TechTalk: Minix Neo X7 Part 1: Unboxing/Intro

For a few years, I've been highly critical of the programming that's available on TV. It appears that every channel appears to be completely full of poorly-written and shoddily-acted crap that people would only want to watch if they had scraped the bottom of the barrel in terms of boredom or procrastination. Given that I'm now in a new job with unpredictable hours, I'm hardly home to watch shows that I would actually want to see.

In order to get over these problems, most people have taken to buying smart TVs. These have shot down in price tremendously since first bursting onto the scene and are often ram-packed with apps to grant people access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other on-demand services. Our Samsung TV, however, appears to be the most reliable item that my family has ever owned, and so we're not in the market for a shiny, bright, and exciting new television.

So, I've decided to solve these problems in my own inimitable style. Readers of my blog will know that I'm a big fan of gadgets from China [with purchases including the Xiaomi Mi2 smartphone, and a recent Ohsen 'dual-display' watch], and it appears that the new hit devices to head this way are Android TV boxes, which, essentially, make any TV 'smart', and also allow endless customisation. After months of browsing specs and checking out endless Chinese wholesale stores, I finally settled on the Minix Neo X7.

Why the Neo X7?

The Minix Neo X7 runs Android, the same Google-developed operating system that powers millions of smartphones and tablets around the globe. Having owned other Android devices in the past, I'm familiar with the system and interface, and know what I'd be up against. Android, in my mind, is quite a lot less 'restrictive' than Apple TV, and allows for a bit more tinkering.

What's on the outside?

The box is quite easy on the eye and has an aesthetic similar to Apple TV - though the platypus-tail shaped [and optional] WiFi antenna does turn it into a slight eyesore. 

Ports on the device include an HDMI [duh, how else would anyone connect it to their TVs?], an optical audio out port, three USB ports for connecting hard-drives or pen drives, an ethernet port to connect the device to your network using a network cable [or use the device as a router], a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.5mm mic jack, and an SD card slot. Phew! 

What's on the inside?

The Neo X7 sports a quad-core GPU, a quad-core processor, two gigabytes of RAM, 16GB of NAND Flash.

What else do you get in the box?

Packaged with the TV box comes an adaptor to power the device, an HDMI cable to connect the box to your HD TV, and a tiny remote to control the device.

Installation

All in all, installation is pretty simple. All you have to do is plug the HDMI cable into TV box and your TV, plug the adaptor into a power socket and into the socket on the box, turn the box on, and follow the instructions and prompts on your TV.

Stay tuned for my full review, where I'll explore the functions of the device and how well it actually works.

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Reality Bites

Okay, readers of my blog, and knowers of my ramblings will know that I'm not the biggest fan of reality TV. Big Brother, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and The X Factor  have slowly but surely become thorns in my side. When they were legitimate psychological and psychosocial experiments, they were fine! Brilliant elements of entertainment that would adorn our TV screens at least once a week.

But now, they've just become another fad. Thankfully, it's not just me who thinks that. Many of my friends and family think such shows and other get-rich-quick schemes are just a waste of time, money and space, thinking that shows that actually entertain would be a better way to brighten up our TV screens.

Recently, however, I've had a bit of an epiphany. There are two reality shows that I've seen recently that I'd be proud to watch on a regular basis! I KNOW! SHOCK HORROR!

Both of them are American, and I have to say now- I have a high doubt that either of them would be picked up in the UK, seeing as we're known for our "stiff upper lips", and all of that jammy stuff that sounds like the cat's pyjamas! They are brilliant shows, though- exploring not just the humorous "let's-watch-this-idiot-wash-their-dirty-laundry-in-public" element, but also the "holy-cripes-is-this-actually-happening" element.



The first is called Solitary. The contestants of this show, as the name suggests, are locked away in solitary confinement, before losing their identity, and becoming known simply as the number that is written in their pod. Which, when you think about it, is bad enough in itself. But the host and rulemaker of the show, a robot called Val [who I regard to be the evil twin of POD from "Snog Marry Avoid?"], puts the contestants through gruelling mental, physical, and emotional challenges, with little reward. Although you think Big Brother tasks may be a bit harsh, they're nothing compared to what's doled out in this show- The contestants here push themselves to their utter limits, sometimes in tasks of self-harm, and self-punishment, boggling the mind with how far they're willing to push themselves to win the ultimate prize of Solitary Champion.

The real sad thing about this show, however, is that with the slow decline and eventual cancellation of "Fox Reality" [the network it airs on], it is unclear whether the show will steam ahead for a 5th series.

The second show is called "Baggage", hosted by world-renowned nutcase-tamer and TV-confessional-holder, Jerry Springer. The premise is pretty simple here- how many times have you fallen for someone, or just been on a date with someone, and then found out that they have one, huge, unmissable flaw about them that ends up being a giant turn-off?

Well, there's no chance on this show. A contestant goes onto the show hoping to find the man or woman of their dreams. They're faced by three attractive members of the opposite sex, each who have three pieces of 'baggage' [or three flaws/turn-offs] that they reveal round-by-round. Each round, the contestant eliminates a member based on their baggage until they're left with one person. You may think that that's the end- but ooooooooh no. After Jerry Springer has rattled off a few [I have to say- pretty damn funny] one-liners, the contestant themself reveals a huge piece of baggage. Their chosen member of the opposite sex then has to choose whether they would still date the contestant based on what they have heard.  This, although simple, can throw up some pretty spectacular results.

In the first episode, a woman who was chosen despite the fact that she shaved her whole face, rejected a man who, in a drunken stupor, ended up having sex with a man in college. And the audience, being typically American, and probably being heavily edited by sound effects, contributes to the drama well; adding to the humour: in one episode, after a woman said she wanted to adopt 5 kids,  the gasps from the audience looked as though they could have just started to suck Jerry Springer's hair away from his head; something which I'm sure would be taken as a national tragedy.

As I previously said- these shows definitely won't get picked up in the UK. But while they're still on in the US, and while we're still being bored by the saaaaaame reality shows year on year here in the UK, I highly recommend them.

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CoCo go BangBang

It's Saturday 23rd of January. It may be a dark day for many; but nothing haunts more than the clouds at NBC. Bodies lay strewn across studio floors, producers cry in anguish, and there is an eerie silence. Conan has been defeated.

... Okay, maybe not, but tomorrow (tonight in the US) really WILL see the end of the late night war that has plagued and pleasured our TV screens for the past couple of weeks. We've seen it all- bad imitations, ruthless slagging matches, and even the odd protest.

Despite the support that Conan O'Brien managed to rally up (including Letterman, Kimmel, and the odd million people here and there), Jay "NotOnMyChinnyChinChin" Leno has wrestled back the tonight show. If we were to carry on the war metaphor of above, I think we'd see that Leno has a few bulletholes in his armour. CBS' David Letterman has been particularly (and in my opinion rightly) ruthless; having been involved in a ruckus over the Tonight Show in 1993, with Leno (who won the show with a few backroom-deals). Leno, in riposte, has reused the same lame material night after night. Yes, you guessed it, the "omg, Letterman used to shag interns at his show and everyone's forgotten, but I'll try (and fail) at making it funny!" Comebacks.

In that itself we see the cruel irony of this situation. Conan, even before this mess, was revered as the better entertainer, a showman, and a crowdpleaser, who along with Andy, his announcer, brought a bit of zing to the 11.30pm timeslot. With the ammunition of the recent events, he, along with Letterman (and his quick jibes), Kimmel (who did a whole show as Jay Leno), and Ferguson (who was brilliant before he vowed to concentrate on more pressing matters- again, rightly so in my eyes), have excelled themselves, providing truly awesome comedic comentary to this dramatic debacle. Leno, on the other hand, seems to have got worse; his bad, and needlessly harsh jokes even inciting boos from the audience at stages.

Believe it or not, Jay Leno has even tried to make himself look like the victim of the situation. Although there may be truth to this (this was Jeff Zucker's idea after all (... Oops, sorry, did I say Zucker? I meant Sucker.)), it is hard to see how Leno is the one bawling his eyes out. Even if put in a headline of simple words (I dunno... Maybe: "Man With Thousands of Supercars Gains Old Job. Better Entertainer Left Jobless"), it's impossible for this headline to show Mr Bigchin as the victim.

Although there will be a few out there screaming: "what the hell!? This isn't his fault! Blame NBC!", surely Leno needs to take some of the blame- he's done this for the Tonight Show before; and he hasn't exactly told NBC to give Conan more time to settle in (despite saying "it's yours, Conan" on the show five years ago).

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien has been going for just seven months. SEVEN months. The flop show "Joey" was given a longer run. In the time the show was on, NO-ONE was able to go through the full birth process (conception to labour). I managed to get my own job, and lose it in about an eighth of the time.

Jimmy Fallon, who has been quite silent about the NBC civil war, spoke out about the network and Leno, stating that he, like O'Brien, and Letterman, would never be able to progress from "Late Night" to the "Tonight Show". From an outsider's perspective, you can only assume that Jay Leno is going to invest in the latest "immortality technology", and keep hold of the show forever.

This has been a long, enthralling, but tragic war. It'll be a shame to see Conan go.

Ratings:
Letterman: 7/10
O'Brien: 9/10
Ferguson: 6/10
Kimmel: 7/10
Leno: 3/10
Fallon: 2/10
Carson Daly: ... I'm sorry... Who?

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What the hell is up with the world?

I would like to start this post by offering my sympathy and [atheist] prayers to the people who have been affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. I'm going to donate some money later on, and I hope it goes some way to the recovery that will happen over the weeks, months, and years that go by.
But there are two major points to this blog post today.

Firstly, I want to express my DISGUST at Pat Robertson. After the disaster in Haiti, this televangelist [who I would prefer to call a televasshole] declared that Haiti had signed a pact with the devil, and this was their curse for it. Now, I know that religion has had run ins with political correctness in the past, but surely, even someone as thick as three short planks would realise that it's the wrong thing to say, and the wrong time to say it.
But then again, this IS the man who predicted a year of global violence in 2008, stated that the USA would be hit by storms placed by god, and declared that the world would end in 1982 [Ironically, a statement that he addressed on twitter recently, by saying: "People sometimes laugh at me for predicting Doomsday would be in 1982. They just MISHEARD. I ACTUALLY said 2012."]
I took pride in writing the gag “There are various differences between Russell Brand and @ThePatRobertson, of course: one of them won't stop talking shit, and the other's Russell Brand.” A bit harsh, perhaps, but if you look at Robertson’s twitter feed, I think you’ll see what I mean.

Secondly, I want to express my disgust at NBC. I’m not American, nor am I a Late Night TV host [even though, in some stupid way I dream to be], and I am not an avid watcher of Conan O’Brien. But I feel that NBC have been quite rude and immature in their dealings with O’Brien, and with Late Night in general. The show has been on air for little more than 7 months. Everyone concurred that the predecessor in the timeslot, Jay Leno, was slowly petering out, and O’Brien really was the right man for the job. In many ways, he still is, with Jay Leno failing in his primetime slot, and being rendered by many as unfunny.
Even though I’m more a fan of the Scottish Conan Guy rather than the Actual Conan Guy, I have to say that I support Conan O’Brien in his statement. Should the “Tonight Show” be moved to 12.05AM, it’ll be the first time in its history to do so, and, as reflected by O’Brien in his statement, would disgrace the name of the show and its former hosts.
NBC, it’s been seven months. SEVEN. Conan was hugely successful, but it always takes time to build a rapport with a new show. As I said, I am not a late night presenter, nor am I an entertainer or someone in a line of work where people actually give a crap. But I do know what it feels like to do your job while the management watches you like a hawk, and threatens to throw you out the door before you’ve had the chance to prove yourself. So please, stop bickering, give the man what he wants, and more importantly, GIVE HIM A CHANCE.

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