Snippets: 8th February 2013

Galaxy S4 in April? Pyongyang rips off COD, Arsenal’s very first website

Snippets: 8th February 2013
Snippets: 8th February 2013

If you are buying a smartphone, you might want to wait till April for a reputable Korean firm. Call of Duty has landed North Korea in YouTube hot soup as Activision (and not the United States) takes its video down. Arsenal’s site has gone through a massive revamp but do you remember the very first version? The Surface Pro hits reviewers but which reviewer has it right? Also, the Economist talks about limits to dialogue triggering memories of papers titled limits to growth.

 

#1: Samsung Galaxy S4 likely available in April

The Galaxy S2 was the phone that brought prominence to Samsung and Android. It was the first actual iPhone competitor. A year later, the S3 sold like hotcakes, placing Samsung firmly in the driving seat. If you want to have a look at what Samsung has next up its sleeve, the word is that the S4 will be out in April with components such as displays already being produced. Samsung is very well known for being able to seamlessly ramp up production. Hit the link for a read. [via Android Authority]

 

#2: Activision Calls North Korea Out for Copying COD

As it turns out, North Korean officials use YouTube. Pyongyang’s official YouTube channel placed a video depicting a scene where a space shuttle crashes into New York. I’m not sure how well that does for claims that their space programme is purely peaceful. Anyways, in order to produce the footage they ripped part of Activision’s popular game – Call of Duty. The video was promptly taken down for copyright violations. Welcome to the internet, Pyongyang.  [via BBC World]

 

#3: The Very First Version of Arsenal’s Official Website

Like it or hate it, the new Arsenal.com is designed for mobile devices first and then desktop users. The site employs a responsive design which is a  smart direction to ensure that the site fits any screen resolution thrown at it. Yours truly will want to do so for this site as well when given the time. But what was Arsenal.com like back in 1998? Before stepping on this link, recall all the sites in the 1990s on Angelfire and Geocities. It’ll help. [via Wayback Machine]

 

#4: A Proper Microsoft Surface Pro Review

The much hyped Surface Pro has been with reviewers for a while and the NDA was lifted today. Looking at the reviews (which span from praise to disgust), one thing is clear – no one really knows how to review a convertible. What do you compare such devices to? Laptops? Or tablets? While sites attempt to figure out how to best review what is called the signature device in a new product space, Paul Thurrott nails it with his objective review of the Surface. This man covers Microsoft for his living and doesn’t mince words when he sees something wrong with the company. I’d rather read reviews on Microsoft products by a n author who runs Windows rather than scores of tech bloggers hammering away reviews on their Macs. Vice versa for Apple products. [via Winsupersite]

 

#5: Is Singapore Facing Limits to Dialogue?

Economists love to talk about limits and its not just in the series of often confounding equations that we work on. Limits to growth and limits to anything spawns from the basic idea of the law of diminishing returns. Too much of a good thing… ain’t a good thing. Read that being applied to the PAP’s more open approach to policy formulation. Of course, read anything political with a pinch of salt. [via The Economist]