MobileViews.com Podcast

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MobileViews Editor Todd Ogasawara discusses mobile technology hardware and software

  1. 2 days ago

    MobileViews 617: Google Meet Take Notes for Me; Hidden AI resource usage

    Google just added the "Take Notes for Me" feature to the consumer version of Google Meet if you have a Google AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription. This was previously only available to Google Workspace group subscriptions. I opted to turn on the feature for this and future podcasts. You can find this Google Meet generated summary on MobileViews.com.

    42 min

  2. 29 June

    MobieViews 616: Microslop 365 Copilot app; Insta360 Luna Ultra; Kodak Zink Slim Printer

    With episode 616, recorded on June 28, 2026, we marked the halfway point of the year with a deep dive into a term that I previously dismissed but am now on-board with:  "Microslop"—a term for the frustrating decline and fragmentation of Microsoft's ecosystem. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which recently stripped out its scanning function, turned a previously simple task into a multi-step ordeal. It is particularly ironic that Copilot continues to hallucinate, even suggesting I use the retired Office Lens app for scanning, seemingly unaware of its own company's product retirements. Consequently, I’ve pivoted to Genius Scan, a fast and purposeful alternative that offers a far better experience for digitizing my daily doodle project sketches. Jon, meanwhile, has been putting two impressive new hardware gadgets through their paces. He’s been testing the Insta360 Luna Ultra, a gimbal camera featuring a clever detachable screen that doubles as a remote control, allowing him to film himself while managing tracking and settings from a distance. He also showcased the Kodak Zink Slim Printer, a pocket-sized device that creates color adhesive stickers using zero-ink, heat-sensitive paper—perfect for adding instant color photos to a physical journal. While these gadgets provide plenty of utility, the broader tech landscape is facing a sobering shift: AI-driven demand for components is causing shortages in RAM and SSDs, leading to significant price hikes for devices like the MacBook Neo, which is expected to jump in price from $599 to $699.

    28 min

  3. 22 June

    MobileViews Podcast 615: AI etiquette, Gen Z tech rejection, AI scarcity

    I opened with a "mini-rant" about the frustrations of the USB-C ecosystem and aparent power requirement issues with a new Acer USB-C external LCD display. We also observed possible tangible effects of "AI scarcity," noting that Google Meet recordings and Alexa Plus responses are taking significantly longer to process, likely due to the processing demands of modern AI models. This scarcity sparked a conversation on new social norms in the AI age, specifically regarding the etiquette of AI agents (like Read.ai) attending meetings and the "cat-and-mouse game" of recording lights on smart glasses. Jon shared a major shift in his productivity workflow by moving to Obsidian, a "Swiss Army knife" of note-taking. By using Codex to convert 20 years of WordPress entries and Day One journals into Markdown files, he has created a future-proof, portable "vault" that avoids proprietary databases. We also discussed the release of Android 17, which introduced an interesting "Screen Reactions" overlay feature but also caused frustration by resetting permissions for tablet casting and photo galleries. To wrap up, Jon provided a field report on his DJI Neo 2 drone, which successfully tracked him during a 20mph e-bike ride. Despite suffering its first high-speed crash into a tree, the lightweight drone proved remarkably durable, surviving the impact with no visible damage. We also touched on a few tech trends, including Gen Z's growing rejection of Silicon Valley's vision in favor of "dumb" tech like flip phones and repaired iPods

    39 min

  4. 15 June

    MobileViews 614: Apple WWDC 2026 discussion with Sven Johannsen & Don Sorcinelli

    In MobileViews 614, Jon Westfall and I were joined by frequent guest panelists Sven Johansson, and Don Sorcinelli discuss the highlights from Apple’s recent Worldwide Developer Conference—or, as it we call it: the "Apple AI Conference". We also discussed the branding shift as my Google One 2TB plan was officially rebranded to Google AI Plus, signaling a broader industry trend toward AI-centric subscriptions. Don shared his experience with the Dreambeans experiment from Google Labs, which acts as a "really good sketch artist" by creating eerily accurate daily comic strips of your life based on calendar data and search history. This led to a deeper debate on the privacy vs. utility trade-off, contrasting Apple’s "private cloud compute" architecture with Google’s data-heavy personalization. The conversation turned to the shifting economics of AI, which I’ve dubbed the "drug dealer model". Companies are moving away from subsidized usage toward granular credit systems; for instance, Microsoft Copilot now consumes credits for simple tasks like opening large files or syncing handwriting. Despite these costs, "vibe coding" remains a game-changer. I shared how I used Google AI Studio to build a custom tool that summarizes the Techmeme River news feed and reads it back to me using an AI-synthesized voice, a task that took less time than brushing my teeth. Jon and I also lamented the current state of Siri, wishing it could handle multiple commands simultaneously rather than the current "one-step-at-a-time" limitation. We closed out with a look at the hardware horizon and a bit of tech nostalgia. While rumors swirl about AirPods with built-in cameras to help the user "see" the world, I was disappointed by the lack of any hints regarding a desktop Mac Neo. Our parenting discussion highlighted the iPad as the gold standard for managed digital access for toddlers, with Don choosing a strict "kiosk mode" approach to build good habits early. Finally, we reminisced about the original Microsoft Barney doll and the early days of Microsoft Flight Simulator (in context of the new Flight Simulator in Google Earth).

    1hr 1min

  5. 8 June

    MobileViews Podcast 613: Bean counters creating the AI divide

    In MobileViews 6136, Jon Westfall and I tackled the increasingly complex world of AI ecosystems. I shared my early impressions of Google Labs’ "Dream Beans," an interesting daily briefing tool that uses AI to generate an illustrated summary of topics it thinks you'll find interesting based on your activity. While the illustrations are very nice looking and the content relevant, the app is currently very phone-centric, lacking the landscape orientation optimization I’d expect for a tablet experience. I also noted that Google AI Pro remains a solid value for me at $20 a month. A major portion of the episode was dedicated to my "credit crunch" rant regarding Microsoft Copilot. I discovered that Microsoft’s 365 family plan only provides 60 AI credits per month, and the "intentional use" policy is aggressive. According to Copilot itself, credits can be consumed simply by opening the app, syncing handwriting from an e-ink tablet to OneNote, or even having the AI suggest a grammar fix you don't actually use. This led me to explore Obsidian as a OneNote alternative, as it offers free handwriting plugins without the credit overhead. Jon suggested a sustainable path forward: using AI to build offline scripts or tools that perform data manipulation locally to avoid recurring token costs.We also looked at the hardware horizon, specifically Microsoft’s announcement of Project Solera—AI-powered badges and desktop displays—and the new Nvidia RTX Spark PCs,. These machines are purpose-built for local AI, boasting a petaflop of performance to run personal agents offline. Finally, with Apple WWDC just around the corner, we shared our hopes for the long-promised "personal context" updates to Siri. Jon is also eagerly awaiting his pre-ordered Clicks communicator and keyboard, while I continue to hold out hope for a MacBook Neo with a backlit keyboard and a desktop Mac Neo. Whether it’s navigating "vibe coding" loops or managing AI budgets, it’s clear that the "magic math" of the AI industry is starting to meet the reality of the bean counters.

    45 min

  6. 1 June

    MobileViews Podcast 612: Tokens vs, Humans w/guest Don Sorcinelli

    Jon Westfall and I welcomed back our long-time friend Don Sorcinelli, who hasn’t been on the show since last October (podcast 583). Don shared his deliberate "low-tech" approach to entertaining his two-year-old granddaughter, opting for traditional toys over tablets to encourage focus and avoid the "out" that screen time provides. This sparked some fun tech nostalgia, as I recounted my own experiences as a dad of a toddler trying "interactive" toys like the light-sensing Microsoft Barney and the giant yellow Microsoft EasyBall trackball—both of which proved that sometimes, simpler is better. A major theme of this episode was the shifting economic reality of AI. Don, ever the healthy skeptic, compared the current AI hype to the dot-com bust and the "magic math" of non-GAAP reporting. We discussed the "tokens vs. humans" trade-off, noting that as companies like Google and OpenAI move toward token-based pricing, the cost of farming out thinking to AI may soon exceed the cost of hiring a human. I’ve been finding ways to outsmart these limits by using standard LLMs to "interview" me and generate highly efficient Codex prompts, which usually get the job done on the first try. We also tackled some serious infrastructure and software headaches. I’m currently dealing with expiring Secure Boot certificates on some of my no-name PC boxes—a situation Don rightly called a "mismanaged" disaster on Microsoft's part, given the lack of clear documentation and the bugs causing BitLocker prompts. On a more positive note, my 8GB MacBook Neo continues to impress me with its efficiency, proving that tight optimization can often trump raw specs. We wrapped up with a look at the future of Nvidia ARM-based processors for Windows and a strange sighting during my daily walk: a fiber optic cable hanging at neck height between utility poles, a reminder that even high-tech infrastructure can have very physical (and dangerous) failures

    45 min

  7. 25 May

    MobileViews Podcast 611: Android Show & "Gemini" I/O recap w/Johannsen & McPherson

    Jon Westfall and I were joined by frequent guest panelists Frank McPherson, and Sven Johannsen to discuss  the announcements from the recent "Gemini I/O" and Android shows. I kicked off the episode with a real-world tech success story: the Google app on my Pixel devices provided a magnitude and epicenter alert for a 6.0 earthquake in Hawaii that occurred 200 miles away. I felt a relatively mild rumble but thought it was a feral pig bumping the side of my home. Much of our hardware discussion focused on the Google Book, a premium AI-first device running the "Aluminium" (Android-based) OS. We speculated that Google is positioning this to compete with the high-demand MacBook Neo, which is currently so popular that rumors suggest Apple may release a spec-bumped "Neo 2" to address chip shortages and stay ahead of the competition. On the software and AI front, we looked ahead to Android 17 and its new "Rambler" feature for Gboard, which uses AI to filter out "ums" and "ahs" from voice transcriptions. I shared my experience with Gemini Pro’s voice cloning, which was "scary good" at mimicking my voice with minimal training, while Frank voiced skepticism about Wear OS 7 replacing tiles with widgets, fearing it's a step backward for round-screen usability. The episode also served as a warning about the dangers of auto-updates; Jon shared how a Ubiquiti router update broke his HomeKit setup—requiring an SSH command to fix—and I recounted a corrupt OneDrive for Mac update that forced me to roll back to its previous version using Time Machine. We wrapped up with a demonstration from Sven, who demonstrated his new Pixel Fold 10's unique feature in Google Meet that allows for a split-view using the front and back cameras simultaneously. This "double-vision" mode allows a caller to show their face while also providing a high-resolution view of their surroundings, which we agreed would be a game-changer for remote tech support or traveling. d there is still plenty of innovation happening in the Android ecosystem.

    58 min

  8. 18 May

    MobileViews 610: Googlebook announced. Good enough or too late?

    I started off the podcast by noting that I'm testing yet another budget-friendly microphone, the Boya CastMic G30, which features a gaming-style "glow" that led us into a deep dive on the recently announced Googlebook and its Battlestar Galactica Cylon-like Glowbar. Announced at a pre-Google I/O Android Show, the Googlebook is an AI-first, Android-based premium device positioned above the Chromebook. While its Cylon-esque "glow bar" is a fun aesthetic touch, I’m skeptical about its potential price point; if it creeps above $599, it might make more sense to buy a MacBook Neo, especially given Android's historical struggle with landscape-oriented tablet apps. We also touched on the future of Android Auto, which is introducing "immersive navigation" with Lane Advisory guidance to help drivers with select supported cars with front cameras navigate multi-lane roads in real-time. The second half of our conversation turned toward the cognitive impact of AI. We debated a recent study claiming that using AI for even ten minutes can impair brain performance, particularly in solving math problems. Jon Westfall, drawing on his background as a cognitive scientist, was skeptical of the study’s protocol, while I noted the striking similarity to the "brain mush" warnings I heard about calculators fifty years ago. We wrapped up by discussing how to "smooth over" the friction in our personal hobbies. For Jon, this means a "buy once, cry once" philosophy with high-quality tools like professional knitting needles. For me, retirement has brought a surprising fascination with the mechanics of pencil sharpeners, where I’ve discovered that investing in a high-quality long-point sharpener is often the key to enjoying the simple act of doodling on paper. Whether it's using AI to remove "ums" and "ahs" from speech via Gboard’s new Rambler feature or whittling a pencil to perfection, we agreed that the right tool fundamentally changes the experience

    37 min
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About

MobileViews Editor Todd Ogasawara discusses mobile technology hardware and software

Information

  • Creator
    Unknown
  • Years Active
    2008 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2011-2013 Todd Ogasawara. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    MobileViews.com Podcast