Google Maps, Custom Routing Paths

Finally it seems Google Maps allows choosing a custom route path, rather than merely offering a couple alternative Routes. It uses the [Via method] however it works from the [Thin (or "Vegan") Hambuger] verticle dot menu on the Upper right after choosing an inital destination.

Although its confusing. You pick [Add stop] which adds a Next destination option to the current destination. Then a [Pop-out] menu in-between the [Your Location] and [Final destination]. Basically click the 'unlabled' [Hollow] circle and this expands into a list of Editable intermediate destinations.

Its far from perfect.

First its hard to use until you know how to use it, and the documentation (such that it is) is frankly terrible... they should hire a real Writing Editor (as in a real living breathing 'Person'.. not auto spell check).

Second the ETA and stats on the journey are not updated for the entire journey, but [revert] to only the next destination.. treating this as a series of trips from one Via to the next Via.

It is editable in that you can change the Vias already in a journey.. but they are not draggable on the Map.

Google Maps, Try Again in a Few Minutes

Ugh!

Android 7.0 (patch Oct 5, 2016)  Maps abruptly can not Locate current position when Routing new Destination. - Solution (Google patch "disables" > Settings - System - Date & time - Automatic date & time ) slide to turn it green to "Turn it Back on!!!" after a few seconds it can calculate GPS coordinates again.

A symptom or "work-around"  for this is you can select your Location [ manually ] by tapping the Location box before pressing [ Route ] and choose to Pick your current location from a map, then press the GPS coordinate locator.. which uses the [ very same function!! ] and then it returns you to the routing screen and you can press [ Route ] and it will work.

Apple, leaving Los Cupertino

All things Apple used to be avante guard and simplicity in the making. But more and more its become by Apple developers and a store for Apple employees. Something material has been removed and I just don't feel compelled to look upon Apple products as a viable alternative anymore.

Its a hard realization to come to.. it used to be a Mac or an iPhone was an "all in one" it came with everything you needed. But the Privacy wars and the strange distractions to keep everything locked down and secret.. the terrible Update reliablity and almost predictable "failures" of its products has just made the high prices seem that much higher. I mean why pay more for "less".. sad day for me, why did it take so long for me to come to this conclusion?

I'm not saying Microsoft or Linux are really any better.. but at least its cheaper to throw them away.. or find a grand old version with.. [sigh] no further meddling Support Updates.. "I feel More Secure" without updates these days. Its almost helpful to be on a platform that Virus writers "can't target" because they don't know what your running.. you don't have any of those well known and "Published" exploits revealed in each Update.

The Updates are becoming hackers favorite "SDK malware kits" for new exploits and the Published "billions and billions Served" guarantees willing and able targets on a regular schedule. Where else can you get patch Tuesday, Second patch Tuesday, Patch Thursday with Zero-Day exploits and demo code to prove you need their Updates? This is insanity.. might as well get a cheap Chromebook and replace it every year or so.

But yeah.. Apple.. so long.. it was good to know you.. "until the next Steve Jobs" comes along and cleans house.

Skreens HDMI, Exploring the ins and outs of this device

I go over the outside and inside of this device. And connect up an HDMI input and let it share screen space with a browser window hosted from the Skreens box. And various Android and iOS apps are used to show resizing and editing the layout. Not a tutorial.. just a tourist in wonderland.

Czur Scanner, Firmware Upgrade

This is a video about How to upgrade the Firmware on the Czur ET16 Scanner. It was very quickly put together since a few people reported problems upgrading their scanner. -- This is the procedure I followed in Real-Time, nothing is sped up.. and I'm quite verbose and explicit about what was done both before and after each step.

Skreens HDMI, RTMP streaming to YouTube

Ugly ducklings can fly. I just got a Kickstarter gadget that accepts four HDMI inputs and blends them into one HDMI output. That's Science Fiction enough.. but it also has WiFi and an Ethernet port and Broadcasts H.264 Live streams to YouTube over RTMP. (And) I didn't read a single document or quickstart to set it up. Its a truly horrid looking video, but fantastic that it works at all.. I can't wait till I fine tune the setup.

HomeOS, dump the Force Luke

After the shock that was Windows 8, and the horror that is becoming Windows 10. I started looking around, and found Mate, and now ChaletOS.. which seems a whole lot more like the best of Windows 7 on top of Debian and Ubuntu.

Install was relatively painless and the stated goals of this Linux (this is Linux ? ) distro, is to "put things back where everyone expects them to be.." (why can't Microsoft do this ? )

I'm an OmniOS kind of guy, raised on CP/M, DOS, Redhat, Win95, OS9, OSX and so on.. but they all seem to converge in a way.. its when companies try to differentiate and diverge that they pull out the Claws and Fangs and make me scan for an Exit sign. -- I don't want to be their next Snackeroo... keep yur paws off my wallet please.

ChaletOS has a catchy name, and uses Emerald Icons ( lol ) but its happy to run on top of Xfce and Gnome3 and Gnome2.. it just seems to chill on all the territorial rhetoric. And that makes it Awesome.

The usual, familar popular "alternative apps" are baked into the default install, Firefox, VLC, GIMP, lots of audio video media players and Appstore like Software sources. But it doesn't hide the command line, when it does things in the background it pops up a cmdline window and shows you whats going on.

Its got Themes for all of the popular Windows generations. And Windows Classic modes seems to predominate. Rather than doing a classic Linux "we're not that Windows OS" shennanigans.. and doing the artsy "we do it differently just to be different mantra".. this distro actually seeks to put things where they are familar, from File Managers to Explorers, from Ctrl +C to Ctrl +V

Paired with VMware or Virtual Box, legacy Windows apps can even be run OSX Bootcamp style side by side. This is Linux kernel 4.4 and Ubuntu 16 LTS on Debian 8.. if that really matters.. suffice it to say.. it's modern.. and it has current creds.

Its styles are not all flat and lifeless, they ressemble a softened three-dee quality without looking Embossed and stitched into the carpet. There is a 64 bit and 32 bit version.

This is what I would think Windows 7 would have evolved into "naturally" had it not been done in on the Senate floor on the Ides of Windows 8 March.

Its smooth fast and just "comfortable".