Consumer Electronics Archives

Am I at Risk Because I Don’t Get a New Phone?

All the talk of Huawei not receiving Android updates has prompted me to think about all the phones running an older version of Android that is not being updated. I am still happy using a Galaxy Note 4 running Android version 6.0.1, with a security patch level of 1st August 2017. I have a paid for version of Kaspersky Internet Security on the phone. Should I ditch the phone and buy an up-to date model, and replace it every 3 years or so when manufacturer stops updates?

This is actually a difficult question to answer with any confidence.

However, it’s also a question that more often than not answers itself eventually.

Does downloading a lot on my smartphone shorten its life?

Does using a smartphone to download torrents reduce the lifespan of its memory card? By how much? How long would a Micro SD 32GB card last when it’s used for downloading torrents 24/7? Will the phone get too hot? Is there any effect on its life?

You have a couple of very interesting questions here about smartphone usage. Ultimately, I have to say that it depends. I’ll discuss why.

Can my PC get a virus from my smartphone?

I wondered if a smartphone is infected with a virus. Is there a chance that the system (a PC or a laptop) could also get infected if a Windows-based malware/virus is present on the smartphone? Secondly, if a USB port is disabled in the system (PC or laptop), can there still be a virus attack on the system?

There are two questions here. Let me address the first one.

How do I get Flash to work on my TV?

Hi Leo. I just purchased a smart TV and while I can play videos from YouTube through the app, when I try to stream live sports, it won’t let me. I’ve looked at the web and it seems like Adobe has pulled their support of Flash Player for the Android TVs and Google Play. Is there a way I can use my TV to stream live sports (as this is why I got it)? I’m sure the TV is smarter than me so sorry if this is a petty request.

It’s not a petty request , but I think that you’re kind of stuck. The whole Android/Flash thing is a tough one to solve. Let me explain.

Are records better than CDs?

Let me know if you remember this like me. I remember in the early 80s, people were blowing out their speaker systems with the new CD format. I didn’t own a CD player at the time. The CD was way better than scratchable vinyl with pops and clicks on the records. The sound was called “almost perfect” at the time. Today, I keep hearing the opposite. The record sounds better than the CD because it’s not compressed or something like that. I know that mp3s remove some sounds that I can’t hear anyway. Which one do you prefer? I ask as I listen to my iPod, which sounds just fine.

This kind of question causes religious arguments among audiophiles. Now, I’m no audiophile, but I’ll call it a matter of taste that’s dependent on your ability to hear the difference.

I do want to clarify a couple of things. Audio CDs are not compressed. That’s the reason they’re limited to around one hour. If you actually do the math, 16-bit stereo at 44 thousand samples per second takes up about 700 MB of data. That’s the capacity of an audio or data CD.

That doesn’t mean the sound you hear wasn’t compressed.