June Reads from Lökwest
Greetings again from Southern California! May was an interesting tech month, and we've got the recap for you.
If you were lucky, you avoided the WannaCry ransomware attack. In the aftermath, the culprits did disrupt business, but didn't reap as much ransom as originally thought.
In the news, we've got two great apps for you to check out this month, along with updates on the speaker wars between Google, Amazon, and Apple.
Lastly, do you have Bitcoin? As of publication, it's flirting with $2700 again. If you don't know where to start, we've got the article for you.
Thanks as always for tuning in.
Two apps to check out this month
Google's virtual museum tours tell you more about the art — www.engadget.com
You can take a museum tour without leaving your house. Google has built tools to explore art since 2011, when it began uploading gigapixel images of classic pieces. Now, they're making them available in "Street Views" of museums.
You never have to scan again if you have a smartphone! Adobe Scan — www.businessinsider.com
This new smart app magically aligns your document, adjusts the scan, and turns it into a PDF. It even has some text recognition capabilities!
Home assistants are going to war!
Apple unveils HomePod, its Siri smart speaker — www.engadget.com
Just as we expected, Apple unveiled its Siri speaker, Homepod, today during its WWDC keynote. Apple is late to the field, and Siri isn't as smart as the other competition - yet. Will you buy one?
Amazon Alexa finally supports iCloud calendars — mashable.com
Just in time for the release of Apple's home speaker, Alexa added support for iCloud calendars last week. Now you can connect to Google, Outlook, or iCloud from the Amazon device.
Hands-free calling coming to Google Home, and it'll be better than Amazon Echo's — www.businessinsider.com
Amazon also added calling features to Alexa. However, to call someone they need a device or the Alexa app on their phone. Google is going one better with Google Home. You'll be able to call anyone through it.
Do you own cryptocoins? You should.
With the rise of bitcoin, many have asked the question 'What is bitcoin?' Read this primer from CoinDesk. Truly, blockchain technology is going to be integrated into every type of business soon. Crypto currency on top of blockchains will be a new way of doing business. Bitcoin is just the beginning.
And in the history corner - 10 years ago......
10 years ago, this month, Apple changed the world by releasing the first iPhone. On June 25th, 2007, Apple stores opened for the hundreds of people standing in line to get the 1st generation iPhone (aka iPhone EDGE). Were you in line that day?
It was the first Smartphone with a multi-touch interface. 4 GB and 8 GB models on AT&T’s network running EDGE. Jobs later stated he didn’t put 3G into the phone because it took way too much battery life to run. The phone had an 620 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM.
Jobs gave his final keynote in June 4 years later, in 2011. RIP to a great innovator!
June 20th - How to cut the cord and stream!
I’ll be giving my monthly tech talk, in conjunction with the San Clemente Village, on June 20th. Not a member? No problem! You can attend any San Clemente Village event on a trial basis as a guest.
This month's topic - streaming TV and cord cutting - what you need to know.
Join me at 1:30 on the 20th at the The Volarè (formerly the Holiday Inn), 111 Avenida De La Estrella in San Clemente!
Got Ideas?
What are you interested in learning? Drop us a note at info@lokwest.com, message us on Facebook, or visit our website.