Disqus - Latest Comments for charlieok

Re: The Best VPN Service

charlieok — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 18:33:49 -0000

With the caveat that I haven't researched the general category of VPN services the way you have here, I'd submit that ProtonVPN in particular might be worth a closer look.

Re: Worth Saving?

charlieok — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 10:25:35 -0000

so... you're saying stick to technical jargon, strive for obscurity, and refrain from weighing in on issues of larger cultural significance?

Re: Worth Saving?

charlieok — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 23:28:29 -0000

Is there another publication that you'd offer up as an example to emulate?

Re: The Best Wireless Carriers

charlieok — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 23:20:45 -0000

There's a category of user that I don't see in your guide that may be common among your readership. Think of a single “digital warrior” with multiple devices: a phone, a tablet, and a hotspot (for their laptop).

This person wants lots of data, let's say in the range of 6 to 10 gigabytes/month between all their devices, or unlimited if that is reasonable. They don't want to care which devices their data usage comes from (“my phone and hotspot used up their allotments but I still have plenty left on my tablet”) so there should be advantages to pooling that together in one plan.

Adding a hotspot or tablet isn't an extra "line" in the same way adding a phone is an extra line. The hotspot or tablet is only going to use data, not voice or any other phone-specific services. It's more likely to be used by the same person. If a plan charges you a lot just to have these extra devices connected, it should be penalized for that.

How about comparing plans for this type of user?

(updated 10/6/2017 - maybe add a connected smartwatch like Apple's new LTE watches to this scenario)

Re: Dear Wirecutter: What’s a Good Wireless Surround-Sound System with HDMI?

charlieok — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 10:01:33 -0000

Odd not to mention Sonos given that it is your own pick for “Best Multiroom Wireless Speaker System” ( http://thewirecutter.com/re... ) on this same publication. I use their playbar, sub, and two play:1s for a 5.1 setup and it works well.

What it does not do though is keep up with all the things you can find in the world of home surround systems (7.1, atmos, etc), or let you set up separate front speakers rather than combining them in a soundbar.

Re: Our Favorite Mechanical Keyboards

charlieok — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 00:15:32 -0000

They did write (with links to the pages on WASD's site):

> WASD also sells a set of Mac Function-key shortcut keycaps and sets of modifier key keycaps for various operating systems (including Mac, Windows, Linux, and even Amiga), but these don’t allow the backlight to shine through like the WASD’s included keycaps, and they don’t include a function key in place of the Code’s Menu key.

If you're spending a couple hundred to try and get things just how you want them, it would be a bit of a letdown to have these alternate OS keys not support backlights, in contrast to the other ones, which do.

Contrasting that with the description of the Matias, which goes into lots of tiny mac-specific details it gets right, it's easy to see why it was a pick for mac users.

Re: What Is Going To Happen In 2017

charlieok — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 13:52:15 -0000

As to your last crypto prediction:

> A company will make crypto mainstream via an easy to use interface and it will become the next big thing.

The leaders as of right now seem to be Signal for text messages and ProtonMail for email. I look forward to continued improvements with those and to others that may match or exceed them.

Re: Fixing The Internet

charlieok — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 19:16:33 -0000

I've bought movies only on ultraviolet-honoring sites, and been pretty happy with it. One thing that stood in the way though was that, like most people, I'd reach first for rental. Then I'd think “I'm happy with it after renting, now I want to upgrade to a purchase”. But there was no “upgrade” option that would credit you for the money already spent on the rental. So the incentive to buy isn't really there unless it's something for kids to rewatch incessantly.

Re: Inner Vision for the Weekend of December 23, 2016

charlieok — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 09:16:05 -0000

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Feature Friday: Muting People On Twitter

charlieok — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 10:22:05 -0000

That would be great to see rolled into twitter. It'd be cool to also see a history of prior mutes on someone. I'd probably work my way up the scale, starting with mute for a day, then a week, then a month, then a year...

Re: It Is All Spam

charlieok — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:38:35 -0000

At the end of the day, much of the responsibility is on the users.

Having a good government depends on having good citizens. Good citizens read a range of reporting and opinion and make a well-informed and considered choice at the ballot box.

Good social media users read a range of reporting and opinion, and curate who they follow over time for signal over noise. They act as a filter and reshare the things most worth resharing.

Being a good social media user has much in common with being a good citizen in a democracy, and in both cases, the system ends up being as good or as bad as the people comprising it.

Re: Leaks

charlieok — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 19:37:48 -0000

well he did throw out that plan when people called him on it but yeah, perhaps too late.

Thanks for the update :)

Re: Leaks

charlieok — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 18:57:43 -0000

curious if your above statement would change at all, were you making it today

Re: Some Thoughts On The AVC Community

charlieok — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 09:02:37 -0000

This is all too fitting, given the current context. An article I just read includes a quote making the analogy of online comment sections to the election explicit:

> Standing nearby was Chuck Johnson, the self-proclaimed investigative journalist and
> pround internet troll, who offered a variety of slogans and predictions. “The trolls won,”
> he said, calling this election, “the comment section against the article.”

http://www.politico.com/sto...

Re: Uncertainty Wednesday: Off Today

charlieok — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 10:58:36 -0000

Understatement Wednesday

Re: The Best Z-Wave In-Wall Dimmer

charlieok — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:39:22 -0000

I have gotten the impression that Homekit's protocol is good from an engineering standpoint, especially in areas like security and decentralization. And, I agree that the proprietary lock-in is incredibly unattractive.

Re: The Best Z-Wave In-Wall Dimmer

charlieok — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 10:25:30 -0000

In general I want to aim for a system based on standards. Especially standard communication protocols. A component should be able to be replaced with a substitute made by a different company and still work together with everything else. I want to avoid being “locked in” to a particular proprietary system.

I got Hue bulbs because the Wirecutter said they were the best bulb. But I hope that doesn't mean I need hue switches and a hue hub. Hopefully the hub could be replaced with Smartthings or an apple tv or something else, and the switches could be replaced with Lutron or something else.

Re: Leaks

charlieok — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 14:28:36 -0000

It's shameful that Lessig was not invited to the democratic party's debates. His chief issue was and is arguably a root cause of the issues Bernie Sanders got such a large following for championing, and it was something Lessig had a track record of pursuing long before the 2016 presidential race.

So many are complaining about the choices in front of them for the general election in a couple weeks. Well, here is a guy who many of those people of both political stripes would likely find to be an attractive candidate right now. He entered way back when the race was starting, raised about a million dollars, and then the DNC _changed the rules_ to shut him out of the debates.

I admire his classy we-go-high response. It's one more bit of evidence that points to what should now be obvious to everyone: he was a good candidate who was denied a fair chance.

Re: The Best Z-Wave In-Wall Dimmer

charlieok — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 10:14:01 -0000

Since we now have both bulbs that can be controlled wirelessly and conventional bulbs, I'm wondering if there is such a thing as a switch that can change modes rather than requiring you to remove and replace the switch.

For example, I bought Philips Hue bulbs on your recommendation: http://thewirecutter.com/re...

It would be nice to get a switch that could control these bulbs wirelessly rather than cutting their power, which could also be left in the wall in a conventional “cut the power” mode when I move out and the next occupant doesn't want to use wirelessly-controlled bulbs.

Also, the Hue bulbs use ZigBee rather than Z-Wave, so I'm wondering if you plan to review ZigBee switches, or if you'd recommend Z-Wave switches even for someone using Hue bulbs.

Re: SXSL

charlieok — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 10:47:34 -0000

yeah I think the organization behind SXSW is directly involved in putting on SXSL

Re: Dear Wirecutter: Why Can’t I Hear Movie Dialogue at Home?

charlieok — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 15:41:07 -0000

yes, it makes a noticeable difference. I think I'd leave the speech enhancement off most or all of the time -- it noticeably sounds worse to me than the original mix -- but maybe there are some instances where it would make the difference between hearing dialog clearly vs not.

night mode is more what I had in mind. I was always watching with one hand on the surround speaker volume button next to the couch, constantly adjusting it up to hear faint dialog or down for action scenes. This seems to reduce (maybe eliminate) the need for that.

Re: Dear Wirecutter: Why Can’t I Hear Movie Dialogue at Home?

charlieok — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 12:32:50 -0000

ah, thanks! I think I tried speech enhancement but must have missed night sound. Looks like that might be the dynamic range compression. I'll have to give that a try.

(Update: Found these settings in the form of little icons on the phone app. I had been looking through the desktop app, and I'm still not sure if they're in there.)

Re: Dear Wirecutter: Why Can’t I Hear Movie Dialogue at Home?

charlieok — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 09:19:38 -0000

I've had the same issue with a Sonos 5.1 setup -- turning the sound up and down during the movie to adjust from explosion to normal dialog. I probably wouldn't do this if I had a nice soundproofed theater room, but in my small apartment with neighbors on every side I don't want the sound to bother them.

Sonos has a slider to bump up dialog levels but I think the dynamic range compression you're referring to is the better solution. I don't remember ever seeing that in the settings.

Sonos is mostly software though, and it gets periodic updates, so here's hoping they'll improve this aspect of it. I don't want to add a big receiver and a bunch of additional wires.

Re: Dear Wirecutter: What’s the Best Way to Integrate Fluorescent Tube Lighting Into My Smart Home?

charlieok — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:54:33 -0000

This is exactly what I'm saying. With smart bulbs, you still want switches. You just want the switches to act as wireless remotes rather than power interrupters.

Re: Dear Wirecutter: What’s the Best Way to Integrate Fluorescent Tube Lighting Into My Smart Home?

charlieok — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:34:02 -0000

Aside from the double-gang issue, I am actually installing Philips Hue bulbs, which adds another wrinkle: I want the power to the bulbs always on, so they can be controlled using the wireless ZigBee network.

This seems like an awkward straddling of two worlds: the existing one in which homes are wired for controlling lights via power lines and a new one in which homes have network-connected devices controlled via computer. The real challenge is how to enter the new world without making too much of a mess in the old one.

Lutron has switches for both of these. The Lutron P-BDG-PKG1W recommended in this article adapts to the “cut or dim the power source” idea. Their Lutron LZL-4B-WH-L01 can act as a Zigbee remote switch and mount in a wall plate, controlling a bulb wirelessly.

If I could ask them to build a switch, I'd ask them to combine the above two switches into one. Then the wires behind the wall plate have something to connect to, rather than being joined in a permanent 'on' by a wire nut. Put a toggle somewhere to control what mode the switch operates in.

That way, once installed, anyone could easily go from smart bulbs to dumb ones and back, without replacing the switch.