Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Productivity Myths Debunked, Smart Watches, and the Joys of Feedly

This week on the podcast we're debunking productivity myths, checking out smart watches, and migrating Google Reader to Feedly. We're also answering your questions about the future of Wi-Fi (802.11ac), getting your parents off of AOL, and using a TV as a computer monitor.

Here's how you can listen to our episode:

Feedly Gets Its Own Syncing Service, Detaches You From Google Reader and Feedly Launches a Standalone Webapp, No Extension Necessary: The internet probably doesn't need to be reminded that Google Reader is heading out the door on July 1st. The good news is, Feedly has already stepped up with its own sync server and extension-free webapp.

Instagram Can Now Record 15-Second Video Clips with Special Filters: Instagram is one of the most popular photo-sharing sites. Today, the company announced Video on Instagram: essentially, a Vine-like app for sharing quick video clips and add filters to them in typical Instagram style.

What Can I Do with a Smartwatch and Should I Get One? I keep seeing new “smartwatches” show up on gadget sites, but they all seem pretty different. What is a smartwatch, exactly, and should I consider buying one?

More Productivity Myths, Debunked by Science (and Common Sense): “A cluttered desk is a cluttered mind.” “If you had more hours in the day, you'd be more productive.” These are common productivity tropes you've probably heard before, and you may even be wasting time trying to follow them when they don't make sense for you. Let's take a look at some of the most popular claims about productivity, and see if there's science to back them up.

How to Get (Nearly) Stock Android on Any Phone, No Rooting Required: Recently, Google fans finally got what they've wanted since the HTC Hero first came out: stock Android versions of the most popular, non-Nexus handsets. However, if you aren't able to pick up one of those phones, you can still get the stock experience, without having to root your device.

The Basics of Music Production: The Complete Guide: Over the last month we've learned all about the basics of music production, posting new lessons on a weekly basics. With the lessons finished, now you can get the complete guide and find out how you can learn more.

A correction from last time: “There is an important thing to note about what's safe to clean with CCleaner. The latest version will also, by default, remove saved sessions. So if you are like me and expect all 30 of your tabs to be there when you reopen your browser, uncheck Session under Chrome, Firefox, or Opera. Hopefully no one else figures this out the hard way!”Should I get an 802.11ac router? What are the benefits? Can I upgrade my MacBook with an 802.11ac card? Read this to learn about the benefits and if any are worth it right now. As for your MacBook, no, not really. It might be possible but I wouldn't hold your breath.How can I get my parents to ditch AOL? Only get them off of AOL if it's costing them money unnecessarily or it's causing you problems. If they're fine on it, lay off. If you have to solve tech support issues, tell them you aren't helping until they switch. If they're worried about transferring their address, set up a Gmail mail fetcher for them so they'll get all their AOL email in Gmail.Can I use a 1080p or 720p TV with a computer? Will it look bad if I use VGA input? VGA isn't great on TVs. You'll get by with VGA at 720p but it'll probably look bad at 1080p. You're better off using a digital connection, so go for a TV with DVI or HDMI instead. Many Vizio TVs have several HDMI ports and one that includes HDMI with computer audio input. If you can find a TV like that, use it. If not, get an HDMI to DVI converter.There are two ways to send in your question:

Please keep your questions as brief as possible. This means about 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions can be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they'll apply to more people. For example, "how can I breathe new life into my old PDA?" is much better than "what can I do with an old HP iPAQ 210?" Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!

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