Android

I'd been using the iPhone 3GS for 2 years and finally got sick of it. I decided to switch to Android and recontracted a Samsung Galaxy S II with Optus. I've had the new phone for more than a week now so here's a few thoughts on this phone and more importantly on Android as well.

I'm not really gonna brag about the hardware of this phone cos you probably have all heard about it. Duo-core processor, super AMOLED plus, 8MP camera and mobile high-definition link (MHL). A bit of overkill to any current iPhones, but the best part is it's cheaper than the iPhone 4.

After my first long phone call on the SGS2 I realized it is a phone, while iPhone was anything but a phone. I can't really remember how many times I had to call out 'sorry what was that' during calls when there's only digital gibberish coming through and then the call dropped. I don't really have to do that with the SGS II unless it was my limitation in English. And they say 3GS was not the worst iPhone in terms of reception.

The Android system does take a little time to get used to. you have a bit more space than just the dock to place your favourite apps, but the home/apps button has to take one of the four spots on the dock. You got multiple home screens you could put various widgets on to see contents without having to opening the app, or if you like shortcuts of apps from the app page. They are easy to use generally and I am happy with them.

I haven't rooted my system but I will definitely do it soon because I need to remove some of the apps that comes with the phone which I don't need but cannot remove without root access. Even without the rooting the customization on Android is beyond belief. I spent like 3 hours just to adjust my live wallpaper to a pattern that I absolutely love and had great fun doing so. Btw iOS does not offer live wallpapers at all and when I first get it it doesn't even support wallpapers except on the lock screen. To install apps not from the market place however, all you need is to check that option, nothing like jailbreaking or the like.

The screen is absolutely amazing. It doesn't have the resolution that iPhone 4 has, but you won't believe the colour because of the technology of the display itself. There is no true black on any LCD screens because those pixels cannot completely shut off the back light, while the AMOLED screen doesn't need a backlight, the pixels light themselves up. I didn't realize how much difference that made until I turned on my iPhone again one day.

The back of the SGS2 is openable which means you can change your battery or have a spare one with you. It takes Micro SD cards too. I've already ordered a 32G one from eBay and it's already on its way.

The only thing that I found Android being inferior to iOS so far the touch screen. While the hardware technology should be the same Android lacked a bit of friendliness. In iOS if you tap and hold on say a webpage there would not be anything until you release or swiped, but in Android there would be some annoying menus popping up that I had to close again and again. I can't just hold it and then slowly navigate through as I read. This might be my bad habit brought over from iOS but it really annoyed me. The soft keys "menu" and "back" are handy because they freed quite a bit of space on the screen but they are a bit too easy to be mistouched especially when you are operating the phone with one hand. Also in a lot of cases the "back" key registered twice when pressed once for me.

I don't think I'd regret this choice, and I don't plan to go back to iPhone.

Carbon Tax? No Thank You!

Global warming? Yes it is happening and we all feel it, but you might want to learn the other name of it, interglacial age. Human has been powerful for the history but not against geological activities of the earth. People claim that human activity caused the global warming, well change that term to interglacial age and you will see how ridiculous that thought is. This is not something human should even be worried about happening, it is happening and all we have to do is to adapt to it instead of trying hopelessly to stop or delay it happening. Adapting yourself to the environment instead of trying to change the environment has been the case all through human history, any counter-attempt has been failure (think things like Three Gorges Dam in China). Yes the human race getting ever more powerful but still not comparable to nature.

Stop feeling guilty and think it's your fault that the earth is getting warmer. It's just the nature.

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are being emitted into the atmosphere all the time, even before the existence of human, and there are more reasons for interglacial age happening such as relative distance between the earth and the sun and solar activity. Who are to be taxed? Fossil fuel (petrol, diesel, natural gas, coal etc) of course, let's start with that. Human breath releases carbon dioxide too, then tax it! Your pets' breath? Tax it! Squirrels that run across your roof? Tax it! Ants in your garden? Tax it! Going to the zoo with kids on a weekend? Tax it! That's only the primarily affected of a carbon tax. You might think cost of driving will increase that's it? Things that use fossil fuels ublic transport, or transportation in general, electricity (except the "dirty" nuclear and "clean" solar) will go up too. Is that it? Think stuff that require electricity: manufacturing, every piece of electronic gadget you love, and the microwave and vacuum you don't love as much... If I go on that is basically everything.

Temperature on earth has been fluctuating from the very beginning of its existence, and it will act that way until the end.

I know that some other countries are already taxing carbon, that does not justify the carbon tax itself. It is happening does not mean it is right, other countries are doing it does not mean Australia should too. And we should also look at which countries are taxing carbon, not the two biggest carbon producers, China and the US, which counted for more than 30% of carbon emission globally. The amount of Australian carbon emission is close to 1/30 comparing to US and roughly 1/40 comparing to China. What is the significance of carbon emission from Australia anyway? Let's be (way way overly) optimistic and say after taxing carbon all the carbon emission in Australia is eliminated (you don't even breathe out carbon dioxide that is in "fear" of paying the tax), that is less than 1.5% of global carbon emission. I doubt that would even delay the global warming (let's set a goal for it and say to 2C rise of temperature) for a month. and in realistic the government is targeting 5~15% reduction out of that less than 1.5%, which is around 0.15%, it would not delay it coming for even a day. And that amount could be easily filled by coal-hungry China.

On the other hand, it is not possible to get all countries working together, because there are smarter and less greedy governments who realize we cannot change the situation anyway, why not just let them have the money and stay happy for at least the rest of their lives?

Even if carbon emission is to be blamed for this "global warming", Australians are not responsible for it.

Think in the long run and think of your great grand children? Do we really have a "long run" on earth? I don't really believe in 2012 myself but I think extinction of human is perfectly possible and possibly inevitable in time. The environment on earth could be changed but could never be destroyed by human, it could well change to a point where it is no longer suitable for humans to live on (this may or may not be caused by human themselves) and still be there. If we are smart enough by that point we will be able to leave earth and find somewhere else more suitable to live, if not, we will extinct just like dinosaurs and appear in elementary school textbooks (if they still call it that) of another intelligent species who discovered our kind.

And how willing are Australian people to pay that sort of tax? Well polls say 58% Australians are not happy with it and 28% are willing to pay at the moment, while Qantas found only 7% passengers are willing to pay $2 for carbon offset during their flight. I think the 7% figure might have been more indicative because those people are actually paying but the rest of the 28% are just saying. And to put a note on that Qantas is definitely not amongst the cheapest airlines around, and I (meaning not rich) would gladly give $2 for a passable musician or something on the streets.

What do they need the money for? You'd be blind not to see the hollowness Kevin Rudd left on the budget after giving everyone $900 (note he inherited a surplus from John Howard to begin with). You think that's for free? Think again. They'd only do that so they stay in power and rip you off more.

In one word this carbon tax thing is just another bullshit that the government pulls to rip you off. The end.