Technology

Time for an upgrade iPhone 14 Pro Max

This is the last image taken on my iPhone 12 Pro Max. It is it’s replacement iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Deep Purple iPhone 14 Pro Max and transparent Mous case.

I have also bought a transparent Mous case and screen protectors for this iPhone 14 Pro Max – as they did a great job of protecting the 12. Transparent to I can see the phone is deep purple.

I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with this latest camera from Apple. As a bonus it includes a smartphone!

The old phone is being up cycled to Jeremy, including the Mous case and screen protector.

However…

Apple is not as environmentally friendly as they claim, they are happy to brick and build in enforced obsolescence.

Time for an upgrade iPhone 14 Pro Max Read More »

Change the pen colour in OneNote on the iPhone

Change the pen colour in OneNote on the iPhone​
Microsoft’s answer

So I googled for an answer and the first paragraph of this Microsoft page seems to say there is a solution – but scroll down to the bottom of the page:

Change the pen colour in OneNote on the iPhone​

The reason for my interest in OneNote ink on my iPhone was that during the Amazon Prime sale I bought a pen that would work with my iPhone screen – that did not include a plastic disc at the tip but came to a point.

I have had an Apple Pencil for a number of years that works really well with my iPad but due to tech differences it does not work with my iPhone Xs. The iPad/Apple Pencil uses a field effect to track position and angle of the pen relative to the screen and has an internal pressure sensor that some apps use to darken/thinken the lines you draw. The iPhone requires a pen that works on a capacitive screen – there needs to be actual contact with the screen to make the line as it is the screen doing the work. This type of pen is really just replacing your finger so no fancy pressure or angle tricks.

Up until now the capacitive pens on offer through Amazon all included a plastic disc at the tip to provide the “touch” on the screen. These discs were transparent so you could see the tip and screen but for me, who had worked with the fine tipped Apple Pencil, this odd design was not what I was looking for.

Then Sophie found the pen in the photo below.

Apple Pencil and Capacitive Pen​
Apple Pencil and Capacitive Pen

On my iPhone I will not be writing long hand written notes, drawing or marking up PDFs or images like I do on my iPad – I just need something to scratch the odd diagram or hand write a short note in Apple Notes or OneNote and this pen does just that.

Pros

It works with both the iPad and iPhone and any other device with a capacitive screen.

It has is not completely round! I would like to talk to the design drone at Apple who thought round was the way to go. I have lost count how many times I have watched my very expensive Apple Pencil roll off a desk. Will it break? Will I fail to notice it falling and leave it behind or tread on it? Is this a ploy by Apple to sell more pencils?

Cost – I paid less than £15 on a Prime Day deal – it is normally about £40. This is still £50 less than the 1st generation Apple Pencil (look at the price of the 2nd generation pencil yourself).

It has a pocket clip – it is easy to carry around.

Cons

I have to remember to turn it on – it is not as seamless an experience as I get with the Apple’s device. However the pen will switch off after a period, if not used, to save power.

I have no idea how long the battery lasts. The LED does change colour on low power – but there is no % battery scale displayed on the iPad, something I find very useful when using the Apple Pencil.

It charges via a USB cable – the Apple Pencil just plugs into my iPad to charge which is very convenient.

No pressure or angle measurements by any apps – it only replaces your finger. The tip is cushioned but this is only done to protect your screen.

Who should buy this pen?

Anyone who wants to just write or draw notes on an Apple iOS device – or any other device with a capacitive screen. One pen for all devices. I am sure you could hand write your next novel using this pen.

Buy an Apple Pencil if you are an artist or have a need for the other functions the Apple devices offer when working together.

(The latest version of the Apple Pencil has a flat side so it does not roll off a desk anymore.)

Note

The photo at the top of this article was marked up on my iPhone using the new pen. Perfectly good for the job it is meant to do.

Change the pen colour in OneNote on the iPhone Read More »

Work from anywhere

I have moved into my new space today – there is still some work to be done to finish it but is is perfectly useable. Michael has done an excellent job.

I now have somewhere to retreat to to complete my dissertation now that the University Library remains closed to me here in Lincoln. (Photos here and here of the views from Lincoln University library.)

For security only the seat, kettle, offices odds and ends and heaters remain in the shed overnight – the rest of the hi-tech stuff is my portable office so that goes.

Future plans for the “shed” include:

• Finish the decorating and hang the curtains.

• At the moment I am using the house Wi-fi. I want to get Octagon Technology to install a secure Wi-fi router/access point and VPN. As part of the build I had the electrician run a network cable at the same time he installed the power.

• We are going to install some off-grid 12v solar power.

Work from anywhere - garden office
The desk folds down for extra meeting space
Work from home - garden office
Complete with coat hook, kettle, tea and coffee

Work from anywhere Read More »

Old Style PDA from twenty years ago! TRGpro

I got this TRGpro, Palm based PDA, as soon as it came on the market in 2000 – it replaced my Palm Pilot, which I had modded with extra fixed storage and an IR port – the IR port was so it would connect to my mobile phone for email. I remember I liked the TRGpro as it had expandable CF storage and a built in back-up, for if the device fatally crashed when away from a computer.

Palm TRGpro PDA

This was tate of the art when it came out but it was soon overtaken. By the end of 2000 PDAs had rechargeable batteries, colour screens, Wi-fi and faster everything! I did add a Wi-fi card to my TRGpro but bought a HP Pocket PC when it came out in 2001 as it was far more capable and just better.

The TRGpro was relegated to ebook reader duty, which it did very well with a back light that could be turned on and off (for reading in bed with the light off so it did not disturb Diana) and running on easily replaceable AAA calls. The replaceable batteries made the TRGpro really useful when I was camping away from mains power and I needed to keep the charge in the Pocket PC for work not for reading books.

I did go back to a Palm T3 PDA briefly when that launched, but then moved back to Microsoft based Dell and HP PDAs, then a Windows HTC phone before changing to a series of iPhones.

The TRGpro still works!

I popped in a couple of AAA cells, turned it on and recovered a 2004 system back-up. This included SmartDoc (a simple word processor and PDB ebook reader) and some ebooks which opened fine. Just for fun I exported/converted a couple of current ePub books and manually transferred them to the CF card (no chance to sync transfer them – no RS232 serial ports on my current laptop). SmartDoc displayed these so the text could be read but the cover images were missing.

All ready to go if I need an ebook reader that runs on batteries – of course if I could not charge my iPhone (my ebook reader if choice) I could always use a “dead tree” version.

I bet if I took my current iPhone Xs out of a dusty cupboard, in 20 years time it would not work! However when you look at what a modern smartphone can do there is no real comparison between the old and the new.


Palm TRGpro articles from 2000:

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-trgpro-a-high-flying-palm-pilot-iiix/

http://www.pencomputing.com/palm/Reviews/trgpro.html

http://www.pspilot.de/ppptrg/ppptrg.html

Old Style PDA from twenty years ago! TRGpro Read More »