In what would have seemed a shocking development to me a year ago, I’m carrying an iPhone 6 as my daily driver. I’ve written about this before: after using Windows Phone and iOS for a few months each, I’ve lost my taste for Android. No offense intended to any Android fans, but my Nexus 5 […]
90 Days Later, My Microsoft Lumia 830 RM-985 Still Doesn’t Support Lumia Camera 5
April 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I try to be a patient person. It’s difficult for me–I want something, I have a hard time waiting for it. When it comes to promises that companies make about their products, I try doubly hard to be patient–nobody’s perfect, things don’t always work out as planned, I’ve been known to be late myself, etc. […]
Amazon Lightning Deal: Microsoft Office 365 Personal for $26.77
April 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Amazon’s Lightning Deals don’t last long, and a hat tip to Windows Central for pointing this one out. You can get Microsoft Office 365 Personal for $26.77 for as long as the deal lasts. Office 365 Personal includes: A license to install the latest version of Office on 1 PC or Mac, and 1 Windows […]
Microsoft OneNote iPhone Syncing Issues (Updated)
April 6, 2015 by 18 Comments
Update: I had two very large sections with hundreds of image-heavy notes. I moved those to separate notebooks, and my iPhone completed syncing. Now, changes on the iPhone are reflected almost immediately on other clients, and vice versa. So, my suggestion for anyone having issues syncing an iPhone is to move any indordinately large sections […]
Microsoft Surface 3 Bundle Pre-Order at Costco for $699.99
April 4, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Microsoft recently announced its most recent Surface device, the Surface 3, to a bit of fanfare and generally positive previews. The Surface 3 is the direct replacement for the Surface 2, and serves as a sort of entry-level version of the Surface Pro 3. It uses an Intel Atom processor, can be configured with up […]
Microsoft Band: A Very Initial Review (Update: Returning it)
April 1, 2015 by 2 Comments
Update: Since writing this post, three things have happened. First, I’ve been unable to resolve a connectivity issue with the Lumia 830. Periodically, the Band disconnects from the Lumia and I need to fiddle with the phone to get things connected again. Second, I’ve found sunlight legibility to indeed be an issue. And third, iPhone functionality is […]
What Is Productivity?
March 24, 2015 by 1 Comment
What is “productivity”? This is an important question for me, given that I’m working to turn this blog from one that’s a bit scattershot to one that’s laser-focused on how technology can make us more productive. It’s also important for Microsoft, given that they’re making a transition of their own from a company offering proprietary solutions […]
Google is Abandoning Me, and So I’m Abandoning Google
March 17, 2015 by 4 Comments
Given Google’s willingness to abandoning major projects, with Google+ as potentially the latest victim, I’ve decided to abandon Google. I’m not doing this in a vacuum: since making a concerted effort to go entirely cross-platform, I’ve found that relying on Google properties makes things unecessarily difficulat, particularly on Windows Phone. And so, watching Google doing away […]
Surface Smartphone Concept: An Active Digitizer is Different Than a Capacitive Stylus
March 3, 2015 by 1 Comment
I’ve written about this before, and it’s worth repeating: there’s a difference between a “stylus” and a “pen” when it comes to input on a tablet or smartphone. I bring this up because of CNET’s article, “Does Surface Pro 3 offer clues to Microsoft’s next flagship phone?”: The number of devices launched with stylus support […]
Lessons From Going Cross-Platform
March 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Here’s the industry’s dirty little secret: each major platform, be it iOS, Android, or Windows/Windows Phone, is good enough to be considered life-changing technology. Yes, users tend to favor one platform over another, to the point of fandom and complete ignorance of the other two, and that’s just fine. These things are intended to enhance […]