Technology Lesson: Switching to Feedly

Last week I told you that Google Reader was shutting down. Today I'll bypass importing last week's data in favor of using Feedly. Feedly will import your feeds directly from Google Reader, and can display Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest updates. It also has a free app, that can be used on iTouch, iPhone, iPad, Kindle, and Android.

You don't have to use Feedly, and there are articles at the end of this post with suggestions for alternative services. There is also an article from Whoorl, which walks readers through using Feedly.

Over three million users have transferred from Google to Feedly, and more are expected to follow suit. Joining is very easy, and the site has a simple and customizable interface.

Head to www.feedly.com to get started. There will be a message for Google Reader users, and after you click the link to connect your account, you will be asked to authorize. Say yes.

You'll find that your blogs are imported and ready to go:

Older posts from your Reader will be available too, but you should still hold on to last week's downloaded data. (It's just a good idea.) Feedly uses Google's technology to import and display feeds. What Feedly will be doing after Google Reader shuts down is unclear, but I have confidence that everything will be OK.

After your super simple transition to Feedly, take some time to explore. (If you need help, I again recommend the Whoorl article at the end of this post.) You can change the format in which your blogs are displayed, and how your navigate Feedly.

Good luck, and enjoy!

This is the last Lessons for Old People post until September. Per tradition, and New York City's unbearable heat, I like to take the summer off to attempt to accomplish other projects. In reality, I'm probably more easily found perched reading a book on a barstool in an air-conditioned bar, but getting through these library books are not an ignoble challenge either! When I return, I'll get back to talking about Pinterest too much. If you have any questions, or would like to suggest a topic, please e-mail me: hill.katherinem[at]gmail.com.


Additional Resources:
RSS isn't read: the best Google Reader alternatives, The Verge
The Best RSS Readers To Use Now That Google Reader Is Dead, PopSci
Google’s Aggregator Gives Way to an Heir, The New York Times
How To Use Feedly, Whoorl

Technology Lesson: Google Reader Is Closing Down

Google Reader, Googe's RSS feed reader is closing on July 1. Users will no longer be able scroll through subscribed blog posts.

Users are understandably upset. In a post on the Official Google Reader Blog, Google explained:

There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.

Boooo. The good news is that you and export your data so that it can be transferred to another service. (For additional options that won't be covered here, see the links below.) 

 

To do that...

 

Log in to Google Reader.

 

Go to your Settings. 

Click the Import/Export tab.

Under "Import your subscriptions" you'll see "Export your information." Click "Download your data through takeout."

Google will estimate the size of your data. When you see 100% under the squares, click CREATE ARCHIVE.

It may take some time. When it's complete, click DOWNLOAD. The file will save to your computer (or external hard drive).

After the file is saved to your computer, you'll need it to upload to your next RSS service, so remember where it is stored!

Previously:
Technology Lesson: Web Aggregators
Technology Lesson: What To Do With RSS
Technology Lesson: RSS

Additional Resources:
Powering Down Google Reader, Official Google Reader Blog
A second spring of cleaning, Official Google blog

Technology Lesson: How To Reset Your Home Page In Firefox

Your home page is the first page your browser loads when you open it. (Unless your browser is set to load the last page(s) you had open when you closed the browser. That is discussed below.)

Some browsers are pre-set to certain pages. Your browser may be set to Google, your Internet provider, or the developer of your browser. (For example, you would find Mozilla for the Firefox page.) But you might want a page that is more convenient for your needs. You might want to open with your inbox, a news page, your bank, or your blog's host.

To change your home page, open your browser. I used Firefox in this example. In Mac, I clicked FIREFOX:

In Window, you would click TOOLS. Click PREFERENCES... (in Windows, click OPTIONS).

Click the GENERAL tab (in Mac and Windows):

Under STARTUP you'll see "When Firefox starts:" There will be a pull down box. You'll see that mine says "Show my windows and tabs from last time." This allows me to continue the work I had when I closed the application previously. It lets the user continue to browse.

Another option is "SHOW A BLANK PAGE." If you want a BLANK PAGE when you open your browser, choose that.

If you want to open to the same page every time, choose "SHOW MY HOME PAGE" from the drop down menu.

Beneath the menu is "HOME PAGE." You can type the address in the box. If you are already on that page, click "USE CURRENT PAGE" (and save yourself some time!) If you click to RESTORE TO DEFAULT, the home page will be Mozilla's site.

You'll notice there is no SAVE or OK button for the Mac version of this lesson. The changes will save automatically. If you use Windows, click OK.

Technology Lesson: Vine

Vine is a newish app that allows users to share 6-second video clips. The clips include sound, and the video-sharing network was acquired by Twitter last year. (Clips and be embedded online almost anywhere, including Facebook.)

The app is free! It's very popular right now, and easy to use.

The clips play automatically on a continuous loop. Users sometimes make stop motion videos, like the one I've embedded below. (I really like toast.) You can see how the video plays, and loops, automatically. Note that the video has sound but, by default, is muted:

 

Vine is one of the most popular apps available right now. Because it is easy to use, I recommend you try it out and join in on the fun!

Additional Resources:
Vine
Twitter takes aim at video, acquires video clip service, Venture Beat
How To Make Great Vines, Business Insider

Technology Lesson: Facebook's Other Folder

I think it's time we discussed Facebook's "Other" folder. Introduced in 2011, the folder holds your spam messages, or what Facebook determines is spam. Per Facebook, it is, "where you'll find messages and emails that have been filtered out of your inbox."

You can access the folder by going to your messages—either on its own page, or directly from your news feed in the taskbar—and clicking "other." It is next to the inbox title on both pages. You can change what gets through to your inbox, and what gets sorted into your other folder, by adjusting your filter preferences.

These are your options:

It's a good idea to keep an eye on your other folder. While messages that are sent to your Facebook inbox will likely come to your e-mail's inbox as well, your other messages will not. There will not be notifications, and the messages will be lonely and dormant.

This has also been, from my perspective, an opportunity for Facebook to plunder your dollars. Sending messages to the inbox of people who are not your friends will cost $1. Again: to send the messages to the non-friend's inbox, you'll have to pay $1. Sending the message for free will dump your missive into the other folder. Here is evidence, because I find the affair shocking:

Facebook tested this "feature" last year, and apparently deemed it successful.

Additional Resources:
What is the "Other" folder in my messages?, Facebook help Facebook tests $1 fee for messages for non-friends, Yahoo News
The "Other" Facebook inbox you didn't know you had, PC World

Culture Lesson: Cinnamon Challenge

The Cinnamon Challenge is the semi-recent addition to the list of dumb, dangerous things Young People do. The challenge is not new, but it has been in the news in the last few weeks, and has more lasting power than soaking gummy bears in vodka, or drinking hand sanitizer.

To be fair, adults do this as well. Here, I'll have the grown-ups at Mythbusters attempt the phenomenon and explain the challenge (spoiler: swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in a minute without water) and its dangers:


No one has died, yet.  It does seem like a joke, or a farce, even following in the footsteps of the milk challenge (chug a gallon without puking) or the Saltine challenge (yep).

From The Los Angeles Times:

In the first three months of 2012, the nation's poison centers have had 139 calls -- close to three times as many as were received in all of 2011 -- seeking help and information about the intentional misuse of cinnamon. At least 122 of those calls arose from something called the "cinnamon challenge" -- a game growing in popularity among teens in which a child is dared to swallow a spoonful of ground or powdered cinnamon without drinking any water.

Of the 139 calls, 30 required medical attention. (So that's, good, but the pneumonia rish is not good.) By June 2012 there 178 calls.

An ER doctor weighed in for Forbes last month:

Parents need to have a serious discussion with their children about the dangers associated with this stunt to prevent them from ever attempting this.

Because, per this copy and paste job from The New York Times's Well blog:

A report published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday found that the stunt has led to a growing number of calls to poison control centers and visits to emergency rooms. Some teenagers have suffered collapsed lungs and ended up on ventilators. 

So don't take the challenge, Old People, and don't let your Young People, either!

Additional Information:
Teens' 'cinnamon challenge': pneumonia risk, The Los Angeles Times
An ER Doctor's Perspective on "The Cinnamon Challenge": Don't Even Think of Doing It, Forbes
Consequences of the Cinnamon Challenge, NYT

Technology Lesson: Bitcoin

Bitcoin is "an experimental, decentralized digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world." (Old People may recognize Bitcoin from The Good Wife.) It is taking the world by storm, but because I care about Old People, I'll cut the the most important part: Think carefully before using it.

In short, you convert your actual money into a digital currency, and can then transfer it using your smartphone or computer to transfer the funds. Bitcoin does not use a bank and depends on a peer-to-peer network. 

From a Washington Post article last month:

The coin in question now has a global circulation worth more than $1.4 billion on paper. Yet almost no one, it seems, knows the true identity of its creator. In the United States, this mysterious money has become the darling of antigovernment libertarians and computer wizards prospecting in the virtual mines of cyberspace. In Europe, meanwhile, it has found its niche as the coinage of anarchic youth.

And, from Lifehacker:

You can obtain Bitcoin's either by trading other money, goods, or services with people who have them or through mining. The mining process involves running software that performs complex mathematical equations for which you're rewarded a very small portion of a Bitcoin. When you actually have some of the currency, you can then use it to purchase anything that accepts it.

The anonymous transfer of money can be good for privacy, but authorities are worried about its use for money laundering and the buying and selling of illegal items. ("The FBI, for example, says that 'the way it creates, operates and distributes bitcoins makes it distinctively susceptible to illicit money transfers.'")

Finally, the last word from a different Washington Post article:

But Bitcoin still makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Regulators and law enforcement officials by and large view Bitcoin as a dangerous tool for money laundering. Others refer to Bitcoin as an underground banking system or the currency of those who seek to engage in more controversial activities — such as financing the development of 3D-printed guns. And Bitcoin may not be as safe as its supporters would like to think, no matter how strong the encryption, given the Bitcoin heists and hacks of the past 18 months.

Additional Resources:
Bitcoin
The rise of the bitcoin: Virtual gold or cyber-bubble?, The Washington Post
Trojan Turns Your PC Into Bitcoin Mining Slave, Wired
Bitcoin And The End Of Money, TechCrunch What Is Bitcoin and What Can I Do With It?, Lifehacker Man Wants To Be The First To Sell A House For Bitcoins Because Real Money Is So 2008, Consumerist
What Is A Bitcoin?, Washington Post
Why reports of Bitcoin’s death may have been greatly exaggerated, The Washington Post