As part of my evaluation of streaming to replace cable (see my previous three posts), I purchased a Roku stick and remote kit ($40) and signed up for a month of YouTube TV for $50. The Roku was easy to set up – I just plugged it into a vacant HDMI port on the back […]
After trying out Hulu last week, I was less inclined to move from cable to streaming. The biggest reason was that, contrary to my expectations, the cost savings for me was not significant, perhaps about 15%. The second reason was that the service I tried, Hulu, was uninviting and cumbersome to use. But this week […]
Comparing alternatives to cable for accessing live TV should be simple. But I’m finding it to be not as easy as I expected due to the varying fees and confusing websites. I began this search with the expectation of reducing my monthly cable bill, but was surprised by what I found. In looking at […]
Cable TV companies have been joked about, ridiculed, and tolerated for years, but have remained a necessity that we’ve been forced to endure. They’ve been a necessary evil, yet required to receive TV programs and a get a speedy Internet connection. Their indifference and mediocre customer support are a result of cities and towns granting […]
As I waited for the results of the Iowa primary Monday evening, I was reminded of something I know only too well as a technologist. That is technology is greatly misunderstood and often overrated. This is particularly true with software, which is often a black box, where even the developer may not understand everything that […]
Regardless how you feel about John Bolton, his taste in briefcases is impeccable. In this NY TImes picture he’s carrying the Deal Briefcase, hand made in San Francisco by my friends Myron and Kari Glaser in their downtown workshop. They’ve been designing and building some of the best business bags you can buy at any […]
Amazon ran into problems with Fedex and dropped them from one of their approved delivery services in December. I was surprised to hear that, because I’ve always had an affinity for using Fedex ever since I studied the famous Harvard Business School business case. It was a lesson on entrepreneurship, telling the story how Fred […]
As reported in two earlier posts, my 12-inch MacBook is one of millions with a keyboard failure, the result of Apple’s use of a new keyboard design to make their notebooks thinner. The design, called Butterfly, has proven to be unreliable, leading Apple to extend its keyboard warranty to four years from the normal one. […]
The annual Consumers Electronic Show just rapped up, I’ve gone to about thirty of them, but for the past two years haven’t bothered. It’s become an impossible show to cover, and with press coverage available on-line, I’d rather cover it from my computer at home. The show has really become a parody of itself. While […]
In a previous post, I explained the dilemma of a MacBook with a constantly failing keyboard. Well, its gotten worse. Now being eight months out of their four year warranty, Apple will no longer replace my faulty keyboards for free. As I explained, my request for a repair was denied and I was offered a […]
It’s always a revelation to travel to a far off destination and experience a different country, particularly in these times. It provides a different perspective, and more and more, shows us how this country is no longer a leader in so many areas, including infrastructure like transportation, the use of technology in everyday life, and […]
Walt Mossberg, the renowned and highly respected technology columnist for the Wall St. Journal and The Verge, briefly came out of retirement to write an insightful analysis of the past decade of Apple with Tim Cook at the helm. It was a fascinating take – well balanced, knowledgeable, and perceptive, especially considering how supportive his […]
Beware of those insurance policies promoted when you buy an airline ticket. That’s advice I’ve always given others, but I fell for it and learned a lesson. I booked a business trip on Alaska Airlines, my new favorite airline, and as I checked out, Alaska promoted a number of add-ons, including a $22 trip cancellation […]
Boeing’s announcement this week that they’re suspending production of their 737 MAX Jetliner is to a large degree the unintended consequence of the company’s successful efforts to shortcut the approval process for new aircraft. That new process masked some of the questionable design decisions before the plane was approved, leading to two fatal crashes. It’s […]
Away Luggage has been a phenomenon that’s hard to explain. The company, with huge VC financing valuing it more than Tumi, took a simple commodity product, a hard sided wheeled carry-on luggage, added a battery pack, a few clever features, and marketed the hell out of it as a life-style brand. They found a good […]
The recent excitement that Apple finally fixed their keyboards in a newly released MacBook 16-inch model offered new hope that I could replace my two old MacBooks, a 2013 MacBook Pro and a 2015 MacBook 12 inch. I had been holding off all this time because of the problems I experienced with my “newest” MacBook, […]
As a frequent traveler and technology writer I’m always looking for ways to keep organized on the road. Here are a number of things I’ve been used over the past year that have helped. Things is a spectacularly well-designed software product for Apple users that keeps track of all ToDos, notes, reminders and other bits […]
With the many inadequacies in our medical care system, there are some encouraging signs that technology may offer the hope of improving our care. It’s an area ripe for disruption where there is now so much secrecy and confusion, and where insurance companies routinely come between our doctors and our well-being. There’s a real need […]
One of the most interesting and useful functions on a watch are sunrise and sunset information. It requires complex algorithms to determine the various times, because the times vary throughout the year and are a function of your location. That hasn’t stopped inventors from coming with ingenious ways to display this information. YES is […]
Patent Press. has created a series of paper greeting cards that feature illustrations from real patent applications, especially those interesting patent drawings. The holiday cards include the patent drawing of a variety of seasonal inventions, such as a light-up menorah, an Etch-a-Sketch, and the famous “leg lamp” from a Christmas Story. They’re clever, but definitely requires […]
