY.  Install the app Orbot on your phone.  Follow the directions.   It’s super simple.  If your phone is rooted, it can obfuscate ALL of your internet traffic.  If your phone is NOT rooted, it can work with a few apps on your phone (web browser and e-mail, in particular) and bounce all your traffic from those supported apps all around the world.  It’ll slow down your connection a little, but it’ll also protect you against nosy, 3 letter acronyms including ISPs.

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