Ready to up your Instagram game? Use Stories

You don’t have to be a business or a brand to use Instagram effectively.  But here are a few tips to catapult your Insta Stories to a whole new level.

First off, Stories are images (photos or 15-sec videos) that once posted ‘disappear’ from view on your account 24 hours later.  Of course, ‘disappear’ is relative.  Stories can be highlighted to keep them accessible to your followers.

You can add text, GIFS, filters, mentions, stickers and a myriad of other overlays to your photos and videos to increase interest in your content.  You can even draw or handwrite over your story post.
Instagram is always adding features to Stories to keep us interested and engaged.  Some of the best features include polls and share posts to Stories.

To get started with Stories, click on Your Story with the plus sign in the top left side of your Instagram app.  To get started quickly, just press the big circle.  To get deeper into the feature set, keep reading.

You can control many Story settings by clicking on the gear icon on the upper left corner.
At the bottom of the screen are several options, so many that you need to swipe left just to see the full menu of options available.

The first square in the lower left is our camera roll.  Tap here to see the last 24 hours worth of videos and photos on your device.  To the right of that square is a lightning bolt trapped in a  circle, these are your standard light/flash settings.  Hit up the two arrows to the right of the Record button to switch to/from selfie view.  Then feel free to add filters and effects by tapping the cute face with two plus marks icon.  This will launch a new menu with more options, enough to make your head spin.

Below all of that is another menu.  This menu includes Type for text-based posts, Live to ‘cast’ your content in real time, the ever popular Boomerang and additional features like Superzoom, Focus, Rewind and Handsfree.

Once you’ve created your original content, you can post to Your Story or just share with Close Friends.

Wait, we are not finished yet.  You can then swipe up for stickers, graphics, GIFs, sliders and polls.  Sliders and polls are a great way for your followers to interact with your posts in addition to liking and messaging, which are additional features.

Then, let’s not forget that you can share Instagram posts to your story.  You can share your own timeline posts or shout out to another Instagrammer by sharing their post to your account.  To do this, click on the paper aeroplane at the bottom of the post you wish to share.

Instagram archives your Stories by default, so you can always have access to them which is really helpful if you wish to highlight your post so that all your followers can view all time.  These highlights come up on circles just above your timeline photos.  Feel free to highlight individual stories and group stories into collections.

And imagine, all of this related to but one feature of Instagram - Stories.  Go forth and tell your story on IG.

Decoding Cryptocurrencies

By now, you’ve probably heard of Bitcoin which means you’re on the spectrum ranging from heavily invested to totally spooked.

If you’re closer to spooked, allow me to share some simple facts.



Bitcoin is the first decentralized, unregulated, most popular, most valuable, cryptocurrency, sometimes call digital currency.  Bitcoin is the first, but far from the only cryptocurrency.  Other popular cryptocurrencies include Namecoin and Dogecoin (commonly referred to as ALT coins).

Unlike traditional currency, cryptocurrencies rely on cryptography and blockchains.  Even kids in primary school use basic cryptography to pass secret notes to each other in class.  However,  blockchain is a term more familiar to hardcore coders than casual internet users.  In this case, a blockchain is a distributed network of verifiable, updated, encrypted and synchronized ledgers.

Blockchains are maintained by “miners” who receive a reward and/or transaction fee for updating, maintaining, verifying the blockchain.  There are a fixed number of bitcoin, 21 million to be exact.  And “mining” bitcoin requires an increasing amount of time and computing power.

Cryptocurrencies are virtually impossible to counterfeit, hack, duplicate or accidentally “double spend”.  It’s these remarkable features that help bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to retain their value.

The trifecta of features including anonymity, security and potential reward combine to make cryptocurrencies very attractive to criminals, failed Governments and legitimate investors.

Are you ready to jump in and invest?  Well then, you’ll need some money (which kinda goes without saying) and you will also need to set up a “wallet” on an “exchange” such as Coinbase.  It also goes without saying that you should always backup your data including your private and public key.

We can thank Satoshi Nakamoto for the invention of bitcoin back in 2008.  I’d like to tell you who Nakamoto is, but no one really knows.  We don’t know if Nakamoto is a person or a group.  Like bitcoin itself, the Nakamoto’s true identity is secure and anonymous.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning on @RJR94FM at 8:15 AM

How to Spot Fake News

Sadly, fake news is not new; it’s just topical.

The internet has morphed what we once knew as propaganda into what we now call fake news by reducing the cost, time and possible litigation related to creating and disseminating intentionally deceptive, biased or blurred truth stories.  Wow; that was a lot to say.  Fake news is, after all, a complicated affair.

For this discussion, I am not including deliberate and obvious satire like The Onion, but rather the divisive, intentionally misleading and potentially destructive lies masquerading as genuine news.  

The growing problem of fake news proliferation is exacerbated by “the filter bubble”.  Popular (social) media sites often employ algorithms to retain visitor interest by prominently posting content we like and burying posts we don’t.  We are therefore responsible for our own “truth filter”.

We must employ our own “truth filter” and halt the spread of fake news.  Excuses like, “I’m just passing it on as I get it” and "I'm not sure its true but sharing anyway," are just plain irresponsible.

The potential consequences are just too high.  The well-cited story of the 2016 shooting up of the Comet Ping Ping pizzeria by a 28-year-old North Carolina man who was “self-investigating” a bogus news story about Hillary Clinton running a child sex abuse ring out of the location, is an excellent example of the real dangers of fake news.

More recently and closer to home, images of a woman’s body being cut open allegedly as part of a local organ theft ring were circulated widely via WhatsApp leading to wild conspiracy theories and fear.  As it turns out, the video was taken from a 2014 autopsy video causing much distress to the young lady’s family.  

Let us not be a party to these kinds of atrocities.  Let’s spot and stop fake news!

Read Past the Headline

Headlines, by their very nature, are designed to draw us in.  So too, the first paragraph is written to entice us to read further.  If we stop there, we may not have the information necessary to effectively analyse the article.  Often the body has little or nothing to do with the headline, has a disclaimer, has poor grammar indicating the information is not credible or has obvious clues the story is false.

Confirm Source, Date and Time

Some fake news sites try to fool us into believing the site is legitimate with official-sounding titles, copy cat URLs and look-alike pages.  Check the source of the material very carefully.  Take a moment to read the “About Us”.  If the language is over the top, absent or poorly written, then the source is possibly not credible.

Take a good look at the dateline of the story and other date references.  Some fake news stories and old stories or old content which have been regurgitated to appear “new”.

Questions Links, Sources, Quotes and Photos

Real journalists include citations, attribution and relevant images to enhance their stories.  Fake news writers avoid citations; they don’t have credible sources, and they steal and reuse unrelated pictures to make their points.  Be on the watch for these indicators.

Links to reference material litter real news stories.  Follow the links used to support a story and make an evaluation if they are relevant.  Look closely at the sources quoted, if any, in a story.  Do a quick internet search of their name and title to determine if they have the requisite authority to make the statement or if their quote (or a similar quote) appears on trustworthy news sites.  Finally, be sure that the image is related to the story and not just a picture transplanted from another place and time on the web page.  Google offers a reverse image search to inform if the picture has been used elsewhere on the internet.

Determine Bias

Lots of websites have declared biases; some do not.  But we need to know what we are dealing with.  Peruse the site a news story appears on to see if there is an agenda they seem to be promoting and then, take the information presented with a tablespoon of salt.

Seek Corroboration

Before you take the first link as gospel, take a moment to find out if other news organisations are reporting the same news.  Get the facts before you spread what's false!

If ever in doubt, visit the RJR News Centre for consistently credible news.

Sources

• The Telegraph UK
• Wikipedia
• Huffington Post
• Pizzagate
• Jamaica Gleaner
• How Stuff Works
• Sunday Morning Herald

Social Stardom In a Real Sense

Event organizers Corve DaCosta and Shane Bennett

The irony is, it took a social media event for me to meet a social media star.

Thanks to Digital Media Week Jamaica #DMWJamaica, I was able to meet in person and physically mingle with a few social media stars that I follow or converse with regularly.

#DMWJamaica is an “unconference” that seeks to share social success stories and highlight Jamaicans excelling in the social media space.  The four-day series of events included a panel discussion at the trendy ATL Showroom on Tuesday, June 29, 2016.

RJR’s own Krystal Tomlinson, a star in her own right across multimedia media formats, hosted the panel on The New Rules of Social Stardom.  The group of experts included “certified student” @OneRomone, multi-tasker @NicoleMcLarenCampbell, fitness and nutrition expert @IAMKimilaMcDonald and transformational coach @PatriceJWhite.

#DMW Panelists Kimila McDonald, Nicole McLaren-Campbell,  Romone Robinson, Krystal Tomlinson (Host) and Patrice White.

Real is often overused these days, but “real” is exactly how the conversation is best described.  The presenters were revealing and raw while sharing their personal experiences, challenges, and successes.  Here's an interesting point, their least favourite platform: Snapchat.

The panel was preceded by an eye-opening keynote by Dr. Anissa Holmes of Jamaica Cosmetic Dental Services.  The audience who clearly had a preference for Instagram (IG) was schooled in benefits of Facebook.  Dr. Holmes opening discussed her methodology and impressive returns on her investment in the platform.

Dr. Anissa Holmes

She clearly illustrated the power and potential of the world’s most successful social media network and provided tips on how others good navigate the platform for their own success.  Notable, she said, “You have to have your business right first!”  Social media can’t make a business better, more efficient, or more appealing.  Start with a good business model and then leverage social media to draw attention, engagement and profits to that model.

#DMWJamaica continues with a Women in Digital Tech charity event this evening at the Courtyard by Marriott.  Congrats to @CorveDaCosta, @iamsgb and the team for a stellar event.

Tech4Life airs on @RJR94FM.com every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am.

T4L: Pass On Passive Passwords

Advisory: Change all your critical account passwords (email, bank, social media) immediately and often.

I agree, it is troublesome to come up with complex and unique passwords for every online account or service (in my case, 82 and counting), but I believe (from anecdotal experience only thank God) that it is less troublesome than having your data, PC, money and or identity stolen, held at ransom, revealed or deleted.

The Problem
So, here is the background, way back (in tech terms at least) in 2012, there was a data breach.  LinkedIn, Tumblr, MySpace (remember them?) and other sites were hacked, releasing some 117 million login details including passwords into the wild.  I can’t say why the data remained underground so long; I can say, however, that the data is available for sale and is being sold to some bad people (yup, that is a technical term).

This affects you (and me), if you haven’t changed your password in a couple of years or if you re-use passwords across different platforms.  The hackers are, right this minute, using the data to attack your accounts.  And, they have succeeded.  High profile celeb accounts like Mark Zuckerberg's were among those compromised this week.  Think about it, he’s one of the world’s greatest programmers, and he was hacked.  Still feel you’re immune?

The Option
You can check if you've been compromised at: haveibeenpwned.com, but personally, I’m busy.  So, I’d rather skip this step, assume all old passwords have been compromised and set new ones.  Even “the leader of the free world” resets his nuclear launch codes periodically, why can’t you reset a few passwords?

So real is the threat, that several sites forced subscribers to reset their passwords to gain access.  They completely denied access with old passwords.  Why not take their lead and take a moment to reset all your passwords.

The Solution
Before you start to complain about the brain power required to compute and mentally store scores of unique passwords, consider a password manager.  Check out cross-platform options like 1Password and LastPass.  Apple ecosystem dwellers can rely on Keychain.  Trust me, this is not the time to skimp; pay for the best service you can afford and enjoy convenient features and options.

While you're at it, going through all your accounts individually and setting up UNIQUE passwords for EACH account, why not take another moment to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on every account that supports it.  Recently Google made 2FA simpler and other will follow suit, but that is for another post.

The combination of strong, unique passwords and 2FA is , currently, the best protection against hacking.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM

T4L: Long Time Expected (LTE)

At long last, Jamaica has LTE.  Well, Jamaican cities at least.

Digicel rolled out its LTE (Long Term Evolution) network (June 9, 2016).  Billed as up to 10 times faster than 4G, Digicel customers are now able to access LTE speeds in the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporate Area and Montego Bay.

© www.Jamaica-Gleaner.com

LTE is already commonplace in first world countries like the US and the UK.  It is also commonplace in some Digicel markets around the region.  Digicel even sells LTE enabled phones!  But it’s delayed introduction is due to … well, that depends on who you ask.

Digicel’s official response given at the pre-launch event in their super cool video conferencing room (more on that in another piece) was spectrum.  Digicel only recently acquired the 700 MHz spectrum required to provide LTE; by recently I mean April of last year.  They then spent US$50 million dollars to deploy LTE across Jamaica (but only available across the cities for now) as a part of their “Network for the Future” commitment.  In a release, the company noted that “the 700 MHz band - globally recognized as the best spectrum for deploying the technology because of its superior in-building coverage and wider signal reach when compared to similar frequencies”.

The on-site speed tests were truly impressive with up and (wait for it) down speeds exceeding 20 Mbps with up speeds approaching 40 Mbps.  I can’t wait to see how that translates in the real world when 1.4 million smartphone users jump on the network.  Notably, Digicel Jamaica CEO David Butler promised that Digicel will not throttle speeds.

Others speculated (openly) that the timing of the introduction had more to do with competition (read: Caricel).  FLOW has also announced plans to roll out nationwide LTE.  But for now, their LTE offering appears limited to Carlton.

But, back to Digicel.  Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to pin down Butler to a specific timeline for the island-wide coverage, though before the end of the year would be a safe bet.  No news yet on plans for the existing 4G network which powers several Digicel branded modems like the MiFi and CPE models, to the potential new LTE modems.

Anyway, enough about the politics and technicality.  Widely available LTE means that us data hogging, tech savvy Jamaicans can join our first world counterparts in enjoying all the trappings of social media, video streaming, live video casting, real-time ultra-fast gameplay and countless other distractions that our mobile gadgets and gizmos provide.

Apps like Periscope may explode as Jamaicans live cast football matches and dances.  Netflix need not be limited to WiFi making it practical to watch a movie while sitting in traffic on a bus.  What of Digicel Play and 1SpotMedia?  You can now watch the news on our handset without buffering.  In the city at least.

I say you, and not we, because, despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to activate LTE on my business phone.  Sure, Digicel is offering lots of prepaid and postpaid packages to suit various lifestyles, but I’ve got to wait for my rep to complete the activation.

Not to worry. I can’t wait to get on LTE, and as soon as I am live, I’m likely to be buried in my phone.

Tech4Life airs on @RJR94FM every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM

T4L: Hybrid Hit Home

The three-day spectacle was an assault on the senses.  Everywhere you turned, there was something to look at, hear, touch or taste at the clearly successful Jamaica Expo.

The tiny but tallawah Amber Connect device was great.  The potentially transformational JUTC Smarter Card was encouraging.  But, Kelly Tomlin’s personal car parked perched on a platform the centre of the arena for the JPS booth was, without a doubt, the most ogle-worthy display at Expo.

Yes, her personal car.  A shiny Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV hybrid ramped yup the previously muted discussion on the viability and practically of electrics cars on local roadways.

By all reviews and Tomlin’s own, the car is more than adequate to the task of navigating our notorious potholes and hilly interior.  The 2L 16 valve in-line 4-cylinder engine pushes the SUV from zero to 62 mph in a comfortable 11 seconds.

The vehicle charges overnight in a special outlet which, I am told, is easy to install.  JPS has indicated that they plan to roll out changing stations across the Corporate Area (and perhaps to major towns).  But, really, charging stations are moot for this hybrid that can self-charge on gas.

On a full charge, you can expect to drive upwards of 32.5 miles.  For me, that’s more than enough to go to and from work or for errand runs on a Saturday.  Respectable.  You can also expect 148 MPG.  148 MPG with today’s gas prices means that you’ll spend more on the concert ticket than the gas for your next trip to MoBay!

Tomlin joined a handful of drivers who didn’t wait for government incentives to bring in her environmentally friendly car.  Are you ready to join in?

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM.

T4L: No Cash? Get Smart-er

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) offered its own impressive showing with a booth to pitch its “Smarter Card”.

The Smarter Card is a cashless payment system for public buses, much like the Metro Card used in the US subway systems.  The standard sized plastic card is embedded with an NFC chip which keeps the cardholders basic data and payment history.  The card is “topped up” at designated areas, including the “pop up top up” station at Expo Jamaica.  The topped up card is then tapped on the validator located in the bus to effect payment for the bus fare.  Simple.  Elegant.  Yet not fully adopted.

At the Expo and elsewhere, the public has free access to the JUTC Smarter Card; that means that all money “credited” the card immediately reflects on the account, in full.  As an additional incentive, Smarter Card users get Magna Rewards benefits when they tap.  Yet, still, not fully adopted.

Though the JUTC has attempted a cashless transit system many times, commuters are not warming to the idea as quickly as they would like.  The benefits of the system, like similar systems used all over the world, are too numerous to list here.  The limitations of the system, however, are not.

I can’t wait to see the system expand to offer convenient online and ATM top up like Highway 2000 East West Tags or mobile provider credit.  The top-up locations, though growing, are still limited resulting in long lines at some locations.  Bulk top - facilitating employers to deploy benefits and transport allowances directly to cardholders - is another feature that could boost adoption.

The Smarter Card is a great initiative; let’s hope it lives  up to its potential sooner rather than later.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM

T4L: Amber Lit Up Expo Jamaica

AMB 365

If there were a Best In Show Award - Technology category and the immensely successful Expo Jamaica, Amber Connect would have won, hands down!

It was a small booth, tucked away in a corner.  You could have missed it.  Thankfully, I did not.

On show was Amber Connect’s Vehicle Tracker - little but Talawah.

So, like many other trackers, the devices (they have a range), track several vehicle metrics, including movement to provide security, enhance fuel efficiency and, quite frankly, rack up “cool” points with friends and family.

Once installed, you can track your car via the cross-platform app or web portal in real time.  Listen close, ‘cause this is important.  Amber’s real time is not every 15 minutes; Amber’s real time is every five seconds via an on-board data connection.  The one-year subscription included in the one-time installation fee translates to no monthly charges.

Amber can monitor fuel efficiency (or lack thereof) and provide actual mileage costs.  It can create safe zones for kids, employees or even for family members borrowing the car.  It offers remote shut off to cut off thieves (or rogue family members) in their tracks and remote start, an uncommon feature in similar systems.  Get speed alerts or device tamper alerts right from the unit to your mobile device or send a collision alarm to prescribed contacts in case of an accident.

The ultra-discrete device is not visible from the battery making it even harder to detect and harder to disable or remove.  The best part is, your reduced insurance premiums may just cover the full cost of the installation.  With that, Amber just got a green light.









Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM

T4L: Why not have a Chat with a Bot

Are you ready to have a conversation with …. An algorithm?  Here come the chat bots.

So, a chatbot is a computer programme designed to simulate conversations with human users.  The term, chat bot, is actually short for chat robot which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to learn from conversations.

Chatbots offer an easy interface with technology for many users.  For some, it can be like the difference between calling Customer Service versus learning code.

Tay, one of the most notorious chatbots released into the wild, had a short lifespan when Microsoft introduced her on Twitter last March.  In a matter of hours, Tay learned from her human conversations.  It was conversely a technological success and a moral failure.  Internet trolls hurled negative, derogatory, fascist, racist and abusive comments at “her”, effectively teaching her to be a hate monger.  Did I mention this happened in just a few hours?

Hoping for greater success on an artificially limited space, Facebook has launched an API for Messenger to facilitate chatbots.  The likely outcome, companies, and brands will develop their own chatbots to interact with Messenger’s 900 million users.  Order flowers, send gifts or get an “opinion” on a prospective purchase from a human sounding robot on an artificial conversational tool.

The future is now.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM

T4L: WhatsApp Introduces Encryption

Yup, arguably the most popular messaging platform in the word just launched end to end encryption.  So, whether you’re chatting about your plans to attack a killer sandwich or to blow up an exam, your instant messages are protected, as of, well, now.

End to end data encryption is certainly not new.  Less popular but more secure apps like Telegram have been offering the feature for a long time.  But, the Facebook-owned Whatsapp has about a billion, with a ‘b’,  users around the globe making this announcement significant.  Note too; the feature is not optional.  I repeat, it is not optional.

Encryption is turned on by default, for everyone who uses the app.  Whatsapp has no access to the data in conversations and cannot be compelled by any government body or agency to turn over your conversation data.

Unlike email encryption systems, Whatsapp provides a separate, new, unique encryption key for every new conversation.  The key itself is verifiable between users, adding to the level of security offered.

Of course, the feature is useless as a privacy tool if you leave your phone lying around unlocked, but short of that, you can rest assured neither the government or your neighbour can access your Whatsapp messages.  Happy texting!

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 on @RJR94FM

IG Panic

So, Instagram (IG) announced that it was experimenting with changing its timeline.  Instead of the reverse chronological order we’ve all become accustomed to, they now want to tweak the algorithm to show the “most relevant posts” first.

Sound familiar?  Well, it should.  Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world, tweaked its timeline back in 2009 to ditch the chronological model for an “interest and tastes” model designed to ensure that you’re not bored by a bunch of random posts (from say, the errant cousin you can’t unfriend because their family) and leave the platform.

The detail of the algorithm is a closely guarded trade secret, but presumably, they take your likes, shares, comments and several other factors into account to make a guess about what you want to see and what you don’t.

Despite MUCH initial rebellion, the modified timeline was eventually accepted by the near 1.6 billion users.  So successful was the final roll out of Facebook’s modified algorithm, microblogging site Twitter attempted their own tweak earlier this year.

If unlike me, you’re following 10 accounts on Twitter, you probably won’t have a problem.  But, the more accounts you follow, the more tweets are going to fill your timeline, the more likely that you’re going to miss some tweets during your periodic social media check in.

Twitter introduced “While You Were Away” a collection of tweets it determined are most interesting to you based on your previous favorites, re-posts, mentions and the like (no pun intended).

On Monday, March 28, IG users were flooded with “Turn On Notification” posts imploring them to guarantee no missed posts from their favorite accounts.  Celebrities, like John Mayr, issued statements appealing to IG to abandon their new policy.  The thing is, it's not policy.  It is an experiment.  IG never announced that it was actually changing its initial reverse chronological timeline.

Still, mark my words, a change is coming.  And we better jump on board.

As social networks get more popular and by extension more crowded, we need ways to filter out content that is just not relevant.  Algorithms do the heavily lifting aka filtering.  If you think you can manage to do the digital social media filtering on your own and still have a physical social life, by all means try.  IG will likely make the algorithm optional for its 400 million users.

Either way, there is no need to panic … unless of course, you have no data/wifi.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning on @RJR94FM.

Mobile Wallet: Its All About the Trinity

You’ve heard the term mobile wallet, money money and mobile payments used interchangeably because they often refer to the same thing - ditching cash in favour to mobile phones for financial transactions.

Mobile wallet services are popular all around the world; from simple SMS based systems in Kenya, carrier supported systems in Haiti to advanced handset tied systems like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, cellphone based payment systems are gaining acceptance.

Locally, Conec is the first to market with a mobile wallet service with a range of features including bill payments and person to person payments.

Can these services be trusted?  Conec says yes!




Conec, a service of JUCCL, in partnership with global provider Mozido, combines a range of tools to offer a comprehensive security system.  The tools include:

• a guarantee that money will not be lost if the handset is lost or stolen, because the account information including account value, is stored in the cloud
• encrypted data stored in accordance to internationally accepted standards
• online access to account and funds, no handset required
• a trifecta of user based safeguards - a PIN, a personal password and a secret word to restrict access

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM on RJR94FM.

Dollars & Cents vs Bits & Bytes

Whether you call it a mobile wallet, mobile payments or mobile money, you are likely referring to the same thing - the ability to replace your bulky, plastic filled purse or wallet with a mobile wallet service.




Services vary from provider to provider, but in general, there are a lot of things you can do with a mobile wallet, like:

Cash In, Cash Out
Rather than walking around with cash, you can put ‘cash in’ your mobile wallet at various locations and have immediate access to your funds on your phone.

Top Up Call Credit
Forget the corner store, buy mobile phone credit and top up immediately without surcharges or the inconveniences of having get up and go.

Person to Person Transfer
Send money across the city or across the country to relatives and friends with a few taps on your phone.

Pay Bills
From utilities to stores to vendors, money in mobile wallets can be transferred on demand to creditors to pay for goods and services.

The irony is, with a mobile wallet, its your money that moves, not you.


Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM on RJR94FM.

Ditch Your Wallet - Mobile Wallets Demystified

Cash (if you’re lucky), credit cards, loyalty cards, ID’s, discount cards and all manner of other plastic populate our purses and wallets.  For men, a wallet can be an annoying bulge; for women an impossible item to stuff in a clutch.

The promise of mobile wallets seek to remedy these issues.  But, is ditching your wallet practical?  Let’s dispel some myths about
mobile wallets.




Myth 1:  Mobile wallets are only for the first world.

While it is true that some options like Apple Pay and Google Wallet don’t work in Jamaica, there are a plethora of other options that are, or will be, available soon.

Myth 2:  You need a smartphone for a mobile wallet.

Again, there are options that rely on a smartphone running Android or iOS, but there are text, carrier and feature phone based options which don’t require a smart phone.

Myth 3:  You still need a credit card or bank account for a mobile wallet.

Nope, some mobile wallet options are for those without any kind of bank account at all.

Myth 4:  There are a limited number of access points for your mobile wallet.

That depends on what you consider ‘limited’ as the network of access points is growing daily.

Myth 5: If you loose your phone, you’ve lost your money.

Now this one is categorically untrue.  Mobile wallets don’t keep your money “in” the handset, so a lost phone doesn’t mean you’ve lost your money, or access to it.  Different providers have varied protocols, but all mobile wallet providers protect your hard earned cash if you device is lost or stolen, as mandated by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).

RJR's Tech4Life airs on RJR94FM every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am

T4L: Local Innovation: Banana Bill

The World Bank initiative Digicam 3.0 spawned a great deal of local innovations by incentivizing the local app development community.  With that incentive, Project Grapevine, helmed by developers Nicholas Williams and Mannin Marsh, offered up Banana Bill.

The locally developed Android game available for free download in the Android Play Store is as addictive as it is simple. Players need only swipe diagonally across the screen to help the title character, a monkey named Bill, collect as many bananas as possible.  Other than pure enjoyment, the goal of the game is to complete the 32 levels and reclaim the Quantum Banana which has stolen by Atila - an evil rhino - and his minions.

Banana Bill Screen Shot

The game is fun to play on its own, but also great with friends thanks to build in social integration via Facebook.  The app is highly rated and well worth a try.


Tech4Life airs on RJR94FM every Wednesday morning at 8:15.

Tech4Life: Clean Your Drive

It is time to toss the junk you’ve been (unknowingly) hoarding inside your PC’s hard drive.

Over time, your PC will get cluttered.  Even the best machines will find that duplicate files and large files litter the PC hard drives, will find an obscenely large accumulation of redundant DLL files and unused programs and appalling large collection of old cookies and internet history files.



This collection of productivity busting files can lead to a host of problems from the annoying to the unsafe.  Machines that have been bogged down with digital gunk perform poorly, respond slowly, fester viruses and create openings for hackers.

Do not pass “Go”.  Do note collect $200.  Immediately download and run CCleaner.  This free software is arguably the best utility program available for Windows based machines.

Running the programme, from the PC or external drive (more on that anon) can remove unused, unnecessary and unhealthy files in addition to scrubbing the registry of dead file references.  CCleaner, with one pass, will remove cookies, browsing history and cashe; the programme will clear the Recycle Bin; it will dump the thumbnail cashe and update log files.  Forgotten, expired and useless programmes can be easily uninstalled.

Best of all, the compact and highly efficient utility allows users to tweak the configuration of their Start Up Programmes.

The result: a faster, leaner, healthier machine that has more hard drive space.  Even better, the free programme works with just about every version of Windows.

To further boost the functionality of CCleaner, the developers have included a 'run from drive' feature which means that it doesn’t even have to be installed to reap the massive benefits touted above.  Users can opt not to install CCleaner but rather run in from a jump drive.

Can you imagine borrowing a friend’s laptop, running the program from a jump drive, cleaning their machine and surprising them with power boost?!  Talk about a great gift!  Gift yourself first by downloading CCleaner here.

Of course, it should go without saying, back up your system both before and after this process and schedule regular cleanings.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM on RJR94FM.

T4L: Low Tech Cleaning

Some tech threats are decidedly more low tech than others.  Germs, parasites, microbes and quick frankly plain old disgusting gunk, can accumulate on our devices.  Worse, because we are afraid to clean them, we sometimes leave these dregs to fester.

Well, no more!  Let us resolve to scrub away any crud that may have built up on our electronics.

All devices can be cleaned, just in different ways.  For example, monitors require a different approach than keyboard.  So let’s break them down by categories.  But first, let us gather the needed supplies.

Electronics Cleaning Supplies List

• Lint free Microfibre cloth (terrycloth texture)
• Cotton swabs
• Distilled, filtered or boiled water
• Vinegar
• Rubbing alcohol
• Compressed air or vacuum
• Elbow grease

Never apply liquids directly to electronics.  Never use paper towels.

Electronics Cleaning Dump List

• Windex and other solvents
• Disinfectant
• Paper towels and tissue paper

Monitors and LCD TVs
If your TV or computer monitors screen looks spotty, smudges, marks and dried saliva are the common culprits.  Rub them with a clean microfibre cloth and light elbow grease.  Be firm, but don’t press too hard or risk damaging the liquid crystals inside the screen.  Dampen - never wet - the cloth with diluted vinegar, to amplify the effects of the elbow grease as needed.

Phones, phablets, and other mobile devices
Since mobile device screens are made to be touched (for the most part), feel free to add more elbow grease for maximum cleaning power.  And, since  mobile device screens tend to touch our faces, feel free to replace the diluted vinegar with diluted rubbing alcohol to power punch gems to oblivion.

Keyboards, mice and other input devices
Input devices are generally quick hardy, after all, they were designed to handled.  They also tend to be a reservoir for spilt juices, coffee and other liquids (read as nesting ground for slime).  Feel free to pull these devices apart and attack with compressed air or a vacuum depending on your preference.  Next, hit them with cotton swabs dampened rubbing alcohol.  Then wipe them down using the microfibre cloth.  Then hit them with air again before reassembling.


Whether your motivation is aesthetic or antiseptic, a cleaning regimen is definitely rewarding.

T4L - New Age Protection

I am updating my being safe online tips.  After all, it is a new year and there are new threats out there.  What worked last year simply may not be enough for 2015.  So here goes; make some time to not only read but action these safety steps.

Step 1: Back up, run anti-virus, back up again
Do it now, do it again and again.  Only the first back up is hard, each subsequent back up is incremental and therefore doesn’t take much time.  Backing up is your first and best defense against data loss which can happen for more reasons than I have space to mention.  Many systems can automate the process to an external drive or cloud service, so your only excuse is .. none.

Make sure that you download, install, run and update a good anti-malware programme, even for your mobile device.  Get rid of or prevent viruses, adware, spyware and other wares designed to destroy your life.

Step 2: Set Strong Unique Passwords
Passwords can be a pain, but they are also your first line of defense against attacks.  Forget the old rules, passwords now need to be longer than eight characters, need not be a recognizable word and need to be unique for each account.  Yes, you read that right - each account.  Since remembering scores of complicated passwords would be too much, it is time to breakout a good password manager to keep things in check.

Step 3: Secure Everything
It can be tempting to jump on a free WiFi hotspot, skip the hassle of configuring a firewall or browsing quickly through unsecured websites, but try to remember how temptation worked out for Eve.

Take a moment to set up a new password on your home wireless router and all internet enabled devices like IP cameras.  Take a moment to set up a firewall on your ‘outer, turn off Discovery and disable file sharing, especially if you plan to log on to public WiFi.

Step 4: Avoid Scams
Certainly it is not recommended that you click on links in email, but if you do, make sure there is a little lock showing in your browser window confirming that the site is secure.

Speaking of security, secure your credit card by using a dedicated ‘online card’ issued by your bank, a one time/pre-paid card or a service like Paypal to create a safety zone around your prized plastic.

Online email services like Google, Yahoo! and Outlook all offer built in virus scanners to reduce the likelihood of nefarious downloads, but it is good to remain vigilant.

Step 5: Repeat
Yes, repeat.  Continuous protection requires continuos updating.

Here’s to a safe 2015!

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday @ 8:15am on RJR94FM

T4L: Christmas Home Automation

Have you considered giving your home a tech gift this Christmas?  Yes, that's right, relatives are not the only ones that would appreciate a gadget this holiday season.  Arguably your largest investment and likely the space in which you spend the most time relaxing would love to the added to your shopping list this season and more you give, the better it will be for you!

Door Locks

Start at the beginning.  Consider swapping out the traditional dead bolt lock on your front door with a wireless replacement like the Kwikset lock.   The form factor is remarkably similar to the traditional lock, it can be installed without special tools and it can work the a traditional key.

Kwikset Kevo Bluetooth Door Lock

But, wireless locks also work with 'digital keys' via a Bluetooth FOB or enabled mobile device.  As you approach the locked door, the lock and your device have a chat and the door is unlocked seamlessly, no physical intervention required.

Issue 'keys' to visiting relatives or service men that are coded to a limited window of time or unlock your door remotely when they appear at the front door.  If that is not cool enough, think of the piece of mind knowing that if you forget to lock your door while on vacay, the door is smart enough to lock itself!

Connected Bulbs

Speaking of smart, Phillips Hue has a line of remarkable bulbs which operate using WiFi.  Even competing brands let you install these special bulbs and configure them with an app to turn on, off or down on demand.  Convenience and security collide when connected bulbs provide ease of use and illumination to thwart potential criminals.  

The Hue has the additional feature of being able to be programmed to change colour and the range is practically speaking, limitless.

IP Camera

Similarly, IP or Internet cameras expand your viewable limits.  Watch the nanny, watch the kids, watch the valuables, watch whatever suits you with any Internet enabled device from across the road or across the world.

Adcnaed cameras like Logitech DropCam offer infrared for night viewing and motion sensors to double as a security camera.  Coupled with cloud storage, you can watch from afar and watch when you wish without missing any of the action.

eStore DET

DVR

Too much action not your thing?  No problem.  Invest in a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and set it to record all your favourite programmes as they air and then watch the content as you feel.  Local cable conglomerate, Flow, offers a range of DVRs, some of which can record multiple programmes airing simultaneously, record, store and playback hours of content, capture and play the content in HD and be programmed remotely to ensure you never miss a show.

DET

Home automation can entertain and fascinate.  But to save money with automation, consider the Digital Engery Timer (DET) from JPS.  Set, forget and count on the savings when the DET is connected to the refrigerator and other large energy consumption device.  Really, it would be the best $3,500 you can spend for your home this Christmas.

RJR's Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM.