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Nollywood Movies on Comcast Xfinity – A good step towards forcing quality

A few weeks ago, someone had posted on Facebook that the African movie industry had partnered with Comcast Xfinity to add Nollywood movies to it  collections database all to be made available on Xfinity on demand. As much as it sounded exciting, I was skeptical about quality of the movies that will be made available i.e Video quality, Movie description, Storylines actors & more.

Putting my experience and mind set aside, I decided to watch one of the movies available from Nollywood on Comcast Xfinity on demand. The movie was titled “Married but Single”.  The story line of the movie is nothing new but it was well thought out, with some twists and turns. Picture quality was better than most African movies, I had seen on dvd, you could actually see everyone clearly without image crashing and tiling up, scenes flowed well from one to another, the actors and actresses played their parts pretty well and the movie ended in a good way.  Oh yea, did I mention that the description of the movie plot was well written too; someone definitely proofread and edited the movie title and description pretty well. I applaud them for the enhanced effort.

What is my point here  ——— The Nollywood movie industry is getting on a larger platform, a bigger opportunity to showcase talents and quality not quantity.

The movie “Married/But Single” I just watched on Comcast is a prime example of how movies do not need to have parts 1 – 4 for it to make sense, movies should well thought out to include list of actors/actresses, scene creation and selection, movie descriptions can be written in a thoughtful way, etc  I believe the list of Nollywood movies available on Comcast Xfinity is a step in the right direction for the African movie industry. It brings the industry on the same platform as the Bollywood industry.  This should definitely force the movie creators/producers/directors to produce and focus better on quality and not the quantity of movies. The excuses of equipment limitation should really no longer be an issue. Nollywood has come long way and as it grows so also should its movie quality, the industry has a lot offer however they can only attract the rest of the world when they produce movies of quality. 

Kudos to the team who birthed Nollywood movies on Comcast Xfinity.

Cheers….

My review of the Microsoft Surface Tablet

After playing around with the New Microsoft Surface tablet, here is my review,

The GOOD……………     The surface definitely gives the IPad and the Android tablets makers a run for their money. The hardware feels sturdy, and durable, it comes with an inbuilt kickstand allowing you to set the tablet on a flat surface to use. No need spending extra $$ to buy a kickstand like the IPAD or Android tablets.

  • The External keyboard/Mouse/Cover, I think has to be my 2nd favorite feature on the hardware. It acts both as a cover, keyboard & mouse in slim very well presentable package. Again saving you money on buying extra covers and keyboard.
  • The USB port, Apple has definitely disappointed in this area, a huge selling feature for this tablet. The USB port allows you to connect it to a printer, transfer data & files from external hard drives and more.
  • SD Card Slot, As a professional photographer or photo enthusiast, I like to  see my pictures with the least minimal effort on all my devices. An SD card slot will allow you to view & download your pictures almost immediately on the tablet. Another good selling point here for the tablet. In the case of the IPad, you have do download the pictures to your computer, transfer them to ITunes software, then plug into the IPad to transfer. No need for all that additional leg work here.
  • HDMI Port, another great feature of this tablet, no need to buy additional hardware to connect to a TV or projector, all you need is a cable and you are good to go.
  • The Wi-Fi also worked pretty well on the tablet I played with, setup seemed easy and response was quick.
  • The front and rear CAMERAs took decent pictures as with all cameras on the tablets available.  The rear camera on the surface is also angled to maximize picture taking and handling. So even while the tablet is angled or while resting on its kick-stand the camera angle seems well aligned.
  • Software - In playing with the surface software “Windows  RT”, the tile interface is very colorful and well laid out. The touch screen is quite responsive, still definitely needs some fine-tuning. There were times; I had to touch the app/screen twice to the expected response however when the application responded it loaded pretty fast. Already within an app and you need to go back to the home screen, just touch and Microsoft logo located at the lower part of the tablet’s screen and there you are back to the home page. I definitely prefer the home button on the surface to what’s on the IPad.
    The home interface tiles all update in real time, a huge plus for someone who needs to see and have things in real time no need waiting to launch an app before seeing all the potential updates.
    Office Software use & availability – Woohooo, this is a huge advantage here for the surface tablet of course this has to be made to work with the surface tablet seamlessly, they are all Microsoft products. The addition of the keyboard and mouse makes that much easier to work with the office application on the surface tablet.
    Pictures are well displayed and arranged nicely within the tablet, navigating and scrolling through them also seems easy.

 

The NOT SO GOOD …………. Ok, the NOT SO GOOD features or lack there off does not mean that the Surface tablet is not a good device or a good alternative for a tablet.  All it means is that these features could have been improved upon or added before the device came to market.

  •  Limited apps puts the tablet at a disadvantage tablet when compared to the apps available to the IPad and Android tablets. However, with time, more apps will become available.
  •  Price point for the Surface tablet, I think is a little high, Microsoft could have started the based version at $399, in a market currently flooded with the tablets within the same price point, Microsoft could move more units at that price point than at $499 starting price.
  •  Lack of cellular network chip puts the tablet at a disadvantage over its rivals.
  •  The desktop mode available within the tablet did not seem that useful to me. I might need to spend more time with it, I found it a little difficult to navigate while using the touch interface.
  •  The Pinch & zoom features within the photo gallery did not work that well and when it worked, when pictures are zoomed, they do not refresh to produce clear pics. Maybe this is just a flaw with the sample model I played with.

In conclusion, Microsoft definitely has presented a great alternative to the IPad and Android tablet. If you are tired of the Android or IPad interface/features. The Surface will be a great option for you.

Enjoy some of the pictures of the Microsoft Surface Tablet

 

A Halloween Tech post from Tech Dad

I know it been a while I posted on this blog. So relaunch the posting season, I present to you a post from fellow blogger Techdad.com

Read & Enjoy

http://www.hightechdad.com/2012/10/30/zombies-bots-and-trojans-are-trick-or-treating-in-your-computer/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hightechdad+%28HighTechDad+Blog%29

Reflections on Colorado Movie Theater Shooting

Dear fellows,
I cannot help but think about folks who lost thier life at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado where a raging lunatic but supposedly smart man decided to unleash his gun fury on innocent people.
My heart goes out to the family of those lost and injured. I pray God will console them fully.
Let us all remember those lost and thier family in our thoughts and prayers.

Have a great weekend

Feature & Publication of my work in the BayState Parent Magazine

A big thank you to Carrie Wattu and the publication team at the BayState Parent Magazine for accepting, featuring and publishing my work in their magazine. Check my write and picture post on page 43 of the magazine. Links are posted below. Enjoy

http://picturenomics.com/blog/2012/07/04/double-publication-my-work-in-the-baystate-parent-magazine/

http://issuu.com/baystateparent/docs/0612bsp/43

Oh no… My toddler calls me by name

For some time now, my toddler son have been calling me by my name, whenever he is corrected, he says “No Daddy, Yinka”. We all laugh about it and just let him go with what he is comfortable with for now.  Yea, it sounds cute when he calls my name especially when he wants something, but overall, it really should not be so. I must however give him some credit because there are instances when he will call me Daddy but for the most part he calls me by my name.

So what is my take on this? Well, while I correct him as much as I can, I accept that he is observing a lot of things around him and he is learning as he grows, he sees everyone calling me by name, so he feels that the only name that seems right is my first name, so most times he calls me by my first name.  Interestingly, enough, he calls my wife “mummy” without any hesitation.

For now, I have decided not to enforce much of the daddy thing and have him say it when he feels like it, I correct him every now and then with the hopes that he will eventually start calling me daddy fully when he gets older. There are other things right now that I would rather concentrate my time and effort on for him to become a success kid. I believe he will eventually drop the name-calling and start calling “Daddy” all the way.

Have you had a similar experience with your child, I would like to hear about it.

Cheers

Best practices for securing your online site and web application access

With the recent news of hackers hacking into the LinkedIn web application network, http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/06/technology/linkedin-password-hack/index.htm?hpt=hp_c1
I would just like to remind us all to do the following in order to continually secure our information out online.

• Log into your LinkedIn or any other application account and change your password immediately even if you feel your account password was not compromised.

Other steps to consider and follow…………….

• Make sure your password is strong i.e have a combination of letters, numbers, special characters, upper and lower case alphabets
• Never write down your password on a piece of paper
• Never check off auto login on websites that require username and passwords (easy target for information thieves to get access to your data)
• If you must store your passwords on your phone, make sure the password vault is secure.
• Do not use the auto information filler within the web browsers.
• Make sure the security & virus protection application on your computer is up to date
• Avoid clicking/opening links you are not familiar with

Surf safe and treat your respective site access with utmost security, it is your personal information, secure it carefully.

Long Haul Travel with a Toddler

If there is one thing that I hate to hear when travelling, it is that voice of a crying or noisy child in a plane/car/bus, driving or flying cross-country. As someone that travels a few times in a year, I usually pray against any kids on a plane that I am travelling in.

Now that I have a little one of my own, all I can say is “Thank God”, this far, my son has been pretty good with long distance travels. He’s being on at least four long distance trips. On his first trip from Boston to LA, shockingly, he was very quiet and just played with his toys. Everyone on the plane loved how gentle he was and wished their kids would do the same. We’ve had parents ask my wife, and myself; how are we able to keep your son calm for most part of the trip and we usually tell them, we are just lucky, but then as I start to think about it more, our response did not seem entirely accurate, there are a few things that we do in order to prepare ourselves and our toddler for long trips of which the most important ones I believe are outlined below.

Please keep in mind that, the suggestions for the most part are all based on my experience and lessons learnt from friends who have travelled with their toddler kids.

Favorite snacks on hand – This makes the kids happy and calm whenever they are able to eat as much as they can of their favorite snack or meal.  Unfortunately my son is a very picky eater and we are very limited to type of snacks or small meals we can take with us on trips. We usually take the snacks in zip lock bags, or we buy the snacks in small packets with juice boxes, so they are easy to carry and hand over to him to eat when needed.

Portal DVD player or IPAD with their favorite shows/apps – Trust me this goes a long way, if you don’t have an IPAD, get a kindle fire, you can download and play hours of entertainment for the kids to keep them occupied while on a long trip. Gadgets like the Ipad or Kindle provide fun child games and entertainment like drawing, book coloring, Disney games & app such as Toy story & more.  There are lots of free apps and for some you pay a small fee before downloading, but trust me the cost is worth than having a bored child on board a long trip.

For those that are not able to afford a tablet, you can get a portable dvd player and take a couple of hours of toddler dvds with you. It all helps you buy some peace and quite for as long they are entertained.

Coloring book with mess free markers – Works like a charm, they can keep scribing for a while you catch a break. Interesting to see how technology have evolved over the years with kids markers and crayons, when I was a kid, we had no mess free markers, once we wrote on something, the stain was there for a while or forever. With the mess free markers, the markers will only work on paper.

Your singing voice – Be sure to pay attention to your toddler moods in time to sing to them, it helps take their mind from boredom while you retain your sanity from the noise, crying and the yelling. My son like songs from the “Fresh Beat Band”, and we sing this to him as needed throughout the journey.

Mimic their favorite cartoon character – Mimicking their favorite cartoon character(s) voice makes them laugh and feel entertained while strapped in their chair. My son likes the show “Go Diego Go” so I try to mimic Diego’s voice; he finds it really hilarious and entertaining.

Bathroom Breaks – Definitely a must, during a long distance travel. While on a plane, get up from your seat with your toddler not just for diaper changes but also to stretch, take them up and down the aisle when possible. On road trips, pull into rest stops, take your child out of the car seat, carry them for a little while or have them walk around a bit. That gets them re-energized automatically.

Learn to do what makes them comfortable – This one I have learnt the hard way, a short story about what happened, my son was sleeping with his jacket on in his car seat when we were about 2 hours into a 4 hour drive back to our home base when I decided to remove his jacket. At first, he jabbed me as a form of leave me alone I am fine. Then I tried again and forcefully removed the jacket, well long story short, the kid cried for about 45 mins. That was hell for everyone in the car.  My wife was so upset with me she would not talk to me. Long story short, leave them as they are so long as they look comfortable.

 

The Tech-Totting Mama

So, I was on Black Enterprise online and I came across the article that outlines six gadgets for the tech savvy mum. Link provided below,http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/6-gadgets-for-the-tech-savvy-mom/

The article presented the - Canon Powershot Camera, Asus Notebook, Nook e-book reader and more. While they have highlighted 6 really good ones, I would like to add a few tech gadgets for the tech-totting mama

Ipad – I am not sure why this was not on the list but the Ipad is a gadget that a mum should have. It is a want that has become a need. A mum can use it as a e-book
reader,  buy, store and create her favorite kitchen recipes, use it to occupy the kids while at home or long road trips with plenty of kid friendly apps. Facetime/skype with kids while in college or away at summer camps. Check emails on the go and more.  It is one tech gadget that should be an add-on accessory for the tech-totting mama. A 16gb with Wifi will set you back about $499, a worthy investment if I might say that. There are other alternatives to the ipad like Samsung galaxy, which is also very good and comes highly recommended.

 

A Smartphone – Every tech mum with a swag and personality must have an Android or an Iphone. These phones are designed to make your life easier with apps and functions to keep things organized, easily stay in contact with friends and family, capture/share and keep cherished moments of the kids on the field and more.  The white colored ones are created to match a mama’s taste and chic techy attitude. Prop up your phone with a nice phone case with a pop of color that acts as mini wallet for your ATM card and driver’s license. It commands more of cool presence than a black colored phone. A must have for a mum in my books. For those mums that are still using the blackberry, I would highly encourage you to try the iPhone or an android, once you try them, you will never go back.

Ok, those are my additions above.

Do you have other tech gadgets that could make a mum’s life easier, please feel free to add it.

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