by Devin | Nov 27, 2020 | Gadgets, Google, Hardware, Software, UI / UX
Today we discovered new timer graphics and sounds for the Nest Home Max. Now, when you give your timer a pre-defined name (“Hey Google, set a pizza timer”), Google attaches a pre-defined graphic to the countdown. When the timers go off, they trigger...
by Devin | Nov 13, 2020 | Apple, Computers, Hardware, macOS, OS, Software
I’ve been a Mac user since 2001, so I thought I’d take a moment to share my perspective on Apple’s recent processor transition. This addresses Apple’s next transition to its own, ARM-based silicon, and discusses how Apple has changed its...
by Devin | Nov 12, 2020 | Apple, Bugs, Computers, macOS, OS, UI / UX
The final release of Big Sur (macOS 11) appears to fix SMB issues entirely! If you recall, a security update broke SMB across 3 different OS versions a couple of months ago. The best way we’ve found to test Big Sur is a multi-boot configuration on SSD-equipped...
by Devin | Oct 8, 2020 | Android, Bugs, Gadgets, Google, Hardware, OS, UI / UX
The Pixel 4 XL is Google’s flagship phone, but for many users, it’s plagued with intermittent face unlock issues since the Android 11 update released on September 8, 2020. For many Google Pixel 4 (XL) users, the Android 11 update has made this alert a...
by Devin | Oct 3, 2020 | Altspace, Gadgets, Software, VR
This year, Burning Man went virtual on AltSpace, the VR-based platform from Microsoft. Although I had friends who had been to Burning Man in reality, I was never brave enough to visit. This year, that didn’t matter. Pandemic brought “burners,” as...
by Devin | Sep 24, 2020 | Apple, Bugs, Computers, macOS, OS
Sometimes software updates can ruin your day. Catalina received an update for 10.15.7 and the last three OS received security updates as well. I’m disappointed to report that after these updates, SMB (Server Message Block) protocol is broken on all three of the...
by Devin | Sep 18, 2020 | Linux, OS, Server, Software, UI / UX
Pandemic is an exciting time to learn something new and this week was certainly no exception. iXSystems has released TrueNAS CORE RC1, the successor to FreeNAS. I’ve been testing it in the house with my Pandemic PC, thanks to MicroCenter from spare parts...
by Devin | Aug 16, 2020 | Bugs, Software, UI / UX
Pandemic seems to have made phone support difficult at a number of companies and eBay is no exception. As far as we can tell, the auction giant has been unable to handle calls to the phone support line since mid-July. For types of issues that require phone support,...
by Devin | Aug 5, 2020 | Apple, Bugs, macOS, OS, Software, UI / UX
For decades, Apple used HFS+ as its native file system. Although it was dated, it was relatively reliable, and when it wasn’t, third-party tools like DiskWarrior by Alsoft could repair corruption that Disk Utility couldn’t handle. These days, Apple has...
by Devin | May 28, 2020 | Computers, Hardware, Linux, OS, Server, Windows
As it has become increasingly clear that pandemic is only getting worse, I took inventory of spare PC parts in the closet and decided to build what I’m calling the Pandemic PC. Micro Center is my store of choice and I did an in-store pick up, masked and slightly...
