in|Digital in|Digital

I blog about how technology is changing the world around us and what's happening with technology to improve our lives on a daily basis. I'm a digital strategist from South Dakota.

Recent Posts

iPhone iPhone 6S iPhone 6S Plus Apple TV iPad Pro Apple Google Android iOS iOS 9 Force Touch 3D Surface Pro Microsoft

Happy iPhone 6S/6S Plus Day!

It’s that time of the year where Apple releases its very profitable iPhone updates. This year there’s no change to that formulation. iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are just updates to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last year. Better camera, better processor, and better overall with the same design. If you didn’t see this coming then I guess surprise! 

The only thing that’s totally different is “Force Touch 3D” which makes your phone’s display more interactive and intuitive to your touch. You get quick actions with certain touches and normal response to a tap. It’s very neat and a great feature to add to mobile devices. 

A few other things Apple announced today was Apple TV being something that isn’t a side project for Apple anymore with adding apps to an update hardware with a Wii-like controller. We’ve already seen Google, Amazon, and Roku do this with similar device, but since this is Apple that it has the potential to become something we use instead of our cable boxes. Time will tell on this product if this is what Steve Jobs originally intended Apple TV back years ago.

Lastly, we get a Surface Pro like device that has been rumored for years since Apple changed the iPad name to iPad Air. It’s called iPad Pro and runs like a iPad Air, but on a ~13 inch screen. I question its abilities to be a “Pro” device since it doesn’t run Mac OS X on it, but mobile devices are slowly getting to that point where they can do as much as a laptop does for causal tasks. If you need to run gaming or creative software then a Surface Pro would fit you better at this time. 

Overall, this is the necessary steps Apple needs to take to compete in the marketplace and stay king. I love the “Force Touch 3D”, but other than that it’s just updates to their product line. Still, really good updates.

image
participation our generation awards back in the day tb

Average is … good?

Why do we as humans feel like settling for average is good? When did life become a participation award? I saw this change during my youth years where at the beginning there was no awards like this in my pee-wee sport leagues. The turn of the century is when I started to see this change. A trophy for 8 place, great effort this year award, and a certificate before the season starting. This isn’t great for humans overall since there’s no effort to get these awards. Kids growing up today are bombarded with these things on frequent occasions. 

Back in my parent’s day this wasn’t the case and what did they do? reach the other side of the world, develop modern technologies that we still rely on today, and go to outer space. These are the things we need to get back to. Reaching for the stars and the only way we will do that is stop saying average is good, average is life. They didn’t have participation awards back in the day. Only win/lose situations. We need to teach our kids that again to fuel the human race to do amazing things. 

The human race is doing amazing things as it is, but it feels that we could do more. It feels like we aren’t striving like we use to. So, we need to stop giving our children these awards and let them win or lose. No in-betweens! 

Follow me on Twitter @TLWulf, G+ https://plus.google.com/+TaylorWulf 

life decisons college graduate transitioning

Life after College

As I slowly transition from college student to full-time dependent worker in society some things I started noticing. Jobs aren’t as cut dry as I expected, which in some ways is a good thing but also not so much. Life is like that in the sense things are ever-changing and it isn’t cut dry either. Making decisions are even harder to the point where I’m stressing out constantly about which one to make. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and hope for the best. Also, that ever-changing landscape is good because it keeps me going throughout the day and makes the day not mundane.

The decisions I make now will drastically affect what will happen in the near future as well as the potential to change my life forever. Do I go with opportunity A that’s far away and has the potential to be something amazing, but also the same time to something that could haunt me for years to come if it doesn’t work out. Meanwhile, opportunity B is safe, but not much room to grow as a individual and stay in the perimeter of what I’m comfortable with. Decisions, decisions, decisions … . they’re a double-edge sword or a game of Russian roulette that everyone plays in this game of life. People are probably going to say choose opportunity A since you only have one life, but you don’t know the gravity of falling flat on your face with no where to go if it doesn’t work out. 

I like playing it safe most times, but I’m a person that deeply looks at each situation and then decides. This decision isn’t clear and cut dry as other past life decisions have been, but I want to take that jump so badly because that’s what life is all about. Jumping without knowing if it will fully work out. 

t-mobile unlimited data john legere phone

T-Mobile will now punish customers who abuse unlimited data

newsdock:

image

T-Mobile is today issuing a warning to customers: stop taking unlimited data to ridiculous extremes. In a post on T-Mobile’s blog, CEO John Legere has publicly called out “a fraction of a percent”… http://dlvr.it/C1GW8C

Can’t believe it took this long to start cracking down on customers who abuse the system. 

Reblogged from newsdock
technology relationships secrets bonding advice

Technology + Relationships

Technology has and will help the human race improve our lives for the future to come. There’s no debate about that. There is one thing that is debatable with the exponential growth of technology is how it plays a role in our relationships. Whether it is with our family, peers, or loved ones that sometimes technology can get in the way of our personal relationships to the point where we damage it beyond repair. Also, it can bring these relationships even closer where normally we wouldn’t be able to communicate without it. 

Personally, technology in relationships feel like it glorifies areas what would normally be looked over. For instance, If you’re in a long distance relationship then you get to see who the person really is and what they mean to you because the only way you can communicate to the other person is through technology. Technology also gives people easier access to break those relationships as in the sense of lying in our daily relationships or cheating on your loved ones. With apps like Tinder, OkCupid, and countless others it makes it easier for individuals to live a double life or being able to lie about what’s going on in your life since you don’t have to directly talk face-to-face with your friends or family and they’ll probably accept it. 

In most ways, technology has vastly improved our lives and our relationships to the people in our lives. Especially in mine since I’m currently in a long distance relationship. Meanwhile, technology can enable us to break those relationships even easier since we don’t have to be public about it and can hide it just that much more easily. It remains up to the person to decide what path they want to take and if they value your relationship to them. If they do, then they will find ways with technology to grow that connect even more with you. 

journey college steve jobs real world excited graduation excitement

The real journey starts

It’s been a great five years at South Dakota State University and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. A quote that comes to mind where I’m currently at is from the late Steve Jobs and he stated “If you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

Now it’s time for the real journey to start. Time to make a living for myself. Time to take what I’ve learned and use it. Time to make my way in this world. Time to finally step out of the shadows. Time to show what I can do. Time to do this.

The real journey is just starting and I’m excited! 

Amazon fire phone iphone android google moto x nexus 5 apple Kindle kindle fire

Amazon enters the crowded smartphone marketplace with Fire Phone

Yesterday, after many years of rumors, Amazon finally announced its first smartphone called “Fire Phone”

image

In summary, if you are hooked into the Amazon ecosystem with their Kindles and Fire TV then this is the phone for you. Otherwise, iPhone and Android phones would be a better choice for everyone else.

So, lets start with the some of special features that come with the Fire Phone. It has five cameras on the front of the phone (no, that’s not a typo) to mimic a “3D” interface and those same cameras can be used by developers to improve their games and apps. Also, those cameras are used for tilt scrolling pages like in the browser so you don’t have to scroll with your finger.

Next, is the “Firefly” camera that can scan any product that you show it and instantly shows a link to buy it on Amazon. This would be great if you’re shopping for a pricey item and want to make sure it isn’t cheaper on Amazon (sometimes it is).

Lastly, the Fire Phone includes Mayday which debut on the newest Kindle Fires back last fall. What this feature does is it lets you have a personal video chat with an Amazon representative. Primarily, you are usually calling in to a support center and describing what your problem is to the agent. Now, with this feature the agent can see what is going on your phone and simply help you fix any problem. 

image

You also get 1 free year of Prime membership ($100 value) with the purchase of this phone. I would have like it to be two years because you’re going to be under contract for that long so why make a person pay for another year when you’re going up against the likes of Google and Apple that have complete OS for years. Especially, when you’re trying to lure customers that already have been with these platforms for years now.

Other than those features it’s really a Moto X for comparison without any Google apps like Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and others. 

720p screen

2 GB RAM

4.7" inch screen

13 MP camera

Glass front and back (like iPhone 4 and 4S)

$200 on a two-year contract with AT&T ($650 no-contract)

My first impressions are that it’s a decent phone that’s way overpriced. Nexus 5, Moto X, OnePlus One, and many others are less than $350 OFF-CONTRACT and I can’t stress that enough. The only phone that can pull off that pricing is the iPhone 5S because of App Store and incredible build quality.

image

Also, to a certain extent this feels like the Facebook phone (a.k.a HTC First) that came out and was completely forgot in a month’s time. If there’s anyone that can pull of coming into a crowded marketplace that Amazon would be fully capable of doing that. It’s just that I don’t Fire Phone is going to do that for them like the Kindle Fires did. I just wished Amazon would have taken the opportunity of pricing this phone to just break even because it’s an unproven phone OS that people will compare to the iPhone and with so-so specs, carrier exclusively, and a high price tag that many people will go with stuff they already know like iOS and Android.

If it would have been around $400 off-contract and $50 on-contract then I would have thought the latter of the Fire Phone and probably would recommend it to people like my parents.