Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo is a disruptive triumph in hardware value. Despite expected bottlenecks in memory and SSD speed, the premium chassis, striking Citrus colorway, and all-day battery make it an exceptional entry-level machine. While not suited for rigorous workflows, it is an undeniable success for everyday computing.
Nomad pairs a waterproof Android tablet with loud speakers and CarPlay. Awesome shower volume, but has software quirks and interface issues.
I’m not scared of AI, I’m tired of it. Tired of the hype, tired of the buzzwords, tired of pretending every feature needs an “AI-powered” sticker. Just make it work and let it be boring.
BeardRanks is a fun, privacy-first app for ranking movies, games, music, books, and more with head-to-head, tier lists, and blind rankings.
Dumb Weather is a simple, no-gimmicks weather app for iPhone and Apple Watch, built for quick, practical weather data with unique features.
The reMarkable 2, the ultimate e-ink tablet for note-taking and drawing, offering a paper-like writing experience with sleek, distraction-free design.
The yearly "best of" list from Beard Blog. Did you favorite thing from 2024 make the cut? Read to find out!
Discover the exciting updates in HerePix 2.5, including a full SwiftUI transition, multi-platform support, Live Photo playback, and enhanced performance!
I’ve created my first iPhone app— HerePix, a simple tool that shows you all the photos you’ve taken at any location, without the extra clutter.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max brings Apple Intelligence and Camera Control, but are the updates worth it? Discover if this year’s model is worth the upgrade or just another minor refresh.
Smart glasses have mostly been a joke. There's aren't VR or AR, they don't even have a screen. Why are they so popular?
In May 2024, Toyota recalled over 100,000 vehicles due to a major engine issue involving leftover machined metal, which can cause catastrophic engine failure.
I recently had the opportunity to demo the new Apple Vision Pro at my local Apple Store, and I have many thoughts. Did I buy one?
Cigar smoking is a ritual involving preparation and enjoyment, focusing on proper cutting technique and preferred lighting methods.
In the pursuit of perfecting indulgence in a French fry, we explore the art of savoring tater tots, curly, crinkle-cut, and more.
In 2023, amidst conflict and upheaval, I found joy in the best movies, TV shows, music, games, and tech products.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has all new hardware on the inside and looks the same outside. Is it worth the upgrade?
The new Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is here, but is it worth the upgrade? Titanium, USB-C, and 120mm zoom, is that enough?
A short story where late-night wedding food prep turns surreal as unexpected events unfold in the Pennsylvania wilderness.
It's been about a year since I received my iPhone 14 Pro Max and published my review. It could be too early to tell, but this may be the best iPhone I've ever owned.
Let's take another trip back in time to before I had a blog and wrote random essays in Microsoft Word and saved them away from a rainy day. This is titled "Short Story by Ben Beard" with no other context. I don't remember writing this, but it has a lot of interesting takes. This was [...]
As an avid explorer, I've compiled a thrilling top 10 list of the best cities I've had the pleasure to visit, and I would seriously consider calling my home.
I find pleasure in embarking on a nostalgic expedition, reminiscing about my automotive journey throughout the years. Despite owning a multitude of vehicles, I cherish fond memories of each one.
Since 2019, BeardStix has been my hobby project where I can organize and analyze the data I have of cheese sticks, cigars, and pizza ratings.
I was surprised to learn that many iPhone users are unaware of the numerous Lock Screen features Apple has introduced in the last 12 months.
After wearing an Apple Watch just about every day for over 8 years, I've settled on the information I want to see on my wrist at a glance.
As a youngster, I pirated a ton of music and made mix CDs for myself and friends. Nowadays, I curate bespoke playlists on streaming services.
Learn about the experiences and tendencies of a compulsive collector of various items, including virtual collections. Examples include YETI products and digital video games.
The PS VR2 is expensive, limited by games, requires a PS5, and makes me sick, but it's also awesome!
Curating a list of RSS feeds is a great way to stay interested and up to date on certain web sites or blogs without ads or tracking.
In the spirit of 2022 being somewhat normal, let's revisit all the best things that happened this past year, even if 2022 wasn't the best year for everyone.
I like movies and I'm a collector, so I love seeing how many movies I can mark off my to-watch list. I recently started rating every movie I've even seen…
The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming “console” that isn’t from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. Steam, made a portable computer you can play games on.
The 2000s (aka Y2Ks, 00s, or the oughts) saw a dramatic change in popular music. Boy Bands flashed in the pan which led to R&B and Hip-Hop to top the charts.
The new Apple Watch is extreme, professional, adventurous, over the top, and most important of all ,it's Ultra. Let's dive in.
It's all about the Dynamic Island and always-on screen on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Is it worth upgrading this year?
As a semi-professional photographer I use multiple tools for my hobby. With an iPhone, I always have a great camera in my pocket
Remote controlled curtains have been around for ages but only recently has that same technology been translated into a smart product.
John Mayer is by far my favorite musician and what better way to exercise that fact by creating a top 10 list.
My favorite band Dirty Heads recently released their eighth studio album which prompted me to update a long-running spreadsheet I've maintained.
After working from home during the pandemic for a year and a half, I decided to upgrade my office blinds. Enter motorized smart shades.
With all the talk of Instagram changing things up and favoring video/reels, I wanted to do a quick snapshot of my feed as it is today.
It's soda, not pop. Pop is the sound my knee makes when I get off the couch. Soda is the sweet nectar I pour into my body.
Have you ever been so enamored with a TV show that when it’s over you feel like something is now missing from your life? Me too!
As a tech enthusiest and an information technology professional, I‘m always looking at infotainment first when looking at a vehicle.
This is a quick tutorial on how I added Ikea's Frytur smart shades to Apple Home (p.k.a Apple HomeKit) using Homebridge. These are the items I used to make this work: Raspberry Pi 4 running Homebridge ConBee II USB Zigbee Gateway Ikea Frytur shades Having a working Homebridge implementation was very helpful as I didn't [...]
When moving into my current house I purchased a smart lock that was the best available at the time. Years later, I need a new one.
Even though I made a video about the top 10 reasons I'm selling my Jeep Wrangler, I will miss it. These are the top 10 reasons why.
The used car market is at an all-time high and I did what any American would do and tried to take advantage of it. Driveway was the highest bidder.
On this day in 2020, my company sent out an email with details on alternative work strategies for the next 14 days. This meant we were being kicked out of the office and forced to work from home. The CDC and our local government were issuing guidance surrounding the impeding COVID-19 global pandemic. Two weeks [...]
Many years ago I wrote a piece titled The Future is Not Here and complained about how, in that point in time, we still weren't at the technological future we had been reading about. That same year, 2015, I wrote another piece about how smart my home was. Looking back on those two pieces of [...]
How can you take your film developed photographs and add them to your digital photos library while maintaining maximum quality?
You may have seen something like this on technology blogs (like this one!), YouTube videos, or even your favorite Twitch streamer, but what actually is this Stream Deck thing everyone is talking about? I've always thought a Stream Deck was a command station for streamers and YouTubers that can control their streamy stuff and play [...]
If you're a cord-cutter you probably already understand the frustration of trying to stream live sporting events or other live events like awards shows, press conferences, or concerts. The streaming world, even in 2022, is still not friendly to live events. Some organizations, like the NFL, have been really good about streaming games or selling [...]
Here's a bunch of quick hitters for the best of 2021 as we ring in the new year. Don't forget to read my in-depth list of my favorite albums of 2021.
Back again for 2021 are my picks for the best music albums released this past year. It seems we got a lot more music this year than a normal year since literally everyone was quarantined during most of 2020. I have a theory that many music artists forced themselves to make music with all that [...]
The biggest story of this #techtober has been the new Apple MacBook Pro notebook computers. When Apple made the MacBook Pro thinner, lighter, and only strictly USB-C, the "pros" complained. For five years, the complaining continued with only minor adjustments from Apple. They pretty much admitted the butterfly keyboard was bad (without really saying it) [...]
AirPods are completely wireless earphones that go in your ears to provide music or other audio from your Bluetooth device. Apple again revolutionlized music by making earphones that didn't need wires and were super easy to use. They even went viral during their launch that made AirPods the trendy must-have accessory. Five years later, Apple [...]
It's interesting to look back at the Apple Watch since it's release in late-April of 2015. When it was first introduced it was immediately criticized for how thick of a device it is. Six revisions later, the original Apple Watch is still the thinnest, even during the time when Apple was trying to get the [...]
The Apple Watch is a weird product because unlike the iPhone, it doesn’t have much utility outside of showing me information. Sure it logs health and activity data, but when you get a new watch you strap it on your wrist, it’s just there. No flashy features or cameras to test out, just an appliance [...]
The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max are all-new this year, again. Every year, like clockwork, we get new iPhones. Just like last year apple announced four new phones with a new number, 13. Last year’s all new design was a great departure from the rounded bars of soap we’ve had for six years. If [...]
Apple iPhone Pro Max vs. Sony a7III Low-light photography is all the rage now on smartphones. Better sensors and lenses combined with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other 21st-century buzzwords allow smartphone cameras to actually see in the dark. But how good are they? Low-light photography has been around for a long time, especially on professional-grade cameras that [...]
Macro photography on the iPhone 13 Pro Max versus a Sony Mirrorless full-frame camera. The winner may surprise you!
The next-gen of console gaming is here. It might be the biggest jump we’ve seen from generation to generation. I've pitted the Xbox Series against the PS5.
A few months ago I bought a mini motorcycle, Honda Grom 125.Recently, I acquired a GoPro camera.This is my first adventure that I'm sharing with you all.
When you think about the best decade of music, you might immediately think the 60s or 70s. Some may argue it was the 80s or 90s. I was pretty sure the best decade of music was the 2000s, but now I'm convinced it was the 1990s. This started as a top 10 list of 90s [...]
Usher Raymond might be the best R&B singer/performer of my generation. Most of his classic music was released during my formative years so I have a lot of memories tied to his music. Specifically Confessions, an album I listened to on repeat during my senior year of high school. I've compiled my top 10 list [...]
Graphic design is a hobby of mine and so is collecting t-shirts. One of my favorite places to get t-shirts from is a local Pittsburgh company Cotton Bureau. They print and ship custom t-shirt designs from independent artists on high-grade fabrics. A couple years ago I designed a shirt for my fictional cigar lounge, Beard [...]
Written by my 13 year-old self during the summer of ’99 The day that I moved I was fussing with my CD player so the wire was not attached to the device so I took the only tape I had at the moment and took it off the back of the box behind me. Then [...]
The holidays are over now, sadly, but you may be enjoying some nice holiday gifts. One of the most popular gifts this year is the critically acclaimed Apple Watch. Most new Apple Watches come with one band included, but one of the great features of the watch is that you can swap bands easier than [...]
“There’s an app for that!” Continuing my list of the best things from 2020, mostly what helped us get through the pandemic, the most obvious thing you use a lot is your phone. There are a lot of great apps I use everyday but the three I’m about to list are essential apps for entertaining [...]
Unlike movies of the past year, TV shows or series, have become our primary form of entertainment. Personally, I’ve been favoring a series over a movie because they seem to be better written and produced these days. There was a lot, past and present, content to watch while we were all stuck at home this [...]
Movie theaters were open for like five minutes this year and it doesn’t look like their reopening anytime soon. Most all big movie releases this year were either delayed or went directly to streaming so it’s been a crap year for new movies. There were a handful that snuck out before the pandemic hit, but [...]
One of my favorite categories to talk about and engage with others on is technology. Not only is it my day job but I would consider technology to also be a hobby and lifestyle of mine. Surprisingly 2020 gave us a lot of new technology; I guess that’s one thing that the pandemic couldn’t hold [...]
Much like my albums of the year, I’m listing my songs of the year. These songs are standouts and heavily rotated tracks in my library. Only one of the songs happens tp appear on my albums of 2020 list. Nevertheless, it was tough to only pick three, but by limiting that small amount I pull [...]
The past several years, I’ve done ‘The Best Albums' of 2018 and 2019 because music is a very large part of my life, more so listening than playing. Because it’s 2020, I’ve switched it up and limited my picks to just three and this joins an expanded list of ‘Best of’ for this year.
This past year was a horrible year in more ways than one. I’ve decided to only talk about the best things that came out of 2020. Over the next several days until the end of the year, I will be posting about my favorite and best things that I experienced in 2020. Starting with video [...]
Thinking about getting a PS5 or Xbox Series S|X this holiday season? Odds are your current TV won’t be good enough for the next-gen consoles.
Just like last year, there aren’t a lot of major changes, especially when compared to a year over year change. The Series 6 still looks the same and comes in the same sizes as the Series 4 and 5.
For some time now I've wanted to get into video content that can help people with the same interests as me. I've created the YouTube channel Double B Garage to share some of my experiences with vehicles. Wether it be repair, mods, or reviews, I feel my content will be valuable to someone. So far [...]
Some of us are working from home full or part time for the first time ever. Read the tips from an IT pro with over 10 years of work from home experience.
Overall I feel like this year was a hell of lot better than last year. Some big names really showed out and put forth Oscars worthy performances
This past Saturday night my wife and I went out with some friends for a low key evening in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The night started off just like any other Saturday but where it went was something out of a movie, like The Hangover. I’m writing about this to share the story but also for [...]
2010 – 2019 Another decade is in the books and like the previous two it's been a great 10 years of music. As a music lover I decided to pick my best songs of the past decade. I had to constrict myself to certain rules in order to pick the “best”. The rules are as [...]
My picks for the best 5 albums of 2019, ranked not by best to worst, but by release date. These albums were selected for their overall enjoyability. It is becoming more rare that albums are enjoyable from beginning to end. Heard It In A Past Life by Maggie Rogers (1/18/19) I fell in love with [...]
Waking up in Venice was a treat, in more ways than one. The weather was nice, so we slept with the windows ajar. Being that there were no screens on the windows, I was awoken by some flying insects that morning. The damp musty smell of the waterways next began filling my nostrils. I recall [...]
After we disembarked the plane, it was time to enter Italy through customs. We waited in a very long line with a lot of smelly sweaty people. When it came time for our turn with the customs officer, he either didn’t speak English or didn’t feel like talking because he said nothing. After a mumble, [...]
Our first flight wasn’t until the afternoon so we had some time to sleep in and gather last minute items the morning of our trip. A two-week (15 days) vacation is a great idea, if you know how to pack for it. I may have overestimated how many different items of clothes I would need [...]
After a successful Outer Banks trip in 2016, Natalie, Paul, Stephanie and I tossed around the idea of the four of us doing an Italy trip together. The next year both of us couples bought houses and Natalie and Paul were unable to attend the follow up OBX trip so our Italy plans had become [...]
Some might call me a Nelly super-fan but I disagree. However, I will say that there are very few Nelly songs I dislike. When I first heard Nelly’s Country Grammar song way back in 2000, I instantly thought to myself, “Wow, I need to buy this album!” That was back before I had a job [...]
The 91st annual Academy Awards airs Sunday February 24, 2019 on ABC Back again for 2019 are the Beard Blog Oscar picks. I made a determined effort to see as many nominated films this year before the awards. Overall I feel like this was a weak year compared to last. A lot of mediocre films [...]
My picks for the best 5 albums of 2018, ranked not by best to worst, but by release date. These albums were selected for their overall enjoyability. It is becoming more rare that albums are enjoyable from beginning to end. Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake – 2/2/18 Justin Timerblake’s 5th solo album (counting [...]
Written by: Ben Beard on iPad Pro 11-inch Source: Reddit /r/writingprompts I’m starting a new series called Writing Prompts where I write short stories, essays, or responses based on outside inspirations. I hope to do this often to sharpen my writing skills. The subject of this prompt is included at the end of this post I [...]
I like Eminem’s music, but I’m not a super-fan. When he first burst onto the hip-hop scene, I enjoyed his funny stuff, but mostly liked it because it was the popular thing to do. As him and I grew older, I listened to him less and less. I decided to make a personal top 10 [...]
The gadget you don’t need until you have one HomePod: The iPod that lives in your home The latest product from tech giant Apple is their own take on the very popular “lady in a cylinder”. The HomePod aims to fill the gap where the competition lacks in areas such as sound quality, ease of [...]
Academy Award Winner: Best Picture – 2018 The Shape of Water is a fantasy love story about an amphibious god and a mute woman, taking place during the Cold War era. It’s a very simple movie that seems to draw some inspiration from The Beauty and the Beast tale. [perfectpullquote align="right" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" [...]
The Beard Blog Academy Awards Predictions This is definitely a strong female year. Most of the great movies from this past season feature strong female performances and even a female director. I have chosen my favorites from this past year and given out my own "awards": Beard Blog Outstanding Performance Awards: Director: Greta Gerwig – [...]
My Last Ten Albums, Ever Music is Important to Me A co-worker and I were having a music discussion around how satisfying it was to have physical media when we were younger. This co-worker and I often have analytical conversations around movies, music, and technology. Most of the time we fall on the same side [...]
Us humans are programmatically extinguishing ourselves out of existence Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the latest buzzwords you hear in the media, but it’s been around for a long time. AI is defined as intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast natural intelligence is displayed by humans and other animals. Even the simplest of machines [...]
To publish, or not to publish. In the early 1970s The Washington Post has to decide whether they owe it to the nation to publish secret White House documents or forever be controlled by the government. Meryl Streep stars a Kay Graham, the first female newspaper publisher, as she navigates through one of the most [...]
The 90th annual Academy Awards airs Sunday March 4, 2018 on ABC Here are my picks for this years Oscars. These are not my predictions (those will come later). These are my votes as if they let me into the Academy. *Unfortunately, I have not see all the films listed below as of writing this [...]
”It wasn’t my fault.” The true story of how Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding became one of the most well-known people in the world, for all the wrong reasons. I, Tonya is told from the perspective of Tonya Harding through recreations of interviews over the last 40 years. She always maintains her innocence and we [...]
Deal with her. Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut is the true story behind skier turned poker criminal Molly Bloom. The film is based on the book by Molly Bloom of the same name and it’s referenced throughout the movie as it takes place after the books release. [perfectpullquote align="right" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]"I don’t [...]
Beard Blog movie rankings for 2017 Ranking the movies I’ve seen in 2017 from best to worst. Some I have reviewed and some I have not. Click on the link to read the full review for each applicable movie. Lady Bird – 9 / 10 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – 9 / 10 Star [...]
Star Wars: Episode VIII Now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise we will be treated to a new movie every year for the foreseeable future. In 2015, a new trilogy taking place after the original trilogy, started with The Force Awakens. With so many Star Wars fans having a salty taste in their mouth [...]
“You are tearing me apart Lisa!” The Disaster Artist is the (mostly) true story of about how the cult classic movie The Room came to be. Tommy Wiseau’s The Room has been a hit since 2003 for all the wrong reasons. The production, writing, acting, and directing is awful, but that is what makes it [...]
Lady Bird, time to fly. Lady Bird is an odd-titled coming of age story set in the early 2000s. The film follows Christine “Lady Bird” MacPherson played by Saoirse (Sir-sha) Ronan as she navigates high school, sex, family, and getting into college. [perfectpullquote align="right" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]"With great writing and even better acting [...]
Raped while dying and still no arrests? How come? Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a dark and twisted tale about a mother and the tragic loss of her daughter. Frances McDormand plays a foul-mouthed smooth talking country woman who seems to have reached the end of her wits. After almost a year since her [...]
The iPhone of the future, today! Apple’s new flagship iPhone has been on sale for almost three weeks and you can’t go anywhere without hearing about it. The iPhone X (pronounced ”iPhone ten”) is the biggest change we’ve seen to the iPhone in a really long time. It’s also the first iPhone since the original [...]
It all started with a backed up bathtub… Slow drain or slow brain? Over the last six months since we’ve moved into our new home, our main bathtub drain has been getting slower and slower. This is not a new thing if you live with long-haired females. Recently, I was able to take a normal [...]
Not your average Marvel movie! First, I'd like to preface this review by stating that I have not kept up with all the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I’ve seen a few, but I’m by no means qualified to discuss how Thor: Ragnarok ties into the other films. Now if you’re like me, this [...]
It's more than murder on a train. Murder on the Orient Express is a remake of the 1974 classic of the same name. Both movies were adapted from the 1934 Agatha Christie novel also of the same name. If you’ve seen the original movie this story won’t be new for you, but the directing, acting, and [...]
Nothing like this ever happens here. A white man living in 1950s cliche suburbia contracts the mob to kill his wife so he can collect insurance money and run off with his sister-in-law. This plan unravels faster than you can say Suburbicon. First of all, I have a few problems with this movie: The actress [...]
A new game begins. A 10 year later sequel to the original Saw movies, Jigsaw reignites the series. A new game is being played, but who is running the show? Jigsaw (John Kramer) has been dead for 10 years, or has he? [perfectpullquote align="left" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Jigsaw stays true to its roots and [...]
The sky is never the limit Tom Cruise plays a real life pilot in American Made who helps the CIA and Medellín drug cartel deliver goods across borders. Cruise decided to adopt an obviously fake Louisiana accent which goes a long way to making this movie somewhat annoying. [perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]The [...]
This past weekend my father and I decided to tackle one of the more annoying things in our new home. This is my first time having a garage, and as a guy I was really excited to work on projects and cars inside for once. The Plan The plan was to hang new lights and [...]
Seeing is believing Wow… what a ride. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem deliver two oscars-worthy performances in a new movie that could only have come from Darren Aronofsky’s mind. Riddled with symbolism, metaphors, and religious undertones, Mother! tries to be a lot more than it is. I appreciate Aronofsky trying to bring his thoughts and [...]
You’ll Float Too Coming into this movie, I didn’t know a lot about the Steven King novel, the 1990 TV miniseries, or this new version, which I feel made the viewing experience much better. I knew there was a clown, I’ve seen the red balloon imagery before, and I knew it was in the horror [...]
Besides writing a check, how else can you send money to someone? It’s 2017 and most people I know still write checks to give money to someone else. You would think by now technology has solved this problem of carrying a checkbook, writing out specific information, and bringing that to the bank. This ancient technique [...]
Most new SUVs are good, but none are perfect. My wife and I are in the market for a new SUV this fall. We are looking to replace our 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, not because we hate it, but because our lease is about to come to an end. There are so many options out [...]
Apparently some people have been sending naughty photos to nearby people using Apple's AirDrop. While amusing, this could be startling to most people or down right perverted to minors. Washington Post's article about changing AirDrop. To change your AirDrop settings, head into the Control Center — the menu that appears when you swipe up from [...]
This fall Apple will be releasing a new feature for your iPhone that could save your life! Do Not Disturb… While Driving! A new feature included with the upcoming release of iOS 11 will put your iPhone into Do Not Disturb mode while you are driving in your car. If you are not familiar with [...]
We got a new toy in our home, a new electric pressure washer Why a pressure Washer? What home isn’t complete without a pressure washer? Today we went to our favorite home improvement store to look at pressure washers. I felt like it was a great time of year to buy one of these and [...]
First Home My wife and I recently purchased our first real home in May of 2017. Previously we were staying in a family home which felt like we were renters most of the time. After being married for almost six years we felt like it was the right step to being successful adults. Being first [...]
iPhone 7s, iPhone 8, or iPhone Pro? For the past seven years, Apple has released a new flagship iPhone in the fall, usually at the tail-end of September. This year will be no different as we prepare for what might be the biggest iPhone change since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With so [...]
On April 25, 2015, I received my first generation Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch. You can read my original review here, where I talk about moving away from traditional watches and a Fitbit. Now, a year later I still have my same Apple Watch, and a whole new love for it. Over the last [...]
Home computing is not the way it once was. 15 years ago every home had a big white/off-white box in one room of the house where people would spend hours typing and clicking away. Today, you do that same time wasting twice as fast and from your couch in front of the TV. We are [...]
During this holiday season, when you visit with your families and friends, some of that time may be blocked by bright screens in front of their faces. For the last couple of years, we may have thought this was a bad thing. In the soon-to-be year 2016, I think that has become something more. This [...]
Everyone eats food and like most Americans, I love food.
On my previous post I talked about smart home items and how they are the next big thing. Because I don’t like being left behind, I went ahead an purchased a set of Philips Hue lights. These are internet-connected LED light bulbs that contain 3 different color LEDs inside so that they can produce thousands [...]
My subconscious seems to strive to have everything in my life rooted in technology. From my house, to my car, and now even my watch, it's everywhere! I'm not complaining, just explaining.
…and we may never see it! When we read about the future in books or watched it on the silver screen, everything seemed so integrated and smooth. Now that we're finally here [the future] is convoluted, fragmented, and restricted. Let me explain each of those as I drive my point home.
Back in my day, toys were the rage of the holiday season. Everyone wanted the coolest, most popular toy, and stores had trouble keeping up supplies. From ‘Tickle Me Elmo’ to ‘Zhu Zhu Pets’ we’ve see our fair share of off-the-wall gifts of the year. Nowadays, the climate has shifted to technology. Kids and adults [...]
It's huge, bigger than you expect. Just like when I switched to the iPhone 6 Plus, the size becomes normal after a few hours of use. I have yet to get the Keyboard or Pencil yet due to supply constraints. Other than that, it's fast and the benchmarks tell me it's faster than my two [...]
For the last 3+ years, there as only been one Apple streaming device. The Apple TV (3rd Generation) has been around since 2012. It was a small upgrade over the 2nd generation device which debuted the previous year. Since 2012, there has been a plethora of new devices to compete against the widely-popular Apple TV. [...]
The Apple TV is good… but here are six ways it could be even better Serenity Caldwell from iMore lists 6 great improvements for the new Apple TV. Hopefully Apple reads these and hears our cry for more… Yeah, app developers can't link to their tvOS apps right now. Nor can you share a link [...]
One of this biggest annoyances I have are when people spread false "tech tips" and unsuspecting users actually follow them, religiously. Somewhere, someone thought it would be a good idea to tell everyone to quit all the running apps on their iPhone and/or iPad. This comes in many varieties like quitting all apps once in [...]
As a self-proclaimed photography enthusiast, I'm always trying to get the best shot as well as get my work seen by everyone. I normally do this by dragging my Nikon DSLR camera and several lenses around with me everywhere I go, just in case I see something that needs captured. My thought on great photography [...]
Now that most smartphones come with NFC standard, I think this may be a good time to explain, in as simple terms as possible, what NFC does and why you want it.
If I were scoring this iPhone on a 1 to 10 scale, it would come in at about a 9. Leaving room for improvement, but still the best smartphone I’ve ever seen.
Brad Magin swapped out his usual DSLR camera for the new Apple iPhone 6s plus on 9/19/2015 and shot some really amazing photographs in various lighting. The upcoming iPhone 6s is the biggest camera bump Apple has included in a new iPhone. These photos give you a glimpse of what is possible in this next [...]
Here's a good guide to what you can now do in iOS 9. http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/23-things-you-can-do-in-ios-9-that-you-couldnt-do-in-io-1731300214 Read it. Learn it. Love it.
The Tenth Windows Microsoft has released their newest operating system called Windows 10. If you’re keeping track, it’s their tenth windows version – NT, 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, 7, 8, 8.1, and finally 10. Microsoft is at a turning point in their company’s history and they’re offering a Windows upgrade for free again. Windows [...]
f you have yet to try a keyboard on your iPad, take it from me, the Logitech Type+ is an added value to your mobile experience.
…according to this re/code article. "CurrentC — backed by several dozen big merchants including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Exxon — is designed to work on all types of smartphones and let shoppers pay with the app instead of a physical payment card or cash. But while Apple Pay and soon-to-launch services Android Pay [...]
There's a new iPhone every year. Here I breakdown what might be coming in 2015.
After my experience with Spotify for over two years and Apple Music during the trial period, it was time for the two to face-off!
From Fitbit to Apple Watch As an avid Apple enthusiast, I’m always excited about their new products. I’ve been following the Apple Watch or ‘iWatch’ news since it was first reported on MacRumors years ago. Previously I’ve never worn a smartwatch, but I have been collecting traditional watches for some time. Just about every day [...]
Today I launch the opinion editorial blog entitled "The Beard Blog". No, it's not about beards, well kind of – my last name is Beard and I do in fact have a beard, so you be the judge. I like to write about technology, photography, current events, and anything else that's hip.