Abuse of the Flashback Technique

The flashback is a literary plot device that allows the depiction of events that occurred before the beginning of the narrative. Its primary purpose is to clarify a hitherto unexplained part of the plot and its secondary purpose is to add a bit of suspense and mystery to the literary work. Over time, it has been employed for other purposes such as depicting a false account of events as narrated by one of the characters. In the very recent movie, Vantage Point (2008), it was used to depict accurate but different perspectives of the same event thereby creating a sense of mystery. It has also been used in many TV series but of late, I feel the technique is being over-used, abused and excessively relied upon.

Hisense Sero 7 Pro: The Best 7-inch Tablet

The best 7-inch Android tablet has been the Google Nexus 7 retailing for $200. Indeed, the Nexus 7 deserves its pride of place in the tablet market as Asus and Google proved that it was possible to deliver top-spec hardware and good build quality at a low price. The Nexus 7 is not without its faults though. Its major sore point is the lack of expandable storage. But its absence has more to do with the idiosyncrasies of Google and its Nexus devices than it has to do with cost. Regardless, no other 7 inch Android tablet has been able to offer a perfect mix of performance and price. Many have come close but miss the mark. That is no longer the case though. There is a new King of the Hill and its name is the Sero 7 Pro.

BBM on iPhone & Android: Could this be BlackBerry’s Waterloo?

I should start by saying pun intended. BlackBerry has announced that their instant messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be available on Apple’s iPhone and Google Android in a few months. On the face of it, making a service available on multiple platforms is a good move as it ensures cross-compatibility and helps to grow its user base. There is however an exception to every rule and in this case, I think Blackberry is that exception.

2014 S Class: First Impressions

The all new Mercedes Benz S Class (Model W222) was unveiled yesterday and there was nothing new to see in terms of styling; no thanks to several spy shots. In retrospect, Mercedes shouldn’t have released those teaser images of the interior. The numerous leaks didn’t help either. So what’s new? Honestly, not very much. In fact, I think we've seen this car before.

Person of Interest: The Machine (from a tech perspective)

This is a tech version of an earlier article. I should start by saying this: if you do not watch Person of Interest, then this article is not for you. It will make little or no sense to you. However, if you are one of the fortunate people that watch this show but are not a techie, then please read on. I theorized that Finch could still control the machine.  My primary concern here is The Machine’s command set/command structure.

A Word On iOS 7

This seems to be a popular opinion that the primary objective of the on-going redesign of iOS that will culminate in iOS 7 is to get rid of the skeuomorphic illustrations. Many even go on to imply that skeuomorphism is the major problem with iOS today. Though we are yet to see any glimpse of iOS 7, I think the suggestion that skeuomorphism is its bane is nothing but a fallacy. Yes, iOS in its present form is outdated and is a bit of a mishmash but suggesting that skeuomorphism is the reason behind its almost archaic nature will onlyserve to portray a lack of understanding of user interfaces and user experience. Unfortunately, many others have also adopted this reasoning.