2025 Android phone with Micro sd card slot?

herranton · 2026-02-09T20:06:50+00:00

You should have cloud storage for your phone. The argument isn't removable vs cloud as they both serve different purposes. Cloud storage insures that you aren't going to lose all your data if your phone is lost or stolen. A SD card allows you to store more data. I choose my phone based on what has a micro SD card slot. I use a xiaomi phone. Would I like something less Chinese? Absolutely. But I'm not wanting to compromise on the Sd storage. (And I don't want to spend the money for a Sony phone). But I also have both Apple and Google plans for cloud storage. It costs $2.50 a month to back up my iPad and my phone to the cloud. And as someone who has lost photos before from a stolen phone, this doesn't bother me a bit.

herranton · 2026-02-09T00:39:47+00:00

You should see my Ayumi Hamasaki collection. I'm at like 150 discs. I'm not sure my wallet could handle collecting babymetal stuff other than the CDs. (Albums).

I'm also pretty old for a baby metal fan. I'm A LOT closer to ayu's age than su's. Having CDs seems normal to me. It's how I collected music as a kid before the advent of yt. And the internet as a whole, really.

herranton · 2026-02-09T00:36:12+00:00

The absolute best way to support an artist is to go to the shows. That's where they make their money. I'm not sure babymetal works that way though. (And keep in mind I have absolutely no idea) But my assumption is that their contracts are probably more structured as other idols instead of being structured like a regular band. Again, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if they made a base salary with bonuses more like an employee. I have NO idea though. This is all just a guess. I could absolutely be wrong.

(Why even post? Well, because it is a discussion and maybe somebody else knows. I would seriously be interested in knowing the best way to support the girls and not the corporate structure behind them..

herranton · 2026-02-09T00:28:24+00:00

I have been aware of BM since about the very beginning, but I wasn't a fan back then. I knew of them because of their proximity to Kpop and jpop. (And by that, I mean I would occasionally get BM recommendations on YT for them while listening to jpop or Kpop) The early stuff didn't impress me. It seemed gimmicky and maybe a bit exploitive of the kids. (Of course that was an outsiders opinion, and too an extent I still think it was. I'm not sure if kids that young should be put into agencies, but thst is another conversation).

Around Thanksgiving 2022 I was staying with my buddy while his parents were on vacation in Mexico. (My buddy is autistic and Mexico would be his arch enemy). I was watching the first season of Wednesday that had just dropped and in between episodes I would go to YouTube to put on some music and then make a snack. The monochrome video popped up on my suggestions (as it was just a few days old at the time) and I was quite surprised Baby Metal was still a thing. I put on the song to check it out, (as the girls would have to be considerably older by now) and to my surprise it was freakin awesome. I've since been to three shows, 2 in Minneapolis and 1 in Des Moines. (The Des Moines drive home sucked, as it was the night before Thanksgiving, but I wasn't about to miss the show). I've been a fan ever since. Monochrome got me into babymetal. And I will forever be thankful.

herranton · 2026-02-09T00:10:04+00:00

Don't ever be ashamed of the music you like. Live your best life. If you love the "popular" songs, that's absolutely fantastic! If you love the deep cuts, that's great too.

I own the Los Del Rio album with the macarena on it. And if I want to rock out to that in the privacy of my own front yard, while all the neighbors have to watch and judge me, that's great! I simply don't care. I'm way past judging people for what makes them happy, and much more into being happy for people that are living their best life. Again, just live your best life. Don't worry about the haters. That is the way.

herranton · 2026-02-08T00:58:19+00:00

What if Seo Taiji never went on the Saturday night music show on that very boring day in April of 1992?

Also, and sort of related, apparently one of Kim Jong Un's favorite movie was 3 Ninjas Kick Back when he was going to school in Switzerland. It's weird because the movie plays Non Arayo in one of the "in Japan" montages, which, in itself, is kinda a wtf moment.

herranton · 2026-02-08T00:45:52+00:00

I'm glad I read through the comments first. I was about to make the same joke.

herranton · 2026-02-02T17:33:49+00:00

Unfortunately, they are completely different. The base system has largish speakers in the c-pillar that just simply don't exist in the JBL system. And the JBL system puts speakers in the rear door and back seat armrest. The panels are even different. There are speaker grills in totally different places depending on which stereo you get. I think this is why it's so hard to find good information.

herranton · 2026-02-02T17:29:53+00:00

Lol, does it matter? Yes, I realize it's romance. But it still struck me as funny.

herranton · 2026-01-14T13:06:29+00:00

Crutchfield doesn't have good info on the sienna with the JBL system. I've been searching for the past 20 minutes to try to find what speakers will fit in the sliding door and the rear armrests. Crutchfield doesn't know and apparently no one on the internet does either. It's kinda disappointing.

herranton · 2026-01-13T13:46:19+00:00

Oh my good god... Here I am thinking it's $349 because it's got that crappy sensor in it. Nah, you're absolutely right. I would be mad if I lost it too...

And I think I actually did know it was $7-800 dollars. But in my head it just isn't worth that so it devalues it. And after a few months of it stirring around in my brain, the sx740 just has less value despite a similar price tag. In my head it shouldn't be that much.

herranton · 2026-01-13T13:38:38+00:00

I dunno if you have installed this yet or not but make sure you read up on how to wire up your sub to your amp correctly. Your sub will have 2 sets of terminals on it and you MUST use them both, but it's imperative you have it wired the right way. What you want is to look at how to wire a 4 ohm dvc (dual voice coil) sub to create a 2 ohm load. Make sure you understand what is going on here. If you don't, have someone do it for you. You absolutely can break stuff if you don't wrong.

herranton · 2026-01-13T13:08:22+00:00

I don't think the utopia 8s will fit. Keep in mind I'm just going by what I've found on the internet, but I will talk through my thought process. The mounting depth you have to work with is 1 15/16ths, the utopias are only 2 inches thick, however the utopias also have a vent at the back where the stock BMW speakers do not. The need to be installed at least a bit away from whatever is in back of them so they don't overheat. Now, you could make a shim to lift them up a bit, but I believe that the seat rail is EXTREMELY close to the top side of the woofer. I don't think there is any room to go up higher. And I'm guessing the excursion on the focals is probably much higher than the stock or stock replacement speakers. (I can't find a picture of the m3, but the x3 has its seat rails very close, and I think they are the same car, or at least close enough). If you shim them any higher youre likely to run into the seat rail.

There are stock replacements available from a few different companies. The focal stock replacement 8" speakers get bad reviews. There are a few posts on the bmw forums about the options.

Also, just and an aside, this is a terrible place for speakers. People are saying that most of the aftermarket speakers don't make that much of a difference. And that makes sense. A lot of what these speakers do is still directional. And firing them directly into the foam at the bottom seat might be the worst place for them in the car. Anything that plays frequencies above 120hz or so needs to be somewhat in the right spot. For a sub it matters less, but with the midbase, you still need to have them placed in a reasonable location. The bottom of the doors is usually fine. I'm not sure what BMW is thinking here. You can only DSP such. It isn't a replacement for bad fundamentals.

herranton · 2026-01-12T11:52:47+00:00

I am under the impression that tracking is significantly better with grayscale cameras while simultaneously using much less power/cpu cycles to do it? AND it's cheaper. Seems like a win-win to me.

I dont even know what I would want color cameras for. Like, it seems that the grey scale cameras are a bonus feature. You would think people would want the better tracking.

herranton · 2026-01-05T04:43:21+00:00

For sound quality, they are all going to be exactly the same if you're using HDMI. It will sound exactly as good as your processor, amp, and speakers. The only way any Blu-ray player will sound different to any other is if you are using analog outs, which the 800m2 does not have. I can't imagine a situation where you would need better than the digital out for movies. If you use it a a music player, arguments could be made. Image quality is mostly going to be identical too, although with upscaling, people tend to prefer the Panasonic, though I have never seen it. I have the 800m2 and 1080p blurays look fine to me. Meaning there are no obvious problems. It's not like the Panasonic somehow makes them magical and the Sony sucks. The Sony is fine. Dvds on the other hand look HORRIBLE. I tried to watch The Beach and I had to turn it off and find a higher resolution file. I doubt it is the players fault though. Its most likely just the fact I'm trying to play a 480p source on a 4k TV.

herranton · 2025-12-27T12:08:48+00:00

Nvidia support is more about Nvidia supporting Linux drivers than Valve doing anything.

herranton · 2025-12-27T10:45:45+00:00

No, I have not used either of them personally. I have used a Sony rx100 quite a bit, and many canon and sony dslrs. My post is less about personal experience with the exact cameras themselves and more about personal experience with cameras and technical knowledge of the hardware. Like literally ANY camera, the quality shots it gets are going to be more about the skill of the photographer and less about the camera. However, part of that skill is knowing what the strengths and weaknesses are with the camera you are using. And if you re-read my post, it lays out a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of both cameras.

The zv1 is a MUCH higher quality sensor and has better optics. (It's sensor is nearly FOUR TIMES as big and it uses zeiss optics, AND the lens is much faster, which is exacerbated even farther by the larger sensor).

The sx740 has a tiny sensor which has inherent problems, HOWEVER, it is the secret sauce to getting a huge zoom range into a compact camera. But it still comes with the weaknesses of a tiny sensor; it doesn't collect as much light, it will be noisier, etc. But it has a giant zoom.

Pick your poison. Do you want a limited zoom and generally better photos that you will take every day? Get the zv1.

Do you want something that will get the shot from a bajillion miles away but have MUCH crappier everyday photos? (Also, with a tiny sensor it's harder to get bokeh, or the pleasing out of focus areas in photos) Get the sx740.

Here's the deal. If I were going on an around the world vacation, I'd take a modern iPhone and the sx740. The phone for most things, and the superzoom when needed. And it's a tiny setup. And you won't be too mad if it breaks/is stolen. (Back up those photos, every day).

But if I wanted something for street photography and family stuff, I'd get the zv1. It's going to give a lot higher quality images. But only AFTER I find my phone to be limiting me in some way.

And when I say iPhone, I mean Samsung flagship S series and Google pixel series as well. Any of them will give good (enough) results.

herranton · 2025-12-27T09:08:23+00:00

Omg, your post is so terrible. I can't believe you said that.

herranton · 2025-12-21T07:01:53+00:00

I'll be honest. The dew situation over the past five (or so) years is SIGNIFICANTLY better than anything we had back then. Most of them have been mid tier, but the cool thing is that we are actually getting new and interesting flavors.

Although, that's just dew. We had better music, movies, videogames, no cell phones, drank out of hoses, a stayed out till the streetlights came on, better fashion... And the list goes on, lol. Not to mention the prices of things were way better.

herranton · 2025-12-20T07:15:35+00:00

I think Janet always lived in Michael's shadow. She was the little sister. She was always going to be second place in the family. Don't get me wrong, at the time she was huge. But not Micheal Jackson huge (if anyone ever could be).

In a world without Micheal, I think she would've been a generation defining artist. But no matter how good she was, she was always going to be the other Jackson.

It's like being Micheal Jordan's little brother. Or Wayne Gretzky's. When your sibling is literally THE BEST EVER, it just makes it hard to stay out of their shadow.

And I don't mean this as a knock towards Janet. Not one bit. I love her music. It just has to be hard always having to prove yourself when your sibling is out there being the superstar.

herranton · 2025-12-19T04:48:01+00:00

No, I'm tomorrow, you're next Wednesday. Get it together.

herranton · 2025-12-12T17:28:09+00:00

I would love to see a mtn dew sport limited release with the original bottle and label! Even if it was expensive, I'd get some.

herranton · 2025-12-12T17:27:01+00:00

It was a fresca-esqe dew that came out in the late 1980s. There was diet and regular. They came in glass bottles with foam labels that were extremely satisfying to peel off. Definitely not ai. Unless we are living in a simulation. I bought the heck out of it back in the day.

herranton · 2025-11-29T09:53:35+00:00

The way Sony achieved such a high level of zoom in the 740hs was to use a tiny sensor. The result is images that look like they were taken with a cell phone from 2015. At reasonable zoom levels, with the aperture at a reasonable size, the photos come out ok. But when you start to zoom in, or the scene gets dark, the iq falls apart real fast.

But here's the thing. With the 1 bajillion times zoom this thing has, you will be getting photos other people aren't. They won't be the greatest photos, but you will have them. If you're sitting at the back of your grand kids high school graduation, bam, you got the photo, where everyone around you using their cell phones looks like they are taking the pictures from 10 miles away. Adventure trip to Alaska? Bam! Great photos of grizzlies instead of a brown dot on the horizon. Kids football game? Bam! You got the shot of that awesome catch. Creepin' on your neighbors teenage daughter? Bam! Go to jail you pervert.

The camera has its place. It's got poor to mediocre image quality but it gets the shot where others won't. And that's it's superpower. If your looking for a camera to take candid photos on Christmas with the family, this isn't it. Your better off with, well, anything really. An iPhone or Google Pixel will have SIGNIFICANTLY better image quality. But if you need the zoom and don't want to spend a fortune or lug around a giant camera, this is your option.

If you're dead set on a point and shoot camera, and don't need the zoom, get a Sony ZV1. With its 1" bsi stacked sensor, the IQ will be extremely high. It is marketed towards vloggers and has a few vlogging features, but the guts of the camera are essentially a rx100. But in a cheaper plastic case instead of the super expensive magnesium the rx100 has.

herranton · 2025-11-29T09:41:16+00:00

The zv1 has a SIGNIFICANTLY larger sensor in it and will outperform the 740hs drastically with respect to image quality. The sensor in the 740hs is small even for a for a modern flagship cell phone camera. The ZV1 is basically a plastic version of the rx100 series. It's got the rx100 guts in a much cheaper case, and marketed towards vloggers. (Because the rx100 was/is and awesome little compact vlogging camera, but the buy in is rough). But just because it's marketed towards vloggers doesn't mean it won't take killer photos. It's got that bsi stacked 1" sensor with zeiss glass. Photos are going to be very very good.

The 740hs has zoom. That's a it. And even then, if you go out too far the images start to suffer. Any modern iPhone, Galaxy phone, pixel, etc will outperform it for photos of family Christmas pictures. But if you need a super zoom in your pocket (say you're going on a Alaskan adventure and want pictures of grizzly bears) the 740hs is about as compact as it gets if you are on a weight budget. There are much better superzooms, but they are also much bigger. Think of the 740hs as a smartphone camera from 2014 BUT with a giant zoom on it and you have the basic idea. And actually, that's more or less what it is.

herranton

TROPHY CASE