kw803 : Girls Gone Geek
May 10Its time to be Mr Journalist and cover Acer’s launch event for their Liquid E3 smartphone in Brussels and take some interesting interviews. We talk to two different sides from the girl-geek spectrum and interview Sunny, a ‘beauty blogger’ who just got her first smartphone and Mee Hyang, one of the members of the ‘Brussels Girl Geek Dinner’ who has been around the tech block a couple of years. Both ladies give us their vision on technology and the “Girl vs Gadget” ratio in their lives. As an added bonus we talk to Lars Christensen, the Acer Product manager about some of the cool new functionalities Acer will be supporting in their smartphone and ask him the pesky question : ‘What is a PC going to look like in 3 years’. Enjoy KW803.
Shownotes.
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Guestblogger week : How I “Survived” on Android : The app list.
Feb 13Its guestblogger week on Knightwise.com and today Cody Cooper , Co-host of the “Linux for the rest of us” podcast and all around nice guy, tells us how he ditched his desktop and survived on Android Only.
How I survived on Android.
Would you consider using ONLY your mobile device for a whole day? For all of your computing needs? How about a week? Or a month? With the right amount of preparation and gear most of us COULD do, but would we want to? Wouldn’t that be HARD?
Imagine this: a snow storm hits and you’re forced to stay in the town you work because all of the roads leading home are closed. For four days. That was the situation I found myself in. I realise that this is far from the worst situation that one could find themselves in, but here is how I “survived” with my trusty HTC One. The Android in my pocket.
I was lucky enough to have a sister that lived nearby that agreed to let me stay with her family during the storm. This gave me relief in the fact that when I wasn’t running a downtown business during the day I would have a place to go to at night. More importantly a place with internet access, a computer and beer.
Nowadays I’m a little more cautious about using open WiFi and just any computer for my day to day needs, my attempt to be a more responsible and careful technology user. The only machine at her house that I was available to me was her Toshiba laptop… running Windows Vista. I would post a photo of her desktop for fun, but I want you to finish this article and not pass out.
As Knightwise reads this, he says to himself, “But Cody, you’re a Linux user! Just use a Live CD or bootable USB stick to make that technology work for you!”
No optical media in the house and the only USB stick was an old Memorex 128mb… which only read as a 34mb drive! It was used for “backing up over the years”. The nearest store was stripped bare of these devices as well, because we all know that in case of a storm the very first thing you should do is run to the local store and buy up all of the storage media you can. To this day I don’t think I’ve screamed the F-word in a public place as I did that day.
So, here is a list of Android applications that helped me keep my sanity during this “rough” situation.
1) Writer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamesmc.writer
This is a very nice minimalist word processor that I hadn’t used before. It was a pleasure to use this app as a means of taking notes throughout the day, keeping up on my writing and creating this blogpost.
NOTE – The one extra piece of “tech” that I had in my car aside from my phone charger was an OTG cable, which allowed me hook up a full-sized keyboard to my phone.
2) Pocket
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ideashower.readitlater.pro
For those of you who seem to want to bookmark everything yet find it hard to read anything you have to try Pocket. With an extension available for just about every browser (desktop and mobile) you don’t have worry about bookmarking that article, just put in your Pocket and “read it later” anywhere you want. Having all of these articles that I had saved over the past months helped pass the time and I’m very happy I had these available.
3) Firefox Mobile + HTTPS Everywhere
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/making-the-mobile-web-safer-with-https-everywhere
The safe browser plug-in HTTPS Everywhere was made available for my favorite mobile browser on the day I got stuck in the snow. Coincidence of the EFF coming to my rescue and providing me a safer browsing experience? You decide?
4) Pomodroido
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.artifix.pomodroido.free
This Pomodoro timer is essential for me to get anything done. A great way to keep you on track with tasks and make sure you take your breaks.
5) Camscanner Pro + Docusign Ink
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intsig.camscanner
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.docusign.ink
I always like get my taxes done ASAP. It was during this time that I had collected all of my financial documents to take to my tax preparer and then I got stuck in the snow. Using these two apps (and PGP encryted e-mail) I was able to digitally scan my documents and send them to my tax preparer, then sign the digital documents and send them back. Who needs a fax machine? This is the 21st century!
6) Doggcatcher
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snoggdoggler.android.applications.doggcatcher.v1_0
My mobile entertainment source for years. Many podcatchers come and go, but this one holds a special place in my heart with it’s simple and clean interface. I’ve tried all the rest, but I still go back to “DC” when I need to get caught up on my podcasts.
7) Voxer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rebelvox.voxer
This is the one app that I can honestly say I use everyday. Think of it as a digital walkie-talkie that you can use to have a conversation througout the day with someone, or a large group of people. This app has single handedly kept me in touch with my friends around the world whether it be collaboration on projects or just to keep in touch. You can also send text and photos during Voxer chat.
8) Flappy Bird
Just kidding!
9) Aldiko
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aldiko.android
My ebook of choice. This very versatile app will read a variety of formats and provide you with a nice interface with which to navigate your digital library.
10) Archos Video
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.archos.mediacenter.videofree
This app gave me a great interface to watch video that I had saved in the cloud. Very clean interface that gets better with every release. I knew stockpiling those Hak5 episodes in my Dropbox account would pay off someday!
One would assume I would have had a camera app, or a weather app but I tend to treat the outdoors like my ex-girlfriends: Avoid contact at all cost!
In a future post I would like to share with you my new EDC Bag filled with all my tech goodies that will help me “survive” a bit longer next time as well as some other Android tools that you can use away from home.
About Cody.
Cody Cooper is a tech enthusiast, advocate for The Accessible Computing Foundation (www.theacf.co) and podcaster who co-hosts “Linux for the Rest of Us” on the Podnutz Network (www.podnutz.com) He enjoys food, beer and preparing for his childrens future with technology. Please contact him on Google+ or by sending an e-mail to cody@podnutz.com
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Why turning off your notifications is better for you then you think.
Sep 16As I stack away the last empty suitcase its official : Our annual summer holiday is officially over. A two week road trip through the south of France with just me and my family has left me relaxed and revitalised for the coming months amidst the busy mayhem of my modern day over connected life. The great thing about going abroad are the insane roaming charges for data communications. at 1.5 euro for every 10 measly megabytes you do the right thing and turn the data reception on your smartphone OFF. The result ? A notification free zen zone that lets you rediscover what it’s like NOT to be bossed around by technology.
“Notifications, alerts, pop ups, dings and dooh-dah’s : The over connected mother-in-law that will never leave you in peace”.
There used to be a time when people were “unreachable” They would be away from their home phone and nowhere near a pay phone. There was just no way in hell you could get in touch with them, even if it was urgent. All you could do is wait. Back then we did not wonder if said person might have been abducted by aliens or stepped into a transdimensional rift, there was no cause for alarm or general panic .. they were just “unreachable”
The very notion of this “unreachable” concept is of course absurd today. Now we do not only have to be “available and connected” every second of the day, we also need those connections to be so instantaneously, so direct, that the notifications of their arrival have become a priority to whatever activity our human lives behold at that very moment. Vibrations, pop-ups, Notification balloons, unread counters, flashing LED’s … Short of setting our pants on fire whenever a new email arrives, our computers and smartphones seem to think that the digital flow of communications should take precedence on whatever activity we are performing at that specific time.
Now .. if we go back to the days of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in “You’ve got mail” and you only GET an email once or twice a day .. its quite nice to have your computer blab out that AOL jingle whenever a new piece of electronic correspondence arrives in your mailbox… but these days that’s just not the case anymore. We get boatloads of emails, notifications, instant messages, tweets, tags and more .. but it seems like every single event still gets the same popup or sound that sent Meg Ryan on her way to a fake orgasm in an overcrowded diner (Sorry , wrong movie).
The paradox lies in the fact that as the quantity of these “informational events” rises, their quality diminishes. The messages are higher in frequency but shorter in content. What used to be a 150 line email (with one “You’ve got mail” jingle) now consists of 150 instant messages (each with their own separate ding). And if we draw that analogy up a level : Imagine your mailman ringing your doorbell EVERY SINGLE TIME he drops a flyer or a piece of spam into your mailbox. I think by day three you would be ready to shoot the poor man … and yet we “accept” this level of interruptions from our technological devices every single day.
The result : ‘Fragmented reality’.
With your ‘Virtual world” constantly interrupting your “Realspace” your attention span gets shattered and you experience the world around you in a distracted and shallow way. I’ve called this symptom “diminished presence” because even when you are in a “real” conversation with somebody you are not really “There”… The actual moment (and connection) you have with this other person gets interrupted by dozens of other fragmented interactions from cyberspace who in turn fragment your interaction (and attention span) in real space .. The result : Reality confetti : The way you experience your day / your life .. cut up in small incoherent pieces leaving you with a feeling of confusion : What did I actually talk about over dinner last night.
Retake your life, Remaster your tech.
So what to do ? Throw away your digital devices, Buy a Chuck Wagon and hide up somewhere in the mountains ? .. No, don’t worry I’m not going to go that far .. You can still be the hyperconnected supernerd who is the closest thing to Tony Stark your friends will ever know .. but your interactions with technology need to be on YOUR terms. How ? Here are some pointers.
This is a notification to turn of your notifications.
The first thing you need to start doing is turning off your notifications. Whether those are email, facebook, tweets, rss feeds, Voxer messages, dirty pics via Snapchat or what have you : Make sure they no longer have any AUDIO or HAPTIC (vibrational) notifications on your mobile device. In other words : If you are not actually LOOKING at the device you won’t know they are there. Yeah .. it will be hard at first .. you will suffer from withdrawal and constantly check your phone to see if there is something there .. but that will pass … At least this way you won’t be interrupted by a random spam mail from Runkeeper at the very second you want to kiss the girl/boy/anime-drawing of your dreams. The point is that the interactions with your information streams are going to be ON YOUR TERMS. Just turning of the sounds/vibrations on my phone have given me more focus on my moments in reality when I need/want them. I still check my phone when I’m bored .. but I’m not Pavlovs dog that starts to slobber for new info whenever the bell rings.
Disengage the creational from the communicational.
For you creative types out there. Try writing/composing/drawing/singing/creating something while you need to keep track of 5 Facebook chats. The chance is the end product of this labour of constant interruption and attention diversification will look like some piece of homework your dog ate, pooped out, ate again and then threw up. And still you THOUGHT it was going to look great but the constant interruptions completely fragged (and fracked) it up for you. The answer here is to split the devices you use for CREATING (and consuming) content and those that you use to “communicate”. I read and watch movies on my iPad .. Facebook, Email, Twitter and all ther rest of my social media tools are on my “Communicator” (an iPod touch thats lying around the house) There is no shame in having multiple devices if they each serve a specific purpose.
Let technology work for you.
So try to be your own little Sarah Connor and pick up the “Fight against the machine” Imagine your Cellphone is that evil Terminator that wants to hunt down any coherent perception of reality and blow your attention span to smithereens with its arsenal of pushy notifications. Take back what’s yours : Mastery of technology. The fact that YOU operate your devices. YOU drive your car when and where YOU want to . You do not eat when the microwave tells you to (if your microwave tells you things you should clean it more often) and YOU use your phone to communicate when YOU want to. Forget the modern urge to “constantly” be on top of things. If you were a 90’s stockbroker who managed to make the deal of a lifetime because he INSTANTLY got info on his blackberry .. thats just awesome .. But if you read that DM on twitter 20 minutes later than intended … i’m sure the world is not gonna grind to a halt.
So step back from the churning river of push notifications and retake your position as master of your own technology .. This is your final notification to turn off your notifications .. Because its good for you.
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kw609 : The wonders of wardriving with Wigle.
Aug 07We walk the hackers walk this week and show you how to accumulate your own database of Wireless access points in your area using nothing more but your smartphone. And if that is not enough we take it a step further and teach you how to find an open wifi hotspot anywhere on the planet. Listener Thor swings by and tells you to connect to the Knightwise.com Mumble server using your Android device.
Shownotes.
- Wigle.net
- The Wigle app (android)
- Camping Dallas.
- Plumble (android)
- The Knightwise.com promo page.
- kw 608 : Sniffing wifi with the pineapple.
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kw601 : Storytime “Norms”
Apr 28We kick off season 6 of the Knightwise.com podcast with a classic episode of “Storytime” where we take you down a good old fashioned rant about the “Average Hick” of the cyberspace community : “The Norms” If they are not buying the latest gear for no reason, they might be out trolling your Facebook feed. These 2 short stories will probably sound very familiar for any advanced geek. Add some cool music to the mix and welcome to season six of the Knightwise.com podcast.
Shownotes.
- Intro
- Music : Nordlight
- Pictures of the bookstore in Maastricht
- Story : Not the latest thing.
- Music : Carbon based Lifeforms
- Story : Welcome to wherever you are.
- Outtro.
