Let’s say you want to sell your used phone. Most ads you hear on podcasts will tell you to use Gazelle, and that’s fine. But you won’t get as much money for your device as you would if you sold it yourself. Let’s say you want to buy a used phone, either an older phone you can get for cheap or a newer device for less than something fresh from the manufacturer (or carrier store). You could go to eBay,... Read more
Ha, banishment! be merciful, say ‘death;’ For exile hath more terror in his look, Much more than death: do not say ‘banishment.’ – Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene III What if one day you heard from some nameless representative at Microsoft, and they told you that you were no longer allowed to use any of their products or services? No more Office, no more Windows, and for that matter no Xbox or Minecraft. Or what if Google forbade you... Read more
When I first visited Maine with my then-bride-to-be, Memére filled me in on a lot of the family history, though she probably had little idea who I was as she talked. She was my wife Jessica’s grandmother, but she was suffering from Alzheimer’s, so it took her a little longer to understand what the hell this new person in her life was doing talking to her in her home. Memére opened her home to us, a couple of years after... Read more
I really respect Rene Ritchie at iMore. He’s a great reporter, an eloquent writer, and has a nuanced perspective of the larger tech world that few in the tech blogosphere even aspire to, let alone achieve. He really understands not just the technology, but how real human beings, the “normals,” use technology. Check out his review of the iPad Air from 2013, which I remember as one of the best tech reviews I’d read in a long time (and I told... Read more
Here’s a quick podcast recommendation for iMortal readers (all seven of you). Only three episodes into its current incarnation, the Gadget Lab Podcast from Wired is already, in my opinion, the best tech podcast on right now. Hosted by Michael Calore and David Pierce (formerly of The Verge), the show has lots to like, and very little of what I can’t stand about tech podcasts these days. I’ve always admired Pierce’s video reviews when he was at The Verge (his... Read more
I was a guest on HuffPost Live this afternoon, joining a panel to discuss the whole Dr. Oz imbroglio, and something struck me that I wound up mentioning at the end of the segment. I pointed out that we’ve suddenly found ourselves at a point in media and culture in which crap pseudoscience and the denial of reality are starting to get called out. Think about it. Dr. Oz, a TV doctor whose influence and popularity are probably unmatched by... Read more
The other day, I wrote that I felt the Nexus 6 was not the premium piece of hardware it has been billed as. I called it “chintzy,” citing issues with the camera, battery, and more than anything else, heat. I have on a couple of occasions called the Galaxy Note 4 the best phone available (that I know of), due to its amazing display, powerful innards, removable battery, great battery life, expandable storage, excellent stylus, and almost unsurpassed camera. And... Read more
My wife Jessica dug up this old SNL clip today, and I love it. Let me tell you why I love it. First, Sally Field commits. This is not some half-baked celebrity-host cue-card phone-in. She becomes this Jesus-loving woman entirely. It’s just grand. Second, Phil Hartman is the perfect Jesus. Not because he “looks the part” or anything, it’s that he manages to pull off the perfect blank-slate-Jesus. There is no figure in fiction or fact who comes with more... Read more
*** UPDATE *** I have very much changed my opinion on this device. Please see here. The Nexus 6, I have determined, is chintzy. I thought it was me, at first, but after having returned several units that had various problems (which has earned me the ire of Amazon, but that’s another story), I think it’s not me, it’s the phone. One unit had discolored banding problems on the display. Two others got uncomfortably warm during normal use, and too damned... Read more
As a Galaxy Note 4 owner, I aspire to make more use of the phone’s included stylus (the “S-Pen”). Samsung does a competent job of offering up ways to use it, be it for marking up images or taking quick notes, as well as some not-bad handwriting recognition. It’s a little convoluted (it is Samsung, after all) but it mostly works. Today Google put out a new “keyboard,” which I place in quotes because it’s only a keyboard in that it’s... Read more
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