March's Digital Life from Lökwest - tech in 2021, save on your phone bill, your picture on Mars, and more!
We're glad you're back for another edition of The Digital Life. March is here, and while we're still remote, we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, this newsletter finds you feeling the same! Many of our clients are already vaccinated, and we hope to have a live coaching option back later in the year.
In the spirit of trying to write and post one original article a month, we're kicking off this edition with an editorial on digital life coaching. I hope it provides more insight into my thought and coaching processes.
Moving on, we've shared a couple of great articles on the state of tech in 2021. In half an hour, you'll have a good grasp of the current trends.
We always include tips in every issue! This month, have you ever thought about an MVNO to save money on your phone bill? Also, why you should never unsubscribe from spam.
Rounding up, read about the latest technology (you'll want to check out Deep Nostalgia), grab a bit of a history lesson, and have some fun. You can put your picture on Mars and learn where the picture that everyone's seen was taken.
As always, we welcome your feedback. Just respond to this article if you have comments.
Have a great March!
From the editor - What's a digital life coach?
What's a digital life coach and why do you need one? — lokwest.com
At Lökwest, we call ourselves Digital Life Coaches. But, what's a digital life coach, and how did that name stick? Read on to find out!
Technology in 2021 - what you need to know
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2021 — www.technologyreview.com
The MIT technology review has compiled an annual list of the most important technology for 20 years. Take a look at some of the developments and predictions for 2021 in this article. It's a great high-level view of the trends driving tech.
Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2021 — ow.ly
New ways to work, exercise, see the doctor, watch movies and sanitize every surface in sight will continue to proliferate. So will monthly subscription fees. Catch up on another look at technology trends in 2021 from the Wall Street Journal.
How about a tip or two?
If you want to try out an MVNO carrier, check out these options — www.androidcentral.com
Don't like being tied to a phone contract? You might want to try out an MVNO carrier like Metro by T-Mobile, Mint Mobile, or Google Fi. MVNO's use the same towers as the major carriers but they buy airtime in bulk so you get a better deal.
Disclosure - I've been a Mint customer for years. I love the service, and you can't beat the price, particularly if you're just a casual phone user.
Why You Should Never 'Unsubscribe' From Illicit Spam Emails and Texts — twocents.lifehacker.com
I mentioned this in my e-mail cleaning tech talk. Whatever you do, you shouldn’t click “unsubscribe” links or text “stop” in reply to a spam message. That literally means “subscribe” and “please, go on” to illicit spammers.
Catch up on interesting tech
This Gigantic 165-Inch MicroLED TV Folds Into Nothing When the Game Is Over — robbreport.com
C Seek has billed its latest absurd set as the “world’s first foldable 165-inch MicroLED TV.” TV lovers out there - watch the short video, drool, and wish you had an extra 400 (grand that is) laying around!
Knocki is the smart home device controlled by gestures you never realized you needed — thenextweb.com
TLDR: The Knocki is a brilliant knock-activated smart trigger that can do everything in your home from turning on lights, playing music, setting your thermostat, and more. Remember The Clapper? Imagine a version that works with knocking patterns and controls your smart home.
‘Deep Nostalgia’ Can Turn Old Photos of Your Relatives Into Moving Videos
You have to check out the site to see the pictures. This tech is creepy and cool. It really shows where the power of deep fakes and AI is going. A company called MyHeritage who provides automatic AI-powered photo enhancements is now offering a new service that can animate people in old photos creating a short video that looks like it was recorded while they pose. See your dead great-grandpa move today!
Your March history lesson
30 Years of Browsers: A Quick History | PCMag — www.pcmag.com
Thirty years ago, Tim Berners-Lee released the WorldWideWeb browser, unleashing the power of the internet and creating a race among the day's tech giants to dominate how people accessed the web. Learn about how it all shaped up here. (Remember the little Netscape dinosaur anyone?) 🐱🐉
Look how far we've come
The A14 chip in the new iPhone can do about 11 TFlOPS according to Apple. The green line is how much computing power that little phone has. If released in 2009, it would have made it to the list of top 500 supercomputers in the world! It has more computing power than the most powerful computer in the world in 2002. It has the combined computing power of the 1997's top 500 supercomputers in the whole world.
Now that's a technology leap!
Have a little fun
NASA Celebrates Perseverance Landing with Virtual Photo Booth — gizmodo.com
Can't take a vacation? Take your favorite selfie and put yourself on Mars! While the world eagerly watched as NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars, snapshots flooded social media of excited viewers striking a pose on the Red Planet.
Man finds exact location of infamous Windows XP background — nypost.com
If you haven't been living under a rock for the last 30 years, you've seen this hill. This Windows XP default desktop wallpaper of a sloped green hill beneath a bright blue sky is one of the most viewed photos in the world, but surprisingly difficult to locate in reality. You might not know it's a real image and it has a back story!
In closing - Just in time for March
ICYMI, for the first time ever the Perseverance lander recorded its descent. This incredible 3-minute video is a must-see, and fitting since March is named after Mars (and March is called Mars in French!)