Tech Fixes | At Home with Tech

November 29, 2020

6 Ways to Protect your Data and Tech at Home

If you’re looking to beef up the reliability of your digital resources, here’s a list of the gear behind my tech.

With so many daily norms shattered as a result of COVID-19, I’ve discovered the act of online holiday shopping to be a comforting activity. Of course, it’s no less frustrating trying to find the actual deals. But that’s always been a part of the challenge, right?

Right now though, what’s most important to me isn’t what shiny new tech to buy. It’s how to make sure the gear I own continues to work properly. And that’s often about the tech behind the tech.

I thought it could be helpful to share some detail on the support gear that helps to keep my tech going every day. This list isn’t about the coolest hardware. It’s simply about what helps maintain order with my tech at home as well as a sense of stability for my (digital) existence.

It all about protection and reliability.

1. Backup Drive for your Computer

G-Technology G-Drive USB 3.0

Cloud storage should now be a major player in your backup plan, but having dependable external drives is still a good strategy. I’m a big fan of G-Technology Drives (owned by Western Digital).

The G-Technology 4TB G-Drive USB 3.0 goes for $129.95 on Amazon.

It’s what I use for my iMac’s Time Machine backups.

2. Portable Backup Drive

G-Drive Mobile USB-C

Yes, I’m sticking with G-Technology for the portable choice. My go-to drive is the G-Drive Mobile USB-C.

The 4 TB version costs $139 on Amazon.

3. Wireless Mesh Router

Netgear Orbi RBK50

If you’re like me, your home WiFi is now tasked with supporting multiple family members throughout the day…and in every corner of your home. To help make sure that your WiFi reaches your entire family perimeter, you need a mesh WiFi system in place.

When I replaced my old Apple AirPort Extreme WiFi router, I went with the two-unit RBK50 mesh WiFi system made by Netgear Orbi. Next to my Sonos speaker in the photo above, it costs $295.19 on Amazon.

4. Smartphone Case

Pelican Shield

You really don’t want to deal with a cracked smartphone screen if you can avoid it. I’ve always felt that a solid case is critical to maintaining your smartphone’s structural integrity.

I’m partial to Pelican cases. The company is best known for its equipment cases that protect gear worth many thousands of dollars. Its smartphone cases are also tough, and the “Shield” model looks like it comes from the alternate universe in the TV series, “Fringe.”

5. Portable Power Bank for your Smartphone or iPad

RAVPower Power Bank

You know what happens when one of your portable screens runs out of juice, and a power outlet is nowhere to be found. A little portable power can really save your day.

RAVPower 16,750mAh Power Bank USB External Battery Pack is
$27.99 on Amazon
(This model also comes with a built-in flashlight.)

6. Cloud Backup

Backblaze

I’ve been using Backblaze after CrashPlan broke up with me. So far, so good.

As I mentioned, cloud backup should always be a part of your data protection strategy.

Maintaining Comfort
As we enter this season that promotes comfort and joy, it’s always a useful reminder to have some boring supports in place for your important tech. I’m not sure that will specifically generate joy, but it certainly will maintain comfort.

That’s always on the top of my list.

November 22, 2020

Why Your Zoom Viewers Can’t Hear You

Mismanaging the mute button may seem like a rookie mistake during Zoom calls, but it’s a more frequent problem than you’d expect. Here’s why…

This ‘golden’ age of Zoom has redefined what to expect from daily video communications. Sure, throughout these ongoing months of isolation, there have been any number of ways to improve the quality of our Zoom calls.

And in the Zoom meetings I’ve attended, I’ve observed a growing awareness of video production best practices. That said, there’s one skill that many people still seem to struggle with… handling the mute button.

We Can’t Hear You!
How many times have you heard someone say to a Zoom speaker, “Are you on mute? We can’t hear you! (pause) We still can’t hear you. You’re on mute!”

This epidemic of awkward Zoom silence is partially the result of education campaigns during the early months of the pandemic to mute yourself if you’re not talking in a Zoom meeting.

Remember all of those Zooms that imploded because there were a couple of people who couldn’t mute themselves if their lives depended on it? And then they would jabber away as they talked to their household members, unaware that their microphones were unmuted.

Besides being an embarrassing oops to unknowingly allow everyone to eavesdrop on your life at home, this mistake will also effectively derail any Zoom meeting.

So by now, we’ve learned to mute ourselves to avoid becoming
Zoom Enemy #1.

Expect the Unexpected
It’s certainly better to try to talk on a Zoom while still muted rather than saying something that your Zoom world shouldn’t hear. But it’s still a mistake that anyone should strive to avoid.

At the end of the day, I think the solution comes back to maintaining enough focus on the live elements. For those of us who have tried to ‘master’ Zoom, we’ve instead put a lot of work into our preproduction.

The lighting
Your background
The right microphone

But when our imaginary on-air light pops on, I feel we’ve tended to let down our guard and assume the technology will handle itself.

Keep your Hands on the Virtual Steering Wheel
Live television used to take a whole control room of production experts to ensure success. It’s amazing that Zoom has boiled it down to just a few clicks of your mouse.

That said, someone really needs to pay attention to your Zoom stream while you’re talking. And that person is you.

Any number of problems can crop up.

Someone can unknowingly walk into your background, but this now happens so frequently that nobody cares anymore.
Your attention might get temporarily diverted, which could require you to first mute your video.
You may subsequently forget to unmute your video. That’s not usually a dealbreaker.

But if you lose track of your audio, you’re either the 800-pound gorilla in the virtual room or a Luddite who doesn’t know how to work your microphone.

Don’t Forget to Unmute Yourself
Zoom isn’t really a set-it-and-forget-it technology (well, not yet).

You simply need to train yourself to pay attention your video and especially your audio feeds throughout your personal and professional Zoom calls. And that requires a diligence to be constantly muting and unmuting yourself exactly when you need to focus on the content of what you’re saying.

If you feel like that’s an annoying juggling act, it is. But it’s a small price to pay to step up your Zoom game.

Can you hear me?

Practice your Magic
During this difficult time for so many of us, it’s certainly understandable that there may be tons of distracting elements in your environment that are urgently competing for your attention. Sometimes it can feel like you need a magic wand.

Zooming at home throughout the day brings new meaning to art of multitasking. There’s no perfect solution. But beefing up your Zoom muscle will certainly help you keep all of your balls in the air.

Happy juggling!

November 15, 2020

Avoid these Tech Glitches Before your Next Backyard Movie Night

The cold weather could be the least of your concerns if your outdoor projector doesn’t function properly at your backyard event. Here are a few problems to look out for and how to fix them.

My family and I have returned from a little adventure across town. It was at a friend’s outdoor birthday party in his backyard for his eleven-year-old son.

My friend asked me if I could bring along my portable projector to help him create an outdoor screening of “Black Panther” via his Disney+ app on his iPad. I was more than happy to oblige. His wife put up a white sheet on the back side of their house overlooking their patio, and we were ready to provide the post-meal entertainment.

How to Set Up your Backyard Movie Night Gear
Over the summer, my new Nebula Mars II Pro projector made by Anker was the backbone of my own backyard movie night series. My iPhone served up movies through the iTunes Store and Disney+.

I connected my iPhone to my Lightning Digital AV Adapter (from Apple) and then used an HDMI cable to tether my iPhone to the Mars II Pro. Though you can connect via Bluetooth, a direct connection avoids certain content transfer restrictions.

Though my portable projection system worked great, there were two technical glitches that I needed to work through:

How to Fix Audio Sync Problems with an External Speaker
The Mars II Pro’s two onboard speakers are relatively powerful, but the outdoors can be a noisy place, especially with crickets at dusk. When I tried augmenting the audio oomph with my portable AOMAIS Go Bluetooth speaker I discovered an annoying quirk using Bluetooth.

When streaming content via the Mars II Pro’s onboard apps, the video synced up just fine to the external Bluetooth speaker. The Mars II Pro works perfectly in its own operating universe.

But once I tried extending that equation and connecting the Mars II Pro via HDMI to my iPhone, that was a step too far! It created a small but infuriating audio delay from my AOMAIS Go speaker.

The fix is to avoid the Bluetooth connection altogether and hard wire the external speaker using an audio cable with 3.5mm mini connectors. After that, my external speaker’s audio synced to the Mars II Pro’s video perfectly.

Don’t Miss this Setting when Downloading Movies from the Apple TV App
File compatibility can be a problem when using a digital AV adapter.

I found that when downloading movies onto my iPhone from the iTunes Store, the flicks wouldn’t play when I used my Lightning Digital AV Adapter. Instead, I received this message.

BUT…

When I opened my iOS 14’s settings and navigated to the Apple TV app, I spotted this critical setting under Digital AV Adapter Options:

Downloads for AV Adapter

And here’s the fix:

Slide Downloads for AV Adapter to – Green

This setting allows “Apple TV app to download titles specially-formatted to play through an AV adapter…”

Wow. Yes, it was that simple.

The Fall Challenge
Armed with my summer outdoor movie night learnings, I felt emboldened to confront any technical problem that fall outdoor movie night might throw at me. I brought my gear over to my friend’s house, eager to boot it all up.

My friend had already download the movie on his iPad’s Disney+ app to avoid the occasional but maddening video artifacts that can pop up when streaming gets bumpy. (smart)

I unpacked my Lightning digital AV Adapter and HDMI cable combo and connected his iPad to my Mars II Pro.

Docking was complete, and we were ready to go.

Great Scott!
My friend tapped the play icon, and the movie began.

Suddenly, I felt an uncontrollable impulse. I screamed, “It worked!” And I proceeded to take a victory lap around the patio. Everyone stared at me with confusion. They must have wondered if I was channeling my inner Doc Brown from “Back to the Future.” (I was.)

That’s because over the summer, I tried to project downloaded Disney+ movies using this same set up using my iPhone XS Max… and failed.

I’ve always receive this message:

So, I’ve been forced to stream my Disney+ content instead. And yes, that worked. But the Disney+ download method has continued to elude me.

Living Happily with Cold and Mystery
Of course I’ve tried to figure out why my friend’s iPad succeeded where my iPhone has stumbled. Let me simply say that the investigation… continues.

For now, the fact that my Nebula Mars II Pro was able to contribute to another successful outdoor movie night during this chilly time of year is plenty to celebrate.

Sure, it was cold out, but these are extraordinary times. If there’s a way to avoid cancelling yet another event while also being able to social distance outdoors, I think it’s worth considering.

So, break out the long underwear. Wear layers. Stir up some hot chocolate for the kids. And maintaining some glow in a fire pit doesn’t hurt either.

With that in place, it’s worth it!

Category: Tech Fixes

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