NBJ Online | Gadget of the Month
September 2018
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
We are big Chris Stapleton fans, and we have taken his song “Traveler” to heart... Yes, we are travelers on this earth, sure as our heart's behind the pockets of our shirts. But, as with everything we do, we must add a techie twist. Sorry, Chris! So, we thought we would share our favorite travel-related web sites and apps for looking for travel deals and travel opportunities.
THE BEST “TRADITIONAL” TRAVEL SEARCH SITES
Most of the time, we use our connected devices to find travel for a planned trip. When we do, we want to use the site as a travel agent replacement, that is, to find the cheapest, fastest, and most comfortable flight.
Google Flights, Kayak, and ITA Software Matrix
Each of these search sites are great, but we lump them together because we are told they are all powered by Google’s ITA. In our opinion, the best of the three is Google Flights. Why? It is very fast and gives the best variety of cheap flights to your selected destination. It may not always find the cheapest fare, but it is always very close. Its speed makes up for any other shortcomings. In addition, it provides a feature called “Explore.” When you are thinking about traveling to a general area and not a specific destination, it will let you compare prices for various months and compare prices to fly into cities in the destination area. This feature really helps when you are beginning to plan a trip. The main drawback is that none of these sites include Southwest in its searches—a drawback for Nashville travelers. But none do, except Southwest, which is why you should always check Southwest separately.
Momondo
Many folks we know love Momondo. One reason is that it really works well on mobile devices. Its interface is simple—at the top, it displays the cheapest, quickest, and best flight price points. Click on one of those choices and it will display the flights within that price range, or you can review flights by carrier, times, and price. Above the search results, the top row will display three different price points: cheapest, quickest, and best. Clicking on either of those three prices will take you to the flights within the price range. Or, you can scroll through the results, as Momondo will show the results by the carrier, flight times, and price. It also supplies a “happiness” rating for each flight on a 10-point scale. One other advantage of searching with Momondo is that you can compare prices with other search engines without leaving Momondo—a pretty cool feature.
Hipmunk
The one app we continue to love is Hipmunk, as it is especially informative in selecting flight reservations. We love the way Hipmunk displays the available flights based on a scale ranking the flights from least painful to most painful—taking into account the price, layover, departure, and arrival times. We started using Hipmunk several years ago just for airline reservations. However, as the app has evolved, you can now use it to book your entire trip with just a click of a button. Hipmunk really has become a digital travel assistant. It lacks some of the features of other web search sites, but it works great. Besides, we love the name.
WHEN YOU WANT TO TRAVEL AND DON’T CARE WHERE YOU GO
Sometimes you just want to get the “hell out of Dodge” as when the bartender (or a loved one) tells you “I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here.” These sites allow you to go somewhere—anywhere cool to cool your jets—at a good price. But be careful, some of these sites receive terrible reviews. Look before you leap.
Airfare Watchdog
We think Airfare Watchdog is the best of these sites that ask the question, “Where do you want to go?” We really like the feature “Today’s Top Fares.” It displays the top 50 cheapest fares that it can find available at any given moment. It’s also allows you to compare dates, departure and arrival cities, and even deals from select airlines—even Southwest on occasion. The interface can be clunky at times, but when your better half tells you to leave, you should visit this site.
The Flight Deal
When you don’t have to leave immediately, you can use The Flight Deal. It provides you with some unbelievable deals, especially if you follow it on Twitter. But be careful, it can be addictive. Before you know it, you could be traveling all the time, like Jim Kelley. Flight Deal will make you decide to travel to places you’ve never heard of before. Using The Flight Deal is a bit more complicated, though. It uses ITA Software Matrix to locate the flights, but you must go to the airline’s site to actually book the flight. (Many times, that is the best way to book a flight anyway, once you have identified the flight you want to take.) You can also build in layover times in your searches using ITA Matrix.
SITES TO USE WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND
There are times when you want to travel, but your pockets are empty because you spent too much of your hard-earned cash on buying gadgets you read about in our column. We feel your pain. When that happens, but you still want to travel, try these sites.
Hopper
We are fans Hopper. We had already experimented with it, with some success. Now, though, they really have sucked us in. Earlier this year it partnered with several airlines to provide what it calls “Secret Fares.” We love this concept, as these secret fares are sometimes much cheaper than published fares, and Hopper contends that the feature is consumer friendly because it tends to drive prices down. In any event, Hopper does a great job of alerting you when fares to a given city drop, and lets you know to go ahead and buy. Again, it does not include Southwest fares.
Scott’s Cheap Flights
Scott Keyes follows airline prices like a hawk, just like Phil follows the prices on Microsoft products. So, join the Scott's Cheap Flights email list. He alerts his subscribers to deals he uncovers with his internet bots, trolling for deals, some of which are dirt cheap. If you become a premium subscriber for $39 a month (which seems a bit out of character for cheap people), you will be the first to know. Some of these deals disappear with hours, or even minutes, especially when the airlines realize they have made a mistake.
Happy Traveling. See you next month.
—Bill and Phil
July 2018
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
Summer is a time when many folks disconnect from their electronics and enjoy the outdoors. Not us. We do enjoy all the outdoor summer activities, but we take our gadgets along with us to enhance the fun. So, if you are looking for some cool gadgets to take with you on summer vacation, read on. If you are determined to divorce yourself from all electronics during the summer break, we’ll see you in the Fall.
Dreamix Solar Bluetooth Speaker
We know a trip to the beach or the pool is just not complete without some great music to enjoy in the sun. The Dreamix Solar Bluetooth Speaker is the perfect gadget to take with you. First of all—as Bluetooth speakers go—it is cheap ($27 on Amazon) and still sounds great. But even more impressively, the Dreamix has a built-in solar panel that keeps it charged when in the sunlight (perfect for the beach). Furthermore, the speaker with its protective rubber cover, is splash proof and will survive an accidental drop in the pool. It even has a built-in microphone so you can use it as a speakerphone if you just have to take a call from the office while at the beach. But who wants to do that? We said we would take our gadgets with us on vacation but we didn’t promise to take any work calls.
Embr Wave
This gadget is making waves for sure, no pun intended. Developed by a team of MIT grads and crowd sourced on Kickstarter, the Embr Wave band is a dream come true for those who can’t seem to get cool in the summer even with the A/C blasting at full capacity. The Embr Wave is a wristband that can trick your body into thinking you are cooler or warmer than you actually are. With the touch of a button, you can cause your brain to think “cooler” or “warmer.” It sounds like hocus-pocus, but the concept is actually based on solid scientific facts. We won’t get into the science behind how it works (mainly because we don’t understand it). We just know that somehow, it works. So, if you are the one who is perpetually sweating at the pool or freezing under a full-on A/C attack, you might try taking the Embr Wave with you vacation.
Bose SoundSport Wireless Earbud
We may have finally found the best truly wireless earbud solution. The Bose Soundsport is essential equipment when we go for a run, bike ride, or just a day at the lake. There are no wires to tangle us up—and once we pair the SoundSport Earbuds to our phone—the sound quality is excellent. The one feature we especially like is that the earbuds do not fall out of our ears, regardless of how rigorous the activity we’re engaged in.
FitBit Ionic / Versa
Summer is a great time to spike our exercise activity, and FitBit has many gadgets that can track and motivate us to stay on track with healthy exercise habits. We especially like the latest smart watch releases from FitBit, the Ionic and the Versa. These smart watches are comfortable to wear and are packed with features that we like and use regularly. Besides tracking everything from distance traveled and heart rate to sleeping patterns, we can use these smart watches to listen to music, receive notifications, and make payments.
Livall Bling Smart Helmet
If you are a bicyclist, you can combine safety and technology with the Livall Bling Smart Helmet. This helmet is equipped with built-in LED lights, Bluetooth speaker, microphone, and an integrated riding app. You can communicate easily with your riding partners with the speaker and microphone. A built-in safety feature will automatically issue an SOS alert if the helmet senses that you are in an accident. After trying out the Livall Smart Helmet, we wonder why we were satisfied with “dumb” helmets for so long.
Modobag
For those of us who will be flying to our summer vacation destination, the Modobag is an incredibly smart carry-on bag that is sure to catch everyone’s attention in the terminal. Not only is the Modobag decked out with all the smart luggage features, such as special compartments for your electronics, USB charging ports, and LED lights; but it also doubles as a vehicle. That’s right, you can actually ride the motorized Modobag to your gate. Topping out at a speed of 8 mph and a range of 8 miles on a full battery charge, you can zip through the hordes of walkers in the airport and get to your gate up to three times faster than walking. Ridable smart luggage is something we never thought we would see or use, but it is now all the rage.
Opal Nugget Ice Maker
For those who enjoy a cold summer beverage, ditch those plastic bags of convenience store ice cubes so clumped together you need an icepick and a hammer in order to make a drink. Use the Opal Nugget Ice Maker instead. Most ice makers produce hard, smooth cubes, but this cool countertop machine uses a unique compression process to produce the chewable nuggets you get in bars and restaurants. You can even connect to it with your phone to control it remotely and check the ice level.
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May 2018
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
In the April/May issue of the Nashville Bar Journal, we reviewed Zoom, a free videoconference and audioconference service you can use on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. With Zoom, you can use the built-in camera on your device or the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 if you want to display your ugly mug in HD. The problem is the built-in microphones and speakers on your devices are usually not that great, especially if you have several persons speaking on your end. For a high-end experience, you need a better microphone and speaker for your Zoom audio and videoconferences (or conferences using other services, such as Skype, GoToMeeting, etc.). The Soundlink Micro ($99 on Amazon) and the eMeet M1 ($180 on Amazon) are two good options for improving your audio experience for what we will collectively call “econferences.” Both have advantages and disadvantages.
eMeet OfficeCore M1 Conference Speaker
The eMeet OfficeCore is specifically designed for econferences (perfect for meetings with 10 people or less). By using a multiple microphone array, it will pick up sound from any direction. Any person sitting within six feet of the microphone will be heard clearly during the call or videoconference. The blue light around the edge of the device lights up in the direction of the speaker, making it is easy to follow the conversation.
The OfficeCore can be connected via Bluetooth, but our best results came when we tethered it via a micro USB cable. It was very easy to set up, and it has amazing batter life (about 12 hours). You can also use it to charge your devices via a USB connection, which comes in very handy when you are using a smartphone or a tablet. It is compatible with every device we have (which is about everything on the market today), and also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker to play music or audio when playing back from your phone or tablet. But, music playback on the OfficeCore M1 is clearly inferior to most Bluetooth speakers.
The compact design of the OfficeCore makes it an excellent travel “ecompanion” when you anticipate having to join conference calls from the road. It comes with its own carrying case, and is about the size of a hockey puck. (We hope that does not evoke bad memories for you Predators fans.)
There is no echo for the person on the receiving end of the econference, as is the case with most conference speakers (including the Bose Soundlink Micro). When used for its intended purpose—econferences—the OfficeCore provides a great experience, though it does come with a hefty price tag.
Bose SoundLink Micro
As all of our readers know, we love Bluetooth speakers. We are certain that we own more than 20 between the two of us. So, when the SoundLink Micro went on sale for $99, we both ordered one immediately. We were not disappointed.
The quality of the sound when playing back music is incredible for its size. We could not believe the bass response, the loudness, and the clarity—even outdoors. Robben Ford has never sounded better to us (and he always sounds great).
And speaking of outdoors, it is waterproof. It is very rugged and resists scratches and nicks. It has a neat strap that allows you to clip it to most anything, including a briefcase or a backpack.
We liked it so much, we decided to see if it could compare to the OfficeCore M1. As a speakerphone device, the SoundLink is clearly inferior. The recipient of the econference will hear a slight echo in the speaker’s voice and the microphone is not nearly as sensitive as the OfficeCore’s multiple speakers, requiring you to be be much closer to the Soundlink to be heard. In addition, the SoundLink’s battery lasts about six hours. (But, isn’t that long enough for any econference?)
As a playback speaker, though, it blows the OfficeCore away, as expected. And, for most small econferences, the SoundLink is more than adequate for the job. So, if you are traveling and want a good speaker to kick out the jams in your hotel room or on the beach, the SoundLInk is a perfect traveling companion.
The bottom line is that both devices work great for their intended purposes and reasonably well for their “add on” features. The Office Core, combined with a good camera and Zoom can give you a videoconference solution that would have cost thousands of dollars in recent years. The Soundlink is a great addition to the Bill and Phil Bluetooth collection because of its size, durability, and audio quality. No surprises here, just good products.
—Bill & Phil
March 2018
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
We have always wanted to have a high-end professional drone of our own. However, our collective flying skills are so horrible that we were afraid to shell out the necessary cash for a state-of-the-art drone—for fear that we would crash the drone and lose our money. But when we went to CES this year, we saw the DJI Mavic Pro and our jaws dropped. We had to have one, and that was all there was to it. So, we shelled out $1,000 and bought it, and it was a great decision.
Upon its arrival, we unpacked our drone and marveled at its form factor. The entire drone is compact and easily transportable—it folds up into a small package that is about the size of a subway sandwich. (You can also buy a small pouch to carry it.) We will admit that we studied the User’s Guide in detail for fear that we would crash our new toy, but actually, piloting the Mavic Pro is easily learned and very intuitive.
In essence, this is all you have to do: unfold the remote and attach your smartphone to it; make the connection between the remote controller and the drone; and then start up the DJI Go 4 software on your smartphone. The screen on the smartphone allows you to instruct the Mavic Pro to tell it where “home” is. (You merely push the “home” button.) Magically, the Mavic Pro then knows the exact location for its return. You then press another button telling the drone to take off. It will ask if you are “sure you want to take off” on the screen of your smartphone. Then, you slide the control on your phone's screen to make the drone take off. It hovers about five feet off the ground while waiting for your commands from the remote control and your smartphone. Then things get really interesting.
We took the Mavic Pro out to Bill’s farm and flew it to follow the path of the Big Hickory Creek behind the farmhouse. The image from the Mavic Pro’s 4K, 20 megapixel camera was stunning on the smartphone.
We flew the drone so far over the top of Big Hickory Creek that we could no longer see the drone. We could only watch the camera image on the smartphone screen to determine its location. After we had flown the drone about a mile away from us, we lost our nerve and used the controls to turn it around and bring it back home. It supposedly has a four-mile range, but we were not sure what would happen if we flew it that far away. The drone is also very fast, and can reach speeds up to 40 miles per hour and flies for approximately 30 minutes on one battery charge.
After we turned the drone around and began flying it back home, it stopped and announced over the speaker on our smartphone that it had encountered an obstacle stopped. It appeared to us that it was too close to a tree branch, so we merely commanded the Mavic Pro to go up another 10 or 20 feet and then commanded it to continue flying. It resumed its flight path and headed back. As we could hear the drone coming before we could see it, we touched the home button on the smartphone screen to command the Mavic Pro to return home. Dutifully, it headed back to the spot we had designated as “home.”
The drone returned to that destination and hovered five feet over ground and asked—via the screen on the smartphone—if we wanted to land. We answered “yes,” and it landed perfectly. Miraculously, we had successfully flown the Mavic Pro without any damage to the drone whatsoever.
We then downloaded the camera footage and watched it on a 4K laptop screen. Suffice it to say, the video was stunning. The DJI Go 4 app on our smartphone allowed us to edit the video and add music from the built-in music library that seemed appropriate for a video of Big Hickory Creek during a flood stage. We marveled at the ease of the editing and sound-tracking capabilities of the app.
There are so many neat features on the Mavic Pro, but we were only able to test out a few of them. You can enable automated flight modes, fine-tune the obstacle avoidance system (although the default obstacle avoidance system worked incredibly well), instruct it to fly around a point of interest in a perfect circle, and instruct it to fly a pre-set pattern. You can even instruct the Mavic Pro to follow you wherever you go, or follow a selected person or any other moving object, such as a car or even a deer or coyote.
The return home feature is quite impressive. Although we did not test it out, if the communication between the Mavic Pro and the remote is disrupted, the Mavic Pro will automatically return to its take-off point and land. If the Mavic Pro is running low on battery power, it will return home and land before it runs out of power.
You can also fly the Mavic Pro without the remote controller and simply use your smartphone. You must switch the drone to fly via Wi-Fi controls from your smartphone. This feature, along with the so-called Tripod Mode, will allow you to fly the drone indoors without endangering anyone. With a little practice, we think we can fly the Mavic Pro at our next Bill & Phil Show. If you come see us, don’t forget to duck!
—Bill & Phil
January 2018
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
Many of you have asked about the slowing down of older iPhones and battery-related problems. Interestingly, this issue was first put on everyone’s radar screen by Tyler Barney, a teenager from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Barney had noticed older iPhones were slowing down for some unknown reason. He first looked to see if he should update the Operating System, but that did not work. So next he replaced the battery, and he noticed that it sped up. He, therefore, concluded that the slowdown in the phone was created by a degradation of the iPhone’s lithium ion battery. He shared his analysis on Reddit, and that post went viral.
He was exactly right. The question then becomes: “Did Apple do this as a method to sell more new iPhones, or was it really an effort to assist its older iPhone users. Here is what happened according to Apple? You decide.
Apple posted an apology and provided its solution for the problem.
Apple decided to provide users with “power management” without telling its users about it. According to Apple, if your phone has a really old or degraded battery, your phone may have a list of symptoms that indicate a reduction in performance, such as longer time to load applications, background refreshing that requires reloading the application, dimming of the backlight, reduced speaker volume, and so forth. These referenced “symptoms” were programmed by Apple to occur in later versions of the operating system when loaded on phones with reduced power, thereby slowing down the phone. According to Apple, they only did this to allow users to have a “better experience”. The problem is that Apple took all of these actions without informing users they were doing it.
Apple’s secrecy on this issue and the ensuing criticism obviously has stung the smartphone. In response, Apple has launched a battery replacement service at $29 per battery, but the users are required to bring their phones to an Apple Store for the fix. Replacing the battery of your older model iPhone will normally fix the problem.
We agree that Apple should have been more open and transparent about its “power management”, but it probably was a good idea that protected older iPhones from random shutdowns and component damage. We bet that from now on, Apple will tell everyone before they start monkeying with the iPhone’s performance behind our backs.
—Bill & Phil
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
A cell phone that costs as much as a computer? Really? We love our gadgets, but even a couple of gadget spendthrifts like us found the price for the new iPhone X shocking. But, we bought one anyway. (It actually cost us $1149.)
Many of the features of the X are brand new. First the visuals. There is no “home” button. It has been replaced by the soon-to-be infamous “notch.” There is no bezel. The 5.8-inch display covers the entire front; it just has a very thin frame around the screen. It looks a lot like a Samsung Galaxy 8 (which we bought earlier this year), except its frame is stainless steel, instead of aluminum. It has an OLED screen that has superior contrast and brightness and is easier to view at an angle. The screen is big, but because it has no bezel, the phone is not big.
On to use and performance. You no longer unlock the phone with your fingerprint. It unlocks with Face ID. Yes, it is true that Samsung has “been there done that,” but Apple’s Face ID actually works better than Samsung’s. Face ID is easy to set up and easy to use. (When you set it up, it makes a 3D scan of your face, so it even works at an angle.) It is not perfect, but it works very, very well. Still, it is something you will have to get used to if you are accustomed to the fingerprint scan. The real problem is that Face ID uses a camera placed in a “notch” at the top of the phone. When you view items “full screen”, the “notch” gets in the way.
The X is clearly designed with the new iOS 11 in mind. Instead of pressing the home button you swipe up from the bottom of the screen. To get the Control Center, you swipe from the upper right of the screen. A left-swipe still takes you to the camera. There are several other gesture and control changes that you have to learn, and it takes some getting used to.
The phone is very, very fast—probably the fastest mobile phone you can buy. It uses a new chipset, the A11 Bionic. If you are a “phone gamer” you will be in heaven. However, the speed and the larger display does not sacrifice battery life. In this area, the X is a vast improvement over the iPhone 7, which, in our experience, pooped out battery-wise too soon. Also, like the new Samsung Galaxy phones, the X charges wirelessly, but, unlike those phones it does not support fast wireless charges speeds. Apple says it will support that feature very soon.
So, the $1000 question—is the X worth the price? That is up to you. If you do not like abrupt changes, and if you don’t like a sometimes steep learning curve, save your money and get the iPhone 8. In fact, one could argue that the 8 is a better phone for most people’s purposes. The “notch” is annoying and the X really can’t do anything that other smart phones can’t do. But, we are gadget nerds, and we spend money to play with new stuff and experiment. Sometimes it seems we enjoy being annoyed with quirky toys. Bill believes the X is the future of the iPhone, and he has enjoyed the expensive taste of his new toy. (Phil says he will stick with his dependable and technically advanced Samsung Galaxy 8.)
—Bill & Phil
September 2017
Bitcoin, Ether, Cryptocurrency & Such
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
Yes, we know—Cryptocurrency is not a “gadget.” We do love our gadgets, but we love money, too, because it can buy us more gadgets. So, writing about Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrency seems a natural fit for our monthly gadget. And, since this topic is so nerdy, it really appeals to us.
Some say cryptocurrency is the future of “money.” Some say all cryptocurrencies are Ponzi Schemes. Everyone agrees it is a very trendy topic. Banks, accounting firms, governments, and securities firms are all researching the topic, and many do not understand the basic concepts behind it.
We believe that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, are a logical step in the evolution of “money.” In cave man days, we traded goods. Then, as we evolved and became more “civilized” we used precious goods, such as salt, silver or gold, or even whiskey as “money.” Next, we created coins out of precious metals, and later backed paper money with the equivalent amount of precious metal, such as gold or silver. Remember “Silver Certificates” or when Nixon took us off the gold standard for our currency in the 1970s? Since that time, our money is purely “fiat money”—or currency without any intrinsic value established as money by government regulation or law. And now, we rarely use cash or coins—we use credit cards, PayPal or Venmo, or Apple Pay—as most spending transactions are now digital. When we pony up for one of our gadgets, we just plop down our credit cards. We pay with “digital cash.”
With credit cards, Venmo, PayPal, etc., you need a payment network with accounts, balances, and transactions. And to make them work, you need to have a trusted record keeper to keep track of the transactions to prevent double-spending and to verify balances, etc. An inventor who used the fake name, Satoshi Nakamoto, figured it out.
The solution is the use of “Blockchain” technology that you may have heard about. With Blockchain, there is no centralized ledger. Instead, Blockchain technology uses a network of peers. Every peer has a record of the complete history of all transactions and thus of the balance of every account. Theoretically, the peers do not trust one another, so there can be no cheating. The transaction is known almost immediately by the whole network. But the transaction needs to be confirmed.
If a transaction is unconfirmed, it is pending and can be forged. When a transaction is confirmed, it is set in stone and is no longer forgeable—it can’t be reversed. Transactions such as credit card transactions use a single record keeper, and those transactions can be reversed. Not so with Blockchain or Bitcoin transactions. Once confirmed, they are set in stone.
So, you ask, how do transactions get confirmed? The only way they can be confirmed are by so-called “miners.” This is their job in a cryptocurrency-network. They take transactions, stamp them as legit, and spread them in the network. After a transaction is confirmed by a miner, every node must add it to its database. It has become part of the blockchain. For this job, the miners get rewarded with a token of the cryptocurrency, for example, with Bitcoins.
How do miners “mine?” They compete to solve a cryptologic puzzle for the transaction. After they solve the puzzle, they add it to the Blockchain and it is set in stone. After finding a solution, a miner can build a block and add it to the blockchain. Mining requires a specific amount of computing power. Once “mined” and there is a consensus in the network, no one on the network can break or change the transaction. These cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, are not identified with any individual (pseudonymous), and are secure. The transactions are very fast and no one has to give permission for them (other than verification by miners).
The blockchain technology that ensures the veracity and security of cryptocurrency transactions is also getting the notice of the legal technology world. Many envision blockchain being utilized by lawyers for smart contracts as well as other law firm administrative processes. In fact, we believe that in the near future, we will see blockchain being implemented in a number of industries across the global economy. Is this technology the magic bullet for all the cybersecurity ills that plague us today? Probably not, but we do believe it potentially is a big step forward in ensuring secure and legal transactions.
There are several different “species” of cryptocurrencies… Bitcoin, Ethereum (Ethers), Ripple (not the wine), Litecoin, Monero, Dash, Augur, and more. There are markets that trade in all of them and they all have value on the open market. Cryptocurrencies are not legal everywhere, but they are legal in the United States. On March 25, 2014, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that Bitcoin will be treated as property for tax purposes as opposed to currency. In fact, for tax purposes, they are treated much like precious metals, such as gold. This ruling had the side benefit of confirming the legality of cryptocurrency in the United States.
Well, that was your primer on cryptocurrency. Now, we must fire up our computers and “mine” some Bitcoin so we can buy more gadgets.
—Bill & Phil
July 2017
Surface Laptop
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
Way back in 2012, when Microsoft introduced its first hardware laptop/tablet hybrid, dubbed "Surface", we were first in line to purchase. Like many of our colleagues, we grew to prefer this hybrid concept over Apple's iPad. The Surface combined so many of the cool usability features of the iPad, yet retained the functionality of a business-oriented laptop.
Bill, of course, still values his iPad and other Apple devices and remains an accomplished ambidextrous Apple/Microsoft consumer. Phil, however, experienced a full-fledged Microsoft conversion when the Surface first appeared and has maintained a cult-like loyalty to the Surface brand. So, it is no surprise that our purchases of Surface products have corresponded very closely with the release dates of each successive Surface release: Surface Pro 2 in 2013, Surface Pro 3 in 2014, and Surface Pro 4 in 2015. We waited breathlessly in 2016 for Microsoft's next iteration of the Surface Pro, but it did not happen.
When Microsoft finally did release the next Surface Pro in June of 2017, we marched feverishly to our local retailer with pent-up anticipation to see what new features this fifth generation hybrid device would offer. To our surprise, Microsoft had dropped the generation number from the name. The new device was simply called Surface Pro (not Surface Pro 5). Also to our surprise, the new Surface Pro did not look all that different from the Surface Pro 4 that we had bought a year and a half ago. We gripped our credit cards a little tighter in our sweaty hands as we read the specs on the new Surface Pro and realized there was no dramatic newness. With disappointment mounting, we turned away thinking that the Surface fever had finally broken.
And then...we saw it.
Right next to the lackluster Surface Pro sat another first for Microsoft—a full-fledged laptop, simply named Surface Laptop. Now this was interesting. No detachable keyboard, no kickstand in the back…this was a real laptop. Our grip on the credit card begin to loosen and our heart rate accelerated as we realized that this was now the “must-have” device of the season. We played with the demo model for about five minutes before the sales lady got an easy commission as we plopped down our card and went home unexpectedly with the new Surface Laptop.
Since that impulse buy, our view of the Surface Laptop has grown even more favorable. This laptop is not too small, not too big. It seems just right for both travel and in office use. The 13.5-inch screen is noticeably larger than the Surface Pro screen—and is a welcome enhancement. The keyboard is deeper and sports a fabric cover, which seemed odd at first but is actually pretty cool. Even though the laptop is larger than the Surface Pro, it feels thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro when its keyboard is attached. This laptop is more akin to the MacBook Air in aesthetics. We opted for the version with the i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid state hard drive—this configuration is plenty powerful and very responsive. (Moreover, the Surface Laptop is lighter and more portable than Bill’s Surface Book, yet it seems just as powerful.) We especially like the security feature that unlocks the laptop via facial recognition, which has worked well. We were also pleased to see that Cortana was on point, as we accomplished much of the initial setup via voice commands.
Microsoft touts a 14.5-hour battery life on the Surface Laptop and—while we know we probably won't see that duration in actual use—we have noticed a great improvement in the battery life over our previous Surface Pro. No need to purchase a new Surface Pen, as the pen on our Surface Pro 4 works just fine. The only caveat is that because this device has a traditional laptop form factor, you can't lay the screen flat to write with the pen or sign a document. This limitation doesn't really matter to us as our penmanship is pretty terrible regardless of the angle.
One of the biggest surprises of the Surface Laptop—and perhaps its biggest negative (for us)—is what comes installed on it out of the box. Microsoft is introducing its new stripped-down version of its operating system—Windows 10 S—on the Surface Laptop. On the surface (no pun intended), there is no noticeable difference between Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 S. The difference is with Windows 10 S, Microsoft will only allow you to install apps from the Microsoft Store. This restriction, of course, is meant to enhance security by enforcing a sort of closed playground while working on the device (something that Apple has been doing for years).
The problem is that there is a paucity of available apps in the Microsoft store. For example, you can't install Chrome or Firefox browsers on Windows 10 S, because those apps don't exist in the Microsoft Store. Certainly, many of the legal applications we still use on our laptop would not be installable on Windows 10 S. So, while the idea is noble (a computing environment with enhanced security), and maybe even desirable in certain institutions, such as schools—in actuality, we find the Windows 10 S restrictions very confining. However, we were very relieved to find out that on this Surface Laptop we can upgrade to full Windows 10 Pro for free through the end of the year. That decision is a no-brainer.
While we intended to purchase and test drive the new Surface Pro, we were distracted and taken by the Pro's new flashy cousin, the Surface Laptop. While the Pro has been a dependable workhorse through the years, it was getting a little boring. Surface Laptop was what we needed to spice things up, keep us up-to-date and feed our never-ending hunger for the latest and greatest devices.
—Bill & Phil
May 2017
Samsung Galaxy S8
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
We are usually very eager to be first in line to get the latest and greatest gadgets when they hit retail shelves. However, when Samsung finally released its latest smartphone model, the Galaxy S8, we were a little hesitant to purchase. We had no qualms with the glowing previews we read about the S8, but we knew that acquiring the S8 meant we had to give up our Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones. (We both have the S7 Edge, along with several other phones.) Over the past year, the S7 Edge has been the best smartphone on the market in our view, edging out (no pun intended) the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel for smartphone supremacy. So why give up a good thing―no, a great thing―to try something new and unproven? We were told the S8 was every bit as good as the S7 and then some. We're an easy sell, so it only took a couple minutes of deliberation, and we were headed home with the new Galaxy S8. Would we love it? Would it catch on fire, like the Note 7?
We didn't want to say that the S8 has made us forget the S7, but that is exactly what happened. First of all, the S8 is slender, sleek, thinner, and taller than the S7. We tend to like "taller" and "thinner," even in phones. Phone makers are continuing to pack more screen space into more compact form factors. The S8 feels smaller in your hand (and more accessible, especially for one-handed use), but you don't feel like you are sacrificing screen real estate in the more compact form factor. Samsung uses what it calls an “Infinity Screen” to create a bezel-less, slightly curved 5.8-inch display. Even the physical Home button, at the bottom of the phone, has been removed and replaced with a soft Home button on the display. Aesthetically, the S8 hits all the right buttons. If you are clumsy, however, you may want to buy a case for the S8. It is so thin, you may lose your grip on the phone. Additionally, since the S8 all glass, it’s vulnerable when it is dropped from your hands.
One feature that we loved on our Google Pixel phone was the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. We found this placement made it much easier to unlock the phone with a fingerprint scan. Fortunately, Samsung copied this feature on the S8 and moved the fingerprint scanner to the back of the phone. Unfortunately, they placed the scanner slightly off-centered and right next to the camera lens, which makes it very easy to smudge your camera lens when trying to swipe your finger over the scanner. This is probably the only design feature on the S8 that we found to be deficient and irritating.
As far as functionality is concerned, the S8 is a home run. It runs on a powerful new processor that is noticeably quicker than almost any smartphone we have tried. We are told that the S8 is the first U.S. phone that is gigabit LTE compatible. This basically means that the phone can connect to the Internet at much higher speeds should the underlying provider network support those speeds in the future. The camera, which was already good on the S7, is exceptional. Taking great photos is a breeze, even for amateur photographers like us. We really like the selective focus feature that allows you to focus on a particular object in the picture while blurring everything else in the background. There is even a professional mode you can enable if you are an expert photographer. Selecting the various options in the camera app is much easier on the S8.
Included on the S8 is a new feature called Bixby, Samsung's entry to the growing digital assistant market. There is a dedicated button to bring up Bixby on the side of the phone, but the plan is for Bixby to ultimately respond to voice commands. Bixby is meant to learn the user's habits, preferences, schedule, and provide helpful information relevant to the user at a particular time. This feature is obviously not fully developed, as the voice recognition is not available on our S8 currently, but we understand that further updates will enhance the Bixby service.
Bixby is also integrated into the camera app so you can point the camera lens at an object and then click a Shopping button to shop for similar objects online. Samsung also touts a translation feature in Bixby that allows you to focus the camera on a document or sign and have the text instantly translated via the camera app. We had limited success in testing these features on our S8; we assume that the Bixby feature will get more robust as further updates are installed on the phone.
In another first, the S8 is the first phone to support the new Bluetooth 5 standard. Thus, you can connect to devices via Bluetooth over a longer distance (up to 120 feet), and you can also connect to two sets of headphones at once. Alas, no more sharing a single pair of headphones while watching a movie on your phone.
Thankfully, the S8 still has the old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone jack for those of us who still use the corded headphones. But Samsung did obsolete our old Galaxy power cords with the new USB-C charging port (although Samsung cordially provides a traditional USB adapter in the box).
Yes, we have forgotten that old Galaxy S7 model that is now sitting on top of the recycling heap. The S8 has captured our attention, and so far, we really like what we are seeing. It remains to be seen how the S8 will stack up against the upcoming new iPhone release; but it is clear that Samsung has once again moved the bar even higher. The ball is now in Apple's court.
—Bill & Phil
March 2017
by Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton
Cybersecurity is without a doubt the biggest burden of being an active user of gadgets and technology. Every email account, bank account, employee benefits portal, travel site, shopping profile, smartphone, smart home device, and, yes, even some of our cookware and cleaning tools require a login ID and password. The default (and very dangerous) reaction to this deluge of portals and devices that require authentication, is to simply use the same user name and password combination that we use for all our accounts. And since we tend to be very forgetful and don't wish to be inconvenienced, many of us use something immediately recallable for the golden key that unlocks the door to our personal data. Birthdates and spouses' names are favorite password themes; and they are easily discoverable to rogue snoopers with a cursory internet search. Even more reckless are those who choose the least resistant path to online security with such "stellar" passwords as "password", "12345", or the default manufacturer's password on consumer devices such as Wi-Fi routers, smart gadgets, etc.
You get the point. Cybersecurity is really important—but, it can be a pain to enforce and so, in many cases, our defenses are neglected and weak. We feel your pain and hate being inconvenienced with having to keep track of complex passwords for dozens of accounts that we access on a near daily basis. So, the solution is, of course, more technology. No, really, there are software password managers that do indeed take the hard part out of maintaining complex access codes. They have been around for a while. But maybe if you have tried one of these programs in the past and found it clunky, incomplete, or just too burdensome to use; perhaps it's time to take a fresh look. We did and were pleasantly surprised.
We resurrected LastPass which we had taken for a trial run several years ago. In the past, we used the free version, but this time we ponied up for the premium version, which set us back $12. Believe me, Bill spends more on coffee over the weekend than it cost to bolster our cybersecurity for an entire year.
The idea behind LastPass (and all password management programs) is to have one master login and password to the password manager and let the manager maintain all your individual account credentials. Therefore, it is imperative that the master password that you choose for this central vault be very strong. But, of course, as the software name suggests, this is the "last" password that you will need to remember. LastPass goes a step further than just requiring entry of this master password. It also uses two-factor authentication which means an imposter would need both your master password and your smartphone to gain access to your password vault. There are even more stringent measures that you can employ via LastPass such as one-time password generator on a USB stick, but we were just fine with the built-in two-factor authentication.
We found it was very easy to set up access to secure portals within our LastPass vault. Essentially as you are logging in to a secure site, you can click the LastPass icon in the credentials box and the application asks if you would like to save the site and login credentials to your vault. We also like the way you can organize your various sites in the vault into custom folders (travel, email, banking, cloud storage, etc.). So now when we want to login to our personal account on Southwest.com, for example, we simply go to LastPass and click the Southwest card in our vault and LastPass takes us to the site and logs in automatically. Yes, it is that easy. You can even specify folders where you share access to certain sites with other individuals (such as family members) but keep other sites private to yourself.
LastPass has a great feature called Security Challenge, which will go through all your accounts, analyze the passwords, and give you a security score. If you find out, like we did, that some of your passwords are duplicative or are not sufficiently complex, LastPass can auto-generate a new complex password that is highly unlikely to be guessed by a hacker. This security review is highly recommended as it would make no sense to deploy a password manager to manage very weak passwords. We chose to let LastPass generate 16-character passwords for all the sites we kept in our vault.
Once you begin using a password manager and take advantage of the system-generated complex passwords, it is important that you can utilize the manager on all devices and that your site credentials automatically sync across all devices. LastPass does indeed have apps on Windows, iOS, and Android that allow you to use it across all platforms.
After adding a couple dozen sites into the LastPass vault and then accessing those sites from both our PC, tablet, and smartphone, we knew this was an incredible step forward for both our personal cybersecurity defense as well as convenience. Some may chafe at having to set up the password vault in the beginning and committing to use the password manager on all devices; however, once the initial setup is done, LastPass is a very convenient way to access all our secure content. We can't believe we waited so long to commit.
We know it is a scary world out there with so much of our personal electronic data sitting behind numerous password-protected security gates. Rather than being lazy and putting out a welcome mat to cybercriminals, we choose to reinforce the defenses with a sound password strategy. LastPass helped us do that at a very low cost and just a little bit of commitment to begin using it. We sleep better knowing it's in the vault.
—Bill & Phil
