Home 2019 August

5 Useful Apps For Keeping Online Video Diaries

Journaling and keeping diaries as well as blogging are more popular than ever as people share their lives with others. If you want to keep a video diary instead of just a written one, here are some apps and websites you may wish to explore. 1. 1 Second Everyday Starting with the left field of video diaries, we’re kicking this list off with 1 Second Everyday (iOS, Android). Instead of just taking regular-length videos, in 1SE you take a mere one-second clip every day, and stitch it together into a breezy slideshow essentially documenting a big old chunk of your life. The Kickstarter-funded app… Read more

What Makes a Strong Password in 2019?

Password “strength” is understood by most folks to be determined by the variety of character types in a password. But while signup forms might think complexity is security, attackers disagree. Complexity no longer defends against a modern threat model. What makes strong passwords in 2019? We need to first examine the actual threat model faced by most folks. Password Complexity Misses the Point Password “strength” is often just a function of complexity, or the amount of randomness in a password, measured by the use of symbols, numbers, and upper… Read more

How to Set Up Google’s 2-Step Verification and Use Your Android Phone as a Security Key

It’s important to keep your online life secure. Many online accounts now include a two-factor authorization method for logging in to your account. This requires the user to have access to two different security elements. The combination of “something you know,” your password, and “something you have” gets you into your account. If you have to sign in to an account using a password and a code that is sent to your phone, you are using two-factor authorization. Last year, Google unveiled the Titan Security Key to use as part of the authorization process. This key is a physical device that you need to plug… Read more

Julie’s gadget diary – I am now a T-Mobile Home Internet pilot tester

ARTICLE – I came home yesterday afternoon to find a postcard in my mailbox inviting me to join T-Mobile’s new Home Internet pilot test which started rolling out back in March. I remembered reading about their invite-only service for existing T-Mobile customers but forgot all about it until yesterday.

For a little background, I live in a rural area of southern Indiana where my only option for broadband for years was satellite internet like HughesNet. I had HughesNet and hated it for a few years until I bit the bullet and had a T1 line run to my house. If you don’t know what a T1 line is, it might sound more exciting than what it really was. It was a guaranteed 1.5Mbps download / 1.5Mbps download internet connection which cost me a whopping $389 a month. No, I’m not kidding. All I can say is yay for business expense writeoffs.

I had the T1 line for 10 years until 2yrs ago when I switched to a wireless service from a company called 4G Antenna Shop that uses a wireless cellular router with a SIM from T-Mobile. My speed went from 1.5Mbps to 14-19Mbps which felt like light speed in comparison. At only $83/mo. I’ve been really happy with the 4GAS service but I have always been afraid that I would use too much data and they would kick me off their service because they really only offer 50GB per month and I tend to use well over 300GB each month with my weekend Netflix binge-a-thons, my Wyze cams, and my gadget research surf sessions.

So when the postcard from T-Mobile arrived yesterday, I didn’t hesitate before I called them and signed up for their $50/mo. totally unlimited home broadband service. I even opted for next day shipping and received the package with the wireless router and T-Mobile SIM today!

The postcard talked about 50Mbps speeds which is about 3 times faster than the speeds I get with the 4GAS service which also uses T-Mobile so I am excited to check that out.

I’m also a little worried about the fact that they told me that I can connect up to 10 devices to the router. The problem is that I have more than 10 devices (4 Wyze cams, 2 smartphones, 2 laptops, Nest thermostat, 2 Amazon Echo devices, LiftMaster WLED garage door opener, Jetstream Android TV, Vizio Smart TV, and I’m sure there are others I can’t think of right now.

I’ll post an update in a few days after I set up the new router, move all my devices to it, and get a chance to do a lot of surfing, streaming, speed tests, etc.

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Julie’s gadget diary – I am now a T-Mobile Home Internet pilot tester originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 27, 2019 at 7:49 pm.

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Seven Coding Games to Help You Build Your Programming Chops

Coding is all about using the tools available to you to solve problems (and then solving the problems that resulted from your solution to the previous problems, of course). That also happens to be the basic idea behind most video games, so the two combine pretty naturally. Plus, playing around sure beats reading documentation! These coding games cover plenty of languages, age ranges, and skill levels, so whether you’re a complete beginner or looking for something on the next level, there’s a game out there to  help you learn coding the best way: by doing it. Related: 10 Websites that Will Teach You Programming for… Read more