Ask Paul: August 9 (Premium)

Happy Friday! We’re heading to Washington D.C.–my favorite city in the United States–for the weekend. I’m ready for a bit of downtime. But first … this!

Casting about for a reason

helix2301 asks:

Why do you think Google is abandoning the Chromecast brand in exchange for the Google Cast brand?

The Chromecast brand didn’t make sense from the get-go, as it was never based on the Chrome web browser. I wonder whether there wasn’t a brief attempt to use Chrome as a brand like Nexus, Pixel, Google Home, or Nest, and if the confusion around this name was what put a stop to that. But this shift has been underway for a long time, like many Google transitions, and it parallels a similar branding mistake and rethink with Android TV/Google TV. And we think Microsoft is horrible at this. Google has taken confusion to an art form.

In any event, Google Cast makes sense to me as the brand here. And Google TV makes sense as the name for the set-top box, as it positions it clearly against Apple TV (which has its own streaming tech, AirPlay, that’s similar in many ways to Google Cast). But this is Google, so making sense could be temporary.

If you didn’t see it, I wrote up a Chromecast history of sorts, along with some notes about my own experiences with this platform, yesterday.

Montezuma’s real revenge

train_wreck asks:

Do you guys still have water heater problems in Mexico? Not sure about there, but in my experience a good portion of people in Central/South America just shower using regular temperature water straight from the pipe. My girl’s apartment in the barrios doesn’t have hot water, and yeesh it is intense to shower there. The owner installed this crazy showerhead of doom device where the water passes over electrical coils to heat it up, but we’ve never had the guts to use it.

We discussed this as part of a summer update video back in July, but we’ve sort of come full circle on the water heater in the sense that it will never really be fixed, and it’s at the point where it’s at least usable. The issues there are many, and the cause(s) are still a source of debate, but it almost doesn’t matter. We have a water heater that can heat the water, and it usually works fine if one person is taking a shower. You can’t do multiple things at once–two showers, a shower plus hot water in a sink–but that’s fine. It’s Mexico, we get it. We just want hot water.

Two trips ago, we got into a system where we could reliably take showers with consistent hot water and pressure, and we were mostly successful doing this again on the most recent trip. I don’t recall having a single issue, but Stephanie said it got cold on her twice. But it will reset itself, and you can force that by turning the temperature to full cold and then back again, and it’s not horrible. We basically just got used to it, I guess.

I feel like we could spend several hundred dollars installing a water tank in the laundry room where the water heater is and that may or may not fully fix it. But … we’re OK with it as it is now. And we spoke with a friend of ours in the building about this over dinner one night, and she kind of walked herself into acknowledging that she lives alone, never has two things going at the same time, and still has water heating issues sometimes too. So it’s probably just the way it is.

Obviously, we will keep on eye on this during each trip. If it goes south again, I guess we’ll look at the water tank solution.

Perception vs. reality

TheJoeFin asks:

With the (oddly quiet) release of 5G Surface Pros do you think there is any significant change in the way these devices might be perceived? At some point a difference in quantity becomes a difference in kind, and the list of “modern device” elements is looking good for Surface 11with 5G. (Multi-touch 120Hz OLED screen, Performant ARM, Good battery life, Wi-Fi and 5G connectivity, Full sensor offerings: Front/back camera, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Ambient Color Sensor, NFC, GPS) …or does this still all just add up to another premium Windows 2-in-1?

Windows 11 on Arm, even with a Snapdragon X processor, is still an unknown in most circles, and it requires a lot of explanation and a bit of trust. It’s a difficult enough question for consumers. But businesses are much more conservative when it comes to change. And I have to think Microsoft Surface is a tough sell to begin with, given its reliability history. So expecting businesses to adopt Surface and Windows 11 on Arm is a bit of a stretch.

But it depends on the business, of course. And in the sense that many larger businesses rely on custom vertical apps that are either unique to that business or unusual otherwise, the Windows 11 on Arm compatibility problems can be more pronounced. I’ve had very good results across a wide range of hardware and software, but businesses tend to hold on to both for long periods of time. And while a lot of legacy software should just work, some legacy hardware might not. So it will require evaluation. I’m not sure if I see the incentive.

Plus, AMD and Intel are about to respond with new-generation processors that appear to address many of the shortcomings that Snapdragon X highlights, and presumably with no compatibility concerns to worry about. We’ll see. But “we’ll see” is pretty much corporate strategy.

I feel like Snapdragon X could succeed with businesses in the same way that Apple did with the iPhone and, to a lesser degree, the Mac. It starts with executives who demand access to those devices and IT that’s forced to accommodate that. And if that’s successful, it could spread into the ranks. It’s unclear if that level of excitement exists, though.

I was going to write, “I hope that happens.” But I’m not sure that’s what I hope. What I really hope is that PCs become better. Snapdragon X will be a driver for that, I think, for better efficiency, more reliable power management, and better battery life. But whether that platform wins or AMD and/or Intel just figure it out and make it happen with x64 is immaterial to me in the end. I want PCs to just work. I think that’s what everyone wants.

I can’t recall

simont asks:

Microsoft has gone silent on Recall, do you think that Recall is dead, or just taking longer to redesign than they thought and they just don’t want to say anything yet in case they get ripped to shreds again.

Yeah, they’ve done a 180 on Recall, for sure. I don’t take that to mean Recall isn’t happening, just that they’re working to ensure there are no surprises from security researchers and others the second they release the first preview. But this does raise an interesting point: We have other high-profile features we were promised in Windows in recent years that never made it to market, like Sets. And I suppose it’s possible that if there were somehow too many technical or security issues, Recall could disappear and be replaced by “smaller” more limited implementations (like tabs in Notepad, Terminal, and File Explorer instead of everywhere).

The security thing doesn’t worry me. My bigger concern is that the Windows client team lacks the technical acumen to do deep architectural work like this, and that the real problem is related more to the quality of the people who are available for this project. And that the people who could handle it are elsewhere in the company and want nothing to do with this.

As bad, the base implementation of Recall is somewhat ridiculous on the face of things–people often equate it with storing screenshots that AI can sort through later, though it’s a bit more sophisticated than that–but the real power of this solution comes when apps buy into it and explicitly support Recall. Microsoft will do this with some apps in Windows, and in Edge and the Microsoft Office apps, but it’s buy-in rate on new Windows 11 features with third-party developers is pretty close to zero. (Which you can see in how often it has to update Windows Share despite there being APIs for this; third-party developers are just ignoring this.) We could get a Recall that works great with most Microsoft apps, but poorly with the third-party apps that many rely on. And that is only somewhat useful.

We’ll see. But I do wake up many days wondering if this is when Recall appears in some Insider Preview build. It has to happen eventually.

Health tech

eeisner asks:

I know you have spent some time trying to figure out how to make technology work for your health. I constantly have frustrations with health tech and have some questions for you.

I have some frustrations as well. I feel like this is common.

I have 3 pieces of hardware and 4 apps tracking my health right now … All of these apps seem to communicate horrifically with each other. Data, mostly steps, get double counted or missed constantly. I find myself having to audit the 3 apps regularly to delete duplicates or fill in missing data, and I also am changing which apps have read and write permissions to try to minimize the need to audit. I can’t seem to figure out a central hub that I should use as my ‘source of truth’ that I know will take the step data from my phone and watch and clean it up, then spit out accurately to Fit and to Withings and to Cronometer, etc etc.

Yes. This is the central issue with these devices, apps, and services. They are largely isolated islands of functionality data, and there’s no Matter-like standard in health technologies to ensure interoperability. This is the problem Microsoft tried to solve with Microsoft Health, the service underlying Microsoft Band. And now Apple, Google, Samsung, and others are trying to solve it to some degree across the Apple and Android ecosystems, mostly.

I trimmed out the hardware and software lists you provided for space reasons, but it’s largely Google-based. And while they’ve done some good work with Google Health Connect, which is its attempt at a low-level Microsoft Health-like solution, it’s still early days, and the company is still resolving the Fitbit/Google Fit divide while opening up to third parties for interoperability buy-in. They’ll do OK, they’re Google, and Android is too huge for other hardware, software, and services firms to ignore. But … They’re Google. And they do seem to half-ass things sometimes, let products and services hang out there with no updates over time, and then quietly kill off things with no warning.

I’m not suggesting you upend your life and go Apple, but when it comes to health technologies, they’re on the leading edge. And for better or worse, the company is so popular, and so influential, that all the companies in this industry, and many researchers and companies involved in clinical trials, are signing on with Apple. So there is an argument to be made that this is the place to be if health tracking is Job One.

I’ve been using whatever wrist-based health tracking devices since they were first invented, and I’ve forgotten the full list of Nike, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, Fitbit, and other devices I used. I find most of it to be frustrating, as noted. And it’s not even clear what I get from this work. Microsoft promised proactive insights with Band that it never delivered. Fitbit has sleep tracking so lousy that I never even look at it anymore, and I would disable it if I could. (Oddly, Fitbit does not permit that.) I just spent three months with a Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 on my right wrist in addition to the Fitbit Charge 5 I always have on the left wrist … And I can’t tell you why. Someone asked me about it, and I said I was testing them head-to-head, and then I went home and took the Fit 3 off and reset it because I never even looked at it for the most part. There was nothing wrong with it–great battery, great display–other than it was yet another place to look at some health data (and in Samsung, no less).

I only stick with the Fitbit for now because I had a high-altitude health scare 20 years ago and I’m now more prone to having similar issues again. The Fitbit I have measures oxygen saturation (SpO2) overnight, so I can make sure I’m not cratering. Which is a particular concern in Mexico City, with its 7400-foot altitude. This was a big issue when we first started traveling there, and I still pay more attention to that there. But I’ve not had any issues, and while it takes me longer than most to acclimate, I do acclimate, and it works out fine.

Beyond that, I’ve stopped thinking about most health metrics in the past year, so Fitibit–or whatever else–is less interesting on a day-to-day basis, and it’s not something I obsess over. I lost a lot of weight last year, and while that’s plateaued, I’m in a much better place, and so I don’t look at my resting heart rate or whatever else all the time like I used to. I’ve seriously considered just getting rid of the Fitbit and not worrying about it. But the battery life is still great–5 to 6 days–and so it’s not a daily maintenance thing. So I just keep it there and it measures things that I mostly ignore.

We all respond differently to different things, and where some like the gamification aspects of a Fitbit or Apple Watch ecosystem, or whatever, others don’t. Some go to the gym, some need a partner there to keep them motivated, etc. You’re young, healthy, and not overweight, so your day-to-day concerns are likely minimal. Trying to make devices, apps, and services together is probably just adding stress, which is probably a net negative impact on health. I’m not suggesting you don’t track things or try to do the right thing. But in your case, it seems like taking whatever Cholesterol medication your doctor recommends while adjusting your diet if needed is the first step. (Honestly, finding the right doctor is key.) And then some combination of self-tracking/monitoring, as you’re doing, and regular doctor visits and lab work to see the real results. I did this during the time I was losing weight, and very aggressively. But I don’t think about my numbers all that much now. I know I’m doing OK.

Technology is inherently frustrating because nothing ever works properly. With health technology, it’s easy to get sucked into a “just in case” mentality that’s reaffirmed every time you see yet another “Apple Watch saved some guy’s life” headline. Just remember that plenty of people die wearing an Apple Watch too, and that Apple gets great PR for free. And that your needs are your needs, so you should do what you have to. Trying to make all that stuff work together may be more work than it’s worth.

Music

j5 asks:

Hey Paul some music questions for you. What musical genres and music artists have you been listening to lately?

I just wrote a long piece about the importance of music in my life, but as is so often the case, I had to cut it short, as it was getting out of control, and there’s always more to add. I will probably write more on this topic at some point–I do have a related thing I’m working on tied to the Apple/Sonos stuff I also wrote about–but part of the bit that got cut short was how the ways I listen to music, and the types of music I’ve listened to, have changed since we had and raised kids and then have set out in our post-kids empty nest existence. I didn’t write about how we had started going to concerts a lot after inexplicably not doing so, only to have the COVID pandemic put a sudden stop to that. How music night has evolved. How some friends and I interact when it comes to music. How us going to Mexico has shifted things in a new direction. And all kinds of other things. There’s always more.

Today, I listen to a much more diverse range of music than I ever have. A lot of people who reach middle age complain that it’s hard or impossible to find new music, or that today’s music sucks, and they tend to stick to whatever music they grew up with. But this isn’t my experience. I never really liked radio anyway. Music services and YouTube have long offered ways to discover new music, we hear music in bars, restaurants, and Ubers, and I use Shazam or similar to identify these songs, so I can add them to a playlist and check out them out again later. I liked a lot of the music that was current when my kids were growing up, and got into some of the same bands they liked. One of our friends in Mexico owns a restaurant/bar that has an extensive vinyl collection and live band appearances, and we discuss music all the time.

I do have fewer opportunities to listen to music when I was young, of course. I don’t listen to music when I write or work, unless I’m on a plane for some reason. In which case, I’ll usually listen to something instrumental or a Pink Floyd or U2 playlist (unclear why these make sense to me at the time). I listen to an audiobook, podcast, or music when I shave and shower, drive to/from the gym, and while at the gym (but not while walking outside). I will put music on sometimes at night when Stephanie is out. And we do have a music night at least once a week that is usually a playlist of mixed music that we both like, something we can curate while listening to, not skipping songs in place (which is aggravating), but rather looking further into the list and moving, deleting, or add songs as desired. Sometimes a song will suggest another song that could be next, and so on.

Aside from playlists, the music I’ve listened to the most recently is Here to Eternity (the latest Collective Soul album, possibly their best since the first real album), Diamond Star Halos (Def Leppard), Pyromania (Super Deluxe)(a 40th anniversary reissue that’s amazing, especially the raw original song versions), The Miracle (Collector’s Edition) (by Queen, an all-time-favorite), and Revolver (The Beatles, plus Now and Then and almost anything else they’ve recorded). I’ve become a select Taylor Swift fan in recent years after dismissing her outright at first: Her pandemic-era albums (Folklore and Evermore) are incredible, but her remakes of Red and 1989 are among the best pop albums ever made.

Are you a big playlist person, create lots of playlist for different occasions. Or just let whatever music app you use keep playing and let it play songs based upon what you’re listening to?

No, I am semi-exclusively all about hand-made playlists. I have era playlists, favorite band playlists, music night playlists, all kinds of stuff.

And finally what are some guilty pleasure songs you like what horrible artist or song that gets dogged on but that you really like?

Music is all about guilty pleasures. There are a lot of one-off one-hit-wonder-type songs, of course–Crazy in the Night by Kim Carnes (which I spent years trying to find in the early 1990s, after it had come and gone, and before digital), Telephone by Sheena Easton (and Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, come to think of it), lots of stuff from the 1980s, which is inarguably the guilty pleasures decade when it comes to music. This is a good playlist idea (as is another I’ve meant to make but have not, “Music that sounded better than it should have”), but I will likely get into some of this whenever I write next about music.

Ok uno mas pregunta, what’s an album that you played to death as a kid? Mine was Def Leppard – Hysteria. I played it so much I wore out the tape in the cassette.

Mine was also Hysteria. Also, 5150 by Van Halen, which was unreadable by the time I finished with it.

There’s a lot more to say about music. We’ll get there.