RichC | October 8, 2018
The new low cost Wyze Cam Pan that I bought to put in the Delray Beach Condo arrived this past weekend and so opted to set it up temporarily at home. So far so good with the image and impressive panning control with even motion tracking (less impressive though). The reason I chose the Wyze […]
RichC | October 5, 2018
The Amazon Echo has been a fun gadget to use and have in our home since Katelyn and Drew gave it to us for Christmas. After having our granddaughter Annalyn with us for a few days last week, I realized we don’t always have the volume set appropriately especially when she is sleeping. Hm … […]
RichC | September 28, 2018
Facebook Inc. discovered a security flaw affecting almost 50 million accounts, the company said Friday. Attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code for its “view as” feature, which lets users see what their profile looks like to someone else. Facebook discovered the problem Tuesday, the company said in a blog post.A problem in the code […]
RichC | September 14, 2018
In recent years, we’ve grown accustom to DOTcom retail companies delivering on their promises. Thanks to Amazon and their outstanding efficiency and reliable fulfillment and delivery services. Perhaps I’ve forgotten that not all online retailers live up to what we now take for granted? One expects that when a product is listed on a major […]
RichC | September 12, 2018
The biggest awaited tech news for most Apple lovers took place yesterday as they introduced their latest Watch Series 4 with "heart monitoring" capabilities and improved everything. From edge to edge larger screens, to a 64-bit processor that is twice as fast at their earlier version. The speaker is louder (common complaint), a walkie-talkie feature, […]
RichC | August 31, 2018
Tech news this week highlighted Yahoo and AOL brand email services. There are still plenty of users still using them and unknowingly being spied on (including me since I still use Yahoo for "junk" mail — I started with AOL & Yahoo in the early 1990s kept the simple rdc2@ addresses). The search algorithms and […]
RichC | August 24, 2018
|￣￣￣￣￣￣ | | WE | | ARE NOT | | THE | | NATIONAL | | ENQUIRER | | ＿＿＿＿＿__| (\__/) || (•ㅅ•) || / づ — Enquirer (@Enquirer) August 23, 2018
RichC | August 24, 2018
What’s new with the popular and well loved Apple MacBook Air? Nothing yet, but this week heated up with rumors that 8-year old Air is getting a big makeover for the end of 2018 (2017 CNET review of last years Macbook Air). First on the "hope for rumors HAS" list is that the device remains […]
RichC | August 19, 2018
In preparation for an upcoming work related project, I need to record a video for a client’s website and include both their voice and that of someone asking questions. I was hoping to keep it as professional as possible and will be using my Lumix GX8 DSLR.f I am using my external Rode shotgun microphone […]
RichC | August 3, 2018
After impressing almost all analysis with their quarterly report, stock buyers continued to buy $AAPL stock on Thursday making Apple the most valuable company. I watched the coverage on and off all afternoon on Fox Business and the party atmosphere and giddy excitement reminded me of the same dot.com partying in the late 1990s. Oh […]
RichC | August 2, 2018
I have, and do, support a few crowd funded projects — I’ve placied preorders taking on risk and see it as taking a small scale venture capital risk (without much reward). A couple bigger investments have been Elio and MagFast. The latter posts weekly, and relatively personal updates via YouTube video, on how the process […]
RichC | August 1, 2018
Brenda and I had a good time talking to our millennial son Taylor and his girlfriend Megan last weekend. In contrast to our usually politically deteriorating topics of conversation (like his dad, Taylor loves to debate), it was a very enjoyable time. He picked up some shrimp and brought over the ingredients to make us […]
RichC | July 27, 2018
If you have any vested interest in the stock market, Thursday’s huge drop for social networking’s behemoth Facebook ($FB), demonstrated what go up, can come down … and can come down fast! The "biggest ever one-day loss in market value for a U.S. listed company" happened yesterday and saw investors in $FB (or any pension […]
RichC | July 25, 2018
While doing a bit of server housekeeping on the CPP servers and preparing for the eventual push to make all websites secure for users, I ran across a helpful Qualys SSL Labs site to check on certificates, etc. If you are working to get websites updated and compliant for the day ALL site will need […]
RichC | July 20, 2018
I’ve been using the Wyze Cam to keep an eye on our Florida condo for a couple of months now … and besides an issue with a low-cost router overheating, it has been excellent. I’ve been thinking about adding a second one with the adjustable viewing angle, but it is not on the high priority […]
RichC | July 13, 2018
Apple has been updating their iOS iPhone and iPad mobile operating system regularly and they seem to take far longer than in the old days (a couple years ago – HAHA). This latest update will not be appreciated by law enforcement who often want to gain access to data on a suspects phone. This recent […]
RichC | July 6, 2018
It is never fun playing plan games with wireless carriers, especially if you have been 100% satisfied with everything "as is." After switching to VirginMobileUSA last year due to a SUPER promotion, I could not be happier with Virgin’s special price and service … but all good things seem to come to an end. This […]
RichC | June 16, 2018
Frustration in tech land! Power out – now the cable modem or router won’t reboot properly! If you haven’t following along with my updating the progress on the Florida condo, I’ve been adding bits and pieces to “home automation” besides the normal “construction updates” to the kitchen (and eventually bathroom). Most of it has been […]
RichC | June 15, 2018
My good friend Jeff works in IT and has been programming and running networks for 30 years; after attending a cyber security conference a few weeks ago to help hardening his company’s network and systems, he asked me what VPN service I was using? “Online privacy experts such as privacytools.io recommend staying away from VPN providers based […]
RichC | May 30, 2018
Adding a few more gadgets to the condo update this weekend as we are one step closer to getting it looking as if we’ll have a kitchen again … or at least a livable abode for the winter renters (or next owner). Hopefully the few extra upgrades I have opted to add will not go […]
RichC | May 25, 2018
Noticed a blog post from 12 years ago discussing “portable” computing and how things have changed. In 2006 the average laptop weighed about 7 pounds with batteries, compared to 20 years prior where my Compaq was 28 pounds … and required 110VAC power. LINK to post Now an iPhone or iPad can run circles around […]
RichC | May 18, 2018
Like most longtime savvy Internet users, I use Google more than I would like to admit. I try not to depend on them for everything, but just like with online shopping using Amazon … Google is simply the best at what they do: Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Drive/Cloud Storage. The latter has been a […]
RichC | April 30, 2018
Brenda and I have a favorite TV series and are anxiously waiting for the next season, unfortunately Amazon seems to have delayed production — we waiting on season 3. So while we wait, we are re-watching both season one and season two … AGAIN; The Man in the High Castle is a terrific show and has […]
RichC | April 20, 2018
Google today launched Chrome 66 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. The desktop release includes autoplaying content muted by default, security improvements, and new developer features. You can update to the latest version now using the browser’s built-in updater or download it directly from google.com/chrome.With over 1 billion users, Chrome is both a browser […]
RichC | April 5, 2018
From the inside I have watched the disruption in healthcare for decades now. Early on it was Brenda and our somewhat laughable attempt in thinking we could start an independent mail order pharmacy, this was in the early 1990s. We looked at leasing property and duplicating existing “store” pharmacy components of a drugstore and at […]
RichC | March 31, 2018
I’ve been around long see banking change from daily dealing with a local banker that I knew by name … who also knew me (and my business) by name … to just a drive up teller window or ATM to the latest technology of snapping pics of checks and tapping on a smartphone. I sort […]
RichC | March 30, 2018
Now that our home theater has seats again, we are able to enjoy movie watching … sort of. When Katelyn and Taylor were home last weekend, I realized our old LG Blu-Ray DVD player didn’t work(it was a remote issue without any button overrides on the box). That frustration was followed by an older home […]
RichC | March 28, 2018
We have a couple of Canary cams in our home and they constantly trigger for one thing or the other. I’m still having problems with one of them sending “Person spotted in Away mode” which usually means my iPhone has not been detected as being “home.” I’ve tweaked the setting, played with masks, double and triple […]
RichC | March 25, 2018
Looking back (post from March 2015) on technology buys over the past few years, it is hard for me to put my finger on a favorite … besides the smartphone which surly#1? But push come to shove for #2 … it is likely the Apple iPad as I use it far more that I ever […]
RichC | March 23, 2018
Here’s some advice from someone who as blogged daily since 2005 — AVOID using data, photos, video, etc archived on other services. Over the years, I have been frustrated by “what seemed great at the time” using services offered by companies who specialize in hosting data for users. A little history: It started for me […]
RichC | March 14, 2018
After switching from TWC/Spectrum one year ago, Cincinnati Bell’s Fioptics (Fiber) delivered television video and Internet to our house as been excellent. Their Internet speed continues to rise (currently checking with DSLReports/speedtest). Last year I was happy to have my speed increase to 100Mbps down when switching to CincinnatiBell, but then after losing promotional perks […]
RichC | March 13, 2018
A new Amazon Alexa Echo voice command improvement now makes it easier to string together a series of commands without repeating "Alexa" over and over again. The back-to-back commands will need to right after each other AND you must turn on (off by default) the Follow-Up Mode under settings in the Alexa app. After switching […]
RichC | March 9, 2018
Enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions and exchange thoughts with a Twitter management group working on improving online #health (safety/abuse). The live Periscopechat was a way for Twitter operate as transparently as possible. They will be opening an RFP process (request for proposal) from academia and the community. Twitter along with most of Silicon Valley […]
RichC | March 2, 2018
Our daughter and son-in-law gave us an Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas this past year. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with it and have connected it to enough lights, plugs, thermostats and kitchen television to make me want to add the full sized Echo. I’m not sure Brenda has even noticed that it grew? The […]
RichC | February 28, 2018
What a pain. I had a major crash on my iMac and wiped out my Parallels install (corrupted the virtual hard drive). One would think this would be an easy fix, but it wasn’t. I spent about 6 hours attempting fix after fix to restore a back up version of the virtual disk (Apple’s Time […]
RichC | February 8, 2018
One realizes just how old in the tooth their cars technology is when taking a car in for service and driving something new. This past week, BMW customer service pulled a few strings to get both airbags into my local dealer in order to do a one stop service of my 2010 BMW X5 35d. […]
RichC | January 29, 2018
My friend Jeff is planning on ordering a DJI Mavic Pro this weekend. I sent him a recent article that has him pondering models. Jokingly I sent him this ani.gif suggesting he let me borrow it when I head to the boat … to which he replied, “Sure, if you put down a $1000 deposit. […]
RichC | January 19, 2018
Besides my personally server and fading Raspberry Pi server projects (just too small), I been using several different companies to host Internet connected servers for Consolidated Printing and Publishing’s customers – traditional servers and virtual Droplets. Having used a variety of dedicated servers and virtual shared machines over the years since first getting into archiving […]
RichC | January 16, 2018
Ok … this Google app is a bit personal … but curiosity and some appreciation for art has me interested enough to forgo my privacy concerns. Google updated their Art and Culture app that compares a persons selfie with their huge archive of art from museums and other institutions. The computer-vision technology compares points on […]
RichC | January 12, 2018
Last spring I was so disgusted with the Time Warner to Spectrum change for cable and Internet along with their price increase that I switched to Cincinnati Bell Fioptics. The painful rewiring and equipment switch worked to my favor and lower the bill with the help of a representative that handled everything as if he […]
