of voice and recording

The concept of being swamped is one I can relate to right now. I have lots of things going on at work, family, and beyond. That got me thinking because yesterday I missed a meeting in my personal life that I needed to be a part of. I don’t have one calendar because work and personal calendars are separate for me due to many issues. Some tools let you combine calendars, but here is the fatal flaw in all that. There are different calendars and different formats, and sometimes you have a work calendar that you can’t have on your device. Many years ago, there was the addition of all calendars in outlook; they are stacked side by side.

So if you open Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, and Outlook.com simultaneously, you will see three calendars. The reality is they aren’t laid over each other. Ultimately there are three views. I know some programs do the combination, but well, I don’t like what happens. Sometimes even tech people like to complain.

another cruise picture

One of the things that I find frustrating beyond calendars is the reality of the technology rate. When I first started, technology came into the world differently. Normally there was an R&D budget from various global governments. This was money that the government would pay to groups, companies, or organizations to research an area and produce. Many of those R&D programs are on your desk today. But those projects went away about seven or so years ago. There are still some, but there is much less money now than there was. Because of the reality of innovation flipped. Where once consumers waited for the newest tech that was government developed, now, it was consumer-driven.

Ergo my calendar complaint. I am one of the very few people that have multiple email addresses. I also get calendar invites in all my emails, so I miss meetings from time to time. The complexity of any system is where the weak points are. I guess in the calendar system, that is my life; I am the weak point.

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troubleshooting can be hard

One of the things that people ask me is how do I troubleshoot the XYZ problem. First off, it is both the easiest and hardest thing you will ever do. Troubleshooting takes patience. It also takes time. First of all, troubleshooting can be really hard to do. You have to determine how the person uses the application or computer/phone and are they doing it in the “normal” range. Using something in the normal range is hard to determine. The first reality is how I use the computer; therefore, that is normal. The second part is you have to understand how the organization, the hardware, and the software were designed to work a specific way, and sometimes, that is not how we use both!

heading away from Bergen!

So when people fire off the “can you help,” I start with questions. Doing that does two things; if the person is panicking, it calms them down. Answering my questions helps them focus. The other thing is it allows me to determine if I can help them. You would not believe some of the “outside” of expected use cases I have run into; those questions help me back out many times. Based on that, I thought I would share a few of the questions I ask.

1. What device are you using
2. Based on that device, what operating system are you on? (version)
3. Tell me what you are trying to do?

The last one is the easiest one to get an answer for. It is, however, sometimes the issue. When developers build hardware or software, they do so based on what they believe is how it will be used. We, as people, are always the variable. So the next time you call a helpdesk or ask for help and the person starts asking you questions, remember, answer them as best you can. I love the Reddit phrase when calling helpdesks – Remember the human!

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when considering free vpn…

I wanted to let everyone the risk of “free VPN” solutions. There are several reasons why you would like to use a VPN. Most government agencies and companies I work with have their employees use a VPN. IT stands for Virtual Private Network; what it means is that you, as a person, are connected to a network as if you were physically in the building where the system lives. It allows you to operate your computer connected as if you are on that physical network. But there are a few things that you should be aware of. One of those is that many of the “cheap or Free” VPN providers consolidate IP addresses. Why do you care? It means you may have the same IP address as other people within a range.

lead me to the baker!

Most of the free or cheap VPN solutions are pretty good at managing your inbound and outbound traffic. Because “while connected,” you are a virtual node on a network, it is easier to protect your traffic. If someone figures out a stream are yours, they can, in theory, “follow you home.” The way networks work is very simple. You make a request (show me a web page), and the server responds (sure).  A hacker looking for a specific person waits for them on the web page and follows that “sure” back to your computer. If you are using a VPN, the hacker ends up at the company’s data center running the VPN. You are protected (a little), and it is easier to be safe.

But, and there is always a but isn’t there? There are some things you have to consider.

1. While you on the internet or checking your mail, you are communicating with a server. Your VPN client is also communicating with its server. The easy way to describe this is to take a piece of paper. Now fold one-third of the article. You have less paper. The VPN talking to its servers takes part of your internet connection. You lose some of the total amount of bandwidth for that connection. You are safer, yes, but your paper is smaller!!!!!
2. Even with a VPN connection, you still need anti-virus software.
3. Not all software works with VPN solutions. Most software does, but you have to be careful

The reality of the world is that we all need to be safe online. We also need to be careful online. VPNs help, but make sure the company is good!

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The impact of tech on medicine

One of the areas in that Technology has become a game-changer for many people in pain management. From Quell to Tens, Technology allows for point of pain relief application. They are otherwise known as therapy. In one case (Quell), you wrap the diode around your thigh. IT then sends electrical stimulation around your body. That increases blood flow and allows your body to be heading. The tens systems use patches. Like an EKG, you apply the patches where it hurts and then runs the program. The system uses electrical stimulation to help the body heal. Both of these are older technologies, in the sense that they have been around for many years.

ready to roll!

But the new applications allow you to consume a level of pain management at home easily. I use the system of the ten on my painful shoulder (from carrying a 28-pound backpack for far too many years). The system is very effective. I find that the stimulation reduces the swelling in my shoulder. It has also returned some of my range of motion. My goal is to be able to play golf this spring. It is an application of Technology. Many other technologies in the medical space continue to help.  The world of imaging that in the 1950s was X-rays are now so much more. The imaging systems can allow and does allow doctors to see inside the body in 3d.

In the 1950s, doctors could see the body in 3d, but it had to be during surgery. Now they can see things on a screen before the surgery has to be done. But the last and most interesting thing for medical devices is the impact of 5g. The future of medicine may be right on the horizon./ Where Doctors can perfect a technique, perform it 100s of times, and never leave their home. Remote surgery and telemedicine continue to become more powerful. In the future, you can quickly wear a cuff; when you connect to the telemedicine session, the doctor can take your traditional vitals (other than weight and height), and you never have to leave the office (or home). Things are changing!

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translation ear buds…

The reality o voice translation hardware continues to improve. The two newest entrants into this field are the Timekettle M2 and the Ambassador. Both of the devices allow you to pick a language and store it locally. Both of the devices can record and replay conversations for you. Both also translate the live language. I find that incredibly useful when speaking to people in another language. The other device that I find useful in this category is Travis. Travis is the new type of handheld voice translation device. Both Ambassador and Timekettle M2 are earpieces. In all cases, they hear the spoken language and do the conversion for you in your ear or via a speaker.

visiting the dunes of a landlocked state!

Having the option to have a local copy of the language speeds up the process considerably. Travis does some local translation but also includes a micro sim card that you can use globally. The Ambassador and Timekettle both rely on your phone.  Based on the number of people I interact with frequently that speak Spanish, I will download that (available in November) as the first language. Having used Travis the longest so far, I thought I would share some of the initial limitations. With spoken language, there are two things to consider. Native speakers always speak faster than those learning or practicing a language. You quickly get into the 120 words per minute range with native speakers.

Travis kept up but only within limits. The limits being about 30 seconds of speaking or 60 words to be translated. I had a good friend who spoke to me in Spanish, and I said only in English. The translations from Spanish to English were about 90% correct. The translation from English to Spanish was also about 90% accurate. We (the two of us) used it via a conference call with a former co-worker in Japan. The success rate dropped a bit from Japanese to English. We were roughly 80% correct, but that is much better than I could do. English to Japanese was about 90% or the same. We haven’t tried Chinese but have a conference call with a vendor to try it then.

Overall the experience is quite impressive. If you ever need to translate! Normally I wouldn’t say I like earbuds, but the TimeKettle’s fit nicely in the ears.

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Privacy is about you

he concept of privacy is something I am always interested in hearing about. First of all, privacy is a very complex topic. The first reality of confidentiality is that it is personal. But the “reality” of what you consider private comes into play. Your perception of where your privacy ends varies by person. One of the things that always brings me back to this topic, privacy is just that. It is a reality check in the digital world. The line continues to move. For example, in the 1960s, the simple act of finding someone’s unlisted telephone number was considered a criminal activity (it still is). Yet, now so much more can be done without ever calling someone on the phone.

always fun!

Is your Facebook feed private? No, it is visible to your friends and anyone that wishes to view the information. Suppose that information is in a private group. Any other post on Facebook is or can be viewed by anyone. The same is true of Twitter and some of the other social networks. Some are moving towards the private to start (Blue Fire is confidential or fully private). Those are more focused on engaging with the “members” rather than more broadly. However, those types of sites and the more public areas are not the focus on this. It is the line you draw personally for your privacy. For example, I have several, and I am going to share them here.

My first one was about four years ago. I stopped using names other than my own. I do not mention names in my posts. I also am very careful not to talk about people without them having a chance to rebut that. SO no characters are in my pieces other than my name. The other thing I never mention is any PII that can be used to find additional information. Frankly, that is any of the following: your actual date of birth. Your government ID number. Your date of marriage. The day someone specifically died. All of those things can be used to gather and find more critical information. The last and probably easiest thing you can do to protect your privacy is to change your passwords often!

Privacy is about you and what you need.

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what is in your bag?

A couple of years ago, I used to do a series about what I would carry with me in my backpack. I would review things and then talk about if I would have them in my bag. I was thinking about that old column because of a conversation with a long-time reader/friend. He reminded me of those columns and what he and I used to carry in our bags many years ago. There was a time; we were both consultants at the time when we carried a lot more. The reality was that we needed to have more tools to get things done that we would need today. We had staplers, paper, a printer, and many other traditional office supplies in our bags that aren’t; needed anymore.

The other side of Castaway Cay!

I thought it would be fun to look at what was in the bag in 1999, 2004, and then in 2020. In 1999 I had multiple pens, paper, and pads, plus other office supplies. I still had them in my bag in 2004, but they were gone by 2012. In 1999 I had multiple batteries for my laptop and various batteries for my cell phone I didn’t have those anymore by 2012. In 1999 my computer weighed more than 7 pounds and was slow. Now my laptop weighs less than 3 pounds, and it’s fast. In 1999 the reality was I also had a separate GPS. I didn’t need that by 2004. The bag itself was big and bulky. I injured my shoulder because I had a backpack but only wore it on one shoulder.

I suspect I would carry less now, but I have a rolling bag. I don’t worry as much about how much the bag weights. I do take three things now that I didn’t carry in 1000. I have an iPad, a projector and a video camera. The video camera is USB for my laptop, and I use it when I am at the office but need to participate in a video call. The projector is the new Pic! And it is really small. It is a quick way to interact with things sent to my email when I am away from my home office. The iPad is because it is something that replaces most of the functionality of a laptop. It lets me take notes while attending conference calls and still concentrate on the information in the market.

Always interesting what people carry in their bag. How about you?

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what can be done about information on the internet?

Throughout my IT career, I have worked with and on information management projects many times. One of the things that used to drive me crazy was training. Training is a quick way to help people get up to speed. So if your goal is to get an entire group trained, who you send to the first training is the most critical. You send the people most likely to come back and talk about, use, and share the information they found. For the rest of the training sessions, you send the people who are less likely to share to get the training. The same is true of IP and IC, which is ultimately knowledge and information at the next level. I have spent a lot of time chasing IP/IC.

One time I got in a lot of trouble at work. I was in a room full of people, and I said the following “there is more IP/IC on your hard drives than is in the KM system. All the people in the room got mad at me. But it was true. The reality is that most information isn’t freely available today. It is why I always tell people we are near the information age but not in it. Too much information isn’t available today. The reality of data and the information age is that information has to be more accessible to be truly an age. Right now, we are in the period (in my opinion) of the age of digitalization. Yesterday I talked about smart projectors and the same the day before about intelligent TVs. They are the first big products of the age of digitization.

The other issue I see is the internet/. Boy, it is wonderful, and I love being able to look up information, But the reality of the internet is that most of the information available isn’t always well right. There are so many conspiracy posts and conspiracy theory sites. Information that is available but isn’t something you can consume without verifying (Trust but proof).   The problem is that often the internet is not a good source. The reality of that information flow that exists today is a little dangerous. You should verify this post like all the posts made on this site or any other sites. I am a long time IT Software Architect, but that doesn’t mean anything. You don’t work with me. You need to check.

To check, see if the information you need is on the internet today?

Some additional thoughts on this topic

https://hubpages.com/technology/What-can-be-done-about-improving-the-quality-of-information-on-the-internet

https://hubpages.com/technology/The-concept-of-Information-Brokers

https://docandersen.podbean.com/e/the-quality-of-information-on-the-internet/

The rise of smart projectors….

When I last talked about smart TV’s yesterday. I know many people have embraced the streaming world; many have not as of now. Streaming or on-demand is a new area of home entertainment and information gathering that has appeared. Over the last few years, The concept moved. Originally streaming was nominally called Internet Radio. Your favorite radio station would share content over an IP (internet propoganda network). In my case, this streaming allowed me to listen to the Radio Broadcast of IU Basketball games, even when I was in Europe or Asia. That stream and later TV shows and movies became a broad concept[t of what we call streaming services today.

i love pulling away from docks

Yesterday we talked about Smart TVs and their impact. Today it is the growing world of AndroidTV projectors. Why do we care about a projector? Well, the prices for good projectors have dropped. When I first got a projector for our home nearly ten years ago, a decent project cost around 2000 dollars. IT was painful, but I wanted to get a projector, and my wife let me have it for my combined Christmas/Birthday gift. Now, you can get a decent project for around 200 dollars. The funny thing is the projector I got ten plus years ago is not as good as the 200 dollar projector is today. The number of lumens is critical, and my new small projector has more lumens (brightness) than my old one.

The other thing the new projector has is it is running AndroidTV. It means I can operate the projector without a PC or phone attached. I have one project that also supports apple play. Literally like connecting to an Apple TV or an Apple Carplay car, you can plug the phone into the projector and see your phone screen or any phone content. With the other, it supports Android play only. But the same deal. However, both of them can operate without a phone or PC. You can load Android apps on AndroidTV devices like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon instant video, etc. So, you don’t even need to have anything but the projector to use it easily. Now you can turn any wall in your house or apartment into a large screen TV!

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The future of AR and VR

I know that I spend a lot of time considering and looking at Technology. Most people think, why? In particular, the reality of AR/VR is one that spends a lot of time on. Augmented reality is a growing area of industrial implementation. The best possible example is the washing machine repair person at your home, wearing an AR he helmet (such as HoloLens). They can see through the HUD display of the Hololens (HUD Heads up Display). But they can see the overlay of how the parts are supposed to look. If you can imagine, the same is being used by companies that build airplanes and other large vehicles. If the person doing the work can see what things are supposed to look like, it reduces the risk.

The world is hollow and I have touched the sky!

The world of VR has a huge application in education. In this “age of pandemic,” children can still leave the classroom. Instead of limiting field trips to the school day, the teacher can share the world with the students. The immersive nature of a VR headset allows the student to wander the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa. Or, one of my personal favorites walks Ancient Rome. Not as it is now, but as it was 2000 years ago. Or another favorite of mine is the Apollo 11 VR experience. See everything from the astronaut’s point of view. Yes, VR isn’t the real world. There are limits and things that have to be considered. But if you want to let the students see the world, it is a great way to do that.

AR creation is something that anyone can do. The reality of AR is you need an image or video of the real world. I see many applications beyond repair professionals and teachings using both AR and VR. We’ve used large motion-based flight simulators for years. The reality of VR is it can help people recreate things that happened in the past and learn. AR allows you to consider more than what is there. Imagine the entertainment of tomorrow, where the show is playing all-around in your living room. You become part of the show. I can see a shift in movies, television, and other visual entertainment. The reality (pun intended) of the application of VR and AR is going to be huge.

Imagine a time when you can take an AR look at the world around you and see where you left your car keys?

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