After a year of just sitting my first Apple Watch on my bedside table with its charging cable dangling about, I started to see the value of using a stand. It is just a far more organized way to charge the device in a safe and efficient manner. Let’s be honest- it also looks a lot nicer not having the charge cable and puck sitting out in the open. I’ve used one ever since.
I would say MY Powerbeats Pro arrived, but they aren’t actually mine. I am taking a look at them so I can write a little about them, but they will belong to my wife very soon. Wednesday was her birthday, so these are her Combo bday/Mother’s Day gift. She was kind enough to let me test drive before she takes them so I won’t get in the way of her listening pleasure once I hand them over.
If you use any kind of public or open WiFi during your daily travels, then you need a VPN. This is the easiest and most effective way to stay secure no matter what kind of connection you’re using.
Logitech’s Slim Combo for the previous gen 12.9″ iPad Pro was my favorite keyboard case of all time by leaps and bounds. It checked all the boxes. It offered protection without too much added bulk. It could be positioned at a wide range of angles thanks to the hinged kickstand. The keyboard section could be separated from the iPad section giving it plenty of versatility. For me, that’s the perfect combo of features.
Maybe that’s taking it to the extreme, but Tim Cook made it clear last week in a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board that he, Apple as a whole, and some other Silicon Valley companies see coding as a skill that doesn’t require a traditional four year degree for productive job consideration and placement. I can’t say that I disagree with him.
While I have a bachelors degree and a masters degree in music, I have never attended anything beyond specialized software training courses for my current job. I learned a lot of what I know today on my own, through the mentoring of others and through on the job experience. I’ve been, among other things, a programmer ands systems integrator for the last 18 years without one second spent in a college computer course classroom. I know I’m not the only one with this story, either.
Here we go again. After thoughts that an all-out trade war with China had been averted, President Donald Trump has thrown fresh gas and lumber on a fire that seemed like it was burning down to embers. First there was another round of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Then there was an Executive Order that bans US telecom companies from using gear from any company seen as a national security threat.
Huawei got that label after reports of leaks, vulnerabilities and backdoors were made public over the last two years. Chinese hacking, spying and corporate espionage have been a huge problem for the West for a long time, but it seems that Huawei is likely more scapegoat than grand mastermind.
You usually won’t catch me saying anything nice about Toolame. I’m a graduate of Louisiana State University and the Greenie Meanies are typically viewed by us as the expensive private school to the south that was once a rival, but now a runt. However, despite my distaste of their athletic programs, I can’t ignore Tim Cook giving a commencement speech there because there were actually a couple of interesting nuggets that are worth calling out.
Are you sick of waiting on an Apple solution to wireless charging? If so, you definitely aren’t alone. Now that we finally have a way to wirelessly charge our AirPods, the absence of the AirPower seems even crazier. However, if you are tired of waiting and want to save some money, you can get a 3-in-1 charging pad that will take care of your later-model iPhones, Apple Watch and now your new AirPods.
Charging cables aren’t known for being smart, but there is something to said for one that is. The Mcdodo Lightning Bolt 3 is just such a cable, with LED lights showing charge status, overcharge protection and event the ability to stop the flow of current to prevent device overheating after charging is complete. Add in an aluminum shell and you have a charge cable that’s at the head of the class.
Apple was dealt a setback today, as the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that individual purchasers do have the right to sue them for antitrust behavior. Today’s vote stems from a 2011 lower court case, Apple v Pepper, in which a group of individuals sued the company claiming they were using monopoly pricing power in the App Store. Apple contested the individual users’ right to sue them directly based on court precedent and the matter made it all the way to the highest court in the land.
I reviewed UAG’s Metropolis cases for the 11″ and 12.9″ iPad Pros earlier this year and came away very impressed with both. I can give the 12.9″ version even higher praise in that I am still using it as my primary case over four months later. It is good at home, but even better at work where I need more drop protection. In my opinion, both models check all the boxes that a good iPad Pro case should.