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Technically Speaking - Helping you survive and thrive in the Digital Age
Hello Friend,
Last month I had the privilege of speaking at the Minnesota Hospital Association Trustees Conference at the beautiful Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria, Minnesota. Not long before that, Apple announced their HealthKit initiative with the backing of the Mayo Clinic and Epic Healthcare. While using the latest mobile gadgets to connect humans and health care providers is a noble objective, the obstacles are enormous as described in this article and also this one
Likely the hottest tech topic of the year, the Internet of Things (IoT), is still a mystery to most people. I introduced the topic to attendees at the always exciting PACT Excellence Share event last week. If you Google "Internet of Things", you'll get over four million hits and thousands of images depicting this next generation Internet. You will not be able to avoid this subject much longer.
                   Gary (Please email me here with your comments and questions)
PS: Sharing is good. If you enjoy this mailing, please click on the links above for Email, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Thanks.
The past, present and future of Microsoft
It was 33 years ago that IBM signed an agreement to use software for its coming PC - software from an obscure startup named Microsoft. That business connection with the leading computer company led to Microsoft becoming one of the largest companies in the world - larger even than IBM. Fast forward to today and consider what just happened. While the timing may be a coincidence. two announcements last month show how fortunes have been reversed.

The same week Apple and IBM agreed to work together on business applications, Microsoft announced it would lay off 18,000 workers. There has not been a lot of good news for the Windows and Office maker. After arriving four years late to the mobile party, they have been slow to recover.
Tired of being followed: there are alternatives
If you are nervous about privacy and bothered that search engines track your every move to target you for advertising, you might want to try a different search engine. DuckDuckGo is one of the popular Google alternatives. It doesn't offer the myriad of features that Google does but most people don't use most of the features most of the time. Give it a try.
Google Project Loon Page
Google
Project Loon
3 Hot Links
> Hospitality industry primed for the Internet of Things
"Hotels are adding more mobile-friendly technologies to the rooms to enhance the guest experience, ... In other words, door locks, thermostats, set-top-boxes, mini-fridges, telephones, light switches and electric blinds and other devices must all be connected on a common network to enable the services that guests want" (see complete report)

> Look - it's a bird, it's a plane, no - it's a Google Loon
!
Goggle - the company that's not afraid to try anything - is now testing Project Loon - a constellation of balloons that will circle the earth and (they hope) provide Internet access to areas with no current connectivity options.
This Atlantic article "Can we Trust Google with the Stratosphere? explains it all.

> Finally - Really, really bad wiring jobs
You think you've seen a messy collection of wires and cables - take a look at these incredible images.
The iPhone 6 is coming - the iPhone 6 is coming!
While Samsung brings out new phones and tablets almost weekly, Apple offers only two new versions of each every year. That makes every Apple announcement a big deal and this year the September 9th unveiling of the iPhone 6 is no exception. As we get further and further from the Steve Jobs era at Apple, the business world is wondering if the company can still perform. This year's introduction of the 8th generation iPhone will go a long way toward answering that question - one way or the other.
The biggest change will be larger screens on the new models. These are rumored to be 40% and 90% larger than the three and four year old 4 and 4S models that are ripe for an upgrade. Apple will probably continue to offer the current 5S model since they've always sold the previous edition at a lower price and there are people who are quite happy with a smaller device - particularly those who have a tablet. Remember when bragging rights went to the one with the smallest cell phone!
Picture This - Preserving those precious memories - Pt 2
Last month I promised a detailed discussion of the process for preserving our family photos for future generations. We take thousands of photos with our phones and cameras; we collect them on huge hard drives; we circulate them to "friends" around the world on a variety of social platforms. But what steps do we need to take to preserve the best images for our descendants?
Most software, most online services and most file formats will disappear; this article explains the nine steps we can take to prepare for the future. Our parents and grandparents had a shoe box to pass along but we print very few of the thousands of pictures we take so we need to do something if our great grandchildren are to have any picture of what our lives were like.

August 2014
Issue 58
Who I am and what I do
My lifetime passion has been explaining technology to non-technical audiences. I've been a programmer, project manager, system designer and independent consultant. I've taught at the high school and university level, published numerous articles and given hundreds of lectures across the US and abroad. In my spare time I volunteer for several social service organizations and enjoy my photography hobby.

How I can help you
I will work with you to develop an educational program suited to your association, business or other group - long or short, basic or advanced. Popular topics include:
• Small group roundtables
• Mobile Tech 101
• Mobile devices in business
• iPad tips and tricks
• Apps, apps and more apps
• Technologies and companies to watch
• Why good cameras take bad pictures
• How things work - from your PC to the Internet

Click here for more information on these topics.


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