Even though my Nokia N8 is a model that only seems to get accolades when the quality of its camera comes into play, it's actually a very solid performer in just about every function that I need for it. Most recently, I have pushed it a bit further with an beta applicaiton called Situations, which allows me to set some rules for it which change it's functionality depending on certain contexts. For example, because I run into issues at a family member's home with the cellular signal indoors, I have created a rule in Situations which automatically turns on Skype when my N8 is the the vicinity of two cell towers near the home. I have another rule which automatically turns on the power saving feature during the hours I am normally asleep, just in case I am out all night and don't want to be caught with a dead battery, or traveling and forget my wall wart to charge it. This applicaiton is pretty neat, and I would recommend it for any mobile. There is nothing like a mobile that can respond to your environment as it learns or you program. It's kind of enabling.
How my Nokia N8 Navigates Situations
Even though my Nokia N8 is a model that only seems to get accolades when the quality of its camera comes into play, it's actually a very solid performer in just about every function that I need for it. Most recently, I have pushed it a bit further with an beta applicaiton called Situations, which allows me to set some rules for it which change it's functionality depending on certain contexts. For example, because I run into issues at a family member's home with the cellular signal indoors, I have created a rule in Situations which automatically turns on Skype when my N8 is the the vicinity of two cell towers near the home. I have another rule which automatically turns on the power saving feature during the hours I am normally asleep, just in case I am out all night and don't want to be caught with a dead battery, or traveling and forget my wall wart to charge it. This applicaiton is pretty neat, and I would recommend it for any mobile. There is nothing like a mobile that can respond to your environment as it learns or you program. It's kind of enabling.
Supporting Life By Google (Chrome and Android)
Of the many experiences in which I navigate throughout my days, it's those where people ask me for assistance with their computing in which I tend to learn the most. The latest of these moments involved a friend of mine and Google.
The first item was a normal one: she has a laptop and a problem with the printer. I fixed that by uninstalling the printer on her Windows 7 machine, and then installed the correct driver for her printer to work. It was after that she mentioned about needing MS Office so that she could get some work done and I mentioned that she should try Google Docs. Because she has an Android phone and I've received a few emails from her, I figured that this would be a simple addition to things. So, from Chrome (the browser she prefers to use), I got her started with Google Docs, with an ending mention that the same docs would be available on her phone also.
We then moved to an issue with her Android mobile, a Samsung Exhibit. She hadn't looked where she could turn off the audio notification settings for email, and so she'd be awaken in the middle of the night with email notices. This was a simple fix as it just meant going into the settings and turning off that one.
It doesn't sound like much to those of us who deal with the intricacies of these tools often. We might even have the perspective that "every one should just read the manual" - I'm quite guilty of this sentiment. But, if we take some time to look at what it is that other people have troubles with, we might find opportunities to also enlighten them to opportunities not previously beheld.
I wonder if my friend would try a Google ChromOS now? She's already plotting her next Android mobile purchase - I hope her carrier is ready.
Blending Fashion and Tech into A New Look for 2012
Its a new year and while its usually a good time to make resolutions, I tend to use this time to figure out a new clothing style for the year. A few years ago it was the addition of suit jackets to my wardrobe. This year, I think I'm going the route of getting a new suit. My mobile is going to play an important part in this.
The first thing that my mobile will help with is finding different suit styles. Since many of the pictures of me will be taken on a mobile device, its vital that the suit looks good on my mobile's screen. So, that means I need to vet any new look against how it looks on my screen. That shouldn't be too hard with search engines and such.
I've also got to find different ideas for suits, and so I'll be using a combination of searching looks that I'm familiar with on various fashion websites (Details (for Men), Hypebeast, Sartorialist, etc.) along with passing pics back and forth to my best friend via SMS. Now, it would be kind of decent to be able to find a look, and then graft that suit on top of an existing picture of me, but that's pushing the future a bit too far.
And then when I find the suit, its got to be able to hold my mobile in such a way that it doesn't break the lines of the suit. A good inside pocket might work, but I'm not opposed to putting the mobile in a pants pocket.A new year and a new suit, powered by what I can figure from my mobile.
Fashion and tech? Yea, that's not a bad way to use my mobile in a different manner for 2012.
Mobile, Faith, and Spreading Wings
Generally speaking, when we talk about about how we use our mobile devices, there's some semblance of gaining access to something, or making some life-process a bit more efficient. I've certainly had mobile play that part, but its most impressing aspect of things is how adding mobile to my faith/religious toolset has lent to some spreading of wings.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still a good bit timid in some social moments. But, its the little things - the custom Skinit skin on my mobile with its QR code or an in-progress application on my iPad - that tends to kind of push me out there a bit. The latest of these actually happens to have me presenting in a conference about the use of mobiles across various faith groups. There, I'm not just connecting with others and finding out how they are using their mobile devices, but I'll be experimenting with a few new uses of my own.
I think that in some way, this kind of spreading of wings is part of growing in our use of mobile. You could almost say that its something like Windows Phone's marketing - that idea of mobile allowing you to keep your head up to the world around you - mobile done right allows you to kind of experience life in such a way that you end up doing things or being in places that would otherwise be improbable. There's not really an app for that, but if mobile is applied, we fly like that.
Evernote As A Project Notebook
A bit more than a half-decade ago, I had a chance to play with the HP TC1000 Tablet PC for work needs. As a front-end designer then, no one figured that I would have any need for it. But, it became an indespensible second monitor and meeting notes organizer. I really enjoyed both the tablet and using Microsoft's OneNote with it. Unfortunately, I had to give back the TC1000 when I left the company, and I had no other use for OneNote as it was the inking and organization that I used the most.
Fast forward that half-decade plus and I'm back using a tablet (1st gen iPad 16GB WiFi) and instead of OneNote, I'm using Evernote. Evernote came out not too long after OneNote and its claim to fame then was its ability to be used on just about any computing device you could get your hands on. And even if there was no Evernote app, you had both the browser and email as means to interact with items you saved there. And its because of this ability that Evernote stayed on my radar and was one of the first applications I downloaded onto my iPad.
Of the many things that I use Evernote for (am writing this post in it for example), I use it as a project notebook. Between archiving emails, assets, drawings, and documents, Evernote is able to basically contain all of the information that I need per client and project. My method of organizing items is simple, each client has their own notebook (helping my brain out), and then specific projects are tagged with their project name so that I can take advantage of the very fast search component.
Now, Evernote isn't so great in the respect that the application for my Symbian phone was never finsihed. That would have made it a lot easier for me to save a series of images, notes, and text when I'm not near my iPad or want a little more organization than what MMS offers. But, its usable. On my iPad, things are a bit better with the native app being able to handle just about all of my needs including retagging and organizing individual notes.
In terms of my day-to-day work, its really in a class of its own. There are similar apps, but I'm not yet at the point to want to try other apps. I do wish that I could drawn in the notes screen just as easy as I type. But, maybe that's something that iOS 5 will allow in time (when I finally do that update on my iPad). I'm pretty happy though, and most times as are my clients - they can see shared notebooks seeing how I work through projects, and on occasion find themselves wanting to use a similar workflow. Evernote as a project notebook - probably not the only way their creators saw it evolving, but one that works very nicely with how I work.
Sparking the Art of My Childhood
This past weekend, I was in the Philadelphia area visiting a friend of mine of pastors a church. It was great to connect in person and to just see how he is getting along with aspects of mobile technology during the service. To see multiple laptops, iPads, and even congregants using mobiles was pretty cool. A far cry from my experience over a decade ago of being asked to put my Palm away (mistaken for being a GameBoy).
After the service, he and I got a chance to sit and chat. I was introduced to his wife and kids and his oldest showed that she is very much an aspiring artist. She showed me notebooks full of artwork and short stories. Indeed, she's got a nice future in any field as she's got the mind and skills to see life in her own way.
As ww talked, I opened Adobe Ideas on my iPad and started drawing a flower (this was a subject his daughter drew a lot of). My friend and his daughter got to see me toss color pixels together, instead of just the final product that I usually post on Twitter or in my gallery. They marveled at what is possible on an iPad without pencil, stylus, or ink. Me, I just enjoyed sharing something that I like to do with a friend whom I usually only get to "see" virtually.
Some hours, or maybe a day, after we connected, I went back to that small sketch and added a bit more to it. I don't think that it is something great, but it definitely reminds me of the passion that my friend's daughter has for art and drawing. If there is anything that I am learning about using and living with these mobiles, it's that the little things spark moments of life and creativity. For me, a conversation with a friend and his daughter sparked me drawing like I did in my youth. It's really neat that mobile devices can be usable in these moments. Even more so that they can be a point of inspiring creativity in others.
Getting Back into Consistent Cycling
For as much as I enjoy chatting, texting, music, and photography with my Nokia N8, I really feel like I'm at my best with using it when I'm doing something to "get out and touch" the world around me. One of the ways that this has been happening lately has been through bicycling. Of course, with it being not even a week since the conclusion of the Tour de France (congrats Mr. Cadel), everyone is into cycling. But, for me, the Tour was a nice reminder to go out and enjoy the scenery.
Since this is a "how do you use your mobile" kind of post, it helps if I tie in my cycling to my mobile. I do that with the excellent Sports Tracker application. Sports Tracker allows me to see my progress in riding over the course of all the rides that I track. I can look at stats such as distance, max/avg speed, pace, and even monitor heart rate (if I had such a monitor on my body). I'm usually most concerned with pace, as that's been my best metric towards the kind of shape that I can be in.
Over the last week, I've been much more consistent with riding. And in using Sports Tracker, I can see just how much better a consistent riding schedule is for me. Then again, slowing down to a cycling pace from my usual driving one offers a chance to take more photos, send them to friends, and get back texts about my crazy cycling journeys. What can I say, mobile causes some interesting moments :)
Drawing and Gaming by My Little Cousin
I've got a pretty neat relationship with most kids. Especially those kids who have some affinity for iPads and mobile phones. Its always interesting seeing them play with and figure their ways around mobile devices. And mores when they are doing more than just simply playing games.
Take for example my little cousin. In a recent visit, one of the first questions that she asked after we'd finished playing a few card games was if she could see my iPad to draw on. She remembered a visit some months ago when I introduced her to drawing on my iPad and she wanted to have fun with doing that again. So, I fired up Procreate and showed her some of the tools and options, and from there, it was all about her being creative in her space. My iPad is more colorful because of her now :)
Of course, that's not the extent of her mobile watching. She also remembered that I had the Nokia Astound and she got to play Fruit Ninja. She plotted for a good while before asking me if I had that mobile so that she could play it again. She wasn't so happy though when I told her that I didn't have that phone any more. I then pulled out my N8 and she soon heard and was grabbing for Fruit Ninja.
15min later the mobile was returned to me and I was left with a smiling little cousin, and another picture as to how mobile devices have their place for entertainment and creative outbursts.
Managing Multiple Calendars on My Nokia N8
One of the ways that I use my mobile device is to help me keep a handle on the contacts and events that I deal with. I've got a lot of overlap between them - usually contacts - and so when I chose my latest mobile device, the Nokia N8, one of the features that I looked for in it was the ability to manage half of things with Google's suite of services.
The primary "half" that I manage with Google is that of the calendar used for MMM. This calendar usually has everything from client meetings to events, and so its important that my mobile is as updated as the online calendar. The problem that I ran into though is that I didn't want Google to have all of my calendar entries, and I only wanted to sync the calendar, not my contacts as well.
What I found with the N8 is that I would be able to use the Mail for Exchange application (comes with this) to use the Microsoft Active Sync protocol to sync the calendar. When doing this, I had fears that I would end up syncing contacts or email, but this fear went away after I got things configured. I followed the instructions that were found at WapReview.
After getting things setup, what happens is that I have a third calendar on my N8 which only syncs to Google. The other two calendars (one from the N97 that has older information and the default calendar for the N8) remain untouched and don't sync. I'm able to add calendar appointments (unfortunately, can't add meeting attendees and send out notices) and manage them, but also have them on record for MMM's needs.
Disclaimer: I am the founder of Mobile Ministry Magazine (MMM) mentioned in this article.
Art in Between Classes and Work
Many times, we talk about using our mobile devices in a way that adds value to our lives. And there's definitely a bent towards that with me and my iPad. One of ways that this has been happening in coffeeshops and on Saturdays is when I take a trip to just sit and draw a bit.
Photos are cool, and I've got a Nokia N8 that's probably one of the best devices at taking such a picture. But, drawing is something else. Its you (not a computer) taking a piece of your memory and using your hands to craft the image. That's where my iPad finds itself this Saturday and it also happened to intersect with a woman and her moments in between class and work.
I was honestly intrigued as to why she looked sad. When I got to the point where I was comfortable with the weight of the drawing, I just had to ask. That's when she told me that it wasn't sadness, just a matter of being tired. She'd been in classes all day and now was awaiting the transition to her time needed for work. I could totally associate with that as that's been my past weeks on the road (little time to transition and catch your mind before the next thing).
It caused me to change the drawing a bit. Soften up the lines on her, and make sure that the surrounding environment spoke some towards that transition we all need. For me, it was that moment to use my mobile to describe another's moment. Hopefully, she's able to find the same rest in between life that I managed to today.