Category: podcast

Guest co-host Steven Hughes and I discuss the following in this podcast:

• Todd’s adventures configuring an Ooma Telo Air 2
• Home automation
  Smarter Living
  New cyber security labels for Internet of Things called the US Cyber Trust Mark
• Can AI and Machine learning get dumber and not smarter if not checked and corrected? What processes are in place to make sure it is accurate
  STANFORD SCIENTISTS FIND THAT YES, CHATGPT IS GETTING STUPIDER
• Tesla range isn’t as claimed kind of the same they do with the real price, but that hasn’t stopped sales – class action suit like VW-gate MPG “stretching”
• Apple and Google lead initiative for an industry specification to address unwanted tracking

  Google will now warn Android users of unknown bluetooth trackers like AirTags and will work with Apple on a standard.

• Are you adding or removing streaming services? Subscription prices all going up!
• NASA introduces NASA+ a new streaming service and currently in beta and free!

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

• Transitioning from Bit.ly to TinyURL
• The Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) has a thermometer. However, it is consistently three degrees lower than what is reported by IR and other thermometers in the same room.
• MobileViews Mini-Podcast 38: Absgeega K61 wireless lav mic test with an iPad mini 6
• Now that I’m a retiree income, services of all kinds have decided to raise their subscription prices. Gee, thanks
• Is Siri finally getting a cognitive upgrade?
  The Verge: Apple is already using its chatbot for internal work
• Meta and Microsoft Introduce the Next Generation of Llama
• Discussion Topic: Each year when new features are announced, they’re hyped up to be “the best”. This week I looked back at features announced in the past year and decided “Were they really as useful as they were made out to be?”

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

The earlier Absgeega wireless lavalier mic model I bought worked well with Android devices. However, when using an iPhone or iPad, the recorded volume was extremely low. After noting this in a 3-star Amazon review, Absgeega contacted me and offered a refund. However, since I was able to use it to record in-person podcasts using an Android-based Pixel 7a, I turned down that offer.

The Google Pixel 7a runs a lot hotter than my iPhone and iPad devices. In fact, it issued a thermal warning near the end of both podcasts recorded using it. So, there is a practical aspect for my preference to use an iOS/iPadOS device to record in-person podcasts.

They then offered to send a newer model after it became available. The Absgeega K61 appeared a few days ago. This mini-podcast was recorded outdoors using it with an iPad mini 6 and an audio recording app named Just Press Record.

Aside from recording at usable volume levels on iOS/iPadOS devices, the K61 has several improvements over the previous model.

• It includes a charging case that charges both lav mics using a single USB-C charging cable. The case also has a storage slot for the transceiver that is powered by the recording device. Like the previous model, the K61 includes a USB-C-to-Lightning and USB-C-to-USB-A that lets you use it with a variety of computers.
• The charging case has a useful LCD displaying the charge level as the lav mics are being charged.
• There is a “windproof net” integrated into each mic. The previous model has a small foam windshield. As you might imagine, this is probably easy to lose.
• The clip on each lav mic is longer/larger than the clips on the previous model. This makes it much easier to attach it to clothing.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

• Alternatives to Microsoft Team for podcasts: Google Meet, Apple FaceTime.
• Writers Guild of America’s AI-related concerns
• Stability AI Stable Doodle
  Gizmodo: Stable Doodle Turns Your Dumbest Scribbles Into Off-Putting AI Art
• Google: Introducing NotebookLM
• Phomemo thermal printer

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

After Apple’s Vision Pro announcement, I wanted to learn more about AR/VR glasses options. So, I asked my old friend Jared Kuroiwa to join me for this podcast to educate me about the glasses he has bought and tried (so far):

Meta Quest 2 $299.99

Xreal AIr $379

Rokid Max $439 (was $599)

Jared explains that the Xreal and Rokid use the “birdbath optics”. He has ordered the $109 Xreal Beam for the Xreal Air to add a “spatial display experience”.The Meta Quest 2 and the Xreal Air each required its own prescription lens.

However, the Rokid Max (see photo #2) includes a Diopter Adjustment for each eye to allow individualized adjustment for people who wear prescription glasses. Jared let me try the Rokid Max. If I buy an AR/VR glasses, it is definitely the one I would consider first. Each of these non-Apple glasses are smaller than the Vision Pro. You can see Jared wearing the Rokid max in the second photo here.

Regarding the Vision Pro, Jared noted that:

There is no denying the software will be amazing with the immersive experience. The HUGE improvements over the gear I’ve been using are the cameras/detectors Vision Pro uses for things like eye tracking and hand tracking. Xreal Air and Rokid Max have no cameras, so it can’t capture the real world or detect your hands for control. This means input into the Vision Pro could be completely virtual using eye and hand tracking. That is a game changer. Those cameras/detectors also can change your experience from what is happening in the environment. There’s one scene in Apple’s announcement where the display becomes the passthrough when someone enters the space near you.

We also briefly discussed Meta’s earlier than expected release of its Threads service and app on July 5.

Note that this podcast was recorded outdoors using a pair of ABSGEEGA wireless lav mics recording to a Google Pixel 7a phone. A pair of ducks sat with us through the entire podcast recording session but did not add any commentary. We were also visited by a mongoose several times.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com