With two high-profile crashes in the last few months, the FAA finally caved to well-founded pressure from the global community and grounded Boeing’s 737-MAX airliner.

According to the manufacturer, the issue boils down to a bug fix–excuse me, “software enhancement”–intended to correct certain behaviors in flight, but honestly updating the autopilot app isn’t enough to make me feel comfortable boarding one in the near future…just ask anybody who flew on a de Havilland Comet back in the 50s.

In any event, finding out how to avoid this aircraft completely until they work all the bugs out is just another use case for SeatGuru.

This informative resource is most often used to find the best seats on an aircraft using your flight number, but is also a reliable way to find out whether your airline plans on using a safe vehicle to put 40,000 feet of absolutely nothing under you. 

Wait-Lifting

Speaking of travel, as someone who accrues frequent flyer miles on a weekly basis, it’s tough to find time to hit the gym regularly. Fortunately a little stretching on short layovers can go a long way in keeping your body in decent condition, and I’ve found that working with resistance bands makes the effort even more effective.

These bands I found on Amazon are perfect for the purpose, and won’t weigh down your suitcase or slow down security checks like a pair of 20-pound dumbbells will.

An Exclusive Set from DJ Lexi

I’m really liking Amazon Music lately, specifically its integration with Alexa. The service is only $3.99 monthly for us Echo Dot owners, but everybody who subscribes to Amazon Prime can take advantage of their special $7.99 rate. I get my 4 bucks worth for sure…in fact I use it every day, and if you’ve ever been curious about what the soundtrack to my morning routine is you can check out my personal playlist.

Google’s Unfortunate Results

Google does a lot of things right, which is why AskJeeves doesn’t own 15 percent of the world, but the unforeseen spares no man or manufacturer. The company is currently dealing with a zero-day exploit (that’s IT speak for “nasty surprise”) that allows any website to read you computer’s local files, and I’m sure I don’t have to explain why that’s bad.

Of course, we are less defined by our oversights than how we address them, and so I’m happy to report that Google has stepped up to the plate by issuing a patch for Chrome that fixes the vulnerability.

Your version of Chrome will probably update automatically, but if you want to check and see if you’re on the updated version, just click the three vertical dots in your browser window, and go to “help” and “Chrome OS” to find out for sure.

It’s About Time

For whatever reason, we usually don’t find out about the ill effects of new technologies until well after they are integrated into our daily lives…I’m not sure we’ve decided whether something as low-tech as eggs will eventually kill you.

With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the science on whether Bluetooth causes cancer or not is inconclusive. I mean, we’ve had asbestos for nearly 300 years and it’s only been in the last half-century that it’s been a hard pass as a building material.

What we do know is that the phone itself emits a lot more radiation than any Bluetooth-connected device, and so while I understand the concern, it might be just a bit premature to toss out those $300 AirPods.

The Last Word

All right, that’s about all for this week…I’m running a bit late so I really have to go, but not before I thank you as always for making time for what’s on my mind!

The post Small Bugs, Big Problems: Google and the 737-MAX first appeared on Archway Computer.

You´ll never catch me saying that Chicago isn’t one of the greatest cities in this coast-to-coast country of ours…spectacular sights, fantastic food, and as an aesthetic note, what just might be the spiffiest city flag in America.

What an incredible place to find yourself for a week or so…except, of course, for the December chill…the kind of cold that hurts, just a little.

As a SoCal native I probably won’t be needing this coat back at home pretty much, but to call it a lifesaver is only exaggerating about 20 percent. 

It was worth every penny despite the fact that I might not wear it again for months, and  I would absolutely recommend it to anyone living in a climate that actually features winter. You can check out our pics here.

A New Challenger Appears!

I’ve long had my choice of headphone (coincidentally, my dog’s favorite kind to chew) but checking out some of the early buzz for this set from Sony has me seriously considering other options.

If you didn’t happen to give that link above a click, it’s a piece from CNET with the headline ¨Sony WH-1000XM3 finally surpasses Bose as best noise-canceling headphone,¨ which is big talk from where I’m sitting.

With a redesigned headband and reduced weight in the speakers, apparently the latest from Sony is not only more comfortable, but cranks out better sound.

Also gotta love the upgrade from Micro USB to USB-C charging, delivering a quick charge mode that rewards 10 minutes of patience with 5 hours of playback and…you know what, it´s already in my Amazon shopping cart.
 

Paging Dr. Alexa?

Speaking of Amazon, it seems like they’re getting their generally capable fingers into everything. People were surprised enough when the online retailer decided to be Netflix, let alone when they bought out Whole Foods to give them a brick and mortar presence for their Amazon Fresh service.

Well, most people were surprised…John Doerr wasn’t. You see, John here was an investor in Amazon when it was just an online bookstore (which gives him a certain amount of credibility for his foresight off the bat), but accurately predicted the Whole Foods takeover well in advance.

His latest look into the magic 8-ball tells him that his buddy Jeff–yes, of course that Jeff–is looking at starting up a healthcare service, which makes sense based on the amount of information they must have on their customer base.

In this CNBC feature, Doerr says he expects tech giants to have the same effect on healthcare as they did advertisement, which is exciting and unsettling in equal measure.
 

It´s The Thought That Counts

Despite my meticulous approach to selecting electronics and peripherals, I’m really not all that hard to please…just give me a little something special and I´ll sing your praises

For example, I prefer Uber Conference for client communications not only for its array of features and easy to use interface–who doesn’t have that–but for its hilarious hold music.

I also stay loyal to Screenleap among the dozens of perfectly capable screen sharing software solutions out there…sure, there are a few places you can get download-free screen sharing on demand, but how many similar utilities will let you do it for free? That’s right, sometimes it’s the little things.
 

The Last Word

Well then, that was certainly a fulfilling week in the world of tomorrow. Thanks as always for joining us for another intriguing installment of ¨Brad´s Blog,¨ doing this is one of the consistent highlights of my week and I´m so fortunate to have you share it with me.

I’ll be back on schedule next time around, don´t be shy about shooting me an email if there´s something that gets your geek going in the meantime!

The post Amazon: Your next health insurance company first appeared on Archway Computer.

The hottest days of the summer are coming for most of us, but here in Anchorage it’s a very temperate 60 degrees…that’s right, the travels of my mother and I have taken us just south of the Arctic Circle.We got here a bit late for the famous Iditarod, but we’re still having a good time on our journey through Alaska…follow me on Twitter for pictures and updates from the Land of the Midnight Sun!

As an added bonus, you’ll also get the nifty tech tips to which you have become accustomed along with some exclusive insights.

Search for the Golden Ticket

After that weird period in the mid-2000s when a ticket to the latest blockbuster cost 2 easy payments of 19.99, movie pass programs have come as a major and welcome shakeup to the cinema world. There are more options on the market than ever before, but which ones are worth their salt (and extra butter)? This piece from CNETbreaks down the figures to find the best deal.

Offshore Surfing

If you’re thinking of taking a cruise this summer but are worried about leaving the Internet on the shore, don’t. Many of the most popular mobile service providers offer connectivity options to allow hotspot connectivity anywhere in range of a cell tower–including a few miles off the coast! 

Check out this informative feature to learn more about staying anchored to the digital world when you’re on the high seas.
 

Car Collection

By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that social media can provide a relatively comprehensive picture of your lifestyle and preferences to any interested party, but have you ever considered how much your car knows about you?

Features like GPS and smartphone sync allow today’s cars to collect vast stores of data on their drivers, and the Washington Post recently took the time to shed some light on this fascinating phenomenon. Fortunately I don’t drive much.
 

The Last Word

That’s it for this inimitable installment of Brad’s Blog! We’ll be on the move for the next few days so hopefully the next edition will arrive in your mailbox on schedule. Thanks as always for reading, my mother and I are off to enjoy 15 or so hours of daylight.

The post Connected Cruises and If Your Car Could Talk first appeared on Archway Computer.

We recently had a visitor to the house of the reptilian persuasion…never quite found out what it was, but as my wife was shooing it out of the house I was able to mostly determine it wasn’t a rattlesnake.

Of course, “mostly” and “rattlesnake” don’t go together in a lot of safe sentences, and that’s where the true genius of the Nextdoor app came in. Nextdoor is an new online resource that allows you to form a digital community with your real-life neighbors, because sometimes technology works backward.

I uploaded a picture I took of the scaly invader to the site (see, I wasn’t totally useless) and the more nature-savvy members of the community were able to confirm it was a non-venomous kingsnake, which made everyone feel a lot better.

In a, I’m happy to see it gone…I like animals and all, but I can do without constrictor serpents slithering around as I sleep.

Stellar Storage Solutions

OneDrive is an often overlooked element of Office 365. Working in conjunction with more well-known members of the suite such as Word, Outlook and PowerPoint to offer up to 1TB (that’s 1000GB, folks) of secure disk space for documents and images to each user. If you’re not making full use of this convenient utility, here are some nifty benefits you may not have thought of.

Naturally, Google always has an answer in the world of technical solutions, and if your daily agenda leans less toward making graphs and more toward making connections, there’s a really useful feature of Google Drive you may be missing out on.

You see, in the Dark Ages I used to accumulate an ungoshly amount of business cards from trade shows, industry workshops, and other points of networking…sometimes I’d get home in the evening and sift through 30 or more cards before filing them in alphabetical order like some kind of amateur librarian…but no longer!

Thanks to this amazing (and relatively cheap!) combination scanner I picked up on Amazon, all I have to do is take pictures of the cards I encounter. The images scan directly to Google Drive, where I can keep and categorize them papercut-free. It’s an incredibly easy to use feature which doesn’t cost an extra dime to use, and ironically, my pockets have never been lighter.

“Wear. Sunscreen.”

Haven’t been to the beach yet this summer? Well, there’s still time…in most places it won’t stop being hot until well into September.

We all know that prolonged direct exposure to the sun can have damaging effects on our skin, but a few coconut drinks can make it easy to forget that you are being slowly cooked at a low temperature for maximum flavor. 

A fair-skinned friend of mine just hit the shores this weekend and came back with a piece of advice: bring an umbrella. Tanning isn’t my strong suit either, so it’s wisdom I will take to heart…just ordered a new one along with a sand anchor from Amazon today after seeing the aftermath. She’s going to be peeling for a week, but we all can learn from her mistake.
 

Music to Your Ears

Whether you need a new pair for a day on the sand or in the office, if you’re in the market for some high-end headphones, you pretty much can’t do better than these.

Nuraphone headsets have a special proprietary design that works with your individual ear construction and hearing level to deliver optimal sound. They also feature variable noise canceling, so you can choose to block out the entirety of existence or only kinda drown out your surroundings with “social mode.” 

Sound like science fiction? Well it’s science fact, and you can own a piece of tomorrow by checking out the site.
 

The Last Word

Another great week of geek…isn’t the future fascinating? Thanks as always for accepting this week’s edifying edition of “Brad’s Blog” into your life. I’ll keep it closer to the schedule next week, but before then I have to get my snake-savvy neighbor a nice tin of Danish butter cookies.

The post Nextdoor Neighbors: Tech Future of Community first appeared on Archway Computer.