I loved my Palm Pilot and really admired Handspring. This is a great look at a critical part of tech history. For me, these devices gave me the first glimpse into what the internet could, and eventually would, become.
Category: Information Technology
I have an Associate in Technical Arts in Web Application Development degree, as well as certificates in:
- Business Systems Analysis
- Requirements Analysis
- Database Theory and Design
- Cisco Networking
- And I’m one class away from a Desktop Support Certificate
I have a deep knowledge of technical systems and have solved a variety of problems.
Some Thoughts On Accessibility
Last week I joined a webinar: “Why We Need More Accessibility Designers“. The presenter is Anna Cook, an accessibility designer. I’ve long had an interest in accessibility and its impacts on technology. Technology can be a powerful solution for accessibility issues, and, of course, can create a whole set of new ones. I appreciated the discussion on the gaps that exist when it comes to addressing accessibility during design education (for my studies at Edmonds College, we have hit on the subject several times. Not with huge depth, but definitely greater than zero). 67% of accessibility issues originate in the design phase, and, of course, correcting issues during design is monumentally less expensive. We also touched on some specific elements, such as color.
Fortunately, this was recorded so you can watch it at your leisure.
https://youtu.be/dQVrfS74xyM
As is the case with these sorts of events, there were many things referenced during the discussion. I think most of them were added to the notes section of the YouTube video. I’ll drop my key links below, though.
- First, and as far as I’m concerned, the most critical: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview. This is the documentation for the industry accessbility standards for web design.
- And here is the link to the WCAG’s Quick Reference guide.
- The team at the A11y Project have created an accessibility checklist.
- This link is to the Microsoft Inclusive Design page. A great resource to learn about Microsoft’s inclusive design principles.
- Speaking of Microsoft, here’s a review of the Xbox Adaptive Controller by the Dan and Brad at All Access Life.
- Here’s where you can buy your own Xbox Adaptive Controller.
- And here’s an article in Wired Magazine about another initiative regarding accessibility by Microsoft: “These Microsoft stickers make computers easier to use for people with disabilities“
- Here is the link to Adobe’s site for Inclusive Design.
- This link is to GSMA’s Inclusive Language Guide.
- Here is another, related, talk about the Fatal Flow of Overlays.
- And here’s a book to continue your learnings on accesibility: Design for Cognitive Bias
How lost am I without my phone?
Oh, how lost would I be without my cell phone? Tis a question posed by Rory on his blog “A Guy Called Bloke” (hat tip to to Fandango, whose post is what I’m, ultimately, replying to).
Ok, I am not “lost” without my phone. There have been a handful of times in the past few months where I have, deliberately, left my phone at home. Ok, not exactly “deliberately”. I left home, realized my phone was on my desk and opted to not go back for it. For a quick run to a coffee shop, or grabbing dinner out somewhere, it’s fine. But, for me, most everything is on there. My shopping list is there. It’s a backup payment method. My camera is there. My notes. Maps/directions. My calendar. My Kindle app holds many of my books. And then, of course, is my ability to connect. Good luck trying to find a payphone anymore! My cell phone has taken the place of so very much of my old accoutrement, for which I’m grateful.
In the end, I value having my phone with me. It’s a deliberate choice in many ways, and one I’m quite ok with. The only thing I’d say to someone who doesn’t feel the need to always have their phone with them: good luck finding a payphone if you need it.
Non-Traditional Backgrounds and Tech Careers
I just read this tweet, which got me thinking…
I thought “well, I’m pretty non-traditional” when I read that. My career has drifted over a number of roles and industries (go read my resume for more of the story). I feel, at this point, the central theme of my work-life is what I’d call communications. Whether crafting presentations and other correspondence, developing social media strategies, creating WordPress websites, creating content for said websites, editing video, running sound and audio for events, coordinating meeting/event logistics…well, I think you see the theme.
I really appreciated the encouragement. Though my grades are pretty darn good, it’s not been easy. I’ve had to work quite hard. This work doesn’t come naturally to me. So encouragement is really valuable.
I’m still not sure where I want to land once I’m done with my degree. I don’t expect to be feted with glee, but I believe I have a lot to offer. Perhaps directly in the tech sector, or perhaps in a tech role in a more traditional business. I’m still pulling that together.
Has your career been linear? In one sector or role/type-of-role? Or have you been all over the map like me? And what kind of career transitions have you made? I’d love to hear your stories and ideas. Leave a comment and lets talk!
Great, Another Phishing Email Scam
Well, a new scam landed in my inbox this morning. Check out the details:
This isn’t terribly new. I first saw references last fall (here’s a piece by Wired Magazine from last November: “Beware a New Google Drive Scam Landing in Inboxes“. Now, this isn’t terribly sophisticated, but it’s pretty clever. Now, I don’t have a David Anderson in my contacts, so this one is pretty obvious for me. But that’s a rather common name. Imagine how tempting it would be if it looked like it came from my friend/colleague David.
So, what should you do if you get an email like this? Report it! In most email tools, you can report a message as spam. If you have Gmail, you can report it as phishing, too. It’s pretty straightforward.
You’ll see a dialog like this one:
Click “Report Phishing Message” and you’re done.
Anyway, this seems as good a time as any to remind everyone to:
- don’t click on links you’re not expecting. In this case, if I knew a David Anderson, I’d ping him independently of this email thread and ask about it. Do not reply to the email!
- Make sure you have good malware protection and antivirus software. Here’s a great place to start: PC Magazine’s list of The Best Antivirus Protection for 2021.
The Audacity of Audacity and Alternatives
When I logged onto Twitter today I saw the alarming news that “Audacity is now a Possible Spyware, Remove it ASAP“. The TLDR: Audacity’s new corporate owners updated their TOS a few days ago to allow them to collect/harvest user data (the article above has good detail about the issue…give it a read). Needless to say, a good many folks in the Open Source community are less than pleased. So, I’m here to try and pull together a definitive list of alternatives. Also, I have a long-standing interest in finding alternative programs to expensive and proprietary ones (ie: Adobe). Here’s my list of these to date.
In this list below, the only one I’ve personally used is Adobe Audition, so the rest are a collection of options that I don’t know anything about. Please use them with caution and a dose of due diligence.
Paid Alternatives (in no particular order):
-
- Adobe Audition: this is first on my list since it’s the only one I’ve used before. Every other one on this list has been recommended by other folks. As it’s an Adobe product, it’s not free. But if you’re already subscribed to Creative Cloud, it’s built to the package.
- Goldwave: Looks like it’s $19
- Reaper: $60 for a discounted license
- Hindenburg: 30-day trial, not sure the final price
Free Versions
- Ardour: versions for Linux, Windows, and MacOS
- Ocenaudio
- WavePad
- AV Audio Editor
- Wavosaur
- DarkAudacity
- Cakewalk
Do you have any experience with these? Are there any ones you recommend that I’ve missed? Any of them you’d recommend over the others? Please leave a comment below.
My Web Developer Evolution
I was just thinking about the programming languages and environments I’ve studied over the past year.
- The first one was Visual Basic. I have a basic understanding. Not sure how much additional effort I should invest in expanding these skills.
- Though there’s some argument about whether HTML and CSS are programming languages. I’ll accept that they aren’t languages, but I’ve studied them, and they’re critical to web development. I expect I’m at an intermediate level with these.
- The last of the web development trinity is Javascript, which is a true programming language and a lot of fun. I don’t know anywhere near what I want to, and so will be continuing in that.
- With javascript, this quarter I’m studying frameworks, and I’ve been focused on jQuery. I really like how much cleaner it is than straight javascript. I’m just over a month in and enjoying this. Looking forward to continuing to build my skills.
- Also, this quarter, I’m studying PHP. This has been a lot of fun. This language makes so much more sense to me, at an intuitive level than javascript. As I’m only 4 weeks in, I’m looking forward to growing that knowledge.
- At other points in my life, I’ve explored Java and C/C++. This knowledge is quite old and was very basic even in my hey-day. I’ve also explored Fortran and Cobol, but that really just entailed reading some books. If I have the opportunity, I want to explore these deeper.
- I’ll be diving into tools like SQL and MySQL in the next few quarters. I also want to add Python to that list.
This is just my programming journey. I’ve also explored tools like Access, Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Visio. All of this, for me, is fun. I must be a nerd.
Google’s Disturbing Trend In Regards To Ethical AI
Yesterday Margaret Mitchell tweeted this out:
I'm fired.
— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) February 19, 2021
This might not seem troublesome on the surface. However, earlier this year they fired Timit Gebru, who was the co-lead with Dr. Mitchell of Google’s AI Ethics Team.
- Here’s Gizmodo’s write-up of Dr. Mitchell’s firing.
- This is an open email Dr. Mitchell wrote about the firing of Dr. Gebru.
- Here’s a look at the paper Dr. Gebru wrote that upset the powers-that-be at Google enough to fire her.
Add to the above this behavior by Google executives (Tweet below), and I see a toxic environment dominating the company with a code of conduct statement “Don’t Be Evil“.
Because he can't harass me on Twitter, Michael Lissack deciding to harass me over email.
Absolutely normal stuff, right here. pic.twitter.com/Un53jMFSQP
— Dr. Alex Hanna (@alexhanna) February 20, 2021
One of my areas of interest is Corporate Social Responsibility, and I’ve been looking at how this might be applied in the tech sphere. And Google is giving me solid evidence of those applications, in the most negative way possible.
Valuable Coding and IT Tools
As an Information System student, there are a handful of tools recommended to me by my instructors that have been critical. Every one of the tools below is free. Anyway, here’s my list:
- Notepad ++: a richly powerful text editor. It’s what I’ve done most of my HTML and CSS in, and what I’ve done a lot of my JavaScript. I have shifted, though, back to Visual Studio, at least for now. I used Visual Studio for my Visual Basic class, so I’m pretty familiar with it.
- 7 Zip is a great Zip file tool.
- Agent Ransack, which boosts your PC’s search utility.
- Winmerge: a great tool for comparing files. It has helped me a few times to find that one damn character I was missing.
Anyway, what tools do you use? That you find indispensable?
Featured Image by Josh Sorenson from Pexels
Amazon Frames, Google Glass and the Reinvented Future of Connected Eyewear
Today I logged into Amazon and the first thing I see is this ad:
I’m surprised that I missed the announcement for Alexa Frames. Looks like these have actually been on the market for a few years. Though not as feature-rich as the old Google glasses, they are definitely more discrete and attractive.
This got me wondering about the status of Google Glass, and what similar products are on the market. With a little research, I found this piece about Google Glass. Now, I’ve known that the product is far from dead as there’s now Google Glass Enterprise Edition. But it has been more of a niche thing (here’s a post from the Verge from last February about it).
As far as other products, I found this: Focals By North. Looks pretty interesting, but not ready for the mainstream yet. This video is from 2019, so perhaps they’ve updated things in the meantime.
I think that the glasses will hold a significant part of the future of mobile computing. In particular, I’m curious about the ways VR/AR will be integrated into these glasses. Or how they won’t be.