One of my favorite apps on my iPhone is the NPR podcast app and I particularly enjoy listening to the in-depth stories on my time, rather than trying to tune in when they are live or reading the stories later. I also download other podcasts using iTunes or Stitcher, but in some cases have found either […]
With all the pre-event leaks and lackluster comments from technology journalists, it is difficult for even Apple fans to get wound up about the new “same sized” iPhones. The non-surprise by Apple was reflected in a 2% decline in $AAPL shares on Wall Street and many wonder if the magic is gone? On the plus […]
EDIT: Attempted an iPhone5 panorama photo on Saturday and assume the photo size was too larger for the limited Sprint 3G service?)
Apple shareholders have a lot to grumble about when it comes to stock price and a lack of immediacy in addressing investors. Some are questioning if “they still know what they are doing” and I can’t help but be a little bit disappointed with rumors that next quarter’s iPhone release will maintain the “smaller” form […]
Glad to see updates for SlingPlayer, but considering I have the “350” and my biggest complaint has yet to be addressed — no “audio-only” — I’m still disappointed. Not everyone lives in 4G or LTE land! Even the original Slingbox had support for audio on all devices including my Palm Treo!
It was a cool and rainy morning as I waited to meet with a businessman from China interested in talking with me about homebuilt airplanes, and so I experimented with the new iPhone5’s panorama feature to kill some time … this time trying a close up panorama. I was more curious to see how it […]
It’s a lazy Sunday I didn’t feel like writing a blog post. Instead I’m using the iPhone to transcribe my speech into ;type and will include a great parody video … if Posterous will post it. Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
The Apple iPhone 5 camera makes for a substantial improvement over my previous smartphone’s camera and so I was anxious to experiment with image quality and play with a few of the hyped features. Since I’m upgrading from the nearly “extinct” Palm Pre, running a rooted webOS install, any modern smartphone camera would have been an […]
Call me anxious or just curious to know if I should be keeping my eyes open for an iPhone 5 on Friday. Hmm … what does “shipped and/or” mean in checking the Sprint status page? If it is shipped, how about a tracking number?
I’m not sure when my new iPhone 5 will arrive, but ordered the smallest 16GB version as an upgrade to replace my aging … but much loved … Palm Pre. Unfortunately the Apple website wouldn’t take my order this morning so switched to the Sprint.com site. Unfortunately Sprint also has a glitch in their online […]
I followed the Engadget liveblog and listen to the Leo Laporte’s TWIT gang during Apple’s launch of the iPhone 5, and it only seems appropriate that I chime in (I tweeted too much already). I’m sure there will be a few other blogs commenting today (chuckle, chuckle) and some will offer far more intelligent insight […]
I do enjoy the hype and speculation surrounding a new gadget release in the tech world … and few do it better than Apple. Last year’s iPhone 4s announcement was expected by most of us to be the iPhone 5, but it was not to be. This year everyone again expects them to adopt the […]
If you really want an iPhone, this could be the time to buy … although prices could go even lower towards the end of the year? It seems the older iPhone 4 and 4s are selling slower than most retailers (and by assumption, Apple) would like and so retailers are doing what they can to […]
Had an interesting conversation with one of my clients who handed me his new Sprint based iPhone 4s today … and he doesn’t like it. That’s a rarity for those who love all things Apple. To be fair, his gripe has more to do with the Sprint 3G service problems being reported than the iPhone […]
Here are a few “probable specs” from SprintUsers regarding the assumed mid-October iPhone 5 release on Sprint: World Phone with a SIM-less Design Curved Glass Display A5 Chip with a clocking speed in the range of 1.2 or 1.5 GHz with 1GB RAM Wireless Charging as well as Sync & Back Up of data 4G […]
Looks like Sprint and Apple are gearing up for the iPhone5 … Sprint may have begun installing signal boosting equipment in and around Apple retail stores ahead of the rumored iPhone 5 launch on the carrier in October, according to a new report. “One thing I can tell you is that the electrical contractor that […]
Married to Sprint but envious of the iPhone? Hold on … looks like it might finally be available. Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the new version of the Apple iPhone in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, filling a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier’s lineup and giving Apple Inc. another […]
Apple APPL 2/14/2011 Most people I know openly or ‘secretly’ admire Apple‘s iPhone. For many it would be a costly luxury, while for others it is more phone than they really need. The answer from Apple might be right around the corner: How about a lighter duty iPhone – call it the ‘N97’ – with […]
I don’t recall recall if the Apple iPhone advertisement appeared during the Philly’s no-hitter 4-0 win against the Reds or not, but the ad was intriguing in that the Twitter and Twitpic information had me checking the links. The marketing establish @gagebock account (currently 60-some friends) and Twitpic photo (700+ views) that was used in […]
Interesting CNET “Prizefight” pitting the Palm Pre against the Apple iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs … the Pre was slow to boot, but did a pretty good job of real world web browsing and emailing a photo. I don’t mind the Sprint 3G speeds, but after a month of using the Palm Pre have been […]
After a couple of weeks with the Palm Pre I’m learning to be more productive with the hot little smartphone device. The earlier cut, copy and paste complaints for supported apps complaint has become less of an issue and I’m enjoying the improved camera, yet still miss added camera features and video. There are also […]
Short on time tonight, so here a YouTube comedy video from Rhett & Link that promotes an iPhone app called Leaf Trombone World Stage. They are best known for their internet videos and are self-proclaimed “Internetainers”. In addition to their web presence, Rhett & Link are also musicians and filmmakers, and have worked in network […]
While I’m not a fan of the iPhone or the iPod Touch, I am impressed with the shear number of devices and software “app” downloads in less than 2 years. Apple has a counter running on their site as the Online App Store nears 1 Billion downloads. Very impressive. Although as readers may have surmised […]
Those ‘sexy’ iPhones are a pretty attractive (and expensive) toys/tools to be hacking, but according to users around the world they have been modified with software to operate with ‘unauthorized carriers’ around the world. (link) In the U.S., AT&T is the only network authorized by Apple … but hacks and other unsupported programs are being […]
People must be out of their minds lining up at the AT&T/Cingular stores to be the first to spend $700 for the an Apple iPhone? What mania … it sounds sort of “cabbage patch” crazy to me? 😀 Since I’m attracted to technology gadgets, I understand the want of the latest and greatest, but I’m […]
Ridgid cordless tools have been my “go to” home power tool choice for some time now. If I were a contractor or tradesman, perhaps I’d pick a different brand, but for me having the Lifetime Service Agreement (LSA), mentioned previously, is the primary reason (although it is not perfect). Also, having them sold at the […]
Although today’s Music Monday post may seem just a little techie or odd, I’m trying something new using the borrowed iPhone XS and SiriusXM app. It does bring me back to the days of my cassette deck (photo above) and making tapes off the radio (I wish I still had it). I do suspect that […]
Our now 20 year old “corded” iRobot Verro pool vacuum has been outstanding and I’m hard pressed to give up on it by buying expensive bags and replacing more parts. Improvements have been made over the years to pool robots and I decided 2024 was the summer to replace it with one of the cordless […]
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 […]
It seems like it it about that time again … the aging and off-brand mesh router set-up we are running at the house is getting flaky. Somedays all is fine, other days it start to stutter and blackout on a few of the “way too many” devices we are using. Thankfully it usually comes back […]
As the election season nears, the calls and text messages to my cellphone ramp up in earnest. My voicemail message for the past couple of years has been one that indicates that I no longer pickup calls from unknown callers — I don’t mind callers leaving me a message, but have grown tired of solicitations, […]
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 […]
Upstairs in the Western NY Farmhouse Barn’s workshop in 2013 In keeping with the occasional ThrowBack Thursday #TBT, the above was a pano photo of DadH’s workshop after he passed away. I mentioned to Brenda that I wondered how he was able to climb the stairs of the barn and work on such a large […]
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On Friday May 10, 2024, I started noticing the beautiful northern lights (aurora borealis) photos showing up on my X.com social media feed. They were so impressive that I told Brenda that we would need to go outside in the evening. While glancing at my skywatching info, I also notice that the International Space Station […]
Sometimes I know that I’m just tempting fate … like when it comes to switching mobile phone carriers … in my case, MVNO companies. Last year, I switch my aging iPhone 7 plus over to USMobile on a trial. I ended up finding it preferred to Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) and found the service to be […]
The sunsets across rural Ohio never really get old. I’ve driven home to Cincinnati this time of evening more times than I care to remember while coming home from NE Ohio … but those days are now behind me. This time it was returning from a spring vacation in April and I realized that there […]
Making changes to the Apple MacOS, or my current MacBook Air M2 computer workstation setup, is something I hesitate to do when everything is working smoothly. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things that I wouldn’t mind Apple addressing that “might” make my life easier. First my tiny gripe … is that there […]
While I really wanted to take the time and archive the great time we had in February with Katelyn, Drew and our granddaughters in Florida, I’ll start with a less time intensive post. Last week Taylor and Megan made me jealous by going to a Mac McAnally concert in Cincinnati. It definitely looks like they […]
Took a screenshot of my iPhone’s Sirius XM app last month while listening to an old Casey Kasem‘s American Top 40 countdown on the 70’s channel. There’s always something that catches my ear on the weekends when it comes to 1970s songs and thought it was a good choice for Music Monday. The song was […]
Although a new iPhone14 or 15 would make the quality of photos a little better, my old iPhone7plus is still chugging along. I haven’t taken a panoramic for a while, so rather than go the selfie route (Brenda veto-ed the photo we took) for today’s vacation blog post. So I’ll post a Delray Beach pano […]
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, […]
To make this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post, here’s a photo from Summer 2022. I used Brenda’s iPhone14 to capture the brilliant Super Blue Moon at the end of August … not bad. It was so bright that it basically lit up the flowering bushes off the rear porch. The late summer heat (90+ degrees […]
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 […]
Not my photo, but I’m not sure how comfortable the average passenger flying this “budget” airline (???) are when seeing the tape on the wing? Also while sitting on the back porch a little Praying Mantis came to visit (video below).
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 […]
Back in 2009, after years of using Palm OS products like the Palm Pilot, the Handspring Visor, Palm Treo, Palm Centro and my favorite Samsung SPH i500, I eventually ended up with a small pocketable, full-featured smartphone — the Palm Pre. Who knew that only a year later that I would be forced to give […]
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 […]
We have been happy with Mint Mobile for a couple of years as our MVNO wireless carrier. The service has been good service … prices fair … and it has been perfect for our needs. In April though, I switched my iPhone7-plus to US Mobile for a trial due to less than optimum coverage at […]
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 […]
Yup … ENFORCEMENT. … hundreds of IRS applications have been around for at least 25 years and dozens that have been in existence for more than 50. There were also pieces of software running 15 updates behind the current version. Fifteen! That’s like using a new iPhone with the iOS from the original iPhone … […]
This past month on our trip to Florida, I downloaded an audiobook on Hoopla from the library in order to save on iPhone data (our Mint Mobile plan has a 4GB limit). I started it on my AfterShokz headset while on the beach, but Brenda soon wanted to listen with me … so we both […]
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 […]
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 […]
Although I have yet to open the individual components … the L-O-N-G awaited MagFast “premium charging” kit has finally arrived. The new magnetically connected kit is not yet fully complete as there are still a couple components that will be shipped later. This will probably be the last pre-purchased product I purchase after losing my […]
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” […]
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 […]
Neither Brenda or I have fully retired yet (although I loaf more than I should), but there is no reason THIS couldn’t be every day during retirement IF the weather was perfect all year around. I probably take more time off during the summer than I should and having the girls for a week in […]
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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 […]
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Taylor last weekend at the Cincinnati Zoo with Megan While typing the subject line of this post, I wondered at what “age” is respectful to NOT mention a number when sharing a Happy Birthday greeting? Hopefully not at 33 yet, since from memory those were the years I pretty much felt my best (pre Menieres!) […]
While reading in the evenings I’m often sitting with my headphones on listening to music while Brenda is watching one of her streaming series … I think she is watching the Bridgerton TV series on Netflix before we cancel our streaming service. Anyway, while listening to SiriusXM’s The Bridge channel on my iPhone, I found myself […]
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 […]
For a day after Easter, the weather sure doesn’t look like spring! https://myarchive.us/mp4/April2022FlurriesBringMayFlowers.mp4 Also testing WordPress automated mp4 plugin with added gray vs black border than my normal hardcode video from iPhone7plus in slow-motion with poster image below the break)
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 […]
Each year I think I take a photo of either our flowers or trees coming back to life in the spring. I know from a quick search that there are at least ten posts similar to this one over the years … here is one from February 2017. Since this particular lilac plant can’t be […]
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 […]
Trusting the weather on my Fitbit Versa watch isn’t much better than referring to the Farmer’s Almanac for daily weather forecasts. I’m starting to wonder who is feeding the information for our area. All I can see is sun … where’s the RAIN? Yes .. I really do know that it’s probably an iPhone to […]
It has taken me a long time to cut into the outfeed table that I added to my Delta table saw in 2019, but I’ve finally added “the notch.” The spacing between the often used Shopsmith band saw and my lumber rack has always been tight … so tight that I’ve found myself angling it […]
Having Thanksgiving at my brother’s house with our family (minus Jaben who recently had COVID19) was one of those photo days that I should have packed my Lumix camera. The lighting was a bit dark and into window light for an older iPhone … and without a tripod was challenging. I propped it between some […]
Prior to 2017, I backed a ThingCharger Kickstarter project that was an excellent product. It was overpriced for what it did, but I ended up buying a couple extras for gifts (Brenda’s phone charging in photo at Katelyn and Drew’s house). In 2017, after the business failure, founder Seymour Segnit started a new company telling […]
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 […]
Most news outlets are covering the Jeff Bezos and crew launching the few minutes delayed Blue Origin first crewed 11-minute space flight on the anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing in 1969. The New Shepard spacecraft launched flawlessly and was a beautiful site … although, shockingly short, for $28 million dollars per passenger. Interestingly, […]
Beautiful Panarama iPhone7 Evening Sky photo – 6/28/2021 In preparation for the driveway demolition crew to arrive (neighborhood driveway work needs to be done before road repaving), I spent the weekend working to get access around the garage ready for the workers. I’m not exactly sure where our driveway fits into the schedule, since several […]
Either the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router at our condo is glitchy, Xfinity is not giving my any upload speed or my Lenovo laptop is struggling to stay connected. No time to diagnosis, but I may end up chucking the router and switch to the cheaper mesh router sooner than I wanted. It is frustrating. Half […]
I’ve used Twitter as my interactive Newsfeed for almost 15 years now and it has been a struggle to decide if it is worth it or not? BUT, like most people who start the addictive habit of using social networks and reading “feeds” (newsworthy or not), it is a difficult habit to stop. For the […]