The below is a guest post.
Technical and business consultant by day, Frederick “Freddy” Cloud finds time between consulting opportunities to be a father of 3 boys, husband, geek extraordinaire and gadget blogger. Check out his blog, The Gadget Consultant, or follow him on Twitter.
When it comes to tech, your mileage will ALWAYS vary …
I never understood why in some people’s minds, something has to be “the best”. And generally the thing that has to be “the best” is the thing that they either own or want to purchase. So recently Samsung released the Galaxy S5. For all intents and purposes it’s a solid device; nice processor, good battery life, they made some improvements with the camera … but it never fails. Every review has someone in the comments saying that this or that device beats it hands down. Apple makes a really nice camera for their devices, so if the camera on the GS5 doesn’t blow it away in every situation, the iPhone, as a WHOLE, is “better”? The device isn’t made of some space-age magic material or cut from a single block of aluminum like an iPhone or HTC device, and because of that, Samsung (as a company, mind you) sucks?
Reading some of the comments on some of these blogs, you would think so.
Microsoft released an update for Windows Phone. Windows Phone 8.1 has fixed a few of the issues I had with Windows Phone, and has brought it a lot closer in parity with Android and iOS as far as core functionality. They’ve improved notification management and added its own digital assistant named Cortana that holds its own against Google Now and Siri. With Blackberry slowly dying in the consumer market, if Microsoft can court more developers, this update should garner them a bit more love from people who haven’t sold their souls to Google and Apple. But of course, that’s just my opinion. And judging from some of the comments on some of the tech blogs, it’s not a shared one. The fanboys say that Microsoft should just hang it up. Siri is the best digital assistant ever made. Google Now blows this away. Microsoft just “Scroogled” themselves (I can’t even begin on that one. Definitely up in my top 5 stupidest marketing campaigns).
It’s really, really annoying.
People ask me all the time what I think the “best” of something is. All I can tell them is why I feel one thing may be better than something else, and that’s usually backed up with some technical explanation. Newer processors are faster than older ones, but that doesn’t always translate into “better”. I’ve heard on more than one occasion “If you buy it, it must be good enough for me”. Something that is “better” for me can be utter and complete overkill for you. You don’t need a $1000 video card to play Candy Crush.
Take comments and reviews with a grain (nay, a pound) of salt. You can’t always trust that the people reviewing what you’re looking for are always going to be unbiased. ESPECIALLY in the comments. If you aren’t cheering for their favorite device, you’re wrong. And those people who are emotionally attached to their toys cannot be swayed. You really want to know what the “best” thing is? Figure out what you need, talk to people who have the devices that you’re thinking about and then go and see them for yourself. Do NOT allow other people’s personal feelings sway your judgment because their experiences are not yours. Do your own research and determine what’s going to be best FOR YOU. Your mileage is going to vary. Trust me.
But if you just need some personal opinions, let me help you; Apple does not make magical devices that suits everyone’s needs, Google is not Skynet (yet) and will not take over the planet, and Microsoft buying Nokia may, in the long run, save both companies. There. I saved you some Internet searching.
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