Robin's blog

The screen of my OnePlus 3 is coming off, the software updates stopped in 2019 and I need to get a new phone. Right on cue, Apple releases the iPhone SE. Those who know me wouldn't be mistaken in their assumption that I'm not going to consider an iPhone. This time, however, is different. TLDR; Security updates I'm one of those, who has always recommended Android over iPhone. My reasons were simple: Android is based on Linux and is Open Source. It has more features. One can easily sideload apps. One can easily customize it. Backup to a PC is easier. I would then go futher and say that one should go for Google Pixel, OnePlus and Samsung over other Android vendors because of Software updates. It is increasingly more important to keep the OS on our phones updated. So, let's look at the reasons for my recommendations over the years and see if they still hold true. 1. Android is based on Linux and is Open Source. Technically True, but practically False Let...

What is the Monty Hall problem? The Monty Hall Problem is a famous statistic brain teaser, which has a counter-intuitive solution Wiki:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem The brain teaser is as follows: The player is in a game show and has to choose from one of three doors Two of these doors lead to a goat each Only one leads to a car The player chooses one door at random, since they have no way of knowing the correct door The host then looks behind the other two doors and reveals one of them showing a goat The player now has the opportunity to keep his original guess, or switch to the remaining door The statistics answer is: switching to the remaining door gives you a 2/3 chance of winning. It's counter-intuitive, and that's why, we need to prove it. Ok. let's simulate this by replicating the steps of the original problem In [1]: import random Check if the door picked at random is 1/3 probabil...

TVs are a staple of our living rooms Image by  Monica ly  from  Pixabay   TVs have been, the thing we point all our furniture at, for a while now.  Now that we all have smartphones, we're starting to look down instead of straight ahead.  Obviously, TVs and their manufacturers were feeling left out. This is all set to change with everyone releasing "Smart" TVs!  Except, whenever someone mentions buying one, my response is:  Don't! TL;DR Don't buy a Smart TV. Instead, buy a normal (dumb) TV with HDMI and USB connectors, plug-in a Chromecast, FireStick, Roku, etc. and upgrade the stick if needed instead of the whole TV. It's safer, cheaper, easier to repair, and you can incorporate newer features more frequently. Now, onto the rest of it. Smart TVs are actually a good idea I understand the appeal of smart TVs, and am genuinely excited about all our devices being able to connect to each other, share content across them, and pe...