Technology Archives - Page 2 of 2

Has Microsoft Learned Nothing From Windows RT?

Remember the launch of the Microsoft Surface in 2012? They can in two versions: the Surface RT and the Surface Pro. The Surface Pro ran a full version of Windows 8.

The Surface RT ran a version of Windows 8 that was designed for an ARM processor, and could only run apps from the Windows Store.

The Surface 2 was the last RT version. The Surface 3 ran a full version of Windows. Why? The RT wasn’t selling well, because of its tie-in to the Windows Store.

There has never been a point in time when the Windows Store didn’t suck. There are a few good apps on there like Wunderlist and Evernote, but for the most part, nobody supports Windows apps. Facebook recently pulled their app (I didn’t know it had lasted that long, but recently saw somebody complaining about it on Facebook).

Now, Microsoft is back with Windows S. It sounds great on the surface. It’s stripped down and agile. Sounds cool, right? What could go wrong?

From Microsoft’s own site:

Microsoft-verified security

Your applications are delivered via the Windows Store ensuring Microsoft-verified security and integrity. Microsoft Edge is your default browser since it’s more secure than Chrome or Firefox.¹Windows Defender and all ongoing security features of Windows 10 are included.

Yep, it will once again, only run apps from the Windows Store. The same Windows Store that Microsoft just can’t encourage ANYBODY to develop for, or maintain apps they dip their feet in the water with.

Not that you need a lot of apps. Early in the days of app stores, most of us were constantly downloading and trying out new ones. For the most part, we’ve figured out what works for us, and since all they’re doing anymore are messaging apps, there’s no point in looking for new ones, unless you like mindless games.

I don’t mind Edge. I have a cheap, Windows 10 tablet that I got to play with. I only use Edge on it. Since they came out with extensions for Edge, I have the functionality I need (Lastpass, Pocket, etc). Internet Explorer 11 sucked balls. It still sucks balls. I have to use it at work, although I finally got Firefox installed on my work computer, so I only use IE for work related sites. Edge isn’t bad. I still use Chrome on my Mac because Safari sucks and Brave isn’t close to prime time yet.

I’ve seen a few headlines that if you buy one of those new Surface laptops, you can get a free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. You probably should. The Windows Store is about useless.

Are You So Stupid That You Need An App To Keep You From Screwing With Your Phone While Driving?

Samsung is going to release a new app for idiots who can’t just pull the damn car over to check a text. Or wait until they’re stopped.

Samsung Netherlands has created a new app called In-Traffic Reply which is going to help drivers keep their attention on the road and not on their phones. Using your phone while you’re behind the wheel can be very dangerous. You might think that it’ll only take a few seconds to check that message or read what your friend just tweeted, but those few seconds can quickly prove to be fatal if you take your eyes off the road.

PanelWizard conducted a survey which found that one-third of the road users in the Netherlands have used their smartphone behind the wheel. In most situations, they felt social pressure to answer calls and reply to messages immediately. Samsung wants to bring down this statistic.

And it’s fine that this exists, and people want to download it and use it. I’m sure that’ll make us all safer. I don’t know what to make of people who lack both the common sense and discipline not to use their phones when driving. And I don’t want to live in a world where an app like this is mandatory.

I’m not saying I never use mine, but I have a few rules. First, since my truck doesn’t have a fancy BlueTooth system, I got a Go Groove BlueGate CTR. This thing is great. It’s a BlueTooth receiver with a microphone. It plugs into my aux port. I have the receiver mounted on my dashboard near my steering wheel. If I get a call, I just press the button and I can talk to the caller. I ignore most calls though unless it’s my wife or somebody from work. Otherwise, that’s why God gave me Google Voice. My Go Groove also has buttons for forward and back, so I can skip commercials on a podcast or skip to the next song. I never listen to the radio. Only content on my phone.

Second, I keep my phone on a windshield mount. It’s right there in my field of vision. I use Waze most of the time when I’m driving. I can see what’s ahead of me, and send reports for cops and hazards.

Third, other than minor interaction with Waze, I do not touch my freaking phone at highway speeds. I have never gotten a text or Facebook comment that was worth my life. Even if I got a notification that @realdonaldtrump followed me on Twitter, I’d wait until I’m stopped to make sure it’s not a joke.

OK, if traffic is below about 20 MPH, maybe I’ll clear notifications, but I don’t read anything unless I’m at a complete stop. And with my phone in the windshield mount, I know when the light turns green or when traffic is moving. Here in Northern Virginia, traffic gets so bad, I’ve read books in my Kindle app while sitting on the highway, not moving.

If you get a notification that you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ RIGHT THE HELL NOW!, you won’t hit a SINGLE traffic light. It’s the best condition to be in. As soon as you check it, they’re all going to turn red, and you’ll hit every last one.

This goes back to something I said all the time several years ago when I read blog posts about families going to extremes, like burying their phones in the yard during dinner so nobody used them. Do you own your phone, or does your phone own you? Who is the boss? In my case, if I don’t want my phone bothering me, I’ll shut it off or put it in Do Not Disturb.

I’ve never understood why other people have so much trouble with that.

Is YouTube Trying To Kill Itself?

I’m hearing from several YouTube channels I follow that some strange things are going on. Consider this case that I came across:

I don’t normally watch that channel. I’d never heard of it until this video was linked. But it’s interesting.

YouTube is screwing over quite a few large channels. Many of them are forms of the alt-right, like Christopher Cantwell, Mark Dice, Paul Joseph Watson, and Bernard Chapin. They’ve demonetizing content, blocking viewers, preventing notifications, and suspending the channel entirely.

Twitter and Facebook are doing similar things.

I get it. The leftists who run (or are employed) by those sites don’t like those voices, and are happy to find any excuse to silence them. And most of them can’t do anything about it, except maybe Mark Dice, who said last year that he has a lawyer locked and loaded and is just waiting for YouTube to shut his channel down ONE MORE TIME…

The time is ripe for an alt-tech replacement for YouTube. It doesn’t deserve those voices. It doesn’t deserve the traffic those voices attract. Then the liberals can live in their happy little bubble that consists of children playing video games, MTV with their racist “White People Should…” crap, and music videos.

Unfortunately, unlike Twitter, Facebook, and Wikipedia (Replacements include gab.ai, vk.com, and infogalactic.com ), replacing YouTube will require some SERIOUS money. And most of the alt-right doesn’t have it. We have jobs, no doubt. Some have businesses. But we don’t have the serious backing of George Soros. Think about it; how many SJW voices would ever be heard? Like Eric Cartman said “They’re hippies! They don’t have any money!”

As frustration rises, I’m sure a viable alternative to YouTube will rise as well. If anything, we’re the productive class. We get things done.

I Wish “Virtual Assistants” Let You Add Custom Sources

I’ve occasionally played with the various Virtual Assistants. Siri I consider to be about useless. Cortana is probably one of the best, but still not close to “there” yet. Google isn’t bad, but is missing quite a lot.

One hallmark of VAs is to give you alerts about news items or sports or whatever. I turn off the sports stuff as best as I can, because I don’t give a crap about sports. But news alerts only come from “mainstream” sources. These are not sources I need, or trust.

Google Assistant finally showed up on my Note 5. I played around with it some, and went into the settings. As for news sources, it only gives you the typical ones: BBC, PBS, MSLGBTV, and the rest. I turned off all but Fox News. Then I tried a test. I said “Show me headlines from Breitbart.com”.

It showed me a Media Matters article ABOUT Breitbart. Total bullshit.

I’m glad for some of the alt-tech we have already. I was an early backer of Infogalactic. I got on gab.ai as soon as I heard about it. Somehow, at a time when the waiting list was two weeks, I had my account in under two hours on a Sunday. Right place, right time? There’s a new on called vk.com. So far, Matt Forney is the only person I know on there.

Gab is a replacement for Twitter. A lot of alt-right and conservatives that got kicked off Twitter have migrated over there. VK is supposedly a Facebook replacement. Both have a long way to go, but the fact that they exist is a good sign.

I doubt I’ll get kicked off Twitter, but I don’t use it much. I mostly just favorite some of President Trump’s tweets, and now Malik Obama. And a few others I see when I’m on there.

I hope we start getting some alt-right friendly software soon. I’d love a virtual assistant that can give me news alerts about President Trump that aren’t from the Huffington post. Let me select my own sources of news.

I have some Gab invites if you’re interested. Email me or leave a comment.

iPad Only?

I’ve been using Michael Sliwinski’s application Nozbe for a couple of years. It’s not perfect, but what is? Wired had an article a while back about how it’s 2016 and why can’t we have a decent productivity app? There are tons and tons of productivity apps. Those that are powerful on the desktop either aren’t present or are pathetic on mobile. (MyLifeOrganized is an example). Those that are good on mobile don’t work well on a desktop type system (I consider laptops on that category- a full fledged Windows or Mac system). Nozbe seems to hit the high points and has a consistent user experience across all platforms.

Michael and a co-author wrote a book called iPad Only. I haven’t bought the book yet. Based on user reviews, I do not perceive it to be worth $10.

I have tried over the years to figure out a true mobile experience. That’s not easy for me though. I took a class a while back where I didn’t have much desk space. I brought my MacBook Pro the first day, but after that I used my iPad Mini with a BlueTooth keyboard the rest of the week due to desk space. It got the job done all right. Thanks to the integration of cloud storage, this helps, assuming you have a consistent Internet connection.

The iPad has definitely come a long way since the beginning. At first, it was pretty much a media consumption device and still very limited at that. Along the way, better apps and technology were integrated into the platform. Now it has Microsoft Office and other productivity apps.

I think the biggest limitation on the iPad at present is the fact that it is STILL run by a mobile operating system. While Microsoft has Windows 10, which even on their phones is a full fledged OS, Apple is still running mobile.

I’m convinced that the biggest revolution in mobility is a phone sized device that is a full-fledged computer. It has a full operating system, plenty of storage (at least 1TB), and is capable of docking to a laptop sized device or a keyboard and monitor for heavier duty tasks. And it appears such as device is here, or almost here: the HP Elite X3. The Lumina 950 and 950 XL have a similar capability, but not as much on board storage. No way you could keep your music library on it.