Data Doctors Tech Tips

I really love tech that specifically fills the nooks and crannies of daily life and one of my favorites is a website known as IFTTT or If This Then That. This awesome and free service helps you put the Internet to work by creating 'conditional statements' also known as 'recipes' which will integrate your online accounts in many amazing ways. For example, you can create a recipe that will automatically generate reminders on your phone whenever you tap the star on a Gmail message or have your phone automatically text your wife when you leave work. The IFTTT recipes work with over 160 different online services and already has a huge assortment of recipes that have been created by fellow users. You can also create your own recipes and share them with the rest of the IFTTT community. IFTTT also has apps for iPhones, iPads and Android devices which allows you to leverage your mobile technology in awesome ways. If you have yet to discover the wonderful world of IFTTT, take a minute and check it all out at http://IFTTT.com.

I've provided tips in the past on how to extend the battery life on your phone, but did ya know that most of these same tips will extend the life of your laptop battery as well? For instance, turning down the brightness on your screen is the most important tip because powering that screen is almost fifty percent of the drain on your laptop and just like on your smartphone, turning off Wifi and Bluetooth when you aren't using them saves power. If you plug devices into your USB ports that you are no longer using, unplugging them keeps your computer from constantly querying them for updates. Extreme temperature is a big killer of batteries, so don't turn your hot laptop on or even try to charge it when it's really hot or cold to the touch. Waiting until the laptop has reached room temperature will help to lengthen the life of the battery as well. Be sure to avoid using your laptop on a blanket, pillow or any other soft surface because you can block the cooling vents causing your laptop to overheat. Those cute screen savers that display your favorite photos seem like fun, but they cam eat up your battery as well, so switch to a blank screen saver for the best results.

Anytime you purchase a new computer, one of the first things you'll end up spending a boatload of time on, is getting all those programs and utilities reinstalled. Everything from various browsers, tools, utilities, media players, productivity tools and countless other little programs are just the beginning of what you need to be up and running. Most people do not realize how many things need to be added to your 'new' computer to make it fully functional until they go through the countless downloads and installations. The next time you are setting up a new computer, I have a much better option for both Mac and Windows users. We have mentioned to Windows users in the past to use a website called NiNite.com (that's N I N I T E) to get everything they need installed in one neat little automatic package. Well, if you are a Mac user, you can do the same by going to GetMacApps.com If you are the one in charge of the computers at any business, these resources are a huge time saver because you they create a single install file to setup all your computers exactly the same! http://getmacapps.com and http://ninite.com

Remember when some people proclaimed text messaging to be an 'anti-social activity? I think even those most techno-phobic have figured out how efficient text messages really are. If you are an iPhone user, you likely spend lots of time using the built-in iMessage app, especially if you're friends with lots of other iPhone users. Unlike other texting apps, iMessage sends your messages securely with encryption and you don't need a cellular network connection in order to send and receive messages. This comes in handy for anyone traveling abroad that can only connect through wifi. But did you know that there is a lot more to the iMessage app then just tapping out a message, like sending a quick voice or video message or tons of various filtering and blocking options. If you haven't explored the numerous options available fin the iMessage app, check-out the fifteen power tips put together by the folks at Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-imessage-like-a-pro-2016-1

The Google Earth website has always been a wonderful way to explore any part of our world using your home or office computer. A project that combines the Google Earth Engine with annual satellite images to create time lapse videos stretch back from 1984 make it even more interesting. It allows you to select any location in the world and watch how it has changed over three decades. You can watch the insane growth of Las Vegas, the unfortunate deforestation of the Amazon or the development of the amazing coastline of Dubai using the preset sites. Because you can examine any location you want, you can checkout where you live, where you were born and view the time-lapse for that area over a long stretch of time. The site allows you to zoom in and out and manually go year by year for a presentation of just how much the earth has changed in a very short period of time. I've got a direct link posted at DataDoctors.com/radio. https://earthengine.google.org/#intro/AralSea

An app called 'Companion', which was developed by students at the University of Michigan is growing in popularity. Originally designed as an app for students walking home across campus at night, the usefulness of this app has caught on off-campus as well. In a nutshell, the app will notify friends or family when you're walking somewhere on your own so they can virtually walk with you. Just put in your destination and method of transport in the app then send out requests to friends or family to tag along. Those you want to tag along don't have to have the app installed; anyone in your contact list can become your companion. When they get your text, they just need to click on the attached link to become a virtual companion on the way to your destination. The app can monitor unusual movements such as falling or straying from your route which helps keep your companions updated. Never walk anywhere alone again with the 'Companion' app! It's free for both iPhone and Android users. https://www.companionapp.io

The now famous 'Ice Bucket Challenge' that brought attention to those suffering from ALS became one of the biggest on-line viral phenomenons in the history of the Internet. Another Internet-based resource that was created as a result of the struggles with ALS is a site called 'PatientsLikeMe.com' Created in 2006 by Ben and Jamie Heywood as a result of their brother's diagnosis of ALS, it has become a premier resources for sharing treatment, symptom and outcomes on-line. Whenever anyone is diagnosed with a serious illness, it is really easy to feel that you are all alone in the battle, but you are not. Connecting with others that are experiencing your same medical issues and being able to compare treatments, symptoms and your overall experiences can become a needed support system. Whether you are looking to give or get support from other that are experiencing the same issues as you, the PatientsLikeMe website is an excellent way to make those connections. The site can also be used to track your own health over time and allows you to contribute your data to research if you would like to participate. https://PatientsLikeMe.com has over 500,000 members that are dealing with over 2500 various ailments, so you are very likely going to find many others that can relate to your medical situation.

Pets are capable of making a huge difference in our daily lives adopting responsibly allows us to do the same for them. Making sure you adopt a pet that's compatible for your specific situation is critical to success and the AllPaws.com website take this part of pet adoption to another level. The website creator had previous experience with online-dating tools and used that understanding of a proven compatibility process for matching humans to the proper pet with the AllPaws resource. You can search for your new pet by the type such as dogs, cats, pigs, birds, horses or even reptiles including the ability to choose a certain breed if you've a preference. The search results are presented in a list of profiles of each pet that matched your criteria accompanied by a picture and the story of this pet. The results includes the age range, the coat length, the size, their compatibility with other pets and a number of other useful details to help improve your chances of a solid connection. You can send questions to the current adoption site, add pets to your 'favorites' list or even begin the adoption process when you see what looks like your next pet. For those that don't have room to add another pet to their home, you can still help pets get adopted by sharing them through all your social networks. Adopt your next pet at https://AllPaws.com

Anyone that travels for business knows about the constant hassle of creating expense reports, especially if you are doing it all manually. We all have a smartphone with a camera these days, so using an app can help you go paperless very easily. An app called Expensify claims it creates 'expense reports that don't suck'. The app uses the camera in your smartphone so you can take pictures of every receipt as you get them, which can then be scanned to eliminate the typical manual entry. It also allows you to automatically import expense data from bank or credit card accounts which cuts down on even more manual entries. When you trip is finished, all your expenses are ready for you to categorize them or edit them without having to dig around to make sure you all your receipts. The Expensify app's basic features are free and available for iPhone, Android and Windows phone users. Test the free version for yourself at https://www.expensify.com!

If running is your exercise of choice, you know how enjoyable the right music can be during your workouts. Not only can it keep you motivated, it can encourage you to run a little longer especially if the music matches your running pace. Many of you have attempted to create playlists that will match your pace, but it's a bit of a time consuming process. A helpful app called RockMyRun can make it a lot easier to find the best music to match your running style. The app has created playlists that match specific BPMs (Beats Per Minute) providing you with a continuous list of songs that work with your running pace. You'll find playlists based on specific genres, your desired BPM, the length of the list and whether it has clean or explicit lyrics. The playlists that are free can be up to forty-five minutes in length, but if you want longer playlists, you can opt for their premium membership which includes other options like the 'MyBeat' feature. MyBeat allows runners to dial in the exact match for their pace with finite control over the BPM for the entire list of songs. If you're a runner, jogger or just a power-walker, the RockMyRun app is a unique offering that's available for both iPhone or Android users.