Living in the Future

Tag: Technology

  • Building a Versatile Variables Container in Excel

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    Rob Attrell

    Microsoft 365 (and specifically Microsoft Excel) is my favourite tool when it comes to work, and also really fun to play with in my spare time as a ‘hobby’ that also helps me improve my skills. I’ve used probably dozens of different methods of storing ‘sets’ of variables for the tools and mini programs I’ve…

  • COVID Alert is now publicly available! [Links]

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    Rob Attrell

    You can download the COVID Alert exposure notification app in Canada now! It’s available on the iOS App Store as well as the Google Play Store. See more details of how it works and what it looks like in my older post when I started using the beta:

  • Here’s What Canada’s ‘COVID Alert’ app (beta) Looks Like

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    Rob Attrell

    [UPDATE – July 31]: The app is now publicly available. Go get it! On Wednesday, Health Canada finally released a beta (test) version of the Canadian ‘COVID Alert’ exposure notification app. I have been waiting for a couple of months to finally be able to get this set up once Apple and Google announced they…

  • FaceTime Isn’t Broken

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    Rob Attrell

    On Monday night (January 28), talk of a serious Group FaceTime bug hit the internet in a big way.

  • Stuck in the Past: Projection Woes

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    Rob Attrell

    Next week, I will be heading to Montreal, where I’ll be giving three different presentations to three different audiences in three different rooms.

  • The end of green screen, and possibly the beginning of true 3D movies

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    Rob Attrell

    Since Lytro’s tech basically captures all the 3D information in a scene, the imagery is unusually friendly to CGI. Placing virtual objects at exactly the right depth in a scene is essentially taking advantage of a native ability of the footage. This is possibly the beginning of what I’ve been looking for since the re-renaissance…

  • A list of the apps on my phone that can make calls

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    Rob Attrell

    Doesn’t require phone number: FaceTime Phone Contacts Facebook Messenger Snapchat Google Hangouts Messages Whatsapp Can/does use your phone number: Phone FaceTime Messages Chrome Safari Mail Notes Announced, but hasn’t shown up yet: Slack As it turns out, pretty much every remotely social company has a way that people can talk to one another in a…

  • Podcasts Like ‘Serial’ Are Encouraging Literacy

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    Rob Attrell

    “[L]istening, unlike looking at a written page, is more active, since the brain has to process the information at the pace it is played.” My student Roberto offered similar insight: “I think it helps me out with my reading since I have to keep a pace up.” Huh, turns out the best ways for kids…

  • Ed Snowden can say whatever he wants

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    Rob Attrell

    “The FBI says Apple has the ‘exclusive technical means’ to unlock the phone,” Snowden said. “Respectfully, that’s bullshit.” It must be really nice to be in a position where you can say something like this with confidence, having not a care in the world about repercussions. Not saying Snowden is in an enviable position overall,…

  • Handoff for iTunes | iMore

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    Rob Attrell

    I’d love to be able to start a playlist on my Mac and then walk away, pick up my iPhone, swipe, and keep right on listening. So true. I (and Rene) have been saying this for a few years at least. This is the dream, and it’s sooooo close with Handoff, just not for iTunes.…