Apple Or Google Photos? That Is The Question!

Unlike Apple’s “Photos” app, formerly iPhoto, all of the photos I take on my iPhone don’t make it to Google Photos.

I desperately want to move my photos to anything BUT Apple Photos, but Google’s offering doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy that my photos will be secure. Until then, I’ll grudgingly continue using Apple’s greedy version.

CombatCritic Gives Google Photos 4 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

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Copyright 2011-2016 – CombatCritic and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

DO NOT BUY! The WD My Cloud 6TB Personal Cloud Storage Device

Do you need cloud storage for all of your travel photos? I do! Do you not want to pay the ridiculous monthly or annual fees for years on end for Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, or Amazon Cloud?  I know I do not! The best and most cost-effective alternative is a “personal cloud”, a wireless external hard drive (or drives) connected to your home wireless network with tons of storage space (up to several terabytes – TB – 1TB = 1,000 megabytes) that you can access either at home with your computer (or mobile device) or remotely anywhere in the world. 

After my old personal cloud failed, a 4 TB Western Digital (WD) MyBookLiveDuo, I had to find a replacement, so I decided to give WD one more chance only because of the decent price and good reviews on their new My Cloud products. I purchased a WD My Cloud 6TB Personal Cloud Storage device on Amazon for $269.99 plus tax, hoping that it would “connect effortlessly” to my network as advertised.

The WD MyCloud would not connect to my network when it arrived and after spending an additional 3 hours on the phone with tech support, 5 total, they could not help me and told me to return it to Amazon.  The only reason I chose Western Digital again after having two other products that failed, a 1TB MyPassport and a 4TB MyBookLive Duo, was because of the dearth of available products out there and the poor reviews on Seagate products. Never again WD!

CombatCritic Gives WD My Cloud 6TB Personal Cloud Storage 0 Bombs Out Of 10 … Can’t Get Any Lower Than That … And A Spot On CombatCritic’s Wall Of Shame 

Less Than …. 

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Title:  DO NOT BUY! The WD My Cloud 6TB Personal Cloud Storage Device

Key Words: WD My Cloud 6TB Personal Cloud Storage, WD, My Cloud, 6TB, Personal, Cloud, Storage, NAS, WDBCTL0060HWT-NESN, review, Western Digital, western, digital, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, tech, technology, photo

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Copyright 2011-2015 – CombatCritic and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

$400 for a GoPro Hero3+ (Black) and Support Is Questionable … Not User Friendly

I purchased a GoPro3+ (Black Edition) and mounts early this month, spending nearly $475, but updating the software is a nightmare! I also did not know that the camera HAS NO VIEWFINDER OR DISPLAY before I purchased it, intuitively thinking that ALL CAMERAS HAVE A DISPLAY … NOT THE GOPRO.

After wasting a great deal of time trying to figure out how to use the camera’s remote, installing and using the iPhone app (the only way to see a display of what the camera sees and then you can only see the display in certain resolutions, not all), and attempting to update the camera’s pre-installed software, I sent the following to GoPro Technical Support ($475 and no phone number?):

First, I’m not sure why I have to enter my serial number all the time. Why don’t you update my account so you know when I bought the camera, what updates are installed, etc? Not very user friendly!

Your instructions for updating my camera are missing a step. After I drag the UPDATE folder to DEVICE “NO NAME”, you don’t say whether I should reinstall the battery and SD card before powering off, powering on, and waiting for the camera to cycle with several beeps, on and off, etc. I have tried both ways, following the instructions exactly and, intuitively, reinserting the SD card and battery, then powering the camera on, but neither does anything! 

Why can’t I merely update my camera via the USB cable like I do to download video/photo files when attached to my Macbook Pro 13 (Mid 2012)? It does not make sense to download an update to the SD card. 

After spending $475 for the camera and mounts, I would think the support I get would be better and easier than having to fill out this long form. NOT VERY CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTED! 

You can read more about my experience on my increasingly popular blog, http://www.CombatCritic.com, where you will find this comment in addition to how well GoPro responds to my concerns. I am trying to test the camera before leaving on vacation next week, but GoPro is making my life rather difficult. Please assist ASAP! 

Sincerely, 

Chris Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret) 

aka CombatCritic

I will keep you posted on their response, if any, as I try to test-run this rather complex little camera before we leave for Puerto Rico on vacation in a few days. 

CombatCritic Gives GoPro 5 Out of 10 Bombs (So Far) … BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Key Words: GoPro3, GoPro, go, pro, 3, camera, sports, waterproof, housing, HD, high-definition, video, photo, audio, production, CombatCritic, 3rd, Wave, Media, Group