I noticed your photo of the Automatic App which promises to reveal automobile fault codes. I am curious on what type of database they are using. Would you know ?
Stewart…I are a fan! Wondering if you would you be interested in information regarding a new (actually revitalized) shopping app, FatWallet’s Black Friday Deal Finder. There are several that let interested holiday shoppers plan their event, but we’ve implemented actual shopping, 2-click shopping that let’s the consumer avoid retail carts, and in turn, allowing them to make holiday purchases anywhere, anytime (they could buy pre-sale items if the “to be” sale price isn’t that big of a deal).
Any way, you’ve been an inspiration over the years to get into tech/gadgets more from my perspective as a promoter of online shopping, allowing me the confidence to make predictions and recap the past pricing (http://www.fatwallet.com/blog/series-master-list-black-friday-recap-and-2013-predictions/). I’d love to send along a media kit for our app and get your opinion.
Same old witty, wry, Stewart Wolpin! Saw you on LinkedIn but didn’t know your email address, so couldn’t connect. Hmmmm … assuming you’d want to connect with WPC alumni. Don’t you just love social media? You can run but you can’t hide!!!
So moved by your input RE: T-Mobile’s paying ETF for switching from current provider to T-Mobile. Went through exactly what you have gone through. Thought T-Mobile’s TV Commercial is exactly misleading. We got snared in having to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S5 G900T for $632.00. We were so displeased with T-Mobile’s business tactics and wanted out of T-Mobile ASAP. Almost paid $1000.00 (billed within the first month, for over $500.oo some on top of having to pay the $632.00 for the cell phone. It was certainly alright for T-Mobile to charge you whatever they charge you and you will have to pay up. When it comes to T-Mobile fulfilling their promise to pay ETF they can sit back and take their sweet time and you ended up paying for your own ETF. We were so angry at the misleading offer by T-Mobile. We switched back to Verizon.
Thanks again, just knowing that we were not alone in having to put up with T-Mobile’s business tactics.
In your article Dear T-Mobile CEO John Légere: End the Data Guessing Stupidity. You said: But T-Mobile’s not-so Simple Choice family plans make you pick a bucket of data for each individual family member in the plan, expanding the idiocy of this data usage guessing game.
Well tmobile offers a simple unlimited 4g data family plan for all the members of the family.
Ex: 2 lines $140
3 lines $180
4 lines $220
5 lines $240
Each additional line is $40.00 after the first 2 lines… Is not complicated
I wasn’t referring to unlimited plans; unlimited plans aren’t “shared data buckets” since “unlimited” isn’t a bucket and are, of course, simple because they’re unlimited. But most people don’t need to overpay for unlimited plans and so choose these limited shared bucket plans, precipitating the “how much data do I need” question. And T-Mobile’s limited data buckets aren’t so simple compared to shared data bucket plans from the other carriers.
How did your T-Mobile ETF reimbursement on the Visa Prepaid end?
How many wks to receive the card if u did?
Experience in using the card?
Thanks for a prompt response!
I read you item on the audio recording discovery. It was very well done.
I have worked in the Broadcast industry for 50 years now.
I attended Video tape courses at Ampex in redwood City and had the great fortune to meet Mr. Ponatoff in his private lab.
I always thought he was instrumental in the design and building of the rotating head wheel. Your article does not seem to mention him at all.
the Ampex buildings were full of photos showing Bing Crosby and his interest in Ampex. I don’t know if you are aware of this but Ampex tried their hand at Broadcast Transmitters. It was a dismal failure. I have personal knowledge of one Transmitter. It was located in Canada in the Province of Newfoundland and Ampex walked away from it after loosing a fortune in repairs.
Gary — The story wasn’t really about Ampex, which is why I not only didn’t mention Mr. Poniatoff, but I didn’t even mention Charlie Ginsburg, who actually led the VTR development team. But you can read more about Ampex in a longer piece I did on the race to invent the VTR that is linked in the recode story, but here it is anyway: http://stewartwolpin.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Race-To-Video-100.pdf
Re “Tape recording was introduced 70 years ago today” and the passage
“It would take almost another 10 years before Philips reduced audio tape to a cassette and ignited the home audio recording craze, and another nearly 10 years before Sony introduced the Betamax and won a Supreme Court case to allow us to legally record TV shows at home and create the home video business.”
A consortium of Sony, JVC and Matsushita developed the first videocassette, the 3/4″ U-Matic, demonstrated as a prototype in 1969 and available in 1971 for commercial broadcasters. Retaining U-Matic’s basic tape-transport mechanism, engineers scaled down the 3/4″ format to 1/2,” and the Betamax was born, introduced to the Japanese market in 1975.
Yes, that’s what I said, sans the details you offered, which weren’t essential to the story. Compact audio cassette from Philips in 1966, Sony’s Betamax in 1976 in the U.S., a year after its intro in Japan.
No there. I have a problem with time Warner cable wifi. The wifi is fast but for some strange reason every time í connect my lg3 smart phone or my 2009 macbook to my wifi both of my divices get so hot that my phone that they seem to be about to explode. Si you why is that? I used to have at&t and that never happened:/
I was very interested to read your article regarding reasons not to buy a 4K TV. I am planning what my next TV should be although I am currently happy with my 50″ LG Plasma. I would hope to purchase something between 55″ and 60″. Would you suggest what TVs I should consider.
Jim — Sorry, that’s way too wide a question. Did u want a 2K or a 4K set? Personally, unless there’s something radically wrong with your plasma, I’d hold off until prices on the 4K TVs I mentioned – the new Sonys or LG OLEDs – come down in price. You’ll be disappointed in the black levels from nearly any other set you could buy, 2K or 4K.
Thank you for your excellent work and reporting; I’m a big fan.
I’m a nerd who likes objective, fact-based decision-making. Reviews are subjective no matter how carefully you set them up, but your thoughtfulness and thoroughness are far above and beyond, and very much appreciated; they definitely help inform my decisions.
My question, though, is what I perceive as a frequently occurring “disconnect” between your recommendations and the average review scores on Amazon. My perception is many times an item you recommend “only” scores 3 or 3.5 stars on Amazon. Of course, there’s a huge caveat for rampant cheating with Amazon reviews.
Do you happen to know why this is? It’s not hugely important, but it does sometimes cause me to hesitate on purchasing decisions.
Thank you for your excellent work and reporting. I’m a big fan.
You are likely correct; Amazon’s ratings are severely impacted by trollers who might work for a competing company, just as positive reviews are boosted by reps for the company posting exemplary reviews. The only reviews u should be paying attention to on Amazon are from verified buyers. And thanks for being a fan, and sorry for the tardy response!
I’m loving your “Rules of Neighborhood Poker” right now. I’ve got a friend who used to be a casino dealer in Central City, Colorado and I’m hoping to start a poker night with him. The book’s laid back approach is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Then, today, I found a listing on Amazon for a sequel, “MORE Rules of Neighborhood Poker!” (Holy…!!!) One problem is that it can’t be found anywhere. I figured I’d look you up and ask after it before I started calling random used bookstores ad nauseam. Did it just have a small printing? Might you have a dusty box full in the attic? I could send you a check? Maybe you know of a used store that carries it and might sell me one?
Here’s to childhood memories of my uncles and cousins playing “Midnight Baseball” and “Spit in the Ocean” late into the night while we were all on vacation in Nags Head, NC.
Thanks for the fan letter! I wrote that book nearly 30 years ago, so it’s a blast from the past. We had planned on a second volume – the one you saw on Amazon – but then Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker and essentially destroyed the market for the kind of home games I described in volume 1, so it never got written. I’m afraid you’ll have to exhaust the games in Volume 1 or make up your own! So glad you enjoyed the book, though. Always nice to hear, regardless of how much time has passed!
HI Stewart. I just wanted to comment on your article entitled “How The Vision-Impaired Are Being Gouged By Aid Device Makers” that was published on the Huffingtonpost on 8 December 2017. Being a person who has been totally blind since birth I could not agree more. I am now and adult and have spent in excess of $70000 on various technology related to speech output devices and braille output devices over the years for education, work and personal use. The device you mentioned Orcam MyEye version 2.0 is very expensive and even more so in markets outside the US where the device can be over $6350.00 once companies that distribute Orcam products put their profit onto the price. I would like to mention a fantastic research project called Seeing AI that Microsoft is heading up. The FREE app Seeing AI is on iOS and now virtually does everything that Orcam MyEye 2.0 does. So other readers read this great article and then visit the Microsoft page and see that a FREE app is virtually doing the same thing.
Mark — Thanks for the heads up on the Microsoft AI app – I’ll definitely check it out. I’m going to do some lobbying at CES to see if I can’t convince someone to reverse engineer the Orcam and perhaps put out a more reasonably priced version. After the show, I’m going to see if I can’t shame Orcam and eSight and others with additional exposes about their insane pricing structures. Keep me informed if you should come across any other solutions!
Dear Stewart, I am an optician currently working in the eyecare field. I read your article and thought that maybe you had just “read up” on glasses and hadn’t actually spoken to an expert in the field. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about quality, ethics, and the real science involved in fitting glasses properly….you know, because vision is important and so is getting a good deal. I know that sounded sarcastic, but I really really really believe that humans are capable of making great sight affordable for other humans without the “hack” of on-line sub-par ordering.
Dr. Roo (I hope that’s correct) – Thanks for your interest in my article on buying inexpensive glasses online. I’ve been wearing glasses for more than 50 years, progressive lenses for the last 15, which means I’ve had at least 20 eye exams over the years. And, up until last year, I have bought all of my glasses from optometrists or eyeglass retailers including Lenscrafters, ForEyes, Cohen and Pearl. I’ve had good prescriptions and bad, good glasses and bad, from optometrists. For instance, my last exam from an optometrist resulted in perhaps the best prescription I’ve ever had – then he charged me $1,500 for my glasses! But I have had NO issues with ANY of the glasses I bought online from this latest prescription, most at a TENTH of the price or less, and have not once had to return glasses for bad prescriptions as I have several times over the years from glasses I bought from optometrists. So I guess the expert I consulted is me, as perhaps the most experienced glasses-buying consumer I know. And I have found that buying glasses online is easier, more predictably reliable, actually fun and MUCH cheaper online than from anywhere else I’ve bought glasses over the last five decades – not a “hack” or “sub-par” by any definition. I hope this clarifies the five decades of research I conducted.
I feel I know you a bit, having read 6-7 OTC hearing aid reviews you’ve done the last 6-7 months. I find myself in exactly your position (as you review). I have some age related hearing loss and am trying to find a product that helps me with my mild to moderate hearing loss. I appreciate your perspective on the reviews. I was hoping you could review the Apple Airpod Pro2 as a viable alternative review? Everything I’ve read tends to make me think I’d be better off buy 2 pair of Apple Airpods so I could get thru the day with one set charging while I have the other pair in my ears.
I’d love to read that review, especially since the 2 aoir would cost $500 bucks vs. the 700-$1400 outlay agianst other OTC products that are coming out this year.
Unfortunately, Apple won’t send me a review unit of the AirPods Pro 2, and their price to buy them is more than I’d get paid for a review! Plus, I am generally not a fan of AirPods – I’ve owned two sets, and I find them uncomfortable and they simply won’t stay in my ears, and often get knocked out.
If you’re looking to save a couple of bucks to boost your situational hearing slightly, I’d suggest the Nuheara IQbuds 2 Max, which are slightly less than the AirPods Pro 2 and include more/better ambient sound amplification and features, or even the HP Hearing Pro, made by Nuheara and which offer slightly more amplification (if less on-bud controls), at $699. My review of these are here:
I was curious to know if you have tried any of the Frameo digital picture frames, and if so, how you would rate them compared to the products in your review ?
Sorry, no, I did not play with any of the Frameo frames. However, it looks as if the company wrote software for other frame makers and decided to go into the hardware business itself, and it’s not just another knock-off Chinese company so looks trustworthy.
I am rereading a well-worn copy of your neighborhood poker book that has been on my shelves for decades. I realize I owe you several items:
1. Gratitude: I bought your book around 1990 when I was playing in a neighborhood game and looking for some variations. After leaving town, grad school, marriage, and kids, I started my own group. That group has been playing monthly for over 20 years. Upon rereading your book, I realize that so many of the rules, sayings, and even some games stemmed from your book. I am certain the idea that nobody gets hurt in our games has kept it going for so long.
2. An apology: when one of the original poker group members got sick, I got the idea to write a novel about it. When he got very, very sick, I used the novel to process my feelings. Since the story centers on the importance of a neighborhood poker group, I borrowed heavily from my own games: the rhythm, jokes, comrades, and personalities. Inadvertently, and unbeknownst to me until my most recent rereading of your book, it seems that I borrowed from you as well. Since my game used your work as its foundation, this was natural but unintended.
So, thank you for your contribution to my life, my group, and also my work. Though some references may no longer apply from your book (at least the version I have had lots of smoking, references to renting video tapes, and other anachronisms), its longevity has certainly had a lasting impact on one group of friends in Rochester, NY.
My book, Showing Up: a novel, is published on Amazon in case you are curious. Please don’t sue me 🙂
Hi Stewart,
I noticed your photo of the Automatic App which promises to reveal automobile fault codes. I am curious on what type of database they are using. Would you know ?
thank you
regards,
Howard
Howard,
Sorry, no, but I’ll ask. Check back next week. I’ll post it if I find out.
Stewart
Stewart…I are a fan! Wondering if you would you be interested in information regarding a new (actually revitalized) shopping app, FatWallet’s Black Friday Deal Finder. There are several that let interested holiday shoppers plan their event, but we’ve implemented actual shopping, 2-click shopping that let’s the consumer avoid retail carts, and in turn, allowing them to make holiday purchases anywhere, anytime (they could buy pre-sale items if the “to be” sale price isn’t that big of a deal).
Any way, you’ve been an inspiration over the years to get into tech/gadgets more from my perspective as a promoter of online shopping, allowing me the confidence to make predictions and recap the past pricing (http://www.fatwallet.com/blog/series-master-list-black-friday-recap-and-2013-predictions/). I’d love to send along a media kit for our app and get your opinion.
Have a great weekend,
Brent Shelton
FatWallet.om
Brent — Sorry for the delay. How do I get a hold of you?
Stewart
Same old witty, wry, Stewart Wolpin! Saw you on LinkedIn but didn’t know your email address, so couldn’t connect. Hmmmm … assuming you’d want to connect with WPC alumni. Don’t you just love social media? You can run but you can’t hide!!!
So moved by your input RE: T-Mobile’s paying ETF for switching from current provider to T-Mobile. Went through exactly what you have gone through. Thought T-Mobile’s TV Commercial is exactly misleading. We got snared in having to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S5 G900T for $632.00. We were so displeased with T-Mobile’s business tactics and wanted out of T-Mobile ASAP. Almost paid $1000.00 (billed within the first month, for over $500.oo some on top of having to pay the $632.00 for the cell phone. It was certainly alright for T-Mobile to charge you whatever they charge you and you will have to pay up. When it comes to T-Mobile fulfilling their promise to pay ETF they can sit back and take their sweet time and you ended up paying for your own ETF. We were so angry at the misleading offer by T-Mobile. We switched back to Verizon.
Thanks again, just knowing that we were not alone in having to put up with T-Mobile’s business tactics.
In your article Dear T-Mobile CEO John Légere: End the Data Guessing Stupidity. You said: But T-Mobile’s not-so Simple Choice family plans make you pick a bucket of data for each individual family member in the plan, expanding the idiocy of this data usage guessing game.
Well tmobile offers a simple unlimited 4g data family plan for all the members of the family.
Ex: 2 lines $140
3 lines $180
4 lines $220
5 lines $240
Each additional line is $40.00 after the first 2 lines… Is not complicated
I wasn’t referring to unlimited plans; unlimited plans aren’t “shared data buckets” since “unlimited” isn’t a bucket and are, of course, simple because they’re unlimited. But most people don’t need to overpay for unlimited plans and so choose these limited shared bucket plans, precipitating the “how much data do I need” question. And T-Mobile’s limited data buckets aren’t so simple compared to shared data bucket plans from the other carriers.
How did your T-Mobile ETF reimbursement on the Visa Prepaid end?
How many wks to receive the card if u did?
Experience in using the card?
Thanks for a prompt response!
I got the Visa card in around a month, but they rushed it for me. I used it like I would a credit card – used it to buy an iPad Mini 2.
I read you item on the audio recording discovery. It was very well done.
I have worked in the Broadcast industry for 50 years now.
I attended Video tape courses at Ampex in redwood City and had the great fortune to meet Mr. Ponatoff in his private lab.
I always thought he was instrumental in the design and building of the rotating head wheel. Your article does not seem to mention him at all.
the Ampex buildings were full of photos showing Bing Crosby and his interest in Ampex. I don’t know if you are aware of this but Ampex tried their hand at Broadcast Transmitters. It was a dismal failure. I have personal knowledge of one Transmitter. It was located in Canada in the Province of Newfoundland and Ampex walked away from it after loosing a fortune in repairs.
Gary — The story wasn’t really about Ampex, which is why I not only didn’t mention Mr. Poniatoff, but I didn’t even mention Charlie Ginsburg, who actually led the VTR development team. But you can read more about Ampex in a longer piece I did on the race to invent the VTR that is linked in the recode story, but here it is anyway: http://stewartwolpin.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Race-To-Video-100.pdf
Re “Tape recording was introduced 70 years ago today” and the passage
“It would take almost another 10 years before Philips reduced audio tape to a cassette and ignited the home audio recording craze, and another nearly 10 years before Sony introduced the Betamax and won a Supreme Court case to allow us to legally record TV shows at home and create the home video business.”
A consortium of Sony, JVC and Matsushita developed the first videocassette, the 3/4″ U-Matic, demonstrated as a prototype in 1969 and available in 1971 for commercial broadcasters. Retaining U-Matic’s basic tape-transport mechanism, engineers scaled down the 3/4″ format to 1/2,” and the Betamax was born, introduced to the Japanese market in 1975.
Yes, that’s what I said, sans the details you offered, which weren’t essential to the story. Compact audio cassette from Philips in 1966, Sony’s Betamax in 1976 in the U.S., a year after its intro in Japan.
No there. I have a problem with time Warner cable wifi. The wifi is fast but for some strange reason every time í connect my lg3 smart phone or my 2009 macbook to my wifi both of my divices get so hot that my phone that they seem to be about to explode. Si you why is that? I used to have at&t and that never happened:/
I was very interested to read your article regarding reasons not to buy a 4K TV. I am planning what my next TV should be although I am currently happy with my 50″ LG Plasma. I would hope to purchase something between 55″ and 60″. Would you suggest what TVs I should consider.
Jim — Sorry, that’s way too wide a question. Did u want a 2K or a 4K set? Personally, unless there’s something radically wrong with your plasma, I’d hold off until prices on the 4K TVs I mentioned – the new Sonys or LG OLEDs – come down in price. You’ll be disappointed in the black levels from nearly any other set you could buy, 2K or 4K.
Hi, just wanted to say your predictions from 2013 about 2018 smartphones in that article came out pretty much true. What great predictions
Hi Stewart,
Thank you for your excellent work and reporting; I’m a big fan.
I’m a nerd who likes objective, fact-based decision-making. Reviews are subjective no matter how carefully you set them up, but your thoughtfulness and thoroughness are far above and beyond, and very much appreciated; they definitely help inform my decisions.
My question, though, is what I perceive as a frequently occurring “disconnect” between your recommendations and the average review scores on Amazon. My perception is many times an item you recommend “only” scores 3 or 3.5 stars on Amazon. Of course, there’s a huge caveat for rampant cheating with Amazon reviews.
Do you happen to know why this is? It’s not hugely important, but it does sometimes cause me to hesitate on purchasing decisions.
Thank you for your excellent work and reporting. I’m a big fan.
Sincerely.
John
John —
You are likely correct; Amazon’s ratings are severely impacted by trollers who might work for a competing company, just as positive reviews are boosted by reps for the company posting exemplary reviews. The only reviews u should be paying attention to on Amazon are from verified buyers. And thanks for being a fan, and sorry for the tardy response!
I’m loving your “Rules of Neighborhood Poker” right now. I’ve got a friend who used to be a casino dealer in Central City, Colorado and I’m hoping to start a poker night with him. The book’s laid back approach is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Then, today, I found a listing on Amazon for a sequel, “MORE Rules of Neighborhood Poker!” (Holy…!!!) One problem is that it can’t be found anywhere. I figured I’d look you up and ask after it before I started calling random used bookstores ad nauseam. Did it just have a small printing? Might you have a dusty box full in the attic? I could send you a check? Maybe you know of a used store that carries it and might sell me one?
Here’s to childhood memories of my uncles and cousins playing “Midnight Baseball” and “Spit in the Ocean” late into the night while we were all on vacation in Nags Head, NC.
Thanks for the nostalgia trip.
Thanks for the fan letter! I wrote that book nearly 30 years ago, so it’s a blast from the past. We had planned on a second volume – the one you saw on Amazon – but then Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker and essentially destroyed the market for the kind of home games I described in volume 1, so it never got written. I’m afraid you’ll have to exhaust the games in Volume 1 or make up your own! So glad you enjoyed the book, though. Always nice to hear, regardless of how much time has passed!
HI Stewart. I just wanted to comment on your article entitled “How The Vision-Impaired Are Being Gouged By Aid Device Makers” that was published on the Huffingtonpost on 8 December 2017. Being a person who has been totally blind since birth I could not agree more. I am now and adult and have spent in excess of $70000 on various technology related to speech output devices and braille output devices over the years for education, work and personal use. The device you mentioned Orcam MyEye version 2.0 is very expensive and even more so in markets outside the US where the device can be over $6350.00 once companies that distribute Orcam products put their profit onto the price. I would like to mention a fantastic research project called Seeing AI that Microsoft is heading up. The FREE app Seeing AI is on iOS and now virtually does everything that Orcam MyEye 2.0 does. So other readers read this great article and then visit the Microsoft page and see that a FREE app is virtually doing the same thing.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-the-vision-impaired-are-being-gouged-by-aid-device_us_5a2af4ece4b0d7c3f262228f
MIcrosoft Seeing AI
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/seeing-ai/
Mark — Thanks for the heads up on the Microsoft AI app – I’ll definitely check it out. I’m going to do some lobbying at CES to see if I can’t convince someone to reverse engineer the Orcam and perhaps put out a more reasonably priced version. After the show, I’m going to see if I can’t shame Orcam and eSight and others with additional exposes about their insane pricing structures. Keep me informed if you should come across any other solutions!
Re https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-one-product-you-should-buy-online_us_598e1777e4b0ed1f464c0aac
Dear Stewart, I am an optician currently working in the eyecare field. I read your article and thought that maybe you had just “read up” on glasses and hadn’t actually spoken to an expert in the field. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about quality, ethics, and the real science involved in fitting glasses properly….you know, because vision is important and so is getting a good deal. I know that sounded sarcastic, but I really really really believe that humans are capable of making great sight affordable for other humans without the “hack” of on-line sub-par ordering.
Sincerely,
Roo
Dr. Roo (I hope that’s correct) – Thanks for your interest in my article on buying inexpensive glasses online. I’ve been wearing glasses for more than 50 years, progressive lenses for the last 15, which means I’ve had at least 20 eye exams over the years. And, up until last year, I have bought all of my glasses from optometrists or eyeglass retailers including Lenscrafters, ForEyes, Cohen and Pearl. I’ve had good prescriptions and bad, good glasses and bad, from optometrists. For instance, my last exam from an optometrist resulted in perhaps the best prescription I’ve ever had – then he charged me $1,500 for my glasses! But I have had NO issues with ANY of the glasses I bought online from this latest prescription, most at a TENTH of the price or less, and have not once had to return glasses for bad prescriptions as I have several times over the years from glasses I bought from optometrists. So I guess the expert I consulted is me, as perhaps the most experienced glasses-buying consumer I know. And I have found that buying glasses online is easier, more predictably reliable, actually fun and MUCH cheaper online than from anywhere else I’ve bought glasses over the last five decades – not a “hack” or “sub-par” by any definition. I hope this clarifies the five decades of research I conducted.
Hi Stewart –
I feel I know you a bit, having read 6-7 OTC hearing aid reviews you’ve done the last 6-7 months. I find myself in exactly your position (as you review). I have some age related hearing loss and am trying to find a product that helps me with my mild to moderate hearing loss. I appreciate your perspective on the reviews. I was hoping you could review the Apple Airpod Pro2 as a viable alternative review? Everything I’ve read tends to make me think I’d be better off buy 2 pair of Apple Airpods so I could get thru the day with one set charging while I have the other pair in my ears.
I’d love to read that review, especially since the 2 aoir would cost $500 bucks vs. the 700-$1400 outlay agianst other OTC products that are coming out this year.
Thanks again for your efforts!
Dan –
Thanks for your note. Appreciate!
Unfortunately, Apple won’t send me a review unit of the AirPods Pro 2, and their price to buy them is more than I’d get paid for a review! Plus, I am generally not a fan of AirPods – I’ve owned two sets, and I find them uncomfortable and they simply won’t stay in my ears, and often get knocked out.
If you’re looking to save a couple of bucks to boost your situational hearing slightly, I’d suggest the Nuheara IQbuds 2 Max, which are slightly less than the AirPods Pro 2 and include more/better ambient sound amplification and features, or even the HP Hearing Pro, made by Nuheara and which offer slightly more amplification (if less on-bud controls), at $699. My review of these are here:
https://www.techlicious.com/review/hp-hearing-pro-otc-hearing-aid-the-best-for-music-lovers/
Stewart
Hi Stewart,
I recently read your article on digital picture frames (published in Popular Mechanics in April 2022):
https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gear/g39764820/best-digital-picture-frames/.
It was both enjoyable and informative !
I was curious to know if you have tried any of the Frameo digital picture frames, and if so, how you would rate them compared to the products in your review ?
Cordially,
Jono
Jono –
Sorry, no, I did not play with any of the Frameo frames. However, it looks as if the company wrote software for other frame makers and decided to go into the hardware business itself, and it’s not just another knock-off Chinese company so looks trustworthy.
Good luck, and thanks for reading!
Stewart
I am rereading a well-worn copy of your neighborhood poker book that has been on my shelves for decades. I realize I owe you several items:
1. Gratitude: I bought your book around 1990 when I was playing in a neighborhood game and looking for some variations. After leaving town, grad school, marriage, and kids, I started my own group. That group has been playing monthly for over 20 years. Upon rereading your book, I realize that so many of the rules, sayings, and even some games stemmed from your book. I am certain the idea that nobody gets hurt in our games has kept it going for so long.
2. An apology: when one of the original poker group members got sick, I got the idea to write a novel about it. When he got very, very sick, I used the novel to process my feelings. Since the story centers on the importance of a neighborhood poker group, I borrowed heavily from my own games: the rhythm, jokes, comrades, and personalities. Inadvertently, and unbeknownst to me until my most recent rereading of your book, it seems that I borrowed from you as well. Since my game used your work as its foundation, this was natural but unintended.
So, thank you for your contribution to my life, my group, and also my work. Though some references may no longer apply from your book (at least the version I have had lots of smoking, references to renting video tapes, and other anachronisms), its longevity has certainly had a lasting impact on one group of friends in Rochester, NY.
My book, Showing Up: a novel, is published on Amazon in case you are curious. Please don’t sue me 🙂