Archive for the ‘Cell phones’ Category

iGens: What makes them tick?

September 26, 2017

10 defining characteristics driving cultural trends.

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There’s a whole new generation out there, folks.

Last week, we intro’ed  iGen – a recent book by Jean Twenge – a psychology prof specializing in “generational research”.

She says that Millennials  are yesterday’s news.

The new generation is iGen – born after the introduction of the Internet … and now living connected to their iPhones.

See Disruptive innovation: How the iPhone has shaped a new generation
and the self-diagnostic How much of an “iGen” are you?

Prof. Twenge observes that the cultural and personal impacts of the “i” technology revolution are a mixed bag – some good and some bad.

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Amazon link

More specifically, Prof. Twenge identified ten core “I” characteristics that shape iGen’ers …

(more…)

Posted in Cell phones, iGen, iGenerational research & trends | Leave a Comment »

Do you carry your iPhone in your pocket?

September 15, 2017

Frequently causes a problem  … with an easy fix

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I was at near-panic stage a couple of night’s ago.

I tried to insert my battery charger into the lightning connector port (pictured below) like I always do … but it wouldn’t go in all the way and the phone wouldn’t charge.

 

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Oh no.

What to do?

First I tried another charger cable … figured that might be the problem since I sometimes buy accessories from OEMs instead of Apple.

No luck.

Then started to wonder where to take it for repairs:  Verizon (where I bought it)? Apple store (since it’s a iPhone)?

Concluded that it would be an out-of-warranty repair at the Apple store.

That can’t be good.

Then I decided to Google the problem …

(more…)

Posted in Cell phones, iPhone | Leave a Comment »

Finally, I can answer my cell without carrying it around the house.

July 17, 2017

Link-2-cell may be America’s best kept secret.

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For years, I’ve wondered why somebody hadn’t invented a way for my charging cell phone to ring in distant points of my home.

I was willing to sprint to the phone to answer it … but I didn’t want to carry it around … and I couldn’t hear the ring tone when I was in rooms across the house.

When I whined to a tech-savvy friend, he told me that I wasn’t thinking boldly enough  … that a technology called Link-2-Cell was already in the market … and it did more than just ring across the house.

 

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Here’s the scoop …

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I finally chucked my landline.

Make that: I kinda chucked my landline … porting from a classic Verizon copper line to an Xfinity VOIP connection.

I know: that’s no big deal … and it’s still old school to maintain any kind of landline.

Stay tuned … here’s where the story gets interesting.

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I also bought a Panasonic Link-2-cell phone system (base station plus 5 handsets on sale at Costco for $85).

It looks like a standard Panasonic cordless phone set-up.

Of course, I can plug my Xfinity VOIP line into the base station … and it works just like an old fashioned landline system

But, it’s much more than that..

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Here’s the cool part:

I can link my cell phone (and my wife’s) to the base station via Bluetooth … just like they connect to our cars’ hands-free systems.

As long as the cells are within Bluetooth range of the base station, any incoming cell phone calls get routed to all 5 of the handsets.

Our ring tones play through the remote handsets (so we know which phone is getting the call)

… and we can simply pick up any of the handsets to answer the call.

When we’re at home, we can just charge our cells in their usual place … and our house phone system magically transforms to a cell-based distributed phone system.

That is quite cool.

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P.S.  A landline isn’t required … the system can be used as just a cell call router.

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

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Posted in Cell phones, Link-2-Cell, Technology | Leave a Comment »

So, did Apple win or lose?

March 30, 2016

In case you haven’t been paying attention …

The FBI snagged the government-owned cell phone that was being used by one of the San Bernardino killer-terrorists … but, couldn’t get at the data because of Apple’s security and encryption technology … which vaporizes the data if you enter a wrong password 10 times.

So, the FBI asked Apple to to provide a custom-cobbled hack to get at the data.

Apple said “no”, ostensibly to protect the privacy and security of its users.

So, the FBI sued Apple, and the case was working its way through the courts.

That is, until yesterday when the FBI withdrew its law suit.

Victory to Apple, right?

 

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Not so fast.

Here’s why the FBI withdrew its law suit ….

(more…)

Posted in Apple, Cell phones, FBI, Hacking - Hackers, Terrorism | 2 Comments »

Forget smartphones, dumb phones are making a comeback …

March 14, 2016

No, it’s not because Apple may be forced to break the encryption in the terrorist’s iPhone.

There are plenty of other reasons.

According to the Financial Times …

“There is a busy market for phones that are simple and cheap at a time when smartphones are becoming ever more complex and expensive.”

Strategy Analytics, a research group, estimates that 44 million “basic phones” were sold in 2015.

 

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What’s driving the retro interest in dumb phones?

(more…)

Posted in Cell phones, Privacy issues, Security - National Intelligence | 1 Comment »

Carpal tunnel is so yesterday … thumb tendonitis and AHS are maladies du jour …

June 1, 2015

From the “had to see this one coming department” …

In the old days, folks who who banged computer keyboards day in and day out suffered nerve damage in their hands & wrists called carpal tunnel syndrome.

More time on tablets and phones may have abated that problem a bit … but, of course, new problems have cropped up.

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Here are the son and daughter of carpal tunnel …

(more…)

Posted in Cell phones, Health & Nutrition, Injuries - Illnesses | Leave a Comment »

Carpal tunnel is so yesterday … thumb tendonitis and AHS are maladies du jour …

September 30, 2014

From the “had to see this one coming department” …

In the old days, folks who who banged computer keyboards day in and day out suffered nerve damage in their hands & wrists called carpal tunnel syndrome.

More time on tablets and phones may have abated that problem a bit … but, of course, new problems have cropped up.

image

Here are the son and daughter of carpal tunnel …

(more…)

Posted in Cell phones, Health & Nutrition, Injuries - Illnesses | Leave a Comment »

Check your coat? … How about your cell phone?

August 27, 2012

Punch line:  An LA restaurant is offering diners a 5% discount to check their technology at the door and actually talk to each other while dining instead.

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Excerpted from brandchannel.com’s “To Cell or Not – While Dining Out”

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The escalating battle over digital displays in public has reached new heights…or lows…depending on your position on personal freedom versus a modicum of civility.

Between texting, tweeting and Instagram-ing restaurant meal photos, “distracted dining” is the latest scourge on the most basic of manners, the art of face-to-face conversation.

Eva Restaurant … in Los Angeles is offering diners a five percent discount on their bill to check their tech at the door.

“For us, it’s really not about people disrupting other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again,” said owner/chef Gold.

About half the customers … take the discount. “I think … they like the idea of actually talking to each other again,” adds Gold.

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Posted in Cell phones, Food & Drink, Restaurants | Leave a Comment »

Your cell phone provider knows where you are and where you’ve been … and spreads the word

July 6, 2012

Excerpted from Real Clear Technology …

Cellphone companies hold onto your location information for years and routinely provide it to police.

At least tens of thousands of times a year, they hand cellphone location information to the FBI or police officers who have a court order.

They also analyze your information to send you targeted ads for their own services or from outside companies.

But, there is one person cell phone companies will not share your location information with …

You.

Click to see how your cell provider’s policies stack up

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Posted in Cell phones, Mobile Marketing | 1 Comment »