GREAT TECH – What the Tech

Airpower Confirmed Dead Before it Ever Got the Chance to Live

Posted on April 5, 2019April 9, 2019 by McKay Smith

Airpower has long been awaited by many Apple users. Airpower was meant to allow users of the Apple iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple Airpods to simultaneously charge these devices all on one wireless charging pad. Sadly, Apple has just officially announced this will never come to be (at least not from Apple).

“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in an emailed statement today. “
TechCrunch

Apple made this announcement on Friday, March 29, 2019. Following this announcement many Apple fans went out and purchased the Nomad wireless charger combo that gives similar options for wireless charging that the mythical Apple Airpower was meant to. The Nomad wireless charger was sold out by the end of the day.

Interestingly enough, they got it?

In regards to Apple failing miserably at their own game, this will bring many brands to take their own stab at what Apple couldn’t accomplish. Heck, even this no name brand was able to do what Apple couldn’t. It may not be as pretty, but I’ll take it working over mythical matter any day.

Airpower Alternative

Be sure to share your thoughts or speculations of what you expect the future holds in this regard.

I’d be happy to discuss this!

Best Cases for Your Smartphone

Posted on April 5, 2019April 22, 2019 by McKay Smith

Broken Phone — Don’t let this happen to you

Case options

When choosing a case, it is important to determine what is most important to you, protection or style. If you are a person who is prone to dropping their phone a lot, then it is probably best that you go for something that has a little bit more protection rather than a stylish slim profile case. But, if you are also wanting to go for style and are also in need of a more protective case, you’re in luck; because there is such a thing as a hybrid available form a decent amount of brands!

Protection
Style
Hybrid

Style

For those that are particularly good with protecting their devices, slim profile cases are available that come with a flare of style. My favorite brands have been Tech 21 as well as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cases. Both have produced cases for quite a few years now that I have personally enjoyed.

Here are some of my favorites I recommend:

Tech 21 Pure Clear Case
Samsung Silicone Case

Protection

If you are even remotely careful with your case, but are someone who does a lot of construction or outdoorsy things with their phone, then I definitely recommend you go down this path when choosing a case for your smartphone; trust me, you’ll thank me later. These cases are a relatively on the bulkier side, but at that cost comes double the protection. It’s worth it the end in my opinion.

Otterbox Defender
Samsung Rugged

style options

Otterbox Popsocket Case
Stylish Otterbox Case

Is Having a Smarthome Worth It?

Posted on March 29, 2019April 9, 2019 by McKay Smith

The Smarthome

The smarthome is obviously something that has become quite the trend over the last few years. But the real question is, is it worth it? Or is it just a gimmick that you can live without?

Smartlighting

For me personally, I have been living with a few smarthome devices over the last few years, and I have got to say that I love each of them and use them on the daily. First of all, I have a few smart lights, with these smartlights I am able to have the lights turn on when I have arrived at home as well as when I am going out. I can even set a timer (as I currently have on the lamp in my front window) to turn a light on at a particular time to make it appear that there is someone home. The light is even smart enough to not always turn on/off at exactly the same time, just in case there is someone that is watching your house and determining whether or not they want to make the attempt to rob you.

“It’s not so much the convenience of controlling these things from the couch or even abroad — it’s the peace of mind of knowing away from home that I locked the door or set the alarm, and the reduced energy bills from better managing the heater or air conditioning. “
Business Insider

Smartspeakers & Smarthubs

I have definitely appreciated having these in my apartment. I have a Google Home Mini in the kitchen as well as one in my bathroom. I also have an Amazon Alexa in my bedroom. Having the ability to take advantage of communicating with each of these devices to gain information or process input to the speakers at any given moment with my voice I think is amazing. The potential is pretty much limitless.

” Oddly, my favorite connected device in the house is the smart doorbell. Apartment dwellers may scoff, but I doubt any homeowner would prefer not knowing who’s ringing at the door at 2 a.m.”
Business Insider

Nostalgic Reach

Posted on March 23, 2019April 9, 2019 by McKay Smith

Techie from a Young Age

Ever since I can remember I have always been intrigued by technology. I did not develop my love of technology as I became older, it was always a part of me. I give thanks to this in part to my Dad because he has a similar passion for tech. He gave me my inspiration in it. I’m thankful for my interest in it, because I feel my knowledge of tech has better developed my education.

Where it all Started

When I was quite young, I really wanted to be like my dad and have tech like his. If you are at all as invested in tech as I am, then you most likely know what a Palm Pilot is. If not, a Palm Pilot is a PDA planner that became the first new age thing to paper planners. Helping the user to keep track of all of their events as well as their reminders electronically. These PDA planners also supported a minimal amount of different games. This was probably what intrigued me the most about them at the time being a kid. I wanted the ability to play games on long road trips as well as be like my Dad as I mentioned previously. So therefore, come on Christmas, my Dad gifted me my very own Palm Pilot. I was ecstatic.

My Next Love

In later years was the introduction of the iPod Video. I have had a love for music ever since I was young as well, and having the capability to take all of my music around with me at once was something I just had to have! I had a Walkman which required I take around all of my CD’s in a portable case as well if I wanted to listen to more than just the CD that was currently loaded into the Walkman. So, I asked for an iPod Video for Christmas and was luckily gifted one of these as well which I was very grateful for. Hence the name, I was also able to load videos or movies to the iPod which was fantastic!

Overall, these devices really kindled or ignited the fire that was within me. I then went on to possess other great portable devices such as the PSP (PlayStation Portable) as well as the iPod Touch. Each of these supported even more advanced apps and games than the Palm Pilot or the iPod Video opening a development to even more interest in tech than I had previously. They also had WIFI support opening up to me a vast number of potential I did not have access to with my iPod Video.

Looking back on the journey that I had with each of these devices, it’s been awesome to see where the tech field has come to over the past decade. These devices I owned really had an impact on creating the rise to where technology is today.

Why your kid needs a smartwatch

Posted on March 7, 2019April 9, 2019 by McKay Smith

Inspire your kid to do to their daily chores – it’s a win-win

With the Garmin Vivofit Jr 2, the parents can award points to their children for doing daily tasks and chores. The idea is these can then be traded for treats, so your children have an incentive to brush their teeth or play nicely with their siblings. The strap is soft and stretchy, making it comfortable to wear both day and night. Parents don’t even need to remind their child to charge their watch, because the battery lasts for up to a year.

The Fitbit Ace is another great choice especially in the sense that it is a great way to encourage and motivate kids to get moving. This smartwatch makes daily physical activity fun by tracking daily steps and providing rewards as well as badges for hitting certain goals.

The best benefit for a parent in my opinion for their child(ren) to have a smartwatch is the GPS tracking capability that the smartwatch supports. For as little as $5 to $10 a month, a parent can attach a working cellphone number to the smartwatch so as to be able to call their child with as well as the phone number makes it so that the GPS tracking capability is activated. if your child is out and about a lot with friends especially playing in the neighborhood, it is worth the extra $5 to $10 a month in expense for a parent to provide them with the peace of mind at the touch of a button to keep tracking of their kid and know that they are safe.