Noobie's Top 10 Blog Posts of 2015

I’m always amazed at how difficult it is to predict which blog posts of mine will be the most popular and which ones will fall flat. 2015 was no exception. Who knew that the review I wrote on a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones would be my most popular blog post of 2015? Or that a blog post about my health would ring in at #2?

If you’re wondering what the other popular posts were, I’ve compiled the list of the top 10 most popular blog posts (based on page views) written by me in 2015. The list is in descending order from #10 to #1.

10. No, your new Buick does not have free Wi-Fi!

I wonder how many people watch the Buick commercial below and figure that if they buy a new Buick they will have free Wi-Fi in their car? It’s just like walking into a Starbucks or checking into a hotel, right? Find the Buick’s Wi-Fi connection on your device, connect to it for free and you’re done.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz. Wrong!

While the new Buick may be able to broadcast a Wi-Fi connection in the car, it doesn’t… more

9. I thought Amazon’s Prime Now 2-hour shipping was great until this happened

I used the Prime Now app this morning to order some San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser coffee. I wasn’t particularly in a hurry (I still have enough to get me through the week) but I wanted to see if Amazon could really live up to its free 2-hour delivery.

Long story short, they can. I placed the order at 8:58 a.m. and it was sitting on my doorstep at 10:33 a.m.

I would love to say I was 100% satisfied with the whole process but I wasn’t. Mainly because of… more

8. Why you should add books to your Audible.com wishlist

I’m a big fan and avid user of Audible.com. I just love listening to books in the car, on a walk or when I’m mowing the lawn.

My only problem with Audible.com is that I can’t keep up with the number of books I want to consume. That’s why I take advantage of Audible’s wish list. When I hear about or discover a new book I want to listen to but know it will be a while before I will get to it, I add it to my wish list in my Audible.com account. That way, when it comes time to purchase a new book… more

7. My real life experience filing a SquareTrade claim

I’ve been a big fan of SquareTrade for several years now. I even featured them in one of my Noobie Care teleseminars, Protect your gadgets from drops, spills and malfunctions (download here), earlier this year.

But there’s one thing that, up until recently, I had never done with SquareTrade… more

6. I thought Spotify Family was a good deal until this happened

My favorite music streaming service is Spotify. It’s the only one I deem worthy to pay for so I gladly hand over $10 to Spotify every month for their premium service.

Both of my sons are also addicted to Spotify but they don’t have credit cards so no Spotify Premium auto-payment for them. Instead, they ask for… more

5. What do you think about Shoebox for photo and video storage

QUESTION: What do you think about Shoebox for photo and video storage? – Pat S. from Birmingham, Alabama

ANSWER: There are a ton of services and apps that people can use to back up their photos on their smartphone. iPhone users can use iCloud, Google users can use Google Drive and just about anyone can use… more

4. I never thought my Samsung Galaxy S5 would do this (and I’m not happy about it)

My Samsung Galaxy S5 has never been the same since the most recent Android Lollipop update. The battery life is half of what it used to be, the phone heats up to the point where it goes into auto cooldown mode and my contacts app constantly crashes. Add on to this the fact that it takes about 5-10 seconds now to open up an app.

This is a shame because, up until the Android Lollipop update, my Galaxy S5 could… more

3. Altec Lansing Life Jacket (iMW575) Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker Review

I remember spending long days at my parents’ cabin in Wisconsin and listening to music all day long. Well maybe not all day long since back then we had a “boom box” radio with a cassette player that took anywhere from 6 to 8 D-size batteries. We would leave the boom box on the dock and constantly remind people not to get it wet.

A lot has changed since that time. Yes, myself included but I was referring more to… more

2. “OK Google, heart attack symptoms”

There’s not going to be a lot of tech-related talk in this blog post. Rather, I’m going to share with you the events of a day that changed my life forever. On November 21, 2015, while raking leaves in my back yard, I suffered a massive heart attack.

If that last statement surprised you, imagine how I felt. I am only 45 years old—way too young (in my eyes) to have a heart attack.

I guess what surprised me the most is… more

1. Say goodbye to tangled earbud cords with the QY8 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

If there’s one thing I can’t stand about earbuds it’s that they turn into a tangled mess when you’re not using them. Even when I do use them, the cord is often too short and I find myself frequently pulling the headphone connector out of my smartphone by accident.

The QY8 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones aim to fix these problems by eliminating the… more