The Flapping Wings of the Tablet Butterfly

I started this post back in August, as the Summer was coming to an end and I was taking that last trip with the family before the elegant parade of yellow buses began again. I finally got back to a place where I could finish it up (and update it as well)

Riding shotgun and doing a bit of work on this five hour trip seems to now be something normal. Just for a moment, let me give you a sense of what has now "happened." As my SUV hurls down the interstate, we are a rolling WiFi hotspot. Both my girls are watching something on their tablets. One is streaming a movie from my home Plex server. The other is watching Elmo or Mickey Mouse via YouTube. As for myself, my laptop is open and I am doing a bit of work, as well as texting, also on the Internet. Yes, of course I've left the driving to someone else so I can really plow through some work as well as bear witness to the occasional outburst/impromptu sing along from my daughter.  Noise cancelling headphones are optional.

      When everyone's talking, and no one is listening, how can we decide

        - From "Daylight Again" CSN

In a bit of a '70s' mood lately. A few weeks ago, I found myself powerless to resist a remastered hi-def running of all three Godfather movies. It's like Kryptonite yet so so good. Next came "1974", a new Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young box set that captures the group at its pinnacle moment in time. A wonderfully clear and enjoyable performance by what many have called the best harmonizing group ever recorded. How good are they? Good enough to not need any instruments. If you know your rock history, you know that these guys have been part of some of the most influential music groups of all time. The Hollies, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds and more. Most people know that Joni Mitchell gets credit for pulling  these guys together at a party in 1968. What you may not know is that they were turned down by Apple Records as John Lennon felt their music was nonsense. Soon after, they signed with Atlantic records and were on fire. It was a blessing in disguise as there is no doubt they would have been swept up in the legal tornado that befell Apple Records. My favorite little fact about them concerns Steven Stills.  Stills began as a bass guitar player and wanted to learn lead. So he began to learn lead guitar and chords from none other than Jimi Hendrix. In fact, Hendrix asked Stills to join the Experience but Stills never got the message. For your aural pleasure, I give you CSNY 1974

Marrakesh Express

Recently I had a conversation with one of my good friends about a Surface 3 tablet. He is a regular reader of my blog so he will soon know I am talking about him. Anyway, he was very excited to jump on Microsoft's latest tablet offering. A frequent offender of multiple tablets, he understands the play that Microsoft is making with the Surface: a tablet that can also be a laptop. Most of you don't know that this is the great white buffalo of technology ideas, especially for c-level business people. And, as it happens, Microsoft is making the biggest strides in catching it. The idea didn't get fully realized with the first generation of the Surface. However, credit does go to the boys in Redmond for not sitting around for years before pushing this technology to a better place. We are now in the third generation of Surface, and it's only been two years to the day since it was initially released. Looks as if Microsoft is taking a page from the Samsung playbook since, by all accounts and reviews, the Surface 3 is a hit.

My friend is the perfect match for the Surface paradigm. As CEO of a software firm, the tablet gives him access to his emails, Internet,  spreadsheets, documents, and presentations, all in that comfortable and familiar Microsoft environment. And, he can make minor to moderate changes to all of them thanks to the fully integrated keyboard and track pad that is the Surface. Now, whether hurling through the air or down the highway, his tray-table and windshield time is all-business. As he shared his new-toy-enthusiasm with me, he asked how my travel time looks. I started with an easy explanation that the one-device-fits all model, unfortunately, doesn't work for me…at least not yet. As I dove further into the explanation, I found myself coming back around to the point I've maintained for quite a while: tablets are consumption devices whereas a laptop is a production device. So much of what I do requires the creation of things; complex things. Pushing that type of work through a tablet would likely cause the device to pop all of its buttons and limp back to the case from whence it came, exhausted and whimpering. Plus, I need a bit more screen space as I bounce around from Chrome to Excel to Word to Visio and back to Chrome. This sentiment is shared by most production-driven business people.  Hence the question I posed to my friend: Are you consuming information you've prepared or looking to created it? The Surface is more of a lite laptop than a laptop replacement. However, I will say that with each passing generation of this device, the gap between tablet and laptop really narrows. For the record, you can add external monitors, keyboards, and mice in order to make just about any tablet more closely resemble a laptop. But if you are going to do that, why not buy an ultrabook? And how many people are left without tablets at this point?  There are some very interesting things happening as a result of tablets. I call it the tablet butterfly effect. Take this one for a spin and let me know what you think.

Helplessly Hoping 

For about a year or so, I've maintained that we were rapidly approaching mobile device saturation. Looks like my prognosticating has come true. As more and more devices entered the market, the likes of Samsung and Motorola have experienced extraordinary price and form-factor pressure. Even the unshakable Apple started to feel as if they had been placed into a vise. Remember what happened with flat-panel TVs a few years back? Sure you do. Prices dropped like an elephant jumping off a diving board. And they have stayed there for quite a while. Naturally, you couldn't resist. So, you wandered out to Costco or jumped onto Amazon and bought all the flat-panels you could stand (and perhaps a few extra). After all, pricing may not be this low again, right? No more tubes or old-school big screens for you! And, while they do continue to get thinner, flat-panel TVs don't need to be replaced every few years as there is just not a compelling reason to do so.  Curved screen or the new 4K standard (which by the way has no native programming yet) are just not enough to pry your old TVs off the wall. And, thanks to Chromecast, you can wirelessly add all those smart TV features like NetFlix, Pandora, HBO Go and YouTube to any flat-panel TV for a mere $35.00. Then there is 3D TV. If there is an epic fail in TV land, it would be 3D TV. That is, unless you are Tylenol, Advil, or Dramamine. All that 3Dizziness most certainly sold more medication for those companies. Listen folks, you should have known better with the 3D thing. The disclaimer for those TVs sounded like something you would read on the back of a Viagra bottle. "This TV is not for everyone. Stop watching this TV is you experience headaches, nausea, loss of balance, a sudden decrease in cabin pressure or vertigo lasting more than four hours." Anyway, the same thing has happened with tablets. Low prices have put them within reach of everyone. Really, everyone! And so we come to saturation. In specific, primary and secondary saturation. When I say primary, I mean individuals like you and me. Try this little mind flexing exercise: Name five people that are in your immediate life that don't have a tablet. Children under 5 and your uncle doing a nickel in Folsom do not count. Not so easy, is it? Sure, many people use them as glorified newspapers, e-readers and shopping carts. But, they still have them. Then you have secondary tablets; the ones that either belong to children or to a family. Keep in mind, secondary tablets are in addition to primary ones, not instead of them. Take my family for instance. In the beginning, I rocked the tablet all by my lonesome. Now, some three years later, we have four. We use them for surfing, remote control, gaming, and a gaggle of YouTube videos such as "All About That Bass","Cool Kids","The Lady Opening Toys", and a singing snowman named Olaf singing "In Summer"…all of which seems to be in perpetual repeat mode. I believe many of you find now find yourselves in the same situation. What's interesting is that  people don't feel the need to replace their tablets very often... just like flat panels. I'm not suggesting a lack of innovation with tablets. There is plenty. Yet people don't find themselves shackled with poor performing tablets. That is, unless they bought a really cheap one from the start.

How do I know this to be true beyond my own mind's eye? Well, let's start with the corporate leader of a well-known company, making a rather bold statement. The company is Blackberry and the CEO is Thorsten Heins. The statement came at a time when RIM had fallen from the heavens like an asteroid, and plowed into the Earth. In the midst of the charred dirt and rising smoke, Heins proclaimed, "In five years, I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," and "tablets themselves are not a good business model" Ok, I know these words sound strikingly similar to those from the captain of the Titanic telling people to pay no attention to the cold, gushing water entering the boat. But he eerily foreshadows the current state of events in the tablet and laptop world. Consider a few things. Last year was the worst on record for worldwide PC and laptop sales. Yet tablet sales remained reasonable strong. That is, until we moved into this year and tablet sales flat lined. So much so, The CEO of Best Buy said just a few months ago that "tablet sales are crashing." Oy. Want some numbers to back it up? Try this little piece of technology confection in the form of a Gartner report , released just this past week. It says, wait for it, that tablets have peaked with a penetration level around 40%-50%. What's a bit more interesting is the same article claims that people are returning to laptops and PCs. Cue Mythbusters. Production versus consumption myth: confirmed.

Long Time Gone

Folks, tablets are here to stay. However, I believe we are at the beginning of a kind of device consolidation. See if you agree with the view from my side of the street. Samsung has seen huge popularity with its Galaxy Note devices. Running Android, these are supersized smartphones that let you use an electronic pen and "write" on the screen. A tablet, yet not in the traditional sense, right? Next we have phablets. As the name implies, it is the fusing of a phone and a 7" or 8" tablet. Here you get the benefits of a large screen with all the comfort of making calls. If you think about it, this makes sense as you get the best of both worlds and can drop a device along with a data plan. Phablets are all the rage with younger business men. This group has embraced the murse (aka man purse). These guys are perfectly comfortable toting their stuff in a shoulder or messenger bag. And not just to work. Pretty much everywhere and anywhere. Now that I've said something, you too will notice them all over the place. I'm not kidding. Go check out any men's fashion website or design house and you will see they all sell a variety of shoulder bags, in any size or material you desire. It is the single fastest growing accessory category for men. As a dad with younger children, my murse conditioning has already begun. Water bottles, snacks, wipes and chargers are always on my side or my back. In fact, I have never owned a briefcase in my entire professional career. I've always been a messenger bag and back pack kind of guy. Anyway, back to Phablets. They continue to put up some impressive numbers. Some 20 million were shipped in 2013. Again, not your usual tablet. And, since it is something of an all-in-one device, business people are starting to really dig these things. Sure, it won't fit in your pocket. But, it fits perfectly fine in a moleskin, messenger bag, or murse.

Ok, so we know that lots of people have tablets and that the form factor continues to evolve. So what, right? Why is this so important? Because it is affecting your life in many profound ways; ways perhaps you have not thought about. Which is why you have me along for the ride. Let me introduce you to the butterfly effect. It's origins are in chaos theory. I'm not going to take you there. It is a serious mind screw and you would likely throw away my blog forever. All you need to know is the simple premise: a small change in a complex system can have large effects everywhere else. Put another way, imagine a hurricane being influenced by the flapping of the wings of a butterfly several weeks before. So check out what's happened. You stare at all this technology you have amassed: a tablet or two and a smartphone and a PC and a laptop and a bag full of cords and a small nuclear device to run it all. At one time you needed a PC or laptop. Tablets did not exist. But once the iPad came along (aka the butterfly), something changed. Many of you began to choose tablets over PCs. Moreover, you chose to replace your PC with a tablet or two. Result: PC sales plummet along with prices. When straddled with heavy supply and broad manufacturing capabilities, companies lower prices to dump excess inventory and try to keep product moving. This is Economics 101. If all you were doing was checking email, Skyping, and browsing the Net, a PC was overkill and wrought with opportunity to contract some virus or malware you didn't really want. It also invited criticism and judgment from your nephew as he disinfected your machine while implying you were looking at porn. Mind you, he is twelve.  But it goes even further than PCs. Take a moment and look at the big picture (aka the hurricane). I know you get it when I say that people have been liberated from their PCs thanks to the tablet. But they've also parted ways with their iPods, Kindles, TVs, Blu-ray players, DVDs…even cable programming.  You don't need a quarterly report from any electronics company to know what happens next. You've directly benefited these last few years. You probably just thought it was the economy. Nope. It is all about the flapping wings of the tablet butterfly. I submit to you we are experiencing the hangover after the great tablet party.

Helplessly Hoping

With all these tablets flying around, business people didn't make their travel bags lighter; they are actually heavier since many now tote a laptop and tablet. Different purposes for different devices. Some will go the route of a Surface 3 and fit comfortably within its limitations, just like they have with the iPad. Others will remain devoted to their laptops. None of these ways are wrong. It is actually nice to have choices, even on a trip by trip basis. And the timing could not be better for the airlines. Recently, many of them have announced plans to shed weight and seat back entertainment systems, in favor of customers bringing their own devices.

With our shoulders sore and our devices always on (at the very least in Airplane Mode), tablets have shaken things up for just about every device and media services imaginable. It didn't take very long and is pretty incredible when you think about it. I still think we need a few more generations before I will be able to chuck my laptop. For now, we all will continue to see lower prices will, giving us a relatively inexpensive way to flip between tablet styles as we try and figure out which device or form factor fits our lifestyle the best. Keep an eye on Samsung. Late last year they introduced a 12.2 inch Galaxy Pro Tablet. I recently picked one up from Woot for a cool $300.00! This could be the magic size. We'll see. The tablet battle is pretty much over. Not to worry though. The next battle in the Consumption Wars is coming to a screen near you. And it will be waged by the streaming companies. Last December I spun a tale about how I thought HBO would go direct (How The Internet Is Killing Salmon). Someone at HBO must have been reading it. Last week, HBO announced plans to go direct. The bell now tolls for everyone else, especially the cable companies. In the meantime, I will add a bit of extra padding to my shoulder strap and walk the Earth looking for the next butterfly while waiting for the great white buffalo to arrive.

Teach Your Children

But before I go, I'd like to offer up an observation to each of you. Call it a public service announcement from your Uncle Ricky. Tablets represent the final plunge of the battering ram through your downtime wall. And, like their smart phone cousins, they too need a warning sticker that boldly states "this device will distance you from other humans." There is a new slavery abound: it's called your devices. What begins as a fascinating trance eventually ends up with the device unsuspectingly becoming the master, placing your mind and your time in chains. The effects are very pronounced and profound. Remember, these devices have no consciousness nor perception. And Siri can't tell you to do the right thing. Here are a few things to ponder. You should know to put your device down when you come home and see your children or are in line at the grocery store. Closing your eyes and sleeping on the plane is not only ok, but is still no charge. Driving is not supposed to be a contact sport nor get in the way of texting. And no matter how busy you are, texting and/or talking while sitting in the "oval office" is still off limits, unless you are the President of the United States. 

Somewhere along the way, we decided to share our grievances electronically and anonymously instead of personally and productively. To send an email instead of a hand-written thank you note. To have conversations in abbreviations. To express ourselves in 160 characters or less. To judge each other not by the content of our character but the number of friends in Facebook or LinkedIn. To post on our wall instead of placing a call. To place our phone next to our fork. We have anxiety about life…battery life.  We see the Internet as a right instead of a privilege, where everyone has a voice and no one has responsibility. Actually, "we" have gone missing, replaced with "i." iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, and selfies. Our patience is thin and our expressions unfiltered, one hash tag at a time. We hold our devices more than we hold each other, isolating ourselves from ourselves. How did we become so connected yet so far apart from each other?

Utilizing technology is an integral part of professional life for me and many others. Even so, I am not a slave to it. Nor do I allow it to place me, or anyone else at risk. The same, however, is not true for many, many others. You know who they are. You see them every day, all around you, staring down instead of looking up. It is up to us to emancipate ourselves and those around us. I can assure you that we are not engineered to be "always on." Ironic when you consider that even our beloved devices need to be recharged. Think about that every time you pick up one of these gadgets to "check on something." Trust me, it can wait. The life you save may be your own.

Peace and love...and Happy Halloween

It Will Feel Better When It Stops Hurting

A few weeks back I was talking to a tech friend of mine who really enjoys reading my blog. He was politely pressing me for the next subject for which I would scribe and which musical influence would be appropriately paired with it. I laughed at the comparison between my storytelling and a meal that deserves the compliment of a fine wine. Or maybe he meant the music make the blog taste better. I'll need to think on that one. So, I told him I had a few ideas that I was kicking around to which he said, "Good! Because last year around this time you took the easy way out with an updated list of the apps you use. It was useful and all, but it wasn't entertaining." Jeez. Backhanded compliment? I think so. Kinda like saying "hey, I don't care what your wife says, you are a lot smarter than you look." Or "it will feel better when it stops hurting!" Ok, so I went back and looked. Sure enough there is some truth (albeit a tiny bit) to his comment. Yet I had already decided to update that list in this blog post. Well then, let's have some fun with it, shall we? 

My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into waterfall of creative alternatives -- Hedley Lamarr - Blazing Saddles(released 40 years ago this month)

This week marks the release of Jackson Browne's 20th album. His musical career has spanned my entire life and has produced some of my favorite songs. Who doesn't love Running On Empty? Most people don't know that his most well-known song wasn't actually made famous by him. In 1971, Jackson began writing a song but was having trouble getting it finished. So he played it for his neighbor who, like Jackson, was an up and coming musician. Anyway, Jackson's neighbor kept on him to finish the song but he couldn't get it done. So the neighbor asked Jackson to give him the song and he would finish it. After refusing a bunch of times, Jackson finally caved and turned it over, saying the whole thing was just a ridiculous waste of time. What happened next is a bit of musical magic. See his neighbor took the unfinished song, wrote the second verse, and recorded it with his band. In 1972, the song was released on the band's first album and became not only one of its signature songs, it is perhaps one of the best road trip songs of all time...right up there with Running On Empty. The neighbor was none other than Glen Frey. And that new band? That would be The Eagles which, until their first (self titled) album was released, were merely the backup band for Linda Ronstadt. And the song: Take It Easy. Yup, you read that correctly.

In 2004, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Shortly afterwards, he embarked on what he called his Solo Acoustic Tour. A tour that was him, his acoustic guitar and a piano. Actually, it should be his acoustic guitars. Jackson has a lot of them. I was so moved by the acoustic arrangements of his songs that I saw him three times within a two year period. You can image how thrilled I was to see him release the tour on two albums. So click here, kick your feet up on the coffee table and enjoy. This one is sure to make it into your playlist in a matter of minutes.

Never Stop

When it comes to devices, there are usually four basic types of users. First is the collector (aka pack rat). Collectors usually reveal themselves first in trivial dialog. They are known for stating "I have an app for that" instead of "there is an app for that." A quick glance at their electronic weapon of choice will quickly confirm they are in fact a collector. That's because they have an app for that; in more succinct terms it would seem they have installed nearly every app available. And just to make sure the apps don't feel lonely, add in every picture taken across every device…ever. Yup, all 15,000 of them. Needless to say, that tiny squealing you here coming from the device is not a defective speaker. No, it’s the cry of an overloaded device. It is bloated, slow to respond, and pretty much maxed out on an ongoing basis. A self-described perpetual "tester," a collector will remark that they need to remove "a few things" from their device and will do so…eventually.

In The Shape Of A Heart
Next you have the evangelist (aka the Kool Aide drinker). I call them e-ciples. Anyway, they took the red pill and not only went down the rabbit hole, they swim laps in the pool at the bottom. If you proudly display a car window sticker in the shape of a robot or piece of fruit, you might be an evangelist. If you believe that the Apple store is hallowed ground and that your purchases there somehow constitute a sacrifice being made to the technology gods, you might be an evangelist. If you have a stuff toy and/or bobble head of Lloyd (that is the name of the Android android), you might be an evangelist. If you've named something, including children, after the working name of an operating system (ie Leopard, Cheetah, Froyo, Gingerbread etc), you might be an evangelist. Actually, if the latter is true, there is no doubt about it. To an evangelist, the good is always great and the bad is...well...not talked about except under competitive circumstances. They champion their platform to anyone, anytime, all the time, with no ambiguity or quarter given to any other one. Think of a caffeinated cheerleader in a grown-up's body, dropping ping pong balls in front of a box fan that is pointed right at you. Now you get the idea. 

Somebody's Baby

Next you have what I call the purest. In the wild, they are sometimes called "natives" as a group reference or by the more entertaining adjective of "going commando" in recognition of the way they use their devices. Minimalists by nature, a purest is all about performance and applications that are absolutely necessary. A quick conversations with a purist, especially about his devices, will no doubt include a few strange sounding terms such as rooting, jail breaking, and ROMs; all of which refer to the process of stripping every vestige of a phone's unique features (known to them as bloatware) and returning the device back to its crap-free form. The purest's device will rarely contain any antivirus software. They will tell you those pieces of software just slow them down. Besides, viruses and malware are beneath them; something that plagues the weak and careless user. After all, a purist would never fall for the "banana in the tailpipe trick" right? Just like a Mac can't get infected and The Eagles will get back together when hell freezes over. Brrrrrrr. Purest are known to be easily offended, especially if someone mistakenly refers to them as a "knuckle dragger." Never do that. See, when confronted with this moniker, a purest will seize the opportunity to school you in an aloof yet somewhat elitist way. The dialog will begin with something like "You silly, uneducated imp, a purest is all about keeping their devices as clean as possible. I have made the choice to keep it free of everything I don't need. I am the king of all that I survey...on my device. A knuckle dragger makes a different choice; they chose the "no app" route; as in "no apps will run on my old school flip phone."

For Everyman
Lastly, we have the conformist (aka average person).  Motivated by either want or need, this group is usually one generation, perhaps two behind the latest available devices. And that is perfectly fine with them. With the exception of an Otter Box or some other colorful case, the conformist pretty much leaves their device the way it came into the world. Want to make them uncomfortable, put them in a smart phone store. To them, this is a cage where they are helpless prey, hoping the predator (in this case the carrier) doesn't smell fear and will allow them to leave with limbs still intact. Next time you are in a Verizon or AT&T store, look around and you will see them. They're the ones wandering aimless around the store in a counter-clockwise circle, looking for the Easy Button (which by the way lives in Office Depot) or will be in softball-ready position waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting greenhorn sales guy. Unfortunately, conformist are easily misguided by those store bound smartphone waiters solutionist who love to tell those BS tales of the phone that crapped itself due to exhaustion and leaked memory. Jeez, who knew memory could get tired or drain from a phone? How many people do you think immediately start to pat themselves down, checking for holes, just to make sure you weren't leaking gigabytes all over the floor? More than a few I assure you. Anyway, conformists don't really know what they don't know. They don't know their mobile device is kind of like your stomach. Eat a big meal on a Saturday night and that baby gets stretched way out. The body responds by summoning energy for all points and directing it to the stomach which, by all accounts, feels like a sleeping bag was just stuffed into it. As a result, limbs go limp and the head bobbles about as a wave of fatigue sweeps across the body. Crawling in bed never sounded so good, right? Feeling uncomfortable and listing to one side, enough momentum is mustered to stand upright and begin that time-honored tradition of wobble walking across the room and having a seat in the "oval office." There, it is hoped that this evening's meal can be…shall we say…dispensed without haste. A short time later (or should I say lighter), things return back to normal. 

Thankfully, the conformist usually has a technical friend (or the 14 year old son of a poker buddy) that can help "flush" their phone and return it back to good health. 

Take It Easy
Curiously, I fall a bit in between. I am an above average user with strong purest and occasional collector/evangelist tendencies. I have minimalist habits when it comes to my devices; they are streamlined, neat, and organized. I am all about performance so I can often be found closing and killing off those unused background apps that are slowly robbing my device of speed and resiliency. I am a bit of a collector in the sense that, due to my profession, I am trying out all different apps and things pretty much all the time. Yet I am good about cutting loose the ones that simply don't get used or have no value to me any longer. And while I am quite pleased with a number of staple apps that I use each day, I am very open to innovation that comes from new app developers; innovation that would be compelling enough for one app to replace another one. That is a really nice way of saying no app is ever 100% safe on any of my devices. And that my friends is the way it should be. In the app universe, a loss of innovation signals complacency. And therein lies the beginning of the end, for complacency leads to stagnation; stagnation leads to irrelevance; irrelevance leads to certain death. 

And with that brief introduction, here is my latest list of apps that have been kicked to the curb, hopped in the car, or still riding along.

What I am digging right now:

Push Bullet

Back last year, I talked about a great app and Chrome extension called Chrome to Push Bullet. At first, it was the same idea. Then it was taken to the next level. Right now I would say it is THE killer app! I can "push" anything to anyone pretty much any time. For example, I look up an address on my desktop PC. I can push it right to my phone, or to anyone else for that matter…even if they don't use Push Bullet! Need to send a picture to someone? No need to attach it to email or text it over. Push it to someone instead. It happens instantly. Here is where it gets a bit cooler. Any notification that comes up on my phone can be mirrored to any of my other devices. So, say you get a call on your phone and it is in your pocket. A pop-up will leap in front of you on your PC or your tablet. Same is true of text messages.  There are just too many cool things you can do with this app. Click here and you will get a better idea. Yea, I've got a little app love fest going on with this baby. It is awesome.
Phone. The concept was simple: the find a website on your PC and can zap it right over to your phone with nothing more than a click of your mouse. No emailing, texting…all that other stuff. I used to use that app every day. Then along came 

Safe In Cloud

Like most of you, there are simply too many passwords to track. I needed a place to keep them all together and organized. Moreover, it needed to work across all my devices. I used to use KeePass. While this filled the need, I felt the interface and usability of the app had grown old and outdated. Earlier this year I discovered Safe In Cloud. Same premise but much nicer and easier to use. It works across all platforms and will store the master list in OneDrive, Dropbox, or Gdrive to make it super easy (all encrypted of course). KeePass is out. 

Zoiper

Zoiper is a VoIP app that runs on my laptop and my smartphone. No, it isn't like Vonage or one of those other Internet phone services that you use instead of a traditional phone service. You will use an app like Zoiper when you have a VoIP service that is used at work. Why am I mentioning this? Because we all have people in business that we simply cannot give our cellphone numbers since they seem to not understand boundaries like…well…weekends, sleeping, family time etc. Yet you still need to converse with them and you aren't always near your office phone. Same situation when you are working remote due to a certain situation or condition. This past winter was particularly rough in Atlanta. A few times, I found myself working remotely. Ok, no big deal there. However, I needed to make and receive calls. And, I didn't want to begin circulating my cellphone number to everyone. Moreover, people already know my office number. Enter Zoiper. I fire up the Zoiper app on my laptop and it connects to our VoIP phone system via the Internet. Someone calls my office extension, it rings on my laptop and I can answer it. Need to place a call, I dial out using Zoiper and the call runs through my office even though I am a thousand miles away on a hotel's WiFi network. Here is where it gets more cool: Zoiper will run on my smartphone. Now, as I travel around, I can make calls to people using my Zoiper on my smartphone, without giving out (or revealing for that matter) my private cellphone number. All the calls appear as if they are coming from my office.

Mighty Text

Ok, so when I tell you about this app, you will likely email me kudos and ask why in the world you didn't have it sooner. I bet you didn't know it existed. MightyText installs on any device as well as you PC and laptop via Chrome. Once installed, it allows you to send and receive text messages, on your PC, laptop, or tablet, as if you were using your cellphone. Take a moment…think about what I just said. Listen, sometimes my phone is on the charger...at the other end of the house. Sometimes it is a pain to type messages on such as small screen, especially when you're like me and have Flintstone thumbs. Mighty text changed everything for me. I arrive at work and put down my cellphone. As texts arrive, they pop right up on my PC screen where I can read and reply to them as if I grabbed my phone. Same is true of my tablets. It also works right through a browser. Go grab this app and I will gladly receive your praises.

Headphone SMS

So Headphone SMS does exactly what the name says: it reads your text messages to you when your headphones are on. I discovered this app back in February when I went skiing with a set of Outdoor Tech Chips helmet headphones. Notice I said helmet and not earbuds. When I am active, I can't shut out the world. Call me paranoid but I still need to hear things going on around me. Anyway, for the first time, I enjoyed a bit of downhill while listening to some good tunes. And with this app, I could hear my text messages read to me without grabbing my phone. Same is true when I am at the gym with my Rockfish Bluetooth Headphones. Yes, the app knows if you have headphones plugged in or are using wireless ones. Put another way, since the app works with Bluetooth, you can hear your texts read to you on any Bluetooth connected device. Headphones, external speakers, and car stereos. Yes, you can hear your texts while driving. One other thing: the app is smart enough to sense that you aren't using headphones. So, if you accidentally leave the app running, those unbelievably inappropriate text messages, you know the ones that come from your last unmarried friend who is partying like its 1999…at 10:30 in the morning on a Wednesday, will not be read aloud from your phone while you are meeting with your child's teacher who, upon hearing the message would not only scold you as if you were her student, but would also declare that her second grade students make better choices than your friend…even on their worst days.  

UpTo

Ah the never ending search for the perfect calendar app. I've seen my fair share. For me, a good calendar app must have a good calendar widget. I like having an agenda calendar view right on my main screen. If you aren't rockin the calendar on your main screen, you 're missing out on one of the key differences between Android and iOS and might as well go back to packing a Day Timer. Anyway, besides the widget, the big difference between them used to be which one was prettier to you. Then along came UpTo. A great widget, fresh looking and very fluid interface, and a new idea which I call calendar layers. So you have your regular calendar that you use for all of your personal and business things. But you also want the full schedule for your favorite sports team. Or the IMDB movie premier calendar. How about the schedule for Game of Thrones or 24. Jeez, in one calendar that would be a mess wouldn't it. Now imagine you could just stack them all on top of each other, leaving your main calendar clean and intact. Here is where it gets cool. Touch your thumb and index finger on any calendar day and spread your fingers to reveal your other calendars; calendars you've chosen from UpTo's long list of prepared ones. Now then, want to add the baseball game from the baseball calendar to your main one? Swipe your finger and it quickly moves "Up To" your main calendar. I'm hooked on this calendar app.

Android Device Manager

Just tonight, my wife lost her tablet. Or should I say, it hid itself without her knowledge. She checked under the dog, asked the kids, and did a quick perimeter search. No luck. After a few minutes, she gives up hope and does the unthinkable: she comes to me. Instead of joining the search, I ask her for her phone. At that moment, there were no words; just the "you're an inattentive knuckle-dragger" stare that only a wife can give a husband. Not familiar with that look? Ok, imagine the look you would get if you say ordered eggrolls and wonton soup in an Italian restaurant. Yea, that look. "Really? It's on the charger." I grab her phone, click the Google Voice Search microphone and say "find my device." Meanwhile, my wife has resorted to tossing sofa pillows, blankets and cushions as she angrily searches for the tablet…all while our children and dog look on and wonder what crazy spirit has possessed the body of their mother. Anyway, Google takes me to the Android Device Manager website. A completely free service for Android users, her tablet is listed as one of two devices attached to her Google account. I click the device and, moments later, Google GPS locates the tablet. Ok, so at least I know that she didn't leave it outside or at the gym. Next I select "Ring" and a few seconds later, a loud jingle can be heard in the den. No, that isn't a children's toy, it’s the tablet. A quick look under the couch and there's it is. As I raise the tablet above my head in victory, my family stares at me as if I were a big pink unicorn.  I would love to take credit for having some level of foresight to put said app on the device knowing this day would happen. The truth is, the Android Device Manager isn't an app and doesn't require you to install anything on the device. It is just "there" as part of the Android ecosystem. Let's keep that to ourselves shall we?

Textra SMS

I know there are at least a hundred different texting apps out there. I recently switched over to Textra SMS after Simple Text (made by the same people who make Mighty Text) started acting flaky with the latest Android update (4.4.3). This was after I got tired of Handcent being a bit of a hog with its delays, daily updates, and overabundance of settings and services always popping in my face. I read others were having the same problem as me. So, I looked around at what was new and found Textra. The story goes that two guys didn't like many of the other text apps as their interfaces looked old and were no longer innovative apps from a form and function perspective. Too many pop up boxes and settings…all that took away from the efficiency that was supposed to be texting. Not an incorrect statement when you consider that texting had really been relegated to being more of a utility app than a pretty one. Anyway, these guys came up with their own spin on a texting app, combining contact pictures, color and slide out menus. When all pulled together, you get a fresh and very finger-friendly texting app that feels polished and easy to use.  So if you've grown tired of that run-of-the mill, boring two-color texting app that comes bundled on your phone, go grab Textra.

Google

I know you are well aware of the seemingly limitless power of the great Google machine. I am too. I use Google just about as much as I drink water, which is a lot coming from an avid water drinker. On a recent fun trip to NYC, I realized how far it has integrated itself into daily life. Going anywhere in New York requires three things, and only three things: a subway map, walking shoes, and a Metro Card. I've traveled here before and, over the years, have had my fair share of city maps. And I have participated in that time honored tourist tradition of eye gymnastics. I'm talking about the practice of rapidly moving your eyes up and down as you attempt to match tall buildings and street signs with a map that begins as a napkin and explodes into a blanket once opened. The real challenge comes in the testing of your basic Origami skills to get said map back down to napkin size; something that never seems to quite work. Anyway, on this trip I wanted to see how much I could really rely on Google. I began with loading all of our reservations and events into my calendar. I stepped outside the hotel and coined a new phrase: GTO time. No,  I am not talking about the old Pontiac sports car. I embraced my inner geek and let Google Take Over. Google Now pops up and reminds us that our first event was the newly opened 9/11 Memorial Museum. Here is where it gets cool. It knew how long it would take to get from midtown Manhattan down to Wall Street and recommended the subway. Click on the recommendation and Google Maps opens up with a color coded subway route, complete with train name and directions to the nearest station relative to our current position. Once you leave the station and switch to walking, Google navigation takes over with turn-by-turn directions and a cool 3D map of New York. No typing in addresses or fiddling around with a browser. Moreover, no paper map or asking the nearest flat foot for directions. It was all just right there. From restaurants to shopping, whether walking, cabbing, or riding the Metro, Google was our guide for the entire trip.

It gets better. Sitting in a bar with friends, one of which is digging the song being played yet doesn't know the title. I grab my phone and say, "Ok Google, what song is playing?" After a moment of listening, the song name and artist pops up on the screen. No app required. Impressive when you consider the bar was quite noisy. Next came meeting up with some friends for lunch. We didn't have definitive time but had a restaurant name. They asked to call them around 11:30 to get a sense of their timing. I knew we would be immersed in the museum and would likely need a reminder. "Ok Google, set a reminder for 11:30 to call about lunch."  Later that morning, my phone buzzed in my pocket, complete with a link to my friend's phone number…a good thing since, as I suspected, we were more focused on the memorial than the time. "Ok Google, create to do list. As the trip came to a close, Google reminded us to check in for our return flight. "Ok Google, set alarm for 6:45am tomorrow" should get us awake in time to make our flight…and keep us from fooling with the clock in the hotel room which, as many travelers have experienced, seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to programming let alone going off on time. Departing the hotel, Google Now showed us the travel time to the airport, the weather in Atlanta, and the current traffic conditions, sparing us from delays due to bridge renovation and a higher cab fare. And get this: upon arriving at LaGuardia Airport, Google Now throws an airport map in front of you. Impressively intuitive and easy to use, my travelling has been forever change thanks to the GTO experience. Yours will no doubt be changed as well. And, as an added bonus from your Uncle Ricky, I will spare you certain embarrassment by making you appear less like a tourist thanks to liberating you from your old-school paper map and compass.  

Still in use on every device, I use:

Google Chrome

Besides being the fastest browser, you'll want to use Chrome on all your devices thanks to its built-in sync system. Here's the deal. Ever grab your phone and run off to your car only to forget that you needed the info on your webpage…on your PC. Decision time: dash back into your office and be late to your appointment or grab your phone and open Chrome. What you say? Open Chrome on your phone. That will show me my desktop? Yup. Open Chrome and choose "other devices." In a moment, you will see a list of the last link you opened on all of your Chrome browsers across all your devices. Just cool. Just login to your Google account from each device and everything stays in sync. Yea, that easy.

Dropbox

I think this is the defacto app for getting info between your devices and sharing with other people. I take pictures and they go into my Dropbox. Automagically they sync to my PC. No mas. Really, it is that easy. When I travel, I throw docs and reading material into my Dropbox. I can then read or edit them on my iPad or laptop. No thumbdrive, USB cable, Wi-Fi transfer. It just works. And, if you get your friends to sign up, you get more free Dropbox space. One of the coolest features is being able to quickly drop a file into a c folder and sending a link to a friend or colleague. They don't even need a Dropbox account to get to the file. Effortless. I've used SugarSync and Box.net. Dropbox won me over. And my wife can use it too which counts for...well...everything

DropItToMe

I am a big, big Dropbox fan. But sometimes people need to send me files. Perhaps my accountant wants to send financials. Or a customer wishes to get proprietary files to us. This stuff can't (and shouldn't) be sent via email. This is where DropItToMe fits. I have a web page link that never changes (ie www.dropittome.com/yourownname). I send that to you along with a password. You go to the site, enter the password, pick your file and choose upload. That’s it. In a few moments, I get an email that you just uploaded a file to me. And guess what, it lands in my Dropbox. How cool is that? No crazy FTP. No big attachments clogging up the email on your phone. Best of all, it's free.

Microsoft OneNote

This is by far one of the most important apps I use every single day. And now Microsoft has made it 100% free! I could go on and on for days about how awesome it is. In fact, I wrote an entire blog about it.

Microsoft OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive)

Yes, I use SkyDrive as well as Dropbox. I needed to add OneDrive because it does some things that Dropbox won't. Like keep all my OneNote notebooks in sync between all my devices. I also love the fact that I can save files from Word and Excel directly to OneDrive. A little integration that saves mouse clicks and time. And, I can share a file or folder with other people…even if they don't have a OneDrive account. OneDrive has actually changed the way I share information with customers. Used to be I would email revision after revision of projects and proposals to customers. Same was true of network diagrams and other relevant info. I know you understand since you have been on the receiving end of this time-honored tradition from all different people. When you think about it, it is horribly inefficient as it forces you to constantly comb through emails looking for attachments and trying to determine which one is the latest revision.

Nest

I didn't know whether to mention this one or not since it requires that you also buy a Nest thermostat (www.nest.com). If you haven't read about these things yet, you should run out and grab one. It is the learning thermostat re-imagined. I have two of them.  Besides the fact that they have saved me serious money on my energy bills each month (well below my old programmable thermostat), you can control your thermostat from your phone or any browser. Think about that for just a minute. Land at the airport and turn on the A/C in your home while you are getting your luggage. Forget to adjust the thermostat before leaving town? No problem. Grab your phone or hop on a PC. And save money. What could be better than that?

Pandora

It is really hard to find a better streaming music service than Pandora. I am convinced that Pandora is the perfect companion. She willingly goes everywhere with me.  She makes me smile;  I never tire of listening to her and she wants nothing more than to please me.  Oh, and she knows what music I like too ;)

Plex

I am a big music and movie guy. And while I prefer to use Spotify and Pandora for streaming music I don't have in my collection, they really do nothing for the music I have amassed over the years B.D.E (Before the Digital Era). They also don't give a hoot about my movie library. Plex will take the music and movies I own and stream them to just about any device so long as I have Internet. Install a small piece of software on a PC, open the web interface and point it to your collection. In a matter of seconds, I can watch or listen to anything in my collection. So whether I want to jam to that Allman Brother's concert from 1991 on my phone, or watch "Tangled" with my daughter on our home TV, Plex handles it all for me.

Spotify

So you know how I handle the music and movies I already have in my collection. Going forward though, I've really stopped buying music. And while Pandora is great for mixing it up, it doesn't know anything about albums. Hey, sometimes you just want to listen to a bunch of Grateful Dead, Zepplin, or Rush. This is where Spotify comes into play (no pun intended). Spotify is all about streaming albums of music to you just about anywhere. It also has a Pandora-like radio feature called…wait for it…Spotify Radio. The service is free if you want to deal with commercials. I pay for the service and get it commercial free. For the few bucks a month (literally $5.00), I have access to all the albums I can possibly stand and I am saving serious coin thanks to no longer downloading tracks and albums. And besides, who needs to build up a huge music library on a hard drive any longer. This is a no-brainer.

TripIt

I plan all my trips with this little ditty. No spreadsheets with itineraries. And no long emails to friends and family. Here is how it works. You create a trip. Then you book your flights, hotel, cars, etc. When you get those handy confirmation emails, you forward them to plans@tripit.com. Within seconds, the email is "read" and all the information is automatically added to your trip. Seriously. Your flight info, hotel arrangements, car rentals...down to the confirm numbers. It is all neatly organized per day and guess what? You didn't type in any of it. There are also cool little links that are added in. For example, click on you departing flight info and it will give you your flight status. Click on your hotel name and you immediately get Google directions and the local weather. Plan one trip with TripIt and you will never do a travel itenary in Word or Excel again. Ever. Oh, and you can share the trip with anyone you wish.

Pulse Newsreader

It's hard to keep up with all the news all the time. Pulse makes it nice and easy. It pulls together all of your favorite stories and presents them in a tiled and scrollable format. Yea, these guys were doing a little Metro UI before Microsoft. Go check it out. This one I know you will thank me for.

Trillian

Part of my job involves talking to people all the time. However, I can't actually "talk" to everyone all the time. Sometimes, I use Instant Messaging. Kind of like texting through the Internet. Unlike texting though, instant messaging started a long time ago and has remained compartmentalized. That is, if you have a Windows Live or Skype IM address, you can talk to anyone so long as they too have a Windows Live IM address. Same for AOL, Jabber, Yahoo, and Google. So, in order to maintain communication with all your friends and colleagues, you needed to have like five different accounts. A pain in the hind quarters. Trillian solves the problem by pulling all these IM accounts into one program. Launch the program, and it logs into each account for you. You can send and receive messages now without having to go in and out of each program. One day perhaps the IM systems will all come together. Until then, there is Trillian

WiFi Analyzer

Another geek toy but actually very useful for the non-geekdom as well. Whenever I am in a place where WiFi doesn't seem the be as good or as fast as the bars indicate, I turn on WiFi Analyzer. This app shows me all the wireless networks that are broadcasting at that moment. While it doesn't give me the ability to nuke the ones that are stepping on my signal, it does give me an idea of why my WiFi isn't working great and gives me the chance to change the channel on my gear to give me better performance.

Fing

For those network folks out there in the audience, this is a nice one to have. Fing will scan your network and show you all the devices that are present, via IP address. A very useful tool when trying to find devices.

FoxFi

This one would seem a bit retro but there is a real need for it. I have a full data plan on my GS4 but not on any other device. Why? Because FoxFi turns my smartphone into a WiFi hotspot that can be shared by all of my devices. It is very simple to use and gets around that ridiculous hot spot charge the carriers like to (try and) charge. When I travel with my laptop and tablet (as well as those for the rest of my family), this app is a life-saver,  especially when free WiFi is available. I know that WiFi is all around me. So does every other traveler. You can have great wifi signal and palsy Internet access because of all the devices latching onto the cow for free milk. Don't believe me? Travel through the DFW airport and try to use WiFi to get on the Internet. It's brutal. You're smarter than that. You will have this app loaded on your laptop and phone so that you become the shepherd and not one of the sheep.

Google Voice

This is the first app I load on all my devices. If you are not using Google Voice, you really are missing out. Why do I like it? Well, for starters, I don't always have the ability to listen to my voice mails. I don’t have to with GV. It transcribes them and either sends them to me in text or email. That alone would be good enough. With the native app, I can view them or listen to them within the app. If you call my cellphone, GV is my default voice mail (no I don't use the carrier's voice mail). It will screen the call, hunt me down, or just let the call come through. There is also a really nice Google Chrome extension. It allows you to playback your voicemails right in the Chrome browser, without going to the Google Voice website. Really Sweet

IP Camera Viewer

I have all sorts of cameras for many different things. And they are all from different manufacturers. Want to watch them on your phone in one view? Easy. Download this gem and you can pretty much connect to any of your cameras from anywhere you have connectivity, mixing and matching different manufacturers. The developer does an awesome job of keeping the program up-to-date with the latest camera drivers. I wish he had a version for Windows 8. For now, it is out there for Android and iOS.

Open Table

If you eat out these days, you need reservations. This is my go-to program. I use it quite a bit in my home town. However, I find it immensely useful when I am on the road as well. A few clicks and your table will be waiting for you.

In/Out

I'm Out	Replaced By
Google Chrome To Phone	Push Bullet
KeePass	Safe In Cloud
AI Keyboard	Samsung Keyboard
AccuWeather	HDWidgets
AquaMail	Android Stock
CloudCube	Nothing
DigiCal	UpTo

For $35 I Give You This Stick

Finally. A bit of off time. The holidays just seemed to fly by this past year. Probably because I didn't really take a break. Duty calls, right? Lots of cool projects and the chance to use some new technology. Ok, so I got so distracted I didn't take any vacation. It's ok. Doing it now. What better time to get caught up on a post or two.

Find the most talented person in the room, and if it's not you, go stand next to him and try to be helpful  - Harold Ramis

I'd be remissed if I didn't offer up a bit of a personal note on Harold Ramis. Harold's movies pulled more laughs outta my generation than anyone else. Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Vacation, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day…wow what a run. Too many classic one-liners to try and even remember. Thanks for the eternal gift of laughter. We'll miss you man.

Oh, almost forgot, music. A week or so ago would have been the 56th birthday of a fella named Brad Delp.  Not a rock  name you probably know. But I am sure you know his voice. He was the front man for the band Boston. In the Summer of 1976, this completely unknown band released their debut album. In a sea of music that was entirely dominated by disco, Boston brought a wonderfully different and distinctive sound to the airwaves. And thanks to Brad's vocals, and the writing and recording prowess of MIT-grad-turned-music legend Tom Sholtz, the first Boston album became, and still remains the best-selling debut album in U.S. history.  High quality that is sure to please. Sit back, click here and enjoy. 

  

More Than A Feeling

So, lately I've reached the end of the line with my Apple TV. Believe me, I've gotten my money's worth out of it. A few years back I grabbed one of these lil black boxes to fill a need. See, I wanted to have my music and movies on the big screen, however, I had never found a PC that I felt would be nice enough or quiet enough to have on display in my den. After doing some reading, I realized the Apple TV may have a shot at fulfilling this need since it was easily hacked (called jailbreaking in the Apple universe). And why you ask would I wish to do this? Simple. Apple only wants you to play "iStufff." You know what I'm talking about; all the stuff you can only buy through iTunes. So if you have old CDs or DVDs that you have meticulously ripped, yea, you are out of luck. Bitter…party of one.  However, a clever group of people figured out a way to load their own software on this device which, by all current definitions is a mini computer in a tiny package. So I hit the Net and followed the instructions. In a few minutes, my Apple TV began to play non-Apple stuff right there on my big screen. Life seemed pretty good. It was even wife friendly. But, it still was painful to use. Apple's idea of a simple world sometimes is...well...too simple. Put another way, it means you have to click-click-click your way through different menu icons and moving titles until you get to the one you want to watch. I know you've done it. We all do it. I just did it and I don't want to do it again. Apple TV carries what I call a high PITA factor. PITA is short for Pain In The Ass (sorry for going PG-13 on you). Not a big deal if you have say ten movies and an equal number of songs. That would be my daughter. If you are a grown up, with a big collection, well, you are now in PITA hell. Got a movie that is large in size (say a BluRay DVD you ripped)? Yea, get ready. The Apple TV is gonna crap itself and move to the corner, whimpering in shame. Hey, what do you expect? It just doesn't have enough horsepower to chomp through the 8GB file size. And it happens at the worse time. Just ask my seven year old as Bee Movie or Toy Story restarts for the…I don't know…third time. No explaining the "why" part here. All she knows is that daddy's fancy movie player is broken. Sigh. I needed something different; something stable. So, I began to hunt for its successor. The market is now full of quite a few choices: Roku, Matrix, Xbox 360 and a rather interesting new player called Chromecast. I was intrigued by the latter. It was a new Google product and it cost $35.00. What? $35.00? How good could it really be? Let's find out.

Something About You

So, Chromecast is this little device (and I do mean little) that plugs directly into one of the HDMI ports on your TV. This new category of devices are being called streaming sticks. It is about as long as your index finger and it is controlled 100% by pretty much any smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC. Shall we begin? start with your smartphone or tablet. You can send photos, music, or even movies, through the air right to your TV. Google calls it "casting." For example, say your toddler wants to watch Elmo. That red little critter is all over YouTube. Ok, so you grab your Galaxy S4 phone, open up the YouTube app and find Elmo. No big deal there. I press the "Cast" button in the YouTube app and quicker than you can say Mr. Noodle, Elmo is on the big screen. That's it. Just like your smartphone or tablet, Chromecast is driven by apps. Pandora, HBO Go, Netflix, Google Play and more. New ones come each and every day.  You naysayers out there will likely say, "ha, this is sooooo four years ago. Apple has been doing this with AirPlay." I understand your reluctance to accept innovation from a company other than Apple. Really, I do. Know that this is a common and rather inaccurate comparison. And here's why: With Chromecast, I can walk away with my phone, make a call, check email or even surf the web…and Elmo keeps on playing. What? That's right. See, when you use Apple AirPlay, you have to lay down your device and walk away. That's because Airplay works by "mirroring" what is on the display of an iPhone or iPad…and killing your battery in the process. Not true when you cast with Chromecast. Google has done something quite clever here. Once you begin to cast, the Chromecast device actually takes over and creates a direct connection to the Internet source (in this case YouTube) outside of your device. At that point, the device merely becomes a wireless remote control. Just got interesting didn't it? Now the fun begins.

Peace Of Mind

I am pretty sure the next thing you want to know is the engineering degree that is required get this contraption working. The answer is none. As long as you have WiFi, it takes about 5 minutes to get this puppy rolling. Really, it does. Google has made it super easy. And once you start using it, you will discover (and certainly be thrilled) with what I believe is the most important feature; one that they are not making a lot of noise about yet. I'm talking about using your phone or tablet as a remote control. No, I'm not talking about that time-honored tradition of flipping channels. A tablet is overkill for that. Nope, I am talking about finding what you want to watch. Try this. You missed the season finale of the HBO series "True Detectives." You pick up that old school DirectTV or Comcast remote and start clicking around the On Demand menu to try and find it. You may luck out since it is a new show; it will have a big banner and finding the show will take a mere few minutes. But imagine you want to find say you wanted to watch "Stripes" or "Groundhog Day." Hmmm. Now you have to open up the search box and enter the title, letter by letter, using the keypad on your remote. Let's see, S-T-R-I-P-E-S. God forbid you make a mistake and have to go backwards. Ugh. High PITA factor here. So much so that most people dread using it. Worst of all, no one can watch TV while you are knuckle-dragging with your crappy remote.

Now, let's do the same walk with a tablet. Launch the DirecTV or HBO Go app. Stop for a second and take in the moment. You are about to go looking for something to watch without bumping one of your family members off the TV. That alone is totally worth it. Quickly find the program you want to watch. It's much easier since you have things like…uh…a keyboard and a screen, right? A few swipes of your finger and you find the program you want to watch. Press the cast button and start watching. Yup, it is that easy. And how well does it work? How does high definition video and Dolby Digital sound strike you? All through the air! Do it a few times and you will ask yourself why in the world do I still use this other old-school remote control? You just said OMG didn't you? Makes so much sense, right? All this time it was hiding in plain sight. It's ok to thank your Uncle Ricky right about now. Now you know why I was saying this is the most important feature. And, at the same time I just gave you another reason to have a tablet, perhaps even a second one. Personally, I think this is a better argument than say the cost-per-wear one I get from my wife all the time. You be the judge. For the record, and for your own safety, don't try to make that comparison with your significant other. By the numbers you will clearly be right…but you will still be wrong.

Longtime

The true tipping point was reached when I showed my seven year old how to play a movie using Chromecast. Mind you she was pretty well versed with using our old Harmony universal remote and the Apple TV. However, as I explained previously, that process was still wrought with issues. Not the Chromecast. I showed her one time and she got it. And, since it was on her tablet, it was fun and magnificently easy. She ran to my wife and said "I can control the TV with my iPAD." She actually taught my wife who, in short order said to me in a accusing yet loving way, "why have you been making me do this the hard way for so long." I digress.

Until now, I've only really rapped about the Chromecast apps that I've used thus far. HBO Go, Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and Plex. But there is more…much more. Be warned, that slight drop out of the corner of your mouth is about to turn into a long drool. Let's say you are smart enough to use the Chrome browser on your PC or laptop (in addition to your mobile devices). And because you do, you already know that all of your Internet favorites and other browser preferences are always in sync across all your devices. Chrome has its own little apps that run inside of it called Extensions. Of course, they are free. There are lots of useful ones out there for preventing pop-ups, texting direct to your cellphone, checking email…even playing Angry Birds. As you probably just guessed, there is a Chromecast extension for Chrome. Now get your cast on with your laptop or PC. Hit your favorite site on the Net, and send it right up to your TV. Surfing has never been more fun, especially with children. And, many media-driven sites (think YouTube, Spotify, Google Play, HBO Go, Hulu, CNN etc) are getting the Google treatment with something called Optimized Playback. If you go to cast one of these sites…whoa mama…you get full high def audio and video…through your browser! And get this, just like your tablet or smartphone, once the casting starts, you can use your laptop for other things. Go ahead, close the lid and power it down while you continue watching Francis Underwood do the D.C. two-step on your fireplace mounted flat panel. No tablet required.  All this from a $35 gadget. 

Hitch A Ride

Now for my last Chromecast trick. Well, at least for this blog. Remember how small I said the Chromecast device is? It's not much bigger than the key fob for your car. Just for a moment, let's take a vacation. Pack your clothes, cram your laptop and tablet into your messenger bag, and get ready to head to that beach condo or mountain chalet. These days, they pretty much all have WiFi  and flat screens, right? Hmmmm. You pause for a moment, caught in a daydream. Perhaps this trip will be the end of those lousy resort prices for on-demand. After all, vacations are the perfect time to catch up on "Breaking Bad" or "House of Cards." No problem. You have your iPad and NetFlix. You just need to bring along a half-dozen cables and adapters in hopes that you will have the right combination to jack into the TV. Then, hopefully your battery is charged enough to make it through a two hour movie because, as you know, there is never a plug that is close enough to the TV. And if there is one, you can't use it because the power cord will drape in front of the television. It is at that moment, as you give the television the reach around, you realize you are one lousy cord or adapter short. Ugh. Damn you Apple. Why couldn't you have a standard HDMI or USB plug like everyone else? Ok, plan B. You can quietly go over to a corner chair, slip on your headphones and watch Walter White on your own. It's your iPAD right? Who says you are supposed to be the chairman of entertainment anyway! Nice try. That pain you feel is the reality bus slamming into your face as you try and crowd four adults around your little tablet screen. This is a very interesting lesson in tolerance as the perimeter of your personal space is breached. And how do we make this experience even better? Well now, let's say you all just returned from the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet.

Yes, there is a better way. Give this a whirl. Same scenario except this time, right before you hit the road, you grab your Chromecast and leave that gym bag of cables behind. You sachet over to the TV, poking your head ever so slightly behind it. In an instant you see that familiar trapezoid-shaped input stamped with your favorite initials: HDMI. You reach into your front pocket and whip out your Chromecast adapter as if to perform a crowd-pleasing illusion (which you pretty much are, as far as your lay traveling companions are concerns). It plugs neatly into the TV…and you are done. Now, to demonstrate your mad casting skills. Grab your smartphone. Yes, your smartphone. I know you have a tablet but we're going for dramatic impressions here. Open the Chromecast app and tell it to jump on the rental home's WiFi network. Easily done by punching in the password, right? Ok, next, fire up the NetFlix app and, just for fun, pull up the movie "Minority Report." As it begins to play, gather your house guests together in front of the television. Raise your index finger to your lips (the intergalactic symbol for shut your yappers). Then, like the conductor of an orchestra, close your eyes as if to be emotionally invested in the moment, extend your arms, phone in one hand, and press the cast icon on the touchscreen. Now…open your eyes and absorb the jaw-dropping admiration that flows from your awe-struck friends as they realize you have just done. Go ahead and take the moment. It's ok. And, just to ensure that your fans are overwhelmingly convinced of your great powers, take your phone and place a call…while the movie is playing. In the words of that great 20th century philosopher Bill Murray, "It's in the hole." Total time start to finish…about five minutes.

Let Me Take You Home Tonight

I am particularly jazzed about Chromecast. It is always fun to play with new technology. But boy it's great when something comes along and solves a high PITA factor problem and makes it easy enough for mere mortals to use. In a way, Google has taken a page right from the Apple playbook. Actually, they tore it right out and rewrote it. Chromecast is already a runaway hit. $35.00 screams "add to my shopping cart." without hesitation. Put another way, for the price of a pizza dinner for four, you get something that just a few short years ago wasn't really possible without cables that cost five times as much, had a higher than 50% failure rate, an extraordinarily high PITA factor. Imagine trying to run an obstacle course in total darkness, with a broken leg, and a hangover. Yea, that bad. What else do I know? Well, I know there are at least four other streaming sticks being rushed to market right now to compete against it. Roku, Netgear, Motorola and soon more. And while Google will no doubt pull away from the pack due to its established app store and media services, remember the real magic here isn't the stick or the screen; it's what goes in your hand. Google didn't stop with the Chromecast device; no, they knew that ease of use comes from a better way to remotely control it; something familiar, widely deployed, and intuitive: like any smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. They also knew you didn't want to leave your device on the coffee table, tethered to their TV, burning down the battery. You've got calls to make and texts to send. So they made Chromecast intelligent enough to receive its marching orders from your device yet continue to work autonomously without tying it up. That my friends is just plain cool.

So now you are faced with a bit of a dilemma aren't you? $35.00 buys you what these days? Well, let's see. It can buy you some pretty good wine that isn't in a box. How about some good Chinese food for two, perhaps with a tip? $35.00 can get a family of four to the movies albeit without popcorn or Raisinets. What do all of these things have in common? They are all easy, attainable things that break the cycle of everyday life...at least for just a little while. Low stress, relaxing, and enjoyable. Unfortunately, the fun does come to an end, usually in an hour or two. Now then, let's take the same cash and drop it on a Chromecast. What do we have now? You have everything you had with the others except the Chromecast loves you back...for a long, long time.  Of course, we can't lose sight of the fact that it brings sanity back into your e-life, lightens your luggage and, most of all, elevates you to sorcerer's status. So, spare yourself the parking hassles, forgo the noise of people talking in the theater and avoid the ticket lines. Grab a bottle of wine, pick up some Chinese, invite the gang over, and take that movie money and plunk it down on a Chromecast. As you hunker down on your couch, pay attention to that warm wonderful feeling of happiness that permeates your relaxed body; an all-too-rare feeling that has alluded you for so long it actually takes you by surprise. You're welcome! Besides, and trust me when I say this, when you stand up in the theater and ask them to pause the movie while you go to the bathroom, people think you are...well...a bit weird. Just saying.