rtodd_us

Hello all,

Back with another question in hopes that you come through yet again. I have a soon to be middle schooler. Is there a phone you would recommend that is durable and cheap, but not "cheap" if you get my drift? Also would love to have some parental controls, really like the one included in the Microsoft launcher that Paul just wrote up and my understanding of IOS there is no solution per say. Would an Essential phone be okay ($500 price point seems legit compared to what is offered), but worried if it will be unsupported in the future with the company in trouble. Any suggestions?

Todd

I have been playing a lot of PUBG lately and would love to get a little better at the game. Any tips you have learned along the way? And what settings for sensitivity do you have for the Xbox version?

Thanks in advance,

PUBG noob.

Finally making the plunge into upgrading to a SSD. However, I have been searching the web on how to do this and it would see that most everyone uses cloning software. Is there a way to do this without downloading third party software? Is there nothing native in Windows 10 to perform this task?

Thanks Todd

Hello all,

After reading Paul's venture into smart lighting and the rise of the AI voice assistants Echo and Google Home, I am now leaning to getting in on the action. However, I am still concerned about the security issues IOT devices bring with it.

With that in mind, what is the best way to secure these devices within a home network? Or is it even a concern? My thought was to take my existing router ( A Netgear nighthawk X6) and attach an old router I have (an Actiontec C1900a) via a VLAN port. Use the Actiontec 2.4 band and use that for all IOT devices. On the Actiontec I would deactivate the 5 ghz band and on the Netgear deactivate the 2.4 ghz band to eliminate interference. Would this prevent the IOT devices from being able to see my data on my personal devices (phones, tablets, PC's)?

Is this too overthought? Is there a better solution? I have heard using the guest network on the router for IOT, but since the devices can't see each other I would imagine that would gimp the voice assistants ability to control the device.

Long thread over. Thanks for your advice.

Todd

So I recently had to make the change to Spectrum. In doing so I will need to get a new modem and was wondering if any of you have some suggestions. I am getting 100 mbps download speed option and the choices I am thinking about are the Arris SB6141 which can go up to 100 mbps but only has 8 channels or the Arris SB6183 which can go up to 300 mbps and has 16 channels, but according to spectrum is incompatible with ipv6 on their network. So the question is how important is ipv4 vs ipv6 or 8 channels vs 16 channels? Anyone have experience with either of these modems or has another suggestion?

Thanks in advance,

Todd

I have read that the Nexus 6P I just bought will not receive Android updates after September 2017 and more important security updates after September 2018. Is there anyway to get this updates outside of OTA updates (ie download/root the phone etc)?

Hello All,

It's your resident question asker asking another question. I've recently purchased an android phone (was going to go Pixel, but went with a lot cheaper nexus 6p). And have a question about what sms messenger people use on Android? I was thinking Signal or Pulse SMS. However, Pulse SMS I'm worried about security, but love the feature with sms on computer, because of work policies.

Going to bite the bullet and get a Pixel XL phone.  However, only the 32 GB model is available with no expandable memory.  This got me thinking, with Google Photos unlimited full resolution backup is it necessary to have that much storage.  If you back routinely to the cloud is there a reason to get more storage if, like me, you only use a handful of apps.  Anyone think of a reason more storage might come into play outside of photos before I pull the trigger on a cheaper phone?

Hello all,

My son spiked my Lumia 1520 off some bleachers last night. The phone just has a crack on the screen but usable otherwise. My question is would you guys wait until the newer hardware shows up during the holiday season or just go ahead and purchase a new phone because the incremental changes have kind of stagnated. I'm tempted to hold out and see, but rumors haven't inspired confidence in it being worth the wait. FYI my next phone is going to be Android, not a big fan of the Apple lock in ecosystem.

Hello all,

I am looking to replace an old hard drive with an SSD. However I am not looking forward to it as it seems to be a complicated and time consuming process of moving files/OS from one disk to the newer one. Would it be possible to keep the OS on the old harddrive and move files that require speed (games etc.) to the SSD or is that a useless move. Any other ideas to make this easier?

Hello all,

I'm wondering if some more technical people on the site would help me out regarding router and security.  I recently have been experiencing slow downs on my network (using a Nighthawk X6 as a router) at certain times of the day.  When playing games the ping is really bad when in the past it has been excellent. Running speedtest on another machine I find that I am getting the download speeds I have signed up for.  I used the netgear genie app and all devices on the network were accounted for. 

My question is if someone or something was hacking my router would a low speedtest be an indication?  Anyone familiar with Nmap and is it user friendly?  Thanks in advance.

I currently goofed and made an incentive that worked for my kids doing well at school.  Good news is that it works, the bad news is that it works.   The incentive was after a certain amount of good grades the kids could earn 10 dollars in Xbox credit.  This is made easy through the add money feature of the Family settings. 

However, I would like to not use "real" money, but my microsoft rewards points that I have collected over the years.  My question is, can I transfer the gift cards earned through rewards to my sons' account using the add money feature of said family settings?  Any advice would be helpful.

Recently a co-worker asked me for advice on what phone she should get since I like most on this site am I technology enthusiast.  However, I am an ardent Apple hater. I hate their approach to technology (hardware over software, form over function etc.)  which leaves me as a little biased as a resource.

She stated that she currently is a Droid user and is not invested in the Apple ecosystem.  The only feature that matters for her is the camera.  

My advice to her was since she was not invested in the Apple ecosystem and camera was her main feature, get a Nexus 6p or a Pixel.   Iphones are solid, but know if you get one you need to get everything Apple to get the best experiences.  However in hindsight I feel that my bias shows through (which was mentioned before I gave her my thoughts).  

What is this community's opinion?  I hope to eliminate my biased in her decision by using other's more informed opinions on this site.  Thanks in advance. 

Curious to see the communities response to this.  In my small part of the world, I have seen many co-workers/friends/families jump on the Amazon Echo/Dot bandwagon this holiday.  Because 40 bucks is not that much for a last minute gift I have seen many people venture out and get an Amazon Dot.  Some are testing the waters of home automation and seeing how well the Dot works before investing money into lights or something similar.

Being a fan of the new Microsoft, I see this as a disturbing trend and foresee their entry into AI as very daunting based on the perception that familiarity breeds content.  With Amazon already a leg up what features would Microsoft need to be able to sway a customer base who sees Microsoft and thinks "problems" based on their past track record?

Is there a way to refresh the app channel list in the One Guide menu?  My ESPN apps for Live and ESPN3 have been stuck on 4 days ago's information.  I've searched the interwebs and have only found a way to refresh the dashboard, which I don't think is the issue since I have updated information everywhere else on the Xbox menu's (Home screen, and TV channels).

Thanks in advance,

Todd

Hello all looking to switch to Direct TV Now from Sling TV.  I currently watch all TV through the Xbox One and currently Sling TV is the only streaming service provided thus far.  However $35/mo for 100 channels is tempting enough for me to make a switch and cross my fingers that it comes to Xbox at some point.  To appease me all that would need to happen in the interim is for Direct TV now to have access to both Watch ESPN app and HBO Now since those are the two channels I watch most on Sling.  Does anyone know if a Direct TV Now login would allow access to these apps if I was to get the HBO add on? 

Recently I've noticed that watching videos on YouTube has caused my Surface Pro 4 to overheat and the battery life lasts only 1 hour or so on Edge.  I go to Chrome and watch YouTube and everything is just fine.  Has anyone else had this happen?  Is this a Google response to Edge's battery life ads?

I recently watched a video by a gamer/youtuber talking about Microsoft's VR ambitions.  He essentially trashed it as a gimmick, because it would fall short in the specs with Occulus Rift and be head to head with Sony VR.  This is where Microsoft falls short in their marketing.  Currently the perception is that VR is for gaming.  I think where Microsoft falls short.  They showed in their announcement I guy in a virtual room with crap things on a shelf and yada yada yada.  What was skipped over was the real marketing angle.  The virtual "man cave" where huge TV's can be had with minimal cost.  Where the FOV issues of HoloLens become a thing of the past.  Take that HoloLens NFL ad they put out last year.  If I as a sports fan could have that then hello virtual man cave.  Do you think this is where Microsoft should head, the entertainment market or do you think in order for VR to succeed it must go through gaming to gain popularity?

When HoloLens was first announced I was impressed like many of us.  My view was maybe a little different than most though.  My first thought was "man the TV manufacturers were going to go out of business."  I could create a virtual TV as big as I wanted to and as many as I wanted, anywhere I wanted, sign me up.  However, as we know now the FOV and price point put a stop to that thought.  Fast forward to now.  Microsoft is offering that same HoloLens experience in a 300 dollar VR headset using my existing computer/laptop.  Oh yes we are getting somewhere.  So now for the price of a small screen TV I can have a  virtual 90 inch mondo TV.  Not only that I can have multiple 90 inch TV's.  Football may never be the same again. I can have those hologram images shown in that NFL HoloLens video on a virtual room with none of the FOV problems of HoloLens.  I certainly hope this is where they are going, because if it is I am all in.  Screw the VR games, I am good with watching football on my TV while streaming an Xbox One game on another TV, while streaming a Steam game on another, with a hologram replay on the streets of a Paris café.  Sorry wife and kids, daddy has got to play.

I was looking into this, but had a question.  In regards to data rollover is it just month to month or can you buy a bunch of data one month and have it carry over indefinitely until you use it up?  Also how much data do you actually use in real world use since it prioritizes public wifi over cellular.  Do you see less data usage when using project fi.

Thanks in advance

Todd

I have two questions.  For some backstory before I get to my questions.  I currently use an Xbox One for my multimedia downstairs.  My kids however like play on it, so therefore no TV if they play.  I sometimes use the streaming capabilities to allow them to use the PC upstairs and play games (which is pretty awesome).  The downside is that I have to use a splitter and switch the source on the downstairs TV which only allows me OTA channels with no Netflix or other streaming service, because Microsoft still hasn't developed the ability to use the Xbox while someone streams on another device (please do this). 

 My first question is if I buy them an Xbox One for upstairs, is there a way to have the games purchased show up on that console, as they have been purchased on my account and the downstairs Xbox One is set as the home console.  

My second question is regarding parental controls.  I understand there is a function in Xbox which allows for limiting time for my kids.  I was wondering if Microsoft allows both Xbox and Windows 10 time constraints and log there activity within a single login, ie Microsoft account.  As I understand it, you have to set time constraints on Xbox only on Xbox and Windows 10 only under you Microsoft account.  Also activity logs are only present in Windows 10 parental controls.   Is there something I'm missing here?  Is there a more comprehensive way to do this?

Thanks for your comments in advance,

Todd

A lot has been written and speculated about this vaporware device.  There is no doubt that this phone will not help Microsoft in the phone wars.  As Paul has written many times this war is lost and Windows mobile is on life support waiting for the next big thing.  In recent write up Paul speculates that AI is the next big thing and as I do agree with Paul that AI is going to be a big category, I disagree with him that AI will be the only big thing.

Apple seems to think that Augmented reality is the next big thing based on reports coming out a couple weeks back.  Maybe that is because they know that they are not well positioned on the AI front, but maybe they are right.  

Why I mention this is because of the supposed Surface phone.  As nothing is known about this mystery phone, speculation is abound with ideas.  Most point to the HP Elite as the brain child of what Microsoft plans to do with the phone.  However, since we are just speculating.  Why couldn't it be something more than a PC in your pocket.  After all Surface is all about inventing new categories.

 I would suggest something that would A) position Microsoft back into the mobile world and not as a phone and B) jump start the next big thing, in this case Augmented Reality.  A phone/hololens mashup.  As I understand it the hololens is powered by an Atom processor, something a phablet type device could power.  So essentially the phone is the engine and a peripheral like a sunglasses would house the lens and the kinect sensor.  Whether tethered or a wireless dispay these glasses would be a lot slimer than a hololens and with the right design features possibly fashionable.  Add the capabilities of an HP Elite with its continuum features and I believe this type of device could present a better future than its phone/continuum strategy.

Thoughts?  I know this is more a dream scenario, but I believe it has merits and would differentiate it from competitors like Google and Apple who are still just perfecting an familiar concept.

Anyone else having an issue when the Surface starts up, if I click a notification it freezes for about ten to twenty seconds and then the screen blinks and all is back to normal?