Currently viewing the category:
"Technology"
If you tweet, you need to do this now!
How to Enable 2-Factor for Twitter
- Should you choose to enroll (and you should, seriously… now), direct yourself on over to your account settings page.
- Next, select the option to “Require a verification code when I sign in,” which will require a confirmed email address and phone number.
- If your phone number isn’t already confirmed, Twitter will send your phone a text for verification. Enter the code it gives you to verify your phone, and you’re all ready to go.
- All of your many existing Twitter apps should continue to work even after you’ve enable two-factor. But if you want to login to your account on new apps or devices, you’ll need to go to your applications page to generate a temporary, single-serving password for that specific login.
The service is currently rolling out, so if you don’t have it yet, you should soon. This is an absurdly easy way to protect yourself from an attack. So even if you don’t think you might be a target, there’s absolutely no reason not to. Because at long last, we’re finally on our way to a safer Twitter Tomorrow. [Twitter]
This is BIG news – I have heard a lot of awesome things about Google Now, but it has (up until today) only been available for Android users. Details from Gizmodo:
Google Now for iPhone and iPad
Google Now
Rumors have been swirling that Google Now (the Big G’s super-useful personal assistant application) would be coming to the search page on Google.com, but surprise! Our friends on iOS are getting the love first. Starting today, Google Now will be rolled into the Google Search app for iPhone and iPad.
Google Now, for those not familiar, is a very slick app that debuted in Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) last June. Its main selling point is that it gives you the information you want before you even ask for it. It’s not perfect, but it’s come a long way since launch, and it’s pretty excellent. It can tell you when you need to leave for your next appointment, and give you directions for getting there. It can automatically track everything from your FedEx packages to your favorite sports teams in real time. The information shows up on little cards (and in notifications, if you so desire), which are easy to read and simple to dismiss. You decide how much or how little of your personal information you give it access to, but of course the more access you give it, the more it can do.
Google Now is now a part of the Google Search app for iOS. You just download the app (or app update if you already have it), and log in to your Google account. Then you can start tweaking it to your heart’s content. While it will have almost all of the same functionality as the Android version, there will be a few things missing at launch: it can’t yet manage your boarding passes, events, Fandango, concerts, research topics, nearby events, and a couple of other things, but those will likely be added soon. In the meantime, everything else is just as you’d find it in Jelly Bean. At the same time, it won’t be quite as integrated an experience as it is on Android. On Android, Now runs constantly in the background, and is never more than a tap away. For iOS, it’ll likely be sandboxed into Google Search, and won’t be quite as easy to access. Still, though! Better to have it slightly hamstrung than not to have it at all.
You might think that Google would want to save some special sauce for its Android users, but ultimately Google sells Google, not Android. And while Google Now gives you lots of useful information, it also gives Google access to all kinds of geolocation and personal preference data that will make it easier to serve you highly relevant ads across every platform. The move also fits right in with the rumors that Now may be coming to Google’s homepage for users who are signed in (which would be awesome). Google just wants you to use its products, and it’s down to give away a lot of good stuff to keep you using them, regardless of what phone, computer, or browser you use.
iOS users can get Now through a Google Search update in the app store starting today. Give it a shot, and see what you think. It may take a few days for it to learn your preferences and what info is important to you, but once it does, you’ll start to wonder how you ever lived without it.
My Family loves the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland – who doesn’t? Did you know it almost was a walk-thru wax museum of all things pirates? Pretty lame compared to what we now have, huh? They stopped construction and made a left turn from the museum idea to what we now know as a most wonderful experience! Check out the video:
This is interesting – how does your family compare? I was definitely surprised by the very first 10% on the upper left graphic!!
What Does Today’s Wireless Family Look Like?
The wireless family is on the rise. With the plethora of gadgets released each year, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a family member without a mobile device. Children receive their first cellphones at earlier ages, and parents who grew up sans Internet are learning to navigate the web.
What exactly does today’s wireless family look like? According to CTIA, The Wireless Association, 70% of children under 12 have used a mobile device, and more than half of kids age 8 to 12 have a cellphone. As the modern family introduces tech earlier on, parents are trying to close the gap between the perception of what they think their kids do online and what really goes on. Check out the infographic, below, for more.
A majority of parents (86%) feel their children are safe online, and an overwhelming 91% think they know what their teens are up to on the Internet. CTIA put together a list of tips for parents to ensure their kids are using cellphones responsibly, as well as some statistics on how technology affects education at home and in school.
Infographic courtesy of CTIA-The Wireless Association.
I’ve been a big fan of Wolfram Alpha since the beginning. It is good geeky stuff. Here are some interesting tips to get you started with it – from How-To Geek:
10 Amazing Uses for Wolfram Alpha
You may have heard of Wolfram Alpha, which is a “computational knowledge engine.” That makes it sound a bit scary, but it’s a great tool once you can wrap your head around it.
Apple’s Siri uses Wolfram Alpha for 25% of its searches. You can leverage that magic and put Wolfram Alpha to work for you — the empty search box on its homepage holds endless possibilities.
Comparisons
Enter two terms with a vs in between them and you’ll get a comparison. For example, you could compare websites to see the differences in traffic between them.
You can compare cities, books, foods and almost anything else you can think of.
Nutrition Information
Enter a type of food and Wolfram Alpha will provide you with its nutrition information. You don’t have to stop at one — enter multiple types of food and Wolfram Alpha will compare them for you.
Complicated Math
Wolfram Alpha is ideal for the sort of math that Google’s calculator and most other calculator websites will choke on. It even provides graphs.
Where Am I?
Ask where you are and Wolfram will use your IP address to track you down. You can also enter an IP address into the box and Wolfram will track that IP address down and tell you where it is.
Days Until Something
Want to know how many days are left until your birthday, favorite holiday or any other date? Just ask for the days until a certain date.
Generate a Password
Wolfram Alpha can come up with a random password and estimate how long it will take to crack. You can even tweak the rules used to generate the password.
Am I Drunk?
Have you been drinking? Wolfram Alpha can estimate whether you can legally drive home. Ask it if you’re drunk and you’ll get a form asking for more information.
Provide the information and Wolfram will estimate whether you should drive home, call a cab or wait. You can even consult the little graph to see when you’ll be within the legal blood-alcohol limit.
How Common is Your Name?
Enter a name and you can see how common it is, complete with a graph showing you how popular the name has been over time. Enter multiple names and Wolfram will compare how common they are.
Body Mass Index
Type body mass index and Wolfram will present you with another form. After you provide your weight and height, Wolfram Alpha will calculate your BMI and tell you whether you’re within the normal range.
Word Trivia
Want to find words that begin with a certain letter, end with a certain combination of letters — or both? Just ask Wolfram Alpha in plain English.
This is just scratching the surface of what Wolfram Alpha can do. Plug in anything you’re curious about and see what happens.
I told you it was coming (‘Google Keep’ note-taking tool means new competition for Evernote, Microsoft and it has arrived!
Google Keep
Google Keep is live. You can go check out Google’s answer to Evernote at http://drive.google.com/keep.
Google officially announced the note-taking product some time ago, and after it cropped up briefly over the weekend, Google Keep is now really truly officially a real thing on the Internet that you can use. Oh, and it looks terrific.
Right now, the feature set seems relatively straight-forward and limited. Google basically wants to help you Keep track of what you’re thinking about and doing. In addition to creating simple notes like the ones above, Google Keep also has a list tracking feature:
There’s also an Android app for the service which is live:
The whole app is colorful and fun and the mobile interface in particular is crisco slick when it’s working.
In trying it out so far, we’ve noticed that Keep has experiencing early life jitters and errors. But it’s good enough when it is working that it might depose Evernote as the king of thought capture mountain. One thing you definitely notice is that the service is really lightweight. And some obvious features are missing. For example, you can share notes from the Android app but there’s not obvious share feature on the web interface. [Google Blog]
This might be very interesting! This appeared and then disappeared today:
Google Keep
Some details from GeekWire:
Microsoft has made its OneNote note-taking application a key part of its larger cloud strategy for Microsoft Office, attempting to challenge Evernote as a way for users to sync to-do lists and notes across devices. Now it looks like Google is headed in this direction, as well (again).
Some sleuthing by Google+ user IE100 has uncovered new evidence (including the icon pictured here) that Google is working on its own note-taking application, and the news site Android Police got a brief glimpse of the actual service (before it was taken offline) suggesting that it’s set for launch relatively soon.
As noted by the Verge, his wouldn’t be the first foray into note-taking for Google, which previously had a service called Google Notebook. The company also offers integrated task lists in Gmail.
Android Police reports: “Google Keep works a lot like Google Notebook used to: There’s a list of notes, and you can color-code them, save pictures, and make checklists. You can archive notes, which will send them to a section at the bottom of your list.”
No official word from Google, but the hint of a new product is interesting in part because the company has been giving the axe to many of its other services. Apparently note-taking is important enough to its broader strategy that the company is willing to bring it back.
And other sources:
Google Keep Note-Taking App Surfaces, Then Disappears
Google Accidentally Reveals ‘Keep’ Application
Google’s upcoming note taking application, “Google Keep”, made a brief appearance today on Google Drive before it was taken down. However, Android Police, a web blog, that tracks everything related to Android, picked up some screen shot of the application while it was online. Android Police notes that the new service resembles Google Notebook, which helps users to clip information from the web and manage them. However, the service was taken down in 2009.
This new application from Google will challenge Evernote, which has until now been the most popular mobile note taking and organizing application. Thanks to the company’s policy of constantly adding new features and updating the application, Evernote has managed to stay on the top spot. However, it looks like Google’s Keep might give the Evernote a run for its money if released.
The screenshot shows that Google’s application allows users to color code lists and notes to organize them efficiently.
