So I decided to talk about something simple today. Every day we stick a toothbrush in our mouth to try to clean the gunk away. Lately I have been trying a couple of different types of brush thanks to Costco sells.
Let me start with a few from Oral B. I have used in the last year 3 different types that they make. Advantage, CrossAction and Pulsar.
The Oral B Pulsar is by far the most expensive toothbrush I have ever used. I felt bad throwing it away actually. Basically it is a disposable powered toothbrush. The cleaning head is split in the middle and has some loose fitted rubber toothpick shaped things on it. When you turn it on they kind of jiggle a little bit. I used this line for about a year. I actually really enjoyed this brush for its ability to give your gums and teeth a nice massage. The split head made it work rather well at cleaning the hard to get to places. Basically what it did is put on cleaning surface on the front of your teeth and another on on the biting edge. It works rather well. The downside is that it is rather expensive. Without Costco or the coupon they are around $6 each. It's a lot of money to ask for a disposable brush. Perhaps the worst part about this was that the battery compartment is sealed. I found that I was normally using the brush long after the battery died simply because the battery didn't last as long as the cleaning head.
Then there is the Advantage. A lot of the same features from the Pulsar are transplanted onto the Advantage. It has the rubber things on the side and a similar brush layout. It does not have the split head. It also doesn't have the massage power. I used this brush for about half a year. All in all it is a good brush. It's just not great. The bristles maintain a rather flat field. I noticed that it normally didn't reach into the areas between the teeth.
After using the Advantage I got a coupon for the Colgate 360. It advertises that it cleans all the surfaces of your mouth. I bought a whole pack from Costco because the deal was killer. One new device that is becoming more popular is the tongue cleaner. The 360 employs this on the reverse side of the bristles. Basically it is a bunch of rubber nubs. The first thing I noticed about this device is that I haven't had a single sore in my mouth since then. Maybe it's because I have been cutting back on M&Ms. Still, usually I get some sores at the corner of my mouth and in my cheeks. Since brushing with the 360 I have not. It's been a couple of months at least. The other side is where the criticism comes in. The 360 basically doesn't clean my teeth. There is nothing reaching for your gums. All of the bristles are flat except for a few really tiny ones that poke out ever so slightly from the sides. They basically contribute nothing to the cleaning of your teeth. By the time I had been using one anywhere close to the point where it was wearing out I was tired of it. We went back to Costco and bought a pack of Oral B CrossAction brushes. I threw out the Colgate 360 the day we got the new ones. We now have a bag of unused Colgate toothbrushes you can have if you want.
The Oral B CrossAction has a lot of the same features that the Colgate 360 has. It has a tongue cleaner on the back. What really makes it work for me is that instead of a flat surface of bristles it has layers of bristles that are angled and staggered in opposing directions. The staggering give the bristles gaps where there are no bristles. This gives them a large range of motion. The opposing directions and angles layout allows the brush to work to clean out deep areas between teeth and allow the brush to be very effective in both directions. One set cleans as you push and another cleans as you pull. This is unique to any toothbrushes I have used.
My recommendation is clear. The Oral B CrossAction is by far the better toothbrush. It is less expensive than most of the others in this review yet cleans better than them.
When it all comes down the way I really rate a toothbrush is that the one I prefer is the one that leaves me less gunk to floss out of my teeth after I'm done brushing. Because there is nothing like following one chore with another one.
July 23, 2010
June 24, 2010
Slide
I thought I might review something other than a movie today. I recently bought a new cell phone. In truth this is the only phone I have paid more than $20 for. I purchased a MyTouch Slide from HTC and T-Mobile.
All told the phone cost me about $150 after mail in rebate. Honestly not that bad considering that only a few years ago $150 only bought you a cell phone with some limited music playback. A few years before that all it got you was a color screen. At the time I got my first cell phone (at least one that I didn't share with anyone else) $150 got you very little over what you could get in a free phone model.
The Slide is a phone built around the Android operating system. It really is one of many similar phones. Android, for anyone who doesn't know, is a phone operating system that was designed from the ground up to provide users with something very capable of connecting you to the internet at any time and provide you with full web capability. It has done very well at this end up to date. The main competitor it has is the iPhone which should be familiar to everyone (even my mom).
My particular phone was built around the idea of creating an "entry level" smartphone. I don't exactly know what makes one smartphone or another entry level. Perhaps the easiest tell is the price tag, though that is ever changing. In truth there is VERY little difference from one Android phone to another. For the most part they all operate very similar and can run very similar programs. For instance, my phone is very adept at running a program designed to turn the LED flash on a Motorola Droid into a flashlight. That being said, internally phones now resemble computers and as we are all familiar with these days some computers just have more power. The Slide falls pretty average on the power scale. It is roughly comparable to the iPhone 3GS or the Motorola Droid.
Why did I get the slide when I could have got a Droid or an iPhone? Couple of reasons. First of all the Slide looks very nice. Honestly in aesthetics I give it an A. I purchased it in red. In my view it just looks nicer than a Droid. It has round edges. It has a large screen with a black frame that contrasts nicely with the red body.
The Slide also has a slide out keyboard (thus the name). Now this is fairly important to me. Anyone who spends a lot of time using a phone knows that whatever the input device it needs to be comfortable. I spent a lot of time looking at many phones with many types of keyboards, including many with only a touch screen keyboard (like the iPhone). For the most part they all give me a lot of problems. They are uncomfortable to use or hard to figure out. This phone has large keys with excellent spacing. It has 2 shift keys. I have found it easy to use for long periods of time. I have already on at least one occasion held a lengthy chat session with a friend. I am unaware if he knew I was using my phone at all.
The keyboard was not just a consideration for me. I also got one for Stephanie. I knew that whatever the new phone I got was going to be I needed to have a lot of accommodations for the wife. She is prone to typing a lot online and I figured it must have a good keyboard or she would not want it.
In addition to the slide-out keyboard the phone also has a new technology for on screen typing called Swype. Swype is a simple keyboard that you drag your finger across letters to spell words. It uses recognized patterns to determine what you are typing. It was so intuitive I had it figured out in about 60 seconds.
The Slide was also listed as one of the first devices to get the upgrade to Android 2.2. I would be lying if that didn't factor into my decision a lot. If they had not made that promise I would have waited until something came out that DID have 2.2. It may not mean anything but in short Android 2.2 is an operating system update that was more or less designed to make everything perform better and faster. With an entry level product I was concerned with life cycle. I didn't want to purchase something that would, in a year or so, become some slow that it would become unusable. You can probably relate. Have you ever bought a computer that seemed really great when you turned it on the first time but then after a year or so it started to seem sluggish? I want to avoid that with the phone since we won't be eligible for a discounted upgrade for 2 years from the time we buy the thing.
So, if HTC does their job right then after we get used to our phones we'll get this fancy new upgrade for free that will increase the speed of the phones down the road a few months. It will suddenly feel as if we are getting a new phone.
Now a lot of people may wonder if the speed increase will be that noticeable. From all accounts, both from the developers and outside testers, the average speed increase for Java based applications (the apps all run as Java apps) is something like 4.2 times faster that the current version. This type of speed increase typically never happens in software systems. Usually speed is increased in percentages not multiples.
Another sales point to me is the wireless internet package from T-Mobile. I know there are a lot of T-Mobile haters around but it is hard to argue that they have reasonably priced internet access from mobile devices. $30 per month for unlimited access. Right around the market average. It's better than AT&T in that it is unlimited. Soon, it may be one of the leading wireless networks in the country as they roll out their new HSPA+ system. Once it is rolled out it will provide people like me speeds that other carriers can only achieve in 4th generation wireless telecommunications systems, which so far come with an additional price tag. Again, this fits my plan to have a phone that will get faster AFTER we have been using it for a while.
In relation to the internet the web browser works great. It will load just about any page I have tried. It will even load Flash elements on pages.
Probably the thing I like about this phone best is that it is customizable like my laptop. Like my laptop I can make it my own by adding a wallpaper and some shortcuts to folders and programs and such. It makes the whole system seem very much like it belongs to me. My previous phone was a Nokia. One of the things that impressed me most about it was how it allowed me to make the home screen whatever I wanted by adding shortcuts and small programs (like a countdown timer that I use almost every day) to it. I could put up a picture I took or put on the phone as a wallpaper. At one point I took a photo of my laptop's desktop picture so that both my phone and laptop had the same photo. I like that Android allows this kind of user configuration.
Many will argue that an iPhone is better because of this or that. I won't argue with you. I have used an iPhone or 2. They are great phones. Seriously, they are great phones. I'm not saying my phone is better than an iPhone. In truth I get tired of people comparing them.
One comparison I will make. Since iPhones are only available for AT&T I would just put in that the call quality is not good enough. If you have an iPhone I prefer you call me from a landline so I can hear more than half of what you say. iPhone or another phone I want to hear what you are saying and for some reason it is difficult for me to understand people on AT&T.
So, if you are in the market for a new phone the message of todays writing is simply to say, I like the MyTouch Slide from T-Mobile. I recommend you look at one.
All told the phone cost me about $150 after mail in rebate. Honestly not that bad considering that only a few years ago $150 only bought you a cell phone with some limited music playback. A few years before that all it got you was a color screen. At the time I got my first cell phone (at least one that I didn't share with anyone else) $150 got you very little over what you could get in a free phone model.
The Slide is a phone built around the Android operating system. It really is one of many similar phones. Android, for anyone who doesn't know, is a phone operating system that was designed from the ground up to provide users with something very capable of connecting you to the internet at any time and provide you with full web capability. It has done very well at this end up to date. The main competitor it has is the iPhone which should be familiar to everyone (even my mom).
My particular phone was built around the idea of creating an "entry level" smartphone. I don't exactly know what makes one smartphone or another entry level. Perhaps the easiest tell is the price tag, though that is ever changing. In truth there is VERY little difference from one Android phone to another. For the most part they all operate very similar and can run very similar programs. For instance, my phone is very adept at running a program designed to turn the LED flash on a Motorola Droid into a flashlight. That being said, internally phones now resemble computers and as we are all familiar with these days some computers just have more power. The Slide falls pretty average on the power scale. It is roughly comparable to the iPhone 3GS or the Motorola Droid.
Why did I get the slide when I could have got a Droid or an iPhone? Couple of reasons. First of all the Slide looks very nice. Honestly in aesthetics I give it an A. I purchased it in red. In my view it just looks nicer than a Droid. It has round edges. It has a large screen with a black frame that contrasts nicely with the red body.
The Slide also has a slide out keyboard (thus the name). Now this is fairly important to me. Anyone who spends a lot of time using a phone knows that whatever the input device it needs to be comfortable. I spent a lot of time looking at many phones with many types of keyboards, including many with only a touch screen keyboard (like the iPhone). For the most part they all give me a lot of problems. They are uncomfortable to use or hard to figure out. This phone has large keys with excellent spacing. It has 2 shift keys. I have found it easy to use for long periods of time. I have already on at least one occasion held a lengthy chat session with a friend. I am unaware if he knew I was using my phone at all.
The keyboard was not just a consideration for me. I also got one for Stephanie. I knew that whatever the new phone I got was going to be I needed to have a lot of accommodations for the wife. She is prone to typing a lot online and I figured it must have a good keyboard or she would not want it.
In addition to the slide-out keyboard the phone also has a new technology for on screen typing called Swype. Swype is a simple keyboard that you drag your finger across letters to spell words. It uses recognized patterns to determine what you are typing. It was so intuitive I had it figured out in about 60 seconds.
The Slide was also listed as one of the first devices to get the upgrade to Android 2.2. I would be lying if that didn't factor into my decision a lot. If they had not made that promise I would have waited until something came out that DID have 2.2. It may not mean anything but in short Android 2.2 is an operating system update that was more or less designed to make everything perform better and faster. With an entry level product I was concerned with life cycle. I didn't want to purchase something that would, in a year or so, become some slow that it would become unusable. You can probably relate. Have you ever bought a computer that seemed really great when you turned it on the first time but then after a year or so it started to seem sluggish? I want to avoid that with the phone since we won't be eligible for a discounted upgrade for 2 years from the time we buy the thing.
So, if HTC does their job right then after we get used to our phones we'll get this fancy new upgrade for free that will increase the speed of the phones down the road a few months. It will suddenly feel as if we are getting a new phone.
Now a lot of people may wonder if the speed increase will be that noticeable. From all accounts, both from the developers and outside testers, the average speed increase for Java based applications (the apps all run as Java apps) is something like 4.2 times faster that the current version. This type of speed increase typically never happens in software systems. Usually speed is increased in percentages not multiples.
Another sales point to me is the wireless internet package from T-Mobile. I know there are a lot of T-Mobile haters around but it is hard to argue that they have reasonably priced internet access from mobile devices. $30 per month for unlimited access. Right around the market average. It's better than AT&T in that it is unlimited. Soon, it may be one of the leading wireless networks in the country as they roll out their new HSPA+ system. Once it is rolled out it will provide people like me speeds that other carriers can only achieve in 4th generation wireless telecommunications systems, which so far come with an additional price tag. Again, this fits my plan to have a phone that will get faster AFTER we have been using it for a while.
In relation to the internet the web browser works great. It will load just about any page I have tried. It will even load Flash elements on pages.
Probably the thing I like about this phone best is that it is customizable like my laptop. Like my laptop I can make it my own by adding a wallpaper and some shortcuts to folders and programs and such. It makes the whole system seem very much like it belongs to me. My previous phone was a Nokia. One of the things that impressed me most about it was how it allowed me to make the home screen whatever I wanted by adding shortcuts and small programs (like a countdown timer that I use almost every day) to it. I could put up a picture I took or put on the phone as a wallpaper. At one point I took a photo of my laptop's desktop picture so that both my phone and laptop had the same photo. I like that Android allows this kind of user configuration.
Many will argue that an iPhone is better because of this or that. I won't argue with you. I have used an iPhone or 2. They are great phones. Seriously, they are great phones. I'm not saying my phone is better than an iPhone. In truth I get tired of people comparing them.
One comparison I will make. Since iPhones are only available for AT&T I would just put in that the call quality is not good enough. If you have an iPhone I prefer you call me from a landline so I can hear more than half of what you say. iPhone or another phone I want to hear what you are saying and for some reason it is difficult for me to understand people on AT&T.
So, if you are in the market for a new phone the message of todays writing is simply to say, I like the MyTouch Slide from T-Mobile. I recommend you look at one.
April 23, 2010
Family
I think there are a lot of things in the popular culture that say that time spent with you family is wasted time. There is fighting and old scars. There are any number of things that they infer that time spent with family is. The one thing that seems overlooked is that it is usually very refreshing as well.
As I write this I am on an airplane flying home from Iowa where the wife and I just spent a wonderful weekend with my sister. Before I left Orange County my coworkers asked me why I was going to Iowa. Every time I told them, “My sister lives there.” It is as if there is some kind of expectation that when someone takes vacation from work that it should be to go somewhere to party. The follow up question is always, “Other than your sister, what's in Iowa?”
Contrast has been on my mind a lot over the last few months. This trip has definitely been one of contrast. We left from Los Angeles International Airport. The security was impersonal and in a hurry to get everyone through the security. There are something like 9 terminals at LAX. The drive to the airport was nothing but city.
Landing at Des Moines International Airport was quite different as you can imagine. There is only basically one terminal/building. There was one other plane on the ground when we landed. The drive from the airport was wide open country in comparison. We could see the tall buildings of downtown Des Moines in the distance but the freeway we rode along had no city or buildings nearby. We saw a deer standing by the side of the road within a few miles of the airport. Security at the airport was also very simple and friendly.
My sister lives in a small town about 40 minutes North of Des Moines. Small by my reckoning at least. They have a couple of grocery stores and a couple of other things that makes them reasonably large. I live in Anaheim, California. Orange County is like one large city with no clear demarcations for when one city ends and another begins, a fact that is further confused by the odd shapes of cities like Anaheim.
I suppose the message is clear enough. We live in two wildly different places. I know that most of the people I associate with would not think of Iowa when they think of great destinations to spend that precious time away from the office.
But we didn't go there to sight-see. We went because of family.
Growing up in Northern California I had some really close friends. Perhaps my closest friend was my sister. She is a few years older than I am and was a bit more sociable than I ever was. When I became a teenager I didn't have too many friends yet. But because my sister and I had many years to build a close relationship I never had far to go to find something to do. My sister always took me along with her friends to movies and parties until I had a few close friends of my own after a couple of years. My friends easily became her friends as well.
When you have a relationship like that it can be kind of hard to live so far apart. Over the last 10 years we have only been able to see each other once every year or so. In that time she has had basically 4 kids grow up and it has always been hard to not be a part of their lives except upon occasion.
Now I have as many issues with members of my family as any stereotype. My sister and I have had enough fights over the years for me to lose count. But when it comes down to it we are family. When it comes time to have fun and leave the every day behind I can't think of a better place in the world to go. Las Vegas just can't compete no matter how many lights and shows they put up. Nothing can quite put that smile on your face like little Annika. I can laugh harder watching Animaniacs with the kids than any comedian can produce from my belly.
I think it's very clear how Iowa has exactly the right things to make it the perfect vacation spot.
As I write this I am on an airplane flying home from Iowa where the wife and I just spent a wonderful weekend with my sister. Before I left Orange County my coworkers asked me why I was going to Iowa. Every time I told them, “My sister lives there.” It is as if there is some kind of expectation that when someone takes vacation from work that it should be to go somewhere to party. The follow up question is always, “Other than your sister, what's in Iowa?”
Contrast has been on my mind a lot over the last few months. This trip has definitely been one of contrast. We left from Los Angeles International Airport. The security was impersonal and in a hurry to get everyone through the security. There are something like 9 terminals at LAX. The drive to the airport was nothing but city.
Landing at Des Moines International Airport was quite different as you can imagine. There is only basically one terminal/building. There was one other plane on the ground when we landed. The drive from the airport was wide open country in comparison. We could see the tall buildings of downtown Des Moines in the distance but the freeway we rode along had no city or buildings nearby. We saw a deer standing by the side of the road within a few miles of the airport. Security at the airport was also very simple and friendly.
My sister lives in a small town about 40 minutes North of Des Moines. Small by my reckoning at least. They have a couple of grocery stores and a couple of other things that makes them reasonably large. I live in Anaheim, California. Orange County is like one large city with no clear demarcations for when one city ends and another begins, a fact that is further confused by the odd shapes of cities like Anaheim.
I suppose the message is clear enough. We live in two wildly different places. I know that most of the people I associate with would not think of Iowa when they think of great destinations to spend that precious time away from the office.
But we didn't go there to sight-see. We went because of family.
Growing up in Northern California I had some really close friends. Perhaps my closest friend was my sister. She is a few years older than I am and was a bit more sociable than I ever was. When I became a teenager I didn't have too many friends yet. But because my sister and I had many years to build a close relationship I never had far to go to find something to do. My sister always took me along with her friends to movies and parties until I had a few close friends of my own after a couple of years. My friends easily became her friends as well.
When you have a relationship like that it can be kind of hard to live so far apart. Over the last 10 years we have only been able to see each other once every year or so. In that time she has had basically 4 kids grow up and it has always been hard to not be a part of their lives except upon occasion.
Now I have as many issues with members of my family as any stereotype. My sister and I have had enough fights over the years for me to lose count. But when it comes down to it we are family. When it comes time to have fun and leave the every day behind I can't think of a better place in the world to go. Las Vegas just can't compete no matter how many lights and shows they put up. Nothing can quite put that smile on your face like little Annika. I can laugh harder watching Animaniacs with the kids than any comedian can produce from my belly.
I think it's very clear how Iowa has exactly the right things to make it the perfect vacation spot.
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