Tech Sensibility: June, 2014

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TECH SENSIBILITY: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR A BALANCED LIFE

Use Technology to Your Advantage

A free newsletter discussing various approaches to making the most value of our daily usage of technology - everything from getting the most usability from our mobile devices to improving our personal lives through a better understanding of technical information.

Past copies are archived on our web site: http://www.galeasconsulting.com

Copyright 2014 Bruno Scap. All rights reserved.

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Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who might find it beneficial.

Tech Sensibility is in three sections this month:

1. Technique

2. Slant: Tips and information on cloud integration for SMBs

3. Element

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1. Technique

• If you find yourself in a situation where your cell phone is running low on battery and you need it to last a bit longer to make another phone call or answer an e-mail, turn off any running applications which you are not using, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G, 3G, and GPS. Disable push notifications and shut down any apps that are running in the background, turn off automatic e-mail checking and lower your screen brightness. These steps, taken together, may just be enough to allow you to use your cell phone until you get a chance to recharge it.

• Public and shared computers – and maybe even your friend's – are not secure, so proceed with caution when using them to access your own online web accounts. Some web browsers allow you to log into your account without logging you out of your friend's account. It is best to use only your own computer for accessing your online accounts, but if you really must use someone else's computer, make sure the web browser is in privacy mode, which is a specific setting that helps maintain your privacy. When operating in privacy mode, your browser does not record your history, store your cookies, or save videos, images or text. Privacy mode is called "InPrivate Browsing" in Internet Explorer, "Incognito Mode" in Google Chrome, and "Private Browsing" in Firefox and Safari.

• Do you ever wish that you can watch your favorite sports game on TV and not be subjected to the same old commentators boring you with their dry and repetitive statistics? An application called SecondMic allows you to watch the game on TV and listen, in real time, to live, independent, alternative audio commentary on your cell phone. The technology ensures the commentary cell phone audio is in sync with the game on TV. And you can even create your own channel to stream your own commentary and build your following of loyal fans. Check it out at http://www.secondmic.com.

• Be sure to regularly monitor your account activity online. When you log into your online service, like a bank, credit card, or e-mail account, take notice of the "Last login" date and time that is often displayed near the top of your web browser window upon login. Although you may not remember the exact date of your last login, if you notice that the date displayed is a recent day of which you are certain you did not did make any logins, you will obviously know that something is not right. Contact your online institution right away, and change your password and answers to all your security questions. For proactive security, change your passwords for important services at least every six months.

• When you are at a cafe, business lounge or in a park, assume that all open and shared Wi-Fi networks are unsafe. Your personal or business e-mail, Facebook, online bank accounts and essentially everything else can be compromised when you use the Internet and surf the web on a shared Wi-Fi network. Other than looking up something on Google or locating a restaurant on Yelp, do not use a shared Wi-Fi network for any service that requires you to log into it with your username and password.

2. Slant

Tips and information on cloud integration for SMBs

When considering cloud integration, you should consider the level of compatibility between your existing IT infrastructure and the cloud provider. Would your applications need to be rewritten to enable them to run in a public cloud? Would they need to be reconfigured to match the cloud provider's platform? This can add complexity and even lead to lower performance and availability of applications.

You should consider a cloud provider with a highly reliable, stable, secure, and fully supported environment that can enable your organization to move to cloud within a reasonable amount of time.

When deciding on a cloud provider, consider evaluating ease of migration, the level of support for existing application and operating systems, and an uncomplicated way to manage the workloads across cloud environments.

3. Element

• Keeping a detailed log of how you spend every minute may in fact show that you have much more leisure time at your dispense than you think. Experts claim that it is not what we are actually doing but rather how we feel about those activities that make the difference. Exercise, for example, is something most people find to be a chore, but it is actually considered leisurely. In order to spend your time on the things you find the most meaningful, like family and friends, it is best to take control of the never-ending to-do lists that fills your head. Every moment does not have to be filled with checking something off the list. Instead, choose just one important thing to do each day. Time will always be a struggle. But having a stronger sense of what is important will make you feel better about how you spend your day.

• For some, the mantra "the only way to succeed is to fail" can be quite puzzling, but experts say that failure is indeed an integral part of success. Although a lucky few get to live their dreams early on, most of us experience disappointing setbacks along the way. Earning something early on and too easily deprives someone of learning the value of not only hard work, but prioritizing what really matters. If you let failure keep you from trying again, you will never succeed at what you really want. That makes even the slimmest chance of success worth any risk of failure.