I got around to reinstalling apps on a computer. Here are my current thoughts about what to install, if you have the money.
Internet Browsers - Chrome and Firefox (with TabMix Plus extension) at the minimum (Chrome Canary, Sea Monkey, OmniWeb, Opera, Maxthon, Seamonkey are options if you have a lot of e-mail addresses) - Then install AdBlock Plus on all of them that it is supported on. Install Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, and Adobe Shockwave. You will need to manually allow Microsoft Silverlight to work on Firefox for Netflix to work on it.
CleanApp version 3 instead of 5, and do this before installing most other apps. Version 5 can auto-select associated files, like DocumentIMade.xlsx and delete that, if you don't unselect it. The earlier this application is installed, the sooner the log file will be created that documents all files created when a new application is installed so it can be fully uninstalled when it is ready to be removed. It does best
Office App - Microsoft 2016 (not free) or Openoffice.org or LibreOffice for Macs which are free
Audio recording app - Audacity or Garage Band. I like Audacity.
Photo editing App - Adobe CS6's Photoshop or Gimp (free)
Video editing App - iMovie/Final Cut Pro/Adobe Premier
Volume increaser/recording app - Audio Hijack (systemwide) or old Audio Hijack Pro (app specific)
AeroSnap for Mac - Just pay the $4 and buy Better Touch Tool. I haven't seen a good free option.
Backup Apps - Time Machine is free, but it doesn't let you browse your files easily when viewing the backup drive. I like Carbon Copy Cloner, not free, and/or Super Duper (free + paid version).
Clipboard manager - ClipMenu is free and holds dozens of copied text and images for use later. Great if on an unreliable connection to have in case whatever you typed gets lost.
DiskInventory X - Lets you view the size of files and apps on your computer, jut do NOT use the delete function built into this app. Uninstall them through CleanApp or a drag and drop.
External Drive Recovery - If you have cash to burn, Disk Warrior 5 can repair externally connected drives, including though 2012 computers connected via Firewire and in target disk mode.
Media Apps - iTunes is very functional for audio, especially if you want to change the format or bitrate. VLC can play most file types. Not sure of the best app for video. ITunes will do it. You may want to set up the default import settings to 128 or higher MP3 for good compatibility across platforms in iTunes.
Pictures - Not sure of the best app. Photos works, but isn't my favorite, but there aren't a lot of options. Picassa is another. My current understanding is that when you right click on the application and show Package Contents there is a Masters folder and another folder called Edited or something and combined they may be 16 GB, but iPhoto may be 30 GB large. Seems bloated and I can't drag and drop photos to an email, which is annoying. I have to drag to a folder of my desktop I create, and from there drag to my e-mail to attach.
Dual Boot Software - Bootcamp (free), for 1 OS operation at a time, or VMware (paid) if you want to run Windows and Mac at the same time (or Parallels (paid), but VMWare has better reviews). You can create a Bootcamp image and access it via VMWare (or probably Parallels), th downside being it takes up a static amount of storage on the hard drive (at least it used to). If the image created by VMWare or Parallels is on the variable disk space setting, which i think is the default, it will expand as needed without the need for preallocating disk space like you need to in bootcamp. Supposedly, VMWare has near native performance in version 8, so you don't loose much. Though I am not sure how much RAM or how many processors you have to allocate to the image. I am currently assigning all, or all - 1, of the processors to the VMWare, despite the warnings for good performance, but it is super sluggish on Core 2 Duo computers.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Monday, October 19, 2015
Android Apps 10/19/2015
Barcode Scanner
Beep'n'go
BitStrips
C:Geo
Calendar widget
Cash
Chrome
Coffee Meets Bagel
Device Manager
Docs
Drive
DropBox
Duolingo
Ebay
FillUp
Facebook
Gas Guru
GPS Test
Groupon
Hangouts
Happn
HBOGO
Hinge
Inbox
JuicePlotter
Keep
Lumocity
Lyft
Lync
MapMyRun
Maps
Memo
Mint
My FitnessPal
Nova Launcher-backup most recent profile
OkCupid
PayPal
Peel Smart Remote
Google Photos
Pic Stitch
Play Music
POF
Sheets
Skype
SleepBot-backup online account
SMS Backup And Restore-backup SMS
SoundCloud
SoundHound-back up music online account
Speedtest
SpotHero
Spotify
Tinder
Transit
Bank App
Uber
Venmo
Viber
VLC
(Google) Voice
Weather
We Transfer
Zillow
All these are pushing my 16 GB internal storage limit even with the ones that could be moved to my SD card moved there.
Beep'n'go
BitStrips
C:Geo
Calendar widget
Cash
Chrome
Coffee Meets Bagel
Device Manager
Docs
Drive
DropBox
Duolingo
Ebay
FillUp
Gas Guru
GPS Test
Groupon
Hangouts
Happn
HBOGO
Hinge
Inbox
JuicePlotter
Keep
Lumocity
Lyft
Lync
MapMyRun
Maps
Memo
Mint
My FitnessPal
Nova Launcher-backup most recent profile
OkCupid
PayPal
Peel Smart Remote
Google Photos
Pic Stitch
Play Music
POF
Sheets
Skype
SleepBot-backup online account
SMS Backup And Restore-backup SMS
SoundCloud
SoundHound-back up music online account
Speedtest
SpotHero
Spotify
Tinder
Transit
Bank App
Uber
Venmo
Viber
VLC
(Google) Voice
Weather
We Transfer
Zillow
All these are pushing my 16 GB internal storage limit even with the ones that could be moved to my SD card moved there.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
A chat with Motorola Phone Engineers and their thoughts on Android phones
I had the opportunity to chat with two Motorola phone engineers in November 2014, a hardware lead and a developer. Here are some of their paraphrased replies to my questions as I understood them.
Me: What are the advantages of a Motorola phone?
Them: 1. Because the user experience is very close to pure Android, it takes us much less time to get Android release updates to Motorola users than competitors that use skins and have to update the skin to fit the new release.
2. Some of the devices are made of Kevlar/ ballistic nylon and are very durable. We do extensive drop tests for normal use, from about 5/6 feet as if people are putting the phone in their upper jacket front pocket, (the highest place someone would store their device).
3. The new Droid Maxx Turbo can give you 8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes of charge.
ME: Does the phone have to be off to charge that quickly?
Them: No. You can charge it while it is on.
ME:
Now this could mean that it charges it up to 10% in 15 minutes and the 8 hours comes from that much charge and depends on use, but hey...
in (CNET reports that it takes 2 hours to fully charge the 3,900 mAh battery on the Turbo charger, which is due to the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 which will be showing up in other devices.)
Me: What are the advantages of a Motorola phone?
Them: 1. Because the user experience is very close to pure Android, it takes us much less time to get Android release updates to Motorola users than competitors that use skins and have to update the skin to fit the new release.
2. Some of the devices are made of Kevlar/ ballistic nylon and are very durable. We do extensive drop tests for normal use, from about 5/6 feet as if people are putting the phone in their upper jacket front pocket, (the highest place someone would store their device).
3. The new Droid Maxx Turbo can give you 8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes of charge.
ME: Does the phone have to be off to charge that quickly?
Them: No. You can charge it while it is on.
ME:
Now this could mean that it charges it up to 10% in 15 minutes and the 8 hours comes from that much charge and depends on use, but hey...
in (CNET reports that it takes 2 hours to fully charge the 3,900 mAh battery on the Turbo charger, which is due to the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 which will be showing up in other devices.)
RCN Chicago ISP-Things you should know
In summary, 1. RCN has hidden cheaper intro prices than advertised, but you have to call and ask.
2. You can transfer an account to someone to get cheaper service with the intro pricing (which is less expensive than exiting customers), but both people may need to be on the phone at the same time.
3. The RCN plan I have allows them to increase the price of the plan by $5 every 12 months, for 3 years, after which, it can balloon.
Best practice, as I see it, is to call RCN for intro pricing and use $30/mo to $40/mo for 50 MBPS as your guide in Chicago as of Dec 2014. (That is cheap compared to the competition's advertised prices, which also may be inflated for people who don't call and ask for intro pricing.) Keep the plan for 3 years, and transfer to another person. Or, just make new roommates take the cable bill.
in Chicago, RCN is currently (Dec 2014) the ISP with the lowest advertised price for 50 MBPS Internet. (I have not heard a nice thing about a competitor, Comcast, from anyone. Poor customer service. Unreliable and slow service. Poor internet speeds at times. Hardware pickup is at a place without a phone line and isn't open during the hours posted.)
14 months ago, I took over the RCN account, which he had been the sole person on for 3-4 years, which had ballooned up to $150 with Internet as well as TiVo, HD channels, etc. and did an account transfer (possibly with both me and the old account holder on the phone at the same time) and got new customer pricing of $39.99 for 50 MBPS service +$5 modem rental, which was, and is, an incredible deal.
We did have issues with the rented modem and had to reset it regularly. I decided to save the $5 and bought a recommended Motorola Surfboard SB6121 modem (Docis 3.0) and while it did take 30 minutes of initial troubleshooting ot get it working, and it had to be cycled (unplogged, powered down, and plugged in again) twice that first month, we haven't had any issues with it since. So i saved $5 a month and my bill was $39.99 (They list $0 for tax, which i am cool with)
13 months later, my bill went up to $44.99. I called today (Dec 2014) and asked why. They said that there is a 3 year price lock, that the bill will not go up by more than $5 a month per 12 month period for 3 years. I heard that, and compared to the competition, that seems fair.
I then asked what would new customer pricing be. She said $30 for the plan I currently have. I said I didn't see that listed anywhere. She said that only they (workers) can see it and that it's the pricing for the 25 Mbps plan (I didn't see that plan on their site).
I asked how I could get my roommate on the account. She said it was along drawn out process. The equipment has to be returned for 30 days and the account has to have been closed for 30 days before a new account can be put on. "So we would be without internet for 30 days if we switched account holders?"
"Yes."
"When I picked up the account from my former roommate, we didn't loose a month of Internet service"
"You can transfer the account to someone but both people have to be on the phone at the same time."
"So I can transfer the account ot my roommate and save $15 a month?"
"looks like it."
"What's stopping me and him from switching back and forth every 12 months?"
"We can see who has been on the account for the address and they watch for that."
2. You can transfer an account to someone to get cheaper service with the intro pricing (which is less expensive than exiting customers), but both people may need to be on the phone at the same time.
3. The RCN plan I have allows them to increase the price of the plan by $5 every 12 months, for 3 years, after which, it can balloon.
Best practice, as I see it, is to call RCN for intro pricing and use $30/mo to $40/mo for 50 MBPS as your guide in Chicago as of Dec 2014. (That is cheap compared to the competition's advertised prices, which also may be inflated for people who don't call and ask for intro pricing.) Keep the plan for 3 years, and transfer to another person. Or, just make new roommates take the cable bill.
in Chicago, RCN is currently (Dec 2014) the ISP with the lowest advertised price for 50 MBPS Internet. (I have not heard a nice thing about a competitor, Comcast, from anyone. Poor customer service. Unreliable and slow service. Poor internet speeds at times. Hardware pickup is at a place without a phone line and isn't open during the hours posted.)
14 months ago, I took over the RCN account, which he had been the sole person on for 3-4 years, which had ballooned up to $150 with Internet as well as TiVo, HD channels, etc. and did an account transfer (possibly with both me and the old account holder on the phone at the same time) and got new customer pricing of $39.99 for 50 MBPS service +$5 modem rental, which was, and is, an incredible deal.
We did have issues with the rented modem and had to reset it regularly. I decided to save the $5 and bought a recommended Motorola Surfboard SB6121 modem (Docis 3.0) and while it did take 30 minutes of initial troubleshooting ot get it working, and it had to be cycled (unplogged, powered down, and plugged in again) twice that first month, we haven't had any issues with it since. So i saved $5 a month and my bill was $39.99 (They list $0 for tax, which i am cool with)
13 months later, my bill went up to $44.99. I called today (Dec 2014) and asked why. They said that there is a 3 year price lock, that the bill will not go up by more than $5 a month per 12 month period for 3 years. I heard that, and compared to the competition, that seems fair.
I then asked what would new customer pricing be. She said $30 for the plan I currently have. I said I didn't see that listed anywhere. She said that only they (workers) can see it and that it's the pricing for the 25 Mbps plan (I didn't see that plan on their site).
I asked how I could get my roommate on the account. She said it was along drawn out process. The equipment has to be returned for 30 days and the account has to have been closed for 30 days before a new account can be put on. "So we would be without internet for 30 days if we switched account holders?"
"Yes."
"When I picked up the account from my former roommate, we didn't loose a month of Internet service"
"You can transfer the account to someone but both people have to be on the phone at the same time."
"So I can transfer the account ot my roommate and save $15 a month?"
"looks like it."
"What's stopping me and him from switching back and forth every 12 months?"
"We can see who has been on the account for the address and they watch for that."
Friday, August 22, 2014
Less obvious comparison between the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5
*Work in progress*
Obvious comparison
Similarities
Very similar hardware and run the same version of Android (currently 4.4.2 as of August 23, 2014).
Both have the 801 snapdragon quad-core processor (though Samsung's is 2.5 GHz, 2.3 on HTC One).
Both have 2 GB of RAM
HTC One 5" 1920x1080 screen
S5 5.1" Super AMOLED 1920x1080 screen
Both have a power button and volume rocker, no buttons dedicated to opening a camera or fitness app like some competitors. Less to break I guess.
General differences
Samsung Galaxy S5
water resistant
replaceable battery
about 2 mm wider
about 1 mm thicker
about 4 mm shorter
I have large hands, and I prefer the slightly smaller width of the HTC One, but I don't like how the power button is at the top of the screen, and even my fingers have to reach to press it. Although, you can, in theory, just swipe the screen of the HTC One and it will turn the screen on, launch to the dialer, etc. though in my experience it can take several swipes, which is annoying for me.
Less Obvious Comparison
HTC One
Visually looks and feels more "classy" and "posh".
Practically, I didn't last more than 10 hours before dropping it. If I kept this phone, I would have to have a case for it on day 1. As a second user, the phone came to me with chips out of the aluminum. It is super slick and could have easily slid out of my pocket, and did slide out of my hands. I feel the personal need for a case on both which brings them to a similar playing field, but I would gravitate to the metal feel and look initialy, but after dropping it, I think the plastic is more my style, though the S5 can et the bezel damaged too, also looking not so great.
I have a huge hand, and my index finger has to stretch to reach the power button on the top of the phone. Samsung's side mounted power button feels more natural, but the side butto the S2 and S3 is known to stick causing the phone to turn itself off until cleaned by a professional, or, sometimes a new motherboard (generally meaning phone) is needed, which is a nasty design flaw in my opinion. I had that power button issue in three of the five S3s and one of three S2s I and my sister went through in the past 2-3 years.
The HTC One can enable a feature to use a wireless network for texting and calling, intended for use in buildings where cell signal is poor. I didn't see this option for the S5.
Samsung S5
---
plastic case with a dimpled back and a grippy backing. If you don't want to use a phone case, the S5 is less likely to slip out of your hands and pocket compared to the sleek (slippery) aluminum HTC One M8. Within the first 10 hours of use without a phone case, I dropped the M8. The plastic silver bezel of the S5 will get chipped and dented, but the back is pretty forgiving, thought he white back can get a little dirtly looing after extended use. The M8 metal will show crumpled metal if dropped and nicks will show on the back and sides after while.
ip76 certified. Waterproof.
The screen adapts to what you are doing for best viewing.
Camera fast autofocus, 16 MP, low light, it isn't the best. DOes have selective focus options if you select it before snapping. Has picture stabilization, which can take several seconds to shoot. 1080p and 4k video.
Less bloatware than the S3 and S4.
Air View.
My Magazine
Samsung Smart Switch makes it easy to transfer things from your old phone, both iPhone and Android.
S Health App w Heart Rate, food and exersise tracking
Fingerprint sensor
Download Booster which can use WiFia dn 4G speeds
Battery 14 hours
Ultra power Saving more, limits apps, 30% battery life
HTC One
Fits well in the hand due to the curve, though a tad tall.
Less lag than others.
4.1 UltraPixel, focus post snap without selecting an optin for doing so before the picture like on the S5. Dedicated depth sensor. 5 MP front camera, though i didn't notice it being any clearer than the 2 MP front camera on the S5.
Not as much detail as the S5 in good light. Maybe a little better in low light.
3D is cool gimmick.
Automatically creates a montage of pictures, which can be confusing at first because it looks like a picture in your gallery.
Presents news that you will likely find interesting.
Blinkfeed
Speakers are 25% louder than the M7
Build/aestheitics/durability
Battery life and charging time
S5 2800 mAh removable battery
~4.5 hours to charge on Micro USB
~2.5 hours to charge with USB 3.0 with included wall charger
With mostly a lot of web browsing I usually get 14 hours, longer if I am not on it and kill apps.
On Ultra Saver Mode, I held 6% for an hour.
Greyscale option, though in my limited tests, there dissapointingly wasn't a notable difference.
It's easy to adjust the screen brightness, a major power drain, by pulling down the menu from the top
S5
2600mAh captive battery
~4.75 hours to charge with Micro USB (No USB 3.0)
Camera
Obvious comparison
Similarities
Very similar hardware and run the same version of Android (currently 4.4.2 as of August 23, 2014).
Both have the 801 snapdragon quad-core processor (though Samsung's is 2.5 GHz, 2.3 on HTC One).
Both have 2 GB of RAM
HTC One 5" 1920x1080 screen
S5 5.1" Super AMOLED 1920x1080 screen
Both have a power button and volume rocker, no buttons dedicated to opening a camera or fitness app like some competitors. Less to break I guess.
General differences
Samsung Galaxy S5
water resistant
replaceable battery
about 2 mm wider
about 1 mm thicker
about 4 mm shorter
I have large hands, and I prefer the slightly smaller width of the HTC One, but I don't like how the power button is at the top of the screen, and even my fingers have to reach to press it. Although, you can, in theory, just swipe the screen of the HTC One and it will turn the screen on, launch to the dialer, etc. though in my experience it can take several swipes, which is annoying for me.
Less Obvious Comparison
HTC One
Visually looks and feels more "classy" and "posh".
Practically, I didn't last more than 10 hours before dropping it. If I kept this phone, I would have to have a case for it on day 1. As a second user, the phone came to me with chips out of the aluminum. It is super slick and could have easily slid out of my pocket, and did slide out of my hands. I feel the personal need for a case on both which brings them to a similar playing field, but I would gravitate to the metal feel and look initialy, but after dropping it, I think the plastic is more my style, though the S5 can et the bezel damaged too, also looking not so great.
I have a huge hand, and my index finger has to stretch to reach the power button on the top of the phone. Samsung's side mounted power button feels more natural, but the side butto the S2 and S3 is known to stick causing the phone to turn itself off until cleaned by a professional, or, sometimes a new motherboard (generally meaning phone) is needed, which is a nasty design flaw in my opinion. I had that power button issue in three of the five S3s and one of three S2s I and my sister went through in the past 2-3 years.
The HTC One can enable a feature to use a wireless network for texting and calling, intended for use in buildings where cell signal is poor. I didn't see this option for the S5.
Samsung S5
---
plastic case with a dimpled back and a grippy backing. If you don't want to use a phone case, the S5 is less likely to slip out of your hands and pocket compared to the sleek (slippery) aluminum HTC One M8. Within the first 10 hours of use without a phone case, I dropped the M8. The plastic silver bezel of the S5 will get chipped and dented, but the back is pretty forgiving, thought he white back can get a little dirtly looing after extended use. The M8 metal will show crumpled metal if dropped and nicks will show on the back and sides after while.
ip76 certified. Waterproof.
The screen adapts to what you are doing for best viewing.
Camera fast autofocus, 16 MP, low light, it isn't the best. DOes have selective focus options if you select it before snapping. Has picture stabilization, which can take several seconds to shoot. 1080p and 4k video.
Less bloatware than the S3 and S4.
Air View.
My Magazine
Samsung Smart Switch makes it easy to transfer things from your old phone, both iPhone and Android.
S Health App w Heart Rate, food and exersise tracking
Fingerprint sensor
Download Booster which can use WiFia dn 4G speeds
Battery 14 hours
Ultra power Saving more, limits apps, 30% battery life
HTC One
Fits well in the hand due to the curve, though a tad tall.
Less lag than others.
4.1 UltraPixel, focus post snap without selecting an optin for doing so before the picture like on the S5. Dedicated depth sensor. 5 MP front camera, though i didn't notice it being any clearer than the 2 MP front camera on the S5.
Not as much detail as the S5 in good light. Maybe a little better in low light.
3D is cool gimmick.
Automatically creates a montage of pictures, which can be confusing at first because it looks like a picture in your gallery.
Presents news that you will likely find interesting.
Blinkfeed
Speakers are 25% louder than the M7
Build/aestheitics/durability
Battery life and charging time
S5 2800 mAh removable battery
~4.5 hours to charge on Micro USB
~2.5 hours to charge with USB 3.0 with included wall charger
With mostly a lot of web browsing I usually get 14 hours, longer if I am not on it and kill apps.
On Ultra Saver Mode, I held 6% for an hour.
Greyscale option, though in my limited tests, there dissapointingly wasn't a notable difference.
It's easy to adjust the screen brightness, a major power drain, by pulling down the menu from the top
S5
2600mAh captive battery
~4.75 hours to charge with Micro USB (No USB 3.0)
Camera
Sunday, August 17, 2014
List of modern smartphones with a removable battery
Not many phones have removable batteries anymore, but it looks like LG finally realized that people don't want to carry a large external battery pack with them. Here are some smartphones from 2012ish and newer with removable batteries.
Sprint
HTC Evo
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Evo LTE (comparable to the Samsung S3)
Samsung Galaxy S2-Released 2011 (Dual core)
Samsung Galaxy S3-2012 (dual core in US)
Samsung Galaxy S4-2013
Samsung Galaxy S5 (and active/sport models) 2014
LG G2X (P999) -Released 2012 (dual core) (Not the G2)
LG G3 -2014
Additional phones by AT&T
Samsung Rugby
Sprint
HTC Evo
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Evo LTE (comparable to the Samsung S3)
Samsung Galaxy S2-Released 2011 (Dual core)
Samsung Galaxy S3-2012 (dual core in US)
Samsung Galaxy S4-2013
Samsung Galaxy S5 (and active/sport models) 2014
LG G2X (P999) -Released 2012 (dual core) (Not the G2)
LG G3 -2014
Additional phones by AT&T
Samsung Rugby
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
How to buy a car off Craigslist (and do all the paperwork) in Missouri
Before meeting up
Car seller needs to have:
1. Title of the car
2. (if the bank owns part of the car)A notarized lien release
Be nice to have:
Safety inspection document (if done recently)
Emissions if the car is less than 18 years old (if done recently)
Someone needs to bring:
Bill of Sale (Form 1957 in Missouri)
Buyer needs to:
They present original Title (on back, purchaser. Their info as seller. Put date (have 30 days) they sell vehicle. Amount of sale. If on front of title, if there is a leinholder. If there is you need a notorized lein release.
They will pull their plates. (Apply for temporary plates by a safety inspection, insurance. So you can drive without plates for 30 days, probably, as long as you have a bill of sale and copy of the title, front and back, in the car. And cops should let you go but there are no guarantees. (Known hole in system)
Get a Bill Of Sale( Form 1957 for Missouri. )
Take the Title and lein release and proof of insurance (call insurance company and add the car)
Need safety inspection (without plates is OK-ask if free)
(1996 and above: emissions if in STL or surrounding area, not rural)
Get paper saying it passes emissions and safety inspection
Personal property tax (waiver you get from assessor’s office 314-615-5500 -need a non-interest or a waiver and they will tell you how to get that. Maybe a download.)-because you haven’t paid personal property tax.
Bring the waiver into the Local Liscensing office.
They will take original title, copy of personal property waiver, safety inspection, emissions, bill of sale, insurance. They send those to Jeffoerson city and then you get plates. 4-10 days to get title mailed back to you.
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