Editorials | Gear Diary

Editorials October 6, 2013

Surprise, Car Batteries Can Explode – Even Those from Tesla!

News broke this week that a Tesla Model S caught fire after hitting a piece of debris on the highway. People buzzed about safety, and Elon Musk posted a letter explaining why the Model S is actually safer than most gas-powered vehicles. My reaction, however, wasn’t fear about Teslas – I was happy someone had a weirder “exploding car” story than me! Several years ago, I drove a 2000 Nissan Altima. It had been my grandmother’s, and since she barely drove it before I used it, it had the original battery. Fast forward several years and several thousand miles, and…

Editorials October 4, 2013

What is HTC’s Future with Windows Phone?

I like Windows Phone quite a bit, and am rooting for it to succeed as a viable third option in the mobile phone market. So I was quite excited to see that Microsoft and HTC still intend to work together, even with Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia. But the rumor of dual-boot Android/Windows Phone devices send a shiver down my spine. Yes, the latest rumor from Windows Phone Central is that HTC is investigating the feasibility of a dual-boot phone, which is intriguing, but I think will ultimately be very damaging to Windows Phone. There’s already a perception that developers are…

Editorials October 3, 2013

To Phablet or Not to Phablet?

I’ve recently been able to test out a Galaxy Note 2 for a while thanks to Ting. Now that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 is almost here, I thought I would lay out the pluses and minuses of going phablet. There are some really compelling reasons that the Galaxy Note 3 just might be my dream device. The Galaxy Note series are often coined as a phablets. Part phone, part tablet. The Galaxy Note 3 was already on my shortlist of possible new devices when my contract expires in April, so it only made sense to check out the Galaxy Note 2…

Editorials September 29, 2013

Does It Bother You That the NSA Is Probably Tracking Your Social Connections?

Online privacy is an illusion; anything you wouldn’t want your boss, friends, relatives, present or future significant others (or anyone else important to you) to see should never be posted, texted, emailed, tweeted, or liked. And now it appears that our own government is the party most interested in our social connections and interactions. How bothered should we be? I began writing reviews on the internet in 1999, and at that time I accepted that a certain loss of privacy came with the territory. I have lived my online life as transparently as possible, because I believed that I had nothing…

Editorials September 25, 2013

Popular Science Turns Off Comments – Because They Are Doing Harm to Actual Science!

The blog entry starts with a chilling phrase – “Comments can be bad for science”. It is the announcement that Popular Science is shutting down the ability to comment on articles on their site – and it is being done because they see harm happening to the spread of science based on negative and politically charged commentary. So what is the big deal? I mean, have you been on YouTube lately? The discourse on PopSci is definitely civil compared to that level of vitriol. But it is the way negativity and misinformation in comments can shape whether or not someone…

Editorials September 24, 2013

Oh Siri … I Missed You

I had not realized just how much I missed having global voice recognition until I went to Elana’s iPhone 4S while waiting for my iPhone 5S. Some background: I sold my iPhone 5 and had been using Judie’s spare iPhone 4 for the past few weeks. It worked fine, but the 4 doesn’t have Siri or voice recognition. Well, I’m baaack. I was using Dragon Dictation for the month I was on the 4, but having gone to the 4S and using Siri and global voice recognition since yesterday has reminded me of how much I missed it. It is…

Crowdfunding, Editorials September 23, 2013

Sometimes Crowd-Funding is an Excuse to Beg for Money

Sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are great places for developers to directly appeal to consumers with their ideas and involvement for product design and manufacturing. It is great to complete (‘Kick-finish’) something like a video. There are risks of being late, not living up to promises, or never releasing. But what if the funding was just that – for funding? This past week I got an email forwarded to me containing a link to a video and a ‘project’ on a crowdfunding site (neither of which I’ll share). The project used as a basis of enticement a list of past…

Editorials, Music Diary September 18, 2013

10 Reasons to Get Twerkin’ With iTunes Radio on iOS7!

Along with a rather anemic product announcement keynote, Tim Cook reiterated the upcoming release of iOS 7, and with it iTunes Radio. While some have called Apple ‘late to market’ with iTunes Radio, I would say they are launching at the perfect time. Some of the reasons include the established user base of iTunes, and profit struggles of streaming services. Here are ten reasons to get excited for iTunes Radio: iTunes Integration: If I am listening to something in iTunes and want to go to Slacker, I have to stop, exit, flip pages and launch. With iTunes Radio you just…

Editorials September 16, 2013

Has Klout Suckered You into Thinking You Are Important?

People are such competitive creatures, and bloggers can be some of the worst; Klout is a company that feeds that beast. Touting itself as “The Standard for Influence”, Klout measures the reach of everyone who is active in social media. What’s your Klout score? Should it even matter? Does it matter to you? Of course it does; you’re human! Klout preys upon people’s desire to feel or at least be perceived as influential or important, and it gives users a tangible score that can be used for comparison against others in their field (or in other non-related fields). Klout offers instant validation…

Editorials September 11, 2013

Reading the Tea Leaves on the 5c Launch

Why did Apple release the iPhone 5c? Was it to create a cheaper iPhone? Attract a different audience? Offer some diversity to the product line? And whatever combination of reasons might have been behind the move, why does it seem like there's a high expectation of failure? The specter of Apple's stumbles in the PC market and the rise of Android weigh heavily on the 5C/5S release. It's not a secret that many people were disappointed with the launch. Analysts and journalists who predicted a cheaper iPhone are pulling their hair out, and Apple-focused blogs are running in circles trying…

Editorials September 8, 2013

Hidden Linux of the Week is Android

In the Linux community, the term “Year of the Linux Desktop” has been bandied about for over 12 years. See, I use Linux every day and I bet you do too. This is especially true if you carry an Android device. Yes Android uses the Linux and is in the hands of millions. The year of the Linux desktop is here. History Android was started in 2003 by Andy Rubin as Android Inc. Originally Android was being developed to run on cameras but they quickly realized that would be a limited market. So they started developing it for Smartphones. Money…

Editorials September 7, 2013

5 Things About Apple That Drive Me Crazy!

With a 37-year history, Apple’s story is intertwined with the personal computer and consumer electronics. It has loads of melodrama, huge personalities, and sweeping highs and lows. Right now we’re entering ‘new iPhone’ season with expectations and rumors running rampant – but instead of speculating on new products I’m shaking my head and gritting my teeth about Apple in general. In my head I have been bouncing around all of the Apple-related press of recent months. From the ongoing legal battles with Samsung to the ITC banning veto to the DOJ anti-trust action to seeing same-day articles confirming that the…

Editorials September 4, 2013

Week #1 of My Chromebook Challenge … Was a Challenge!

Last week I said that I was going ‘all in’ with the Samsung Chromebook, even though I was already aware of a few limitations. There were limitations when I tried the same thing for the iPad and Android tablets and I persevered, so I plowed forward! Unfortunately some of the issues were fairly significant and fragmented my computing time badly! Setting up a Chromebook is as simple as logging into a web browser. And since I used Chrome almost as much as Safari, I have a full set of bookmarks all ready to go. Spending just a little time with…

Editorials, News & Features September 3, 2013

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…

Editorials September 3, 2013

How NOT to Sell a Car

We’re shopping for a new vehicle, and with just a very basic bit of research from Cars.com, I learned that a salesman lied to our faces today. Needless to say, we won’t be shopping there for this or any future vehicle… Sarah and I have a bit of a dilemma. We need a bigger car. See, if we want to go somewhere with just our son, no problem. Sarah’s Jetta is a bit tight but can hold us just fine, and my Prius is quite roomy for two adults and an infant. The problem is that when you add our…

Editorials August 29, 2013

Connecting George Washington to MLK at a Synagogue in Newport

Reading a post at Medium reminded me how far we have to go on every level of race relations. The post was from a college student child of a black man and white woman visiting the historic Touro Synagogue in Newport when someone made an assumption based on the variety of skin colors and asked, “What organization are you with?”

Editorials August 28, 2013

The Tenacity of Cablevision Door to Door Salesmen

Door to door sales used to be a fairly common occurrence, but they are much rarer these days. So you'd think that a company using direct sales would make sure their salespeople were properly educated and respectful of people's space and time. You'd be wrong, if the company in question is Cablevision. How did I learn this? See, there's oblivious, and then there's Cablevision salesmen. Twice this month, they've rang our doorbell midday, setting off our (extremely large and loud) dog, which scares our 2-month old and triggers lots of screaming. None of this is a deterrent to the Cablevision…

Editorials August 27, 2013

Your Biggest Household Energy Hog? Your Smartphone!

Not too long ago we were marveling about how the iPhone 5 only consumed ~$0.41 per year to charge, with the conclusion that “energy consumption of a modern smartphone is minuscule”. But phone charging is only part of the picture, and as we factor in the migration to wireless networks and cloud, that smartphone uses more energy than TWO refrigerators! The new report from IEEE Spectrum notes that all of the transitions occuring as we move from a world of desktops and landlines to a 3-screen world of laptop-tablet-smartphone require more energy. I have seen this information twisted in the…

Editorials, Game Diary August 26, 2013

5 Thoughts on the Growing iOS/Android vs. Sony/Nintendo Game Spending Gap

In the latest IDC/AppAnnie report, sales from iOS and Android games now eclipse Sony and Nintendo games by a 4:1 margin. Since 2009, we have seen a meteoric rise in the revenues and market share of games for iOS and Android devices and a decline in sales for dedicated handheld gaming consoles. What does this mean for the future of gaming-on-the-go? Here are five thoughts on what this means: Not an Anomaly: I have seen some dismiss this as a passing phase like netbooks, but that misses a larger trend. Since the launch of the initial iPhone people have been moving…

Editorials, Music Diary August 26, 2013

In the Wide World of Music, VMAs Present a Very Small View

My family stayed up late watching the Video Music Awards (VMA) on MTV to unwind after a busy weekend; my wife and sons had people they wanted to see. What struck me was how in a world full of diverse music and musicians, there were only a dozen or so in a narrow brand of accessible pop music on display. If you look at the list of winners below, and you noted who was in the very small ‘stars seating area’, you will notice tremendous overlap. Pink, feat. Nate Ruess 30 Seconds to Mars Selena Gomez Janelle Monae feat. Erykah…

Editorials August 21, 2013

Why Does Google Hate Windows Phone?

Whether or not you’re a fan of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, there’s one issue both fans and detractors both recognize: there is a definite lack of Google support in the apps. It’s not just the lack of Google Maps, but also the lack of a Gmail app, a Google+ app, and worst of all, no official YouTube app. That last one has been the subject of a fair amount of drama as of late, with Microsoft creating an app, getting it blocked by Google, collaborating with Google, releasing a new YouTube app, and getting it blocked again. So what’s…