24 September 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work? |
Last week, I published a video entitled 4G Dumbphones: Get one with KaiOS!
In that vid, I talked about why KaiOS is a great OS to have on a 4G dumbphone.
Quite a few people asked various questions, like:
But hang on, isn’t that just a smartphone disguised as a dumbphone? But if it has Google, how is that different from an Android smartphone?
And so on.
So this week, I want to dig into some of the details of KaiOS and why it is NOT your daddy’s smartphone.
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17 September 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
One year ago, I advised against getting a 4G dumbphone with KaiOS. I am officially reversing that recommendation!
After purchasing a Nokia 8110 4G and playing with it for 1 month, I’m actually pretty speechless, and that IS rare.
Despite Google’s investment of $22 million in KaiOS over 1 year ago, Google’s services remain “add-ons”. IOW, KaiOS has NOT become Android Lite.
KaiOS is KaiOS, and there’s some Googley stuff on the phone that you can either use, or not. Better yet, you can block the Google apps from doing much of anything.
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6 August 2019 | Do-It-Yourself, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
They’re known as power bricks, wall warts, AC Adapters, AC-DC Converters, and probably 10 other names – and they power many of the gizmos you use every day.
But what happens when a gizmo stops working right?
You may think it’s the gizmo itself, but very often it’s the power brick.
It may look complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward to get a universal power brick and set it up to breathe new life into your techie toy.
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30 July 2019 | How Does it Work?, Spare Me! |
Back in my day, video games were simple.
You typed in some cheat codes, kicked butt, and you were done.
My favorite, of course, was Wolfenstein 3D. I remember playing Wolfenstein as a wee young man. There was just something about wiping out Digital Nazis that was sooo satisfying.
Then again, perhaps I should have gotten out more…
Anyway, nowadays, things are different.
You’re not allowed to cheat. Everything is an “open world”. And people get so addicted to video games that they ACTUALLY DIE while playing them for days on end!
So, what exactly went wrong?
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23 July 2019 | How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
Hacking, data breaches, and general cyber battles have been in the news a lot lately.
I recently read a book that shed a lot of light on how these things actually work – behind the scenes.
It’s called Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber Warfare.
Despite our Hollywood-fueled ideas about hacking, the practical reality is waaay different…
In short: It’s complicated!
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16 July 2019 | Computers, How Does it Work?, Networking |
You may have heard about the new-ish web browser in town: Brave.
The trouble is that it’s a bit hard to wrap one’s head around exactly how Brave is different – and supposedly better.
Brave was created by Brave Software, a company that was founded by Brendan Eich. In case you didn’t know, Eich is the creator of JavaScript. JS is basically the web programming language that powers literally everything on the internet these days.
So, when a dude like that says, “Hey, I have an idea for a better browser!” it’s probably a good idea to at least take a good look at it…
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9 July 2019 | How Does it Work?, Video |
Well, the results are in: I’m keeping my Q-Link!
While nothing really happened at first, I did actually notice certain improvements when using this crazy thing.
I still can’t explain how it works, or if it’s just the placebo effect. But, whatever it’s doing, it’s doing it well… at least for me and several other people I know!
For an intro, see my first vid on the Q-Link and various studies and tests done with it.
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2 July 2019 | How Does it Work?, Spare Me! |
Oh dear god, make it stop…
It’s time once again for The Great YouTube Algorithm Tweaking!
This time, that means even more nonsense, even fewer recommended videos that you actually want to watch, and just general chaos.
Of course, what most people are concerned about is the “curating” of content. Naturally, it’s a bit more complicated than that…
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25 June 2019 | Computers, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
Until now, apps were for smartphones and tablets. But that’s all about to change with PWAs: Progressive Web Apps!
PWAs are a new(ish) type of app that is web-based.
In other words, PWAs are literally web sites + JavaScript encapsulated in a window on whatever gizmo you want to install them on.
That means you can use the same app on your phone, tablet, desktop, or laptop – whether you use Windows, linux, or Mac.
Progressive Web Apps also work differently than normal apps, making them a bit more secure and privacy-oriented than traditional native apps.
So, what are these things and how do they work?
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11 June 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
It seems there are some common misconceptions out there about what 5G actually is and how it will work.
I wasn’t planning on another 5G video, but alas…
Much of this confusion is totally understandable since info is hard to come by despite the fact that 5G and IoT is the talk of the town!
Near the end I also toss in a few recent news stories related to troubles that 5G is causing or will cause.
You’d think they’d check this stuff out first BEFORE spending all that money… But then you remember that this is Planet Earth in 2019.
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Last week, I published a video entitled 4G Dumbphones: Get one with KaiOS!
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