The first few days of my last job were a bit odd, to say the least. Between an all-day road trip to a dilapidated preschool in Milwaukee and trying to navigate a new city in the pouring rain without a smartphone, things were…not ideal. Like many people, I tried to combat my woes by throwing money at Amazon to treat myself to a
Switch
Hub
Modem
Router
Let’s start with the easy one: Switch
a Switch allows network devices to talk to one another. It receives information from some device, and sends that information exactly where it needs to go. This allows a computer to connect to a printer, a server or any other device on the same network.
These days there is a bizarre trend taking computing by storm. Everyone is changing all their plugs! It harkens back to the days where with every cell phone, you also had a completely different charger. If you wanted a new charger, you probably paid $50 for it. And if you lost it, the odds of finding a match for your phone were near impossible. Then, in 2009, the European Commission put forth a voluntary call asking phone manufacturers to switch to a standard. The one they ultimately decided on was micro-USB. If you have an Android, Windows Mobile, or really any non-Apple device, you know what this looks like. Apple went its own way and has continued to do so ever since. But these days it’s not just phones that are changing…
Computers and smartphones are no longer luxuries in our fast-paced lives – which means chances are, you take for granted that your devices are sophisticated machines with thousands of working parts. While your computer, phone, and related accessories are sturdy and can take a lot of use, you still need to be careful and keep your devices clean and free of dust, moisture, food crumbs, and other hazards. This will not only be healthier for you as you use your computer by reducing bacteria and germs, but also prolong the life of your device.
Last week, the iPhone turned 10. Just like with every iPhone release, we stood in ridiculously long lines for the very first one, waiting to get our grubby paws on a phone that wasn’t a Motorola Razr. Though I refused to stand in line, I did acquire the very first one (aptly named “iPhone”) through AT&T. I even switched my carrier — the crazy things we go through for technology. She was born mid-April of 2008 – a day I’ll never forget.
Mechanical keyboards have been experiencing something of a Renaissance lately. With all things hipster and “vintage” making a comeback (overalls, anyone?) it was only a matter of time before the trend infiltrated the tech world. So, what’s all the noise (literally) being made about mechanical keyboards, and are they actually worth the premium cost? Well that depends…
Can you imagine someone watching your every move? It sounds like a script to a horror film, but this is actually happening at alarming rates. And on top of it, the software only gets cheaper and easier to use. I saw this story and it scared the crap out of me (Webcam Hack).
I wrote a limerick today. Thank you in advance for your praise.
A protocol that carries your speech
the where, you might ask, is in reach
over ethernet line
either failing or fine
When the former occurs, I screech
Back in 2011 I started my first job out of college. One of the major perks was free Diet Mountain Dew (though I had to walk across the building to get it). I quickly found myself addicted and was sneaking away several times a day to get my fix. It was also around this time I found out about a movement popping up in tech circles: Quantitative Self. The premise was simple; people make the best decisions when they have all the data. Quantified self was a movement where people tracked themselves. They tracked their weight, their mood, the nutrients (and junk) they consumed, all to improve their quality of life.
In addition to adjusting to life in general here in Portland, OR, there is one thing that didn’t take much time and effort in getting used to: composting and recycling.
I must admit, although I was excited that Oregon is very serious about conservation, I was a little stressed about how many garbage cans to have, which containers get taken to the curb on what day, and if the Garbage Police was going to leave hate notes for putting the wrong things in the wrong color bins. After day one, the drama was lessened just by following these guidelines:
