NOTE: There will be another Zen Tech show this month on 11-30-16

 

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– They’re tagged with #Zentech.
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For a couple of months, the audio of today’s show is here. Recent shows are here.

 

Both Glenn and Paul were in the studio today.

 

Glenn noticed that when using iMessage over a period of time, sending and receiving messages, the timestamp of each message doesn’t show up until a couple of hours later. But swiping just a little to the left in the iMessage frame will immediately show the time each message was sent.

iPhone 4 is not able to use iOS 10, Paul noted. For a period of time hardware and software makers would leap frog one another, each building features to take advantage of the other’s improvements <implying performance can suffer if hardware doesn’t keep up>. But most iPhones now have a fast processor, an A4, A5 or A6, Paul said. And the newer operating sytems, Android 6 and iOS 10, have algorithms that “slim down the power” each app uses, they “throttle back on the power consumption” of the apps. Going to iOS 10, Paul noticed, actually improved the power consumption.

Glenn said he was never particularly concerned about the power consumption so much as the slowness after upgrading the iOS of his 4-year old iPad 4. He said it has slowed but it still works fine. The battery, he said, lasts quite a long time, 6 or 7 hours using wi-fi. By comparison, his iPhone 6s will go from 100% to 50% in just 1 or 1.5 hours.

Paul said he has a free app called Coconut Battery running on his Mac.
It provides info about the battery and the charger. It tells you how much the battery is charged & its capacity (the total charge it can hold <which goes down over its lifetime>). He said Apple guarantees that for at least 1 year and for at least 1000 charging cycles the battery will maintain at least 80% of its capacity: it will run for 80% of the length of time of when it was new.
<Coconut Battery was talked about on the 9-28-16 show. Charging, and charge cycles were explained too,>

When it’s time to replace the battery in your Mac, you can go to Amazon, for instance, and search for the model of your Mac. Paul said he’s found decent batteries from China for $20. You’ll pay $129 if you buy from Apple. The Apple battery will last you about 4 years. The ones from China might last 2 or 3 years.

When you first install a new battery, the machine will be confused about its capacity. Paul said be patient about warnings of errors in the battery, it may take a couple of charge cycles. <I heard that if you completely discharge and then completely charge the battery, The computer will recalibrate correctly.>

When you shop for batteries, use a reputable site and look at the warranty. Amazon warranty covers the behavior of the vendors selling thru Amazon.

Paul said he hasn’t found an app for iOS that gives a reasonable idea of what’s going on with the battery. But you can use Coconut Battery on the Mac with your iPhone or iPad plugged into the Mac and get a report on the condition the battery in your mobile device.

Glenn said his iPhone 6 is less than a year old and it currently shows 85% capacity after less than 300 cycles. Paul said Apple did a recall of the iPhone 5 because of a battery problem. Search for the words: iphone 5 battery recall. But be careful of ads in the search results, use the links that take you to Apple.

Glenn read the disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed on KVMR are those of the speakers only and not necessarily those of KVMR management, staff or underwriters.

If you’d like to talk to the guys during a Zen Tech show, call 530-265-9555. You can send an email to zen at kvmr dot org. And you’re invited to visit the website: zen.kvmr.org.

You (or anyone) can use Youtube to stream a live event so that it can be seen by a large number of people. Paul said Youtube itself will stream the 90th Macy’s parade tomorrow. Go to youtube.com and search for the words; macy’s parade.

Glenn bought a laser light infrared thermometer for Paul. It measures the radiant temperature of the thing at which you’re pointing it. It only measures the surface temperature, so it’s not suitable for knowing when your turkey is done.

Steve called. He’s shopping for a cellular service that includes a phone. He wondered if the Samsung Galaxy S7 is the phone that had a major recall recently because of a battery problem.
– No, it was the Galaxy Note 7, not the S7.
– The ones with the problem aren’t being sold anymore.
– Those who choose never to buy a Samsung again because of the recall are being kind of foolish, Paul said.
– Google-search the words; samsung note 7. You’ll find the Samsung site where they have a safety recall and exchange program.
<Galaxy Note 7 battery problems were discussed on 9-14-16 show.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge review: The best smartphones, period
Samsung S7: Rumours & reality
Specs for the S7 – Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge: Everything you need to known about Samsung’s Galaxy Flagship>

Paul asked Glenn his shopping strategies for the upcoming Black Friday. Glenn said he hasn’t been interested in Black Friday the past couple of years but is paying some attention the past couple of weeks because so many deals are happening early this year. He said he’ll be checking tomorrow’s newspaper ads as well as online ads. He’ll be paying special attention to Fry’s, one of his favorite retailers. He said you can preorder on Thursday and avoid the long lines.
<Some good suggestions here: How Not to Overpay on Black Friday? Let the Web Be Your Guide
The ShopSavvy app mentioned in the article is here.>

Robert called. He wanted to know how to get rid of an old desktop computer from the turn of this century.
– Take the hard drive out and destroy it. You can get hex screwdrivers to take it apart or take a hammer to it.
– Look for various recycling events in the local area on the behalf of non-profits.
– Recycling in the local area has slowed because the money being paid has gone down, Paul said.
– McCourtney Road Transfer Station will take any electronics.
– Try Rod’s Computer Service in Grass Valley for recycling service.

The guys wished the listeners a happy Thanksgiving.

Glenn noted that the Flea Market will not be on tomorrow. There will be some special program in its place.

Paul had a 2007 Mac Book with a battery problem. The battery had swollen due to the gases produced inside and was interfering with the trackpad buttons directly above it. He took the battery out, but is it ok to run the computer from just the AC power (from the wall socket). In general is yes, Paul said, but there are a couple of considerations.

A battery in a computer provides a uninterruptible power supply. So if something happens to the AC power you can just keep on working. You don’t lose your work and data being sent to the hard drive doesn’t get interrupted.

The other thing is that the battery keeps the clock running for the correct time of day. Apparently, the Mac doesn’t have a button battery to run the clock like many (but not all) PCs do.

Up to a few years ago it was common to have a user replaceable battery in laptops. But with more efficient LED screens, batteries last longer between charges and the need to pop in a fresh battery has diminished. Modern computers often have non-removable batteries. If you have to replace your battery go to ifixit.com and look up your particular laptop to see what it says about replacing the battery.

Glenn thanked the listeners who support KVMR. <If you’d like to become a supporting member, you can call the KVMR office at 530-265-9073 or visit kvmr.org.>

Pilar (more phonetically: Peelar) called. She has an iPhone 5S that’s a couple of years old. Since upgrading it to iOS 10, it’s been having trouble maintaining a wi-fi connection to her local network. There’s no trouble with her iPad or 2 laptops. She made it forget the network, reset the network preferences, restarted the iPhone and rebooted the [network] modem and even “restored it as new” <Factory reset the iPhone, I think she meant>.
– Make sure to get the latest iOS update. She said she has the latest: 10 1 1.
– Paul said make it forget ALL of the networks it knows. Go to “wi-fi” where you’ll see the list of networks — forget all of them.
– Take it to an Apple store.
– Paul got her to say that it seems to work with other routers, just not hers. He said there might be a compatibility issue and to try using a different router.

Changelog:
Added link to ShopSavvy app here.

Last Updated 1:37 PM 12-1-2016