Energy storage is one technology that has not obeyed Moore’s law.  This is clearly the case in smartphones–I often see heavy users plug in their phones everywhere they go to maintain enough juice to last the entire day.

In contrast, my dumb phone holds enough charge to last 4 days on standby. The bottom line is that the more functionality your mobile device has, the shorter the battery life will be. These features include 4G antennas, multitasking apps, push notifications, WiFi/Bluetooth activity, background processes, and flash camera use.

I’m often asked for tips to prolong battery life on the iPhone 4S. For those without the software glitch, here are a few suggestions (some are phone agnostic):

• Shut down background apps. Back when I was writing TSR‘s, I learned that background processes with leaky memory will throttle cpu big time. On the iPhone 4S, hold the Home button until a list of apps appears on the screen. Hold onto one of the icons until they start shaking. You will also see a red negative sign. Hit the sign to shut down the apps. This is most useful in apps that require net access. On Android, you can use Advanced Task Killer.
• Disable Bluetooth when not in use. Obvious.
• Disable cell signal if you are in poor reception areas. If you’re not expecting calls or texts, this is the way to go.
• Disable push notifications on non-urgent apps.  Tricky. If you’re a day trader and rely on your texting/phone vibration for your job, you may be out of luck. You can also increase polling time.
• Disable Flash. Pertinent to Android devices. Yes, Flash is a battery killer.

There are many “disables” on this list. There are also a dozen other minor tweaks that can be found online. Be aware that apps typically aren’t screened as closely for memory leaks or routines that potentially cycle cpu time without effect. Your battery life will greatly depend on the apps you use daily.  Unfortunately we are still limited by our technology, but perhaps these recommendations will help get you through the day.

computing computing, tech

Snooki is an idiot. I was recently made aware of her quote in Ok! magazine that false eyelashes are functional even during sleep.  This statement is absurd for many reasons, but false eyelash use during sleep certainly raises concern about one’s hygiene.  It does not require much knowledge of science to realize that these eyelashes must attach to the eyelid somehow using an adhesive.  Common eyelash glues consist of latex, gum, and a touch of formaldehyde as a fixative.   Given this composition, I’d imagine that I would not want this material on my skin or near my eyes longer than necessary.  Many companies market these glues as certified as waterproof–to me this just means that more dirt will be able to stick to them from the longer duration of use.

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medicine oculoplastics, ophthalmology, rant

I’m often asked by my non-ophthalmology friends, “I am near sighted, and I also have astigmatism. My eye doctor tells me that my eye is shaped like a football instead of a basketball. I sort of get it, but what does that mean? Am I deformed?”

Indeed, this explanation captures the essence of the problem, but for most people, having astigmatism does not mean that you have been cursed with a football-shaped eye.  For those my Chinese readers, astigmatism is written as, “散光”. (Mandarin: sǎn guāng; Cantonese: saan2 gwong1)

Again, for MOST people, astigmatism is a condition OFTEN completely correctable with contact lenses, glasses, or refractive surgery, assuming that there are not other underlying issues in your eyes.

In order for the eye to transmit a clear image of what is in front of us to our brain, light travelling into our eye must be focused directly onto the retina.  There are many conditions that can prevent light from reaching the retina, and astigmatism is one of them.  For most issues, astigmatism involves the cornea, a clear structure in the front of the eye that is responsible for bending light entering the eye onto the retina.  For those of use that are near-sighted (myopic), light is focused in front of the retina. For far-sighted folks (hyperopic), light is focused behind the retina (optically speaking). When we visualize this system in the two or three dimensional planes, light at different axes can be bent at different angles, resulting in a variable focus onto the retina. This is astigmatism.

One can have myopia or hyperopia with astigmatism. These two categories are not mutually exclusive.  Your ophthalmologist can accurately diagnose astigmatism and offer treatment recommendations.

medicine ophthalmology

I recently had the opportunity to travel on an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft built to date. The A380 has a full second floor in the hull.  It has a passenger capacity of over 550 in a typical 3 class configuration.  There are two staircases in the cabin.

Boarding can be tedious, given the volume of passengers. At CDG, we boarded through two bilevel jetbridges in the 2F terminal.  I was one of the last 100 to board the plane, and waited approximately 45mins in line.  However, after everyone was situated, the flight was quite pleasant.

The most notable difference in the travel experience in the A380 was the smoothness in takeoff and landing.  There was little indication of the ground speed in takeoff, and the cabin was significantly more quiet than in other aircraft, presumably because the hull is much further from the engines.  I felt less exhausted after my flight, and the lack of perceived motion likely contributed to the flight experience.

All of the A380′s have personalized entertainment screens.  The software suite varies depending on the carrier, but is overall very good.  The touchscreens do suffer from decreased responsiveness, presumably due to a more budgetary resistive touchscreen interface.  Air France, the carrier I took, offers software downloads via the usb charging port.  Its software is still buggy, as the recipe downloads link to nonexistent files.  Hardware amenities in business and first class cabins include additional footrests, extra reclining space, AC power, snakelight reading lamps, and a coat rack.

The lavatories are clearly more updated in design compared to old craft.  As with other modern craft, the faucet has motion sensors, and the lighting has softer modified fluorescent/halogen bulbs.

Travel on the Airbus A380 was an overall pleasant experience.  The amenities will certainly vary depending on carrier, but most of the airlines that have this equipment (Qantas, Singapore, AF…etc) all have decent in-flight services.  The appeal, however, lies in the double decker configuration.  There is something to be said about being able to walk a flight of stairs in mid-flight.

misc travel

I bought in-flight internet for the first time several days ago, via Gogo Internet. It was a 3+ hour flight on a plane with DC outlets underneath the seat.  Airlines have recently been offering in-flight wifi in the past year as a premium service. The technology for in-flight wifi is interesting–the plane actually connects to cellphone towers on the ground to beam data. I had always assumed that satellite technology would be more efficient, but I suppose that operating costs would be even higher.

Given that the connection is based on cellphone tower technology, one would assume standard 3g data rates. That is exactly the case:

Of course, data rates vary tremendously, depending on location and the number of connected users.

Overall, the data speeds were tolerable for email and basic web surfing.

In-flight Wifi starts at $8 per flight if connecting on a mobile device, and $12 upward for laptops. Frequent flyers can also purchase monthly passes. I’d recommend using Seatguru to find the best flight/seats that have power outlets. Be wary of advertised power outlets though; a recent AA flight I took on MD-80 equipment advertised power outlets, but they were in the form of cigarette lighter outlets!

computing