361 Podcast

361 Podcast

By 361 Podcast / Ben Smith, Rafe Blandford & Ewan MacLeodNewsTechnologyTech News
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361 Podcast episodes

  • Follow-up, Photos and WWDC [S18E08]

    This week the team discuss:

    • Follow-up on photo back-up, Disney+, budget syncing, news, 'good' screens and more.
    • Ewan's success with 'photo healing' on his iPhone and iPad that enabled him to 'fix' and share photos 'in the moment.
    • Our hopes for WWDC, incluing what Apple might announce and the effect on teh mobile industry that might have.
    • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

      Support 361 Podcast

      Links:

      • Tyler Hall's GrannySmith
    • The 361 episode where Ben explains his Hue bulb problems
    • Delayed Gratification magazine
    • Sync for YNAB
    • Mike Stead bought an Amazon clock because Rafe recommended it
    • Aerial screensaver for Mac
    • LG 27'' UltraFine 5K monitor
    • Enlight Quickshot
    • Memos app - Text recognition in photos
    • Anonymous Camera - Blur or obscure people in photos automatically
    • 1 hr 5 min
    • Feedback, fitness apps & photo back-up [S18E07]

      This week the team discuss:

      • Listener follow-up on robot vacuum cleaners (including finding one under your hotel bed), mobile banking and a cool personal finance app recommendation.
      • How we - definitely not health and fitness enthusiasts - are trying to use apps to keep fit (or at least a bit fitter) during lock-down and working from home. We talk about apps to try and when to use them.
      • Backing-up important photos, including how to use the cloud but retain access to your most valuable photos if the service you use breaks or stops working.
      • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

        Support 361 Podcast

        Links:

        • Ben's Kläppe chair
      • Ben's 'Couch to 5k' app
      • 361 S18E05 (the one where we talked about headsets)
      • Jaime's Cosmic Kids Yoga
      • Peloton app
      • Streaks Workout app
      • Google Takeout
      • The '3-2-1' backup approach
      • Ben's hosted Mac Mini provider
      • 51 min
      • Customising the Apple Watch, Lenovo's Smart Frame & data hoarding [S18E06]

        This week the team discuss:

        • Using the excellent Watchsmith app to customise the Apple Watch beyond Apple's built-in widgets (called complications). How can you use layouts that change during the day and what is the future of presenting our own custom-data?
        • Lenovo's announcement of a new Smart Frame digital picture frame that will be launched (and discounted initially) via IndieGoGo. Lenovo don't need to fund the product this way (traditionally why this platform's been used), but plan to recruit early adopter users to feedback on its development.
        • How old is the oldest data you're hanging onto (we look at email and photo archives) and why? Have services like Gmail made us digital pack rats and is there any value in archiving 20 years of email or hundreds of gigabytes of email?
        • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

          Support 361 Podcast

          Links:

          • Patch plants
        • goCoax
        • Voice in a Can - Alexa on your watch, phone, tablet and computer
        • ‎Watchsmith on the App Store
        • Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band
        • Ben's Apple Watch setup for lock-down (using Watchsmith)
        • Lenovo Smart Frame - SlashGear
        • Fastmail
        • Hazel - Mac automation software
        • 59 min
        • Headsets, lock-down habits & money [S18E05]

          Many thanks to Mark, the Audio Wrangler, our editor for the last 5 years. Here's to the next 5 (and sorry for all you put up with).

          This week the team discuss:

          • The best microphones for video conferencing whilst home working - What works best from home for both comfort and performance, what products have the team chosen and some pitfalls to avoid.
          • Satya Nadella's observation that Covid-19 has produced "2 years digital adoption in 2 months" - How has this rapid change in working arrangements for many been a "massive forced experiment" and what behaviour changes might be permanent?
          • Real-time banking and money management - How some FinTech products and challenger banks are now providing real-time data to connected services, and how this makes money management quicker and more effective.
          • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

            Support 361 Podcast

            Links:

            • Brompton - Folding bikes
          • Rafe Blandford's Instagram
          • Herman Miller - Fancy office chairs
          • Bose 700 - Bluetooth headphones
          • Jabra Evolve 80 - Wired headset (Ewan uses)
          • Jabra Evolve 75 - Wireless headset (Ben uses)
          • Jabra Evolve 40 - Wired headset (Rafe uses)
          • Elgato Cam Link 4K - Video capture device
          • Krisp - Noise cancelling app
          • Royal Mail - Buy and print postage online
          • Bloom & Wild - Flower delivery
          • Parcel2Go - Parcel delivery and courier services
          • Monzo
          • Spiir - Money management
          • YNAB - Money management
          • YNAB Sync - Connect your bank to YNAB
          • 1 hr 3 min
          • Amazon Echo accessories, Covid-19 apps & Tik Tok [S18E04]

            This week the team discuss:

            • Amazon Echo accessories. Amazon's range looks baffling from the outside, including gaming buttons and a microwave oven. What do they make, why and is any of it any good?
            • Covid-19 apps. As governments around the world look to technology to help manage the Covid-19 crisis how do the various solutions being developed differ and will people trust a Google / Apple partnership over their local public health officials?
            • Til Tok. What is it? No really, what is it and why is Rafe so keen we try it. We're coming to this social media phenomenon late, but it's far from clear (to us) what it all means and how it's different from what came before.
            • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

              Support 361 Podcast

              Links:

              • Couch to 5k app - Fitness22
            • Headspace app
            • Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
            • Chinese pig farm attempts to block criminal drones with GPS jammer
            • Echo Wall Clock
            • Samsung Frame smart TV
            • 53 min
            • 361's 9th birthday, smart lights, map apps & video calling [S18E03]

              The team celebrate 9 years of podcasting together and discuss:

              • Ben's (ongoing) smart lighting disaster. How Philips Hue hasn't turned out to be the perfect smart lighting solution, a serious (known) product defect and how complex it all gets when deployed in large numbers.
              • Walking and way-finding apps that are helping us enjoy the outdoors when we can. How to go beyond Google Maps to explore the footpaths around our homes with specialist mapping apps and guided routes.
              • The best video calling and conferencing apps for working from home. What do the team use and what should you consider when choosing?
              • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

                Support 361 Podcast

                Links:

                • RubRafe - 361 Podcast S13E05
              • Roborock S5 Max
              • Roost laptop stand
              • iPad Magic Keyboard
              • Philips Hue GU10 bulbs
              • OSRAM Lightify smart bulbs
              • Ordnance Survey Map apps
              • ViewRanger mapping app
              • Zoom
              • Bluejeans
              • Jitsi
              • Goat-2-Meeting
              • GotoMeeting
              • Whereby
              • 1 hr 8 min
              • Home networking, self-improvement apps & the iPad Magic Keyboard [S18E02]

                This week the team discuss:

                • The networking and connectivity challenges of setting up a home office. What can you do if your new desk has terrible WiFi coverage or you need something faster, but don't want to run new cabling? The team talk options, including using TV cabling you may already have installed.
                • How we're 'self improving' during lock-down. Given the restrictions, what can we do that makes the most of not commuting (or going out at all). The team recommend options they're trying.
                • The iPad Magic Keyboard. It's heavy and expensive, but is it... good? Yes. Yes, it is. We'll tell you why.
                • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

                  Support 361 Podcast

                  Links:

                  • Logitech MX Keys keyboard
                • Roost laptop stand
                • Ubiquiti UniFi network equipment
                • MoCA adaptor for IP over coaxial cable (POE powered)
                • Jump Start Jonny fitness videos for younger children
                • Kindle Oasis
                • Fitness22 "Couch to 5K" app
                • Blinkist - abridged business books
                • Headspace - meditation app
                • MasterClass Online Classes
                • Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
                • 51 min
                • Equipping a home office, budget robot vacuums & Disney+ [S18E01]

                  This week the team discuss:

                  • Ewan's new job and his family's move to Oman. Turns out he could find somewhere less convenient than Denmark to live.
                  • How we've upgraded our workspaces to equip them for an extended period of working at home. We talk about ergonomics, productivity and kit that will remain useful if / when things get back to 'normal'.
                  • Options for 'budget' robot vacuum cleaners as Ewan picks a Eufy (made by popular tech accessory maker Anker) device for his new home. Can something without AI mapping and clever sensors be 'good enough'?
                  • The launch of Disney+ and how it's changed the landscape of streaming services. Is the content catalogue enough to overcome some of the lack of polish on their apps? Will we all need given all the shows and brands Disney owns? And can Disney somehow get its original content to benefit from the live venues it also operates?
                  • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

                    Support 361 Podcast

                    Links:

                    • HP Z27 - 27” 4K display
                  • Apple Magic Trackpad 2
                  • Logitech MX Keys keyboard
                  • Logitech MX Master 3 mouse
                  • Roost laptop stand
                  • Roborock S5 Max
                  • Eufy RoboVac 11S
                  • Disney+
                  • BBC iPlayer kid’s mode
                  • 53 min
                  • Google Maps hacking, Sonos and goodbye to Blackberry [S17E10]

                    This week the team discuss:

                    • A German artist's (successful) attempt to 'hack' Google Maps traffic data with a cart of 2nd hand phones, tricking the mapping service into reporting a traffic jam on an empty road.
                    • Customer 'outrage' at Sonos's announcement that some older devices will soon be unsupported and prevent newer devices from receiving upgrades if used together. This came shortly after the firm was criticised for 'bricking' devices people chose to recycle.
                    • The announcement of the end of mobile handset manufacturing under the Blackberry brand. The team reminisce about the firm at their best and how Blackberry changed mobile email.
                    • Also, hear Mark the editor for the first time ever in a 'behind the scenes' live edit session.

                      Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

                      Support 361 Podcast

                      Links:

                      • Google Maps hacking by Simon Weckert
                    • Sonos - Software updates are ending for our oldest products
                    • Sonos - All our products will continue to work past May
                    • BlackBerry and TCL will end their handset partnership in August 2020
                    • 47 min
                    • Robot vacuums, noise-cancelling headphones & electric car charging [S17E09]

                      This week the team discuss:

                      • Why everyone should have a robot vacuum cleaner, the difference between radar and camera-based navigation and how to choose. Also virtual walls, cameras that can spot pet poo and automated mops.
                      • Our two recommended models of noise cancelling over-ear headphones and the joy of reducing noise fatigue when travelling or working in open-plan offices.
                      • Ewan's 'terrible' (this is not a consensus view, to be fair, especially by Ewan) choice to buy his children a Dell desktop PC.
                      • The challenges of first-time 'chargeable car' ownership and how Ben's chosen his new car charger.
                      • Let us know your thoughts on these subjects or anything you'd like to hear covered in future via the website or Twitter.

                        Support 361 Podcast

                        Links:

                        • Roborock S5 Max
                      • iRobot Braava jet 240
                      • Vacuum Wars - the best source of robot vacuum reviews
                      • Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700
                      • Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
                      • AirPods Pro
                      • Andersen EV Charging Points
                      • Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme grants (UK specific)
                      • ZapMap - find EV charging points
                      • What's the best home EV charger?
                      • 42 min

                      About 361 Podcast

                      From the publisher's feed

                      The iTunes 5★ reviewed podcast that reviewers call it "A great British spin on the world of tech", "Informing and entertaining" and "the best tech podcast by far…"