This series of posts will walk you through the process of figuring out whether or not you can cancel your cable or satellite subscription.
As much as cable and satellite providers would like you to think they're the only ones with the good content, you do have other options.
These devices take content from the Internet to display on your TV.
We're not giving up the fight! These links take you to resources supporting the campaign to get Google to bring back Classic Maps.
While none of these alternative sites are perfect replacements for Classic Maps, they're what we've got for now. I haven't checked most of these out personally yet, but I'm linking to them anyway in case you find them helpful for your purposes.
Yeah, I hate 'em too... But if we're going to be stuck with them at least for the foreseeable future, I'll be working on some tutorial posts to try to make them a little less painful.
Unfortunately I missed seeing last month’s Blood Wolf Moon (darn you, cloud coverage!) but I did capture this early morning view of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon in alignment on January 30th. Not bad for a quick snapshot from my iPhone if I do say so myself!
Happy February!
I hope everybody who lives in a location hit by this week’s polar vortex has finally begun to warm up. Having grown up in Ottawa, Canada, I’ve lived through some pretty brutal winters but the thought of -70F with windchill makes even *my* blood run cold!
Filed under Even the Bitter Cold Has Its Own Beauty: This video of boiling water freezing in mid-air is insane… and gorgeous!
Hopefully there won’t be any more of these uber-freezing days this year but even a normal winter day is unbearable for many.
Check out these tips for helping homeless people in your community. >>
Your monthly tech news, views, and how-tos
NOTE: I’m still figuring out this new monthly update format, so expect some less-than-successful experimentation until I’ve, well, figured it out. 🙂
News
Just the facts…
CES 2019
If it’s January, it’s time for the Consumer Electronics Show, showcasing cutting-edge technology. Here are some of the highlights from CES 2019.
CES 2019 opens to a flying car, a boxing robot and a Google Assistant ride (CNET)
The biggest Amazon Alexa products from CES 2019 (The Verge)
Here are the craziest things that work with Amazon Alexa at CES 2019 (Digital Trends)
Learn more about Alexa in this T4L post. >>
Find more news about CES 2019. >>
FaceTime Bug
If it’s a day with a y, it’s another privacy breach. The biggie this month was a bug when using Apple FaceTime for group chats. Turns out, even if the person you’re calling didn’t answer, you could still hear things through their phone. Good times!
This 14-year old found Apple’s FaceTime bug before it went viral (CNN)
Apple Apologizes About FaceTime Bug, Software Update With Fix Delayed Until Next Week (MacRumors)
Find more news about the FaceTime bug. >>
Untech Story of the Month
Tucson man helps save woman with CPR he learned from TV’s “The Office” (Arizona Daily Star)
Around the Interwebs
Streaming Media, Cutting the Cable Cord, Smart Home
Software, Services, Apps
Views
Opinions, recommendations, analysis, and whatnot
I had an idea for something to write here this month but didn’t get it together in time, so stay tuned! 🙂
Around the Interwebs
How-tos
Tips and tricks
Streaming the Super Bowl
I’m not a football fan but I do enjoy the ads. However, if you’re more interested in the game, this article has all the info you need to find it this Sunday. And don’t forget the Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl!
How to watch the Super Bowl on TV or via streaming (USA Today)
Here’s how to stream the Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl this weekend (Entertainment Weekly)
Learn more about streaming media in this T4L post. >>
Super Bowl commercials 2019: Watch the big ads before they air (Yahoo Sports)
Making Wi-Fi Voice Calls on Android Phones
One of my mantras when it comes to tech products is “Know your Menus and Settings are your Friends,” which I normally think of when I’m learning about new devices and software. But an equally valuable addendum to that is to occasionally review all your menus and settings to find new features that you might not have learned about otherwise and update settings to your current preferences. I was doing this recently with my Android phone and discovered a feature called “Wi-Fi Calling” that I hadn’t been aware of before.
What this feature does is let you make normal phone calls using a Wi-Fi connection instead of your normal cellphone service, which is especially helpful if you’re somewhere without a good cell signal or you’re near the end of your monthly allotment of calls.
The feature isn’t available on all Android phones and is dependent on whether your phone provider supports it, so you may have to check various menu items to see if you have this option. On my Samsung Galaxy S5 with Verizon Wireless in the U.S. it’s under Settings > Advanced Calling and on my Samsung A5 with Freedom Mobile in Canada it’s in the Settings for the actual Phone app.
Everything you need to know about Wi-Fi calling (CNET)
Around the Interwebs
See you in March!