Category Archives: Android

If you’re looking for an Android phone here’s the one to buy

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As most of you know, I carry an iPhone. I like the simplicity and the consistency that Apple has put in to the iOS interface but I would be the first to tell you, being in the Apple universe is not for everyone. Many people don’t want to spend the money to purchase an Apple phone but still want a full feature device that gives them the ability to run apps and perform their normal work functions.

In today’s world, if you’re not Apple, your Google.  There are really just two choices when it comes to phone operating systems these days. Now that would be hard to tell if you went out to Best Buy and looked at phones. While Apple is the only maker of an iOS phone, google has a licensed the android operating system to many developers. If each of these developers had used the base Google operating system, the android phone universe would be the same as Apple‘s. All the android phones would look very similar, have the same apps, and operate the same way. But vendors of android phones tend to all believe that they can do it better. They think the operating system from Google is boring and they can put their touch and flair to applications, cloud functionality, and just the general look and feel.  When you walk into the Best Buy store and you look at android phones from Samsung, LG, Google, and others, you believe you’re looking at completely different devices. They work differently, they act differently, and more importantly, they look differently.

Some of these interface improvements that phone vendors make on the android side are in my opinion not improvements. Somethings are intended to push you into using their services, many of them at an extra cost.  One vendor in particular, Samsung, does a lot of advertising to make it look like their phones are much better than any other android phone. But the reality is all android phones run the same apps that you can download from the Google store just like you would download apps from Apple’s App Store.  

One other big reason that people look to android phones is cost. You can get an android phone at your carrier for just a few dollars a month or buy it outright for $150. Now obviously this isn’t the best phone in the world and in many ways it may be four-year-old technology but it will still make calls, get texts, and let you run many apps. So I tend to look at the choice of an android phone differently.  If you want the top-of-the-line feature phone for an android you can get that, from all of the manufactures. For most people the middle of the road, maybe even an upper middle device is really the one to choose.

I’ve taken a look at the phones that are available out there and in my opinion it’s an easy choice. If you’re going to run android, I truly believe you should run android and the only native android phones in the marketplace are made by the company that creates the android operating system, Google. Google has a series of feature pones  called the Pixel that are quite expensiveIn the, but they also have one phone model  it fits nicely in the upper middle with great features and reasonable price. That phone is the pixel 3a. 

The features of the Google Pixel 3a include:

  • 8MP Front Facing Camera
  • 12.2MP Dual-Pixel Rear Facing Camera
  • 32 Hours talk time
  • 13 Days standby time
  • 5.6″ FHD+ OLED
  • 2220 x 1080 pixels
  • Google Assistant
  • 3 Years of Security and OS Updates
  • Bluetooth 5.0

It has an extraordinary camera with features like Night Sight, Portrait Mode, and unlimited storage at high quality with Google Photos. Pixel 3a has a fast-charging Adaptive Battery that learns your favorite apps and reduces power to the ones you rarely use. When you need a little extra help, just ask your Google Assistant to help you find directions, answer questions, send texts, and more. Plus, ease your mind about keeping your data safe with the custom-built Titan M security chip and automatic security updates. It’s everything you love about Google–in a phone.

Best part about the Google pixel 3a is that it starts at $399. If you want large screen phone they also have a larger screen available at a higher price.

Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. There are many reasons that an iPhone in my opinion is just better than any of the android phones available. But if you’re looking for an android phone these days, take a close look at the Pixel 3a.  

Inexpensive Security cameras for the Home

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Wyze Cam V2

In the last year or so, the security camera market for your home has exploded.  Where once there were only a couple of options for cameras to choose from, today there are dozens out there and all have their pluses and minuses.  There is a lot to be said for selecting cameras that work inside the infrastructure that you’re already using in your home.  If you have nest products in your homes perhaps the nest cameras are best for you. If you have Ring products in your home maybe ring deserves a second look. The one thing you will find is that selecting one of these big-name infrastructure‘s will definitely cost you. Not only will the cameras be more expensive, but she’ll be forced to live with limitations with each and every set up.

I have tried a number of these different cameras and until recently I have been using a

mixture of D-link and blink cameras.  My DLink cameras have been around for quite a while and I felt like it was probably time to be in looking at other options.  My Blink cameras are only about a-year-old, and are there outdoor cameras. I really love the way they’ve set these up with being battery powered and waterproof. They definitely have a place in my smart home as my outdoor camera variety.

Recently a friend pointed me to some cameras from a company that’s trying to do things a little differently. They are in the process of building their own security infrastructure around their camera models but their big difference is in price. Rather than paying upwards of $200 for a camera, their cameras start at about 25 bucks shipped.  Obviously at that price you’re expecting quite a few limitations, and I would be remiss if I didn’t say there are a few but when it comes to price performance these little cameras are a great option for you to look at. The company I’m referring to is Wyze https://www.wyze.com/ and their Wyzecam products.  

Right now, these cameras come into varieties. The Wyze cam V2 and the Wyze cam Pan.

Wyze Cam Pan

The Wyze cam V2 is their most affordable model coming in at about $26 shipped.  This camera is well featured including night vision and motion detection and comes on an innovative little base that allows you to be able to turn and left the camera to position it exactly the way you want it. Neither of these cameras require a hub because they connect to your wireless network using Wi-Fi. They’re quite easy to activate using the app for your iPhone or android phone. Once activated, you can set them up to send you alerts based upon motion or sound. The cameras have the ability to automatically go into night mode and use the night vision to be able to see in the dark. They can record video to the cloud automatically through the app and also record to an SD card that you can place in the camera. All in all, these cameras have all the features of the $200 models at only $26.

The second model is called the Wyze cam Pan.  This camera is basically the same camera as described above but has the ability to pan left and right and up and down within the app by moving the camera on a rotating basis. Cameras like this from name brands are always very expensive. But this camera comes in at only $36.  It includes all the features of their less expensive model plus the pan feature. 

Wyze App for iOS

Wyze Is also working on adding external motion detection and door sensors to their product. While announced, these have not been released yet but to be quite inexpensive also. At CES this year, they also described a product that will value to have a external hard drive in your house they records all of your video and allows you to use the hard drive as a personal cloud.  If you have an Alexa display, these cameras also work directly with that. You can say “Alexa, show me The living room camera”, and the display shows you live you with that camera.   

Wyze Is quite an innovative company that has made the decision from the beginning to release products at low-cost. If you’re looking for indoor cameras, these definitely deserve a look. At the price they’re charging you can afford to buy one and try it and even if you don’t like it, you don’t have a lot invested.

Multi Camera Event View in Wyze app

The 2019 State of the Chromebook and ChromeOS

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Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 – an aluminum cased machine that meets all my requirements

A Chromebook is a laptop of a different sort. Instead of Windows 10 or macOS, Chromebooks run Google’s Chrome OS. These machines are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud.

I was fortunate enough to see and play with one of the very first Chromebooks. A buddy of mine somehow manage to get himself on Googles beta test list and Google send him one of the first original Chromebooks.  While a very interesting piece of hardware, it was so limited in function that I somewhat had written Chromebooks off as a ‘browser in a can’ device that only ran the rather new Chrome browser.  Boy how things have changed.

In those early days, Chrome OS was in it’s infancy.  There was little support for attached hardware, printing was difficult to setup, and unless you could find a web based application to perform all your tasks, you were left feeling that a Chromebook could not work as your primary device.  But that was 2011!  Today, a Chromebook is a much different experience.

So what has changed.  First off, Chrome OS has been improved to allow a more user-friendly and robust experience.  Gone are the days that setting up printing required Using Google remote print.  Most network attached printers these days are recognized and easily setup in Chrome OS.  Chrome also recognizes hardware additions like USB drives, keyboards, mice, and cameras.

Also gone are the needs for web applications to be available to make a Chromebook work for you.  All Chromebooks released since late 2017 can also run Android apps. Some Chromebooks can run Linux apps.  In fact, if you are an android phone user, you will feel quite at home using many of the same applications you use on a phone.  And iOS users need to remember that while you don’t get that integration from being in an all Apple ecosystem, most applications you use in iOS are also available for Android and guess what, they look and feel nearly the same as iOS.

Benefits of a Chromebook

Why might you want to consider a Chromebook?

  • Lightweight OS – A Chromebook requires many less resources to perform well that a Windows machine or a Mac.  
  • Long battery life – 12 hours is an average life for a Chromebook.  Some get 14 hours.  You can get close to that in a Mac but a Windows machine can’t come close
  • Optimized for Google apps – If you are a Google user and particularly if you have your life in Google its a great fit.  Everything works seamlessly and syncs with the google cloud.  If you lose or break the Chromebook, you just log back in with your google account and everything downloads and sets itself back up.
  • Fast boot times – MacOS machines with an SSD boot very fast but Chromebooks are truly instant.  Lift the lid and you’re ready to go.
  • Browser-based simplicity – Because you do most things in the chrome browser, everything happens quickly and simply.  IF you can surf the web you can be productive in ChromeOS.
  • Extremely thin and light – Chromebooks can be light, thin and cheep.  Like most things, these machines are not the best user experiences but there are Chromebooks available today that are just as high quality as a Mac or high end windows machine.  Plus they cost about half the cost of these machines.

Not for Everyone

  • Limited Storage – Some Chromebooks have very limited storage.  All are SSD but with some as low as 16GB, that could be a problem.  You can get more but the price does go up
  • Cloud based data storage – Google provides cloud storage in Google Docs for two years with the Chromebook purchase and extending that storage is inexpensive.  So storage is not really an issue.  Remember you have to get your files in Google Drive to make good use of this storage.
  • Cheeper machines can be slow – You can get a wicked fast Chromebook but you can also get a dog.  Be sure to look at my spec recommendations to see what you need to look for.
  • Internet based – Keep in ming that while Chromebooks can work off-line, making full use of a Chromebook requires a Wi-Fi connection. If you commonly work without am internet connection, be sure what you do will work while you are off-line.
  • Microsoft Office is available but… – With the availability of android apps, Microsoft office is available  in ChromeOS. To take full advantage, you will need a Microsoft 365 subscription for licensing, but if you use office, that’s a small price to pay.  But also don’t forget the Google Applications like Docs, Sheets, and Slides that can do the same thing for you.
  • Video Editing is limited but doable – There are certainly some good online video editing services like WeVideo that you can use on a Chromebook. However, Chromebooks do not support professional video editing programs like iMovie, FinalCut Pro or Adobe Premier.  If these are a requirement in your workflow, you may not be happy here.
  • Some Professional software is not available… yet – If your a Photoshop user, you probably dont need to consider Chromebooks.  It isn’t available and many would not be fast enough for it if it was.  But there are plenty of other image editors that can perform many of those tasks.  So consider if Photoshop is a requirement or a prestiege statement for you.  
  • If your a hard core gamer, this may not be for you.  You can play thousands of games on a Chromebook but not the high performance shoot em up games may young people require.  Perhaps that’s why these are such a good fit for schools…

Who does a Chromebook fit?  

These machines are a natural for school systems.  By March 2018, Chromebooks made up 60% of computers purchased by schools in the USA.  Why is this trend continuing to grow?  Because of the absolute manageability of ChromeOS.  

But in my experience, many computer users would do fine with a Chromebook.  If you are a web browse who uses email, writes some documents and has some spreadsheets, uses phone apps for most things these days, and is willing to learn a little different way to work, a Chromebook is perfect for you.

If you are one of the many computer users that just can’t seem to keep your machine from getting Viruses and Spyware, ChromeOS is a much better and controlled environment to be in.  Viruses don’t exist and Chrome malware is easily dealt with.

What should I look for?

Like most computer purchases, the cheapest one is not the best one.  While a Chromebook can work with many fewer resources, some hardware leads to a much better user experience.  Here is what I would look for if you want to go the Chromebook route.

  • Processor – Chromebooks can run on a much lighter processor than a Windows or Mac machine. I would still look for an Intel processor of sometype but anything in the M3, or Core i3 line should be plenty good
  • Ram – 4GB ram is fine, 8GB is great.  Don’t consider one with just 2GB
  • Built in Storage – I think 32GB is a minimum.  You can push all your files to Google Drive but there is some need for application preferences and local files.  64GB is better
  • Display resolution – Many… most Chromebook have a display resolution of  1366 x 768 but I think a Full HD or FHD display will be much nicer in the long term.  Look for a 1920 x 1080 display.  More resolution is alway better . Actual screen size is a personal preference.
  • Touch screen display – since you will be using some Android applications designed for touch, a touch screen display is a nice addition.
  • Wireless – Be sure the wireless is 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.  The AC part allows support for the latest standard wireless.
  • Other items to future proof your purchase – A USB 3.1 port is a must.  USB C is much better. A Card Reader of the microSD variety allow you to add storage if needed.  

If these specs sound daunting, it is because Chromebooks go from very inexpensive to much more expensive.  So the specs can run the gauntlet.  Do your homework up front and find a machine that fits what you want to do.  Plan to be in the $375 to $599 price range to meet all these specification requirements I describe.

Conclusion

With the advent of built-in android support in today’s Chromebooks, a Chromebook could be a good fit for your next laptop. Do your research upfront and make the decision that you’re going to move most of your files to the cloud before you even start. If you do this, and orient yourself into the Google ecosystem, the move to a Chromebook will be seamless and efficient.

Like any computer purchase, consider all your options but don’t overlook a Chromebook in that consideration. It might just be the best choice you’ve ever made.

Computer Scams can really Ruin your day…

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Having a bad day today?  Well it could be a lot worse.  What it you were surfing the web on Facebook and suddenly saw this?

IMG_1137 (1)

Many people have seen messages such as this, particularly by clicking a link on Facebook.  Don’t fall for this scam.  The real infection here is to get you to call the phone number, let them connect to your computer to “Fix” it, and then have them install real spyware.  Then they show you how the machine is “infected” and tell you they can fix it for $190 only to steel your credit card info and make charges to your card.

Don’t make an errant click into a terrible mistake.  Force quit your browser to get rid of the message and ignore it. NEVER call a phone number for a computer problem that pops up on your screen and NEVER let someone you do not know make a connection remotely to your PC or Mac.

This can happen anywhere on the web but lately, many people see this from clicking a link from Facebook.

Problems with Free Wi-Fi Hotspots

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imageQ: I have had increasing issues connecting to WiFi with my phone from free access locations at airports and motels. I get messages like “server not available” or “cannot connect to server”. So far, I have gotten around the problem by turning off WiFi and relying on cellular connection. However, I want to solve the problem, because once we are traveling to Canada we will rely on WiFi to send emails. Any explanation or suggested remedy?

A: I often times see the same thing coming from free wireless connections. In many cases you have to chalk it up to you get what you pay for. These free Wi-Fi connections are many times not very good and even more often don’t work. I find this to be very prevalent in airports.

But there are a couple of other things to consider when you connect to the free Wi-Fi hotspot. I’m finding more more often that these hotspots require you to open the Safari browser after you make connection to them and agree to some hold harmless agreement. I think the lawyers have gotten involved and people who offer free Wi-Fi are afraid someone will use the Wi-Fi for illegal purposes.  They allow you to connect, but unless you immediately go to Safari and agree to their license agreement, which often comes up automatically if you run Safari immediately after connection, you don’t actually have any Internet access.

The other possibility is that some of these are not truly free Wi-Fi sites. They may be connections other people are offering from their computers in the hopes of someone connects  Then, once connected, they are able to scan their computer for private information. It’s very hard to do this on the Mac, and nearly impossible on an iPhone or iPad, but on a Windows machine if you connect to one of these fake hotspots, and don’t have your firewall turned on, a thief can scan your computer for all kinds of private personal information. People create these fake access points hoping to get unsuspecting individuals to connect to them.  Nothing to really worry about with a Mac or an iPhone, but frustrating because they act exactly as your are describing when you try to connect to the Internet.

Finally, many free wireless hotspots, particularly at hotels, will not allow you to send email. They block the email ports in the Internet connection to keep you from using their systems to send out spam. I found this happen a lot in nicer hotels.  In fact, when I was traveling for business, it almost went without saying that if you paid for Wi-Fi at a hotel, it would always have mail blocked.

The best thing I can tell you, is to only connect to the  hotspots that your sure are legitimate. If a business says they offer a hotspot, it’s usually a good one to connect to. But if you see one named something similar to “Free public Wi-Fi” I find 90% of the time these are scams so only connect to one that you’re familiar with.  Also keep in mind that the only benefit of providing a free Wi-Fi connection to a business is marketing, so restaurants, and hotels, tend to put their names in the Wi-Fi connection. If you see an unlocked connection with an odd name you’re not familiar with it’s probably not one you want to connect to.

Those are just some of my thoughts.  Rest of shared, it’s not you or your devices that are having the problem, Everybody sees the same thing and has the same problems.

 

Google photos: the photos service that Apple should have developed

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imageThe world of photos storage and manipulation, for the average user, has been turned on its head this spring with Apple releasing its new photos app to replace iPhoto, and now google introducing its own photos service that replaces Google+ photos and Picassa. Also the spring, Yahoo has greatly enhanced it’s Flickr service as a competitor to both the big dogs. With all these options for photo storage and manipulation, how does a person make a choice?

So let me start off by being perfectly clear. If you’re a Photoshop user these are not competitive products to you. If you use Lightroom to store your photos, then these are probably not services you’re going to have interest in either. If you were an Aperture user and Apple abandoned you, you’ve probably already looked into lightroom and likely selected it as your new system. But if you were in iPhoto user, someone who uses Windows Photo Gallery or still a Picassa user, the time is right to look at your other options.

I’ve written about Apple photos before and described how it was a good start at a new photo application for Apple. If you’re a Mac User this may be all you need. But if you’re a Windows user, or you’d like to get your photos into the cloud for storage without paying an arm and a leg, the other options are quite compelling.

imageNow I like Flickr. Flickr is very well developed and with its new release has many features that people will find very useful for dealing with their photos.  If your a Flickr user and have already worked out a workflow for putting your photos up at Flickr, then I see no reason to make a change. But if you have photos on your computer, that are haphazardly stored in folders, Google photos maybe just the ticket for you.

Like most Google services, Google photos is available as a web service in your web browser. First off you have to have a Google account to use the service. If you have a Gmail address you already have the account set up.  Once you connect to Google photos you have the ability to be able to put photos into the service and have them backed up. One of the benefits of Google photos is that they allow you to store up to 16 megapixel images uncompressed for free. If you’re using a camera that takes larger images, photos will down sample the image to that size or you can choose to pay for storage space to store full size images. For most users using the free unlimited storage is good enough.

So what makes Google photo special? Google photos has a lot of intelligence built-in similar to what iPhoto users had been used to with faces and places. Google photos gives you the ability to put photos up and then Google uses their algorithms to scan those photos to help organize them in a very simple way.

imageGoogle has made available a small application for both Macintosh and Windows users that allows you to automatically upload any photos on your computer. This application runs in the background and will send any new photos up to Google photos as soon as they’re on your computer. This makes using Google Photos extremely easy. You basically continue to work with photographs the way you always have and Google Photos sends copies of those photos up to their web service and stores them for you as a backup. If you’re in computer user that has photos stored on your computer and is not religious about backing them up I see no reason to not use Google photos just for that service. Even if you do nothing with the photos you put up in Google photos, just allowing Google to back them up for you at no cost is a big win. To do this you don’t even have to go to the website, you can just download the small application, run it, and let the backups begin.

But some of the real power of Google photos begins once your photos are stored with Google. As your photos are put online in an area that is secure and only accessible to you, Google analyzes these photos both by reading the metadata and also by analyzing the image itself. From this Google automatically creates things called stories that are basically short booklets of images that are related often by time or location. You really have to see this in action to understand it. I’ll tell you upfront I was pretty amazed. In addition Google organizes photos by peoples faces, locations, and generic terms such as lakes, mountains, flowers, and helicopters. I am certainly not very good at tagging my photos but the way Google analyze them and puts them into groups was amazing.

imageHere are some of the things googles literature says that it does.

• VISUAL SEARCH: Your photos are now searchable by the people, places and things that appear in your photos. Looking for that fish taco you ate in Hawaii? Just search “Hawaii” or “food” to find it even if it doesn’t have a description. Note: Face grouping is not available in all countries.
• AUTO BACKUP: Keep all your photos and videos safe and accessible from any device. Choose free, unlimited cloud storage available at high quality, or store up to 15GB original size for free (shared across your Google account).
• SAVE SPACE ON YOUR DEVICE: Google Photos can help you clear safely backed up photos and videos from your device so you never have to worry about deleting a photo to make space.
• BRING PHOTOS TO LIFE: Automatically create montage movies, interactive stories, collages, animations, and more.
• EDITING: Transform photos with the tap of a finger. Use simple, yet powerful, photo and video editing tools to apply filters, adjust colors, and more.
• SHARING: Share hundreds of photos instantly with shareable links and use whichever apps you’d like to share.
You can read more about some of the amazing things Google photos can do on Google’s website at http://www.google.com/photos/about/

Google currently has applications for photos on the iPhone, iPad, and android devices. And for first releases, they are very good.  They also promise native apps for Macintosh and Windows coming soon.

So if you don’t have a photo storage strategy, or your strategy has been blown apart with the discontinuing of iPhoto, or even if you just want to try a good way to back up your photos automatically, I highly recommend Google photos as your new photo storage service. I’m not completely counting out Apple photos at this point, but Google photos is the app Apple should have released. So I’ll continue to use the Apple photos app in addition to Adobe lightroom to manage my imagery, but I’m going to let Google backup my photos because I can see the amazing potential of what they released this week.

New Mediacom Mail Server allow for IMAP mail

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PLEASE NOTE:  Since the article was written, the Mediacom server settings have changed.  The setup instructions still work but the outgoing server settings need to be changed.  Use  Outgoing:  smtp.mediacombb.net, Using SSL, Port 587, Authentication required

If you are a subscriber to Mediacom, you may have gotten an email telling you that your mail account has been moved to their new server. Typically they send an email about a week before they’re going to do it and then again I’ll follow-up email telling you they’ve completed it. The email that you get for completion may look like this.
Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 10.59.47 AM

One of the features provided in Mediacom’s new mail service is the ability to use IMAP mail.   These days most of us look at mail on more than one device. IMAP email allows you to leave your mailbox on the server rather than downloading all your mail to each device. This way if you delete one message from any device it gets removed from all devices.

You can set this up on your iPhone or iPad but it does require a little bit of trickery to get it to work. Setting it up on a Mac needs to be done in the same way.

The first step in the process is to go into settings: Mail contacts and calendars: and remove your existing Mediacom account from your device. Any mail you have left on the server Will come back down when you readd the IMAP account.  But if you have mail that’s fairly old it may have been deleted from the server so be sure you’re willing to do without that if you delete your account.

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With your account deleted you’ll need to go through the process of setting up a new mail account on your iOS device.

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Go to Settings: Mail Contacts and Calendars and select Add Account.

IMG_1717Select Other for the account type

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Select Add Mail Account

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Now here is where you need to trick the iOS mail setup application.  Apple’s auto mail setup goes out to look for the correct settings and unfortunately defaults to setting up the email as a POP account again.  So we will use a fictitious email address to trick it.

Enter your name and then enter an email address where the first part of the address is incorrect.  Be sure to use the correct portion of the address that comes after the @.  For instance, I entered gk@mchsi.com but you could also use something generic like xx@mchsi.com too.  Enter your password correctly and give the account a descriptive name.

IMG_1720

 

after a few seconds of looking out the server information, you will see the cannot get mail dialog popup.  This error is correct since you used an incorrect email address. Press OK.

IMG_1721

Next change the toggle at the top from POP to IMAP.

IMG_1722

Finally the last step is to correct the fictitious email address you used.  In each of the three locations, edit your email address to the correct one. Press Next in the upper right corner.

You should see blue checkmarks next to the user name and password fields to verify you got them correct.

IMG_1723You will see that the account is setup for mail and notes.  Notes will allow you to share notes using the mediacom server between all your devices.  You can choose to leave it on or turn it off but if left on the notes show up in the Notes application on your devices.  Press Done and you are finished.

I have also tested this process for adding the account to my Mac and it works basically the same.  I suspect Windows will work similarly also.

With an IMAP account now you only have to look at your mail in one place and delete it one time and it will be kept up to date on all your devices.

New Home Control Products

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imageThe home control market is in the process of exploding. Many vendors are trying to create products that allow people to create their own smart home and control it from an application on their phone or computer.  Having more products in the market is always great, but determining whether those products really work in your home is another story. I had the opportunity to test a couple more of these products that I’d like to tell you about.

The first of these is called a Lutron Caseta dimming switch and remote. This switch replaces a light switch in your home with a switch that can be controlled from your iPhone, iPad, or android device. For the switches to work you have to have some type of a central home hub that provides control. The home hub I’m using is the Wink hub and I’ve written about it in previous posts.  The switches wirelessly connect to the hub and allow Wi-Fi connected devices to control actions. They give you the ability to be able to create what are called robots to perform functions in your home. An example of this is what I’m using to control my outdoor driveway lights. I installed one of the switches and created a robot script that tells it went to turn the driveway lights on and when  to turn them off.

The switch was easy to install by just removing the existing light switch and wiring this new switch in using the same wires and connectors that were in place. Once installed you use the app on your iPhone or android device to connect to the switch and pair it to the hub.  Once paired with the hub you have control over that device. Then you can create your scripts for how you want the light to function. You also have the ability to turn the lights on and off from any place that you’re on the Internet. This switch comes with a small remote but allows you to have remote control without the use of the phone. So far I’ve been very please with the switch and it’s ease of installation and function.

The other device I had the opportunity to test was a GE link lightbulb. This device is basically a lightbulb that imagescrews into a light socket and allows you to control the light in the same way as the Lutron switch did. It’s installation is even simpler in that you basically screw it  into a light socket and turn on the light. You then use the app, the Wink app  in my case, to pair the lightbulb with your system. At that point you have control of it in the same way as the Lutron switch.

One nice thing about the ability of the Wink hub is the ability to program conditional Robots. In my case, I have my lights set that when I turn a particular light on it automatically turns on this lightbulb. This allows me to control lights based upon the condition of other lights in the house. I can’t say enough about this lightbulb in the fact that it is simple to operate easy to install and works flawlessly. The bulb itself is an LED bulb and provides a nice warm light. This bulb was also relatively inexpensive at less than $15.

I really enjoy making my home smarter. When I pick devices to purchase I try to ensure that I select devices that have a good likelihood of being compatible with many other systems. That way I maximize my use of home control today and prepare for future developments that might come tomorrow.

Own Android but Tempted by the New iPhones?

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Apple just continues to innovate. Sometimes it’s actually amazing. But not everybody owns an iPhone right now. Many people choose android, and that’s a good solution also. But once in a while, people want to change platforms for their phone. Go from my android phone to an iPhone. And some vice versa. Apple has a new website it gives you information on how to get data over from android to an iPhone. Some of the suggestions are purely common sense but others are really good ideas for being able to get all the stuff that you have from your android phone over to a brand-new iPhone.

So if the new iPhones have you tempted, take a look at the site to see what it’ll take to get your phone information moved over to an iPhone.

“Wink” Provides and Integrated Approach to Home Control

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Screen Shot 2014-09-02 at 1.18.02 PMI’ve dreamed for years about having a home that I could control electronically. Turn lights on and off from my phone, change the temperature of the thermostat, and open and unlocked doors. Over the years I’ve tried a number of products and many have worked very well. The one thing they lack was an integrated approach to being able to handle the controls.

A new product called Wink provides the ability to be able to control many other vendors devices from a single application. Just released in July, this unit allows you to connect other devices into a single integrated approach. While every device I have does not connect today, the open API provided should allow other vendors to make their connections work. This is the same approach Apple has to their HomeKit integration. While I’m absolutely sure that Apple’s products will be terrific, there was one thing I really IMG_0191liked about the Wink system. Wink has a single home unit that includes multiple radios to be able to connect to nearly any type of device. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, zigbee, and Z-wave radios are all included in the device. These multiple radios allow many vendors devices to be able to connect and integrate together. The real beauty of this approach allows a best-of-breed solution for home control. You can purchase devices that do the best job of providing a particular home control service regardless of how they connect with each other or with other devices you already own. This approach gives you the best opportunity to find the perfect device that fits your needs.

I’m trying out the Wink system in my own home. I was able to purchase two Lutron light switches and get the Wink box for free through a special offer Wink has at the present time. These light switches were easy to connect to each other and to the app on your phone. So the Z- wave radio within the Wink device connects them to my wireless network at home. Then I can use the Wink app on my iPhone to be able to control the switches

IMG_0192Wink also provides the ability to script actions that can be put together. An example is a single button that can turn all the lights in the house that are connected to control switches off. It also has the ability to create what it calls robots. These robots are scripts that are basically if then situations. If a particular light turns on to 100%, then turn another light off. You get the idea.

Wink has committed to providing connectivity to as many devices from other vendors as possible. I’m anxious to see if I will be able to control my nest thermostat and my WeMo light switches through this same application. If Wink continues to develop the way it looks like they have, I look forward to a day where a single app on my phone may be able to control all my intelligent devices in my home.

But Apples HomeKit will be a contender also. So as I purchase new controllable devices, IMG_0190I’m keeping my eye open for support for HomeKit too. That way if HomeKit becomes the better solution, all the devices I purchased can be used with it. Since the Wink controller was provided at no cost with the purchase of the two switches I just bought, I had no investment to lose by giving this a try.

Wink devices are available through Home Depot at Amazon.com.

I’ll continue to give updates on how I’m doing with Wink and home control. Hopefully that control I’m looking for in my home is just around the corner.