Ask Paul: January 31 (Premium)

Happy Friday! Here’s a final Ask Paul for January, with some amazing reader questions that I struggled to answer in some cases.
HyperChiller HC2
Zinger asks:

How did that drink cooler gadget you got your wife for Christmas work out? Mentioned on FRD. Just curious. Thanks.

That gadget is called the HyperChiller HC2 and … it’s OK. It does work as advertised, and I’ve used it for ice coffee a lot since I can put the hot espresso in there and it cools it down in less than 30 seconds. But I thought my wife would have more use for it for cocktails. Maybe when it gets warmer out.
Microsoft products, yay or nay
will asks:

What, if any, products or services do you believe Microsoft should retire in 2020? On the flip side, are there any products or services they should be spending more time and resources on?

I’m not sure if you saw this, but it’s an interesting coincidence: Satya Nadella this past week was quoted as saying that no individual products are more important than the overall vision. Which is kind of the problem with today’s Microsoft from the perspective of people who really do care about individual products: Nothing is sacred anymore.

The other problem, of course, is that Microsoft is so focused on selling its future in the cloud that it’s ignoring or at least not paying enough attention to the products that generate the most revenues now, the most obvious culprit being Windows. It will never happen, but I’d most like to see Microsoft pay more attention---and respect---to Windows. It deserves better, and not just because of its past: It is still Microsoft’s biggest and most lucrative business. And it not resonating with Wall Street is no reason to ignore it.

As for which products Microsoft should retire, hm. I honestly don’t see anything obvious. Microsoft is a big enough company that it can throw its weight behind all kinds of projects, and while I’ll never understand or care enough about the 1 million services currently offered through Azure, I suspect that there will have to be some consolidation there eventually.
Apple
sabertooth920 asks:

Beyond testing, is there any Apple software or services you actually use or prefer?

Yes.

I use an iPad every day to read the news in the morning and then read (sometimes Kindle ebooks, sometimes Pocket, Medium, or the like) before I go to bed. My news reading includes the Apple News app, which I have a mixed relationship with; but I do use it every day.

When I do purchase movies (and TV shows), I do so through iTunes (or whatever it’s called now) because of the extra features. I watch those movies via the Apple TV app (on Fire TV Stick), the actual Apple TV 4K (for the extra features), or, when traveling, via my iPad.

I will be retesting the iPhone 11 Pro Max again soon, but I’m not against using an iPhone full time if it works out for me. I just happen to prefer Android generally and Pixel handset more. That said, I also considered ...