Alexa is now on the Amazon iPhone app, positioning it to go head-to-head with Siri in the intelligent voice control arena for the mobile market. It's contained within the free Amazon shopping app, but it's for far more than just shopping. Thousands of Alexa skills can be used by pressing the microphone icon near the top of the screen on the app. This means that if you've got an iPhone, you can now talk to Amazon's voice assistant without buying an Echo, Echo Dot, or other Alexa-enabled product.
The only downside is you have to open the app to use Alexa, unlike iPhone's Siri, which iPhone users can access simply by pressing the home button on their phone, or saying, "Hey, Siri." But once accessed via the app, Alexa will work like any other Alexa-enabled product, allowing users to do everything from turning on smart lights at home to setting a smart thermostat to a cozy temperature. It can be used to look up facts, make purchases, or control other smart home products as well. Read here for the scoop! #iphone&ipad
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In the latest ongoing WikiLeaks whistleblowing scandal, the website has published documents from the CIA’s CherryBlossom project, exposing agency’s exploitation of Wi-Fi device security vulnerabilities. Released on Thursday, the new batch of CIA classified documents comes from the Vault 7 project. Known as CherryBlossom, it monitors the Internet activity of, and performs software exploits on, targets of interest.
Read here for the scoop! #android #iphone&ipad #news #security Apple updates its operating system and hardware processors regularly, so older apps that have not kept up with the changes will be too outdated to run on the new iOS software expected later this year. This is not unexpected as Apple fully transitions its hardware and software to the 64-bit world, older apps still stuck in a 32-bit world will be left behind.
You can find a list of all the apps that are destined for involuntary retirement in iOS 11 by opening the Settings icon on the Home screen, selecting General, then About and then tapping Applications. Some apps on the list may have been abandoned by their creators, but others may have alternate, updated versions in the App Store — or on the way. For more information, read here. According to a U.S. government study released Thursday, 50.8 percent of homes and apartments had only cellphone service in the latter half of 2016, the first time such households attained a majority in the survey. Read more here on this growing trend.
Stingrays, also known as "cell site simulators" or "IMSI catchers," are invasive cell phone surveillance devices that mimic cell phone towers and send out signals to trick cell phones in the area into transmitting their locations and identifying information. To find out more and whether your state is using Stingray and what agencies are using it, read this article and this article.
CarPlay is an Apple specific integration with automobiles. It allows you to perform Apple iPhone functionality including iPhone apps through your car. While many cars offer Apple integration, this integration is not necessarily Apple CarPlay, but a more general phone integration with the car. CarPlay is specifically integration with your iPhone's following models: iPhone 7 / 7 Plus, iPhone 6s / 6s Plus, iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5. Functions include, but are not limited to Siri integration, iPhone Map integration, iMessage integration, Music/Podcast/Audiobook integration, and integration with apps such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, NPR One and more! Most of the major car manufacturers offer Carplay in their more recent models. Unfortunately, it is not something that can be currently integrated into an existing car sound system that doesn't already have it unless perhaps you buy a new replacement sound system. For more information on Apple CarPlay read here.
Apple is due to unveil the iPhone 8, the 10th Anniversary of its historic phone. Suspected additions and improvements include a curved edge-to-edge OLED display, wireless charging, USB-C connectivity replacing the lightening connector, enhanced water resistance and more. To get the latest, read here!
Many of us use traffic apps like Waze to avoid bad traffic. But they're not always giving us what they seem, like the best route! It's become somewhat of a rival game between the app and the cities. Read here about how it's changed the way we navigate and how cities want to change that!
Apple has finally announced wireless charging to come out. Although late into the market (3 years to be exact) it's a welcome tech for many. Here are few things to keep in mind when considering wireless charging. Generally speaking, it generates more heat than standard wired charging, which is public enemy #1 to any electronic device ... so we'll have to see if Apple has reduced this problem! Wireless chargers are also much more bulky AND expensive than a simple charge cord, so you'll have to weigh the advantage vs. cost benefit ... after all, just because you don't have to plug the actual phone in, doesn't mean you don't have to be near a power outlet! See this video for more information about iPhone Wireless charging and more!
Both Apple and Google say they have the best camera's on a phone, ever. Both have their pluses and minuses resulting in some pictures being better on one than the other depending on existing lighting and personal preference. See this article with video and decide for yourself!
With all the complications of life, the last thing you need is for tech issues get in the way. After all, tech is supposed to make things easier, isn't it? Here are four quick tips on how to make your tech life just a little easier!
Wireless vs. Wired Charging
You've probably heard about wireless device charging, where you just put your smartphone or tablet on a "pad" and it charges without you having to actually plug your device into the wall. In theory, it's a great idea, but in practice not so much. First of all, wireless charging generates more heat in your device; heat is the number one enemy of such devices! Second, even using the low-amp slower charge, wired charging is faster than wireless. Third, you probably have more than one charging cable and wireless chargers are not cheap. For more information, see this article! With all the issues and questions regarding international travel and the ability of even USA Citizens being able to get back into their own country, here are a few tips on your cellphone rights and alternatives on how to keep your cellphone data yours.
Most websites and apps let you sign in with just a username and password. If anyone guesses either of these, they can take over your account, steal all your money and/or steal your identity. An additional layer of security is called "Two Factor Authentication" or 2FA. With 2FA, there is an extra step the user must complete before access to the account is granted. It's usually request for a piece of information that only the legitmate owner of the account would know. This additional piece of information could be the name of the owner's first pet dog which is requested after the password is entered. It could also be a rotating/changing computer generated code that is sent to the cellphone of the owner via text. This cellphone number is previously established by the legitimate account owner as part of the account setup. This prevents a hacker from getting sent the code (unless they stole your cellphone as well). If available, you should always use 2FA, especially for bank accounts, credit card accounts, brokerage accounts and/or any account that holds personal identification information (PII) such as your social security number. Yes, it's an extra step, but it's worth the time to protect your PII and your finances.
For questions or help on setting up 2FA for your accounts, contact TheGoToTechGuru. If you haven't heard, Facebook now offers live streaming, which allows your "Friends" to see live video of whatever you're recording, like a party. All you need is an Apple (iOS) or Android mobile device! Follow this link on how it works!
Your smartphone's GPS uses both your cellular and Wi-Fi connection for accuracy. Most of the time, when you're in the car or walking outdoors, the Wi-Fi is turned off to save battery power. Yes, your GPS will work with just cellular, but it's not as accurate as when you also have the Wi-Fi turned on as well, since the GPS has an error rate of +/- 100 feet.
To increase your GPS accuracy, just turn on your Wi-Fi. You don't have to be connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot for the GPS to benefit from it, it just has to be turned on! Other factors that affect GPS accuracy are whether there are physical obstructions between your phone and the satellites, such as walls, building and trees, so make sure you have a clear line-of-sight between your phone and the sky. Your GPS is most accurate when it can "see" all 4 satellites. It will still work with fewer, but again, the accuracy will be affected. Your GPS may work despite these obstructions, however, its accuracy may be affected significantly. Although when driving, 100 feet may not make much of a difference, it does when you are walking or hailing an Uber, otherwise the driver may think you are 1-2 blocks from your actual location! If you want to make sure you're located at an exact address for an Uber pickup vs. depending on the GPS to "pin" you accurately, type in the actual street address of your location! Broadband is offered in 4 major flavors today: Cable, DSL, Fios and Satellite. There is a lot of confusion between these, so here's what you need to know.
Cable can offer not just TV, but internet and landline VOIP (Voice Over IP; ie. internet telephone) telephone services as well, depending on your cable company and what package options they offer. There are a few main differences between cable and the alternative DSL and Fios options. Cable uses a copper line from the cable company to a junction box in your neighborhood or apartment building/condo complex and is split amoung your neighbors and you. As such, the bandwidth is shared with all your neighbors. Thus, if a few select people are gaming or doing heaving downloading, everyone else's bandwidth degrades. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is for internet connectivity only, not for TV. It uses the regular telephone copper wire between the phone company and your home. You must have regular telephone service from your phone company in order to get DSL, but your telephone itself does not use it since it is just for internet access. Unlike cable, this line is dedicated to your dwelling so is not shared with your neighbors. It is typically slower than cable and Fios but is faster than satellite. It is the least expensive of these options. Fios stands for Fiber Optic Service and is offered by Verizon. It is called by other names by other companies like AT&T and Qwest. Fios can be used for TV, internet and your landline phone. A fiber optic cable is run from the phone company to your house, so it is dedicated and thus bandwidth is not shared with your neighbors. If you install Fios, you MUST use the fiber optic telephone service since it replaces your regular copper-based landline phone. You still get a landline phone but it will be fiber based vs. copper based. It is the fastest of the three options because signals run through fiber optic cables and thus travel literally at the speed of light! Fios does come with a backup battery for when the power goes out, enabling you to make phone calls, watch TV and access the internet for a limited time. ***Of the four broadband options, Fios is the fastest and best option*** The downside of Fios is that when the power goes out and backup battery runs out, your landline phone won't work (with your old copper-based telephone you could still make calls). But you always have your cellphone! Satellite currently only offers TV and Internet. Internet-wise, it is the slowest and most expensive of these options. Placement of the satellite dish MUST have a direct line-of-sight view of the satellite. This means the dish must be able to communicate with the satellite via a 100% unobstructed view. This means no trees, buildings and the like can be between your dish and the satellite. If you live in an extremely rural part of the world, like way out in the country, satellite may be your only option. There are other considerations, especially when installing these in your home (placement, etc), so call TheGotoTechGuru for help! Technology has come a long way. Now someone has invented a way for someone long distance to feel your kiss in realtime! Check out this amazing video!
The two worst enemies of not just your computer but any electonics, are heat and dust! This includes both external heat such as leaving your electronic devices in a hot car as well as heat generated by the device itself. When it comes to dust, there's a correct way to clean it and it may not be what you think! Water & Moisture are also terrible for electronics, including condensation that can be created by bringing your stone cold laptop from your car into your house! Learn more here on how to prevent heat and clean dust!
Your first reaction may be to change all your passwords, which is a great first step. But this is only the first of many steps in order to both protect yourself and eraticate any spyware, virus, malware or ransomware that may be making the situation with your PC even worse! Hopefully, you already have a full backup of your PC before the hack. But the first and best thing you can and should do, is disconnect it from the internet! If you need change passwords, do it from a different unaffected computer or tablet, even your smartphone. But by continuing to leave your PC connected to the internet, you are allowing the hacker to actively continue mining your affected PC for financial, medical, personal and other information! Worse, even with it disconnected from the internet but still powered on, any spyware or ransomware the hacker installed may continue to mine, propogate and thus spread! So your best bet is to turn your PC off and contact a professional to eraticate the problem. Of course there may be damage already done, such as possible loss of data and corruption to the operating system, but your goal is to minimize the damage so that your computer can be recovered to an operating status vs. having to reinstall the OS completely and lose everything. Here are some tips. For more information and to help you navigate this personal violation, contact TheGoToTechGuru!
Backing up your PC/Mac is the key to your sanity after a virus attack or hack. There's an old saying in Cyberspace: "The integrity of your data is only as good as your last backup!" There's nothing worse than to lose a year, 6 months or even a week's worth of work that you may not even be able to reconstruct! How about all those photos of your kids, anniversary or once-in-a-lifetime vacation? Fortunately, there are several options to back up your PC/Mac content online. It doesn't backup your operating system (eg. Windows or Mac OS), which you can more easily get, but these options will backup everything else if you so choose. Most of these services will automatically backup a file as soon as it's changed, such as a document, so you won't have to remember to do it manually. Of course, there's a nominal fee depending on the amount of backup storage you need, but it will be nothing compared to your sanity when you lose the precious photos and legal documents! Here is a review of several online backup services. For more information and to install these services, contact TheGoToTechGuru. If you prefer offline backups for more privacy, TheGoToTechGuru can provide a consultation on this option as well.
The latest USB connector, the USB Type-C, is emerging as the industry standard USB connector. It was developed by the USB Implementers Forum, the group of companies that has developed, certified, and shepherded the USB standard. It counts more than 700 companies in its membership, including Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung. Although it's currently most commonly found on the Apple Macbook, you'll soon start seeing this new connector on other computers and devices. The USB-C connector is much smaller than the standard USB connector you see on most devices today. This reduced size was necessitated by the shrinking size of laptops and other devices as well as the need to carry more power, data and faster transfer rates. For more information on the USB-C Connector, read here.
The internet speed your provider advertises you're getting actually depends on several factors such as: how many other people are sharing that connection, the number of "hops" between your router and the provider's server. So how do you tell the internet speed you're really getting? Read this article to find out how to determine your real speed .. it's easier than you think!
Cheap phones are cheap for a reason. With phones, you pretty much get what you pay for. The cost differences usually boil down to low vs. high end hardware such as the processor (CPU), camera quality and amount (capacity) + speed of memory. These will make the difference in life of the phone and quality of your experience (ie. frustration). In the end, you may wind up needing to buy a new phone sooner with a cheap model and possibly spending more by having to buy 2 phones in the same time period you could have just purchased a single good quality phone. Although this article talks a lot about Android phones, the message is the same for any cellphone brand. Read this article for the risks on buying a cheap cellphone.
Netflix recently opened an ability for you to download movies, allowing you to watch movies offline like on an airplane. This capability is only available on iOS and Android apps, so not on Windows or Mac OS as yet. It is also currently only offered on certain movies. For how to download movies on your iOS or Android device, click here!
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Blog AuthorI love technology and how it enhances our lives! Just think, without the Apollo moon missions, we might not have calculators! Imagine!! Archives
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