It is something we love to do, and take for granted that we are allowed to "see it, and say it", and to a large degree, we manage to do it successfully every day. Simple opinions on lunch, to passionate opinions on other much bigger matters.
One thing I have learned is, the ability to do this will depend entirely on the platform you choose to use. While there are many to choose from, Twitter and Facebook have always been my favourites. Open to the world, very limited censorship, and it is a way of just putting a thought out there. Much as I do on this blog too, although the blog has a much smaller audience most of the time.
The further away from public forums (in general) I get, the more I realise, that while interaction on them is higher, it is often overly personal, rather then focusing on the matter at hand. User accounts and profiles give people some sort of belief that they know you or understand you. Some will even go as far as to profile you and decide what the hidden message within the post was. Impossible to believe that something can be as simple as WYSIWYG.
Having run forums for almost two decades now, this is really nothing new to me.
Freedom of speech is a great thing, but also something which is hard to keep a grasp on, after all, as soon as you lay hands on it, the freedom part is somehow lost. Be it a simple change of wording, right through to complete censorship, any interaction or intervention is damaging to the flow.
A social platform is there, like soap boxes are in Hyde Park Corner. Jump up, have your say, duck from the rotten tomatoes being thrown at you from the disapproving, and move on. Agree or disagree, my opinion is my own.
Of course there is room for response, and once I step down from the box, I will happily stand and entertain any rebuttal offered from any opposing people.
What is not on, is sadly something we see far too much of, from a place where examples of how to conduct yourself should be coming from. MP's and Parliament. Shouting, jeering, talking over someone until they can't be heard anymore, then snorting and laughing at their success in shouting you down. In short, shouting people down, talking over them, or removing their ability to have their say, purely because you disagree with opinion is NOT freedom of speech.
With Twitter, I can say things which completely go against the grain of the conversation. Not to be disruptive, but because it is what I feel on any matter at hand. I will of course receive replies from people. But the key here is, they will be uncensored replies, much as my comment was. Name calling, go for it, I don't know you. As long as you are are expressing yourself in an honest fashion, say what you feel you need to. We are all different, and some people will be more aggressive and use more profanity than others, but as long as the message within is clear. All good.
Of course, there is one big thing in this freedom of speech thing... Commitment. Being committed and standing by your comments is the key. If you feel you might regret saying it, or are worried that someone else will judge you in an unwanted way, based on what you say, don't say it in the first place. You can't take back the spoken or printed word, so why should digital media be any different?
If you have the balls to say something, leave it there. Be proud of your conviction, stand up for what you believe in, and stay standing.
All too often now, things are said in the public domain, threats, anger, statements of questionable fact. If you were wrong, just say "hey, I was wrong". Don't go hiding things and pretending they never happened. That just screams opportunistic bully. You can't go having a spat with someone because what they say doesn't fit with your belief system, or because the right things were not said, then when all is said and done, delete everything you said. That just screams pathetic.
If you search me on the internet, you will see over the years I have said many things, some of which I was completely wrong on, and I have gone on to say just that. However, the original content remains. Complete with any comments made on it by people (so long as they have not deleted them themselves). I just don't see the point in going to all the trouble of screaming and shouting, looking for attention and demanding an audience, only to then hide it all away again. That just tells me that you are a little embarrassed about what you have said to someone, and you are worried that people will realise what kind of person you are. God forbid they know the truth. But hey, maybe they might like and respect you more for being so passionate about something.
Being passionate about something is being willing to debate, discuss, and share a platform, not dominate, control and censor the other person, or remove content you feel is not in keeping with peoples perceptions of you.
This is all to common all across social media these days. "Tweet Not Available" appearing on content, where the person is being called out on their comments, but has chosen to hide what they said, rather than be called into question about it.
This sort of use of social media, and other media platforms is "drive-by" . Not gonna stop, not going to risk getting into a discussion, just simply going to drive by and spray my words from the window, then run!
Showing posts with label opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinion. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Dear Deeply Offended....
I just thought I should put this little blog down on the internet (the battleground of real men and women), just to finish off a conversation which was cruelly struck short by the "block" button on Twitter.
Let's get straight in with how it all started.
As some might know, I have a dashcam on my cars, mainly in case I am involved in any sort of incident. However I openly admit, I do love catching stupidity on camera too.
A couple of months after getting my first, the novelty wore off posting stupid videos, so I don't do that as much these days.
Last night however, while driving through Brockley, SE4, in South London, I was fortunate enough to be hit from behind. Obviously all on camera.
At the time of the accident, the guy who hit me mentioned that a cyclist had startled him, causing him to hit me. Bit of a weak excuse for not stopping in time but hey ho. Shit happens.
All dealt with, I went home and retrieved the footage from the camera, just in case it was needed. On reviewing it, I noticed a cyclist, who had indeed caught my eye before the accident, but I had kinda put to the back of my mind.
I have posted a still image below..
OK, so first glance, I am betting you see a cyclist, with a red pannier bag on the back of the bike.
That's what I saw too, but then I noticed the feet. That is in face a child sitting over the back wheel of a bike, being ridden on a damp road, in rush hour, with very little effort to be seen. This part of the road is well lit, so not such an issue.
Like I say, this was never the issue I retrieved the footage or image for.
Moments after passing this cyclist (far too closely and over taking on a roundabout, so I am told) I came to a stop just on the other side of the roundabout. Sadly for me, the car behind me didn't stop in time, and ran into the back of me. He said when he stopped that the cyclist caused him to swerve, and he ended up hitting me.
Now I am not for one second saying this cyclist caused me to get hit in the car. Quite frankly, that's what insurance is for. No one was hurt, that's the way it goes.
However, at this point I put events together in my head and wonder what would have happened if the car had NOT swerved, or that it had come to a stop 2-3 ft over to the left, where the cyclist was passing me as I was hit.
This is not about who's fault it would have been (motorists without question) or who should have been where. But more me visualising the impact being made on the spine of the child being carried in this manner. Devastating is the word that comes to mind.
Now with the above in mind, I posted the image on social media, saying I felt the cyclist carrying a child in such a way was being irresponsible. I added that her unsteadiness on the bike also didn't help the situation. Simple, but I admit quite damning. I was careful of course to make sure the person was not identifiable, and to be fair, didn't have any images where they were, so all good there.
My point, nice and simple. Dangerous to carry a child like that, just increasing the danger of the trip unnecessarily . Cyclist are always vulnerable, but don't make yourself MORE vulnerable.
Some got it, others however like my friend "Deeply Offended" took dislike to it, and immediately suggested I was attacking and trying to belittle a woman, and a cyclist. Not sure the sex of the cyclist was ever a point of contention, but Deeply Offended seemed to think it was part of my point. Ignoring there was even a child in the image, the comments continued that I had nothing better to do than take pictures of strangers and post them on social media. Like arguing with a nameless and faceless person on Twitter is right up there too eh!
After a few tweets telling me about myself, and I guess trying to mock me as a person for posting such images, it all went quiet. So I prodded. My oh my, I must have prodded somewhere very sensitive, guess it is always going to be the case when you poke a delicate little arsehole on the internet.
What came next was a lovely stream of comments about myself, refusing to address the actual situation for a long time, before moving on to getting me to prove an accident followed the image (I am of course answerable to strangers on the internet). Once this was done, the focus turned to my driving, and how I had apparently forced the cyclist to the left, then over taken them, dangerously on a roundabout.
Not the case I might add, but all the same, IF it had been the case, and taking into account what happened next, did I inadvertently save a life, and prevent an accident. After all, if as accused, I forced the cyclist to the left, they were originally further over right. If this were the case, then the motorist who struck my car would without question have hit them.
Needless to say, after a little name calling, some biased facts being touted about, and some more name calling , I was blocked. Sorry to have offended you @edspindrift , I was really enjoying our conversation.
What I find frustrating about speaking to people like this, is whatever the case, they have an agenda, and are not willing to budge. Nothing is taken into consideration, and one tweet even suggested they had only read one tweet before boarding the bandwagon, so knew nothing else than the 140 characters they had read. Clearly well informed, they decided to go to town.
To be fair, social media would be a boring place without these people, and reminds me that as outspoken as I am, I try to make informed comments, rather than just trolling for key words, and unleashing my uneducated, misinformed rhetoric on strangers. One comment that did tickle me was that if I cared about the safety of the child, I should give the rider some lights. So somehow it becomes my responsibility to buy lights for other road users who choose to put themselves and others in danger, to show I care?
Not the responsibility of the rider to make sure that they are clearly seen, especially when increasing their level of vulnerability? Wow, how things have changed.
As a keen cyclist myself, I make sure I am well lit, easy as possible to see, and present myself to other road users in the safest possible fashion possibly.
This is most likely one of the reasons I take such offence to other cyclists who don't give a crap. And take even more offence to keyboard warriors who take it upon themselves to defend stupid behaviour, automatically suggest the motorist could and should do more to make the roads safer, and refuse at all costs, that the cyclist can ever be either to blame or even increased the risks of the situation.
If today has taught me anything it is that there is no talking to some people. Some just have one thing in their head, and there is no point in trying to get your point across, either politely, or otherwise.
If you try the otherwise approach, they sulk, and block you from the platform they first found you on and started the whole debate. These people are usually habitual people, who spend a lot of their spare time pursuing the same narrow minded road of thinking.
I applaud some for their commitment to their causes. And in the course of the above interactions, I also engaged with another more open minded individual, who I genuinely enjoyed taking to.
So, make of it what you will. To me, the images I caught while retrieving the crash footage just alarmed me. I would hate to see someone I know and care about being carried on the public roads like that. If it's normal or acceptable to you, so be it. We have a different opinion, that's all. Makes neither of us an arsehole. The conversation which follows your opinion will define that.
More out takes from the conversation here... The full transcript is available on twitter on mine or @edspindrift
Let's get straight in with how it all started.
As some might know, I have a dashcam on my cars, mainly in case I am involved in any sort of incident. However I openly admit, I do love catching stupidity on camera too.
A couple of months after getting my first, the novelty wore off posting stupid videos, so I don't do that as much these days.
Last night however, while driving through Brockley, SE4, in South London, I was fortunate enough to be hit from behind. Obviously all on camera.
At the time of the accident, the guy who hit me mentioned that a cyclist had startled him, causing him to hit me. Bit of a weak excuse for not stopping in time but hey ho. Shit happens.
All dealt with, I went home and retrieved the footage from the camera, just in case it was needed. On reviewing it, I noticed a cyclist, who had indeed caught my eye before the accident, but I had kinda put to the back of my mind.
I have posted a still image below..
OK, so first glance, I am betting you see a cyclist, with a red pannier bag on the back of the bike.
That's what I saw too, but then I noticed the feet. That is in face a child sitting over the back wheel of a bike, being ridden on a damp road, in rush hour, with very little effort to be seen. This part of the road is well lit, so not such an issue.
Like I say, this was never the issue I retrieved the footage or image for.
Moments after passing this cyclist (far too closely and over taking on a roundabout, so I am told) I came to a stop just on the other side of the roundabout. Sadly for me, the car behind me didn't stop in time, and ran into the back of me. He said when he stopped that the cyclist caused him to swerve, and he ended up hitting me.
Now I am not for one second saying this cyclist caused me to get hit in the car. Quite frankly, that's what insurance is for. No one was hurt, that's the way it goes.
However, at this point I put events together in my head and wonder what would have happened if the car had NOT swerved, or that it had come to a stop 2-3 ft over to the left, where the cyclist was passing me as I was hit.
This is not about who's fault it would have been (motorists without question) or who should have been where. But more me visualising the impact being made on the spine of the child being carried in this manner. Devastating is the word that comes to mind.
Now with the above in mind, I posted the image on social media, saying I felt the cyclist carrying a child in such a way was being irresponsible. I added that her unsteadiness on the bike also didn't help the situation. Simple, but I admit quite damning. I was careful of course to make sure the person was not identifiable, and to be fair, didn't have any images where they were, so all good there.
Some got it, others however like my friend "Deeply Offended" took dislike to it, and immediately suggested I was attacking and trying to belittle a woman, and a cyclist. Not sure the sex of the cyclist was ever a point of contention, but Deeply Offended seemed to think it was part of my point. Ignoring there was even a child in the image, the comments continued that I had nothing better to do than take pictures of strangers and post them on social media. Like arguing with a nameless and faceless person on Twitter is right up there too eh!
After a few tweets telling me about myself, and I guess trying to mock me as a person for posting such images, it all went quiet. So I prodded. My oh my, I must have prodded somewhere very sensitive, guess it is always going to be the case when you poke a delicate little arsehole on the internet.
What came next was a lovely stream of comments about myself, refusing to address the actual situation for a long time, before moving on to getting me to prove an accident followed the image (I am of course answerable to strangers on the internet). Once this was done, the focus turned to my driving, and how I had apparently forced the cyclist to the left, then over taken them, dangerously on a roundabout.
Not the case I might add, but all the same, IF it had been the case, and taking into account what happened next, did I inadvertently save a life, and prevent an accident. After all, if as accused, I forced the cyclist to the left, they were originally further over right. If this were the case, then the motorist who struck my car would without question have hit them.
Needless to say, after a little name calling, some biased facts being touted about, and some more name calling , I was blocked. Sorry to have offended you @edspindrift , I was really enjoying our conversation.
What I find frustrating about speaking to people like this, is whatever the case, they have an agenda, and are not willing to budge. Nothing is taken into consideration, and one tweet even suggested they had only read one tweet before boarding the bandwagon, so knew nothing else than the 140 characters they had read. Clearly well informed, they decided to go to town.
To be fair, social media would be a boring place without these people, and reminds me that as outspoken as I am, I try to make informed comments, rather than just trolling for key words, and unleashing my uneducated, misinformed rhetoric on strangers. One comment that did tickle me was that if I cared about the safety of the child, I should give the rider some lights. So somehow it becomes my responsibility to buy lights for other road users who choose to put themselves and others in danger, to show I care?
Not the responsibility of the rider to make sure that they are clearly seen, especially when increasing their level of vulnerability? Wow, how things have changed.
As a keen cyclist myself, I make sure I am well lit, easy as possible to see, and present myself to other road users in the safest possible fashion possibly.
This is most likely one of the reasons I take such offence to other cyclists who don't give a crap. And take even more offence to keyboard warriors who take it upon themselves to defend stupid behaviour, automatically suggest the motorist could and should do more to make the roads safer, and refuse at all costs, that the cyclist can ever be either to blame or even increased the risks of the situation.
If today has taught me anything it is that there is no talking to some people. Some just have one thing in their head, and there is no point in trying to get your point across, either politely, or otherwise.
If you try the otherwise approach, they sulk, and block you from the platform they first found you on and started the whole debate. These people are usually habitual people, who spend a lot of their spare time pursuing the same narrow minded road of thinking.
I applaud some for their commitment to their causes. And in the course of the above interactions, I also engaged with another more open minded individual, who I genuinely enjoyed taking to.
So, make of it what you will. To me, the images I caught while retrieving the crash footage just alarmed me. I would hate to see someone I know and care about being carried on the public roads like that. If it's normal or acceptable to you, so be it. We have a different opinion, that's all. Makes neither of us an arsehole. The conversation which follows your opinion will define that.
More out takes from the conversation here... The full transcript is available on twitter on mine or @edspindrift
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Perception, our place in society.
Perception is key when it comes to establishing your presence in society, both yours of others, and how indeed you are perceived yourself by others.
For example, take figures of authority. If you walked into a Police station and every officer was standing dressed in Nike joggers, hoodies, and a nice pair of Air 180's, you would have difficulty taking them seriously. The same way you would not expect to be taken seriously if you turned up at a job interview for an office position, in shorts and a t-shirt.
So lets look at perception. How and why is it SO important to us, and when did it start getting used almost as a weapon?
The power of perception all starts with human instinct, a brief, judgemental opinion formed of someone within seconds of laying eyes on them. Stereotyping people until we have an opportunity to get to know more about them. See a pan of water on the cooker, we assume it will burn us, then carefully test it to find out its just been put on and is cold.
We do the same with people. Society pigeon holes people, teaching us that casually dressed people care carefree, well dressed people are professional and respectable, and depending what side of the fence you sit on this one, people in uniforms with authority, namely the police are either trustworthy and a safe refuge, or untrusted, and will abuse us.
When you walk down a street at night, and see a group walking towards you your subconsciousness kicks into overdrive. Scanning, looking for clues as to what part of society these people come from, do they pose a risk, should you take action. Cross over, turn around, or keep on walking to get a better idea before deciding. Depending on your experiences, you will be compelled by what you have learned from previous encounters. Those who have been victims of any sort of street crime are likely to cross away as soon as they make visual contact on the group.
Sadly, some groups in society have learned this, and perceive it as power, and a crazy form of respect. Having the ability to make people cross the road just because of the way you dress and behave. For example, the hoodie! Frowned upon by society, shrouding the wearers face from most angles. Hiding away their expression and making it nigh on impossible to get a read on them. Because of the media coverage, and the aggressive manner people who wear them are perceived behave, the average Joe on the streets will avoid contact with groups wearing hoodies. And if the situation necessitates them passing close by, all items of value will be hidden away, eye contact avoided, and pace increased.
To gangs perception has become key. Stamping their authority on neighbourhoods, using peoples perceptions of them against them. No longer to they need to actually do anything wrong, we just see them and fear them.
But for some this was not enough, and the fight for a positive perception within groups and gangs has now taken over. Infighting if you will.
Not content with being feared by society, the fight has now erupted from within. The knives and other weapons once used to instil fear on others outside the group, for fun or gain, have now turned inwards, and the fighting has begun.
This is not to say that all victims of knife crime are in a gang, far from it in fact. But the fighting from within has caused a lot of the members of the gangs to start carrying weapons.
Weapons which in turn, change a simple street altercation into a fatal or life changing incident.
I have never believed violence is the answer. Going from a road rage incident I was once caught up in, with the driver of the other vehicle feeling that having not been able to over take me for half a mile, warranted a fight (strange people), to a recent disagreement on the internet turning into threats and suggestions of "sorting this out face to face" Ironically the debate which caused the disagreement was on violence.
However, as the years have gone by, situations which were once finished with a cheeky sucker punch, and a black eye, have now turned into "I know, I have I knife, that will teach him". The cowards way, the easy way, or just the most idiotic and irresponsible decision and action a person can make. Ending a simple altercation with someone, in fact a whole group of peoples, lives being changed forever.
Having watched CCTV, and read witness accounts of some truly devastating assaults over recent years, it is abundantly clear that this knife carrying society is here, and is determined to stay for as long as it can.
So we go back to perception.....
In society we all make a decision, be it conscious or subconsciously , to make an impression on others. We don't see how we look for 99% of the day, so what we wear, how we walk, and how we behave is instead all a show. A show for others. Out for the night, impress the ladies, job interview, impress the potential boss, and so on. Clothing plays a key role, as it is a massive visual key for others to associate with.
Then there is how we walk and behave. Body language plays a huge part too. As we watch someone walking, we assess how much personal space of others they respect, body checking and barging is a sure sign that this person is bad news. Respectfully standing aside, being alert of your surroundings, paints a totally different picture.
Of course, all these reads we make on someone in the split second that it takes can all be terribly wrong. And we come back to stereotyping, the man in the hoodie knocking into people as he runs down the street, could in fact be a plain clothes police officer chasing that well dressed man you just passed, who you assumed was running for a bus.
I guess what I am trying to say here is two things, but they work against each other.
Perception IS key, for a fraction of a second. It tells us how to react, and what to expect from someone we perceive as friend or foe.
However perception is flawed, as society teaches us to pigeon hole people, and who to avoid, it also teaches others how easy it is to commit perception fraud. Making yourself to be something you are not is the easy part. Sadly backing up the threat your image paints is where it gets messy.
Proving a point, making a stand, and showing others that you deserve the respect you demand. Carrying a weapon, using violence, just for another step up the ladder.
Finding someone innocent to your behaviours. Unsuspecting and vulnerable, and using them to display how tough you are, is really just proving how weak you are.
Knife crime is nothing new, it will never disappear fully, but for now it is getting out of control. Maybe the media are over reporting it, over inflating the seriousness in our minds. Maybe it really is on the up and getting to a point of being uncontrollable, who knows.
So I will sum up this random ramble with this.
As much as you can fool someone with your image, make them perceive you as a dangerous threat, let me put this to you...
Fear is NOT respect.
Violence does NOT earn respect
Respect is earned, and earned from decent people, not low life thugs who you look up to in some strange way, because you in turn fear them. Break the cycle!
My parting question. How do YOU want to be perceived, and how do you thing people actually perceive you?
Confident, vulnerable, confused, confrontational......
For example, take figures of authority. If you walked into a Police station and every officer was standing dressed in Nike joggers, hoodies, and a nice pair of Air 180's, you would have difficulty taking them seriously. The same way you would not expect to be taken seriously if you turned up at a job interview for an office position, in shorts and a t-shirt.
So lets look at perception. How and why is it SO important to us, and when did it start getting used almost as a weapon?
The power of perception all starts with human instinct, a brief, judgemental opinion formed of someone within seconds of laying eyes on them. Stereotyping people until we have an opportunity to get to know more about them. See a pan of water on the cooker, we assume it will burn us, then carefully test it to find out its just been put on and is cold.
We do the same with people. Society pigeon holes people, teaching us that casually dressed people care carefree, well dressed people are professional and respectable, and depending what side of the fence you sit on this one, people in uniforms with authority, namely the police are either trustworthy and a safe refuge, or untrusted, and will abuse us.
When you walk down a street at night, and see a group walking towards you your subconsciousness kicks into overdrive. Scanning, looking for clues as to what part of society these people come from, do they pose a risk, should you take action. Cross over, turn around, or keep on walking to get a better idea before deciding. Depending on your experiences, you will be compelled by what you have learned from previous encounters. Those who have been victims of any sort of street crime are likely to cross away as soon as they make visual contact on the group.
Sadly, some groups in society have learned this, and perceive it as power, and a crazy form of respect. Having the ability to make people cross the road just because of the way you dress and behave. For example, the hoodie! Frowned upon by society, shrouding the wearers face from most angles. Hiding away their expression and making it nigh on impossible to get a read on them. Because of the media coverage, and the aggressive manner people who wear them are perceived behave, the average Joe on the streets will avoid contact with groups wearing hoodies. And if the situation necessitates them passing close by, all items of value will be hidden away, eye contact avoided, and pace increased.
To gangs perception has become key. Stamping their authority on neighbourhoods, using peoples perceptions of them against them. No longer to they need to actually do anything wrong, we just see them and fear them.
But for some this was not enough, and the fight for a positive perception within groups and gangs has now taken over. Infighting if you will.
Not content with being feared by society, the fight has now erupted from within. The knives and other weapons once used to instil fear on others outside the group, for fun or gain, have now turned inwards, and the fighting has begun.
This is not to say that all victims of knife crime are in a gang, far from it in fact. But the fighting from within has caused a lot of the members of the gangs to start carrying weapons.
Weapons which in turn, change a simple street altercation into a fatal or life changing incident.
I have never believed violence is the answer. Going from a road rage incident I was once caught up in, with the driver of the other vehicle feeling that having not been able to over take me for half a mile, warranted a fight (strange people), to a recent disagreement on the internet turning into threats and suggestions of "sorting this out face to face" Ironically the debate which caused the disagreement was on violence.
However, as the years have gone by, situations which were once finished with a cheeky sucker punch, and a black eye, have now turned into "I know, I have I knife, that will teach him". The cowards way, the easy way, or just the most idiotic and irresponsible decision and action a person can make. Ending a simple altercation with someone, in fact a whole group of peoples, lives being changed forever.
Having watched CCTV, and read witness accounts of some truly devastating assaults over recent years, it is abundantly clear that this knife carrying society is here, and is determined to stay for as long as it can.
So we go back to perception.....
In society we all make a decision, be it conscious or subconsciously , to make an impression on others. We don't see how we look for 99% of the day, so what we wear, how we walk, and how we behave is instead all a show. A show for others. Out for the night, impress the ladies, job interview, impress the potential boss, and so on. Clothing plays a key role, as it is a massive visual key for others to associate with.
Then there is how we walk and behave. Body language plays a huge part too. As we watch someone walking, we assess how much personal space of others they respect, body checking and barging is a sure sign that this person is bad news. Respectfully standing aside, being alert of your surroundings, paints a totally different picture.
Of course, all these reads we make on someone in the split second that it takes can all be terribly wrong. And we come back to stereotyping, the man in the hoodie knocking into people as he runs down the street, could in fact be a plain clothes police officer chasing that well dressed man you just passed, who you assumed was running for a bus.
I guess what I am trying to say here is two things, but they work against each other.
Perception IS key, for a fraction of a second. It tells us how to react, and what to expect from someone we perceive as friend or foe.
However perception is flawed, as society teaches us to pigeon hole people, and who to avoid, it also teaches others how easy it is to commit perception fraud. Making yourself to be something you are not is the easy part. Sadly backing up the threat your image paints is where it gets messy.
Proving a point, making a stand, and showing others that you deserve the respect you demand. Carrying a weapon, using violence, just for another step up the ladder.
Finding someone innocent to your behaviours. Unsuspecting and vulnerable, and using them to display how tough you are, is really just proving how weak you are.
Knife crime is nothing new, it will never disappear fully, but for now it is getting out of control. Maybe the media are over reporting it, over inflating the seriousness in our minds. Maybe it really is on the up and getting to a point of being uncontrollable, who knows.
So I will sum up this random ramble with this.
As much as you can fool someone with your image, make them perceive you as a dangerous threat, let me put this to you...
Fear is NOT respect.
Violence does NOT earn respect
Respect is earned, and earned from decent people, not low life thugs who you look up to in some strange way, because you in turn fear them. Break the cycle!
My parting question. How do YOU want to be perceived, and how do you thing people actually perceive you?
Confident, vulnerable, confused, confrontational......
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Fanatical, radical, extremist....
So obviously the next two words are 'muslim terrorist'... Or are they?
Actually no, they are not the next words, but they are the words that you would expect a child in today's society to associate with the first 3 words, or indeed the words that some people in society would like you to think of every time you hear those words.
The current generation of kids and young people are bombarded with this word association game all the time, in conversation, on the TV, and in the newspapers. Everywhere we look we are being told that fanatical, radical or extremist is just another word for 'muslim' Just as past generations have dropped 'vacuum cleaner' for Hoover, or other items and activities for a brand name, so today's generation are fast believing that all radical fanatics will obviously be Muslims too. This is a serious issue, and one which anyone who cares truly about their country and younger generations should care about also.
First off, lets see what the words REALLY mean.
Fanatical...
describes someone whose admiration for something is considered to be extreme or unreasonable:His enthusiasm for aerobics was almost fanatical.Gary's fanatical about football.
Radical
believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change:He was known as a radical reformer/thinker/politician.These people have very radical views.
Extremist
someone who has beliefs that most people think are unreasonable and unacceptable:a group of extremists (= people with extreme opinions)
OK, so none of the above cite a particular race, religion, nationality or anything else specific for that matters. What it DOES describe is a group of people who's views are NOT shared by the majority. People driven by beliefs not shared by the mainstream, and groups who are seen as outsiders so to speak by the majority of society.
I can totally understand where the anger towards sick people who carry out vile actions against other humans comes from. It makes me as angry as the next person, and I don't want to share my society with people like this. But the key here is 'people' like this, not races or religions like this. We all have many tags and live under many banners in life, from our support of sports, to our choices of foods. Clothes we wear, brands we buy, hair colour and style, but we rarely find ourselves branded by these things.
Its only when groups or individuals start to categorise people, start to group them together, and make associations that things start to go wrong. But of course, depending which group you belong to, the beliefs can be very right or very wrong.
In the 80's and 90's in the UK, the country was FULL of groups like these, groups we seem to have forgotten about quite conveniently in order to focus our attention and in some case, our hatred, towards Muslims.
Growing up in those times I don't ever recall hearing chants of 'go home you pale white Irish terrorist wanker' to every Irishman who walked the streets. I refer of course to the long forgotten and seemingly forgiven IRA, who carried out dozens more attacks on British people and British soldiers. Allow me to draw your minds back to this event... See who can actually remember it for starters..
This is one simple example of a whole host of actions carried out by a terrorist group who came long before Al Qaeda, by Christians, possibly against other Christians, but all clearly justifiable right? Do we go on today preaching how Christianity is an evil and vicious religion, and that Christians should be driven 'back home' to where they came from. Or worry about 'radicalised Christians' ? Why ever not?
The fact of the matter is, people choose to use religion as a tool or terror for one simple reason. Mass belief. Not in their causes, but of their apparent faith. And by the media and hate groups constantly associating hatred towards people of the UK with Muslims, the ignorant hate groups, the nationalist groups who believe they are somehow representing the people of the UK, this whole cycle is perpetuated until its a violent, hate filled., bloody mess that it is right now.
Lets take a step back to the nationalist groups for a second.
Lets flip things here shall we. The media and bigots would have you believe that Islamist and Muslims are evil and violent, and filled with hatred towards the people of the UK.
HOWEVER...
The EDL, and other nationalist groups would like all foreign nations to believe that the whole of the UK follows the beliefs of the EDL, and that their ideal are shared by the masses..... Well they are not!
And for that reason alone, you find yourself in an awkward position. Let me recall now, 'a person or group with radical views considered by the majority to be extreme'... This actually almost puts the hate groups in the same leagues as those carrying out hate crimes against the UK.
My point here is, ANYONE trying to force and extreme view into the mainstream. Anyone who uses hate and lies against another group of people, makes threats of violence, and demands the removal of another group from society simply for having a religion, or being born into another race, in my eyes is an extremist, and should be treated the same way all other extreme groups are. With contempt of a civilised manner.
I could go on all day, but those who believe they have a cause to fight for will never agree, and those who are open minded enough to form their own opinions, live by decent morals, and respect the masses will do just that. For that reason, we should agree to disagree, and leave it at that.
I have no religion or faith, I am familiar with losing loved ones to illness, accident and hate. I have experienced quite a few cruel and sickening things in life, and consider myself to be just another member of the human race. A race which has no place for gangs, thugs, or hatred without cause. Just for one second, take a few deep breaths, take a few steps back, and take society in general for what it is. The masses go about their daily life without issue, interacting with people of all colours, races, beliefs and both sexes without thinking twice. Its not hard to treat people as individuals, and 99.9999% of the worlds population just want to live a long and healthy life.
Stop with the media hysteria and sensationalism of these stories, stop the sheep like following people have believing everything they are told, and form your own opinions, don't be fed it by others.
2 men brutally murdered another man in the streets of Woolwich this week. They CLAIM it was in the name of Islam, they CLAIM it was revenge for treatment of Muslims. They were also born and raised right here in the UK, educated in the UK, socialised in the UK. But wait, they were black, so that's a bad sign right? And they claim to be of the Muslim faith, so they are terrorists of course.... So many associations with so many groups, but does not detract from the truth, that 2 men killed another man. It happens around the world daily. Maybe not as brutally and blatantly, but evil killings occur daily. But for some ideological reason, it is not until the words Muslim or Islam are uttered that anyone pays the slightest bit of attention.
I'm going to stop now, as thinking about the ignorance that surround us is really quite frustrating and upsetting.
Simple message.... Be your OWN person, your own leader, and not the follower of someone else.
Actually no, they are not the next words, but they are the words that you would expect a child in today's society to associate with the first 3 words, or indeed the words that some people in society would like you to think of every time you hear those words.
The current generation of kids and young people are bombarded with this word association game all the time, in conversation, on the TV, and in the newspapers. Everywhere we look we are being told that fanatical, radical or extremist is just another word for 'muslim' Just as past generations have dropped 'vacuum cleaner' for Hoover, or other items and activities for a brand name, so today's generation are fast believing that all radical fanatics will obviously be Muslims too. This is a serious issue, and one which anyone who cares truly about their country and younger generations should care about also.
First off, lets see what the words REALLY mean.
Fanatical...
describes someone whose admiration for something is considered to be extreme or unreasonable:His enthusiasm for aerobics was almost fanatical.Gary's fanatical about football.
Radical
believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change:He was known as a radical reformer/thinker/politician.These people have very radical views.
Extremist
someone who has beliefs that most people think are unreasonable and unacceptable:a group of extremists (= people with extreme opinions)
OK, so none of the above cite a particular race, religion, nationality or anything else specific for that matters. What it DOES describe is a group of people who's views are NOT shared by the majority. People driven by beliefs not shared by the mainstream, and groups who are seen as outsiders so to speak by the majority of society.
I can totally understand where the anger towards sick people who carry out vile actions against other humans comes from. It makes me as angry as the next person, and I don't want to share my society with people like this. But the key here is 'people' like this, not races or religions like this. We all have many tags and live under many banners in life, from our support of sports, to our choices of foods. Clothes we wear, brands we buy, hair colour and style, but we rarely find ourselves branded by these things.
Its only when groups or individuals start to categorise people, start to group them together, and make associations that things start to go wrong. But of course, depending which group you belong to, the beliefs can be very right or very wrong.
In the 80's and 90's in the UK, the country was FULL of groups like these, groups we seem to have forgotten about quite conveniently in order to focus our attention and in some case, our hatred, towards Muslims.
Growing up in those times I don't ever recall hearing chants of 'go home you pale white Irish terrorist wanker' to every Irishman who walked the streets. I refer of course to the long forgotten and seemingly forgiven IRA, who carried out dozens more attacks on British people and British soldiers. Allow me to draw your minds back to this event... See who can actually remember it for starters..
The corporals killings was the killing of corporals David Robert Howes and Derek Tony Wood, two British Army soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals, on 19 March 1988 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The out-of-uniform soldiers were shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), after they drove into the funeral procession of an IRA volunteer. Three days beforehand, loyalist volunteer Michael Stone had attacked an IRA funeral and killed three people. Believing it to be another loyalist attack, dozens of mourners attacked the soldiers' car. During this, Corporal Wood drew his service pistol and fired a shot in the air. The soldiers were then dragged from their vehicle, beaten, driven to nearby waste ground, stripped and shot dead. Because it was fully captured by television cameras, the incident has been described as one of the "most dramatic and harrowing images" of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
This is one simple example of a whole host of actions carried out by a terrorist group who came long before Al Qaeda, by Christians, possibly against other Christians, but all clearly justifiable right? Do we go on today preaching how Christianity is an evil and vicious religion, and that Christians should be driven 'back home' to where they came from. Or worry about 'radicalised Christians' ? Why ever not?
The fact of the matter is, people choose to use religion as a tool or terror for one simple reason. Mass belief. Not in their causes, but of their apparent faith. And by the media and hate groups constantly associating hatred towards people of the UK with Muslims, the ignorant hate groups, the nationalist groups who believe they are somehow representing the people of the UK, this whole cycle is perpetuated until its a violent, hate filled., bloody mess that it is right now.
Lets take a step back to the nationalist groups for a second.
Lets flip things here shall we. The media and bigots would have you believe that Islamist and Muslims are evil and violent, and filled with hatred towards the people of the UK.
HOWEVER...
The EDL, and other nationalist groups would like all foreign nations to believe that the whole of the UK follows the beliefs of the EDL, and that their ideal are shared by the masses..... Well they are not!
And for that reason alone, you find yourself in an awkward position. Let me recall now, 'a person or group with radical views considered by the majority to be extreme'... This actually almost puts the hate groups in the same leagues as those carrying out hate crimes against the UK.
My point here is, ANYONE trying to force and extreme view into the mainstream. Anyone who uses hate and lies against another group of people, makes threats of violence, and demands the removal of another group from society simply for having a religion, or being born into another race, in my eyes is an extremist, and should be treated the same way all other extreme groups are. With contempt of a civilised manner.
I could go on all day, but those who believe they have a cause to fight for will never agree, and those who are open minded enough to form their own opinions, live by decent morals, and respect the masses will do just that. For that reason, we should agree to disagree, and leave it at that.
I have no religion or faith, I am familiar with losing loved ones to illness, accident and hate. I have experienced quite a few cruel and sickening things in life, and consider myself to be just another member of the human race. A race which has no place for gangs, thugs, or hatred without cause. Just for one second, take a few deep breaths, take a few steps back, and take society in general for what it is. The masses go about their daily life without issue, interacting with people of all colours, races, beliefs and both sexes without thinking twice. Its not hard to treat people as individuals, and 99.9999% of the worlds population just want to live a long and healthy life.
Stop with the media hysteria and sensationalism of these stories, stop the sheep like following people have believing everything they are told, and form your own opinions, don't be fed it by others.
2 men brutally murdered another man in the streets of Woolwich this week. They CLAIM it was in the name of Islam, they CLAIM it was revenge for treatment of Muslims. They were also born and raised right here in the UK, educated in the UK, socialised in the UK. But wait, they were black, so that's a bad sign right? And they claim to be of the Muslim faith, so they are terrorists of course.... So many associations with so many groups, but does not detract from the truth, that 2 men killed another man. It happens around the world daily. Maybe not as brutally and blatantly, but evil killings occur daily. But for some ideological reason, it is not until the words Muslim or Islam are uttered that anyone pays the slightest bit of attention.
I'm going to stop now, as thinking about the ignorance that surround us is really quite frustrating and upsetting.
Simple message.... Be your OWN person, your own leader, and not the follower of someone else.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
One week later... My Blackberry Q10
Well its coming up for a week now since the mainstream launch of the Blackberry Q10, and I thought it was time to hammer the keyboard of the laptop for a while and give the Q a bit of a break. So while Z and Q sit on the side and rest for a bit, lets take a look at my first week (almost) with my latest Blackberry.
So, the Blackberry Q10 is the second handset to be launched from Blackberry since they changed their name from RIM. Sporting the almost entirely new BB10 operating system, its a far cry from my first Blackberry which was an 8320. Not quite as ancient as some out there who rocked the side scroller, but certainly old enough to remember how very different the operation of a Blackberry was then. That was WAY back in 2007. In fact its only in writing this entry that I had any idea I have been using a BB for 6 years now. Then again, given just how many of them I have got through in that time, maybe that's about right.
For those not in the know, this is an 8320..
Back then I could send and receive email while I was on the move, and occasionally if needed, check things on the internet. Browsing then was more necessity than social and passtime. Oh how things have changed. But very quickly, if there is one thing I have never got over, it has to be the contrasting keys. With the numerical keypad being reverse colours, making it easier to type numbers. Small issue, and would totally ruin the current Q10, but that's my gripe over with.
So, leaping forwards a few years, and blasting past the 8520, 9700, 9900, and Z10 that all followed the first one, and we arrive at the current day. The first fair thing to say is, having experienced the progress from one device to the next, going from a trackball to the trackpad, and then to the trackless device, the progress has been tiresome at best, sometimes sitting so still, that to be a BB user felt like you were in a timewarp and heading backwards while the world around you shot forwards.
Well those days are gone now, and finally it feels like us BB users are on an even playing field with the rest of the smartphone users out there. I would even be so bold as to say that in some respects, we are a step ahead. In one respect a Q10 user has one asset to their disposal that no other real smartphone user has, and that's a physical keyboard. Sure there are other phones out there with physical keyboards, but at this point, none have the same processing power or abilities as the Q.
So, back on track, there was a first week with a Q10 meant to be going on here...
Receiving the box from the courier, the package was very small, and remembering how the Z10 had come packaged I knew what to expect. A phone, a battery, a SIM, a data cable and charger plug, and a cheap pair of headphones. So on opening the box and taking everything out, I was delighted to find a pair of the new premium headphones in there, and a week later I am still over the moon with them. The right balance between sound quality while maintaining some awareness of whats happening around you, like traffic.
Putting the phone together it was then time to see this glass weave battery cover there has been so much talk about. Having been torn between white and black handsets and finally settling for black, I was relieved when I finally felt the back cover in my fingers. Having used a Z for 2-3 months, I have grown used to the level of grip the back of that offers. All the preview images showed the glass weave for the black, and the Z10 style textured back for the white. Having never been happy with the back of the 9900, I was concerned the Q10 would be slippery with its glass weave... WRONG. Its lovely waxy and soft feel give it great grip in the hands, and belay any worries about letting it slip. So off to a good start then.
Powering up for the first time, I knew most of what to expect, with having been baptised into the world of BB10 with using the Z for a few months. All that was left to see was how well the gestures, screens and software would work with this new, non smiling physical qwerty.
Once the introductions were made it was time to get on with the formalities of setting the device up. First up, time to set up a new account, as you obviously cant run two devices on one Blackberry account. Even with the demise of BIS, things like Blackberry World, and Protect require you to have an account for each live device you are running. Obviously a straight device swap would just require logging in with your existing details. With new username and account running, it was time to get to know the Q.
Starting with what most would consider THE important part of a smartphones soul.. Apps! Personally to me they are a nice addition, but I am pretty content with the standard package of native apps on the BB10 devices, they do most things I want to do on a day to day basis. However, having already added a good few to the Z10's arsenal of weapons, I thought it only fair to equip the Q equally.
I would have liked to have done this, but sadly there are a few apps which have not yet ported over. Yes, its that age old problem, right OS, wrong device. And with the different form factors of the two being so far apart, it would be wrong to expect all apps to work out of the box. The only one I actually pine for right now is BeBuzz, no relation to Bieber!
I did however hear that Blackberry are helping the devs out by testing and automatically porting over any Z10 apps that are Q ready, and this should take place in the coming weeks. I sincerely hope BeBuzz is in there.
Speaking of native apps and software, I thought this was the right time to mention all is NOT well. While the 'shortfallings' of the Hub have already been discussed, I thought I would quickly touch on Twitter, and its native app on BB10. Yes its simple and easy on the eye, but its also pretty bland and a touch dumb too. The way it interacts with the contacts list for composing a tweet with a mention in it, the limited actions available from the app it self. It has a habit of repeating tweets, so on opening one, as it builds it will create a long list of the same text over and over. I wont go on for ages, but in short I find the native Twitter SO irritating, I wont use it. Instead I prefer to use Blaq, with its much nicer and more user friendly interface. Mentions on there are dealt with by a progressive search, with suggestions appearing at the top as you type the names. Unlike the native app which insists on opening a contacts list.
So working with the actual device on a day to day basis, I can only say its an absolute delight to use. I still switch between the Z and the Q, depending on which is closer to hand. The other deciding factor is what I am planning to do with the device, browse, view video or having a long blogging session or forum session.
I wont say gaming as that's truly not my forte, but know it is important to some people, and appreciate their needs.
Needless to say, having been housebound for most of the past week, forums like Crackberry have been my main haunt, and with the Q being the new kid on the block, the choice was pretty obvious. Me and the Q have spent some quality time over the past few days, putting it through its paces, and seeing what its really made of. Testing the battery to see what sort of beating it can take on a full charge. The camera seeing how all the different settings work, and what gives the optimal results, and of course the most important thing to me, seeing how well I can manage going back to a physical keyboard after months away.
With regards to the keyboard, a few days before the Q arrived I picked up my old 9900 for the first time in ages, and immediately became attached to the feel of keys under my thumbs again, could the Q really match that feeling. Well the short answer is yes! And exceed it too. Even though the difference is measured in millimetres rather than centimetres, the loss of the smile from the keyboard made me wonder how different typing would be. Well maybe its coming from the flatness of the Z, or maybe its just the difference in unnoticeable, but either way the new flat lines of the keyboard work fine, and typing is a joy. I am back in my old ways of typing for the sake of typing, and not having to stare at the sensationless buttons of a touchscreen while I do it. So keyboard is a big thumbs up.
Camera, I wont go on too much about it, but as I have said in previous entries, it is a more than capable camera, and pleasing for the average point and shoot user. If you are not happy with the results of the pictures, you probably need to start looking at using a proper camera rather than the relying on the camera on a cellphone and hoping for DSLR results. Yes there are other camera phones out there which have more scope, but the emphasis here is on the simplicity of the use of the Q10's camera.
Read more here... Q10 Camera Test
Speaking of what you see, the screen on the Q, the super AMOLED display is a lovely thing. Some have complained about the whites being grey, or there being saturation of blues, but somehow with all their knowledge, seem to have overlooked the technologies behind AMOLED. It is sharp, crisp, clear and bright. Sunlight legibility is fine with the right brightness setting, although mine resides around 30%
The battery, well I think it is fair to say that it unsurprisingly manages to out perform that of its counterpart. For someone who uses their phone every few minutes for something throughout the day, the Q does a fine job of lasting out the day without a charge. Managing beyond 12 hours for me by modern day standards is really quite a feat. Of course as I have said numerous times, there are many contributing factors to how long a battery will last a day, and it doesn't take a power user to drain a battery in under 12 hours. Process sapping apps, poor network connection, unused connections NFC, Bluetooth, Wifi, etc can all lead to the early demise of the battery too.
So in summary, before this day passes me by.
The Q10 is a very capable device, and should certainly meet all the wants and needs of the die hard physical keyboard fans. You don't have to be old or a technophobe to want to use a physical keyboard. its just a preference. Its productive, its comfortable, and lets be honest, its nice to be a little different. Although with the instant success of the Q10 I'm not sure how long you will stand out for, before you are running with the crowd.
Blackberry have done well with the device, making it current, powerful, and pleasing to use. Ticking all the boxes from both looks and performance stand points, the Q is here, and ready to shake up the smartphone market just ever so slightly, and prove one thing for sure..... The days of the physical keyboard are FAR from over, and as an additional note, Blackberry is very much alive, and here to stay....
Sorry haters :)
More discussions about the Q10, and more of my comments can be found on a popular thread on Crackberry, or on link below.
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-q10-f272/q10-vs-z10-screen-size-debate-802693/
Thanks for reading.
So, the Blackberry Q10 is the second handset to be launched from Blackberry since they changed their name from RIM. Sporting the almost entirely new BB10 operating system, its a far cry from my first Blackberry which was an 8320. Not quite as ancient as some out there who rocked the side scroller, but certainly old enough to remember how very different the operation of a Blackberry was then. That was WAY back in 2007. In fact its only in writing this entry that I had any idea I have been using a BB for 6 years now. Then again, given just how many of them I have got through in that time, maybe that's about right.
For those not in the know, this is an 8320..
Back then I could send and receive email while I was on the move, and occasionally if needed, check things on the internet. Browsing then was more necessity than social and passtime. Oh how things have changed. But very quickly, if there is one thing I have never got over, it has to be the contrasting keys. With the numerical keypad being reverse colours, making it easier to type numbers. Small issue, and would totally ruin the current Q10, but that's my gripe over with.
So, leaping forwards a few years, and blasting past the 8520, 9700, 9900, and Z10 that all followed the first one, and we arrive at the current day. The first fair thing to say is, having experienced the progress from one device to the next, going from a trackball to the trackpad, and then to the trackless device, the progress has been tiresome at best, sometimes sitting so still, that to be a BB user felt like you were in a timewarp and heading backwards while the world around you shot forwards.
Well those days are gone now, and finally it feels like us BB users are on an even playing field with the rest of the smartphone users out there. I would even be so bold as to say that in some respects, we are a step ahead. In one respect a Q10 user has one asset to their disposal that no other real smartphone user has, and that's a physical keyboard. Sure there are other phones out there with physical keyboards, but at this point, none have the same processing power or abilities as the Q.
So, back on track, there was a first week with a Q10 meant to be going on here...
Receiving the box from the courier, the package was very small, and remembering how the Z10 had come packaged I knew what to expect. A phone, a battery, a SIM, a data cable and charger plug, and a cheap pair of headphones. So on opening the box and taking everything out, I was delighted to find a pair of the new premium headphones in there, and a week later I am still over the moon with them. The right balance between sound quality while maintaining some awareness of whats happening around you, like traffic.
Putting the phone together it was then time to see this glass weave battery cover there has been so much talk about. Having been torn between white and black handsets and finally settling for black, I was relieved when I finally felt the back cover in my fingers. Having used a Z for 2-3 months, I have grown used to the level of grip the back of that offers. All the preview images showed the glass weave for the black, and the Z10 style textured back for the white. Having never been happy with the back of the 9900, I was concerned the Q10 would be slippery with its glass weave... WRONG. Its lovely waxy and soft feel give it great grip in the hands, and belay any worries about letting it slip. So off to a good start then.
Powering up for the first time, I knew most of what to expect, with having been baptised into the world of BB10 with using the Z for a few months. All that was left to see was how well the gestures, screens and software would work with this new, non smiling physical qwerty.
Once the introductions were made it was time to get on with the formalities of setting the device up. First up, time to set up a new account, as you obviously cant run two devices on one Blackberry account. Even with the demise of BIS, things like Blackberry World, and Protect require you to have an account for each live device you are running. Obviously a straight device swap would just require logging in with your existing details. With new username and account running, it was time to get to know the Q.
Starting with what most would consider THE important part of a smartphones soul.. Apps! Personally to me they are a nice addition, but I am pretty content with the standard package of native apps on the BB10 devices, they do most things I want to do on a day to day basis. However, having already added a good few to the Z10's arsenal of weapons, I thought it only fair to equip the Q equally.
I would have liked to have done this, but sadly there are a few apps which have not yet ported over. Yes, its that age old problem, right OS, wrong device. And with the different form factors of the two being so far apart, it would be wrong to expect all apps to work out of the box. The only one I actually pine for right now is BeBuzz, no relation to Bieber!
I did however hear that Blackberry are helping the devs out by testing and automatically porting over any Z10 apps that are Q ready, and this should take place in the coming weeks. I sincerely hope BeBuzz is in there.
Speaking of native apps and software, I thought this was the right time to mention all is NOT well. While the 'shortfallings' of the Hub have already been discussed, I thought I would quickly touch on Twitter, and its native app on BB10. Yes its simple and easy on the eye, but its also pretty bland and a touch dumb too. The way it interacts with the contacts list for composing a tweet with a mention in it, the limited actions available from the app it self. It has a habit of repeating tweets, so on opening one, as it builds it will create a long list of the same text over and over. I wont go on for ages, but in short I find the native Twitter SO irritating, I wont use it. Instead I prefer to use Blaq, with its much nicer and more user friendly interface. Mentions on there are dealt with by a progressive search, with suggestions appearing at the top as you type the names. Unlike the native app which insists on opening a contacts list.
So working with the actual device on a day to day basis, I can only say its an absolute delight to use. I still switch between the Z and the Q, depending on which is closer to hand. The other deciding factor is what I am planning to do with the device, browse, view video or having a long blogging session or forum session.
I wont say gaming as that's truly not my forte, but know it is important to some people, and appreciate their needs.
Needless to say, having been housebound for most of the past week, forums like Crackberry have been my main haunt, and with the Q being the new kid on the block, the choice was pretty obvious. Me and the Q have spent some quality time over the past few days, putting it through its paces, and seeing what its really made of. Testing the battery to see what sort of beating it can take on a full charge. The camera seeing how all the different settings work, and what gives the optimal results, and of course the most important thing to me, seeing how well I can manage going back to a physical keyboard after months away.
With regards to the keyboard, a few days before the Q arrived I picked up my old 9900 for the first time in ages, and immediately became attached to the feel of keys under my thumbs again, could the Q really match that feeling. Well the short answer is yes! And exceed it too. Even though the difference is measured in millimetres rather than centimetres, the loss of the smile from the keyboard made me wonder how different typing would be. Well maybe its coming from the flatness of the Z, or maybe its just the difference in unnoticeable, but either way the new flat lines of the keyboard work fine, and typing is a joy. I am back in my old ways of typing for the sake of typing, and not having to stare at the sensationless buttons of a touchscreen while I do it. So keyboard is a big thumbs up.
Camera, I wont go on too much about it, but as I have said in previous entries, it is a more than capable camera, and pleasing for the average point and shoot user. If you are not happy with the results of the pictures, you probably need to start looking at using a proper camera rather than the relying on the camera on a cellphone and hoping for DSLR results. Yes there are other camera phones out there which have more scope, but the emphasis here is on the simplicity of the use of the Q10's camera.
Read more here... Q10 Camera Test
Speaking of what you see, the screen on the Q, the super AMOLED display is a lovely thing. Some have complained about the whites being grey, or there being saturation of blues, but somehow with all their knowledge, seem to have overlooked the technologies behind AMOLED. It is sharp, crisp, clear and bright. Sunlight legibility is fine with the right brightness setting, although mine resides around 30%
The battery, well I think it is fair to say that it unsurprisingly manages to out perform that of its counterpart. For someone who uses their phone every few minutes for something throughout the day, the Q does a fine job of lasting out the day without a charge. Managing beyond 12 hours for me by modern day standards is really quite a feat. Of course as I have said numerous times, there are many contributing factors to how long a battery will last a day, and it doesn't take a power user to drain a battery in under 12 hours. Process sapping apps, poor network connection, unused connections NFC, Bluetooth, Wifi, etc can all lead to the early demise of the battery too.
So in summary, before this day passes me by.
The Q10 is a very capable device, and should certainly meet all the wants and needs of the die hard physical keyboard fans. You don't have to be old or a technophobe to want to use a physical keyboard. its just a preference. Its productive, its comfortable, and lets be honest, its nice to be a little different. Although with the instant success of the Q10 I'm not sure how long you will stand out for, before you are running with the crowd.
Blackberry have done well with the device, making it current, powerful, and pleasing to use. Ticking all the boxes from both looks and performance stand points, the Q is here, and ready to shake up the smartphone market just ever so slightly, and prove one thing for sure..... The days of the physical keyboard are FAR from over, and as an additional note, Blackberry is very much alive, and here to stay....
Sorry haters :)
More discussions about the Q10, and more of my comments can be found on a popular thread on Crackberry, or on link below.
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-q10-f272/q10-vs-z10-screen-size-debate-802693/
Thanks for reading.
Friday, May 3, 2013
First full battery cycle on the Q10
Well after coming off a nice long charge at 8am this morning, and tolerating ten hours of almost full on use, the battery is finally coming to an end.
Over an hour of calls, NFC transfers, Wifi connection as well as 3G, browsing the net, BBM, Whatsapp, bogging lots, taking pictures and videos, and whatever else I could do with it to challenge it and get to know my Q10 a little better.
I have just enough juice left to pop this little entry up, before it dies totally and gets its first full charge from completely flat. Then the true test begins I guess.
So, not a bad run for its first go, it's certainly taken some abuse.
I should point out that the Z also came off charge at the same time and is now down to 6%, with far less use today than usual. Not sure if the signal has been a problem here today, but both on the same network.
Right, before it dies, I'm done.
Over an hour of calls, NFC transfers, Wifi connection as well as 3G, browsing the net, BBM, Whatsapp, bogging lots, taking pictures and videos, and whatever else I could do with it to challenge it and get to know my Q10 a little better.
I have just enough juice left to pop this little entry up, before it dies totally and gets its first full charge from completely flat. Then the true test begins I guess.
So, not a bad run for its first go, it's certainly taken some abuse.
I should point out that the Z also came off charge at the same time and is now down to 6%, with far less use today than usual. Not sure if the signal has been a problem here today, but both on the same network.
Right, before it dies, I'm done.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Welcome to the Blackberry Q10
A long time in the making, but finally its here and I have to say, 1 hour in, MY GOD its good!
I have to say this first though, getting the handset has been a bloody nightmare to say the least, fighting with Yodel to get them to deliver the damn thing has kind of tainted the joy of getting it.
There is more about the epic battle in earlier blog entries.
So back to the Q10.
First up, it's fair to say I am a die hard qwerty fan, and a strong believer that the days of the physical keyboard are far from over. In fact for me, as the past hour has shown, it's a must. Plain and simple.
The Z10 has without a doubt been the best touchscreen phone I have ever used. No bones about it, the fluidity of the experience is amazing. But after months of use I still never overcame the annoyance and frustration of the keyboard predicting or correcting me on something simple, or the sheer inaccuracy of it. YES, touchscreen can be super fast, the Z is no exception, with its very forgiving predictive text and corrections. As well as a very smart learning curve, which unlike any other handset I have used, can predict almost who sentences.
However, when it comes to freedom of expression and being able to type what you want, how you want, and make words up whenever you choose, the qwerty wins every time.
So, step back a second and let's start over.
Buying mine from CPWH, I was lucky enough to get the BlackBerry bluetooth speaker system for free, which is a nice little bonus. Compact little thing, but great for sitting in the garden or office etc. I can see it getting a fair bit of use. Also doubles as a hands free for the car too as it clips to the sun visor, so win win.
Unpacking the Q10's little retail box, you realise that BlackBerry have followed the lead of brands like Apple, and made their retail offerings very sparce, but I have to be fair and say all the essentials are there. Phone, charger, data cable, headphones. Speaking of headphones, what an enormous leap forwards with the quality of headphones BlackBerry have made. In-ear anti-tangle headphones, great inline controls. Brilliant, well done BlackBerry. Not sure about Apples 'years in the making' effort, but these unannounced surprises are a great addition.
Moving on from audio, setting the phone up was a nice simple process, certainly more user friendly than the first time around with the Z10, what a nightmare that was. But then at the same time the process is nothing like device swaps of the past. Gone are the days of any BIS involvement. Simple on screen prompts put you through the various sections of set up in an easy to understand format. Once done, and all emails are set up, it syncs with the server and in a matter of minutes you are up and running. The key here is being cloud ready. If you are on Gmail etc, then the set up is a piece of cake, pulling down contacts and calendars from your online account. Second time is a treat for me for sure.
Once set up, it's time to get going with customising and setting up your preferences. The defaults are pretty well thought out, with dark theme as standard, various tones set up for native apps, and volume set to maximum (yup that scared the pants off me first message!). The aforementioned native apps as you probably know are a lot about staying in touch, BBM, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, and all meeting up nicely in the infamous Hub. Speaking of the hub, for me it's still not perfect, but after months of use of the Z10, BB10 has become second nature, and interacting from one place is indeed a great idea. Just a shame there are not a few more user customisable options in there.
The biggest thing missing for me is the social feeds, all my Twitter updates and new tweets. But again I have to say I have grown used to Blaq saving the say there, and have been quick to install it on the Q10 as well as the Z.
The biggest joy of all is without a doubt the keyboard, for me at least. Firm, solid keys, my fingers dance around the keyboard with ease, and as they start to remember what is where, the speed of my typing increases. I have already surpassed the longest blog entry I have ever done on the Z, by double at least I would say, and I'm happy to keep going. No frustrations, just happy thinking and typing away. The straightening out of the keyboard is a little peculiar maybe, but again you adjust quickly. Sitting in the dark, looking around as I type, I know my accuracy is far better than a touchscreen would ever be, for me at least.
The glass weave, weird looking back was a big worry for me, thinking it was going to be slippery as the back of the 9900 was, but looks are truly deceiving. And to think I almost went for a white Q10 because the back looked gripper. Phew close call there. It's waxy in feel, and has the right level of grip. Not being shiny also removes the worry of scratching it. The feel of the rest of the device is also decidedly solid and robust. No unpleasant creeks or squeeks coming from the chassis.
The screen is super sharp as you would expect from an OLED display. With screens improving year after year, it's hard to appreciate the screen until I sit it next to my other two handsets, then the difference is very apparent. With one of those being the Z10, it doesn't take a genius to work out which BB10 device has the nicer screen.
The rest of the story is yet to be told, battery testing, app testing, reliability, and over all preference of use (although I think I have already decided that one)
A final note though, and one for anyone trying to decide which BlackBerry device to buy.
If you are like me, and you spend most of your day emailing, messaging, tweeting etc, aka communicating with your phone, then the Q is the obvious choice. I know the argument is screen real estate, but the truth is, with the onscreen keyboard up, the Z's screen is exactly the same size as the Q.
If however you use your handset for games, Web, navigation etc, then the Z is probably the right option for you. The onscreen keyboard as an occasional input device is truly splendid. Forgiving, intuitive, and easy to get along with. Word suggestions, swipe gestures and great layout make it a pleasing experience. But would I have written a blog entry like this one on the Z.... Jeez no! Only the Q has what it takes to ramble on for hours in my trying to be helpful manner.
I shall be sure to post some updates soon, but for now I will give this poor new phone a breather.
Summary, now the chips are down, BlackBerry have brought TWO awesome phones to the market. Worth the extended wait for sure, now just to keep up the momentum and make and keep the BB10 movement current. Well done BlackBerry, well done indeed.
I have to say this first though, getting the handset has been a bloody nightmare to say the least, fighting with Yodel to get them to deliver the damn thing has kind of tainted the joy of getting it.
There is more about the epic battle in earlier blog entries.
So back to the Q10.
First up, it's fair to say I am a die hard qwerty fan, and a strong believer that the days of the physical keyboard are far from over. In fact for me, as the past hour has shown, it's a must. Plain and simple.
The Z10 has without a doubt been the best touchscreen phone I have ever used. No bones about it, the fluidity of the experience is amazing. But after months of use I still never overcame the annoyance and frustration of the keyboard predicting or correcting me on something simple, or the sheer inaccuracy of it. YES, touchscreen can be super fast, the Z is no exception, with its very forgiving predictive text and corrections. As well as a very smart learning curve, which unlike any other handset I have used, can predict almost who sentences.
However, when it comes to freedom of expression and being able to type what you want, how you want, and make words up whenever you choose, the qwerty wins every time.
So, step back a second and let's start over.
Buying mine from CPWH, I was lucky enough to get the BlackBerry bluetooth speaker system for free, which is a nice little bonus. Compact little thing, but great for sitting in the garden or office etc. I can see it getting a fair bit of use. Also doubles as a hands free for the car too as it clips to the sun visor, so win win.
Unpacking the Q10's little retail box, you realise that BlackBerry have followed the lead of brands like Apple, and made their retail offerings very sparce, but I have to be fair and say all the essentials are there. Phone, charger, data cable, headphones. Speaking of headphones, what an enormous leap forwards with the quality of headphones BlackBerry have made. In-ear anti-tangle headphones, great inline controls. Brilliant, well done BlackBerry. Not sure about Apples 'years in the making' effort, but these unannounced surprises are a great addition.
Moving on from audio, setting the phone up was a nice simple process, certainly more user friendly than the first time around with the Z10, what a nightmare that was. But then at the same time the process is nothing like device swaps of the past. Gone are the days of any BIS involvement. Simple on screen prompts put you through the various sections of set up in an easy to understand format. Once done, and all emails are set up, it syncs with the server and in a matter of minutes you are up and running. The key here is being cloud ready. If you are on Gmail etc, then the set up is a piece of cake, pulling down contacts and calendars from your online account. Second time is a treat for me for sure.
Once set up, it's time to get going with customising and setting up your preferences. The defaults are pretty well thought out, with dark theme as standard, various tones set up for native apps, and volume set to maximum (yup that scared the pants off me first message!). The aforementioned native apps as you probably know are a lot about staying in touch, BBM, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, and all meeting up nicely in the infamous Hub. Speaking of the hub, for me it's still not perfect, but after months of use of the Z10, BB10 has become second nature, and interacting from one place is indeed a great idea. Just a shame there are not a few more user customisable options in there.
The biggest thing missing for me is the social feeds, all my Twitter updates and new tweets. But again I have to say I have grown used to Blaq saving the say there, and have been quick to install it on the Q10 as well as the Z.
The biggest joy of all is without a doubt the keyboard, for me at least. Firm, solid keys, my fingers dance around the keyboard with ease, and as they start to remember what is where, the speed of my typing increases. I have already surpassed the longest blog entry I have ever done on the Z, by double at least I would say, and I'm happy to keep going. No frustrations, just happy thinking and typing away. The straightening out of the keyboard is a little peculiar maybe, but again you adjust quickly. Sitting in the dark, looking around as I type, I know my accuracy is far better than a touchscreen would ever be, for me at least.
The glass weave, weird looking back was a big worry for me, thinking it was going to be slippery as the back of the 9900 was, but looks are truly deceiving. And to think I almost went for a white Q10 because the back looked gripper. Phew close call there. It's waxy in feel, and has the right level of grip. Not being shiny also removes the worry of scratching it. The feel of the rest of the device is also decidedly solid and robust. No unpleasant creeks or squeeks coming from the chassis.
The screen is super sharp as you would expect from an OLED display. With screens improving year after year, it's hard to appreciate the screen until I sit it next to my other two handsets, then the difference is very apparent. With one of those being the Z10, it doesn't take a genius to work out which BB10 device has the nicer screen.
The rest of the story is yet to be told, battery testing, app testing, reliability, and over all preference of use (although I think I have already decided that one)
A final note though, and one for anyone trying to decide which BlackBerry device to buy.
If you are like me, and you spend most of your day emailing, messaging, tweeting etc, aka communicating with your phone, then the Q is the obvious choice. I know the argument is screen real estate, but the truth is, with the onscreen keyboard up, the Z's screen is exactly the same size as the Q.
If however you use your handset for games, Web, navigation etc, then the Z is probably the right option for you. The onscreen keyboard as an occasional input device is truly splendid. Forgiving, intuitive, and easy to get along with. Word suggestions, swipe gestures and great layout make it a pleasing experience. But would I have written a blog entry like this one on the Z.... Jeez no! Only the Q has what it takes to ramble on for hours in my trying to be helpful manner.
I shall be sure to post some updates soon, but for now I will give this poor new phone a breather.
Summary, now the chips are down, BlackBerry have brought TWO awesome phones to the market. Worth the extended wait for sure, now just to keep up the momentum and make and keep the BB10 movement current. Well done BlackBerry, well done indeed.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My Blackberry Z10, the story so far.
Blackberry Playbook and Blackberry Z10
I have been using the Z10 for a couple of days now and and really starting to get to grips with it, and see how it behaves. Having put some thought into it all and started to see whats present and whats missing in comparison to the outgoing Bold 9900. I have also had time to cycle the battery fully once now, so although its not a great indicator of overall battery life, its a first impression for sure.
On the first day, and in the subsequent review, I complained about the lack of accessories in the retail box. From speaking to friends, I am far from the only one that thinks the contents were a little sparse to say the least. I have never been gentle or kind to my phones, and never will be, its an accessory, not a prized possession, and is treated accordingly, so battle scars are inevitable. But the gesture of a small pouch, even similar material to the Playbook cover would have been nice.. Blackberry, are you listening?
So, in the real world, being used as a primary devices, how does it fair. First up, battery. Having used Blackberry's since the 8320, I am used to a certain level of battery life. Given that the devices are small with small screens, its never been an issue. When the 9900 came about, suddenly Blackberry users around the world started to understand the woes of touchscreen users, and started to experience the all too common problem. So thats about 19 hours including 7 hours of non use. This is using the phones default settings for everything from brightness to screen timeout. 2 hours 45 mins to get a full charge back in the handset after this. In general any handset I have gets plugged in while at work anyway, so battery isnt an issue on an average working day, but out in the wild for a day might be. Time will tell.
Back to actually using the device, and things get a little better. Buttery smooth is the only way I can describe it, just as seen on the demo videos, apps can take a couple of seconds to open if they are particularly big or complex ones, like higher res games etc, but thats more than acceptable given the smoothness they then play with. Im not a heavy gamer, so its not fair for me to critique this area of the device much more, but games such as Run In Crowd perform beautifully. As does streaming media.
Browser
The biggest surprise for me so far is the browser. Now the S2 browser loads pretty quickly on 3G and quite a bit faster on WiFi, but the Z10 BB10 browser is all new as we have all heard, so how would it fair. Well I thought the best way to test them would be to get them on the wifi and search the web for a few sites at the same time, as most do on their video demo's.
The first thing I noticed when doing this was that the Samsung, where one was available, would connect to and load the mobile site, where the Z10 would load the full site. When testing on Sky News for example, the S2 loaded the mobile site, smoothly and quickly, and the Z10 went for the full site, with all its flash content. Before loading the site a pop up appeared advising it was a data rich site with a large amount of Flash content, and asking if I wanted to proceed, which I did. One OK'ed, it loaded the site very quickly and the content was great on the eye and well displayed. As I ran through the various sites, the S2 would again and again go for the mobile site. When one wasnt available, it would load the full site, still very quickly, but noticably slower than the Z10.Then it was time to test against the iPod Touch 5th Gen, running iOS6. Again it was a very close matched affair, but the iPod would like the S2 choose to load mobile sites first.
It is fair to say that loading the mobile site isnt a bad thing at all, less data, and quicker loading, but it didnt give a very accurate comparison.
The summary then is simple. All 3 devices are very capable at displaying feature rich content on their browsers, on the sites I tested with, the Z10 was marginally quicker over wifi than the other 2, but very little in it at all. So if nothing else, BB10's browser is 'on par' with the others, if not a little quicker. Personally I would say the Z10 came out on top, by a hair.
While testing though, one thing I did notice was the differences in screens of all 3, and how they display colours and fonts. I have to openly concede that the screen of the iPod seems very sharp in comparison, and whilst both screens are perfectly readable with small fonts, the sharpness of the smallest lettering on the iPod seems just that little bit clearer. And for the record I have just had my eyes tested and had a perfect result, so no, im not blind. That said, all 3 give nice easy to read displays with the smallest of fonts. The differences are more to do with how the browsers work, and choose to display the websites, with each using a slightly different layout to enhance certain parts of the website. Again their behaviour differs completely when tapped to zoom.
One thing I have learned from these comparisons, is that accurate comparisons are simply not possible. Even with the browsers, some will claim to be fully loaded, but still sneekily be loading more content like links, roll over images, and other banner images, so a loaded site is not always as it appears.
So right now it is not really possible to say one is better than the other. All 3 are great devices for browsing with, and once you get familiar with their actions, you can have a great browsing experience on any of them.
Over all though, as far as the Blackberry experience goes, even compared to the Playbook, the BB10 Z10 has an amazing browser, and one most BB users have been waiting a LONG time for.
Battery
Its still early days, and only one complete cycle has been done, as I said in the intro. But I will be sure to keep a close eye on things over the coming days and let me opinions be known, honestly.
Today for example, since the phone came off charge yesterday evening, it has had a fair bit of use, and as I write now, at 12.15pm, its down at 35%, which is certainly no triumph. Lets hope things are going to improve a bit after a few cycles of the battery. At this stage, I would certainly be considering a spare battery if things are staying like this. Just for days when im out in the wild so to speak. One advantage over close back handsets for sure.
General use
As I have previously said, this is not a simple change from one Blackberry to another, its not just a slightly different keyboard or OS to get used to, its starting over. New behaviours, interfaces, inputs, the whole nine yards. I am however happy to say that once you get using the Z10 it becomes second nature, the gestures just happen, comfort and security is found in the keyboard, and the worry of not being able to swap over passes. One thing I will say though, and I was thinking about this while walking the dogs last night, this isnt for everyone. I really dont think the die hard qwerty users will transition over without a fight, and the Q10 is still going to be their saviour. Just a shame its 2 months away yet. Some of my friends are far from impressed by this gap in release dates. I have to agree, now knowing how far apart they are going to be, even the markets have reacted badly. The early indications were that the Q10 would follow shortly,but this 'shortly' is like missing a bus and waiting another day for it. Its NOT a short wait.
I do however look forwards to getting to grips with the Q10 when it launches, and seeing how the 2 months have changed my perspective on using a touchscreen.
I can say with confidence that while doing the browser test, I remembered why I dislike touchscreens so much, or have done up until now.
Keyboard
As I say above, the keyboard, for me anyway, is a real breakthrough. Having used the Galaxy S2, the iPod Touch and the Z10 all within second of each other, I can categorically say my preference is the Z10 without a second thought. Next being the S2, which just seems more compatible with my thumbs, and its behaviour somehow seems to know which letter I was going for when its too close to call. The iPod however is a nightmare for me, constant typo's, even when I go back to correct. On the S2 I use Adaptxt for a keyboard, which has a pretty good predictive text dictionary, so the occasional typo is forgiven. On the Blackberry however the BB10 keyboard is truly brilliant in many ways.
First, using the whole area of the bottom of the screen helps with larger fingers for sure. Rather than the other 2 devices which choose to narrow and have smaller keys because of this.
Secondly there is how the keyboard and device behave when typing. There are of course the predictive word assists, which appear on the frets between the rows of keys, which can be flicked to the message above. For a while you find yourself looking for the right words to appear, and this slows you down, but after some time has passed you just type messages the same way you would on a qwerty, and when you see the long word appear you are able to flick it up. This quickly becomes second nature.
Then it is only fair to say, that BB10 seems to have probably the most adaptive and powerful correction service out there at the moment. Watching the message appear can sometimes look like you are typing perfectly, and most of the time you are, but from time to time you will hit dptn instead of from, and somehow from this BB10 realises you mean FROM, and will replace it. Occasionally I look at the word I am currently typing, and realise its totally wrong, but when I look at the space bar, there is the word I was meaning to type, all ready to jump into its place when I hit the space.
Of course, this can be annoying early days when typing fast without noticing the word substitutions, and like all other devices, can lead to some very interesting messages being sent. Although fair to say, less than those of the iPhone which has a site dedicated to it.
All that said, I DO still think that the Z10 and its fantastic keyboard is still a step too far for some out of their comfort zones. However its fair to say that if a Z10 keyboard is not good enough for them to ditch their 9900 or 9700, no other touchscreen device out there is going to cut the mustard either.
Messaging
A very different experience indeed, from email to BBM, adding attachments, and formatting etc has all changed. Thats not a bad thing, but is yet another thing to get used to. It took me a while to realise that the options to attach, send image, format text etc, are all at the bottom of the message compose page, which is accessible by a long press on the space bar to make the keyboard disappear, or in BBM, swiping down from the text entry window. A little annoying that 2 native applications have different behaviours for removing the keyboard from the screen. Composing the message from the hub is pretty simple though, with a single press of the compose button at the bottom, you are neatly presented with the options from which you can compose a message, BBM, Text, Email, Twitter, LinkedIn. The clever thing here is that whichever option you choose, it does not need to launch the app. So a Facebook status will be sent from the hub directly, without having to first open Facebook. Same with Twitter and so on. Sounds a bit petty, but its one less action, and by not opening the app, you will not automatically repopulate the news feed either. Pretty nifty if you ask me.
Handling multiple messages through the hub, if you have text, email and BBM, as well as other notifications coming through, is seemless. Flicking in and out of each message rather than switching from app to app constantly. Im sure in some way this will also save on data use and battery too, not having 4 apps all running at the same time. The Hub certainly gets the thumbs up from me, now that I can use it how it was intended. Takes a while to get used to, but learning is worth it for sure.
Screen and icons
Blackberry has come under heavy criticism for its decision on the look of the screen with the app icons looking somewhat dated. Coming from an Android device, which without a doubt has the most configurable, customisable and freshest look, the Z10 screens do without a doubt look a little lame and dated. Beta if nothing else. But that said, you dont want fancy fonts on the keyboard of your PC do you? The appearance of a qwerty physical keyboard is uniform and functional, and its functional that I think Blackberry have gone for here. Dont judge a book by its cover so to speak, its what lays behind the icon that matters at the end of the day. Had Blackberry chosen to follow the trend and have 'pretty' icons, im sure Apple would have found some sort of patent infringement there, and a long court case would ensue. Instead this is very unique, very original, and most of all practical. And indeed, what lays behind the icons is nothing short of beauty. Smooth apps, with great interaction, and for me, I could not ask for more.
That said, I am not a huge app lover. There may be millions available, but I am happy with just a small fistful of apps on my Blackberry.
Apps
Now speaking of apps, this is where things get a little itchy for me. At the launch Thornsten cleverly said apps like Skype, Whatsapp etc were 'committed' to Blackberry10. I can tell you now, at this point, as committed as they are, they are NOT yet available. Which is a little disappointing, its not like QNX and BB10 is a surprise or anything, so something tells me these were late decisions. However there are others too, which have not yet announced if they will be coming to BB10.
Spotify, EyeEm, Google Maps.. 3 examples of apps I do actually find helpful to have on my Blackberry, none of which are available, and some which may never be available. We have heard so much about how Android apps port over with ease to BB10, so why are these apps not there yet? I subscribe to Spotify, so am keen to know if I will get it back on my Blackberry or not. And Whatsapp is great for staying in touch with non BB users. Its not a great app, laggy to say the least, but its handy for the occasional hi message. For now, I will have to rely on my good old fashioned SMS messages, of which I have unlimited. Thats a relief.
One other app I NEED to have back is BeBuzz or similar. A flashing red LED just doesnt do it for me. I need my colours back. Someone please port over a decent app for this ASAP!
Summary
So now I am getting used to the Z10, everything is fitting into place. Happy with the camera, but will never be as instant to use as my trusty 9700 and 9900. Software is a delight, BB10 really is a change of direction and hopefully fortune for Blackberry. The Hub, simply brilliant concept which works well in the real world, once you get used to how it functions.
Its just seeing how this battery will pan out, and getting a few more mainstream non business focused apps out there for the end user, and asap.
PS...
Dear Blackberry, (and EE)
I am STILL not impressed by the lack of accessories with the Z10. For a new device on the market I was really hoping to get something to slip the handset into. For now I will have to use one of the funky socks for the iPod.
Once I get a chance I shall accessorize with some new headphones and a decent case. Although the battery cover flip case for the Galaxy range would be ace for the Z10 *wink wink
Right thats me done, thanks for reading, and I shall report back with more next time there is something to tell.
In the meantime be sure to check out the camera test blog. More camera tests will follow shortly with different subject matter and lighting conditions.
Z10 Camera test against Galaxy S2
First impressions of the Z10
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