Jack of all trades

Everyone must've heard the saying "Jack of all trades, master of none". It is usually used to describe someone who has tried everything that came to his/her way but never really mastered any of them. It was used in a negative connotation but in the current day and age, being Jack of all trades but not necessarily master of anything seems to be the best way to be.

I am an IT engineer by profession. I work for a large MNC where I develop softwares for different clients. My "expertise" or rather the area where I have most experience in, is application development using the Microsoft .Net programming language.

I have a problem though - Technology is advancing at breakneck speeds. Every day something new is being introduced. Either a different programming language or a different Javascript framework and now even AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) which threaten to take away millions of jobs in the near future.

In times like this I feel its more important to be a Jack of all trades and not necessarily be stuck to one area. You never know how you'll have to adapt as time passes. Will the technology that you worked with all these years still be in existence in a few years time? Will something new come up? You just cannot predict. This is when being the Jack of all trades becomes your strength.

If a situation arises when you may have to work on a new technology all together, if you had dabbled into it earlier, it'll make it easier for you to quickly adapt and pick it up as opposed to having to start learning from scratch. I do agree that you might not have dabbled into everything there is and there will always be something new to learn but if you have even skimmed through some emerging or popular technologies it will surely give you an edge over others. You already are quite adept at one tech and the versatility of having knowledge of other techs will surely give you an edge over the others.

So, moral of the story is this: Its ok to be Jack of all trades and master of none. In fact its good to be one because it adds versatility to your profile.

Let me know your thoughts. 

OnePlus 3 Long Term Ownership Review

I've had the OnePlus 3 for a little over 2 years now. This was my first departure from the more popular mainstream brands like Samsung and Sony and I do not regret that decision one bit. I confess that I was slightly apprehensive about making the switch but after hearing all the almost rave reviews of the devices from OnePlus, I just had to give it a shot. To add to that, my previous phone the LG G3 had given up on me and I was in desperate need of a new phone.

I missed out on the OnePlus 3T by a few months but I still am quite happy with the one I have.

What are the few major things that people usually look for in phones?
1. A decently and not too large a screen with great resolution.
2. A good camera
3. Great battery life
4. Speed of operation
5. Easily available service centers
6. Good sound quality.

The OP3 ticks all those checkboxes.

Screen Size and Resolution: The screen size at 5.5 inches is just about right. Its not too large and neither is it too small. The resolution is also quite good and none of the colors are too saturated. Viewing it under the sunlight is ok when you turn up the screen brightness to a 100%, otherwise in normal light its quite crisp and pleasing to the eye. A friend of mine noticed that it has a slightly more pronounced blue tinge but I didn't notice it that much.

Camera: The camera is great in good light but to be frank it really sucks in low light. I had recently been to a wedding where the whole stage decoration was ruined because of untimely rains and wanted to capture that and this is what I got. Its absolutely pathetic to say the least.

The light spreads and the images are also extremely grainy making the photos absolutely un-usable. Its not a deal breaker though. I seldom click in the night and this doesn't bother me as much.

The day time photos are very good though. Hers is a sample.

Battery life: This is where the OP3 shines like a bright burning star. Gone are the days when I need to carry my charger or an external battery with me. I never ever felt the need for it in all these years of using it. Given that it has a Type-C port, borrowing a charger from someone is also quite difficult as not many phones have a Type-C port. The OP3 also has a dash charging capability which charges it from 10 to 100% is just about and hour which is extremely handy.

I browse on social media all day, I watch a lot of Youtube videos and my data is also on all day and yet at the end of the day I am left with at least 15% battery life which in my opinion is a cracker of a deal. I remember having frustrating times when I am sometimes out late in the nights and I my phone had died making it difficult to call someone or even book cabs. Its a breeze right now and I am loving it. The 3000mAh is quite adequate.

Speed of Operation:  This is another strong point of the OP3. There is absolutely no lag what so ever. Even if all the apps on my phone are open and running in the background, it doesn't slow down or stutter. Switching between apps is also very easy. The highlight though is the finger print scanner. The scanning is very fast and it opens almost instantly. Its even faster than an iPhone and quite secure as well.

Service: OnePlus has a service center in most of the big cities. I one feel face forward on a concrete road when I was on a morning run with my phone in hand. I landed full weight on my phone and the whole screen was shattered. I took it to the service center and the screen was replaced in a matter of a few hours. That is an amazing turn around time. Im not sure how it is in smaller cities but if you are in big cities, its not a problem at all.

Audio Quality: This is not a problem either. The sound output from the earphone for calls and also from the external speaker is crisp and clear. The speaker isnt as loud as a Beats audio or something but its good. More than adequate to say the least.

All in all its an amazing phone. The only chink in the armour is the bad night time image quality but other than that it a no nonsense perfect phone.