Cool Stuff Found

Microsoft Demos Surface Hub 2 [Video]

Bryan Chaffin ·

Microsoft demoed the Surface Hub 2 this week, and Tom Warren of The Verge posted the video (below). My initial take is a mix of “Huh?” and “Huh.” I don’t give regular, live presentations, but I can the value of a device like this for those who do. On the other hand, I can’t see the value of the bit at the end where someone wanders by, sees some data you put together, and then wants to drop that data into her own PowerPoint stack. Get your mitts off my computer, hey? And manipulating everything seemed really slow, or maybe it was just Excel that was slow, as someone commented on YouTube. All that said, I absolutely see the value of a large, touch screen device for creative work. It doesn’t look like Microsoft has made such a device that really works yet, but this is a company that usually required multiple iterations before nailing it. In any event, it’s a little over 2 minutes long. Check it out.

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YouTube App for iOS Gains HDR Support

John Martellaro ·

I’m interested in all things UHD/4K/HDR, so this caught my attention. Previously, YouTube’s iOS app didn’t support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video on Apple’s three OLED iPhones. That means HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Now it does, so here’s link to more details. Note that Apple’s new LCD iPhone, the iPhone XR, will also support HDR video playback, according to Apple’s specs.

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Here's How to Spot Fake Apple Products

Andrew Orr ·

There are plenty of fake Apple products out there, including chargers that could damage your device. Phys.org provides some things to look out for.

One of the biggest selling points for counterfeits is their cheap price as an alternative to Apple’s accessories. Good news: There are plenty of legitimate options outside of Apple made by third parties…When in doubt, look out for those “Made for iPhone” or “MFi certified” labels and descriptions to make sure what you’re buying will work as expected.

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Kids Already Working Around iOS 12 Screen Time Limitations

Jeff Gamet ·

Screen Time in iOS 12 sounds like a great way to keep your kids from spending too much time playing on their iPhone or iPad—unless you’re a kid. To that end, kids have already found ways to work around parent-imposed limits. Some are changing the date and time on their devices, and others are more creative. Business Insider reports one parent saying,

Finally today, my son revealed his hack: When he runs out of screen time and his games get locked, he heads to App Store, downloads a previously installed (but later removed) game through the cloud icon, and it works without limitations!

That’s how resourceful a 7-year-old can be. Maybe Apple should start hiring kids for its Screen Time team.

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How Much Does it Cost to Charge an iPhone For a Year?

Andrew Orr ·

ZDNet recently did some interesting research. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes wanted to know how much it would cost in electricity to charge an iPhone 6 Plus for a year. He chose this model because it has the biggest capacity battery Apple offers in an iPhone. The result will shock you (pun intended).

On average, during an overnight charge, the iPhone consumed an average of 19.2 Wh. According to figures published by the US Energy Information Administration for January 2016, the average cost per kWh in the US was $0.12. Remember that 1 kWh equals 1,000 Wh. So, take our average of 19.2 Wh per day, multiplying that by 365 days, we get 7 kWh, which works out at $0.84 a year. So if you guess under a dollar, well done.

That’s right, it costs less than a dollar for an entire year. The more you know!