All Apple All Day

I've written about Sonos quite a bit around here . Paired with Spotify, it's close to perfect.  In fact, Sonos is SO good that Apple Music is a non-starter for me - no Sonos compatibility yet.  But it's coming, and when it does.... look out Spotify.  Because if Spotify and Sonos are great, Siri and Sonos will be amazing. 

The iMac is the center of our Apple system at home - it stores all of our music and photo libraries. When we're using Sonos, the music is controlled by the iPhone, and comes out of the Sonos speakers. So why does the iMac need to be involved? It's just a desktop computer in the office. Well, maybe it doesn't. We've been looking at home server options, and I think that the simplest answer may be the best - A Mac Mini.

I really want to like Apple Music. But I haven't even started the free trial yet. I'm not even sure if I'll GET a free trial later, and I don't care. Apple Music doesn't work with Sonos, so Apple Music is a non-starter. But that may change soon.

In a recent AAAD post, we discussed the virtues of Harry's vs. Dollar Shave Club . Ultimately, I went with Harry's. And now.... I think I'm headed back to Gillette Fusion, even though they're three times the cost. Here's why. Design Harry's makes beautiful razors. There's no doubt about that. (I bought a "Winston", which is shiny, slick, chrome.) But there is a limit to the virtue of form over function. Especially when that function is as critical as swiping a razor blade over your face. The Harry's blade is, basically, a prettied up Gillette Mach 3. That blade was a game-changer - it looked different, it packed multiple blades, However, like the Mach 3, the Harry's Winston has a LOT of room between the top of the cartridge and the first blade. That's where the moisturizer strip goes. It makes things go smoothly! It also makes it difficult to, for instance, shave directly under your nose. The Fusion addressed thi

Even though there haven't been many AAAD updates, there have been all kinds of fun things happening in the AAAD household lately. 

We just got a visit from a really nice door-to-door Comcast sales guy. And he got me to try a 50 Mbps internet service at $39.99/mo. The catch? Comcast is literally incapable of installing internet service. AGAIN.

We all know that iCloud isn't perfect. In fact, it can be a confusing mess at times. For our family, iCloud Family Sharing has delivered on iCloud's promise.  Even though it was difficult to set up. 

WWDC had all kinds of new Apple stuff. iOS 9, OSX El Capitan, Apple Music to compete with Spotify. But HomeKit barely got a mention. Oh well. Here's the quick takeaway (leaving HomeKit for last):

It looks like Apple's HomeKit is finally going to become a real, tangible thing.  Just in time for WWDC! But do we still care?

We installed Ooma as our landline this week - and there's almost nothing to report.  Which is good!  Your landline should be boring.

It's seemed obvious for some time now. Apple is moving on from the current-gen Apple TV.

As expected, even though we acquired the precise modem that we're currently renting, we were unable to use our own modem for WOW!'s voice services.  So, we're going to stop using WOW's voice services. Instead, we're going with a much higher tier of internet service, and moving our landline to Ooma.  And saving money in the process. 

I knew that cable modem fees were a ripoff. I didn't know how bad it was until I bought a replacement. They're charging me $7 each month, for an outdated modem that sells for $15 new. Over the course of 1 year, that's a 560% markup!

We get our internet and phone service as a bundle from WOW! But they make you rent a cable modem. And that's something I'd like to change.

It's no secret that I love Apple gear. It's the entire premise of this website. But it's also no secret that Apple gear is expensive. Fortunately, you can save quite a bit of money by picking your Apple stuff up second-hand. When buying used gear, you need to take a few things into consideration: How much life is left in this prior-generation product?  Will it still work for its intended purpose? For how much longer? Will I mind if it comes with the prior owners' wear and tear? These products check each of those boxes. Even when they've been replaced by better products, they still do what they do VERY well - and will continue to do so indefinitely. In each case, wear and tear is either unlikely, and/or will not affect the product's functionality. 4. iMac (2009-present) The iMac has gone through quite a few design changes over the years. What started out as a blobby multi-colored TV set evolved rather quickly into the aluminum and glass workhor