Apple Mac - Freezes when another monitor is positioned close to it

At home I usually use an Apple Mac, recently I've needed to do work on a separate PC in the same location. I've noticed some strange behaviour with the Mac when I position the monitor of the PC near my Mac, the result is I can move the mouse pointer, but the mouse click does not work and also the keyboard does not respond. The cursor for the keyboard actually disappears and the Mac appears to be frozen apart from the ability to move the mouse. First time this happened I thought there was a problem with it so restarted it, but all I needed to do was move the PC's monitor a bit further away. 

The monitor that is causing the issue is a standard Dell one and the distance the monitor needs to be is very close, approx 150mm from the Mac. 

Windows Search Frustration - One Possible Answer

I use macOS and Windows 10, one feature in macOS which is useful and quick is the ability to search for files, this can be done using Spotlight or Finder. Searching for files in Windows is completely different, it is almost unusable because it takes so long and on occasions gives up and does not show the user a file that does actually exist.

One possible solution I have found is an application called 'Everything', it has been developed by David Carpenter and is available on his web site VoidTools.com. I am still evaluating it (version 1.3.4.686), but my first impression is good and it finds the files I look for very fast. The overall interface is plain, which is not a bad thing, but it does look a bit dated. My current opinion of the software is that it does what I want it to do well, and I would recommend it.

Microsoft Feedback - Was this helpful?

Recently I requested Help from a Windows application and received the following dialog popup.




I found it interesting  that the Help did not work and then it asked whether this was helpful. The link to the Microsoft Support was also not helpful because it did not take me to the related issue. I can see the reason why this occurred and it is because of the Microsoft Help framework always asks whether the help was helpful, but I think Microsoft could have improved on the information in the dialog by including a relevant link to the exact support page for the issue, or a link to a knowledge base article about the issue.

Over the years I have found that Microsoft do have problems with Help, one of the problem being some of it does not relate to the product version you have because they have constantly been changing features and location of features. Eventually I hope it will get a framework that works and knows which product you are using and gives the relevant help you request.

iPhone - How to decline a call when locked

I recently changed my Android phone and decided to move to Apple, there are multiple reasons for doing this, which I might put in another post. One thing that took me sometime to find out was how to decline an incoming call when the phone is locked. Basically it is very simple, just double press the lock button, that is the one on the top of the phone. This is not as intuitive as other functions and I believe Apple could improve on this and make the option available on-screen, but for now this is the only way I know of.

How to move a window that has disappeared off-screen in Windows

I recently had a problem where I had two monitors then I starting working with one monitor. One problem I came across was one of the applications I used was last used in the second monitor area, so when I started the application (a Microsoft application) it appeared off screen in the coordinates it was last used, therefore I could not see it. Here are the steps to fix this annoying problem:

1. Click on the application in the taskbar or 'Alt'+'tab' to the application to give it the focus.
2. Then press 'Alt'+'Spacebar', this should display the popup window menu.
3. Press 'M' to enable the window to move.
4. Press the left arrow key to move the window left onto the first monitor.

New Bloomberg iPad App Review

Yesterday I was forced to update the Bloomberg App on my iPad, which I was a bit reluctant to do as the old one I thought was good, useful and fairly easy to use. The presentation of the old version looked good, maybe a little cluttered, but after a short time I really liked how I could get quickly get a good overview of markets, currencies and the latest news on one page.

After installing the latest version and running it my first impression was how I disliked the presentation, the previous app was dark, and easy on the eye, the new one has a lot of white and feels too bright. The new home screen does not give an overview of stock markets and currencies, which is something I liked in the previous version. Even when you go to the markets page, you cannot get a good overview, you have to select the area of interest from a drop down.

The overall screen layout feels as if it was designed for a phone and not a tablet. The previous version felt like a complete piece of software, this version feels like a basic or lite version.

While using the App it felt a little buggy, the refresh of currencies does not seem to work and I had to go out of the screen and back in for it to refresh correctly. I am not confident the graphs work correctly either (see image below), when looking at the performance of one stock it showed the month being "Feb 2017", with 31 days, the current date was the 1st so it felt the label for the month was incorrect and should have displayed "Jan 2017".

Overall this App feels like it has been rushed and has not go through the QA department correctly. I think they need to employ some UX designers to try to get the usability right, maybe they should also consider doing some end-user testing to get some feedback, the reviews on the app store are appalling, which is understandable. The previous version I would have rated 7/10, this new version I would give 2/10.

Lenovo Tab 2 A10-30 Review

I Recently bought a Lenovo Tab 2 A10-30 because I wanted a budget tablet. I did some research and thought that the Lenovo Tab 2 from Argos for £100 sounded like a good product, I was not disappointed.

My first impression when I unpacked the tablet was it did not feel cheap and was good quality. The back of the tablet is not cheap plastic and is easy to hold and does not slip. The operating system is Android so it was easy to quickly get started and download some apps.

The screen quality is good for the price, however when I used BBC iPlayer and compared it to the iPad Air, there was a clear difference and the iPad is superior, which is expected for 4-5 times the price.

The sound is good and comes from the Multi Dolby Atmos cinematic speakers. It has 2 cameras, a 5MP rear and a 2MP front facing, both seem OK.

The tablet is available in 2 colours, white and midnight blue, which is the one I went for.

The only issue I have with it so far, which is the same for a lot of budget tablets is that the operating system is configured for just 1 user, I would have liked to have setup my son as a user with restricted rights, which is not possible without hacking the OS or using 3rd party parental control software.

Overall the Lenovo Tab 2 A10-30 is a good product, it is not as good as an iPad, but then I would expect an iPad to be significantly better for 3-4 times the price, and maybe because of that I should not compare them. When I look at what else in on the market in the budget tablet category, I think I've done well choosing this product, and would recommend it. If I had to give an overall mark out of 10, I would give it an 8.

Pros

• Good quality.
• Price.
• Allows additional storage.
• Good sound from dual speakers.

Cons

• Operating system has been configured to allow just 1 user.
• Screen gets dirtier quicker compared to an iPad.

Technical Specs

CPU - 1.3GHz 32 Bit Qualcomm Snapdragon
Display - 10.1 inch 1280x800 pixels
Memory - 2Gb (older ones have 1 Gb)
Storage- 16Gb
OS - Android 5.1

Apple AirPods - Nice looking hairdryer

When I saw the launch of the Apple AirPods my first thought was they looked like they could easily fall out and would be lost fairly quickly, my second thought was how the design looked like a hairdryer.

I do think they look well designed, as most of Apple's product are. I imagine there will be products that you can buy that will link them together to make them harder to lose. Also, because they are expensive they look inviting to someone who would want to steal them.

I know one thing, at the current price in the UK I will not be buying them.