Tech Friday: Knowing where your iPhone, or perhaps YOU are?

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Are we getting closer to a foldable Apple iPhone?

| 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, […]

One year plus a few weeks using MarsEdit for blogging #TBT

| February 8, 2024

This probably should be a Tech Friday post, but since a year has passed since starting to use MarsEdit 5 instead of Open Live Writer on MyDesultoryBlog, but I’m making this a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT post.  After initially tinkering with the trial in January of 2023, I purchased a license and started using in full […]

Tech Friday: Apple’s pricey Vision Pro VR Headset has arrived

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Trash or should these become drink coasters?

| 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.

Tech Friday: It is shocking how iPhone cameras have improved!

| 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? 

Tech Friday: A new iPad Wallpaper and fix the Harmony remote

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Replaced the battery in my iPhone 7 plus

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Rumors of vertical iPhone16 camera layout

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Apple news for 2024 and an iPhone 7 plus battery

| 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 […]

X.com API test: Still would like an iPhone flipphone

| November 17, 2023

Really just testing a new X.com (Twitter) setup after the MyDesultoryBlog account stopped updating several months ago. An API change has made it more difficult for automated accounts to send out tweets. Adding a photo to keep Apple aware that I still would really like an iPhone Flip! 😉 

Tech Friday: Grumbling about my Parallels subscription

| November 3, 2023

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 […]

Tech Friday: Apple’s yawn-worthy 2023 Wonderlust event

| 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, […]

Tech Friday: How long before Apple makes an iPhone Flip?

| 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 […]

Minor issues upgrading Brenda’s iPhone7 to an iPhone14

| May 16, 2023

Something unanticipated happened last weekend when secretly trying to prepare a new iPhone14 to give to Brenda for Mother’s Day … it was likely the busiest time for wireless cellphone towers … especially if on Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).  In other words, the day I gave Brenda the new phone to play with was […]

How Steve Jobs saved Apple with the iMac 25 years ago

| May 7, 2023

Memories: We had two of them — The original iMac in 1998 On May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs announced the iMac, and we wouldn’t now have the iPhone, the Apple Store, or even Apple itself, if it hadn’t been such a success. If there’s ever any doubt that the iMac is a phenomenal success, just try to […]

Tech Friday: How about a new iPhone14 for Mother’s Day?

| 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 […]

Contemplating the history Fed hikes and recessions

| May 4, 2023

While waiting for the big TWO TRILLION dollar company that is Apple ($AAPL) to report earning after hours on Thursday (story), I’m contemplating the likely outcome of accelerated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Obviously concluding that “inflation in transitory,” as the Fed Chair commented after the pandemic, was the incorrect assumption … and […]

Tech Friday: The Apple Lisa computer is over 40 years old

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: WordPress 6.2 and testing odrive with MarsEdit

| 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 […]

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with computers

| March 25, 2023

Much of Friday was spend trying to recover tax oriented data that has been on the Windows virtual drive on my iMac computer. Earlier this year, I started taxes and had been slowly adding data and archiving items in a folder so I could file taxes this year. All the downloads were in place and […]

Modifying my blog and another MacBook Air Desultory update

| March 21, 2023

When working with Bing‘s webmaster tools, I noticed that some search results for MyDesultory Blog.com were missing. After a bit of reading, it looks as if I may have crammed too much into the index HTML page? According to their guidelines (it doesn’t impact other search engines), a heavy index page (+125KB) removes a website […]

Bought an external 1TB SSD for the new MacBook Air M2

| March 18, 2023

Even though the new MacBook Air M2 is cloud connected and semi-backing up (to iCloud, gDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc) … it is still uncomfortable to be loading up and using a new notebook computer for traveling without physically backing up files. In particular, setting up the built in Apple TimeMachine software in case the computer needs […]

Tech Friday: A week of tinkering with a new MacBook Air M2

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Will I regret buying an openbox MacBook Air M2?

| 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 […]

Testing MarsEdit 5 for MacOS with a 1980s Apple Logo Sheet

| March 8, 2023

After a bit of time away from my aging Apple iMac and time to ponder using the MarsEdit blogging app from RedSweater as a replacement for OpenLiveWriter on Windows, I bit the bullet and purchased the software. The final push to purchase was the responsive emails from the developer Daniel Jalkut and how to set […]

Tech Friday: Reading rumors regarding the iPhone 15 and Pro

| 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 […]

Test posting from MarsEdit

| January 20, 2023

This is a test only post from a new to me Mac app called MarsEdit. It is similar to my much loved Open Live Writer on Windows, but without a few of the features or ablity to preview the blog format while typing. Still I’m going to give it a try and see if I can […]

Contemplating a new Mac for my new office set-up this year

| January 18, 2023

As the great Yogi Berra is credited with saying, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” It is once again time to contemplate my home office computer set-up … something I seem to do every year. The last time I updated my main computer was when I replaced an early Mac Mini with the current 2012 […]

Tech Friday: A better way to filter and clean up iOS messages

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Apple has new iPads and upping Services pricing

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: A Versa 2 smartwatch and setting up Fitbit Pay

| 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 […]

Apple Event introduces products including iPhone14 Pro

| September 7, 2022

Considering our current iPhones are seven generations behind (iPhone 7), today’s Apple Event was watched with interest, as usual. The new iPhone14 Pro is particularly interesting and carries a higher price point … although well worth the money considering what I once spent on new computers. Still, the pre-order date of 9/9/2022 will not likely […]

Tech Friday: Campaign to fix the Apple iMessaging problem

| 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 […]

What was I thinking about the iPhone 15 years ago? 😳

| June 29, 2022

After nearly 40 years of buying and using Apple products, it is kind of embarrassing that I doubted Steve Jobs and the iPhone publicly on my blog on June 29, 2007. Happy Anniversary iPhone! Check out this post from 15 years ago.

A movie remake, with a twist? “iMac Down” & stocks down too

| June 10, 2022

A semi-disaster struck as my iMac choked on a Parallel 17 "virtual Windows" update on Thursday. It reminded me of the movie "Blackhawk Down" or perhaps "White House Down" … hence the subject line for Tech Friday.   The virtual Windows 10 side of my computer booted, but everything from the connected drives to the display […]

Reworking my old corner computer desk for the home office

| May 25, 2022

Now that the desk and hardwood floors are complete, and floor finish has cured enough in my home office, it is time to tackle the trim painting, putting the closet and bookshelves back. Another project I’ve been contemplating is to revitalize my older well-worn corner computer desk. Having used it for a couple of decades […]

Temporarily working from my basement home office #TBT

| April 21, 2022

As the slow progress on finishing my home office continues, I’ve set up a temporary office in the basement (below). It is surprisingly comfortable, but I do miss the daylight and looking out the windows. I can’t help but reminisce to make this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post after finally removing the painters tape from […]

Music Monday: “Hold On” from 1990 by Wilson Phillips

| March 28, 2022

Once again, in looking to get out of the 1970’s Music Monday rut, I pulled out a music memory from my trusty Apple iPod and Shuffle … mine is filled with Jack Johnson tunes (right – see Wikipedia list of iPods). The one I used most often was clipped to the back of a cap […]

Tech Friday: Apple Event and our WyzeCam3 picks up a fox

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Waiting to hear about the low-cost iPhone SE

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: Focos and updating and deleting iPhone apps

| 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 […]

Tech Friday: I removed Facebook (now Meta) from iOS devices

| October 29, 2021

It has been a slow process in giving up on Facebook … now Meta. I really never used it much as a social media platform, but stayed in touch with family over the years with it. The past few years I’ve tried to check in monthly and may have posted update every other month or […]

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Supernova in the East #podcast

| September 27, 2021

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor introduced me to a Dan Carlin “Hardcore History” podcasts. He thought I might enjoy them, since both of us particularly appreciate learning more about military history. The series is called “Supernova in the East” detailing the Japanese Empire from pre-World War Japan through WW 2 in six long lectures […]

Apple Event (9/14/2021) introduces iPhone13 series smartphones

| September 15, 2021

As our current Apple iPhone smartphones age (currently Brenda and I have iPhone7 and 7 plus), there is an interest in upgrading to the 5G capable Apple A15 chipped iPhone13 or 13Pro. The Apple Event on Tuesday afternoon highlighted the new smartphones and focused on their photo and video capability. As a photographer and Apple […]

Tech Friday: Apple Magic Mouse scrolling extension ScrollMaps

| August 13, 2021

Years ago (2015) it was a struggle to get Apple’s Magic Mouse to play nice with Google’s Calendar app. Since I was not the only one who had this problem, I shared a browser extension fix for Chrome that at one time I thought might be just temporarily needed (but it is still needed). It […]

Tech Friday: Google Drive help with Delay Start app for Mac OS

| August 6, 2021

For those setting up their Mac to automatically start-up applications  after rebooting the computer, using the “open automatically on log in” settings in very helpful. I have found that the programs I want running most are cloud-based data storage services, but it can also be helpful for apps you may just want running all the […]

Tech Friday: Switched to "Google Drive for Desktop" on my iMac

| July 9, 2021

For the last few years, I’ve been using Google’s Backup and Sync software on my iMac to back up mostly archival data to my free Google Drive space that was part of my legacy Miami University EDU teaching account. I haven’t taught in Oxford, Ohio for decades, but did spend a few dollars for Taylor’s […]

Tech Friday: Apple to launch an OLED iPad in 2022 (likely ‘Air’)

| July 2, 2021

According to TheElec.net (and previously rumored on 9to5mac.com), Apple will be launching a 10.86-inch OLED iPad … likely to be branded the iPadAir in 2022. The panel will be a Samsung display and likely be followed by the larger 11-inch and 12.9-inch OLED iPad Pro models the following year (2023). Since I’m committed to the […]

Tech Friday: Pondering the new Mac Mini vs iMac setup again

| June 4, 2021

The Joanna Sterns review in the WSJ about the new Apple iMac highlighted a few plus and minus points last month … and started me thinking about a desktop computer replacement. It is difficult to imagine spending $2000 again to replace my aging late 2012 iMac 27” model, especially since I run a dual monitor […]

Tech Friday: Would you consider buying this iPhone 5G slider?

| May 7, 2021

If you keep your eyes open, there are plenty of interesting Android and iPhone concept videos floating around. As a Palm Pre slider user, I’ve always thought there might be another slider (or foldable) pocket friendly phone in my future. Here’s an iPhone slider demo that has promise … although personally I think we’ll see […]

Tech Friday: Rumor says new Apple iPad and perhaps the iMac and Apple TV will be available on May 21st

| April 30, 2021

On April 20th I streamed part of the the Apple event to see what was in the works for 2021. We already knew about the iPad Pro, but I was interested to know about the M1 iMac and Brenda uses the Apple TV for streaming (well I do to, but can comfortably jump to other […]

Tech Friday: A powerful Copy and Paste app for the Macintosh

| April 16, 2021

If you use a computer for any length of time (my “go-to” is an aging 2012 Apple iMac), you’ll find yourself cut, copy and pasting things on a regular basis. Security experts do not recommend using the cut/copy feature for secure items like user names and passwords, but that doesn’t prevent the habit of using […]

Tech Friday: What is the best smartphone for 2021?

| March 26, 2021

The current opinion by many who review technology (and Consumer Reports) is that the best smartphone for 2021 is the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max … although might be a bit larger than many are comfortable putting in their pockets. Personally I’ve shifted from wanting something small, like my old Samsung SPH-i500 aluminum bodied flipphone […]

Tech Friday: Apple expected to launch new iPad Pro in April 2021

| March 19, 2021

Although I’m not in the market for a new iPad just yet, I am (or was) a multiple hours a day user back when traveling a bit more and interested in what a Thunderbolt and M1 chipped iPad Pro might offer. At least that’s the rumor for the April 2021 launch … but who knows […]

Apple Mac announcement event this past week along with some fun babysitting Annalyn and Ellerie in Perrysburg, Ohio

| November 14, 2020

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Tech Friday: A Lifewire tip for Apple’s Bluetooth Magic Mouse

| November 13, 2020

Recently I have been having problems with the Magic Mouse on my aging Apple iMac. The Bluetooth mouse once steadily held it’s connection until the AA batteries were getting weaker. I’ve cleaned the contacts with electrical cleaner and a Scotch-Brite pad but continue to have issue. A quick check on the Internet indicated that I’m […]

Tech Friday: MacOS Catalina security issue or a “me” issue?

| October 23, 2020

My iMac computer running macOS Catalina has been off for several days using the “shut down” command before leaving town (normally just let it “sleep”). Upon return, it was booted up and opened without requesting a login or password to unlock – highly unusual and a security issue? I’ve never had this happen before and […]

Apple iOS 13.7: Opt-in to COVID19 exposure notifications?

| September 13, 2020

I downloaded and installed the new Apple iOS 13.7 update, but hesitated since I regularly prefer blocking location services information. Both Apple and Google announced the “tracking” in April 2020, but as expected, it was met with reservation. Most users are naïve to the amount of personal data requested by apps and operation systems on […]

Tech Friday: Apple Mac OS Catalina desktop window tip

| July 10, 2020

As an Apple Macintosh user for nearly forever, I learned a new tip from a Verge article this past month that has not been widely talked about. It happened to come up when I was offering advice on how I rotate through and set up about 5-7 desktops and the second monitor Parallels Window side […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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