Nov 17

Google Calendar and OSX

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I’ve been a long time user of Apple Calendar but I’ve switched to Google calendar for 2 main reasons:

  • It’s easier to access on different devices
  • You can set colors for events.

I’m now using a Pixel phone and the Google calendar works flawlessly on the Pixel phone, and iPhone, as well as an OS X computer.

As you can see above, I color code my event according to different areas I’m working on to help plan my week. You can set the color of a calendar in Apple Calendar, but not the color of an event.

It’s super easy to sync Google calendars between all MAc devices and Google devices. You just add the Google account to your OSX computer, and the calendar appears in the Apple Calendar app. But if you want to see different colors for events, you’ll need to open the Calendar in a browser (Safari or Chrome) by going to calendar.google.com

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Sep 04

How to Copy files from an Android phone to Catalina

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Recently I’ve discovered Macdroid and it’s running very will in Catalina with my Google Pixel 3.

I find the ‘Android File Transfer’ app very unreliable. In a previous article I recommended another solution called Pocketshare but it also has its problems. Macdorid is working wonderfully for me.

Step 1 is to Enable USB debugging.

  • To do this open the “Settings” on your phone, scroll down and select “About phone.”
  • Scroll down to find the ‘build number.’
  • Press the build number repeatedly 7 tiles until it says ‘you are a developer.’
  • Scroll down to “Debugging” and press “USB Debugging” to ON

Step 2 is to run Macdroid and plug your android phone into the USB port on you Mac.

  • You’ll get a screen on your phone asking if you want to “Allow USB Debugging.”
  • Press ‘Allow’
  • In your notifications go to the USB notification and select ‘File transfer’ as follows:

Your Pixel or Android Phone will mount on your desktop and you can access it like a regular USB drive. The free version allows you read-only access. The paid version allows you to write files to your Android phone as well as read them.

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Oct 16

iPhone 11 vs Pixel 4 Camera

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See a great comparison here:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/15/20915462/google-pixel-4-xl-iphone-11-pro-camera-comparison-test-photos-specs

You can slide between shots from both cameras and compare them side by side. (Make sure you move the slider in the middle of the photos.)

I’m surprised by how consistently different the colours in the photos are. The iPhone photos look ‘nicer’ but they also look less realistic. It’s hard to know which is more realistic without seeing the original scene. The colours and saturation on the iPhone seem a little too enhanced to me. What do other people think?

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Feb 07

How to import photos from a Pixel phone with OS X Mojave

phone 2 Comments »

Continue reading ⟩

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Oct 04

SMS messages not delivered when sending from iPhone to other phones.

iphone 1 Comment »

In this Google Pixel review I commented that one of the frustrating things about the Google Pixel phone was that sometimes it missed incoming text messages. In fact this was so critical to me that it caused me to switch back to my iPhone. I have since discovered that this was not a problem with my Google pixel phone at all, but rather a problem with Apple messages. If you are changing phones from an iPhone to a different brand, make sure you turn off iMessage first.

Continue reading ⟩

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Aug 15

How to copy files to your Mac from Android

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If you have an Android phone it’s very easy to copy files across to your Mac computer. Just download this OS X app from android.com and plug in your phone to your USB port. You can then manually copy files across.

You can download the app from here.

 

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Aug 03

iPhone vs Android 6 months along.

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picture of pixel phone

An update on my Android vs iPhone experiment. At the start of this year I purchased a Google Pixel phone for review and I ended up keeping it because it was so good. So how am I feeling about it 6 months later? The novelty of the Google phone is wearing off but I still prefer it over the iPhone – just. I have however switched back to the iPhone simply because it’s easier to stay in the one ecosystem. It was educational to use an Android phone for 6 months.

In the end it doesn’t come down to hardware features like camera resolution or processor speed. It seems to be the small details that swing me one way or the other. Turning silent mode on and off. Getting back to the home screen easily. Copying a text. Changing a setting. The feel of typing. Apple and Google would do well to learn some lessons from each other in these areas instead of trying to outcompete in the larger areas.

Here’s what I’m finding are the most noticeable differences after 6 months of use. Continue reading ⟩

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May 19

Google Pixel phone – the review I didn’t want to write.

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Google pixel phone

Over the past 3 months I have been trialling a Google Pixel Phone. I’m not sure why.  I started getting attracted to the Google apps on my iPhone.  I found myself using Google Inbox for my email, Google Play for my music,  and the Google calendar app instead of Apple’s calendar app. So when Google released their Pixel phone I took the plunge and purchased one to see if it would play nicely with Apple. It’s been a challenging a few months because I can’t get myself back onto my iPhone.  I’ve tried three times and  I simply cannot go back to the iPhone. The Pixel is a great phone and it works very well with OS X. Google have really nailed the cross-platform syncing.  In fact,  when it comes to music and photos it syncs more easily with OS X than the iPhone does.  So this article is not really a review of the Pixel phone. This my experience transitioning from iPhone to  Pixel phone. Continue reading ⟩

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