By BD Bondy

Unfortunately, iPhones need replacing. Just like I never thought I’d spend $6 for a coffee (thank you Starbucks), I never thought I’d spend $1000 for a phone. Now, the phone is way more than a phone, obviously, and that iced decaf americano with 6 pumps vanilla syrup, foam cream  and cinnamon is well worth 6 bucks, but how often do I need one?

Verizon seems to want me to get a new phone every day or so, judging by the emails and messages I get. Certainly as often as I get a Starbucks coffee, and both are excessive, I admit. Still, I did get a new iPhone this year and I did have to transfer the data. While not as easy as not doing it, and only a little more difficult than having the Verizon guy do it, remember those days?, it was still pretty easy.

The best thing to do is back it all up to cloud storage and then let it all download to the new phone. It’s an option on Android and iPhone both, so don’t be afraid, but plan to do it before you get the new phone. It’s good to think about these things before you find yourself having to do it at the last minute.

A good article to read about transferring on the iPhone is HERE.

For Android, click HERE. 

If it’s a brand new Android or iPhone, then before you start using it, it’s even easier to transfer as the new phone will prompt you to transfer data from an old phone when you first set it up.

By BD Bondy

Carol Worries About me

And because of that, Apple is introducing a new feature to their phones. Satellite texting is supposed to be introduced with iOS 18, sometime in September. Messages via satellite will automatically prompt users to connect to the nearest satellite right from the Messages app when they are out of reach of cellular service. This will allow iPhone users to send and receive texts, emoji, and tapbacks over iMessage and SMS.  It’s expected to be free initially  

If you are on a version in the IOS 16’s, depending on where you live, then you may have noticed that SOS messaging is available via satellite. Where I go hiking, usually by myself, I don’t often have cell service, so being able to send an SOS via satellite makes Carol feel a bit better.

You can read about iPhone emergency satellite texting HERE.

Android is working on this feature as well, but they are a little behind. You can read more about them HERE. 

What all this suggests is that we will eventually be going to satellite for our calling as well. Considering the number of satellites up there already, and the amount companies are trying to launch, it looks like this will start in the next few years. In a way, this is great, as it will mean connectivity nearly anywhere. On the downside, well, where do I begin? So I won’t.

If you have cell service, then you have internet service, as the two go hand in hand. You can see where this is going, right? WiFi service will be ‘converting’ over to cell service. Or, the two services will merge to be a more blurred and non-specific connectivity service.

My opinion is rightfully worthless, so I’ll continue on with what seems to be the inevitable. Having satellites as communication relays certainly suggests better connectivity almost anywhere. If you have access to the sky, then, in theory, your phone should be able to connect. This may very well happen before Abiquiu gets fiber.

In fact, flying cars may happen before Abiquiu gets fiber. In fact, flying cars are already being used in China, read about that HERE. 

By BD Bondy

I have a tiny desktop computer I use to write these articles on. I use my smartphone for everything else. I do use a Kindle to read, but not often. So, the question is, do I really need my computer? For me, I’d say no. I used Carol’s iPad to write articles while we were travelling. That screen was comfortable enough for me, and she has a keyboard that it fits in, so it was all quite comfy.

If I had to work a full-time job, I would guess that a laptop or my computer would be my choice, but since I only write on a weekly basis, I was fine using these smaller devices. When I used Chat-GPT, I used just my phone, so that’s a thought.

There used to be a computer that could use your smartphone as the ‘brain’. I don’t remember the brand, but it didn’t last long. Phones change so quickly that must not have been practical. Still, I liked the idea of a computer that could grow as your phone got bigger & better.

I read an article from CNET about a staff member using a Samsung phone to replace her computer. She attached it to a monitor, and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse may also be attached. She wrote a detailed article on her experience HERE.
 
The article is worth reading. She seemed to think it went well, and an iPhone could do all that as well, so it’s worth considering whatever brand phone you have. Who knows? Maybe this will be my last desktop computer.

Note from Carol:  Our Recent survey shows this might already be the case for many of you.  27% of our readers open the News on their Smart Phone and 19% open it on a tablet.  

I’ve written about Starlink before. I think it’s the best way to get internet in our area, and likely in most remote areas. Directly around here, a T-Mobile hotspot makes sense if you can access the tower by the rural events center.

I thought I paid $599 dollars for my setup of Starlink, but apparently the price has been $499 for a while now. We just got notified that the price has come down to $299 in some areas. I checked, and our area seems to be at that price.

I don’t know if this price is temporary or not, but at $299, it’s a really good price for the Starlink product. It’s still $120/month for the service, but it’s been extremely reliable and the speed has increased over the two years we’ve had it.

Click got more information 

Also, I was notified that I can get a ‘mini mobile’ Starlink setup that is a companion to my regular Starlink account. What that gives me, for $499 up front and $30/mo., is a smaller satellite and router setup that I can use when I travel. It’s a neat idea though I doubt I’ll be doing it. Carol and I have been talking about getting the other mobile unit they have, but at $150 a month and another $499 up front, it’s quite spendy, since I’d need to keep the other Starlink.

The mini Starlink gives only 50Gb of data a month, which wouldn’t work for us. We have ‘unlimited’ data with our regular Starlink, so why they think a measly 50Gb would be sufficient is a mystery, but that’s the deal. Since I get 50Gb of data using my phone as a hotspot, that deal is crap, basically. If it were unlimited data, then I would do it, since we have been travelling so much.
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There are various plans they offer, but they are prohibitively expensive for us. You can check out their page above to see them all. Maybe they have something that’ll work for you.

By BD Bondy

I hesitate to call this an article about security cameras because we use our cameras more to watch the wildlife around our house. We have a camera devoted to what’s under our porch, for instance. Generally, we have a couple of cats under there, but often there are raccoons too. Sometimes a squirrel, mouse, bird, and once, a dog. 
 
The camera is also useful in letting us know who came over and dropped off some electronics. In front of the house we’ve seen dogs, a coyote, a baby bear, cats, raccoons. Behind the house we’ve watched bobcat, and an owl in the apricot tree. 
 
Same stuff at my mom’s house, capturing videos of javalina, bobcat, and other animals. If you have any interest in setting up a camera, then you should know that it’s pretty easy. We set up a camera a month back for the hummingbird that build a nest on an extension cord under the roof of our porch. I was able to use the cheaper indoor Blink brand camera as it’s protected. 
 
Our brand of camera overall is Blink. They come in multi packs if you want, indoor and outdoor, and plugin and battery. We have a couple that have security lights too. Choose which one you want for where, there’s a lot of flexibility. We have several that are outdoor, and they are a bit pricier. Usually you need a subscription to store the videos, but not always. 
 
For security purposes, you would want the cloud storage of videos, otherwise, the local storage could be taken along with other contents of your house. If security isn’t really the purpose, then a camera that does local storage on a flash drive would be fine. 
 
I have 2 articles to read about some ‘top choices’ of cameras by reputable magazines. 
https://www.cnet.com/home/security/best-home-security-camera/
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-wireless-outdoor-home-security-camera/