A Geek Goes Flying

I have an old (9 years?!) iPad Pro 9.7" that’s still in immaculate condition. It runs a little slowly these days, and the battery life has degraded, but for getting productive stuff done during random intervals during the day, it’s still a contender. I had it equipped with a Zagg keyboard case ‡ , but after about 2 years of light use, the hinge split on the keyboard part, and I figured it was time to try something else. Priced at $149 when it was a current SKU , the Apple Smart Keyboard for this old iPad is now available for $35 “renewed” on Amazon . Attaching to the “Smart Connector,” it doesn’t require a separate battery to be charged, it doesn’t rely on flaky Bluetooth, and like most Apple tech, it ‘just works.’™ The feel takes a  lot  of getting used to (it’s not a typical “chicklet” keyboard, it’s ... weird ...), but once you do it’s quite serviceable. It folds up to prop up the iPad in landscape orientation at a recline, that makes it a decent writing-on-the-go platform,...

I have the AirPods Pro (first generation), and love ’em, especially with Comply Foam tips to keep them in my ears and enhance sound isolation (which helps with noise reduction). But keeping the replacement tips somewhere where I’d find them again - a challenge. So I picked up this UGREEN Square Earbud Case and a set of these Mini Pill Organizers to keep everything organized. It’s a tight fit but it works: AirPods Pro in UGREEN case with spare tips AirPods Pro in UGREEN case, showing pill organizer with spare tips I also have a pair of regular AirPods I got as vendor swag that I like well enough, and even moreso with these cheap silicon ear tips (without them, the AirPods will fall right out of my ears). Unfortunately, unlike the AirPods Pro, the AirPods won’t fit in their case with these tips on, so they have to be removed frequently. Which begs the question - where to keep them when they’re off? In another mini pill organizer, of course. I grabbed another one of the UGREEN cases ...

iPhone 14 Pro, Spigen, Smartish I haven’t used a case on my phone since wrapping my iPhone 4S in a huge, clunky OtterBox over a decade ago. Apple’s phones were just too slick to hide them in a bulky sweater. But. After accidentally smashing my iPhone X outside of my Apple Care screen replacement window, I started thinking differently. My 12 Pro lived naked and has a couple of barely perceptible imperfections in the screen after 18 months. My 14 Pro got a case and a screen protector. Spigen Ultra Hybrid Case ($23). A simple one-piece affair that just sort of slips / snaps into place. It’s supposed to have anti-yellowing tech, we’ll see. It has the MagSafe ring in the back, is pretty slim and low profile. Remains to be seen how much protection it provides, but something’s better than nothing (theoretically), and this generally seems to be well reviewed. It’s just thick enough that if I set my phone on my old generic 5W Qi charger stand the phone doesn’t start to charge; if I kind of hol...