#russelltech

[jamierussell]

Caller ID Coming to Fitbit Force

I decided to add a Fitbit Force to my fitness technology arsenal this year in my effort to track calorie intake, sleep, water consumption, activity, etc. So far I have been more than pleased with the Fitbit tracking and functionality. But it looks like it is going to get better next month.

I recently learned that Caller ID will be pushed with some updates to the Fitbit Force.  I never anticipated this type of feature on a fitness related device but if you think about it the infrastructure is all there, they just needed to add the functionality and contacts integration. More to come next month once the upgrade hits!

Hit me up if you have questions about the Fitbit Force and I will do my best to give you my thoughts.

[jamierussell]

The "Double Wrap" Technique for the Apple Power Cable

I have been lugging an Apple laptop around for a long time and for the most part I have always been a fan of the care Apple took with their power cords and the magnetic connectors, etc.  However, it has always been a bit bulky to wrap up when on the go. Recently I learned about the "Double Wrap" technique (photo seen above) and wonder how I never picked up on this on before. I leave a little length on my wall plug so most of the time I never even have to unwrap it, and it is always ready to pack up. It's the small things... right?

For those of you that may be behind like I was give it a try. Also, let me know if there are any other handy tricks like this that might make life just a tiny bit easier!

[jamierussell]

Give Siri a Second Chance.

Have you ever really given Siri a chance?  I have found people will ask her a few lame questions to see what she will reply with but cut her loose after a few laughs.  

Recently I have been using Siri more and more, but in order to do that I have had to learn more about what I can ask her. Here are a few things you can ask Siri that you may not know about. 

Siri Tip: When using Siri tap the (?) icon for more examples of things to ask. You get the above left screenshot.

"Remind me to take the trash out when I get home." Siri will set a reminder that notifies you when you get in proximity to your home. In order for this to work you need to define your home address. Siri will help you do this when you make this request. You can also specify a work location.

Did the Sooners win? Siri will probably ask you to specify which sport, once specified she will give you a verbal summary and display stats from the recent OU game.  Hopefully with a yes reply.

"Tell Stephanie Do I need to pick up dinner tonight?" Siri will bring a message window up displaying "Do I need to pick up dinner tonight?" to Stephanie and ask if you would like to send the message.

Substitute the below options for "Tell" in the message above:  - "Tweet" and Siri will tweet for you. - "Post" and Siri will post to Facebook for you. - "Call" and Siri will make a call for you. - "FaceTime" and Siri will FaceTime for you. - "Email" and Siri will create an email for you. - "Note" and Siri will create a note for you.

"Wake me up in two hours." Siri will set an alarm for two hours from your request.

"What's the weather like today?" Siri will reply with a forecast of weather in your area.

"What movies are playing?" Siri will display a helpful screen with movies titles, poster art, ratings, rotten tomatoes ratings, etc.

"Setup a meeting Wednesday at 11:30am." Siri will create a calendar entry and ask you for the additional details.

"Lauch Shazam." Siri will launch any app you name.  In this case she would launch Shazam.

Siri Tip: When talking to Siri say the punctuation and she will pick up on it and complete you sentences, this limits any post editing.  

CRAZY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT BE AMAZED BY:

Who is taller, Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook?

How old is Payton Manning?

What's the Twitter stock price?

Do you believe in God?

Why did Apple make you?

[jamierussell]

Apple's Hits TV Gold!

Recently Apple has been releasing a hand full of spots consisting of b-roll montages of kids using iPads and hip people listening to iPod music. It’s all a bit forgettable for me. However in a recent spot Apple knocked it out of the park with liquid gold “Metal Mastered” animating into the new gold iPhone5s. Great music as well with perfectly provocative lyrics. That is the Apple I love!

[jamierussell]

A Instagram Video Camera Roll Upload Win!

While on vacation with my boys this summer shot some fun GoPro video, edited it with iMovie and uploaded it to YouTube.  I obviously wanted to share the video, however after uploading to YouTube I realized it had copyrighted music so it would not display on mobile.  I solved that by uploading to Vimeo.

Here is my video link on YouTube and on Vimeo. 

In the end it did not get a ton of views being on Vimeo and YouTube. If I am being exact it got 10 views on YouTube and 94 views on Vimeo.

Instagram's "Uploading Video From Camera Roll" Feature

Last week on 8/8/2013 Instagram released a feature allowing users to upload video from their camera roll.  So I went back, cracked open the iMovie file and edited my 3+ minute down to 15 seconds on my MacBook Pro and emailed it to myself and saved to my camera role.  It was easily shared to my Instagram feed.  Here it is!

Why is this a significant update for Instagram?

Large chunks of content is hard to consume.  Taking my 3+ minute video file down to 15 seconds allows for more people to consume it. Of course if you ask the good folks at Twitter they would tell you that "15 seconds is wwaaaayyyy to long!"

Obviously editing a 15 second video is much quicker than a 3+ minute video.

Shooting video in the Instagram and/or Vine app is not always awesome.  Most users want to use their phone video so they are not limited the length of time.

Instagram lets users select the section of their camera role video they want to share.  So you can now video that thunderstorm and only share the best lightening strikes.

For brands this is huge because of all their great video they have.  They can not tap into existing video and edit in more of a traditional style. 

What's Next?

So what does everyone think? Will Vine update to camera roll uploads too?  What does this do long term to YouTube's epic cornering online video? Are we going to be able to share Instagram videos to our YouTube feed soon?

I think online video just got a bit more interesting.

[jamierussell]

The "Nest" Learning Thermostat Gets Me!

After owning several impossible-to-use programable thermostats I was intrigued to hear about a new option that launched by the former Senior Vice President of the iPod Division of Apple by the name of Tony Fadell… as an Apple fanatic I was sold right there! It’s called the Nest Learning Thermostat by Nest Labs founded in 2010.

Initially I was disappointed to find out that the first generation Nest did not support dual fuel heat pumps like the one I own. I didn’t panic and waited calmly for a year or so. I recently purchased a second generation Nest at the Apple store. Unlike the first generation it is compatible with my system. Below is my installation Vine video. If you can see it click here

The documented steps for installation did a great job of walking me through the installation. I had one hiccup with one of the hookups and visited the support documentation and after describing my symptoms I found the simple solution.

Nest offers a free app that connects to your Nest Learning Thermostat allowing you to control and program the Nest from your iPhone. You can also monitor how energy efficient you are. For those of us that are highly susceptible to gamification you can receive a leaf on the more energy efficient days.

I have noticed after a few weeks of having the Nest installed that the convenience of the app allows us to tell the Nest when we are away easier. The Nest learns from our repetitive activities. It is also equipped with a motion detector so it knows when we are home by our movement. It also lights up when you walk up to it via the motion detector, this is a pretty cool feature.

For those of us more aesthetic types the Nest simple looks darn good on the wall. I makes me feel good inside every time I walk by the thing. Let me know if you have any questions about the Nest… comment below.

[jamierussell]

My First "Go" with a GoPro

Let’s start with the finished product for enticement.  This first video I did with my nephew Carder on his skim board while on vacation.

Here are the final links:  YouTube Version  |  Vimeo Version

The second video I edited was a mashup of all the crazy things my boys and I did on our vacation.

Russell Boys Florida Trip 2013 - New Smyrna Beach from Jamie Russell on Vimeo.

Here are the final links:  YouTube Version  |  Vimeo Version

I’ve been wanting to play with a GoPro for a while.  It turned out to be a lot of fun.  I used an old first generation GoPro Hero with a water proof case.  I also had an assortment of attachments that all came in handy like the suction mount, chesty mount, wrist strap and floating handle (so it didn’t sink if dropped).  Note that all the GoPro accessories are sold separately.

After all the video was shot I imported it all over to my laptop via the SD Card.  From there I watched a YouTube video on how to use iMovie and I was off to the races.  Here is a link to the tutorial I used.

I did run into one YouTube uploading issue.  I used a mainstream songs in my video and YouTube picked up on it.  Even though I authorized the song on my account it still cannot be viewed on mobile via YouTube… so I created a Vimeo account and it can be viewed via mobile from there. 

If you are looking to do something that has some physical activity you cant beat the interesting perspective of a GoPro.

[jamierussell]

Instagram Adds "Photos of You"

So I updated Instagram the other day and noticed there were some significant updates.  The biggest feature being "Photos of You" where you can tag everyone in your photos.  Really cool feature and easy to use.  I immediately went back and tagged all relevant peeps in my over 1000 photos.

If you have any awesome pics of me be sure to tag me in them so they show up on my "Photos of Me" feed.