Disqus - Latest Comments for JRRaphael

Re: 12 awesome time-saving Pixel swiping secrets

JR Raphael — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:13:39 -0000

Hey Larry — I'm guessing you've probably got some manner of accessibility-oriented option activated that's interfering with the function. Try looking in the Accessibility section of your system settings to see if "Magnification" is activated there. If so, turn it off, then try again!

Re: 12 awesome time-saving Pixel swiping secrets

JR Raphael — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 09:11:33 -0000

Yeah — it's a little weird with Chrome, as it only works when a website isn't already optimized for mobile (and thus, I guess, you're more likely to want to zoom in on it?).

If you manually hit the "Desktop view" option in the main Chrome menu, you'll be able to see it in action on any page you're viewing.

Re: 6 Pixel 6 tricks to make your Google phone even smarter

JR Raphael — Sun, 19 Dec 2021 15:36:26 -0000

Yeah, I mean, it'd certainly be nice if it were actively maintained. But given how incredibly simple and limited it is in its function and purpose, there's really no reason for concern. Quite literally all it does is adjust the sound profile with that on-off toggle (and its permissions reflect that, as you noted — with varying degrees of specificity!).

Re: 6 Pixel 6 tricks to make your Google phone even smarter

JR Raphael — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:19:04 -0000

#1 is about how to get Quick Tap to work reliably — something that wasn't immediately obvious or intuitive to me (or a lot of the folks I've heard from who've asked why they couldn't get it to function consistently). #2 is how to expand it with that extra option. Separate, albeit related, tips in my mind!

Re: 6 Pixel 6 tricks to make your Google phone even smarter

JR Raphael — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 16:48:49 -0000

Happens to the best of us!

Re: 6 Pixel 6 tricks to make your Google phone even smarter

JR Raphael — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 15:33:41 -0000

Go read that section again. You've gotta install an app to make the option available. ;)

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 19:01:26 -0000

Hey Don! You can find universal default settings for notification sounds in your system settings -- in the Sound section -- but you can then also set custom sounds for individual apps that'll override the default.

Where those individual app settings are located, unfortunately, gets a bit complicated.

With Android 8.0 (Oreo) and up, they should in theory be in your system settings -- under "Apps & notifications" and then the specific app's name -- but not every app is set up to support that newer method yet. So in some cases, you'll end up having to look within the settings of the app itself to change it.

With earlier versions of Android, you'll pretty much always look within the settings of the app itself.

Hopefully this'll get more consistent over time as more phones get on 8.0 and up and more developers start moving to the newer model...

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Fri, 13 Jul 2018 18:30:55 -0000

Sorry to be a bit slow with the updates here as of late; I've had my head down working on some major improvements to the newsletter itself and the entire platinum program, so most every free moment I've had has been devoted to that. Some very cool stuff is on the way -- I promise!

For now, though, I just posted some new info in the "Essential Android Apps" and "Android Home Screen" sections above. Much more to come.

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Wed, 09 May 2018 11:02:26 -0000

Nope -- hasn't come up at all, at least so far. (Friday's newsletter will likely be almost entirely I/O-themed, so stand by for a simple breakdown of all the high points!)

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Wed, 02 May 2018 10:25:45 -0000

Hah -- I hear ya. Using (or even just thinking about) Chrome OS definitely does make it tougher to stomach all the long-standing annoyances of the "traditional operating system" setup.

I actually still use a Windows PC in my office, at this point mostly just because of Photoshop; it's the one desktop software holdout that still doesn't have a spectacular Chrome/Android equivalent. (To be fair, there are plenty of perfectly decent options for lightweight photo editing on a Chromebook -- and those would be more than sufficient for the vast majority of folks, with more casual image-editing needs -- but there's nothing quite as powerful or easy to use as Photoshop when it comes to more advanced types of image manipulation, and that's often what I need during the work day.)

I keep dreaming of the day I can ditch Windows entirely and go with a Chromebox in the office to complement my Chromebook, which I use for pretty much everything outside of sitting-at-my-desk work. With all the progress we've seen here over the past few years, I keep holding onto hope that maybe, just maybe, that day isn't too far away.

Until then, I'm right there with you!

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 15:50:34 -0000

Just a heads-up, y'all: The first major update is now complete, and it's a meaty one! I added in a new "Home Networking and Communication" section, redid the "Android Home Screen" section (back to a much more efficient single-screen setup these days -- more minimalist than before and with some nice time-saving touches), and refreshed some of the info in the "Android and Chromebook Accessories" and "Essential Android Apps" sections.

Hope at least some of it is interesting and/or helpful to ye -- and as always, if there's ever anything else specific you want to see here, just holler! (On second thought, go ahead and holler, regardless. Random yelling is always entertaining.)

Re: JR's Personal Tech Setup

JR Raphael — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 09:31:24 -0000

Howdy! Just a note to let you know that I'm actually here and always keeping an eye on this forum. So by all means, feel free to ask away, if you have any burning questions about anything mentioned on this page. Feel free to suggest other sections I should add onto the page. Feel free to make your own suggestions about stuff I should be using. Or, heck, feel free to just post random limericks, if you want. I'm always in favor of limericks.

I'm mostly just happy to have you here (aw, shucks...). More good stuff ahead!

Re: Hands on: The ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook could be the one

JR Raphael — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 15:30:56 -0000

To follow up on this, there's some question from users about whether the lower-priced non-Yoga version actually is IPS or not (see the comment thread at https://plus.google.com/u/0... ).

Lenovo's reps have repeatedly assured me that it is, but I can't provide any firsthand confirmation for that particular model at the moment.

My current review is focusing on the Yoga 11e specifically, but I guess "proceed with caution and be prepared to return if necessary" may be the best advice for any (non-Yoga) 11e purchases right now.

Re: Hands on: The ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook could be the one

JR Raphael — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:15:18 -0000

Actually, I take that back: I just looked again this morning and it's now showing up at the $455 price again.

Re: Hands on: The ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook could be the one

JR Raphael — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:08:06 -0000

Hmm. I don't have the $379 model in front of me right now, but Lenovo tells me it does, in fact, have an IPS display like the Yoga version and differs only in that it lacks the touch and tilting capabilities.

Re: Hands on: The ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook could be the one

JR Raphael — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 22:45:51 -0000

It had been marked down but looks like it's back to list price already. Must have been at the tail end of a promotion.

Re: Hands on: The ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook could be the one

JR Raphael — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 12:12:46 -0000

The lower-priced model is not a "Yoga" system; it's more of a traditional laptop (i.e. no screen tilting or touching) built around the same basic design.

Re: Hands on: Lenovo's dual-mode Chromebook is decidedly different

JR Raphael — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:47:55 -0000

Haven't noticed any issues thus far. The keys themselves don't actually seem to press up against the table (or whatever you have the device sitting on), as there are two rubber bumpers at the edge of that surface that raise it up ever so slightly.

Re: Hands on: Lenovo's dual-mode Chromebook is decidedly different

JR Raphael — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:28:47 -0000

Well, that device runs Windows, for one. I'm talking here about Chromebooks, where this type of concept hasn't previously appeared on a consumer level. Two different platforms, two different stories.

Re: Chromebook Pixel revisited: 6 months living with Google's luxury laptop

JR Raphael — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:13:54 -0000

Lately it's been a combination of it and a desktop, which I sometimes use when working in my office. But the Pixel's the only laptop I use and my go-to device for working on the go or getting online around the house.

Re: Hands on: How much faster is a Core i3 Chromebook?

JR Raphael — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 10:16:06 -0000

I think the answer to your question would be: "a lot of people."

An older model may be perfectly fine to you, but there's been a very significant and noticeable improvement in performance as we've moved from one generation to the next.

It's pretty silly to say technology should stand still because it's already "good enough" for you.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone deep-dive review: Two weeks with a weird device

JR Raphael — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:58:20 -0000

Voice quality is mentioned in the closing section. And the vast majority of the review revolves around usability of the device.

A smartphone's on-screen functionality is the primary concern and point of differentiation for most consumers these days, which is why reviews tend to focus primarily on that area.

Re: So long, software silliness! 7 quick tweaks to make the LG G3 better

JR Raphael — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 13:55:34 -0000

Yup.

System settings -> Home screen -> Allow home screen looping

Re: Is the LG G3 'the best Android phone ever'? Well...

JR Raphael — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:09:25 -0000

I get into several specific examples in my full review (linked above). If you spend any time with phones like the Moto X, One (M8), or any of Google's Nexus or GPE devices, the difference is quite apparent.

Re: How to make Android Voice Search even smarter

JR Raphael — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 22:44:41 -0000

As far as I'm aware, it can "listen" only to text inputted specifically into Voice Search/Google Now. Quite a few apps tap into that same type of permission in order to provide advanced features.

(The broader warning you're describing sounds like what Android delivers when you install any third-party keyboard, which is a different situation.)

In any case, if you aren't comfortable with it, by all means don't use it. There's an option to utilize the app in a more limited way without that permission (and you can still use the "note to self" command to record a regular note with that mode activated) -- or, of course, you can always just skip the app altogether.