Before You Install

Hi and welcome to the Before You Install podcast!  In this one, we take a look at social music apps, what they are, and why you should be using them, starting with the original Turntable FM.  While Turntable is no more, it helped set the stage for others like JQBX and Plug.dj.  Music is awesome when enjoyed together, and the social music apps have built communities for different genres/moods.  Take a listen to find out how to make your music more enjoyable, find new tunes, and meet new some new folks! The show notes are at beforeyouinstall.com/10

Hi and welcome to the Before You Install podcast!  In this episode, we discuss why you should be backing up your phone and what the options are to do so.  Whether you're using an iPhone or an Android, there are ways to backup everything, from your pictures and videos, to your text messages, call logs, and apps.

Backing up to the cloud is the way to go, but which service do you choose?  iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Onedrive, Box, Amazon Drive?  These providers and their service offerings get broken down to help you pick!  How about automatic picture and video backup?  iCloud, Google Photos or Dropbox?  We cover that too!  Don't forget about your text messages, call logs, and app data too!

This some important stuff about archiving your important stuff that I don't want you to miss out on, so come listen in!  The show notes for this episode can be found at https://beforeyouinstall.com/09.  Have a question or comment?

Hello and welcome to Before You Install!  In this episode, we talk about how cell phone upgrades have changed.  Phones used to cost around $200-$300 for a new phone.  Today they cost from $600 to $1000+.  Phones today are another monthly subscription for us, the consumer.

Aside from phones, cell plans have changed too.  It used to be wireless providers charged for minutes and text messages, with data being a flat rate.  Now it’s data and phone payments that are the bill, while minutes and messages are flat rate.

These changes primarily derived from the cause and effect of T-mobile’s “Un-carrier” campaign that was launched in 2013.  Join me, Buddy Gregory as we take a look at what happened to the world of phone upgrades.  The show notes for this episode can be found at https://beforeyouinstall.com/upgrade.

Welcome to the episode about Snapchat!  In this one, we cover basis of what the platform is and what it’s meant to do.  This also includes the 3 screens that make Snapchat (snap,chat,watch) as well as some of the cool features that can transform your snaps into some awesome moments.  Snapchat is about being in the moment and sharing it with others.  The show notes for the episode can be found at: beforeyouinstall.com/snapchat

Let's discuss your devices battery life and ways you can make it better.

 This episode is covering your battery and things you can do to help maintain capacity and lifespan.  Now this does involve a few different aspects including your display, your device toggle switches like bluetooth/wifi, background apps and some other stuff too.  These topics cover both Android and iOS devices.

 This 2010 article by Techrepublic is referenced to see if the five tips that were mentioned are still viable today:

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/ 

• Keep your batteries at room temperature
• Utilize a high capacity battery instead of spare
• Perform partial discharges while avoiding full ones
• Avoid completely draining the lithium ion batteries
• Have a forty percent charge when storing for long periods of time

The two articles below are summaries of studies from 2002/2003 that relate to the 20/80 rule (recharge your device at 20% battery life, up to 80%, then unplug from charging. 

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378775303002088

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378775302003051

 You can use Apple's battery stats in the settings for information on the battery health in iOS. 

 For Android, you can use an app like Accubattery

 On the software side, be careful of apps that want to manage wifi/bluetooth/GPS <--- especially GPS as once its on, apps that utilize your location can connect in the background or behind the scenes, and will contribute to draining your battery quickly.  Sometimes the apps that utilize these features and enable them do not disable them once they are closed.  Thus, these switches are on without your knowledge and contribute to battery drain.  I recommend periodically checking these switches to ensure the ones that you are utilizing are on as needed.  You can also monitor apps' usage of data from within Android and iOS settings to reduce the background network usage that occurs when you're not using those apps.

 Screen brightness and screen on time are other major factors that contribute to faster discharging.  Using a dark color background for your homescreen and manually adjusting screen brightness for a level that's bright enough for you to see and isn't overly bright, will help extend your battery life.  This, along with screen on time that's adjusted for 10-15 seconds unless you manually turn off the screen, will also help extend your battery life.

 Do you have power struggles with your batteries?  What are some of the things you've tried to get more life out of your devices?  I'd love to know!  Leave a comment on the site (beforeyouinstall.com)  or tweet to me @thebuddygregory.

In this episode, we talk about Evernote and how you don’t have to take notes to make this a tool you don’t want to miss out on.  This includes using Evernote for note taking, word processing, blogging, and web archiving/journaling.  Find the show notes and more over at beforeyouinstall.com/evernote.

In this one, we talk about micro transactions, in-app purchases, and "freemium" apps.  We take a look when they first came about, and why they will probably be the way of the future and why.

Show notes can be found at:

https://beforeyouinstall.com/paytoplay

This one is about Marvel Battlelines, a game released for iOS and Android.  We'll take a look at the presentation, features, and gameplay to see if it's worth your download.

The show notes can be found at:

https://beforeyouinstall.com/battlelines

Welcome to the very first episode!  Learn about what to think about before downloading an app, the seven points that an app should meet, and the seven points you may want to uninstall one.

Find the show notes at:

https://beforeyouinstall.com/whatmakesanapp