HOW TOM GETS STUFF DONE- DTNS WEEKLY TECH UPDATE 04/20/2017

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Productivity tips! Everybody loves them. Except for the people too busy to read them I suppose. Our conversation on Wednesday's show generated some excellent discussion and sharing of tips. AS promised this week I'l detail here a little more about my organizational system I described on the show. Share yours in the comments below!

CLOSER LOOK - How Tom Organizes Time

I regularly get questions about how I'm able to do the number of things I do. I don't have a good answer but one part of it is an organizational system that tricks me into doing a lot of the things I would otherwise put off or forget.

It all centers around Google Calendar. I do two things on the calendar which are the majority of my system. One is schedule tasks as all-day items, the other is to block out time for things, including shows, prep time and some tasks.

NON-CALENDAR ORGANIZATION

I do use Simple Note for some note-taking but it no longer plays a huge part in my daily organization. I use the Amazon Echo and "Our Groceries" app to manage my shopping list.  And I sometimes rely on my inbox to hold things that need doing or responding to. I aim for inbox zero but in practice I end up with inbox 5 or 6. On Friday or Saturday I make a point of trying to clear out any emails that have been sitting all week.

CALENDAR TASKS

Let's use my Thursday calendar as an example.

At the beginning of Thursday I have the following all-day tasks

- Green for DTNS - Post to DTNS Facebook, Send DTNS next day email, Write Weekly Tech Update

- Red for Sword and Laser - Promote Sword and Laser episode 

- Orange for Current Geek - Send email to Current Geek guests, Prep Current Geek Lineup

- Gray for household stuff - Train Rey the dog, Walk dogs

Yellow for personal improvement - Spanis

- Aqua for writing projects - Write or Edit fiction, Write and schedule Today in Tech History Posts, Write Tech Republic Top 5 scripts

SHORT MOVABLE ITEMS

Some items on the list can be moved, like posting to Facebook. I try to do it once a week but it doesn't need to be Thursday. It could be Friday if I run out of time.

SHORT NON-MOVABLE ITEMS

Some of those like Spanish or Posting Today in Tech History are daily tasks and I know I can't move them. I just have to get them done. And don't schedule them because they don't take long and can be done at any time

LONGER SCHEDULED ITEMS

Other things need to be done that day but take a little longer, so I block out a schedule for them. That includes things like walking the dogs and writing the Top 5 scripts.

SCHEDULED NON-TASKS

And then of course there are things not in the task list because they are things I have to do at a certain time and can't move. So from 10:30-1:30 I have my calendar blocked out for prepping DTNS. From 1:30-2:30 I have the calendar blocked out for streaming and posting the show. And from 4-5 I have blocked out to record Damn Fine Podcast. 

DELETE AND REPEAT

As I do an item I delete it from the calendar. Some items repeat so tomorrow has Walk the dogs, Spanish and Send DTNS next day email again. But some don't repeat so I also have change the fridge filter and Record Tech's Message promo. Some like Today in Tech History need to be done on average once a day but I'll occasionally work ahead and delete the items from future days to give myself a little breathing room.

And that's the basic engine behind getting stuff done. I've found that I have hacked my brain so I really feel a little dopamine jolt every time I clear off a task. I'm sure a lot of you know what I mean if you use task managers. And I've found that if there's a thing that I keep meaning to do and keep putting off, adding it to the calendar almost guarantees it will get done. Moving items to another day almost feels like cheating so I try not to do it. And if i fail to get something done on a day I don't let myself delete it. It just stays there in grayed out form on pervious days, taunting me.

As I said on the show, this is just a system that works for me. But if any piece of it works for you, steal away. Use it in good productivity!

NEWS RECAP

F8 NEWS

Tuesday, Facebook Spaces released in Beta in Oculus Store. An AI generates avatars to be as close to your profile photo as possible. Up to four friends can log in and share a space.  You can also do 3D video calls on Messenger with people not in VR. Facebook eventually wants to bring it to other VR platforms. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/18/facebook-launches-beta-of-spaces-its-goofy-and-fun-social-vr-platform/ 

Facebook announced an Augmented Reality Platform called Camera Effects coming to Facebook Camera on smartphones in closed beta Tuesday. Eventually it will be compatible with future augmented reality hardware.CEO Mark  Zuckerberg said that accusations of Facebook copying Snapchat were misunderstandings of laying groundwork for Facebook’s new Camera Effects Platform.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/18/facebook-camera-effects-platform/ 

Facebook also expanded its encrypted account recovery token service beyond Github. Announced the free Standard version of its Slack competitor Workplace, and launched the ability for bots to be included in group chats on Messenger as well as easier ways to discover bots. http://fortune.com/2017/04/19/facebook-f8-2017/ 

Facebook’s Regina Dugan, who heads the Building 8 research group gave a talk involving brain-computer interfaces. Dugan talked about concepts not products but described systems that would allow you to type up to 100 words per minute with your thoughts or hear with your skin. She also said Facebook hopes to show off a system in a few years. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/19/facebook-wants-to-build-an-ar-device-that-lets-you-type-with-your-brain/ 

Facebook showed off two new 360-degree cameras, the x24, with 24 cameras and the x6 with, you guessed it, 6 cameras which capture in 6 degrees of freedom and will be licensed to commercial partners with products to come later this year. https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/19/facebooks-new-360-cameras-that-capture-in-six-degrees-of-freedom-will-be-licensed/ 

OTHER NEWS

Wall Street Journal's Jack Marshall reports that Google is planning to introduce ad-blocking on mobile and desktop versions of the Chrome browser. Google would reportedly use the Coalition for Better Ads list of standards to determine what to block. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-plans-ad-blocking-feature-in-popular-chrome-browser-1492643233 

An update to Google Home adds support for up to six different users. Not only can six different accounts be connected to a device but Google Home can tell them apart by voice. Each user will train the device by saying the trigger word three times. While Google thinks its voice detection is pretty good it admits it isn’t perfect and does not recommend relying on it as a security feature. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/04/google-home-gets-support-for-multiple-users/ 

Baidu announced Project Apollo, a new open-source software and hardware platform to help car manufacturers speed manufacturing of autonomous vehicles. Baidu plans to open the project to cars operating in restricted environments in July, expanding to urban road conditions by the end of 2017. The company plans to gradually expand self-driving features to allow for autonomous operation on all streets by 2020. Baidu wants to bring a self-driving car to market by 2018. https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/18/15352462/baidu-project-apollo-self-driving-cars-autonomous 

Microsoft’s successor to Wunderlist, codenamed Project Cheshire, and officially Microsoft To-do, is available for public testing for iPhone, Android phones, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and the Web. Users only need a Microsoft account to try out To-do. It will integrate with Outlook Tasks, but not Wunderlist though Microsoft does have an importer tool to transfer tasks from Wunderlist to To-do. Wunderlist will eventually be retired. http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-wunderlist-successor-to-do-hits-public-preview/ 

Xiaomi announced its latest flagship phone, the Mi 6. It has a snapdragon 835 processor, the same as in the Galaxy S8. The Mi 6 also comes with 6 GB of RAM, a 5.15-inch display and a 3350mAh battery. A 12-megapixel dual rear camera system features wide angle and telephoto lenses. The Mi 6 will sell for 2499 yuan (about $360) with 64GB of storage, and 2899 yuan ($420) for 128 GB. A ceramic edition with 18-karat gold camera rims and 128 GB of storage costs 2,999 yuan ($435). https://thenextweb.com/mobile/2017/04/19/xiaomis-360-dual-camera-mi-6-is-packed-to-the-gills-with-powerful-hardware/#.tnw_1X8Qguks 

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Min Jeong Lee report their sources reinforce previous leaks that Apple will announce three models of the iPhone this fall, two upgrades to the iPhone 7 and a special 10th anniversary edition. The design of the special edition has supposedly not been determined as Apple has had problems with manufacturing of the curved glass and fingerprint sensor. The idea is to have curved glass with an embedded fingerprint sensor over an OLED screen. Apple has reportedly ordered around 100 million OLED screens from Samsung and is sourcing cameras from Sony. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/apple-readies-iphone-overhaul-for-smartphone-s-10th-anniversary 

The FCC's latest spectrum auction is concluded. T-Mobile will pay $7.99 billion for 1,525 licenses in the US that will allow it to offer mobile service in the 31MHz spectrum nationwide, quadrupling the carrier’s low-band holdings. Low-band spectrum is good for long-distance transmission, good for rural service, and broadcasting through obstacles like walls. T-Mobile will begin deploying service in the spectrum later this year. Dish acquired 486 licenses adding to a stockpile of licenses it has yet to use. Comcast bought 73 licenses which could be added to its wireless service coming in June. US Cellular bought 188 licenses and AT&T 23. Verizon and Sprint did not acquire any. 14 MHz of spectrum is now available for unlicensed use for things like rural broadband and Internet of Things. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/04/t-mobile-dominates-spectrum-auction-will-boost-lte-network-across-us/ 

AMD revealed its lineup of Radeon RX-500 graphics cards Tuesday. Based on the same Polaris processors as the RX 400 series is built on the 14nm process for more overclocking room. A new power state consumes less power while idle. On sale today the Radeon RX 570 sells for $170 and the 580 goes for $200 in 4GB and $230 in 8GB versions and the 560 for $100 in May. The newer low-cost RX 550 hits April 20 for $80. http://www.pcworld.com/article/3189591/components-graphics/amds-radeon-rx-500-series-graphics-cards-are-a-faster-better-polaris-for-new-pcs.html 

A court in Rome has suspended a lower court ruling that would have prevented Uber from using its apps and advertising its services in Italy. Uber will be allowed to continue operating as normal until it has completed an appeal of the ban. Uber has also resumed operations in Taipei after a two-month suspension. Uber will partner with car rental companies in Taiwan to operate within the law. https://www.engadget.com/2017/04/15/uber-italy-ban-taiwan-agreement/ 

Alphabet has reached an out-of-court settlement with Russia’s FAS over accusations of market position abuse. Russian search company Yandex complained Google abused its market dominance by requiring certain applications be installed on Android. A Russian court approved the deal Monday which will last for six years and nine months. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-google-russia-idUSKBN17J11C 

Verizon reported a 20% fall in quarterly profit from 1.06 per share last year to 84 cents a share this year. Verizon lost 307,000 retail postpaid subscribers. Analysts had expected additions of 222,000. http://fortune.com/2017/04/20/verizon-first-quarter/ 

Intel announced it is cancelling the annual Intel Developer Forum. Ryan Smith & Ian Cutress of Anandtech report that Intel sees itself as a data-company, focusing on AI, FPGAs, Optane, IoT, wireless comms, and automotive verticals, rather than strictly being a PC company. Intel says it retired IDF for more focused and flexible messaging across these fronts. http://www.anandtech.com/show/11279/intel-discontinues-the-intel-developer-forum-idf17-cancelled 

Nintendo announced it sold 906,000 Switch consoles in March and 925,000 copies of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Switch. Nintendo also sold 460,000 copies of Zelda for the Wii U. It becomes the fastest selling Nintendo console launch title and fastest selling Zelda game ever.   https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/13/15296874/nintendo-switch-zelda-sales-numbers-us 

Netflix added 1.42 million domestic subscribers and 3.53 million international subscribers missing its own and Wall Street’s expectations of 1.5 million and 3.7 million. It beat expectations of 37 cents a share with 40 cents a share and met expectations of $2.64 billion in revenue. Netflix expects 600,000 domestic subscribers and 2.6 million international subscribers in the second quarter. http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/17/netflix-earnings-q1-2017.html 

After reviewing the alleged NSA hacking tools leaked last week, Microsoft says all the vulnerabilities are patched in supported versions of Windows. That of course means the vulnerabilities that target Windows XP or Vista may not be as Microsoft no longer supports those versions of Windows. The Verge’s Tom Warren notes that Microsoft delayed its February patch release and March’s release included fixes for some of the leaked exploits. https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/15/15311846/microsoft-windows-shadow-brokers-nsa-hacks-patched 

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