Category: podcast

In this podcast Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. Entertainment Weekly: Watch Patrick Stewart shock Star Trek fans with surprise reveal of new series
2. Fire HD 8 Tablet with Alexa, 8″ HD Display, 16 GB, Black – with Special Offers – $50 on Amazon Prime Day.
3. A Map Of Wireless Passwords From Airports And Lounges Around The World (Updated Regularly)
4. Archive.org: 219 issues of BYTE magazine available
5. Jon was in an accident and the only 2 injuries were the car (totalled) and his apple watch

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

1. 1. New Skype features later this summer“Call recording—Take call snapshots to the next level with call recording. Capture a special Skype calls with loved ones or record important meetings with colleagues. Call recording is completely cloud-based, and as soon as you start recording, everyone in the call is notified that the call is being recorded—so there are no surprises. Call recordings combine everyone’s video as well as any screens shared during the call.”
   2. AppAnnie: Global downloads – iOS vs. Android
      Android 20+ billion downloads vs. ~8 billion iOS downloads.
      However, iOS app spend ~$12 billion vs. Android ~$6 to $7 billion.Five of the top six apps by worldwide revenue are media streaming ones: Netflix, Tencent Video, iQIYI, Pandora Music, and Youku. Number two is Tinder.
   3. Jon: YouTube rant
   4. Amazon Part Finder app for iOS
   5. Any techie Amazon Prime purchases?
   6. Jon’s finally got animated watch faces figured out (IntoLive)
   7. PowerApps in Office 365

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

Jon Westfall and I are joined by Don Sorcinelli in this podcast. We discussed:

1. Possible Mac mini refresh after 3.5 years of nothing
2. Google’s Phone app can now prevent some spam calls from interrupting you
3. The New Surface Go

   Ref: Wired
   ““Do I think about Chromebooks? Absolutely,” Panay says, when I ask him about them. “Do I think about iPads? Absolutely. I use multiple devices. It’s exhausting. But this product is meant to bring you a full app suite.” Panay is highlighting one of the drawbacks of lightweight Chromebooks: Their lack of local storage. Meanwhile, he says, Surfaces are designed to let people be productive both locally on the device, and in the cloud when they need to work in the cloud.”

4. Don: What old phone feature do you miss the most?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. Ranting about the recent Skype for MacOS update
2. Looking through Techmeme’s “river” all I see are block chain, tech investment, and dealing with disinformation. Listening to other podcasts reveals more of the same. So, where does this leave a podcast that this that remains dedicated to actual tech, gadgets, and software? There doesn’t seem to be much to discuss in this space except during Google I/O and Apple announcements.
3. Tracing the Quote: Everything that can be Invented has been Invented – 1899.
4. Todd: Acer Chromebook Tab 10. Example of something I don’t care about but might have years ago: Chrome OS based tablet.
5. Jon: Twitter suspending more than a million accounts per day Mostly spammers and bots. Still haven’t gotten to most of my bot followers thought, that I paid $7 for as an experiment
6. Jon’s Pinterest story.
7. Jon: Wired’s IOS 12 security roundup – have we gotten to a place where cutting edge features = Android, privacy and security = Apple, and that’s really the only difference (well, that and wearables – since Wear OS is fragmented, has no market leading watch anymore, not as big a force as the Apple Watch). Something to ponder – as the OS’s get more similar, this seems to me to be the only differentiator anymore.
8. Why the Girl Scouts Are Learning to Pick Locks and Hack Computers

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

After a two week podcast hiatus, Jon Westfall and I are back with MobileViews Podcast 259.

1. New Google Podcasts app. Ref: The Verge
2. Google Messages for web. Messages for web
3. Anchor for iPad
4. Anchor record with Friends
5. The cold blue light of modern touchscreens may be aesthetically pleasing, but it poses health problems
6. Jon’s Vacation Tech Report:
   A point-and-shoot camera, preferably with GPS, is still a must, especially at the beach where phones can overheat if not turned off, yet the camera works pretty well turning off and on all the time. Also sometimes you just need manual exposure controls before taking the photo, not after. — (TO) Can’t find point&shoot cameras with GPS anymore (JW): Jason Dunn says you can still find them, but they’re mostly rugged designs. Looks like the Olympus TG-870 or the Nikon Coolpix AW130 or AW300 are your best bets. https://amzn.to/2tVj8UH also looks promising.
   Apple SD Card adapter does fine with photos, but videos can be a frustrating endeavour. MTS files are the devil.
   Apple Watch Series 3 Cellular did an amazing job. Water mode is great, although optional if you forget (like I did once or twice – no way to turn on once water is on your fingers and the touch screen). Nice to feel like you’re still connected even if your phone is off (iMessage at the beach is great, used dictation)
   AirPods worked great paired to my phone and watch. Had to unpair and repair though, about a week before. They’d previously been paired to my apple account for over a year.
   Google Photos is easiest way to share a group of photos, especially with 2 people that are on Android. Even on iPhone it slightly eeks out Apple Photos in my opinion just because it’s unlimited.
   Packable bags FTW – my beach bag could easily be thrown in the wash and then stowed.
   I took all 4 of my primary “devices” (iPhone, iPad, Surface Pro, Macbook Pro) Used 3 of the 4 – which one do you think was left out?
   My bluetooth speaker is antiquated (Jabra Jambox I bought in 2013). Might be time for something louder and smaller/same size.
   Expanding Tech Organizer Bag was great.
7. And Jon’s “Back to School” shopping tip (We’re gonna get close to that time, usually right after 4th of July). Buy Pencil Cases when they go on sale for $0.99 or $0.59 – they’re great for storing little gear inside of drawers.

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. VPNFilter malware infecting 500,000 devices is worse than we thought
2. Yahoo Messenger shutting down on July 17
3. NTIA
   Sixty-four percent of Americans used a smartphone in 2017, compared with 53 percent in 2015, and tablet use increased to 32 percent from 29 percent during the same period. The use of wearable devices such as smart watches and fitness bands—still a nascent product category—grew significantly to 8 percent of Americans, from 1 percent two years earlier. Smart TV and TV-connected device use also continued to increase, growing by seven percentage points to 34 percent from 2015 to 2017.

   Laptop use was unchanged at 46 percent of Americans, and desktop computer use continued to slide to 30 percent in 2017—meaning tablet use surpassed desktop computer use for the first time (see Figure 3).

4. The Verge WWDC highlights

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.