Google and it’s BS…

I love Apple and I love Tech yet I am not one of those mindless Apple Fan which I call them Apple Zombie. From time to time people will ask me should he get an Android Phone or an iPhone. My answer so far is iPhone. From time to time Android fan will want to engage in a debate with me that Android is better. In my opinion they always lost. Anyway whenever these sort of debate happens one of the BIG point that every Android supporter will throw at me will be “Android is OPEN, Apple is a close garden, Apple makes money in a way they prevent others to operate in their platform.” This point is very valid for the past but not anymore my dear Android fanboys/girls. Today I come across this article: Google’s Eric Chu explains Android Marketplace rejections, in-app purchases

Rejecting Kongregate with reason like: “It’s clear within our terms of services that you should not distribute a competing marketplace or store”. Touting your platform is open and rejecting with such reason are basically stepping on your own foot. Separating the debate to Android is open but not Android Market place therefore we (Google) is Open. This argument is like: mentally I love you, physically I stab you on the back. However me as a person I am nice and I love you. To top it off with Google need to control tightly to maintain quality experience for Android user, how is Kongregate degrading the Android experience it is crashing or memory hogging like the thousands of Android App that is on Android market place which is approved by you?  To make it even worst when you are doing this interview Kongregate got through your “Approval Team” by just some small alternation which doesn’t changes it nature at all. Now how is that controlling tightly? In fact that shows sloppy approval process.

So Android or Google fanboys please stop telling me Android is Open, is NOT. Stop telling me Google is about giving power, help people and is a good guy. Google is not he is just like every other company on the planet which is trying to make more money. So come out from your Google cocoon and realize you are supporting a brand/company like every body else. That being said I still are supporter/user for various Google technologies and services.

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Published:
01/27/2011 – 04:00
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By jefflyndon
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My computer set-up 3.0

I was first introduce to computer when I was 13 years old. Back then everyone have 1 computer either at Home or a computer at work. Eventually everyone have a computer at Home and Work. This is the 1.0 era. 10 years ago, I start using PDA a Sony Clie. I have an extra set important work and data save on it so I can have my work kind of to go. Later on I also have USB mini drives. This era is 1.5. Aroun 7 or 8 years ago the 2.0 era hit me. I finally got a laptop (technically is not a laptop you can never place them on your lap!). In this era, most people include me decide to dump the home desktop as saving stuff in USB, Online Storage or PDA doesn’t really works well. Having a single computer which you can carry around work and home is the perfect solution! 3, 4 years ago iPhone hit the world during this period is the 2.5 era for me where I start using some cloud service, saving data locally on my phone, lugging my laptop around…

Now comes my 3.0 set up. So far it work seamlessly and perfectly. Macbook Pro i7, iMac i5, iPad 3G, iPhone4, Dropbox & Logmein. Most Tech Geeks are already on this set up while other tech geeks that have different approach probably knows where I am heading. For the rest here is my explanation.

Macbook Pro i7 – Home or Office. I use the Macbook Pro mainly at home these days. I only bring it with me if I am on travels or I need to do full on presentations.

iMac i5- Office, this is my office machine. Working extensively with computer, a big screen means A LOT. Especially when you are working on spreadsheets, documents and stuffs…

iPad 3G- I have all the components: VGA connector for presentation, Card Reader when I am on photo shoot, Moleskin dual Pad case with iStroke. The iPad serve me during meetings, a secondary computer during work, minor presentation, on transit and so on…

iPhone4- My phone, media player, gaming device… my iPhone4 comes with me almost everywhere.

Dropbox- Synchronize all the data across- iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPad. So all the data in all 4 devices are sync and everything is within my grasp!

Logmein – In case I didn’t dropboxed a files I can remote back to the machine and dropbox the file. I can also get some work done via my iPhone or iPad while I am remote my home or work machines.

This set up allows me to only bring iPad and iPhone to work everyday decreasing the weight I lug around. At my personal time, I only need to bring iPhone. I can travel long or short and didn’t need to worries about files on any devices are left. I am always connected and in control.

Macbook Air, personally with this set up. Netbooks and Macbook Air is useless and I don’t see much use in the future. The only use of these device is for people who need high mobility while their work doesn’t require much computing power. For example journalist.

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Published:
11/28/2010 – 18:21
Author:
By jefflyndon
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IMHO 1 of the best lyric in HK Pop history: 最佳損友

最佳損友 (The best “bad” friend) This is a pretty old song of Eason Chan considering he have tons of songs every year. This song touches me every time I hears it. Especially as I am growing older. The song is about friendship.

Here is my poor attempt to translate it:

I will see you as friend for one second, I will see you as friend for a life time.

Strange is there aren’t any history really need to turn our head back. Yet I often missed the relationship.

Friend you have try to save me, Friend you have try to criticize me.

We now can no longer venture together. Yet I am grateful to have such a Best “Bad” Friend

We once can sit together, drink and talk till morning. I had lots of fun did you?

There are lot of things which I can only give you or save it forever.

Others will not be able to understand and you did step into my life.

Even now there is a big trench in the relationship and destiny had decide that we cannot be friends anymore. Yet we still have a very thick history together.

If you ask, is there a reason to avoid you for so long, well I don’t. There aren’t big hate yet why can’t old friends become friend forever.

I can’t tell are you my enemy or friends anymore, I can’t see through. We are all push and drag by life and moving along. Yesterday’s good friend have become bystander.

Until you have betrayed me, I never value this relation.

I would love that one day we can all forget about the past and drink together again.

But in life, every encounters, we walk together to certain junction, are we friends or enemies we both can’t control it. Position changes, we have new team mates.

We knew when we disband, we will all have our own guide. Yet the weird part is we accepted the fact of be depart but we still cry secretly. The feeling separation anxiety is as tough as couple breaks up.

Did you miss this (me) old friend? or actually you have forget about the pass already? In any case I rather having a relationship where we once were best friend and later we won’t be, then never meeting you.

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Published:
10/03/2010 – 03:33
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By jefflyndon
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iOS4 Game Center Review

Yesterday I finally got a chance to sit down and try out Game Center that comes with iOS4.1 update. Here are my personal opinion and view to it.

In my opinion, Game Center will inevitably become the mother ship of social gaming on the iOS environment. The plans they have are not simple leaderboards and achievements system but more like player matching and social community. Being a product of Apple’s and is pre-embedded into the 4.1 update. Game Center can afford being lack of features at launch, taking a few wrong directions and still capable of delivering a strong punch to the other 3 players: Plus+, Openfeint and Scoreloop. However can Game Center kill them? likely not.

My experience so far with Game Center are quite mix. First the good side, the Application itself is very smooth, snappy and responsive. The layout is ok but the design of it is kind of weird. The theme is base on a gambling table which I am not sure why. I am not fond with the UI nor do I hate it, yet I believe Apple could have come up with some more stylish and Apple like. Plus+ and Openfeint did pretty well in their UI in my opinion.

Functionality wise, I find Game Center quite lacking behind. First as a social gaming hub, adding friends should be EASY and I should be able to add them in mass. Importing Email from iPhone contact list or manually entering Nickname is not really effective. Where is Facebook and Twitter? That should be a very simple and default function that Game Center should come with. Another virtue of social gaming is finding new friends. In GC case looking at games you own and who have recently played should be a good way to find friends. Yet so far none of the game I have support it so I can’t discover new friend to befriend with. Checking on leaderboard seeing the names on it is great but then again, no way for me to press on the person to add him as friend or check his profile. One other thing that I find Game Center serious lacking is the default UI for developer to incorporate Game Center to their game. For example, Openfeint have a standard UI for Developer to use hence reducing the time require to integrate Openfeint.

There aren’t any game so far which I find using the Multiplayer matching system of Game Center so I cannot comment on this aspect yet. It also seems like the 3 players is still developing on how to integrate themselves with Game Center. Once they figure this out, I believe Game Center will be very populated. Since Openfeint alone can bring thousands of game into the system.

As for the million dollar question, will Game Center kill the 3 players. Personally I think it will eventually deliver a serious punch to the Plus+, Openfeint and Scoreloop yet each of them will survive. With multi-platform capability for Openfeint and Scoreloop, developer will still consider their solution especially when Android is on the horizon. As for Plus+ I think they have created a very niche market and will take more then one serious punch to really do any serious damage to them. As long as they have integration with Game Center.

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Published:
09/10/2010 – 17:12
Author:
By jefflyndon
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YES! Magazine Interview ~

Today I went to buy a YES! magazine at 7-11. The counter lady was looking at me with the weirdest look on her face. She is probably thinking, why the hell is a 27 year old guy buying YES! ? The last time I brought YES! magazine is probably when I was like in Grade 6 or 7. So what makes me purchase a YES! today? well because there is an interview on my new game Aliens need Brains. Here is the scan copy of the page of my interview. For reader who cannot read Chinese I will summarize the article in English for you:

  • 100% locally develop
  • HK’s First iPhone4 3D Game
  • Aliens need Brains is fun and engaging
  • Develop by HK Veteran Game developer: Jeff Lyndon, Pak Lok and Vincent

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Published:
09/09/2010 – 20:05
Author:
By jefflyndon
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