TechyTommy

TechyTommy Phones: IFTTT + Text Messages!

2022-07-31T12:57:00.002-05:00

A year ago, I did a blog post on a website called IFTTT! If you want to view that, click here! But let me quickly explain why this is relevant to phones! Lots of carriers have a way to send text messages through email! This is carrier-specific, so you can't just send it to all phone numbers! For example, Cellcom has yournumber@cellcom.quiktxt.com and U.S Cellular has yournumber@email.uscc.net! (These are carrier emails for TechyTommy Email VIP users.) To use all of these, format your phone number like this: 1234567890! These are called "SMS to email gateways"! But what if your carrier is not listed here? Thankfully, there is a website with 92 carriers in the United States! Just go to email2sms.info if your carrier isn't in this article!

But how does IFTTT work here? While, IFTTT can send emails from your Gmail account! Previously, I was talking about connecting Gmail to Google Calendar, Alexa to Blogger, and Google Calendar to Contacts! But now, we can connect anything to SMS! Just go to ifftt.com/create! Press add, then you can choose anything! This would be really useful for the weather, so let's try that! When it starts to rain is great for text messaging! Then add a trigger! Now, add! Add Gmail, send an email! Now, send it to your carrier-specific email! For me, it would be mynumber@cellcom.quiktxt.com! Add a subject, then add a message! And attachment URLs don't work. But then add!

Now, what can you do with this? Here's a big list:

Google Calendar notifications
Location alerts
Weather alerts
Send a text message when you receive a new Zoom work phone voicemail
When your favorite news website publishes a new article (or even TechyTommy!), send it to your phone
When you post to your Blogger blog, text all your family about your new post!
When someone says "Alexa, I am playing right now", text you so you can play with them!
And more!

Why not just use IFTTT notifications? While, if you are in an area with bad reception or no data, and even if you have great reception, SMS is just more reliable, as it works anywhere you have service! But if you want to learn more about IFTTT, see my previous article! And if you want to sign up, go to ifttt.com! If you want 20 applets and multiple text messages at once, you need IFTTT Pro! If you want to only send text messages during specific conditions (for example, if there is snow in summer), and use your own services, you need IFTTT Pro+!

TechyTommy Phones: Getting a Phone!

2022-07-18T18:01:00.000-05:00

So today, I'm getting a phone! What phone am I going to get? The iPhone 13! So we went to Cellcom to get the phone! We had to wait a long time! But now I got it! This is my first phone! Now, when we went to the grocery store, I kept on sending videos to Philip while we were there, and when we were coming home! It did take a while, but it worked! I had one problem with it where text messages would take a while, but I no longer have that problem! Now, the iPhone 13 has a feature called Face ID! You can unlock just by looking at your phone! But the iPhone 13 supports a feature called Wi-Fi Calling! What is it like? While, it just feels like a normal phone call or text message! But I would rate my phone 10 out of 10! But I get the Premium Unlimited Medium during the summer, and Premium Unlimited Small during the school year! But let's look at Cellcom a little more! Now, phone quality! Cellcom has VoLTE (they call it "Advanced Calling"), which means phone calls and SMS/MMS messages go through the 4G LTE network! This also means 6-way phone calls and high-quality voice! Now, text messages! For information about iMessage, look back in this article! For SMS/MMS, keep reading! I don't use SMS or MMS frequently, as we are mostly an iPhone family! And I can't even test it out properly! But luckily, it was used at 9:55 AM! Here is the exact message. "Cellcom Msg: We enhanced our network & now you can use data while on a call. No action needed. Go to cellcom.com/advancedcalling for more info or call 611!" And this text WAS sent from 611! For context, 611 is Cellcom's contact number for Cellcom users! But 2 minutes later, a Cellcom employee texted her PERSONAL PHONE from my phone! That worked, which means that SMS/MMS completly works! Finally, data! Cellcom's medium data package is 25 GB, and their small data package is 6 GB! I already used 365 MB of that! But Cellcom offers 1x (slow), 3G (not as slow to medium depending on what kind of 3G we are talking about), and 4G LTE (good). I haven't saw 1x or 3G ever on my phone, and I was on 4G all of the time! And most of the time, I had 2 bars or more! But inside our house, we don't have that good reception! But everywhere except close to our house, it is great so far! I would rate Cellcom 8/10! So overall, I would rate both 9/10!

Should You Get a Chromebook Or a Windows Laptop?

2022-06-23T10:43:00.000-05:00

Before reading this blog post, I recommend reading "The Pros and Cons of Using a Chromebook", which is figuring out the pros and cons based on my experience of using both! But now, I will look at it in more detail, and try to figure out what is best for most people, and find what computer is best for you based on what purpose you use it for! Please note that I can't choose one choice for everybody. So, first, let's look at home use. What if you just use your computer for watching TV shows and movies at night? Well, a Windows laptop would be overkill for what you are doing with your computer! If that's all you do, just buy a budget detachable Chromebook! Currently, your best option is a Lenovo Chromebook Duet with 64 gigabytes for $279 dollars! It unlaptops into a tablet, so you can always laptop it and do the occasional work-in-bed! Now, what if you play games a lot? Well, a Windows laptop is the best option, as Chromebook gaming isn't that popular with game developers. But what if you do lots of virtual machines (running an operating system on an operating system)? While, Windows laptops, because Chromebooks are so restricted that you have to put them in developer mode to do any virtual machines at all! But what if you do coding? While, it depends.

The following programming languages work on Chromebooks perfectly:

Scratch
HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Python
PHP

The following programming languages work on Chromebooks, but are not the best:

C
C++
Kotlin (Android Studio)
Java

If your programming language is not on the list, you should get a Windows laptop. If it is, you can get a Chromebook or Windows laptop, but you should get a Windows laptop just in case you decide to try new programming languages that don't work. Now, some people will not agree with this, but if you want to use Office at all, get a Windows laptop, and ignore everything I have said before this. Now, let's look at business. Most businesses should get Windows laptops, because of Office and compatibility. But if you are a new business, you should still choose Windows laptops because of how useful Office is, and if some other business gives you a Word document with a contract in it! Word documents are usually finicky in other office software. But, based on this, most people should get a Windows laptop!

The Pros and Cons of Using a Chromebook

2022-06-22T11:56:00.003-05:00

So, my computer habits keep on changing! From Summer 2018 to Christmas 2019, I used an Asus Chromebook C223. I'm not completely sure about that, but I went to the now-hidden Shop section of the Chromebook website, chose Laptop as the device type and Asus as the brand, and that one looked the most like the one I have. Here is the exact model! Then, for Christmas 2019, I got the Acer Chromebook R11. The first blog post made with it was "Bloxels is really Fun!", and the last is "Back to School, Virtually". This is most likely the shortest-used computer that I have owned! Nowadays, the computer belongs to Philip, my brother. He never uses it, however. He mostly uses his iPad for everything. But, back to the Acer Chromebook R11. I used it until October 2020 when I got the Acer Spin 3, and then I used that until November 3, 2021 when I got the Pixelbook Go that I am typing this on right now! So, now we get to the name of this blog post. "The Pros and Cons of Using a Chromebook". So, what are the pros? First, battery life. Chromebooks have actually usable battery life. It can get you 6 hours, while the Spin 3 had the worst battery life of any computer I have used. You wake up at 6 AM, turn on your laptop, use it, then 3 hours later, you are already on a charger. Not that great for a power outage. Or a trip. Next, charger ports. The Spin 3 uses a proprietary AC charger port that I remember for being extremely finicky. Any USB-C charger goes in 2 ways, well the Spin 3's AC port had 360 ° movement. And most of the time, I was using my Spin 3 on the couch we had before the couch I am sitting on right now, with the charger port plugged in! Sounds OK, and it looks OK, because there is a wall outlet next to me, but the problems start when you wiggle the laptop. The charger cord starts wiggling around, and with USB-C, it works as there is no movement, but with the Spin 3's weird charger cord, it prevents the laptop from charging! Next, hotness and noise. The Spin 3 had a fan that made some noise, and it was still hot! Chromebooks do get hot, but not very hot. And the Pixelbook Go is a special case, as it doesn't even have a fan! The Pixelbook Go is unbelievably cold. Now let's get to the cons. The main problem is software. Chromebooks don't even have Office! You have to use Office Online! Also, Chromebooks are restricted. There are few Chromebook-specific apps, and the ones that exist are made by Google. All other apps are web apps and Android apps. There are smaller cons, like end of life and device support. Here's a list of everything.

Pros:

Battery life
Charger port
Less hotness/noise

Cons:

Software support
Device compatibility
End of life dates

So, should you get a Chromebook or a Windows laptop? Both have 3 pros and cons, so it depends on what you want! But the next blog post, "Should You Get a Chromebook Or a Windows Laptop", is all about choosing which one is better for most people. The next blog post should be tomorrow! But so far, I can tell you that they both have the same amount of pros and cons, so if you just look at the pros and cons, it just depends on what you want!

My New Reading Device: Kindle Paperwhite

2022-06-09T15:17:00.001-05:00

So, all the way back in October, I got a Kindle Paperwhite! And I've been using it frequently ever since! So, what does it look like?

So, the Kindle is intended as a reading device.

It can also handle audiobooks, but I don't have any to test. But the Kindle can do a lot more. It can go onto the store to buy and download books and audiobooks. But, there is Goodreads! But the best part is the web browser. But, the display technology makes it unusable for most tasks. And I ended up making my own Kindle unusable because of my own blog post. Don't click the link on a Kindle no matter what. However, there is an easier way to get websites onto a Kindle, of any kind. Send-To-Kindle! Just install Send-To-Kindle for Google Chrome, and you can send any sites to your Kindle, including my favorite blog post, "Google Meet vs Zoom: What Meeting Program is Better?". No images, but it feels like a magazine article now!

So, the Kindle Paperwhite is a bad internet device because of the processor itself. It has a 1 GHz processor with 1 GB of RAM! So let's see if we can run Windows 11 on it. Now, here's the Windows 11 system requirements and the Kindle Paperwhite.

1 gigahertz with 2 cores
4 GB of RAM
64 GB of storage
UEFI and Secure Boot capable
TPM 2.0
DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
720p display
Internet connection of some kind

Now, the Kindle.

1 gigahertz with 1 core (not compatible)
1 GB of RAM (not compatible)
8 or 32 GB (no model compatible)
No UEFI and Secure Boot (not compatible)
No TPM (not compatible)
Unknown graphics (most likely not compatible)
1072p display (🆗)
Internet connection using Wi-Fi or LTE (🆗, all models)

So, no Windows 11 for the Kindle Paperwhite.

And even if it met these requirements, there would be no drivers to use! Who is using all their free time making Windows 11 drivers for the Kindle Paperwhite? So, the most you will be doing on the Kindle is rating books on Goodreads and buying books. But, the Kindle Paperwhite has a frontlight you can turn on, so you can read in the sun! But, the Kindle display. If you haven't figured it out already, the Kindle Paperwhite is not a color display. If you want that, get a Fire Tablet! You have to remember that the Kindle is a reading device, not a Fire Tablet Mini. But reading, the Kindle Paperwhite is great! And there is a new Kindle Paperwhite model already! I don't have it, however. And there are 4 more models you can buy!

Kindle
Kindle Paperwhite Kids
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
Kindle Oasis

But the Kindle Paperwhite is my favorite model. But, there are 2 Kindle options. The one with ads, and the one without ads. I recommend the one without ads. And the Kindle Paperwhite is waterproof, so you can use it in the water! I only used it in the water once. Luckily, the Kindle Paperwhite survived, so it is actually waterproof. But if you want a nice Kindle, and you don't mind not having the newest, the Kindle Paperwhite without ads with 8 GB is really nice to use when not browsing the internet!

How to use a TV as a second monitor

2021-08-14T11:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know TVs are plug-and-play, but you are not getting the best experience from it. First, open your Display Settings, and drag your TV to the proper place. And then, select your monitor, and then click on Advanced display settings. Now, click on XX.XXXX Hz (where X is the numbers). Now instead of that, you should choose the highest non-interlaced option. And on your TV, turn on Game Mode. Now, exit this menu, and click on XXX% (X is still the numbers). Now, click on all of them until you find the one you want. And then your mouse should work better, your second monitor should be faster, and your second monitor will look better! My TV is to the right of my laptop, it uses 60Hz, and I use 125%.

TechyTommy Programming: Coming Tomorrow!

2021-07-26T18:19:00.001-05:00

Ever wanted to learn Python? While, stay here! TechyTommy Programming is coming soon! All you need to do is go to TechyTommy (if you want, get TechyTommy through your email using TechyTommy Email), and look for TechyTommy Programming! (And when you get to TechyTommy Email, click on Join Group.)

Should You Use A Password Manager?

2021-07-24T12:20:00.001-05:00

Now, you need to keep track of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of passwords! You can reuse the same password, but what if you want to have an even bigger password or be more secure? While, you can use a password manager! But, isn't that more insecure? You just have a big program/extension that you can open up, and it can be opened by anyone? While, if you don't have a computer password, set it now. But then, you can set up a password for your password manager! When you open it, it asks for a password.

Once you type it in, your passwords are there! There are 2 ways that password managers can work. First, a password manager can type in passwords for you. The second way is filling them in. And a password manager can generate THIS good of a password!

7Au2bi7enA@'32=DHOv2em~Jp:#<AlhsMtcoc<,b//(C/6EhHtMYj~^:]0_cYL3+~6_B`GUL9G;]>JYGW86_Or1paU+HBvOr!Fdy

So, should you use a password manager? While, how easy is it for you to track passwords? While, you can choose that.

But what password manager to use? While, here is a long list of password managers and browsers with password managers you can use.

Google Chrome
Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Safari
Internet Explorer (DO NOT USE)
1Password
LastPass
Bitwarden
KeePass (Only stores passwords on your computer)
RoboForm
Dashlane
Other versions of KeePass do exist
NordPass

Now, is it OK to keep the passwords on your computer in KeePass? Most of the time, yes. Now, the weird thing is that the only complete FREE password managers are the browser ones and KeePass. Those are the password managers I recommend. LastPass isn't even FREE! Now, KeePass somehow manages to make databases with 7 passwords in 5 kilobytes. If you had a couple MILLION passwords, you might be able to fit that into less than a gigabyte! But, that is kind of an advantage with browser password managers. But, overall, I don't know what password manager I would use!

Google Meet vs Zoom: What Meeting Program is Better?

2021-07-24T10:29:00.003-05:00

Now, I usually don't talk about meeting programs here. But, I was able to try out Google Meet and Zoom! Remember about NetMeeting from my virtual learning blog post? While, I was able to run the Windows XP version in a Windows XP virtual machine (not my real computer), but I could not test it. And here is a Google Meet picture!

So, to the comparison. Now, the interface of Google Meet looks a lot better! But, the virtual background is not very good. It cuts my hair off! But, when it comes to integration with the operating system, Zoom is better. And the closed captions feature is not the most accurate.

What I said: This is a test of the Google Meet closed captions.

What it think I said: This isn't Just the Girl Meet closed captions.

But a couple hours after I wrote this, I learned about a new meeting program. Google Duo! Now, Google Duo is more like a phone call except for video than a meeting program. But weirdly, Google Duo is more like Microsoft NetMeeting. In NetMeeting, you can type a person's email to call them, and that is the same for Google Duo. While, that's how I think it works. I can't actually test it! But, you can call people on your network. I tried typing my virtual machine's IP address, and it would tell me I was calling the computer I was using to call. But nobody else in my house has a virtual machine to try calling me. Plus, NetMeeting even has meetings! And the directory is down, so if you want to call somebody else, you need to be on their network. So, for calling people on demand, use Google Duo. For having scheduled meetings, use Google Meet. And for advanced uses, use Zoom. And for the rare occasion that you have to call someone with a Windows XP laptop, use Microsoft NetMeeting.

But, if I could only use 1, I would use Google Meet.

But, you can use any of these for anything!

SwimmingTommy: Now Avabile!

2021-07-10T08:28:00.001-05:00

I have a new swimming blog called SwimmingTommy! Check it out at swimmingtommy3.blogspot.com.

My New Tablet (Fire Tablet 10)

2021-07-07T08:17:00.000-05:00

So for my birthday, I got a new tablet. That tablet is the Fire Tablet! Specifically, the Fire Tablet 10 (2019).

So, the Fire Tablet is an Android tablet with a custom version of Android installed called Fire OS. Fire OS is basically Android with a custom launcher and the Amazon App Store! So, because of that, you can install Google Play onto it! And I use it almost everyday to read. The Fire Tablet comes with the Kindle app built in, so all your Kindle books can be delivered over as soon as you are done setting it up. Plus, you can even install Epic onto your Fire Tablet! And you can get Kindle books from the library! Just install the Libby app and choose that you read books through Kindle, and then you can deliver library books from your Fire Tablet to your Fire Tablet! This also works on all Kindle devices (Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, iPad, your Windows laptop, MacBooks, and more). Now, I don't know how expensive the Fire Tablet is right now. But as a Fire Tablet and Android tablet, the Fire Tablet (10) is great! And there is the Fire Tablet 7, Fire Tablet 8, and Fire Tablet 10 (the one I have). I still don't know how to connect it to my computer as a camera. If you are looking for a tablet, I would recommend the Fire Tablets! And here is what it's camera looks like.

All About FeedBurner, FeedBurner Email, and RSS

2021-07-06T14:28:00.001-05:00

Now, if you have read lots of blogs, you probably saw this icon at least once.

And if you click that icon, you might have seen a website that starts with feedburner.com. First, that icon is for RSS. RSS is a format that contains all the posts from that blog. This is a snippet what my blog in RSS looks like.

ef="http://feeds.feedburner.com/techytommy" /><feedburner:info uri="techytommy" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878542713109000453.post-7479948654457705158</id><published>2021-07-06T06:59:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2021-07-06T07:11:56.342-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Coding" /><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ifttt" /><title type="text">IFTTT: Connect Gmail to Google Calendar, Alexa to Blogger, and even Google Calendar to Contacts!</title><content type="html">&nbsp;Now, you may want to connect your devices to&nbsp;each other. Like your smart home to your email to get an email when it is turned on and off! So, before you build a new app, there is already&nbsp;an app for what you want to do. That app is called IFTTT! So, to get started, go to IFTTT and create an account. And then, create a new applet! Now, select what you want to trigger your applet. You could use an Alexa command, sending an email, or even creating a new Google Contact! Now, you need to choose what happens. You could send a notification to your iPad or Fire Tablet, create a new Google Contact, or even create a Google Calendar event! This is the example I will do.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHL3W1g9HKejhnA9DrjeAGN29mJqzpi_IT_jhX_h_RchdrVbDIRI3TsqzmvRs0U7L2L7DvA5XaFehYhhoNZiF6AG0HRiT1odkenOFmDpgUe-JfKXhhQTj783JQwPs1KDmB5PrSBz4xeXz/s1063/Screenshot+2021-07-06+064345.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A screenshot of IFTTT showing if you say a specific phrase to your Alexa, create a new Google Contact." border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1063" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHL3W1g9HKejhnA9DrjeAGN29mJqzpi_IT_jhX_h_RchdrVbDIRI3TsqzmvRs0U7L2L7DvA5XaFehYhhoNZiF6AG0HRiT1odkenOFmDpgUe-JfKXhhQTj783JQwPs1KDmB5PrSBz4xeXz/w400-h256/Screenshot+2021-07-06+064345.png" width="400" /></a></div> Now, before you can use some services (like Alexa and Contacts), you need to link your account. Just log in and allow IFTTT to access your account! After you are done choosing your options, click on Continue. You can receive notifications when it runs. After that, click on Finish. Your applet is now ready! Now, there are 2 kinds of applets you can use. The kind of applet depends on the service. Now, to see this, go to the applet's page, and scroll down. This is what a Realtime applet looks like.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tiZqyFvV7Q1cAo4O_1xSIv22KXCViTSUmHJrg4FyqpxsYy_xjl9SLP3apXmBFjxExfCHcUNgyd1a3O_f549aWkL4xN0hHg2GAz2FCthXnr-s8VgUEJOZDsR5g6xT_y7GheAAVgHYCfbW/s649/Screenshot+2021-07-06+065026.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="79" data-original-width="649" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tiZqyFvV7Q1cAo4O_1xSIv22KXCViTSUmHJrg4FyqpxsYy_xjl9SLP3apXmBFjxExfCHcUNgyd1a3O_f549aWkL4xN0hHg2GAz2FCthXnr-s8VgUEJOZDsR5g6xT_y7GheAAVgHYCfbW/s320/Screenshot+2021-07-06+065026.png" width="320" /></a></div> This is what a polling applet looks like.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPb4S7FjyilhLSI0iIoMcShJHoIQyZvt_8K70sd0MYhuCdeOCS3uWlIOt9GSKw3b-q5Fad8FaCWZy_GEW_dJXv8dZhpqaSQJu25GodtEjB4g6jM9Y35dDTHtKPQEkUysvEXGVXauCvMqNX/s652/Screenshot+2021-07-06+065155.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="79" data-original-width="652" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPb4S7FjyilhLSI0iIoMcShJHoIQyZvt_8K70sd0MYhuCdeOCS3uWlIOt9GSKw3b-q5Fad8FaCWZy_GEW_dJXv8dZhpqaSQJu25GodtEjB4g6jM9Y35dDTHtKPQEkUysvEXGVXauCvMqNX/s320/Screenshot+2021-07-06+065155.png" width="320" /></a></div> So, to check if your favorite services are on IFTTT, go to&nbsp;<a href="https://ifttt.com/services">https://ifttt.com/services</a>. There is IFTTT Pro, which you should get if you want more than 3 applets.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techytommy/~4/YQ3fBiF4uLU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/></content><link rel="replies" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://techytommy3.blogspot.com/feeds/7479948654457705158/comments/default" title="Post Comments" /><link rel="replies" type="text/html" href="https://techytommy3.blogspot.com/2021/07/ifttt-connect-gmail-to-google-calendar.html#comment-form" title="0 Comments" /><link rel="edit" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://www.blogger.com/feeds/7878542713109000453/posts/default/7479948654457705158" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://www.blogger.com/feeds/7878542713109000453/posts/default/7479948654457705158" /><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techytommy/~3/YQ3fBiF4uLU/ifttt-connect-gmail-to-google-calendar.html" title="IFTTT: Connect Gmail to Google Calendar, Alexa to Blogger, and even Google Calendar to Contacts!" /><author><name>TechyTommy</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05811847061193520044</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail" width="32" height="32" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUpT3rmtwJS-SqfmH3BG1MxyjuUzxITQnEhvXDlONK6pxmlvFGmIWhA9GI1Rdis-jRFc_1K3Rra9C0joPCMb-k11IxIX-wUb-YsvRJLYIVWuqd66pcjO-NJAwY3x5bEw8W_lX7znO5Icm/s220/T+is+for+Tommy.jpg" />

Now, your RSS reader can convert that into this!

So, if you want to read your favorite blogs better, find your favorite RSS reader and add your favorite blogs to it! And RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.

Now, what if you want to add RSS to your blog? While, just burn a RSS from the website! With FeedBurner, just enter in your blog address and configure the settings, and then you have your own RSS feed! Now, what if you want to send emails? While, that's what FeedBurner Email used to do!

IFTTT: Connect Gmail to Google Calendar, Alexa to Blogger, and even Google Calendar to Contacts!

2021-07-06T06:59:00.002-05:00

Now, you may want to connect your devices to each other. Like your smart home to your email to get an email when it is turned on and off! So, before you build a new app, there is already an app for what you want to do. That app is called IFTTT! So, to get started, go to IFTTT and create an account. And then, create a new applet! Now, select what you want to trigger your applet. You could use an Alexa command, sending an email, or even creating a new Google Contact! Now, you need to choose what happens. You could send a notification to your iPad or Fire Tablet, create a new Google Contact, or even create a Google Calendar event! This is the example I will do.

Now, before you can use some services (like Alexa and Contacts), you need to link your account. Just log in and allow IFTTT to access your account! After you are done choosing your options, click on Continue. You can receive notifications when it runs. After that, click on Finish. Your applet is now ready! Now, there are 2 kinds of applets you can use. The kind of applet depends on the service. Now, to see this, go to the applet's page, and scroll down. This is what a Realtime applet looks like.

This is what a polling applet looks like.

So, to check if your favorite services are on IFTTT, go to https://ifttt.com/services.
There is IFTTT Pro, which you should get if you want more than 3 applets.

Warning: FeedBurner Email Being Discontinued

2021-07-04T07:38:00.004-05:00

I recently got an alert saying that FeedBurner Email is discontinued because TechyTommy uses the Follow by Email widget. You may not get email notifications for new blog posts while I transfer everybody to an IFTTT solution.

My New Computer (Acer Spin 3)

2021-05-20T17:39:00.000-05:00

So recently I got a new computer. So what are the differences? While, this laptop is a Windows laptop, which is new for me. This computer is an Acer Spin convertible, specifically an Acer Spin 3. One thing that this laptop has compared to my previous Chromebooks is that it has a Caps Lock key. So what is in this laptop? This has an Intel Iris Plus graphics card paired with an Intel Core i5 10th Gen processor, along with 8 gigabytes of RAM (memory) and 512 gigabytes of storage. WAY more than I need. So should you get it? Yes. Now, when should you get it? Your choice. You can get it now, or get it when it is not an outside vendor. And I forgot to say, it comes with a stylus. So how many stars do I rate it? 5 stars. And there is also a backlit keyboard, but you can turn that on or off with the F8 key. And you will need to turn it on to turn it off. But overall, the Acer Spin 3 is a good laptop. I recommend this laptop to anyone who needs a good Windows laptop. To actually press a function key (like F8 instead of turning the backlit keyboard on or off), you press the Function key (Fn) + the key you want to press (like F8). The Acer Spin 3 even plays games. Minecraft Java Edition (if you didn't know I got it) runs at a great speed (most of the time, 60 FPS), so it would probably run other games great, too. (Edited last on December 22, 2020, and this part is edited on May 20, 2021) And, you can share files over the network using the Acer Spin 3! This is perfect for copying files between computers! And, you can't access those files outside your network. But great for accessing files between computers! And the Acer Spin 3 comes with a fingerprint sensor. I've never used the fingerprint sensor, but you could use it in apps that support it. The only thing I know you can use it with is logging into your Acer Spin 3. You would put your finger onto it, what for it to recognize it, and log in! And the SD card slot is microSD. You should get it now. But if you want the model I got, you can only get it renewed (as of May 20, 2021).

My First 2 Android Apps (maybe)

2020-06-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

So, I am going to create my VERY first 2 Android apps. If you want to see anything that I post about Android, go into the side menu, click on the "Labels" section, then "android". And, if you want to make YOUR very own Android apps, go to https://developer.android.com/studio, then download Android Studio. (Note: You can not download Android Studio to an iPad, not even an Android device.) And, you do not need anything Android. They have an Android Emulator! I do not have Android Studio downloaded at the time I posted this blog post, but I will have it downloaded and installed when I publish the blog post called "My First Android App". And, if you need help installing Android Studio (you may not be able to on a school computer), go online to the "User Guide" section of the Android Studio/Developers website. The version of Android Studio when I posted this is 4.0, but it is not going to be 4.0 forever, and comment below if you have an app you want to share, but share the Android Studio file, not the APK file for installing the app. (I do not want to put my Chromebook into developer mode.) Please be patient if you are downloading Android Studio, or an update. It is not 200 and something megabytes, it can get as big as 871 megabytes, depending on what device you are using. But if you want to know why, download it and look at all those features. You can code in Kotlin, Java, C, and C++ according to the official website. If you don't think that is true, look at this screenshot.

So, Android Studio and any other program for developers focus on text coding, not block coding. And, the third blog post today is going to focus on how to make an app, with help from Android Studio. Goodbye until then! If you need help making your app, you can check Android Developers anytime.

I published my first game on Bloxels

2020-05-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

So, I just made a game on Bloxels. What is it called? The Turtle Game. When you click on the game (if you want, copy and paste this code into the Arcade to play it: 45871272), you should see this screen.

If you click on play, tap the screen (or space bar) and play!

So, you can play it also by searching "turtle".

Bloxels is really Fun!

2020-04-04T15:36:00.003-05:00

So, I am having lots of fun on Bloxels. You can make your own video games, play videos games, and lot's more. I usually make video games, but sometimes I play them to get used to my keyboard (I play it on a Chromebook, not an iPad). This is what the Bloxels logo looks like.

So, you have to pay $19.99 if you want it, but playing the video games are free. If you like Bloxels you can get a T-shirt!

Now, as soon as I started, I had lots of fun! No matter if you have an iPad, iPhone, Android tablet, Chromebook, Chromebox, or even a Windows 10 computer, you can use Bloxels! According to my email, the time I started building on Bloxels is at April 4, 2020 at 10:16 AM (central time). You need an email to use to sign up, and most 2nd graders don't but most 2nd graders parents do! Your projects sync in the cloud (not up in the sky) and you can publish your video games! Need tutorials? There are plenty to watch! But, you will need Wi-Fi! You have it if you're reading this right now! And, the cloud I talk about is not up ↑it's somewhere else! It's even funner than Prodigy! Learn more at edu.bloxelsbuilder.com and buy Bloxels and Bloxels-related stuff like the T-shirt here.

One hidden feature in Google Slides

2019-11-19T07:36:00.000-06:00

So, you may want a template for something like a true or false game. In Google Slides, you can add a template. So let's open it. Then you can add a theme to add to.

So let's add a name.

Now what are we waiting for? Let's go to that Slide menu.

Press "Edit master" to start making templates.

Now, right click and choose "New layout".

Now, rename it, and make the template. Edit it the same way you do. (If you want text to be editable, do "Body text placeholder". You can delete that title if you want to.) See my template here. When you're done editing, press the x to close.

Happy template making!

Disney+-and you can sign up now

2019-11-18T07:20:00.000-06:00

So November 12th, Disney+ came out and it's the best! It lets me watch Puppy Dog Pals without cable. And you can get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ with one subscription. And a few weeks ago I made the Library Pillows movie. So it's a good time for Disney+. Get it now. Try it at disneyplus.com.

Homepage

P.S. If you are a Chromebook user you will need to use the app.

Blogger? From March 12, 2013?

2019-09-25T07:52:00.002-05:00

This is Blogger from March 12, 2013:

You can find it here: https://web.archive.org/web/20130312040117/https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=blogger&passive=1209600&continue=http://www.blogger.com/home&followup=http://www.blogger.com/home&ltmpl=start#s01
But, that looks like it could be from now. Here is it now:

I like Blogger now.

What blogging engine would you like?

2019-09-24T06:42:00.000-05:00

So, last night I was reading about blogging, and here are some blogging engines from my book:

I chose Blogger because it was free with no ads! I just needed my Google account! What do you like? Why? Post in the comments!

Goodnight!

2019-09-23T18:18:00.001-05:00

This is my last blog post tonight. Goodnight!

Alexa Skill Blueprints

2019-09-01T07:34:00.000-05:00

This needs a Amazon account, a computer, and a type of Amazon Alexa.

Go to https://blueprints.amazon.com/home
Scroll a little bit, and choose a blueprint!
Do everything it tells you to do!
Wait a few minutes, and soon say "Alexa, open [skill name]"!

What is the Wayback Machine?

2019-08-31T15:18:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen this on your computer?

That is the Wayback Machine!

Here's a example of using it:

Your teacher asks you to get the oldest version of the PBS Kids website. But you don't know how! So, you type in https://pbskids.org into the first text box, go to it from October 13, 1999, and there! Slideshow below: (P.S. I can't get to it from then)

Now, where is the Wayback Machine? It's at web.archive.org!