Author Archives: Phil Baker

With all the devices we use, keeping them charged can be a challenge, and in fact, has spawned a huge accessory market that includes battery packs, battery cases, multi-port chargers, and desktop charging stations. Keeping your devices topped off has become even more important with many of us spending more time on our devices. For […]

Apple has finally completed the purging of their defective butterfly keyboards from all models of MacBooks. With the introduction this week of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, their three lines of notebooks now have their “Magic” keyboard, based on the desktop Keyboard with the same name. The new models are the 2020 versions of the MacBook […]

While we’re isolating ourselves to avoid exposure to the coronavirus, there are several inexpensive gadgets that can help us identify early symptoms of the disease. One involves recent findings about a drop in oxygen levels before more noticeable symptoms develop, and the other relates to elevated temperatures as an early indicator. Oxygen Levels A New […]

Tech Failures This week in tech has been a mixed bag. I’m enjoying doing virtual reviews, essentially reading about some interesting new products while dealing with some unexpected tech problems at home. Being isolated, we’ve become more dependent on our TV than ever. But wouldn’t you know that our prime HDTV died.  While not unexpected […]

Sometimes it seems that possessing basic intelligence and clear and logical thinking is a handicap during these times. It certainly creates a lot more stress. Why? Because it leads to an avalanche of frustration watching our Federal government react so poorly to this pandemic. Simple logic and common sense that we’ve learned over the years […]

It’s time for an Apple TV. Not just streaming in a box, but a full blown, full-featured HDTV.  Whatever the reasons in the past that dissuaded Apple from getting into this business, they’re now gone. Perhaps it was that TVs were too expensive and wouldn’t meet their high margin needs, or the cable companies would […]

While confined to home, we can’t complain. While our grandparents were asked to go to war, we’re being asked to stay indoors and wait.  The best thing we all can do now is to remain isolated until the crunch on the medical system passes. With streaming music, video, You Tube, TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and […]

I’ve been hunkered down at home with my wife this week and expect what she jokingly calls “house arrest” to last indefinitely based on listening to our governor, Gavin Newsom. Along side me are my phone, a notebook computer, and  an iPad loaded with eBooks I’ve bought over the years, but have yet to read. […]

These are the times when we need facts and scientific information to make good decisions. Yet in this political climate there’s so much obfuscation and bad information, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. It’s clear we can’t depend on our president and many of these around him for accurate information. Today much […]

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 […]