MobileViews Blog

Author: todd

  • MobileViews 545: Testing a wireless lav mic; ByteDance CapCut turned off (briefly); Microsoft CoPilot & Google Gemini included in suite prices; Personal time-tracking



    Jon Westfall and I discuss:

    • Microphone hardware noise cancellation
    • ByteDance also turned off CapCut as well as TikTok (briefly)
    • Adobe Podcast Studio (beta) new AudioGram feature
    • Microsoft Office apps unsupported on Windows 10 after Windows 10 sunsets on Oct. 14 2025
    • Microsoft Copilot now included in Microsoft 365 (Office) personal & family editions
    • Google Adds Gemini AI to Workspace Apps, But There’s a Catch
    • Jon’s Time Tracking using the self-hosted TimeTagger

     


    Available via Apple iTunes.
    MobileViews YouTube Podcasts channel
    MobileViews Podcast on Audible.com

  • MobileViews Podcast 544 & AI summary podcast: CES 2025; Google AI Studio; Disasters & Tech


    I had Google NotebookLM write this podcast summary using the actual audio podcast that Jon Westfall and I recorded. I also had it generate a 9 minute audio podcast summary of the original podcast using NotebookLM’s audio summary feature.

    NotebookLM generated summaries (with Todd’s edits)

    Todd Ogasawara and Dr. John Westfall discuss their underwhelming perception of CES 2025, focusing on the prevalence of vaporware and concepts over readily available products (as is normal for CES announcements).  They highlight a few items of interest though, including an **AI-powered fan**, a **robot vacuum with a robotic arm**, and a **petal-shaped camera**,  comparing these to existing technologies.  The podcast also features discussions on **older technologies**,  **consumer tech blind spots**, and the importance of **disaster preparedness**.  Finally, they share anecdotes about their experiences with various tech products and companies.

    Timeline of Main Events Discussed in the Podcast

    • Pre-January 12, 2025:
    • Past CES Events: The speakers, Todd and John, discuss previous CES events, noting a trend of companies showing concepts and vaporware that often don’t ship, or ship with major changes. They recall the Mudra band being announced for the Apple Watch, but its features were made redundant by Apple itself by the time it shipped.
    • Previous Technology: Todd and John had various experiences with technology, such as earlier Bluetooth headsets, earlier versions of Apple Watch, Microsoft Surface products, various earbuds and more, and recall Microsoft’s push of ActiveX technology.
    • January 12, 2025:
    • CES 2025: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of 2025 takes place, and is found by Todd and John to be underwhelming as many of the devices seem to be recycled concepts from years past, or things that don’t make it to market.
    • Todd’s Observations: Todd identifies two interesting items at CES: a Dreo “Poly Fan 707s” with AI to detect and follow people and adjust airflow and a RoboRock robot vacuum with a robotic arm that picks up objects.
    • John’s Observations: John finds the Petal Camera from Wonder, which is similar to the bird feeders with built-in cameras he has seen advertised recently, to be interesting, although unnecessary.
    • Other CES Mentions: There is mention of a laptop with a “rolling screen” that expands vertically. Nvidia’s new mini PC with its AI engine is also mentioned.
    • Podcast Recording: Todd and John record podcast episode 544, discussing their experiences at CES 2025 and the state of tech.
    • Earbud Review: Todd describes reviewing a unique pair of over-the-ear earbuds that have a touchscreen on the case and UV sanitization feature.
    • Headphone Test: Todd mentions testing over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones and evaluating their microphone quality, in preparation for the podcast.
    • Microsoft Money Mention: There is an aside about how some people still use old software, like Microsoft Money 2002.
    • Recent Past (within the past month):
    • AirPods Pro 2 Experience: Two of John’s friends purchased AirPods Pro 2 during holiday sales and were impressed, leading to a conversation about tech “blind spots.”
    • Todd’s Surface Pro 11 Issues: Todd’s relatively new Microsoft Surface Pro 11 experienced a battery drain issue and is now only used sparingly, partially due to incompatibility issues with software like Insta 360 Studio. He discusses the poor history he has had with the Surface line of products.
    • Google AI Studio Discovery: Todd discovers Kevin Stravik’s video on Google AI Studio and notes its features for analyzing and manipulating spreadsheets.
    • Recent Power Jetties: Todd’s home in Hawaii has experienced ten multi-hour power outages in 2024, making him think about disaster preparedness.
    • Recent California Wildfires: The LA wildfires prompt discussion about disaster preparedness.
    • Recent Personal Disasters: Todd mentions that a 25-year food bucket he had been storing had passed its expiration date, and he purchased a new one. He also recalls a personal experience preparing for a tsunami in the past where he made a list, and when it was needed, he realized that he had forgotten to add in that he had a child since the time that list was created.

  • MobileViews 543: Hello, 2025! Looking ahead with Sven Johannsen and Don Sorcinelli


    For this first podcast of 2025, Jon Westfall and I are joined by frequent guest panelists Sven Johannsen and Don Sorcinelli. In this podcast we:

    • Asked where AI Is as we start 2025:
      • Where is the “smart” Apple Siri?
      • When will Microsoft Recall for the Copilot + PCs be released to production
      • Why can’t LLMs spell words even when we tell them exactly the words are
      • What’s the deal with LLMs training LLMS?
    • Then, we discussed what we want in 2025:
      • Todd: Folding iPad or Pixel Tablet, an actual 2nd generation Pixel tablet, USB-C cables with marking to indicate power and data capabilities
      • Sven: Equipment manufacturers to put QR code leading to manual on device
      • Don: Less “Move fast and break things” mentality, Anything actually innovative
      • Jon: Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Series 11 with new biometric sensors (Blood Glucose? Blood Pressure?)
    • And of course, we had a couple of rants:
      • Sven: Why do Cell companies hate their customers? Dell XPS 16 wouldn’t support Chrome OS Flex (WiFi wouldn’t work)
      • Jon: A fix to a rant – use FaxZero service to fax customer service requests to make use of the “Fax Loophole” – companies actually respond to detailed requests via fax
    • We also mentioned a couple of new recent toys:
      • Todd: AGEEN  13-Port USB C Hub for iMac 24 inch that fits perfectly under a 2024 M4 Mac mini without blocking the vents on the bottom of the chassis. Includes NVMe slot for M.2 SSD
      • Sven: DJI Mini 4 Pro, SODI Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad – Foldable & Bluetooth
      • Don: A self-stirring coffee mug
      • Jon: Backbone One smartphone game controller;  Apple Titanium Milanese loop watch band. Appreciating the Apple Silicon battery life

    Available via Apple iTunes.
    MobileViews YouTube Podcasts channel
    MobileViews Podcast on Audible.com

  • MobileViews Podcast 542: AIring of Tech Grievances part 2 with the Google NotebookLM chat bots


    For this end of 2024 podcast, I’m joined once again by the Google NotebookLM podcast bots. And, once again, I used the beta-release interactive chat mode to interject during the podcast bots discussion. Note: the image used for this podcast was generated by Meta’s Messenger AI.

    Note: Jon Westfall will rejoin the podcast for the first podcast of 2025.

    NotebookLM’s summary of the podcast:
    MobileViews Podcast 541, Part 2, focuses on listener tech complaints. Adam Lein criticizes the inconsistencies of USB-C charging, while Todd Ogasawara suggests improvements to USB-C cable standardization. Jason Dunn expresses frustration with limitations of the Google Pixel 9 Pro’s Gemini AI, particularly regarding locked-screen voice access. Finally, Ogasawara lists further grievances, including Google’s discontinuation of Google Podcasts and its VPN service, and the lack of a Pixel Tablet 2 and wider availability of Microsoft’s Recall feature.

    Available via Apple iTunes.
    MobileViews YouTube Podcasts channel
    MobileViews Podcast on Audible.com

  • MobileViews Podcast 541: Airing of Tech Grievances “hosted” by Google NotebookLM synthetic hosts


    The MobileViews Podcast is usually co-hosted by Todd Ogasawara and Jon Westfall. However, for this special post, Google NotebookLM‘s Audio Overview feature will host the podcast with “AI” synthetic podcast hosts (after a brief introduction by me). I also used the beta Interactive Chat feature to interject a few comments that the synthetic hosts responded to. You can hear me join into the conversation at:

    03:35
    12:19
    20:06

    This podcast focuses on the old Seinfeld TV show’s fictional Festivus holiday tradition of the Airing of Grievances. We’re going to focus solely on technology related grievances. It can be about hardware, software, services, or even technology trends. Hence, this is the “Airing of Tech Grievances”.
    Thank you to Jon Westfall, Susan Jaworowski, KC Lemson, Don Sorcinelli, and Jason Dunn for contributing tech grievances for the NotebookLM AI “hosts” to “consider” and discuss. Note that the “hosts” do not read the text aloud verbatim. There is quite a bit of interpretation.

    Available via Apple iTunes.
    MobileViews YouTube Podcasts channel
    MobileViews Podcast on Audible.com

  • MobileViews Mini-podcast 49: Google NotebookLM synthetic podcasting


    The first podcast section was recorded outdoors to test the iRay DW40 4-channel wireless lavalier microphone kit.

    The second section was generated by Google NotebookLM‘s Audio Overview feature to create a synthetic podcast-like discussion using text-based source material. For this example, I wrote a text discussing three of my 2024 tech grievances (with a nod to Seinfeld’s Festivus). A PDF of this text was uploaded to NotebookLM as a source document.

    In the first section I mentioned testing the relatively new NotebookLM Audio Overview “chat” feature which lets you (the human) interject into the synthetic podcasters’ ongoing discussion and have “them” respond to the newly introduced material. Unfortunately, it turns out that the audio file saved only included the originally created audio summary. I’ll use an external recording setup to record my next attempt to use this feature to create a longer Airing of Tech Grievances for a full podcast that will include grievances from several friends.

    There were a couple of spots where the synth-podcasters misinterpreted what I wrote in the source document (mild “hallucinations”). However, overall, I’m impressed by NotebookLM”s podcast output.