Mobile Thing #2: Mobile Device Tips

This "thing" covers an area where I feel pretty comfortable: using my phone. Granted, I don't know everything there is to know about it, but I'm constantly fiddling with it and figuring new things out. For example, earlier this week, after seeing, yet again, the commercial showing someone using my phone (Galaxy S4) as a TV remote, I decided I needed to test the Watch On feature. Lo and behold, it works! Now, I'm not convinced I really need my phone to function as a TV remote, but its kind of nice to be able to mute the the morning news with the same device that I use to time my morning meditation.

I've also recently started "power" using the Google Now feature (for example, I've set it up to notify me of estimated time in will take me to commute home in the evening commute) and am both thrilled and somewhat disturbed by how well it predicts places I might like to know about, web content I might like to read, and so forth. So I was thrilled to be reminded of the easy access trick tapping and of holding down the menu button.

Watching the video on the 23Mobile Device website pointed out that I don't do much to keep my phone secure... I don't have a lock sequence or any tracking app set up to locate it if it is stolen or if I misplace it (hello, staff bathroom stall at school). I think I'll investigate the Lookout Security and Anti-virus app.

Mobile Thing #1: Creating A Blog (and What I Hope to Get Out of This Program)

I created a blogger blog several years ago- the process, I discovered, is quite easy. But just because something is easy doesn't make it motivating. I posted to that blog a total of 1 time. Writing isn't a favorite task, and I spend so much time at a computer that blogging just didn't hold a lot of appeal.

Joining 23 Mobile Things is one way to push myself to explore areas (skills, technologies, etc.) related to career- like blogging- that I might otherwise ignore due to lack of intrinsic enthusiasm. I'm sure I will find things that I love and I'm enthused about, and hope to find a level of appreciation for other things that I have previously not heard of or ignored as "a great (tool, technique, app, program, etc.) but just not something I'm interested in".