Coronavrius In California: What's Normal Anyway and Update On Life

Bike ride through the city.  We did that today.  The ride was just like any I've had as far back as I can remember.  The only difference is that there are way less cars than before.  And the remaining cars on the streets are driving so fast I'm considering getting a camera mount for my helmet so I can record and report them.

It's been almost two weeks since the state and large cities like Los Angeles declare self-lock down and ordered temporary closures of nonessential businesses and activities and, on Friday, closed beaches, parks, and trials after thousands did not take the order and social distancing seriously and took to public places in large numbers.

It's a little different this Saturday compared to last weekend.  People are still going out but there is a feeling in the air that more people are taking the coronavirus pandemic, which started in Wuhan, Chia in early December (possibly late November) but was not reported by Beijing until January.  After all, it's been a week and the number of cases reported in the United States continue to increase out of control as more people are tested and hospitals become overwhelmed with patients suffer from more serious ailments.

This week, I started working from home.  In terms of productivity, I have to say that it's gone up, much to my surprise.  And without having to commute, I have time "after work" for a walk with my wife.  And as with the bike ride, social distancing is observed by everyone as far as I can tell.  What I found particularly was how neighbors who normally would be driving or going somewhere else are also walking and share friendly acknowledgements via a wave, a nod, or a "hello".

We still go out to get food.  Even before the order to stay at home, my wife and I cooked and ate mostly at home.  We go out on an average of one and a half times.  And if you made any trips to the market in the last few weeks, you'll noticed taped markings that are six feet apart on the ground with a friendly market employee or two keeping people reminding customers to practice social distancing.

And here are a few new normals during an pandemic:

• Less driving means I'm saving on gas.  And gas has been dropping even before the number of cases exploded in the US due to Russia's attempt to crush the US oil industry and breaking from OPEC.
• Less driving also means the air is nice throughout most of the day.  I mean, wow, I can see the mountains clearly for days now.  And it helped that we have been getting rain.
• I had started stocking up months ago because we live in earthquake country.  So I got lucky.  I think people will continue to stock up even after the pandemic is over.  I've learned and I believe millions of other families have as well.
• Walking.  I've always enjoy it.  Jogging as well.  And I think more people have rediscovered the joy of walking.  And perhaps once restaurants and malls reopen and public areas become more assessable, walking could remain more common.

One last thing.  Sure, some stuff are still unavailable at the supermarkets.  But I would say 90% of what need for day to day survival as available.  You might not be able to find your favorite brand of glass bottled organic 2% milk but if you are willing to walk to another store a mile away, you'll find organic milk available, in a carton.  And while cheap store branded beans are no longer available, more expensive brands are available.  It all depends on what you're looking for and if you are willing to pay an extra buck for it. 

Okay, really one more thing.  I promise.  The local news are good source to get information.  But some of the anchors and reporters are not helping with comments like "it's going to be a beautiful day tomorrow. Just look at the gorgeous view of the beach you are not allowed to go to behind me".  Seriously, right?

Apple Watch 3 - Battery Dying. Time For An Upgrade When The Apple Watch 6 Comes Out?

I skipped the Apple Watch 4 and 5 and plowed through with my Apple Watch 3.  It'll be three years this September 22nd and I can't wait to see what new features the Apple Watch 6 will pack when it is released this year.  Of course, with what's going on with the coronavirus pandemic here in the US and the rest of the world, there is no guarantee that Apple will be release products on the annual schedule that we have come to expect.

And while I think I can hang for another six months, I'm not sure my Apple Watch 3 can as the battery life has diminished greatly in the last month.  I reset it today in hopes that the reset could fix it.  And if it doesn't, well, I'll have to figure out how to work around a shorter battery life until later this fall.  It is not as if the Apple stores are open for me to take my watch in for a battery replacement.

But even if I eventually have the chance to take my three in for a battery replacement and that the Apple Watch 6 does not impress me, I can see myself with the three for another year and wait for the Apple Watch 7.

ECG is nice which came with Apple Watch 4 and the always on screen on the Apple Watch 5 is nice, none of those two main features are enough for me upgrade each of the last two years.  Rumored features, oxygen blood level monitor, sleep monitor, and faster chip, are all nice but hardly worth upgrades if you've got the four or five.  It could be enough to upgrade for someone like me.  Still, those features are nice but not necessary.  And it's been suggested that the Apple Watch can monitor oxygen level in the blood as far back as 2015.

I can be sold on a new Apple Watch if the next one really offers a much longer battery life.  If anyone read my past posts, you'll know that having long battery life is something I've been asking for year after year.

At it's peak, the three offers me enough to get me through the day.  And I've got a charger a home, work, and in my car and I charge my watch whenever I get a chance.  But I'm not talking about going from twenty hours to thirty or even forty-eight hours.  I'm walking about 3-5 days long.  I know, I know.  That's wishful thinking.  Fine, be that as it may, it certainly is something Apple is working on.

People have mentioned a blood pressure monitor in the Apple Watch.  Now, that could be something I would jump on immediately.  I'm approaching that age in my life that I should be worrying about my blood pressure.  And hypertension is something I should worry about given that it is common in my family.  But so far so good.

I don't know when the pandemic in California is going to let up so Apple is comfortable to reopening its stores.  When it does and I am able to get my battery replaced (should the reset not work - I don't know yet since I just did it today), I will be quite content with my three because it'll feel like a new watch for me.  And should the Apple Watch 6 not meet my threshold for an upgrade, I'll still be happy to keep my Apple Watch 3 on my wrist for another year.

One thing is for sure when I do upgrade - I'll be going for the cellular version.

Apple Watch Be Free - Slow March To Making It Happen

I was able to update Watch OS on my Apple Watch 3 the last couple of times.  We are getting closer to the day when the Apple may well be able to completely be tether-free of the iPhone.  It's not that being tethered to the iPhone is bad in any sense.  But can users buy an Apple Watch one day and start to use it without the iPhone?

Since Apple Watch 6, I have gained a new sense of freedom with the watch.  The fact that I can use it without the iPhone being close and the watch can continue to be connected to the Internet independent of it through Wi-Fi is awesome.  For this reason alone, I really regret not getting the cellular version in the beginning.  

In the first 2-3 years of the Apple Watch, the Watch OS just was not matured enough and relied heavily on the iPhone.  And now with the Apple Store on Watch OS 6, it does feel like it has grown into its own and it closer to being ready to turn your wrist into a computing power.  There a few hurdles that Apple just get the Watch to clear.

The biggest test will be when users can buy the iPhone and activate it directly.  Personally, activating and pairing the Apple Watch to the iPhone is a huge pain.  A personal case in point.  I was trying to help my uncle pair his Series 5 watch with his iPhone.  His iPhone was updated to the latest iOS version.  Unfortunately, his iPhone also happens to be an iPhone 6 with cannot be updated to iOS 13. and guess which iOS version is needed in order to pair with the Series 6.

Perhaps not Watch OS 7 or 8 but in a couple of years, I would like to see people walk into an Apple store, buy a watch, and start to set it up right there in the store without the need for an iPhone.  Of course, I would not mind if Apple allows the users to use the iPhone as a setup tool for convenience.  But if I'm an Android user and I want to use an Apple watch independent of my phone, then Apple would have gained a user in its ecosystem.  

With each new generation of Apple Watch, new features through hardware or software is something we all looking forward to.  With the app store now on the watch, I can download apps directly onto the watch.  However, not all apps are created equal.  While there has been vast improvements over the last OS updates, some apps just are not working as well as I have come to expect.  So, this gives an idea of how poorly third party apps were in the beginning.  

I am sure there are other factors that has to be worked out before I am comfortable leaving my iPhone at home or in my car for long stretches at a time.  I feel we are close.  It will not happen overnight.  This is Apple we are talking about.  Apple never rushes features to the market simply to be first.  They'll think things through.  Reject ideas, even good ones and finally come up with ones that is uniquely Apple.  This will be the same for the Apple Watch.  Whatever solutions they come up with to make the Apple Watch an independent device free of the iPhone will be worth the wait.

With The Flashlight App on Most Phones, Is Anyone Buying Flashlights Anymore?

Everyone is talking about what the Apple Watch replacing the traditional watches and decimating the market.  But that has been happening long before the Apple Watch came along.   I'm not sure what is the percentage of the human population that wear watches but it is not a reach to suggest that that number dropped since the availability of the iPhone and other smart phones.

What I am wondering about is how the smartphone has affected the flashlight market.  I thought of this when I went on a recent camping trip.  I had all the gears that I needed including flashlights for the strolls on the paths that had no lights. 

I brought a lot a couple of lanterns and two flashlights with 1000 lumens each.  I ended up not using one of them because I had not thought to when I left the camp site which was well lit by a fire and half a dozen lanterns brought by my family and friends.

With my wife using one of the flashlights, I had only my phone and so I turned it on to illuminate the path in front of us to make sure we don't trip or stepped into anything that I was going to regret while she swept the beam from the flashlight around us.

My phone performed admirably.  It was adequate for the near darkness.  We could not see anything in front of us and the only source of light were cabins across the lake and everything else was dark on our side.

Had we only used our phones, it would have been fine.  Maybe a bit more scary but I am sure there was no bears around despite the signs.  But, hey, we're city folks so we are not used to being in that environment.

So I wondered if what we had was good enough for a weekend camping trip, is anyone really buying flashlights anymore?  Unless you have a specific need for a flashlight or lantern, I just don't see it.

It depends on the specific needs.  If you need one that is more durable because of work, definitely. A handyman is going to need more than a phone.  Ergonomically, a tube shaped flashlight works better than a phone for most types of jobs.  And if you need more light than the light on a camera can provide, definitely.

When we go for walks at night in the neighborhood, the phone light was all that we needed.  I have a couple of small flashlights about 50 lumens sitting by the door and I can't remember when was the last time I used them.

For me, the most important tech I needed were the battery packs with USB ports to charge our phones.  I know what some of you may be thinking.  I should have left the tech at home.  Sorry, city folks here.  Ain't gonna happen.  Mostly I needed to check emails but that's about it.  I ignored everything else that was coming through.  Sort of a compromise.

So, are you still buying flashlights for your home needs? And if not, is it because the light on your phone is all you need?

List of Lives Saved by The Apple Watch

I'm an Apple Watch user.  Not since day one but six months later when I got it as a gift from a friend for a favor I did for him and his family.  After a year of it, I was still not a believer.  Today, I am.  And I'm very optimistic that Apple will revolutionize personal health and the healthcare industry in general.

After using my original Apple Watch for a year, I lost interest in it mainly because it was slow, buggy, and, well, the battery life was really not that great.  I have had to cut workout monitoring short because the battery died and I ended up not being able to close the rings.

I eventually about a new Series 2 and that was much better.  It was this Apple Watch 2 that really had me believing that Apple has something there for me personally.  I gave it to my mom and I eventually graduated to a Series 3 this year after trying various ways of having the same health benefits with only my iPhone X.  I got a regular pedometer to monitor my steps when I don't have my iPhone on my person.  I also tried to revive my old Fitbit but after a year of sitting in my drawer, the battery died (probably of neglect).

None of those options offered the same benefits as having an Apple Watch.  So, I decided I need to go back to the Apple Watch.  With the latest Series 3, the longer battery life, which means it should safely last me through the day, I think Apple has a watch that is truly worth getting.  It's faster and the latest OS offers more features that is likely the first step towards letting users leave the iPhone at home.

It is important to recognize that Apple Watch wearers like the health benefits of heart monitoring and workout tracking.  It is also the health features that Apple advertises much of the time.  And the only health monitoring feature is the heart rate monitor.  I'm hoping there Apple will add more body monitors in the future.  However, for now, it appears that the heart rate monitor, which studies have shown it to be the most accurate, on the watch is good enough to save lives.

Here is a growing list of people who were saved by their Apple Watch.  A vast majority who were alerted by an expected elevated heart rate.

1. South China Morning Post - A 76-year old man with blocked coronary arteries was warned by his watch that resulted him going to the ER before things got worse.  Furthermore, Gaston D’Aquino suffered from a variety of other health issues, including diabetes, and should benefit from additional health monitoring features future Apple Watch will likely have.  
2. ABC News - Florida teen was alerted to a 190 beats per minute and she was not doing any physical activities.  Her mother, a registered nurse, took her to a clinic Turned out to be a kidney condition.  
3. 9To5Mac - A 50-year old attorney, in very good physical shape, was alerted at night that his heart had jumped to more than 120 beats per minute. Turned out to be something very serious.  In additional to an onset of a heart attack, four stents were inserted for blocked arteries.  Had it not been for the watch alert, the man likely would not have waken up.
4. CNBC - A pulmonary embolism is the blockage of an artery to the lungs that results in a variety of symptoms including shortness of breath and, of course, elevated heart rate.  

It is noted that a few of those folks in the list used third party apps designed to alert them of elevated heart rates, Apple Watch 4, the latest version, can do it natively.  

iPhone Plus Versus the iPad Mini - The iPhone Plus Ain't the Same As A Small iPad

Most who follow Apple closely will agree with me that it was disappointing Apple did not upgrade the iPad mini along with the rest of the iPad line.  Most predict that Apple will eventually let it go the way of the iPod now that the iPhone Plus screen is big enough that it may represent a good alternative for folks who want a bigger screen mobile device but doesn't want to go as big as the 9.7" iPad. 

Frankly, I think that's a pretty lame comparision and excuse.  First of all, the iPhone Plus is not a tablet.  I have the iPhone 7 Plus and I love it.  It's powerful, gets me through the day with no issue, and has the best camera as far as I can of any that I have ever owned.  But here is why I don't think it's a good replacement for the iPad mini.

The mini can do many things that the iPhone cannot do.  Split screen.  A little cramp but works well.  The iPhone doesn't do split screen.  Picture-in-picture is a feature that the iPad owns the iPhone.  The mini does that too but the iPhone doesn't.  I think it should and allow can easily allow it to do that but it doesn't.  It's obvious that Apple does want to keep some features that as exlcusive to the iPad. Which kinda says a lot about how Apple does not think the iPhone 7 Plus is a viable replacement for the mini.

Furthermore, the mini is more a productive device than the iPhone.  I've done my share of work on the iPhone but if you put the iPhone Plus and the iPad mini on a table and ask me to crank out a spreadsheet, drawing, or just about anything else, I'll reached for the mini every time.

So, it is perplexing that Apple decided to forgo upgrading the mini in 2017.  Perhaps, we might see an upgrade down the line, perhaps in time for the Holiday Seasons in 2017 or next spring when Apple may decide to use that time show off new iPads. 

The mini serves a need that the iPhone Plus can be a viable substitute for.  Reading, watching videos, or play games.  For other things that can offer greater productivity, the mini has the iPhone beat.  And let's face it, the iPhone Plus costs way more than the mini.  Some might say that's the reason Apple decided not to upgrade the mini and will eventually kill it off.  If so, it should have done that earlier this year.

My guess is that Apple does have plans for the iPad mini.  Maybe it'll get an biannual upgrade like the iPhone SE.  If it does, it makes sense.  The iPhone SE did not get an upgrade this year and if Apple does want to keep the mini in the lineup, upgrading the SE and the iPad mini at the same time next year would make a lot of sense.  That means I'l be more than willing to retire my current iPad mini and opt for the iPad mini 5.

Forget the 15” iPad - give me a 20” One

How do you like them 12.9" iPad Pros? I like then and I'm sure those who own one likes it too. Do it is inevitable that Apple will eventually come out with even bigger iPads that truly blends the line between a tablet and one that works just as well on a desktop. It'll be easier to lug around a tablet form factor than the iMac. Heck it'll be easier and lighter to carry even a 15" or 17" iPad than the 15" MacBook Pro.

So, instead of all that, let's just straight to the 20".  Let's face it, this won't be something you take to Starbucks but it'll be something you can move around your home, office, or studio.  And yeah, at 3-4 pounds for so, you can definitely move it around some.

Right now, I'm sitting in front of a 22" monitor and it's definitely heavier than what a 20" iPad Pro would be and, if it wasn't for the cables and the lack of any reason why I need to move it from my desk, it isn't difficult to move it at all if I wanted to. 

Plus, imagine really using it as a second monitor, perhaps, exclusive to this 20" iPad.  It's both a win-win for Apple and the user. 

Above all, look at the huge productivity spike you'll see with it.  I've done work on the iPhone going as far back as the 3.5" screen.  And then as the screens got bigger and the apps could do do more, I am now doing much more on the iOS devices, particuarly on the iPads.  And I've used them all - 7.9", 9.7", and the 12.9" iPads.  So, I imagine I can do a lot more on the 20" iPad Pro.

Imagine a split screen of 3-4 apps while allow space for other things like a keyboard or controls for apps and games.  You simply cannot do that on today's iPads or Macbooks.  Definitely not on the desktop Macs.

What Apple would have to do is to create a whole new way of utility on such a tablet.  It would truly revolutionize how we interact with computers in the future.  Yeah, gotta be revolutionary.  Because let's be real about this, one day, you can have a room where just the wall itself it a giant screen that you interact with. You can be sitting or standing while you interact with a spreadsheet, painting, or gaming with someone while also FaceTiming your buddies. 

So, I'm gonna go out on a limp here and say that a big, big iPad is something.  Perhaps, Apple is still waiting for the technology to catch up to their vision or it is simply still trying to figure out the best way to make it work in that unique Apple way.  Regardless, it'll happen when Apple think they've got something revolutionary.  And while I'm happy with my iPad 2, I would definitely be ready to buy a 20" iPad Pro because it would take computing to another whole new level.

Perhaps, it might not called the iPad when it does come out.  But who cares.  Just be ready for it.