Author: todd

Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. Note: Thanks Paul Lawler for sitting in last week
2. Google Maps lost its sense of direction

   Google Maps status dashboard

3. Was not even aware of the gadget category. Expensive.
   The best headphones for sleeping in 2022
4. Apple Announcements: The Studio Display is tempting for Jon, but considering he already has 27 inch Apple Cinema Displays from 2010 that are still working fine with a USB C hub, he’s probably gonna stick with those a bit longer. And maybe permanently, because Apple doesn’t like certain things on their displays… like power buttons.
5. iOS/iPadOS Universal Control?
6. Data Jar app (Works with Shortcuts) (https://datajar.app)

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

Paul Lawler is the guest co-host this week. We discuss:

1. Tim Berners-Lee: 3 years ago today, I submitted a proposal for a system called the World Wide Web
2. Roland50.studio
   Synth on the web commemorating Roland’s 50th anniversary
   April 18, 1972
3. MacRumors Apple Event Recap

   Nothing I’m planning to purchase. However, very happy to see the iPad Air now supports Apple Pencil 2.

4. Note to self: Learn more about Canva
   Fast Company: The rise of Canva, the $40 billion design juggernaut

   …and Prezi

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss Google Chrome OS Flex and Neverware CloudReady; the awful Amazon/Comixology iOS app upgrade.

Google Chrome OS Flex

Neverware (Google) CloudReady Home Edition

iFixit: RIP CloudReady, but Chrome OS Flex Can Still Save Older Computers

Gizmodo: Amazon’s Comixology Overhaul Is Here, and It Sucks
AppleInsider: Amazon’s Comixology migration is a disaster – here’s what you need to know

I should note that I was such a fan of the app and its service, that I invited Comixology’s founder and CEO to the Thinkmobile West conference that I organized in San Francisco back in September 2010. It was my good fortune that David Steinberger accepted the invitation and was able to meet him and watch his presentation.

When the iPad launched in 2010, one of the best apps for it (IMO) was the Comixology comic book reading app. It made it easy to search for and buy comicbooks. It provided a great reading experience. And, of course, it solved the problem of storing physical comic books. After Amazon bought the company, it refused to pay Apple’s 30% in-app purchasing fee. That eliminated the ease to browse and buy. Android users could still do so, however. It remained a great reading experience. And, I remember wishing that DC Comics used the engine for its DC. The recent Comixology for iOS update is, as others have written, a disaster. It deletes anything that was previously downloaded which means you have to download the comic books again. The reading experience, which was very very good, is now unsettling. Why “improve” something no one was complaining about for years and years?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this pre-Super Bowl/pre-Valentine podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. Is your iPhone case damaging the battery?
2. Google Flutter adds support to build Windows apps
3. CNet: How to use Microsoft Office on a Chromebook
   Since the PWA behaves like installed software, you can do things like pin it to the taskbar, get notifications, work offline and easily resize it. The rest of the experience is the same as using the web versions.
4. Google: Use Progressive Web Apps
5. Discussion Topic: Connecting with your spouse / significant other using Technology

Post-podcast note: I went through the process of installing a PWA on my Chromebook after the podcast. You can see two screenshots here showing the installation icon in the browser and the chrome-less PWA running after the installation.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com