Technology Archives - John the Technician.

Microsoft Band 2

Microsoft Band 2 update.

May 22, 2016

Some updates on my Microsoft Band 2 smart band. It's about 6 weeks since I got my Microsoft Band 2, so I thought it was time for some more comments. Two things first; I am not a fitness person so its main use for general long term background measurements; and I also no longer have it! As mentioned in an earlier posting, perhaps the best thing of owning something like this was the inherent 'motivation factor' that came with it. Realising you were being constantly monitored did provided me with sufficient encouragement to use the stairs. Or if walking…

Surface 4

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Review

March 29, 2016

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 First Impressions / Review. I have just got hold of a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 so thought I’d give some first impressions. There are very much ‘first’ as in it was just a couple of days ago that I got it from my local John Lewis store. (I had not intended to get the Pro 4 but wait till the 5. However recent press comments indicated that the 5 may not come out till next year. I don’t mind waiting a few months but not a year. Also John Lewis was having a bit of an…

Microsoft Band 2

March 13, 2016

Microsoft Band 2 first thoughts. How about some first impressions of my Microsoft Band 2 that I got a week ago. (This is NOT a blow by blow review of all its functions etcetera. Just some first thoughts on how I found using it.) Let's get something sorted out first. I'm not a fitness fanatic, I do not do 'let's go to the gym' type stuff. (I think the last time I went to do any gym related fitness activity was about 17 years ago). I do like walking and occasionally ride a bicycle. Having said all that I do keep…

what’s best for a web search

January 16, 2016

To search: Bing or Google? For performing a web search Google has become the dominant engine for much of the world, many now use the term as a verb (which gives the grammar police much to argue about; as a proper noun it is Google, but when used as a verb should it be "to Google" or "to google"). However Microsoft has its Bing engine which has grown in popularity recently, especially with it being very much integrated into the Windows 10 environment. (Remembers back when you selected your search engine according to the subject area you wanted to search around.…

remote desktop

January 25, 2015

Remote Desktop computer access. Over time I've tried one or two different remote desktop applications but none have impressed me enough to make me want to continue using them. However the idea of accessing my home desktop machine from anywhere has become quite appealing so I thought I'd have another go. A look around a few reviews showed that TeamViewer was highly rated so I downloaded it, created a Windows restore point (I always like to make my own separate restore point before doing anything like a program install); the TeamViewer create account and program install routine only took moments.…

Panasonic TZ60 thoughts

January 3, 2015

Recently I wanted to get a nice pocket size camera. Something a bit better than what's on your typical smartphone but something that's still pocket-size. Some time ago I had a Panasonic TZ10 and really liked it, so looked up to see what was the latest model in the range and found the TZ60. A look on the internet showed it had some good reviews, and though the cost was slightly more than I wanted to pay I headed off down the shops and got one. I really dislike it! The quality of image is not too bad and the…

HDTV update and excitement.

December 28, 2014

It's new HDTV time! It must have been about 8 years ago when I replaced my old style CRT type television with an LED model. This new 26 inch size screen was a nice move up from my old 23 inch television, and though it was a base model it had all the functionality I needed. Its main use was as a display device for my DVD player, occasionally plugged into my PC for internet related stuff, and very occasionally (and only very occasionally) used for standard television viewing. However time goes by, terrestrial broadcast HDTV arrives, general video camera…

Windows Technical Preview

November 9, 2014

I'm having a play with the new Windows Technical Preview / Windows 10 and find myself pleasantly impressed. I've installed it onto two machines, both machines around 8 years old. One a Pentium D based device, the other with an AMD Athlon processor, both of these computers originally came with XP. So we're not talking about modern hi-tech stuff but rather antiquated hardware somewhat on the wrong side of their 'best before' dates. From starting up the install process (via DVD) to having a running system took between 20 to 30 minutes. No crashes or hiccups, in fact these were…

4k video

September 20, 2014

I must confess I would quite like a 4k video camera. It's not that I have any intention in producing any 4k video for upload to the internet, but for two other specific reasons. Recording in 4k but downscaling to 1080 can give an improved picture by reducing the amount of noise, this is especially true for dark or low light recording. The other reason is the flexibility of being able to pan around or crop your 4k clip and so 'zoom in' down to 1080 level without any worry of reduced quality through pixilation. At the time of writing…

Too much Cloud

May 5, 2014

Here a cloud, there a cloud, everywhere a cloud! I guess my first experience of The Cloud (as we currently accept it) was with Dropbox and Evernote. Dropbox worked well for my files and Evernote for memos and the smaller documents. Pictures went up to Flickr, videos to YouTube. For chat, then text messaging when on the move or Skype when at my desk. Everything had its place. However as time went by I found myself using Google's services more and more. Having everything integrated together seemed to make sense. Google's docs and spread sheet offerings were more than powerful…