Category: podcast

Frequent guest panelist Sven Johannsen joins Jon Westfall and me for this podcast. We discuss holiday tech gift ideas based on products we have bought and used. We also discussed tolerable (or even welcome) vs. annoying digital advertisements.

• Fitbit Charge 5. Thanks again to Fitbit for giving me a significant discount to replace my out of warranty Fitbit Charge 4 with a non-functioning display. As one might expect, the 5 has a number of enhancements compared to the 4 including a color display instead of grayscale. Surprisingly, it actually lost a feature that is on the 4 and other previous Fitbit devices I’ve used: It does NOT count floors climbed.
• The USB-C tester/multimeter that I mentioned in podcast 429 broke after just a few days of use. Sigh
• Still impressed with the Anker 727 Charging Station ( GaNPrime 100W ), Compact Power Strip for Travel and Work, 5ft Detachable Extension Cord
• Pleased with the $160 Beelink mini-PC with Windows 11 Pro so far. I wish it had a USB-C port and could be powered via USB-C PD. Hard to complain for $160.
• Also pleased with the $80 Acer 21-inch thin display. I kind of wish I had looked for a low-cost monitor with speakers. I ended up pairing the PC with a spare Bluetooth speaker.
• Amazon Early Black Friday deals

Jon’s Picks

• Linus Tech Tips Backpack Must mean something that I haven’t switched away from it since receiving in mid September.
• Advertising LED Sign
• Tunai Button Bluetooth Remote Control
• INNOPAW Hand Warmers

Sven

• Belkin Magsafe Continuity camera Mount
• Mac iPhone Continuity Camera Mount. Only fits on a MacBook. Not an iPad
• Fire Tablet 8” HD PLUS 2022
• Fire Tablet Wireless Charging Dock
• USB C cable with meter

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

Frequent guest panelist Don Sorcinelli joins Jon Westfall and me for this podcast. In it, we discuss

• Fitbit customer service
  Out of warranty, Charge 4 display dimmed and then stopped working. It functions as a tracker. Contacted CS via Twitter. They went through my diagnostic steps, noted I was out of warranty, and offered a 35% discount for a replacement. I ordered a Charge 5.
• new Google widgets to your iPhone
• Received M2 iPad Pro 11-inch running iPadOS 16.1
  What’s missing?
  – Freeform app
  – Extended external display
  – Opt-in web notifications support

  Coming to terms with Stage Manager
  Apple Pencil
  Hover???
  Procreate compatibility?

• macOS 16 Ventura
  Stage Manager shows Windows 1.0 tiling was the best way to go???
  iPad -ization of Macs
• Retiree digital workspace
  Thoughts on Windows 11 UI/UX (ugh). Different <> better
• Jon’s life on an iPad for a few days at work thoughts
• Early holiday tech buying

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss

• Retiree digital work area: Lessons learned so far
  $160 mini-PC
  Only has
  USB Type A port
  One HDMI & one VGA
  Bought an $18 3-way HDMI switcher (shipped, not delivered)
  Could this have been solved by spending more than $80 for the LCD monitor? Probably yes. However, it would probably cost more than $80+$18. And, it might not have 3 HDMI ports
  USB-C hub to HDMI
  Macbook works without power to the USB-C hub
  Chromebook needs to have powered USB-C hub (same hub used for both tests)
  Mini-trackball built into a wired keyboard is not a good user experience
• New iPad models released
  Always amused/annoyed by tech reviews who only see incremental changes from year to year
  Many of us do NOT upgrade every year/model. I’m moving from a ARM Bionic processor to an M2, bypassing the M1. This is a huge jump for me.
  IPad Pro M2 features no-show
  Qi/wireless charging on screen for Apple Watch, AirPods Pro
  MagSafe charging
  Apple Pencil 3 – me: thank goodness
  However, there is a new Pencil Hover feature only on M2 based iPad Pros. Detect Pencil up to 12mm above the display surface
  Giant iPad – 14 or 15 inch display
• Just a rumor. But…

  MacWorld: MacOS14 may run on the M2 iPad Pro

  “Simplified” MacOS with, presumably, touchscreen support
  Do you really want MacOS on an iPad?
  Would be nice if I could run the MacOS apps I use to record and process podcasts
  Is Stage Manager in iPadOS16 “good enough”?
  Is the USB-C external display support in iPadOS16 good enough?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast Jon Westfall and I discuss my senior citizen/retiree low cost digital workspace. You can see the dusty/cobwebbed Kensington lock that I obviously haven’t looked at or cleaned in the 15 years since I setup the then new 2007 Apple iMac.

1. Senior citizen digital workspace
   Making space on a small table by retiring my 2007 iMac 21-inch
   Preparing for
   Reduced mobility
   Reduced income
   Amazon Prime Preview sale
   $160 mini-PC. Intel Celeron N5095. 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. Windows 11 Pro
   No USB-C ports. No USB-C power option
   BYO keyboard/mouse/display
   $80 21-inch thin-light LCD display
   $70 100-watt GaN (Gallium Nitride) flat power strip. 2 AC pop-up outlets. 2 USB-A. 2 USB-C. GaN == more efficient, less heat
   $30 (Sams Club) monitor stand with 4 USB-A ports
   $50 One by Wacom USB drawing tablet
2. Pew Research: Share of those 65 and older who are tech users has grown in the past decade
3. Bloomberg/Mark Gurman October Apple product announcement speculation
   M2 iPad Pro
   Lower price iPad w/USB-C port
   2023 release of Google Pixel-like docking stand-hub with speakers/charger

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

Jon Westfall and I are joined by frequent guest panelist Sven Johannsen to discuss:

1. Tom’s Guide: Google Pixel Tablet is coming — everything we know so far
   Google Pixel Tablet Early Look
   No price
   Google Tensor G2 processor
   Google/Rose Yao said their studies say tablets are mostly used at home that mostly sits in a drawer. I disagree based on a small but reasonable sample size. Question: DId they conduct this survey during the pandemic when most people were at home?
   That said: Would make a nice replacement for my 10-inch Lenovo Smart Assistant
   Charging speaker dock
   Wireless charging
   Available sometime in 2023
   10.95-inch display
   Stylus support
   Did not say if included
2. Pixel Watch, and Comparison with Apple Watch 8
3. Pixel 7 & 7 Pro
4. Received my iPhone 14 Pro
   Clear case too slippery
   Forgot upgrade/transfer only transfer Apple
   Appreciate features from 13 (upgraded from a 12)
   “New” features more noticeable if you upgrade every other year
   3x optical zoom
   I see the “shaky” issue that some people have noticed
   Cinematic mode
   Dynamic island

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com

In this podcast Jon Westfall and I discuss:

• Who is the Amazon Kindle Scribe for?
  Basic vs. premium Wacom EMR pen
  Premium pen has an eraser and programmable button
  $340 vs. $370 by adding premium pen
  Premium pen included for 32 and 64GB models
  16, 32, 64GB sizes
  Kindle notebook app
  4 years of system updates

  The current gen 10.2″ iPad starts at $330 with 64GB RAM. The Apple Pencil (gen 1) adds another $130 to the cost.

  The base Kindle Scribe
  Includes the basic pen
  EMR pens do not need recharging or Bluetooth pairing
  Has a paperwhite display
  Readable in sunlight
  Much longer battery life than an iPad (in reading mode)

• Jon’s Thoughts:
  First compelling redesign since the Oasis, which is 5+ years old now.
  Really like it, and if I didn’t already have an iPad Pro + Apple Pencil + Notes in OneNote + Apple Notes then I’d jump on it.
  But at this point, do I want to complicate my life with another fractured note taking experience? But the e-Ink display is SO tempting.
  Nice to see a competitor to the ReMarkable.
  Note syncing and storage(?) requires a subscription $3/month
  Kindle Notes and Highlights on the web
• Hyperlinks in handwriting
• Open educational resources
  Noba Project – Teach and learn psychology for free
  OpenStax – Part of Rice University. Openly licensed college textbooks that are absolutely free online and low cost in print.
  OpenIntro – Statistics & mathematics
  OER Commons – public digital library of open educational resources

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

MobileViews Podcast from Audible.com