TechBits

Alexa, friend or waste of time?

I was gifted an Amazon Echo this Christmas.  When I opened it, I wasn’t that excited.  My first thought was another device I have to learn how to use and maintain.  New devices can become time consuming when you’re learning to use them and can prove to be more trouble then they’re worth.  I was skeptical I would find Alexa useful, but here are my honest first impressions. 

Madison has been nearly shut down this week thanks to the polar vortex weather.  With cabin fever in full effect, my daughter and I decided to spend some time learning about our new friend, Alexa.  The first feature we seemed to gravitate toward is getting the morning weather report simply by asking “Alexa, what is the weather forecast?”  All you have to do is set up your location in the Alexa App.  You can ask for a current forecast or a 7 day forecast.

As an amazon prime member and an avid online shopper, I was happy to learn it will automatically connect to my amazon account, allow me to verbally create lists of what I need, order it, update me on the tracking of the packages and notify me when they are delivered.  These are definitely features I will use regularly.

The main feature we had to try out in our boredom was the music feature.  At first, I was disappointed that they seem to push you to purchase Amazon Music by offering a 3 month free trial.  After a little research online, I learned that it does work with Spotify.  In December, there was an update to include Apple Music, which I currently subscribe to and is my preferred choice.  The best way to play your iTunes music is by connecting your device via Bluetooth. You can turn on your Bluetooth settings and ask Alexa to pair your device.  So far, I am able to play music I have downloaded to my phone with ease.  Searching Apple Music for new music does not appear to work.      

I am excited to see what else Alexa has to offer me in terms of to do lists and other organizational tools.  As a working mom, I’m always looking for help in that area.  There are so many features to discover and so many articles on how to best use them.  I am now much more excited to explore Alexa further.  Are there any features you have found useful?  Please share them in the comments.    

Say NO to Pie (Charts)

I couldn’t say no to my colleague’s Kentucky bourbon pecan pie that he made for our annual potluck. (It is delicious!) I do, however, say no to using pie charts after learning there are better chart types to visualize your data.

Although pie charts have the ability to show a part-to-whole relationship, data visualization experts are not fans of them. Here are a few articles highlighting the problems with pie charts:

• Few, S. (2007). Save the Pies for Dessert, https://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/visual_business_intelligence/save_the_pies_for_dessert.pdf
• Feinberg, L. (2014). 10+ Ways to Leave Your Pie Chart, https://www.decisionviz.com/category/10-ways-to-leave-your-pie-chart/ (Start with 1.)
• Brown, T. (2011, February 8). Sorry Sir, we’re all out of pies…., https://www.theinformationlab.co.uk/2011/02/08/sorry-sir-were-all-out-of-pies/

The takeaways from these articles are:

1. Pie charts are more difficult for our brains to process based on visual perception science (Gestalt Principles). Comparing areas and angles takes time and is something we do not do accurately.

2. There are better chart types to tell a story. Experts recommend horizontal ranked bar charts, stacked bar charts, and other chart types that are easier to interpret. Here are resources to help you pick the right chart:

• Visual vocabulary: https://public.tableau.com/profile/andy.kriebel#!/vizhome/VisualVocabulary/VisualVocabulary
• Periodic table of visualizations http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html

There is good news for those who cannot leave their pie charts. Authors of the Big Book of Dashboard, have found that bar charts can live in harmony with pie charts. Here is a recent post:  

• swexler. (2018, December 3). A Bar Chart and a Pie Chart Living in Harmony, https://www.datarevelations.com/barchartpiechart_harmony.html

If you still love pie charts, you may also like this cookie pie chart https://flowingdata.com/2011/09/09/girl-scout-cookie-pie-chart/, but be sure to pair it with a quality bar chart (and a glass of milk).

Password, password, who might have your password?

A little over a week ago the site “have I been pwned?” website reported a large collection of leaked user information, the biggest single collection they'd seen, had been posted to a popular hacking site. While it turns out that most of that data was a compilation of previous data breaches, the data was now available in a single collection of over 770 million unique email addresses and 21 million unique unencrypted passwords.

To check if your email account was one of the ones leaked, you can go to https://haveibeenpwned.com/ (yes, it's pwned not owned) and enter your email account. If your email was one of the ones they've found in leaked data, the site will tell you and, if you scroll down, it will give you details on where and when the leak occurred. You can then use this information to determine whether you should go and change your passwords on the affected sites or if you've already done so since the breach occurred.

Let's go phishing

Can you spot a scam? Here are a couple of short phishing quizzes to test your skills:

• phishingbox - Phishing IQ Test 
• Barracuda - The Ultimate Phishing Quiz  (includes explanations of why answers are right/wrong)

 

How did you do?

Looking for tips to improve your skills?  These webpages have some helpful suggestions about what to look for!

 

• Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information - "Phishing" 
• National Cyber Security Alliance - Stay Safe Online - "5 Ways to Spot a Phishing Email" 

 

Upcoming Snipping Tool Change

Microsoft is changing the name and functionality of the Snipping Tool for Windows 10 in an upcoming update.  I use the Snipping Tool regularly to include screenshots in documentation.  After the 1809 Feature Update was installed on my laptop, I noticed a warning the first time I opened the Snipping Tool.  The warning basically states that the tool is moving, it will have improved features, and it will be called "Snip & Sketch." 

Microsoft hasn't announced when the new version will be forced or what update will make the change permanent.  After you get the 1809 Feature Update, you can still use the tool in its basic form.  You can also click "Try Snip & Sketch" to start using the new features.

• The first thing I notice with the new version is that the toolbar has the modern Windows Store app design.
  
• When saving a snip, the default name of the file will include the date and time stamp.
• You may configure the Print Screen button on your keyboard to open Snip & Sketch directly.
• A ruler allows you to draw straight lines on your snip.  The angle of the ruler can be adjusted with your mouse's scroll wheel.
  
• A protractor is available for help drawing circles.
• Drawing and markup tools are improved.

More information about this change.

More information about all changes with the 1809 Feature Update.

 

Favorites Toolbar

Last fall I was working with a very smiley colleague on a large order when she noticed that I use folders on my web browsers favorites’ toolbar to group similar links. After I showed her how I created the folders we talked about how this might be something worth sharing with our readers.

For those that didn’t know Favorites Toolbars existed, I have to tell you, it’s incredibly convenient to have a few of my go-to favorites at the top of my browser where I can quickly go without having to click on dropdown menus. I found it frustrating when I had so many bookmarks in my toolbar that it became cluttered, which is where using folders to combine similar links can come in to help organize your toolbar.  For instance, I drive a lot, so I have a folder with my favorite travel advisory links so that I can quickly see if I should expect any travel delays. I also have a folder with a lot of Google doc links.

I mostly use Google Chrome and Firefox browsers, but you can also do this with Edge.

In Google Chrome, click the Customize and Control button (3 vertical dots) in the upper right hand corner. Hover your cursor over Bookmarks and select Show bookmarks bar. This will add the bookmarks bar if you don’t already have it. If you right-click in the bookmarks bar you will have an option to add a folder. Once you add and name a folder you can drag links into it.

In Firefox, click the menu button (Cheeseburger or 3 vertical lines) in the upper right-hand corner and choose Customize, click the Toolbars button at the bottom of the screen and select Bookmarks Toolbar. Just like with Chrome you can right-click in the bookmarks bar you will have an option to add a folder. Once you add and name a folder you can drag links into it.

I’ve also found that by having a visual of my favorite websites on my bookmarks toolbar I use them way more than I used my bookmarks menu at the top of my browser.

Digital Byte: Top Tech Tools

Did you catch Jamie's most recent Digital Byte video? In it, she talks about her 8 favorite tech tools at the moment and how they might help you in your library work. The video is only 6 minutes and covers 8 tools (Slack, Screencast-O-Matic, Noisli, Pixabay, CamScanner, LunaPic, iMovie, and BeFunky).

You can find more of the WVLS Digital Bytes here: https://wvls.org/digital-bytes/

USB Who?

We recently have been ordering new models of PCs and I noticed some brand new USB ports on the front.  In the past there has only been two different types with one being a super speed: USB 2.0 and USB 3.0.  But recently I have been seeing new symbols next to the USB ports.  I was curious so to Google I went. 

Port A is a regular USB 2.0 and supports all devices with the same connection.  This is the standard and most common USB type.  Port B is a new type of port called USB PowerShare which allows you to charge small devices like a smartphone while the PC is off.  Normally when you turn the PC off, the USB ports are off as well.  PowerShare allows the port to receive a small amount of power still.

Port C is a USB 3.0 or super speed that allows a fast transfer of files and data.  This is helpful when you are copying a large amount of data to and from a flash drive or using your phone's fast charge feature.  You can tell when a port is 3.0 v.s 2.0 by the "ss" next to the symbol or the internal connection is blue.  Port D is a USB-C port which is a newer, super speed, universal connector which allows the transfer of video or power.  While a lot of devices do not have this yet I do have a hard drive that does, so it is becoming more popular.

Who knew there would be this many different USB ports!

Technology straight out of Science Fiction

Today I received an invitation to a readers advisory webinar titled "Why Read Science Fiction and How to Help Those Who Do".  I deleted it because a) I don't work with the public and b) I know why to read science fiction and people would like to find a way to prevent me from telling them what science fiction stories to read and which science fiction authors to read and and ...

Ahem.  While working away at my desk and thinking about what to write for this inaugural 2019 Tech Bits post, I thought "Where's my flying car?"  As an elementary school child in the mid-to-late 1960's I was thrilled by the promise that when I became an adult, I would be zipping around in my own private, flying car.  Just like on the Jetsons.

So ... where's my flying car?

Sadly (or perhaps happily for the local geese population) single-passenger electric aircraft are only just this year getting off the ground for consumers.  Pun intended.  And it is unlikely that I will win a lottery and have enough money to purchase one of these babies ($$$$$!!!!!)  But, to get back to the beginning of this ramble, flying cars are not the only technology that has manifested out of science fiction books, television programs and movies too, for that matter. 

What, don't you think your old flip-top phone bore a marked resemblance to the communicators on Start Trek?  Just sayin' ...

Courtesy of Electric Lit, here are the "8 pieces of Modern Technology That Science Fiction Predicted -- Or Invented." 

1888: Credit Cards - Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward

1911: Video calling - Hugo Gernsback’s Ralph 124C 41+

1931: Mood-Enhancing Pills - Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World

1939: Surveillance - George Orwell’s 1984

1968: Tablets - Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

1969: Electric Cars - John Brunner’s Stand On Zanzibar

1972: Bionic Limbs - Martin Caidin’s Cyborg (aka TV’s The Six Million Dollar Man)

1984: The World Wide Web - William Gibson’s Neuromancer

The next time you are offering readers advisory, offer your patrons some titles that will allow them to glimpse the future.  Or help create it.

Other online articles 

13 Everyday Technologies That Were First Imagined In Science Fiction

10 Great Technologies We Got From Science Fiction

The 5 Coolest Technologies from Hard Science Fiction