Triplicate Thoughts

Google I/O is one of the biggest tech events of the year. Each year Google shares with us its vision for the future of technology and computing, and how it plans on shaping that future. Despite primarily being targeted for developers and partners who will help shape that future, Google I/O is also an event that average consumers can enjoy as well. I myself have absolutely no knowledge on the inner workings of software development, but for the past couple of years ( 2013 and 2014 ) I've followed I/O with a keen interest. And this year is no different. Google I/O 2015 was just about a week ago, and now that we've had time to digest all the cool new stuff that was announced, here are my five key highlights from the 2-day event.

Have you ever noticed just how much of our daily lives is actually spent  online? Or how much we can do online that we used to have to do offline? We can buy movie tickets, book flights and hotels, we can listen to music and watch TV shows or movies, we can connect with friends and family, or even people from other countries, we can shop, we can apply for work, we can pay bills, we can manage our bank accounts, we can play multiplayer games with people all over the world, we can basically do almost anything online. This is why Google decided to challenge the traditional idea of what a computer is, and come up with a new way of computing that's more suitable with our "always-online" lifestyles. Google came up with a new operating system based around the Chrome browser called Chrome OS. For those of you who still don't know what Chrome OS is, this video explains the concept perfectly. Being somewhat of a tech geek myself, I was always interested in trying out Chro...

Android 5.0 Lollipop is the biggest jump for the platform since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was released back in 2011. Ever since then, Android has been taking small steps towards becoming a more powerful platform, such as the introduction of Google Now in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and to look more polished and elegant, with the shift towards a lighter-coloured environment in Android 4.4 KitKat. But Lollipop is by far the biggest change for the platform, as you can probably guess by the version number. With this change comes a lot of new functionality, in addition to a huge design overhaul to make "stock" Android look more like a finished product, rather than a bare bones foundation for others to build on. I won't go through every new feature in Lollipop, there are various videos and articles out there already. I'm just going to share with you the five features which I like the most, and which I think will make the biggest impact on everyday use for the avera...

I'm a big fan of Google Drive. I've been using it almost exclusively ever since I learned about it a couple of years ago. In fact, I recorded all my Master's research data, and wrote my entire thesis using Google Drive, only turning to Microsoft Office once my writing was completed to comply with university requirements. And with 72 of the world's top 100 universities also using Google Drive , I'm sure many other students have used it the same way too. I've actively been sharing my experiences using Google Drive on social media, because I really do think it's a great productivity tool. It may have some limitations when compared to what Microsoft Office offers, but for the majority of people who create documents, spreadsheets, and presentation slides, I'm confident what Google Drive and the associated app suite (Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides) offers is more than sufficient to meet consumer needs. And despite those few limitations, Google D...

Image: Android Central Google I/O. When every Google fan and Android enthusiast geek-out over anything and everything Google announce. I gotta admit, I geeked-out pretty hard during the keynote (you can tell by all the posts I shared during the event). Even though a lot of what was announced had already been leaked before the event, there were still plenty of surprise announcements during the keynote which kept me wide awake (the event started at midnight here) until the end, almost . There were announcements regarding Android, Android Wear, Android Auto, Android TV (yes, a lot of Android), ChromeOS, Google Drive and many more. Now, this won't be a summary of the best announcements made during the keynote, there are plenty of those already out there written by journalists who attended the event. This will just be some of my personal favourite announcements from the keynote. It was difficult to narrow it down to just five, because there were so many awesome announcements. So I...

Image: Wired Google is a monster of a company. They have their fingers in so many pies it's amazing that all their services and products work as well as they do. While Search may be Google's primary business, the company is also known for one other very successful product - Android. Although Android is free, Google do benefit a lot from having 80% of the worlds smartphone-toting population own an Android device . That being said, being the owner of the most widely used mobile OS in the world has it's fair share of challenges too. It's well known that Android had a hard time growing up. Up until ICS, Android was still maturing into a state that many would consider "complete", as depicted in this drawing by Googler +Manu Cornet . In the comic strip, the mascot eating the ICS is the first to have a straight back, which is why after 3 years, we are still happily on Android 4.x. Other than the upgrade to ICS, Google have also made many other brilliant decisio...

Image: Engadget Google have made it a bit of a habit of theirs to suddenly drop surprises out of nowhere that kinda leave us shocked. First there was the sudden announcement of Android 4.4 KitKat , when everyone was sure the next version of Android was going to be 5.0 Key Lime Pie . Then there was the much anticipated launch of the Nexus 5, which happened "silently" online without any prior invites from Google (though many people were trying to act smart and  decipher the "clues" , only to look kinda silly in the end). Next there was the totally unexpected sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo . And most recently, Android Wear . Android Wear has gotten all the tech geeks excited. This is probably the most excitement we've felt since the Nexus 5 was finally released. Wearables, smartwatches in particular are still a relatively "new" area of mobile tech, despite smartwatches having already been around for a few years, like from Sony , Pebble and eve...

If you are any level of a Google power user, even a "light" power user, you'll probably already know all of the things I'm about to share. But it's quite surprising really, just how many of my friends and colleagues are unaware of the perks of owning a Google account. Some of them don't even know what a Google account is , or that they have a Google account. So before we move on, if you have a Gmail account, or if you use Android, you have a Google account. In case anyone wasn't sure. One of the greatest strengths of having (and using) a Google account is the connectivity we can enjoy. We can have multiple devices in our arsenal  - a smartphone (or two), a tablet, and a desktop/laptop, but thanks to our Google account, all our devices will always be connected. And if you use iDevices don't worry, you can have a Google account on your devices as well. There are many benefits of connecting our devices with our Google account, and here are just a few of ...

Image: Tech Advisor I've had my Nexus 5 for almost one week now, and I've absolutely loved using this phone. It's my first Nexus phone (but not my first Nexus device, that would be my 1st gen Nexus 7) and I think Google and LG did an exceptional job with this phone. This won't be a full-fledged review, as there are hundreds of those already on the web. This will just be me, sharing with you what I like the most about the phone, and a few things which I don't that could be better. In case you're wondering, I got the Storm Trooper (white) 32GB model, unlocked the bootloader and rooted it, with TWRP as my custom recovery. I used to regularly flash custom ROMs on my Nexus 7, but I'm now running stock 4.4.2 on both, with Xposed Framework and GravityBox providing me with the added customisability I want. In all honesty, I like this setup more . Got Action Launcher Pro powering my home screen, and other than a black carbon fibre skin I got from  +iCarbons In...

Motorola recently unveiled the Moto G , initially rumoured to be a "cheaper" version of the Moto X for the international market. And while it is less powerful than the Moto X, and significantly cheaper, it's not really a poor man's Moto X , no it isn't. If you ask me, the Moto G is Motorola's effort to redefine the mid-range smartphone market, the same way the Moto X was intended to redefine what we call a "high-end" flagship. As was mentioned at the event, consumers looking for a smartphone but who can't (or won't) spend the high amounts of money a flagship demands are restricted to two poor options; buy a new but cheap phone with outdated hardware (and possibly software), or buy an outdated flagship, which usually are still quite expensive. The Moto G aims to solve this problem by offering a phone that is both highly affordable, while at the same time highly respectable on paper. Motorola's approach to hardware and software, and thei...

Upgrade time!! The Nexus 5 is coming. Soon. Like real soon. We may not know much about KitKat yet, but everything about the Nexus 5 as a phone is pretty much confirmed, including dimensions, design and internal components (specs). Leaks have been plentiful, and I'm willing to bet that most of them were pretty accurate, which is why I'm confident enough to write this post. As everything about the new Nexus is already out there, I've been comparing it to my current phone, the HTC One X. As I've said in the past, I want the Nexus 5 and will get it when it becomes available to me in my country. So how does it stack up to my current daily driver? Well it's better, that's to be expected. There are several things about the upgrade that I am particularly looking forward to, which is what I want to share with you today.

Image: Team-Android I've been very critical of Apple in my blog. It started out when I shared the reasons why I fell out of love with the iPhone and iOS . I then followed that up with my thoughts on how WWDC 2013 was more of the same , vindicating my decision to leave the platform. I then wrote what was to be my most popular and most +1'd post, which highlighted the reasons why I think Apple are one of the most hated tech companies in the world . On the other hand, I've written nothing but positive articles when it comes to Android. Like my favourite announcements from I/O 2013 , and the top 5 things I love about Android . So to prove that I am not a blind fandroid , and I am indeed aware of the shortcomings and weaknesses of my favourite platform, this post will be about the top 5 things I dislike about the best mobile platform in the world. Yes, this will be difficult to write.

Google sure has grown as a company. What started out as a research project conducted by two Stanford University students is now quite possibly, one of the largest forces behind the internet today. What started our as merely a search engine, is now the driving force behind one of the most successful companies in history. It's quite astonishing how a company who got its start in just one area - providing an internet search engine - now has so many different products for all different types of purposes. If you ever need an online service, chances are Google have your back. Need an e-mail client? Gmail. Need to learn how to cook? I'm sure there are videos on YouTube. Want to see what the fastest route is from A to B? Google Maps. Need a tool to help you and your colleagues work on collaborative documents? Google Drive. Chat service? Hangouts. Internet browser? Chrome. And as always, if you need to find information, Google Search is the best way to go.  The list just goes on.  I p...

Image: Live A few weeks ago, I was in my office minding my own business when these two ladies came in. They were salespeople and so I reluctantly allowed them to give me their pitch. If they were selling something I actually wanted, I might have actually paid attention. Instead, I spent the 15 minutes they spent talking thinking of how I would politely decline their offer after they were done with their pitch. After it was all said and done, I learned that I wasn't the first victim of the day. Several of my friends also had visits from the same salespeople, and they too were unmoved by their sales pitch. It had been a while since I had to deal with salespeople, so this was like a reminder as to how I feel about salespeople in general - I find them annoying. Now this isn't anything personal I have against the people themselves, it's the profession that I find annoying. Forcing themselves into your daily schedule, sometimes even bothering you at home, trying to sell some...

Image: XDA The Nexus brand is quite unique. It's the most beloved brand among the Android enthusiasts, and despite being the purest brand of Android devices in the market, it's probably one of the least known brands among the global Android community. Being made and marketed by Google, most people don't know what a Nexus is. As a result of that, they don't even know what stock Android looks like. Ask any random Android user what brand of phone they are using, chances are you'll hear Samsung. Ask them what version of Android they are using, they'll say TouchWiz. Jelly Bean? 4.2? They won't have a clue. I began my Android journey with a HTC One X. Before making the purchase, I was deciding between the One X and the Galaxy SIII. I didn't know what the Galaxy Nexus was at the time. Not until about 4-5 months into Android did I discover and understand what a Nexus was, and what stock Android was. Now, after more than a year on Android, I am a Nexus fan....

Image: Alex Shaikh I have now officially been part of the Android community for one year! It's my Android-versary !! In this one year I have learned A LOT about mobile technology. Not just about Android in general, but more specifically about the hardware that goes into our mobile devices and about all the community development that makes Android such a great mobile platform to use. I don't know why, but my interest in mobile technology started when I started using Android. During the three years I spent using iOS, I wasn't as interested in the industry as I am now. Sure I knew about Android and its OEM partners, but I never visited sites like  +PhoneDog  or  +Pocketnow , which I regularly visit nowadays. I didn't know and was never interested in what processor was in my iPhone, I didn't know what resolution it had (only that it had a Retina display), I didn't know how much RAM it had. I basically knew nothing about mobile technology other than what I was...

I switched to Android in mid-2012 after almost 3 years of using iOS. I wrote about the reasons that prompted my switch and after seeing what Apple unveiled at this years WWDC, I'm more convinced than ever that I made the right decision. iOS has remained largely the same for 6 years. It has improved of course over the past 6 versions,  adding a few features here and there along the way  but it still looked the same. iOS 7 addressed that issue with a completely new design. New lock screen. New notification centre. New icons. New app interface. New colour schemes. A system-wide design revamp. If you're a long-time iOS user, you will definitely welcome the new design. Quite frankly, I'm glad Apple decided to chance the look of iOS. I would feel sorry for all iOS users if they were stuck with the same design for another year. Of course, if iOS was customisable like Android , this wouldn't be a problem, but I digress. Even with a complete redesign and added functionality l...

I've been part of the Android community for just under a year now. My first  Android-versary will be next month, a year after I bought my HTC One X. During my time in the community, I've noticed that while we are all united in our "fight" against the other OS , there's quite a bit of bickering within the community as well. For as long as I can remember, we have HTC fans arguing with Samsung fans. It usually boils down to arguments about build quality, the necessity for removable batteries and microSD cards, and of course, TouchWiz vs Sense. I try my best to not get involved in these civil wars because to me, these differences and these choices are what make Android great. Would you guys rather be part of that other OS and not have any choice at all? I think not. So I choose not to argue over what makes Android great, but I'm getting off topic here. With the introduction of the Google Edition Galaxy S4 at Google I/O 2013 , and the Google Edition HTC One jus...

Google Search is amazing. With the amount of data Google have collected, all the world's information is just a few keyboard clicks away. But we may not always be near a computer when we have a question; and we may not have the time to go through a list of links to find an answer. Sometimes, we just want to know when someone was born, or how tall a certain building is. This is where the Knowledge Graph and the Google Search app makes life so much easier. Ask a question, and get a direct answer. No links to filter through, no need to load up a website to get an answer. And with the app on our phones and tablets, we can get answers no matter where we are. But most people I think still rely on typing their questions. People may not be aware of how amazingly accurate the voice recognition in the search app is. So I'll share with you some questions you can ask verbally to the Google Search app, and you might be amazed by what the app can do.

I know what you're thinking, "Another post about Google+ ??". I can't help it. After +Google  I/O and all the cool updates, I can't help but be excited. Google+ has improved so much it's no wonder my friend  +Mohammed Nabil Mahamad  decided to give it another try. A tech journalist I follow,  +Taylor Martin  spoke of how his followers list increased by 300 people in a week. Google+ is growing and it doesn't look like it will slow down any time soon. I've given you 5 reasons before , and here are 5 more reasons why I enjoy the experience on Google+.