Category: podcast

Jon Westfall and I are joined by guest panelists Frank McPherson, Steven Hughes, Sven Johannsen, and Jack Cook for this podcast. We discuss the best tech that we’ve bought over the past year.

Todd:
Good year for hardware upgrades: Pixel 3a, iPad mini 5, & Acer Chromebook Spin 13.
Doodling using an Acer Chromebook Spin 13 and Infinite Painter

Frank:

iPad mini 5
Google Titan security key

Jack
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Power Juice

Steve:
Hardware:
Kokoon Headphones
https://kokoon.io/

Yubico Security Key NFC – have 3 – one on me, one in my Firesafe and another in a secure location.
https://www.yubico.com/products/security-key-3/
Software:
1.1.1.1 / Cloudflare Warp Free DNS VPN makes your internet faster.
Warp + VPN and Speed boost coming soon..or any other paid VPN service is now a must have-recommend Nord and Express VPN- Jon uses Private Internet Access make sure there is third party auditing done

Another must have is Password minder I use LastPass works with Yubico.

Brave browser – https://brave.com/ free secure alternative supports content via Brave rewards
Next:
New iPhone 11 -XR (whatever they call it) if technology is worth the squeeze OR
New Sony Axxxx small mirrorless camera – rumored announcement coming 8/29.
New MacBook Air/Pro – don’t need it yet because there is no “need” kinda done with PCs and Chromebooks and Apple surprisingly supports their hardware for
quite a long time you can get a “used” MacBook Air / Pro for $200-$300.

Sven:
Not much new big tech. Happy with 2015 MacBook, Surface 5, iPhone X, Pixel 3. Not helping the tech companies all that much.
Have picked up new AirPods in Qi case, PowerBeats3, Uni USB-C hub (dock/port replicator)(https://uniaccessories.io/collections/latest-innovation/products/usb-c_8in1_hub)
Signed up for Remote PC (https://www.remotepc.com/index.html) $6.95 first year for 10 PCs [code Leo]
Nice accessories
Hard Cider Slice, two phones plus Apple watch
https://hardciderlabs.com/collections/test/products/slicecharge-3in1-wireless-charger
Native Union Smart Hub Bridge (Power) 8′ cord, 2 AC, 3 USB-A, 1 USB-C
All Products
Peak Designs Tech Pouch
https://www.peakdesign.com/products/tech-pouch/
Color Laser printers are dirt cheap…toner cartridges are not 😉
(https://www.bestbuy.com/site/brother-hl-l3270cdw-wireless-color-printer-white/6265819.p?skuId=6265819)
Google pissed me off. Credit card hold for replacement Pixel 3…$899. New one is $599 and they were sending a refurbished unit. Really? Seems evil.

Jon:
iPad Pro 11 inch amazes me how indispensable it is.
Purchased a Sony DSC-HX99
Slowly slipped back into the Apple Ecosystem after being split Windows/Mac for a few years. Why? Integration.
2FA is done effectively through Apple Watch pushed challenges (Duo and MS Authenticator).
However, in the MS ecosystem for office / most email / productivity. And it’s integration with iOS (And Android for that matter) is really much tighter than I think we ever would have expected years ago.
Little things taken for granted: QNAP Nas home server with multiple VMs running and internal networking (has 4 NIC ports, supports link aggregation). Fun setup to play with and work through.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. 21 year “Yahooversary”. From Yahoo! to Ya-who?
2. Unlox has a new version out that actually stays running and connected to my iPhone on my older Macbook Air. I can now unlock my 2011 Macbook Air with my apple watch with the touch of a prompt. A good compromise for $3.99 when your mac is too old to natively unlock with Apple Watch. Also offers more customization.
3. Jon’s iPhone X went a little too 3D last week, and had to be swapped out
4. Rumors point to a Sept 11 launch of the next generation of iPhones
5. Jon’s Apple Credit Card
6. Samsers Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard – the problem, in general, with foldable keyboards
7. A few adventures with Chrome OS (ref: OgasaWalrus
   – Crostini Linux container – installing apps (bc)
   – The surprising ease of running X Windows apps on a Chromebook in Crostini
   – Chrome OS 76 Virtual Desks on my Acer Chromebook Spin 13

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. iOS Hidden Tip: The “Print” feature in Mail and other apps actually creates a PDF. When you go to print, use two fingers to pan out the image of the document and you’ll get into a screen with a full share menu! This lets you easily take PDFs of emails and save them to cloud storage or anywhere else the “Files” app can hook into.
2. Windows 10 tip: Windows-key + . (period) or ; (semi-colon) brings up Emoji picker
3. Acer Chromebook Spin 13 – more-or-less replaces my Samsung Chromebook Plus
4. AT&T already has its HBO Max streaming service (from its purchase of Time Warner). Now, this addition to the fragmented streaming video market.
   AT&T is launching another new streaming service this fall called AT&T TV
5. Google Gallery Go for Android
   Lightweight photo viewer/editor. Have not tried it yet beyond downloading and opening the app
6. Jon’s mini-rant: Why don’t mobile mapping / desktop mapping (e.g., Google Maps, Apple Maps) have a layer for crime statistics?!?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss (and rant about):

1. Ever notice the “star” with the word “Explore” at the bottom right of Google Sheets? More like PowerBi than just a pivot table.

   Pivot to the cloud: intelligent features in Google Sheets help businesses uncover insights

2. Build a presentation from notes in Google Keep
   Present like a pro: new updates in Slides designed to make you look good
3. Google Suspicious Site Reporter for Chrome browser.
4. The Verge: Google was never really series about tablets
5. Lack of viable finance management applications – MS Money, Quicken, mint.com, Hard to find actual money management application. Espec. With mobile support. Trying Banktivity (MacOS only) once more. Mint.com does have great exporting though.
6. Why does WiFi hardware die so quickly (relatively speaking)?

1. NYT: That Sleep Tracker Could Make Your Insomnia Worse

   But some sleep specialists caution that these apps and devices may provide inaccurate data and can even exacerbate symptoms of insomnia.

   There’s a name for an unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep: orthosomnia.

2. Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2019

   …the share of Americans who say they own a smartphone has increased dramatically over the past decade – from 35% in 2011 to 81% in 2019

   A majority of adults say they subscribe to home broadband, but about one-in-four (27%) do not. And growing shares of these non-adopters cite their mobile phone as a reason for not subscribing to these services.

3. Open Discussion: What should Jon do with his old 2009 Macbook Pro?

   Neverware CloudReady on the MacBook

   CDC Zombie Preparedness

4. Jon’s Tech Tip of the Week: Using “Share” links with Siri Shortcuts to open a MS Office Doc.

   After-show tip: After we finished the podcast I (Todd) confirmed that Siri Shortcuts can’t open Google’s Play Music for iOS app. However, Google’s own

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