What the future holds…

Before I discuss today's topic, I want to update the status of TRRWiFi at our location. We live at 2704 on Jake Way, and I checked the connection on January 12 after almost a month of traveling. I first tried to connect with my 2012 MacBook Pro, and while I received a wifi signal, web pages would not load. I did, however, get a reasonably fast connection on our new Asus PC and on both of our iPads. We haven't yet attempted to connect with our media devices — an Apple TV and Samsung Smart TV. I think I know  what to do to get my Mac connected, and if I am correct I’ll cover it in next week’s column.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (know as CES) took place in Las Vegas during the first week of 2016. Since 1967, CES has been the world’s largest showcase of cutting edge technology products. While the word consumer appears in the show’s title, it is a trade show with the focus on industry insiders – retailers, software developers, advertisers, government officials and journalists. It is a forum and showcase for new and established technology companies to demonstrate innovations — and just maybe introduce “the next big thing.” I have been following media reports from CES, and below are overviews of several innovations that sound fascinating. 

Prototypes on display:

A wall mounted television set from Panasonic that turns transparent when not in use. Place it in front of a painting, and when the TV is turned off, the painting shows through. It is scheduled to be released sometime before 2020.

A drone with Real Sense camera technology from Intel that automatically attempts to avoid obstacles in its flight path, and adjusts to obstacles faster than a drone controlled by a human operator. It is available now to developers

Sckipio, an Israeli chipmaker, featured G-Fast, an alternative to broadband internet that offers speeds 50 times faster than cable. The company plans to introduce the service in the United States later this year. 

The Family Hub Refrigerator from Samsung is designed to serve as a digital command center of the home. A digital screen on the outside shows weather information, can play recipe videos and with the use of a smartphone, displays both notes and calendars. An onscreen app can be used to order groceries, and three camera on the inside take pictures of the refrigerator’s contents every time the door is closed, allowing you to see what is inside from your smartphone when you are grocery shopping. It will be available in the spring of 2016 for $5,000!

If you like the idea of the Family Hub Refrigerator, but don’t like the price, you might consider a Fridge Cam from Smarter. The device includes a camera with a fish-eye lens (extreme wide-angle) that snaps a photo each time the refrigerator door closes and relays the information to a smartphone app. It is expected to be available next summer for $130.

A few more practical technologies:

Introduced at CES 2015 were iPhone apps to control hearing aids made by ReSound and Starkey. This year’s app were introduced in conjunction with the Apple Watch. These apps can be used to adjust volume, balance, bass and treble, set personalized setting for various listening environments, find misplaced devices, and make adjustment in difficult environments such as wind or excessive background noise. It is available now.

Bowflex, the maker of fitness equipment, introduced SelectTech 560 Weights that contain an accelerometer to track the number of reps, total weight lifted and calories burned. It is available now for around $500.

CaddyTrek is a robot golf caddy that carries your golf clubs and allows golfers to get the health benefit of walking the course without having to carry their clubs. It is available now for about $1495.

Reliefband is a wearable device that treats vomiting and nausea. It is worn on the wrist and simulates the P-6 acupressure point with a mild electronic current to end nausea. It is available now for $89.

Quell, a wearable medical device manufactured by NeuroMetrix, promises an external source of pain relief. The ultra-thin unit attaches to the user’s calf and electrodes stimulate the wearer’s body to send neural pulses to the brain, triggering the release of endogenous opioids, the pain-relief response that blocks pain signals in the spine. The device has been approved by the FDA, and the manufacturer is hoping insurance companies will soon pick up the cost. The device goes for $250, with an additional $30 a month charge for replacement electrode strips.

As the above demonstrates, the future in technology is exciting for both the techie in some of us and the average tech user. It promises to enhance our leisure time, make work time more productive and help us monitor and relieve some of our medical worries. It is truly an exciting time to be alive. 

Knowing when it is time …

Last summer Eddie and I decided that he needed a new computer. His Dell Studio Laptop, with a seventeen inch screen, served him well, but its time was coming to an end. It wasn't an easy decision to make, and there were many variables involved.

When Eddie purchased his computer in 2009, it was state of the art with a fast, Intel Core Duo processor and 4 GB (gigabytes) of RAM — more than enough processing power for the financial applications he uses. But over the years, as the applications were upgraded and new features added, more and more processing power was required. We added another 4 GB of RAM, and that seemed to help for a while, but during the past year, work on the computer seemed to slow to a crawl. 

Adding to the computer’s difficulties were some mechanical problems, that can be expected as a device ages, but still annoying. Several of the number keys stopped working, as well as the period on the main keyboard. 

You might ask what was holding us back from buying a new computer? First, it seemed there was always an ongoing project that needed to be completed before making a change. Then there was the anticipation of all the work involved in setting up a new computer. Eddie has invested a great deal of time and effort setting up his computer and applications, and transferring all of it to a new computer might be very labor intensive, not to mention the worry that something might go wrong. 

We knew exactly what we wanted — a laptop with a 17 inch screen, fast processor running Windows 10, 8 GB of memory, and a solid state hard drive*. When we began researching laptops, we found that 17” screens were hard to come by, and generally cost considerably more than laptops with 15” screens. It would also be difficult to find one that included a SSD as the startup drive.

Two years ago, when we wanted to install additional memory in the Dell PC, we took the laptop to Computers Etc. in Dade City. It is a small operation located in the Business Center at 15000 Citrus Country Drive, just off U.S. Highway 301. Since they also sell computers, we decided to pay them a visit when we came south this fall. We told them what we were looking for, and they were able to customize a computer, with all of our required specifications, at an excellent price.

The ASUS X•Series laptop we purchased came with two, 1 terabyte (TB) hard disk drives, one of which was removed and replaced with a 256 GB SSD (the second 1 TB drive was placed in an external case for use as a backup drive). As an added bonus, and included in the price, the technicians at Computers Etc transferred all of the applications and files to the new laptop. Needless to say, Eddie is extremely happy with his new computer.

There are two parts to the moral of this story. First, there comes a time in the life of every computer, when it has to be put out to “pasture”. When it comes to technology, it seems that most of us want to hold on to what we know, but sometimes we have to let go and move on. If your computer is five or more years old, it is time to seriously consider a new machine. Second, it is often cost and time efficient to find a professional that can make the transition from the old to the new painless. Private firms like we used, or chain operations like Best Buy’s Geek Squad, will preform the setup, data transfer, and give instructions on using a new computer — well worth the extra investment. 

*A solid-state drive, or SSD, uses flash memory — similar to the memory storage on a USB thumb drive, only much faster. SSD drives boot within seconds, and because there are no moving parts they have a longer life expectancy. An SSD take up less room than traditional hard disk drives (HDD), but they cost considerably more.

Keeping track of where you've been …

Happy New Year! It's 2016 and the beginning of another year of adventures.

If you are anything like me, you used your phone to take a large number of photos in 2015, and often it is difficult to remember just when and where the photos were taken. Lucky for me, the iPhone embeds time and location in every photo - as long as you have location services turned on for the Camera app. The question is how to retrieve that information. 

The IPhone and iPad Photo app includes features that let you know the time and location of every picture on your device. When viewing photos in Albums, the date, time and location are displayed at the top of the screen above each individual image. For an overview of all your photographs, select Photos from the menu at the bottom of the screen and you have the option of viewing photos as Moments, Collections or Years. 

Moments sort photos by time, day and place. Images are sorted and can be viewed by the day and location they were taken and for today's photos by the hour. Each Moment includes a thumbnail of all the images. (Insert moments photo here) Collections sort images for multiple days or for a week, depending on how many photos are included. The Collection previews images with small thumbnails and the label gives the location(s) and range of dates (insert collections image here). The last way to view the photos is by Years, with tiny thumbnails of all the photos and a general location (insert years photo here).

Photos can also be viewed on a map. Whether you are in Moments, Collections or Years, tap the location name at the top of the screen to see thumbnails of the photos placed on a map. (Insert map image here)

The time, date and location of a photograph, as well as other information, are embedded in what is called the metadata file. Metadata is not visible, but can be read and displayed by apps, such as Photos, and some other third party apps. I recently discovered InstaPlace, an app that can read a photo's date and location and display it directly on the photo, which is ideal for sharing photos as text messages and on Facebook. Another app, PicIt!, displays all the photos on your device on a map, by state, date, and time. 

I hope I have inspired some of you to take stock of your photo library and take time to remember when and where you have your adventures.

Note — I had planned to include information about viewing date and time metadata on Android apps, but I thus far I haven't had success with my research. If anyone has answers, please email me at onmouseclick@digitalquinn.com.

Social Media & the Baby Boomer Generation …

Just before I finished writing today’s column, I wished a happy birthday to an old friend and also to a former student. I would never have known it was their birthday, or anything about them, if it were not for Facebook. Social media, of which Facebook is most prominent, has changed most of our lives, in both good and bad ways.

In the early 2000s when social media was in its infancy, I was still teaching, and students were talking about something called Friendster and MySpace. I wasn't sure what they were, but I knew students were using them to connect with each other online. In 2004 college students at Harvard University developed Facebook with the purpose of giving students at the college a centralized website to connect with each other. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, expanding to colleges in the Boston area and other Ivy League schools later. Over the next few years Facebook expanded to include colleges and universities all over the country, and in 2006 it became available to everyone over the age of 12 with a valid email address.

At the time I viewed social media as something for the younger generation. It wasn't until my first grandchild was born in 2009 that I saw a need to join myself. Our son was stationed in Japan, and Facebook brought the family closer together with daily photos and updates on baby Brianna's progress.

Fast forward six years and I cannot imagine life without Facebook. Our granddaughters now live in Hawaii, and the first thing I do every morning is to see if our daughter-in-law has posted any photos while we were sleeping. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with several long-lost friends from high school, and I enjoy following my New York friends during our months in Florida. Facebook is for interest groups as well as individuals, and I belong to several such groups, including a group for our neighborhood in New York; a group of Florida owners of Leisure Travel RVs; my high school alumni and my high school graduating class groups; and of course TR Residents & Friends.   

I know many TR Times readers are members of the TR Residents & Friends Facebook Group, which was mentioned at the December Residents Forum. There was concern expressed that some members of the group posted derogatory remarks about others. Some negativity is to be expected on a public forum, and I think that is the price we pay for making it so easy to connect with so many people. While I firmly agree that no one should make personal attacks online, a Facebook group is an ideal place to express opinions and start discussions. We live in a hyper-partisan world, and honest discussion and compromise is hard to come by. It is my hope that the TR Residents & Friends can evolve into a forum for honest and intelligent discussions; a place where we can find out what is going on in the resort and maybe even share ideas on how we can make this place we love even better!

Disclosure — I joined the TR Residents & Friends Facebook Group after it was mentioned at the Resident’s Forum and searching back as far as possible, I did not come across the comments referred to at the forum. I can only guess they have been removed.

There’s an app for that — or maybe not …

Today we use computers, tablets and mobile phones to manage most of what we do everyday — sometimes making the task easier, but sometimes adding complications. 

I love the ease of Christmas shopping with the Amazon shopping app. I place an order, receive a tracking number and use the iPhone app Delivered!  to track the package with realtime updates ( a similar Android app is Deliveries). When we plan to travel, I can stop and resume the delivery of our newspapers and magazines by simply visiting the papers’ websites and making the changes.

In New York we subscribe to a Verizon FiOS triple-play bundle for cable, internet and telephone service. With Verizon’s Fios Mobile app, we are able to control our DVR from anywhere — although you still cannot watch the saved programs remotely (bummer!). You can also use the app, or the Fios website, to make changes to your TV channel lineup. However this fall we encountered problems when we wanted to put our Fios service on vacation hold for the winter. 

The website states that you can institute a vacation hold online, but when I tried, I received a warning that putting our service on hold would turn off everything, including the telephone line which is hooked up to our home security system. We recently switched to Verizon from another carrier, and we specifically asked if we would be able to retain our landline service if we used the vacation hold option. We were told yes, but not the complete story.

After seeing the online notice that the telephone would be turned off, I knew I needed to make human contact. However that is not so easy in 2015. For some website the only method of contact is email, while others offer live chat support. I have tried live chat on occasion, with mixed results. For this issue with Fios, I felt I needed to talk to a live person.

The first call I placed was answered by someone who sounded like they were in a call center on the other side of the world. Not being satisfied with her help, I politely requested to speak with a supervisor. After being put on hold for about five minutes, I was informed that the supervisor was on another line and did I want to wait. I said yes, waited some more, and then was told that the supervisor would have to call me back. Needless to say, I never received a return call.

Next time I called I considered myself lucky to speak with Mark, who was obviously somewhere in the United States. He was able to explain the issues clearly, and place our triple play package on a vacation hold while retaining a minimal telephone service. Unfortunately we had been mislead when we initially agreed to a contract with Fios. Now in order to retain the landline telephone, our triple-play services will be unbundled, and we lose our guaranteed two-year pricing. When we are ready to turn the service back on next spring we have to renegotiate a price package for the triple-play services. 

The first moral of my story is that sometimes you need more contact than is available on an app or website, and if the first person you speak with sounds like they are on the other side of the world, say goodbye, hang up and call back later. With luck you will eventually talk to someone in the U.S. The second moral is to get everything in writing from the very beginning. Too many sales people will tell you exactly what you want to hear with nothing in writing. You would think I would have learned that by now but as we know, life is a learning experience, and trying not to repeat mistakes is the goal. We did ask all the right questions when we contracted for the Fios service, and the salesman even called his supervisor to check on a few things, but we did not have the answers in writing. And so ends my tale of woe. A contract in writing is king while a verbal promise can easily evaporate into thin air. On a local basis a verbal agreement might work but when dealing with a big entity, the only enforceable agreement is in writing.

If you have a suggested topic for an OnMouseClick column, please  email it to onmouseclick@digitalquinn.com. (Please note in an earlier column the email address was incorrect.)

Bonus Tip — Did you know you can also type a tracking number from UPS, FedEx, and the US Post Office into the Google search window for package tracking? It doesn’t get much simpler then that.

Dear Santa …

Thanksgiving 2015 is past, and we are now officially in the Holiday Season, With that in mind I am offering a Five Item Technology Gift Guide to help with your holiday shopping.

1. Portable Cellphone Charger — With heavy use it is easy to drain the battery on a cellphone and having a portable charger can be a lifesaver. Most chargers are no larger than a pack of cards — some are much smaller — and they connect to the phone with a cable or by plugging directly into the phone’s charging port. Some units are device specific, while others are universal and work with multiple devices. Chargers range in price from $20 to $100. Lower priced chargers can supply enough power to charge a cellphone one time, while higher priced units can charge both cellphones and tablets, often at the same time. The unit I use is a $59 Phonesuit Flex XT Pocket Charger (www.phonesuit.com), which plugs directly into the lightening port of my iPhone 6, allowing me to use the phone while it is being charged.
2. Wall Mount Power Outlet Surge Protector with USB Charging Ports — Plug one of these outlets into a standard wall outlet and  plug USB cords directly into the USB ports. Units come with two or four charging ports and cost from $20 to $40. For anyone who needs to charge a tablet, be sure to buy a unit that supplies 2.1 AMPS. Cellphones require only 1 AMP of power.
3. Portable USB Wall Charger — For anyone who travels with multiple devices, (my husband and I have four devices between us), a wall charger that can accommodate two or more cables saves having to pack a charger plug for each device. I recently purchased tow Anker PowerPort 2 Chargers (www.ianker.com, each of which can handle both a cellphone and tablet, or two tablets, and is priced at around $12.
4. Fitness Trackers — Give a gift that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Fitness Trackers are wristbands that track steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes and sleep patterns. Paired with a cellphone app, a wearer can keep a record of these activities on a daily basis. The most popular bands are Fitbits (www.fitbit.com), ranging in price from $59.95 to $249.95. The least expensive count steps and calories while the higher end models also monitor heart rate and act as GPS trackers.
5. Action Camcorders — For the athletes in your life who wants to record every detail of bicycling, motorcycle riding, sky diving or rock climbing in realtime, these small cameras are designed to be mounted on chests, handlebars and helmets. The most well known brand of action camcorders are made by GoPro(go pro.com), which are priced from $300 to $500 and come with a variety of mounts. 

Until next week, happy shopping.

High Hopes …

Welcome back to Travelers Rest and another season of OnMouseClick technology columns. This season begins with a topic that I expect is on the minds of many TR residents — the new TRWIFI.

As most of you know, last spring the Board made a pledge to replace the existing wifi system. They entered into a contract with Bright House Networks that promised to meet all the wifi needs of Travelers Rest residents and visitors — even streaming. Over the summer, manager Rick Lindquist kept residents up-to-date on the progress of the installation through the Summer Updates, and in the October Summer Update, he anticipated the service would be both operational and useable by October 31.

We arrived at our house in the Village on November 9, and with high hopes we attempted to log on to TRRWIFI. Initially it did not show up on any of our devices (a PC laptop, a MacBook Pro, two iPads and two iPhones). It finally appeared on my iPad and worked for about ten minutes, when it again disappeared. We learned from our neighbor that the signal was not strong enough for most of the Village homes, and that Bright House was continuing to work on a fix. As a consistent internet connection is a requirement and not a luxury for Eddie and I, we thus called Centurylink and turned on our DSL line.

As I began writing this article on Tuesday, November 17, I again tried the TRRWIFI network at our house. My iPad picked it up flawlessly. I walked around the entire house, inside and out, while streaming a video. However, neither of our laptop computers were able to use the network. Both were able to sign on to TRRWIFI, but neither could download webpages, raising questions that will take some research to answer.

I was curious about the speed of the network connection on my iPad, and I used a program SPEEDTEST to preform this test. Network transmissions are measured in megabits per second (a megabit is 1 million bits, the smallest unit of information), or Mbps. An average of three tests showed the TRRWIFI download speed at 6.88 Mbps which is only slightly lower than the average DSL download speeds of 9 Mbps. The next day I again connected the TRRWIFI to my iPad, and the download speed was significantly slower — less than 3 Mbps. I do not know if the rest of the park is having similar problems, but in the Village we can safely say that as of November 18 the Bright House network is not ready for prime time. I will continue to monitor the network, and OnMouseClick will continue to feature updates on the status of TRRWIF over the next few months. If any of the TR Times readers would like to share their experience with the new TRRWIFI, good or bad, please send me an email at onmouseclick@digitalquinn.com.

On a related topic, a concern I had about the new Bright House Network was its security. It is true that it is not an open network, and you need an access code to sign on, but there was still a concern about using a shared network for online banking and shopping. Over the summer I queried Rick Lindquist about this, and he in turn spoke with the engineers at Bright House. In simple terms, the answer was that the system is configured in such a way that each user’s session is unique, and transmitted data cannot be view by anyone else on the network. This put to rest my concerns about security, and I still have high hopes that this network will begin work for all our needs over the coming months.

Until Next Fall …

At the TR Annual General Meeting on March 10 we learned that by next fall the current park-wide WiFi system will be replaced by a fiber optics WiFi system provided by Bright House Networks Business Solutions. The new system promises high speed internet access that will allow residents to download streaming media. In the first OnMouseClick of the season I wrote that with the loss of a dedicated cable TV service at TR, residents can use either a smart TV or a digital media player connected to a TV, to access streaming services such a Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. The one caution mentioned in the column was that streaming media requires a high-speed connection, which at TR meant subscribing to Centurylink DSL service. If all goes as promised, Eddie and I look forward to canceling our DSL service, and next fall I will write a column or two to help OnMouseClick readers make the most of the Brighthouse WiFi.

More recently I wrote about smartphone photography, and how the photographic quality of smartphone cameras is equal to the quality of point and shoot cameras. I have personally been using the camera in my iPhone 6 more than my point and shoot camera, and I even ordered a telephoto lens attachment to enhance my iPhone photography. I promised to report on how my review of the lens before the end of the season, and I can honestly report that I love it. In fact I liked it so much that I also ordered a second wide angle lens from the same company.

I settled on lenses that can only be ordered online from Moment (momentlens.com), a new company located in Seattle, Washington. The first lens I ordered was the 2x telephoto. The built-in iPhone 6 lens has a focal length of 29mm, and the Moment telephoto boosts the focal length to 60mm, which produces an image slightly bigger than seen by the native eye. The company also makes a wide angle lens, with a focal point of 18mm, which provides a wider viewpoint than the native 29mm lens. Each lens costs $99, featuring high quality glass optics that produce true, distortion-free images. Moment lenses are available for the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 4, 4s and iPad Air 2.

Before ordering my lenses I did extensive research, and learned that there are two classes of lenses available for use with smartphones — inexpensive lenses made with plastic components and higher priced lenses incorporating glass optics. I focused my research on the better quality lenses, taking into consideration both image quality and ease of lens attachment. I seriously considered lens systems by three manufactures — ExoLens, Izzi Gadget Remix and Moment Lenses. An in-depth overview each of these lenses appears in last week’s online version of OnMouseClick.

I was standing in the same place for all three photos. Left is taken with the Moment wide-angle lens, center with the native iPhone camera lens, and right is taken with the Moment telephoto lens.

The computing devices we use continue to evolve, and new innovations are being introduced on a regular basis. Next season OnMouseClick will continue to monitor trends in technology, and to provide helpful advice on using our computing devices.

An unrelated topic, we recently encountered a problem with Eddie’s laptop PC, and we took it to Computers Etc. in Dade City. We have used their services several times and found them to be knowledgable, competent and trustworthy. If you are in need of computer repair services, we highly recommend you do a Google search for Computers Etc. — you won’t be sorry. 

I am posting my iPhone photography at www.digitalquinn.com/photoblog. Have a wonderful summer and see you all next fall.

iPhone Photo Tips and Techniques …

For many years DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras have produced high quality images, and recently the quality gap between DSLRs and smartphone cameras has narrowed. Cameras on some smartphones, most notably the iPhone 6, are on par with the quality of point and shoot cameras, but regardless of the camera equipment used, the most important factor in producing good photographs is the person behind the lens. The following seven tips and techniques may help you take better photos using the iPhone Camera app, but may also be applied to other apps and smartphones.  

1. Composition: To help create a well composed image, most camera apps feature grid lines that can be turned on or off. When turned on, two vertical and two horizontal lines appear on screen, dividing the screen into nine equal sections. Placing the primary subject along one of the lines, or at the intersection of two lines, results in a balanced and interesting shot. Use of the grid adheres to a fundamental principle of photographic composition, known as the Rule of Thirds (for a full explanation of the Rule of Thirds visit digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds). The grid lines can also help in positioning your image with relation to the horizon. The grid lines on the iPhone, which do not appear on the photograph, can be turned on and off in the Photos & Camera section of Settings. 
2. Light: It is said that photography is painting with light, and the best photographers use light to their advantage. Expose an image with too much light and it will be overexposed and look washed out; too little light and it will be underexposed and dark. An advantage of using a point and shoot camera over a smartphone camera is the ability to manually adjust exposure. Controlling exposure on a smartphone is limited, but still possible. On the iPhone, tapping an area on the screen will set the camera’s auto-focus and auto-exposure. Where you tap determines the focal point of the image; a yellow square appears around the focal point and a tiny sun icon appears to the right of the square — use your finger to move it up to make the image lighter or down to make it darker. Holding the spot on the screen for a few seconds will lock in the focal point and exposure, a handy feature if you plan to recompose the image.
3. Telephoto and Zoom: An additional advantage to a point and shoot camera is a built-in optical zoom lens. Controlling an optical zoom lens changes the focal point from wide angle (providing a wide viewing area) to telephoto (narrowing the viewing area and  bringing far away objects closer). The fixed focal length of the iPhone camera lens cannot be changed, but it does have the ability to apply a digital zoom, controlled by placing two fingers on the screen and pulling them apart. With a digital zoom, the image is cropped and the remaining portions of the image are made larger, resulting in some loss of image quality. It is possible to add third-party optical wide-angle and telephoto lenses to the iPhone, and an overview of lens options, and their pros and cons, are covered at the end of this column.
4. Using Flash: An iPhone flash only illuminates subjects up to six feet away, beyond which a flash is useless. A flash can also add red-eye and glare to an image, and thus should be used judiciously. The Camera app allows the user to turn the flash on, off, or set it to auto, applying the flash in all low light situations.
5. HDR: Activating HDR (High Dynamic Range) adds subtle improvements to the exposure and contrast of an image and can be used to produce richer outdoor images and low-light photos without a flash. With HDR selected, the iPhone takes three separate photos, each at a different exposure, and blends them into a single image. As with the flash, there are three states — on, off and auto. If you are hesitant about when to use HDR, leave it in auto mode. By default the iPhone saves both the HDR and the normally exposed photo, a feature that can be turned off in the Photo & Camera section of Settings.
6. Burst Mode: Burst mode is activated by continuously holding down the iPhone shutter button, capturing ten frames per second. To view photos taken in burst mode, click Select to scroll through all the images, choosing to save the one you like best (the iPhone suggests the best image with a small gray dot). Burst mode is especially useful in photographing moving objects — taking multiple photos in rapid succession improves the chances of getting an image without blur.
7. Shutter Button: The final tip is one that may make using the iPhone camera a bit easier. The iPhone shutter button is actually a virtual button represented by a large white circle on the screen. If using the virtual button feels awkward, you have the choice of either pressing the volume rocker button on the side of the phone, or attaching earbuds to the phone and clicking the volume control. All three methods achieve the same results, hopefully good quality photos.

Comparison of smartphone attachment lenses I researched. According to the manufacturers websites, they are all made with high quality glass, optics.:

• ExoLens — The ExoLenses, 3x telephoto and wide-angle, were developed specifically to work with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+. The lenses attach to a bracket which fits the phone. The reviews are pretty good, but most say there is some softness around the edges images. $130
• PROs — Made specifically for the iPhone; comes with tripod mount and lens caps; bracket is very sturdy, 3x telephoto instead of the standard 2x.
• CONs — Cannot use a case with the bracket; works better with tripod then handheld, some distortion and focus issues.
• iZZIGadget Remix 5-in-1 — The iZZiGadget is a lens system on a rotating spindle mounted on a case. There are actually four lenses, 2x telephoto, wide-angle, fisheye, and macro, as well as a polarizing lens. $130
• PROs — Lens rotate and all lenses are always available; case protects phone; case includes a tripod mount.
• CONs — Case cannot be used without lenses; Cannot use the native iPhone lens; distortion and focus issues.
• MomentLens Company — The moment lenses are the most expensive, with each lens costing $99. The lenses attach to a bayonet type mount on a plate that attaches to the phone. In June Moment is introducing a case that can replace the plate, and offers many other features. 
• PROs — Very sharp images, standard cases fit over the lens plate and can be used with the lenses, easy on / easy off.
• CONs — No lens caps (supposed to be available this summer; most expensive option.

Only one more issue of the TR Times for this season. Until next week, practice your iPhoneography.

Photography or iPhoneography

Is your primary camera your smartphone? Do you have another camera, but use the phone camera most of the time?  If you answer yes to either of these questions, you are not alone. An entire culture has evolved around smartphone photography, and while all smartphones include cameras, the popularity of the iPhone has coined a new word — iPhoneography.

Photographers are often asked what is the best camera to use? One answer is that the camera you have with you is the best, because you can use it for the spur of the moment photo opportunity. The next question asked is if photos taken with a smartphone are as good as photos taken with a good point and shoot camera? While the question is open to debate, it is evident that smartphone cameras have been improving with every upgrade cycle, and the phone cameras on the market today rival the photographic quality of many point and shoot cameras. This winter I upgraded to an iPhone 6, with its enhanced camera options, and I find that it has become my camera of choice when I am not using my much larger DSLR (digital single lens reflex) Nikon. A good photo relies as much, if not more, on the photographer than the equipment and thus with a bit of work and understanding, excellent results can be accomplished from a smartphone camera. 

A major differences between a traditional point and shoot camera and a smartphone camera is that the point and shoot does only one thing — take pictures. Other differences include the type of zoom lens (optical vs digital) and the option of using manual control, which will be covered in more detail next week. A smartphone is multifaceted, and to preform each function, a specialized software application, or app, must be installed. All smartphones come with a native camera app preinstalled by the manufacturer, and there are hundreds of third-party apps available for download. While other apps may offer more features, I prefer the simple to use iPhone Camera app which can be quickly accessed from the iPhone lock screen. To use it press the Home Button to turn on the screen and swipe up on the tiny camera icon that appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Understanding the controls on your camera app is the first step to obtain good photos, and it is a good idea to read an app’s online documentation and learn, from the developer, how to use its features. The iPhone camera app is very straight forward and anyone can pick up the phone and begin snapping photos, but for better photos a little knowledge goes a long way. What follows is an overview some of the features of the most current version of the iPhone Camera app. Next week OnMouseClick will cover how to use these features to take better photos.

With the iPhone Camera app you can easily select the focal point and adjust the brightness of an image. In addition to taking standard format photos, the iPhone Camera app can take square format and pano (panoramic) photos. Square aspect is just as it sounds, the borders of the resulting photo will be square instead of rectangular. A panoramic photographic is a unique feature that offers a much wider view than normal, usually by taking multiple, overlapping photos and stitching them together using additional software. With the iPhone you focus on what will be the left side of the image and slowly move the phone to the right until you come to the end of the desired image. The iPhone does the rest, instantly stitching the entire scene into one, long photo.

The iPhone Camera app also features three video modes — standard video captured at 60-frames per-second, time-lapse video captured at 2-frames per-second and slo-mo (slow-motion) video captured at 240 or 120-frames per-second. 

The Camera app also features a flash that can be set to auto, on, or off; a timer, a rear facing camera for self-portraits, better known as selfies, and an HDR feature. The HDR feature is probably the most misunderstood, yet used outdoors it produces a much richer images. HDR stand for high dynamic range and the iPhone version of HDR adds subtle improvements to the exposure and contrast of an image.

Another relatively new feature is burst mode. Hold down the screen shutter button and the camera takes continuous photos, at 10-frames per-second, until you remove your finger. When previewing the burst mode images, you can then choose to save all of them or only the best ones. This feature works especially well when trying to capture a moving object.

Check back next week for a look at tricks for taking outstanding pictures with the iPhone Camera app. If you want to check out some of my iPhoneography, visit my photoblog, Linda’s Lens,  at www.digitalquinn.com/photoblog

Digital Photography — A Passion … part II

Over the past ten years I have taken many more photographs than I can comfortably count. Keeping track of them is a huge job, and keeping track of the ones I want to have access to is even more difficult. I have solved the dilemma of cataloging my photos with the use Adobe Lightroom. The application, which works on both Mac and Windows computers, was designed for use by photographers, and is an amazing tool. In addition to creating a catalog of all imported photographs, the application is closest thing to a true digital darkroom I have used.

Many of you who are Mac users may use iPhoto to catalog and edit your photographs. I have never been happy with the way iPhoto catalogs photos, but it has been the application of choice for a majority of Mac users. I say has been, because it is being phased out, soon to be replaced by Photos for OS X, an application that will function like the iOS Photos app on iPhones and iPads. Mac users can continue to use iPhoto, but as it will no longer be supported, this might be the time to find a better alternative, and if you are serious about your photography, there is no better alternative than Adobe Lightroom. To aid in transition, Adobe has in incorporated features into Lightroom that make it easy to transition from iPhoto and Aperture, Apple’s more advanced photo application (also no longer supported).

Using Lightroom to catalog photos is very straight forward. Every time a photo is imported into the application it is placed in a library. The library can be subdivided into folders and subfolders, and the photos can be stored on multiple disk drives. What makes Lightoom standout is that every photo that has been imported appears in the library catalog, no matter where the actual photograph is stored. If the photo is stored on a disk that is not connected to the computer, an exclamation mark will appear next to the photo, and the name of the drive housing the photo will appear in a side panel. My main Lightroom library holds over 22,000 photographs and works seamlessly.

In addition to storing my photo library, Lightroom is my go-to application for photo editing. With the program I am able to adjust light balance, lighting, and lens correction, as well as preform a myriad of other editing options. I still use Adobe Photoshop for complex editing functions, and for many of you Adobe Photoshop Elements is an excellent alternative, but since I started using Lightroom I find less need to use Photoshop.

Within the past year Adobe has been adding functionality to its mobile applications for both iOS and Android devices, among them a mobile version of Lightroom. Using both the desktop and mobile version of the program I am able to transfer photos between devices over WiFi, edit photos on my iPad, and take selected photos with me wherever I go. 

Lightroom lists for $150 and can be purchased for under $135 from Amazon. It is also available as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan. For a subscription of $9.99 a month, or $119.88 a year, subscribers receive full version downloads of both Lightroom and Photoshop. Upgrades are rolled out to subscribers several times a year, and while Lightroom can also be purchased as a stand-alone application, upgrades are not included. Adobe Photoshop Elements is also still available as a stand-along application, but  Photoshop is can only be purchased through a subscription.

If you are interested in learning more about using Lightroom, there is a plethora of learning material available on the web. Adobe features a full range of tutorials, as do a number of high-quality third party websites.

Adobe tutorials: helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/tutorials.html, tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-5/

A free getting started in Lightroom guide - lightroom-blog.com/2015/01/03/the-free-start-guide-to-lightroom/

Excellent daily Lightoom tips: lightroomkillertips.com

Information about the new Photos for iOS: www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7982735/apple-new-iphoto-announced-photos-app-for-mac.

Digital Photography — Managing a Passion, Part I …

I developed a passion for photography in college and my first job after graduating was in the photo department of a trade magazine in New York City. While I loved taking pictures, I was not a fan of working with darkroom chemicals, and after I began my teaching career, I drifted away from serious photography and concentrated on family and vacation photos. All that changed for me with the arrival of digital cameras in the 1990’s. By today’s standards the first commercially available digital cameras produced crude images, but I saw the process as nothing short of magical, and I was hooked. In 2015 darkrooms and chemical developing is a thing of the past, and photos taken with cellphone cameras can produce better images than photos taken with a $20,000 digital camera in the early 1990s.

Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes, but by far the most popular are cellphone cameras, which are with us everywhere we go. Having easy access to a camera can mean taking lots of pictures, and the question then arises — what do we do with all of these photos? Many of us keep the photos on our phones, until one day the phone sends a message that it is running out of storage space. Then what?

During our recent visit to our grandchildren in Hawaii, both Eddie and I found ourselves constantly taking pictures with our iPhone cameras. I wasn’t worried about taking too many photos, because my new iPhone 6 has 64 GB (gigabytes) of memory, but Eddie’s iPhone 5c has only16 GB, and before we flew back to Florida, he started receiving  Memory Low messages.

When that happens, it is time to download some photos to your computer. With both an iPhone and Android phone you are probably saving many of your photos to the Cloud, but it is always a good idea to save them to your computer as well. On both the Mac and PC, if you connect your phone to the computer with a USB cable, photos can be imported directly to the computer using several different methods. If you use a Mac, one of these methods is to use the native application, Capture, that recognizes a cellphone as an external drive and allows the import of all or selected images. Windows computers also recognize cellphones as external drives and will let you import photos directly into the Photo Gallery. On both platforms you can also import photos using the iTunes application. If you need help in transferring photos to your computer, perform a Google search on how to transfer photos from iPhone (or Android) to Mac (or Windows). There are numerous website that will take you through the process step-by-step.

In most cases, even though your photos have been transferred to a computer, they still exist on your phone and your  next task is to delete unwanted photos. If you want to delete all your photos, or a large group of photos, this is a relatively easy task, but it you want to pick and choose, the only option is to look at each photo and trash them one at a time. 

For directions on deleting large groups of photos on an iPhone, visit www.iphonehacks.com/2014/07/bulk-delete-photos-ios.html. Since I am not well versed with an Android phone, I recommend doing this web search — delete multiple photos android phones.

Next week’s column will cover my preferred method of managing all my photos once they are transferred from my camera, or iPhone, to my computer.

New Technology All Around and Figuring it all out …

I am writing this week's OnMouseClick sitting in the middle seat of a Southwest airplane bound for Orlando on the last leg of our trip back from Hawaii. I decided to begin writing after watching about an hour of mindless television on my iPad. Southwest planes does not offer individual viewing screens. Instead, they require passengers to use their personal devices — smartphones, tablets or laptops — to connect to a WiFi network offering realtime TV, music, movies and Internet access. Movies and Internet access require payment, while TV and music are complimentary. 

Over the past decade, travel by air has become extremely uncomfortable. Seats have been made smaller, legroom has shrunk, the number of bathrooms have decreased and the remaining ones are much smaller, and extra fees are charged for just about everything. What has improved is the entertainment options, thanks to advances in electronics and technology. 

While air travel has become a less than pleasurable experience, technology has made traveling by automobile more pleasurable. Cars today are as much computers as they are engines, and the computers work tirelessly to make us safer and more comfortable. We recently purchased a new Honda Odyssey, and were amazed by some of the computerized features of the vehicle, a few of which I have mentioned in previous articles.

If you have recently purchased a new car, you may have found the vehicle owners manual a bit overwhelming. Our Odyssey includes a 561 page owners manual, as well as a separate 324 page manual about the navigation system. Some of the vehicle features are controlled with nothing more than an on and off switch, while others are more complex and cannot be adequately used without extensive review of the manuals. The heated seats are operated with an high-low button, but working the touch controlled audio, information and navigation systems require a thorough reading of the manuals.

Our Odyssey features a large, high definition monitor located in the middle of the dashboard. When the transmission is set to reverse, the monitor shows a view from a backup camera, a feature which has become standard on many new automobiles. In addition, there is a passenger-side camera which provides a blindspot view of the right side of the vehicle when the right blinker is switched on. During our initial test drive we thought this might prove distracting, but since owning the car we have found the camera view is superior to using the right side-view mirror. The same monitor is also used for the built-in GPS navigation system.

We no longer need a key to start the car, we need only to touch a button. To lock and unlock the door we touch the door handle, and in order for either of these features to work, we need to have a remote control fob on our person. I don’t know how many times I have closed the car door with the feeling that I missing my key, only to realize that the car does not need a key.

Safety features, in addition to the backup and blind-side cameras, include lane-deviation and front collision warning signals. While these features are welcome additions to the driving experience, some manufactures have gone a step further and added automatic front collision avoidance breaking to their vehicles. Google is working on a self-driving car, and after driving our Odyssey for the past few months, I think it is highly probable that we will see such cars on our highways in the very near future. 

Now all we need at TR are self-driving golf carts.

Finding the Best Deal …

In December, while traveling north for the holidays, I wrote about using TripAdvisor to help find hotels along our route. TripAdvisor is only one of what has become a very crowded field of travel websites and apps that search for hotel room rates and offer bookings. Other services in the category include Expedia, hotels.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Trivago, Booking.com, bookit.com

Computers, computers everywhere…

Eddie and I are in Hawaii visiting our son's family, and we are having the best time with Julianna and Brianna, our four and five year old granddaughters. Being with them, I cannot help but think what life is going to be like when they are grownup. With the pace of innovation and development in the field of technology, major changes in how we do just about everything is inevitable.

Our granddaughters are bright, happy little girls, who love to play outside riding their bikes and scooters, read, draw, play pretend, and cuddle on the coach while watching a movie – preferably one featuring fairies or princesses. But their world also revolves around technology, which is fully integrated into their lives in a way quite dissimilar from previous generations.

Little children today take technology for granted, and cannot imagine life without the tools that some of our generation have trouble understanding. Smartphones and tablets devices are a part of their lives. Our girls have known how to use a smartphone since they were toddlers, and it amazing how intuitive it is for them. While our generation gets annoyed at needing to enter pass codes and passwords repeatedly, the little ones take it for granted. They assume that you need a code to do things, that is just the way it is.

For Christmas Santa brought Julie a cash register, but it is a little different than the toy cash register I remember as a child. Julie's cash register includes a conveyor belt, scanner and even a credit card reader – for a toy credit card, of course. They love getting behind the "counter" and checking out the play food. They use an iPad tablet to watch movies, play games, and learn with educational apps – and it isn't too much of a leap to think that they are going to be using these devices to control their environment in the very near future.

The technology already exists for the average person to have a what is known as a smart home. With installed electronics and a smartphone app, you can control the thermostat, home entertainment systems, and even lightbulbs. Several manufactures have introduced LED lighting systems that can be programmed to turn on and off, change color, and be remotely controlled. Are you arriving home after dark and realize that you forgot to leave a light on? No problem if you can turn lights on with an app before you get home.

There is a lot of talk about cars that drive themselves, and in December Google unveiled a fully functional prototype. While it will be a few years before such cars are available to the public, I expect that these cars will be the norm when Brianna and Julianna are old enough to drive. Already we have cars that warn the driver when a car in front is too close, and some cars will brake automatically in dangerous situations. We have begun to take backup cameras on cars for granted, and our new Honda Odyssey  has a right-side blindspot camera that is synchronized to come on with the right blinker.
The pace of technology can be a bit overwhelming, but watching our granddaughters I know that the generation starting school today is going to be more than ready for what the future holds.

As final note, an update on an earlier column that I wrote about Hulu Plus and Netflix as alternatives to cable TV. At the time I had not used Hulu Plus, but our family in Hawaii has a subscription and I've seen it in action this past week. Hulu Plus features prime-time television shows one day after they are first aired, with advertisements. However, the ads are limited to three during any one program, and they are extremely short in duration. It is definitely worth researching for anyone who wants to keep up with the current season of television offerings while at Travelers Rest – as long as you have a relatively fast WiFi network in your home or RV.

Aloha.

It's the Little Things That Matter …

Last week I wrote about a medical record keeping application that has made my life easier. With the surge of interest in all things iOS at Travelers Rest, I thought many of you would be interested in another app I have come to rely upon, TinyScan. It is one of a number of apps that act as handheld scanners, and I have found it indispensable. Over the past few years I have downloaded numerous scanner app, but TinyScan best meets my needs. The app, which I use on my iPhone, also comes in a version for Android.

Scanner apps use the smartphone camera to take a photograph of a document. Before scanning you can select single or batch mode. When batch mode is selected the app will create a multi-page document. TinyScan takes a color photo and approximates the edges of a document. Dots appear in the four corners of the image, and if the entire image wasn't selected, you can move the dots to the proper locations. On the next screen you decide if you want the image in gray-scale or color. If you chose gray-scale you can select the intensity of the black/gray areas of the image. Click on a checkmark and the image is saved to the app. From there you can send the document to a cloud service – Evernote, Dropbox or GoogleDrive – email, print, fax, or open it in another app on your device. The resulting image is saved as a PDF (portable document format) file, which is the only format available in every other scanner app I have tried.

What makes TinyScan stand out is that it also saves document image to the device's builtin camera roll. I need this feature, because I scan all of my business related receipts with TinyScan. Once on the iPhone camera roll, the images become available on my iPad, and I can then import them into the iPad app I use for keeping track of business-related expenses — apps which do not accept imported PDF files.

When scanning documents for use with other iPad apps, or on my computer, I save them as PDF files to the Dropbox app, which, as a cloud based service, gives me access to stored files on other devices and computers. I have written about Dropbox in past columns, and I promise to include an overview again this season.

At this point you might be wondering why bother with smartphone scanning when many of us own scanners, either as stand-alone devices or in combination with a printer. My answer is simplicity. Once you understand the "how to" of using a handheld scanner, it is always at you finger tips. You can scan anywhere, and always find the resulting document in one location – stored on the app. It is simple to scan letter-size documents, receipts of any size, and business cards. I also find myself using TinyScan as a copier – simply scan and print.

When TinyScan accesses my phone's built-in camera, it compensates for camera shake, and I have yet to have a blurry result. The iOS version of TinyScan is universal, running on both the iPhone and iPad, but I find it much easier to take a picture with the iPhone. TinyScan comes in both free and pro versions for both iOS and Android devices. The free version features ads, which are eliminated in the pro version for $4.99.

I want to apologize to anyone who looked for the online version during the past few weeks. It was unavailable due to technical problems, but it is up and running once again. Eddie and I will be visiting family in Hawaii until early February, and OnMouseClick is being filed from the island of Oahu. Aloha.

Taking care …

As I write this week's column, the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, known as CES, is taking place in Las Vegas. The largest show of its kind in the United States, industry watches from all over the world flock to Las Vegas to see developers, suppliers and manufacturers of electronics showcase their newest content, delivery systems, and hardware. 

Over the past decade new products have been introduced at a dizzying pace, both at CES and other industry showcases, some of which have profoundly changed our lives. It is too soon to report on any world changing products that might be introduced at this year's CES, but the promise of new innovations got me thinking about how much has changed since Apple's introduction of the first consumer oriented smart phone in 2007, followed by the first iPad tablet in 2010. What makes these devices so special is not just the hardware, but the fact that the the software powering them is constantly evolving with new features and applications (apps) designed to make our lives a little easier and more efficient. 

A recent article in The Wall Street Journalist was titled Your Smart Phone Will See You Now. Quoting from the article:

From phone attachments that can diagnose an ear infection to apps that can monitor your mental health, a range of new high-tech tools promise to tilt health-care controls from doctors to patients.

The article was personally relevant as Eddie and I have recently been attending to some medical issues. While we were not using our smart phones and tablets as diagnostic devices, they were an integral part of our medical journey. Every time we visited a doctor or medical facility we were asked for a list of current, and sometimes past, medications, as well as existing conditions and previously preformed procedures. Remembering all of the necessary information would have been difficult if not for Capzule PHR, (PHR stands for Personal Health Record) the app I use to keep track of our health records. I keep copies of the app on our iPhones and my iPad, and the information is always with me.  

The app has categories for general health information, vital statistics, immunizations,  pre-existing conditions, allergies, medications, results and procedures, and medical appointments. It is also possible to import and store PDF copies of labs and test results 

A record keeping app like Capzule PHR is only as good as you make it, and for it to be effective you have to be disciplined in keeping records up-to-date. Every time either Eddie or I visit a doctor, I enter a new record, including notes on what the doctor said. I keep track of medications by entering the name, strength, prescription number and duration. Appointments are entered directly into the app, which synchronizes with my calendar app. On more than one occasion, when asked a question by a doctor, I was able to refer back to notes from previous appointments to fill in the blanks.   

Capzule PHR is iOS only, but another medical records app, My Medical, looks very impressive and come in both iOS and Andriod versions. In another column I will cover some of the other health related apps and attachments available for use with smart phones and tablets.

Beginning all over again …

My husband Eddie and I both purchased our AT&T iPhones with a two-year contract, and at the end of our contract period, we are eligible to purchase a new phone at subsidized pricing. My contract was up in December and I asked Santa for an iPhone 6 for Christmas. 

While the thought of purchasing a new generation phone is enticing, it can also be a daunting prospect. If, like me, you have invested time and effort in setting up your iPhone (or Android smart phone) exactly the way you want it, you want to transfer all your apps and data with you when you upgrade. Transferring apps and data to a new phone can be effortless if you follow a few, simple steps. The procedure I am going to outline is for iOS devices (it is the same for iPhones and iPads). If you use an Android device, instructions can be found online at the website cited at the end of this column. 

The first, most important step is to back up your old device before getting the new one. An iPhone can be backed up to the iCloud, Apple's cloud storage which is available to all Apple users, or to you computer. If you use iCloud storage, only vital data is backed up – for a complete backup of everything on your phone, including apps, you must back up with iTunes software on your computer. Apple computers come with iTunes preinstalled, and it is a free download for PC users. The following instructions are for iTunes 12, the most current version of the software.

To begin, connect the phone to your computer with the USB cable that came with your device (it is the cable plugged into the power plug) and open iTunes. It may take a few minutes for the phone to be recognized, and once it is, a small device icon will appear in the upper left corner. Click on the icon and the iPhone Summary screen will appear. The screen will show information about your specific device in three informational boxes, labeled iPhone, Backups and Options. 

On right side of the Backups box you will see the words Manually Back Up and Restore. If you have previously backed up the phone to your computer the date of your latest backup will be listed. Clicking on the Back Up Now button will commence a full back up of everything on your phone. 

iTunes keeps a record of every app on your phone, and during the back up process you will be asked if you want to transfer all app purchases to your computer, a step you must complete. Once all your apps and data are saved to your computer, you are ready to go out and buy your new phone. 

When you make the phone purchase, your sales person may offer to set up the phone for you, but if you do this you might not have all your apps transferred to the new phone. These instructions assume you are going to bring the phone home and set it up on your own. 

Once the device is turned on you will be presented with a series of five screens. Follow the directions on the first four screens: a welcome screen, choose a language, choose a WiFi network, choose if you want to turn on location services. 

When you come to the fifth screen you will be presented with a choice between three set up methods: Set Up as New iPhone, Restore from iCloud Backup and Restore from iTunes Backup. Select Restore from iTunes Backup and follow the instructions to plug the new phone into your computer and open iTunes. After a wait – the length depends on how much data needs to be transferred to the new phone – your new phone will restart and be ready to go, with all your apps and data. It is really that simple. 

Instructions on setting up a new iPhone, complete with pictures of each screen, can be found at support.apple.com/en-us/HT202033. For instructions on upgrading an Android phone visit lifehacker.com/5843206/how-to-upgrade-to-a-new-android-phone-and-take-everything-with-you.

I am thankful for …

Take a minute to think about the technology you use every day, and then try to imagine what life would be like without your smart phone, tablet, computer, digital music player and GPS. Not to mention the computerize components in cars and household appliances. Technology plays such a big part in twenty-first century life that I wanted to take this opportunity to list some of the technologies I am most thankful for. Not the actual devices, but the uses for those devices that have made a difference in my life. 

Facetime video conferencing on the iPad and iPhone – Our son Brian is stationed with the Army in Hawaii, and is a long time between visits. With Facetime we can talk to the family in real-time over the Internet, and because it works over WiFi on our portable devices, we can move around as we talk. On a recent call we gave our son a tour of our new house, and our granddaughters are always asking to to see the outside of our house. Our oldest granddaughter, Brianna, is learning to read, and last fall she called to read us a book for the first time. The younger one, Julianna, loves to dance to music grandpa plays for her on his iPad, and as we interact with the girls the miles between us melt away. 

Photos posted on Facebook – Our daughter-in-law is very good about posting photos to Facebook. What fun to see the joy in Brianna's face on the first day of kindergarten, and to see Julianna dressed as Tinker Bell for Halloween. 

Smart phone text messaging – Sometimes you want to talk to someone and it just isn't convenient to talk on the phone. Type a message and at the touch of a button it is instantly sent to the recipient's cell phone. Photos and videos can be attached to text messages, and on Christmas morning our son sent us videos of the girls opening presents in Hawaii. It was not as good as being there, but the videos made our Christmas just a little bit brighter. 

Heated seats in our 2014 Honda Odyssey – In some ways a new car is computer on wheels, and it features a host of high-tech innovations. One of the features included with the car is heated seats. While it was not a feature we would have chosen, on our recent trip north for the holidays we found ourselves heating the seats every time we got in the car – it really made a difference in the cold weather. Sometimes it is the little things that mean the most. 

Facetime is only available on Apple devices, but Skype, another video conferencing application, works on all platforms. Facebook is a website, and is also available as an app for iOS and Android devices  Text messaging a feature built into all smart phones. 

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2015.

0n the road again …

I am writing this column on my iPad sitting in the passenger seat as we drive north for the holidays. Our car, a 2014 Honda Odyssey that we purchased in September, has a variety of innovative features, one of which is HandsFreeLink, which automatically provides a Bluetooth cell phone connection to the car’s speaker. Bluetooth is a wireless technology designed to pair electronic devices over short distances.

A few minutes ago we received a phone call, which Eddie answered by pressing a button on the steering wheel. The radio was automatically silenced, and we were both able to talk through the speaker. To hang up, he pressed another button on the steering wheel. The call was from the TR Times, requesting a new photo of me for my column. The phone call reminded me that I had a column due this week, and Eddie suggested that I write about what I had been doing for the past hour, which was searching online for a hotel for tonight.

While our new car is extremely computerized, it does not boast its own WiFi network, but my cell phone does have a data connection through AT&T. I much prefer the larger screen of my iPad for online searching, but it is WiFi only, and cannot receive data unless it is connected to a WiFi network. The solution was to use my cell phone as the conduit to the internet. Most newer cell phone models can be used as a hotspot to create a private network that other devices can join. The connection can be made by WiFi or Bluetooth, and I choose to use Bluetooth.

 Once online I visited TripAdvisor.com to search for hotels in the vicinity of our planned stop for the night. There are many travel websites that offer reviews, some of which I plan to write about in a future column, but I have found TripAdvisor to be quite reliable. Enter the location and dates and TripAdvisor generates a list of hotels in the area, ranked by ratings and including the price you can expect to pay. Once I selected a few hotels that meet our criteria of price and location, I started reading the reviews – primarily the negative ones. Too many negative reviews and I pass on the hotel immediately. If several reviewers complain of dirty rooms I move on, but if most of the complaints are relatively minor, I will then read some of the positive reviews to narrow down my choices. My final search criteria is to look for reports of bedbugs on bedbugregistry.com. In the past several years bedbugs have been reported in hotels around the country (even 5-Star hotels), and just one mention of bedbugs in a hotel and I immediately cross it off my list.

 When I am ready to make a reservation, I go directly to the hotel chain website (or App). In my experience, the prices offered through direct booking are as good, if not better, than those offered on booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com, and Priceline. When booking I either use an organizational booking code, if available, or the AARP/senior discount, to get the best rate. For tonight I reserved a room in a Comfort Suites in Florence, South Carolina using the Choice Hotel mobile app (also available for Android devices). Postscript: The Comfort Suites in Florence proved to be an excellent choice. The hotel was new and about a half mile off of Interstate 95. We had a good night’s sleep and continued on our way north in the morning.