Book Review: iPhone Only Photography

How many pictures do you take with your iPhone?

The answer is probably a lot.

How many of those pictures turn out the way you wanted?

The answer is probably not so many. 

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.

Name: iPhone Only Photography

Genre: Mobile Photography

Price: $29

Stars: 5/5

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.

This book will teach you how to capture memories using your iPhone. It does this primarily two ways by:

1. Teaching you to take better photos
2. Teaching you how to edit to recreate feeling

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:

Before

After

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.

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. 

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 try three videos for free that teach the skills from the first few chapters of the book.

One more for the road:

Before

After

And remember, live better.

Choosing the Least Invasive Technology

In 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.

I call this idea: Least Invasive Technology (LIT).

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

I think the most important factor to currently consider when practicing LIT with electronic technologies is screen size.

Apple Products, conveniently lined up by size

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.

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.

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.

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.

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0

Control Center in iOS

Control 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.

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.

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.

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.

The next section contains the standard audio controls: Play/Pause, volume and fifteen second skips backwards and forwards.

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.

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.

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.

Life at double speed: How to learn more by listening twice as fast

Learning 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.

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.

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.

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.

Here is a quick rundown of how to listen at double speed to the content I mentioned above.

Podcasts
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.

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.

Most 3rd party podcast apps also have a speed up option, some with more granular control than Apple's native app.

Audiobooks
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.

Librivox

Overdrive

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.

Online Courses
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.

TED Talks
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.

YouTube
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.

This particular method requires you to do a little prep work because the YouTube app does not currently allow double speed playback.
Go to http://youtube.com/html5 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.

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.

Enjoy learning at double speed, and remember, live better.

Game Review: LostWinds

I 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.




Game: LostWinds
Genre: Physics Platformer
Cost: $3.99
Stars: 4

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.

Plot: 
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.

Controls:
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.

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.

Graphics:
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.

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.

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.

Do you have a favorite iOS game? Share it with us in the comments below. Enjoy, and remember, live better.

Using Dvorak keyboard layout in iOS 8

As 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.

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.

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.


Fleksy
Price: 99¢
Stars: 2

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.

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.

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.

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.


Dvorak + Colemak Keyboards
Price: 99¢
Stars: 4

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.

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.

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.

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.


Where I am now
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.

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.

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.


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.

Why 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.

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 :)

So yes, I posit that the smartwatch, and what it represents is about to change the world. Let me show you what I mean.

Notifications 
Imagine going from this:

Image from Death of Conversation by @babycakesromero

To this:

Image from redbookmag.com

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.

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.

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.

Fitness Tracking
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.

Image from getpebble.com

Cracked Screens
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.

Image from Mashable

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.

Therefore I predict that when wearable technology comes into wide use we will see the number of cracked phone screens drastically reduced.

But some people hate watches
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.

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.

Image from apple.com

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.

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.

Disappearing Technology 
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."

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.

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.