Portable Techno-Capitalism

[Warren]

Standards and conventions are always under such tension. While things like 110 AC outlets have been stable for half a century or so, higher tech stuff is always going to be a trade off between standardize and customize. The more widely adopted a standard is, the harder it is to break free of it. Putting that decision in hands of bureaucrats and politicians is a recipe for disaster.

[JasonL]

After a year of giving 4 brands a try, I'm done with bluetooth earbuds. They are worse in every way. They range from profoundly to somewhat uncomfortable. The mechanisms for keeping them in ears fall off. They are too heavy. The sound is worse. The cost is higher.

The $20 Sony wired in ear buds sound a lot better. The $30 Sony in ear wired are amazingly better. You can hear drums and stuff.

[JD]

After a year of giving 4 brands a try, I'm done with bluetooth earbuds. They are worse in every way. They range from profoundly to somewhat uncomfortable. The mechanisms for keeping them in ears fall off. They are too heavy. The sound is worse. The cost is higher.

The $20 Sony wired in ear buds sound a lot better. The $30 Sony in ear wired are amazingly better. You can hear drums and stuff.

Cosigned. These are some of my favorite; they are (IMHO) impossible to beat on sound quality and comfort at the price and hard to beat at twice the price.
https://www.koss.com/headphones/earbuds ... hones/plug

[Hugh Akston]

Did you ever try the Jabra Elite 65t? I was skeptical about bluetooth earphones but found myself in a situation where wires were a safety hazard. But Wirecutter said these were the best and I have to agree.

[JD]

Today Google Calendar on my phone decided that it was going to speak Spanish. "Hoy no hay eventos." The weird thing is that that's the only thing it says in Spanish; it still says "Wednesday January 22".

[Mo]

Did you ever try the Jabra Elite 65t? I was skeptical about bluetooth earphones but found myself in a situation where wires were a safety hazard. But Wirecutter said these were the best and I have to agree.

I had those and got AirPod Pros for Christmas and I much prefer the AirPods. Most comfortable in ears I've ever had. Also, the Jabras are terrible with background noise when used for calls. My wife hated when I called her on them in a moderately noisy place like an airport. Come to think of it, that may explain why I got the AirPods.

[JasonL]

I have the problem of insufficient noise isolation in many designs. I'm surprised airpods are decent in that regard. They look like a) they are getting ready to fall out all the time and b) there's no isolating mechanism I can see.

[Hugh Akston]

I don't know from phone calls, but I wore my 65ts walking to work this morning and could see but not hear the loud and animated conversation two hobros were having at the top of their lungs.

[dhex]

I don't know from phone calls, but I wore my 65ts walking to work this morning and could see but not hear the loud and animated conversation two hobros were having at the top of their lungs.

I got those for my birthday and they are uncomfortable as fuck. I am doing something wrong probably.

[Mo]

I don't know from phone calls, but I wore my 65ts walking to work this morning and could see but not hear the loud and animated conversation two hobros were having at the top of their lungs.

I got those for my birthday and they are uncomfortable as fuck. I am doing something wrong probably.

Not sure. It may be due to the standard round tip shape not working for your ears. I resisted AirPods for a while because I hate the "Orab B replacement heads in your ears" look, but they are comfy as fuck.

I have the problem of insufficient noise isolation in many designs. I'm surprised airpods are decent in that regard. They look like a) they are getting ready to fall out all the time and b) there's no isolating mechanism I can see.

The Pros are noise isolating, but less than the Jabras due to vents, but not a huge deal. The isolation + ANC is sufficient for all but the worst segments on the Tube. I have never had one fall out despite doing all my commuting by foot and going up and down stairs.

[lunchstealer]

I don't know from phone calls, but I wore my 65ts walking to work this morning and could see but not hear the loud and animated conversation two hobros were having at the top of their lungs.

I got those for my birthday and they are uncomfortable as fuck. I am doing something wrong probably.

Not sure. It may be due to the standard round tip shape not working for your ears. I resisted AirPods for a while because I hate the "Orab B replacement heads in your ears" look, but they are comfy as fuck.

I assume that if I couldn't keep OG iPhone earbuds in my ears that I will have no better luck with AirPods?

[Mo]

I don't know from phone calls, but I wore my 65ts walking to work this morning and could see but not hear the loud and animated conversation two hobros were having at the top of their lungs.

I got those for my birthday and they are uncomfortable as fuck. I am doing something wrong probably.

Not sure. It may be due to the standard round tip shape not working for your ears. I resisted AirPods for a while because I hate the "Orab B replacement heads in your ears" look, but they are comfy as fuck.

I assume that if I couldn't keep OG iPhone earbuds in my ears that I will have no better luck with AirPods?

Corded ones? I don't think so because the weight and ergonomics of cords changes things. Also, for the new AirPods (with ANC), they actually use tips that have a tight fit.

[D.A. Ridgely]

A portable techno-bleg, actually.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 8.0. I need it to run at least 9.0 to work properly with my new car stereo, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to do it, let alone do it safely and not wipe out my phone's data.

Is this something my carrier is able and should be willing to help me with?

[JD]

A portable techno-bleg, actually.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 8.0. I need it to run at least 9.0 to work properly with my new car stereo, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to do it, let alone do it safely and not wipe out my phone's data.

Is this something my carrier is able and should be willing to help me with?

Maybe. This usually isn't even something that takes much figuring out or carrier help: you go into your phone's settings, say "check for update" and apply the update if there is one. But if you're having trouble, you can probably just take your phone into a store and have them help you with it. Who's your carrier? It looks like the S8+ supports Android 9, so it should be pretty easy: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/device ... xy-s8-plus (for T-Mobile, obviously, but the procedure should be basically the same anywhere)

[D.A. Ridgely]

A portable techno-bleg, actually.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 8.0. I need it to run at least 9.0 to work properly with my new car stereo, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to do it, let alone do it safely and not wipe out my phone's data.

Is this something my carrier is able and should be willing to help me with?

Maybe. This usually isn't even something that takes much figuring out or carrier help: you go into your phone's settings, say "check for update" and apply the update if there is one. But if you're having trouble, you can probably just take your phone into a store and have them help you with it. Who's your carrier? It looks like the S8+ supports Android 9, so it should be pretty easy: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/device ... xy-s8-plus (for T-Mobile, obviously, but the procedure should be basically the same anywhere)

Thanks.

[D.A. Ridgely]

UPDATE: I managed to upgrade my Android OS so that in theory the Galaxy S8+ would work wirelessly with my new Miata Alpine head unit. It's working, after a fashion, but it still works much better plugged in and, truth be told, it's probably better to just plug the phone in with the cord inside the glove box and let it stay there constantly charging as well.

Lots of glitches but I really like the voice activated music selection, phone calls and text messages (both voice to text outgoing and text to voice incoming). The quality of the HD radio is excellent, though I suspect I'm going to end up blowing my old speakers and needing upgrades: the Alpine amp is considerably stronger than the OEM Bose unit.

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

Finally today I figured out how to stream XM radio to my phone, so in theory I should be able to stream it via bluetooth in the Miata, too.

My biggest problem at this point is that there are only occasional days when it's warm enough to use the Miata. Still, I'm making progress.

[Warren]

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

You got that backwards don't you?

[D.A. Ridgely]

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

You got that backwards don't you?

No.

[Warren]

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

You got that backwards don't you?

No.

The screen in daytime mode should be bright and dim down for night mode. What am I missing?

[D.A. Ridgely]

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

You got that backwards don't you?

No.

The screen in daytime mode should be bright and dim down for night mode. What am I missing?

That in a convertible with the top down and the sun shining, a high contrast dark background on the navigation map is easier to see.

[Warren]

I'm getting the knack of using Google Maps. A big problem, though, is that with the top down the map screen in daytime mode can't be seen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it stay on night mode all the time.

You got that backwards don't you?

No.

The screen in daytime mode should be bright and dim down for night mode. What am I missing?

That in a convertible with the top down and the sun shining, a high contrast dark background on the navigation map is easier to see.

AH! You mean Dark Mode, which I now gather your Alpine unit switches to at night. I would expect that you can do what you want to do. However my expectations of how tech should work are often unfounded.

[Andrew]

It appears that Android pushed out some sort of update to Messages that cannot be uninstalled. How frustrating.

[dhex]

so i got used to the jabras just in time for the charging case to die. fwiw, sound quality for calls is good; music quality is blah but they're bt earbuds. takes some time to find a good fit.

unrelated, but did you know verizon charges you 20 bucks to buy a new phone even if you're buying it through google? did you also know that i hope they die?

[JD]

Anybody tried out Google Fi? I'm vaguely considering it but it's hard to compare pricing apples to apples.

[Number 6]

Anybody tried out Google Fi? I'm vaguely considering it but it's hard to compare pricing apples to apples.

I've been using it for a little less than a year. I switched after growing tired of Verizon's ever increasing rates. My experience so far has been very good. Coverage is equal to, and in some spots, better than Verizon. Data rates are solid. In all, I pay less than half the price for a slightly better product.