Skip Password Managers

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

2020-10-30
I found that using the Password Manager ‘Lastpass’ was a waste of time. The log-on screens of some websites request usernames and passwords on two different web pages. This prohibits the ‘Fill’ function of the password manager from working properly; it tries to fill in the username in the password field.. This turned out to be real nuisance.

Lastpass could also not recognize many web sites like GMail and many banking sites. It triggers on an exact URL that you record in the password manager on set-up. But that URL doesn’t seem to come up, and so the password manager can’t determine which stored password is for that site. This implies that the URL for that website changes from log-in to log-in likely because of stored cookies. This Fill function and the advanced AutoFill function are desired features of a password manager. Without them, there isn’t much reason to using a password manager.

Lastpass has the capability of checking for duplicate passwords – i.e. a password that is used for two different websites. But that’s an advanced feature and may not come with the free version. Unless you visit many web sites, it shouldn’t be hard to find a password that is used for several sites. Just try using a different password for each.

Given these problems, and for all the work needed to install and configure the software, I would not use it. Create your own password file and encrypt it on a USB flash drive, accessible only under your control.

Posted in Product and Service Reviews

AGPTEK A20 MP3 Player-Repeat Setting

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Brainfyre — 2 Comments

This article is about the Repeat setting on this MP3 player. It ends with my opinion about the unit after 3 years of experience.

I could not seem to stop the Repeat setting on this player. I read the manual and wrote the advisor, and still didn’t get a solution. Then I found the answer: it always repeats when you select Music from the main menu, then “Artist” or “Genres”. It was designed to repeat in these categories. It doesn’t seem to repeat if you choose “Albums”.

In fact, only if you go through the Folders option on the main screen, can you pick songs that don’t repeat – provided that you set Repeat Off via the Settings option in the main menu.

On the whole, I don’t like this player. Its awkward to use as you can guess from my writing above, and explanations lack clarity likely because of poor command of English. It is, however, passable.  My older Sansa and Radio Shack models were easier to use.

The sound seems fine, but I’m not an player aficionado, and I like classical music. It will not play some music formats, so you may need to convert your music. The player has plenty of memory and I could never fill that and a memory card, so that’s not a compelling factor. Recharging is slow and must be through the micro-USB connector. Its the only thing in its price range that has a menu system, albeit not a great one. I have had this player for 3 years.

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Posted in Product and Service Reviews

Tablet, OTG, Flash Drive, Keyboard, Mouse

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

April 20, 2015

Summary:
Adding an On-the-Go cable/adapter to a tablet opens up better interconnect possibilities. I added both a USB flash drive and a full sized keyboard.

The Story:
I have Galaxy Tab 4 with Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat) as the OS. Using the recharging cord, I could move files between the tablet and the desktop computer, but that meant duplicating files and then making sure I only modified one copy. I decided to try a USB flash drive to hold the files and move them between computers. I found an OTG cable/adapter ($7 from Amazon.ca). It come in 4 days – from Toronto, Canada, no less. The tablet recognized the drive (not all do) and I was happy. It then occurred to me that a full-sized keyboard and normal mouse might also work. And they did, even with an unpowered USB hub. Now I have the ease of working at home with a mouse and keyboard, or going out with just the tablet and the flash drive.

BTW, the extra devices may drain your battery rather quickly, so a powered USB hub may be better for you. These start at about $10 from Amazon as well.

Be careful to Unmount the flash drive (Settings > General > Storage, then scroll down to USB OTG store and click the Unmount button)  before disconnecting the drive.

Lastly, I haven’t tried this, but there is no reason that a wireless mouse and keyboard won’t work as well. Just plug the receiver into the USB hub with the flash drive. That will likely use the least of the tablet’s power.

Have fun.

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Posted in Technology

Tablets, SD Cards, and USB Flash Drives

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

April 18, 2015

Summary:

Don’t bother with an external MicroSD Card. Your Android tablet will likely not be able to write to it unless its rooted. Buy a USB flash drive and an “on-the-go” (OTG) adapter ($7). The tablet will treat it as a read/write device.

The Story:

I purchased a Galaxy Tab 4 8-inch with Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat) as the operating system. It has 16 GB of storage in the main board. Being new to tablets and apps and downloading, I feared that 16 GB was not enough and bought a 32 GB external SD card. The first one didn’t fit the socket and I finally discovered that the card for (at least) my tablet was a different size.  Returning the first card (thank you Walmart), the second ( It says “for tablet”) fit perfectly. I put things on the card at the desktop computer. Returnng to the tablet, I could read files, but not save them on the card. I tried several times in different ways, but no go. Research on the web gave the same conclusion: its read-only storage for the tablet. I could use it for ebooks, music, etc., from the desktop, but that was it.

After some months of frustration, I looked into connecting a flash drive to the tablet. To my surprise it was a common thing, but not with all devices. Fortunately, my Tab 4 was on the OK list. So I bought the OTG cable (with a  micro-USB end on the tablet and female normal USB for the flash drive). It was only $7 delivered (from Toronto, Canada). The micro SD card was more than twice that much. Bingo, the cable worked. The flash drive shows up as another storage device and the tablet can read from and write to it. And I can carry the flash drive separately and use it directly on my desktop. The flash drive is also much faster (the SD card was class 10) and much cheaper for the same storage.

So skip the urge for an SD card. If your device and OS will take the USB drive, you’ll be much better off.

To see if your device can support it, you’ll need a better file manager; ES File Explorer is suggested although others will also do. Look for a folder named “/”; it should also be called “Device”. Within that folder, if you see other folders (or shortcuts to the folders) named UsbDriveA through UsbDriveF, then the flash drive will likely be recognized. Caution: you need to dismount the flash drive (Settings > General > Storage, then scroll down to USB OTG store and click the Unmount button) before disconnecting it.

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Posted in Technology

Book Review: Lawrence in Arabia

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

Lawrence in Arabia
War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East
by Scott Anderson, Toronto, Signal (publisher), c2013.

This book is fine for the amateur historian who loves excruciating detail. I got lost in it and put it down about half way through. If you want a summary, see the movie. From the table of contents, I don’t see a useful statement about why Arabia is divided the way it is or why it behaves the way it does, although that information might be gleaned from the book overall. But the book is unlikely to shed light on how the Arabs should be engaged in the modern world.

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Posted in Politics, Publishing

Blender Software Review

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

“Blender” is a software product that is used to create 3D illustrations and animations. It is open-source and free. The product seems to have had a following as far back as 2009.

From videos, Blender *is* impressive in what it seems to be able to do, and many have apparently mastered it. However, the learning curve seems very steep, hampered by a non-standard look-and-feel UI. It is *unwieldy* to say the least. There are sudden and subtle actions that occur automatically when a menu item is first selected, even though parameters and an Apply button exist for the action. My initial reaction was “What happened?”. It took a few hours of searching to find out. Furthermore, the UI seems to have changed significantly, leaving the existing tutorials using hot-keys that no longer work. By the way, this UI is definitely for two hands; a mouse is needed for the manipulating the graphics, while the hot-keys are for the left hand to add and edit effects such as textures. Watch out which finger you use!

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Posted in Publishing

On Make-Your-Own Wine Kits

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

Written July 24, 2014

Summary

If you’re getting wine that you really like at the liquor store, then don’t bother with the Make-Your-Own wine kits. If you use a kit, there’s a 50% saving, but you’ll have to be happy with a single-grape wine.

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Posted in Food and Cooking

Remove Caulking from Fiberglass Shower Stall

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Brainfyre — 1 Comment

Written: June 17, 2014
I used acetone to remove the skin of caulking from a fiberglass shower stall. It worked much better than anything else I tried and didn’t damage the fiberglass finish either. Here’s how…

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Posted in Home Improvement

On Picking a Cookbook

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

Written June 16, 2014

The purpose of a cookbook is to make cooking fast and simple. Here are a few summary features that make a really great cookbook.

Desirable Features:

1. A photo of *every* dish.
2. Readily available ingredients
3. A short list of ingredients
4. Suitable serving numbers
5. Summary preparation and cooking times.
6. An index of ingredients
7. Space for comments.

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Posted in Food and Cooking

Review of Moonglow Jazz Ensemble at The Gigspace

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Brainfyre — Leave a comment

Written March 8, 2014

See The GigSpace Performance Studio and Moonglow Jazz Ensemble

I went to The GigSpace on Feb. 15, 2014 to see the Moonglow Jazz Ensemble. I am always leery about live music, but Jazz seems to be safest. It turned out to be a very relaxing evening. I enjoyed the Ensemble immensely and I’d recommend them to anyone who likes classical Jazz with a flair.

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Posted in Art & Entertainment