Quick Report: More Cellphone Webcam Experimenting

I found a use for the old smartphone, by using it to replace the regular webcam that has trouble working after a while. Let it sit long enough and you can get a few days out of it before it goes haywire again. I hear so many people praise Logitech but they always break for me. Always. And I’m not even that rough on my equipment.

The app I was playing with last week only worked through OBS (Open Broadcast Software), a streaming and recording program that records your screen and any external input like the webcam and microphone. I found another one that I want to play with a bit more before doing an article on (I don’t want to promote something that doesn’t work right or at least go over key areas it doesn’t work) but can be used as a regular webcam and doesn’t need an OBS plugin to use it. I only found it a couple of days ago so I haven’t really played with it but it seems easier to use.

In the next week or two I’ll be decorating for Christmas (I’m not letting 2020 stop me on that) but hopefully I’ll get back to a proper project soon.

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Quick Report: Learning My Smartphone

With my back still a bit tender my ability to do any heavy cleaning is suspect. There’s this one small spot in the small of my back, which is the spot it usually starts, still being restrictive. So this week I decided what I really need to do is go through my new smart phone and learn all the apps. This is something I’ve not really done in the past but long since should have done on my old phone. I even added an app or two to improve function but I don’t want to bother putting too much on. However it is still clutter clearing as any app I couldn’t use or wasn’t interested in was taken off…if it could. I also cleaned out a bit of my library and wishlist for apps I’ll never want to use.

Having apps that can’t be removed is sort of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to smartphones. I didn’t have this problem on the tablet, which has the same storage issue as my old phone, where I can’t even update the darn thing without a fight anymore. (My computer-savvy friend says that Android likes to take up a lot of space, and I’ve noticed that when I install a new update it doesn’t delete anything from the old one, which takes up even more space.) The big issue though is that smartphones have these apps you can’t get rid of even if it doesn’t affect the working of the phone. I don’t need the Facebook app on there because I’m rarely online when I’m out. (I don’t have a data plan and only use public WiFi when necessary. I don’t even have the phone on when I’m home most of the time.) I certainly don’t need Uber because I have a car and it’s already rare when I use it these days. And yet I can’t pull them off of the old phone. Heck, Google just canceled Google Play Music in favor of their YouTube Music app (I would have done it the other way around but what do I know?) I can’t use the app anymore except when downgraded to listen to the old radio shows and music I have on the SD card but for some reason it’s an app you can’t pull off, and yet Google Play Games is, despite being still active and one I probably use more. It just eats up space and it’s used for the function of the phone or basic operations. Why, Google? What makes you think this is a good idea? I just disable them so they won’t update again but it’s still clutter.

So get to know your apps and see which ones you’ll actually use. It takes up space and if you can remove it, do so. If you can’t, uninstall all the updates and disable it so it won’t waste even more space. It’s an odd sort of clutter project and I don’t know if iPhone and Windows Phone users have to suffer through this nonsense but it’s a good idea. Also, get a micro SD card and transfer all your pictures, videos, audio files, and contacts to that. If you use a media app or navigational map program that lets you download, make sure it’s set to that micro SD card. You’d be surprised how quickly space on your phone or tablet gets eaten up.

V-Log: A Cluttered Schedule

Produced for my other website as part of the Art Soundoff Challenge podcast journaling event. Learn more at ArtSoundoff.com

Quick Report: Smartphone Transfer

When my wireless phone provider dropped the 2G service (and I don’t really get the whole “G” thing so don’t ask me) I was given two choices: a 3G flip phone and a 4G smartphone. Knowing at some point 3G would go as there were already rumors of a 5G in the works I went with the smartphone. I’ve since found a few advantages but I didn’t overload my phone with apps. Just a few to keep me occupied during long waits or things I needed when I was out. However the storage space was so low that not only was I forced to give up apps but soon I couldn’t even update without going through and deleting all previous updates one app at a time. And sometimes even that didn’t work.

So with the 2020 plague stimulus offering me an opportunity I finally bought a new phone. Still a budget phone because who knows when I’ll have money come in again and I need to save that for necessities, but it’s all I need in the end. This week I used the usual clutter organizing time to transfer information, put in the necessary apps, and other set-up requirements to get the new phone ready for use. I’m trying to decide what to do with this old phone though. I can’t update it so I can’t put anything on it and I’m not sure who would want a phone they can’t update. I’ve seen videos for turning smartphones into security cameras and stuff but I’m not sure where I’d set it up. As it is we rarely go out and you hear all these hacker stories that make me question using WiFi in my security system. I don’t think I can get a trade-in after the fact and I bought the phone in a regular store, not the phone store. Anyone have any suggestions?

Quick Report: Getting The Webcam Running

Since getting my new computer there are a few things I still haven’t had time to get together because I wanted to get back to working on my websites. One of them was getting the webcam fully going and a streaming/recording software installed and tested. Since I’m going to need it as part of a November tradition on the other site this week seemed to be the right time to do it. So this week was about making sure the webcam worked, getting some things set up with both the streaming software I’ll be experimenting with, OBS Studio, and the camera program that came with Windows 10. Between them I’ll be doing a series of v-logs on the other site and I think we’re good to go, though I still have a lot of features to play with. That means the v-logs will also be used to play around with the software.

Next week I hope to have a better report for you.