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Julie’s gadget diary – iPhone X-citement

I left work early this afternoon just so I could go home and watch the iPhone X Apple event in real time instead of reading live streaming commentary from a big site like Gizmodo or The Verge. I started out watching it on my 12″ MacBook but a few minutes into it, I had a light bulb moment and hooked up my iPad Pro 10.5 to my 65″ Hisense H8 4K TV using an Apple Lightning HDMI adapter for an ultimate viewing experience.

While the event was playing on the TV, Dave Rees and I were using iMessage to chat about the new hardware announcements as we were seeing them. Not that any of the info Apple talked about today was news to us since there have been eleventy billion leaks leading up to today’s event.

However, there was one little surprise right before the iPhone X unveiling that almost brought a tear to my eye…

Yes, we’re geeks and we embrace it.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but when it was all said and done, the iPhone X unveiling felt a little flat to me. I guess because the bulk of the event was spent talking about the Series 3 Apple Watch, new Apple TV, and the new iPhone 8 devices. It felt like they only saved about 30 minutes (I’m guessing on the 30 minutes, maybe it was more or less) of the 2 hour event for the news that all of us were really waiting to hear the most.

Does that mean I’m not going to order the iPhone X? Heck no. I’m definitely going to order one on October 27th. Ugh, that wait time (and the price) really sucks.

I will say one thing, yay for Qi wireless charging! It’s about time Apple! That AirPower wireless charger pad looks really nice for people who own a new iPhone, Watch, and AirPods. It won’t be available until next year though.

Also yay for Face ID. At least I hope I’ll be saying yay once I get a chance to try it. Fingerprint scanners just don’t work every time for me, so I’m really hoping Face ID will work as quick and easy as they make it out to be. That said, the first demo on stage failed! Hmmmmm…

More surprisingly for me, I’m also seriously considering an Apple Watch. It’s crazy but I’ve yet to ever try an Apple Watch. Just yesterday I was talking to Dave about wanting a wearable audio device that I could use to listen to Spotify playlists and/or podcasts while I work out at the gym so I don’t have to carry my iPhone around with me from machine to machine. I was seriously considering dragging out one of my old iPod Nanos to see if it would still work although I’d have to load my own music using iTunes and that sounds too painful because I hate iTunes.

Today when Tim announced the Series 3 Apple Watch with built-in cellular, I thought my wishes had been answered. That and all the talk about the heart rate and other fitness features have me considering buying one. I’m just worried that I’ll buy one and not use it to its full potential. So I still need to think about it.

How do the rest of you feel about the iPhone 8, X, Apple TV, and Apple Watch news today? Excited? Bored? Ready to bust out your credit card on Friday or October 27th (ugh!)? Let us know in the comments below.

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Julie’s gadget diary – iPhone X-citement originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 12, 2017 at 4:01 pm.

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One look and you might automatically love the Kershaw Launch 4 Automatic pocket knife

If you are anything like me, finding something to use as an EDC isn’t always the easiest task.  Often I go through multiple options before finding the device, gadget, bag or in this case pocket knife that works for me.  I have drawers full of failed EDC ideas that didn’t work for me for one reason or another. 

Now I really like pocket knives but I am not a huge collector of them.  I buy blades that I intend on using and like having one with me most of the time.  My day job is in a corporate setting where slacks and wingtips seem to be the unofficial uniform, making the search for an understated yet useful pocket knife a difficult task.  I have a plethora (for all you Three Amigos! fans out there) of knives that are right at home with a pair of jeans and boots but was never happy with them as an EDC to the office.

Recently I came across the Kershaw Launch 4 automatic knife.  Before running out and buying one of these, please check your state’s knife laws for automatic knives.  The overall length is just 5.10″ and the blade length is 1.90″ making this legal in the state of California.  The action is incredibly fast and precise and the blade and handle are much sturdier than you would expect from such a pint sized piece.  The blade is made from CPM-154 and the handle is solid aluminum.  It is a right-hand carry knife that blends right in with my daily attire and is now one of the items that I never leave home without.  Available in a myriad of colors the MSRP is about $130 but most every knife dealer or store has them for around $75.  A real bargain for such a useful little knife in my opinion.

This knife is available in a myriad of colors with an MSRP of about $130, but most every knife dealer or store has them for around $75.  A real bargain for such a useful little knife in my opinion.

Source: The knife in this article was purchased with my own funds. Please visit Kershaw for more info.

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One look and you might automatically love the Kershaw Launch 4 Automatic pocket knife originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 1, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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How many of your favorite childhood movies predicted future gadgets?

[This is a guest post]

When I was eight, I was quite convinced that my future kitchen would look like that of Caractacus Potts’s in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Why bother making breakfast, when a fantastical arrangement of Rube Goldberg machines could do it for you?

While modern kitchens don’t resemble the creative contraptions imagined by Ian Fleming, 2017 does offer you a smart fridge that will remind you to buy milk. Ian Fleming seemingly had a penchant for imagining gadgets — the very same Mr. Fleming authored the James Bond series!
But although his imagination was top-notch, not many of Fleming’s gadgets turned into reality. The same can’t be said for other movies, which accurately predicted some of our gadgets decades before they appeared on the consumer market.

The following graphic illustrates the 14 movies and tv shows that predicted future gadgets. Looking at the past, it’s easy to get excited about the new wave of gadgets that we’re going to see in the next twenty years!

14 technology predictions from pop culture

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How many of your favorite childhood movies predicted future gadgets? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 26, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Keeping my balance in check with Dollarbird

I’ve been using a checkbook application on mobile devices ever since my first Palm Pilot. It was a simple application, probably cost me a dollar to download and didn’t come with many bells and whistles (and God forbid your battery died before syncing your Palm) but not having to bother with a handwritten checkbook register anymore was a revelation.

Since then, I’ve tried out dozens of finance trackers on my iPhone and the only one that stuck with me was Dollarbird.

What really sold me on their app was the lovely color scheme, simple interface and month view. I haven’t found a more useful display of where my money has gone and how much of it I’ll have left by the end of the month.

This month view has saved my butt so many times.

For instance, if I have a recurring daycare check set up every week and monthly bills, like a car payment, set to come out on the same calendar day, those payments are reflected in the balance at the end of the month, or on whichever day you tap on. I’ll always know how much money I have left to spend in the month after budgeting and setting up bills and transfers.

There’s even a great overview screen that tells you what you spend in each color-coded category every month and if you’re on track to spend that much compared to previous months.

It’s not the most robust budgeting tool, but it works for me and has kept my spending in line for years, now.

In Dollarbird’s recent upgrade, it moved to a subscription-based model in a shift toward catering to partners, families and teams. This isn’t an uncommon move with mobile apps… Ulysses, one of my favorite text editors for both Mac and iOS, just made the jump from flat cost to recurring fees and caught a fair amount of flack for it.

But in this instance, Dollarbird retained a free single-user subscription, which is perfect, because I’m the only one who uses it in my family. It also expanded accounts into a web interface, so you can check your balances from any connected device and also rest assured that your records are backed up online.

Dollarbird is available free on the App Store and Google Play and I really think it’s work checking out if you’re looking for a good budgeting and checkbook application.

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Keeping my balance in check with Dollarbird originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 24, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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4 ways to watch the total solar eclipse on Monday (8/21/17)

You’ve no doubt been hearing about the total solar eclipse for many weeks now. It’s a big deal because it’s the first solar eclipse to cross the entire continental United States in 99 years. All this time, you have probably been telling yourself to read up on the subject and order some special solar eclipse glasses so you can experience what might be a once in a lifetime event. If you actually ordered the glasses, have your DSLR camera, 600mm telephoto lens and tripod ready to go, then yay for you. You get a special geek star award for always being prepared. What do the rest of us procrastinators do on Monday so we won’t feel left in the dark (literally)?

1. Get a pair of solar eclipse viewing glasses so you won’t go blind.

No, your regular sunglasses will not protect your eyes from the damage of looking at the sun during the eclipse!

Is it too late to buy a pair of solar eclipse glasses? No, not if you don’t mind paying ticket scalper prices like I’m finding on Amazon.

You are better off looking for some freebie glasses locally in your town. Contact the nearest high school or library and ask if they have any freebies. Just double check that the glasses are ISO certified safe if you do end up scoring a pair. You can check out this excellent and very detailed article on the subject at https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification.

2. No eclipse glasses? No problem. Build a camera obscura pin-hole viewer instead.

Even though I was lucky and was able to get some eclipse glasses at the last minute at a decent price from ThinkGeek, I’m still going to build one of these viewers because I like geeky arts and crafts. It’s also pretty much free if you already have a box, some tape, a piece of white typing paper, foil, and a pin. For easy instructions, check out these articles that show different styles of pin-hole viewers that you can easily create in just a few minutes:

How to make a handheld solar eclipse box viewer
How to make a wearable solar eclipse box viewer
How to make a group solar eclipse viewer with a pair of binoculars and a tripod

The group viewer requires some extra gear, but I think that’s the one I’m going to try to make.

3. Watch the eclipse without glasses or a pin-hole viewer.

If you don’t want to track down a pair solar eclipse viewing glasses, build your own viewer or even make the effort to go outside, you can still watch the solar eclipse from the comfort of your favorite chair. There will be many sites live streaming the event like the CBS News eclipse coverage through CBSN, CBS News’ 24-hour online streaming platform. Their coverage will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Monday.

4. If you happen to take a nap and sleep through the whole thing, you can still watch it later.

After the total solar eclipse event has ended, you still can tune into your favorite news sites where there will be all sorts of commentary on the event and replays that will show the total eclipse of the sun. This is not the laziest way to watch the total solar eclipse because not everyone will see the eclipse in its totality. Live streaming or watching it later will be the way most people will get to see the full total eclipse.

What will the eclipse look like where you’re located and what is the best time for viewing? You can find out here: https://eclipsemega.movie/simulator

If you have some more good advice on this subject please share it in the comments below.

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4 ways to watch the total solar eclipse on Monday (8/21/17) originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 17, 2017 at 4:10 pm.

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