Category: Articles

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Pixel Tablet vs Robo and Kala: A Totally UNFAIR Fight!

We have to start this off asking a MAJOR question:

What do you want in a tablet?

Putting my bias up front, I’m not particularly impressed with tablet conversations fixated on basic use and “hand feel”. I don’t think that’s good criteria to judge the value of a premium purchase. If a tablet costs as much or more than a game console, it needs to do more than just stream some Netflix and “feel nice”.

Tablets have incredible processors, and GPUs, and RAM, and storage, and batteries. In a remarkably thin shell, we’ll find performance that often rivals similarly priced Chromebooks. These products are terrific general compute platforms, and it seems like such a waste to relegate them to the lowest level use.

Tablets are “solutions in search of problems”, but they can solve a LOT more of those problems than many people realize.

Tablets can DO stuff, and these two are great examples of “doing stuff” slates. They make for an interesting comparison because they’re so different. Continue reading “Pixel Tablet vs Robo and Kala: A Totally UNFAIR Fight!”

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We ALL Suffer When Apple Products DON’T “Just Work”

Apple needs to be held to the standard they advertise for themselves. When they slip, they should be criticized harder than any other consumer tech brand operating today. When they make mistakes, they deliver those mistakes at a scale no other brand can approach.

The potential for consumer harm from an Apple mistake is an order of magnitude higher than any other competitor, and Apple has a clear track record of trying to break standards to sell proprietary solutions for their own benefit.

Case in point: AirTags.

AirTags are a really cool idea. Continue reading “We ALL Suffer When Apple Products DON’T “Just Work””

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Can the Pixel Tablet change my mind about smart displays?

No? Not really? I dunno?

I’m spending a bit more time right now putting the Pixel Fold through its paces, but at the same time, trying to play with this pretty new tablet! An early stream of conscious impression, there’s ONE critical question that itches my brain.

Is this the Smart Display I’ve been waiting for?

A little personal background, my Wife and I are not super fond of “always listening” products in our home.

We chose Playstation over XBox because Marie didn’t like the idea of the voice actions and cameras on the XBox. We’re probably a little reactionary in that regard, but we’ve never really jumped on the smart speaker train either.

Considering the assistant integration on modern phones and tablets, it’s something we’ve been considering a bit more, and Marie has found some situations where she thinks she would have appreciated a mini-screen displaying relevant info on request. Continue reading “Can the Pixel Tablet change my mind about smart displays?”

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra Photography Kit Unboxing!

It’s FINALLY here!

Unboxing the Xiaomi 13 Ultra Photography Kit! The most Ultra camera phone of 2023 just got MORE ULTRA! I’ve been BEGGING other manufacturers to make similar phone camera accessory kits!

Dear Sony and Vivo…

Continue reading “Xiaomi 13 Ultra Photography Kit Unboxing!”

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All About Android Ends… Saying Goodbye to One of My Favorite Geek Podcasts…

This has been a tough couple of weeks for some of my favorite social media sites, and now I’m sitting in my kitchen getting weepy over one of my favorite podcasts signing off for the last time.

You can always get a feel for when a show you enjoy might be on its way out, but it still hits hard when they finally pull the plug.

After 635 episodes, All About Android is ending its run on the TWiT network of podcasts.

AAA was one of my most consistently listened to podcasts. It was one of my favorite talk shows to have on in my car, sitting in LA traffic. The hosts’ voices (especially Jason, Ron, and Flo) will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. Continue reading “All About Android Ends… Saying Goodbye to One of My Favorite Geek Podcasts…”

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The Galaxy S23 Ultra Does NOT cost $469 to Make. Stop Lying to Your Readers and Viewers…

I’m not fond of defending Samsung on this blog, and shortly after I publish this, I’ll go back to criticizing their anti-consumer business strategies. However, this yearly trend of judging phone “value” by looking at a parts list is a ludicrously stupid exercise that primes consumers for horrifically unrealistic expectations.

My editorial here holds true for iPhones, Motos, OnePluses, Sonys, Xiaomis, Vivos, and every other brand under the sun, but we’re going to focus on the Galaxy Note 23, as the most recent addition to this moronic trend.

The Galaxy does NOT “cost $469 to make”. Continue reading “The Galaxy S23 Ultra Does NOT cost $469 to Make. Stop Lying to Your Readers and Viewers…”

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An open letter to Nintendo about Emulators: You’re doing it wrong… 

*** UPDATE ***

Writing this in the heat of the moment, I was incorrect with my understanding of one part of this story. Nintendo did not file a DMCA take down request. Nintendo sent a cease and desist, where they mentioned their rights under the DMCA. This is an important distinction that I missed. 

As to the numerous comments on this editorial claiming the Dolphin emulator uses Nintendo intellectual property, I am not a lawyer, but we’ll have to watch and see if a court case establishes that an encryption key can be considered IP. In much the same way that if someone were to “hack” your laptop because your password was “12345”, would we consider that password intellectual property?

This is an ongoing legal battle, and akin to the fight over DVD encryption, the idea of an encryption key being protected IP doesn’t seem to have been tested directly in any recent court cases. Considering the complexity of code required to run a computer or game console, I stand by my statement that the Dolphin emulator does not include any proprietary Nintendo IP, even for it including an encryption key. Many will disagree with me, but I believe including Nintendo’s “password” is not the same as including more complex code.

I’m leaving the letter as originally written, to maintain the emotional tone of the editorial. I always welcome debate, but rude or insulting comments will of course be scrubbed.

*** Original Editorial ***

Dear Nintendo, 

This emulator stuff? I think you’re doing it wrong.  

I have a LOT of fondness for your games. My family has been into gaming since the earliest days of arcades and Atari home consoles. I was so fortunate to grow up in the early 80’s with nerd parents who were ahead of the curve on video gaming.

We rode the wave of your classic consoles through the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 64-bit eras. To this day, my younger siblings still sport Switches as their primary gaming solutions.  

I still have a lot of classic Nintendo gear, mostly in storage, but I got off the console gaming train around the Wii and PS3 hardware generation.  

I’m also a PC nerd. Software licensing was changing back then. In the early 2000’s, PC gaming started experimenting with online stores and digital distribution. There was a lot of anxious editorializing of online stores, copy protection, verification, and “ownership”.

Years later, we still face some challenges with titles in online shops. We might not really “own” that content when it’s licensed to web stores, but the generational convenience has kept me far more invested in PC gaming than in recent console gaming.  

The idea of buying a box, then buying content for a box, and only being able to consume that content on one box, is sorely antiquated. My Wife and I ran into that limitation hard with Playstations.   Continue reading “An open letter to Nintendo about Emulators: You’re doing it wrong… “

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NuraTrue Pro True Wireless Earbuds: I said “Wow” out loud…

Following another RAGING ear infection, I’m finally back and healthy. Time to shove MORE EARBUDS IN MY EARS!

And I finally get to revisit a surprising premium True Wireless bud. My friend Jeff at ElJefeReviews sent the NuraTrue Pro my way, and this elicited a really surprising reaction from me on first listen.

You can LITERALLY see that reaction in my podcast, where I set them up live.

Then my ear infection flared, and I spent two months keeping IEMs and tips out of my ears.

Finally getting that inflammation to calm down, I was really excited to take the NuraTrue for a spin again. They do not disappoint. Continue reading “NuraTrue Pro True Wireless Earbuds: I said “Wow” out loud…”

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