Articles (page 3 of 50)
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Reversible cameras: genius or gimmick? (TL/DR)
Most phones these days have at least one camera – or more. The one that faces you is referred to as the “selfie-camera”, and the other is usually called the “main camera”. The one…
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Who will benefit from the vacuum the Note 5 left in the “hardcore” phone market?
There was a time (not too long ago) when Samsung reigned supreme in the fuzzy space that existed somewhere between a smartphone and tablet. We dubbed these devices “phablets”, and…
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Power users are pissed that the Note 5 might ditch removable storage and battery, but do regular users care?
Do you want to store your entire music collection on your phone? Would you like to have the movies you like on a card that you can carry with you everywhere you go, even if you’re…
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I am pro-choice - just maybe not how some define it
Let me put this on the record right now: I am pro-choice - just maybe not how some define it. Both the woman and the man had a CHOICE to be intimate together. They both had the…
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AMOLED vs IPS: which is better?
When looking at smartphones and tablets, we often obsess over cores and gigs and screen sizes. While all those are important to weigh when evaluating a device, the component we…
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How Google killed its Play Music app for me
Back when Google first introduced its Play Music All Access service, with unlimited “radio stations”, I signed up, eager to try it out. After taxes the service cost me…
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My new house is going to be intelligent, and controllable from my smartphone
We have smart phones. We have smart cars. Some of us even have smart homes – but the smart homes of yesterday usually have to be professionally wired and programmed. Thanks to…
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Chocolate bar versus silver bar: Which one would you pick? (video)
Everyone loves chocolate, right? But if you had your choice between a chocolate bar and a silver bar, which would you pick? That's exactly the question put in front of a bunch of…
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Is the new T-Mobile JUMP On Demand plan a good deal for you?
T-Mobile has been doing some very “un-carrier” things for quite some time now. That’s not by accident – instead it’s a very strategic plan to woo customers away from the more…
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Google Maps Offline completely misses the point, but it’s a great feature
For those of you who didn’t already know, I just got back from an epic road-trip vacation that covered more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km), and took me through four states. What’s…
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Why do we still need SIM cards?
Back in the early days of cell phones in these United States, cellular phones were purchased from the carrier along with a service plan. Those plans came with ridiculous pricing…
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Hands on with the Neo smartpen N2
I was never a fan of handwriting while I was in school. Later I was introduced to fountain pens and all of that changed. My “daily carry” pen is an aluminum-bodied, steel-nibbed…
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Android Wear watch faces: my digital favorites
Android Wear is picking up more OEMs, more styles, and more users every passing day. These svelte wearables take a fairly robust microcomputer and cram it into a wristwatch – an…
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WHAT’S WRONG WITH SB54 AND ‘COUNT MY VOTE’?
Many of you have asked about the specific objections the Party has to SB 54 (the Utah Legislature/”Count My Vote” compromise). Please see eight major objections below – (for the…
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Voting by Email is a bad idea
Whether it’s voting by Postal Mail or by casting a ballot in person, voting is at the center of our Republic. Some, however, want to see voting by email via your home computer…
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We've got bees!
GREAT NEWS! Though it was too late to get pictures, my boys and I were able to pick up two starter hives, truck them ~80 miles North, and install them last night! We didn't look…
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Why Android fails to deliver a Microsoft Continuum experience
What is Microsoft Continuum? Just in case you haven’t heard of it before, Continuum is Microsoft’s solution to let you use your smartphone as a desktop computer – wirelessly.…
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Is the Snapdragon 808 inside the LG G4 a huge mistake? (poll)
We all know that higher numbers are better than lower ones, right? But does that same logic apply when we’re talking about two high-end mobile processors? The root of the…
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I failed as a "hero" today
Back in February 2015 we had a scare in Utah. A car was stolen with a 3-year-old little girl (Bella Martinez) in the back. According to a press release from South Salt Lake…
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Baltimore is burning (video) (UPDATED 4/28)
Today, instead of focusing on the natural disaster that hit Nepal over the weekend, we're being flooded with news from Baltimore - the next Ferguson. While there are questions…
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The Prius and the Useful idiot (video)
Now that Earth Day is behind us, here are some of my thoughts on the Toyota Prius, old trucks, and why buying a product to try and save the planet is wrong. I watched a video by…
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How and Why to plant Lombardy Poplar trees (video)
Almost everyone wants big, tall shade trees in their yard. These trees trade irrigation for: cooler temperatures, lower cooling bills, more enjoyable time spent out-of-doors…
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Ads vs paid apps: Which do you prefer? (poll)
In life, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Similarly, despite the app stores being full of them, there’s no such thing as a “free app”, either. To explain what I mean, let’s…
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Layton Home for Sale! (UPDATE: Sold!)
UPDATE: Sold! It was always part of "the plan" to have my mother-in-law move in with us after her husband passed away. That unfortunate event came in December 2014. My wife loves…
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An HTC Sense-running tablet is a fantastic idea
I’m what most would call a “purist” when it comes to Android. The closer to AOSP a device can be, the better. Why? Several reasons, chief among them being consistency of…
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Utah: Good guy with a gun prevents stabbing (video)
According to what the police have reported, a man (the Good Guy) saw another man (the Bad Guy) slashing at another guy (the Victim) with a knife. The Good Guy stopped his car and…
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How to set up Android 5.1’s anti-theft Device Protection
It seems like a fairly simple feature, and one that slipped past most people when Android 5.1 started rolling out: Device Protection. According to Google, if your phone is lost or…
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4 ways USB 3.1 will change how you use your smartphone
When USB was first released there were basically two types of connectors: the one that you plugged into your computer (which hasn’t changed all that much over the years); and the…
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A curved LG G4 makes a lot of sense
LG makes some fantastic hardware. The Nexus 4 was a tremendous device (despite having a glass back). The G Watch was my first watch powered by Android Wear, and the first wearable…
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The Apple Watch retail launch is the best thing yet to happen to Android Wear
Back when Google started hinting at what is now known as “Android Wear”, Apple fans came out of the woodwork attacking every little thing. Back then we just had rectangular…
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The BlackBerry Passport from an Android Perspective
Back in my early days of “smartphonery”, I went with Android and my brother went with BlackBerry – the one with the rollerball. You know which one I’m talking about. Today, the…
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Who's behind the ironically named 'Count My Vote' initiative?
"Count My Vote" (CMV) is movement that advertises that your vote is somehow "not counted" in Utah's Caucus and Convention system that favors neighborhood elections and grassroots…
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Do you support Fair Elections in 2016?
I recently wrote this letter to my State Senator. You're welcome to use it (or parts of it) when writing your own Senator. Senator Stevenson, Last year SB54 was rushed through…
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ARM vs x86/x64
I was recently asked a question about Windows 10. Microsoft is unifying the codebase between computers, laptops, tablets, and even smartphones to something more uniform across…
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Networking tweaks to help your Android perform better, faster, and safer
By now it should be pretty clear that we’re all carrying around full-featured computers in our pockets. Just like the desktop and laptop computers that we’ve used for years, our…
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Are you a wild pig?
That's an awfully silly question, isn't it? Do you know how to catch wild pigs? If you want to catch wild pigs, you find a spot in the woods where the pigs frequent, then you put…
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BLU Vivo Air: pros and cons of the thinnest phone
Do you remember the last time you looked at the cell phone display in your local electronics store? How you wandered over and picked up what turned out to be a display unit?…
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Utah: Do you value your privacy?
I wrote the following letter to the Speaker of the Utah House, my State Representative, and my State Senator. Feel free to copy and paste if you feel the same. Dear Speaker…
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I cut up my Discover Card - another step to financial freedom
Not that long ago I was introduced to Dave Ramsey 's Total Money Makeover . It changed my life. I'd never kept a budget. I had a few credit cards. My wife and I had two car…
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Pros and Cons of Google’s Nexus 6
Google’s Nexus program is an interesting beast. Some of us originally felt that it was about providing a reference platform against which other OEMs could aspire. Others felt it…
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Syracuse Jr. High caught violating State Law?
Background This morning I received the following email from my daughter's Junior High teacher regarding SAGE testing. When SAGE testing began my daughter informed her teacher…
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How Android could compete with the Microsoft Surface Hub
Microsoft Surface Hub promises to be a “powerful team collaboration device designed to advance the way people work together naturally” and to “unlock the power of the group”. From…
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Three things I envy about Windows Phone 10, as an Android user
Microsoft sure does like to change the way things are named! Windows CE gave way to Handheld PC and Palm PC, then to Palm-Sized PC, then Pocket PC was replaced by Windows Mobile…
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The end-game is a nationwide car-tracking system
I really hate the words "I told you so". Yesterday I wrote an article about some proposals in the State of Utah to increase the gas tax, and some "alternatives" to tax by the…
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Taxed by the mile is a really bad idea!
Taxes... oh how we all hate taxes! Our paychecks are taxed, our groceries are taxed, our telephones are taxed, even our cable TV is taxed. If you were to lump all the taxes you…
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I’m Joe Levi, and I play with dolls
My children often bring me "baby dolls". I carefully accept them, taking care to treat them just as I would a real baby. I cradle them gently in my arms and hold them. I'll even…
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Tablet lessons Samsung needs to learn this year
Samsung, despite being something of a copy-cat, makes great hardware. It’s smartphones, especially those in the Galaxy S family, are fabulous pieces of hardware. Phablets like the…
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A Simple Solution to the Deflated Balls Situation
Anyone who follows sports should know about the scandal surrounding "the big game". After the Patriots played the Colts (and won), something was noticed about the balls. They…
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Google banned one of my ads, the reason why will leave you astounded
I'm just a normal guy. I don't have a huge advertising budget, so I have to be very careful when targeting my ads to keywords that would be of interest to my targeted…
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One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter
Food for thought... I've been hearing a lot about attacks that are being carried out around the world. Many that I talk with fireback with the quip "One man's terrorist is…