In MobileViews 597, recorded on February 15, 2026, Jon Westfall and I noted the upcoming the Lunar New Year while tackling the frustrations of modern tech ecosystems. I kicked things off with a double-header rant: first, my recurring battle with leaking alkaline batteries in my mouse and other devices, and second, Microsoft’s decision to force Clipchamp (a video editor) users to store massive video files on OneDrive. With my upload speeds maxing out at 25 megabits, uploading gigabyte-sized files is simply unworkable, so I’ve officially pivoted to the open-source video editor Shotcut. We also explored the "bane of existence" for educators: the limitations of Chromebooks. Jon shared his struggles with students who, having grown up in managed K-12 Chrome environments, often struggle with standard file permissions and workflows when transitioning to college and professional platforms.

Jon detailed his upgrade to the Backbone Pro gaming controller—praising its integrated battery and Bluetooth versatility—while looking forward to a future M5 Mac Mini to handle local LLM heavy lifting. I’m personally keeping an eye on rumors of an affordable A18 Pro-based MacBook that Jon noted could potentially disrupt the education sector. Between my nostalgia for coding in a 208-byte space on an Apple II and Jon’s modern Python toolkit involving pyenv and PyInstaller, we emphasize that efficiency must remain a priority, even as software becomes more bloated. Whether it's navigating the "AI search" changes in Google Photos or finding ways around "vibe coding" errors, we're still looking for tech that just works.