In this video, I will show you how to customize your dock, using a safe app called Dock Designer
Jake Williams May 26, 2012 at 6:15 AM 
*Do note that this is the International Version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 being tested. US carrier variants may choose to vary their specs. Phone was tested for a period of 7 days.*
Hot off the heels of its quad-core competitor, the HTC One X, the Samsung Galaxy S3 places itself in a hugely dilemmatic position – those who wanted a quad-core phone would’ve went with the HTC One X; those who waited would probably wait till the hotly rumored iPhone 5 or “new” iPhone to launch, anytime from the WWDC ’12 till October timeframe. So what makes the Galaxy S3 stand up above the crowd? Or does it at all?
The Design
Samsung made a bold attempt here to distinguish itself from the numerous slabs of black, brick-like and boring smartphones in the market. The Galaxy S3 features a curved display for easy navigation while keeping the front very minimalistic, with only a home button flanked with a Menu and Back button. Samsung marketed this phone as “designed for humans” (which phones were designed for gorillas, anyone?) and that the phone mimics the shape of a pebble. It’s smooth curves, flat surface and screen-dominating front really stands out from the overpopulated smartphone market. While it is possible to suggest that Samsung went with this design to avoid another lawsuit from Apple, many users might actually prefer this design. However, I still prefer HTC’s approach in terms of design with the HTC One X. I was also disappointed that we did not see the ceramic backing featured on the Galaxy S3, something that the rumor mill had been churning out for months. Nonetheless, the smooth curves means that it fits the hands perfectly and I have no problem sliding it into my pocket at all.
The Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S3 features a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 1280 X 720 display, which is unfortunately Pentile. Samsung argued that using a Pentile display is to increase the device longevity since the blue subpixel in the RGB arrangement is usually the first to degrade, making a screen with more subpixel density will make the deterioration overtime less noticeable. Now with that being said, what’s the problem with Pentile displays? They’re less clear and sharp compared to others in the market, say, the Retina display. But the question is, who is actually likely to keep the phone for more than 2 years (contractual obligations), judging by the speed the mobile industry is at right now? I say, give me a better screen, rather than a screen that is uglier but lasts longer. If I’m going to be staring at my phone’s screen for several hours a day, it better be the best screen there is out there. The first thing I look in the morning and the last thing I see before I go to bed at night is my phone’s screen and if it is bad, then well, it’s not going to cut it. With that being said, the Galaxy S3’s screen is still respectable, which is typical from a high end Samsung smartphone. I felt like the colors on the HTC One X are more vibrant compared to the Galaxy S3’s screen but then again, the average consumer would probably not notice it in a day to day operation. Videos and photos look great on the Galaxy S3, thanks to the real estate. While the screen size is encroaching into the Galaxy Note’s territory, I feel that the Galaxy S3 is a lot more user friendly in terms of handling. All in all, while the screen wasn’t as impressive as I have expected, it’s still one of the best around.
Buttons
On the front of the phone, we’re presented with a home button in the center, flanked by a Menu and Back button. These buttons only light up during use and are usually invisible when the display is in sleep mode, which blends in nicely with the pebble white color of the Galaxy S3. While the home button is clickable, the menu and back buttons are not but rather, they’re touch sensitive. I don’t really prefer this since it makes it easier to accidentally hit one of those touch sensitive buttons while playing a game or doing something else, which might be a slight annoyance. I really did prefer the international version of the Galaxy Note’s layout: just one Home button. The Home button have two functions here, the first being, well, going back to the homepage and the second can be can activated by holding down the home button for around 2 seconds to open up the multi-tasking window. Form there, you get the neat option of just hitting a button to close all of your recently opened and running apps right away, freeing up memory space. Double clicking the home will activate S Voice, which I still think is a Siri-copycat. A well done one, at that. After having tried it, I can safely say that it performs as well as Siri. Currently exclusive to the Galaxy S3 only, S Voice also allows you to execute several different commands, such as telling the phone to activate the Face Unlock feature, currently only available for Ice Cream Sandwich.
Motion Sensing
Almost entirely new to the consumer smartphone market is the motion sensing features, mainly Direct Call and Smart Stay. Direct Call is a pretty cool function, but I’m not sure how many people will remember this feature once they buy the phone. Direct Call basically enables you to directly call someone, if say; you’re reading a text from them. A better analogy would be if one day, your mom sent you a text saying, “Please call me now”. By simply bringing the phone up to your ears (without having to exit the Messages app), you’ll engage in a phone call with your mom. I’ve only used this feature once during my testing period. The rest of the time, I did the traditional way – exiting the app and calling her from the dialer. Old habits die hard. The second piece of software that caught my attention was Smart Stay. Smart Stay basically an eyeball-tracking feature (this sounds weird, I know) that allows the Galaxy S3 to detect where you’re looking. If it detects that you’re still looking onto the screen, it will put the phone into sleep mode or dim the brightness. I thought this was a gimmicky feature but after using and testing it for several days, I can safely say that it works 90% of the time. Impressive.
Michael Andrew May 25, 2012 at 5:39 AM I’m finally back in the gaming world. After going a 1-2 years without an Xbox, I decided it was finally time to purchase the system again. I couldn’t start to explain how much I missed playing Call of Duty, Halo, Forza and many others.
In the beginning of my hunt, I was looking on Craigslist and eBay for used (older) systems for a cheap budget. After finding a few for around $50-$90, I thought to myself. Why spend the money on an older, used Xbox and risk getting the Red Ring of Death (RRoD) or not working? After all, my previous Xbox ended life with the RRoD and I certainly didn’t want that again.
After doing my research, I discovered that Microsoft “fixed” the RRoD in the newer generation Xbox 360. Well, back on the hunt to find a used one on Craigslist and eBay. I found a few for around $120 but they all were the 4GB. I knew from the start I wanted Forza 4. That game alone uses about 3GB, without all the extra track/car packs. I knew the 4GB counsel was out of the question.
I finally gave up and went to my local GameStop to purchase a new 250GB Xbox 360. When I looked up, I saw a refurbished model for $50 cheaper than purchasing new. GameStop guaranteed the system to play, look and feel new. They told me that it’s basically like a new system, hence only being $50 cheaper. I decided to take their word and go for it. I’m all about saving money.
To my surprise, I came home and made this unboxing video for you all to enjoy. Once I plugged everything in and played for over 7 hours straight, I came to the conclusion that GameStop wasn’t lying. I’m very pleased with my purchase and their customer service. GameStop gets a “+1″ in my book!
I hope you all enjoy the unboxing video. If you did, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family. A subscribe or like always helps :P
[via TechJohnson, YouTube, Twitter]
Steven Johnson May 24, 2012 at 10:40 PM This is just a really quick iOS tip for iPhone, iPod and iPad users. I have always had to send multiple emails when I was looking to send multiple photos, so when I found out how to send multiple photos I thought it would be a good opportunity to share it with the DiMco crew. Check out my NEW website design!
Luke DiMarco May 24, 2012 at 6:58 PM The world of analog and film cameras has all but disappeared over the years. Since the introduction of the digital camera, they just seem...well, obselete. Lomography however, is a society that continues to make these cameras and sell to todays consumers. Their main pull is being different, fun, tricky to use at times, and interesting. While these cameras are often times very expensive to be nothing more than hyped up plastic cameras, the entire experience comes along with owning one of these. Most Lomography cameras take 120 film which is expensive to develope and hard to find in stores, while the Holga 135 takes 35mm film. You get a traditional Lomo camera, great photos, and the convience of using 35mm film.
James Agee May 24, 2012 at 6:43 PM 
