Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog! Scroll down to read the posts. Use this Google form to contact me. You can also tweet me. I am @Tyw77. Please follow me on Twitter, where I will tweet links to new posts.

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the RSS Feed.  You can also send a donation to me on PayPal.

I am open to sponsorship opportunities and have reviewed products for various companies. You can see some of my reviews here.

Terms of conditions:
The owner reserves the right to delete any offensive/spammy comments at his/her discretion. Also, the comments do not reflect the views of this user, and this user takes no responsibility for the materials it expresses. In addition, usage of this blog or texts herein without linking back to this blog or properly citing it is a copyright infringement. If you disagree with these terms and conditions, exit the site immediately!

My Shocking Experience at Fish N Fry, Bristol

I recently visited a local chip shop called Fish N Fry located at 87 St Marks Rd, Easton, Bristol BS5 6HX. I want to share my experience. What started as a simple meal turned into online harassment.

The Wait Time

Google Maps shows I spent 40 minutes at the store. I spent about 10 minutes eating. That means I waited 30 minutes for my food. I looked up typical wait times for fish and chips. Usually, a wait is around 5 to 15 minutes. I want to be completely honest in my review. The store was very busy. Peak times do cause longer waits at any restaurant. Still, a 30-minute wait is excessive.

My Initial Review

I left a 3-star review on Google. I praised the fresh food and vegan options. I also mentioned the long wait and the cramped space. I even noted that a Deliveroo driver was complaining about the delay.

The Backlash and The Accusations

Soon after, the business messaged me on Instagram. They asked me for a better rating. They brought up the complimentary chips they gave me.

 I increased my rating to four stars. I also updated my review to mention the free chips. They did not like this. The owner replied to my review publicly. They claimed my edits raised concerns about my intent. They said my review was invalid and dishonest. They then blocked my Instagram account.

After reading this, I reduced my rating back down to three stars. I then received another direct message from a personal Instagram account. This person demanded that I stop editing my review and threatened to report me for false allegations. The profile picture and name in the message strongly indicate this is Aftab. The restaurant's website confirms Aftab is the owner of Fish N Fry.

Via https://www.fishnfry.co.uk/

The Harassment Campaign

I posted about this strange behavior on Reddit and Facebook. Shortly after, the harassment started. An Instagram account named "sunariaz.xo" sent me angry messages. They called me a loser and told me to get a life. 

They went to my personal photos to leave nasty comments. They body-shamed me and told me to eat a salad.

This account pretended to be from another restaurant called Mayflower. I contacted Mayflower directly. The owner confirmed they had no connection to this person. Mayflower even posted a public warning about the impersonation.

The True Identity

People on Facebook quickly identified the harasser. They pointed out she is the daughter of the Fish N Fry owner. 

Her previous Instagram posts also show her directly promoting the shop. 

via https://www.instagram.com/p/DPe-8raiuoz/

She has since changed her username to "sunaray.xo".

Proof:

The Final Straw

The store owner then took things a step further. Another customer left a negative review. The owner replied and accused that person of working with me. He used my full name in his public reply. This was a calculated effort to smear my name.

From: https://share.google/vq9ghQgnA2Va8DaYU

I cannot recommend this business. A 30-minute wait is bad enough. The sustained public harassment is unacceptable. Businesses should accept fair criticism. They should not attack their customers.

My latest review and reply

My latest review:

https://share.google/fpK7p8nc97sRvpuZG 

Their reply to my review:

They have since added a reply to my latest review:

Watch 8 Classic Review

Design

The Samsung Watch8 Classic is a great smartwatch with long battery life.  The design can be a bit unusual, though, featuring a unique combination of a circular screen and a square frame.  While I don't mind the shape, I feel this design choice makes it a bit chunkier.

In addition, the watch band doesn't have many holes, and for a big guy like me, I had to put it in the last hole.  One drawback is that this watch won't fit bands made for previous watches.  It uses a proprietary attachment mechanism that clicks into place. The mechanism is easier to install compared to previous watches, but the button can be a bit hard to press with your bare hands.  I had to use a pen to press down on the button to remove the strap.

Although the watch can be worn at night to track your sleep, I find the watch a bit uncomfortable to wear all night.  It affected my sleep quality, causing me to wake up several times.

As with the other classic lines, the watch has a dial to help navigate the menu without touching the screen.  

It also comes with 3 action buttons.  However, the buttons are not as customizable as I would like.

Action buttons on the watch.  Note that the watch is using the Spigen Lite Fit Strap

Only the top button is customizable to launch any app.  The middle button is relegated to a few Samsung apps:

• Samsung Health
• Stopwatch
• Flashlight
• Water lock
• Camera Controller
• Voice Recorder

It can also be turned off if you don't use it. 

The bottom button is relegated to recent apps or going to the previous screen.

Performance and Software

The watch comes with Wear OS 6.  This comes with a slight change in the interface.  The notifications are grouped vertically.  In addition, you can combine some tiles into a daily recap screen.  For me, this feature allows me to see all the important daily stats, such as weather, upcoming events, battery life, and physical attributes, all on the same page rather than having to scroll through one tile at a time.  

Otherwise, the interface is similar to previous Samsung watches, which I can't complain about since the UI is refined enough to make navigation through the different options seamless.  The watch is snappy and responds well to user input.

However, what I find frustrating is that some of the old watch faces that I used on my previous watches do not work and require me to edit them to get them working.

The watch routines sync with the phone, and almost all the watch functions can be adjusted using the connected phone.  That means you don't have to fumble around the screen to adjust the options you want.

Health features

The watch comes with a wide array of health features, along with the usual heartbeat, blood oxygen monitor, and activity tracker.

It can also measure blood pressure, but it needs regular calibration with a physical blood pressure machine.

A new sensor on this watch is the antioxidant measurement, which supposedly can measure the amount of antioxidants in your blood.  However, I have no way to test whether it's accurate or not.

The watch can detect signs of sleep apnea, which can be handy.

Battery life

I was able to squeeze 4 days of use from this watch, but I don't wear the watch overnight.

Summary

In summary, this watch's main benefit is its long battery life.  However, the watch is a bit chunky, and I don't find the default watch band too comfortable.  The chunkiness means that the watch may not be too comfortable to wear to bed.  Nevertheless, it is a good and stylish smart watch to wear to events or during the day.

Rant: Music with very similiar chords

When I was watching the trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past, I noticed an eerily familiar music.

Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2zYHWDZKo

The song had the rift from "The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm" from the movie Lord of the Rings.

Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8pWjiFxXkg

Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWurKB-dQc8

However, comments on the trailer tell me that it is from the movie Sunshine.

Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I6ffG9hid8

It is also used in Kick-Ass, also by the same composer John Murphy:

Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5zDgqjgkM

Digging back even further, I noticed that the "rift" of the music is very similar to the Windows XP installation music:



Mobile link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zd1tIJuDqk

Tips to avoid pickpocketers in Paris

I went to Paris in 2022 and would like to impart some tips to avoid being pickpocketed.

• Use a front-facing shoulder bag or fanny pack (bum bag). Pull your bag up and clasp your hand over it during busy crowds so they can't easily open the zip.

• Close your zips with a Bobino zipper clip (or a similar device). In my experience, the clips are tricky to open. You may want to use the clip with another key ring, as the clips' native rings can flay open if you tug hard on them.

• Bury expensive items at the bottom of your backpack and cheap items at the top. On top of my backpack are the sunscreens and a spare T-shirt.

• Spread out your cash, including putting some on a lanyard under your shirt. Personally, I have €10 in my wallet, €40 in the inner zip pockets of my backpack (spread out, of course), €5 under my phone holder, and €50 in small notes on the lanyard. I saw a tour guide placing money in a lanyard and adopted that trick. So, if my wallet is stolen, I can still reach my hotel by the latest.

• Keep as little as possible in your wallet. Preferably, an amount you're OK with losing.

• Use inner zippers to keep your credit card separate from your wallet or deep in your backpack. Use Apple Pay or Google Pay as much as possible, preferably with a watch, to avoid taking out your phone.

• Split your ID from your credit card, especially if your ID has an address that matches the billing address of one of your cards. Carry the ID separately from your card. Or use an ID with no address on it.

• Attach your phone using a retractable badge holder. You can also do the same for your Navigo Go card.

• Use a Navigo card or a physical ticket, especially if you have pieces of luggage. Don't use your phone, as they may be able to "snatch" it while you have it out.

• Avoid ticket machines. You can top up the Navigo card using your phone from the safety of your hotel.

• Use a wrist strap with your phone.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Major oopsie by Mattel. Giving a new meaning to "defying gravity"

Mattel has made a major oopsie.  On the packaging of the dolls, Mattel has linked to the porn site www.wicked.com (owned by Wicked Pictures, a porn production company) instead of Wicked movie's real site, www.wickedMOVIE.com.

The intended site www.wickedMOVIE.com

A safe-for-work screenshot of www.wicked.com.  For the not safe for work screenshot, click here.  Wicked.com had changed their website after this incident to make it tamer.

The wrong website appears on the box of all the Mattel range of Wicked dolls, including the Glenda doll, the Deluxe Elphaba Fashion Doll, and the Madame Morrible doll (pictured below).

Madame Morrible doll (credits: Leah Kissinger on Facebook)

Video proof provided by just2goodYT

This isn't isolated to the US.  Dolls sold in the UK are also affected as shown by the pictures obtained from dolls purchased from Amazon UKAmazon UK.

 Glinda Fashion Doll (credit: Thu Win/The Techy)

Deluxe Elphaba fashion doll (credit: Thu Win/The Techy)

In addition to the errant misprint on the packaging, the error also appears in the manual of both the singing Elphaba (archived via Wayback Machine) and singing Glenda dolls (archived via Wayback Machine).

Picture from the review of Mattel Wicked, Singing Elphaba Fashion Doll & Accessories Amazon listing

Picture from Mattel's PDF user guide of the singing Elphaba doll

Picture from the user guide of the singing Glenda doll

As of the publishing of this post, Mattel has published an apology but has not issued a recall of the dolls.

Mattel had sent a statement to The Techy saying: 

"Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link found on the package, and obscure the link found on any instruction materials."

This would be a costly fix for Mattel because the domain www.wicked.com belongs to Wicked Pictures and was registered on July 19, 1994. The first appearance on Wayback Machine was on December 19, 1996.  Therefore, Mattel couldn't simply buy the domain.

Wicked is a film by Universal Pictures and will be released on November 22, 2024.

If you are wondering about the title, Defying Gravity is one of the main theme songs in the Wicked musical.

See this version by Idina Menzel:

The author would like to credit iamwomanhearmepour on Reddit for breaking this news.

Update: Added statement from Mattel.

Review: Samsung Fold6 folding phone

Ever wish you could have a large display on a phone that still fits in your pocket? The Samsung Fold6 (which as of January 8, 2025, costs £1498 on Amazon) is the answer.

Design

I like the way the phone "unfolds" to have a larger display. The device is a cross between a [mini] tablet and a slab phone phone.  This phone is the best of both worlds since if you need a large display, you can simply unfold it, and when not in use, it folds down to a compact device that easily fits in your pocket.

This makes it an ideal media consumption device. I found myself using the fold more than my tablet, even around the house, since it's compact enough to put in my pocket when I'm out and about and then use it to play media when I'm cooking.

Additionally, the large inner screen makes it easy to read emails, news articles, websites, and other content. No more squinting and trying to zoom around on a website.

As with other Samsung phones, the display is quite bright and vivid, and despite its size, the phone is quite light.

The large display also makes it an ideal note-taking device with an S-Pen. I've used the Fold to take notes during courses.

Performance

The phone is quite fast and doesn't display any lags.

The camera on this device is also quite decent, and you can’t tell the difference between a picture taken by the Fold and one taken by Samsung’s other flagship devices.

One drawback of the phone is that the battery is smaller compared to traditional phones at just 4400 mAH, though there are battery improvements compared to previous generations.  However, in my experience, the device lasts about a day and a half before having to charge up again.  But again, your mileage may vary depending on your use pattern and device installed.

Usability

In Fold6, Galaxy AI is front and center, taking up space in the menu item.  I haven't fully used all the features of Galaxy AI, but I frequently use the feature to remove items like people in the background from photos that I have already taken.

Galaxy AI also has a sketch-to-image mode, which looks quite fun. I haven't used the feature extensively, but I can see where it could be useful.

One area where Samsung devices shine is the Samsung Dex feature. On my recent vacation to Scotland, I forgo my laptop and brought a touch-screen monitor, which I plugged into my phone.  This greatly reduced the number of devices I had to carry around and keep track of.  Plus, I could play media content from my phone.

Durability

One of my concerns about getting a folding phone was its durability. In my time with it, it has withstood the rigors of daily life. Unlike previous generations, the hinge looks robust, and the device folds flat, which leaves a small gap between the two screens.

The phone has an IP48 rating, which means it should be resistant to water and dust, for the first time.

Summary

In summary, the Fold6 is a good all-round device.  Though its battery life may not be that good or the camera that great, its biggest strength is compactness.  It offers the benefits of a large screen without the bulkiness.

Review: Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 5

I received the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5  as part of a review program in return for an unbiased review.  Mobvoi had no editorial rights to my review, and they received no preview copy of the evaluation.

The watch costs £329 at the time of this review.

Pro:

• Extremely long battery life (upward of 4 days)
• Lightweight
• Activity tracker
• A highly readable secondary display
• Goes into an essential mode to save battery if there's no activity
• Syncs Do Not Disturb (DND) with phone

Cons:

• The vibration motor is a bit weak
• Proprietary charger
• No Google Assistant
• Can go into essential mode and lose connection with the watch.

Style

The product inherits the design style of previous Mobvoi watches and subtly improves on it.  For example, the two protruding crowns that graced previous Mobvoi watches are gone.  Instead, the Pro 5 has one rotating crown and one recessed button.  A single tap of the top button triggers the recently used app list.  And double pressing that top button launches Google Wallet.  The rotating crown triggers the "back" button and the button to launch the app.  Double pressing the crown launches the most recently used app.  However, you can't customize the action of the controls.  For example, you can't change the app launched by double pressing the top button.

The crown is less pronounced than the previous generation watches, so that's a step in the right direction.  In addition, the crown is now rotating and can be used to scroll through items.

The watch utilizes a low-power secondary display that is easily read under bright sunlight.  The watch face of this lower power display cannot be changed, though.

The watch band of the Pro 5 is silicone, which means it does not suffer the stress creases of the Pro 3 Ultra.  Thankfully, the band is longer than the Pro 3 Ultra.  The band of the Pro 5 measures around 10 inches.

Technology

Activity tracking

The TicWatch Pro 5 (and most other smartwatches) tracks heart rate, steps, activity, etc.  However, it comes with a few added features.  It has IHB AFiB Detection and 24-hour stress monitoring.  A "one-click measurement" feature measures pulse, Oxygen, breathing, and stress in one go.  As with the Pro 3, the Pro 5 didn't sense the sport accurately, and you had to manually select the sport.  The watch can auto-detect walks, runs, and cycling, but in my experience, it only said I had walked for 1 minute, while I know I have walked for at least 10-20 min during my commute to work.

Vibration motor

The vibration motor on this watch isn't as strong as the Samsung, but it's strong enough.

Battery life

Mobvoi watches are the king of battery life, and the TicWatch Pro 5 is no slouch.  The watch's battery easily lasts 2-3 days and, for me, pushes on to the 4th day.  This means I do not have to worry about charging my watch daily.  The watch also comes with fast charging, so it doesn't have to dwell on the charger for long. It can charge the watch from 30% to 100% in under an hour.  The website says a 30-minute charge will give you 65% battery.  This technology is not reliant on the charger since the Pro 3 Ultra charger also gives you a fast charge on the Pro 5.

Mobvoi says it will last 80 hours in normal "smart" mode. One new feature Mobvoi introduces with the Pro 5 is the "smart essential mode." Under this mode, the watch will switch to essential mode automatically during the scheduled time slot. However, during the scheduled time slot, your TicWatch will only switch to Essential Mode if you wear it to sleep or leave it off your wrist for more than 30 minutes.

The essential mode only uses the secondary display and allows you to see your steps, battery life, and the time and date.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic lasts about a day of heavy use and often has 40% battery life at the end of the day unless I top it up during the day.

One drawback of the watch is that the TicWatch Pro 5 uses a proprietary charger.  However, this problem is not unique to the TicWatch Pro 5.  Even Samsung's wireless charger is proprietary and won't charge with ordinary Qi chargers.  However, Samsung sells a charger device that simultaneously charges 2 devices plus a watch.  And the watch can reverse charge from a Galaxy phone.

Wear OS version

The watch comes with Wear OS 3, which is upgradeable to Wear OS 3.5.  With this change, you pair the watch with the Mobvoi Health app rather than a separate Wear OS app.  Unlike the Samsung Wear app, you can't fully customize the watch's settings through the phone.  However, like the Samsung device, the TicWatch Pro 5's "do not disturb" setting syncs with the phone, significantly improving over the previous watches.

Although the watch has the same apps as Google's and Samsung's Wear OS 3.5 watches, the TicWatch Pro 5 doesn't come with Google Assistant.  However, during my 2 weeks of use, I rarely used the assistant on my watch.  Although it supports control of my smart home devices, it does not support routines.  When I'm at home, I use my Google Home devices anyway, and if I'm on the way, I will use my headphones to trigger the Google Assistant from my phone.

Now, let's segue to software updates.  Regarding smart devices, OS updates are just as important as hardware features.  Mobvoi doesn't have the best track record for updating their watches.  The Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra's promised OS 3 update was severely delayed.  According to an XDA developer, Mobvoi told a customer that the update would come in Q3 of 2023.  This spans a 3-month period from July to September.

Mobvoi released a statement on Twitter, which says the reason for the delay is due to the dual system architecture used by the E3, Pro 3, and Pro 3 Ultra:

We sincerely acknowledge your concerns and understand that you may be disappointed by the fact that our TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, TicWatch Pro 3, and TicWatch E3 have not yet been upgraded to Wear OS 3. We apologize for any inconvenience and frustration this may have caused. Our commitment to delivering the upgrade remains unwavering. We share the same enthusiasm and eagerness as you do about this upgrade.

Please allow us to clarify the reasons behind this. Our TicWatch utilizes the SDW4100 chipset and a Mobvoi proprietary dual system architecture. This necessitates further architecture upgrades and performance debugging when updating to Wear OS 3 to guarantee the highest level of software quality and user experience. Rest assured, we are actively working on this matter.

We will soon be conducting an extensive closed beta testing phase. Please stay tuned for our official announcements if you are interested in participating.

According to this post on Reddit, Mobvoi has once again slipped their Q3 deadline. 

I emailed the Mobvoi rep for their plan to update the Pro 5 to WearOS 4, and they replied to me with the following statement:

Hi,

Sorry I missed your email. For the W4 update, currently we have not received such information. We will announce it as soon as it is confirmed 

Sleep sensing

The watch comes with sleep sensing, which tracks the quality of sleep.  Compared to previous watches, the watch now comes with real-time SPO2 sensing.  Also, the watch is more comfortable to wear during sleep.

TicWatch Pro 5 Watch specs (from TicWatch website)

Physical specs

Dimensions (mm): 50.1(H) x 48.0(L) x 12.2(D)

Weight: 44.3g

Color: Obsidian (Black)

Watch Case: Metal, 7000seriese aluminum and high-strength nylon with fiberglass

Watch Strap: Solid silicone (interchangeable), 24mm.

Durability: 5ATM, Open Water Swim/MIL-STD-810H

Technical specs

Operating System: Wear OS 3.5

Chipset Platform: Snapdragon® W5+ Gen 1 Wearable Platform

Memory: RAM: 2GB / ROM: 32GB

Display: 

• 1.43 "466*466 326ppi
• Full Color Always On Display AMOLED + Ultra-low-power Display
• Corning Gorilla Anti-fingerprint Cover Glass

Connectivity: 

• Bluetooth 5.2
• Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz
• GNSS: GPS+Beidou+Glonass+Galileo+QZSS

NFC Payments: Google Pay, 13.56MHz

Battery Capacity: 628mAh (typical)

Compatibility: Android 8.0 or newer

Application: Mobvoi Health

Additional features:

• Speaker
• Mic
• Vibrator
• PPG
• Barometer
• Compass

Sensors:

• Accelerometer
• Gyro Sensor
• HD PPG Heart Rate Sensor
• SpO2 Sensor
• Skin Temperature Sensor
• Low Latency Off-Body Sensor
• Barometer
• Compass

Conclusion

Mobvoi is a champion with battery life, and their dual-display technology is extremely legible even in bright sunlight.  TicWatch Pro 5 continues this trend of excellence in the TicWatch Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra.  

The watch has a couple of minor negatives.  But the biggest is Mobvoi's track record regarding software upgrades.  Their TicWatch E3, Pro 3, and Pro 3 Ultra have not received the promised Wear OS 3.0 update.  Even then, Wear OS 3 is 3 generations behind Wear OS 3.5.  Plus, Wear OS 4 is on the horizon, making Wear OS 3.0 4 generations behind.

Although I can recommend the watch based on hardware features alone, Mobvoi's updated track record is not the greatest.  And the reply from the Mobvoi rep isn't reassuring.  Therefore, I can only recommend with the caveat that the watch will be delayed in being updated to Wear OS 4.  If the software is important to you, I would give this a miss.

Quick camera test Dell WB5023 vs Logitech Brio

Photograph test

Dell WB5023

Low light (no lamp)

Illuminated by lamp

Logitech Brio

Low light (no lamp)

Illuminated by lamp

Video test

Dell webcam video test

Logitech Brio audio / Video test

Samsung S23 Ultra

Original video

Conclusions

The Logitech Brio beats the Dell webcam in most conditions, despite shooting at only 1080p (2.1 MP) on a Chromebook; the Dell webcam, on the other hand, shoots at 3.7 MP (1444p) on the same Chromebook.

In addition, the audio quality of the Logitech is much better than the Dell webcam. The Dell webcam's microphone is disabled by default. According to Dell, you must enable the setting through the Dell Peripheral Manager (DPeM) software first. And the software is only compatible with Mac and Windows.