I was using Skype on my Windows 10 PC the other day. Early on we talked about what films we might want to see soon and the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie was mentioned. Less than half a minute later an ad came up on the Skype window - an ad for the new Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought it was spooky.
We didn't text each other before or during the Skype session, so there must have been speech recognition involved, unless someone was listening and maybe joking with us. My Skype partner was using an iPad or iPhone and saw no ad. Neither of us had the Skype video enabled.
Reading my Gmail I've seen ads that show up in the mail window, which relate to the contents of the mail. It feels less harmful. The Skype "incident" was new to me. A phone call, albeit on Skype, is more intimate than email and the ad felt consequently more intrusive. I didn't like the experience.
There is but a small step from popping up ads to actual spying. From this I learned that I need to watch my words while Skyping. I'm convinced that this could happen on any service, but Skype is the first service that demonstrated its use to me. Thanks Skype!
Proctele apps in the App Store
Click the picture to see Proctele apps in Apple's App Store
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Sunday, May 1, 2016
What if your Smartphone is a spy?
The Smartphone and its offspring the Pad are the most popular electronic devices of this century. We all love these devices and there are many proofs of that. Smartphones and their accessories are hot items among traders, like stereos were in the 1970's, like PC's were in the 80's, like cell-phones were in the 90's.
We love these devices; they're always with us, not just in the same room, but usually in our pocket or our hands. Eye-to-screen contact takes place several times an hour, often less during working-hours, but all the more often before or after work or in the week-end. When the Smartphone gets a longer rest it's usually because we're sleeping and the Smartphone is charging. Nice device.
But what if ... if the camera ... or the microphone isn't really turned off when you expect them to be off?
What if your trusted Smartphone is transmitting all it sees and hears to some person or organization? It doesn't need constant network access to spy, you know, because it can record to memory and transmit its findings whenever possible. What if it can see and hear even after it's been turned off? You see, a device isn't really off until the power supply i.e. the battery has been disconnected, and that never happens. Even if you take out the main battery, there's always some other battery in action to keep at least the clock running. What if the microphone is always on and recording what it hears?
On the other hand, how interesting are we really as objects of spies? Not really interesting I think, and that hopefully goes for most of us. But then again some people are of considerable interest to a lot of people, and governments are interested in some. Celebrities fall into the first group and political opponents of governments into the second.
Considering the above, I think there may be a market for some kind of shields for privacy. They may come in the form of covers that shield the camera and the microphone. Night-boxes or charging-boxes for night-time privacy, which are sound-insulated and electro-magnetically shielded. Another form of shield would be one that feeds the camera and microphone with fake data.
I think Smartphone users don't have to worry quite yet. Looking further into the future though, I think privacy will become a severe issue that has to be dealt with.
We love these devices; they're always with us, not just in the same room, but usually in our pocket or our hands. Eye-to-screen contact takes place several times an hour, often less during working-hours, but all the more often before or after work or in the week-end. When the Smartphone gets a longer rest it's usually because we're sleeping and the Smartphone is charging. Nice device.
But what if ... if the camera ... or the microphone isn't really turned off when you expect them to be off?
What if your trusted Smartphone is transmitting all it sees and hears to some person or organization? It doesn't need constant network access to spy, you know, because it can record to memory and transmit its findings whenever possible. What if it can see and hear even after it's been turned off? You see, a device isn't really off until the power supply i.e. the battery has been disconnected, and that never happens. Even if you take out the main battery, there's always some other battery in action to keep at least the clock running. What if the microphone is always on and recording what it hears?
On the other hand, how interesting are we really as objects of spies? Not really interesting I think, and that hopefully goes for most of us. But then again some people are of considerable interest to a lot of people, and governments are interested in some. Celebrities fall into the first group and political opponents of governments into the second.
Considering the above, I think there may be a market for some kind of shields for privacy. They may come in the form of covers that shield the camera and the microphone. Night-boxes or charging-boxes for night-time privacy, which are sound-insulated and electro-magnetically shielded. Another form of shield would be one that feeds the camera and microphone with fake data.
I think Smartphone users don't have to worry quite yet. Looking further into the future though, I think privacy will become a severe issue that has to be dealt with.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
The Importance of Smartphone Privacy
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently published a letter to Apple's customers concerning the company's policy on smartphone privacy. You can read it here.
The document has no news for me and I'm delighted it's mostly a comment on how Apple's privacy policy is being applied to the investigation of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. The letter says Apple is doing its duty to assist the FBI investigating the case, but also that the FBI will not be provided with a key to unlock all iPhone security. There is no such key in existence and it will not be created. That means Apple WILL NOT build in a back-door to its customer's data on iPhones. Many thanks to Tim Cook for making this clear!
Law enforcement authorities should not burden companies with these requests. It is not without risk. Back-doors can be misused and will be misused. Lots of wide-spread software systems contain back-doors. These are not always created by the owner of the system, but by criminals.
There exist back-door-like features that most users will welcome and the most famous may be the Find my iPhone, which can indeed find a lost iPhone, but can also remotely erase all data from a stolen iPhone, under its owners control. The great thing about that feature is that it will in the end make iPhones less desirable for thieves.
American companies may already be suffering from their government's poking its nose into all kinds of electronic devices and services. People are becoming more aware of the possibilities of surveillance and outright data theft. This opens possibilities to companies in other jurisdictions taking market shares. I'm talking about trust, which I've mentioned earlier on this blog. Once trust is lost, rebuilding it is at best a hard struggle, and I think trust is actually never rebuilt. Governments should not ask of its companies to help it combat terrorists, which they could have avoided by properly screening immigrants. Here's hoping more companies show the stamina Apple has.
The document has no news for me and I'm delighted it's mostly a comment on how Apple's privacy policy is being applied to the investigation of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. The letter says Apple is doing its duty to assist the FBI investigating the case, but also that the FBI will not be provided with a key to unlock all iPhone security. There is no such key in existence and it will not be created. That means Apple WILL NOT build in a back-door to its customer's data on iPhones. Many thanks to Tim Cook for making this clear!
Law enforcement authorities should not burden companies with these requests. It is not without risk. Back-doors can be misused and will be misused. Lots of wide-spread software systems contain back-doors. These are not always created by the owner of the system, but by criminals.
There exist back-door-like features that most users will welcome and the most famous may be the Find my iPhone, which can indeed find a lost iPhone, but can also remotely erase all data from a stolen iPhone, under its owners control. The great thing about that feature is that it will in the end make iPhones less desirable for thieves.
American companies may already be suffering from their government's poking its nose into all kinds of electronic devices and services. People are becoming more aware of the possibilities of surveillance and outright data theft. This opens possibilities to companies in other jurisdictions taking market shares. I'm talking about trust, which I've mentioned earlier on this blog. Once trust is lost, rebuilding it is at best a hard struggle, and I think trust is actually never rebuilt. Governments should not ask of its companies to help it combat terrorists, which they could have avoided by properly screening immigrants. Here's hoping more companies show the stamina Apple has.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Grand Gadgets
I'm a gadget-man and I believe I share that interest with most men. This quality is closely related to a fascination for technology and new concepts. Here's a blog about gadgets.
I'll start with this wooden keyboard:
I'll start with this wooden keyboard:
It's not just wooden, it's a wireless Bluetooth wooden keyboard for $190. You can get it in Maple or Walnut if you prefer. I bet you can get it in a localized language version too.
Then there's this speaker that listens in on the electrical signals going to the speaker in your smartphone. When I first saw it I had to think for a while to figure out how it works. Love that! You don't need any communication technology like BlueTooth in the phone for it to work. Here's a picture of it from Parts Express, and don't miss their Youtube demo (see link reference at the bottom).
Selfie-toaster sounds crazy, as if somebody just joined two random words, but in fact it's a product. You buy a certain toaster and the maker will manufacture a heating insert from an image you upload to them. The image can be a picture of yourself, hence the name selfie-toaster. Fantastic idea and here's what it looks like:
References:
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Listen to the Radio
I'm working away from home in the lovely country of Ireland. What a beautiful country and friendly natives. Ask the Irish directions and they'll happily walk a long distance with you to make sure you find it. Visit Ireland! You won't regret it.
I left my radio home, well I left every apparatus you would normally call a radio back home. What is a radio these days anyway, or perhaps, what is the medium of radio. What is TV?
Things have changed. Radio and TV used to mean something like entertainment, news, etc brought to you over radio waves. Now R&T comes over Cable or the Internet, if not over both (I mean Internet over Cable). Defining something by the way it is transmitted is not a good idea anymore. Technology turns transmission names into something fickle. R&T might have been called playlists if they were invented recently.
Anyway, I came to think of this again, when I realized I missed my radio. What are my options then? Obviously Internet radio on my iPhone. There's an excellent app called TuneIn Radio. I use it a lot, like when going to sleep I tune into an American country station. My iPhone provides the sleep function through its built-in timer (the one in the Clock app). I could also buy an alarm-clock radio for about 10€ in the supermarket. I could tune into radio on the TV-set and use its timer. Indeed I could buy a simple radio for just 5€, but without timer. I could use my Sony Ericsson phone with built-in radio, if I had brought the custom headphones or the custom speaker, which I didn't.
Not all the solutions are equal in functionality and the programmes available, but they would all suffice.
Finally, make sure you visit Ireland once. Don't forget Blarney and don't forget to kiss the Blarney stone, and don't forget to talk to the Irish. They're nice.
And ... Proctele's app HabitXplore has been updated. I use it every day. Yes I do!
I left my radio home, well I left every apparatus you would normally call a radio back home. What is a radio these days anyway, or perhaps, what is the medium of radio. What is TV?
Things have changed. Radio and TV used to mean something like entertainment, news, etc brought to you over radio waves. Now R&T comes over Cable or the Internet, if not over both (I mean Internet over Cable). Defining something by the way it is transmitted is not a good idea anymore. Technology turns transmission names into something fickle. R&T might have been called playlists if they were invented recently.
Anyway, I came to think of this again, when I realized I missed my radio. What are my options then? Obviously Internet radio on my iPhone. There's an excellent app called TuneIn Radio. I use it a lot, like when going to sleep I tune into an American country station. My iPhone provides the sleep function through its built-in timer (the one in the Clock app). I could also buy an alarm-clock radio for about 10€ in the supermarket. I could tune into radio on the TV-set and use its timer. Indeed I could buy a simple radio for just 5€, but without timer. I could use my Sony Ericsson phone with built-in radio, if I had brought the custom headphones or the custom speaker, which I didn't.
Not all the solutions are equal in functionality and the programmes available, but they would all suffice.
Finally, make sure you visit Ireland once. Don't forget Blarney and don't forget to kiss the Blarney stone, and don't forget to talk to the Irish. They're nice.
And ... Proctele's app HabitXplore has been updated. I use it every day. Yes I do!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Proctele's Workout App: ExerLog
Proctele's new app costs $0.99 and has no ads. Proctele apps aren't free, but AD-FREE.
ExerLog is for happy sporty people. Are you one of them? Then read further.
We all know it: these days all you need is your iPhone!
Leave your paper and pen at home: here are your workout sheets, as many as you like.
Here's the icon:
To keep track of your workouts, it's necessary to take notes of what exercises you performed, the repetition count and the weights used. You need a workout sheet.
With this app you create blueprints for workout sheets that you use on your iPhone. When you start working out, you select one of the blueprints. A workout sheet is created on your iPhone, which you use to take notes during the workout.
This app keeps track of your exercises and helps you determine if you're making progress. It does the same as a workout sheet and a bit more, because it's digital. A blueprint/workout-sheet can contain for example:
-your name
-workout duration
-your body weight
-your starting mood
-workout location
and most importantly:
-exercises and the weights and repetitions you use when you perform them.
Here are screen shots from an iPhone6:
Update: Price has been doubled to $1.99, two-thirds the price of a latte.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
3D-touch for iPhone?
Rumour has it that the next iPhone will have pressure-sensitive display. That means an item high up on my wishlist is coming to iPhone. I've blogged about this before.
3D-touch is not new. There are already pressure sensitive displays. One example is the company FlatFrog (www.flatfrog.com), which has displays in sizes 15-110 inch.
All the way from the start, iPhones have had a multi-touch-sensitive display. It was one of the reasons for iPhone's success, because it gave iPhone the famous pinch gesture. I still remember when I tried it out for the first time. At that time the iPhone was not for sale in Europe. A colleague had been to the US and bought an iPhone, and I was allowed to try it out. I was impressed.
Multi-touch is two-dimensional, 2D, i.e. when the user taps or swipes or pinches, an app receives information about it in terms of x and y, horizontal and vertical coordinates. With pressure sensitivity the app will receive a third parameter, which tells how hard the user pressed. That means we can call it 3D-touch.
For me the most obvious use of this feature is a scale app for weighing small and light items. But that's not what Apple has in mind. A new touch-type will probably be introduced: the force-touch, i.e. pressing harder. One good use for force-touch is to use it in a similar way the second button of a mouse is used (on Mac's one-button mouse it's done with Ctrl+click), and that is putting up a meny. Force-touch will be used for speeding up the user's interaction by reducing the number of presses he/she must do to accomplish something. Force-touch can also be used to reduce the number of user interface items on the screen, like buttons.
A possible use for 3D-touch is in games. Some games will benefit by testing the user's ability to use the right amount of pressure. The touch keyboard can most certainly be improved by 3D-touch, and thereby putting yet another nail in the coffin of hardware keyboards for mobile phones.
Reference:
http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/05/iphone-6s-3d-touch-screen/
3D-touch is not new. There are already pressure sensitive displays. One example is the company FlatFrog (www.flatfrog.com), which has displays in sizes 15-110 inch.
All the way from the start, iPhones have had a multi-touch-sensitive display. It was one of the reasons for iPhone's success, because it gave iPhone the famous pinch gesture. I still remember when I tried it out for the first time. At that time the iPhone was not for sale in Europe. A colleague had been to the US and bought an iPhone, and I was allowed to try it out. I was impressed.
Multi-touch is two-dimensional, 2D, i.e. when the user taps or swipes or pinches, an app receives information about it in terms of x and y, horizontal and vertical coordinates. With pressure sensitivity the app will receive a third parameter, which tells how hard the user pressed. That means we can call it 3D-touch.
For me the most obvious use of this feature is a scale app for weighing small and light items. But that's not what Apple has in mind. A new touch-type will probably be introduced: the force-touch, i.e. pressing harder. One good use for force-touch is to use it in a similar way the second button of a mouse is used (on Mac's one-button mouse it's done with Ctrl+click), and that is putting up a meny. Force-touch will be used for speeding up the user's interaction by reducing the number of presses he/she must do to accomplish something. Force-touch can also be used to reduce the number of user interface items on the screen, like buttons.
A possible use for 3D-touch is in games. Some games will benefit by testing the user's ability to use the right amount of pressure. The touch keyboard can most certainly be improved by 3D-touch, and thereby putting yet another nail in the coffin of hardware keyboards for mobile phones.
Reference:
http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/05/iphone-6s-3d-touch-screen/
Saturday, August 8, 2015
I'm one in a million!
Well actually I'm one in 14 million, no less! I'm talking about all those who installed Win10 in the first 24 hours after release, of whom I'm but one.
Can I recommend Win10? Yes, I can. It works perfectly on my recently made PC, with hardware parameters AMD Quad-Core A8-5550M, 2.1 GHz, 8GB, 1 TB. Performance is a common worry when installing a new Windows version: "is my PC strong enough for the new Windows?". My PC's performance feels like before the install. Booting takes about the same time as for Win8, i.e. 18 seconds instead of 15. I noted that it took a number of boot-ups before reaching 18 seconds. One of the first boot-ups took over a minute, and subsequent ones went ever faster.
I think the Win10 user interface is a good mix of Win8 and Win7. The Win8 start screen has been demoted to the start menu, which appears when you press the Windows start button. It adds some life and finesse to the start menu - quite nice. Thank you Microsoft!
Although I liked Win8.1, it took the touch experience too far - it felt overdone. I imagine that was the main reason why so many users rejected it.
I'll admit I'm not a heavy user of Windows. I don't use a lot of Windows apps. One (free) clock app I used on Win8 didn't work as well on Win10, so I removed it. Hence I suspect many Windows apps will have to be updated in order to work properly on Win10.
So I say, Do it! Well, at least if you have a recently made PC.
Can I recommend Win10? Yes, I can. It works perfectly on my recently made PC, with hardware parameters AMD Quad-Core A8-5550M, 2.1 GHz, 8GB, 1 TB. Performance is a common worry when installing a new Windows version: "is my PC strong enough for the new Windows?". My PC's performance feels like before the install. Booting takes about the same time as for Win8, i.e. 18 seconds instead of 15. I noted that it took a number of boot-ups before reaching 18 seconds. One of the first boot-ups took over a minute, and subsequent ones went ever faster.
I think the Win10 user interface is a good mix of Win8 and Win7. The Win8 start screen has been demoted to the start menu, which appears when you press the Windows start button. It adds some life and finesse to the start menu - quite nice. Thank you Microsoft!
Although I liked Win8.1, it took the touch experience too far - it felt overdone. I imagine that was the main reason why so many users rejected it.
I'll admit I'm not a heavy user of Windows. I don't use a lot of Windows apps. One (free) clock app I used on Win8 didn't work as well on Win10, so I removed it. Hence I suspect many Windows apps will have to be updated in order to work properly on Win10.
So I say, Do it! Well, at least if you have a recently made PC.
Friday, July 31, 2015
HabitXplore Got New Clothes!
HabitXplore has been given new graphics, with new brighter colors. Here's a screen-shot of the new version:
HabitXplore is of use for different things. I know because I've tried it. I'm tracking some pattens I have. How much coffee do I drink? Well, since March 19 I've had 264 cups, the breakfast cups uncounted. In the last 7 days I've had 15 (not counting breakfast). I have a short daily workout routine due to a bad knee. I can see I've done that every day since I started. Sometimes I've forgotten to mow the lawn. Not since using HabitXplore of course.
Keeping track of habits is a good thing, but I don't overdo it. I'm going to stop tracking the coffee, because I know now I'm not overdoing it.
You might also want to use the app for exploring weather patterns. Record if it rained today or if there was any sun, or if there were thunderstorms.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
How Big is a PC?
A PC's size isn't just determined by the processor or the memory on it, but by the connectors on it. The Intel Compute Stick has a number of connectors on it, like the HDMI providing the TV connection and power and a USB, which you might use for connecting extra storage to it. But it's still small. Here is the Compute Stick connected to a TV:
Most PC monitors now have HDMI too, so even if you're not a TV-fan you might still have a suitable screen for the Intel Compute Stick.
Ref: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/compute-stick/intel-compute-stick.html
The picture shows that it's quite small and also that it contains Windows 8.1. Isn't that amazing? The CPU is a quad-core Intel Atom. The Windows version of the device has 2GB RAM and 32 GB persistent storage. There's a Linux (Ubuntu) version and it has 1 GB RAM and 8GB persistent storage.
What this means is that you can turn your large screen TV into a Windows PC by connecting a 170$ stick to it and of course a wireless keyboard and mouse. The Compute Stick comes with USB, WiFi, Bluetooth, a micro-SD slot and an on/off button. That'll give you a PC with a huge screen. I don't think it's good enough for serious gaming, but sufficiently powerful for most other things, including Youtube watching. Through the WiFi and a browser you'll have access to your Google Docs of course, so what more do you need.
Most PC monitors now have HDMI too, so even if you're not a TV-fan you might still have a suitable screen for the Intel Compute Stick.
Ref: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/compute-stick/intel-compute-stick.html
Monday, June 8, 2015
Xplore Thy Habits
HabitXplore is a new app by Proctele and it's for recording habits, or just to record events in general.
To find out more about your habits you need to register them. However the procedure of recording a habit has to be simple and fast. HabitXplore lets you do that.
To find out more about your habits you need to register them. However the procedure of recording a habit has to be simple and fast. HabitXplore lets you do that.
Do the following to record a habit-event:
-Start the app
-Select a habit from the habit-list (table)
-Press the OK button
With HabitXplore you can find out more about your habits.
-Start the app
-Select a habit from the habit-list (table)
-Press the OK button
With HabitXplore you can find out more about your habits.
Examples of habits are: Drinking a cup of coffee, Phoning your parents, Training, Mowing the lawn, Buy food, Refuel the car.
To find out more about your habits, you must register them. You can do that quickly with HabitXplore. The app can also show your habit in a time chart, which gives you a good overview. Of course everything you record is stored safely in your iPhone for as long as you want.
You can also use HabitXplore to remember when you last performed some task.
HabitXplore is one of those apps you need fast access to. You're likely to put in the Dock at the bottom, along with the mail and browser apps.
With HabitXplore you can:
-Register any number of habits so you can study them
-Quickly record that you performed a habit
-Immediately see when you last performed the habit and how often you've done it in total
-View a chart of how often a habit was carried out over a period of time
-Remove a record you registered by mistake
Suppose you have added a few habits in the table. Then do the following to record that you did a habit:
-Start the app
-Select a habit from the habit-list (table)
-Press the OK button
Ready! That's how fast it is.
To find out more about your habits, you must register them. You can do that quickly with HabitXplore. The app can also show your habit in a time chart, which gives you a good overview. Of course everything you record is stored safely in your iPhone for as long as you want.
You can also use HabitXplore to remember when you last performed some task.
HabitXplore is one of those apps you need fast access to. You're likely to put in the Dock at the bottom, along with the mail and browser apps.
With HabitXplore you can:
-Register any number of habits so you can study them
-Quickly record that you performed a habit
-Immediately see when you last performed the habit and how often you've done it in total
-View a chart of how often a habit was carried out over a period of time
-Remove a record you registered by mistake
Suppose you have added a few habits in the table. Then do the following to record that you did a habit:
-Start the app
-Select a habit from the habit-list (table)
-Press the OK button
Ready! That's how fast it is.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Windows 8, I'm in
It's been a while since I bought a Windows PC, but last week it was time for a laptop. HP Envy 15" screen, AMD-A8-5550 4 core CPU, 8GB RAM, 4MB Cache, 1 TB Harddisk, 2GB dedicated Graphics RAM, 4 x USB 3.0, Card reader, no CD/DVD, Windows 8.1. It's fairly light and quite slim. Price: 475$.
A couple of years ago, when Win8 was new, I was asked to do a backup of an All-in-One PC. It was a beautiful machine with a fantastic screen, maybe 24", but behind the outer beauty lurked a sinister or perhaps just playful ghost. I tapped or dragged here and there on the screen and random things seemed to happen. I was quite confused, even slightly humiliated. After a while I accepted that I would need help, if only to make sure I didn't erase any data by mistake. I read an instructions booklet, which was enclosed in the package. It helped me understand the basics and I went on to do a successful backup. Win8 really was different from Win7.
Win8.1 is much better. My trusted friend when dealing with Win8.1 is the Windows-button. It's marked with the Windows flag and it's beside the left Alt-button. I use it to go from anywhere to the beautiful Start-screen, you know the one with all the rectangular app-icons, and back again. I like the Start-screen.
The key combination Alt-Tab is another old chum I can't be without when using Win8.1. As you may remember it switches between currently running apps, and it can take you to the desktop. Once at the desktop, a Win7 user should feel comfortable, because it works the same as in older Win versions.
The PC performs very well. It's lightning fast! Great screen too. Only one thing sometimes irritates me and that's the multi-touch pad. It does work well, except when scrolling a browser page, using two fingers, the browser often thinks I want to zoom the page and I have to ask it to go back to standard zoom-level. It could be a bug in the touch-pad driver and will go away after some software update. Still I think this is a minor error and really I'm a satisfied HP and Windows customer. I surely recommend this PC and Win8.1.
And now comes the Wow: when in a dark room, the beauty of the backlit keyboard is astounding! Thank you and well done HP!
The above-mentioned beautiful beast:
A couple of years ago, when Win8 was new, I was asked to do a backup of an All-in-One PC. It was a beautiful machine with a fantastic screen, maybe 24", but behind the outer beauty lurked a sinister or perhaps just playful ghost. I tapped or dragged here and there on the screen and random things seemed to happen. I was quite confused, even slightly humiliated. After a while I accepted that I would need help, if only to make sure I didn't erase any data by mistake. I read an instructions booklet, which was enclosed in the package. It helped me understand the basics and I went on to do a successful backup. Win8 really was different from Win7.
Win8.1 is much better. My trusted friend when dealing with Win8.1 is the Windows-button. It's marked with the Windows flag and it's beside the left Alt-button. I use it to go from anywhere to the beautiful Start-screen, you know the one with all the rectangular app-icons, and back again. I like the Start-screen.
The key combination Alt-Tab is another old chum I can't be without when using Win8.1. As you may remember it switches between currently running apps, and it can take you to the desktop. Once at the desktop, a Win7 user should feel comfortable, because it works the same as in older Win versions.
The PC performs very well. It's lightning fast! Great screen too. Only one thing sometimes irritates me and that's the multi-touch pad. It does work well, except when scrolling a browser page, using two fingers, the browser often thinks I want to zoom the page and I have to ask it to go back to standard zoom-level. It could be a bug in the touch-pad driver and will go away after some software update. Still I think this is a minor error and really I'm a satisfied HP and Windows customer. I surely recommend this PC and Win8.1.
And now comes the Wow: when in a dark room, the beauty of the backlit keyboard is astounding! Thank you and well done HP!
The above-mentioned beautiful beast:
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
HabitXplore is a New App
Proctele has released a new app to the App Store. It's called HabitXplore.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Get Yosemite
I've moved on from OSX Mavericks to OSX Yosemite.
I started off with Snow Leopard in 2010 and been through both Lion and Mountain Lion, and Mavericks. With Lion I had to put another 2GB RAM into my white MacBook to speed it up, but Yosemite is so quick I might as well go back to 2 GB RAM and give the rest to the poor.
It seems Apple has worked on speed this time and I like that. The dashboard first load happens so fast you hardly notice it. Returning from power-saving mode with WiFi turned off takes only a few seconds, a huge improvement. With Mavericks, I sometimes had to turn off WiFi and then turn it back on to get it working. The Dock, with all the app-icons, looks like the one on iPhone. All my favorite programs start up, except Gimp the graphics program. After downloading a new version (2.8) it worked too. Some programs I've tried that are clearly better are Gimp, Mail, iPhoto and Maps and probably a whole lot more I haven't tried yet.
Put shortly: Yosemite is great! If you're running OSX Mavericks, it's time to switch.
Anyway I need to keep up with Apple's relentless improvements or else I'll soon be stuck with a programming environment, which can't make apps for Apple's new devices. I studied their new programming language this winter, called Swift. I like it. It's going to improve the life expectancy of keyboards: it's laconic, hence great for northern, ehum ..., viking types like me. The encounter resulted in the birth of an app, which I hope to see in the App Store next week. I'll send out a ping when it happens.
Took the lawnmower for a spin yesterday. Looked at it for several seconds before I could find the starter cord - must have been a long winter. It started on second crank, which is not bad. It's going to be a long hot summer I hope. We got them sparely in the last couple decades, but there must be a blip on the curve coming.
I started off with Snow Leopard in 2010 and been through both Lion and Mountain Lion, and Mavericks. With Lion I had to put another 2GB RAM into my white MacBook to speed it up, but Yosemite is so quick I might as well go back to 2 GB RAM and give the rest to the poor.
It seems Apple has worked on speed this time and I like that. The dashboard first load happens so fast you hardly notice it. Returning from power-saving mode with WiFi turned off takes only a few seconds, a huge improvement. With Mavericks, I sometimes had to turn off WiFi and then turn it back on to get it working. The Dock, with all the app-icons, looks like the one on iPhone. All my favorite programs start up, except Gimp the graphics program. After downloading a new version (2.8) it worked too. Some programs I've tried that are clearly better are Gimp, Mail, iPhoto and Maps and probably a whole lot more I haven't tried yet.
Put shortly: Yosemite is great! If you're running OSX Mavericks, it's time to switch.
Anyway I need to keep up with Apple's relentless improvements or else I'll soon be stuck with a programming environment, which can't make apps for Apple's new devices. I studied their new programming language this winter, called Swift. I like it. It's going to improve the life expectancy of keyboards: it's laconic, hence great for northern, ehum ..., viking types like me. The encounter resulted in the birth of an app, which I hope to see in the App Store next week. I'll send out a ping when it happens.
Took the lawnmower for a spin yesterday. Looked at it for several seconds before I could find the starter cord - must have been a long winter. It started on second crank, which is not bad. It's going to be a long hot summer I hope. We got them sparely in the last couple decades, but there must be a blip on the curve coming.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
1958 Volkswagen and Battery Time
Battery time for smartphones needs improvement. It's been said before, even on this blog.
There are a few reasons for this continuing problem:
Ref: http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/boostcase-for-iphone-6-review/
There are a few reasons for this continuing problem:
- Power-demanding functions:
- GPS
- Bigger & brighter screens
- High-speed mobile network
- Vibration notification
- WiFi & Bluetooth
- More use
- Ever thinner smartphones
The latest iPhone is always thinner than the previous version. Users like it that way. It's elegant and it's a proof that the device does indeed contain the best technology possible. It's prestige. It would be a bold step for Apple to decide it's not going to continue the race to razor blade thin devices. Someone will continue the race though, so Apple wants to keep up.
iPhone6 Plus has much better battery time than iPhone6. The reason is size. iPhone6 Plus is slightly thicker, but also higher and wider. That increases the volume considerably and that's one thing needed for improved battery time: more volume for the battery.
I came to think of my father's old Volkswagen from 1958. It had no fuel indicator. That meant you never knew for sure if you had enough fuel. It didn't even have a trip-meter, but it did have a mileage indicator, so if you knew the fuel consumption and you took note of the mileage indicator, you had a rough estimate of the fuel level. You could also shake the car and listen. And now comes the reason for this paragraph: the extra-tank-switch. You won't find it in modern cars. Say you run out of fuel. No problem: throw the switch and suddenly you had an extra couple of liters in the tank. It's almost like magic isn't it. I suppose there were really two fuel tanks in the car separated by a valve and at every fill-up both tanks got filled. The magical switch simply opened the valve so that what was in the small bi-tank quickly flowed into the main-tank.
Perhaps the extra-tank-switch idea could help getting better (perceived) battery time. It could work like in that old Volkswagen: "you completely run out of battery, no problem, throw a switch". It could also be a switch for quickly turning off/on a number of functions in a user configurable way.
There will always be parallels between old and new technology that can be of use.
Ref: http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/27/boostcase-for-iphone-6-review/
Monday, January 19, 2015
Windows 7 Support & Selfie-sticks
Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 mainstream support ends this month, and that support finally ends on January 14th 2020. Windows 7 was born on July 22 2009 and it has done good service. Windows 7 became popular in the working place as well as at home. I suppose some would call it the last proper version of Windows, second only to Windows XP.
The Selfie-stick is a popular product. I would never have guessed. With most people born with two selfie-sticks, there's still need for a man-made one? I've been taking selfies with me and my wife for years and never felt the need for a selfie-stick. I see selfies as pictures taken spontaneously or when there's no one around to take it for you. Carrying around a stick for the purpose defeats the whole idea of a selfie, I think. Please let me know if I missed something about selfie-sticks.
I've mentioned protective cases a few times on this blog. My stance is that they're necessary. After I bought an iPhone6, but before I bought a protective case, I managed to let it slip out of my breast-pocket three times. The period of time was 1-2 weeks. I was lucky that it wasn't damaged, because I skipped insurance. Here's what can happen if you don't buy insurance. I bought a book cover type of case in leather. I told my youngest kid, a boy of 9, that it's an Indiana Jones type of cover, because of how it mixes masculinity and old fashion. Well here it is and I recommend it:
There is one protective case, which seems to beat them all. It's made by Urban Armor Gear and it successfully protected its iPhone6 all the way from Earth up to 101,000 ft height and back. Read about it here.
Net neutrality sounds pretty good doesn't it? You know, the Internet treating all data the same, regardless of what it is. Well, having read this I'm not at all sure it's a good principle anymore.
To round this off I'd like to say that I'm very, very happy about my iPhone6. It takes excellent pictures and apart from all the other functionality it has, it even does voice calls :-) I think it's the best smartphone ever. Only the next iPhone will be able to beat it.
Ref:
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/14/microsoft-windows-7-obsolescence-end-support
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/13/selfie-stick-inventor-wayne-fromm-shafted-lost-out
http://www.mytrendyphone.se/shop/iphone-6-zenus-142153p.html
The Selfie-stick is a popular product. I would never have guessed. With most people born with two selfie-sticks, there's still need for a man-made one? I've been taking selfies with me and my wife for years and never felt the need for a selfie-stick. I see selfies as pictures taken spontaneously or when there's no one around to take it for you. Carrying around a stick for the purpose defeats the whole idea of a selfie, I think. Please let me know if I missed something about selfie-sticks.
I've mentioned protective cases a few times on this blog. My stance is that they're necessary. After I bought an iPhone6, but before I bought a protective case, I managed to let it slip out of my breast-pocket three times. The period of time was 1-2 weeks. I was lucky that it wasn't damaged, because I skipped insurance. Here's what can happen if you don't buy insurance. I bought a book cover type of case in leather. I told my youngest kid, a boy of 9, that it's an Indiana Jones type of cover, because of how it mixes masculinity and old fashion. Well here it is and I recommend it:
Net neutrality sounds pretty good doesn't it? You know, the Internet treating all data the same, regardless of what it is. Well, having read this I'm not at all sure it's a good principle anymore.
To round this off I'd like to say that I'm very, very happy about my iPhone6. It takes excellent pictures and apart from all the other functionality it has, it even does voice calls :-) I think it's the best smartphone ever. Only the next iPhone will be able to beat it.
Ref:
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/14/microsoft-windows-7-obsolescence-end-support
http://readwrite.com/2015/01/13/selfie-stick-inventor-wayne-fromm-shafted-lost-out
http://www.mytrendyphone.se/shop/iphone-6-zenus-142153p.html
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Cookies and Privacy
Wherever I go on the Internet, it seems every site is eager to inform me that they use cookies. The info comes as a (often) large banner with an Ok-button. If I click the Ok-button, the banner goes away and I get a lot more space on the screen. The next time I visit the site, it remembers it has shown me the cookie info. I can thank a cookie for that, the cookie that the site created on my device with the help of the browser.
A cookie is a text-file. That means it cannot be executed. It can only be created, read and modified by a site and that's all done by the browser on the site's request. A site can only interact with (create, read or modify) its own cookies. So cookies are quite innocent then and won't breach my privacy?
No, they are not innocent! There is a company called DoubleClick (a subsidiary of Google), and probably some others, that use cookies in a way that fundamentally changes their nature. It makes certain cookies global. Through mediation of DoubleClick a cookie can turn up on any site that allows it to.
Here's an example. I have a Facebook account and I usually don't click on advertizements. However a few weeks ago I did click on an advertizement in Facebook that I hadn't seen before. The click took me to the site of a well-established online-shop. Nothing sinister about that. However, since that click I've been seeing that same advertizement on Facebook, but also on some other favorite sites. That could only have happened by means of a global cookie. I don't quite like that, because it means someone can follow my web-surfing habits.
But what if you, as user, don't accept cookies at all? Sorry, doesn't work. A lot of sites wouldn't function without them and consequently you couldn't use them, so you need cookies. Removing them after every browsing session is a hassle, but it should help. Removing cookies when you switch from one site to another would probably make it difficult to follow you. However removing all cookies means you would have to give up convenience. E.g. you would become an unknown user for every site and would have to enter your login credentials at every visit to the sites where you have a login and need to login.
There's no viable or user friendly cure other than changed rules. Global cookies would have to be outlawed or somehow made impossible.
A cookie is a text-file. That means it cannot be executed. It can only be created, read and modified by a site and that's all done by the browser on the site's request. A site can only interact with (create, read or modify) its own cookies. So cookies are quite innocent then and won't breach my privacy?
No, they are not innocent! There is a company called DoubleClick (a subsidiary of Google), and probably some others, that use cookies in a way that fundamentally changes their nature. It makes certain cookies global. Through mediation of DoubleClick a cookie can turn up on any site that allows it to.
Here's an example. I have a Facebook account and I usually don't click on advertizements. However a few weeks ago I did click on an advertizement in Facebook that I hadn't seen before. The click took me to the site of a well-established online-shop. Nothing sinister about that. However, since that click I've been seeing that same advertizement on Facebook, but also on some other favorite sites. That could only have happened by means of a global cookie. I don't quite like that, because it means someone can follow my web-surfing habits.
But what if you, as user, don't accept cookies at all? Sorry, doesn't work. A lot of sites wouldn't function without them and consequently you couldn't use them, so you need cookies. Removing them after every browsing session is a hassle, but it should help. Removing cookies when you switch from one site to another would probably make it difficult to follow you. However removing all cookies means you would have to give up convenience. E.g. you would become an unknown user for every site and would have to enter your login credentials at every visit to the sites where you have a login and need to login.
There's no viable or user friendly cure other than changed rules. Global cookies would have to be outlawed or somehow made impossible.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
NumberWiz Solution: 265 with large numbers
In the last blogpost I challenged all you number-heads with this sum:
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 7 25 50 75 100 to get 265.
You notice that it contains all the big numbers and two small.
In an update I hinted that 5 was a key number in the solution.
It's also worth noting that 265 = 250 + 15.
Now watch the solution:
265 = (50 x 25 + 75) / (7 - 2) = ((50 x 25) / 5) + (75 / 5) = 250 + 15
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 7 25 50 75 100 to get 265.
You notice that it contains all the big numbers and two small.
In an update I hinted that 5 was a key number in the solution.
It's also worth noting that 265 = 250 + 15.
Now watch the solution:
265 = (50 x 25 + 75) / (7 - 2) = ((50 x 25) / 5) + (75 / 5) = 250 + 15
Sunday, November 23, 2014
NumberWiz Sum: 265 with large numbers
Time for another NumberWiz sum. I might make an update with a tip later, because not a lot of people will find it easy.
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 7 25 50 75 100 to get 265.
Send an email or answer in a comment if you like.
Update: A key number in this sum is 5.
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 7 25 50 75 100 to get 265.
Send an email or answer in a comment if you like.
Update: A key number in this sum is 5.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
NumberWiz Sum 474: Solution
The problem was:
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 4 6 9 75 100 to get 474.
In an update I hinted that 474 is divisible by 6, hence a solution is:
474 = 6 x 79 = 6 x (75 + 4)
Another solution: 474 = 4 x 100 + (75 + 2 + 6 - 9)
Add, subtract, multiply or divide the following six numbers 2 4 6 9 75 100 to get 474.
In an update I hinted that 474 is divisible by 6, hence a solution is:
474 = 6 x 79 = 6 x (75 + 4)
Another solution: 474 = 4 x 100 + (75 + 2 + 6 - 9)
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