Politics & Taxes

OK, so normally, I'm not much of a ranter... but when something bugs me, I just have to let it out. I don't know if its my Yorkshire genes that made me this way, or the way that my parents raised me, but I don't see the point in keeping things in. After all, how do you expect something to change if you don't let those responsible, know you have an issue with something.

Politics & Taxes... OMG... (that's Oh My God for those that don't use text speak)... They infuriate me... (Politics and Taxes; not people that don't use text speak). I mean, OK... So I didn't vote and I usually when the news comes to this subject, it's usually a sign for me to shut my brain down or switch over, but enough is enough.

The government whinge, moan and whine over the economy, and how we are in a dire recession (not sure there is a 'good' recession), but yet they continually raise taxes and fuel prices... and what's there excuse for doing such??? To boost the economy and raise more money.

"ARE YOU COMPLETELY STUPID?"

I didn't go to Oxford and I didn't go to collage... Damn... I don't even have any GCSE's... But, what I do know, is that in layman's terms, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity such as employment and household spending. And why aren't households spending??? Because everything is so expensive... People can't afford to spend money.


Here's just one example...


The average fuel tank costs around £70 - £100 to fill... apart from that being ridiculous (not to mention greedy), families can't afford to pay out £100 in fuel alone to go away at the weekend, and then when they do go away, its costing them even more in food, accommodation and activities because the companies that provide these services have also boosted their prices to enable them to pay for their amenities (which have also gone up in costs)... This results in Mr & Mrs Bloggs, spending the weekend sitting in front of the telly doing nothing and saving what little, hard earned cash they have... 


So I put to you Mr Cameron... Does it not make sense, (as apposed to spending BILLIONS of the countries hard earned cash on Nuclear submarines that won't be read until 2025 and that we clearly don't need) that if you were to lower taxes and the cost of fuel, that people would then be able (and more happy) to spend more money, to go on that weekend away, etc... thus (slowly) bringing the country out of recession ???


Please like and share this post... It's not often that I actually ask people to share my work... But I really think this matters, to all of us. Because clearly, our PM is more concerned with making money for the government to spend on things we just don't need to be spending it on (such as said Subs, which are clearly a statement more than anything else and if come 2025, when they are ready, we are still in an age that requires such 'peace keeping' forces then I would imagine it will be 'us' that is at the disadvantage).


Rant Over! :)

Samsung Galaxy Ace 2... Is It Really Reaching Its Potential?

Because I realise that not everyone needs a 1.5GHz quad-core, all singing, all dancing smart phone with true HD screen and 8MP camera. (I said 'realise'... doesn't mean I don't understand why). But, either way... I thought I'd write a post on what's set to be the benchmark setter for the next tier down... The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is very much a sequel to the original Ace, and is doesn't just stop at the name. The guys at Samsung have obviously taken a note from the previous success of the original in terms of the design, only adding a little more curve to it, making it more rounded.

It does have a more solid a feel than it's predecessor. However, as with most Samsung's, it still feel a little tacky, a bit flimsy and a bit cheap, but the weight and build quality feels about right for a phone that will likely land in the £200-£300 category SIM free.

I think one of the largest letdowns about the new Galaxy Ace 2 is its lack of Ice Cream Sandwich, despite having a dual core 800MHz processor, you'd have thought it being more than up to the job of becoming the baseline model for the new version of Android, and with no current rumours coming from Samsung as to whether the new OS will be emerging on the handset, this could be the end before it begins. That said... the market the new Galaxy Ace 2 is aimed at, quite possibly won't care what version of Android its running.

I think the biggest let down of the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is its processing power... it's not what you expect for what could have been the leader of this category of phone. Jumping from app to app, opening trays and using apps isn't as smooth as you would expect (or hope). Which is a surprise considering the 800MHz Dual core should be more than capable of the task.

The camera hasn't changed either. Still 5MP and still with a single LED flash. Again, the speed of the processor lets it down again, with the shutter speed seeming somewhat delayed, meaning you could quite possibly miss that perfect shot you were trying to capture.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is definitely a step in the right direction for a handset in this category – it's, faster, smoother and has slightly improved build quality.
However, I can't help but feel it could have been so much better. 

BUT... I use a HTC One X, so maybe, just maybe... I'm setting my benchmark a little high.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is now available on Three on a variety of tariffs.

Reaching The Mark? The New Samsung Galaxy S3

Right, so I have to get clear off-the-bat, that I'm not a big fan of Samsung phones. As I've said in previous posts, there was something with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that didn't quite 'click' with me and I think that was down to the way Samsung phones handle the front end of Android Ice Cream Sandwich. But, needless to say, I do know that the new Samsung Galaxy S3 will have been eagerly awaited by those Galaxy S2 fans out there, and to those of you that this is aimed at, this could be the phone of the year for you. Samsung's new 'flagship handset' so-to-speak. So to keep this as professional as I can, I will try to be as un-biased as possible and give it the credit it deserves. 

One of the things I really disliked about the Galaxy S2, was it's flat, boring, rectangular shape, almost without any curves whatsoever. Samsung have ditched this, and opted for a more oval shaped approach, very much like the Galaxy Nexus. (Which I have to say, is a very pretty phone), and lets be fair... What your phone looks like, is becoming more and more important when choosing it. So already, Samsung have got a +1 in my books for the looks of the Galaxy S3. It's also considerably bigger than its predecessor, the S2. 4.8 inch corner to corner, JUST slightly larger than my HTC One X, making it one of the largest smartphones on the market. Obviously no where near the size of the Samsung Galaxy Note... but that's just ridiculous :P

Another interesting feature coming from Samsung with the S3, is that you can now get it in either white or blue... That's a new one... I can't say I've seen many blue phones about. This will add somewhat a distinction to the handset when stood around on the train, bus stop, or wherever you are when looking at what phone the person next to you is using. You'll easily be able to identify that it's a Galaxy S3.

Following in the Galaxy Nexus' footprint (and in keeping up with the trend), the new Galaxy S3 is also has a true HD screen, matching the HTC One X's 1280 x 720, although the S3 uses Super AMOLED screen, whereas the HTC One X uses Super LCD 2. I'm sure there will be some uber boffins out there that will correct me on this, but to me, the truth is that it's getting harder and harder to distinguish between all these technologies, as both theses screens are superb.

The Galaxy S3 comes with an 8-megapixel camera, which is the same resolution as last year's Galaxy S2. Although It might not have increased the pixel count, it does have some new and quite cool features, including one of my favourites from the Galaxy Nexus, which was its ability to capture a shot the split second you hit the shutter button, with no lag whatsoever, thus making sure you NEVER miss a shot, as well as other common features such as face and smile detection.

The S3 packs a powerful quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz (not quite the 1.5GHz of the HTC One X - but what's 0.1GHz between friends), which should make it more than capable when playing high-resolution video and graphically demanding games. However, I have noticed with the HTC One X, that as phones get more powerful, the apps and games that are released are equally becoming more demanding, making it un-noticeable that you are using a phone with just as much (or in some cases) more power than  your home PC or laptop. But I suppose, that was to be expected. Needless to say, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is definitely up there with the big boys when it comes to processing power.

All the usual toys are packed into the S3 too, such as Samsung Beam (S Beam), which works very similar to the NFC features on HTC and other android phones, allowing you to instantly pass data from one phone to another, only this time, as apposed to going over NFC, S Beam uses wifi, making it slightly faster (if that's possible).

I think the newest toy to come with the Galaxy S3 is the new S Voice... a strike back at Apple's Siri. Siri well and truly stole the majority of the limelight in the aftermath of the iPhone 4S launch: It could be said, that the iPhone 4S was marketed almost exclusively for it’s voice assistant feature. But what the people loved, more than actually productive stuff like scheduling appointments or sending texts, were the more... random commands (some of which are admittedly hilarious), such as telling Siri 'I love you' and asking 'where is the best place to hide a body?'. Each one coming back with a witty answer, such as 'but we barely know each other' and listing places such as local tips, morgues and rivers. But now it's Samsung's turn. In addition to initiating calls, S Voice can wake the phone, request songs, send emails and text messages, use the calendar app, adjust the volume, capture photos, snooze the alarm and enquire about the weather, making Siri old news. For now, Samsung says this feature will support eight languages, including, among others, Spanish, German, Korean and American / British English.

In Summary, it would seem that there's not a great deal of change with the Galaxy S3, other than upgrading all the major components... but, with the S2 being such a huge success, there wasn't a great deal to change other than bringing it in to the current (ever changing) times. And although I won't be rushing out to get my hands on one, I'm confident it will be the success that the Galaxy S2 was last year.

The Cookie Law

On 26th May 2012 all UK websites must offer their users a consent mechanism to allow cookies to store information about your browsing activity and potentially pass this to 3rd parties. This includes tools such as Google Maps, Google Analytics, social sharing buttons and many more! But what does this mean for your website?

What are cookies?
Cookies are a small sweet cake (biscuit), typically round, flat, and crisp. The best cookies usually have chocolate chips in them, or (my personal favourite) are chocolate biscuits with chocolate chip cookies in them... #NomNom... OK.. slightly off track there. In the digital world, cookies are small text files that are stored on the user's computer (yours) to remember choices as you navigate round the site. They are used to remember user preferences, to track site performance and to target advertising. Essentially making your user journey better.

What is the law?
‘The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive)(Amendment) Regulations 2011’ has been commonly referred to for at least the last 12 months as the ‘Cookie Law’.

What does it do?
In short, it means that all website operators are now required to ask a website user’s permission when placing certain types of cookies on their devices or computers. They must also explain what they are and why they are placed there.

When did it become law?
26 May 2011, and assumed that browser technology could be used to manage cookie permissions. However, this was not the case, and the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) declared a suspension on enforcing the law until 26 May 2012 by when browser developments would have caught up. Again, this has not proved to be the case, which has left all website operators with the task of implementing measures to comply. With no practical guidance being issued by the ICO on how to do this, companies are taking their lead from the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce).

What can be done?
To ensure your site complies with the law, your Privacy Policy on your sites must explain the different types of cookies used and how you use them. There are four categories of cookies summarised as; strictly necessary, performance, functionality and targeting. In addition, users have to give permissions to allow categories two to four.

What else can be done?
The ICC have interpreted the law to mean that you can gather consent for category one to three cookies by agreement to terms and conditions or privacy policy. Category four, which is what the law was specifically targeted for, and requires explicit consent.

Hungry for more cookies?
For more information on the Cookie Law, visit The Cookie Collective, or visit BBC Food (I know which I prefer :)