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  • Best TV streaming service?

    PC World, January 31, 2018: “Best TV streaming service: SlingTV vs Hulu vs PlayStation Vue, and all the rest.”

    Which streaming TV bundle is the best deal for cord cutters? Our head-to-head reviews hash it out.

    When you “cut the [cable TV) cord]” and keep your high-speed Internet service, whether you also switch to over-the-air (OTA) channels, what over-the-top (OTT) service do you subscribe to? There are quite a few choices. Not all choices are available everywhere.

    Personally, after reactivating my old TV antenna for OTA reception, I chose YouTube TV. Is YouTube TV perfect? Nope. Does the service have all the OTA channels? Nope. Do I like it? Most definitely.

    The PC World article cited above is an excellent guide for choices: Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, and Philo, and more. Channels, prices, features, device compatibility.

    To see which local stations are available in your area, visit the websites for Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, FuboTV, and YouTube TV.

     

  • Mixed reality — if the price is right?

    I’ve been following this topic for a couple of years: virtual reality and mixed reality consumer gear. I have one PC which meets the requirements, but I’ve yet to make the investment in a headset. Now there are choices other than Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive if “mixed reality” is good enough. Price still can be a barrier when the value over time is fuzzy. And the technology is advancing quickly. So, this Cnet article on January 19, 2018, grabbed my interest: “Windows Mixed Reality headset prices cut in half on Amazon.”

    The big promise of Windows Mixed Reality headsets was to bring augmented and virtual reality and anything in between to people at more reasonable prices and with an easier setup than competitors. By the time they rolled out late last year, though, it was mostly just the latter that came true: Once the headsets were bundled with controllers the WMR headsets cost the same or more than the current $399 Oculus Rift bundle.

    But, there’s nothing like a steep price cut to spark some sales.

    As spotted by GameDeals on Reddit, Amazon currently has prices on Windows Mixed Reality headset and controller bundles from Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo to around half of what they are elsewhere. Note, though, that these deals appear to only be available through third-party sellers and fulfilled by Amazon, so you’ll want to check their ratings and reviews.

     

  • Best smartphone case — CES 2018 drop test

    Get a new smartphone and you’re probably going to get a case. I got one because my bare phone was slippery. I had no particular brand loyalty. So, if you’re not loyal to a previous brand, there are lots of choices. If drop protection is vital, then this Cnet video article “We broke $9,000 worth of phones to find the toughest iPhone X case” may be of interest.

    We challenged 12 case makers to a live drop test at CES and dropped their cases from 20 feet. These were the last ones standing.

    We invited the top case makers in the market to participate in a live drop test at CES to find out which one could survive the highest drop.

    And 12 of them took us up on the offer: Caseology, Rokform, Thanotech, BodyGuardz, Tech21, Pelican, PureGear, Zizo, Spigen, RhinoShield, Supcase and OWC showed up at the CNET live stage at the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES 2018. Each brought their own brand-new iPhone Xs (still in the box) and their toughest case so we could drop them onto concrete slabs. Things escalated pretty quickly after that.

     

  • Microsoft Store — some free services

    I received an email message from the Microsoft Store recently reminding me of services available there, some of which are free. While these retail stores are scarce, if you’re near enough to one, you might consider that an option or a place to get general help — Answer Desk. Or if you’re thinking about a new PC, eh. Here’s a link to the local store in the LA area: Microsoft Store – Westfield Century City.

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  • Face ID Q&A — beyond Touch ID

    I’ve talked with at least one iPhone enthusiast who’s going to get Apple’s new iPhone X — and willing to wait until it ships. It’ll be interesting to get his reaction to the new Face ID feature. In the mean time, this CNET article “10 things we learned about Face ID on the iPhone X” is a useful summary of face-scanning.

    Curious about using your face to unlock your phone? Apprehensive about Face ID and Apple Pay? Apple published an extensive guide on Face ID in advance of the upcoming iPhone X. You can read it all yourself. Also, check out our in-depth look at the security aspects of Face ID and general overview of the tech.

    This isn’t the first time Apple’s mentioned some of these features, but it all feels much more official now.  Here are the ones that stood out …

    Yes, you’ll still need to use a regular passcode at times.  Note the additional citations in the article for more information.