Smartphones provide us with so many benefits above and beyond the normal making and receiving of phone calls. How many are you taking advantage of? I know that I do not maximize my usage that well, but was surprised to find that I’m using more than I thought (though, there are many more I could be taking advantage of). Here’s the list. The one’s I have used are bolded.
Track the weather
Video camera
Radio — I will definitely have to start using this option
Document scanner
Kitchen timer
Flashlight
Library
Voice recorder
Emergency Broadcast System
Tape measure
Calculator
Restroom finder — who knew?!
Magnifying glass
Pedometer
Navigation system
For more articles and tips to help you maximize your usage of your smartphone, visit aarp.org/tech
Did you know that 40 million Americans lack reliable online access? This is according to broadbandnow. The current federal definition of “broadband” is a minimum download speed of 25 megabits per second (Mbps), and an upload speed of 3 Mbps (known as 25/3). While urban households fair well (only 1.4%lack internet at this speed); 26.9% of rural areas are not able to connect at this speed. Hmm, Oklahoma is the second worst . . .
Source: broadbandnow.com, AARP Bulletin, October 2020, p. 36.
For those of you with inquisitive minds who “just want to know” some trivial facts about Google, here is an infographic that will provide you with fifty-five such facts about Google of which you may not have been previously aware. Enjoy!
Having an appreciation for art, I’m certainly in favor of bringing the art to the people (definitely easier than having to travel to each and every art museum in the world). So imagine my delight when I ran across this slidedeck about making art accessible . . .
Happy Friday, and Happy Anniversary! Eight years ago today I started blogging and began my journey with The Gun-Carryin’ Librarian. This endeavor began as a learning opportunity when I undertook the Special Libraries Association’s “23 Things” self-paced course of study. I had no idea what blogging was and was quite behind the curve on all things Web 2.0. And, while I am still not an early adopter when it comes to new things/technology, I’m not completely afraid to try them either (thanks to SLA’s 23 Things).
Over the past eight years, I’ve managed . . .
more than 3,080 posts
more than 255,000 views
more than 39,100 visitors
My most popular date — June 14, 2012 (1,091 views).
My most popular day of the week — Thursdays (18% of views).
My most popular hour of the day — 5:00 PM (8% of views).
Being the “first” to do something always carries some inherent worth (at least to that person). So, here is an infographic that has captured many “firsts” of the internet. Enjoy this trip down memory lane. Can you remember your firsts as they relate to these firsts?
Every now and then (usually when I’m on vacation where there is truly limited service) I will purposely “unplug” from technology and not check my phone or emails. For only the second time in my life I found myself at work yesterday morning and I did not have my cell phone (I did not have the time to return home to retrieve it either). At first I was a bit annoyed (and worried about what I’d be missing throughout the day), but then I realized that I had a very full day already scheduled with meetings and appointments and that not having my phone would not be the end of the world. As a matter of fact, I survived the day quite nicely. Yes, there were a couple of calls that I missed, but nothing that I can’t respond to today. I may have to purposely start doing this more regularly.
My blog has reached a new milestone today . . . my 3,000 post! A journey that began on June 24, 2008, as a learning opportunity in concert with the Special Libraries Association’s “23-Things” Web 2.o initiative. A journey that has continued for just under eight years (and counting).
To date, my blog has had . . .
3,000 posts
37,688 visitors
252,901 views
day with the most views: June 14, 2012 (1,091 views)
most popular day: Tuesday (17% of views)
most popular hour: 2:00 PM (7% of views)
visitors from 64 countries — the top ten countries by the number of visitors for 2016: U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Australia, India, Brazil, Netherlands, and Spain.
Historically, 2012 was by far the best year statistically with 371 posts published and 59,303 views . . . but the blog goes on.
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 