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Barry Collins
Barry Collins

494 Followers

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Mar 3, 2022

You don’t own your Samsung TV — it’s just a Samsung billboard

Samsung puts intrusive ads on your smart TV and there’s not much you can do about it — We’re long past the point where tech companies started taking the piss with in-device advertising. Samsung, however, is taking it to a desperate new level with its smart TVs. Samsung has long put ads in the menus of its smart TV sets. If you’ve bought a recent Samsung television, you’ll…

Samsung

3 min read

You don’t own your Samsung TV — it’s just a Samsung billboard
You don’t own your Samsung TV — it’s just a Samsung billboard
Samsung

3 min read


Published in Rock n’ Heavy

·Jan 4, 2022

I Gave Up Spotify In A Huff… Now I’ve Come Crawling Back

Spotify’s dragged me back after its rivals proved they just weren’t up to it — Spotify, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. In the middle of 2021, I threw my toys out of the pram and left Spotify, after something like a decade as a paying customer. The company had nudged up the price of its Family account by a couple of pounds and that…

Spotify

3 min read

I Gave Up Spotify In A Huff… Now I’ve Come Crawling Back
I Gave Up Spotify In A Huff… Now I’ve Come Crawling Back
Spotify

3 min read


Nov 24, 2021

You Can’t Be Told Who Supplies Tech To UK Government — Because It Might Embarrass Them

Home Office refuses FOI request for Vivace members because it might embarrass their shareholders — You might recall that a few months ago I wrote about a mysterious organisation called Vivace. Vivace is a government-funded consortium of tech companies that provides the Home Office’s Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE). …

Government

4 min read

You Can’t Be Told Who Supplies Tech To UK Government — Because It Might Embarrass Them
You Can’t Be Told Who Supplies Tech To UK Government — Because It Might Embarrass Them
Government

4 min read


Published in Counter Arts

·Oct 27, 2021

Photoshop’s Stunning New Filters Let You Change Seasons In Seconds

A selection of new neural filters let photographers switch from spring to autumn in no time — I’ve written about the awesome, yet worrying, power of Photoshop before. This week’s Photoshop 2022 update brings yet more tools that make it supremely easy to make major changes to your photographs, such as switching the season of your landscapes. The landscape shown above was shot on a dreary August…

Photography

3 min read

Photoshop’s Stunning New Filters Let You Change Seasons In Seconds
Photoshop’s Stunning New Filters Let You Change Seasons In Seconds
Photography

3 min read


Published in Mac O’Clock

·Oct 19, 2021

The New MacBook Pro: Is It Even As Good As Its Predecessor?

Apple’s M1 Pro/Max Graphs Make The Old M1 Look Better Than Ever — If you watched the launch of Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops last night, I hope your finger wasn’t twitching as badly on that ‘Order’ button as mine was. There’s no doubt the new MacBook Pro is a beast. However, Apple’s presentation was also a masterclass in distraction — diverting your…

Apple

3 min read

The New MacBook Pro: Is It Even As Good As Its Predecessor?
The New MacBook Pro: Is It Even As Good As Its Predecessor?
Apple

3 min read


Published in Mac O’Clock

·Sep 30, 2021

How To Quickly Sign A PDF On A Mac

Put your signature on a PDF document in no time at all with this tip — Being sent a PDF that “you must sign” is one of those dumb pieces of modern-day bureaucracy that we just have to deal with. However, if you own a Mac, it’s a job you can do in five-seconds flat — and you don’t need any expensive software to do it…

Mac

3 min read

How To Quickly Sign A PDF On A Mac
How To Quickly Sign A PDF On A Mac
Mac

3 min read


Published in Mac O’Clock

·Sep 20, 2021

Apple’s iOS 15 privacy update hits hard

Mail Privacy Protection is bad news for email marketeers using services such as Mailchimp — Brace yourself if you’ve built a business around email marketing: Apple’s just made it a whole lot harder to keep tabs on your audience. Apple iOS 15, which is beginning to roll out today, brings in something called Apple Mail Privacy Protection. In short, if your customer enables this optional…

Marketing

3 min read

Apple’s iOS 15 privacy update hits hard
Apple’s iOS 15 privacy update hits hard
Marketing

3 min read


Published in Mac O’Clock

·Sep 8, 2021

Xbox Cloud Gaming: The Best Way To Game On A Mac

Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming solves one of the Mac’s biggest problems — Let’s face it, the Mac is nobody’s first choice of platform (hate that word) for gaming. Even if you can find a Mac with decent enough graphics to play the latest 3D games, you’re unlikely to find the latest 3D games on a Mac. Salvation comes in the unlikely form…

Mac

4 min read

Xbox Cloud Gaming: The Best Way To Game On A Mac
Xbox Cloud Gaming: The Best Way To Game On A Mac
Mac

4 min read


Published in Mac O’Clock

·Sep 2, 2021

Apple Might End The Era Of Free Apps

Is the inevitable consequence of various court cases that Apple will ban free apps? — App developers appear to have scored a victory over Apple. Following an investigation by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission, Apple has (with what appears to be a great deal of reluctance) agreed to let ‘reader apps’ provide a link so that customers can subscribe on the developer’s own website instead of…

Apple

2 min read

Apple Might End The Era Of Free Apps
Apple Might End The Era Of Free Apps
Apple

2 min read


Aug 31, 2021

Using A Mac With An Android Phone? Check This Out

Android Messages For Web gives you some of the iPhone magic with an Android phone — I had an iPhone years ago, but gave them up when they got stupidly expensive and failed to ever significantly improve battery life. …

Mac

2 min read

Using A Mac With An Android Phone? Check This Out
Using A Mac With An Android Phone? Check This Out
Mac

2 min read

Barry Collins

Barry Collins

494 Followers

Freelance writer, editor and photographer. More at: www.mediabc.co.uk

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