tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45517794291606579472024-02-07T05:42:04.908-08:00Productivity PadBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-41718402673668828962015-04-14T05:01:00.000-07:002015-04-14T05:01:35.154-07:00Technology Quotes from General Conference: April 2015 Edition<br />
Every six months after the <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2015/04?cid=HP_SU_4-5-2015_dPTH_fGC_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng">LDS Church's General Conference</a>, I compile together all the quotes I can find that talk about technology or social media. As a member of the Church I feel it is important to know what the leaders of the Church are saying about technology. My philosophy is, why have Prophets and Apostles, if we don't listen to them?<br />
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This conference I found nine speakers who reference technology or social media. There are quotes that tell about positive uses of technology as well as quotes that warn about misuse of it. There were a few quotes in particular about the misuse technology during church and sacrament meeting, which is something that I have blogged about before <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-use-and-not-use-your-iphone-or.html">here</a>.<br />
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As always, if you find that I missed any quotes from this conference please let me know in the comments below.<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-family-is-of-god?lang=eng">Carole M. Stephens: The Family is of God</a><br />
"We each belong to and are needed in the family of God. Earthly families all look different. And while we do the best we can to create strong traditional families, membership in the family of God is not contingent upon any kind of status—marital status, parental status, financial status, social status, or even the kind of status we post on social media."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-parable-of-the-sower?lang=eng">Dallin H. Oaks: The Parable of the Sower</a><br />
"Young people, if that teaching seems too general, here is a specific example. If the emblems of the sacrament are being passed and you are texting or whispering or playing video games or doing anything else to deny yourself essential spiritual food, you are severing your spiritual roots and moving yourself toward stony ground. You are making yourself vulnerable to withering away when you encounter tribulation like isolation, intimidation, or ridicule. And that applies to adults also.<br />
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Another potential destroyer of spiritual roots—accelerated by current technology but not unique to it—is the keyhole view of the gospel or the Church. This limited view focuses on a particular doctrine or practice or perceived deficiency in a leader and ignores the grand panorama of the gospel plan and the personal and communal fruits of its harvest."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/l-tom-perry-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/l-tom-perry-large.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/why-marriage-and-family-matter-everywhere-in-the-world?lang=eng">L. Tom Perry: Why Marriage and Family Matter – Everywhere</a><br />
"For whatever reasons, too much of our television, movies, music, and Internet present a classic case of a minority masquerading as a majority. Immorality and amorality, ranging from graphic violence to recreational sex, is portrayed as the norm and can cause those who have mainstream values to feel like we are out of date or from a bygone era. In such a media and Internet-dominated world, it has never been harder to raise responsible children and to keep marriages and families together."<br />
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"As a church, we want to assist in all that we can to create and support strong marriages and families... [That] is why we share our family-focused values in the media and on social media. It is why we share our genealogical and extended family records with all nations."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/m-russell-ballard-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/m-russell-ballard-large.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-greatest-generation-of-young-adults?lang=eng">M. Russel Ballard: The Greatest Generation of Young Adults</a><br />
"Our young men and young women have many more distractions to sidetrack them in their preparations for both a mission and a future happy life. Technology has expanded, and almost everyone has access to handheld devices that can capture the attention of the human family of God for both great good and unconscionable ill."<br />
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"Fortunately the Lord has provided ways for us to reach out to you. For example, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve assigns every missionary to his or her mission. Although this is done without a traditional face-to-face interview, technology and revelation combine to provide an experience that is remarkably intimate and personal."<br />
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"Videoconferencing is another way that helps us reach out to Church leaders and members who live far away from Church headquarters."<br />
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"Are you mentally and spiritually clean? Do you avoid viewing pornography or looking at websites, magazines, movies, or apps, including Tinder and Snapchat photos, that would embarrass you if your parents, Church leaders, or the Savior Himself saw you?"<br />
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"Are you careful with your time—avoiding inappropriate technology and social media, including video games, which can dull your spiritual sensitivity?"<br />
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"Brethren, if you will set aside your cell phone and actually look around a little, you may even find your future companion at the institute... Don’t text her! Use your own voice to introduce yourself to the righteous daughters of God who are all around you. To actually hear a human voice will shock her—perhaps into saying yes."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/yes-we-can-and-will-win?lang=eng">Ulisses Soares: Yes, We Can and Will Win!</a><br />
"I know a very faithful young deacon who transformed himself into a modern Captain Moroni. Inasmuch as he has sought to follow the counsel of his parents and Church leaders, his faith and determination have been tested every day, even at his young age. He told me one day he was surprised by a very difficult and uncomfortable situation—his friends were accessing pornographic images on their cell phones. In that exact moment, this young man had to decide what was most important—his popularity or his righteousness. In the few seconds that followed, he was filled with courage and told his friends that what they were doing was not right. Moreover, he told them that they should stop what they were doing or they would become slaves to it. Most of his classmates ridiculed his counsel, saying that it was a part of life and that there was nothing wrong with it. However, there was one among them who listened to the counsel of that young man and decided to stop what he was doing."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/seeking-the-lord?lang=eng">José A. Teixeira: Seeking the Lord</a><br />
"In 2014, the National Geographic photo contest received more than 9,200 submissions by professional photographers and enthusiasts from over 150 countries. The winning photo depicts a woman in the center of a train filled with passengers. The light coming from her mobile phone illuminates her face. She relays a clear message to the other passengers: despite being physically present, she is not truly there.<br />
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Mobile data, smartphones, and social networks have profoundly changed our way of being in the world and how we communicate with others.<br />
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In this digital era, we can so rapidly transport ourselves to places and activities that can quickly remove us from what is essential for a life filled with lasting joy.<br />
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This networked life can, if left unchecked, give precedence to relationships with people whom we don’t know or have never met rather than with the people we live with—our own family!<br />
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On the other hand, we all know that we are blessed with excellent online resources, including those developed by the Church, such as text and audio versions of the holy scriptures and general conference, video productions of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, apps to record our family history, and opportunities to listen to inspiring music.<br />
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The choices and priorities we make with our time online are decisive. They can determine our spiritual progress and maturity in the gospel and our desire to contribute to a better world and to live a more productive life.<br />
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For these reasons, today I would like to mention three simple habits that will establish healthy online activity. These habits will generate the daily self-reflections that are necessary for us to grow closer to the teachings of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.<br />
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Habit Number 1: Visit the Church’s Official Websites for Resources<br />
Often visits during the week to these resources will help us to always be sensitive to the teachings of the gospel and encourage our family and friends to think and reflect on what matters most.<br />
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Habit Number 2: Subscribe to the Church’s Official Social Networks<br />
This choice will bring to your screen the content that is essential to deepen your searching and seeking of the Lord and His teachings, and it will strengthen your desire to understand the gospel. More important, this will help you remember what Christ expects of each of us.<br />
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Just as “there is no good soil without a good farmer,” likewise will there be no good online harvest unless we prioritize from the very beginning that which is accessible to our fingers and our minds.<br />
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Habit Number 3: Make Time to Set Aside Your Mobile Devices<br />
It is refreshing to put aside our electronic devices for a while and instead turn the pages of the scriptures or take time to converse with family and friends. Especially on the Lord’s day, experience the peace of participating in a sacrament meeting without the constant urge to see if you have a new message or a new post.<br />
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The habit of setting aside your mobile device for a time will enrich and broaden your view of life, for life is not confined to a four-inch (10-cm) screen."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-gift-of-grace?lang=eng">Dieter F. Uchtdorf: The Gift of Grace</a><br />
"Are we like Simon? Are we confident and comfortable in our good deeds, trusting in our own righteousness? Are we perhaps a little impatient with those who are not living up to our standards? Are we on autopilot, going through the motions, attending our meetings, yawning through Gospel Doctrine class, and perhaps checking our cell phones during sacrament service?"<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/stay-by-the-tree?lang=eng">Kevin W. Pearson: Stay by the Tree</a><br />
"To heed is to give careful attention. Heeding those who do not believe in Christ will not help you find Him. Searching #spaciousbuilding for knowledge will not lead you to truth. It’s not posted there. Only the Savior has “the words of eternal life.” Everything else is just words. The large and spacious building symbolizes the “vain imaginations and the pride” of the world—in other words, distraction and deception. It’s filled with well-dressed people who seem to have everything. But they mock the Savior and those who follow Him. They are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” They may be politically correct, but they are spiritually lost."<br />
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"To all missionaries past and present: Elders and sisters, you simply cannot return from your mission, do a swan dive back into Babylon, and spend endless hours scoring meaningless points on pointless video games without falling into a deep spiritual sleep. Nor can you indulge in online pornography and ignore virtue and chastity without dire spiritual consequences. If you lose the Spirit, you are lost. Don’t be distracted and deceived."<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng">Russell M. Nelson: The Sabbath is a Delight</a><br />
"When I ponder this counsel, I almost wish I were a young father once again. Now parents have such wonderful resources available to help them make family time more meaningful, on the Sabbath and other days as well. They have LDS.org, Mormon.org, the Bible videos, the Mormon Channel, the Media Library, the Friend, the New Era, the Ensign, the Liahona, and more—much more. These resources are so very helpful to parents in discharging their sacred duty to teach their children. No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting!"<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-8342032556300036172015-04-09T05:24:00.000-07:002015-04-09T05:24:00.593-07:00What was talked about most at General Conference?Now that the General Conference transcripts are available I have taken all the text and created a word cloud to determine what was talked about the most. Here is the result:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfNUCuwipsulodDL_CAAXKwAVZk7RO36EugK5Zrdyh1IY_LX3G9HGMDdWwjkhz3XOyNNdFFQVgZocS_JtQchS4Qnf-JnnlcpJmkah8Yj5Eie6LgTQ5JQgqC_qRvIURZEbSWfs8CiIwmI/s1600/April2015ConferenceWordCloud.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfNUCuwipsulodDL_CAAXKwAVZk7RO36EugK5Zrdyh1IY_LX3G9HGMDdWwjkhz3XOyNNdFFQVgZocS_JtQchS4Qnf-JnnlcpJmkah8Yj5Eie6LgTQ5JQgqC_qRvIURZEbSWfs8CiIwmI/s1600/April2015ConferenceWordCloud.png" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Created using Jason Davies' Word Cloud Generator</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This word cloud displays the top 50 words used in conference over all six sessions. Larger words were used more times.<br />
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There were not any big surprises to me here, but it may be interesting to those who doubt the Christianity of the Mormons. As you can easily see the largest word is God closely followed by Christ.<br />
Other top words also include: Jesus, father, family, Savior, Lord, Church, President, and Marriage.<br />
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I would say looking at word frequency we can say that the emphasis of this conference was on:<br />
1. God (Heavenly Father) and Jesus Christ<br />
and<br />
2. Home and Family<br />
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I would recommend that everyone either view or read General Conference you can do so <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2015/04?cid=HP_SU_4-5-2015_dPTH_fGC_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng">here</a>. It was a wonderful and inspiring weekend and one that encouraged me to remember to live better.<br />
<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-31456043386460044602015-04-07T06:50:00.002-07:002015-04-07T06:50:36.369-07:00Movie Review: Freetown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0cbtHvXyqS7yvSoulag_QAXffjFOfBoJkB06YgWiRme8pWOWXhj4h9D4QfCSwjpuJ0t8wBtDwaTOhaA4zOYOkATB1E23dBCzuQ6qcN6yYwQ8vCSDJu8dqo65WIKfGi5jvoGNBxsrWLU/s1600/Forkpah+and+Selli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0cbtHvXyqS7yvSoulag_QAXffjFOfBoJkB06YgWiRme8pWOWXhj4h9D4QfCSwjpuJ0t8wBtDwaTOhaA4zOYOkATB1E23dBCzuQ6qcN6yYwQ8vCSDJu8dqo65WIKfGi5jvoGNBxsrWLU/s1600/Forkpah+and+Selli.jpg" height="384" width="640" /></a></div>
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Title: <a href="http://threecoinproductions.com/films/freetown/">Freetown</a><br />
Genre: Historical Drama<br />
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic situations involving violence)<br />
Stars: 4/5<br />
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Official Synopsis: Caught in the middle of a brutal civil war, six Liberian missionaries in Monrovia flee the widespread violence in their native country. Their destination: Freetown, Sierra Leone. With the help of local church member Phillip Abubakar (Henry Adofo), the missionaries make the difficult journey, only to have their troubles compounded by a rebel fighter bent on killing one of their own. Based on incredible true events, FREETOWN is a thrilling and inspiring story of hope and survival.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yr07X7jaMw8" width="560"></iframe>
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I will give you some overall information to help you decide if you should see it before I get into spoilers.<br />
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<b>My Reaction</b>:<br />
Normally my movie tastes shy away from the intense/scary side of things. So when I was asked to review Freetown I did not know how I would like it. It turns out that I loved it despite being on the edge of my seat tense for most of the film. I felt that the movie did an excellent job portraying how difficult it would have been to be in the position of these missionaries. It is important to remember though that I am coming to this movie having been a missionary myself, although I had no situations like those described in this film, I still have a special affinity for missionaries everywhere. Also on my mission I knew several Liberian refugees in Philadelphia who had come through the revolution, so I feel a personal connection to the situation in the film as well.<br />
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<b>Who Is It For?</b><br />
This film is not made to be exclusive to a Mormon audience, anyone of any religious background could come to this film and have a good experience. Just like I can watch Chariots of Fire and thoroughly enjoy it.<br />
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The movie is rated PG-13 because it does get very tense through most of the movie. There is very little actual violence on screen but it is still very scary and you can hear and know what is happening off screen. For this reason I would not suggest that young children watch this movie.<br />
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It can also be hard to understand at times, particularly if you do not have experience with Liberian accents. So if you have trouble hearing it may be nice to watch with subtitles.<br />
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<b>Cinematography:</b><br />
I was extremely impressed with the level of cinematography in the film. Perhaps because I don't expect a high level from Mormon-made films, but I thought they did a really excellent job on this one. It is hard to make a really intense movie without good cinematography because what is shown and not shown is used to convey so much of the emotion.<br />
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It also appeared they had a new drone they liked to use because arial shots abounded throughout the film.<br />
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<b>Soundtrack:</b><br />
The sound track supported the movie, but was not something that I noticed in particular except when it was African chanting which would come on much louder than the dialogue. I can't speak for what this would be like in the theater, but at home it resulted in a lot of volume adjusting.<br />
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<b>Recommendation:</b><br />
I give Freetown 4 out of 5 Stars. I would recommend that you go see it if you like intense movies about true stories. Particularly if you are a Mormon I think you will enjoy this movie. If you are anyone who likes to support good films in opposition to most of the garbage Hollywood spits out these days, then I would go see this film.<br />
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<b>Spoilers:</b><br />
The film actually takes place over the course of just about 3 or 4 days, with the majority of it being just on the 2 days the missionaries and Phillip spend trying to escape Liberia.<br />
The Elders are attempting to actively continue proselyting it Liberia despite the outbreak of civil war and the Rebel bands that run rampant through the jungle. But when things get so bad that they feel they can no longer preach, whether safely or not, the decide the will go to Sierra Leone and preach there.<br />
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This is a story of faith. The missionaries display complete faith in the idea that God will get them out of the country safely to where they can better serve Him. They are contrasted with Phillip, the Liberian member who is driving them. Phillip has trouble having as complete faith as the missionaries do, but even in his doubts he continues to show by his actions that he does have faith. He and six missionaries cram into a little red car, traversing the jungle and passing through rebel checkpoints on one miracle after another.<br />
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Disclosure: The makers of Freetown contacted me and gave me access to an early press screener so that I could write this review, but as you know I only ever give honest review.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-74031968117749845502015-02-26T05:15:00.004-08:002015-02-26T05:15:34.533-08:00Pebble Time: First ThoughtsA couple days ago Pebble announced that it will be bringing out a brand new model of its smartwatch line, the Pebble Time. The have made it available on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-time-awesome-smartwatch-no-compromises?utm_campaign=ks2&utm_content=hero&utm_medium=Referral&utm_source=getpebble.com">Kickstarter first</a>. That should not come as a surprise to anyone since Pebble is Kickstarter's golden child, having had the most successful campaign ever and raising over 10 million dollars. At least that was the most successful until now, in just two days at the time of this writing their new campaign has already topped 10 million and counting.<br />
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So why are people excited about this, and what, as a Pebble Steel owner do I think?<br />
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Well the answer to the first question is that people were excited about the first pebble because it was really the first smartwatch that looked like a viable anything. It finally showed people that a smartwatch could work, and in turn it showed the tech industry that there was consumer demand for such a device. This caused both tech giants and startups to try and reproduce the smartwatch, something every one has failed to do so far.<br />
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So people are excited because they know that Pebble is a company that can make awesome things happen. They are also excited because this Pebble has one big and amazing advantage over the former models, it has a color epaper display.<br />
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To me this is truly amazing because I didn't think that color epaper was advanced enough to use in a consumer product. I thought for sure that when it was Amazon would be the first company to give us something using it. This is comparable for me to when the gameboy color came out. It was so exciting to finally be able to do things in color, albeit washed out chromatics. The color display in the video on kickstarter actually looks really good. They claim that they haven't compromised on it either because it will still get 7 days of battery life and be readable in direct sunlight. I think this is awesome, this are two areas where even the Apple watch is going to fall grossly short of the Pebble Time.<br />
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The have also added a microphone to allow responses through the Pebble. Personally I don't get excited about this because it still looks like you are Dick Tracy talking into your watch. I would rather, as I've said before, that Pebble gets canned selection responses like "running late" or "call you back". But it may be useful for some people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bw970MSXgNMJhKjSTQrMjVnldwpnEcmKA0eQ7Ge-ojKord8Wtyv2Rd4iBURxc6RNL8vukYiPDlWSQaBtSJWKcXvcdGzRDbDFmN_Up2rCz1fBuV1jbOcS2Q5lTKQre9R4m2OO7PKTzRg/s1600/7dd40fe7146aeb5dfedd8810f80cac54_original.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bw970MSXgNMJhKjSTQrMjVnldwpnEcmKA0eQ7Ge-ojKord8Wtyv2Rd4iBURxc6RNL8vukYiPDlWSQaBtSJWKcXvcdGzRDbDFmN_Up2rCz1fBuV1jbOcS2Q5lTKQre9R4m2OO7PKTzRg/s1600/7dd40fe7146aeb5dfedd8810f80cac54_original.png" height="168" width="320" /></a></div>
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The third thing they have really changed is the user interface, making a new system called timeline. I am going to withhold judgement on this one as I haven't quite been able to grasp how it will work yet, but I am very interested to see it. They have said they will try and bring the system to all existing Pebbles as well as the new models.<br />
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So, overall I think it looks like an amazing product, but I am not going to be ordering one anytime soon. Why? Well first off they have had no trouble getting the needed funding, and that is the primary reason for supporting kickstarter campaigns.<br />
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Secondly, the Pebble Steel is already more than enough for me. Even though the Pebble Time will work the iPhone 4S which is good news, I don't need one. I'm happy with my grayscale display showing me my notifications. This is really a testament to the great product that the Pebble team has already built. I can say that if anyone asks me which smartwatch to get, the Pebble in any form is what I will recommend.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-20834656819532394792015-02-25T04:50:00.000-08:002015-02-25T04:50:21.930-08:00Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts [Infographic]One of the best ways to speed up your work on a computer and increase your productivity is to learn keyboard shortcuts. But learning shortcuts can be hard at first until it becomes muscle memory to use them. I recently created this infographic for my students and thought that it might also be useful to share with you, my blog readers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaVmrDo0P338cb5L892_HNe-ahRk_NFZbO67qbzYhm_xd73VNNPvOWQbl8Ufdn7irt8epOlu8MEvd1i2gA_hos4fS7iIRvAThialibL-7-kt2jQPnRkjZj4GSPEi0lSrx_9yViCyNjK0/s1600/Most+Useful+Keyboard+Shortcuts+(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaVmrDo0P338cb5L892_HNe-ahRk_NFZbO67qbzYhm_xd73VNNPvOWQbl8Ufdn7irt8epOlu8MEvd1i2gA_hos4fS7iIRvAThialibL-7-kt2jQPnRkjZj4GSPEi0lSrx_9yViCyNjK0/s1600/Most+Useful+Keyboard+Shortcuts+(2).png" /></a></div>
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This was my first infographic, and I did not want to overload my students, so I did not put on all the keyboard shortcuts I use, but tried to keep it to the most important global ones. My design skills are still a work in progress. I went with a basic primary color design because that is guaranteed to work well together and is often a good choice in K-12 education. </div>
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It was created using <a href="http://canva.com/">Canva</a>, the icons came from <a href="http://flaticon.com/">Flaticon</a>, and I have licensed it under the creative commons, so feel free to download it and use it to help yourself or others (just give attribution back to this post). I hope you find this helpful and that you remember to live better.</div>
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Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-66781430641586452442015-02-19T05:23:00.000-08:002015-02-19T05:23:05.524-08:00App Review: Paper by FiftyThreeName: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paper-by-fiftythree/id506003812?mt=8">Paper by FiftyThree</a><br />
Type: Drawing<br />
Price: Free<br />
Stars: 5/5<br />
For: iPad Only<br />
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This is, hands down, the best drawing app I have ever used.<br />
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Paper has been around for a long time, like thousands of years. Although we certainly have seen some improvements in it over the centuries it has remained essentially the same concept throughout its existence.<br />
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The app, Paper by FiftyThree, sets out to create an experience on the iPad that resembles the experience of a piece of paper as closely as possible. Outside of the fact that you can't fold it up into a paper airplane, they do a pretty good job.<br />
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The app, by app standards, has also been around for quite a while. And it has been receiving critical acclaim pretty much from the beginning for its creative potential. So why am I just reviewing it now? Because now it is free! Free with all of its in app purchases (IAP).<br />
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<b>The Tools</b><br />
In Paper you have six drawing tools: a fountain pen, a pencil, a marker, a fine tipped marker, a watercolor brush, and, of course, an eraser. All the tools do a good job of approximating their real life counter parts. This gives the app a feel of authenticity that I have not found with other sketch apps.<br />
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One complaint I have about the drawing tools is that you cannot change the thickness of the line you draw. You have only two options, either the regular size when looking at the whole sheet, or a predetermined precision size when you are zoomed in. This does help make the app more authentic, but it also fails to take advantage of a place digital drawing excels over analog. There is a reason for this though, which I will discuss more below.<br />
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The last tools in the tool tray are the mixer and the color palette. These allow you to choose the color your line will be. You can choose any color from the palette on the right and as long as it is highlighted your tool will draw that color. But you can also you the mixer to combine colors together to get the perfect look. The mixer will mix in or out the color you have selected in the palette as you turn clockwise or counter clockwise respectively, this is one of my favorite features.<br />
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You can also tap again on the mixer to get sliders to select your color by numbers. You will also get an eyedropper tool in the middle of the circle, if you tap on this you will be able to select any area of the page and put that color into the mixer.<br />
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At the bottom of the palette there are a couple sets of black, you can drag your new colors from the mixer into here to save them. You can also drag any color off the palette or mixer to turn the entire page that color.<br />
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<b>Undo?</b><br />
As far as digital sketch tools go, undo is pretty much a standard feature. So where is it to be found in paper? Well at first I thought it just wasn't there, there is after all no reverse arrow to click on. But there is actually a feature called rewind, where you can go back in time by placing two fingers on the screen and moving them in a counter clockwise circle.<br />
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In practice I have found this gesture hard to get right, and so more often than not it results in more marks on my page that I have to undo once I finally get it. A simple button would actually have been a better choice in my mind.<br />
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Another thing it took me a long time to figure out was that you can push the tool tray away to hide it and work on the bottom of the page, then swipe up to get it back. This also ofter results in unintended marks that have to be rewound.<br />
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<b>Pencil</b><br />
The last thing to talk about is the Pencil. This is a bluetooth stylus made by FiftyThree to enhance the paper experience. I do not have one so I cannot speak to how it actually works. But I can tell you that it is suppose to give you greater control and functionality. It will allow you to use pressure sensitivity in its tip to draw thicker and darker lines, or use the side of the tip for wide strokes and shading. You can also use the backend of it to erase without switching tools. Using it also enables palm detection so you can rest your hand on the screen.<br />
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The pencil looks really cool, I have been on the edge of buying one a couple of times, but at $50-$60 it is a little more than I want to spend. That is on the lower end for bluetooth styli however, so it might be a good choice for some. Currently I am still using my <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2014/03/hardware-review-jot-stylus.html">Jot Classic</a>, and that is working pretty well with Paper.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this review and you give Paper by FiftyThree a try. It is a great way get creative. And remember, live better.<br />
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Here are a few of my own sketches done with the different tools:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUod25ggLXMesLUKjuqPevSoapiIuQzlxFOPHqK8_fKBwX3ptL3J-AWUnoxIHy9N4Ox3yXE_LGjfyXm3XPvuzWUcgOMWYFGeV4En-pyAJwZZ40495XGoPgOmLfOEFRpOlIU0kflXuxWM/s1600/colorpencil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUod25ggLXMesLUKjuqPevSoapiIuQzlxFOPHqK8_fKBwX3ptL3J-AWUnoxIHy9N4Ox3yXE_LGjfyXm3XPvuzWUcgOMWYFGeV4En-pyAJwZZ40495XGoPgOmLfOEFRpOlIU0kflXuxWM/s1600/colorpencil.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Color Pencil</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitst3oxJP00JGTYPlvv8Q4NocHNekt2j9MeYwvIjCBcUXP9BWyCZ0bsGqkEZ1mabMXvO-i26K9ETqd9H1V2lGFtquZglV8YkzXXIGcAQjblkyxfM5S3-rkB8GbCkOdBdWg3KFVkNBq4uY/s1600/Ecclesiastes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitst3oxJP00JGTYPlvv8Q4NocHNekt2j9MeYwvIjCBcUXP9BWyCZ0bsGqkEZ1mabMXvO-i26K9ETqd9H1V2lGFtquZglV8YkzXXIGcAQjblkyxfM5S3-rkB8GbCkOdBdWg3KFVkNBq4uY/s1600/Ecclesiastes.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain Pen</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw4hG2qkpCSn1OVnTvMzu1L47yjfXtPwSFDInRcNiNvWzVIi7kmqnvDnhQcCs03KSG69Nf3XbweoTOt8JIsr21fP5oR3t3dZT-6ievR8PvLTzcR5yQ-QwILncvzxYR4CK5LFwHEcE7SE/s1600/watercolor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsw4hG2qkpCSn1OVnTvMzu1L47yjfXtPwSFDInRcNiNvWzVIi7kmqnvDnhQcCs03KSG69Nf3XbweoTOt8JIsr21fP5oR3t3dZT-6ievR8PvLTzcR5yQ-QwILncvzxYR4CK5LFwHEcE7SE/s1600/watercolor.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercolor</td></tr>
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-58350936114735939032015-02-05T09:54:00.001-08:002015-02-05T09:54:17.209-08:00Watchapp Review: Pebble Music Player<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEily6QSHjkiT2rGy9l5BrXeoscv_YohERd8kkUjBMyMjIu1PpRqZr4N5ax9odJ2uu8ya9hdJoU9xrj7gme8-tXA5dSbHtp_zzibSOHdATg_wbZA050-RJnWZe6B2HP0e7AbZa4QMZyPeWE/s1600/Pebble+Music.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEily6QSHjkiT2rGy9l5BrXeoscv_YohERd8kkUjBMyMjIu1PpRqZr4N5ax9odJ2uu8ya9hdJoU9xrj7gme8-tXA5dSbHtp_zzibSOHdATg_wbZA050-RJnWZe6B2HP0e7AbZa4QMZyPeWE/s1600/Pebble+Music.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the best stock benefits of a Pebble smartwatch is being able to control you music or other audio from your wrist. In fact I find this so useful that I have it set as one of my two shortcut buttons on my Pebble watch. I use it when I am exercising, walking, or doing chores around the house to control my audio without pulling out my phone.<br />
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The music app hooks in directly to your iPhone's regular music controls, which gives it the ability to control almost any app that does audio playback, this includes the iPhone music app, the Podcast app, iTunes U, as well as tons of third party apps.<br />
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The watchapp's interface is simple. It will display as much information as it knows about the track being played. At the top it will have the artist's name, then the name of the track, and then how far you listened. Below that you can see the album information.<br />
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I have however found the time indicator to be fairly inaccurate so I wouldn't rely on it, particularly when listening to longer tracks like podcasts or audiobooks.<br />
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This image from the Pebble website shows the music app:<br />
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The controls run along the right hand side. In the picture above you can see volume up, play/pause, and volume down. By doing a long press on the middle button you can toggle between volume controls and skip forward/backward track controls.<br />
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One thing the app is lacking that would be really helpful for spoken audio content especially is a skip 15 seconds forward/backward option. It would also be nice if you got a visual representation of how high the volume was when you adjust it. I would also love to see the options of scrolling through tracks to select the one you want.<br />
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Those are my suggestions that would make the app better, but even lacking those it is still one of the most useful apps on the Pebble and since it comes preinstalled it is one that you should be taking advantage of.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this post, and remember, live better.<br />
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5835093611473593903%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-WFX7JRMBhDo%252FVNOti5j5z8I%252FAAAAAAAADeY%252F6AAgaiMOwfw%252Fs1600%252FPebble%25252BMusic.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 36px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5835093611473593903%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-WFX7JRMBhDo%252FVNOti5j5z8I%252FAAAAAAAADeY%252F6AAgaiMOwfw%252Fs1600%252FPebble%25252BMusic.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 36px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-89996486790981821712015-02-03T04:42:00.000-08:002015-02-03T04:42:33.887-08:00The Law of the HarvestHere's the deal, you cannot achieve the results that other people have achieved without doing the things that they do. I'm really tired of hearing people say things like:<br />
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"well that just doesn't work for me"</blockquote>
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"I'm a unique situation"</blockquote>
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"I can't do that because of [x]"</blockquote>
If you would like to exempt yourself from all that is hard in life then you must also exempt yourself from the rewards and success that come from what is hard. <br />
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It's sad, I know, but it turns out despite what some politicians may feel, the world does not and never has, owed you a living of any kind, let alone a successful one. The government, even if it wants to, cannot change natural law.<br />
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For example let's take the law of gravity, we can "defy" gravity in several ways these days: space shuttles, airplanes, hot air balloons, etc. But all of these work <i>because</i> of an understanding of gravity and not in spite of it. Congress cannot pass a law, or Obama issue an executive order, that can nullify the law of gravity. They could certainly write down and pass a law or issue an order that says such a thing, but it would have no effect and would be akin to the proverbial Emperor's new clothes.<br />
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The same is true of the natural law of the harvest:<br />
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We can only achieve success because of an understanding of the law and not in spite of it. There is no way around the fact that to reap first we must sow. Consequently we must sow the seeds of the plant we wish to reap.<br />
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But how do we know what to sow? The answer is to look for people who are reaping what we want to reap and following them. It does no good to complain about things, it only does good to do things.<br />
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Therefore if you want to be basketball player you must do the things that basketball players do. If you want to be a millionaire you must do the things that millionaires do. If you want to be an astronaut then you must do the things that astronauts do.<br />
<br />
The important thing is that we set goals and then work to achieve those goals based on principles that work. Talk to people, read books, watch speeches, search the internet, never has there been more material available to us to learn how to be successful in our chosen path.<br />
<br />
But suppose you are a true visionary, and you want to be successful in a way that no one else has been successful before. What do you do then? You learn about other people who have done "impossible" things, even though they are not the same things you want to do. There are attributes that bind across these people as well, things that they "sowed" that you can also sow.<br />
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What you should not do is sit around complaining about how unfair life is and how someone else should make it better for you. This is also a sowing, but you shall reap only more sorrow and disappointment from it.<br />
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Time is the currency of success. Be careful how you spend it, far better to invest it.<br />
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The law of the harvest is immutable. It is one of the realities of daily life. Decide today to give up your excuses, your complaints, your blaming of others. The longer the planting is delayed the longer until the harvest will be realized, so begin sowing today. And remember, live better.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Attribution: image of wheat inside the frame courtesy of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/naturegeak/10486678446/in/photolist-dDFK4z-d159cu-6zBvqU-a5NbPg-7o9Vsu-6u7WvT-jmeei6-E5Ddi-8qSVtz-8g9ujU-8ZFqKY-fuqgFk-fAMX6x-gYEY9N-6P7Qme-cLYZhw-3xuDu-aeZpNB-7oiLv7-75kVUn-bEjPZY-cHVgCU-6Mq3NU-fmumKZ-i3mYq-ftmAZ7-bTeyLZ-4sTJV5-8pQsFo-fhhB3B-nnS3uV-58udQS-brCtjW-gL1Ns-brDpHN-8ut3Xv-pM8oY-6RED13-cCiSTG-a4t7oA-cTt51u-a1HRAf-j3Ngj-8ZFiZQ-fmJYKp-dN58Yt-7F1uFa-bEywrD-fDfqrf-bZAEU3">Flickr user Brandon Giesbrecht</a> used under Creative Commons License. Design work done by me.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D8999648679098182171%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-orAmYHHM06g%252FVM9z4fmDMOI%252FAAAAAAAADdI%252FM_mIDcqtk9k%252Fs1600%252Freap2.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 442px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D8999648679098182171%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-orAmYHHM06g%252FVM9z4fmDMOI%252FAAAAAAAADdI%252FM_mIDcqtk9k%252Fs1600%252Freap2.png%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 42px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 442px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-23059604017306915872015-01-26T04:31:00.000-08:002015-01-26T04:31:26.707-08:00Book Review: iPhone Only PhotographyHow many pictures do you take with your iPhone?<br />
<div>
The answer is probably a lot.</div>
<div>
How many of those pictures turn out the way you wanted?</div>
<div>
The answer is probably not so many. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I guess if we are going to spend a lot of time and effort taking pictures with our iPhones, it would behoove us to learn how to actually do it well. For this reason I read David Molnar's iPhone Only Photography book.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Name: <a href="http://iphoneonlyphoto.com/">iPhone Only Photography</a></div>
<div>
Genre: Mobile Photography</div>
<div>
Price: $29</div>
<div>
Stars: 5/5</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now you all know by this time that stars are not something I hand out like candy, I am pretty conservative in my use of stars in order to maintain their value. So why would I give 5 stars to this book? Because I think what it teaches is so important that everyone should know it.<br />
<br />
This book will teach you how to capture memories using your iPhone. It does this primarily two ways by:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Teaching you to take better photos</li>
<li>Teaching you how to edit to recreate feeling</li>
</ol>
<div>
If you use any iPhone from the 4s up then you have a great camera in your pocket all the time and you aught to take a little bit of time to learn how to use it a lot better. Here is a quick example of what editing can do:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOBaKmkNDumaGCWeV5x1daiZDIAc68UGE4n38Tojn9xyhbGY5i_zCwxx4qzlQWYRkMCWXXkyPFyP1s1eA9AQuwTJ8FQBDkRU7fuFkpH6vEFX_htT1m_3UIUe5NiXSS7RXHySuqEex4eY/s1600/IMG_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQOBaKmkNDumaGCWeV5x1daiZDIAc68UGE4n38Tojn9xyhbGY5i_zCwxx4qzlQWYRkMCWXXkyPFyP1s1eA9AQuwTJ8FQBDkRU7fuFkpH6vEFX_htT1m_3UIUe5NiXSS7RXHySuqEex4eY/s1600/IMG_0871.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUywT6dFrpq3t7uSGmubsxRJsmlW6l_lDXKlsh9W5tsIbLVGauUlXeX_HABX1vLTsR387GDGwx7pZnK7Yoa6uMyaso1E9gAuPax_D1TDcwGteJ0mx9C9vtFAZlmhS7cdzmbrsPZjVPpc/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUywT6dFrpq3t7uSGmubsxRJsmlW6l_lDXKlsh9W5tsIbLVGauUlXeX_HABX1vLTsR387GDGwx7pZnK7Yoa6uMyaso1E9gAuPax_D1TDcwGteJ0mx9C9vtFAZlmhS7cdzmbrsPZjVPpc/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is still not a perfect picture, but the second one describes much better visually what I felt on that fall day. And I did it all from an iPhone 4s.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Honestly I have always felt that photography was something that I was not very good at but that I wanted to be. iPhone Only Photography has opened up the complicated world of cameras and photo editing to me in a way that I can understand and work with. </div>
<div>
<br />
It is a really freeing experience to learn how to do something new that you know you can use for the rest of your life. Especially something that will help you remember your life better. I hope you will go check out iPhone Only Photography and see if it is something that can help you. You can t<a href="http://iphoneonlyphoto.com/free">ry three videos for free</a> that teach the skills from the first few chapters of the book.<br />
<br />
One more for the road:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVN1pn3a4J_s0O5Ac8DF_V600lrDDkJab2j2ZEyBHvAG2BAslV8_x2t9iY8TgWJAJ1Jm7YIR5sNOszi8dOAwnmVRZ4m1nQVvcdgwlKlLsfkt-39wG1OkMhOajWuT-QNAkBCMyOnNRCgw/s1600/IMG_0873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVN1pn3a4J_s0O5Ac8DF_V600lrDDkJab2j2ZEyBHvAG2BAslV8_x2t9iY8TgWJAJ1Jm7YIR5sNOszi8dOAwnmVRZ4m1nQVvcdgwlKlLsfkt-39wG1OkMhOajWuT-QNAkBCMyOnNRCgw/s1600/IMG_0873.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JbkVWU2Stg6Zdq0Z5yp9QYvCITXOZcA-1wgT4-fcuEcxyly7qRLZgifHCqnXVlfqvoeZvqND81H8-4M9qdLdpqP8Rh8ugV8ZWrIFN8ngjp-cPZisvSd-isFsM_u8MOR20ae9WV6Hhqw/s1600/IMG_0874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JbkVWU2Stg6Zdq0Z5yp9QYvCITXOZcA-1wgT4-fcuEcxyly7qRLZgifHCqnXVlfqvoeZvqND81H8-4M9qdLdpqP8Rh8ugV8ZWrIFN8ngjp-cPZisvSd-isFsM_u8MOR20ae9WV6Hhqw/s1600/IMG_0874.JPG" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And remember, live better.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D2305960401730691587%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dpostname&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F1.bp.blogspot.com%252F-pWPrAjSHQ0g%252FVMJK7bPUsGI%252FAAAAAAAADTQ%252FMLMLXg5LR_A%252Fs1600%252FIMG_0873.JPG%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 153px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1530px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D4551779429160657947%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D2305960401730691587%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dpostname&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F1.bp.blogspot.com%252F-pWPrAjSHQ0g%252FVMJK7bPUsGI%252FAAAAAAAADTQ%252FMLMLXg5LR_A%252Fs1600%252FIMG_0873.JPG%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 153px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1530px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-26184473257021981532015-01-20T04:44:00.002-08:002015-01-20T04:44:37.016-08:00Choosing the Least Invasive TechnologyIn the medical field there is this idea of minimally invasive surgery. Do the least amount you have to in order to achieve the desired result. I have been bouncing this idea around for a while of how that relates to technology usage. See technology invades many of our situations, as well it should, technology is meant to mediate between us and the world around us. It should, however, only mediate or invade as much as we need it to in order to achieve the result we desire.<br />
<br />
I call this idea: Least Invasive Technology (LIT).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8qKq2ksLyAgXp_1WUFz3bH3cgd1HIYlsrBtdrJoRlGL2XrEzggfcgHrunomtu4iqgdyV46Kg9GhgE6E8I553kks4oy-pWFripPuHDh6GXXcTNlhgmQ6rhH0UofPqqshHNw0UOz21TsI/s1600/Least+Invasive+Technology.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8qKq2ksLyAgXp_1WUFz3bH3cgd1HIYlsrBtdrJoRlGL2XrEzggfcgHrunomtu4iqgdyV46Kg9GhgE6E8I553kks4oy-pWFripPuHDh6GXXcTNlhgmQ6rhH0UofPqqshHNw0UOz21TsI/s1600/Least+Invasive+Technology.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
So in order to choose a technological tool according to LIT you would first consider whether or not it can do the job you need to get done. For example when I need to do some coding if I were to want to use my iPad instead of my laptop it really wouldn't be feasible because most coding programs don't run on an iPad and it isn't really capable yet of the kind of multitasking you need in coding. Therefore I would need the laptop.<br />
<br />
The second consideration, invasion to human interaction is a little trickier, but it cannot be answered until the first one is. For example a whiteboard is a piece of technology, we don't normally think of it as one, but it is. Both a whiteboard and a mirrored iPad can be used the draw visuals during a class, so they would both pass item number 1 if we were considering them. But which one causes more invasion to the human interaction?<br />
<br />
That is a little harder to say because a whiteboard causes you to look away from students and to be at the front of the room, whereas an iPad can allow you to face anyway you want and be anywhere in the room you want. However people may be more comfortable with the use of the whiteboard than they are with a mirrored iPad because they are use to it.<br />
<br />
Familiarity can make a technology less invasive than it might otherwise be. Novelty on the other hand can make technology more invasive than it might otherwise be. For example, my Pebble smartwatch is about as least invasive as technology can get, far less invasive than a phone being pulled out of a pocket or purse to check a notification. At least it is until somebody notices it, at which point it invades because of the novelty and becomes at least for a time the focus of conversation.<br />
<br />
Invasion for novelty's sake will eventually wear off as a technology becomes more ubiquitous. And at least this type of invasion keeps you centered on interacting by conversation with person, it just may not be the interaction that you intended. That makes novelty something to consider when choosing a technology, but not the controlling factor.<br />
<br />
I think the most important factor to currently consider when practicing LIT with electronic technologies is screen size.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dx6XeU4fAsPxMobYV8dtzhan6Gr8oaSwq057YvKCf_ohU-aVdSMfkxqcLWPSGXrmNJb86evxm06Jg8lwBKm2Vf6jJb1N-mvBCf2HTW7meK5vjZvxcRbzx9g7GSHXKNe6emO6aGLyIoc/s1600/apple-october-keynote-line-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dx6XeU4fAsPxMobYV8dtzhan6Gr8oaSwq057YvKCf_ohU-aVdSMfkxqcLWPSGXrmNJb86evxm06Jg8lwBKm2Vf6jJb1N-mvBCf2HTW7meK5vjZvxcRbzx9g7GSHXKNe6emO6aGLyIoc/s1600/apple-october-keynote-line-up.jpg" height="286" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple Products, conveniently lined up by size</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When the screen is creating a barrier between you and the person you are interacting with, than the smaller the screen size the better. For example, if you can use either an iPad or a MacBook to take notes at a meeting you should choose the iPad. The iPad creates a smaller barrier between you and the others in the meeting and it can be used lying flat on a table or desk some of the time, making it the least invasive technology for the purpose.<br />
<br />
When, however, the screen is facilitating interaction between you and another person the larger screen size may actually prove less invasive to the interaction. For example if I can video conference on either my iPhone or my iMac I will choose the iMac because it creates a better interaction with the other person.<br />
<br />
We appear to be on a rapid march towards mainstream adoption of internet 3.0, the internet of things. In this new phase of the internet and technology more and more things will become connected. More tools will mediate between us and the environment through electronics. In this world being able to practice the philosophy of Least Invasive Technology will become increasingly important.<br />
<br />
I hope something I have said today has sparked your interest, and I hope you will share it with someone else. I would like to see this idea be spread far and adopted by many. I hope it can help us to remember, to live better.<br />
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<div>
Icons made by <a href="http://www.freepik.com/" title="Freepik">Freepik</a> from <a href="http://www.flaticon.com/" title="Flaticon">www.flaticon.com</a> is licensed by <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" title="Creative Commons BY 3.0">CC BY 3.0</a></div>
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-62139836874875854592015-01-09T05:14:00.001-08:002015-01-09T05:14:01.744-08:00Control Center in iOSControl center is one of the most useful features in iOS. Its purpose is to give you easy access to system settings that you may need to access quickly or easily from anywhere on your iPhone or iPad.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iLLY9MA2-xx7nrw66g6PRo2cK86IcXaquYULs_bMUdqBqRWNAbH8SLwfawtrZw8xG844H3ZIutzMXCymFQKxLM-h4nnNZ2oOkMS3o2pcXb9Jim3vbpp7ORL-RW549mVHgw5903sjtj0/s1600/Using.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iLLY9MA2-xx7nrw66g6PRo2cK86IcXaquYULs_bMUdqBqRWNAbH8SLwfawtrZw8xG844H3ZIutzMXCymFQKxLM-h4nnNZ2oOkMS3o2pcXb9Jim3vbpp7ORL-RW549mVHgw5903sjtj0/s1600/Using.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
You access control center by swiping up with one finger on the bottom of the screen. You can do this in almost any app and even the lock screen, so long as your settings (settings > control center) has both "access within apps" and access on lock screen" set to on.<br />
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The top row in control center are all settings that can either be turned off, or on by tapping on them. When an icon is black on white that setting is turned on, when it is black on gray it is turned off. You have access here to Air Plane mode, Wifi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, and Lock Screen Rotation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkm6P5Nppjtz3vTns-6KwrzcYK7hvRp-9ujVNcdxqevzYCAiI7b3w5F7L1hpTvKJ4Fj9qil2IWeIdhyphenhyphenhSTl-gEknzXyxL6jj4rv80MFqAqR-zle5jkjhCj806BMslL_39gJBi21m-3m8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-09+at+5.50.06+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkm6P5Nppjtz3vTns-6KwrzcYK7hvRp-9ujVNcdxqevzYCAiI7b3w5F7L1hpTvKJ4Fj9qil2IWeIdhyphenhyphenhSTl-gEknzXyxL6jj4rv80MFqAqR-zle5jkjhCj806BMslL_39gJBi21m-3m8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-09+at+5.50.06+AM.png" height="138" width="320" /></a></div>
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Down from there you have a brightness slider control. This allows you to quickly adjust the level of the backlight on you device. Just slide right to make it more bright and left to make it less.<br />
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The next section contains the standard audio controls: Play/Pause, volume and fifteen second skips backwards and forwards.<br />
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Then we get the airplay and air drop controls. However these controls only appear if they are turned on and can be used. For example if you had wifi off they would not show up because they require wifi to function. Similarly if there is no device around to connect to they will not show up.<br />
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The final section of control center contains a row of quick access apps. You cannot control which apps appear here unfortunately so hopefully you like the selection that Apple has chosen. You can use the flashlight, the timer, the calculator, and the camera. Personally I think this is a useful collection, and I use control center to access all of them regularly, except for the timer.<br />
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Using control center can help you save a lot of time leaving apps or unlocking the phone to go to the settings app when something just needs to be done quickly. I hope you find these tips helpful, and remember, live better.<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-25692425873491403792015-01-07T04:45:00.002-08:002015-01-07T04:45:50.234-08:00Life at double speed: How to learn more by listening twice as fastLearning is something that it seems quite certain we will never complete. For the life long learner there will never be enough time to discover, let alone study, everything that they may want to. This is the reason that I can get depressed walking through libraries if I let myself consider how many books there are that I will never read.<br />
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For this reason I have tried to find ways to learn faster, and one of the best ways I have found is to listen to things at double the speed. I try to listen to all spoken recordings at double speed. Podcasts, audiobooks, online courses, TED Talks, YouTube tutorials, all of it gets sped up if it can.<br />
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This pace can take some getting used to, but once you have developed the habit of listening this way you find it excruciating to go back to normal playback speed. It will seem so slow to you that it will be a burden to listen to it.<br />
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Of course some of this is dependent on the person you are listening to. Some people talk twice as fast as most people anyways and those you may not listen to at double, at least not right away. Other people talk so slow that you may want to speed them up even faster than double speed, but I don't know of a way to do that without going through more work than would be worth it. So a general rule of thumb is to go at double speed.<br />
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Here is a quick rundown of how to listen at double speed to the content I mentioned above.<br />
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<b>Podcasts</b><br />
The native podcasts app on iOS 8 makes it easy to listen at double speed. You simply click the speed button in the lower left corner that normally says 1x and change it to 2x. You could also start with 1.5x if it makes you more comfortable starting out, that is what I did.<br />
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Podcast hosts vary widely on the speed that the talk so it can take more getting use to with some than it does with others, but I have found that all the podcasts I listen to regularly can be listened to just fine on double speed and after some practice it sounds normal to my ears.<br />
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Most 3rd party podcast apps also have a speed up option, some with more granular control than Apple's native app.<br />
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<b>Audiobooks</b><br />
For audiobooks, it depends on which app you are using, but most have the speed up options. For example I listen to books in both Librivox and Overdrive and they both allow you to speed up your listening.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcDo8E7JhjY2UzYK2b4MHONRlxTP-0P-CJj9dorSjU_3HJ6lNH7pGYk9s_4_Dj9Dvnnf8Yv4c5ir1UOM_t1aVKnd6W-VqepBM5Mi0bNQHOb_ZZLYh751G7YNNf3MFsMYHNu074At5XhQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-07+at+5.38.27+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcDo8E7JhjY2UzYK2b4MHONRlxTP-0P-CJj9dorSjU_3HJ6lNH7pGYk9s_4_Dj9Dvnnf8Yv4c5ir1UOM_t1aVKnd6W-VqepBM5Mi0bNQHOb_ZZLYh751G7YNNf3MFsMYHNu074At5XhQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-07+at+5.38.27+AM.png" height="320" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Librivox</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overdrive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Audiobooks are almost always recorded at a slow pace and so they can be sped up with very little trouble. I also find that annoying voices are less troublesome at double speed.<br />
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<b>Online Courses</b><br />
If you take a course online the instructors will likely talk slower than they need to for you at certain times, while other times you may need to go back and listen again to catch a difficult concept. When they are speaking slowly it can be helpful to put them on double speed. The service I have used for online courses, Udemy, does not allow you to speed up videos when you watch in a web browser, but when you use it iOS app you can. So check and see if your service has an app, and chances are you can speed up the videos there.<br />
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<b>TED Talks</b><br />
TED talks are an invaluable resource when it comes to learning and expanding your understanding. Most of them can easily be listened to in half the time. Unfortunately the TED app on iOS does not give you the option of playing either video or audio at double speed, so I don't use it. Instead I suggest using the native podcast app to listen to or watch talks on the various TED podcast channels, or watch them on YouTube as explained below.<br />
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<b>YouTube</b><br />
The ubiquitous video site is one of the great founts of knowledge in the 21st century. Nearly anything you might want to learn can be learned on YouTube, to the point that I once said I was a graduate of the U of YouTube. However this learning can be done much faster if you learn to watch at double speed.<br />
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This particular method requires you to do a little prep work because the YouTube app does not currently allow double speed playback.<br />
Go to <a href="http://youtube.com/html5">http://youtube.com/html5</a> and make sure you are signed into your YouTube/Google account. Then click the check box to use the html5 player. Once you have done that you will find an extra option under the settings gear on YouTube videos that will allow you to change the playback speed. You can do this on your iPad or iPhone as long as you watch videos in safari and are signed into your YouTube account.<br />
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And there you have it, a simple way to speed up your learning that you can do today! I hope you find this article helpful, and that you will share it on your social networks. If you use other apps to speed up learning please tell us in the comments below.<br />
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Enjoy learning at double speed, and remember, live better.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-29861187141252469222014-12-20T09:19:00.000-08:002014-12-20T09:19:11.961-08:00Game Review: LostWindsI don't discuss a lot of games on this blog, mostly because I am focused on using technology to be more productive, not less. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good game when I find one and have a little downtime. LostWinds was such a delightful experience that I wanted to share it with you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZh1ItR3nvd9w6tZcnrwkuHImJBS2kq4XhOQPaXzcYNhJg0OX7dCbmkvqZauoC_84PywKJaAfhaGEhhveyC2GpFWS1o6_kAN2UEiPhkX7_I7cHhIpOcmX_v1HqQ7A415IdureAH1B8VmI/s1600/LostWindsIconRoundedSml.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZh1ItR3nvd9w6tZcnrwkuHImJBS2kq4XhOQPaXzcYNhJg0OX7dCbmkvqZauoC_84PywKJaAfhaGEhhveyC2GpFWS1o6_kAN2UEiPhkX7_I7cHhIpOcmX_v1HqQ7A415IdureAH1B8VmI/s1600/LostWindsIconRoundedSml.png" height="200" width="200" /></a>Game: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lostwinds/id477973472?mt=8">LostWinds</a><br />
Genre: Physics Platformer<br />
Cost: $3.99<br />
Stars: 4<br />
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LostWinds was one of the few games I have come across on iOS that I have felt compelled to finish. Partly because it was so charming and partly because it is not too long. The game is been around for quite a while (I looked on Wikipedia and it first launched on iOS in 2011), but it went free over Thanksgiving and that is why I had the chance to play it. In this review I will look at a few of the best aspects of the game.<br />
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<b>Plot: </b><br />
In LostWinds you follow the simple story of Toku, a young boy who befriends a wind spirit. You have to travel around the platforming world to unlock various secrets and memories to help the spirits cleanse the land from the evil spirit that is polluting it. The story is compelling enough to keep you playing, but it doesn't develop a lot, most of it is told through on screen text between characters.<br />
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<b>Controls:</b><br />
The game uses fun and intuitive touch screen controls. Mostly the mechanic is swiping or drawing on the screen to direct the wind. You can use it to make Toku jump and fly, and also to control other elements like fire and water, or objects like rocks and pots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabB_Ej8fZQFqI0JcZLnUtoGdgieKGnEi2RiouHoQPuqGTCtHiB8B23oHlgUrDzTXJvzBxk6wibAReImbiHQEWTkyEVs5ge4IESmVBox1QOHi4dBrhciOYNOdc_tTsfTvfMkv5BvWUvWI/s1600/screen520x924.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabB_Ej8fZQFqI0JcZLnUtoGdgieKGnEi2RiouHoQPuqGTCtHiB8B23oHlgUrDzTXJvzBxk6wibAReImbiHQEWTkyEVs5ge4IESmVBox1QOHi4dBrhciOYNOdc_tTsfTvfMkv5BvWUvWI/s1600/screen520x924.jpeg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The game is primarily a physics puzzler, with the player needing to figure out how to advance to the next stage by solving some puzzle normally involving the objects found in each level. This feels similar to the puzzle elements of classic games like Zelda. There is very little fighting in the game, and what is there is all done by drawing wind on the screen.<br />
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<b>Graphics:</b><br />
The world that you travel through in LostWinds is a beautiful whimsical cartoonish place. It has beautiful waterfalls, quaint villages, and crystal filled caverns. The lush colors make it an endearing place that you can't help but want to explore.<br />
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The monsters of this world are not frightening, and mostly appear as gooey blobs that try to stick to you. So it is certainly a game that is appropriate for children.<br />
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I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you so I will stop here. But overall I think it is a really good game that most people will enjoy playing. Would I pay 3.99 for it? Probably not, but if you can get it on sale I definitely recommend it.<br />
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Do you have a favorite iOS game? Share it with us in the comments below. Enjoy, and remember, live better.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-18391162957111560182014-12-18T14:42:00.001-08:002014-12-18T14:48:10.891-08:00Using Dvorak keyboard layout in iOS 8As most of you know I have been waiting for many a moon for a Dvorak keyboard on iOS. I think that layout is far better then QWERTY. As a side note I had to type on a QWERTY a couple days ago and my wrists quickly started hurting. If you have hand trouble you may want to consider switching over to Dvorak too.<br />
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Well, the long awaited day has finally arrived and a system wide Dvorak keyboard is here! In fact it has been possible ever since iOS 8 came out in September. So why the long wait in getting the good news to you? Two reasons. First, nobody immediately came out with a Dvorak keyboard, much to my chagrin. Second, by the team keyboards started coming out school had heated up considerably and I had to put the blog on the back burner for a month or so.<br />
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But now it is time. In the past couple months quite a few 3rd party keyboards with Dvorak layouts have slipped into the App Store. I will tell you about two of them here: Fleksy and Dvorak + Colemak Keyboards.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMltNj49G5yCt2oPSuolczcmDGoHxgzg-TWIKdrc6jlMOFejUeX9VZTReB0Z0JZuegNBAXBLnZ34bur-Lb-yfPxYgFBWf0e6oIfxfIRsYuOpkcDAwp6laRE0bnEn5occciBSqC_hlunNk/s1600/icon175x175.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMltNj49G5yCt2oPSuolczcmDGoHxgzg-TWIKdrc6jlMOFejUeX9VZTReB0Z0JZuegNBAXBLnZ34bur-Lb-yfPxYgFBWf0e6oIfxfIRsYuOpkcDAwp6laRE0bnEn5occciBSqC_hlunNk/s1600/icon175x175.jpeg" /></a><a href="http://fleksy.com/ios8/">Fleksy</a><br />
Price: 99¢<br />
Stars: 2<br />
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Fleksy came out with the launch of iOS 8, but they did not support Dvorak as a layout right away, even though they already did on Android. Many people really like the Fleksy keyboard and say they can type quickly on it, I cannot. I find the way they do predictive typing to be odd and unwieldy. When they finally did ad the Dvorak layout I found that the keys did not line up as you would expect them to if you were use to typing on a regular Dvorak keyboard.<br />
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You can see this in the image below. The entire top row is not aligned where it should be, I soon found out that for some odd reason this is the case in many Dvorak layouts on iOS currently. This makes it hard to type because the keys are not where you would expect them to be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SpaJOmAXCKrvhKcnvvouc182y7j4VFYJeI4K3gIAXrJysp68RvgFSLh7egLpqK_exrumyilA-WrmbLBIeHVgje6mk8W0DmefeG_JrWgCyBrFnioRemZybnOmsRlqF2yaOArNCxmO3Zw/s1600/image1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SpaJOmAXCKrvhKcnvvouc182y7j4VFYJeI4K3gIAXrJysp68RvgFSLh7egLpqK_exrumyilA-WrmbLBIeHVgje6mk8W0DmefeG_JrWgCyBrFnioRemZybnOmsRlqF2yaOArNCxmO3Zw/s1600/image1.PNG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Fleksy has lots of language layouts besides Dvorak, and it has a lot of customizability in terms of color and size. It also has special swipe gestures for certain functions. My main purpose here though is to review it as a Dvorak keyboard and so I won't go into everything that it does.<br />
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Fleksy requires you to give it "full access" under keyboard preferences in order to change to any layout other than English QWERTY. Usually keyboards need full access so that they can do predictive typing, the only problem is that in order to do that they have to collect your keystroke data. This has caused a lot of controversy around the internet because it could potentially be logging things like passwords and credit card numbers. Almost all 3rd party keyboards will ask for full access, it is not just Fleksy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw70yqeXWi4vKrhyphenhyphen1THue-mkVoMYhtaMXaqr8usmwnZY34GIcaZF53GxtYT4vRZ6MfDCxzlntNw7nhq7iqDsbgdEnRbWzbot9RKuwroh3Wh0Nk7AFFefNuuCQq70YHfkT4jYUgBGTbWjY/s1600/icon175x175.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw70yqeXWi4vKrhyphenhyphen1THue-mkVoMYhtaMXaqr8usmwnZY34GIcaZF53GxtYT4vRZ6MfDCxzlntNw7nhq7iqDsbgdEnRbWzbot9RKuwroh3Wh0Nk7AFFefNuuCQq70YHfkT4jYUgBGTbWjY/s1600/icon175x175.png" /></a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dvorak-+-colemak-keyboards/id940278139?mt=8">Dvorak + Colemak Keyboards</a><br />
Price: 99¢<br />
Stars: 4<br />
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Right off the bat this keyboard is looking better because the keys are in the correct locations for anyone use to a standard Dvorak layout. This allows there to be punctuation on the main keyboard, just where it should be. It shouldn't take long for those people to become familiar typing on this keyboard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JvHMOpx6Q0V2E-EdiJPrYzosCR5hWNgGsv8ac9R613zYdU9PQTwplG4FBxc9mSPL5IyRbITiDDYizUcAQCiS90wxXwr5cHALSQzq6XOKwEyPO7kGth3ATGNDPfahLZigkHHZ_s4wpBE/s1600/image2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JvHMOpx6Q0V2E-EdiJPrYzosCR5hWNgGsv8ac9R613zYdU9PQTwplG4FBxc9mSPL5IyRbITiDDYizUcAQCiS90wxXwr5cHALSQzq6XOKwEyPO7kGth3ATGNDPfahLZigkHHZ_s4wpBE/s1600/image2.PNG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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This keyboard does lack a lot of the bells and whistles that Fleksy and many other keyboards have, but that doesn't bother me. I don't need fancy color themes or size options I just need something functional.<br />
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One thing it is lacking though that is a problem though is an Emoji keyboard. I use emoji a lot when tweeting or texting, so this is a bit of deal breaker for me as far as everyday use goes.<br />
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Dvorak + Colemak Keyboards does no require full access to use, so your keystrokes are not logged. You will have to enable full access if you want keyboard clicks however because this is the only way that Apple will allow them to get access to the speakers.<br />
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<b>Where I am now</b><br />
Still using the standard Apple QWERTY onscreen keyboard. Why? Because, and this is nothing the app producers have control over, but 3rd party keyboards have been spotty across the board on iOS 8. Perhaps Apple was not really ready for them, but no matter which one you use it is likely to be buggy. They are sluggish and sometimes (often) will disappear completely. This makes it really unviable to use a 3rd party option as your default keyboard.<br />
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So for now, even though I was waiting for this day for so long, I am still primarily using the default keyboard. I hope that Apple will make significant improvements to 3rd party integration in the future, or better yet just make Dvorak part of the standard language package.<br />
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Well I hope you have found this post helpful, even if a little discouraging :( If you have found a keyboard (Dvorak or otherwise) that you like to use on iOS please let us know about it in the comments.<br />
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Disclosure: Archagon provided me with a free copy of Dvorak + Colemak keyboards to review. I never recommend anything on my blog though that I have not tried myself and that I approve of.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-67055762980801770662014-11-13T05:24:00.001-08:002014-11-13T05:24:07.161-08:00Why the Smartwatch Will Change the World (for the better)It might seem like a big claim to say that the smartwatch will change the world, but at this point nobody can deny that major technologies have completely altered the way we do things. The refrigerator is a perfect example. Think of how our lives and the entire food industry was turned on its head by the refrigerator. Society was forever altered by the ability to keep food longer.<br />
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And if you want an example more close to your life look at the smartphone. What aspect of life has not been touched by this invention that is only 7 years old? If you think there is one just do a search an the App Store and I bet you will find out you are wrong :)<br />
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So yes, I posit that the smartwatch, and what it represents is about to change the world. Let me show you what I mean.<br />
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<b>Notifications </b><br />
Imagine going from this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlLbyNE14wVWpUeAGYptWYbKE7jzmzFpSB2jMluVJNJcdCgC41prRXcedHCzVGhECKHQM7s_ilJfEz1VKucYF5G4FRbOEr90lKEd8EtNWlU4vZywxS73r-6ssuc40iOcYO384flJ6dJI/s1600/death-of-conversation-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlLbyNE14wVWpUeAGYptWYbKE7jzmzFpSB2jMluVJNJcdCgC41prRXcedHCzVGhECKHQM7s_ilJfEz1VKucYF5G4FRbOEr90lKEd8EtNWlU4vZywxS73r-6ssuc40iOcYO384flJ6dJI/s320/death-of-conversation-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <i>Death of Conversation </i>by @babycakesromero</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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To this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b_oKKuS23KIw_jG7HsfyU_ESBEzv8rLAV2x_qwieDZeONaE-5MtYXcI3tSKFcJfhYk1Vdzsda32IvyyiQnUuVjkII9h42P8rg0mYryCRzLOS3zeDRcRmAwYpbYIDCBPPDKIdEqGu7mg/s1600/rbk-time-management-woman-checking-watch-mdn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b_oKKuS23KIw_jG7HsfyU_ESBEzv8rLAV2x_qwieDZeONaE-5MtYXcI3tSKFcJfhYk1Vdzsda32IvyyiQnUuVjkII9h42P8rg0mYryCRzLOS3zeDRcRmAwYpbYIDCBPPDKIdEqGu7mg/s320/rbk-time-management-woman-checking-watch-mdn.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from redbookmag.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Did you see it? Its quick. But it is crucial. When we check our wrist for a notification, rather than our phone it makes it so much easier to ignore that notification and it only takes a fraction of the time. The watch is much small screen so it places a much smaller barrier between you and the people you are physically present with, not mention the fact that it normally does not physically come between you and those people as well because you simply glance down at your wrist.<br />
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Why is this a big deal? I mean it seems like such a simple thing. In fact most people ask me what else my smartwatch can do besides receive notifications. They say that that would never be a draw for them. Honestly I felt the same way, but now even if the only thing my pebble did was receive notifications I would still get it just for that.<br />
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But here's the thing, we all have this false idea that an emergency could develop at any time, so we need to be connected to the world constantly. A smartwatch satisfies that "need" with out as much distraction as pulling out a smartphone every time.<br />
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<b>Fitness Tracking</b><br />
Thomas Monson has said that, "when performance is measured, performance improves." Most wearables have the ability to track you health metrics like steps and sleep, whether you bought them for that or not. And when you have something tracking how much you walk each day, let me tell you that you walk more. Different devices will have different health capabilities, but the general trend will be toward a population that is not just more health aware, but also actually more healthy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslcaXFl9owIrHSbO32H9FSDnCVOEv4XQL4xtvdiqo-k_ZQN_VmXbp3DHw7Vd0UOb2CrVibWWx5wxejMUk4nGSvCm4E1V1FLjxOCh3H1HP_Yjzct0kCeqpq6K5YWaWX0nkKIPjJDdAomk/s1600/Banner.RK-Pebble-Wireframe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslcaXFl9owIrHSbO32H9FSDnCVOEv4XQL4xtvdiqo-k_ZQN_VmXbp3DHw7Vd0UOb2CrVibWWx5wxejMUk4nGSvCm4E1V1FLjxOCh3H1HP_Yjzct0kCeqpq6K5YWaWX0nkKIPjJDdAomk/s320/Banner.RK-Pebble-Wireframe.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from getpebble.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Cracked Screens</b><br />
How many cracked screens do you see a day? Probably at least a few, and why? In part because so many people walk around with their phone in their hand. Some people even run or jog while holding it in their hand! That is like saying you want a cracked screen. The Smartwatch will change all that.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dKM2vAaUyYs-ZUTpMk8H3KwyNO0exgDcSvt__WNrEW-giat84_zIr_GcCczaumKcByqGya_5KS_YNw9F60_2bWz0oVCYzd1jCEdHkZjk5NBPDu6_tICeNmIm4G13oW8VSKyWS8uw8Gc/s1600/cracked-iphone-4S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dKM2vAaUyYs-ZUTpMk8H3KwyNO0exgDcSvt__WNrEW-giat84_zIr_GcCczaumKcByqGya_5KS_YNw9F60_2bWz0oVCYzd1jCEdHkZjk5NBPDu6_tICeNmIm4G13oW8VSKyWS8uw8Gc/s320/cracked-iphone-4S.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Mashable</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Because I have a Pebble, when I am walking I don't need to pull my phone out to check a notification or the time, it is right there on my wrist and it isn't going to fall on the ground and shatter. I don't need to hold my phone in my hand while I am exercising because all of my music controls are conveniently located on my wrist as well.<br />
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Therefore I predict that when wearable technology comes into wide use we will see the number of cracked phone screens drastically reduced.<br />
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<b>But some people hate watches</b><br />
A lot of people say that smartwatches will never take off because there are not enough people who like to wear watches. That might have been a great argument until Apple entered the game. Next year the entire wearable industry is about to take a giant leap forward because the Apple machine is going to be thrown behind the Apple watch.<br />
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Apple has the power to design something so well that it becomes an integrated part of our life. Before the advent of the iPhone, smartphones/PDAs were the domain of business execs and nerds taping away on Blackberrys and Palm Pilots (I know because I was one of the nerds). Then 2007 rolled around and everything changed. The same thing happened with tablet in 2010, they had existed before, but very few people used them. Previously the same thing had happened to the MP3 player and in the distant past, the personal computer.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP3zK887CCUsnc6Kz61LCgaJ4HfhbCeJC9MlBTsPxomWCty2wTTwLBgNbuH2xAvil4txu2NsmcbkDqFyrPDXHH4ms_c-iHz0UU0HExo0oyJbHo3y3GutM19oaci3cjNsJbr-pTFhRnsc/s1600/og_gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRP3zK887CCUsnc6Kz61LCgaJ4HfhbCeJC9MlBTsPxomWCty2wTTwLBgNbuH2xAvil4txu2NsmcbkDqFyrPDXHH4ms_c-iHz0UU0HExo0oyJbHo3y3GutM19oaci3cjNsJbr-pTFhRnsc/s320/og_gallery.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from apple.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Each time Apple has defined a product category, it has exploded, and not just for Apple. The entire industry rises because of the popularity Apple brings to something. I expect to see sales of all wearables dramatically increase next year because of the attention Apple will bring to that market.<br />
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So I expect to see lots of people who said they don't like watches to start wearing them in the next 5 years, and I think they will be better for it. And watches are just one category of wearables. Most of the other categories, like glasses, goggles, pendants, etc still have a long way to come for mainstream use, but it is wave of the future and they will improve as time goes on.<br />
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<b>Disappearing Technology </b><br />
Jack Dorsey (cofounder of Twitter and Square) has said that the best technologies "fade into the background, and they're relevant when you want to use them, and they get out of the way when you don't."<br />
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This is what I believe will ultimately let the smartwatch change the world. It is so good at disappearing, making you forget it is there until you need it. There is more that I have to say on this point but it will have to wait for another post.<br />
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These were just a few of the ways that smartwatches could change the world. If you can think of others please let me know in the comments below. I hope you have found this post enlightening and I would invite you to share it with others who might want to know more about smartwatches. Thanks for reading, and remember, live better.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-63509450694468481362014-11-05T07:30:00.002-08:002014-11-05T14:20:49.379-08:00How to Screencast from an iPad Using QuickTimeWith the introduction of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite has come a little heralded, but incredibly important, new ability to make an iPad or iPhone screencast on a Mac with no third party software. In the video below I explain how to do this:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jYnH28J0A8M?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
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Requirements:<br />
iOS Device using lightning connector running 8.0 or later<br />
Macintosh computer running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later<br />
Lightning cable to connect them<br />
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Why is this so important? Well it means it will be much easier for me to make tutorials for you guys. To do this before you needed a third party app, most of which were expensive. Now just with QuickTime I can make high quality examples for you.<br />
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This will also make it possible for people to essentially share their iPad screen if they use QuickTime and a conferencing service like Google Hangout. Think how helpful that will be in helping people who are having a problem (once I explain to them how to hook it up).<br />
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I am really excited about the possibilities here and I hope you are to. Have a great week and remember, live better.<br />
<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-9342516723387689572014-11-03T05:04:00.000-08:002014-11-03T05:04:46.290-08:00The dangers of consumptionOnce Tuberculosis was one of the most deadly killers in the world, and during that time it was commonly referred to by a different name: Consumption. This was because it would decimate the infected person's body weight while it was destroying their lungs. In essence it would "consume" them.<br />
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Now we live in a time when, at least here the U.S. where I live, Tuberculosis is fairly well under control. In some parts of the world it is still deadly. But here in the U.S. we now have a different kind of "consumption" disease, one that attacks the mind instead of the lungs, and which tends to increase rather than decrease the person's body weight. And there is a real danger to how quickly this infection is spreading. </div>
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Let me explain: there are primarily two kinds of actions we can take as human beings, actions of consumption and actions of creation. Whenever we eat, read, watch, or view something we are acting in consumption. Whenever we grow, cook, write, draw, film, edit, speak, design, program, build, invent, or think something we are acting in creation. </div>
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Of all the animals in the world we are the only ones that have moved from consumption to creation. I personally believe this is because we are not animals but children of a divine creator. But, whatever you believe you cannot deny that this is the case, no other species creates on the level of humans.</div>
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<b>The symptoms</b><br />
But even though we are the only creative species on the planet we have come to a point where we value consumption above all else. Let me share a few examples:<br />
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<i>Netflix:</i><br />
The streaming giant has built an empire out of consumption. Now don't get me wrong I like Netflix as much as the next guy, and no corporation or technology can be held responsible for our own personal actions, but I have gotten concerned with the introduction of the auto play feature. What this introduces is the rampant consumption of one T.V. show after another (which yes I know people were doing before anyway).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbeXk46LLkauKsZUmSG_3YMILSAx7d8O3FduBTSdMAaBF7w-0fU0x-LJmaGW_tjrTr-CbVhdjy4z4Flq8eTPAegmy8tP1Cf5VOOdmjdWemFjxDwpnxawKYGsgyuhspR99dbcgjR_cQ9c/s1600/o-NETFLIX-NEW-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbeXk46LLkauKsZUmSG_3YMILSAx7d8O3FduBTSdMAaBF7w-0fU0x-LJmaGW_tjrTr-CbVhdjy4z4Flq8eTPAegmy8tP1Cf5VOOdmjdWemFjxDwpnxawKYGsgyuhspR99dbcgjR_cQ9c/s1600/o-NETFLIX-NEW-570.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here is the concern, this symptom points to an underlying problem that people consume without thought anymore, they are seeking the stimulus above all else, and have to seek more and more of that stimulus. People no longer think about what they are taking in, they don't analyze the work that has been put before them, in essence they don't create anything with what they have consumed. Like little Pacmen they go through life with their mouths wide open, constantly seeking to consume more and more of whatever stimulates.<br />
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<i>Movie Theaters:</i><br />
Go to movies sometime, and stay in the theater until the credits have finished rolling, then look around you. If there happens by some lucky chance to be somebody left you should make friends with that person. Why? Because they value creation. They have stayed around long enough to give a little bit of respect as a consumer to the people who create.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgit8yLPdJte2EjlphNLP0zrpy5xT7aCQACjBOJoKKYGRbFKAsBlcNrtQ14IR3W5Gjlwc9hyphenhyphenr-UdpSXzSh7S0dlOqRKb_rZX14aA4UHDyE9ged4DsK8IK-_pbOJxyNZSXoZQLk1e0JOSuk/s1600/man_sitting_alone_in_theater_42-18239502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgit8yLPdJte2EjlphNLP0zrpy5xT7aCQACjBOJoKKYGRbFKAsBlcNrtQ14IR3W5Gjlwc9hyphenhyphenr-UdpSXzSh7S0dlOqRKb_rZX14aA4UHDyE9ged4DsK8IK-_pbOJxyNZSXoZQLk1e0JOSuk/s1600/man_sitting_alone_in_theater_42-18239502.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></div>
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Besides respect there is another good reason to stay through the credit roll, it gives you a chance for contemplation of the film you have just seen. This gives you a chance to make meaning from it, the opportunity to become a creator. The soundtrack of the film and the concept art that often accompanies the credit roll help to facilitate thoughtful remembrance of it. If you came with someone you could even talk with them about what they thought; because guess what, there is nobody else in the theater.<br />
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So often our consumption of movies and other entertainment never goes beyond the superficial question of : "did you like that?" we never get to the more important question of why? A question that invites creation. In fact being a thoughtful consumer of media these days can often make people annoyed. They do not want to actually think about anything. They have already moved on to seeking the next stimulus and if you are still contemplating the last one they find that frustrating because it requires something of them, something they are not prepared to deal with.<br />
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In addition to movie theaters we could talk about live theaters. I have been to broadway shows that I know people have paid hundreds of dollars to attend only to see people get up a leave before the curtain call, sometimes before the last scene because they think the last scene has happened. Far more than at movie theaters this is a sign of complete and utter disrespect for the creators who have just put so much work into providing you with entertainment. But you don't have time to stay because you need to move on to the next stimulus, probably your smartphone.<br />
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We are like a culture of addicts, constantly looking for the next hit, never satisfied by what we have just consumed.<br />
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<i>Throw-away culture</i><br />
Let's turn away from entertainment for a moment to look at physical objects. When was the last time you repaired something or paid to have something repaired? Probably not recently. See repairing is an act of sub-creation, and we don't value that in our society. The only things we repair are those that we still consider major expenses: cars and houses. What do we value? The ability to consume rapidly. If my toaster or my television is broken that endangers my ability to consume so it has to go and be replaced by a new one. A snazzier one that will probably break twice as quickly.<br />
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<i>Divorce</i><br />
I am not going to deal with this in depth, it is just another manifestation of the throwaway culture of rapid consumption we live in. We don't fix things, we throw them away and get new ones, whether that be toasters or spouses. Marriage is act of creation at its very core, it is no wonder then that it cannot survive when viewed merely as an activity of consumption. When the stimulus is gone or ceases to be easy, we move on to the next hit.<br />
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<b>You were created for more</b><br />
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The truth of the matter is that you were meant to be a creator. It is creation that actually drives the human mind to joy. It is creation that advances society. It is creation that brings us closer to that divine Creator who created us.<br />
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<b>What can be done?</b><br />
Well, we won't change the whole world with one blog post, but you can change, and you can do it now. If you recognize symptoms of rampant consumption in your own life, then stop being that way and start being a creator.<br />
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<i>Analysis</i><br />
They first step I believe is to stop taking in without putting out. So the next time you go to a movie, or watch a show on Netflix or Youtube, begin with analysis. Go deeper than a superficial "did you like it." Ask why you liked it? Ask what the major theme was? Ask how you feel about the characters moral choices? Ask what the symbols were and what they represented?<br />
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If know one will talk to you because this behavior of creation is too radical for them, then do it yourself, you could write it down to make it more real.<br />
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Here is the point, stop going to consume things and brining nothing to them. Everyone can at least bring thinking to everything that they do. So don't take anything in without making something of it. If your body did that it would die, your mind is the same way.<br />
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Analysis will actually cause you to start seeking higher quality content, because you will know that whatever you consume you are going to be thinking about a good while to follow. This is the same with food, once you start thinking about what you are eating you start eating better.<br />
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<i>The Internet</i><br />
The internet has enabled massive mindless consumption of worthless low quality content on a global scale. But it has enabled every person with access to it to become a creator of something. It has enabled both the acts of creation, and learning how to do them. It has also facilitated conversation and analysis on a large scale.<br />
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So decide that the internet will become more than a tool of consumption for you. Decide to do something with what you find there. And not just anything, but something meaningful.<br />
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I know this has been a long post, but I think it is important. Please share this post. There is danger here and so I hope this post will inspire at least one person to think, remember, and live better.<br />
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Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-56635886167154084302014-10-17T04:47:00.001-07:002014-10-17T04:47:12.020-07:00How to delete apps on an iPad or iPhoneSo you downloaded an app that looked cool, but it turned out to be pretty dumb or it crashed all the time, so you want to get rid of it. How do you do it?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZl_gZFHzdFgz4BtngTptyzYJYL4L5RgXwHv1I2VljpA_ermf8Ew9G5ekfPfXZVVcxAf0K8q621L_RWFIAJdMQUXG3j4E2XaAynzhIQD0wzFb-_3LNahix4G4MxMPtLTqguXGLMu8QFQ/s1600/How+To.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZl_gZFHzdFgz4BtngTptyzYJYL4L5RgXwHv1I2VljpA_ermf8Ew9G5ekfPfXZVVcxAf0K8q621L_RWFIAJdMQUXG3j4E2XaAynzhIQD0wzFb-_3LNahix4G4MxMPtLTqguXGLMu8QFQ/s1600/How+To.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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The process is actually very simple:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Go to the home screen</li>
<li>Hold down on an app until they all start to wiggle and an "x" button appears in each corner</li>
<li>Tap the "x" button on the app you don't want</li>
<li>It will ask if you are sure? Choose yes. </li>
<li>Taadaa! The app is now deleted :)</li>
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Be aware that when you delete an app all of its data stored on the device will be deleted as well, so make sure there isn't anything important inside of it before you do. Apps like gmail, Facebook, and Twitter all store their data on cloud servers far away so when you delete the apps you data is actually still there, that is why you can visit those sites in web browsers and see everything you could see from the app. </div>
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<b>Exceptions: </b>the only exceptions are apps that come preinstalled on your iPhone or iPad from Apple (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Messages, iTunes, Weather, Tips, Safari, etc, etc). We call these the stock apps and you cannot delete them because Apple does not make that an option, mostly because many of them have functions necessary to your phone running correctly.<br />
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An alternative and more complicated way to do this is to go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage. Then click on the app you want to delete, you will then be taken to a summary screen of that app where you will have an "Delete App" option.<br />
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The reason you may sometimes want to use this approach is because you might want to see which apps are hogging the most space on your iPhone or iPad. For example when I go I find that there are several graphic intensive games that hog my space I hardly if ever play them. If I were tight up for space I would know I could delete these and quickly get some back.</div>
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And there you have it, you can now delete apps from you iPad or iPhone. Hope you have a great weekend, and remember, live better. </div>
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-66443065437433087832014-10-13T05:03:00.001-07:002014-10-13T05:03:50.327-07:00How to create keyboard shortcuts on an iPhone or iPadDo you have to type the same thing over and over again? Maybe it's your username, maybe it's a question you get asked all the time, maybe it's your birth date, maybe it's a hashtag. Whatever it is, it can be super annoying to have to type out all the letters and words you need every time you need them. It is like having a typewriter all over again! (by the way there is an <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hanx-writer/id868326899?mt=8">app for that</a> if you really feel nostalgic about typewriters).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVSA7NpS9Q_SAPdqEjo7wnYjMUS8zPB15ZjnxnNUw9baCswF9hK2J6LaTm74gc77WX9bfQtwFbTCvRAZ37DHrYj0_ESHPBPpHu5d1gD-maGZlGFskr0yQRga6RBdywQ2N3g_f-AwDjm8/s1600/How+to+Create+Keyboard+Shortcuts+on+an.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVSA7NpS9Q_SAPdqEjo7wnYjMUS8zPB15ZjnxnNUw9baCswF9hK2J6LaTm74gc77WX9bfQtwFbTCvRAZ37DHrYj0_ESHPBPpHu5d1gD-maGZlGFskr0yQRga6RBdywQ2N3g_f-AwDjm8/s1600/How+to+Create+Keyboard+Shortcuts+on+an.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fortunately there is a way to solve this problem and it is built directly into iOS, no app required. It is called keyboard shortcuts. Now this can be a little confusing because we normally think of keyboard shortcuts on the computer as being things like "<a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2013/03/ctrl-f-on-ipad.html">cntrl-f</a>" or "<a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2013/06/control-z-on-ipad.html">cmmd-z</a>" to cause certain actions to occur. On iOS it is different. A keyboard short cut here means that you can type in a few code letters and iOS will ask if you want to replace them with some predetermined text.<br />
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Let's say that I have to type my consulting website's url all the time, and I don't want to do that anymore, so I make the shortcut bcom expand to the text <a href="http://www.bendnielsen.com/">bendnielsen.com</a>. I show how to do this in the gif below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB09fmYEKfCskNroLttOxims_R8z1yRRdS5bWdUihPs33Xny-8vbk-vwHbffd4Jm4soSrsVL1PQwVKHG6rDsKQkf5xrBYuuJ-SLZjmRNTv_QDv6p0qhmKK_xEnkAIj8_6DQsMAZv1lww/s1600/5SecondsApp.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcB09fmYEKfCskNroLttOxims_R8z1yRRdS5bWdUihPs33Xny-8vbk-vwHbffd4Jm4soSrsVL1PQwVKHG6rDsKQkf5xrBYuuJ-SLZjmRNTv_QDv6p0qhmKK_xEnkAIj8_6DQsMAZv1lww/s1600/5SecondsApp.gif" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Then every time I am typing and I need to put in my url I can save time by just typing out bcom, my iOS device will then suggest bendnielsen.com in the same way that it does with autocorrect. Isn't that awesome? Notice in the gif below how it follows the capitalization of what you actually type, so you want to watch out for that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUc8IazGfyFjqvpm7oW3hxrXuL8fWdL7SEFkXB4zqVbSZu3MLOCkF3Jy3K0V28Z74m06zeVhyphenhyphenHZf-6oo-J7TQu8jGoPEHmFbQoZ8jBTfGfZeat_HY98680mhr4kbj15qhuSzY04DkerUo/s1600/5SecondsApp+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUc8IazGfyFjqvpm7oW3hxrXuL8fWdL7SEFkXB4zqVbSZu3MLOCkF3Jy3K0V28Z74m06zeVhyphenhyphenHZf-6oo-J7TQu8jGoPEHmFbQoZ8jBTfGfZeat_HY98680mhr4kbj15qhuSzY04DkerUo/s1600/5SecondsApp+2.gif" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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And that is really all their is to it. You can add as many of these as you want, and they can even be quite long, so you could put a whole email template in here if you chose and get it all typed with just a few letters. Be sure to make you shortcuts something that you wouldn't normally type naturally so you don't accidentally trigger them.<br />
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There you have it. Go create some keyboard shortcuts to make your life easier, and remember, live better.<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-6387919298073996352014-10-09T05:01:00.001-07:002014-10-09T05:01:17.695-07:00Technology Quotes from October 2014 LDS General Conference<br />
Every six months after the LDS Church's General Conference, I compile together all the quotes I can find that talk about technology or social media. As a member of the Church I feel it is important to know what the leaders of the Church are saying about technology. My philosophy is, why have Prophets and Apostles, if you won't listen to them?<br />
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This conference in general had the tone of raising a warning voice to the members of the Church, there was much encouragement to do better, and to be better. And that trend was certainly present in the quotes about technology and media. The Church embraces technology and media for the good it can, but the leaders who see afar off also raise a warning voice of the potential pitfalls.<br />
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I hope you find this compilation useful, and please let me know in the comments or on twitter if there are any quotes that I missed.<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/the-reason-for-our-hope?lang=eng">President Packer</a>: "This great conference is being broadcast in 94 languages by satellite to 102 countries but is also available on the Internet to every nation where the Church is present. We have over 3,000 stakes. Our full-time missionary force exceeds 88,000, and total Church membership has passed 15 million. These numbers serve as evidence that the “stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands” continues to roll forth and will eventually fill “the whole earth” (D&C 65:2)." (The Reason for Our Hope)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFV-o9AyXrqfvBgdog8evy5qjq5LZt0dRj4n5fIkQQ0zchOnkSA9GJxQNNoAOzKQTF2gpvR6bd2Tv9bgNh5jQiCRIgucFJSFIrsl2hqw7vrCkQjRBwUyDSgXRdCDr4GFOB7zKr1QOdGIE/s1600/dieter-f-uchtdorf-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFV-o9AyXrqfvBgdog8evy5qjq5LZt0dRj4n5fIkQQ0zchOnkSA9GJxQNNoAOzKQTF2gpvR6bd2Tv9bgNh5jQiCRIgucFJSFIrsl2hqw7vrCkQjRBwUyDSgXRdCDr4GFOB7zKr1QOdGIE/s1600/dieter-f-uchtdorf-large.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng">President Uchtdorf</a>: "Suppose you were able to travel back in time and have a conversation with people who lived a thousand or even a hundred years ago. Imagine trying to describe to them some of the modern technologies that you and I take for granted today. For example, what might these people think of us if we told them stories of jumbo jets, microwave ovens, handheld devices that contain vast digital libraries, and videos of our grandchildren that we instantly share with millions of people around the world?<br />
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Some might believe us. Most would ridicule, oppose, or perhaps even seek to silence or harm us. Some might attempt to apply logic, reason, and facts as they know them to show that we are misguided, foolish, or even dangerous. They might condemn us for attempting to mislead others.<br />
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But of course, these people would be completely mistaken. They might be well-meaning and sincere. They might feel absolutely positive of their opinion. But they simply would not be able to see clearly because they had not yet received the more complete light of truth." (Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/joseph-smith?lang=eng">Elder Andersen</a>: "We might remind the sincere inquirer that Internet information does not have a “truth” filter. Some information, no matter how convincing, is simply not true." (Joseph Smith)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/finding-lasting-peace-and-building-eternal-families?lang=eng">Elder Perry</a>: "That old enemy of all mankind has found as many devices as he can think of to scatter tares far and wide. He has found ways to have them penetrate even the sanctity of our own homes. The wicked and worldly ways have become so widespread there seems to be no real way of weeding them out. They come by wire and through the air into the very devices we have developed to educate and entertain us. The wheat and the tares have grown close together. A steward managing the field must, with all his or her power, nourish that which is good and make it so strong and beautiful the tares will have no appeal either to the eye or the ear. How blessed are we as members of the Lord’s Church to have the precious gospel of our Lord and Savior as a foundation on which we can build our lives." (Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/quentin-l-cook-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/quentin-l-cook-large.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/choose-wisely?lang=eng">Elder Cook</a>: "I recently met a fine teenage young man. His goals were to go on a mission, obtain an education, marry in the temple, and have a faithful happy family. I was very pleased with his goals. But during further conversation, it became evident that his conduct and the choices he was making were not consistent with his goals. I felt he genuinely wanted to go on a mission and was avoiding serious transgressions that would prohibit a mission, but his day-to-day conduct was not preparing him for the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual challenges he would face.7 He had not learned to work hard. He was not serious about school or seminary. He attended church, but he had not read the Book of Mormon. He was spending a large amount of time on video games and social media. He seemed to think that showing up for his mission would be sufficient. Young men, please recommit to worthy conduct and serious preparation to be emissaries of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.<br />
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My concern is not only about the big tipping-point decisions but also the middle ground—the workaday world and seemingly ordinary decisions where we spend most of our time. In these areas, we need to emphasize moderation, balance, and especially wisdom. It is important to rise above rationalizations and make the best choices.<br />
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A wonderful example of the need for moderation, balance, and wisdom is the use of the Internet. It can be used to do missionary outreach, to assist with priesthood responsibilities, to find precious ancestors for sacred temple ordinances, and much more. The potential for good is enormous. We also know that it can transmit much that is evil, including pornography, digital cruelty,8 and anonymous yakking. It can also perpetuate foolishness. As Brother Randall L. Ridd poignantly taught at the last general conference, speaking of the Internet, “You can get caught up in endless loops of triviality that waste your time and degrade your potential.”<br />
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Distractions and opposition to righteousness are not just on the Internet; they are everywhere. They affect not just the youth but all of us. We live in a world that is literally in commotion. We are surrounded by obsessive portrayals of “fun and games” and immoral and dysfunctional lives. These are presented as normal conduct in much of the media.<br />
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Elder David A. Bednar recently cautioned members to be authentic in the use of social media. A prominent thought leader, Arthur C. Brooks, has emphasized this point. He observes that when using social media, we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work. We portray an incomplete life—sometimes in a self-aggrandizing or fake way. We share this life, and then we consume the “almost exclusively … fake lives of [our] social media ‘friends.’” Brooks asserts, “How could it not make you feel worse to spend part of your time pretending to be happier than you are, and the other part of your time seeing how much happier others seem to be than you?”<br />
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Sometimes it feels like we are drowning in frivolous foolishness, nonsensical noise, and continuous contention. When we turn down the volume and examine the substance, there is very little that will assist us in our eternal quest toward righteous goals. One father wisely responds to his children with their numerous requests to participate in these distractions. He simply asks them, “Will this make you a better person?”" (Choose Wisely)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng"> Elder Scott</a>: "Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!" (Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/sharing-your-light?lang=eng">Sister Marriott</a>: "Sisters, you strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ. I have watched your examples, heard your testimonies, and felt of your faith from Brazil to Botswana! You carry a circle of influence with you wherever you go. It is felt by the people around you—from your family to the contacts in your cell phone and from your friends on social media to those seated next to you tonight. I agree with Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, who wrote, “You … are vibrant and enthusiastic beacons in an ever-darkening world as you show, through the way you live your lives, that the gospel is a joyful message." (Sharing Your Light)<br />
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<a href="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/dieter-f-uchtdorf-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/leaders/dieter-f-uchtdorf-large.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/living-the-gospel-joyful?lang=eng">President Uchtdorf</a>: ""We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. They aren’t “life hacks” from an Internet blog or motivational quotes from a Pinterest board. They are divine counsel, based on eternal truths, given to bring “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.” (Living the Gospel Joyful)<br />
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"Do you suppose it matters to our Heavenly Father whether your makeup, clothes, hair, and nails are perfect? Do you think your value to Him changes based on how many followers you have on Instagram or Pinterest? Do you think He wants you to worry or get depressed if some un-friend or un-follow you on Facebook or Twitter? Do you think outward attractiveness, your dress size, or popularity make the slightest difference in your worth to the One who created the universe?" (Living the Gospel Joyful)Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-43952782941789428292014-10-07T04:59:00.002-07:002014-10-07T04:59:28.396-07:00Boundaries, the Pomodoro Technique, and ProductivityWarning: I am writing about a topic that I have yet to master, as such these are musings, not dogma.<br />
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Some people are more productive than others. I think we can take that as fact.<br />
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Sometimes each of us is more productive than other times. I think we can take that as fact too.<br />
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Taking these two facts together I think they beg the question: <b>Why?</b><br />
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Why is that one guy a straight A student, on the basketball team, runs his own business after school, and volunteers at the hospital? And all I can manage is to be a B-average student, period?<br />
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Why was I am able to do so much last month when I had three projects due, my sister was getting married, and I was helping organize the 5k? And this month I can barely stay on top of my reading homework?<br />
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I don't know that everybody faces these questions, but I know I do. I don't really have the answers yet, but I am forming some ideas. These ideas center around the idea of boundaries. Boundaries are those pesky things that have troubled mankind since the beginning. The interplay between structure and freedom has been the quest of philosophers for millennia, and is at the very heart of the American Paradox, of which I have written elsewhere.<br />
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But today I don't want to attempt to deal with the large questions, I would rather just think about it on a practical level.<br />
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<b>Parkinson's Law:</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-hzIEpiCM62EOn_qt7H-W3vkPxGECvsP_-N8KcX_CVyHs644IkXyMhB-5j_TQjD_wJ1ShxTgN7nGaG73cXsQprQILrHqQGKH7LT4jOXgmzyzbR-PpUStbaG1KTNuV43D_nJUpGcjAxQ/s1600/%E2%80%9CWork+expands+so+as+to+fill+the+time.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-hzIEpiCM62EOn_qt7H-W3vkPxGECvsP_-N8KcX_CVyHs644IkXyMhB-5j_TQjD_wJ1ShxTgN7nGaG73cXsQprQILrHqQGKH7LT4jOXgmzyzbR-PpUStbaG1KTNuV43D_nJUpGcjAxQ/s1600/%E2%80%9CWork+expands+so+as+to+fill+the+time.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 26px;">Cyril Parkinson</span></span></u></td></tr>
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I'm sure most of you are already familiar with this idea. Why will work do this? I actually have no idea, but it must have something to do with us as humans, since work has no volition in and of itself. I might better read, "humans will take as much time to do work as is available for its completion."<br />
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What we find then is that really effective people are often good at setting deadlines for themselves, arbitrary of the deadlines that are actually in place regarding the task. Super effective people seem to take it one step further and have the ability to set micro-deadlines <i>and </i>make themselves believe them.<br />
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<b>Pomodoro:</b><br />
One such system of setting micro deadlines is the Pomodoro technique, which I reviewed a watch app for <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2014/09/pebbledoro-pebble-watchapp-review.html">here</a> recently. The system of 25 minutes on task, 5 minutes on break, creates micro-deadlines by which you know you will stop working on the project. It seems to work even better if you alternate tasks every 30 minutes, so you know you will not be getting back to that project for a while.<br />
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I find that when I can get myself to apply Pomodoro I feel more productive. Now I am not 100% sure how to measure that empirically, but feeling that way is at least half the battle. It is sometimes just difficult to get myself to actually do the Pomodoro, because my lazy self knows it will have to work once I do.<br />
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So here is my challenge to you, go try the Pomodoro technique to set yourself some micro-deadlines, then come back here and report to me how productive you feel. I think it will help you live better.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-34681982532107146782014-10-06T05:03:00.000-07:002014-10-06T05:03:13.205-07:00Meet the Mormons, Advanced ReviewI was recently privileged to attend an advanced screening of the new movie <a href="http://meetthemormons.com/">Meet the Mormons</a>. This is the first theatrically released film ever produced by <a href="http://mormon.org/">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> (otherwise known as the Mormons). It is a documentary detailing the lives of six ordinary members of the Church. Its purpose is to help the world know what Mormons are really like. I'll give my spoiler free feelings first and then my spoiler thoughts after.<br />
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Title: Meet the Mormons<br />
Stars: 4<br />
Type: Documentary<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NLKT9urDvBFYT-kFzUmYrNv5hWmzFfNHm10VVy-tMUckGkmMoPXmaZIaE3HYz_CQQj62dUevvfKEEaCM0vSjg3zu6u2ZcqDedgSUeGpCD86sspQDKuajL2sSZKZhLHJWiie4tXy4lZw/s1600/Meet_the_Mormons_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NLKT9urDvBFYT-kFzUmYrNv5hWmzFfNHm10VVy-tMUckGkmMoPXmaZIaE3HYz_CQQj62dUevvfKEEaCM0vSjg3zu6u2ZcqDedgSUeGpCD86sspQDKuajL2sSZKZhLHJWiie4tXy4lZw/s1600/Meet_the_Mormons_poster.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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My feeling over all is that the movie is GREAT. So why four stars? Because it was awesome, and 5 stars are hard to come by. You can read my star policy <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2013/07/not-everyone-deserves-5-stars.html">here</a>.<br />
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The movie was fast paced because they have to cover 6 lives in just over an hour of movie time. The stories that the tell are diverse, and all of them are amazing. I do not think you will feel board at any time during this film if you love to learn about great people. Learning from great people is something I encourage here at ProductivityPad.<br />
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The film is very diverse in its setting. I think a clear purpose was to help get rid of the stereotype that all Mormons live in Utah. Two of the six individuals live outside the U.S., and of the four who do live in U.S. only one is lives in Utah. Out of the six only two are ethnically white.<br />
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The movie is not heavy on the doctrine of the Church, which is good because the purpose of this film is not so much to show what we as Mormons believe, but more about who we are as people.<br />
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As a piece of cinematography I was impressed with the film, particularly considering the small number of people who worked on it. Documenting six different lives in six different locations is a lot of filming.<br />
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If you would like to see the film go check out the <a href="http://meetthemormons.com/locations">locations page</a> to see if it is playing near you. And if it isn't you can request it in your city. If they get enough requests from a location they will come to it. And remember that all proceeds from this film go to the Red Cross, the Church receives no commercial benefit from it.<br />
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<b>Spoilers</b>: if you don't want to know anything about the stories before seeing the film stop here.<br />
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Alright so I will now talk about my least favorite part of the film which happens to be the very beginning. The opening and ending of the film is a girl in New York City. She is not one of the Mormons whose story the film tells, but she serves as the frame of the film over all. I found her to be annoying and I'm glad they did not have her do much narration during the actual stories.<br />
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My least favorite part was easy to choose, but my favorite part was a harder choice because so much of the film was good. Each story has a "meet the" title followed a descriptor of the person they highlight. Probably the most touching story for me personally was the Missionary Mom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOtqG0SNSQyYE-zQ6B96R1zIsUELik3M5ztnWAskPxRCkxPCLH69eC7e7Df9h2MvG8z1djJjQEEbdqEpwr9vMYewPV8-SuVc5IwtHzbD4A0zvU0m5STuiPTN7NUyHljyocH4yp07wp2Ow/s1600/tumblr_nbstiggIYx1tggrpfo1_r1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOtqG0SNSQyYE-zQ6B96R1zIsUELik3M5ztnWAskPxRCkxPCLH69eC7e7Df9h2MvG8z1djJjQEEbdqEpwr9vMYewPV8-SuVc5IwtHzbD4A0zvU0m5STuiPTN7NUyHljyocH4yp07wp2Ow/s1600/tumblr_nbstiggIYx1tggrpfo1_r1_1280.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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4 out of the 6 individuals were not born in the church but converted later in life, and the Missionary Mom is one of those. This means that not only do they talk about her sending her son on a mission but they also talk quite a bit about her own conversion to the gospel. Having been a missionary myself and having worked with people in very similar situations I found this story really struck home for me.<br />
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You are set up in the beginning of that story to think that amidst all these other stories you are about to get the tale of some regular Mormons in Utah, sending their son on a mission. But that is just what they want you to think before they delve into her back story as a young single mom on the streets having fled her abusive addict mother. The story of her rescue is an amazing one of missionary work and faith. And it is one of the places you can clearly see the ripple effect of the choices we make.<br />
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Well I will stop spoiling the movie for you now. But it was great and I hope you have the chance to go see it. It doesn't matter who you are I think you will be inspired by these stories.<br />
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I think seeing the good others do inspires us to remember, to live better.<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-63031010928221568392014-09-25T05:04:00.000-07:002014-09-25T05:04:10.210-07:00Pebbledoro, a Pebble Watchapp reviewHaving a Pebble smartwatch is a fun and nostalgic experience for me. Why? The joy of having a grayscale screen that only a few other nerds have and trying to find extremely useful apps in a very simple interface reminds me so much of my early days using the Palm IIIxe. You never really know if an app will work or not, and there is a small group of mostly volunteer open source developers working on it. <div>
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Pebbledoro is a great example of this feeling. It is an extremely simple but very useful app. The app was created by developer mertdikmen, and is an app for implementing the pomodoro method.</div>
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Essentially the entire app can be seen in this screen shot: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWb9lLyN7QD1IuH5IQFakAgR-atFkOwTaUFqSmZqqcLrLa3-WTkeko9Yqa2fciK7RRlhwIxtldOs0EOC7sNnYHa9N_T9pYyomL9ZQMWJav5v-JWmK-GSs6AISgEgSekCC17CDDPErnQE/s1600/pebble-screenshot_2014-01-26_14-38-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWb9lLyN7QD1IuH5IQFakAgR-atFkOwTaUFqSmZqqcLrLa3-WTkeko9Yqa2fciK7RRlhwIxtldOs0EOC7sNnYHa9N_T9pYyomL9ZQMWJav5v-JWmK-GSs6AISgEgSekCC17CDDPErnQE/s1600/pebble-screenshot_2014-01-26_14-38-04.png" /></a></div>
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If you are not familiar with the pomodoro method it involves a productivity system of working for 25 minutes and then breaking for 5 minutes, and then working for 25 minutes and then breaking for 5 minutes. It is a great system to help you increase focus. Orthodox pomodoro practitioners use a tomato timer, but pebbledoro replaces that with a simple app on you wrist.</div>
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As you can see in the screenshot there are just three controls: Start, stats, and stop. When you start the little black square will begin to appear at a rate of 1 per minute. When it is done you will feel a small buzz on you wrist. The break will not start immediately so you can finish up whatever you are doing that moment, and then push play again to start the break. During the break the black squares will disappear at a rate of 5 per minute.</div>
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The stats button will tell you how many pomodoro cycles you have completed using the app, which is not incredibly useful but might be fun to know.</div>
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The stop button will cancel the pomodoro.</div>
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You can still receive notifications on the watch while using this app, although that might throw off you focus.</div>
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Well that is about it. A simple but useful app for the Pebble or Pebble Steel. </div>
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Thanks for reading, and remember, live better. </div>
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-51214063450992036262014-09-23T05:02:00.002-07:002014-09-23T05:02:36.145-07:00How to use iCloud Keychain and find your saved passwordsAnd now we are going to talk once again about a very useful, but often not understood, function of the iPhone and iPad: iCloud Keychain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8CoBD7x9ACX5hyphenhyphen_szhGjVaGwiVeevCDs4Dctens9LZP9p0Sg1bQ-9AuvOFHgxa9gAVUJxQ-oDvW-1HhBS1bEQSEPU9cz2weFwN6fTfJMrT4ciqhOx14YOoHa3YEAit8DVzUo2tpldEk/s1600/icloud_keychain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8CoBD7x9ACX5hyphenhyphen_szhGjVaGwiVeevCDs4Dctens9LZP9p0Sg1bQ-9AuvOFHgxa9gAVUJxQ-oDvW-1HhBS1bEQSEPU9cz2weFwN6fTfJMrT4ciqhOx14YOoHa3YEAit8DVzUo2tpldEk/s1600/icloud_keychain.png" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>What is it?</b><br />
iCloud Keychain is Apple's built in password generator and manager. If you create a new account on a website you will often see when you get the password step the option for a long and complex auto generated secure password.<br />
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This is iCloud Keychain trying to help you out. Instead of using the same password that you have used for everything since 1998, it wants you to use a secure password that nobody could guess because it is randomly generated. The only problem with a password that nobody can guess is that you cannot remember it either, but that is ok because when ever you get the website Safari will just autofill the password for you.<br />
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This way you can have a different password for every website without having to try and remember them.<br />
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<b>How to find your password</b><br />
If you need to enter your password on a site that doesn't take autofill, or into an app on your iPhone or iPad you will have to find the password iCloud made for you and enter it manually. You don't need to memorize each of these passwords because you can find them stored securely behind a master passcode on each of you devices.<br />
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To find the passwords on you iPhone or iPad go to: Settings > Safari > Passwords & AutoFill > Saved Passwords. You will be asked to enter a passcode and then you can see a list of all the websites that you have data saved for.<br />
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Choose the one you need the password for and you will see the user name and password associated with that account. Then just hold down on the password until you get the "Copy" option. Click it and then return to the app or website where you need to make the manual entry. Hold down on the entry form and choose paste.<br />
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<b><i>Note</i></b>: in iOS 7 you will see the list of websites before putting in you passcode, then when you click on a specific website you will need to enter your passcode.<br />
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To find the passwords on you Mac go to Safari > Preferences > Passwords. Then select the website you want from the list that appears. Then check the box "Show passwords for selected websites." You will be prompted to put in your admin password and then you will be able to copy and paste the password.<br />
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<b>When it doesn't work</b><br />
iCloud Keychain is not perfect, and it lacks some of the sophistication of other password managers like One Password and LastPass. Sometimes a website will not allow it to generate a password, and so you will have to come up with the password on your own. My suggestion is that you use a secure password generator like <a href="http://passwordsgenerator.net/">this one</a> to come up with a random password and you copy and paste that in as your password for the site.<br />
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Your hope then is that iCloud Keychain will ask if it can store the password, at which point you say yes and you are good to go. If that does not happen then you need to store the password somewhere else yourself until iCloud does ask for it. In my experience iCloud normally does ask to store every password eventually, sometimes it takes 2 or 3 times of logging in first though.<br />
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<b>Security</b><br />
Is security an issue with iCloud Keychain? Sure, of course it is, any code can be broken. The point is not that it is completely safe, the point is that it is probably much safer than what you are currently doing by using the same password for every site and account.<br />
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I can't tell you how silly I think it is when people say they won't use a password manager because they think it is insecure, but they will use the same password for every website. People with easy passwords are the first target in any security breach (the ones using "password" are always the first to go).<br />
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Well I hope this has been helpful for you, and I hope it will help you take you security a little more seriously in the future. If you have any questions about iCloud Keychain please leave me a comment below. And remember, live better.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551779429160657947.post-10134907194061158372014-09-19T05:59:00.002-07:002014-09-19T06:01:41.199-07:00How to Setup an iPhone or iPad (iOS 8)So you have a fancy new iPhone or iPad with iOS 8 and you are all ready to set it up? Good that is what I am here to help you with.<br />
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Setting up any iOS device has become a fairly simple process, if you are able to follow Apple's steps completely when you first turn on your device. However if your wifi is not working, or you forget your Apple ID, or you don't have an Apple ID, the process can be a little trickier. And if you don't restore from an existing backup that can also make it a little more work, unless of course it is your first time using an iPhone or iPad.<br />
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First off the easiest way is to follow Apple's instructions when you first start up your iOS device, they will walk you through several grey screens. These screens will help you connect to your wifi network, set your iPad up with your Apple account, or get one if you don't have one, set up <a href="http://www.apple.com/icloud/">iCloud</a>, and restore from an old back up if you have one, ask if you want to use Siri, etc.<br />
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It is important that you are able to connect to a wifi network at the beginning of set up otherwise most of the steps cannot happen as they require internet. If you do not have internet connection or are not sure what you want to do at a particular step in the process don't worry you can always go back and change things or get them set up in the settings later, that's what this post is for :)<br />
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Now at this point in the process I strongly suggest setting up an iCloud account if you don't already have one. This is especially useful if you use other apple products (i.e. iPhone, MacBook, iMac, or iPod touch) because it allows a lot of communication between them.<br />
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Not everything that needs to be setup on your iOS device is set up during the initial phases. To get those taken care of you will need to go to the settings app. Also if you had skip any steps at the beginning this is where you will go to change them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mDgAf6adHGR6WxMVOToXCx22uvgBj0_idwpcg2R5Iwqj2y1wdm1HF8PEb5d5dJu7TNHV-jTygTbTNIyLw-rkjMKx3vdpEQzrQP_7hEWFUVPz_D9GhU3WUbCTlNcmZaPbBUmhuqysv38/s1600/2vj5193.jpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mDgAf6adHGR6WxMVOToXCx22uvgBj0_idwpcg2R5Iwqj2y1wdm1HF8PEb5d5dJu7TNHV-jTygTbTNIyLw-rkjMKx3vdpEQzrQP_7hEWFUVPz_D9GhU3WUbCTlNcmZaPbBUmhuqysv38/s1600/2vj5193.jpg.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It does not actually move<br />
but this GIF was too cool to pass up</td></tr>
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Take a good look at that icon, its your new best friend. The setting menu's will allow you to change almost anything on your iPhone that can be changed.<br />
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Now we will go through settings, if you missed a step during the initial start up you can take care of it here.<br />
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<b>Hint: </b>Most settings are turned on and off by sliders. When the slider is to the left and appears white or grey that setting is off, when it is to the right and appears green it is on.<br />
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The first setting is Airplane Mode this is your battery saving friend because it will shut off all your wireless radios (which is what they like while you are on an airplane) make sure this is set to off while we are going through this because you will need wifi during this process.<br />
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The next setting is Wi-Fi, if you have not yet connected to a wifi network do so now, if you tap on the wifi setting it will bring up a list of all the available networks, choose yours and enter the password, then it should connect. After the first time connecting your iPad or iPhone should connect automatically to a network it has connected to before (i.e. you will need to put in the password only once at home, only once at work, etc)<br />
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The next setting in the list is Bluetooth. If you don't know what bluetooth is, it is a way to connect devices at close range, not over the internet. Also, if you don't know what bluetooth is you don't need it on, so set it off to save battery life. If you have a bluetooth accessory like a keyboard, headset, or smartwatch, then turn bluetooth on and come back later and pair that device with your iPhone or iPad.<br />
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Cellular is the setting right below bluetooth. This is where you can turn off the cell radio in your phone, and check how much data each of your apps has used, how many minutes you have talked, etc. If you have a wifi only iPad then you will not see this option.<br />
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Personal Hotspot is another setting dealing with cellular data. If your carrier allows you to use your device as a hotspot and you turn this feature on it will make your iPhone like a little wifi router you can connect other devices to to get internet access. If you are going to do this be sure you watch your data usage carefully.<br />
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Next is Notifications you can also configure the notification settings for every app you have. There are different items you can change about how you are notified by an app. For the most part I like to use banner notifications for my apps. You can also decide if they appear in Notification Center, which you can always access by swiping down from the top of your screen.<br />
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Control Center is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and gives you instant access to a bunch of settings and tools. Here in it's setting you can choose if it is accessible from the lock screen and within apps. I would suggest you leave both of these on since it is a very useful feature to have available to you.<br />
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Do not disturb stops messages and notifications from coming through, you may want to set its slider to on if you are using your iOS device in meetings or when you are going to sleep (personally I just mute my iPad most of the time). You can schedule do not disturb to start and stop at a certain time, say while you are sleeping and you can decide if there is a contact group you would like to let through even when do not disturb is on.<br />
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The next tab, General, is really important as it contains a number of basic settings for the iPad. They are for the most part pretty easy to understand, if you have any questions about them, or anything else, just leave them in the comments section below. Two of the most important are Restrictions, if you have a child, I have done a <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2013/04/using-parental-controls-on-ipad-iphone.html">whole post on that setting</a>, and Accessibility if you are disabled.<br />
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Display and Brightness is exactly what it says, you can adjust tho brightness of the screen and change the font size here.<br />
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Wallpaper lets you choose your background images for both the home and the lock screen.<br />
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The Sounds setting is a good place to visit while setting up your iOS device for the first time, here you can control the master volume for the whole device and the individual sounds different parts of the device, such as alerts and the keyboard, will make.<br />
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The Passcode option is going to let you set up a passcode for your device and determine how long your phone stays open after an unlock.<br />
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Privacy is another important item, but probably not in your set up phase as you won't yet have many apps to control privacy questions for. From here you can control what apps have access to your personal data from location services, you contacts, calendar, reminders, photo stream, twitter and Facebook, you can also determine your bluetooth sharing preferences.<br />
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The iCloud setting lets you determine what apps sync up with iCloud. It also lets you see how much storage space you have left on iCloud and control you backup settings. There is also a very important setting here called "Find My iPhone." Always keep that setting turned on. If you ever lose your device this will be the way that you find it.<br />
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The rest of the tabs in the setting menu mostly deal with individual apps an are not super important to the set up of the device. You should next check out my post on how to set up <a href="http://productivitypad.blogspot.com/2013/03/setting-up-email-calendar-and-contacts.html">Mail, Contacts, and Calendars</a>. Please leave any question you have below.<br />
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<br />Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01704727062084945133noreply@blogger.com0