Create an AirPlay Speaker

2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the most important technological development of all time: Tetris. There are probably many of you out there that will insist that the Macintosh computer was the most important tech release of 1984, and I will grant that it is a close second, but I am still standing behind the classic tile-matching puzzle video game.

For those of you who don’t know, Tetris is a very simple game in which any of seven different blocks, which are every possible combination of four smaller square blocks that have adjoining sides, fall from above and your job is to move them side-to-side and/or rotate them in order to complete horizontal lines which disappear when completed. The ultimate move is to leave only one vertical line incomplete and drop the “line” piece in to complete four horizontal lines at once. This is a Tetris and you will be rewarded with big points, flashing graphics, sound effects, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Tetris was originally developed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union, and was the first video game exported from the USSR to the US. Its popularity skyrocketed when a version was released for the Nintendo GameBoy in 1989, and versions have since been released for just about every console, operating system, personal electronic device, and has even been played by using the windows in a large building as the blocks.

While the 8-bit NES version will always be my favorite, I have been playing a new version on my iPhone: “*Tetris Blitz by Electronic Arts.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tetris-blitz/id632827808?mt=8&at=11lb7k This version takes the classic gameplay and condenses it into a two-minute speed round in which the goal is to score maximum points. They have added a number of power-up blocks which trigger different actions, such as lasers that burn up several lines for you or masses of blocks that drop all at once. You can play in single player mode, head-to-head against strangers or your Facebook friends, as well as in special tournaments which often have different rules or game mechanics for added variety. This app is free, but employs what has come to be known as the freemium model, which means that there are a fair number of in-app ads and in-app purchases that are available. If you can learn to ignore these, this app is a fun addition to the Tetris family and only -wastes- uses two minutes at a time.

The best part? Tetris is good for you! According to research, playing half-an-hour a day for three months boosts general cognitive functions such as critical thinking, reasoning, language and processing and increases cerebral cortex thickness. It has also been shown to be a potential therapy for preventing PTSD as well as a way to help quit smoking. “*See here for more information.*”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris#Effect_of_Tetris_on_the_brain

“*Download Tetris Blitz for iOS FREE here!*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tetris-blitz/id632827808?mt=8&at=11lb7k

With three months to go until the presidential election, the two major candidates are doing everything they can to get the message out….

The holidays are a time for sending cards, right? I don’t receive many cards throughout the year, but December is a different story….

We have a guest post from the “*developers at Green Mountain Software!*”:mailto:john@greenmountainsoftware.com

*****

Certainly you’ve heard the expression: “There’s an app for that!” but if there __isn’t__ currently an app for that, Green Mountain Software can write one for you.

Now located in the Innovation Center in Burlington, Vermont, Green Mountain Software (GMSW) was founded in 1993 by Lou Krieg and his wife, Ann Pettyjohn after attending the ’93 MacWorld trade show where the Apple “Newton” was first introduced. Lou and Ann realized that mobile technology was going to be a huge part of the future, so Green Mountain Software was formed to fill that need. They were right. Mobile technology is changing the world and how business is done. The number of mobile users is predicted to surpass the number of desktop users by 2014.^1^

It is apparent that simple email access is no longer enough. Mobile technology allows companies to have an unprecedented level of connectivity between employees, vendors, and customers.^2^ In 2012, Gartner Research predicted that sales of mobile tablet devices would top $120 million – double that of 2011. In addition, the number of active smartphones is currently over 1 billion worldwide.^3^

During the past eighteen years, companies such as EcoLab, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Coffee Lab International, Pro-Cut International, United Technologies, Bio Tek Instruments, Leica, the Indy Racing League, and many others have trusted GMSW with their app development. In fact, even other software development companies such as Palm have relied on the expertise of Green Mountain Software to develop their mobile device apps.

Today’s technology includes iPhones, iPads, Androids, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and others. These devices have thousands of times more advanced computing power that the computers NASA used to get to the moon! In the hands of good software engineers, there isn’t much these devices can’t do, and combining these capabilities to achieve the results you need is what GMSW does best.

Do you have an idea for an app for your company? Are you wondering how can mobile technology can increase your productivity and profitability? Mobile technology can measure, compute, exchange data with machines, utilize GPS location services, interact with servers, be Web-based or native within the device, communicate through the Internet or cell systems, take photos, be used for medical diagnoses, and so much more.

If you’re interested in more information, or just want to discuss your idea, Green Mountain software is on the Web at “www.GreenMountainSoftware.com”:www.GreenMountainSoftware.com. We can be reached at 802-865-2728, or email “john@greenmountainsoftware.com”:mailto:john@greenmountainsoftware.com.

^1^ Morgan Stanley Research
^2^ “http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/increase-productivity–profitability.html”:http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/growth/increase-productivity–profitability.html
^3^ “http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/mobile-2013/”:http://mashable.com/2013/01/04/mobile-2013/

I am a huge fan of wireless technology. I have been slowly updating my home office to be as wireless as I can with speakers from Sonos and all of my computer accessories from my keyboard to printer are wireless as well. One area that I had not ventured into yet has been wireless headphones. I am often working at home, and because my office space is part of my main living space, I often have to have headphones while working. It was only recently that I started to use wireless headphones and frankly I can’t believe I hadn’t started to use this technology sooner! Urbanears has a bluetooth option in their popular Plattan line up, the Plattan ADV. I was able to easily link the headphones to my computer and no longer felt tethered to my desk when working. With the bluetooth headphones I could easily leave my desk for a glass of water or to let dogs out without missing a beat. The battery easily lasts all day and unlike some other bluetooth headphones, you can easily plug them into your computer or device directly with a cable should you forget to charge them. I also linked up these headphones to one of my iPads. These headphones allow you to have them linked with up to 8 devices, so you can easily use them from one device to the next without having to pair and unpair constantly.

Over the ear headphones are great for around the home and office, but not the most practical when you’re exercising. As mentioned a few weeks ago I have begun trying to get out and move more in recent weeks, and carrying my iPhone in my hand or pocket when out for a run was becoming a bit of an annoyance. The Ourdoor Tech Orcas are the perfect solution. With the bluetooth on my Apple Watch I easily paired these headphones with my watch, synced a playlist to my watch and left my phone behind! The headphones are lightweight and comfortable. I am not a fan of in ear headphones and I was skeptical that these headphones would work well for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well they stayed in my ears and with the quality of the sound. Many in ear headphones begin to wiggle out of your ears or provide sub par sound quality, but these headphones have truly made me change the way I think of in-ear headphones. As an added bonus they also feature a built in microphone. This feature isn’t something that I can say I have taken advantage of, but it’s certainly nice to know I could take a call if I needed to.

As I mentioned I have been using the beta version of Mac OS X 10.11 for some weeks and I thought, now that the public beta is released, that it might be a good time to review what’s new in El Capitan. I am going to do this by highlighting a few of the features that I already use and have become such a part of my Mac experience that they don’t seem new anymore.

Shut up!

What is more annoying than following a link to a web site and suddenly being bombarded with some automatically started video blasting audio? If you are like me, you may have several tabs open in Safari and finding that annoying one has been a pain. Well with El Capitan it is simple. When one of those tabs has audio, the tab shows the audio button and you can click on it to mute the audio. The address bar also has an audio icon where you can mute all or select which audio stream to mute or listen to.

Notable

The Notes app is so improved that I am actually using it more extensively now. Most importantly, a note I create on my iPhone is available on my Mac or iPad. Not only that but the things I can put into my notes are actually useful. I can add a photo, a URL, a map location or even a video to a note and it is on all my devices. Checklists, websites, ideas for the next Kibbles & Bytes and directions can all be saved. As I am planning my trip out west and find interesting places to go or places to spend the night, I can add them to my “Sturgis” note and easily use Maps to guide me to them. I think you are going to love the new Notes app.

Spotlight

Spotlight is just better. Who needs Google when you have Spotlight? Whether you are searching for a file on your drive, baseball statistics, transit information, weather, stocks or just some obscure trivia to settle a bet Spotlight is there for you and now you can ask that question in you own words. Like, “find that Note I wrote about Sturgis” and boom, there it is. Here’s a list of all the places you can search with Spotlight in El Capitan. You can turn these on and off as needed:

Applications
Bing Web Searches
Bookmarks and History
Calculator
Contacts
Conversion
Definition
Developer
Documents
Events & Reminders
Folders
Fonts
Images
Mail & Messages
Movies
Music
Other
PDF Documents
Presentations
Spotlight Suggestions
Spreadsheets
System Preferences

Shake that Thing

I use a dual monitor set up. I have an Apple 27-inch display and a stand for my MacBook Air that makes for one large extended desktop. Sometimes, I lose my cursor and that sometimes leads to inadvertent clicks. I never thought I would say that I would find this trick useful but with El Capitan if you jiggle your mouse or trackpad your cursor grows bigger and becomes apparent so you can get back on track.

I’ll cover more of the new features in Kibbles & Bytes as we head towards the official release of El Capitan.