Articles by Joel McLaughlin

A View from a Linux User on the Nokia Buyout

  Dan posted about the buyout of Nokia’s Mobile Device division by Microsoft this morning. I pretty much expected this to happen.  Nokia always had great hardware and a great OS in Maemo. Some say they should have went to Android, but I think they gave up on Maemo way to soon. Nokia had some of the best hardware just a few years ago before the iPhone and Android trounced them. The N series of Nokia phones had some of the most unique form factors. It’s the N series itself that led to 4 unique devices that had a lot of…


The 10 Worst Android Phones of All time

I was reading through the news this afternoon and came across this post on Phandroid listing the 10 Worst Android Phones of all time. Lists like this are subjective, of course, but I have to agree with Phandroid on a majority of their choices. What do you think? What is the worst Android phone you have ever used?


Ubuntu Edge Fails to Meet Funding Goal: I Told you So!

The Ubuntu Edge failed to meet the lofty 32 million dollar crowd funding goal that Canonical set.  I hate to say I told you so, but I did back when the campaign first started. Is this a success for Canonical and Mark Shuttleworth or a failure?  Read on for more. The campaign ended a few days ago, and there are many different opinions swirling around the net about this.  Some say that it set the crowd funding record.  I say it didn’t.  Why?  It didn’t fund! They raised 12.8 million dollars which is impressive, but because of how they set…


When to Use the Command Line and When to Stick to a GUI

Back in the early days of computing there was DOS, and DOS used what we call a command line. A command line or shell is a text interface for interacting with your computer. Today graphical interfaces rule the day, but the command line is still useful … in fact, sometimes it might even be better. Read on for more on how to improve your computing life with the good ol’ command line. When I bought my first IBM compatible PC, as we called them back in the day, DOS was the only way to interact with the PC. We launched programs…


My Workspace: 50 Year Old Desk Mixes Modern and Old School Tech

One of my favorite set of posts on Lifehacker is the “Featured Workspace” posts.  Your workspace is important.  It’s where things get done. Each and every workspace is different because we are all different. My workspace utilizes a 50 year-old desk and a mix of tech from old to new. Read on for more on how I have set this up. The desk is one I picked up many years ago on Freecycle.  Freecycle is a Yahoo group in our area that people list stuff for free.  This desk’s previous home was a local church here in the Columbus area,…


10 Ways You Can Unintentionally Reveal Your Location and How to Stop It

I was reading Facebook this morning, and I saw a three-year-old video that details how posting pictures on Facebook or other social networks can reveal your location. Keep reading for 10 different ways I’ve found that you can unintentionally share your location, and how to combat it if you prefer not to be so transparent. 10. For Amateur Radio Operators Only: The FCC Database This one is listed as number 10, and it’s only for amateur radio operators. I will detail some of the other ways your location can be revealed as a ham operator in another post, but this is…


RAVPower RP-PB07 10400mAh Portable External Battery Pack Charger Review

External batteries are getting to be a necessity. If you want a great one, the RavPower and its 10,400 mAH capacity is one that you should look at.  It’s only $34.99 on Amazon (with free Prime Shipping!). RAVPower was kind enough to send their latest RP-PB07 battery for review. Let’s take a look at it in terms of form and function. Form: This battery is simple in its design. It has a button on the front that allows you to check the current charge. On the back is the product label.  The bottom of the battery has 2 USB ports…


Instagram for Android 4.1 Update Says Package File Invalid

I saw there was an update to Instagram for Android so I went to go apply it, as I usually would.  However, upon download completion, it says “Package File Invalid”.  So I tried to remove it and reinstall the app —  the same issue occurred.  I completely removed all Google Play Updates and cleared caches, and still … nothing.  I tried it on my tablet, and had the same issue. Because I’m having this issue on two devices, it’s obviously something else.  I checked the Play Store’s web interface, and sure enough, there are multiple reviews with the same issue for…


Thoughts on the ChromeCast

A few days ago Google let the ChromeCast out of the bag.  For those who don’t know, the ChromeCast allows you to send Netflix, YouTube and other content to your TV from your laptop, phone or tablet. More applications are sure to come, but people are already snapping up this tiny dongle so fast that Google has had to discontinue including 3 months of Netflix.  At $35 dollars it is a steal of a deal for what people can do with it. Some are saying that it’s a big game changing device.  I am not totally convinced that it is….


Ubuntu Kicks Off a $32 Million Edge Smartphone Indiegogo Campaign – Will it Work?

Engadget had a story about how Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has kicked off an Indiegogo campaign to help raise money to build their first Ubuntu Phone, the Ubuntu Edge.  You can donate at many levels, but if you donate at least $830 dollars they will send you an Ubuntu Edge once it’s built as well. The phone looks really sharp, and it has what sounds like a decent wish list of features. Specifications Dual boot Ubuntu mobile OS and Android Fully integrated Ubuntu desktop PC when docked Fastest multi-core CPU, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage 4.5in 1,280 x 720 HD sapphire…


Serenity Plex Media Server Client for Android and GoogleTV Review

Since getting the Roku box, one thing I have loved about it was that I could use the Plex Media Server to stream my personal content at home to my TV.  Plex Media Server is a media streaming server available for Linux, Windows, and Mac; it is also supported on select Network Attached Storage(NAS) boxes like those available from Qnap, Synology, ReadyNAS, ASUSTOR and unRAID. Plex is an awesome piece of software that works wonderfully in conjunction with the Roku, however I am not always in front of my TV.  While Plex does have a web server built in that you…


Tornado – an American Red Cross App for Android Review

After reading Travis’s post on the alerts being added to iOS, I started thinking about actual apps instead of the textual messages that the federally mandated messaging being built into the handsets.  Can they do it better? I loaded another couple of apps on my phone in preparation of the last line of storms that rolled through the Columbus, Ohio area.  The last line that rolled through our area was supposed to be similar to the Derecho that rolled through our area last year, so needless to say I was on alert! I loaded two additional apps to test during this…


The Atari 800XL, My First Computer

Everyone can recall their first car, a first school, and a first phone, but today I am going to reminisce about how I first got started into computing.  In 1986 my brother and I received our first computer as a gift; that computer was the Atari 800XL.  Back then there were many players vying for home computing supremacy.  IBM may have ruled the office with the IBM PC, and Apple may have ruled some homes and schools with the Apple II, but in most of my friends homes back in the day it was one of two computers: you were…


The Ham Radio ARRL Repeater Directory for Android Review

A while back I reviewed an app for finding Amateur Radio repeaters called Repeater Book.  In that review, I fondly remembered leafing through the Repeater Book that the American Radio Relay League (or ARRL) printed for years upon years.  I have not bought one of those in some time, and I think the ARRL noticed that a lot of other hams haven’t either. At Dayton, the ARRL showed a new product that doesn’t replace the Repeater Book of old, but rather takes it and puts in on your phone in a similar way to the Repeater Book app I previously…


WWDC iOS 7 Announcement from an Android User’s Point of View

  Even though I am not a regular iOS user, I still watched the 2013 WWDC keynote as much of the Gear Diary team did.  The blogosphere as a whole has had a lot to say about the similarities of some iOS features.  It’s undeniable that Apple has drawn from Android, WebOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 here, but unlike some Android users, I am not mad at all. In fact,  if I were Google, I would take it as a complement. Apple recognized that they didn’t have some of the features that Android did, and they figured out how to make…


Tom Bihn Synapse 25 Backpack Review – Bigger and Better!

It’s been a while since Tom Bihn released the original Synapse backpack.  I liked it very much except that it does tend to look a little silly on a big guy like me, and sometimes it’s just a bit too small to hold the things I want to bring along.  Apparently I am not the only one who has said that, which led Tom to design a bigger version of the Synapse, called the Synapse 25.  The original Synapse is still being made, and is now called the Synapse 19. What’s New?


Dayton Hamvention 2013 – The Hams Were There

One experience I have yet to share about ham radio is the experience of the Ham Fest.  A Ham Fest is not where you go and eat ham with your fellow radio operators.  It is a conference where you can go to learn about the rigs, get training, and buy things!  Think CES combined with a state fair, and you’d have it half-right.  There is no better hamfest out there, in my opinion than the one, the only, the Dayton Hamvention. A Little History The Hamvention came to being in 1952, when the Dayton Amateur Radio Association in Dayton, Ohio…


Baofeng UV-5RA Review: Can a $50 Ham Radio Be Any Good?

I hope you have been enjoying my series on Amateur Radio.  It’s been one of my favorite hobbies for about 20 years now, and I love sharing my knowledge with our readers. Today I am bringing you another radio review, only the second one ever for Gear Diary. Just like when I reviewed the Icom ID-31A last year, this Baofeng UV-5RA review is coming from real-life experience with the radio.


Chris Hadfield Says Goodbye to the ISS in a Really Cool Way.

How many ways can you say goodbye?  Just waving or saying goodbye is one of the first things we learn as we’re growing up.  There’s almost no wrong way to do it.  We’ve all done it.  However not many of us have said goodbye to the ISS and it’s crew.  International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield did a cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity before he left the ISS, and he posted it to Youtube; it’s one of those videos you just watch in awe the whole time.


Gmail, Drive and Google+ Storage is Now Unified

One by one, Google added services that all involved storage.  It used to be 10 GB for Gmail, 5 GB for Google Drive and Google+ photos.  Now it’s 15 GB total for free accounts and 30GB total for Google Apps accounts.  Gmail, Drive or Google+ photos all count to the unified pool of storage.  Not a surprise that this has happened, as it just seemed to be the right way to go.  Some people use more for Gmail storage.  Some use more storage for documents.   Some upload a lot of pictures to Google+.  With a unified pool of storage,…


How Do You Kill a Samsung Galaxy S III?

  We’ve all done it., killed a phone at one time or another.  I’ve had one die in the toilet, I almost lost my G1 in a glass of tea, and I broke my first PDA by dropping it on the floor at church.  My friend from church lost his in unique way; that picture above is his Galaxy S III after it was chopped up by a bush hog lawn mower.  It’s a good thing he had insurance! Come on, fess up!  What is the worst thing that you have ever done to your phone?  Has it changed what…