I’m usually an early adopter regarding tech, especially new devices in a new or existing category. I love gadgets and tech, and I’m not afraid of change. I ordered an Apple Vision Pro on day one. Here’s my initial review for reference. When I did my initial review, I had not taken Apple Vision Pro on the road yet.
Recently, I had a business trip to LA and back. This is a five-hour flight from Atlanta. I usually use the time on flights to get some writing done, plus a movie or two. Working on a plane can definitely present a couple of challenges. The first is when the person in front of you leans their seat back, making it harder to open your laptop to a comfortable viewing angle. The second challenge is keeping the prying eyes of your seatmates off your work. Some privacy screens make it harder to view your screen from an angle, but I haven’t used one in years.
Apple Vision Pro Elevates In-Flight Productivity to New Heights
People have been cutting the cord from their cable TV provider for years. With the explosion of smart TVs and streaming services, it’s pretty easy to get by with just internet service and stream the content you want on your TV. I’m late to the game, but earlier this year, I finally decided that I no longer needed and barely watched Cable TV anymore.
There are multiple ways to cut the cord
Some people opt for a digital antenna to pull in their local channels. Others forgo having local channels, and people like me who still want to have local channels but don’t need them from their cable providers go with a different streaming service that offers local channels.
YouTube TV was the one I chose
I figured YouTube has been in the video streaming business for decades, and if anyone could get streaming TV right, it would be them. They didn’t disappoint. I signed up for the trial, which lasts 21 days. I initially planned to go through the whole trial before dropping my Xfinity TV. I ended up canceling Xfinity TV the next day. I saw no reason that I would need to go through the whole trial period.
Calling to cancel your existing service can be a lot of pressure
Most of you know I’m a fan of smart home technologies. I spend a lot of my spare time thinking of new Automation ideas. However, not every device or application is compatible with smart home systems. For example, Apple HomeKit has no category for robot vacuums. I still can’t believe that robot vacuums aren’t a supported HomeKit category, but it’s not. This means I can’t create a HomeKit automation to vacuum based on certain conditions like “start vacuuming after the last person leaves the house.” However, my latest robot vacuum, the Roborock S7 MaxV does support Siri Shortcuts.
Siri Shortcuts are awesome
In the case of the Roborock vacuum, I can simply say, “Hey Siri, vacuum the family room.” The vacuum will start and head to the family room to complete the task.
Popl and Tap Tag Digital Business Cards with embedded NFC tags and QR Codes
Gone are the days of big in-person conferences and meetings where you’d pass out dozens of business cards. Well at least for now. I do miss in-person events and hopefully, we’ll be able to see each other in person again soon. When we do, I won’t be carrying a ton of business cards like I used to. I’ve got one digital business card that should last forever.
My Digital Business Card Is The Last One I’ll Ever Need
Instead of getting paper cards printed and knowing that if anything changes on them I’d have to dump (recycle) them and get more printed, I had a digital card made instead. This digital card has an NFC chip in it that can be scanned by any modern smartphone.
Instead of giving you a card, I would wave my digital card near your smartphone and a notification would pop up for you to tap. Once you tap it, all of my contact/social media information would load in your browser with the option to save me to your contacts.
Before you pick up your pitchfork, here me out. There was a rumor floating around that Apple was considering removing the Lightning port altogether and that is NOT what I’m proposing here. I actually think there are times where using the physical port is better/faster than doing things wirelessly. We can certainly debate this at another time.
It’s time for Apple to switch from Lightning ports to USB-C ports on iPhone
I have three devices that I charge every night. My iPhone 12 Pro Max, my AirPods Pro and my Apple Watch. Each one of these devices can charge wirelessly. At night I simply want to set all three devices on a single charger and wake up fully charged. This is easy at home. As a matter of fact I have two favorites:
I would have no problem recommending either of these two chargers because they work. However, both are designed to be stationary on a nightstand or a desk. They are NOT designed for travel and frankly they are just too big and bulky for travel.
What makes a perfect 3-in-1 Wireless Travel Charger?
I’m fortunate that I get to use great Macs and PCs for work. Usually, the longest I have to wait for a work upgrade is three years unless there is a compelling case to upgrade sooner. Also, companies like HP will often even send me a new laptop to show off the latest capabilities with our latest apps at work. That’s all fine and good for my work systems, but what about my “personal computer?”
My personal computer choice is a MacBook Air
I’ve always liked the MacBook Air for my personal needs, mainly because of its size and weight (or lack thereof). When I do personal travel, I want to take a computer that weighs next to nothing but still gets the job done. My last MacBook Air was the 2012 Core i7 model with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. While this system still works nine years later, it’s starting to show its age when you put the latest operating system on it and the latest applications. I knew it was time to upgrade, and luckily Apple had just introduced Macs with Apple’s new chips. The M1 chip is Apple’s first microprocessor to power a Mac.
This is not the first time Apple has switched Mac processor suppliers.
2020 has sucked for the most part. There’s no other way to say it. However, I feel that better days are on the horizon. With that said, people look to me for holiday gadget recommendations, and quite frankly I haven’t really been in the mood to flaunt gear with so many people out of work and struggling due to the pandemic. So this year, I’m going to keep the list short and relatively low cost.
Last year I did a post called: Is it finally time to get an electric vehicle? Answer these 5 questions to see. At the time I was driving my first electric vehicle (EV), a 2017 Tesla Model S. Just to be clear and upfront, I LOVED MY TESLA MODEL S! However, what most don’t know is that it wasn’t my first choice. Let me give you a little history about my decision to get a Tesla and how I first ended up with a Model S:
In 2016 I had made the decision to go electric. I had asked at least 1.3 million questions to my buddy Scott Kelby and Erik Kuna (both had been driving Tesla’s for years). I had heard that Tesla was introducing a new more cost-effective Model 3. When they announced it, I put my $1,000 deposit down on day two.
the thank you note from Elon Musk for those that pre-ordered the 1st Model 3
Yes, a deposit on a car that no one had really seen outside of Tesla and the press. I was convinced that this was going to be the car for me. The lease on my current car was going to be up September 2017 and I figured I’d have it by then. However, as a month went by and the demand for the Model 3 was through the roof, it was clear that Tesla was going to need more time to deliver Model 3’s. I made the decision to CANCEL my Model 3 order and get my full refund. I couldn’t take not knowing if my car would arrive in time. When July 2017 rolled around, I went to Tesla.com and placed an order for a 2017 Tesla Model S. This would be the most expensive car I had ever driven. I was used to driving luxury brands, but never one that cost about $20K more than my average car price. I also decided to lease it so that if I wasn’t happy, it would be easy to walk away from. Turns out it was the best car I had ever driven and I was forever converted over to EVs.
Spoiler alert! The answer is YES design still matters. On Wednesday, November 20th Tesla unveiled its long-awaited electric pickup truck. The Cybertruck shocked everyone. It was the first time that I heard so many people use the word “ugly” in reference to a Tesla vehicle. It was my reaction too.
For the record, I have never had any interest in a pickup truck. I’ve never wanted one ever. I still don’t. I’ve driven pickup trucks owned by family and friends when I needed to move stuff, but that’s about it. I would borrow theirs and return it. I wouldn’t think twice about it afterward.
Knowing that Tesla was going to unveil their new electric pickup was only a little interesting to me. I was only interested to see what it would look like. The unveiling was to start at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. By 11 PM I was already in bed and falling asleep. However, I was awake enough to see the less than one-minute countdown before it started. I waited and just as I suspected it didn’t start on time. I dozed off. When I woke up and looked at my phone again the NEW Cybertruck was on stage. My immediate reaction was OMG WTF? (not in a good way). I turned my phone off and rolled over to go back to sleep. This thing looked awful and I wasn’t going to waste any more time watching.
