Today, I purchased the extra accessories that come with the Creator Kit Pocket 3 package. I bought them directly from the DJI store.
Yeah, this ended up being quite a bit more expensive than if I'd just purchased the Creator Kit.
I also had told myself that I wouldn't be buying the Mic 2 transmitter, but after looking at the alternatives, I decided to stick with (and trust) DJI's audio solution.
As well, DJI didn't have the windscreen and clip magnet in stock, so I bought those two (3rd party vendors) through Amazon.
I also bought a micro SD card, since most of the cards I normally use are too slow (I've been getting warnings from the camera and the camera sometimes stops recording when the warnings appear). I bought the Lexar 256GB 160MB/s reading, 120MB/s writing, C10, U3, V30, A2 card, since that's what was advertised as 100% working on the DJI website. I bought that card through Amazon, as well (from the Lexar Amazon store).
I guess I'm all-in with this camara now. The only things I don't have are ND filters and the extra audio things (receiver, extra transmitter, and the RX/TX charger).
I was conducting research on the DJI Mic 2, prepping for an eventual purchase, when I saw that they've an issue with low audio levels.
I didn't want to spend $100 on an audio solution that has issues. Additionally, DJI appears to be actively ignoring the complaints of low audio being captured by the Mic 2.
I also looked at wireless alternatives, but the alternatives are more expensive than the Mic 2!
In searching for wired alternatives, I found the following video:
This guy explains several alternate mic setups and describes/lists the hardware requirements.
I received the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 on Thursday (3/21). Initial thoughts are below.
I was surprised at the small size of the box! The camera is also smaller than I expected.
The camera's battery had a a 45% charge, so I got to immediately activate it, which was pretty easy - I hear it's easier to set up if you've an iPhone or iPad.
Now, since I'd not been able to purchase Amazon's insurance (the transaction borked but the transaction for the Pocket 3 went through), and the DJI activation process was asking me if I wanted to purchase DJI Care Refresh (which is a protection program), I bought 2 years of that, which is $55. Now I don't have to worry about the camera being damaged. Note that although the unit is covered by insurance, to replace the camera, the owenr would still need to pay $35. As well, I get four replacement instances, if need be.
I was also worried about the battery eventually depleting, but that is covered by DJI Care Refresh, as well.
I bought a 30W charger a few days before I received the Pocket 3. It works well and the Pocket 3 Fast-charged to 100% in like 25 minutes. As much as this camera costs, you'd think they'd include a charger -- maybe they think that folks will already have chargers (30W isn't really commonplace for chargers, though).
The camera easily mounts on a tripod, as it includes a tripod extension that attaches to the bottom of the camera. I've been using it with a desk tripod.
I recorded some test videos, using the camera as a standalone camera. I also recorded test footage using it as a webcam (using Photo Booth and QuickTime). I recorded 1080p footage and the results were astonishing.
I used the following video to get the camera's settings to a baseline state (for me):
I now have the camera configured to use 1440p/60fps as the default video resolution and speed. I recorded some test footage and the result is absolutely astounding! I was able to use face tracking and even used object tracking (I was presenting a firearm and had the camera track it while I handled it). I later posted that footage to YouTube, after editing it with DaVinci Resolve and rendering it (it took a bit for me to determine how to render it in 1440p - I had to render it a second time before I had it correctly configured).
I also have installed LightCut (which is editing software that is published by a company that DJI is partnered with) on both my Macbook Air and my iPhone. I will take a look at the MBA editor tomorrow to see if it'll be worthwhile in using. I do not care to use it on my iPhone, though - I can't imagine editing videos using a smartphone.
The camera isn't waterproof and it's gimbal is probably easily damaged, so my next purchase is probably going to be a case (there's nothing I can do about it not being waterproof, though).
The next following purchase will probably be the Mic 2 transmitter, although the test footage seems to indicate that the mics on the camera are adequate (for me). Or, maybe I should purchase the extra battery handle. Maybe I'll just flip a coin to determine which to get.
I have a lane at the range reserved tomorrow. For now, I'll keep using the GoPro but I might take the Pocket 3 and set it up on my left side on the range table, just to see what type of footage it'll capture.
I'll post updates on my experiences.
UPDATE (8/13/2024):
I've been using the OP3 to capture video footage for my YouTube channel and the captured footage is astounding in quality. What's really cool is that I can set it on my desk and then lock the focus on a particular object - if the object moves (for example, a dog), the camera lens follows. If I have something in my hands and I'm moving my hands around, the camera will follow. Even when using it as a desk camera, capturing my face, if I lock my head as a focus and move my head, the camera will shift slightly to ensure my head is center-frame.
The camera feels fragile but that's why I have DJI Care. I'm considering a 3rd party protective shell, as the gimbal sometimes moves when the OEM shell is mounted onto the camera.
The camera bag/case is too small, in my opinion. I'm looking for a bigger case.
I have used it once while taking a scenic walk around my neighborhood and was shocked at the resulting footage (was daylight with no clouds; in the spring). That's the only time I've used it outdoors but I think I should use it more when outside.
I was recording video footage today and decided to do two things that I hadn't ever done.
I wanted some really good detailed footage, but also wanted to be able to zoom in on my subject. My GoPro is usually my primary camera, but it doesn't zoom like a smartphone or DSLR camera.
I tried to use my PC's Logitech C922 streaming camera, but that doesn't zoom either. It only produces 1080p footage, as well, but it's pretty clear and my M1 Macbook Air (MBA) immediately detects it; I'm able to use that camera's microphone, too. The C922 works far better than the camera that is integrated into the MBA (that's a 720p camera).
I'd forgotten that I can now use my iPhone 13 Pro Max as a desktop camera with recent versions of iOS but hadn't tried it. I tried it and it captures extremely nice footage! Not only that, there's NO latency - the MBA connects to the iPhone wirelessly and you'd never know it wasn't a wired connection.
As well, I'd been using Photobooth to collect footage. While the footage is OK, it's also somewhat limited. I also lost footage, several times...the recording session sometimes freezes. So I did some quick research on any native methods of recording footage on a Mac. I found that I can use Quicktime to record footage. Not only that, I can point it toward the iPhone and leverage the phone as a camera. Also, I can record audio only, if I've the need to. Additionally, I can record the desktop! I can choose between different cameras and can rely upon their audio hardware, and I can even mix up cameras and mics across different devices when using QuickTime.
So, what I did was use QuickTime to record, using the iPhone 13 PM and using the Logitech C922's mic. I was also able to hold up the subjects of the recording session to the 13 PM and it would focus on the items while they were close-up to the camera. I'm not sure how to manipulate the camera's resolution and other recording options when using QuickTime, though. By default, it recorded at 1080p, and used ProRES.
The resulting footage was great. It had good detail and was not blurry, nor did the focus hunt and change...it maintained focus on it's own. The recorded file was on the MBA, as well, which is pretty wild...the footage didn't glitch out or have any artifacts and the recording session didn't lag or appear that it was under any stress. I'd saved the files to my SanDisk 2TB drive, so none of it consumed system drivespace.
I should've been using my 13PM a long time ago. I'd been trying to use it as a standalone camera, but found that the resulting video files were huge and I'd have to transfer them to the MBA, which was a PITA. As well, the large files consumed my phone's storage space, so I was always at the space limit.
Using the 13PM as a camera when using the MBA is the better way, by far!
I'll be attempting to determine how to up the recording resolution when using the 13PM as a MBA camera.
Prior to iMovie, I was using Cyberlink PowerDirector, which was OK, but felt a bit bloated and cumbersome to use. That software as full-featured, though, and much more robust than iMovie. I used Cyberlink PD on my Del G7 17", and while PD didn't crash, it always caused the cooling fans to kick in. As well, it would take a while to create videos. I had bought a one year subscription and let it lapse. While the software was OK, it wanted something better.
I tried Davinci Resolve because I heard someone mention it on one of the Mac-centric subreddits. Not only that, I wanted to try to use my M1-powered Mac to crunch video, as I'd only used iMovie. I knew that Resolve would leverage GPUs (it's probably a requirement) and had heard that M1 Macs were very efficient when compiling video footage. Yeah, I'd used iMovie, but no real professional is using that to create movies.
When I crunched my first video on my M1 Mac, using Resolve, I was shocked. Two things were immediately apparent. One, the M1 Mac didn't studder when editing footage like my Dell G7 does. Granted, my G7 is only powered by a 5 yr old i5 CPU and is running a mobile version of the RTX 2060. The system is probably throttling, too (most non-Mac laptops do). Secondly, the compilation portion is FAST, no matter what configuration you are using. I crunched some ProRES footage and the M1 positively flew through the process.
Yeah, I'm not going back and will probably purchase a license for Resolve so that I can use some of the features that are locked in the free version. I may as well pay for a license if I'm going to use it as my primary editor.
I posted here about trying to decide on a good vlogging camera.
I went ahead and purchased the Pocket 3. I bought the base kit, but I also purchased a 30W charger for this camera, as well as 2 years of Asurion insurance.
As I begin to use the camera, I'll purchase what I feel I'd need for me to collect my normal video footage. I don't necessarily need a desk tripod, as I already have two of them, plus an actual floor tripod. If I find I need extra battery life, I'll buy the battery pack. I may need extra things such as a travel case or BT microphone, but I'll buy those later.
I already have microSD cards, as well.
I've been trying to decide this for approximately 6-8 months. The Pocket 3 is just more versatile than everything I was already considering. GoPro doesn't have anything like it and there are things I hate about GoPro. The Insta cams just aren't on the same level as the Pocket 3, either. If I find I'm having issues, I can lean on the Asurion insurance like I did when I had trouble with the Akaso (I should've never even considered that camera).
I'll post my experiences with the Pocket 3 as I use it!
UPDATE (3/20/2024):I ordered the Pocket 3 on the 10th of March. It is now late night on the 20th of March. Amazon has been showing the past 10 days that it would be delivered between 19 and 21 March, with no other notification, which is odd. Only today did it say that it was shipped. I'm not sure if they (Amazon) got a large shipment of equipment from DJI, or, maybe the unit shipped from China to the DJI factory? Also, I'd wanted but couldn't afford the Creator kit. The difference between the Creator kit and the basic kit is $150, price-wise, but the Creator has like seven (7) extra accessories and the total price for those accessories when bought separately is approximately $327! I was going to return my basic kit and purchase the Creator kit but shipping is a long wait and I've heard it's gotten worse since I've ordered...folks are complaining of a 30 day wait through Best Buy, Amazon, and even DJI. This could be due to folks thinking that DJI will be banned from selling some hardware (drones). So, I guess I'll keep the basic kit and separately buy the more important pieces of hardware (Mic 2 transmitter, wide angle lens, and battery handle).
I want to purchase a vlogging camera but I've also being doint quite a bit of desktop recording (I've a Youtube channel and I upload those recordings).
By the way, Obsbot is pronounced "Obs Bot". There's some guy that published a Youtube review that called it "Oh Bee Ess Bot" throughout a 20 min review...it was annoying AF.
Neither of them are cheap and all three of them are Chinese brands. Of the two brands, DJI is the more well-known, by far.
The Obsbot cameras utilize AI (primarily for on-camera gesture commands, which they are generally good at executing).
The Pocket 3 has a 3-axis (pan/tilt/roll) gimbal. DJI also has a good ecosystem of accessories.
The Obsbot cameras have 2-axis gimbal cameras. The two cameras are not action cameras, although the Tail Air can be used outdoors. Both cameras can be controlled by remote contols, which is an extra cost for each - $50 for the Tiny 2's remote and $80 for the Tail Air's remote. Both cameras support resolution as high as 4K @ 30 FPS. Both use digital zoom (4X), but the Pocket 3 uses 10X digital zoom.
The Tail Air can be used in a standalone fashion, is portable and can be used wirelessly...it can be used in the woods or park or on a busy sidewalk. It can be used while being carried. It also has image stabilization. The Tail Air also has the option of USB-C to Ethernet connectivity. It has 2.5 hour battery time. I also asked a reviewer how long this camera takes to charge the battery after it's been depleted, and he said his experience has been approximately 90 minutes.
The Tiny 2, on the other hand, is pretty much dedicated for desktop use, as it is corded. I do not believe it has image stabilization (it's made for use on a desk).
The Tail Air will accept microSD cards and has a rechargeable battery. It also has several microphones built into it's casing, but can also be tethered to an external wired microphone. This camera can also be manipulated via smartphone app.
I've been asking questions on the Amazon product pages for all three cameras and of the two companies, only DJI has replied back.
I've been trying to get Obsbot to engage me but they have not answered on Amazon (for both Tiny 2 and Tail Air questions on each of the product pages) and on Reddit. That is concerning. If they are quiet now, they're going to be hard to reach if I have a problem or need to return an item or have it fixed. A workaround for that would be to purchase 3rd party insurance through Amazon (via Asurion).
Between the two Obsbot products, the Tail Air is almost $200 more than the Tiny 2. Does it offer $200 more in capability? Yes. Is it on par with the Osmo Pocket 3? I've seen two good reviews that demonstrate that it's not quite on par with the Pocket 3, and the Pocket 3 isn't much more than the Tail Air.
One thing that I'm concerned about with the Pocket 3 and the Tail Air is the battery life. Batteries have finite longevity. As they age, their charge retainment lessens. DJI has a battery replacement plan for the Pocket 3 (they charge you but it's not expensive to replace a worn battery). The Pocket 3 also can be tethered when the battery is worn to the point that it will no longer hold a charge. You can also use it while it's charging. The Tail Air, as far as I'm aware, does not have a battery replacement plan, which is bad, because that device is $500 and you lose some capability if the battery stops holding a charge or if the charge capacity lessens. If the battery stops charging, I'm assuming it can still be used as a corded device. I'm unaware if you can still use the device when it's charging but the assumption is, yes.
The one thing that the Pocket might be incapable of is using it as a streaming camera as a desktop/studio device.
I'm obviously leaning toward the Pocket 3, but I'm still conducting research.
UPDATE (3/10/2024): I was crafting this post at maybe 2 AM. It is now 8:25 PM (same day). I went ahead and purchased the Pocket 3. I bought the base kit, but I also purchased a 30W charger for this camera, as well as 2 years of Asurion insurance. As I begin to use the camera, I'll purchase what I feel I'd need for me to collect my normal video footage. I don't necessarily need a desk tripod, as I already have two of them, plus an actual floor tripod. If I find I need extra battery life, I'll buy the battery pack. I may need extra things such as a travel case or BT microphone, but I'll buy those later. I already have microSD cards, as well. I've been trying to decide this for approximately 6-8 months. The Pocket 3 is just more versatile than everything I was already considering. GoPro doesn't have anything like it and there are things I hate about GoPro. The Insta cams just aren't on the same level as the Pocket 3, either. If I find I'm having issues, I can lean on the Asurion insurance like I did when I had trouble with the Akaso (I should've never even considered that camera). I'll post my experiences with the Pocket 3 as I use it!
Ok, so I've owned and used the Beats Studio Pro headset for a bit. (Two weeks, I believe.)
One annoying thing is that I tend to lose BT connectivity when using the headset with my iPad. It happens when it's connected to my Dell laptop too, but it happens very frequently with my iPad. Usuaully it happens when watching a video. When it happens, it sometimes reconnects on it's own, but sometimes does not, which requires me to manually connect again.
Another thing is, I'm so used to the Airpods' hand-off to other Apple devices (iPad, MBA, iPhone)...it's seamless. Sadly, that's not how it works with this headset and Apple devices - Apple has purposely hamstrung the headset so that it won't compete with Apple's headset. Yes, Apple owns both technologies, but they've made the Beats the lesser product.
Noise cancellation works OK, but it's not as good as the Apple products.
Generally, I'm happy with the headset. I've also purchased AC+ for it, just in case I keep having the BT disconnects. I'm also not sure how durable they are in the long term and AC+ was like $30, which isn't bad, considering the cost of the headset.
A charge lasts ALL day and night, even with ANC enabled (you get more duration with ANC disabled, though). You can also use them when they're charging. You can also use an audio cable with them. I've also been using them to sleep (I sleep on my back), although I usually take them off after a few hours.
I haven't used my SkullCandy Venue headset since I bought the Studio Pro headset. I'm probably not going back. I'll more than likely put them in an electronics recycle bin.
I'll continue to keep you all up to date on the Beats experience.
When the COVID19 pandemic hit, our offices shut down. Our company gave us some funds to purchase equipment for working at home. I'd bought an extra monitor and a set of noise cancelling headphones.
I bought the Skullcandy Venue wireless headset. The headset was $130-$140...cheap for a noise-cancelling headset but I've been using it without issue since then. It is now January of 2024 and that headset is limping along - it sometimes requires a full reset, as it gets into a condition where it will not accept connections. The ear cushions are ragged and peeling. The head band (the portion that sits on top of your head) cushioning cover ripped and was spilling it's innards, so I wrapped the whole thing with black electrical tape.
This is my work headset and I've grown used to it. I though I'd buy another but they're no longer being sold or supported by Skullcandy.
My next step was to look into what best-equivalent to the Venue headset was available from Skullcandy. Sadly, the next equivalent costs double the price ($220-ish).
I then looked at Apple's Beats Studio Pro. While expensive on Apple's website, at $349, I saw that both Best Buy and Amazon were selling them with a mark down of 49%. I decided to buy them from Apple's Amazon store. I bought the headset in the Sandstone color for $179. I'm also considering AppleCare+ for it.
I used it for 24 hours. Some things to consider:
While it has ANC, it doesn't work as well as the AirPod Pro's ANC (either the old or new versions of those ear buds). It works better than my Skullcandy Venue does, though.
One thing I always liked about the Venue was that it allows pairing to two sources. Also, it has a Tile embedded into it.
The Beats Studio Pros aren't going to be on-par with Apple's headsets...they purposely neuter Beats headsets and ear buds so that they don't compete with Apple-branded products.
Still, these are good for work and I'm thinking they'll make for a good replacement for my aging and ailing Venue headset. Plus, I got them for half the price, new.
I'll keep you apprised of my experiences with the Beats headset.
I was able to successfully record some good footage using my new Hero 10 Black.
As well, instead of taking the footage to one of my Macs so that I could edit it using iMovie, I tried DaVinci Resolve (free version), on my Dell G7.
UPDATE (5/24/2024): I've since been using DaVinci Resolve on my Macbook Air M1. My Dell G7 is equipped with an older i5 variant and that laptop was bought just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so it's not a recent laptop. That system also has an Nvidia GeForce RX2060 (mobile) graphics card, which Resolve leverages when crunching videos. The G7 gets noisy/loud and sometimes hiccups during the video crunching process, which sometimes shows in the resulting footage. With the Air, I've none of those issues. In fact, the Air processes videos far quicker than the Dell G7. I'm probably going to end up purchasing a license at some point...the software is that good.
I thought that I'd have problems using DaVinci since I've heard that it was somewhat more technical than iMovie, but it was easier than I thought, because it was very similar in usage to iMovie and Cyberlink PowerDirector.
I've run into an very irritating issue that a shitload of folks appear to be complaining about with the later version of GoPros. It's not really an issue with the action camers, but an issue with the Quik software.
Folks expect to be able to use the GoPro Quik app as a camera viewfinder while recording video footage. That's how I've been using my Hero 4. That's also how I'd been using the Akaso Brave. That's also how I'd been using the Polaroid Cube+.
The issue is that, for later GoPros (Heroes 10, 11, and 12), the app will not preview while recording. It only allows you to preview before recording. If you try to preview while recording, the following message shows: "Preview Not Available".
At first I was super angry about this, but then I realized that the newer cameras are super capable and the preview feature has limitations (probably bandwidth-related) in showing the footage as it is being recorded. Now, if the GoPro folks admitted that, I'd be OK with it, but in almost all cases, when customers complain about it in the Support forums, they never give a straight answer to their customers.
Now, this is the only bad thing I've found thus far, and it's not so bad that it overshadows the good things about the camera. Previewing is important to most folks, though, and it goes beyond previewing - being able to look at the footage as you're recording means that if you see mistakes, you can immediately stop and correct the issue(s). You can't do that if you can't see how the camera is recording or framing the footage.
This issue is why I hate GoPro. They've always acted like they're the only action camera company in existence. Luckily, I didn't pay all that much for this camera.
If I keep finding out bad things about GoPro, I'm going to pivot to DJI and never look back.
We celebrated Christmas one day early this year, since my daughter flies back to Michigan on Christmas Day.
I received the Spigen ArcHybrid Magsafe portable charger (5000 mAh / 7.5 watts) for Christmas. Little did I know that Spigen's product page for this item states that it will not work with the iPhone 13 Pro! It appears to work without issue, though. I've a JETech gel case with Magsafe and it works well.
I had the ArcHybrid listed on my Elfster wish list last year and decided to "let it ride" this year. I do sometimes sometimes find myself with a somewhat low battery on days where I'm traveling and out walking/hiking. This will come in handy. As well, it can charge other items, I believe.
I'll give a summary of my usage once I've used it a while.
I was surprised when I opened it. Why was I surprised? Well, the product description stated that I'd be receiving only the GoPro itself and no accessories. I was expecting nothing other than the camera (I also expected that no battery would be included).
This (<=== link is here) is the one that I bought.
I received the camera, two batteries, a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, two mounts and a case. I was shocked. I basically got everything that I'd get if I bought a new product.
The camera doesn't appear to be refurbished at all.
About the only thing that was off-putting was that I had to charge the the batteries sequentually with the battery compartment door left open. The charging process was long in duration, as well. This was so much of a pain that I immediately began searching for a dedicated battery charging caddy, which I didn't initially anticipate needing to purchase. I bought the GoPro Enduro 2-battery & charger combo pack from Best Buy (local purchase) for $59, just so I wouldn't be having to charge each battery sequentially.
I haven't really used the camera yet, as I'm actually afraid to go out and about - around here, there's a lot of chaotic last-minute Christmas shopping going on and traffic has been horrendous.
I've got the camera set up to use with the Quik app - was easy to set up. It can be used with my other GoPro fittings and attachments (many of them were designed by 3rd party attachment makers).
I've also developed a To-Buy accessory list:
I can't wait to use this camera while at my next shooting activity!
I bought an Akaso Brave 7 LE in December of 2021. I was trying to buy an action camera to replace my aging GoPro Hero 4 Silver. It came with a huge accessory pack with many clips and fittings. I bought an extra battery for it. It had some features that my Hero 4 didn't have. It's smartphone app was actually pretty nice. I could also use it as an web cam. It also had a tripod mount on the bottom of it. It's UI was nice. Also, it had two displays, one in front and one in back.
I ended up being somewhat disappointed with it because the video footage wasn't as crisp as my old ass Hero 4! Audio wasn't all that great, either. I stopped using it for a while.
Maybe a month ago, I began to use it again. I sorted out the video footage issue. The main issue was that when indoors, the captured video footage was grainy. When in somewhat dark settings, the grainy footage was even worse, but I found out that I the Brave has light settings that I can control manually. I tried the various settings and found that the footage was actually pretty decent!
Not long after, I was changing the battery and the battery door on the camera cracked. A day later, the cracked portion detached completely. This was devastating since the door couldn't close properly - the battery would move around in it's compartment.
Luckily, I'd bought a 3-year warranty with Asurion (I bought both through Amazon). I submitted a claim and they approved it. They wanted me to send the camera back to them. I sent them the camera (and the detached piece of battery compartment door). As soon as I sent it, they reimbursed me.
I've never had anything fail that I'd bought Asurion insurance for, until now. I'm very glad I bought it.
So, I took the funds they returned to me and, after some researching, bought a refurbished GoPro Hero 10 Black that comes with an extra battery. I bought it through Amazon. I bought 2 years of Asurion insurance for it. What's cool is that I can buy additional insurance on a refurbished product.
I'd looked at the Hero 11 and 12, but those were beyond my budget. I looked at the Mini but it has a non-removable battery (that's something I don't want). I also looked at the DJI Osmo Action 4 but that was even more expensive than the Hero 12 (it's competition).
I really just want a camera to replace my aged Hero 4. I can still use the Hero 4 but I can retire it from being my primary camera.
The Hero 10 won't be delivered until Dec 21, though, but I don't mind.
In the next year or two, I can get the either the Hero 12, the Action 4, or even the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 (a great gimbal camera).
My 2nd Apple Watch charger died. I bought it mid-March (March 12, I think).
WTF. It was an Apple product. I ordered it from the Apple Amazon store. It wasn't cheap, either ($27).
So, two Apple-branded charging cables died. The first one came with the Watch and died 5 months later. The second one died after 1.5 months. The charging cables are used at my bedside, so they're not being abused. They're not being pulled.
They worked fine but just stop working after a time. That cable and a USB-C to Lightning cable for my iPad were using a 20W charging adapter. The other cables I've used with that adapter have been working fine.
I bought a new charging cable and it is non-Apple (and cheaper). I figure, if Apple can't get their shit together, I'm not going to lock myself into spending $27 for repeated failures that shouldn't be occurring. We'll see how long that cable lasts.
My carrier offered my family free use of Apple Music. I usualy don't check the monthly perks that Verizon throws my way, as much of it is junk that is free for a month of use. Not in this case.
I used a free trial of Apple Music when I first bought the phone last year. I liked it a lot but wasn't willing to pay monthly for it.
My wife was checking our account's perks back in November and saw that Verizon was offering Apple Music for all phones on the account. I immediately wenth through the process of committing to enrolling. Luckily, my wife saw the notice maybe a week before the offer expired. I enrolled my phone, her phone, and one of my kid's phones (can't remember which of the three kids' phones I enrolled, but two of them didn't want it when I asked them).
I also recently canceled my Sirius XM subscription, too. I've been working remotely since Covid hit the US, so I no longer commute to work, and Sirius XM is not cheap ($29 a month?). The past two trips back and forth to my parents' home, I used Apple Music in place of Sirius XM and Apple Music was great. There are enough radio stations so that I'm not bored during the 6 hour drive. There are podcasts. I can listen to my personal music through the Apple Music app.
I travel up/down the I-95 corridor, and cellular broadband works without gaps in service. With Sirius XM, there would be micro interruptions of service whenever I would go under bridges and over-passes. If it were cloudy, I'd have service gaps. If I were riding parallel to rocky hillsides or cliffs, I'd experience service gaps. I had none of that when using my phoned as an entertainment conduit via cellular broadband.
I'm currently visiting my parents in another state. I last visited them two weeks ago. The last visit, I was able to connect all of my Apple devices to their wireless access point (WAP) without issue and have been doing that for years, without issue.
I attempted to connect my Macbook Air to their WAP and it connects but I couldn't browse the web. The browser client was saying that there was no internet connection, yet my mother's MBP could connect. My Dell G17 could connect. My iPhone Pro Max could connect.
My parents' router was working with all electronic appliances, with the exception of my MBA.
I used Google to search for "macbook connected to wifi but no internet". The search results are here.
I tried the steps that were recommended and all failed until I reached Step 4, "Change your Mac's Domain Name System (DNS)".
When I changed the MBA's DNS settings to use the Google DNS IPs, I was immediately able to reach Google.com when testing for connectivity.
I'm still not sure what was causing this issue. When I checked the MBA's DNS settings (before I changed them), the MBA was pulling the DNS settings from my parents' router without issue. The DNS IPs weren't resolving names, though, and the issue was only affecting the Macbook Air. It was a very odd issue.
I thought I'd share this issue and fix so that when folks had this issue, they'd have a potential fix.
My Apple Watch stopped charging three weeks ago (first week of March).
I couldn't determine why. I only had the one charging cable that came with the watch (there was no need to have more than the one that it came with).
Keep in mind that this watch is relatively new.
It just ran out of juice, which made it difficult to troubleshoot.
I ordered a new (Apple brand) charging cable on 13 March, and it arrived 14 March. It immediately started charging.
So, the cable went bad. I've no idea why. I didn't abuse the cable.
It was very frustrating because the reason I'd bought this watch was because the Fitbit Sense had a similar issue, and then died (due to a battery issue).
This watch was NOT cheap. This post is a reminder that the "you get what you pay for" mantra doesn't always apply.
A few years later, my wife bought me a 64 GB 1st generation iPad Mini. I was still using that, up until today. I got 10 years of use out of that Mini!
Today, I bought a 9th generation iPad with 64 GB of storage space. It will replace the iPad Mini.
I'd use the iPad Mini but it hasn't been supported in quite a while (the last updates were at iOS 9.x). I can only use it as a music player or a reader/browser. I won't get much by selling it. I suppose I can use it in the garage when I'm working on my car or motorcycle (as a music player or display for online service manuals).
With the new iPad, I'll be able to use the Apple Pencil. I plan to use the tablet as a drawing device as well as a reader. I can also use it to edit video footage.
I've quite a few options in the usage of the new iPad, since it can be used as a webcam or additional display (when using my Mac Mini M1, for example).
What I do NOT like so far about the tablet is that there's built in swipe texting but it can only be accessed on the tablet by pinching the virtual keyboard. I've installed Microsoft Swype but hate it because you have to give it full control in order for it to work.
I'll (try to) document my usage of the new iPad.
UPDATE (5/24/2024): If I had to do this again, I would not get the least amount of storage space...64GB isn't enough.
A few months ago, we had a power outage and it didn't recover itself when the we regained power. I could not determine why it was having issues, but it would never fully boot up. It would take forever trying to get to the login screen and IF it would reach that point, would show the desktop but never fully log into the user account (beach ball was spinning and never stopped).
I was even having difficulty getting it into recovery mode. When it finally reached recovery mode, I found that a file was corrupted and wouldn't repair itself. I performed a drive check and it stated that there were errors and the errors were hindering the drive check. I opted to reinstall the disk using the recovery drive and it worked. There are no longer drive issues, but the drive has nothing on it.
I couldn't use it as it was and had an extremely difficult time even getting a copy of Mac OS. High Sierra was the highest supported version for that particular hardware, and since the system wasn't working properly, I couldn't use recovery mode to pull and reinstall any OS versions. It wouldn't see my older disks (I had two optical disks of Snow Leopard), either. I was not successful with creating a USB install disk using High Sierra, either. I tried creating a USB recovery disk using the App Store, but needed an Intel version of Mac OS, which I wasn't allowed to download using my Apple siliconed Macs (I tried with both the Mac Mini M1 and my Macbook Air M1 - it wouldn't work).
Since I was at my wit's end and since the system was 14 years old, I retired it. I've removed it's hard drive (a 1-TB Western Digital HDD) and will be putting it on the curb for rubbish removal this coming Monday. I'll put it within it's box in case anyone that wants to try to get it working can just take it home.
