Day Two with the New Nexus 7 2013 - When the original Nexus 7 was announced last year, I immediately pre-ordered one and waited impatiently for its arrival. Time to Frolic! - It is now time to frolic!
I had been an Android aficianado for some time—having owned several Android phones and tablets. At that time, Laura and I both had ASUS Transformer Prime 10" tablets and Motorola Droid X smartphones. I found myself drawn to the 7" Nexus 7, imagining that its size would be ideal for daily use. The Prime is an amazingly capable device but is too large for daily carry.
I was impressed by the quality and performance of the ASUS Transformer Prime, and since the Nexus 7 was built by ASUS, I had no reservations concerning ordering one. I quickly found that the Nexus 7 became an integral part of my daily routine. I went nowhere without it. It was my constant companion.
When the new Nexus 7 2013 was announced, I immediately pre-ordered one. Although the Nexus 7 2013 was scheduled to go on sale today, I was fortunate enough to have my order filled last week, and I took delivery yesterday morning. I charged the battery and set up my various accounts. Google restored all my apps with a minimum of interaction on my part. I reset my Nexus 7 2012 to factory settings and set it aside for delivery later that day to its new owner.
I will not engage in a lengthy discourse on the Nexus 7 2013. The Internet is replete with in-depth reviews of the unit. I shall speak merely of my personal experience with the device.
The new Nexus 7 2013 is astounding. Even that adjective insufficiently describes it! The original Nexus 7 was ground-breaking, and it quickly became the most popular tablet on the market. The new Nexus 7 2013 incorporates many additions and enhancements and maintains the same basic build elements that made the original Nexus 7 so popular.
One immediately sees a great difference between the display of the two tablets. The Nexus 7 (2013) has a 1,920 x 1,200 LCD IPS panel, rated at 323 pixels per inch. The Nexus 7 2012 has a 800 x 1,280 LCD IPS display, rated at 216ppi. That is a 107ppi difference between the two devices! Numbers speak of the enhancement of the display, of course, but viewing the display is the real eye-opener! It is without question the most brilliantly impressive display to be found on any device!
Once the battery was charged and the unit was set up, I immediately opened the Netflix app and viewed a few minutes of several movies. WOW! That says it all! The display cannot be described. It must be seen!
The Nexus 7 2013 has a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz. The Nexus 7 2012 has a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, clocked at 1.2GHz. The overall performance difference is very impressive. Apps open and close with blinding speed, and there is absolutely no discernible lag to be seen in any operation or game-play! For example, selecting and adding movies to my Instant Queue with Netflix was accomplished so quickly that at first I did not think they were actually being added.
The new Nexus 7 2013 has a 5MP rear-facing camera. The Nexus 7 2012 has no rear-facing camera. Both units have a 1.2MP front-facing camera.
The 2013 model doubles the RAM to 2GB. This—coupled with the much speedier CPU—greatly enhances operation efficiency and overall performance.
The new Nexus 7 has stereo speakers. The original Nexus 7 has only one speaker. The new Nexus 7 has stunning sound. The new virtual surround sound actually had me looking over my shoulder at times while playing a movie!
Android 4.3 adds some enhancements to the previous version (4.2.2), and if one has a Nexus 7 2012, I strongly recommend updating to Android 4.3. A significant performance improvement will be realized by doing so.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Day Two with the New Nexus 7 2013 and Time to Frolic!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Operation Wicked Web and Bizarre News
Operation "Wicked Web" - A three-month undercover investigation in Tehama County dubbed "Operation Wicked Web" has culminated with the arrests of 26 people, including one minor. District attorney investigators have been identifying people who use the Internet for criminal activity, specifically narcotics dealers and sexual predators.
Investigators arranged to buy and sell drugs with people they met while chatting online. Authorities also posed as underage children and talked with persons who were interested in having sex with minors. In each case, the persons were identified and subsequently arrested. Bizarre News -
As always, today's news is replete with oddities.
Here are Photographs, Names, and Charges of Suspects in "Operation Wicket Web":
Thursday, November 08, 2012
The wonderful (80+) warm weather we have been enjoying has departed us—likely until next spring. It was wonderful while it lasted. Today, the high is forecast to be a mere 54 degrees! Rather than complain, however, I shall simply treasure my memories of warmer days and anticipate with great enthusiasm the return of the warmth!
Laura produced another stellar breakfast this morning. I so hungered for it that when she brought it to the table, she found me immobile—great quantities of drool seeping from my mouth, my eyes glazed and fixed, my pulse rapid and irregular—producing odd animal-like sounds. She placed THIS before me:
Click image to enlarge
and I was quickly restored fully! Thank you, Laura!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Bad Hair Day, Don't Look Up!, -and- Line up the Votes
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 12, 1968 - Born in Australia, Hugh Jackman is the youngest of five children. He began his acting career on stage and appeared in several Melbourne musicals. He has since won international recognition for his roles as superheroes, most notably Wolverine in X-Men. He has also held roles in Kate & Leopold, Van Helsing, The Prestige, and Australia. He was named People magazine's" Sexiest Man Alive" in 2008. |
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On this Day in History: October 12, 1492 - After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. |
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Thursday, October 11, 2012
ID Please, Smile!, -and- Let's Eat!
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 11, 1925 - Elmore Leonard was inspired by Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. His determination to be a writer stayed with him through a stint in the Navy and a job in advertising. His early published work was mostly westerns, including 3:10 to Yuma. When that genre became less popular, Leonard turned to crime novels set in Detroit, including Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight. |
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On this Day in History: October 11, 1986 - Following up on their successful November 1985 summit meeting in Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, to continue discussions about curbing their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe. Just when it appeared that agreement might be reached, the talks fell apart amid accusations and recriminations, and U.S.-Soviet relations took a giant step backwards. |
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Fighting Back, Valley of the Dolls, -and- Alien
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 10, 1969 - NFL quarterback Brett Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1969. The son of a football coach, Favre attended the University of Southern Mississippi. After a stellar college career, Favre was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1991 NFL draft. Following his trade to the Green Bay Packers the next year, Favre led the franchise to victory in the Super Bowl XXXI. He was also named the league's MVP three years in a row. After shorter stints with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. |
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On this Day in History: October 10, 1985 - The hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro reaches a dramatic climax when U.S. Navy F-14 fighters intercept an Egyptian airliner attempting to fly the Palestinian hijackers to freedom and force the jet to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily. American and Italian troops surrounded the plane, and the terrorists were taken into Italian custody. |
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Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Feed Me!, Going to Pot, -and- Animal Kingdom
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 9, 1948 - Jackson Browne is a German-born American singer, pianist and guitarist who helped define the singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s. Browne performed with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in the late 1960s. In 1972, he released his debut solo album featuring the hit "Doctor My Eyes". He also wrote songs of the Eagles (notably "Take It Easy"). His style is diverse, from rock to romantic folk to reggae. |
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On this Day in History: October 9, 1967 - Socialist revolutionary and guerilla leader Che Guevara, age 39, is killed by the Bolivian army. The U.S.-military-backed Bolivian forces captured Guevara on October 8 while battling his band of guerillas in Bolivia and assassinated him the following day. His hands were cut off as proof of death and his body was buried in an unmarked grave. In 1997, Guevara's remains were found and sent back to Cuba, where they were reburied in a ceremony attended by President Fidel Castro and thousands of Cubans. |
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Monday, October 08, 2012
The Tutors, Ouch!, -and- You Are What You Eat
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 8, 1949 - Sigourney Weaver was born in New York City to a show business background. Her mother was an English actress and her father was president of NBC. Though self conscious about her height and looks, Weaver acted in off-Broadway shows, and had her big break in the 1979 film Alien. Weaver appeared in many films throughout the next three decades, including Ghost Busters, Working Girl, Aliens, and Avatar. Weaver has been nominated for three Academy Awards. |
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On this Day in History: October 8, 1871 - Flames spark in the Chicago barn of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary, igniting a two-day blaze that kills between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; $3 billion in 2007 dollars) in damages. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in the O'Leary barn and started the fire, but other theories hold that humans or even a comet may have been responsible for the event that left four square miles of the Windy City, including its business district, in ruins. Dry weather and an abundance of wooden buildings, streets and sidewalks made Chicago vulnerable to fire. The city averaged two fires per day in 1870; there were 20 fires throughout Chicago the week before the Great Fire of 1871. |
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Friday, October 05, 2012
See Ya Later, Animal Kingdom, -and- Disorder in the Court
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 5, 1951 - Bob Geldolf’s band the Boomtown Rats had a couple of hits in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until Geldof formed the pop charity Band Aid trust in 1984 that he became widely known. The trust raised $8 million for Africa famine relief through the release of the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and in 1985, "Live Aid" concerts were held in London and Philadelphia, which raised a further $48 million. |
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On this Day in History: October 5, 1892 - The famous Dalton Gang attempts the daring daylight robbery of two Coffeyville, Kansas, banks at the same time. But if the gang members believed the sheer audacity of their plan would bring them success, they were sadly mistaken. Instead, they were nearly all killed by quick-acting townspeople. For a year and a half, the Dalton Gang had terrorized the state of Oklahoma, mostly concentrating on train holdups. Though the gang had more murders than loot to their credit, they had managed to successfully evade the best efforts of Oklahoma law officers to bring them to justice. Perhaps success bred overconfidence, but whatever their reasons, the gang members decided to try their hand at robbing not just one bank, but at robbing the First National and Condon Banks in their old hometown of Coffeyville at the same time. |
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Thursday, October 04, 2012
Stupid Criminals, Hey Robin!, -and- Flower Power
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 4, 1923 - Actor Charlton Heston made his film debut in the 1941 production of Peer Gynt. His physique and deep voice landed him some of the most heroic roles in the history of motion pictures: Planet of the Apes, The Ten Commandments, and Ben-Hur (1959, Oscar). He also directed for film and television, including Antony and Cleopatra. He was married to Lydia Marie Clarke from 1944 until his death in 2008. |
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On this Day in History: October 4, 1957 - The Soviet Union inaugurates the "Space Age" with its launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for "satellite," was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic. Sputnik had a diameter of 22 inches and weighed 184 pounds and circled Earth once every hour and 36 minutes. Traveling at 18,000 miles an hour, its elliptical orbit had an apogee (farthest point from Earth) of 584 miles and a perigee (nearest point) of 143 miles. Visible with binoculars before sunrise or after sunset, Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth strong enough to be picked up by amateur radio operators. Those in the United States with access to such equipment tuned in and listened in awe as the beeping Soviet spacecraft passed over America several times a day. In January 1958, Sputnik's orbit deteriorated, as expected, and the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere. |
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Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Sir Have You Been Drinking?, Hoarders, -and- Bad Hair Day
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 3, 1969 - Born in Anaheim, California, Gwen Stefani first gained popularity in the 1990s as the lead singer of No Doubt. She went on to have a highly successful solo career and launch her own clothing line, L.A.M.B. After parting ways with her No Doubt bandmates in the early 2000s to begin a solo career that would ultimately gain little traction, Stefani reunited with band in 2012. Soon after, they began working on a new album, |
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On this Day in History: October 3, 1995 - At the end of a sensational trial, former football star O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the brutal 1994 double murder of his estranged wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the epic 252-day trial, Simpson's "dream team" of lawyers employed creative and controversial methods to convince jurors that Simpson's guilt had not been proved "beyond a reasonable doubt," thus surmounting what the prosecution called a "mountain of evidence" implicating him as the murderer. Orenthal James Simpson--a Heisman Trophy winner, star running back with the Buffalo Bills, and popular television personality--married Nicole Brown in 1985. He reportedly regularly abused his wife and in 1989 pleaded no contest to a charge of spousal battery. In 1992, she left him and filed for divorce. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed and slashed to death in the front yard of Mrs. Simpson's condominium in Brentwood, Los Angeles. By June 17, police had gathered enough evidence to charge O.J. Simpson with the murders. |
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Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Drop the Mouse and Move Away From the Computer!, Ticket to Ride, -and- Somebody's Watching You
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 2, 1949 - Photographer Annie Leibovitz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1970 she took a job at Rolling Stone magazine. In 1983 she began working for the entertainment magazine Vanity Fair. During the late 1980s, Leibovitz started to work on a number of high-profile advertising campaigns. From the 1990s to the present, she has been publishing and exhibiting her work. |
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On this Day in History: October 2, 1963 - Hurricane Flora crashes into Haiti, killing thousands of people. This huge storm, which also killed large numbers of people in Cuba and wreaked havoc elsewhere in the Caribbean, was one of the most deadly hurricanes in history. On September 30, Flora reached hurricane status just east of the Caribbean. It then quickly became a Category 2 hurricane as it slammed into Trinidad and Tobago. There, it triggered several deadly landslides before moving on to the island of Grenada. Flora took a terrible toll on the small island, killing 36 people and seriously injuring another 500. |
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Monday, October 01, 2012
Allow Me, Come and Get It!, -and- The Great Pumpkin
Technology in the News Today
Born on this Day in History: October 1, 1963 - Born in California, Mark McGwire was one of the most powerful hitters in baseball during the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Oakland Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. In 1998, he set a record for the most home runs in a single season, which was broken in 2001 by Barry Bonds. In 2010, McGwire admitted to using steroids "off and on" for nearly a decade, including when he beat the home-run record in 1998. He also said that he didn't need performance-enhancing drugs, and that he believed he'd been "given a gift to hit home runs." |
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On this Day in History: October 1, 1890 - An act of Congress creates Yosemite National Park, home of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the giant sequoia trees. Environmental trailblazer John Muir (1838-1914) and his colleagues campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison and paved the way for generations of hikers, campers and nature lovers, along with countless "Don't Feed the Bears" signs. |
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