April 12, 2024
Who isn’t … or more appropriately wasn’t … fond of listening to the interesting and smooth-toned audio that was part of National Public Radio (NPR) in the previous century. I spent an exorbitant amount of time in my car back then and listened to static-riddled politically conservative radio talk shows on AM radio and liberally […]
Filed under: Audio, Human Interest, Innovation, News, Politics, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, amazon, elevenlabs, npr, polly ai, tech friday, techfriday, testing, uri berliner, voice
March 29, 2024
Computer backups and synchronized cloud data storage are topics I’ve addressed previously too many times. Last year I was pushed into tightening my subscription-belt after losing my free 1TB Miami University Google Workspace account and opted to give the economical iDrive a try. So after using it for a while now, I’ve concluded what I […]
Filed under: Computer, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, aws, box.net, cloud storage, google drive, icloud, idrive, microsoft, odrive, onedrive, tech friday, techfriday
March 22, 2024
Although at this point I’m still sticking with cable for my Internet and television entertainment, the difficulty in watching certain sporting events is increasing. I’m not happy about Amazon locking up Thursday Night Football and did not like having to plan ahead for the NFL playoff game in January, but for the most part … […]
Filed under: Entertainment, Financial, Idioms, Music, News, Sports, Streaming, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: bob dylan, cutting the cord, idiom, sports, streaming, tech friday, techfriday, television, tv, wsj
March 15, 2024
As someone who has grown up with the “beware of Big Brother” mindset, the thought that even with an Apple iPhone turned off, those with access can still know your location is a bit spooky. Oh, to be sure, 99% of being able to find an iPhone that is powered down or without enough battery […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: 1984, apple, big brother, ios, iphone, macworld, surveillance, tech friday, techfriday
March 8, 2024
Google exec Prabhakar Raghavan explained, Gemini “may not always be reliable,” so “we recommend relying on Google Search, where separate systems surface fresh, high-quality information on these kinds of topics from sources across the web.” Google is scrambling to tamp down a political uproar after its recently launched Gemini artificial intelligence app depicted the pope, […]
Filed under: Computer, News, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, bard, gemini, opinion, politically correct, woke, wsj
February 9, 2024
As an Apple advocate and device user from the 1980s and someone who as been begging for a foldable iPhone flip phone (or even slider) since using and retiring a foldable Samsung SPH i500 PalmOS device years ago, “I can’t wait”… as I mentioned to tech influencer Evan Kirsten. We seem to be getting closer, […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Financial, Innovation, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: $AAPL, apple, evan kirsten, flipphone, foldable, iphone, palmos, samsung, slider, sph-i500, stock
February 2, 2024
As a long time Apple device buyer and user, I do tend to follow the company’s new gadgets. The Apple Vision Pro VR headset looks interesting, but limited as to what reason most of us would currently spend thousands of dollar to buy ($3500). After reading about it for months and glancing at the pre-release […]
Filed under: Apple, Gadget, News, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: $appl, apple, applevision, nytimes, tech friday, techfriday
January 26, 2024
This will probably excite my geeky readers on a Tech Friday … but am trying to decide if old 3-1/2” disks should be trashed or used at “disposable” drink coasters. BTW, who remembers Apple Computer’s Hypercard? EDIT: Thought … perhaps making thin wooden bases and inlay a disk to make a more creative coaster.
Filed under: Apple, Computer, Photos, Technology, Tidbits, Woodworking by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apple, coasters, hypercard, project, tech friday, techfriday, trash
January 19, 2024
When it comes to taking phones on a cellphones (especailly low light) … the cameras on all smartphones have definitely improved over the past decade. I’ll let you guess which photo above was my iPhone 7 Plus and which one was Brenda’s iPhone 14?
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Photography, Photos, Technology, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: camera, iphone14, iphone7plus, smartphones, tech friday, techfriday
January 5, 2024
While watching a couple of college football bowl games on New Year’s Day, I updated my “everyday carry” iPad with a new family wallpaper photo — slightly enhanced above. It was an opportunity to tinker with the new iPadOS 17 gadget feature (see stock and weather at lower left) anyway but the wallpaper photo needed […]
Filed under: Apple, Entertainment, Gadget, Personal, Photos, Tablet, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: altafiber, family, fioptics+, harmony remote, ipad, remote, tech friday, techfriday, tivo, wallpaper
December 22, 2023
A couple weeks ago I mentioned ordering a $20 battery on Amazon for my iPhone 7 Plus. I probably really should be in the market to replace this phone, but even though the iOS can’t be upgraded, it still functions pretty well. The camera on ALL phones has been improved, but at $1000+ dollars, I’m […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, battery, iphone, iphone7, iphone7plus, repair, replace, tech friday, techfriday
December 15, 2023
Just a little light “rumor reading” to close out the year when it comes to future Apple iPhones. Not that it makes any difference to most users, but it is possible the “side by side” camera lens (see below photo with my iPhone 7 Plus) could go vertical again (iPhone X thru 12)? Recent ones […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apple, camera, iphone16, rumors, tech friday, techfriday
December 8, 2023
While doing a little tech reading this week, it doesn’t look as if Apple is planning more than incremental updates for the MacBooks and iPads for spring … although they do like to surprise us? Apple plans to refresh the MacBook Air around March 2024, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said today in a report on Apple’s […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Shopping by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, apple, battery, ipad, iphone7plus, macbook air
December 1, 2023
After a long and steady battle with the Internet connections at the condo over our Thanksgiving vacation in Florida, the fight is finally over. The pain of returning the hardware Xfinity sent was enough to make me scream (long wait JUST to return something) … but after tossing the Netgear R7000 router and replacing with […]
Filed under: Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: condo1718, internet, tech friday, techfriday, xfinity
November 24, 2023
A week or so ago, I went looking for an image of a Killer Whale (Orca) … and wanted one that had the happy look of a smiling Shamu, etc. It didn’t need to be a “real photo” so thought it would be a simple task for one of the artificial intelligence assistance. Microsoft’s Bing […]
Filed under: Art, Computer, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, bing, image, killer whale, orca, smiling, tech friday, techfriday
November 3, 2023
Simple test for my automated MyDesultoryBlog’s X.com account after an API update. This WordPress plug-in using a newly updated service should start to work again. This post will probably be deleted although since I like the Elon Musk ani-gif, I might just keep it. Will this feature work again?
Filed under: Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: api, elon musk, tech friday, techfriday, twitter, wordpress, x.com, xposter
For years I’ve been running Parallels on my iMac after switching from Bootcamp on the old Mac Mini. It has been a love -hate relationship, but I’ve sort of always needed to run Microsoft Windows. Since adding the MacBook Air M2 without Parallels or a Windows10 option, I’ve learned to function fairly well without “at […]
Filed under: Apple, Computer, Productivity, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: imac, m2 chip, macbook air, macmini, parallels, tech friday, techfriday, virtual, windows10
October 27, 2023
“In other news” as the 6PM nightly news talking head would say, Rich broke his Fitbit Versa 2 watchband last night while raking the first drop of the leave this year. Bummer … but thankfully replacements on Amazon are just $7.99 or $9.99 for THREE (two of the three are the wrong colors for me, […]
Filed under: Gadget, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, buzzwords, computing, fitbit, marketwatch, smartwatch, tech friday, techfriday, versa, watch, watchband
October 16, 2023
Nothing important, but I wanted to backup the MyDesultoryBlog database and then update to WordPress 6.3.2; it is the first update since the PHP change. Thankfully all is running smoothly and the update took. All is well with the blog.
Filed under: Blogs, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: backup, filler, php, tech friday, techfriday, update, wordpress
October 13, 2023
We live in a world where personal privacy has all but disappeared when it comes to our lives. We are surveilled everywhere and by practically every device. Our connected gadgets collect and send data on our every movement … and increasingly “inner” goings-on (smart devices monitoring our health). New cars are pumping data to the […]
Filed under: Advice, Cellphone, Computer, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: email, encryption, privacy, protonmail, security, tech friday, techfriday
October 6, 2023
This is really nothing new … it is just an exact replacement of the Brydge 10.2 inch keyboard for my iPad (new above and 2020 photo below). After a few years of heavy use, my second Brydge Keyboard, now out of warranty, was starting ot show some age. This well made keyboard has a couple […]
Filed under: Photos, Productivity, Shopping, Tablet, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apple, brydge, ipad, keyboard, replacement, tablet, tech friday, techfriday
September 29, 2023
Decades ago when I was in graduate school, I taught classes at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio as a GT, I continued to stay connected to the university. As a student I was given an alumni email address (an alias at the time forwarded to another email address) and as part time faculty was granted […]
Filed under: Cloud, Computer, Financial, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: backup, cloud, drive, google, idrive, miami university, microsoft, onedrive, pricing, storage, tech friday, techfriday, workspace
September 22, 2023
It is time to start cleaning up my older WordPress blog install and preparing for an eventual update … once again. I’m beginning to realize that part of the problem is that I hang onto old themes that are no longer updated and I continue to tweak them myself. As the components that run WordPress […]
Filed under: Blogs, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, bing, bot, chat, tech friday, techfriday, testing, twitter, x.com
September 15, 2023
Perhaps it is just me paying attention to the rumors and knowing the announcements that were planned at Apple’s annual September “new iPhones” announcement event … but the iPhone15s (and Apple Watch 9) upgrades left very little to get excited about? I’m not saying that I won’t be upgrading my aging iPhone 7plus this year, […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Cloud, Financial, Gadget, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: $AAPL, 7plus, apple, apple watch, appleevent, icloud, ios17, iphone, iphone15, tech friday, techfriday, usb-c, wonderlust, wsj
September 8, 2023
One of my social media contacts who knows that I’ve been using computers to monitor investments and trade for decades heard me mention that I switched to a tiny MacBook Air M2 from a 27” PC display (iMac with a second Thunderbolt Apple display running Windows 10 on Parallels). He asked how it was possible […]
Filed under: Computer, Financial, Idioms, Personal, Photos, Productivity, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: cocopar, desktops, gimp, idiom, imac, investing, macbook air, marsedit, trading, uperfect
September 1, 2023
Samsung announced another “high screen real estate” monitor for those who like to plaster a lot of content on a single screen … or more that likely, play games … but besides ogling this massive 57 inch wide display, it is definitely not something I need these days. There was once a time that I […]
Filed under: Business, Computer, Financial, Productivity, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Air M2, amazon, display, macbook, monitor, portable, samsung, tech friday, techfriday, usb
August 25, 2023
Our Wyze security cam detection continues to struggle with determining if birds are people. One would think that with artificial intelligence improving that software would be much better at detecting the difference between birds and people? But for years now (one, two, three), our friendly and curious cardinal regularly enjoys getting his photo uploaded to […]
Filed under: Nature, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: birds, cardinal, mp4, security, wyze
August 18, 2023
Proton Mail offers a free email service with limitations … as expected. There is a paid version which over time I’ve contemplated switching to for both the enhanced privacy and ability to use my old original business email domain: whatevername@cppnet.com. The monthly (yearly) subscription price is reasonable, but since I already run several Linux servers […]
Filed under: Advice, Business, Computer, How-To, Technology, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: cppnet.com, email, gmail, live.com, netaddress, proton, protonmail, tips, trash, usa.net
August 11, 2023
As My Desultory Blog approaches 8000 posts, it has become increasingly clear that tags and categories are becoming worthless. Besides having too many, they are all too full and do little for me to find anything (or anyone else). The search feature has always been a problem and makes it difficult for even me to […]
Filed under: Blogs, Social Networking, Software by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: api, blog, categories, change, php, plugins, tags, tech friday, techfriday, themes, twitter, updates, wordpress
August 4, 2023
When trying to transfer photos and video from SD cards to a computer, you really need some kind of card reader. I have several that are USB readers, but none that are USB-C and will plug into my MacBook Air M2. So instead of a bulky dongle with extras, I opted for a small Anker […]
Filed under: Computer, Gadget, Photography, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: anker, cardreader, gadget, tech friday, techfriday, usb-c
July 28, 2023
Things continue to change over at Twitter, at least as the old is removed and the new is implemented. I’m not sure the switch from the Twitter “bird” to the symbol “X” is all that big of a deal, but it does at least keep people in the tech world talking. Who knows if Elon […]
Filed under: Business, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: elon musk, social media, tech friday, techfriday, twitter, x.com
July 21, 2023
For those keeping score as to just how frugal Rich can descend when chasing after a wireless plan … “better” (cheaper) than Mint Mobile … “he” may have gone “a bridge too far” in the latest USMobile wireless plan decision (I know, another idiom and a 3rd person reference, but don’t get me started on the whole […]
Filed under: Cellphone, Idioms, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: cell phone, cheapness, idiom, idioms, iphone, mint mobile, tech friday, techfriday, usmobile, wireless
July 7, 2023
One of the TWO reasons that I’ve opted for the Ridgid brand of cordless power tools is their LSA … which I’ve used once before on a couple of early batteries. Besides the minor hassle in registering and filing a claim, it seems to be the right way to go considering the problems with tools […]
Filed under: Advice, Misc, Shopping, Technology, Tidbits, Tools, Woodworking by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: 9Ah, ani gif, anigif, battery, blower motor, claim, inverter, lithium, lithium-ion, lsa, ridgid, tech friday, techfriday, tools, warranty, workshop
June 30, 2023
Such a simple fix; why did it take me so long to add a bit of code to the “non-supported” WordPress theme that My Desultory Blog has been using since nearly the beginning in 2005? Ugh, well it is finally good to have a “DATE” listed when using the search box. Also while checking my […]
Filed under: Blogs, Computer, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: blog, coding, mydesultoryblog, search.php, tech friday, techfriday, theme, wordpress
June 23, 2023
A couple of weeks ago, our our mostly flawless fiber service with AltaFiber (was Cincinnati Bell) was upgraded to a faster speed. Our Internet service has been as fast as we have needed and relatively stable for the last couple of years. Personally, nothing needs anything to change … except perhaps a lower monthly price? […]
Filed under: Computer, Gadget, Productivity, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: altafiber, internet, network, nordvpn, speedtest, tech friday, techfriday, vpn
June 16, 2023
Technology advancements and AI photo and video editing has been around a few years (FaceApp photos) … but some of the newer fakes or clones are a bit “too” convincing (link to a “human generated” one, but not necessarily convincing). 😉 As a society, there’s no turning back once artificial intelligence abilities are here, but […]
Filed under: Art, Computer, Social Networking, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ai, all in the family, blackmail, mash, mp4, tech friday, techfriday, television, tiktok, youtube
June 9, 2023
How long must I wait and watch in irritation as other manufacturers beside Apple or iOS “cloners” roll out “flip phone” (or even a slider) that at least from a first glance look like exactly what I personally am looking for in a future iPhone? The form and function are exactly what at least some […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Productivity, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apple, Cellphone, flipphone, iphone, motorola, pcmag, samsung, smartphone, sph-i500, tech friday, techfriday
May 26, 2023
This test is more for my own curiosity than any kind of controlled tech test, but since I’m often away from convenient 110VAC charging plugs, I would like to be able to recharge iPads and iPhones on the go. A few years back, I preordered a package of products from a startup company called Magfast […]
Filed under: Cellphone, Gadget, Tablet, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: charging, ipad, iphone, magfast, tech friday, techfriday, testing
May 12, 2023
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has announced that he will be handing over the reins of Twitter to a new female CEO. The move comes after Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion in April 2022. In a tweet on Thursday, Musk said: Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO […]
Filed under: Business, Social Networking by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: ceo, elon musk, tech friday, techfriday, twitter
May 5, 2023
Last month I switched my LTE iPhone 7-plus to USMobile, a budget-friendly wireless carrier, and have been satisfied with the trial. Since I will likely stay with the service after making the cumbersome switch from Mint Mobile, I started to think about switching Brenda’s iPhone7 — ugh! So after a little discussion with her about […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Holiday, Personal, Photos, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: 128GB, apple, brenda, iphone14, mint mobile, mother's day, tech friday, techfriday, usmobile
April 21, 2023
Although my first computer was a Compaq Portable (I still have it and I think it still boots up) … my second computer was a Macintosh SE with a giant 20MB HD … the more successful and lower price version of the Lisa. Did you know that the Apple Lisa turned 40 this year? How […]
Filed under: Apple, Computer, History, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: gui, lisa, macintosh, steve jobs, tech friday, techfriday
April 7, 2023
Last year one of my earlier Wyze Cams failed to update and wasn’t connecting to our mesh wifi (continued to disconnect). Thankfully Wyze politely discounted a newer version to which I happily upgraded. The old one has been sitting on my workbench and before tossing it in the trash, decided to peek under the hood. I […]
Filed under: Misc, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: camera, cams, disassemble, security, tech friday, techfriday, wyze
March 31, 2023
One of the untouched add-ons to my computer life has been the cloud component odrive. It took me a while to add it to my new Apple MacBook Air M2, but while messing with a few upgrades this week, decided it was time to add it. First, WordPress came out with their 6.2 update so […]
Filed under: Apple, Cloud, Computer, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: aws, box, cloud, ftp, m2 chip, macbook air, marsedit, odrive, testing, update, wordpress
March 17, 2023
It has been almost a week and I’m slowly getting comfortable with my new “open box” MacBook Air M2. Everything is working as it should, but there are changes for me in getting comfortable with smaller type and less screen real estate. I suspect a second monitor is in my future? I’ve looked at the Apple […]
Filed under: Apple, Computer, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Air M2, display, ipad, macbook, sidecar, tech friday, techfriday
March 10, 2023
It has been quite a few years that I’ve been struggling with what to do when it comes to purchasing a new “travel” computer and I have contemplated doing something a number of times. The aging Lenovo still works, but I do struggle with not having everything with me that is part of my “Apple […]
Filed under: Apple, Computer, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: adorama, Air M2, apple, Computer, macbook
February 17, 2023
Since a new iPhone will eventually be in my future, I’m paying a little more attention to the rumors around what is changing. The most obvious seems to be the USB-C port, but according to 9to5mac photos and renderings, the iPhone15Pro could see some bezel changes too. With the iPhone 15 lineup, a USB-C port […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: 9to5mac.com, apple, iphone, iphone15, rumor, tech friday, techfriday
February 3, 2023
A fix or an update came out for MarEdit this week … and because I am really hoping to get comfortable posting to MyDesultoryBlog using this app the Mac rather than PC. There have been a few nagging issues so far in preventing my switching from Open Live Writer (Microsoft Windows world) … besides it is […]
Filed under: Blogs, Idioms, Photos, Software by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: blogging, idiom, idioms, mac, marsedit, polarbear, tech friday, techfriday, testing
January 20, 2023
While watching NFL playoff football this month, I started looking for a app like Blogsy or BlogPad Pro that was available “in the old days” in order to post from my iPad. Unfortunately it is looking as if fewer and fewer app developer are focused on blogging software. My preferred software “was” Microsoft’s Windows Live […]
Filed under: Blogs, Software by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: blogging, ios, ipad, mac, tech friday, techfriday, wordpress
January 6, 2023
It is hard to resist loving gadget gifts and this past year for Christmas I was excited to receive a Wyze Doorbell from Drew (and Katelyn – Thx!) Although the previous year in 2021, I will admit that I was intimidated … and still am … by the fancy double temperature Bluetooth and WiFi Weber […]
Filed under: Gadget, Personal, Photos, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: christmas, coffee, doorbell, embed, ember, grilling, mug, twitter, weber, wyze
December 30, 2022
Prior to 2022, I managed phone numbers and contacts on my iPhone poorly – perhaps “the wrong way.” Every year I created a new A/SPAM list of callers and emailers and self-managed these lists. Of course this didn’t stop callers or text messages from new unknown phone numbers. So I tried a couple of different […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, How-To, Productivity, Tablet, Technology, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: imessage, ios, iphone, messaging, tech friday, techfriday, text messages, tidbit, tip
December 9, 2022
About this time of year the handful of servers that I maintain need to be looked at a little closer. Often I’m only doing the minimum maintenance, updates and backups … because there are often problems after an update. Pointing being, maintenance on this server have been getting over looked and put on the back […]
Filed under: Blogs, Computer, Hobby, Productivity, Raspberry Pi, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: amd, linux, mydesultoryblog, server, tech friday, techfriday, ubuntu, update, upgrade, wordpress
December 2, 2022
It is hard to believe that watching sports and movies on a 37" television just isn’t satisfactory enough these days? So when I saw a Walmart pre-Black Friday deal on a 65" TCL Roku TV for $228, I could not pass up the deal. It is very impressive for the money and a perfect upgrade […]
Filed under: Archive, Memories, Personal, Photos, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: christmas, condo1718, costco, deal, flashback, florida, lights, memories, tcl roku, tech friday, techfriday, television, tv, walmart
November 25, 2022
Part of what was in my long awaited Magfast order arrived earlier this month and after charging the MAGFAST battery packs, I started to test the output plugs. The USB-C worked just fine on my Kindle reader. The Lightning plug worked to charge my iPhone 7 and iPad. The Micro-USB worked (I think) and the […]
Filed under: Gadget, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: battery pack, charging, customer support, extreme, issues, life, magfast, problems, tech friday, techfriday
November 18, 2022
My older Canary Cams are still working but will eventually be retired as lower priced and higher quality Wyze Cams and Wyze Cam3s have become the “go to” products to fill my gadget addiction. On Wednesday a male cardinal trigger one of my cams and it reminded me to check on my subscription, re-read the […]
Filed under: Gadget, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Cam, canary, cardinal, solar, tech friday, techfriday, wyze, wyzecam3
November 4, 2022
Posting this late on Thursday night after watching the Houston Astros win game 5 of the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies making the series 3 games to 2; it has been an enjoyable five games so far … especially since I really am not invested in either team. As for the Tech Friday […]
Filed under: Books, Financial, Sports, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apple, book, credit card, kindle, library, reading, tech friday, techfriday, world series
October 28, 2022
For those using Apple products and subscription services, the monthly cost is going up. The company announced new version of their iPad lineup this week followed by the news that they are hiking fees for Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscription services this week for the very first time. In the U.S., the cost of […]
Filed under: Apple, Financial, Streaming, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: aapl, apple, apple tv+, ipad, price increase, streaming, subscription, tech friday, techfriday
October 14, 2022
Besides enjoying some minor league Toledo Mud Hens baseball this year with family, I have not been focused on MLB or the postseason playoffs. Being a Cleveland Indians Guardians fan, I am sort of pulling for them after they won the Wild Card series against Tampa Bay … but as always, beating the New York […]
Filed under: Misc, Sports, Streaming by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: amazon prime, baseball, cleveland, fox, gom, mlb, nascar, nbc, playoffs, postseason, rant, sports, streaming, tbs, tech friday, techfriday, usa network, wahoo, world series
September 30, 2022
Our Cincinnati Bell Fioptics Internet service has been acquired by Altafiber. I’m not sure there has been much more than a logo change in service “so far,” but whenever our cable TV isn’t quite right or the Internet acts up, the blame is now on AltaFiber. Speed has been a problem this week and “might” […]
Filed under: Cellphone, Computer, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: altafiber, cincinnatibell, internet, iphone, mesh, mint, router, speedtest, tech friday, techfriday, wifi
September 23, 2022
It has taken me a while, but after updating my Fitbit Versa smartwatch a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t be happier with the “at the time” difficult decision. Once before, my original was replaced under warranty (free) but with the same Versa (1) smartwatch which really did serve me well. Lesson: Watches and gadgets do not […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: credit cards, fitbit, nfc, sense2, smartwatch, tech friday, techfriday, trackers, versa2, versa4, wallet
August 19, 2022
Google and their Android mobile OS platform has a social media campaign running to hopefully get Apple to fix their widely used text messaging app called iMessage. For years now, sending messages between Apple iPhones and other iDevices has frustrated many a users trying to communicate with friends and family. Google would like Apple to […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: android, apple, getthemessage, google, imessage, iphone, MMS, RCS, sms, text messages
August 5, 2022
Not that I use Amazon Cloud Drive for all that much (using AWS S3), but it will be disappointing for those who adopted Amazon for their backups and cloud storage needs … other than Photos (they will still support). Dear Amazon Drive Customer, Over the last 11 years, Amazon Drive has served as a secure […]
Filed under: Cloud, Computer, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: $AMZN, amazon, amazon drive, aws, cloud, drive, storage, tech friday, techfriday
July 29, 2022
A couple of years ago, Google announced that its Chrome Browser would start phasing out their support for “third party tracking cookies.” Users concerned about privacy and data tracking from their web browsing have tried over the years to use add-ons and extensions to block or prevent Chrome from using them. Some of us switch […]
Filed under: Computer, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: browser, chrome, cookies, delay, google, tech friday, techfriday
July 1, 2022
For Tech Friday today, here’s an impressive slow-motion video used more for an internal streaming test than for the actual content. In my quest for low-cost minimalist data storage and serving, this is just a tiny computer test. (EDIT: It failed, but will include the video from my normal server anyway.)
Filed under: Raspberry Pi, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: mp4, pole vault, server, streaming, testing, video
June 24, 2022
After a week of working with the new “trade-up” from an older Echo (triggered by a $30 trade-in offer) to the 4th generation Amazon Echo “with premium sound, smart home hub (Zigbee) and Alexa” … the results have been mixed. My advice, don’t rush. First, I was looking forward to the idea to not need […]
Filed under: Advice, Alexa, Gadget, Innovation, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Alexa, amazon, cool-down, echo, hub, motion sensor, presence, smart home, smart speaker, tech friday, techfriday, thirdreality, zigbee
June 18, 2022
Not that I was bored or anything while running on generator power for 24 hours, but last week’s outage had my small load-sharing Raspberry Pi “server farm” (semi-joke) that I run at the house (see Brenich.com), in need of service. One thing lead to another and I ended up tinkering a bit more with this […]
Filed under: Computer, Raspberry Pi, Technology, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apache, brenich, cms, hugo, markdown, raspberry pi, saturday, server, tech friday, techfriday, testing, tinkering, wordpress, zigbee
June 17, 2022
When it comes to a headset/headphones, I wear them all the time and am pretty much an Aftershokz guy. I find that I rarely take them off during the day, ever since getting my first “bone conduction” Bluetooth headset. I love nearly everything about the current Aeropex model even as the company updates with newer […]
Filed under: Audio, Gadget, Music, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: aeropex, aftershokz, bluetooth, david clark, distraction, headphones, headset, jawbone, koss, mpow, Music, noise-cancelling, palm, tech friday, techfriday, wyze
June 3, 2022
Over the years, I have backed a few smaller companies needing capital and pre-sales to expand their businesses. Before the days of online crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter, I participated as an investor in two smaller Ohio local companies … one that landed a contract to fulfill candy for Disney World which need […]
Filed under: Advice, Financial, Innovation, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: capital, elio, elio motors, funding, indiegogo, kickstarter, lures, magfast, mayfly, ordering, shipping, startup, tech friday, techfriday
May 27, 2022
Although I appreciate the talent of artists in all mediums and have plenty of artwork in our home, I’m not sure where this Vincent van Gogh “virtual world” art fits in??? Maybe it is just fitting for the blog?
Filed under: Art, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: Art, artwork, friday filler, mp4, van Gogh, virtual
May 20, 2022
While discussing the ever-changing way in which we use the “web” with a friend, he shared an “explainer“ video from Harvard Business Review earlier this month on Web3 (Web 3.0). It is also on YouTube and offers a glimpse into what they refer to as “read/write/own” information.
Filed under: Innovation, Privacy, Productivity, Social Networking, Software, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: blockchain, decentralized, explainer, harvard business review, hbr.org, internet, tech friday, techfriday, web3, youtube
April 29, 2022
With Y2K in the past, I wonder if I still need to keep this 3.5 inch disk from a Windows 2000 emergency repair? I suspect I can toss the disk since I don’t think I even have a 3.5” disk reader anymore … although in the pile of old computer gear … it is likely […]
Filed under: Computer, Humor, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: disk, floppy, Humor, tech friday, techfriday, win2000, y2k
April 22, 2022
The MP3 format for audio has been used on My Desultory Blog since the mid-2000s and I have contemplated a variety of other opensource options over the years. Compression choices to keep file sizes and streaming acceptable come and go and as we search for quality of audio and bandwidth for streaming becomes less of […]
Filed under: Audio, Blogs, Computer, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: apogee, app, audio, compression, ease.us, format, ipad, iphone, m4a, microphone, tech friday, techfriday, voice memo
April 8, 2022
After updating my iOS devices to 15.4 last week, I noticed a few annoying changes (normal when an operating system changes), and a few improvements. I suspected that older devices such as my iPhone 7 and older iPad would start to show signs of reduced battery life and sluggishness, yet how long nowadays do we […]
Filed under: Business, Computer, Entertainment, Financial, Software, Technology, Tidbits by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: cable, cincinnatibell, fioptics, idiom, idioms, ios, ios15.4, tech friday, techfriday, update
March 25, 2022
Those who know me likely have noticed that I’m often wearing an Aftershokz headset. I’ve worn them for the last several years and since my hearing has been impacted by Ménière’s disease way back in the late 1990s (long story) … in dealing with Menieres related hearing loss, I have found a bone conduction headset […]
Filed under: Advice, Cellphone, Gadget, Personal, Shopping, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: aeropex, aftershokz, bone, conduction, headphones, headset, listening, Music, openrun, podcast, radio, shokz, tech friday, techfriday, Technology
March 11, 2022
Here are a couple of technology highlights to mention on a Tech Friday from earlier this week. First, the new driveway Wyze Cam3 set-up (moved it) picked up an evening fox whizzing by and the second, an event on Tuesday from Apple announcing new products. Personally, I’m not sure what kind of surprise was expected […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Nature, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: aapl, ani gif, anigif, apple, appleevent, driveway, fox, ipad, iphone, security, wyze, wyzecam3
March 4, 2022
On Tuesday, I received my Apple Event invitation for March 8, 2022 where tech watchers expect to hear Apple announce a new low-cost 5G iPhone SE. The current SE is $399 and retains the Touch ID which as me wondering if the new iPhone SE will remain similar? They are also expected to announce a […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, News, Tablet, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: announcement, apple, cnbc, event, ipad, iphone se, tech friday, techfriday
February 25, 2022
A few years back while learning a little more about iPhone photography, I downloaded and tinkered with the Focos app. At the time, I liked it,but for some reason forgot about using it or that I even had it on my phone. In updating to Apple’s iOS 15.3.1 (security issues I assume), I figured it […]
Filed under: Apple, Cellphone, Photography, Software, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: app, apple, bokeh, effect, focos, ios, iphone, photography, tech friday, techfriday
February 18, 2022
Over the years of playing (learning) Linux, setting up APIs and running webservers on a few Raspberry Pi computers, I’ve set up a Twitter “bot” in order to track them and keep them running. Last September 2021 Twitter launched an experiment of labels for these kinds of accounts that was voluntary. I run a “bot” […]
Filed under: Computer, Raspberry Pi, Social Networking, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: automated, bot, bots, james altucher, qdex, quickdex, tech friday, techfriday, twitter
February 4, 2022
Let me start off with the positives. I really like my original Fitbit Versa watch. I wear it everyday and it offers me nearly everything I want in a fitness tracking smart watch. That said, I have always been hard on watches … to the point I stopped wearing watches for years – for decades […]
Filed under: Gadget, Misc, Personal, Shopping, Technology, Video by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: battery, customer service, fitbit, smartwatch, teardown, tech friday, techfriday, warranty, watch, youtube
January 28, 2022
In an attempt to start 2022 off right, I’ve updated MyDesultoryBlog.com‘s WordPress to the current 5.9 … along with the interface that I’ve never learned to use or appreciate. Someday perhaps? Since this was a pretty short Tech Friday blog entry, I’ll include a JAMA guest link from my daughter that reminded her (and me) […]
Filed under: Blogs, Health, Software by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: blog, dadc, dying, jama, katelyn, momc, tech friday, techfriday, update, wordpress
January 14, 2022
This past Christmas, my daughter Katelyn gave Drew a new Wyze Watch and, as always with all Wyze products, I was impressed with their reasonably low price for excellent products (although I’m still super happy with my Fitbit Versa – thank you K and D). The Wyze gift reminder had me revisit one of their […]
Filed under: Gadget, Technology by RichC | No Comments »
Tags: drew, floodlight, hoa, katelyn, neighborhood, security, tech friday, techfriday, vandalism, waitlist, watch, wyze, wyzecam3