[mc_razza]

The big game here is football. Like Europe in general. In Australia it's rugby followed by cricket typically.

It's a bit hard to explain the differences. Like any country though you have the hard cores fans and then there's the wannabes.

Aussie Rules is the biggest and most popular brand of football in Australia followed by rugby and then soccer (football), however rugby is more popular than aussie rules in NSW and QLD. As for most popular sport in Australia, I think it's more of a dead heat between aussie rules and cricket.

[Minh Junior Dinh]

Hello from 2017, hopefully it will be better than 2016. Happy new year :)

Or just as good as 2016 (depending on your outlook.)

[N_LaRUE]

Aussie Rules is the biggest and most popular brand of football in Australia followed by rugby and then soccer (football), however rugby is more popular than aussie rules in NSW and QLD. As for most popular sport in Australia, I think it's more of a dead heat between aussie rules and cricket.

I did live in QLD so maybe my perception is a bit skewed.

I was around people who were really into rugby and people who were really into cricket. I didn't know anyone into Aussie Rules.

Saying that, I would probably put all three as Australian 'favourite' sports.

For me personally, as it is here, sports does little to excite me and does more to annoy me. I try my best to avoid the news and the crowds (I unfortunately live way too close to the football stadium in my city).

[Muessig]

Good riddance, Monday. Hello Tuesday!

[MSFTisMIA]

Good riddance, Monday. Hello Tuesday!

I think this phrase is applicable for days Monday - Thursday.

[MSFTisMIA]

So I was given an Amazon Echo as a belated Xmas gift. So I'm looking forward to setting it up and trying it out. I was always tempted to get an Echo Dot, but I passed for different reasons. So I may get a few smart lights to test out Alexa. Should be interesting...

[MSFTisMIA]

So I was given an Amazon Echo as a belated Xmas gift. So I'm looking forward to setting it up and trying it out. I was always tempted to get an Echo Dot, but I passed for different reasons. So I may get a few smart lights to test out Alexa. Should be interesting...

Or I may just keep this simple and get a few smart plugs instead.

[Muessig]

I really don't know as much about Alexa as I should...

[libra89]

I really don't know as much about Alexa as I should...

Same.

[N_LaRUE]

I really don't know as much about Alexa as I should...

From what little I know it doesn't require voice training so anyone can use it.

Either that or people are not setting up their systems right and it's causing all sorts of issues.

[MSFTisMIA]

I really don't know as much about Alexa as I should...

It uses a lot of "if this, then that" sort of commands. Much of these you can program in itself. You can say for some things it's a slightly more polished version of Cortana.

[MSFTisMIA]

From what little I know it doesn't require voice training so anyone can use it.

Either that or people are not setting up their systems right and it's causing all sorts of issues.

The issue with these AIs is that they lack an understanding of appropriate context. Jerry H. on Android Central wrote up something last week on this too. People just have to learn how to train their kids to ask for certain things to minimize that issue. Also, running this on a separate wifi network and being more vigilant in montioring history and usage can try to cut down on being hacked and all those privacy concerns.

[MSFTisMIA]

So having used the honor 8 for this short stretch, I'll defer to 99's device reviewing skills. Here's a different kind of summary:

Pros:

- Build quality, camera, overall design, fingerprint scanner

Meh:

- Speaker output, jack output, Battery life

Cons:

- Software

So all the reviews are accurate. My issue with the software is that it reminds me so much of MIUI 7: aggressive to monitor apps, fully customizable, and fights with Android wear in the same way US Congress does with regards to getting the country back on track (very unproductive). Yes, you'd think it plays better with the Huawei watch, but the honor 8 fights with the same way as it does with the 360 Sport.

While I like the overall feel of the phone, I'd have been better off with a HTC 10 or G5, honestly. Still, EMUI 5 should make this a more tolerable experience.

[libra89]

So having used the honor 8 for this short stretch, I'll defer to 99's device reviewing skills. Here's a different kind of summary:

Pros:

- Build quality, camera, overall design, fingerprint scanner

Meh:

- Speaker output, jack output, Battery life

Cons:

- Software

So all the reviews are accurate. My issue with the software is that it reminds me so much of MIUI 7: aggressive to monitor apps, fully customizable, and fights with Android wear in the same way US Congress does with regards to getting the country back on track (very unproductive). Yes, you'd think it plays better with the Huawei watch, but the honor 8 fights with the same way as it does with the 360 Sport.

While I like the overall feel of the phone, I'd have been better off with a HTC 10 or G5, honestly. Still, EMUI 5 should make this a more tolerable experience.

Interesting review, thanks for sharing. I'm surprised that battery life is in the meh category considering that you own(ed) the Nextbit Robin and experienced how that battery life is.

I was looking forward to your thoughts about this.

[MSFTisMIA]

Interesting review, thanks for sharing. I'm surprised that battery life is in the meh category considering that you own(ed) the Nextbit Robin and experienced how that battery life is.

I was looking forward to your thoughts about this.

It's meh because Doze + Huawei's insane app manager is great. I went into a 4th day with very light usage between a charge last week. But when you actually start to use the phone, while i get better than Nextbit Robin battery, it's still a charge every night phone. Robin i could get a day and a half with light usage and i learned how to mix the usage to get through a day. But that battery is as a bad as a politician's promises...neither are worth a damn.

As much as i like some of the features OEM skins (especially the Chinese) offer, I said i was better off with HTC sense or LG's UI because at least i get to use the few apps i keep on the phone in the way i want to. Notification with Wear these last two days as been especially useless with the honor 8 and the Huawei watch.

The G5 and HTC 10 remained too overpriced for me. If it was a choice between either one and the Honor 8 at $250 - $300, I'd have gotten one of the others. If I was dual phone wielding I'd get a 950 + a HTC 10, but if i had to get one phone only, I'd get a G5 + the audio DAC.

[libra89]

It's meh because Doze + Huawei's insane app manager is great. I went into a 4th day with very light usage between a charge last week. But when you actually start to use the phone, while i get better than Nextbit Robin battery, it's still a charge every night phone. Robin i could get a day and a half with light usage and i learned how to mix the usage to get through a day. But that battery is as a bad as a politician's promises...neither are worth a damn.

As much as i like some of the features OEM skins (especially the Chinese) offer, I said i was better off with HTC sense or LG's UI because at least i get to use the few apps i keep on the phone in the way i want to. Notification with Wear these last two days as been especially useless with the honor 8 and the Huawei watch.

The G5 and HTC 10 remained too overpriced for me. If it was a choice between either one and the Honor 8 at $250 - $300, I'd have gotten one of the others. If I was dual phone wielding I'd get a 950 + a HTC 10, but if i had to get one phone only, I'd get a G5 + the audio DAC.

Ahh okay, I can understand that. That makes sense. Funnily enough, I have had the flip experience. Always had to charge the Robin, not so much the Honor 8.

Hey, at least you tried it though!

[MSFTisMIA]

Ahh okay, I can understand that. That makes sense. Funnily enough, I have had the flip experience. Always had to charge the Robin, not so much the Honor 8.

Hey, at least you tried it though!

Our experiences are similar...Always had to charge the Robin, not as much the honor 8.

To me it's about fighting with the stuff i use the most that i don't have to do as much on a lighter OEM skin like HTC, Nextbit is the thing i don't like. I do think EMUI 5 will make a difference, but we'll see at the end of next month.

[MSFTisMIA]

So the last time I was down the NJ coast, the regulars saw me shared this picture of the same aisle in Walmart labeled "ethnic hair". Apparently, i wasn't the only one to have noticed this, as here's the updated version to the sign. I'm still trying to figure out how i feel, but I guess it's an improvement!?

[MSFTisMIA]

Here are some sample honor 8 shots...

[MSFTisMIA]

And more...

[MSFTisMIA]

And more. It's a very capable camera, for sure.

[libra89]

Our experiences are similar...Always had to charge the Robin, not as much the honor 8.

To me it's about fighting with the stuff i use the most that i don't have to do as much on a lighter OEM skin like HTC, Nextbit is the thing i don't like. I do think EMUI 5 will make a difference, but we'll see at the end of next month.

I get what you mean. Yes we will and I'm looking forward to it!

[libra89]

So the last time I was down the NJ coast, the regulars saw me shared this picture of the same aisle in Walmart labeled "ethnic hair". Apparently, i wasn't the only one to have noticed this, as here's the updated version to the sign. I'm still trying to figure out how i feel, but I guess it's an improvement!?

I think that it is one. Not the best but still matches the point.

[Laura Knotek]

So the last time I was down the NJ coast, the regulars saw me shared this picture of the same aisle in Walmart labeled "ethnic hair". Apparently, i wasn't the only one to have noticed this, as here's the updated version to the sign. I'm still trying to figure out how i feel, but I guess it's an improvement!?

That's still bad!

[worldspy99]

Lumia 640, edited via Snapseed.