Daily Battles: Chrome Resumes Video with Incoming Call to Mac

I was born into a generation without smart phones. Therefore, the preferred method for me to type has always been the full-sized keyboard. That is why I linked my phone to my Mac computer, so whenever I need to send text messages, I can type on my computer.

How to Get Text Messages on Mac

I also like using my computer for browsing much more than using smart phone. Why stare at a tiny screen that seriously strains your eyes when I can read web pages with bigger font on my three large high quality monitors? Browsing on my computer also allows me to leave many tabs open in the browser for things I have not finished with, or things I will check out later.

However, when putting these two things together these days, it becomes a disaster.

Whenever I get a phone call these days, my Mac will automatically resume YouTube videos that I have either paused in my browser window, or a video that has paused by itself with the "are you still listening" message box.

You see, I don't get a lot of phone calls except ones from my boss, uhh, I mean my wife, who calls me whenever she feels like it. I have used a fire alarm ring tone for calls from her so I know the urgency of the call. So whenever she calls me, both my phone and my Mac would play loud fire alarm ring tones. As I scramble to pick up the call on my phone, my Mac would continue playing the loud fire alarm ring tones for a good five seconds (because of the latency for my Mac to know I have already pick up the call from my phone), and then my paused YouTube video would also start playing in the background, most likely a techno music video with a strong drum roll I listen to while working. What makes the matter worse is that I have to now try to find the tab in my Chrome browser with that video from my ten open Chrome windows and dozens of browser tabs.

Now imagine this happening while I was in a meeting.

After this started to become super annoying, I did my research and found this article on Apple web site:

When receiving phone call, youtube video unpauses

Guess I am not the only one suffering from this, and the culprit is a Chrome bug. Google is aware of this and the bug is being worked on and won't be available in a release soon.

So for now, what do you do if you have this problem? Here are your options:

1. Unlink your phone from your Mac.
2. Always plug in (or BT connect) a headphone, and mute the speakers when you unplug (BT disconnect) the headphone, especially when you are in a meeting.
3. Open a separate Chrome window and put all your YouTube video tabs in that window. This way you can find the auto resumed video relatively quickly.
4. Don't use Chrome for YouTube videos. Use Safari or Firefox.

Technology is always both a bless and a curse. That's today's dose of my daily tech battles. Let's keep fighting! Now enjoy some Trance while you fight your daily battles!

[UPDATE on 9/28/19] Google finally released a feature in Chrome that allows you to pause a video/music playing no matter which tab that media is on. So at least this can be helpful in our situation. Read the article here.

BTW: The easiest way to remember my blog address is http://lanny.lannyland.com

Daily Battles, a New Category For My Blog

My dear readers, if you haven't noticed, I haven't posted any blog for a long, long time. Sorry for the long wait. The good news is that I have finally overcame myself and a lot of new blogs will soon be coming.

So why haven't I been blogging? One main reason is that life is so busy, and I have to fight many battles on different fronts everyday, which just eat away all my free time. Some of the battles are about being a responsible parent (teaching/fighting the kids), some other ones are about dealing with random life issues that just come up, such as flat tires, auto accidents, fixing various things in the home, taking care of aging parents, etc., etc. However, I have noticed that a great amount of my time are spent fighting technology glitches/failures almost on a daily bases.

On one hand, as someone who "lives in the future", I do have a lot more gadgets/devices/robots than a normal family, which does increase the likelihood that things break more often at my household. But on the other hand, I consider myself a skilled fighter in the tech realm. Even I have to struggle so much with technology today, it would be much more painful for other people who don't have my background and knowledge to deal with such technology failures. That's why I have decided to blog about these daily battles I have to fight, so other people who are fighting the same battles might be able to find something useful to facilitate their daily battles with technology.

Credit: GoComics.com

When looking at social media postings today, you probably have noticed that most people post more about their fun moments/achievements/happy time. That is a very skewed view of the reality, and psychologists have concluded that viewing such posts can increase depression and loneliness. I am going to change that! That's why I'll be posting about my struggles with my daily battles with technology and life in general. So reading my posts should make you happier, knowing that other people struggle too! And most importantly, it gives me a way to vent, so I can stay mentally healthy!

Credit: comicskingdom.com

So why am I blogging again? First of all, I am on vacation! This is a long deserved vacation, the only true vacation in the last five years!! Wife and kids are out of town for a Ping Pong tournament, and after I took care of many things/repairs/battles, I still had time to sit down, relax, and enjoy peace in my own house!!! But also, as I mentioned before, I need a way to vent; people can get info on how to fight similar battles; readers can gain happiness by looking at my sufferings; and it's just a good habit to write everyday!

Medium, as a blog platform, has gained a lot of popularity with its very clean and simple look and lots of people contributing. I actually thought about moving my blog to that platform. Then I realized that:

1. All contents published on Medium now belongs to Medium, and
2. After free trial, you have to pay $5/month subscription fee in order to keep reading.

So I am staying with Google Blogger, where my writing belongs to me and you can all read for free. I do like the simple and clean view of Medium though, so I tried to clean up my blog design -- one of my daily battles with technology! Well, I tried the best I could, but since my template is a super old customized one, which required a lot of html/css tweaking/hacking, and I didn't like the new templates, so this is the best I can do and what you get. But for your best viewing experience, I suggest keeping 150% zoom in. If you are using Chrome, that's CTRL+ (Command+ for Mac).

As always, leave me comments so I know people are actually reading this, which is the best encouragement for me! Subscribe if you like, and let me know if it doesn't work, and I'll add that to my daily battles list. LOL!

Oh yeah, I am translating again! Focusing on The Outcast and Smiling Proud Wanderer.

Disclaimer: I will not post about my daily battles with all the Alpha/Beta products/services my employer is currently testing in my house.

BTW: The easiest way to remember my blog address is http://lanny.lannyland.com

Rest In Peace, Mr. Jin Yong

My beloved author, Mr. Jin Yong, the author of The Smiling Proud Wanderer, just passed away today at the age of 94. It is a sad day for all his fans around the world.

Thank you Mr. Jin Yong for the wonderful Wuxia worlds you created for us that not only entertained billions but also taught many about gallantry and virtue. Wish you peace in heaven where there's probably no hatred, no revenge, and no heroes.

Pen name Jin Yong (金庸), real name Zha Liangyong (查良镛), English name Louis Cha, 1924-2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Yong

As a tribute to Mr. Jin Yong, I will be resuming my translation of The Smiling Proud Wanderer today.

http://www.lannyland.com/wanderer/wanderer.shtml

My collection of the complete works of Jin Yong and Gu Long

Heading to CES next week

Hey guys, for any of you that still reads my blog, I am heading to CES next week. If you happen to go there too and might want to chat, let me know.

I am in Vienna

I am in Vienna attending the Human-Robot Interaction conference. Just wondering if any of my readers are from Vienna or are in Vienna right now?