The best technology news - Lökwest
Thanks for tuning in! Last month, the annual Consumer Electronics Show was held in Vegas. Lots of new gadgets came out of it - some useful, some......well......let's just say how about an $8000 smart umbrella for when you're too lazy to move it with the sun!? (actual product)
Now it's February - look for Mobile World Congress at the end of the month. Samsung is announcing the new S9 there. Valentine's Day is also coming, so check out the sites for "tech gadget" gifts. Amazon already has a section.
With all the love in the air, let us not forget the underlooked holiday of the month, Groundhog Day. The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper is credited with printing the news of the first observance in 1886 (one year before the first legendary trek to Gobbler's Knob). More here....
With this in mind, this issue is brought to you by Bill Murray, who as weatherman Phil Connors said, "This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."
See you in March!
Newsworthy reads
CES Editors' Choice Awards: The coolest new products you'll want to buy in 2018 — ow.ly
There were tons of gadgets at CES this year. This article is one of several we shared during the show. Inside are the CES bosses' choices for the "best in show".
How does Google Arts and Culture find your look-alike? — ow.ly
If you haven't taken the time to find your doppelganger on Google Arts & Culture, you're missing out. Spoiler alert - mine seems to be a Dutch gentleman whose painting is in the Rijksmuseum. Trivia fact - there are a few states where you can't do this! State laws forbid the sharing of "biometric data for entertainment purposes". What?
Tips you can't miss
10 Actually Cool Uses for a USB Drive — ow.ly
You can actually carry around your entire "computer" on a USB "stick". These ubiquitous devices have more storage capacity than you realize and are incredibly cheap. Create a recovery disk, a clean boot for anti-virus work, store your apps, keep private data safe, even run a whole Linux distribution!
How to Call Someone From Your Amazon Echo — ow.ly
Alexa, call Mom! Many clients I've visited don't realize they have free calling to anyone in the US and Canada on their Echo. It takes a few steps to configure, then you simply tell Alexa to call someone. Late breaking - Amazon's expanding this to text messages as well.
DuckDuckGo's new app is here for all your private mobile browsing needs — ow.ly
Tired of something you shopped for following you around everywhere online? Soon, Google will allow you to disable ads that follow you. In the meanwhile, you need to know about DuckDuckGo. I've used this anonymous search engine and browser for years - now there's a fully anonymous mobile browser too.
Why didn't they think of this sooner?
A personal airbag. Sounds like a joke right? Not when you think about the number of Seniors who fall every year. This concept, presented at CES, is being tested in Europe. It's a fanny pack device worn as a belt. Built-in motion sensors deploy an airbag when it senses a fall. Hopefully coming soon to the states!
In tech history...What about Bob?
The desktop that looked like your living room and came with a dog! Bob was Microsoft's idea of what the "easy to use" computer should look like, in 1995. Part of the Microsoft Home suite, Bob welcomed you through the front door and into your living room, filled with useful "stuff" like your "private safe". In case you're wondering what the average 1995 machine was:
Memory 8mb at $400 per 4 MB (that's MEGAbyte)
Hard Drive 400 to 1000 MEGAbytes
Processor 33MHz (today we work in GigaHertz, 1 Ghz=1000Mhz)
Video 24-bit accelerated
Monitor 14” CRT - no flat screens here
16-bit sound card
Modem 28.8 - remember Prodigy?
2x CD-ROM - no writer - too expensive
Check out this nostalgic back on Microsoft's "cutting edge" software.
Explore technology February 20th!
Join me for this monthly “Exploring Technology” talk, held in conjunction with the San Clemente Village, on February 20th at 1:30 PM at the San Clemente Community Center. It's for Village members only, but you can come on a one-time basis as a guest!
I'm looking for a topic for this month! If you have any ideas, please respond to this e-mail.
Now that your inspired, book a session!
Now that you're caught up on the news, why not book a coaching session to get your tech up to speed? It's easy to book online:
The last laugh's on us
The B-King gets down on explaining Net Neutrality. You'll definitely get the idea when you see it in terms of a Whopper!