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.
Tag: tech
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):
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- 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.
Looking At Laptops
My main laptop right now is an OLLLDDD MacBook Pro. It’s nearly 10 years old, and it’s starting to really show its age. And we do have need of a laptop. So, it’s time to think of a replacement.
I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen of Apple’s new M1 chip. Also, my wife is most comfortable with Mac OS. And I pride myself on being OS agnostic. Additionally, one of the things I’m considering once I’m done at Edmonds college is UW’s Interactive Design program. They require a laptop and, though they don’t mandate a MacBook, they do highly recommend one. So, with all of that, I’m leaning towards an M1 Macbook Air. I still need to explore more, though. Due diligence and all that. Fortunately, I do get a student discount.
So, I’ve done a bit of research already. Check out these videos below. The first is a review of the MacBook while the second talks about the M1 chip compared to Windows PCs. Both point towards the M1 and Macbook.
Google’s Disturbing Trend In Regards To Ethical AI
Yesterday Margaret Mitchell tweeted this out:
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“.
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.
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.
Some Key Tools I Recommend
I’ve been pretty successful at my coursework, and I attribute that to a few key tools. Here are the 4 I use every day, and would deeply struggle without.
- Evernote: this is my note tool, and so much more. I add articles I’ve read, reading notes, lecture notes, and I can scan handwritten notes which are able to be searched (for the most part). It is also my journal and where I brainstorm/mindmap for projects and other workflows.
- Todoist: Organizes my task list. Since I have more on my plate than just school, I use Todoist to input everything I need to get done. I have mine synchronized to my Google calendar, so I can have it all in one view. Assigning times to tasks is really important for me so that they become done.
- Acrobat Reader, Adobe Creative Cloud Student Edition: I use various Creative Cloud apps regularly including Photoshop, InDesign, and PremierPro. I also work some in Illustrator. Reader, though, is the thing I use the most. I mark up articles, presentations, and the like. I expect I would find a cheaper alternative if all I was doing was work in Reader, but as I use the whole suite, it’s a handy product.
- Grammarly: I love this grammar and spelling checker. It has upped my game as a writer, which is rather important in this student thing.
- Quizlet: I use this to create flashcards. Great for reviewing content before a quiz, or to review content for any reason. It’s also nice that I have this on my phone and iPad. Makes reviewing while I’m out and about (which isn’t very much right now) easy. Or if I want to chill out on the couch.
Anyway, those are the main tools I’m using right now. I find these critical to my current life. What digital tools are part of your daily work? Whether you’re a student or not, I’m curious to know.
About the featured image: Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels