Even before “dat ‘Rona” hit, our family has BEEN in these Amazon streets. Now that we have drastically limited our in-person shopping due to COVID-19, we’ve had Amazon deliveries at our front door seemingly every day.
My crib isn’t on the Smart Home level that I want because Apple’s HomeKit still isn’t fully realized yet (and them sh*ts be expensive). But I do have some Smart Home tech…in the house.
Specifically, my MyQ Smart Garage Door opener that lets me open/close my garage with my iPhone, and monitor the door’s status with my Amazon Echo devices. Since MyQ is compatible with the Alexa smart assistant, I have finally decided to give Amazon Key a try.
Without drawing out this blog post any further (because who even blogs anymore?), I can use my Amazon Key to enroll in the In-Garage Delivery Program that lets Amazon drivers access via MyQ to leave deliveries in my garage in order to:
Ward off any “porch pirates” who may try and run up
Fend off our nosey-ass 3 year-old who is “blocking” Santa’s game by checking for packages EVERY TIME the front door opens
Read more about Amazon In-Garage Delivery Program
We’ve still got some shopping left to do, so I will test it out and circle back with my results.
I use Siri as much as I can but there are still some commands I habitually grab my phone to accomplish when I could’ve easy asked Siri to do it (Voice recognition tends to work better on my Apple Watch vs. my iPhone, but I digress).
How many tasks do you accomplish with Siri? Check out the story on Fast Company and let me know if you use any of these in the comments.
Why do you ask? If I’m honest with myself, I wanted a new phone sooner than later, so I convinced myself that the smaller iPhone 12 Pro would be just fine.
The screen size of the XS Max is 6.4″, while the 12 Pro is 6.1″. That’s only a .3″ difference! My original thought was that’s not enough of screen difference to notice. Additionally, I also have an iPhone XR and it’s the same screen size of the 12 Pro, and I assumed the 12 Pro at the same screen size, would FEEL the same in my hand as the XR.
I was wrong. The 12 Pro is slimmer and more compact than the wider XR. So while the viewing size of the devices are similar, the FEEL of the device in my hand is different.
Apple’s September event is upon us, but it’s not expected to include the launch of a next-gen iPhone. Instead, the gathering’s “Time Flies” moniker suggests a new Apple Watch, while rumors tip updated iPads, too.
This isn’t totally a surprise; COVID-19 has put a strain on the global supply chain, and that includes iPhone parts. “As you know, last year we started selling new iPhones in September. This year, we project supply to be available a few weeks later,” Apple’s CFO said in July.
Still, we will get the iPhone 12—or whatever Apple calls it—eventually. And until then, here’s what we hope Apple will add to its smartphone.
With the iOS 14 public beta now available, I threw caution to the wind and installed it on my main iPhone. I wasn’t too worried, as the past few public betas from Apple have been surprisingly stable. But I did make an archived backup of my iPhone just in case, and I recommend other beta testers do the same.
It’s a safe bet that many if not all of the features present in the public beta will make it to the final release scheduled for this fall. After digging through and trying out all the features, here is a look at seven of the more notable ones you will want to try first.
I recorded and published this walk-through video of Apple’s Time Machine backup process way back in 2015. The cool thing about the process is that it’s so simple to setup and use, that I didn’t even need to record a new video to update said process.
Time Machine is $free.99 and is included with every Mac. All you need is an external Hard Drive with enough space (Peep my Hard Drive recommendation below). Overall, it just works…
The above backup process stores a copy to an external Hard Drive that you keep on hand just in case something happens to your Mac. The only problem with this is the “worse case scenario” where BOTH your Mac and your external Hard Drive is damaged, lost, or stolen. Or in my case, you have a different (and very important) external Hard Drive that can’t be backed up via Time Machine.
With any of those cases, you need to create an additional off-site (remote) backup that you can access if the worse-case scenario becomes a reality…Like it was for me. To solve that potential problem, I recommend BackBlaze to backup your files to the cloud. Check out this video I did outlining how BackBlaze saved my ass
I don’t know how important your files are to you, but my files are very important to me. Don’t wait until something happens before you figure out how to restore your data, go ahead and follow my suggestions, and you will be prepared WHEN (not if) your data is gone.
I’ve seen a ton of folks transition to digital during this new social distancing experiment. DJ’s, podcasters, and video content creators all stepping up their digital game to share their influence.
Many of those content creators are using the popular Yeti Blue Mic…WRONG!
From one digital content creator to another who uses the Yeti Blue Mic, STOP TALKING INTO THE TOP OF THE MIC…There’s literally no mic up there!
The mic(s) are on the front, back & sides (depending on what mode you’re in). So do me a favor: If you want crisp & clean audio for your digital content, think of this pic before you go “live”
This post may contain affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.Disclosure
The generally accepted ways to stop the contraction and spread of the Cornoavirus is to practice social distancing (stay away from large crowds), and regularly wash your hands. Simply because the virus spreads by human contact, so quit touching people and stuff.
No problem, right? Surprisingly, the media hasn’t really talked about how our devices (that we literally touch all day every day) could be contributing to the spread of #DatRona.
In a Business Insider India article, Suranjeet Chatterjee, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine Department of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi stated “Coronavirus and other germs can live on surfaces like glass, metal or plastics and phones are bacteria-ridden. It is necessary that we sanitize our hands frequently and make sure that our hands are clean all the time.”
‘Nuff said. So here are a few ways to can sanitize your devices to stop the spread of germs…and Coronavirus.
Regularly Sanitize Your Devices
We are so trained to touch our phones as much as we are prone to touching our eyes, mouth, or nose. We already know frequently touching our face is a not helping reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, so that’s why it’s advised to wash your hands all the time.
The same can be said for your devices. As often as you wash your hands, you should be cleaning your phone (at least the screen). The best way to sanitize your devices is by using an alcohol-based sanitizer and a clean cloth to wipe the screen any part of the phone that touches other surfaces.
If you use a spray based sanitizer, lightly spray your phone after spraying your hands. for a more in-depth cleaning, I recommend using the WHOOSH! Screen Cleaner Kit ($15 bucks on Amazon).
Go Hands-Free
Again, the best way to not spread the ‘Rona is to limit contact with people and things. Now is good time to get more acquainted with voice assistants like Siri, to complete simple tasks like sending texts, emails, answering calls, checking your calendar, etc. It is also a good idea to invest in Bluetooth headphones/ear buds if you frequently make/receive phone calls – Don’t be that dork annoying people by using the speakerphone all the time.
A study published in 2018 by Insurance2Go stated that one in 20 smartphone users was found to clean their phones less than every six months…YUCK! Don’t be that person that is OD about cleaning their hands and has stockpiled hand sanitizer, but hasn’t taken the time to clean that nasty-ass phone of yours.
