Extensible Markup Language and Remote Calls in Computer networks are a pain in the ass. This file, essentially is preventing me from using my 3rd party writing software. I know there is a work around so I will attempt to find it this weekend.
Technology
Consolidation
I am working toward keeping all of my web properties here under a single domain.
New long-form posts will be here. Previous posts (2022-2002) are now in the Archive. I don’t do social media anymore but I do like to fire off some quick posts, mostly to myself and they are now in the Micro page of this website.
The only web property not hosted on my web server is the photography website. I’m okay with that because I prefer the free hosting there and the way it displays images better.
Is this the perfect solution? I don’t know yet but the tinkering has been fun.
As of now, not everyone can see this website due to my domain name chrisdenbow.website being transferred from one domain registrar to another. 5-7 days they say, which is an eternity in tech time.
Post Process Photography
Lately I have been attempting to find a more efficient workflow for my photography processing and organization. I have been an Adobe Lightroom user since 2006 to help organize and edit images. A few years ago Adobe switched to a subscription model instead of a one-time purchase. This is disappointing. To save money, I have looked for a solution that can do everything Lightroom can and own it. It hasn’t been easy and I have tried them all. I’ve gone back and forth but somehow I keep coming back to Lightroom so why fight it? Shut up and take my money. A history of the back and forth below:
- 01/01/2018 Lightroom is the best, I’ll never leave.
- 05/01/2018 Why am I paying Adobe every month? I wonder what Capture One will do for me?
- 05/15/2018 C1 trial expiring, do I want to invest $200 for something I am not too happy with?
- 03/24/2019 Converted from Windows to Macbook. Adobe? Pixelmator? Both.
- 02/02/2022 Cancel Adobe, hello again Pixelmator and Apple Photos
- 02/24/2022 Don’t listen to me, I’ve resubscribed to Adobe Lightroom
The whole point of this is to stick with what I know, enjoy the process, appreciate the software solutions offered and pay the monthly fee. This time I went with the 1 TB Lightroom Only plan because I do not use Photoshop. Same cost, less software but more cloud storage. Perfect.
Version 1.0
I have had a need to simplify my websites and the expenses that come with them. Everything changed today.
A year ago I transferred this website to WordPress.com for simplicity and ease of use but I gave up too much control. Today, I transferred it back to my own web server and taking full control back. This move will save over half the expenses too. At the same time, I moved my photography website back and forth between web hosts, Adobe and my own server as well.
I signed up with a Adobe Photography plan again mostly because of their web portfolio hosting that comes with the plan. This is cheaper than hosting my portfolio on WordPress or my own web server.
Today is a fresh start for this site. I have moved all of the articles published previously to the Archives page. There was an unfortunate issue with migrating the data over resulting in the first ten years going missing or a corrupt .xml file. Now the records go back to only 2011. I’ll keep sorting that out as I don’t want to lose all those memories.
ChrisDenbow.com was rebuilt in an hour and it will take time to clean up the migration process, slap some paint on the walls and customize the site to my liking. For now, we’ll log this attempt at version 1.0
Apple Watch Series 6
I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch for the past three years starting with the series three and recently upgraded to the series 6.
I’ve been holding off on purchasing a new Apple Watch and making the most of my Series 3 the last couple of years. As this things usually go, the 3 started to run out of storage space quickly and there are new features being released with each iteration. So a week after it was released, I upgraded to the Series 6 Space Grey Aluminum 44mm with cellular capabilities.
I’ve been wearing it for almost a month and there is a lot to like about it.
The first difference is the upgraded dual-core S6 chip on the A13 Bionic processor used in the iPhone 11. So it is absolutely faster than my series 3. With the always-on display, I’m averaging about 16 hours of battery life. Less than the previous watch, sure, but there is a lot more going on under the hood too.
Also new is the always-on altimeter to track elevation changes and compass- great for hiking.
A new sensor in the 6 that can measure blood oxygen levels is pretty neat. It works by shining infrared LEDs onto the blood vessels in your wrist and measuring the amount of light reflected back. The Apple Watch then calculates the color of the blood, which indicates how much oxygen is present (bright red blood is well oxygenated). It does this in the background, and can also be trigged using the new Blood Oxygen app.
New watch faces allows me to customize and personalize. I prefer a classic chronometer as a standard and for special occasions I can switch to something more whimsical.
The Watch is designed specifically for your health and has even saved lives with the built in EKG meter. It will prompt you to breathe, stand up after periods of sitting, and remind you that yes you can walk a specific amount of steps per day. Two new exercises include a sleep tracking app and hand washing apps (timely feature during the pandemic.)
Is the Apple Watch Series 6 Worth the Upgrade?
If you have the Series 3 and lower, then yes, absolutely. If you have the 4 and up, not so much.
As with my recent iPhone 12 Pro upgrade, this new series 6 Watch is future-proof. There is not too much more that Apple can do to upgrade more than the current device so I will enjoy this one for quite a long time. And did I mention the design is gorgeous?
2-For-1
Now that I have Windows 10 installed on the laptop, I can not leave well enough alone. I have installed and am running Linux 15 inside another virtual machine. Running smoothly. Two machines inside one. Brilliant!
Win-Dohs!
The last Microsoft Windows 10 Preview build has made my laptop almost useless. The public release was today and still unable to download due to memory issues with the beta program.
It’s slowing me down. Grr.
The Purge
As long as I am purging tech, I am also weening off of Google Plus and Twitter.
Being so embedded into Google for so long I cannot fully detach just yet but it will be a slow process. For now, Plus is not installed on my devices. I haven’t updated it in months.
The same for Twitter. I’ll keep the account open but will not be an active user.
I’m not receiving value from either one of them like I used to nor do I have the time/desire to blurt out anything of interest to anyone but myself.
I have my website for that.
Convert
A month ago I made the decision to convert to the iPhone and iOS. Thanks to some software issues with the Samsung Galaxy S6, I was allowed to jump over to the iPhone 6 Plus a few months early.
After years of Android support, I grew tired of the way the software was evolving.
The iPhone’s hardware, including the 8MP camera, are solid. And of course most of the apps I want to use are developed exclusively for iOS not Android.
Adios, Android. It’s been good but not good enough.
**UPDATE** 2024-09-04. And I have never looked back!
Jump
As soon as I am able to jump from my Samsung S6 this summer, I will probably go back to an iPhone. Why? The tech specs for Android phones are superior for sure but if I’m honest, I’m switching for the apps. Google Play apps or so limited, buggy and poorly designed. Why so many cartoon-ish logos? Their app store doesn’t change often and suggests the same crap but a different week. The screenshot could have been taken two weeks ago because it hasn’t changed. BORING. Compare with the iTunes store. New apps every week. New apps I would purchase. Very well designed apps. I still don’t like the fact I cannot customize the iOS interface. I have to admit that after a couple weeks, I didn’t even notice. So unless Google completely wows us with their new stuff at the I/O conference next week, I will drop my long time Android support and go back to iPhone.
My iOS App List
This time last year I was still a die-hard Android fandroid and submitted my favorite and most-used apps for my devices.
Now that I have converted to Apple devices it is time to update this list.
No, I won’t state which operating system I prefer at this time or answer why I switched or will I switch back. Okay, I will but not in this post.
I’ll be breaking down the top apps from the categories as shown on my home screens. This is not an exhaustive list.
It should also be mentioned that a lot of these apps are on both platforms but the user experience, design and even features are more developed for the iOS user. I hate this. But I am enjoying the extra features that are not provided for Androids.
InfoDenbow
Mailbox: Now a part of the Dropbox cloud storage provider, this minamally designed tool allows me to combine email addresses into one location.
Any.Do or Wunderlist: Gorgeous apps that help me stay on track of my my to-do’s. They both offer web browser tools. Tough choice here but I lean to Wunderlist because it allows me to use folders.
Feedly: This is where I get my daily news feed.
Instapaper: This is where I can save my news feed articles to read later.
Evernote: If you don’t know what Evernote is by now…
TechnoDenbow
Ok, so they are just the usual social media suspects. Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
GeoDenbow
Waze: I drive around the city for most of the day and just LOVE to play in traffic. 10 miles in one hour? Why not. Waze is a social creature. Other drivers ahead of you alerts you to traffic conditions, accidents, police whereabouts and other road issues. Bought by Google and integrated into their Maps.
Google Maps: Duh.
Geocaching: Treasure hunting and all the world has a cache for you to discover. Get out there!
Ingress: A virtual reality game but played in the real world. Get out there!
Dark Sky: The best and the best looking weather app out there. Scary how accurate it is.
GoDenbow
Again, the usual suspects here like Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, Fitbit but with one exception, Carrot. I just discovered it. Carrot will insult and playfully shame you into working out and tracking your progress. She is artificial intelligence and she looks down on us poor meatbags.
PhotoDenbow
What’s in my digital camera bag? Procam takes advantage of the iPhone’s excellent sensor and then throws in the tools that control it. It has a DSLR interface with DSLR controls. Brilliant.
Also used are Hipstamatic for the retro cameras, Reflex and Instant that replicates the Polaroid cameras.
Snapseed: In the darkroom to process and edit the images I use Snapseed as my go-to. Nothing else beats the processing controls.
Facetune: Sometimes we all need help with those pesky face or teeth issues. Wrinkles, warts, zits, stained teeth be gone.
VSCOcam: Forget Instagram, EyeEm and the rest. This company has taken over with their first class camera, editing, filters and web displays.
AudioDenbow
Overcast: Podcasting client with the same features as the basic podcasting app but looks so much better.
VideoDenbow
Hyperlapse from Instagram. Yeah, it is a fad, but I like silent vids that have been fast forwarded like the old Benny Hill chase scenes.
The End
Okay, now what should I add to my devices? Go.
Back! Yes, I Was Gone
Due to a denial of service (DoS) attack and suspected breach of my personal website security, I was contemplating just wiping the slate clean and start fresh with my entire web presence.
No more chrisdenbow.website, new social media accounts, new accounts on the iTunes and Google Play which would force me to lose my digital media purchases, setup new accounts, passwords and all the rest of the inconvenient hassles.
But I’ve worked too hard these past few years building my web server, email server, content, web accounts and more to just walk away from it. With the support of my web server host support and enterprise software providers, etc, I think I’ve rooted out the issues and am staying put.
So what has changed? Nothing on the surface. All my systems have been secured as best as I could.
The content here still stinks but I’ll still crank it out. So yeah, I’m back.