Most Asked Question About My Smartphone – Typing

The question I am most frequently asked – when folks learn I have an Android smart phone – is “how is the typing?” (They ask that when tablets/iPads get mentioned, too.)

click to see how this image was made in photoshop (tutorial)

Sometimes, this question comes from Blackberry owners, or others whose phones have some kind of mini-keyboard (buttons). These folks are used to “texting” by “thumb-typing”, and some of them are .. um, leery of the “on screen” keyboard. With a “touchscreen” it is true, you do not get the tactile feedback that you do with buttons.

Other times, the person asking has managed to avoid the whole “smart phone” scene, but now that they have seen all the ads on TV for the new 4G world of Internet on your phone, and Androids and iPhones, now have a keener interest.

When I am asked, I tell them that I don’t “type” on my Android — I either talk to it (voice recognition) or “Swype” on it. People want to know if voice recognition, and touch screen typing work properly, or if it is buggy. In my experience with my HTC, running Android 2.2, I would have to say, yes, neither voice recognition nor Swype get it right all the time – 100% – no errors. But I am amazed at how infrequently I have to correct it. And I suspect each feature will only get better as they mature.

Instead of trying to explain what “swype-ing” is, I suggest watching this brief video. (It explains it better than I can.)

unrelated (fun): Been to Google yet today? Very cool mod to the homepage today.. to see it, click here.

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Translating Human

I don’t understand what you said.

Fortunately for me, I have help “translating” what you said (or, more accurately, wrote) – thanks to “tech” and the Internet.

Do not get me wrong, I do not use these services very often (most people communicate to me in fairly decent English) but when I need them, I need them. If you know what I mean.

When I run across a phrase, or some website, so rude as to be in some language other than American English, I first go to Babel Fish. Babel Fish allows me to ‘paste’ up to 150 words into the ‘translator box’, choose my language – to – English (in my case) conversion, and – click – I will instantly have a rough idea of what’s being said. Or I can enter a website’s URL, and the whole page will be ‘converted’.
I have yet to try using Google’s Goggles app on my ‘droid (see, Does Your Android Wear Goggles?)

When someone is using American English, but their choice of phrase or colloquialism (“expression”) is unfamiliar to me (maybe because I don’t get out enough..) I use one of three ‘options’:
* if I suspect the phrase is young and hip ‘street talk’ or popular slang, I go straight to the Urban Dictionary.
* if I suspect the phrase is regional, or from an era before my time, I look in Phrases.net.
* [Parents take note] if I am asked to decipher a teenager’s chat ‘texting’ (more accurately, “lingo”) – which is deliberately not meant for adults to understand – I use either Lingo2Word, which is a ‘paste in’ instant translator very much like Babel Fish, or NoSlang.com which has the same tool as well as a dictionary. NoSlang is a bit more comprehensive.. it includes “net speak” (Internet slang).
Bonus Quick link: 25 Internet Slang Terms All Parents Should Know)

And last but not least.. I can ‘Google it’.

I think, out of all of those.. I use Urban Dictionary the most. But I am not a parent. If I were, I would bookmark NoSlang…

Today’s free link: Download FREE Microsoft Office Training Manuals and Quick Reference Guides

“Most people only know the basics of this powerful Office Suite and only challenge themselves to learn more when the the environment they are working in demands its. Any edge you can get to make your job easier, with Microsoft Office, can pay dividends in the end; not only for you, but for those you are working for.“

Bonus bonus: Take a look at Google today. They have one of their “artsy” name mods up…

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Deciphering Texting (aka "Lingo")*

Folks– obligations require a re-posting today.

I have an embarrassing confession to make–I don’t always know how to translate what someone has text-ed into English. I need a Text-to-English dictionary. This is just one more fact, added to an already long list of facts, that tells me I’ve gotten old. We didn’t have ‘texting’ when I was a teenager.

At first, I thought texting (aka “lingo”) was simply X-treme Abbreviation. And then, I thought it might be a combination of vanity license-plate Language and X-Abbreviation. This thinking allowed me to read some of what I saw, but not all. I could decipher “gr8″ and “l8r”, but not “ttyl”. It didn’t help that I wasn’t a “text-er” myself (Use a cell phone and give myself ear cancer? Not this fella!).

And then it dawned on me– these kids are using an Adult-proof secret code. They don’t want me to decipher it. The world suddenly made a lot more sense. When I was a lad, my friends and I had used code too.

Fortunately, there are resources available for those of us who are lingo-challenged. If you see “A/S/L”, but don’t understand what it means, you can find out (age/sex/location?) — and if you are a parent concerned about your child and what they’re doing and saying on the Internet and in chatrooms — I suggest you do.

If you’re like me, and just want to learn, and try to increase your “hipness” quotient (or just avoid some terrible faux pas), you will also find these translation resources useful and interesting. My favorite of these online dictionaries is Lingo2Word. With it, you can paste in text, and have it automatically deciphered for you.

Related link: Lingo2Word. “Lingo2word is devoted to demystifying the new Internet shorthand language of Text messages, Chat rooms and Emails. We are devoted to the fun of text messaging in all forms, there is a whole new fun language out there just waiting for you!”

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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GMA — Let’s Talk About Sexting

Good Morning America tackled an important topic — of particular concern to parents. I am posting this video in case you missed it.. or would like to forward it to your friends.
Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Good Morning America on ABC News – AB…“, posted with vodpod

[note: if the player doesn’t work, please click here.]

Today’s free link:Parental Monitoring And Cellular Phones If your child has a cell phone, this article provides you with some tools and information.

Today’s free download: K9 Web Protection is a  free Internet filtering and control solution for the home. K9 puts YOU in control of the Internet so you can protect your kids.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

Text Messaging Lingo– Help!

Folks– business obligations require a reposting today, but I did have time to update it.

I have an embarrassing confession to make–I don’t always know how to translate what someone has text-ed into English. I need a Text-to-English dictionary. This is just one more fact, added to an already long list of facts, that tells me I’ve gotten ‘old’. We didn’t have ‘texting’ when I was a teenager.

At first, I thought texting (aka “lingo”) was simply X-treme Abbreviation. And then, I thought it might be a combination of Vanity License-plate Language and X-Abbreviation. This thinking allowed me to read some of what I saw, but not all. I could decipher “gr8” and “l8r”, but not “bb4n”. It didn’t help that I wasn’t a “texter” myself (Use a cellphone and give myself ear cancer? Not this fella!).

And then it dawned on me– these kids are using an Adult-proof secret code. They don’t want me to decipher it. The world suddenly made a lot more sense. My friends and I had used code too.

Fortunately, there are resources available for those of us who are “lingo”-handicapped. If you see “A/S/L”, but don’t understand what it means, you can find out (age/sex/location?) — and if you are a parent concerned about your child and what they’re doing and saying on the Internet and in chatrooms — I suggest you do.
If you’re like me, and just want to try to increase your “hipness” quotient (or just avoid some terrible faux pas), you will also find these translation resources useful and interesting. My favorite is below, as the day’s free link.

Samsung has conducted a survey of people who use text messaging, which produced results that state that text messaging is improving relationships between parents and teens. WiredParentPad has an interesting take on this, Do You Use Text Messaging to Stay Connected with Your Teens?

Free link of the day: Lingo2Word. “Lingo2word is devoted to demistifying the new Internet shorthand language of Text messages, Chat rooms and Emails. We are devoted to the fun of text messaging in all forms, there is a whole new fun language out there just waiting for you!”

Copyright © 2007-8 Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix 

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The lingo that you do

Folks– business obligations require a reposting today…

I have an embarrassing confession to make–I don’t always know how to translate what someone has text-ed into English. I need a Text-to-English dictionary. This is just one more fact, added to an already long list of facts, that tells me I’ve gotten ‘old’. We didn’t have texting when I was a teenager.

I think part of my problem stems from the fact that we have had an explosion of an “extreme” (or maybe I should say “X-treme”) phenomenon in this country. Everything has become X-treme this, and X-treme that. There are the X-Games featuring X-treme Sports, X-treme Motorcross, X-treme Snowboarding…we even had X-treme Football for a while. Guys are no longer content jumping their motorcycles across small creeks, they want to fly, and they do loop-the-loop’s now.

At first I thought texting was simply X-treme Abbreviation. And then I thought it might be a combination of Vanity Licenseplate Language and X-Abbreviation. This thinking allowed me to read some of what I saw, but not all. I could decipher “gr8” and “l8r”, but not “b4n”. It didn’t help that I wasn’t a “texter” myself (Use a cellphone and give myself ear cancer? Not this fella!).

And then it dawned on me: these kids are using an Adult-proof secret code. They don’t want me to decipher it. The world suddenly made a lot more sense. My friends and I had used code too.

Fotunately, there are resources available for those of us who are “lingo”-handicapped. If you see “A/S/L”, but don’t understand what it means, you can find out (age/sex/location?) — and if you are a parent concerned about your kid and what they’re doing and saying on the Internet and in chatrooms — I suggest you do. If you’re like me, and just want to try to increase your “hipness” quotient (or just avoid some terrible faux pas), you will also find these translation resources useful and interesting. My favorite is below:

Free link of the day: Lingo2Word. “Lingo2word is devoted to demistifying the new Internet shorthand language of Text messages, Chat rooms and Emails. We are devoted to the fun of text messaging in all forms, there is a whole new fun language out there just waiting for you!”

Copyright © 2007 Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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The new Generation Gap

These kids today! They’re illiterate (how else do you explain ‘texting’?). They have no sense of shame (they post their diary, and their phone numbers, for the world to see). They all want to be famous.. just like Paris Hilton. They “hook up” by answering anonymous, texted come-ons, blue-toothed from across the room. Everyone under the age of 25 has at least one online “profile” — an All About Me webpage — and are proud of the number of their virtual friends. They aren’t in the slightest bit bothered by the fact that there’s surveillance cameras everywhere, but seem to relish the idea of “being on TV”.
And these kids have the attention span of a flea.

Ah! Don’t you just love blanket-statement generalizations?!
But seriously– there is a difference between those of us ‘older’ folks (say.. older than 27) and the younger set (the “kids today”).. a true Generation Gap.

Sure, us ‘older’ folks are on the Web, and we spend a fair amount of time there. But we (generally speaking) use it like a public library, and because e-mail is a lot cheaper than snail-mail, we use the Internet to send letters. Here’s a test:
* Do you have a Profile on Facebook and do you update it several times a week? If you answered “no”, the odds are good you’re 26 or older (or, you’re younger, but Facebook is so ‘yesterday’ that you’ve moved on to a trendier site).
* Have you ever shunned a website because it was getting flamed on all the right blogs? (There’s a hidden test in there.. don’t know what ‘flamed’ is?)
* Did you have to stop and think what ROTFLOL means?
* Are you concerned about your privacy? (or, more accurately, do you still think it exists?)
* Do you enjoy “reality” television?

I think the defining factor that determines which side of the gap you’re on is– how old were you when you  first used a computer.
I am an absolute dinosaur. I was already out of High School when the first truly popular personal computer (Apple’s Macintosh, 1984) hit the scene. When I was in my formative years, there simply weren’t traffic cams on every corner (or anywhere else); girls guarded their diaries with their lives; people wrote in complete sentences, and looked upon those of us with poor grammar skills as “low-bred”; Authority had no idea who I was unless they talked to me (or me to them); if you called someone a friend, you (probably) had been inside their home…
It was a different world… a pre-Internet world.

For those born after 1984, you have probably always had a computer in your home; and by the time you were old enough to appreciate telephones, you could carry one in your pocket. About that same time, everyone had the Internet, and Yahoo had made it simple. You were probably typing before you made your first letter with a crayon.
You realize privacy is an illusion, so you’ve taken control. All the world’s your stage.

…I don’t really know where I’m going with all this: to say, “the Internet has changed everything” is, well, um, stating the obvious. I guess, maybe, I’m just puzzled by some of what I see (and, maybe, I just woke up feeling “old” today…). I lament the erosion of privacy that technology has wrought (hey, I admitted I was a dinosaur!), and cameras everywhere bothers me; the chips (digital snitches) in my car bothers me; the fact that someone can use the information posted on the Web to assume someone else’s identity bothers me..
Sigh.
Enough.
Sorry. I’ll feel better soon.

Today’s free link: There’s an article by Emily Nussbaum; Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy (subtitled “Say Everything”) that I came across that takes a real look at this.. phenomenon. An excellent example of real reporting, and a good read. Take a look-see, and let me know what you think.

***Folks, the little Search window on this site is not how you ask me questions (it searches past articles for the keywords you enter). Use the the Comments link at the bottom of this page. It is found next to the “Categories” and “Tags” (and usually says, “No comments”).

[Update 3/22: Newsweek just published a good article on this that is worth a read– The Look at Me Generation.]

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.

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