Futurelawyer

What Do You Use Your Bixby Button For?

Samsung will extend Bixby button remapping to Galaxy S8, S9, and Note lines - The Verge. I love my Note 8 and my Note 9. Great phones. But, I use Google Assistant. I have no need for Samsung's competitor, Bixby. It is fine that Samsung includes it in its phones; but, having a physical button on the side of the phone that calls up an app I will never use seems ham handed at best. Bixby as a name for a search engine reminds me of Microsoft Bing, which I never used either. I even wrote a post once about the idiocy of hiring expensive persons to come up with such stupid names. So, the promise of a remapping option for the Bixby button sounds promising. In fact, it is as promising as requiring a button to get people to use your app sounds desperate.

Galaxy Fold: $2,000 - Is It Worth It? Am I Dreaming?

Galaxy Fold: Samsung's phone-tablet hybrid is the most exciting phone we've seen in years - CNET. In the words of H.G. Wells: "Am I dreaming? Has the world gone mad, or have I?" Samsung's announcement of a folding phone that, folded, is a 4.6 inch fat, bulky smartphone; but, which unfolds into a 7.3 inch tablet, is an expected development in screen advancement, and the price is a whopping $2,000. Even Samsung calls this baby a "luxury item". Gee. You think? I paid $2,000 for my Microsoft Notebook (Book 2) computer that drives my business and everything else. I do real work on it. As much of a gadget, early adopter that I am, I won't be buying this. (I can't afford it anyway). I suppose that it is a precursor to affordable folding devices coming in the future. But, hey, Samsung, as George Allen said when he became the Coach of the Washington Redskins: "The Future Is Now."

Galaxy S10+ - Prices So High They're Insane!

This is ridiculousness: Samsung's high-end Galaxy S10 to sell for $1500. Okay, the coming Galaxy S10+ will have 12 GB of RAM and a 1 Terabyte storage internally. Those are insane numbers for a Smartphone. But, a price of $1,500 is also insane. I thought $900 for the Note 9 was insane, and waited a year before it made sense to buy one. But, $1,500? Am I insane?

Flexible Phone Displays - The Next Big Thing?

Flexible display talk: Smartphone might fold around your wrist. Will your next smartphone wrap around your wrist like a bracelet or watch? Is the world ready for foldable phones? Just because we don't really NEED them, doesn't mean we won't be seeing them in stores. The design that I think has a great chance to catch on is the foldable phone/watch. No more worrying about staying in BlueTooth range of the phone with a smartwatch. Both occupy the same device. Of course, smartwatches now have LTE chips in them, which means the watch can operate independently of the phone. But, as long as you are willing to put a huge bracelet phone on your wrist, combining the two seems logical.

Using The Stylus To Take Photos With The Note 9

I am having fun playing with the Note 9 and its unique stylus. Take the stylus out of the phone, and several options pop up, such as note taking, editing, and other great functions. I am not an artist; but, a person with artistic talent could have a lot of fun drawing of the huge 6.4 inch screen. But, by far, my favorite feature, given that I am a serious amateur photographer, is the ability to push a button on the stylus to take a photo. No more fumbling with your thumb on the screen. I can always use the Miggo Pictar device I have written about before, which is a camera grip with a shutter button and works great. However, it is very cool to frame a photo when you aren't even holding the phone, and press a button on the stylus to shoot. 

43 Inch SmartTV For $200? Take My Money

Amazon.com: Insignia NS-43DF710NA19 43-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV HDR - Fire TV Edition: Electronics. I have used TVs as computer monitors for years. They require some compromises, and some tricky placement and settings; but, I do all my daily computing using them, and love it. Using a cheap HDTV as a computer monitor is not for gamers; but, for business and word processing, they are really cheap and work great. You probably need to mount any TV larger than 43 inches on the wall to get it to eye level and to save desk space; but, for $200, why are you still staring at a 14 inch notebook screen, or an 18 inch computer monitor? An added benefit? If you get bored, you can zone out on Netflix while you work.

Spend More Time Cleaning; Get A Robovac

Amazon.com - eufy Boost IQ RoboVac 11S (Slim), 1300Pa Strong Suction, Super Quiet, Self-Charging Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, Cleans Hard Floors to Medium-Pile Carpets (White) -. I have been suspicious of robotic vacuums since they were introduced. For small stretches of hardwood or tile floors in uninhabited houses, perhaps. But, in a house infested with children, small animals, creatures of unknown origin, and the normal adult human being, I don't think so. Get one of these things and you will spend more time picking it up, looking for the stuff it picked up, setting the controls, removing obstacles to its travel, and just general gadget related glitches, than you would pushing a broom or mop around the room. And, you wouldn't be cleaning up smeared dog leavings from the device. These ads always leave out the most practical option, of course. Just leave the floor as it is, and just move stuff that gets in your way. Jeez.

Freewrite: Another Product You Don't Need

Freewrite: Best Portable Typewriter & Word Processor - Freewrite Store. I suppose there is some retro appeal to a dedicated word processor with a mechanical keyboard and a tiny paper like screen. But, $549 for something that you can do on your computer? I don't think so. the developers seem to think that a dedicated typewriter will help the writer focus. I say that if you have trouble focusing on your writing, you have more serious problems. If you have $549 to spare, buy a decent notebook computer, and you will be able to do word processing and a thousand other things. Jeez.

Don't Drone Me, Bro!

US military equipped with tiny spy drones | ZDNet. There is a new generation of tiny drones out there, and the U.S. Military is using them in reconnaissance and combat missions. The new battlefield is visible to soldiers and there really is nowhere for the enemy to hide. Hoorah.

Dell 49 Inch Ultrawide Monitor - Awesome

A 49-inch ultrawide monitor is extravagant, ridiculous, and amazing - The Verge. A 49 inch curved monitor that can handle mulitple screens simultaneously, and has a built in KVR switch for a second computer. Dedicated monitor crispness, and a sleek look. What's not to like? Oh yeah, the $1,500 price. Since multi-tasking is a myth anyway (you really can only concentrate on one task at a time), I will keep my $350 50 inch TV screens that serve fine as a daily Windows 10 screen. If I want to do multiple things on my computer, I can switch back and forth. But, the geek in me is in awe of this monitor. You know you want one.