RichC | November 8, 2024
Apple is finally rolling out the much ballyhooed Apple Intelligence on Apple devices … including my new iPhone 16 Pro Max. Their have been a few laughs from me when it comes to the AI “summary” feature generating a questionable summary (an automotive enthusiast John Rowe’s X.com comments – he does NOT recommend Sunbeam). On […]
RichC | October 10, 2024
All of the smartphones I’ve owned since the 2000s have held a soft spot in my heart and the same could be said after seeing a Palm Treo photo in a “Year(s) Ago On This Day” link this week. It sort of makes for a worthwhile Throwback Thursday #TBT kind of subject … along with […]
RichC | October 9, 2024
It has been quite the improvement when it comes to the camera, especially in switching from the iPhone 7 Plus (a great smartphone) to the new iPhone 16 Pro Max. I’ve really yet to learn how to best use the new features, but “out of the box” it just takes excellent photos (that link means […]
RichC | October 4, 2024
There is little doubt our family and friends aren’t the only ones who struggle with differences of opinions … be they political or technology related. In today’s case it’s not politics, Microsoft Windows vs Apple MacOS or Linux … but Google’s Android text messaging vs Apple’s iOS and their proprietary encrypted “Messages” app. Thankfully Apple […]
RichC | October 1, 2024
Since it has been raining and because there was 1/2 cup of workbench top Zip Guard sealer left … and the Bame Utility Trailer was still in the garage … I decided to remove the cover in prep for raking leave and added the leftover sealer to the rail areas. After removing the cover, I […]
RichC | September 27, 2024
Since the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the first Apple phone that I’ve had with induction charging capability, I’ve been curious how to best manage the longevity of the new battery. I’ve generally plugged my iPhones in to charge once a day (overnight) for the last decade or so BUT did use the induction puck […]
RichC | September 21, 2024
The new iPhone 16 Pro Max has arrived and the set-up process begins. Sorry for the distraction; I’m probably going to be “trying” to get the new phone up and running this weekend. 😊 EDIT Add 9/21/2024:
RichC | September 20, 2024
One of the “very few” complaints with the Apple MacBook Air M2 is that macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 (and likely all recent MacOS versions) does not have a way to make the menu bar smaller in height. This is the one display dimension that has been the most difficult to get use to in coming from […]
RichC | September 19, 2024
Posted something similar last year with a better image in the Disqus comment 😊 For many Apple iPhone 16 pre-order folks, this image is an eye-opening reminder of all the versions of the iPhone that Apple as made since Steve Jobs introduced it in 2007. I was a Palm OS user back then and was […]
RichC | September 17, 2024
Most “guys” I know can get pretty anxious when waiting for a pre-ordered tech gadget to arrive (or perhaps even a new tool). I ordered a new iPhone Pro 16 Max last Friday, which was the first day it was available to order … and besides wondering about having buyers remorse, I am anxious for […]
RichC | September 13, 2024
Although I haven’t quite decided as to what Apple iPhone 16 Pro to pre-order, it will likely be a big jump from the current “borrowed” iPhone XS that I’ve been using since drowning my iPhone 7 Plus. It has been fine, but it is time to move past the smartphones of 2017 and 2018. 😊 […]
RichC | September 10, 2024
Since July’s “swim with my iPhone 7 Plus,” I’ve been using my friend Jeff’s older backup iPhoneXS (2018). Having a “Plan B” has been most appreciated after my attempt at saving a buck and buying a refurbished iPhone 15 Pro. Thankfully the reseller refunded my “Plan A” purchase in full since it was a struggle […]
RichC | August 2, 2024
Have you ever been listening to a podcast that is getting a little long-winded? Oh, there are a few of them resembling those at a Donald Trump for President rally … or more recently, his speech at the Republican Convention. 😉 According to various reports, Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention […]
RichC | July 26, 2024
Although waiting until 2026 is a long time down the road, I’m still interested in a foldable iPhone. Every few month another rumor hints that Apple is working on an iPhone that will fold. Personally I’m hopefully that it will be a “flip” model as in recent articles, perhaps similar to Motorola’s Razr+ (left) or […]
RichC | July 15, 2024
It may not be the latest and greatest new iPhone (just like Classic Rewind music), but due to leaving my old iPhone 7 Plus in my pocket while going into the pool, I was forced to make a quick decision … even though my buddy Jeff loaned me his iPhone XS for a few days […]
RichC | July 12, 2024
Although the Late 2012 Intel-based iMac is “aging better than President Biden,” my desktop iMac is struggling and is no longer being used as my primary computer. Still … it does work as a larger twin 27” screens desktop computer along side my MacBook Air M2 these days. Recently I cross my fingers when updating […]
RichC | July 8, 2024
Today’s Music Monday is a redux of a previous post regarding the popular 1973 song “Kodachrome” by Paul Simon song (of Simon and Garfunkel and solo fame). The song came up in a conversation on Sunday afternoon with Megan and Taylor as they were showing a “slides” wall display of hundreds of old transparencies all mounted […]
RichC | June 21, 2024
Last month I seriously considered upgrading my iPad to the Apple iPad Air … but really wanted the newest Brydge MAX+ Keyboard … which is currently unavailable (signed up for the “notify me” list though). I was still tempted to order a new iPad, but decided my sluggish, older iPad and “slow to connect” Bluetooth […]
RichC | June 13, 2024
It is shocking to count the years since I gave Brenda her first Apple Watch for Christmas in 2015 — NINE … shocker! I would like to be able to say that it actually lasted that long, but not all that long after she started wearing it, the battery “bloated” in the charger and failed. […]
RichC | May 31, 2024
The Nord apps have been working great for the last few years and I’ve been impressed with the improvements I’ve seen to NordPass for passwords on both the Firefox and Brave (Chromium-based) browsers. My preferred daily web surfing browsers is Brave and my steady secondary desktop is Firefox. If I were to judge, Firefox works […]
RichC | May 24, 2024
Although it is not an immediate need, the “want” in me is growing. My 2017 iPhone 7 plus is really starting to feel old; even my daughter mentioned that my shared photos were not the quality that they should be — she has a fair point. Phone cameras aside, the device I use the most […]
RichC | April 30, 2024
While uploading a late April 2024 peaceful looking Delray Beach scene from my “aging” iPhone 7 Plus, the distorted panorama photo has me wondering just when it will be time to upgrade? Since my 7 year old smartphone will no longer update a few of the apps due to an old iOS … I do […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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, […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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.
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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! 😉
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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, […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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.
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | 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 […]