How to insult your Android-using friends / relatives this Christmas / New Year / Chinese New Year

So it’s the festive season again. If you are like me, this holiday is the perfect chance to tease, insult, those who have chosen, for whatever reason, to stand on Google’s side and use an Android.

Unlike some lesser countries it’s highly unlikely you will ever find yourself in a situation where the number of iPhone owners present is not at least 3 times the number of Android users present, unless there are only two of you or all your friends (I certainly hope not) are lifeless nerds.

Thus, almost always any public teasing of an Android user in the group will serve to both entertain the crowd, and possibly persuade those on the wrong side to start giving excuses like “Oh my 3GS dropped into the toilet bowl and I had to use this because it’s free”.

This list of fine insults will be constantly updated every time I think of something, but for now they will have to do. Don’t follow exactly, be flexible. Be smart about your insults. It always help to do them with a smile on your face. ^_^

Here goes.

General platform-based attacks, if you want to be lazy

“Wah… Your OS is so ugly. What kind of font is that? So messy…. This back button do what one? (Tap the touchscreen buttons carelessly so you will purposely miss activating the buttons a few times, then look frustrated) Wah….. So hard to use! Why like that one? The apps are so fugly… Even my ugliest iOS twitter app is nicer than all the twitter apps you have.”

Then, check if the Google Marketplace has been updated to the ICS-ish version. If it has, it’s bound to be laggy. Start doing some fast taps and swiping and once it starts lagging turn the phone around and show everyone else.

“Wah… Is this Google’s App Store? So confusing! How to navigate? Where to find my apps that have an update? (If your friend shows you how to access the updatable apps area, then on purpose tap the back button once or twice to get out of the area, then turn around to your friend and say) Eh gone? How to go back ah? Why so hard to go back one? How much did you pay for it again”

If they are using anything other than the Galaxy Nexus (which if you are in Singapore, most likely they won”t) then use the Gingerbread attack

“Wah… your phone’s software is so updated leh. Wasn’t Gingerbread ANNOUNCED in Oct 2010? (If your friend has a phone that’s only a few months old, like the Arc series or the Galaxy S2) My (his/her or anyone who has an old iPhone in the group) 3GS/iPhone 4 has a much newer OS than yours do. What kind of a new phone is that? How much did you pay for it again?”

Anytime they answer “Free”, you say this

“No wonder la. Cheap stuff crappy. Google OS is free so it’s crappy. Lousy stuff. Why you so cheapskate?”

If they answer “400+” or something expensive

“Why did you spend your money on something like this?”

And if it’s a samsung device or something that looks plasticky

“Cheap plastic all around… CMI design… It’s worth 400???”

Anytime you want to challenge camera capabilities, it’s almost obvious that the iPhone 4/4S will win. To make it more obvious, do the challenge at night. Then also try to invert the front and back cameras and then say this.

“Wah how to change to front camera? (After your friend shows you) Why so difficult one? Sad…”

Next, Battery life insults

No wonder what you think of your 4S’ battery life, just insist that the Android phone has pathetic battery life. Because it usually does. If the fellow tries to bullshit you just go with this.

“Eh… You lifeless ah? Might as well just get a dumb Nokia phone la. Why buy a smartphone?”

If they tries to argue that it’s their careful power management techniques that gives them decent battery life.

“Wah… see? You really lifeless. You have so much time to do silly things like turning off switches when you don’t need wifi”

Model specific insults

For large-screen phones (Anything above 4″, such as the Razr, the Galaxy S2, the Xperia Arc and Arc clones, except the Galaxy Nexus):

“Do you have swollen fingers? (smile, and ask like you are really puzzled) Is that why you can’t type properly on an iPhone and need such an oversized keyboard?”

or “Do you have terrible vision? (ask with a really serious face) Why do you need such a LOW res, large screen to see your SMSes on?”

Very obviously, if the phone has smaller than iPhone-size screens then laugh at the pathetic size. Or if it has broken rubber port covers then laugh at those too.

Always follow up on insults by touting some good features of iOS that Android users don’t have. My favorite is iMessage.

“iMessage is really fast and good. It’s like I’m SMSing and MMSing people but I don’t pay anything.”

You have to stop here, and DO NOT MENTION WHATSAPP, because this is a lure to make your Android silly friend mention WHATSAPP. Once he/she does, counterattack.

“Whatsapp? It’s so slow and pathetic! Sometimes always cannot connect one. Got server errors and downtimes. It’s really pathetic. The reason why I keep Whatsapp on my phone is for the benefit of the less fortunate people in society. People without access to iOS 5 are so unfortunate. Sometimes it helps to do some charity for these less fortunate people.”

I seem to remember having at least one more insult to type, but my brain is so dead now I guess all these will have to do for now.

Before I go though, some reminders.

Change to dialect, rephrase the insults, add new ideas. Do whatever you want to make the insult more effective.

Always remember that some people will just be better at insulting people than others. If you aren’t good at it, it’s best not to try. You might become a laughing stock once you failed to carry it through.

Blogger-Reviewers, Tech Reviews, Bias, Freebies, Rants and why Apple Singapore hates me

Warning – This article might come across as being messy and distasteful.

Let’s face it – everyone has their bias. Every blogger, reviewer has their own bias. Anyone telling you otherwise is just plain lying in your face.

Sites that try to be like Engadget and Gizmodo are totally biased as well – they tend to be bias towards Engadget’s reviews. And since Engadget loves to write what I call a favor of reviews which I like to term “not here not there”, the kind of reviews you get from such sites are usually “neither here nor there” either.

Which might be just what you want – if you are not a fan of any brand or company – in other words, if you lack passion about your gadgets.

Do you?

Read more

Words of idiocy from idiots

idiots

28th July 2009

Girl working at Apple booth, sent from Apple SG:

“The current Mini Displayport adapters totally don’t work for doing presentations. My old MacBook and MacBook Air adapters do, but the new ones don’t. Apple probably got something wrong in the design”.

29th July 2009

Guy working at Apple booth, sent from Apple SG:

“You can install on multiple computers, your Adobe CS4 Web Premium and Microsoft Office 2008, even though you only have one serial. They will work so long the computers are on different networks”.

To clarify those who don’t understand why the above examples were words of idiocy, the current Mini Displayport adapters do work for presentations. I personally tested them. It’s now July so I think everyone should have installed the Mini Displayport to VGA adapter firmware update by now. There have only been some prior reports that DRM-ed videos do not play on the connected screen, but they work perfectly for normal Keynote/Powerpoint presentations.

As for the Adobe CS4 comment, the Adobe apps phones home regularly regardless what network you are on, so long you are connected to the net. There’s a high chance that the apps installed on multiple Macs will deactivate and return to trial status if Adobe realizes that the same SN has been used more than once. As for Office 2008, you can use the same SN on multiple Macs, so long you do not update the apps. The “different network” comment probably came from Office 2004, where a “feature” was built in by Microsoft to shut down running copies of Office 2004 once a certain SN has been detected to be in use in more than one Mac in a certain network. Apparently the “feature” has been removed in 2008. How outdated can someone professing to know lots about Macs be?

If you are buying from the NUS fair, it helps to do your homework before you purchase. Don’t expect the staff there to be giving you correct information. Ask someone who knows better.

Why one should never buy a Dell monitor online

The story: I needed a new lcd monitor, decided to get a cheap one, found a good deal on the Dell online store, and made my order. Hours later they called, said that it was an error in pricing, and if I do not cancel my purchase they will process my order with a much higher price, despite the fact that I have an invoice which stated the purchase price of 119SGD. I was forced to cancel my purchase.

Then they sent me an email;

“Dear Ryu,

Thank you for choosing Dell Computer. We have received your order on the internet. As per our tele-conversation just now, with much regret to inform that the price shown earlier was an erroneous and we had cancelled the order as per your request. There’s no additional charges will be charged to you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or if you need my assistance (preferably via e-mail). Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

Once again, thank you for choosing DELL! It was a pleasure serving you

Thanks & Regards

Khor Eng Tatt (Ext: 35330)

Small Medium Business – Transactional

DELL ASIA PACIFIC SDN.

Plot P27, Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone,

Phase IV, 11900 Bayan Lepas,

Penang, Malaysia

TOLL FREE #

Singapore : 1 800 394 7486 – option #1 – ext: 35330

Malaysia : 1 800 880 301 – option #1 – ext: 35330

Direct Fax : (Singapore) 02-04-633 7330 / (Malaysia) 04-633 7330

Email : eng_tatt_khor@Dell.com

Homepage : (Singapore) www.dell.com.sg / (Malaysia) www.dell.com.my

“For the protection and security of your Credit Card information, Dell requests that you DO NOT send any Credit Card information through either email or fax. If you need to provide these details please contact me at my extension”

If you feel that I’ve been helpful in the process of ordering your DELL Computer, feel free to acknowledge this by sending an email to my manager: Gay_Cruzada@dell.com”

To which I replied;

“Dear Eng Tatt,

I wish to clarify certain content in your email reply.

I did not request a cancellation. It was more of a case of I was being forced to. You gave me an ultimatum, either cancel the order or get charged more for the purchase DESPITE THE FACT THAT I HAVE AN INVOICE that states 119SGD as the price for the purchase.

While it might be a careless mistake on Dell’s part, am I supposed to bear the responsibilities of Dell’s mistakes? I have invested time and effort in the decision to purchase the monitor, and all I got was having my time wasted.

Any decent company with an online store will know better than try to force their customers to cancel their orders.

It is almost unimaginable that Dell, a company that practically made its millions based on online sales, has no idea how to get customer satisfaction in a situation like this. Any decent company will admit their mistakes and honor the price on the invoice and the purchase itself.

I have never purchased from Dell before. And I don’t think I will ever do that again. The only reason why I wanted to do the purchase in the first place is the simplicity in online sales, and that I have heard Dell monitors are relatively good value for money. Today I learn that Dell achieves that through a policy of ignoring their mistakes and doing anything that will help them save money, even at the expense of customer satisfaction.

In this day and age where customer satisfaction plays a very big part in brand loyalty, Dell has failed completely on all stands. The local twitter community will surely hear of this issue soon.

It is almost impossible to imagine that the Dell in Singapore/Malaysia is the same Dell that is in the States.

I’m sorry, but the Dell experience I have was a very, very bad one.

Yours Sincerely,

Ryu”

UPDATE: They replied to my reply and offered me a 20 dollars discount to shut my mouth up. I rejected the offer.

Diamond Conversion

Diamond Conversion: The process of creating a one-in-a-million die-hard Mac/Apple convert. This particular convert will himself, without fail, convert many other thousands of people in years to come.

My latest Diamond Convert

IMG_0036.JPG

He’s so going to kill me for posting this photo. LOL.

Ten reasons why Vista is “great”

So Microsoft decided to “stay up and fight” Apple’s “Get a Mac” advertisements by launching a Anti-Apple advertisement of their own. I wonder how that will work out, and what they will be touting as great on Vista.

I am thus offering my own ten reasons why Vista is “great”, maybe they can draw inspiration from my reasons~

Hahz.

Here goes.

1. Vista is great because you can run it on any hardware, except anything that is more than a month old from being the latest technology.

2. Vista is the most secured OS in the world, if you only count the different versions of Windows as the only OSes in the world

3. Vista is great because it’s not compatible with most existing programs! So a lesser chance of being hit by an existing program that is actually a virus.

4. Vista is great because it stimulates the economy – by making everyone who owns a computer buy lots and lots and lots of new hardware just to run Vista, the operating system, on its own.

5. Vista is great because it creates fun – by being the sole inspiration of a shitload of tech jokes about itself.

6. Vista is great because it has new and great features – that are copied from Mac OS X Tiger, as stated, proven, and sworn by Vista’s creator, Jim Alchin.

7. Vista is great because it shows people the value of Windows XP – that XP was way way way faster, stable, and better than Vista.

8. Vista is great because it is truly the consumers’ Windows – because businesses refused to upgrade to Vista.

9. Vista is great because we have the biggest software library in the world – inspiring the worst interfaces, program functions and malware you can ever find in this world.

10. Vista is great because it’s Windows!!! “We have forced you to use Windows your whole life. You have to obey us, Microsoft, your OS Overlord. Without us you have no job. Without us you won’t even have a decent word processing program in your computer. Without us you are nothing! Upgrade to Vista, NOW!!!