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Showing posts from February, 2018

Bluetooth - don't get me started

Too late. OK let's just say it's grossly premature to remove the analog headphone jack. I have heard a glimmer of hope that there is a new bluetooth standard. That said, here's the typical experience now, colored by my experience of traveling with a 10 year old (on different trips). With headphone jack: Hand headphones and tablet to 10 year old.  10 y.o. plugs in and starts listening, happy for the entire 7 hour trip. With bluetooth headphones Hand headphones and tablet to 10 year old.  Explain that they need to be synced first.  Explain where the menu is (much pain without being able to refer to it while driving).  Tell him to turn on the phones and hold down until the sync button is started.  But is the tablet looking for them first?  Is Bluetooth even enabled on the tablet?  Tablet not syncing.  What's wrong.  Did we get it within the sync period?  Try again?  Were the batteries charged?  Eventually have to pull over and sync at the next stop. Batteries en

Portrait mode must die

OK.  I've had it.  I don't want to look at any more videos from anyone shot in portrait mode.  Especially not the ones where a blurry zoomed version of the edge of the video fills the borders.  It's awful. To the mobile phone manufacturers of the world: You have enough resolution on your cameras to make a widescreen video mode that works whether the phone is held horizontally or vertically.  Please make this the default.   Don't worry that the resolution will be lower in vertical mode.  We have enough pixels already.  We will praise you for this. This would be so much better than a portrait mode video. Please use it.