Bobby isn't 40-something, but is a strong supporter of the Grown-up Geek kind. He's a loving husband and father first, but is also a freelance writer, productivity nut, operatically trained singer, and (not-so) closet geek.
Check out his random thoughts, wackiness, and Instagram pics on Tumblr, Twitter, or Google+-- or just head over to bobby-travis.com.
Music is dead. That’s how I feel when I listen to the radio these days, or when I flip to a music video channel and find myself assaulted by the latest, greatest “reality” television series. Do people actually like Jersey Shore — or is it just some kind of morbid fascination? In any case, when it comes to music, I find myself searching for… something more. That’s how I came across ExtensionFM.
If you have read 40Tech over the past year, you may have discovered my minor obsession with productivity apps and methods. It’s a journey that began with my first post here: GTD in Evernote with Only One Notebook (posted a year and a week ago ), and continued through reviews of Action Method Online and on into my latest experiment, Producteev 2. I have really been enjoying Producteev, and have been using it exclusively for some time now — so I decided it was time to attempt a full GTD implementation, and see how it would work. After some trial and error, I’m satisfied. Check out a walkthrough of my method for GTD in Producteev, below.
As a marketing professional, I understand the importance of protecting brand identity. I get that it means dollars, and that any infringement upon or blanding of a company’s identity can, in the long run, have a negative effect on that company’s bottom line. I understand that a company as culturally dominating as Facebook has to worry about their brand becoming so “household” that their trademark can become non-enforceable (“google” anything lately?) — but does that give them the right to demand that an upcoming social network for teachers remove the word “book” from its name?
If you are even halfway interested in some of the “neat-o” tech available in futuristic sci-fi films, you are going to want to learn all you can about Skin. Skin is a hot new bit of tech that’s been brought to market by Displax, purveyors of several intriguing touch screen devices such as Crayon, an interactive table for kids, and the Oqtopus multitouch table. Skin takes all previous future-tech from Displax to a whole new level , though. We’re talking touchscreen-on-any-surface kind of cool.
Traitorware: The EFF Condemns Apple’s New Proposal for Device “Security”
As some of you have no doubt heard, Apple has recently applied for a patent entitled: Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device. This technology is, ostensibly, supposed to give Apple the power to help you protect yourself in the event someone else has gotten a hold of your iPhone. It also gives Apple the power to remotely wipe your iPhone if you have Jailbroken your device — the legality of Jailbreaking notwithstanding.
Just that last detail is enough to get many people up in arms, but it is the method in which Apple wants to implement its new Big Brother feature that has people truly freaked out. After taking a bit of time to think about it and consider the implications, I have decided that I am one of those people.
Read more