My Must Have Tech for 2017
Every so often I inventory the technological innovations I have come to rely on literally on a day-to-day basis. Acknowledging my various computers and my car's computer as a given, these are my latest and greatest:
Bluetooth speaker: well, actually, a mini-speaker - and I love it. This is a great solution for anyone who doesn't want a big Echo, or have a car equipped with a speaker that can pick up your phone's audio. A tiny device that you pair with you phone - and there are a wide variety of them available on Amazon or even in your local Home Depot(!) price anywhere from about $15 up. It has a range of about 10m or so (I can have it just about anywhere in the house while listening to music or even talking hands free on the phone).
I used to love Open Office, a free suite of tools analogous to Microsoft Office. Microsoft office, as you probably know, has now gone to a subscription service, which will cost you about $99 a year for the full suite of products. However, there is an alternative: Google. Google offers similar products for document creation, presentation (slides), and spreadsheets. A little clunkier than the Microsoft products, but with a little practice just as useful - and the price is right: free. They will store automatically to your Google Drive.
Which brings me to: Google Drive! I love this service, though I'd warn you in advance, think twice before synching it to your desktop. If you're like me, you will be eating up hard drive in no time. Yes, it can be a pain to upload your files using the browser interface, but for things like documents or presentations, if you use Google's office suite, your documents will store automatically. Of course, some feel that Google's aim is world domination... and Google has gone to a pay-for-use model after a certain level of storage.
WD's Passport external hard drives. I'm not specifically touting Western Digital's product, but I like the Passport because it's small, simple, and generally reliable. Never, ever, of course, store vital data in just one location. A cloud version plus at least one local version (depending on how critical your data is) is mandatory. But if you need speed, and can't rely on having an internet connection to reach your cloud-stored data, these little drives fit neatly into your pocket or laptop case so your work is available where ever you go.
Nest. I don't actually have one, not being away from home that often. But for those I know who are (say, snow-birds, or people with a summer home or who travel for a living), the Nest is a wonderful invention. Essentially, you have control of your home remotely. You can check for temperature, package delivery, moisture, review camera footage - and pair it with other devices that "Work with Nest."
Google Home. Or Echo, if you prefer. If you want a bigger, badder version of the little mini bluetooth speaker I noted above, you could investigate Echo. This is a voice activated - everything! It will play your stored music, or search out channels of a selected style (just don't tell it, as I did once,"Volume 10," or you will be at a loss for how to get it to hear you say "Stop, please! Too loud!"); it will answer questions, and store shopping lists and reminders. You can talk to it from quite a distance away - it's an assistant that requires no time off, though it won't get you coffee.
Drone. Honestly, while I can see the potential for these gadgets, right now they're mostly for play. However, they really are fun, and with practice, you can take great flyover videos, and even land without crashing.
Some streaming device for your TV. If you don't have a smart TV yet, look into a Roku, AppleTV, or Chromecast. I also love my Kindle Firestick. With a Kindle account (Amazon), you plug it in, add your password - and presto! You can stream Amazon video, YouTube, Netflix, and any video your home computer has stored or can pick up. I love this device - and as the "made for" streaming series and movies continue to increase in quality and number, you'll want one even more.
Wireless mouse. No cord. That is all.
Amazon Kindle: I admit that I love "real" books. But when traveling, nothing beats having dozens of books on one small device. For that matter, as I am now reading a 700+ page book, it would be kind of nice to not have to hold that beast in my hands, too.
Those are my Must Haves. What are yours?
Bluetooth speaker: well, actually, a mini-speaker - and I love it. This is a great solution for anyone who doesn't want a big Echo, or have a car equipped with a speaker that can pick up your phone's audio. A tiny device that you pair with you phone - and there are a wide variety of them available on Amazon or even in your local Home Depot(!) price anywhere from about $15 up. It has a range of about 10m or so (I can have it just about anywhere in the house while listening to music or even talking hands free on the phone).
I used to love Open Office, a free suite of tools analogous to Microsoft Office. Microsoft office, as you probably know, has now gone to a subscription service, which will cost you about $99 a year for the full suite of products. However, there is an alternative: Google. Google offers similar products for document creation, presentation (slides), and spreadsheets. A little clunkier than the Microsoft products, but with a little practice just as useful - and the price is right: free. They will store automatically to your Google Drive.
Which brings me to: Google Drive! I love this service, though I'd warn you in advance, think twice before synching it to your desktop. If you're like me, you will be eating up hard drive in no time. Yes, it can be a pain to upload your files using the browser interface, but for things like documents or presentations, if you use Google's office suite, your documents will store automatically. Of course, some feel that Google's aim is world domination... and Google has gone to a pay-for-use model after a certain level of storage.
WD's Passport external hard drives. I'm not specifically touting Western Digital's product, but I like the Passport because it's small, simple, and generally reliable. Never, ever, of course, store vital data in just one location. A cloud version plus at least one local version (depending on how critical your data is) is mandatory. But if you need speed, and can't rely on having an internet connection to reach your cloud-stored data, these little drives fit neatly into your pocket or laptop case so your work is available where ever you go.
Nest. I don't actually have one, not being away from home that often. But for those I know who are (say, snow-birds, or people with a summer home or who travel for a living), the Nest is a wonderful invention. Essentially, you have control of your home remotely. You can check for temperature, package delivery, moisture, review camera footage - and pair it with other devices that "Work with Nest."
Google Home. Or Echo, if you prefer. If you want a bigger, badder version of the little mini bluetooth speaker I noted above, you could investigate Echo. This is a voice activated - everything! It will play your stored music, or search out channels of a selected style (just don't tell it, as I did once,"Volume 10," or you will be at a loss for how to get it to hear you say "Stop, please! Too loud!"); it will answer questions, and store shopping lists and reminders. You can talk to it from quite a distance away - it's an assistant that requires no time off, though it won't get you coffee.
Drone. Honestly, while I can see the potential for these gadgets, right now they're mostly for play. However, they really are fun, and with practice, you can take great flyover videos, and even land without crashing.
Some streaming device for your TV. If you don't have a smart TV yet, look into a Roku, AppleTV, or Chromecast. I also love my Kindle Firestick. With a Kindle account (Amazon), you plug it in, add your password - and presto! You can stream Amazon video, YouTube, Netflix, and any video your home computer has stored or can pick up. I love this device - and as the "made for" streaming series and movies continue to increase in quality and number, you'll want one even more.
Wireless mouse. No cord. That is all.
Amazon Kindle: I admit that I love "real" books. But when traveling, nothing beats having dozens of books on one small device. For that matter, as I am now reading a 700+ page book, it would be kind of nice to not have to hold that beast in my hands, too.
Those are my Must Haves. What are yours?
Comments