Geek.Guidetti.me

Using the Amazon Fire HD 10 for College Work

2018-10-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

I'm a college student who likes taking notes digitally. For one, my handwriting is terrible, so I have trouble reading what I write. I also have poor organization skills, so I can't find what I also can't understand. Thus, digital is the way to go. I went about this with a laptop, as most students do. I had an old Dell Latitude D630 lying around, upgraded the hard disc drive to a speedy solid state drive, maxed out the RAM to 8 GB because why not, and boom: a note-taking computer. However, it's not very light, and even with the larger battery, it doesn't last very long. Then I thought, Chromebook! I went a purchased a $70 used Lenovo Thinkpad 11e, and found that although the battery could last 10 hours if I turned down the brightness, the machine didn't hold up well. I presume it was used in a K-12 school where it wasn't treated very nicely, so the display began to crap out, and the WiFi would cut out. So if I wanted to, I could replace the WiFi adapter, and figure out whatever is wrong with the display, but at the same time, it's still kind of thick, and not what I'm looking for. I could try to find another Chromebook, but I really won't have a use for it when I'm done with college, so I tried one of my tablets lying around, and I think we have a winner.

The Amazon Fire HD 10 is a 1080p 10 inch tablet, with a quad core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, with the ability to store up to 256 GB through Micro SD cards. It's no powerhouse, but for $150, it's a steal. I've got all three of some version of Amazon's Fire tablets. The 2015 7 inch is currently being used as a clock on my desk because it's too small so you might as well just use your phone, the sub-720p display is not pretty, and it's too slow to do real work with. The 8 inch is bigger, and the 720p display is nicer, but it's just not fast enough. The 10 inch is the real deal. It's no speed demon, but at $150, it's fast enough.

The one huge problem is the lack of the Google Play Store, but that is remedied with a few downloads that I'm sure both Google and Amazon don't appreciate. Nonetheless, I've now got full access to my Google Drive, where I use Google Docs for notes, my Google Keep for quick notes, and Chrome for my bookmarks.

I then decided to grab a Bluetooth keyboard I had lying around to see if it would work. And it did, except I was worried because it seemed to have an incredible lag. Luckily that was just due to the $5 Bluetooth keyboard from Five Below being less than quality, because, you know, $5. I then went to Best Buy and got me a nice Logitech keyboard and HP mouse, and the line is now blurred between laptop and tablet, which is a good thing. Sure, this thing can't multitask very well, you can't have two apps open at once, but I can alt-tab between apps, so it's not too terrible. It's fast enough to take notes, and browse a quick website, which is all I need from it.

The 10 inch screen size is just right. The 13 inch Dell I was lugging around was simply too large, and the 11.6 inch Chromebook was better, but this 10 inch tablet takes up less space, which is better for a classroom desk. Not to mention with the right case, you can align the tablet such that you can hold it up in portrait mode, allowing you to see the full page of a document, or back to landscape where it stands out much less.

Battery life is great, around Chromebook levels where I feel I can comfortably reach 10 hours. One thing to note, at this price point, performance on a competing device will be difficult to match. Windows on slow hardware can be unbearable, and while you can find a cheap Chromebook, the portability of the tablet is greater, and after class, can be turned back to the entertainment device Jeff Bezos always intended it to be.

Sure, lugging around the mouse and keyboard, if you want both, isn't as nice as an all-in-one laptop design. For the price, if you don't mind tinkering with the tablet however, it's hard to beat. Not to mention charging by Micro USB, or hopefully one day USB-C, is far more universal than a laptop charger, so if it needs a charge, they're not hard to find. Also, the mouse isn't very intuitive, as right-clicking simply isn't designed for most apps. It's better for documents and precise pointing, so I don't regret the purchase. Not to mention, when I'm already using the keyboard, it's more natural to then go for the mouse when I need to interact with something on-screen than it is to use the touchscreen. This is where the iPad Pro loses some pro-iness and versatility.

At $150, for a 10 inch tablet, plus keyboard and mouse pricing, it certainly beats anything else. Chromebooks are a close second, which run the other Google operating system. When you compare it to the baseline iPad 9.7 inch at $329 plus some keyboard, Surface Go at $399 plus $129 for the keyboard cover, Google Pixel Slate at $599 plus $199 for keyboard cover, and even Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 at $649 and $149 for keyboard cover, the competition gets expensive, as the optional keyboard cover is necessary. Of course, the competition is faster and requires less tinkering, however if you're on a budget, you can get everything you need potentially for the price of the competition's keyboard case.

I'm sure most people probably just have one laptop or tablet for everything, but if you're like me and you want something separate for classwork without spending too much, this is a good choice, it's just less than ideal for most people.

Why Apple Can't Get Away With Selling a $1,000 Phone Anymore

2018-10-02T01:38:00.000-04:00

Apple is a trillion dollar company, and they didn't get there by accident. Apple famously began in a garage, and has become one of, if not the most, recognizable company in history. They also narrowly escaped bankruptcy in the mid-1990s, when a series of poor leaders, no excitement, and an outdated operating system allowed Microsoft to catch up to Apple with the release of Windows 95. At the last minute, Apple purchased NeXT, Steve Jobs's computer company founded after his resignation from Apple in 1985. Apple needed NeXT's advanced operating system, but they also gained the guy that sparked the company in the first place. Under Steve Jobs reign, Apple transformed themselves from the company for designers and artists, to the exciting company for cool people. As a kid, the difference between Mac and Windows machines was stark. The design of the computers was always top notch, the software felt more polished than anything on Windows, and there was an undeniable cool factor in using an Apple product. Apple made the world want an MP3 Player. Apple made people want to drop top dollar for the latest in design and technology. And Apple made the world want a touchscreen smartphone.

We were introduced to the iPhone in 2007. It was different, beautiful, and expensive, during a time where subsidized two-year contracts brought smartphone pricing around $299. $599 was the asking price for a 4 GB phone that couldn't access 3G connectivity, couldn't send photos through texts, and had no application store. Yet, it lit the world on fire with its new interface, polished operating system, and ability to allow the user to feel like they were in control of a powerful device. Needless to say, it completely changed the way we looked at phones. As years went by, iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 got more powerful, and gained the attraction of the general public. Sure, Android phones were around, as well as Windows Phone, Palm, and Blackberry, but they couldn't break the enduring popularity of the iPhone. It didn't matter how much the iPhone cost, or any Apple device at that time, because the experience was super polished, and the ecosystem was tightly controlled for maximum user satisfaction.

Then we lost Steve Jobs in 2011 to pancreatic cancer. We lost a man whose attention to detail and insane attitude brought Apple back to prosperity. Then we got Siri, a device which started out as groundbreaking, now is losing the battle to the Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana. Then the phones got bigger, a move Steve Jobs wasn't fond of, as it made the device harder to hold, but users enjoyed. Then we got iOS 7, a point of no return to Apple's past of extreme attention to detail.

The iOS experience after iOS 7 was released produced experiences that were choppy, inconsistent, and just plain confusing. There are endless examples of apps that won't load fast or smooth, with bugs littered throughout, and design choices that just don't match up, causing an experience that began to lose its high-priced value. Then the iPhone 7 released without a headphone jack. Although we've endured a few years without a headphone jack, it still doesn't feel like its removal was the right choice. In the past, Apple has made many abrupt future-proofing choices that ended up benefiting the user. When the iMac was released in 1997, Apple omitted the floppy drive, a mode of file storage that was on its way out. Users were angry, but had the option of using the CD drive, or purchasing a USB floppy drive. The future was in the compact disc, but there was still a viable option for those who needed a floppy drive. In 2008, the MacBook Air released without a CD drive. At this point, streaming services were not yet fully implemented as they are today, so people still wanted DVD players for long rides, and software installation. But Apple sold USB CD drives, pushed iTunes movie purchases, and made CD Drive sharing an option so you can use the CD drive on another computer. Plus at this point, the internet was being used more frequently for software downloads. Internet speeds weren't as fast as they are today, but the future was clearly not in CDs. When Apple removed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, the user has the option of Bluetooth headphones, which were and in most cases still are a premium price over wired headphones, or to use a dongle that everyone loses and somehow costs a whopping $9 for Apple's proprietary Lightning cable.

Today, we have Apple's latest XS, XS Max, and XR phones. The XR starts at $749, which wouldn't be too bad if it had an OLED screen. Have no fear, not only did Apple put an old LCD screen in it, they gave it a fancy name so you won't feel too bad, Liquid Retina. If anything, Apple gets points for pointless names. It's also the middle-sized phone, in between the XS and XS Max, which have OLED screens, you know, the ones Samsung can put in their S9, priced at $719. Apple also no longer includes a Lightning-to-headphone adapter, and includes a slow charger, where if you want fast charging, you have to shell out even more money. The fast charging brick and cable uses USB-C, which begs the question, why does Apple sell machines that only have USB-C ports, while selling peripherals and phones that use a completely different cable? Wouldn't the Apple way of life be one cable for all? And if you want the Bluetooth headphones Apple prefers you to have, you're either spending $159 for Apple's Airpods, an admittedly cool pair of wire-free wireless headphones that don't sound $159, but seamlessly pair well enough to cost $159, or one of the overpriced, poorly built Beats monstrosities.

Apple is charging $999 for the XS and $1099 for the XS Max. Let's go over all the reasons this is incredibly wrong. If you compare the XS to the S9, in a Ford vs. Chevy debate, the phones look to be competing directly with each other. Similar sizing, high-end specs, it makes sense. However, based on pricing, it doesn't. What do you get with the S9's $719 price? Well, a headphone jack for starters, a universal port that Apple uses on their laptops, and a sleek design. The cameras are great, and the software experience is up for personal preference. Certainly Android has come a long way since it first began, and if you can get damn near the same polish on an Android phone as you can with iOS, then what's the difference? The S9 also allows you to plug in a USB-C to HDMI dongle to turn your smartphone into a full desktop experience with Samsung's DeX, which is great for people who don't need much from a computer, but still want to multitask on a screen. Financing $719 on a phone plan works out to $30 a month for 24 months, a price that most would probably agree is fair. Financing $999 over 24 months works out to around $42 a month. Sure, AT&T allows you to finance over 30 months, but no one wants a phone for 2 years and 6 months. Is the price premium worth it?

Now you may be wondering, what about the Note9? That starts damn near $1,000! Fine, what do you get with the Note9 then? Compared to the S9 and S9+, they have the same processor and RAM, but the Note9 brings a large 4,000 mAH battery, and a large screen. Compare that to the XS Max at $1099, again, is the price premium worth it to go with Apple?

The reviews of the new iPhones have been somewhat positive, but the question still gets asked about the iPhone's value. Not to mention some quality concerns with charging issues have come up, as well as some software bugs with the camera. The positives of the phones express the vibrant, best-in-class screen, great camera, and better gesture support with the loss of a home button. The negatives center around the continued lack of overall software polish, with apps that just don't run as fast as they should. Many discuss just how expensive the phones are for what you get. When you can receive a similar software experience, sometimes done better than what Apple can provide, the value of Apple's tight ecosystem is lost, especially when the choices they make in design and function hurt the user in the end. Not to mention the hardware/software quality concerns coming from a company that is worth a trillion dollars. That is just plain inexcusable. When Samsung screws up, at least they can blame it on selling a bunch of other products, like appliances and televisions, products that they regularly update and invest in, unlike the Mac, iPad, and horrendously overpriced Apple TV.

Does any of this matter? Nope. People will still complain about the phones that they will end up shelling loads of cash to own. Most people don't care enough to change. They like that other fellow iPhone users can show up as a blue text bubble in iMessage, and that they can FaceTime each other. They like that shiny Apple logo that still resonates with people as the company that is cool, and makes you cool. It doesn't matter that someone is doing a better job somewhere else when the ecosystem traps you into features you can't live without, but do exist in different forms. If Google could design a killer iMessage/FaceTime competitor, there would no longer be a difference with iPhone and Android phones. Back in 2010, Android was junk, and iOS was obviously superior in interface and usage. The difference today is minuscule, sometimes edging in favor of Android. Times have changed, and although I can almost guarantee very few with make the switch to Android, I can certainly say it's been painful watching Apple's demise. Its years of being the company for the outsiders desiring a high-end, well designed experience are long gone.

How to Stream Over-The-Air TV to Your Streaming Device

2018-04-09T11:44:00.004-04:00

For some people, over-the-air TV is all they need to be entertained and informed. There's local news, network shows, and syndicated programming, and it's all free. However, it's 2018 and that fancy smart box you have plugged into your TV needs something to do. You could watch over-the-air TV directly from the cable wire to your TV, but if you have multiple TVs and want to get the cable wire out of the room, here's a few smart solutions to over-the-air TV.

TiVo OTA - If you've recently cut cable, and you're looking for the closest experience to the cable box from the cable provider, the TiVo is as close as it gets. The interface is one of the best in the business, the remote is comfortable and designed well, and is highly rated among consumers. That level of polish comes at a price, $399. To add more TiVos to other TVs connecting back to the base TiVo, those cost $179 each. Services fees are included in the price, so there is no monthly fee, however, that price may be too high for most, and it doesn't exactly solve the problem of using existing streaming boxes in the house. I did include it for those who prefer the dedicated channel remote for channel up and down, and a number pad. If you can live without that, the next options will be cheaper and hook up to your streaming boxes.
Tablo - For $139, the Tablo is a bit pricey, but it works really well. Setup can be done on any device with the ability to run the Tablo app, including the PC, iOS, Android, Fire TV, and the Roku. It does need to be plugged in through Ethernet, but once that and the antenna are plugged in, setup is very fast. If you want cloud DVR or to record shows to an external drive, you have to pay monthly at $5, or annually at $49, or lifetime guide service for $149. The device is a bit slow to start up and get going, but it works smoothly, and I have no issues to report. To get OTA TV on as many devices without stringing cable to every TV, it works very well.
HDHomeRun - If you're okay with a slightly more involved setup process, and you already have an existing media server, the $99 HDHomeRun is great. It runs faster than the Tablo when starting up, however the interface is odd on the HDHomeRun. It takes a bit to figure out where the pointer is, and things just are not labeled easily. However, if you do have a fast media server to crank out DVR, at $35 annually, it's a great value. This does not work on the Roku, which is a little annoying, but for those who like to tinker, this is a great product.
AirTV - Sling wants to bridge the gap between traditional cable, and over-the-top streaming services. That's why they made the AirTV. It has the same idea as the Tablo, and HDHomeRun where it works on the normal range of streaming boxes, including Fire TV and Roku, but if you're a Sling subscriber, it integrates that right into the Sling guide. If you don't have Sling, there's a free AirTV app for that. The only issue is this does not support DVR, which is a big deal-breaker for some. However, if you're married to Sling, this $119 solution wouldn't hurt.
Windows Media Center - I miss you. The last version of Windows that came with Windows Media Center was Windows 8, and that was after paying extra for the software, which is phenomenal. I don't know how well it will work with today's streaming devices, as many years have passed by, but if you're a diehard techie, you can combine WMC with HDHomeRun, and create the world's greatest combination of the ideal home theater experience. So long as you don't mind a full blown computer running the show.

There's many ways to get local over-the-air TV in one streaming box. The best overall is Tablo, which has the most device support, and the better interface, but for tinkerers or those who love Sling, the other options on the list are great alternatives, and should do just fine.

Comparing Live TV Streaming Services

2018-04-09T11:20:00.000-04:00

With rising cable prices, and an abundance of over-the-top internet cable TV services, it's never been easier to find alternatives to traditional cable TV. However, with rising competition, how can you figure out what the best option is?

It all boils down to what features and channels you would be okay with having or losing, as not all providers have the same feature and channel set. Where others have less channels, they have more perks, and vice versa. It also doesn't hurt to know what companies open what channels, for example, Disney owns ESPN, Viacom owns Comedy Central, and NBCUniversal or Comcast owns USA Network, so knowing the various media companies helps in finding out what channels will be available on each service. Here's a rundown of some of features of the top services you can sign up for today, and an extensive overview of Sling, as that is what I use.

Sling
Full Disclosure: I've been an on-and-off user of Sling since January 2017. In looking through my emails to find out the first time I signed up for Sling, I found that I also signed up for more information about Sling before it released to the public in January 2015, so I may be a little biased. However, Sling is as a la carte as it gets when it comes to cable TV. This may end up being confusing to some who are used to having a few cable tiers to choose from.
The base Sling package called Sling Orange is $20, which gets you 30 channels, only one simultaneous stream, and the Disney-owned channels. The next package up is called Sling Blue for $25, and that gets you 45 channels, three simultaneous streams, including the NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox owned channels, so if you can't live without ESPN, you know what package to get. Also, if you know you can't live without the Disney Channel, or Disney Junior for the kids, Sling can get expensive fast if you also want the NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox owned channels, especially when it comes to the regional sports channels that those companies also own. See what I mean when I said it gets confusing. Then you get to decide if you want to add channel packages to Sling, like comedy, sports, lifestyle, movies, foreign language, and premium movie channels. The best place to see the package details is on Sling's promo page. Cloud DVR can also be added for $5, however not all channels can pause and rewind live TV. You can record everything, especially while you're watching live TV to get that functionality, but it's unfortunate that not all channels allow this. Even worse, when channels allow you to pause and rewind live TV, some channels will block access to that feature during a commercial, even if you want to rewind to watch the commercial again, so there's some work that needs to be done there.
As far as service goes, there has only been one outage I can report knowing about, otherwise it's very reliable. I have no issues with buffering or stuttering. One thing I have noticed is when the show ends and Sling recognizes the next show is on, sometimes there is a quick one second stutter, that I am assuming is the cloud DVR queuing up the next show. The interface is pretty intuitive, the central "My TV" tab shows favorite channels, DVR recordings, programs you can continue to watch, favorite programs set, and featured shows and movies. The rest of the tabs on top are self-explanatory, like guide, on now, sports, and others.
As far as channels missing, CBS is notable, but the local channels like ABC, NBC, and Fox are only available in certain markets, so having an over-the-air TV antenna is a must if you like network shows.
Sling is also the most distributed in terms of devices it supports. Anything can be thrown at it, like a Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, you name it, it most likely supports it.
Overall, Sling is a fantastic a la carte service, one that many cable subscribers have been clamoring for to give users a choice in what they watch. Depending on what you choose, Sling is a well-priced, well-executed service for people who like entertainment, news, and sports, and don't want to pay the cable company for it.

And now the runners-up for what I wanted in a platform:

Philo
This one was tough. $16 for 37 channels, and if that's not enough for you, $20 for 46 channels, three simultaneous streams, with cloud DVR at no extra charge. AND all channels allow DVR to do it's full functionality. What went wrong? There's no sports, news, and channels from 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, and Time Warner are missing. That means no FX, which runs great shows, no USA for those marathons of SVU, no TBS for Conan, and no Freeform from Disney, which is a-okay with me. This one really tough to say no to because in using the 7-day trial, the service seems really robust and a fantastic value. You still get AMC, you still get Discovery, you still get the Viacom channels, but there's just too much missing. You can see what comes in the packages on Philo's Wikipedia page. It's a great price if you like entertainment programming, but with those missing channels, and that Philo only works on a Roku, iOS, Android, and PC, that was a deal-breaker. One that was painful to say no to.
DirecTV Now
I will give credit where credit is due: AT&T did a fantastic job at combating this internet thing. AT&T owns DirecTV and they very well could've done absolutely nothing, and kept going where they were going, but they invested the resources into making DirecTV Now as great as it can be to compete really well in the market. Especially because Sling is owned by Dish Network, so why not compete. DirecTV Now pricing is also not bad, plus they also combine Disney owned channels with 21st Century Fox and NBCUniversal channels in the base package at $35, without needing to combine two different packages like Sling at $40, so a slight price advantage for DirecTV Now without the confusion. You only get two simultaneous streams, which isn't bad. The deal-breaker for me was the lack of DVR, otherwise this would've been a no-brainer. Pricing for the tiers in DirecTV Now is higher than other platforms, but DirecTV Now simply has more channels to choose from, including CBS depending on your market, which which is notable as CBS like to push people to their subscription service CBS All Access. If DirecTV Now gets a good cloud DVR, Sling will have to be set aside to allow DirecTV Now to be the best service.
PlayStation Vue
Sony did a great job with PS Vue, cloud DVR included at no extra cost, five simultaneous streams, and NBCUniversal, 21st Century Fox, and Disney owned channels all under any package. It even has a good device support list, with Roku and Fire TV support. However, they lost me at no Viacom channels, and pricing is a bit high to get the channels you can get cheaper elsewhere. If you can live without Viacom channels, and won't be confused by the branding of PlayStation Vue, it's a highly rated service that just doesn't fit my programming needs. Seriously, why did Sony name this service after their gaming system, it confuses consumers that think they need a PlayStation to watch TV.
Hulu Live TV
Hulu is owned by NBCUniversal, or Comcast, so technically you can consider this Comcast's hat thrown in the internet ring. Again, no Viacom owned channels, but you do get included cloud DVR, unfortunately, the cloud DVR is tiered with its features depending on your package. Higher packages get higher storage and ad-skipping, so beware. Also, very poor device support list, only allowing Xbox One, Apple TV, iOS, Android, and Chromecast. Oh well.
YouTube TV
Again we see another company using a confusing branding platform. Maybe it's because Google has a fiber ISP with cable service, and they didn't want to confuse people thinking it's related to that service, I have no idea. What's also confusing is YouTube's "lean back" interface for interacting with YouTube from a computer is called http://youtube.com/tv, and entering a code to use YouTube on a streaming box is located at http://tv.youtube.com So, Google likes to confuse people I guess. Again, no Viacom channels, but device support is plenty, except for the Fire TV. You also get included cloud DVR, six simultaneous streams, and the inclusions of the locals including CBS, which again, notable. There are no additional packages you can get with YouTube TV, so at $40, what you see if what you get, unless you want to add a premium channel.

Competition is fantastic for the consumer, as companies respond in different ways with different feature sets to attract individual audiences. Read through the features and decide what works best for you, there is no right or wrong answer, just what you can live with.

Why is Spotify so good, and the competition not so much?

2018-02-19T11:38:00.001-05:00

I have been using Spotify roughly since its launch in the United States in 2011 as my main source of music. I've tried other services like Pandora, iHeart Radio, Apple Music, Google Play Music, and the ill-fated Groove Music and Grooveshark, but nothing else can compare with just how easy to use Spotify is. This isn't to say that the competition is simply bad, it's just not as good.

Spotify just works. It has a simple "add to my music" button to just put the damn song in my music folder. It has a download switch to just download my damn music. It lets me scrobble my music easily, although I don't know if that's something most people still care to do. The interface is dark, which is easy on the eyes, and it's simple to use. All the buttons you'd want to click are at the bottom of the app. It's fast to load songs when you click on them. Lastly, it's very social, you can see what your friends are listening to, and easily share playlists within your profile. I can't think of much to say negatively about Spotify. Why can't the competition just make a better music platform?

I'm starting to use Google Play Music because when I bought my new phone at the T-Mobile store, the friendly clerk asked how I get my music, and we got on a conversation of platforms. I told him I use Spotify AND have a YouTube Red subscription, and he couldn't believe that I would pay for both Google Play Music all access with YouTube Red, and Spotify when, in his opinion, Google Play Music is just as good. And of course, this made me question everything I know about everything. Why am I paying for Google Play Music when I never use it?

With my week of usage, I must say, Google Play Music is not bad, like the other music services. However, Spotify just understood me a lot better. Google Play Music likes to push its smart playlists that it figured out from what you have listened to and what's in your playlist, but it is simply not as smart as Spotify's Daily Mix playlists. Google Play Music's layout is also not as quick to use, and I prefer the dark color scheme of Spotify anyway, as a former Windows Phone user where the whole UI is dark themed.

Some positives of Google Play Music is the addition of all my songs I uploaded that you can't find on any music service, for example but not limited to: the Namco Museum theme song on GameCube, the Airplane movie music, and most of the songs from the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Google Play Music is also much better at starting to play music right when a Bluetooth headset is connected to it, which I think is cool. Plus, when it is Casted to a Chromecast, I have the option to have a video of a fireplace play on the Chromecast, and I love that.

In conclusion, Spotify is just better. However, since I'm already paying for YouTube Red, I might as well use it. Besides, it's not that Google Play Music is incredibly bad, it's just not incredibly good, which is livable, and worth not spending $10 a month for two similar services.

A Few Days with the T-Mobile REVVL Plus

2018-02-10T00:03:00.001-05:00

I made a post expressing my confusion with T-Mobile's REVVL Line of budget-conscious phones a few months ago. I just couldn't understand why T-Mobile would spend the time to market their own phone in a golden age of budget to midrange smartphones, with me at the time using a Moto G5 Plus. Well, I shattered the screen on that phone a few days ago suffering a face-first drop from my pocket. That one hurt. At least it was paid off, so I went off to the T-Mobile store to pickup what I thought was going to be my next phone: the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. I've always had a soft spot for the Active line with the huge battery, the rugged design, and the at one point IR Blaster to control my TV. However, the phone costs $850, and with a hefty down payment, tax, and activation fee, that adds up fast. So I quickly looked around to see what they had, and then I checked out the REVVL Plus.

What quickly enticed me was the $220 price tag for obvious reasons. The features also enticed me, like the 1080p screen, the huge 6 inch screen, the camera, and especially the larger 3,380 mAH battery. Comparing that to my Moto G5 Plus, the battery is already bigger, the camera is better, and the processor and screen resolution are the same, so that's a win. What worried me was the 2 GB of RAM where my Moto had 4 GB, but I wasn't worried enough. I was torn between the REVVL Plus, and the HTC U11 Life, but skipped on the latter due to the small >3,000 mAH battery, which I read wasn't the strongest, as well as the lack of a headphone jack. I believe in the headphone jack, and as convenient as Bluetooth is, I don't like charging two devices. However, I did like the U11's water resistance. Oh well, maybe next time, HTC.

So I bought the REVVL Plus, and my first few days have been positive. So far, the 2 GB of RAM hasn't been too noticeable. Apps do have to refresh a lot more, and nothing has offered that crisp multitasking like my 6 GB of RAM OnePlus 3, but I wasn't about to wait days to get shipped one of those. The screen is nice, I missed having a large phone like my old Nokia Lumia 1520. It's a bit dull with bright colors, but it's easy to get used to. Speed isn't much of an issue. It feels faster than my Moto G5 Plus, but I can't tell if that's just because I'm more patient with this because it's new. I'm a big fan of phones with the fingerprint scanner on the back, so that's nice to have again like my Nexus 6P had, plus this one is pretty quick. Plus the LED light is also a welcome return. The camera is much sharper on both front and back compared to the Moto G5 Plus. The speaker is very tinny, but it does get loud, so compared to the Moto G5 Plus's clear but quieter speaker, the REVVL Plus's speaker will certainly push through a loud environment, but it won't be the best sounding. The speaker focuses heavily on the highs, but the lows will need to be cranked up loud to hear. Battery life is better, as I can get through a heavy-use day easily with room to spare. The 1080p display is nice too; it's nothing special, but it's still clear with few complaints from me. Also interesting to note: the reception this phone has is much stronger than any phone I've ever had, which is extremely surprising. Why is this $220 phone much better at getting a signal than a goddamn $800(?) Galaxy Note 7? I loved my Note 7, but that thing would lose signal in my pocket the way a high end phone shouldn't.

With an almost bone-stock Android 7.1.1, the $220 REVVL Plus is a damn good phone considering the price. If you don't require a lot from your phone, but like a good camera, large HD screen, and enduring battery life, AND you happen to be on T-Mobile, the REVVL Plus should be placed high on your list. It doesn't feel top notch in terms of materials, but if function over form is your thing, I think you'll be pleased with this phone. However, had the U11 Life had a bigger battery, or if T-Mobile carried the BlackBerry KEYone, or if they had the Moto Z2 Force in stock, this would've been a different post.

Microsoft Edge was Released in 2015 and It's Still Not Great. Why?

2018-01-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Windows 10 was a promise to users that it will constantly evolve, and adapt in an ever changing connected world. That I would agree with. Microsoft Edge was supposed to be Microsoft making a browser that wasn't just for downloading another browser. It was going to be modern, fast, and light. We still haven't completely gotten there yet. Why not?

Microsoft Edge when it first released with Windows 10 was horrendous. It was painfully slow, lacked features even Internet Explorer had (features IE did well, in fact), and was just odd to use. An "A" for effort could certainly be given, but it lacked in every other category. It's been almost three years now, and Edge is almost at a point where it can be considered usable, but we're still not there. Sure, Edge is much faster, and pretty to look at, but here's a list of things Microsoft simply needs to address.

Dragging links to the address bar, or tab bar
IE, Firefox, Chrome, and every other browser allows you to drag contents from the page, be it text, images, and links to the address bar, or tab bar to open what was dragged. Why does Edge still not do this?
Quirky, slow environment
Opening too many tabs, or leaving the browser open for too long can make Edge run laggy and weird. Closing tabs takes longer than a few seconds, tabs lock up for over five seconds when loading a page like a YouTube video or a heavy social media site, and dragging tabs out of the tab bar is still a mess.
"Tabs you've set aside" is an annoying feature
I have used the "set aside tabs" feature once on purpose to see what it was. I have used this feature countless amounts of times by accident trying to engage with a tab. I can't tell you how many times I have set aside all the tabs I had open, all the work I was trying to accomplish, only to have it all get thrown into this window that I do not understand the point of. I like the idea on paper, but let's just throw this with the Favorite button.
Selecting text
I don't know what it is, but selecting text is always a chore with Edge. I'm used to Firefox, Chrome and even IE allowing me to double-click and drag to select words, but Edge is quirky when you try to do that.
Right-clicking is also weird
The "ask Cortana" feature would be nice if it also just allowed me to Bing whatever I highlighted. Even when you turn off "ask Cortana," it still throws Bing into a window on the right side, only for me to then have to scroll through that window to allow me to open the results in a full tab. How is this helpful? I can sort of see how it would be nice to use that to define a word, or open an easy search that I could then quickly click on, but give another option to just open a full Bing result.

Edge has potential, but until Microsoft irons out the quirks, it'll still be a browser many use to download another browser.

How to Maximize your Productivity with Google Apps

2017-12-06T14:20:00.001-05:00

Google is a fantastic productivity source for getting work done all in one Google account. With Google Drive, Calendar, Sites, and other apps, keeping track of what you need to do can be easy if you know how to maximize your experience.

1. Make a personal homepage for keeping track of daily plans
Homepages aren't as popular as they once were, with most people just using a search engine for their homepage, like... Bing I guess. If you need to keep track of what's due every day, you might want to consider making your own personal homepage with Google Sites. Google Sites can be used to make websites for the whole world to visit, but you can also set it up so only you can view it. You can put specific Google Calendars on the page, a Google Presentation slideshow of a to-do list, or whatever helps you be the most productive.

2. Create multiple calendars for specific tasks
We all have different categories for events that have due dates, or appointments to keep track of, so instead of throwing all that into one calendar, you can make different calendars inside one account for the different tasks in your life. One for bills, work tasks, school tasks, and whatever goes on in life. That way you can turn off one calendar and focus on what needs to be focused.

3. Organize your Google Drive into multiple folders
Back in 2009 when I first discovered Google Drive, then called Docs, it was only for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You could upload some files, but the storage limit was tiny. Today, with a base free plan at 15 GB, many people use Drive to store their entire digital life. You should keep that life organized. Sure, there's a search box to help, but just being able to click on a folder to find exactly what you're looking for is much better. It takes a bit to organize, but you'll be happy once you do.

4. Create shortcuts to your Google Drive folders
Speaking of folders, there are some folders you use daily, but their buried in folder after folder, because you organized it all to stay focused. Instead of clicking into multiple folders every day to get to that daily folder, just make a shortcut to the folder. The great part about Google Drive is the links in the address bar to the specific folder are static, they never change, or at least I haven't noticed that in the four months of use. You can place the shortcuts in your bookmarks bar, or on your desktop to get right into the folder without opening your browser. Just drag the URL from your address bar to your bookmarks bar, or desktop.

5. Use Google Voice to organize phone calls
Google Voice is a Google App that is not as well known. The service gives you a real phone number, and gives you the ability to send free calls and texts to anyone in the USA and Canada. Why would you want another phone number? It's great for small businesses or anyone that want to give out a number they can field. The service allows the user to screen calls by asking for the caller's name, record calls, start conference calls, and the ability to use the service across numerous devices, not just your phone, including setting a Do Not Disturb when you need it.

Bonus: Integrate your Google Apps with IFTTT
IFTTT.com, or If This Then That allows you to fully automate your life. You can set up different recipes for if something specific happens, then it creates something. For example, when a calendar event happens, it will put it in a spreadsheet, or whatever would best help your life go smoother. There are many examples in the website that have helped others, they might help you as well.

Google Apps are very powerful, and knowing how to use them to your advantage can help you in your every day work. If you have any better ideas that you use, email me at anthony@geekonin.com or post it in the comments below.

Tips to Make Your Computer Start Faster

2017-11-29T13:57:00.002-05:00

We live in a world where if it doesn't happen instantly, it might as well never happen. The same goes for your computer, which is why most of the world seems to not use them anymore. Smartphones and tablets are in because they're lightning fast, but your computer may not be. Here are some helpful tips to try to speed up that old Windows machine.

Replace your Hard Disk Drive with a Solid State Drive
If you bought a low-end computer, chances are it came with a HDD, or Hard Disk Drive, which is a mechanical spinning drive. Just like anything that moves, over time, it will degrade. Not to mention many low-end machines come with really slow hard drives to begin with. If your computer is easy to upgrade, consider purchasing a Solid State Drive. Your phone and tablet have one, which is part of the reason why they're fast. I bought one on Amazon for $40, and while it is tiny at 60 GB, the speed increase in dramatically fast, especially at startup.
Consider Upgrading the RAM
This is not a guaranteed method, but depending on the age of the computer, it could help. Windows 10 runs best with at least 4 GB of RAM. I was using my old Dell Latitude D630 which only had 1 GB of RAM and it was incredibly slow, even with the SSD. I went a little crazy and bought 8 GB of RAM to max out the system, and found that 4 GB is the most that gets used up with intense web browsing, with the system normally running smooth around 2.5 GB. You can monitor this in the Task Manager, by pressing Control + Shift + Escape, or on a Mac in the Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder.
Check your startup folder
You'd be surprised at all the junk that loads at the same time everything else is loading when the computer is turned on. Turning off or uninstalling these programs can help dramatically. On Window 8 or 10, open Task Manager, and click on the Startup tab. You can also get to this by pressing Windows Key + R, and typing msconfig in the Run window. See what programs are running at startup and disable the unimportant ones, or the ones you really don't want. You can also find some rogue ones in a deep folder on your computer, located by opening that Run window again, and typing shell:startup. On a Mac, you an turn these off in System Preferences, and Users and Groups, and selecting your name, and Login Items. You can step it up a notch by also uninstalling junk programs. Which leads me to...
Uninstall Junk Programs
Having junk on your computer certainly doesn't help with startup speed, and if you noticed apps you don't want to begin with in the startup folder, you might as well remove them completely. This is easy on a Mac, just grab the program from the Applications folder, and drag it to the trash. On a Windows PC, open Settings or Control Panel, press Programs, and uninstall the junk. Just beware that the junk isn't something you want.
Change your Power Settings
Windows has a feature that allows the user to fine tune exactly what performance you get under certain power conditions, like on battery or plugged in. Unfortunately, it's incredibly buried. One way to select what power condition you're under is by opening the Windows Mobility Center. You can get to this by pressing the Start Menu and typing Windows Mobility Center, or by pressing Windows Key + X and selecting it from there. You'll see the battery status box, where you can select High Performance for the fastest mode, and you can also bump it down for better battery life.

While some of these may not be the most simple, they can definitely help in speeding up a painfully slow experience. Let me know if these worked, or if there's an important one missing in the comments below.

T-Mobile's REVVL Line is Unnecessary

2017-11-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

T-Mobile has brought back carrier-exclusive phones in a positive way with their REVVL line. Unlike other carrier-exclusive phones like the Droid and Pixel line from Verizon, where the goal is to entice consumers with flagship phones, the REVVL line are T-Mobile's own budget-friendly phones for consumers who don't need the latest and greatest, but are still looking for decent features. The REVVL phones feature a fingerprint scanner, large screen, and a low price starting at $150 for the REVVL and $200 for the REVVL Plus. They're decent phones, but why do they exist?

There are plenty of phones in the budget category that work well, like Motorola's Moto E and G line. There are many good reasons to choose a Moto E or G, and one reason is that there's plenty of examples of people using them, based off how many reviews there are online. Because you aren't locked to a specific carrier, a greater amount of people will use them. The T-Mobile REVVL on the other hand is still hard to research, because very few people have bought one, in comparison at least. The REVVL has no brand recognition, no solid reviews to go from, and an incredibly unlikely software update future due to the lack of users, so why would anyone take a gamble on it? More importantly, why didn't T-Mobile go after Motorola, or HTC, or any of the fantastic budget to mid-range smartphone manufacturers to sell at T-Mobile stores? I'd much rather see a BlackBerry KEYone, or a Moto G5 Plus, or anything anyone's actually used.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy T-Mobile is putting a product that honestly gives a lot of features for the price, but how long will the phone last? How does the phone stack up to the competition? There is no definitive answer, and there may never be because no credible publication has reviewed it. In this new age of $1,000 phones, it's nice to have a low-priced decent alternative, but next time, T-Mobile, please get one of the ones people want. I'd love to buy a magenta KEYone.

Chrome OS vs Windows 10 on a 10 Year Old Laptop

2017-11-09T16:26:00.001-05:00

As a college student, it's nice to have a laptop to throw in the backpack for notes and work. The downside is the amount of stress being placed on said laptop, because a backpack isn't the safest place for anything, let alone fragile laptops. So I decided to have a dedicated laptop just for backpack-ing. However, I don't have the cash for a brand new one, nor do I want to risk damaging a new one, so I use a 2008-ish Dell Latitude D630 I had lying around. I was initially installed Windows 10, which ran pretty well. Now I'm giving Chrome OS a try. How does it stack up?

Now this isn't full-on Chrome OS, as only OEMs can get access to that. It’s a version of Chromium OS being developed by NeverWare for their CloudReady operating system. Installation is simple with a USB flash drive, and while I could've dual booted, this solid state drive is just 60 GB, so I decided against that. Compared to Windows 10, startup is not as fast, but that's only by a few seconds. The overall use of Chrome OS is not faster than Windows 10, but it's not slower. If anything, it just runs smoother. There were hiccups with Windows 10 if I began to use more than Chrome, but since Chrome is the only thing on here, the hiccups are gone. Battery life is another huge factor I pay attention to, due to taking notes in class. It hasn't improved, however the "time left" it gives is more accurate, and reliable. It still changes rapidly, but not to the same degree as on Windows 10.

The advantage to Chrome OS over Windows isn't so much a greater performance increase, but a better interface for me personally. Because everything I do would be done in Chrome anyway, it's nicer having an entire taskbar just for Chrome apps and websites for organization. Because of that, I'll be keeping NeverWare CloudReady on this laptop. It creates a smoother environment, and I don't feel like reinstalling an unactivated Windows.

HP Deskjet 2655 Review: How Bad Can Budget Be?

2017-10-20T16:15:00.001-04:00

We live in a darn-near paperless world, where email reigns, text messages replace the passed-notes, and phone reminders take over for sticky notes. However, there will be that one time you need to print that random thing, and a printer will come in handy. When you just need a basic wireless printer, how bad is buying the cheapest one?

I've decided to test this out. I purchased an HP Deskjet 2655 for dirt cheap, $25 on clearance, which is less than the cost of some printer's ink cartridges. It's not the smallest printer, but it's very light. In the package includes the USB cable, which doesn't come with many printers, the power cable, and the instructions. Since the printer does not have a touch screen, you will have to plug it into a computer for setup. You can visit 123.hp.com/dj2655 for the link to the drivers and instructions, but if you have Windows 8 or 10, I recommend going to the Windows Store, and downloading an app called HP Smart, which makes the installation process much easier. It's very easy to install, and once it's done, you can unplug it from your computer. I've had no issue with the printer disconnecting from the network, so that's a plus.

The printer uses HP 65 ink, which has a pro and con. The pro is that the ink cartridges are dirt cheap, around $25 for both black and color ink. The con is they don't hold a lot of ink. I've printed about 10-15 pages of standard black-and-white documents, and the ink level already reads a little above 3/4 full, which seems pretty small. Of course, a low cost cartridge up front seems attractive, one thing I'm unsure of is if a more expensive cartridge would hold more?

The quality of prints are okay. It's not going to have laser printer quality for documents, but for $25, or the normal price of $50, I can't find myself complaining too much, it's just the caveat of budget-priced printers. Quality of scans are pretty good for those who want to digitize old photos, and it makes copies, which is exciting. It's also easy to manage on any device, so long as you know the local IP address on your network, you can access that and get information on how the printer is feeling, or perform maintenance at any moment. You can also set the printer up with a snazzy hp.com email address for fast printing, and some HP Instant Ink plan to send ink to your house for those who print a lot.

Just a personal note, when my local RadioShack was closing, they were selling everything in the store, including their fancy color laser printer for $500, complete with a lot of drums and toner. I totally didn't have the money for it, but I loved the idea of printing in the highest quality. But then I remembered I very rarely print anything ever, which brought my attention back to a budget inkjet printer. For when I need it, it's there and prints fast enough. When I run out of ink, I'm spending what I paid for the printer, or just $12 for the black cartridge, which is better than my old HP, which cost $40 for a black/color ink combo pack. No, this is not for an office. It's not for someone who needs high-quality prints. But this does work well for students, or for someone who needs to replace an aging printer which cartridges costing more than $50. So long as you understand you paid the bare minimum to print wirelessly, and in color no less, you'll enjoy this printer.

Dell Latitude D630 Review: 10 Years Later

2017-09-28T01:06:00.000-04:00

As a college student, it's very helpful to have a laptop to take from class to class. Whether it's for notes or research, the convenience alone of keeping organized digitally is something I find very helpful. However, I didn't want to take my daily laptop, the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, for a few reasons. It's a pretty pricey laptop with lots of breakable parts, like the touchscreen. Plus, it has no removable battery, so should the battery crap out, it becomes useless. It's also light and thin, which is great, but that also raises the question of durability. So what's the solution? You may be surprised that I carry around, and enjoy using a laptop originally certified for Windows Vista. It's the Dell Latitude D630, which could very well be 10 years old. I did not buy it new back then, I bought this from a seller on eBay who refurbished it a bit. They gave it a new keyboard, and cleaned it up. Or, this lived its entire life docked on a desk. I don't know what life it had, I just know it's damn clean, and surprisingly very usable. Oh, and it was $99.

First things first, if you're looking for a cheap throw-around laptop, the price you pay won't be $99 if you want to use it optimally. I got it in one piece for $99 with all the necessary accessories, including a power adapter, and not including an operating system. A lot of these machines on eBay ship without a battery, hard drive, or power adapter. This came with all of them, but I had to supply the operating system. So I currently have an unlicensed version of Windows 10 running, which only limits the personalization and puts a nice watermark on the wallpaper reminding you that you didn't register Windows. Other than that, it doesn't lock you out of Windows, so for now I'm fine with that. I'm sure there's workarounds for the watermark out there should it bother you.

Now, the first issue I ran into was the god-awful performance. This thing crawled, so the first thing I upgraded was the hard drive. The original 5400 RPM hard disk drive was absolutely ruining the experience, so I opted for a Silicon Power 60 GB SSD, only because it was the cheapest, highest rated SSD on Amazon. I don't need a ton of storage, I just need speed. And believe me, this thing is worlds faster now. The second thing I upgraded was a larger battery. It's not made by Dell, but it got good enough reviews for me. It brought the battery life from 2-3 hours on the standard battery, to 4-6 hours, depending on usage, power setting, and screen brightness. The third upgrade that has yet to arrive is a RAM upgrade. This came with 2 GB of RAM, which is simply not enough, so I'm in the process of upgrading to 8 GB of RAM, the maximum this can take. Some of the performance issues could be related to the Core 2 Duo processor, but I suspect more RAM could also help. You can tell Chrome, and other programs are working hard to deal with memory management, plus I also suspect that a RAM upgrade could improve battery life, so the computer doesn't have to spend so much time trying to free up memory. All in all, the $99 initial price goes up to around an extra $100 to get everything upgraded, but $200 for a fast machine is much better than you'd be able to do with a brand new budget laptop.

There are other advantages to choosing a used business class laptop like this Latitude, than a consumer budget laptop. Construction is one of them, as this thing is light enough to throw in a backpack, while also feeling like it can take a beating. I prefer the rugged feel of a ThinkPad, but this Latitude feels pretty tough. This thing is also really easy to upgrade, with the hard drive located in a bay that just has to be unscrewed. This thing can also use two batteries at once, if you can find a battery online to fit in the hot-swappable DVD Drive bay. The keyboard is fantastic, with nice feel and tactility, which is important when typing notes for a long class. Not all Latitude D630s came with a fingerprint scanner, in fact while looking them up, I couldn't find any to show up in videos or photos, or at least not many, but this one does. It's very convenient, as it makes logging in feel much more secure knowing that no one can look over your shoulder to see what password or PIN you're entering in. The downside to the scanner is the placement; Most laptop manufacturers have them off to the right of the trackpad, but Dell decided to put it in between the left and right click buttons, which is incredibly annoying when using the trackpad, so I recommend using a USB mouse, or even the trackpoint nub located in the keyboard. Speaking of the trackpad, drivers for said trackpad were hard to find, as Dell's support site claims the drivers are not compatible with Windows 10. Luckily I was able to find a website that supplied the version number that would work, because otherwise, the trackpad has no settings to change tap-to-click, or to set up scrolling. Also there's no two-finger scrolling on my model, only scrolling on the side, which is tough to get used to in 2017. Drivers are somewhat of an issue, but not a large enough problem as Windows Update seems to find enough of them to make Windows happy. Screen resolution is tiny by today's standards, maxing out at just above 720p, and the quality isn't very vibrant, kind of bland, which is great for documents I guess. The speakers are "meh," but this laptop was intended for businessfolk, so understand why they suck. It's also nice to have indicator lights for power, battery status, hard drive activity, WiFi, and Bluetooth, which this machine seemingly doesn't have. This also has a dedicated switch for WiFi, which is far more satisfying when you need to reconnect than pressing buttons inside Windows.

Using a 10 year old laptop in any application is a hassle, but if you're up for the task, you can save a considerable amount of money. Especially when the machine runs almost as fast as a brand new middle-range laptop today. This endeavor isn't for everyone, and most people in my classes must think I'm crazy bringing in this dinosaur to take notes. Personally, tinkering is fun for me, just to see how far this old laptop can go. Plus, I don't have to worry about throwing it around.

UPDATE: (09/30/17) With the 8 GB RAM installation, which was annoying because you have to uncork the keyboard, it's noticeably faster, but I can tell I've reached the speed limit. The solid state drive did its work fetching files easier, and the extra RAM gives the system more room to work with, but the processor just has its limit. It's not slow, but in YouTube, clicking the notification icon and loading comments take some time. YouTube also takes some time on my Intel i7 machines, so that might just be YouTube being YouTube. The computer still starts up from complete shut down in about 10 seconds, so I can't complain.

One Quick Trick to Make Windows (Possibly) Faster

2017-09-18T22:56:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, I bought a used Dell Latitude E6510 with an Intel Core i7, and 8 GB of RAM with the intention of having a fast laptop. On paper, it sounded like it made sense. However, when I turned on the laptop, it was far from fast. I figured maybe this could be a slow hard drive, which it was. I was looking around in all the harder to find spots to see if something weird was wrong with the computer, such as a bad driver being installed. I then noticed when I hovered over the battery icon that the power setting was set to power saver. I did a quick Google search and found that, yes, that can slow down your computer!

To change this, or to see what your Windows power setting is set to can be found in one of two places. One way is to press Windows key and X. If you're running Windows 8 or above, a menu will pop up in the bottom left corner, and you're going to want to press Mobility Center. I believe on Windows 7, pressing Win + X just brings up the Mobility Center, but I don't have any Windows 7 computers to test this on. There should be a spot in the blocks that allows you to select which power mode you want. Select High Performance, and you should have a noticeable speed increase. The other way to change this setting is in the Power Option in Control Panel, using this path: "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options." In the panel, you'll notice all the power plans to choose from. You can change the power plan by going in the advanced settings, where you'll notice all the individual parts you can tweak to increase performance, such as Processor Power Management and other graphics card settings you may or may not have.

Hopefully this quick and easy trick works for you. Coupling this with a fast SSD has certainly made all my old laptops run like new again!

Which Streaming TV Box Is Right For You?

2017-06-03T02:12:00.001-04:00

We live in a smart world, where everything needs to be connected. We have smartphones, smart homes, and smart TVs. However, what if your TV isn't smart, or maybe not smart enough? That's where a streaming box comes into play. A streaming box allows you to connect to the internet to play content from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and iHeart Radio just to name a few. So, when you're shopping for a good streaming box, here's a list of the major ones, and the pros and cons of them. I'm excluding boxes that handle over-the-air, or cable like Channel Master, and TiVo because streaming is only part of the goal there, and I'm excluding Android TV boxes because those are developed by third-party folk.

The Major Players

Roku - Of all the companies on this list, Roku is the only one that solely makes streaming boxes, and they've been doing so since 2008, starting out as a Netflix box. They've evolved over the years to allow more content, and even beat out their initial competition. Now, they have the largest app selection of all the other boxes, and generally tops the list of best-selling streaming boxes.

Pros: Wide selection of choices and form factors from a stick that plugs in the back of the TV, to a 4K powerhouse box, with prices ranging from $29 up to $129, making it the cheapest. Has the largest app store, only missing the Apple iTunes store, and an easy-to-use interface.
Cons: Home interface is a little stale having not changed in years, which depending on who you talk to may not be a bad thing. Limited voice commands, only does text-to-voice search, no Siri or Amazon Alexa-like digital assistants in the Roku.

Google Chromecast - Google has been in the streaming business for a while now, starting with the ill-fated Nexus Q, which featured a Chromecast like feature where a Nexus phone could be used as a remote. Google also worked on Android TV, which found its way into some boxes and TVs, but it's the Chromecast that gets the most attention. Mainly, due to its, at one point lowest, low price of $35, which was huge when it first released in 2013 with $50 being the cheapest at the time. It's a stick that plugs into the back of the TV that allows you to interact with it using another device.

Pros: Low price. You interact with it using the apps you already use, so you don't have to re-sign in to all your accounts. Chromecasts allow you to keep track of multi-rooms. Also available in Chromecast Audio for a connected speaker system.
Cons: No remote means you have to always have another device with you to interact with, limited app support, can be annoying with frequent glitches preventing playback or lagging video.

Apple TV- Apple's been in the game the longest of all the other streaming boxes, starting out in 2007 as a companion to your iTunes library, forcing users to use high-definition component cables, at a time where most people didn't have hi-def TVs, and not even Apple output in hi-def, topping out at 480p. Apple's come a long way, with every generation playing catch-up. Apple took their time going from 720p to 1080p, and even today they don't currently sell a 4K model. Specs are only part of the game, Apple shines in the software department in every generation, with a smooth, exciting and easy-to-use interface.

Pros: Siri integration allows you to ask your TV the tough questions, like should I bring wear a coat today, and lets you ask Siri to play this episode in this service, which is very nice. Wide app selection in a familiar iOS design. Remote uses lightning to charge, which you probably already have a cable for.
Cons: Pricey for what you get. Three options, the old model at $69, and the new model with Siri and an app store at $149 with 32 GB and $199 with 64 GB, making it the most expensive on the list. Remote doesn't have arrows, uses a trackpad that can get tiring for some. You have to charge your remote, which may last long, but when it dies, you have to make sure your cable is close by. Remote is a bit too flat to hold comfortably.

Amazon Fire TV - Amazon's Fire line has traditionally been designed to offer lower-than-average pricing, with the trade-off being Amazon's services get shoved in your face, and that continues with the Fire TV line. Sure, you have the major services, with the exception of iTunes and Google Play, but Amazon's Prime, rental, and music services show up very high on the homepage for you to be enticed into purchasing. That being said, the Fire TV offers a fresh design while also being very easy to understand, being my personal favorite. Amazon's Alexa makes a welcome appearance, with similar features to Siri. The Fire TV line has gained popularity for reasons that may not be legal, as it's very easy to "hack" into it to gain access to "free" movies and TV shows. Because the Fire TV just runs Android, you can get it to install whatever you want, and people do. Because of this, it makes it very hard to find them when all you want to do is play Netflix, and have a companion to your Amazon Echo.

Pros: If you have an Amazon Echo, they play well together. The fresh interface, and remote are a joy to use, with the remote being nice in the hand compared to the others. If you're really into Amazon's services, there's really no other choice. Comes in two designs: stick and 4K box at $39 and $89, respectively.
Cons: Popularity makes it hard to find. Because it runs Android, it can be easy to mess up if you don't know what you're doing.

Great, so what should I pick?

There is no one right answer. It all boils down to what services you will get the most use out of, and how much you want to spend.

The overall winner for best value goes to Roku, hands down. Roku wins at most content, with the only service the Roku lacks being iTunes; it even has Amazon's Prime Video app. The Roku is also the only service to offer the Spectrum TV app, so if you have TWC/Spectrum, you can use your Roku as a cable box to prevent rental fees, which saves a lot of money. The Roku is also the cheapest with the Roku Express priced at just $29, making it the best value you can get.

If you don't want to keep track of another remote, the Chromecast at $35 is a great choice if you have a device near you anyway to control the TV with. It also connects with the Google Home, if that's something you find joy in.

The Fire TV and Apple TV are the ones to choose if you really prefer the ecosystem of Amazon or Apple, respectively. Although the Fire TV and Apple TV have very inventive, and engaging interfaces, where, again, I prefer the way Amazon does their UI, they're just don't have the largest collection of apps. Now, if Amazon Prime or iTunes is your thing, there's really no other choice. Apple TV works best if you live life in the Apple world. Your iOS and macOS devices will love it. The Fire TV is also best friends with Amazon Echo, so they can talk to each other.

Bottom line: it all comes down to what world you like to live in. If you just want to watch some Netflix, just get a Roku, and you'll be very happy. See what your friends or family like to use, and do your homework. There isn't a right choice, but there is a better choice. You just have to figure out which grass is the greenest.

BlackBerry 10: A late look at the aging OS

2017-05-12T08:55:00.001-04:00

I remember writing about BlackBerry 10 way back in 2013, where although I was impressed by the polish of the operating system, I was also at the time very much into Windows Phone, and felt that BB10 was merely just playing catch up with Microsoft. Had I not been so much in love with the Lumia 920, or 1520 that I had at the time, who knows, maybe I would've given BlackBerry a whirl at the time, because they were mighty purdy. Fast forward a year from 2013, and BlackBerry wasn't doing much better at adding users to its platform. Finally, in 2015, BlackBerry announced the Priv, the company's first Android device, thus sending a signal that BlackBerry 10 is no longer the BlackBerry's priority. So how does BlackBerry 10 run in 2017, in a world where Windows Phone can no longer maintain a market share above a full percentage point?

Let's first talk about the device itself. The phone of choice is the Q10. Why? Because what is a BlackBerry without a physical keyboard? Now if I had unlimited funds, the BlackBerry Passport would absolutely be the chosen device, but the $200+ price tag makes it too expensive for the week my attention span will be using it. Plus, this Q10 was lying around, and you can easily get them online for $50 on eBay. The Q10 itself is tiny compared to other phones. This came from 2013, a time where we didn't have an iPhone Plus, but we did have the Galaxy Note in its third version, so big phones were just starting to take off. The device feels spectacular in the hand. If there's anything BlackBerry can do very well, even in times of financial trouble, it's design a well built phone. The Q10 feels solid in the hand; it's not heavy, but it definitely feels substantial. The back is made of a matte material so it doesn't slide around in your hand while you're typing. The front screen is made of glass for the touchscreen, and with this being my first QWERTY physical keyboard, it didn't take too long getting used to the keys. I feel like a business man typing on these keys, it's an interesting feeling that you just don't get with an on-screen keyboard. Plus, it's nice having dedicated keys for software shortcuts. The battery life is pretty good, not the greatest, but this phone is also some three years old by now. The cameras are not very good, but again, it's a phone from 2013, and at that time, only the iPhone and Lumia phones were making good cameras. The best part is the speaker on the bottom; my gosh, this is one of the loudest, and most full speakers I have ever heard on a phone. And it's on a BlackBerry of all things, the phone of the business man has the best speaker!

Enticing hardware is only part of the problem BlackBerry has. The biggest problem for most people is BlackBerry 10 OS. Even today, the world is still reliant on apps, and BlackBerry's Blackberry World store is just lacking. Even in 2013, it was similar to Windows Phone's app store, where crazy third-party developers spent a lot of time making apps for free just so the app store had something. That's pretty much the only bad side to BlackBerry 10, because everything else inside is buttery smooth and still fresh to use. BlackBerry 10 is an operating system based around gestures. Swipe up from the bottom to go back to the home screen, and slide down to access extra features inside apps. It's difficult to get used to that going from an iPhone or Android phone, because everything you have to do belongs in the home screen. There is no notification tray to swing down, and recent apps and the apps on the phone are all in the home screen. All your notifications belong inside BlackBerry Hub, the first page on the home screen. The Hub holds everything, email, text messages, BBMs, Tweets, it's all designed to be contained in this one page. It works well, but it takes getting used to not sliding down on the screen to check what the notification I just received contained. When you're on the home screen, just start typing to initiate a search, either through the phone itself or through an online search engine. It's a joy using the software because everything is so smooth and responsive. The gestures and screen transitions rarely if ever drop frames, and it just feels fresh using something so polished. The same goes for BlackBerry 10 apps, when you can find one. They all run very well, and the operating system as a whole just feels like it was made to work for itself, which is seldom the case. However, this does not extend to BB10's Android support. Now, it's neat-o that BlackBerry 10 can support emulating BlackBerry apps, but it only sounds good on paper. In practice, at least on the older Q10, the experience is agonizingly slow compared to everything else on the device. BlackBerry 10.3 comes with Amazon's App Store, but trying to install apps through it takes patience, which I have never had. You just expect to let an app install in the Amazon store, and then multitask to some other app, but if you do that, chances are the Android app will be frozen in time, until you re-open it, then it resumes, so you have to babysit the Amazon App Store, and make sure to say nice things to it, it knows when you say swear words at it. I suppose it's great that BlackBerry understands their app store is lacking, so they give the customer another one, but it's just hard to sell that to someone that was even thinking of a BlackBerry. On the bright side, BlackBerry 10 does have a Siri-like assistant to aide with all the Siri-like stuff, like checking the weather, and asking for jokes. The amazing thing is it's a great assistant too, and this feature came somewhat late in BB10's life, which I find quite nice.

BlackBerry 10 is a mystery, because it just works so well. I tend to group Windows Phone, or what is now Windows 10 Mobile, and BlackBerry 10 in the same group, because they're both the underdogs of the mobile world, and I gotta say that although Windows 10 Mobile has a very unique and well thought out design, you get the feeling using it that some things are just not finished as well as they could be. BlackBerry 10 feels like they had a gigantic team of dedicated, loyal developers working as hard as they possibly can to create a work of art. Microsoft is a multi-billion dollar company and yet they can't produce a product that feels like more than two people had a hand in finishing it up. BlackBerry barely makes money and somehow they found a way to make something that you just don't want to stop using. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter because BlackBerry has essentially abandoned the BlackBerry 10 ship with their line of Android phones. Do we need a world with more than two major phone ecosystem choices? It's certainly not necessary, but Android and iOS are very much the same. We're stuck with two vanilla choices in a world that decided against fresh and new ones, like BlackBerry 10, Windows 10 Mobile, WebOS, and I'd even be willing to group in Fire OS from the Fire phone, because at least they tried something new. Apple hasn't changed iOS much since 2007, and Android is the Pepsi of the mobile world that basically just started as an iOS clone. All I'm trying to say is BlackBerry 10 is a wonderful experience, and now I have to go back to my regular old Android phone so I can actually do things.

Microsoft Should Release Windows 10 S for Free

2017-05-09T00:45:00.000-04:00

Microsoft has decided to compete with iOS and Chrome OS in the education market with Windows 10 S, which is a new Windows RT. It is marketed as a streamlined OS built for performance and security, which basically just means that you can only run Windows Store apps, thus everything from the store must be safe, so there's no need to worry about viruses and other scary things. However, because everything you would do with the software gets touched by Microsoft in some way, be it the web browser being locked at both Edge and Bing as the search engine, and that all your apps come from Microsoft's Store, you'd think Microsoft would want to make this operating system free. Here's a couple reasons why they should.

It will cut down on people using alternative operating systems. Sure, some people use Linux because they want to try it, or because they just like it, but some people just need to run any kind of operating system because either their hard drive died, or the computer was just running some really outdated version of Windows and they wanted something updated on it. Windows 10 S could certainly get the job done.
There's no way they can't make money doing it. Like I said above, everything in Windows 10 S gets touched by Microsoft in some way. The web browser cannot be changed from Edge, the search engine can only be Bing, the Windows Store will serve apps that Microsoft gets a cut of, and Cortana gives you Bing results, which the company makes money from. It's a complete money circle, and even if you want to run non-Windows Store apps, you have to pay Microsoft to get Windows 10 Home installed.
It will simply bring more people to the platform. Microsoft's big thing is getting one billion devices running Windows 10. What better way to do so than to just give it away for free? A user that needs an operating system gets to run something familiar, and Microsoft gets to add another sucker to the list of users. It's a somewhat win/win, depending on how the user feels about being a sucker.

Although Windows 10 S could use a better, less confusing name, it could certainly attract more users by allowing people to download it like a Linux distribution. It will also make the Windows Store more enticing for developers if users are forced to use it. Down the line, we'll see what Microsoft's plans are, but hopefully it'll be something more substantial than the mess that was Windows RT.

Third-Party Apps You Get Installed on a Fresh Windows 10 Installation

2017-05-07T00:46:00.002-04:00

There's a fantastic feature of Windows 10 that makes reinstalling Windows a breeze. On one of my laptops, I had a hard drive fail. Not a problem, it was a horrendously slow HDD and I was interested in letting it scream with a SSD. The only issue was at the time, I didn't know that Windows 10 saved information about the motherboard so I could reinstall Windows 10 without a license. So for a year I was running various flavors of Ubuntu before I realized that today, on May 6th, 2017, I could just throw Windows 10 on a USB Drive and be back in Redmond and activated. It worked, now here's the fun part: I get to see how much crap Microsoft throws your way on this Windows 10 Pro fresh installation. In this list, I'll only be including apps that aren't made by Microsoft for the benefit of the user, or that just have no reason to be preinstalled. Also note, I did sign in to my Microsoft account upon setup, and I have not personally entered the Windows Store to download anything; these are all apps that decided to show up on their own.

Candy Crush Soda Saga - This has been presented countless amounts of times as the big standout app being shoved in our faces.
Facebook - Of course this is here, but not everyone wants access to this.
Houzz - I don't have a clue what this app is, and I'm not going to open it.
March of Empires - Again, never heard of it, no interest in it.
Twitter - This goes in the same boat with Facebook; it does not need to be installed by default.

Now, here's a list of questionable additions. You get to decide if they're useful.

Microsoft Solitaire Collection - I included this on the list because it does lead the user to Xbox to sign in and whatnot, but Solitaire has been here since Windows 3.0, so I suppose it gets a pass.
Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition - Microsoft may be positioning Minecraft as the next 3D Pinball, as a game you can just get into at any point for no reason, but it's still an Xbox connecting game.
Skype - This one's a tough one. Skype is just like Microsoft bundling Windows Live Messenger on Windows, I really don't see any issues with it, but someone might not be on the Skype bandwagon.

The rest of the Microsoft built-in apps I would say are useful, like Sticky Notes and Paint 3D. However, some may say that the five big ones that Windows preinstalls are five too many. I personally don't mind, because, hey, a billion dollar company has to many money somehow!

How to enable YouTube Dark Mode and Material Design

2017-05-02T20:28:00.004-04:00

YouTube has gone through many redesigned over the past 12 some odd years, and here's another one coming your way. It's less of a major redesign as we've seen in the past with the One Channel layout, and the Channel 2.0 from 2009, but more of a UI redesign to follow in line with Google's Material design language.

The new redesign changes some settings menus, and even adds a new Dark Mode feature for folks like me who fall asleep to videos at night, and would prefer a darker screen. If you're an avid Google user, it makes using YouTube within Chrome look seamless, which is always nice.

The New YouTube is not enabled by default, but if you want to try it out, you can turn it on here, where it gives a preview for what to expect, and brags about how futuristic it is, and whatnot.

Revision3 Is No More

2017-05-02T01:01:00.000-04:00

In 2005, Revision3 started life as a new media company, designed to fill the gap left by TechTV's acquisition and closure. DL.TV and TWiT.tv also started the same year, with a greater focus on technology programming. Revision3 focused on tech, but also branched out to more unique types of content like Scam School with Brian Brushwood, Penn Point with Penn Jillette, and many, many others. Revision3 positioned itself as a destination that syndicated through other services like iTunes and YouTube. In 2012, Discovery Communications acquired the company, and started a network of other new media channels, while also becoming a YouTube network, and signing established YouTubers. Throughout the years, the shows associated with Revision3 started to go independent, along with Philip DeFranco's shows, and on March 31, 2017, the network was shut down, with the website redirecting to Seeker, a Group Nine Media company, formerly known as Discovery Digital Networks.

Revision3 was one of the first big new media companies, complete with its own studio at a time where most creators were just recording out of their bedrooms. It was a really cool network in a time where they weren't as prevalent as they are today. What's even sadder is the fact that the network's been shut down for a month, and I just noticed it today, with what seems to be no news site reporting on it, and no one making videos about the topic. Just as it is important to remember television networks that have gone under, it is also important to remember milestones in internet media. So long, Revision3.

Moto G5 Plus Review: The "Flagship Killer" Killer?

2017-04-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

With the Samsung Galaxy S8, and LG G6 arriving soon, as well as iPhone 7, and Google Pixel being on the market, there's a lot of choices when it comes to picking a smartphone. What isn't so much a choice is the price that flagship phones command. The Samsung Galaxy S8 starts at $749, and that price is similar to the rest of the flagships. Financing that over two years, or even paying in full, is quite a lot of money, especially if you're like me and you see the next new phone and get antsy about 6 months into the now old phone. OnePlus has been proving for the past few years that you don't need to pay the flagship price to get the flagship specs, but at $439, it's still a bit of money to put down. Motorola is here to change that.

Motorola has been introducing phones at lower than average prices since about 2013 with the Moto X, and especially with the Moto G line of phones. Since 2014, the Moto G has offered a midrange smartphone at lower than midrange prices that you actually wanted to buy. The smooth design, and option-filled buy page offered users a phone they could truly make their own. Prior to the G5 Plus, it was no speed demon, just allowing users to download enough with its small storage, with a low amount of memory, and a power-efficient processor. For the most part, that all changes with the Moto G5 Plus.

Part of what makes the Moto G line of phones so enticing is not only the price, but the design of the phone. It's not made of the finest material, but it certainly looks premium with its metal-like back. The sides are plastic, but the front looks nice with a fingerprint reader. Both the external speaker, and phone call speaker are in the same spot, so when playing audio, it's certainly easier to hear with the speaker pointed at you, but it's not the loudest, and there's only one speaker. The display is 1080p with settings in the software for a more vibrant Samsung-ish display, or normal. I find the vibrant display quite lovely. In the software, it runs a very lightly skinned Android 7.0, which is refreshing seeing how much Samsung and LG phones get different skins. It runs very quick, with a Snapdragon 625 processor and 4 GB of RAM, it runs just as smooth as any flagship. Just know that to get 4 GB of RAM, you need to get the 64 GB model, not the 32 GB model with only 2 GB of RAM. That processor is also very power efficient, with a 3,000 mAH battery, you can easily get a day and a half with moderate-to-heavy usage. It's incredibly refreshing to not have to worry about draining the battery while streaming an hour of video and only seeing the battery percentage drop a few numbers, where on other phones you lose about 10 percent. Another great thing about this phone is little features Motorola adds that make you wonder how you've lived without them. The clock with full notifications on the standby screen is always a nice touch, but it's the gestures that really shine, like two chops with the phone to turn on the flashlight, and two twists to turn on the camera. Once you've used them, you really get used to them. Another nice feature is turning off on-screen home buttons on the bottom, and substituting them for gestures on the fingerprint scanner. Tapping on the fingerprint scanner takes you home, but swiping left on the scanner goes back, and swiping right opens the multitask window, which although not incredibly intuitive, I find it more elegant than LED lights that turn on and off on the bottom bezel.

Now the Moto G can't really be considered a flagship killer due to the lesser processor, but also due to the lack of special features. There is no border-less design, water resistance isn't featured anymore, Micro USB is used instead of USB-C, and the camera is not so great in low-light. A part of what makes the flagship phones flagship-worthy are the wiz-bang features that wow the coworkers at the water cooler. The Moto G5 Plus only offers insanely great value with incredible battery life. Nothing that will initially wow the audience, but the price certainly will. Ordering this with the Amazon Prime Exclusive with lockscreen offers and ads brings the price from a still great $299 for 64 GB of RAM down to $239. If you want to save more money, the 32 GB model goes from $229 to $184. Sure you do get a notification ad in the lock screen, but that's it.

Does it compete with the OnePlus 3T? Sort of. The OnePlus 3T is a true flagship killer due to its more premium design, and better specs, but if you don't mind not having the same amount of RAM my desktop computer has being crammed into your phone, the Moto G5 Plus won't disappoint.

Alcatel Idol 4S with Windows: Another Chance at Windows Phone

2017-03-26T23:08:00.001-04:00

There are very few phones that I have had that I have absolutely loved. The Note 7 is very much on the list, but my various Windows Phones absolutely make the top of the list. I started my love of Windows Phone with the Samsung Focus back in 2011 or so, when it was just a mere penny for a two-year contract. Back when Windows Phone 7 was the only different and exciting platform, at least to my eyes. I switched to an iPhone after almost a year due to me shattering the screen. But there was always that desire for the iPhone for the fact that apps were just there, and everyone was on iMessage. I then decided to switch back and get the Nokia Lumia 920. Windows Phone 7.5 was a good step, but Windows Phone 8 was gorgeous. However, my first 920 accumulated dust in the front-facing camera somehow, which was covered under my warranty, and my second 920's vibration motor stopped working. AT&T very nicely upgraded me for free for being delightful, I can only assume, and I got the top of the line Nokia Lumia 1520 in red of course. Because who else had a red phone? It was either that to stand out or yellow, another choice great choice. However, I was getting antsy about a year into using the phone. Snapchat had at the time just pulled 6snap, an excellent Snapchat client made by Rudy Huyn, other apps just weren't getting updates or showing up on the platform, and it just seemed like Microsoft was giving up. So I switched to an iPhone 6 Plus. Again, the iPhone is a solid platform, but it just lacks that oomph, that pizzazz, and other synonyms of fun. Then I switched to a Note 4, then a Moto X Pure, then an S6 Active, then a Nexus 6P, then a OnePlus 3, then Note 7 that I wanted to keep, and now the LG V20. The Note 7 was the last phone I have ever had that felt different for a good reason. I would've liked to keep that phone, but the battery had other plans. The LG V20 is a great phone for features, but after viewing the fun that looked like Windows 10 Mobile, I decided to give it another go.

I decided to go with an Alcatel Idol 4S, mainly because of the price on T-Mobile: $288! For a top of the line phone with great specs, and an attractive design, that's a huge reason I went with the phone. Its Samsung Galaxy S6 design makes it slippery in the hand, but it very much feels like a premium phone. The phone has room for expansion with a micro SD card slot, and even has a dedicated camera button, but this isn't like a classic Windows Phone with a two-stage button, it only clicks once. Honestly, that is fine because of its placement in the middle of the phone's side, and not closer to the bottom where it is comfortable to press. It features a 21 MP rear-facing camera, and whatever MP front-facing camera. High numbers are great on paper, but they don't translate well to actual pictures. The Lumia 1520 I had had a 20 MP camera, and that was phenomenal. This camera is less than so. Pictures in bright light are great, but not so much in low light. The battery is 3000 mAH, which again, high numbers are great on paper, but here they're also great in use. The battery life is really nice with heavy use. Now nice hardware is great and all, but this phone's possible drawback is in software.

If you care about beautiful design, a fresh interface, and incredible usefulness in almost every part of the operating system, this is your platform. This is not your platform if you care about apps. Yes, there are the major ones, except for Snapchat. The problem is the major ones may not work well. Almost every app takes just too long to load, and have reliability issues. Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify to name just a few simply don't work as well as their iOS and Android versions. However, after seven years of Windows Phone, apps are not the reason you get a Windows Phone. My reason to switching? Continuum. This phone can either plug into or wirelessly connect to a monitor and display a full Windows desktop. Of course, it can't run classic Windows programs, but I can use one device for any setup. For many, this may not be a special feature, but for me, this is exciting. Plus the overall interface for Windows 10 Mobile never gets old. It's fresh and filled with great ideas, like Cortana, which just feels smarter than Siri or Google Now. Another great reason to pick this phone is the Start screen. The live tiles have been a major draw in since Windows Phone 7, and they're just as useful. They work better than widgets on Android because you don't have to think about setting up a widget, it just shows up where you pin the app. It also allows for the greatest amount of customization than any other launcher. There is no Windows Hello iris scanner, but Windows Hello is still used for the fingerprint scanner on the back on the phone, which is way too slow to unlock. The speakers on this phone are both front and rear facing and in stereo, so they sound great. Plus the 1080p OLED screen is vibrant and a delight.

This phone does a lot of things well in both hardware and software design, but Windows 10 Mobile just falls short with weird quirks, where other areas are well thought out. If Microsoft could just speed up the operating system a bit, fix some Bluetooth issues that cause music to glitch a bit, and just squash some odd bugs here and there, Windows 10 Mobile would be perfect, and as it is, it serves as a great reference for how a mobile operating system should be designed. It's unknown what Microsoft envisions for the future of Windows 10 Mobile, as the company doesn't discuss it too much anymore, but with some developer love, and TLC from Microsoft, it would make a great third place alternative smartphone that we still need.

LG V20 Overheat and Battery Drain Issues

2017-03-24T01:00:00.000-04:00

Let me just start out by saying that I miss my Note 7. I showed up both launch days for the dumb phone, and besides my old Nokia Lumia 1520, there's very few phones I miss. The Note 7 is definitely high on that list of great phones of mine. So after I had to turn it in, I was debating whether or not to just get an S7 Edge, or the at-the-time upcoming LG V20. LG at that point in time had released the G5 earlier which wasn't very good, and they had some issues with quality, but I figured why not. The V20 had features I wished the Note 7 had, like the IR Blaster, the second screen, and not as important, but nice to have, a removable battery. Having had this phone since late September, I can say that in the beginning, it was a great fast phone, but after about four or five months, things started to go downhill.

First issue I encountered was the battery not going further than 92%. Nothing would get it to go higher. I just figured that maybe it was when I was charging the phone, being that I have Android Auto on my car's radio, maybe that was messing it up. That, and the fact that I got it launch day, maybe I had some launch day bugs. Until one day, the battery drained itself completely dead, and when I went to charge it back up, it magically went up to 100% again. Odd, but then one week ago, I noticed that the phone would get very warm by the fingerprint scanner, and the battery couldn't last longer than two and a half hours, which is an issue. I decided to try a new battery to solve the issue, but that solved nothing. Finally, I decided to try a factory reset, and so far, that has solved the issue. The only thing I can say I installed that I noticed just afterwards caused the overheating was installed Skype Preview, but in checking the battery usage logs, it listed "Android System" using up 22% of the battery, so who knows.

Have you experienced any LG V20 issues similar to this? Considering I am the only person I know who has the V20, there's not many people I can ask. The phone otherwise has been great, but LG just needs to work on software polish a bit better. The Samsung experience was phenomenal. *sigh*

AT&T Offers a Low Speed Unlimited Data Plan For Some Reason

2017-03-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

T-Mobile has done a lot of good for the wireless industry by forcing the large two to bring back their unlimited data plans. The other three wireless carriers brought back only one unlimited data plan, and that was for high-speed data. AT&T, offering the most expensive high-speed unlimited data plan saw an opportunity to lower their price, so they did: $60 gets you 3 MBPS speed unlimited data. And to that I ask, why?

The people that would most use an unlimited data plan also do not want to be capped at speed. Being a former Cricket Wireless user, I know how annoying it is to be speed capped. I went from AT&T to Cricket Wireless with the assumption it would be the same service, just with a different name, and different way of buying phones, and boy was I surprised. Yes, the same great coverage from AT&T was the same, and the, at the time, Nexus 6P worked great as expected, but the speed was a significant decrease. The phone would show 4G LTE, but I would experience speeds reaching up to 9 MBPS and that's it. Sometimes lower, but never higher. It made me rarely want to stream anything to the device, because videos would take longer than usual to load, and everything just chugged along. However, I understand that because Cricket is prepaid phone company, so even though it was annoying, I kind of had to roll with it at that price. Now it is true that at $60, AT&T lite unlimited data plan more closely competes with rivals, but who in their right mind would want a slow data plan? Anyone that wants unlimited doesn't want to be limited by speed, so who is this plan for? Anyone that streams regularly won't touch it, and if you just need a basic data plan for GPS navigation and the occasional Google search, why not just get the 6 GB plan for the same price? I suppose it's good for families that want to save money on large multi-phone plans while not worrying about running out of data, but that will quickly get old when it takes longer than 5 seconds to do anything online.

It's great AT&T is giving customers a choice, I just don't understand why anyone would take this new option.

How to Access Secret Chrome Menus and Commands

2017-02-28T12:40:00.003-05:00

If you're a Google Chrome user like me, or a user of a Chromium-based browser, you know that to control Chrome, it isn't done through an option panel, but rather a chrome:// URL. So, if you've ever wanted to know every single chrome:// page, here's where you can access it.

Open up Chrome, and type in chrome://chrome-urls. On the page, you'll notice it looks like a basic text-based website; it's not meant to look cool, it's meant to be functional. On the page, you'll probably see familiar places like chrome://apps, and chrome://settings, but you'll also see a lot of different functions used like chrome://print, which is the print dialogue that shows up when you go into the menu to print. It doesn't do anything when there's nothing underneath to print, but it's cool to see how Chrome works by using the different chrome:// pages. Going to chrome://dino lets you open the page when your network gets disconnected to play the dinosaur game. You'll also notice some commands useful for Chrome OS device troubleshooting, and for when Chrome acts up, commands like chrome://kill to crash a webpage, chrome://restart to restart all of Chrome, and chrome://quit to completely shut down Chrome.

Chrome is a powerful tool, so use these commands wisely. Add your favorites to the bookmark bar and prank your friends by naming chrome://kill something like "the best website ever." Chrome on!