Disqus - Latest Comments for perryman

Re: The COVID Panic Mafia's Mask Fetish Just Went Up in Flames. MIT Researchers Torched It.

Perry — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 18:31:03 -0000

huh. That photo is from my alma mater, San Diego State.

Re: Chamberlain Ultimate Security Bundle: The Ideal Garage Door Opener

Perry — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 15:37:02 -0000

We’ve had a chamberlain garage door opener for quite a while now. A couple of things to note..

That cover on the outdoor keypad may not look flimsy, but it is. Our broke off after only a few weeks. My understanding is that that’s pretty common.

Also, the MyQ software is decent, but if you want to actually connect it to Google or IFTT, or anything else, you have to pay chamberlain a monthly fee. Which is an outrageous gouging of customers who have already paid plenty for the equipment.

Chamberlain also has a history of promising new features for existing products via new software, and instead delivering new hardware which existing customers would have to buy to get the new features.

In short, the chamberlain garage door opener is mostly decent, but the company is very shady.

Re: Microsoft Band 2 Preview

Perry — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 12:38:46 -0000

I really like the new design of the hardware, and it definitely looks like they've improved on the old one. I wish they had done more to update the software side of things, though. Not that there's anything particularly WRONG with the software, but it would have been nice to see some more new capabilities or features.

Re: Windows 10 Feature Focus: Calendar

Perry — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 16:21:25 -0000

No tasks, no agenda view, no search. It still need some work. And, like Mail, it crashes a lot.

Re: OneNote Updated on Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and Windows 8.1

Perry — Thu, 14 May 2015 15:01:55 -0000

Regarding OneNote on the Apple Watch... Yes, it's good for checking a to-do list, but you can't actually check off items on the list, as you can on the phone! Which makes it, unfortunately, far less useful. Perhaps a future update will bring that capability.

Re: Surface 3: New Type Cover is Ready for Windows 10

Perry — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 11:56:48 -0000

Just tried it. Didn't see it.

Re: Surface 3: New Type Cover is Ready for Windows 10

Perry — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:13:10 -0000

I never use the keyboard brightness controls on my Surface keyboard. I would have much preferred that they had put volume controls instead. The mute key is nice, but it would be more convenient to also be able to change the volume from the keyboard and not have to rely on the hardware buttons on the side of the device.

Re: Microsoft’s Rivals Push Forward with USB-C

Perry — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 09:56:58 -0000

I wonder if Apple will replace the Lightning port on the iPhones and iPads with USB-C? In general, though, I'm very happy to see USB-C finally hitting the market. It's a welcome upgrade!

Re: Paul Thurrott’s Short Takes: January 23, 2015

Perry — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 16:11:01 -0000

Not trying to apologize for the Apple Watch, but my Microsoft Band gets only about 3 hours of battery life with the activity tracking and GPS turned on...

Re: There are a lot of reasons to like the Microsoft Band | Pocketnow

Perry — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 15:52:37 -0000

I've been using my Band for a few days now and so far I like it a lot. There are a few things I hope they'll improve on via software updates, however:
- When I get a text, I can reply to it, but only during those few seconds that I have the notification. After that, I can still see it on my Band, but can no longer interact with it. I should be able to reply to older texts on my Band.
- While I use it with my WP and Cortana, it'd be nice if it let iPhone users do the same with Siri and Android users with the Google Now.
- There is currently no way to get at my exercise data other than the very simplistic screens on my phone. They need to develop the Microsoft Health website so that I can see/use my data on the web.
- The Microsoft Health app only works when you've paired your Band to that device. I have my Band paired to my Windows Phone, but I also carry and iPad and other devices, and I'd like to be able to see my data on those devices as well, even if I'm only interacting directly with the Band on my paired device.
- The sharing of workouts is terrible. It's a simple one-liner that says something like "I ran xx miles." It should link to a page on Microsoft Health with the full details, much like you get with Garmin Connect and other services.
- Let me choose what I see when the Band is off and in watch mode.
For version 2.0 of the Band, I have additional suggestions:
- Curved screen. Duh. Thinner and smaller would be good, too, of course.
- NFC for payments. The Starbucks app is cool, but I'd like to be able to use my Band to pay for things everywhere, just like Apple is promising with their Apple Watch.
- Better batter life. The battery life on the current Band is awful.
- Add a speaker for two-way voice interaction with Cortana and for phone calls. This would also be cool for the guided workouts they have.

Re: Unification: the Microsoft way or the Apple way? | Pocketnow

Perry — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 10:02:04 -0000

Apple is definitely doing some good stuff with Continuity. I love the notion of texting and doing phone calls from a PC via the phone, and I've been saying Microsoft should do something similar (probably with Skype) for a long time now.
But I'm generally a Microsoft guy and I do prefer their unification approach. I'm just worried that they're way behind on some of this stuff and there may not be enough time to catch up before the market has completely moved on to other platforms (likely Android).
I'm hoping that Windows 9 will be the key unifier, and that there won't be a Windows Phone 9 at all. Let's have one OS that works well on any size screen. On a desktop, you can have windowed "metro" apps and the Start menu (for those that prefer it), on tablets you get your full-screen, touch-first apps, and on a phone you get apps optimized for the small screen and battery conservation. Add to that the Xbox integration in the living room and I think you have a winning strategy.
But Microsoft really needs to hurry, and they need to get it right. No time left for mistakes or missteps.

Re: Livescribe 3 Is for People Who Need to Be Productive on the Go

Perry — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 15:05:08 -0000

Not bad, even though it's an indirect link. But OneNote has the ability to capture audio and text at the same time, very much like the LiveScribe app. What I would love to see is the ink from the LiveScribe pen captured along with the audio in OneNote, as if I had written on the screen directly. Or, let LiveScribe capture both and then export both into OneNote, keeping the links between the handwriting and the audio. I don't think that's possible right now. Still, it's a step in the right direction. At least now they're admitting the existence of OneNote...

Re: Livescribe 3 Is for People Who Need to Be Productive on the Go

Perry — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 16:16:47 -0000

I used to have a Livescribe Pulse pen and I currently have the Livescribe Echo. I've liked them both, but my biggest issue with them is, as Livescribe has moved away from their desktop app (and I'm fine with this, as the desktop app was never very good), they've moved pretty much exclusively into Evernote. Which I don't use. I'm a OneNote guy, and if you take a look at the Livescribe forums, so are a LOT of their customers. But they've steadfastly ignored OneNote and those customers to the point that I wonder if they harbor some sort of extreme dislike for Microsoft. If they ever offered a solution for OneNote users, I'd be all over it in a second. An iOS-only, Evernote-only solution does not suit my needs at all and I suspect they are severely limiting their own sales position by not offering other solutions.

Re: Is It Time to Stick a Fork in Windows Phone 8?

Perry — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 11:31:19 -0000

I have a couple of ideas for Windows Phone 8, although they are a bit out there. First of all, I'm very much in favor of Microsoft's work to combine Windows Phone and Windows RT into a single OS. That would should continue as quickly as possible so that Windows Phones can run Windows applications. That will be a huge selling point for both platforms. But I think they need to take it a step farther, since the Windows Store is also lacking in apps. I'd take the somewhat controversial approach and build a library to support running Android apps on Windows Phone. Yes, I know that this could kill the Windows Phone app market, but it's already limping along, and I'd hope that letting Windows apps run on the phone would help prevent that. But I'd take it a step further and revive the old Microsoft practice of "Embrace an extend". That is, I'd add some libraries to Android that would let those apps take advantage of Windows Phone features, like the panoramas, hubs, and Live Tiles. That would prevent the WP phones from being "just another Android" phone. I doubt they'll ever do this, but it seems clear that they need to do something.

Re: Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard Cover Has Your iPad and Typing Needs Covered

Perry — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 10:16:35 -0000

I'm not sure what all Logitech may have changed for the iPad Air version of this keyboard, but I have the older version for my iPad 2 and it's a fantastic keyboard and a very good smart cover, too.

Re: Sonicare DiamondClean Sonic Toothbrush Review – Judie & Dan Mouth Off About Oral Hygiene

Perry — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 09:30:06 -0000

Very timely article! I've got an old e-series and my wife has a newer HealthyWhite, but we were both talking the other day about replacing them. This one looks fantastic, but boy is it expensive! Not sure I can justify spending $200 on a toothbrush...

Re: Legacy: How webOS lives today in iOS, Android, and Windows Phone | Pocketnow

Perry — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:00:36 -0000

I had been a Windows Mobile user for years before I switched to the Palm Pre and WebOS (I'm now using Windows Phone). It was the only non-Windows platform I've used as my primary phone in probably a decade or more. And I loved that phone! For all of the reasons mentioned in this article, it was far ahead of its time (and the competition). And I loved the form factor, too. With its rounded edges and back, it seemed like a little oval hockey puck. The wireless charger was even more puck-like and also advanced for the time.
Sadly, the app selection was horrible. What few third-party apps there were generally sucked hard. Also, the hardware performance was atrocious, and the battery life was criminally bad. Towards the end, I was lucky to get 2-3 hours out of my phone before it died!
Still, it could have been a great platform; it certainly had the potential. And I'm glad to see many of the cutting edge ideas from WebOS living on today.

Re: Are my eBook Formatting Issues Due to Kindle for Windows Phone, or More Universal?

Perry — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 14:23:02 -0000

I hope so! But I'm not holding my breath considering how long it took them to release a version that even supported WP multitasking and app-resume properly.

Re: Are my eBook Formatting Issues Due to Kindle for Windows Phone, or More Universal?

Perry — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:18:45 -0000

I have a different issue with the Kindle app on my Lumia 920, but maybe related. Occasionally the text on a page will be missing. This will happen when I change pages, the next page will just be blank. If I go back a page, everything is still there, and if I go forward two pages, everything is fine. But one page will be blank. Changing the text size usually fixes the problem. Also, once in a while, it happens only to one or sentences that will "go missing". Again, changing the text size fixes it. I also read a lot on my iPad, Surface, and Kindle Paperwhite and have never had this problem on any device other than the Lumia.
I'm also hoping they'll give us a better library experience on WP at some point. The long list of books, sortable only by author or title, is a royal PITA...

Re: Would sideloading Android apps help Windows Phone, or hurt it? | Pocketnow

Perry — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 15:42:31 -0000

Still a bad idea.
As I said last time, it would discourage the development of WP apps, which would eventually kill off WP. And yes, it would have that effect even if only side-loading apps was possible and they weren't made available directly from the Windows Phone Store. Not only that, but side-loading would introduce all kinds of new problems, with security and stability at the top of the list.
Not only that, but the apps aren't just going to run on WP. You'd also have to side load all of the Android libraries and sub-systems on which the apps depend. They'd have to be reverse engineered or emulated and either way, this would kill both performance and battery life on the phone. The end result would be a terrible user experience.

Re: What’s new in Windows Phone 8 GDR 3 (Video) | Pocketnow

Perry — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 11:14:55 -0000

Your comments about Driving Mode were a bit misleading. You can still receive calls and texts while in Driving Mode. You just won't receive any other notifications. Or, you can decide not to receive any notifications, including calls and texts. It's a configurable setting.

Re: Five features Windows Phone should absorb from Blackberry | Pocketnow

Perry — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:37:22 -0000

A notification center (hub) will be a very nice addition, rumored to be coming in WP 8.1. A notification light on the windows key sounds ok, but I think Nokia does it better with the Glance feature, which will soon have notification icons in addition to the time and battery icon it currently has.
Sideloading Android apps sounds like it would be a good idea, since it would give users access to a ton of apps currently not available on WP. But, in fact, it is a TERRIBLE idea. Why would any developer ever develop a WP app again, if they could just do the Android app which would also run on WP? This would completely kill WP as a viable platform in the long run. Google may or may not ever allow Microsoft to do something like that, but Microsoft should never ever do it.

Re: Will the Lumia 1320 join Nokia’s other new models in two weeks? | Pocketnow

Perry — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 12:06:33 -0000

How about a version of the 1020 in cyan with the wireless charging built-in? Basically the best of the 1020 and the 920 in one phone...

Re: Keith McMillen QuNeo 3D Pad Controller Hands-On Video Review

Perry — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 17:20:52 -0000

It is!

Re: Keith McMillen QuNeo 3D Pad Controller Hands-On Video Review

Perry — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 17:03:57 -0000

I'd love to watch the video, but I get an error that "this video is private".