Ideas from Mark Stout

A new Android OS, an exciting new Events capability for Google+ allowing for a central pool of photos everyone takes at a wedding reception and other events, and skydiving gadget freaks.  What more could you want from a business conference? This is the topic of this week's Family Tech column. Remember, all Family Tech columns are  listed on their own page .

I have to realize that instead of just having only a computer anymore, as I did from 1979 to 2008 when I bought my first smart phone, I now have a computing ecosystem.  I use my phone, tablet and PC together.  Some are better then others for particular tasks, while each can step up and do most of the tasks of the others if need be. My Family Tech column for January 1, 2012 ( Facebook comments about column) is thoughts for the many people who received their first tablets on Christmas Day.  I promised a blog post talking about how you can use your tablet, and phone for that matter, to go beyond the basic tablet functionality of reading, watching videos and surfing the net. The same holds true for phones.  A smart phone is really just a small tablet, connected to the 3g network (while some tablets are too, mine is wifi only). Since April of 2010 I have used an iPad, since November of 2011, a Xoom Android tablet running Honeycomb. By add...

A great tip from " This Week in Google #114 " ( TWIG ) from the TWIT network  : to find shared Google Circles, just search in Google Plus for "Shared a circle with you" (use the quotes).  You can refine it by adding a word after the quote, like Photographer, or a state name, or city etc.

The competition in social software is boiling as hot as the spread sheet wars ever did in the 90's.  (Back in those olden days, Visicalc, Lotus 123 and upstart Excel brought out new features at a fevered pitch). Google opened Plus yesterday to everyone.  It also added some new features to Hangout that will make it very useful to business.  You can now broadcast a hangout to the public if you want.  And you can share a screen , a Google document, make notes and do sketches.  Webex and their ilk should be worried. Check out the new features .  And if you join Google Plus, I hope you'll  follow me and let me know you are on Google Plus and also read this blog. Couple interesting coincidences.  Facebook has released a bunch of new features it seems many of my Facebook friends do not appreciate, and Facebook's annual conference is about to begin.  The two are throwing darts at one another, but we are all getting new features, goo...

I introduced my readers to Google Plus this week, and offered invites. Its been a popular column.  This week's Family Tech column .

I received my invite to Google Plus a couple days ago and have not had much time to play with it or consider the implications. One thing I'm sure I would have wondered was how to store something I found on Google Plus to Evernote .  Almost every tool I encounter, I think, "How can I move good content from here to Evernote?" Brian Caldwell is way ahead of me.  He figured out a way to share Google Plus content with Evernote.  It is really easy, and uses your unique Evernote email address. Here is Brian's procedure , displayed in an Evernote shared web note of course. Meanwhile if you are on Google Plus, here is my Google Plus profile  if you want to add me to a circle.