Data Doctors Tech Tips

I recently discussed coding with the parent of a young child who was interested in preparing their child with important tech skills.and#160; IMHO it's one of the best things you can expose a child to, as learning the language of coding will prepare them with valuable skills no matter what vocation they choose. Coding is not just for programmers and web developers because it has become such a fundamental skill-set that will prepare anyone to leverage the digital world.and#160; One suggestion for getting your child started is with MIT's 'Scratch' project. The Scratch system shows children ages 8 to 16 how to create programs through interactive stories, games, and animations.and#160; It engaging and will help them learn to reason systematically, think creatively and work with others, which are essential tools for life in today's digital environment.and#160; And it's not just for kids, so everyone should look into this incredible free platform atand#160;https://scratch.mit.edu

A fantastic feature in Google Docs and Sheets is something called 'add-ons' and it's seemingly a hidden gem for most users!and#160; Add-ons can include Avery Label or general e-mail merge for Mailchimp accounts as well as the 'Hello Sign' add-on for using digital signatures.and#160; You can find add-ons that create a table of contents very quickly in the sidebar of documents or add-ons that can send a fax!and#160; Enhancements that create charts, flowcharts, mind maps as well as music notation are just a few upgrades you can make to Google's free online version of Microsoft Office.and#160; To check out all the add-ons, just open any document or sheet and look for the 'Add-ons' menu towards the top and tap the 'Get Add-ons'.and#160; The great thing is, that once you add these features, they're available in all your past or future documents and spreadsheets.and#160; The add-on options will continue to grow as more developers create more tools, so be sure you check back regularly to discover all the new awesome free tools!and#160;

The Internet is crawling with sites that claim to know the best days and times to buy your airline tickets, but the reality is that it's way too complicated to be that simple.and#160; Those of you that typically plan trips in advance should look into the offerings from Hopper.and#160; Hopper generates visual tips on the best time to fly and buy specific routes.and#160; The app brings up reports on what prices are available for any trip you're looking into and when you are flexible, show you the cheapest days to fly.and#160; They also predict whether prices are most likely to go down or up along with the airlines that are generally the cheapest for your trip.and#160; The app can also monitor your upcoming trip and check daily prices to find great deals and notify you when you should buy.and#160; Anyone looking for solid information before booking your next a flight should download the app at:and#160;http://Hopper.comand#160;

For those that use Google Maps on a regular basis, you may have missed, like I did, an addition to the app that was subtle put useful.and#160; You are no doubt familiar with the icon in the bottom right corner of the app, which when tapped, repositions your map to your current location.and#160; Well, just to the left is the 'Explore' icon which is a helpful tool, especially when you are in unfamiliar places.and#160; Tapping the 'Explore' icon will ask Google to find nearby places to eat, drink, see a movie, find live music or other popular attractions.and#160; It defaults to show you what's nearby within a 20-minute drive, but you can change what you want as the 'near you' distance including a 5 minute walk.and#160; Not only does it start with what's near you but also currently open, which you can change so you can plan for what will be open the next morning or tonight instead of now.and#160; While there are a plethora of options that can show you what's happening around you, nothing beats the convenience of having it right in Google Maps!

Today's smartphones are modern marvels of technology with more computing power than the technology used by NASA in the 60's to get man to the moon. They include vert sophisticated camera technology which allows us all to take awesome images without a lot of technical expertise. Automatic focus, automatic white balance, automatic exposure and automatic color correction are useful but they all mean nothing when the composition of the picture is bad.and#160; Composition tricks like the 'rule of thirds' may be a mystery for many amateur photographers so there's an app for that! Camera 51 is the name of the app and it helps most people with the all important composition in picture taking.and#160; By leveraging the technology in your smartphone, it can analyze your scene to provide on-screen guidance that suggests where you should point the camera.and#160; If composition isn't something you're very good at, checkout the free Camera51 app: https://www.camera51.com/camera51-app

With the travel season just underway, your smartphone may be one of best ways to discover lots of interesting items near you.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; Location-based 'augmented reality' within mobile apps will make you aware of interesting locations near you, even why they no longer exist.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;My favorite app is 'Field Trip' from Google, which I discovered while testing my Google Glass.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; The app is a tour guide extraordinaire and will provide you with interesting discoveries and unique places that may be hidden from others.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; It will help you learn about local history, to places to shop, eat or have fun.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; Select the information you want, and it will pop up on your phone, as you're walking around wherever you are.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;I've learned about many interesting tidbits of history near my home an office because of this app.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; The app can be extremely helpful while visiting unfamiliar locations because it quickly shows you hidden gems as you are walking down the street.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; What have you missed that's right around you? Now you can out with the Field Trip app: http://Fieldtripper.com

Those 'smart' doorbells which include high-def video and connect through wi-fi are becoming very popular, but it's best to do some homework before you spend your hard earned money to get one.and#160; The idea of a video that pops up on your phone when anyone rings your doorbell is attractive, but your homes wi-fi coverage is a crucial aspect no matter what device you plan on using.and#160; Top options from companies such as 'Ring' or 'Skybell' have lots of complaints from users when it comes to reliability and performance particularly in the video area.and#160; A weak or non-existent signal at your front door is going to result in unhappy results when the device relies on wireless signals.and#160; Also watch out for any device that requires a power source when your existing doorbell isn't hard wired.and#160; Your video images can also be greatly impacted when your camera points into sunlight. I'd highly recommend that you test the wifi signal at your current doorbell with your smartphone in airplane mode as your first step.

One of my first loves in mobile movie apps in the early years was an app that made awesome silent movies. The app made it easy to create videos that had the 20's era silent movie look along with classic text slides and funky piano music. The current version of the app is called 'Vintagio' and it has added lots of new filters to create movies that look like they're from 50's through the 80's. This final version expanded the options for creating classic looking movies on iPhones and iPads. The basic 'express' mode is for creating simple videos very easily, but I'd highly recommend going to 'Pro Mode' to create some really awesome gems. In Pro Mode, you can change the speed of the movie, add a stock soundtrack or music from your own library to play along with it. There are free competitor apps that seem like they do the same thing, but none of them that I've tried have come close to what Vintagio does for a mere 4 dollars. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vintagio/id335148458

If you've ever been at a large public gathering attempting to connect with your buds, say at a concert or music festival today's tip is for you. A couple of programmers have created what they call "the dumbest app ever created" that's actually pretty useful in these situations. It's called 'LookFor' and it's simply a way to turn your smartphone screen into a blinking beacon so that your friends can find you in a large crowd.and#160; You just open the app, choose your color and hold it high in the air so you can tell your friends to look for that color blinking in the crowd.and#160; LookFo can help you hail a cab, connect in a dark club or just about any situation where standing out in a crowd is helpful.and#160; Now, you can reward this brilliant idea by buying the app for either your iPhone or Android device for 99 cents or you can do a search for one of the many free flashlight apps that may do something similar.and#160; Look for flashlight apps that use your smartphone's entire screen instead of the flash on the camera that also blinks. LookFor app website: http://www.lookfor.cl

If you are a Mac computer user and you're paying attention, you've probably noticed some concerning security stories about varioius attacks. So does this mean it's time to finally install an antivirus program on your Apple computer? The answer primarily depends on the behavior of the users; Apple has been providing basic malware protection since 2009. Those that keep their operating systems updated and only download apps from Apple's App store have a higher chance of staying safe. Households with younger Mac users that typically are not afraid to do much of anything online, may find that the extra layer of protection that comes from name brand Internet security software provides some peace of mind. No matter what you decide when it comes to installing antivirus software on your Mac, it should be pretty clear to everyone that the days of proclaiming "I have a Mac, so I don't worry" are long gone. Anyone connected to the Net is constantly a target regardless of what you are using to get online, so we should all act accordingly!