Technology adaptation in Bali

 For our recent trip to Bali, all the planning was done by Sandhya and I just went as on the tour.

It was a great trip, people were friendly and entry and exit process at airport was smooth and hassle free. There is no tip culture, yet the service is out of this world. I come from India and I can vouch the hospitality in Bali was much better. There is no tipping culture, only experienced once during the whole trip. Of course we stuck to the religious and scenic parts of Bali, Ubud and south Bali.

They are not kidding when they say traffic is bad in Bali, 2 lane roads and lots of tourists and there is no public transport 😊.

Considering the island has 70% population of Hindu’s, but the main diet is pork and meat. They have temples in every household and every village and reserved only for locals. There is no entry for foreigners. One can hire a Balinese and go to the scared areas as their guest.

Believe me, Sandhya managed to book the drivers in Bali through Instagram and WhatsApp. That’s right, the primary form of communication in Bali is WhatsApp and with Apps like Klook one can buy data plans even before landing in Bali and in our case worked seamlessly the whole time.

I used to think Thai food is spicy and Indian food can be made spicy but after tasting Balinese food, I have changed my mind. The spice levels were so high that I could not even put the thing in my mouth without gulping few liters of water.

What amazed me was the amount of technology penetration that has happened in Bali, case in point was the river rafting videos. While we enjoyed the rafts and rapids, there were drones flying at different locations capturing us and also the guide was making pit stops to collect the recordings which were transferred to their servers and downloaded to our phones while we enjoyed the food. I learnt a lot about IOS thanks to Bali trip. Another occasion is the Bali Swing, they have an efficient operation setup with men and women and all photos taken on your mobile and there is no editing and all such but end of the day beautiful pics.

At the end of the day, they are an island blessed with beautiful tropical weather. The island depends on tourism and I think that’s ingrained in the people and making it a perfect travel destination.

Ps: for the first time ever in my life and maybe last time, I stayed at a suite with a name instead of number.

Pps: we didn’t spend our time in party areas of Bali, one tip if I may give you is, if there is plans to visit water falls in Ubud, start as early as possible. Negotiate, negotiate and negotiate.

The instant era

It’s one thing to watch and record your kids performance on stage and another to share the same with friends and family. 

Yesterday was the event of Rajyothsava and Deepawali organized by our very own Austin Kannada Sangha (AKS). Our kids practiced a lot, parents (read moms) worked hard behind the scenes and made the entire performance a grand success. 

Now, the dads on duty were given the task of recording the onstage performance and thanks to our high end smart phones it was not a tough job to accomplish. All that mattered was to find the right location nearest to the stage to sit and hold the phone still to record a good video. It was an easy task, the tough task that none of us (primarily Windows user) didn’t foresee was the problem of sharing the video with our friends and family. 

Considering the act was exactly 12 min long, recorded at the rate of 40-60 FPS with 18 megapixel cameras the file sizes were larger than we had ever imagined. Considering the high speed internet that we all are so used to, we rarely pay attention to file sizes and come to think of it  it’s the fault of the phones too which doesn’t let us know the file sizes. 

So, the traditional method of sharing on WhatsApp petered out for the file size was too big for their network. Then it was decided to go home and upload to Google Drive. That’s where the challenge started which none of us really foresaw. Apple’s iOS was working seamlessly to backup the phone to the Windows PC but try downloading a file either through the traditional windows explorer route or through windows photo app or even through Picasa it would throw an error saying device is unresponsive and hence can’t copy the file. 

So, windows was a no go, next step direct upload to Google Drive from the phone but that was taking so long to even process; It was not worth the wait. After almost an hour of fighting with the iOS ecosystem I had reached a point of giving up. At this point by sheer luck I decided to upload the video to iCloud Drive and that worked like a charm and few moments later when I logged into my iCloud Drive, I could see the file there. Surprisingly it allowed me to download the same. That’s how the file was transferred to PC and finally put up to Google Drive/YouTube and shared.

Moral of the story, If the video you are trying to share is more than 5-7 minutes long and WhatsApp has petered out and your options are windows PC or laptop then the best way and possibly the only way would be to upload video to iCloud and then download from there . 

Ios Maps vs Google Maps India

Recently when we went to Bengaluru, we took our beloved unlocked iPhone 4s with us (idea was to try with an Indian Sim card) to help us with phone access during our vacation. With the data plan we figured we could use the navigation also. Considering the charging of the phone is such a problem in India, I was hoping against hope that the built-in maps of iOS aka Apple maps would work for in US, I have found them to be battery saver and have come a long way since introduction. 

As they say, India is completely different dynamics at play and the Apple maps I was so hopeful about was up to no good. I had to change tactics and rely on Google maps. I wasn't expecting this extreme of a difference but Google maps are a few light years ahead of Apple maps. 

In places where Apple maps was struggling with GPS lock on my location,  Google map was able to give me point to point and turn by turn directions including details on service roads and one way too. 

With the driver we had hired for Bangalore trip, we survived solely thanks to Google Maps.

On the same note, traffic overlays on Google maps is extremely accurate and I admit I have a new found respect for Austin traffic after encountering Bangalore traffic.

So, a piece of advice if you are interested in taking your iPhone to India make sure it has Google Maps.     

  

Not so smart Google maps

I have come to rely on  Google maps for everything related to  travel, so much so that I no longer carry my stand alone trusted Garmin gps with me. It works fairly well in most cases but did utterly bad in one case. The recent example was when Google maps was showing my destination to be in the middle of an elevated freeway, while my actual destination was on the access road of the freeway.

Made me think about the addressing schemes, if the address is something like xxx on yyy freeway, then can I really blame Google for asking me find my destination on an elevated freeway. Another possibility is that the address of the destination existed and the freeways had a make over and became elevated to add more roads underneath. At which point, may be the address ought to have been updated to reflect the change in road schemes but didn’t for some reason, Again benefit of doubt Google. But considering Google is smart and it’s applications like Google maps are one of the best it should realize the destination can't be on an elevated freeway. Yes, I tried both Android and an iOS device with the same result.

All the above being true, the irony was, the blue icon for destination was showing the right location (on the access road) using which I used to reach my destination by manual navigation but the automated routing was telling me to jump off the freeway.

I think its the case of not so smart Google for once :).  

IMessaging/Text Messaging problem with IOS 7

Over last few of months 2 things happened with some of my friends in terms of their cell phone handsets.

1. Some of them got fed up with IOS and switched to Android
2. Some of them got fed up with Android and switched to IOS specifically Iphone 5s

So, what is the significance of these 2 events. For those who do not know, Apple supports something called Imessage between IOS devices (Iphone, Ipad or Ipod) and it introduced this with IOS 5 and it is free. For people like me who refuse to sign up for a text plan it was a good deal. Now we have alternatives like whatsapp and all so it is not so big a deal, but not everybody in my contact list are on whatsapp either.

Now back to the events, because of event 1 I was unable to text message my friends any more and it always came up with “Imessage delivery failed”. In event 2 I wasn’t able to send my friends Imessages, no reason it should not work as according to Apple any IOS 5 or higher devices should be able to use Imessage.

I was hoping Dr. Google would provide answers but they said “Sorry, you are on your own”.  I tried deleting phone numbers of these specific friends and re-entering the same but no use either.

On a final try I deleted the contact of the friend who switched to Android completely and recreated the contact again. And the miracle happened, I was able to send text messages to this new Android friend and at the same time was able to send Imessages to friends who had switched to Iphone 5s.

If you were encountering problems like me and if the above solution works in your case too, will you please let me know?

iOS 7 first impressions

Over the weekend I updated my Iphone 4s to iOS 7 and here is my take on it

• I think the colors and hues are done to impress teenage girls. The more neutral look that the previous OS used to have is gone. At the first look I hated it but now its been a few days and I am getting used to it.
• The control center is pretty nice and slickly done, The OS now has a built in app to enable the flash led and use it as a flash light. Finally I could get rid of the ad driven app that I was using to do the same.
• The notes app used to have a selection of fonts and now we have to be satisfied with only default no choices.
• The camera app is re done nicely, it has a ton of live filters built in.
• Safari web browser is also redone, I like that it has the options on screen to make browsing private. I must warn you it will take a few minutes of getting used to as the default mode is full screen.
• The timer, safari apps are aiming for a 3D feel. 
• Finally any icon can be moved anywhere and can be grouped with any other one, for ex: in ios6 I couldn’t move the passbook or Newsstand from the main screen and keep them with other unused apps.
• The introduction of itunes radio is cool but I think it has a long way to catch up with apps like Pandora. At the first launch the radio had trouble finding my Wifi.
• The weather app has onscreen animations like the Android OS
• The maps on Apple still have long long way to go, on 1 instance it couldn’t find a location I was looking for while Google maps had no trouble finding the place on the second instance the app was predicting my arrival time ~20mins later than my GPS and Google maps. The error is not a big deal if it were for a 3-4 hr journey but in my case it was little over an hour long journey. 
• The battery drain is slightly faster with iOS7 than with the previous version, not a big deal and not a big concern.
• The background app killing reminds me of the old Palm OS and Android (instead of holding down on the app till we get a red bar at the end like we did in the previous OS, now just flick them up)
• The i-message interface also reminds me of Android. I hope the i-messaging works better with this OS as I had a lot of trouble using the i-message  in iOS 6 and had switched over to Google voice and whatsapp.
• Sorry no SWYPE keyboard yet.

On the whole the OS seems to be doing a catching up with Android, not too happy about that.

Iphone 4 home button problem – revisited

Before Apple introduced the iOS 5, my iphone 4 with its iOS 4 had to be connected to the PC to update the software once in a while. But with iOS 5 it introduced “over the air updates” and said even Iphone 4 can be upgraded too but forgot to mention that the phone needs to be connected to the computer once in a while and do a sync with iTunes, In my case failing to do this makes the home button on Iphone 4 irresponsive. 

I had written a blog post a few months ago that one needs to hook up a vacuum cleaner to clear the dust beneath the home button. I think I was wrong, I realized accidentally and proved to myself again and again that if the home button becomes irresponsive then connect to the computer and do a sync with iTunes.

One interesting thing to note is that my wife’s Iphone 4s which was launched with iOS 5 does not suffer the same problem. She rarely syncs with ITunes but her phone’s home button seem to be working like new for ever. My guess is that APPLE made changes in the hardware to support the iOS 5 over the air updates which was never revealed to the public. 

One more interesting thing to note is that the solution I found for the home button problem on Iphone 4 is not recorded anywhere on the web. So, I wonder if my solution works with my phone only.

iOS 5 and lateral thinking

In general with Apple and its iOS everything is always perfect and over time I have come to expect the simplicity and perfection from them. Any small deviation from this is completely unheard of and my lateral thinking mind does not come into play when working with Apple devices. Last week I had to do a tiny bit of it with my Iphone4.

When Apple rolled out the iOS 5, I was eager to get the new OS and adopted it pretty quickly. The updating even though it was a 2 step process (update ITunes, reboot and update the OS) was pretty clean. After the OS was updated, I saw a notification in the App Store that the the Flickr app I have installed needs updating. I clicked on the update and nothing seemed to happen. I kept pressing it to update and it refused to do anything. For a moment I started to wonder if the screen has lost its touch sensitivity (thankfully no).  

I went a bit lateral in my thinking and deleted the Flickr app and asked it to be freshly installed, this time around, it refused to install. It said the terms and conditions have changed and I need to accept them before I continue the installation, I clicked on OK but instead of taking me to terms and conditions it kept taking me back to App Store. I repeated the process multiple times but to no resolution.

Since I can’t let go of the Flickr app, I took the additional step of connecting the phone to the computer and getting the Flickr app through ITunes. This time around it popped the updated terms and conditions and once I agreed it installed the app.

Now for some good and bad about the iOS5, I like the new OS but I have noticed some issues with the same.

• The news stand app seems like a joke for the only news paper that qualifies for this is NY Times (rest are all some form of magazines).
• I have turned off Face Time and used to work beautifully in OS 4 but in OS 5 it appears as though turning on or off of Face Time doesn’t make any difference.
• The Reminders feature is a nice one to have but it is unlike the APPLE I was used to, just takes too many steps to setup a reminder.
• The are a few cool things in iOS5, one them is the iMessage ( a blessing for people like me who refuse to sign up for the text message plan).
• Another big improvement I noticed is in the camera utility (more post processing capabilities).
• Because of the added features, the settings app has become bit more elongated and complicated. I liked the iOS4 in this aspect. 
• Haven’t used the icloud service, hence no comments.

A year with Iphone

About a year ago when I decided to upgrade to a smart phone, I wanted to get a cool Android phone. But thanks to AT&T the only good smart phone they had in their line up at that time was the Iphone4.

After a year of usage, I am pretty impressed with the Iphone4 and now I am almost a fan of Apple and iOS.

My usage model of the phone is pretty limited, I use it mostly like a phone to make and receive phone calls. There are only couple of smart features on the phone that I use very regularly, One is the calendar and the other is the Notes. I do check my Gmail once in a while on the phone but rarely reply to emails from the phone. Once in a while I use the GPS. To give an example of how less I use the phone for the web related things, I have never exceeded the 100MB data plan that AT&T offers. 

Initially when I got it, it felt a bit big in my hand but over time I got used to it. The phone is snappy and the touch screen is really touch sensitive. The glass front and back of the phone are magnets for finger prints, I suggest getting a protective coating done (most malls have one or two shops to do this). The GPS is fast loading (even without the cell signal). The notes are easy to type into and the calendar feature is easy to work with. Of the limited apps I have installed (Flickr, Google, Google places and so on) most everything load real fast.

The 720p resolution video camera is really good and I have managed to capture some of the once in a life time moments of my daughter with this. That said, I am not really impressed by the still picture performance of the camera. The images look great on the phone but once loaded on to big screen it appears a grainy. I wonder if it has to do with the HDR function of the iOS.

The other feature I really cherish in this phone is the Ipod feature. I use it so much that I have rarely turned on the radio in the car. The sound quality from the phone is not the best but good enough for my purposes.  

One thing I do not like is the fact that Apple does not provide an easy way to turn on the flash led to be used as a flash light. I had to download an app for that, even though the app itself is free, it keep loading ads.  

The battery life is pretty good, without loading a single YouTube video I manage to get 4 to 5 days of battery life but watching videos from the web really drain out the battery. I do keep the wi-fi on all the time, but the GPS function I have enabled only on for a few applications.

I noticed a few things that Apple has done to optimize battery life. The first and very obvious one for me was that the mail checking frequency set to default once a day (I have changed it to manual). The other thing is, the phone doesn’t keep searching for wi-fi round the clock but only looks for it only once when it wakes up from sleep and doesn’t bother after that. I am sure the GPS is kept off unless an application demands it.  I am not sure if the phone goes into different states of sleep to save power, for sometimes I need to press the top button and not the bottom home button to wake up the phone.

I paid $199 to get this phone and surprisingly Apple has reduced the price to $99. At that price I think it is definitely worth considering. Now looking forward to iOS 5.