If the final product delivers what’s seen on the video, then HoloLens owners will presumably be able to watch TV from any room. If that’s the case, then why own a television? The HoloLens TV wouldn’t need video cables or power cords, like a physical television. It doesn’t need mounting equipment. Who knows? It might not even need a set-top box.

Don’t get me wrong, in my household, watching television is usually done with family or friends. We would need about six HoloLens units to replace one physical TV. That isn’t going to happen.

If my 25-year-old self owned a HoloLens in his studio apartment, I don’t think he would fork over hundreds of dollars to buy a “real” TV from Sony, Vizio or Samsung. It seems so cumbersome and restrictive compared to the freedom afforded by a virtual screen that can be projected onto any wall.

Look at that video again. People make Skype calls using virtual screens instead of computer monitors. In another part of the video, a person uses Holo Studio, Microsoft’s 3D modeling program, to build a rocket. The app uses a another virtual screen.

With the use of virtual screens, will HoloLens applications need computer monitors at all? Maybe a physical keyboard paired with a holographic screen will be the laptop of the future. If that’s the case, then companies that make monitors need to keep an eye on this new technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThCr0PsyuA

The post Should television makers worry about HoloLens TV? appeared first on Almighty Link.

Last week, Microsoft introduced the HoloLens, a system that has the potential to revolutionize how humans use computers. I say it can become as influential as Apple’s iPhone.

Described simply, the Microsoft HoloLens is a pair of goggles that lets you view and interact with 3-dimensional holograms. But that’s about as accurate as saying the iPhone is an iPod, phone and internet communications device. That’s how Steve Jobs described the iPhone when he announced it in 2007.

Eight years later, we see that Apple’s innovation – along with Google’s Android platform – is much more than that. It has transformed our lives. We now walk around with devices that we use to take pictures, share moments, make payments, read news, etc.

The iPhone shoved digital tools into our pockets. The HoloLens unleashes virtual tools into our physical world:

• The iPhone played movies on a miniature screen. The HoleLens throws Netflix onto any wall.
• The iPhone tossed angry birds into our pocket. The HoloLens transforms our living room into a Minecraft landscape.
• The iPhone gave us the power to design on the go. The HoloLens projects our virtual designs onto real-wold objects.

When the iPhone was launched, it was different than smartphones before it, from its “real web” browser to its touchscreen that worked with human fingers instead of a stylus. Microsoft’s device is also different from similar technologies on the market today.

• Where the Oculus Rift immerses you in a “virtual reality,” the HoloLens blends virtual objects with the real world. It forms a sort of enhanced reality.
• Where Google Glass and Apple Watch rely heavily on a mobile phone, the HoloLens works independently.
• Where 3D projectors show movies in a public theater, the HoloLens projects interactive objects to an audience of one.

But what happens if Microsoft’s efforts prove fruitless and the HoloLens fades into obscurity like so many other failed technologies? I’m convinced that this is just the right mix of augmented and virtual reality, and the idea will be adopted by other tech giants and startups. But maybe my enthusiasm is misplaced, especially since I haven’t even had a chance to see the HoloLens in real life.

What do you think? Is my excitement warranted? Will this technology be as revolutionary as I imagine?

The post The HoloLens will be as revolutionary as the iPhone appeared first on Almighty Link.

Here are four of the main ways I get news on my Android device, excluding Twitter and Facebook. These are screenshots from apps. From the left, we’ve got Prismatic, Zite (yes, I know they were acquired by Flipboard), Feedly, and Circa.

But an app is not a site. So what do the first pages of mobile news sites look like? Here are samples from four markedly different sites that publish news.

I didn’t find many common elements between these and other news sites. Without access to their goals and analytics platforms, I can’t tell what works and what doesn’t work.

So what do you think? What mobile news home pages do you visit? What do you like about it? What improvements would you like to see? Please leave a comment below or reach out to me @ksablan on Twitter.

The post What is a good mobile news home page? appeared first on Almighty Link.

If you’re looking for a decent, cheap editor, allow me to introduce you to Hemingway. He started helping me with this blog yesterday. Here is how we work together.

I write a blog post in WordPress.

I copy the text from that post.

I visit HemingwayApp.com and select all the text in the middle column.

I paste in my text.

Hemingway gives me instant feedback. He highlights text that could be improved. Sometimes, I point to those highlights and he offers his advice: “Change to active voice.” Other times, I have to refer to the color-coded notes in the right margin to understand what he’s saying.

Hemingway tells me when he thinks a sentence is hard to read. He suggests simpler phrases when appropriate. He tries to lessen my use of adverbs.

Hemingway is a web app created by Adam and Ben Long. It’s a robot editor whose goal is to make “your writing bold and clear.”  I couldn’t find any information on the site to explain how Hemington works.

The app is also available as a $6.99 program for Mac or Windows computers. For that price, you can work offline, save your text and use markdown.

No, Hemingway can’t completely replace a human editor. But I’m a zero-budget blogger with no one to read my posts at 12:41 a.m. Hemingway is the only editor I know who will work these hours for free, and he has definitely improved my blog posts.

The post Meet my robot editor, Hemingway appeared first on Almighty Link.

If you write about or follow breaking news in 2015, you need to know how to quickly search social media. Every second counts, especially when have to try many search words or phrases. On a laptop or desktop computer, one of the quickest ways to search Twitter, Facebook or any network is to use Chrome’s address bar.

If you don’t already use Google’s browser, download Chrome now. There, that’s better.

Google calls its address bar the “omnibox,” presumably because it does so much. For example, if you type words into that box and hit Enter, Chrome will bring you to a Google search engine results page. That magic box even works as a basic calculator for the math-challenged reporter.

I’ll show you how you can teach that omnibox to search Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Make Ctrl-L a habit

First, get in the habit of hitting Ctrl-L or ⌘-L (on the Mac) to jump to the omnibox. This is much faster than moving your hand to the trackpad, your cursor to the omnibox, and your fingers back to the keyboard. Try it now. I’ll wait. See?

Force yourself to use that key combination every time you visit a new site. Eventually, it will become second nature.

Manage search engines

To open Chrome’s settings, click on the menu icon  in the upper right corner, then select “settings”. Scroll down to the Search heading and click on the “Manage search engines …” button. If you’re in a rush, this link will open up those settings. You screen should look something like this:

Scroll all the way down and you’ll see three empty boxes that you can fill in to add a search engine. For the next steps, do not include quotation marks.

1. Type “Facebook” into the first box.
2. Type “fb” in the second box.
3. Type or paste this into the third box: “https://www.facebook.com/search/str/%s/keywords_top”
4. Hit the “Done” button

Test it out

Now go to the omnibox (Ctrl-L) and type fb then press the spacebar or tab key. The box is now waiting for you to type in a phrase or word to search.

Try typing in “Las Vegas” and then press return.

Note that Facebook’s search for posts is still very limited/customized. You won’t see a huge stream of the public posts sorted with the most recent at top. Instead, you’ll only see some posts, sorted by a secret algorithm.

Twitter and Instagram

Repeat the steps above two times, with these settings for Twitter:

1. Type “Twitter” into the first box.
2. Type “tws” in the second box.
3. Type or paste this into the third box: “https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%s”

And these settings for Instagram:

1. Type “Instagram” into the first box.
2. Type “ig” in the second box.
3. Type or paste this into the third box: “http://iconosquare.com/search/%s”

To search Twitter, hit Ctrl-L, tws, spacebar, your search terms, then return. This is set up to return all results, not just the top ones.

To search Instagram, hit Ctrl-L, ig, spacebar, your search terms, then return. With this one, I’m using Iconosquare, which searches for Instagram users and hashtags, so this isn’t a full text search.

Add other searches

You can follow the process above to add a search engine for most sites that include a search function. It’s a bit of a process.

1. Visit the site that you want to search and search for anything. For example, I went to Flickr and searched for “vatican city”.
2. When the results pop up, copy the URL from the address bar. Here is what I copied: https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=vatican+city
3. Return to Chrome’s search engine settings, scroll down and add Flickr as a new search engine.
4. The first box is a name, for your reference. You can call the new search anything you want: Flickr, Photos, Pictures, etc.
5. The second box is the keyword that you’ll type in the omnibox when you want to use your new search engine. Make sure this is short and memorable. I shoot for 2-3 characters. My keyword for Flickr is fl.
6. In the third box, paste in the URL that you copied earlier, but replace your search phrase with “%s”. For my Flickr example, you would enter this: https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%s

What’s faster for you?

This is the fastest way I search for things on the Internet. I’m not talking about topics or keywords that I constantly monitor, but those one-time searches that I constantly make throughout the day. You have your own workflows. How do you quickly search other sites? What works for you? I’m always up for trying new things to shave seconds off of frequent tasks.

The post The fastest way to search Twitter, Facebook and Instagram appeared first on Almighty Link.

Some media outlets, like ABC on Good Morning America, laughed at Kanye West fans for not knowing who Paul McCartney is. Yeezy fans posted tweets that credited West for featuring the unknown McCartney in West’s new single. (Listen, buy, or read “Only One.”)

The only problem is that those comments were sarcastic. I haven’t read all the tweets that each media outlet shared, but here is one I saw in every post I’ve read on the topic:

Kanye has a great ear for talent. This Paul McCartney guy gonna be huge.

— Desus Nice (@desusnice) January 1, 2015

When I saw that, I was incredulous. This guy can’t be serious? If you are a reporter, run with that incredulity. Question that tweet.

Here are a few simple methods to detect Twitter sarcasm.

1. Ask!

The easiest way to find out if someone is serious is to ask that person. On Twitter, that means you hit the reply button and pose the question: @desusnice Do you really not know who Paul McCartney is?

2. Observe

Desus Nice might never reply to your query, so look at his timeline. Do Mr. Nice’s previous tweets suggest that he is unaware of people and places of cultural significance? Does he crack wise, or is he a straight shooter? Is sarcasm a comedic weapon that he wields? If he likes to joke around, there’s a good chance his McCartney tweet isn’t serious.

3. Search

If Desus Nice knows who Paul McCartney is, he might have tweeted about him before. To find those tweets, paste this into Twitter’s search box: “paul mccartney” from:desusnice

Twitter sorts the results using some secret algorithm. You want to see all the tweets, so click on the “all” link near the top of the page.

You’ll find that Desus Nice has mentioned the former Beatle on many occasions. Here is a sample from more than two years ago:

Paul McCartney to replace Kurt Cobain in Nirvana reunion. Enjoy listening to “Smells like Tesco Antiperspirant” ppl. — Desus Nice (@desusnice) December 12, 2012

Does it matter?

An investigation about sarcastic tweets might be frivolous, but the tips are real. You can use them when reporting on corporations, representatives, government entities, and breaking news.

This whole discussion is moot anyway, since we all know that Paul is dead.

A personal note

Some of the tweets mentioned by media outlets might be genuine. Some people don’t know who Sir Paul is, and that’s okay. Only when you embrace your ignorance can you learn and grow. When you embrace the ignorance of others, you accept them and encouraging their growth. When someone doesn’t know something, don’t make fun of them. Share your knowledge.

Do you want to grow as a human being? Do you want to learn something new every day? The only way to learn is to acknowledge that there is something you don’t know. Embrace your ignorance. Every day.

The post How to detect Twitter sarcasm about Kanye and McCartney appeared first on Almighty Link.

When I rejoined the Orange County Register two months ago, my job description was a bit nebulous. Since then, editor Rob Curley  has made it clear that I am the Register’s digital MacGyver. Angus Macgyver, the lead character of a TV series of the same name, turned everyday objects into tools that he used to escape from life-threatening predicaments.

My tasks haven’t been that harrowing, but I have definitely used limited resources to get some things done. I’ve also been taking care of a bunch of smaller tasks that someone has to handle.

Here is a short laundry list of what I’ve been doing:

• I’ve used a whole lot of Javascript to create two special pages that would normally not be possible within the Register’s content management system: OC’s 100 Most Influential and the Register Holiday Hub.
• I’ve created bookmarklets that lets our digital team click one button to carry out tasks that normally require selecting text, copying it, finding and replacing, and more copying and pasting.
• I’ve tapped into the Chartbeat API to create an internal page that shows the staff just the information we use from that service
• I’ve improved the stability of six newsroom monitors that are display stats, the Register website, and page layouts.
• I’ve edited a few small blog posts and short articles.
• I’ve submitted and tracked many IT tickets related to changes to website and email changes
• I’ve made sure people moving into and around the newsroom have their phones set up and equipment moved.
• I’ve provided a small amount of training about social media and posting graphics online.

The post What I’ve been doing as the Register’s digital MacGyver appeared first on Almighty Link.

In a rather selfish move, this blog is becoming a more personal space. A place for me to practice written and recorded communication.

My day job no longer requires as much writing as it has in the past, so this is old place is my new place to practice writing and recording words and images.

It’s not a resolution. I don’t do that. It’s just a commitment to work harder, inspired by these three things:

• A blog post by John Saddington (@saddington) about how he’d restart a blog if he were to begin today
• An episode of A Prairie Home Companion (I think it’s this one) in which violinist Joshua Bell jokes about how practicing for hours each day made him a better violinist
• The memory of jazz drummer Billy Higgins saying that, even though he was a living legend, he still practiced the rudiments of drumming on a regular basis

By the way, I’m taking the advice of many who say to just write. That means, I will edit less before I publish each post. At night, I might edit the posts that I publish in the morning.

The post It’s not a resolution, more inspiration and perspiration appeared first on Almighty Link.

Today, I start working at the Orange County Register again.

This might come as a surprise to some, since I revived this blog in July with a post about why I left newspapers, and followed that up with an explanation of why I stopped working for a newspaper company.

There are many reasons for my return, but this is the biggest one: they asked me to return. I’m not saying that all they had to do was ask. I’m saying that there has to be a reason that they reached out to me.

You see, many incredibly talented journalists left the company in June. Most of them are better “print journalists” than I’ll ever be. My forte has always been digital. To the best of my knowledge, the Register hasn’t reached out to any of my incredible colleagues. That the company is asking a digital specialist to return says to me that they are making a shift to bolster their presence online, and hopefully on mobile and social platforms.

I’m joining with a strange title of Newsroom Operations, and will be helping journalists to get their jobs done. I will be troubleshooting, filling one of the duties that a previous Register worker left vacant when he recently left the company.

Wait? So it sounds like I’m a newsroom IT guy, and the reason they reached out to me is because they needed a newsroom IT guy. It could be that simple, but I think there’s something more afoot. The Register is still full of talented individuals, some of whom could easily fill the shoes of the position described. The Register is experienced in shuffling newsroom staff to fill holes. They know how to make do and they have the people to do it.

They didn’t have to ask me to come back, they chose to reach out to me. This newspaper company just might be prepping for digital.

I’m going back to help amazing journalists. I can only imagine how rough things have been since the staff has had to pick up the slack left by my friends and I when we left almost five months ago. I’m going back to help my coworkers make the best use of their tools. I’m going back to help make their work easier. If you’ve ever worked with me, you know that I’m going back to bring a little levity and to help make some good people smile.

So, what do you think? Good move? Bad move? Leave a comment or talk with me on Twitter @ksablan.

The post I’ve accepted a position at the Register appeared first on Almighty Link.

Tweets that include the phrase “please retweet” are four times more likely to be retweeted than the average tweet, according to data from 2011.

It’s old news, but I was shocked when I recently included the magical phrase in a pair of Twitter posts that ended up with 802 and 349 retweets. Those are by far my most retweeted tweets.

Please retweet if journalism students follow you. @WSJ is accepting applications for 10-week PAID summer internships. http://t.co/AtHSosrJmx

— Kevin Sablan (@ksablan) October 15, 2014

Please retweet if journalism students follow you. Here 23 (mostly PAYING) journalism internships and fellowships http://t.co/tluhdB9eLF

— Kevin Sablan (@ksablan) October 17, 2014

It’s about so much more than the retweet

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you should start inserting “please retweet” into all of your tweets. Would you continue following someone if she always asked you to retweet her? Offline, do you maintain friendships with people who constantly ask for favors?

Five years ago, Joel Mackey wrote a thoughtful blog post against asking followers to retweet. Read that now to understand why you shouldn’t overuse this approach.

So why did I ask people to share my tweet with their friends? Well, I experiment. Often. On Twitter, I play with different voices, tenses, questions, words, etc. Here are a few observations from this experiment.

• Who? Many of the retweets came from journalists, journalism students and journalism teachers. That’s great news. It means that my message reached people who could take advantage of the internships mentioned in the tweets.
• Grammar: People are forgiving. Read that second tweet again. The word “are” is missing. Not one person pointed out the error, despite the fact that this was a tweet about journalism. Hey, where are my copy editor friends?
• Impressions: Twitter showed these two tweets a total of 351,108 times. Thats about 50 times more than number of people who follow me.
• Followers: I gained 50 followers directly from these two tweets and their 1,151 retweets.
• Conditional: I’ve used the magical phrase a few times since these two tweets, with nowhere near the same results. The conditional clause “if journalism students follow you” might have something to do with it.
• Clicks: For the tweet that received 802 retweets, people clicked on the link only 807 times. I suspect some people retweeted this one without clicking on the link, a habit I strongly discourage. You can’t tell what lies behind a link until you click on it. Retweet blindly and you could help spread a virus.

One thing that I’ve taken away from this experiment and a similar tweet posted in September, is that the people who follow me like to spread the word about opportunities for journalism students. Because of that, I will reserve the use of the phrase “please retweet” for those types of messages.

Please retweet

Do you think your followers want to tell their friends about how they can get more retweets? If so, share this post on Twitter, and see if your friends hit the RT button. I’ve already included “please retweet” in the title.

I want to know how your “please retweet” experiment works. Leave a comment, or start a chat with me on Twitter @ksablan.

The post Please retweet to spread the word about please retweet appeared first on Almighty Link.