Data Doctors Tech Tips

I've provided tips in the past on ways to extend the battery life of a smartphone, but most of those same suggestions will also extend the life of your laptop battery! Almost 50% of the drain can come from powering your screen brightness, so turning it down as low as you can go is the #1 tip I can suggest. And just like with your smartphone, turning off the Wifi and Bluetooth radios when you aren't using them will save precious power. If you have USB devices plugged into the ports that you aren't using, unplugging them will keep your computer from either trying to charge or access them. The most damaging thing to any battery is extreme temperatures, so you should never turn your computer on or charge it when it's really hot or really cold to the touch. Instead, you should wait until your laptop has acclimated to room temperature before using it, which will help extend the life of the battery. Also, you should avoid using your laptop on any soft surfaces such as a pillow or blanket as it can block the cooling vents and cause your laptop to overheat. Screen savers that display your favorite photos might be fun, but they also eat up your battery, so switching to a blank screen when your computer goes to sleep is much more energy efficient!

If you've always wanted to create awesome videos, but never had to time to learn, today's tip is for you! Video editing can be really complicated and expensive if you want to do it like the pros, but now there's a really easy to use tool that will make it look like you spent hours creating movie magic. It's called Magisto and it's one part magic and one part really clever technology for those that have no idea how to edit video. Open the Magisto app, pick a few videos and pictures you want to include, then select the music you want and an editing style to have your movie 'automagically' created for you! Presto! That's all you to do to create really cool video without all the hassle! Once the automagical process is finished, your video gets posted to their website so you can share it on Facebook, Twitter or by e-mail. You can also download your masterpiece so you'll have a copy on your own computer. If you're a movie making wannabe, you can use the website or the iPhone or Android apps; check it all out at https://MAGISTO.com

One of the first mobile movie apps that I fell in love with years ago, was a silent movie maker. It allowed me to easily create movies that looked like they were made in the silent movie era of 20's, complete with text slides and piano music. Well the app's now called Vintagio and they've added video filters that include other vinatage years like the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's These additional filters really boost the options for creating unique videos on either your iPhone or iPad. The express mode makes it easy to quickly create simple videos, but if you really want to get creative, jump to the Pro Mode. You can change the speed of the video, add one of their music beds or choose from your own music library. While there are free alternatives that appear to do the same thing, none of them come close to Vintagio, which costs 4 bucks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vintagio/id335148458

How many times have you put something in your calendar you really didn't want to do? Isn't it time you start adding things you do want to do? Well, that's Google's perspective as well and in that spirit, they recently rolled out a new feature called Goals for Google Calendar users. Since finding time for exercise is often a big goal, you can choose a physical activity, set the frequency you're shooting for and Google's calendar will find time in your calendar for those yoga sessions or power walks. If you end up with a conflict during that time or you're running late, Google Calendar will reschedule your goals automatically. The Goal option only appears on the mobile app for iOS and Android users, but once you set them up, you'll see your goals on your computer as well. Since a primary problem with achieving goals is simply remembering them, this new option might be just the motivation you need to finally start down the path to success.

If you're a Windows user and have Apple's Quicktime video player installed, it appears that it's time to get rid of it. Apple has officially stopped providing security updates for the player and security firm Trend Micro is already warning of two serious flaws that won't be fixed because of this. Mac users will continue to get security updates, but Windows users should uninstall the Quicktime player altogether. You may even find that you didn't need the program anyway, but if it turns out you have files that did require Quicktime, checkout a popular free alternative called VLC. VLC is an open source media player that's capable of playing everything from DVDs, to CDs or just about any type of computer media file you use. It's also capable of taking over for the Windows Media Player, so you'll end up with a single program that can play all your digital media. I've posted the download link for VLC at DataDoctors.com/radio http://www.videolan.org/vlc

Wireless sensors that can attach to your keychain or other items so you can track them down when they're lost have been around for a while. Two companies have captured most of the attention: Tile and TrackR. On the surface, they both appear to be very similar, but if you're looking for that little extra, I'd checkout TrackR over Tile. TrackR's sensors are thinner, do more and don't use special batteries, so you can replace them yourself. One of the coolest features of the TrackR sensors is that you can use the sensor on your keys to figure out where your phone is when you can't find it too. They all use higher powered Bluetooth, which has a range of 100-150 feet of bidirectional communication. If you buy them in volume, they can be as cheap as $15 each, so you can use them in your wallet, travel bags or anything you'll ever want to track. I've posted the link to TrackR at DataDoctors.com/radio https://www.thetrackr.com

5G is coming, 5G is coming...the hype has already started in the wireless world. Commonly referred to as 5th generation wireless, 5G the latest buzzword but it actually doesn't even exist at the moment. There is no currently recognized standard for what will eventually be called 5G, just a bunch of companies testing various technologies that they hope will one day be called 5G. If you hear anything about 5G for the time being, assume it's just another overzealous marketing department trying to get a jump on something we may not see for years. There's no doubt that all the major players are working on exponentially faster data for our mobile devices, but for now, it's all speculation. If you've heard the hype and thought about switching to another carrier because they appear to be close to offering the next big thing, think again. Even when it does actually hit the market, you don't want to be in early adopter group unless you like expensive pain.