Author: Mike Pihlman

Google Duo Supports Multipoint Conferencing

I’ve used Google Duo to connect one-on- one in the recent past and it worked great. I saw a news article today that said Google Duo now supports up to 12 people on a videoconference. Not sure if that is accurate (FYI….in the past the statement 12 people on a videoconferencing could mean 2 with…

March 31, 2020
Coronavirus and Telecommuting

I’ve resisted posting about this but, it needs to be said: This is 2020, and if you are not yet telecommuting for all the benefits of productivity, work-life balance, time, money saved. You NEED to start NOW! For your safety as well as the safety of others. And when the coronavirus threat has passed….keep telecommuting…

March 9, 2020
Youtube TV Revisited: Nearly Perfect

Click for my YouTube TV Tests: UPDATE: I am testing YouTube TV for the 5th time in Jan / Feb 2025. I will post the results in March 2025. Major Update March 6, 2025: YouTube TV is now our TV provider! After 8 years of testing, the $$ numbers and YouTube TV technology aligned! Thanks…

February 15, 2020
5G Will Change the Way You Connect Your Home to the Internet

Paradigm Shift Very soon (within the next few years) the way we connect to the Internet, the way we watch TV, and the way we use our smartphones and other Internet connected devices (IoT) from home (or office / work) will change forever. Let me explain….. It’s January 2020, and, there are, essentially, two ways…

January 19, 2020
Installing a New Sink, Faucet, and Shut off Valves

Ok, in this blog entry, I step out of my comfort zone of electronics, videoconferencing, and remote work, to replace our old 34 year old sink, faucet, and shut-off valves with brand new stuff! Very scary as I needed to shut off the main water supply to the house for a period of time (to…

November 26, 2019
Using the Sony A8G 65 inch 4k UltraHD OLED TV

After 15 years with our old Sony HDTV (see figure 1 below) we finally had to catch up with the times and technology and get a new TV. Lori selected (with consulting help from the TV watcher…..ME! :-)) the Sony A8G 65 inch 4k UHD OLED TV (Figure 2 below) that was on sale because,…

November 24, 2019
Disney+ was Introduced and Today the World Changed

Disney+ streaming was long expected and, as luck may have it, when it finally arrived on November 12, 2019, there were technical issues getting logged in and streaming video. But, hey, issues are to be expected in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Since I could not help fix the issues…..I simply…

November 12, 2019
STEM: Meet NASA’s DragonFly Titan (Saturn’s Moon) Explorer

“NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander is seen approaching Saturn’s exotic moon Titan in this animation. Taking advantage of Titan’s dense atmosphere and low gravity, Dragonfly will explore dozens of locations across the icy world, sampling and measuring the compositions of Titan’s organic surface materials to characterize the habitability of Titan’s environment and investigate the progression of prebiotic…

October 25, 2019
STEM: “Math is NOT What You Think” A Short TED Video

Watch this short TED Video by Theoretical Physicist and Ph.D student at UCLA, Michael Enciso. Math is about asking questions. If you are interested in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) career, this is a cool video to watch! 🙂 Geek On!

October 4, 2019
STEM: Watch This Short TED Talk Video to Learn What it Takes to Launch the FIREBall Telescope

University of Arizona astronomer Professor Erika Hamden (also see her personal web site here) leads a team involved with launching the FIREBall telescope to help her and her team learn how stars are created. Failure is not an option, even though it happens….you learn from your mistakes, you get back up, and try and try…

September 27, 2019