jeffdubin

The museum itself is a hidden gem in central Ohio (USA). There have been so many times where I've visited a city and looked for interesting tech attractions, only to find out about something after I had already left. This is one of those places, not typically found on the tourist maps.

I can confirm this. A Brother HL-L3270CDW color laser worked fine with third-party toner at first, but would not recognize it after a firmware upgrade. I tried three different sets of cartridges, including different brands - none were recognized, and there's no way to revert to a previous firmware version.

That was the last Brother color printer I'll buy, unless they go back to accepting generic toner.

It's hard to trust Apple to keep their word on privacy when an "accidental" Siri activation potentially results in that recording (or related data) finding its way not just to Apple for, say, speech recognition, but all the way to advertisers.

Transparency would be appreciated here, Apple. Is there any ability for a user to review all recordings made and submitted to Siri? I want to say that Android has this ability via Google Takeout.

The org I work for recently signed a small (5-user) enterprise agreement with a popular web-based form solution provider for $5k. When I asked them to enable SSO, they asked for an additional $2.5k, which I felt was ridiculous. This is why we didn't do SSO.

Don't count out local hamfests. Yeah, some tiny ones are a little disappointing, but bigger cities usually have respectable events. Even if you're not into ham radio, you'll find plenty of non-radio tech stuff. And there there's the Dayton (OH) Hamvention which is /huge/ - people/groups/vendors drive in from all over the US and setup flea market booths, to sell and buy stuff, but also to just sit around and talk tech with the other attendees.

Thanks for pointing out these alternatives - I'll check them out!

Filmic was for a while the app for turning your phone into a pseudo-pro video camera. But Blackmagic Camera wasn't the executioner - it was their own doing when they abandoned what had been a pay-once app and suddenly turned to a (quite expensive) subscription model. That didn't sit well with the community - the app's rating tanked by hundreds+ of one-star reviews. At least iOS users have BMD's camera app - Android users don't have anything comparable.

The failure was letting encryption into the standard in the first place. This will be a never ending game, with big broadcasters continuously lobbying the FCC and congress for the ability to monetize the broadcast bands. If we allow broadcast television to become a subscription service, then just kill TV broadcasting and repurpose this spectrum for mobile (cellular) use. I'm not endorsing this idea, I'm only saying that by going down the path of encrypted transmissions, broadcasters are no different than any other ISP - except they'll own the pipe AND control the content.

You want to stop this in its tracks? Convince Amazon to start buying some TV stations. Congress would be livid.

If there's someone with at least a little tech/mech inclination available to supervise, perhaps a 3D printer might be considered? There are sub US$200 printers available (e.g. Creality Ender 3) which are a good starting point (though you can spend more to get something more plug-and-play) and it presents so many avenues of exploration. There's the mechanical aspect of the printer itself, but also designing things to print (e.g. tinkercad.com) and then getting to hold them is a blast. Even finding pre-designed objects online to download and print is rewarding (see printables.com for inspiration).

Admittedly 8yo is a little young to start. There are challenges, and patience is a must. But the family can find a local makerspace (or library, or school) to get a better idea of what's involved.

If you want to get a feel in real-time, visit a site offering WebSDR[1]. Look for a receiver in the US and tune between 530-1700KHz in AM mode. Note that reception will vary based on time of day [2].

[1] http://websdr.org/ is a good place to start

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station

It's hard for me to take this data seriously when I enter an address that I know to be problematic for cellular coverage and receive "100% coverage" on the mobile broadband tab, and listed with carriers I know to have zero outdoor coverage at the location.

Also check that the camera doesn't rely upon a proprietary configuration tool, e.g. a Windows-only IE plugin, and that the camera doesn't need internet connectivity to function. Some cameras will stop streaming, even locally, if they can't hit the manufacturer's cloud-based platform.

Is this good or bad? I can't tell if that's a safe alternative or another potentially problematic one, and the Wikipedia entry doesn't mention safety.

Most of these live in different locations, or are portable.

The very basics of it are that I'm trying to operate portable using HF (<30MHz, long range), including for digital comms such as FT8. Typically a computer generates the audio-band signals which are transmitted as RF by the radio. Skipping the laptop (less to carry/power), I've installed a few of these ham apps on the Pi, power it from the radio's battery, and use an adapter (Digirig) to give me serial and audio to the radio. I turn on my phone's hotspot, the Pi connects via WiFi, and I use RDP to remote into the Pi, using my phone as the input and display. The Pi Zero 2W is a little under-powered (mostly needs more RAM), but it does the trick.

The simplicity of GMRS can be good, but for me I rarely use a radio to talk locally on repeaters. I like the idea of communicating as far as possible on very little power (QRP) with a small footprint, and the experimentation angle of it all.

Raspberry Pi B: Stream a local ham radio repeater (weather spotters) to Broadcastify

Raspberry Pi Zero: Brachiograph

Raspberry Pi 4B: Octoprint

Raspberry Pi 4B: Home Assistant

Raspberry Pi 4B: NAS (running Kopia as backup target w/ USB HDD, not speed-critical)

Raspberry Pi Zero 2W: ham radio-related software for portable use (e.g. WSJT-X, etc.) using cell phone via WiFi as display/input via RDP

To do: MiniDexed synth module, eInk display driver, network a UPS via NUT, RetroPie, Ham Clock, etc., etc. I've also used them previously as a fax server, digital signage for office lobby, and other things I'm forgetting

What throws me for a loop is that Todd Rundgren, known for his prolific career in music, was the developer of a companion program to this tablet (and more).

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/mar/18/onlinesup...

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/todd-rundgren-why-isn...

I want to know if an app will launch itself on device startup, and I can't see that any longer with "data safety". There are other permissions that are now similarly hidden. I appreciate that less tech savvy Android users might benefit from a simplified view, but I wish they'd give the advanced user an option to view details (and, ideally, the ability to reject ANY permission).

Yes. I check permissions on every app before I install it. Or, at least I did until that was recently taken away.

There are some permissions given to apps without a user prompt, e.g. start at boot. If there are five similar apps with similar functionality and ratings, I'll typically choose the one asking for the least permissions. And if I notice an app looking for excessive permissions (e.g. location) with no good reason why (e.g. a terminal app), that'll give me a clue that there's a ton of data being collected.

Once upon a time, a giant percentage of a device's user base was tech-savvy early adopters. But with billions of devices having been sold, 99%+ of Android users have very little interest in details like permissions.

But when these details are taken away... when I can't see permissions, when apps I use lose features because of new, restrictive Play Store policies, and when Android continues down this road of "privacy" without insight into exactly what my phone is doing... well, if I wanted this, I'd have chosen an Apple device.

A huge number of consumers who can't upgrade to Windows 11 due to unsupported hardware will instead opt for an iPad or Chromebook. Everything is either web- or app-based, and people don't want the complexity of Windows. Microsoft will lose a big chunk of the Windows user base this way.

Large, semi-national pizza chain says "text your order and receive 20% off", so I skeptically text my order and promptly receive a reply with a link to continue to their website for confirmation and payment. Pointless.

Amazon, Apple, and Google are each well-entrenched and also have a good bit of cash and patents available to pivot or crush competitors if necessary. Plus if broken up (e.g. by gov't antitrust regs, etc.) each would have multiple sustainable businesses that could survive independently of the main company.

Netflix will buy/be bought. Much like cell phone carriers, ISPs, and CATV companies, consolidation will leave only a few heavy hitters. Netflix would be a nice addition to Peacock or Paramount+ and would give each a sense of legitimacy.

Meanwhile, Facebook has made many enemies on all sides; they're synonymous with tracking users, fake news, and old folks. I can't think of anyone who doesn't use Facebook somewhat begrudgingly. Also, does anyone actually like FB/Meta? Or Zuckerberg, the defacto face of the company? Facebook is one or two gaffes away from where Myspace is today.

When troubleshooting wiring issues, a common tool used to find a specific wire pair in a bundle is the tone and probe set. The tone tool injects tones ('deedle deedle deedle') at one end of the specific wire pair you're trying to trace, then you wave the probe (also called an inductive amplifier) around the far end of the bundle of wires and listen for the tones. As you get closer to the wire you're tracing, the tones become louder.

This inductive amplifier also converts all sorts of other EM fields generated by most electronic equipment into audible noises. CPUs, logic circuits, etc. will be heard as 'tick tick buzzzzz tick buzzz' or similar clicks and squeals. One big caveat is that the range of most EM fields picked-up is only maybe a foot or so. But if you were to run a probe up and down a wall or around objects you suspect might contain a recording device, you'd likely hear it.

This isn't the only tool I'd use, but it's a quick and easy way to get a basic idea of what might be hiding.

Note that Google is no longer providing updates (/maybe/ one more in 22Q1) for the OP's Pixel 3, a 3yo device which is otherwise still a great phone. It's simply not good enough. Google needs to support their own phone past three years and be the example to others that ship Android devices. How long are we going to ignore it and let those who can't afford a new phone every couple of years be left exposed?

Can you provide an example of such a device? I have yet to see any adapter other than those with a firewire jack on one end and USB plug on the other, but no protocol conversion/bridging/etc going on (and likely to ruin your day, given FW power runs at 12V and USB at 5V)

The Wirecutter has used affiliate links, which makes me think twice about their reviews. If xyzcorp's widget is the best out there, but not available to be monetized via an affiliate link, would they include it in their review? If this gives them the freedom to evenly consider ALL options, then I'd consider a subscription.

Still, I don't know of anyplace else to get unbiased reviews (other than Consumer Reports, but I feel like they're out-of-touch with technology) without resorting to a Reddit thread or similar.

I think the answer is "don't rely upon an external service".

BTW, Roku supported the Radio Roku service for 10 years after the SoundBridge was discontinued, plus the device isn't locked down -- there are community-based efforts which still let you use an old SoundBridge, with a little effort. However, I'd argue that SoundBridge-era Roku is a VERY different company than streaming video-era Roku.

The Roland MV-1 could be an intuitive, creative, flexible device, but a 16x2 LCD? How does that compare against the OP-1's beautiful, animated OLED display?

There's also a lot of history provided by the docents, including many USAF veterans who have flown, maintained, or were otherwise involved with some of the very aircraft on display. If you're a fan of aviation, the military, history, or technology, this museum is worth making a special trip to Dayton, OH. https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/

Some Dunkin Donuts stores in the New England area were (decades ago) accused of listening to their customers by having microphones at seats where customers ate. Not sure if that was intentional or part of their security system as they claimed. [0]

[0] https://apnews.com/d7e29ace8f0cfdd8e4377e70ef26eff8