All Stories By:

Dan Seifert

Skip to main content
Dan Seifert

Deputy Editor

When he isn't dwelling on the latest tech news or trying to figure out how the latest gadgets work, you can usually find Dan choking down far too much coffee than one person should consume in a given day. He also has an unhealthy obsession with computer and camera bags.

D
Youtube
Who decided what phone each character used in Succession?

Apparently, the actors dictated it based on their own personal preferences. That’s according to Mark Mylod, who directed a lot of the episodes and some of the most important ones in the whole show.

I guess this means Matthew McFayden stans Samsung.


D
The Verge
Amazon’s Echo speakers are a late capitalism nightmare.

As a virtual assistant, Alexa is quite good: it responds quickly, often knows what it is you want, and is capable of doing many things.

As something I want to actually use, it’s terrible, all thanks to Amazon’s relentless upsells after Alexa responds. That’s my takeaway from Jen Tuohy’s review of the new Echo Pop, where it attempted to get her to pay for a louder alarm after she asked it to set an alarm. What a nightmare.


D
External Link
Paperlike adds a folio case to its line of iPad accessories.

The new Paperlike Folio Case magnetically attaches to 10.9 / 11-inch or 12.9-inch iPads and has an extra large flap to hold the Apple Pencil in place, even if you’re using one of Paperlike’s Pencil grips on it. The case has a fabric-like exterior finish and a microfiber inside to keep the iPad’s screen clean. It also supports two levels of tilt and the iPad’s sleep / wake function when you open or close it.

If Apple’s (or one of the many clones available on Amazon) folio case isn’t keeping your Pencil attached, you can order the new Paperlike Folio Case for $69.99 now.


D
External Link
Branded shortcut buttons on TV box remotes are user hostile and stupid.

Here’s the latest example: apparently some Android TV boxes came with remotes that had a dedicated shortcut button to launch HBO Max, which has now stopped working since the new Max app that replaces HBO Max has been released. It’s a fair bet that button will never work again and not even the first time this has happened with an HBO app button.

The only winner here is the product manager that got companies to pay for their button placement.


D
External Link
Another excellent Mastodon app is now available on the Mac.

The Mac version of Ivory is now out, following the iPhone and iPad versions that came out earlier this year.

Like the mobile versions, Ivory for Mac is fully featured and very good. It’s wild to think that we’ve gone from zero good options to multiple excellent Mastodon apps for the Mac in just a few short months. (If Ivory isn’t your flavor, I also recommend checking out Mona.)


D
Twitter
Android 14 might actually be useful when you have a physical keyboard attached.

One of my oft-repeated and long-standing complaints with Android tablets is the generally poor support for keyboard shortcuts, which can make using them for productivity work unnecessarily frustrating. Some manufacturers like Samsung have built limited support for keyboard shortcuts on their own, but it looks like Android 14 is going to make a lot more of them native in the system.

Now if only we can get some actual apps to support keyboard shorts — I’m looking at you Gmail.


D
Youtube
How much does the shape and material of your keycaps impact the sound of your keyboard?

It turns out quite a bit. If you weren’t aware, keycaps for mechanical keyboard can come in a wide variety of sizes and various materials. The height of the keycaps can change the sound of your keyboard dramatically, from higher pitched clacks to deeper tones.

If you’re going for that trendy deep thocky sound, you’re going to want tall, preferably PBT keycaps.


D
Youtube
The Red Hydrogen phone was one of the worst products we ever reviewed.

Seriously, it has one of, if not the absolute, lowest review scores we’ve ever given out.

Apparently that whole debacle was five years ago, and SnazzyLabs has a fun video looking back on the Red and the tech that was inside of it.


R
We finally got our hands on Google’s Pixel Fold.

Forget the leaks and the spec sheets; we went to Google I/O and got to use the company’s pricey (it starts at $1,799.99) new folding phone.

Dan Seifert can tell you more about the Pixel Fold’s hinge and show you what it looks like next to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 — check out our entire writeup if you need even more details.