Technology

It’s been two months since the release of iOS 8, and I’ve quickly taken to using widgets in the Today View. If you’ve updated to iOS 8 but haven’t explored widgets, you’re missing out. With your phone unlocked, simply pull down from the top of your screen to see your Today View, and at the bottom click the Edit button to add widgets.[footnote]You can reach your widgets via Today View at any time, but you can only edit your widgets with your phone unlocked[/footnote] Here are the widgets I’m currently rocking. ...

For some reason, some media files don’t play nicely with your computer. You may have an old song in an outdated or uncommon audio format that just won’t jive with iTunes. Or maybe have a strange video format that you can’t get to play and you’re bummed about not seeing that old home video someone converted into a funky digital format. Enter VLC–the media-play-all solution for your Mac, PC, or smartphone. ...

I’m unashamedly an app lover. My wife and I joke about who spends more money on their favorite things–me on apps or her on clothes. We’ve ruled it a toss up for now. To stretch my app budget as far as possible, I keep an eye on apps and snag them when they are on sale. The best way I’ve found to track apps and be alerted at discounts is through the app and website App Shopper. ...

If it was still 2007, I’d say, “Podcasts are the next big thing.” But, well, I kind of missed the prediction boat, so I’m going to hop on the podcasts-are-amazing bandwagon instead. One of my favorite things about our current world is that we have unlimited choices. I choose not to listen to terrestrial radio[footnote]I’ve noted on our podcast that I use the term “terrestrial radio” in a derogatory manner. That’s not the term’s original intent–it was used to differentiate between AM / FM and Satellite radio, but I prefer to use it as a diss.[/footnote]. I have no control over the song selection or content. The ads are rarely relevant. There are far more interesting things by lesser-known people who have more to say. ...

My favorite budgeting app is YNAB, which has an amazing desktop and iPhone version. The main idea behind YNAB is moving beyond paycheck-to-paycheck living, so they suggest spending last month’s salary this month so you can escape the rat race. This is enabled by subtracting any amount you went over by in any budgeted categories from your total salary for the next month. So, if you spend $50 more than you budgeted last month, this month you have $50 less dollars overall to budget. Pretty simple. ...

The iPhone is my most frequently used computer. I use it dozens of times each day, and I’m a fan of the iOS 7 operating system. But, one huge step backwards was trying to discern whether the shift key is on (i.e. making the first letter a capital) or off. It was so bad, someone made a Twitter account mocking it. https://twitter.com/iOSShiftKey/status/444155263990657024 But, today I offer a solution for us all to know if shift is enabled or disabled. ...

It’s easy to be overwhelmed the constant information churn on social networks. “Friends” and people we follow are continuously posting. Unfortunately, sometimes that content is worthless, but you don’t want to unfriend or unfollow someone for whatever reason. Here are 3 quick ways to clean up the clutter in your Twitter and Facebook timelines. 1. Turn off an individual user’s retweets on Twitter. Go to the users profile on Twitter.com, like <twitter.com/nshirkman> Click on the cog on the right side of their profile Click “Turn off Retweets” ...

If you’re not a Mac user, this post is unfortunately not for you. If you are, I’m sharing my favorite crop of new apps I’m using for your benefit and enjoyment. Bartender Even though I’m a P on the Myers-Briggs typology, [footnote]Which means I’m normally on the more chaotic end of the organizational spectrum[/footnote]I love having my digital world nicely organized. That’s where this one of a kind Mac app comes in. Bartender allows you to organize, move around, hide away, or push app icons in your menu bar. That’s it. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Until you have 20+ apps open with all kinds of clutter in your menu bar. Especially on laptops, you bump up against the menus for the app you have open too. ...

You probably wouldn’t attend a peace talk from Vladimir Putin or a read a financial advice blog by Bernie Madoff. So why listen to a podcast from a technophile on being present and putting his phone down? Image provided by Death to the Stock Photo It’s a fair question. If nothing else, it’s an opportunity to learn from my shortcomings. On the latest installment of The Unpacked Podcast Niki and I chat about the challenges of living in a constantly connected digital world and what we do to (try to) remain present. ...

This is a new segment of tips I’ll publish each Tuesday that only take a minute to read and implement. Kudos to one of my favorite websites, The Sweet Setup for their quick tips and inspiration for these posts. The Mac Dashboard (the screen to the left of all your other screens and has widgets you can add to it) has become a ghost town. I’ve almost seen a tumbleweed roll across mine. Since I have an affinity for getting rid of stuff I don’t need, I dug into how to nix the Dashboard. ...