Lucky Number Seven is a a brief interview with someone interesting in the public eye, chopped into easily consumed tidbits of data for your brain space.
Hailing from the windy city, James Hopkins — a lifetime follower of all things electronic, and a college-educated IT professional — dubbed himself "BrothaBinary" and began his career as a digital prophet. Opening up a website to share his ideas about gadgets, music and culture. A father and college radio DJ (three years of 1Heart1Love1Soul from Radio DePaul), his interests are disparate and his time is limited, but he took the time to talk to Komplicated.
KOMPLICATED: Okay, let's start out with you telling people about your credentials to talk tech, so we won't get the "who is this dude to tell me about my phone?"
BROTHA BINARY: Well about me…technology and learning about it is a passion and not just a hobby. This started back in middle school with my fascination for the game Number Munchers. From then on … I was hooked. In high school, it was all about trying to learn all I could about how they worked. Hacking was the way for me and my crew. We would all get in trouble often trying to break into the school's system to see things that we were not supposed to see. From there, my love for technology grew more into building custom rigs for years for clients, troubleshooting for friends and family, and being that go to person for recommendations when it came to buying anything to do with technology. I live for it! Then I decided it would be my career and I attended ITT-Tech to obtain my associates degree in computer networking systems back in 2008. I found the networking side of computer very intriguing and something I wanted to learn more and more about. Currently I attend DePaul University in which I'm finishing up my bachelors program in IS with a focus on network security. I've also launched my blog this year where my focus is to talk tech with people with reviews, how-to's and to talk about how we can do our part to close the digital divide.
K: Great. Let's talk mobile operating systems. Android vs. iOS — how do you break down the tale of the tape? What are the pros and cons of each?
BB: This is a good question because it's something me and my fellow techies get into on Twitter often. I think they both offer consumers different yet often similar experiences. Meaning, as both try taking things from each other, they both can offer different experiences for users. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but I would say that iOS gives you want you need in a user friendly experience and great market for applications and Android gives you want you want with customizations and the abilities make the phone unique to you. I'm often asked which one is better and it's not a 100% answer either way. I think it's more on how you use your phone and for what. Most go with Apple because it's that brand you know.
K: What do you think about less popular operating systems like Bada, Meego or their like? What do those offer users, and what challenges do they present?
BB: Up until this question, I've heard very little about Bada and Meego in general. Had to do some research to see what they can really bring to the table but I guess that does show how little effect they have on the industry or will.
K: Let's talk tablets. From Amazon's Kindle Fire all the way to the big iPads and Galaxy Tabs, there's a lot out there, but again mostly iOS and Android, save the fire sale Touchpads and Blackberry's entry. How do you see the tablet market today, and where is it going?
BB: The tablet market today it crowed with many options on the market. The big boy: iPad, will be very hard to take down seeing as how they are the favorite and have that Apple name behind it. Again with Apple, it's about that name you know and Apple does one thing well; they control their software and hardware. But man … the Amazon Kindle Fire is at a price point that is really sweet! [EDITOR'S NOTE: This interview was conducted before the launch of Barnes & Nobles' Nook Tablet]
K: Sometimes good tech dies before its day. Are there any old gadgets you loved that never took off the way you'd have preferred?
BB: DREAMCAST!!!! I was too pissed when I found out it was going away. Even when I look at it today, that system put out some great graphics and the NFL 2K was OH SO GOOD! I just wished it was on the market awhile longer.
K: Let's talk games for a minute. Do you have a position on the Battlefield vs. COD debate?
BB: Battlefield or COD? Another great debate. I have not played either of the new ones yet but I have to say, the video's I've seen … Battlefield looks really great and I think overall I'm a stickler for great graphics!
K: Finally, when the machine overlords take over after Skynet becomes self aware, should we fight, and if so, how should we resist those digital bastards?
BB: If the machines overlords take over after Skynet becomes self-aware we should create an app to shut them down. There will be an app for that.
You can find more about his work at the source link listed below.
[Source: BrothaBinary.com]