Top 10 Most Popular Noobie Posts in 2014

Like many others, I like to start a new year by looking back at the previous year and reflecting on what I did right and what I did wrong. For me, this includes reviewing my blog posts to see which ones were hits and which ones were duds. As anyone who blogs already knows, the ones you think will be hits are usually the duds and the ones you think are duds often turn out to be the hits.

How did I pick my 10 most popular blog posts from 2014? Well, I certainly didn’t go back and re-read each one. That would take too long and it would only be my opinion on which ones were the best. Instead, I used Google Analytics to see which of my blog posts from last year had the highest page views. Sure, I could have used the number of comments as a metric but I don’t believe engagement necessarily has a 1-to-1 correlation to popularity.

With this in mind, it looks like your favorite types of blog posts from me are my product reviews and my Ask Mr. Noobie Q&A so I’ll keep on doing those in 2015. I’m also glad to see a few of my strong opinion pieces like, Why you shouldn’t be upset at Amazon Prime’s $20 price increase and 15 ways you are being rude with your cell phone made the list.

#10: Why you shouldn’t be upset at Amazon Prime’s $20 price increase

I have been an Amazon Prime member since the first year Amazon offered the program. Back then you paid $79/year for the privilege of free 2-day UPS shipping with no minimum purchase limits. That’s it. And I was happy with it.

Since then, Amazon has added free access to 1000s of movies, free book lending through the Kindle Lending Library and one free Kindle book every month with the Kindle First program. All without raising the price. Still only $79/year.

Lately, however, I heard rumors of a price increase which became reality today when I received this email… read full story

#9: Free yourself from your television with the XFINITY TV Go app [REVIEW]

As more and more streaming capabilities are introduced to more and more devices, I wonder what’s going to become of the phrase, “What’s on tv tonight?” I mean, you don’t even need to sit in front of a television any more to enjoy what we still call traditional television programming.

Such is the case with XFINITY’s TV Go app, available for Apple devices, Android devices and the Kindle Fire. The best I can describe the TV Go app is that it’s like carrying around your XFINITY cable subscription with you on your tablet on smartphone. So instead of sitting in front of the television, you can now watch your favorite programming while you’re… read full story

#8: Why can I view some Facebook videos and not others? [ASK MR. NOOBIE]

QUESTION: Hello. I hope you can help me understand what is happening. I use an iPad most of the time. I prefer the web version of Facebook instead of the app. Since iPad doesn’t support FLASH, I normally have to go to the FB app to see videos people post. Last week one day I was able to see the videos in the web version of FB and was so excited. Then the next day it was back to not being able to see them. Then yesterday I was able to see them again and can still see today. Do you have any idea what changed and if this change will continue. I love not having to flip back and forth from web to app in order to view videos. I’ve tried to find any info about this online and haven’t found anything. Hope you can help. I’m the type person who likes to know the whys and details. Thanks. – Susan H. from Milledgeville, Georgia

ANSWER: I used to be exactly like you, Susan. I hated the Facebook app on my iPad and used the web version in its place. I even went as far as to create a shortcut to the Facebook website on my iPad so I would trick myself into thinking I was still using an app.

But over time, the app kept getting more and more useful and I can honestly say the Facebook app is now… read full story

#7: What is my child watching on Netflix?

As a parent, I am reluctant to let my children use my Netflix account or worse, have their own Netflix account. The reason for this is that Netflix has really lousy parental controls. Oh sure, you can set up profiles for your children so that your recommendations don’t get mixed in with their recommendations and so you can each maintain your own queues but that’s about the extent of it. The profiles aren’t password protected so your child can freely choose to use whatever profile he or she wants.

But what if you do let your children use your Netflix account or already let them have their own account and want to know what they are watching? read full story

#6: Verizon Ellipsis 7: Is it the right tablet for you? [REVIEW]

I’ve said it before. It’s getting increasingly more difficult to tell the difference between various Android tablets. This isn’t to say they are all the same. They are most definitely not. I’m just saying the average consumer might not be able to tell the difference—and in some cases may not even care.

That’s why I love the Verizon Ellipsis 7? tablet. It’s not the best Android tablet on the market and I think Verizon knows that. Rather than try to be the best, Verizon is providing a low-cost niche tablet for its own customers.

The Ellipsis 7 functions just like… read full story

#5: Wirelessly mirror your tablet, smartphone or laptop on your television with the Netgear Push2TV [REVIEW]

The Netgear Push2TV is a small little device that connects to your television’s HDMI port and allows you to wirelessly display your tablet, smartphone or laptop on your television’s screen. It’s perfect for presentations or for when the whole family is sitting around the television and you want to share content from your personal device.

Setting up the Netgear Push2TV is simple. Connect the power cable to the device (or plug the USB into your television if it supports it) and connect the device to your television with an HDMI cable. I was a little (make that a lot) disappointed that the Netgear Push2TV didn’t include the HDMI cable. You have to buy that separately making the Push2TV completely useless until you buy the cable.

Once connected, you can begin mirroring a supported device on your television screen after making… read full story

#4: 15 ways you are being rude with your cell phone

Ever since my incident with the rude cell phone talker in front of me at a Speedway gas station, I’ve been compiling a list of ways I think people act rude when using their cell phone. I stopped at around 15 although I’m pretty sure I could double the list if I gave it enough thought.

This list is going to make a lot of people angry which isn’t going to bother me a bit. You have your opinion and I have mine. It is my hope, however, that people reading this list will realize that something they are doing might be construed as… read full story

#3: Why the Fitbit is better than your smartphone’s pedometer

I never intended to but I now own two pedometers. The first is my Fitbit Force which I absolutely love (despite being recalled due to some individuals experiencing a rash from using it). The second is the one built in to my Samsung Galaxy S5 (S Health).

So one would think that if you have a pedometer built into your smartphone, why bother wearing something on your wrist like a Fitbit Force?

The answer is simple. I don’t have my… read full story

#2: How do I mass unlike Facebook pages? [ASK MR. NOOBIE]

QUESTION: I use Facebook to enter contests and have had to like a lot of things to enter. I get a frequent block on Facebook that I am over 5,000 likes and have to delete some of them to continue. The thing is that it is very laborious to try to look at all my likes, pages/businesses and then unlike them. Is there a way to do an easy unlike of a lot of liked sites rather than go to each particular page and unlike them individually? Is there an easier way to be able to see my likes and delete a lot of them faster? Thank you for your time!! – Meredith P. from Round Pond, Maine

ANSWER: You’re in luck, Meredith. There is an easier way. But before I tell you how to do it, I want to point out that my solution is how you view all of your liked pages on Facebook today. Facebook is always changing things and my step-by-step approach could be outdated in as little as a few months. So when you read this, take action immediately.

The first step is to… read full story

#1: I loved my SkyBell right up until the part where I started using it [REVIEW]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I should not be allowed to visit the Indiegogo site. It’s the tech equivalent of a handyman walking into a Home Depot.

My latest can’t resist item I found on Indiegogo is the SkyBell (formerly known as iDoorCam). The idea is simple. You remove your doorbell and put the SkyBell in its place. When someone rings the doorbell, a push notification is sent to your smartphone which includes a live video feed of the person standing at your door. There’s even an option to talk directly to the person at your door without opening the door.

I fell in love with the SkyBell immediately. I couldn’t stop thinking of… read full story