Issue 35.17
I was taking time to review all the apps I have added to my smart phone over the last few years and found that there are a bunch of them that I do not use and some that I have never used. I also found that there are lot of games that just waste my time and energy. So, it is time to houseclean. I am removing over half the applications that are there. Because of the way Apple does things, I still have access to those apps if I choose to re-download them and activate them, but they no longer take up space and efficiency on my phone. I believe that the Android phones have the same type of features, but I am not sure since I don’t have one.
I also found that there are some apps that I definitely use regularly (or should) and don’t want to lose. Among these are a to-do list that keeps my appointments organized and includes phone numbers for my clients that I can dial just by tapping them. I have an app called “Betterment” that tracks my investments and allows me to immediately move my money from stocks to bonds and visa-versa. This is very nice as I can respond to changes in the market as quickly as I want to – moving to stocks when they are going up and moving back to bonds when it looks like the market is going downward – all without calling a broker or paying fees to do so. I have not earned a lot yet as I have only been doing it a short time and am still learning and pretty conservative, but I am learning.
I often use the voice recorder to help me learn songs I am working on or to make quick notes while traveling or busy in other ways. I can just tell Siri to open my voice recorder and record.
I also have an app that accesses my database of all the people in my organization including their personal info, phone numbers etc. It includes over 40,000 people all available from my phone. It is called Prosperworks. There is an app that can tell me where my children are if their phones are on, even if they are clear across the country. Another one lets me know the current value of silver and silver coins (even though I don’t have very many). I can watch my satellite channels on my phone, reserve hotel rooms, keep track of my heart rate (with a device that links to my phone), track my walks as to how difficult and how far I have walked, navigate around Walmart, vote for contestants on the Voice, check on and reserve films at Redbox, get free food from my favorite restaurants and create multi-person video conferences, all from my phone. It is pretty amazing.
The two newest apps that I use are called HoursTracker which I use to keep easy track of how much time I spend on projects for customers, and Google Translate which can not only listen to words in one language and tell me the right words/translation in another, but can actually scan signs, menus and other written content and change it right on the screen to English so I know what it says. I am officially amazed. Many of these apps are also available for your computer so you can use them on both devices.
I do encourage you to remove applications you will likely not use to free up the space in your memory, but using many of these apps helps me do my work and do it more efficiently. It is worth doing a little looking and a little trial and error to find what works best for you and what should be uninstalled – and as always, make sure you remember to protect your data, documents, pictures and your computer, phone and tablet by always backing up anything important.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 34 years, 27 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently works as a computer consultant. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or mccausland.shaun54@gmail.com .