Category: technology

·

Tech Stuff

iCloud vs Google Stuff

I’ve been using iCloud more and more the last couple of weeks. I’m pretty addicted to Google Drive and Docs, but for most likely completely ridiculous reasons I consider Google to be worse than Apple in the “doing evil in the world” department. Both are big evil corporations. I get that. For whatever reason I feel like Apple is “the evil I can live with.”

Using Notes and even Pages from iCloud works really well. The challenge is that so many people are on the Google platform while relatively few are on iCloud. That makes it harder to share documents with, for instance, podcasting partners.

Hardware

I’m sitting at the car dealership writing this post on my very nice Asus C34 Flip Chromebook. It really wasn’t much less expensive than a MacBook Air. I’m kinda determined not purchase any new computers for the next year. The Chromebook honestly gets the job done, and I can use iCloud from it no problem.

It just occurred to me that what I’m actually struggling with is consumerism…read on…

So, I LOOOOVE my iPad Mini. A couple of weeks ago, for the first time, I plugged my Apple Keyboard (that I normally use with my MacBook Pro in my home “office) into the iPad and tested it doing some writing. It was actually a really nice experience. The iPad just makes everything look great, and the keyboard worked so well with it. So I’ve been shopping for wireless keyboard/mouse combos for the iPAd. But here’s the thing…that’s dumb for me. A laptop (like this Chromebook) is much better for on-the-go writing. Having a keyboard like that just for my iPad would be a waste of money even while it might scratch my consumerist/materialist itch.

It’s weird the things we (I) attach value to. Do I get more personal gratification from working with what I have, or from buying flashy new stuff and being the guy with all the cool stuff? I’m not really sure. This is what happens when someone has disposable income. Yes? Yes.

Also on the hardware front…my $5000 ridiculously maxed-out late 2019 MacBook Pro has been declared by Apple to be obsolete, as they will no longer support machines with the old Intel chips going forward. A couple of months ago I stupidly “upgraded” to MacOS Tahoe and my computer immediately starting having problems with things like charging, waking up properly, etc. Power management issues. There were some other odd behaviors too. So over the last two weeks I 1)downgraded back to Catalina, the OS it came with, and 2)upgraded back up to Sonoma, which is 2 OSs behind Tahoe. It seems to be working well again. We’ll see. I and a bit skeptical, as there is still one thing it is doing that seems wrong. Will have have to re-downgrade to Catalina and leave it there? Maybe.

I bought this machine when it was clear I would be working at home during the pandemic and I needed a badass machine for video/audio work. It was the right decision at the time, but I’ll never spend that much on a computer again. In a little more than a year I hope to be retired, and I will not need a powerhouse machine for work.

Also – just to let y’all know – Tahoe is stupid. Most new OSs are stupid. Bloated, stupid, useless things — like Trump. No one needs the UI to be animated. No one needs fucking AI built into their shit. All this has me seriously taking another look at Linux, which of course I’ll abandon after expending some energy fretting about it.

Speaking of AI

I still see no valid use for AI outside of extremely technical uses, like medical research or something like that. Using AI to edit one’s writing is simply weak. Using it to “brainstorm” ideas for anything is weak – use your own brain. I understand that the genie is out of the bottle with regard to this, that the Tech Bros have already managed to infect the educational systems with this rubbish, but that won’t stop me from hating it. I have become that guy. I have a friend who is very into AI art. He’s a trained artist and has a degree in digital art. I understand why he finds this all fascinating. I just don’t think it is needed. Give me a shitty hand-drawn picture with heart any day.

This blog

October 6, 2026 will be the 2oth anniversary of this blog. Honestly, I am kinda tired of WordPress. I’m tired of the theme(s) I’ve been using for many years, but all the new themes available are…shit. And I don’t feel like creating my own theme. That’s not how I want to spend my time right now. The advantages of WordPress are…

  • I can log in from any computer and work on this blog, and publish
  • Since WordPress installation runs on my virtual server space on dreamhost, it is independent of any other hosting company. I like that. I have access to everything, and that means I have real control of my stuff.
  • It works

The downsides of WordPress…

  • The theme suck, and they are really hard to change. They are much more complex than they were 20 years ago. This one I’m using is one of about three that look like blogs and not like catalogs.
  • Since WP is based on PHP and MySQL it isn’t simple to move to another host, should I wish to do so. YES – I could. I am technically adept enough to do it. But still it is nice to just drag and drop static files.

At this point, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I’ll keep with it.

·

Banning the TikToks…

This article from starbreaker.org came across my radar today. It expresses what I think about the TikTok ban pretty completely. Now it looks like Trumpistan may try turn it into some form of state media. How fitting.

I’ve never used TikTok. As soon as someone showed it to me and I saw videos of teenagers dancing I formed a negative opinion of it, because I can be a dick that way.

The  ability to create your own website is what democratizes the internet. The ability to run your own email list, using your own software democratizes it, just like owning your own data and creative output that you can move around and shield from AI thieves (as best you can) democratizes the web.

What would REALLY democratize it would be the ability to fully and completely OWN your own domain name, rather than renting it. But that’s how it works.

I’ve read opinions that having your own site should be easier. I don’t really believe this. It is already just so easy. It’s easier than it’s ever been. What is missing is the awareness in the general population that it’s possible. Awareness and desire. Not everyone wants to have a website. They just want to share stuff. The Fediverse answers that need quite well, but it requires a tiny amount of effort to understand. Tiny. Frankly the ability to text a group of friends and include an image or short video pretty much covers the sharing part as well.

But there is nothing like having your own domain name and website. Or even just a page. Hosted on space that YOU rent or own. Nice and portable. Make yours site such that if one host closes are begins to suck you can just move it. Easy.

Problem solved. You’re welcome, America.

·

The Beauty of the Hyperlink

As I delve further into the movement back to personal webpages and blogs as the basis for the real internet, one thing that has become very clear is that you must use hyperlinks whenever you can!

The beauty of the web, and really its original intention, was the linking of one document to others, creating – GASP – a web of information and links!

It honestly feels absurd to be explaining this, even if hardly anyone is reading. This is such basic knowledge, but I’m sure that if you ask almost anyone who wasn’t in tech back at the beginning, a serious computer hobbyist, or a librarian, they won’t know why it’s called the World Wide Web.

Social media at best barely permits good linking habits, and at worst makes it impossible, since the owners of the silos don’t want you to leave. To them it is critically important that you stay on their site. This fact has gone a long way toward ruining the internet, but not quite! The old internet is still there, the old ways are easier than ever to learn and do.

Anyway, on this blog, when not simply composing some irrational screed, I try to hyperlink to relevant pages. I tend to link to Wikipedia a lot. When I heard that Musk apparently said bad things or some other shit about Wikipedia the other day I donated for the first time. Hey, I’m a reference librarian approaching my 30th year in the profession so I understand the limitations and problems of Wikipedia, but it’s pretty useful if you are just needing info on the first Godzilla movie you ever saw or something.

Here’s the thing. It isn’t a web if there are no connections. Linking to other interesting sites, pages, or whatever is what makes the World Wide Web a web. So LINK!!!!!!

·

RSS – the Simple Guide

RSS is a means by which you can easily keep up with updates to your favorite websites, all in one place.

You will often see the term “RSS Feed” or see this image associated with it…

RSS logo

When you click on that link, you will usually see a scary page of gobbledygook that looks like this (click here). What you are seeing is the RSS Feed, the content of that website crunched together in a certain format that can be read by your new hero – the RSS Reader.

You don’t need to worry about all that scary code. All you need is the address of that feed.

So, how do you use this?

You download an RSS Reader app to your phone, tablet or computer. Sometimes you’ll see them called RSS Aggregators.

If you are on a computer you can also use a website like Feedly.com.

You just copy the address of that RSS feed, hit the “add” button on your reader, paste in the address, and you will now see every single fucking update to that site. And you do this for every website you want to follow. And you can read the articles in the reader, which means it usually strips out all the ads and bullshit.

If you have not used RSS before, something like Feedly is a good way to get introduced to it. I prefer using a standalone RSS app, even on my computer, to avoid tracking and adverts.

Note: almost all blogs have RSS feeds, even if you don’t see the link. That’s because a lot of blog theme designers suck and don’t make them apparent. With most modern RSS readers, you don’t even need the exact feed address. You can just enter something like “https://bobsawesomesite.com” and the reader will find the feed for you.

As a MacOS/iOS user I use Reeder on my devices as my RSS reader. I also like NetNewsWire. Reeder seems to sync well across all my devices. If I follow a site from my phone, it shows up in Reeder on all my devices. Some web browsers have built-in RSS readers, which is cool.

There are similar readers available for PCs and Android. Just search for “RSS Reader” or “RSS aggregator.”

Here are some screen shots of Reeder, on my phone. You can see how many unread posts are on each site that I follow. For example. The Twilight Sessions has one new post.

Reeder app screenshot

If I click on the Twilight Sessions, it shows me the most recent posts. I can tap one and read it from within the Reeder app.

Reeder app screen shot

Now for the fun part.

Why can’t you find an RSS feed for your friend’s Instagram or Facebook account? Because there’s not one. Those social media silos don’t provide RSS because they want you trapped on their sites and apps. It is that simple. So fuck them. If a site does not have an RSS feed, they are not worth your time and fuck them and the horse they rode in on.

 

·

Sick Report

Well, it is now January 3 and I am feeling somewhat better. Still have a few days of antibiotics, but I think it will take a while for the snot to go away. We are expecting an “arctic blast” in the coming week, which means we’ll have some real cold nights. So essentially the goal is to stay warm, not overexert myself, and get fully well.

During this illness I’ve been mostly working on some web-related things, like the test Jekyll blog. Also working with two Facebook skateboarding groups to move the groups, gradually, to other platforms. Been reading a lot of articles about things like “re-wilding” the internet. News stories this week have revealed Meta’s plans to insert AI “people” in the “user experience”, thus popping the final nail in the coffin of those platforms. I suspect it’s been going on for a long time. There is no way many of the commenters and accounts I see are those of real human beings.

Having built my first site in 1994, it is weird for me to think that that are now generations of people for whom the internet is apps. It reminds me of the film Logan’s Run (and the book). People raised in a domed city, unaware of/afraid of the outside world. There was a time when one of the main gateways to the Web was the Yahoo! index, which actually curated websites. You’d start down the rabbit hole and find the most amazing things. That part of the web is still there. But it is outside the walls. Time to escape. Time to run.

domed city from the film Logan's Run
The domed city from Logan’s Run.

 

 

·

The Greatness of the IndieWeb

I just watched this video about the IndieWeb vs Silos, from 2014. Yes. Ten years ago. It is about 14 minutes long. Worth your time.

The silos have gotten worse in 10 years since this talk. Much worse. Most of the other services mentioned, especially those from Google, were shut down.

But THIS SITE – CONCRETELUNCH.INFO – is still here.

If you had a blog back in the early 2000s I’ll bet it is still there too. Or event the late 2000s. Or even the late 90s.

All the current shit – Facebook, X, Bluesky, blah blah blah – all those silos will die, and the blogs will remain. The IndieWeb is where it’s at.

·

Test Blog Update

I’ve made some progress using Jekyll to create a static-page test version of this site. Just making some test pages and trying to see how it will work.

I’ve got a few things to figure out still. For example, the RSS feed is doing some weird stuff, but I found some info that I think will fix it.

One of the disadvantages of the static site generator is that it pretty much lives on one computer. It creates the pages and updates everything, saving to a folder on the computer, which you then upload oldschool-style to your server. So this means I can’t just jump into the post editor from whatever computer with an internet connection I happen to be using.

Like a lot of people, I think I’ve gotten used to the convenience of being able to access and edit documents and projects from nearly anywhere. Google Drive, stuff on iCloud, Dropbox, whatever. It’s all super convenient.

So why am I obsessed with this step back 20 years? I think there is a certain amount of nostalgia involved, for sure. There’s also an element of control. Much less worry about people hacking the static site and stuff like that. I like the community of people I’ve found who are into this kind of thing as well (https://indieweb.org/)

Also, I was in a conversation with an internet-friend the other day on micro.blog about how punk rock it feels to have a blog. I agree, and I have a lot to say about that, and sometime in the next month or so I will likely write a long post about it.

 

·

I hate AI

In the Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons, Artificial Intelligences known as the TechnoCore trick humanity into providing the processing power of their own brains to serve the Technocore’s purposes. They do this by providing the technology for space-warping gates, allowing interstellar civilization to exist. When humanity uses the system, their neurons are used. And humanity uses it CONSTANTLY.But I guess it’s cool if we let the world’s AIs steal our creative output, by providing “free” platforms for use to use. Nothing bad could happen.

My favorite SF series, by the way. Wonderfully written – gorgeous.

·

Opting Out

Before Trump, Twitter was already bad. It was already a forum for harassment, bullying, propogation of stupid ideas. Trump made it worse. He makes everything worse.

Wil Wheaton is right.

But I still have some personal agency left. Tonight I’m deleting both of my Twitter accounts, and never looking at it again. Not give the morons, scumbags, and evil fucks any more of my attention. Not letting it make me worse. My job is to get better. Always better. Always aim higher.

·

A few tech notes

As the weeks pass, I get closer to my goal of acquiring no new technology for the year of 2014. Sure, I’ve been constantly evaluating new gadgets, computers, etc. But I’ve not purchased anything. I have come close.

My current personal tech lineup consists of:

  • 7 year-old Mac Mini for audio/video editing, connected to wide-screen 27″ Viewsonic monitor. Not exactly state of the art, but the thing is this: it still gets the job done. It is slow on processing HD video, but it can do it. I’m not in a big hurry. It does just fine as the core of my podcasting setup using Garageband.
  • 11″ Samsung Google Chromebook: This is still quite useful, and is my go-to device for most web-surfing, writing, blogging, etc. If Google would come out with some good video/audio editing apps, it would really be great, but I don’t expect that. It is what it is, and it works very well. If Google start allowing apps to get loaded on to the Chromebook outside the Chrome browser it would most likely destroy the beautiful and effective simplicity of that the device does.
  • iPod Touch 5th version: just used for mobile wifi stuff, music, blah blah. I’m about to get a little tripod and lens kit for it, as it takes very very good HD video in good light conditions.
  • Amazon Kindle Touch: Still love this single-purpose device for its intended purpose – reading the written word. I find it superior.

I’ve been interested for some time in using an iPad to edit video. This week I finally downloaded iMovie for the iOS to my iPod and played with it a bit. It is really pretty incredible what you can do with this little pocket-sized device, but if iMovie isn’t any more full-featured on the iPad, then the iPad simply isn’t a good option for “real” video editing at this point. It would be alright for quick little projects, but not good enough to spend $500 on an iPad.

And really, why do I need to be able to do that? I don’t. If I want to edit video, I can just sit down at my desk and do it on the real computer.

Also, I really struggle with the issue of planned obsolescence. I just HATE the idea of ceasing to perfectly functional, if somewhat slow, computers, as long as they are meeting my needs.

My audio-video hobby of course requires some equipment, and like the computer and software itself I am making do with what I have. I’ve written about my podcasting stuff before, so all I’ll say is this: I have everything I need for that. I have great mics and a good system. Thankfully that stuff doesn’t really change a lot.

For video, I am shooting skate video using a couple of devices:

  • Old banged-up Canon point-n-shoot camera. It will not shoot full 1080p HD video, which I’d like, but it does get the job done, and it isn’t so nice that I have to worry about it. These little cameras do have a limited lifespan, so I can see getting a new upgraded one in 2015.
  • GoPro HD Hero – the original “Hero” model. Works like a charm of up close HD video of skateboarding.

I feel like skateboarding video has really gone overboard with the high-quality cinematic bullshit. Everyone thinks that every video needs to be some “epic” life-changing tale of greatness and wonder. I disagree. They should be fun and show the skateboarding. So my personal taste has kind of gone back toward simpler and shorter videos, with the “art” being in getting good shots.

My friend, podcasting partner, and team sLACK co-founder Tony Gale uses his iPhone almost exclusively for shooting skate video. He’s the one who really made me aware of how useful the iPhone/iPod can be for this. Again – I really love the idea of using this kind of minimal technology (minimal in that you are using a phone and not an expensive camcorder) to produce interesting and engaging content.

 

·

Tablet? Again?

I went to Best Buy today to look around and was again checking out the tablet computers. Specifically, I was looking at the iPad Mini w/Retina Display and the Google Nexus 7.  There are lots of comparisons of the two devices out there on the web, but I don’t think the articles really convey the difference.

As you would have a right to expect for the extra $170 it costs over the Nexus 7, the iPad is just a LOT nicer. I say this, and I really really really want to love the Nexus 7. I am very drawn to the idea of breaking the bonds of the Apple-verse when I can. But man, the iPad is a hell of a lot nicer. Even the scrolling action on the iPad is better. That’s really the first thing I noticed. when you scroll on the iPad Mini it just glides so smoothly. The Nexus 7 glides smoothly, but no even close to the iPad. This is one of those things that a straight-up numbers-to-numbers comparison doesn’t capture. The feel of the device in use.

Is it worth the extra $170? Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

Really, I probably would have broken my “no new technology in 2014” vow today and gotten a Nexus 7 (even if it isn’t as nice) had one thing not totally pissed me off. The f*#!ing cover for the thing is $50!  That is just out-fucking-ragious. It pisses me off. You spend $229 on a device, and the frickin cover for it costs $50? Insane! And man, you need that cover! I guarantee if I didn’t get a cover for it, I would drop it and break it within 20 minutes.

To be fair, it’s the same for the iPad. Worse, really. The “smart case” for the iPad, which is just a plastic sheet that attaches magnetically to the iPad, is $79.  So if you get a $400 iPad Mini with Retina display, you can look forward to paying almost 25% of the price of the device itself just for a cover for the front of it.

So apparently purchasing these gadgets is actually just a free ticket to take it up the butt on the cover, so Apple/Google can make some real money. None of these covers could possible cost more than $2 to manufacture. I’ll let you do the math and figure out the Rape Percentage/Profit Margin.

Well, again I didn’t buy anything. Sorry Google. I could totally see spending $229 on the Nexus 7. Not as nice as the iPad, but very cool, and it has some very nice functions. But sorry, not spending $50 on the “folio” for it.

 

 

·

MacBook — it’s been nice knowing you?

My 7 year old 13″ Macbook, which is on it’ second battery, will no longer take a charge.  Not – at – all. Totally dependent on power chord now.

If I weren’t in the middle of a bathroom remodel and still need to buy an expensive shower door and a new crapper, I would be on my way for the replacement about…right…now.

Maybe in a couple of months. For now, the Chromebook, iPod Touch will let me get by.

·

Radio

People who enjoy music spend a great deal of time procuring a sound system that is fantastic, that has a huge sound, that performs.

I’m the same way. I love a good, rich sound.

But there’s something comforting about a small radio. Especially at night. Maybe it is the memory of hearing my dad’s bedside radio in the other room late at night, but I love to have the radio on at night. I love to have it on in my office when I’m working on something, or when I’m out in the garage. In the car — give me my iPod.

1891225_10151866469941502_1780433810_nI love this radio. I got it a couple of years ago. It’s a nice radio that pics up short wave bands too. So if there’s nothing on regular radio, I can always find some kind of crazy stuff from who knows where.  The crazier the better. I don’t like to listen to political talk radio. I think it is one of the biggest problems of our country, as it inflames peoples opinions against each other. When I say “crazy”, I mean conspiracy talk or crazy religious stuff, or just a good eclectic music show. Sometimes I like to just have it on a foreign language station via short wave.

One thing about radios though. If you want a radio that will have long battery life, don’t get one with display like this. It uses too much power. A standard old school transistor radio will last forever on the same batteries. They are actually not super easy to find these days, so if you have one take care of it.

·

Saturday Night Tech Bitching

OK, I’ll admit I use some old technology. But damn, I got some bitching to do.

It will make me feel better…

Oh yeah – this post has some bad words in it, to reflect my state of frustration. If you don’t like to read such words, I invite you to get the hell of my blog right now.  K? K.

  • My 7 year old MacBook came with iMovie HD. For some reason it no longer recognizes my 8 year old Mini-DV camcorder for importing footage. Thing is, last time I tried it, all this shit worked! Did a software update sneak in and fuck up my setup? If so, well, screw them!
  • So I tried turning on the hardly ever used Toshiba PC laptop. I turn the thing on and it immediately is trying to sell me virus protection improvements. I already have virus protection. Apparently they want me to spend more. Turning this sonofabitch on is like going to a gas station where some dirtbag always asks you for some help “buying a bus ticket”.
  • Well, I find out that the laptop didn’t come with Windows Movie Maker installed. Never mind the fact that even 3 years ago when I bought it making movies on your computer was a pretty common thing to do. In typical Microsoft/PC fashion, they didn’t bother putting that on the computer. So I go to their download center, and it’s gonna take fucking 2 hours or so based on the snail-like movement of the progress bar to install ONE SIMPLE PROGRAM.  Well screw that. I force quit all the programs that were running and turn that bastard off. I wonder if I could gut it and use the case as a litter box for my cats.
  • Whilst all this bullshit is going on, I am trying my damnedest to remove a few songs from my iPod. Have you ever tried to do this? iTunes is one of the worst applications ever designed for actually managing your music and what is transferred to your portable device. It really makes me 1)sorry I have bought so much shit as downloads from the iTunes store, and 2)wishing I had just kept buying CDs, so I could move all that music to some other player/tablet/whatever. I wish I had all that music just saved as plain old MP3s, ripped from CDs, so I’d be less married to the iTunes system.  I feel like a wife whose husband beats the shit out of her, but he’s rich and she’s stuck there because she doesn’t want to start over. Yep. iTunes is an abusive spouse, and I am it’s bitch.

Now, you might be somewhat justified in pointing out that 7 years is pretty old for a laptop. That’s true. Congratulations – you have correctly assessed that factoid. HOWEVER — why, after me making no changes whatsofuckingever, does my setup for video not work anymore?

Out of 1 MacBook, one several-years-old Mac Mini, a Toshiba Windows/Shit PC, and $250 Google Chromebook, guess which device is operating as advertised? Yep. The cheap-ass Chromebook. It is limited in its function, but for its function is does great. No goddamn virus protection extortion racket. No shitty software. If this thing could edit video, audio, and hold my music, I would kiss all this other shit goodbye.

But sadly, as frustrated as I am finding some of the Apple products and software, they are still infinitely better than any PC available. The cheapest MacBook Air is better than any PC laptop you could get Santa to team up with the Devil and Einstein’s Ghost to build you. I may have to save up for one.

All this being said — Aikido and Skateboarding were awesome today — and this is all that really matters.

 

 

·

Audio Recorders and Podcasting Gear

I don’t usually just post links of stuff to purchase, but here are a few things on massive sale right now that would be good for a podcaster/videographer.

This digital audio is on massive sale, and it a really good one.

 

This is the one I use, the Tascam DR40. It is a fantastic device, as you will see if you look at my podcasting links. Also on HUGE sale at Amazon.

Finally, this is the USB Microphone I use. It is the “old” model, and thus on bigtime sale, but the newer version just has a headphone jack. Other than that, the old one is the same. Great sound for this microphone. Plugs into the computer. Simple.