fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Make Your Own Camera
By: Brandon R
Tags: Raspberry Pi, Cameras, Electronics, Computer Science, Technology

Say “Cheese!”

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

The Raspberry Pi is every tinkerers’ dream! It is a versatile piece of equipment, and now with the HQ Camera it has the ability to take beautiful pictures and video.

Of course, it is not as simple to plug it in and starting shooting pictures. In fact, without some additional equipment and some understanding of the command-line interface it would be quite the uphill battle.

Alas, with a few additional items and a bit of patience you can have your very own DIY Camera!

There are three additional items that will be needed, see the pictures and links below:

The LCD screen will provide the much needed preview screen to make adjustments for your photos. The battery bank will allow us to be mobile. The mounting plate will provide the much needed level and secure mounting…and it also has a bubble level to ensure straight shots!

Using the included hardware and a Phillips screwdriver we can quickly put these components together and begin taking excellent photos!

Don’t forget you will need to setup the Raspbian OS and learn how to use the ‘raspivid’ and ‘raspistill’ commands using the Camera Guide: https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/books/camera-guide/pdf

Don’t wait, go out and build your camera today!

Links to everything used:

Pi — https://amzn.to/2DMovhV

SD Card — https://amzn.to/2DMuenU

Pi Hut Camera Mounting Plate — https://thepihut.com/products/mounting-plate-for-high-quality-camera

ArduCam 2.8–12mm Lens — https://amzn.to/2XNBOWj

Standoff Assortment — https://amzn.to/33M3lLQ

Pi Battery Bank — https://amzn.to/3gJCtzr

4 in LCD Screen — https://amzn.to/30J7Jcz

Micro HDMI — https://amzn.to/33LzOBB

Keyboard — https://amzn.to/2PEzL2r

18650 Batteries — https://amzn.to/2PCfqLd

LCD Wiki — http://www.lcdwiki.com/4inch_HDMI_Display-C

Raspberry Pi Imager — https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/

SD Card Formatter — https://www.canakit.com/tools/fat32format

Dremel — https://amzn.to/2DICjKv
Logic Gates
By: Brandon R
Tags: Logic Gates, Logic, Computer Science, Electronics

Building Blocks

Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash

Logic Gates are at the heart of how we can build complex digital circuits. They will take either one or two inputs and provide an output determined by the type of logic gate being used. Constructing and combining logic gates, both in hardware and software, we are able to perform a variety of computational functions. The seven basic logic gates we will highlight here are: NOT, AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, XOR.

NOT

2. AND

3. OR

4. XOR

5. NAND

6. NOR

7. XNOR

Excellent Reference Book:

https://amzn.to/33lyc1n
The Multimeter
By: Brandon R
Tags: Electronics, Circuit, Electricity, Multimeter

Voltage and Amps…oh my!

Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

One of the most useful tools for an electrician is the Multimeter. As the name implies, this device can be used to check multiple different parameters. Notably Multimeters, albiet note there are many variations, can be used to check for Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) voltage or amps, frequency, the continuity of a wire (measured in ohms), and often they can also be used to check special characteristics of electrical components (i.e. capacitors and diodes).

AC voltage checks are typically noted by a “V” with a squiggly line above it (~). This type of power changes direction on a specific interval, i.e. 120 volts at 60 Hz. DC voltage is noted on the meter with a “V” and a solid line and dotted line above it. This type of power only travels in one direction and does not have a variation in frequency, i.e. many DC devices in our homes today are powered by 5 VDC.

Amperage checks can also be conducted on a Multimeter, using the section of the meter noted with a “A” and either the ~ or solid lines above depending on if you are checking AC or DC amps. The primary difference with a amp check is you will need to make a break in your circuit and then complete the circuit using the Multimeter leads.

Continuity checks are conducted by setting the meter to the “Ω” symbol. Continuity is measured in ohms and tells us the ability for a wire or circuit to conduct electricity.

These are the core functions of any Multimeter today; however, different meters have different functions, such as checking the functionality of a diode or the rating of a capacitor.
Rebalance — single coils edition. Is this string *broken*?
By: Patrick Martin
Tags: Electronics, Projects

Rebalance — single coils edition

Magnets are “tricky”, science tells us.

Spoiler: no

Messing around with the Washburn, I noticed that for some pickups, the top 2 strings, in particular were weak.

Time to check positioning

Before

Lateral alignment: good

Why didn’t this guitar come with a trembucker?!

Vertical alignment: a little off

Side view: trust me that the pickups were closer to the bass strings

Fix

These pickups are screwed to the body, to remove yet another unwanted resonance or form of clunking noise.

Re-fitting should do the trick: the relative balances are about right.

After

Lateral alignment: still good

Dang — really need a trembucker

Vertical alignment: better

After adjustment

A different view to show how much more parallel the profile of the pickups is

Results

Magnets are “tricky”, science tells us.

I was going to generate a plot to show how even a small difference in distance could accumulate to weakening the signal from one side of the strings.

That, it turns out is a tricky calculation: it’s probably better to remember that the signal will drop off inversely to between the distance squared and distance cubed, so even a few millimetres can seriously unbalance the signal from the strings.

Instead, here are the recordings and the waveforms.

We can see that the top strings went from being noticeably absent to well matched. Some strings still dominate — that can’t be easily helped. However, its best to remember that the ear can be forgiving and we don’t need perfect matching, merely ensuring the strings are close enough.
Things to consider while purchasing electronics online
By: Wassim Dossani
Tags: Stumpler, Apple Macbook, Apple Imac Pro, Electronics, Kids

With the various technological advancements that have come our way, and the beginning of the digital age, most businesses have now shifted online. From clothing to furniture, property, and even groceries, you can buy anything online. In this age of online marketing, the sale of electronic devices has also shifted to the internet.

When buying electronics though, there are a lot of points to consider when making the purchase online. How will you ensure the quality of the product? How will you ensure that the product isn’t faulty or damaged? How will you check if it actually works?

Here, we provide you with some important tips to consider while purchasing an electronic device from the web.

1. Manufacturer Warranty

The most important thing to consider when buying any electronic device, is its Warranty. Now there are two types of Warranties to consider. The Seller’s Warranty, and the Manufacturer’s Warranty.

The Sellers Warranty is usually provided by the retailer you are buying the product from. This means that you can contact the retailer for any repairs or maintenance services after the product has been purchased.

When purchasing the product online though, the kind of warranty you should be focusing more on is the Manufacturer’s Warranty which is provided by the products manufacturers of the product themselves.

2. The Reputation of the Website

This rule works for any type of online purchase. It’s very important to determine the credibility and reliability of the website or online retailer you are buying the product from. The best sign of their credibility is their reputation in the market. The reputation is largely influenced by their consumers and the consumer’s honest reviews about the products they have bought. Head over to Laptops & Desktops to find your dream device online because they offer the best quality products.

3. Right Model Number/Name

It’s very important to “know” the product before you seek to buy it from anywhere. You should know the exact model number and name of the product that you are about to purchase. Research the product thoroughly, know all possible details about it before you set out to actually buy it.

4. Review of the Product

Online reviews are the best and most honest kind of information you gain about any product. There are always tech reviewers present who can gain access to a product even before it is released to the market. Not only can they give you expert insight about the device’s many specifications and what each of them means in lay-man language, but also, they can show you how the product functions in a hands-on experience.

5. Replacement Guarantee

Another most important point to consider when buying an electronic device online is to check if the website offers replacement guarantee. This means that they will replace the product in case it’s damaged during shipping or delivery, it gets lost, or the product simply does not work. The replacement guarantee is an essential service that an online electronic retailer must provide the customers with.
Battle of the titans Ipad Pro Vs Laptop
Tags: Apple, Computers, Review, Electronics, Technology

Battle of the titans Ipad Pro Vs Laptop

Photo by Dose Media on Unsplash

The latest iPad Pro has got many of us. Asking the question, do we even need a laptop anymore?

For many of us, the answer would be no. The last thing the iPad was missing is a mouse and now it has one.

As a business tool, especially for anyone who travels. Its the perfect solution.

Quicker than many basic laptops, the last thing the Ipad needed. Was that ability to manipulate documents and spreadsheets with a mouse.

Now that it has that with the new trackpad. It should be world domination time.

I’m an engineer in daily life and my Ipad has now become my go-to machine. I can hook it up to a monitor when I’m at home.

Using the apple pencil and the correct apps, I can draw 2d and 3d CAD drawings. Quicker and easier than I ever could on a PC.

Yes, when I’m traveling it is a little harder, but the 11" model isn’t that much smaller in screen size to most laptops.

Travelling is where it all comes into its own. I carry a small lightweight iPad with one charge cable. That and my phone I don’t need anything else.

My external hard drive, replaced by the cloud. No more bulky drives, cables, etc.

My phone and my Ipad, both sync to each other and charge on the same cable.

Easier packing, and easier going through airports.

The only issue I still have is the MS project. It isn’t supported on the Ipad which means I’m back to excel. That’s ok it works great with the trackpad. Plus in excel a well-executed template makes up for no project!

I have to say I’m very happy with the Ipad pro and trackpad. For me, it does what I need it to do and I see no need to go back to a laptop.

So while it does depend on what you use your machine for. I think that finally, the iPad has overtaken the laptop. For me its the better and smarter buy today.
Is Arduino that much easy for you?
Tags: DIY, Electronics, Arduino

Write a library, that can support all forms of actuators, servo, dc motor, or stepper motor etc or it also can be AC motor. The library should be able to take basic parameters from the user, and make the motor work as per user requirements.

In this we can enter degree of rotation required in a given time for a dc motor, or number of steps for a stepper motor.

The library that includes some mechanism to find number of rotations made by the motor(using some encoder)

Write a library to convert data from accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometers to appropriate quaternion values. Then with time, provide appropriate angle of movement of all three axes. Optimize the code such that the everyone can use without any difficulties

Write a library for LCDs. Not LCD of one type. Write it for most of them. From character LCD to Graphic to OLED. Bonus point if both SPI and I2C forms are supported. Extra bonus points if they can be used on any pin of the arduino.

Parallelize between two or more arduino. Make them Slaves in SPI/I2C modes. Heck if possible, define your own software based protocol if you find it easier.
Will The PS5 Be The Next Revolution in Gaming?
Tags: Electronics, Gaming, Culture, Games, Technology

As we look forward to the release of the next PlayStation, what comes next?

Photo by Teddy Guerrier on Unsplash

The latest PlayStation the PS5 is due for release later this year.

So what do we know about the most anticipated console release in years?

On the 25th anniversary of the original will it revolutionize the way we game?

Only time will tell of course, but the signs are good. The teasers from Sony point to a new machine with a whole bunch of new tech.

Stuff like 4k and HDR TV compatibility will change the game. The graphics are set to leap forward. Things like depth of color and individual rays of light on the screen are going to be possible.

That’s not only going to make games seem more lifelike. It’s also going to give us a feeling of deeper game immersion.

The processors are also going to move the game on. Quicker gaming, quicker loading, and downloading.

Adaptive triggers in the control and what they call a 3d soundscape. Will make us feel like we are in the game.

All sounds good and once again the PlayStation represents a pivotal moment in gaming.

The revolution is here, long live the PlayStation!
Grand Theft Auto, The Game That Shocked The World
Tags: Electronics, Games Writing, Gaming, Culture, Technology

Grand Theft Auto, The Game That Shocked The World

Photo by Marcreation on Unsplash

Sex, drugs, rock n roll, and robbery.

Normal themes in gaming today. Back in 97 when the first GTA appeared. It was all very shocking.

GTA was shocking and thrilling in equal measure. Here was a game that did 3 things:

It had simple platform graphics and feel to it. That made it simple to play. The helicopter view meant it was fun but not immersive.

All that violence was quite bloodless. This gave the game a fantasy feel.

So many criminal acts, in a platform game. It was something we had never seen before. It also allowed people to fulfill some pretty dark fantasies.

It was also one of the last games which played and looked different between PC and console.

My dad bought it for the PC and I remember how different it was, like nothing we had played before. As a teenager, it was so much fun. My mum, of course, had a quite different opinion!

Playing it later on a PlayStation was a disappointment. The difference between PC and console versions was huge.

Since then, of course, there have been many follow-ups and spin off’s. None though were quite as simple and fun as the original.

None have been quite so controversial either.

The original GTA, made in my home country of Scotland. Changed the gaming landscape and what we thought possible forever.
Playing Video Games, the Changes in Gaming Culture
Tags: Electronics, Gaming, Games Consoles, Culture, Technology

Playing Video Games, the Changes in Gaming Culture

Photo by Alexey Savchenko on Unsplash

This will show my age, but I started gaming in the late ’80s with a Sega mega drive.

Gaming culture was very different from what it is now, especially for kids and teens.

There was generally one T.V in the house so gaming was on our parent’s schedule.

The games were also different. Even the most advanced platform games were basic by today’s mobile app standards. They were also for the time extremely expensive.

The first big change probably came in the mid-’90s with the PlayStation. A console that was cheaper with far better games and graphics. Those games were also cheaper.

The real change in gaming culture around this time was that we could afford a T.V in the bedroom.

Cheaper consumer electronics opened up gaming for us for the first time. No longer chained down by our parent’s schedule we could games when we wanted.

The gaming experience itself changed. The graphics improved, the games became harder and as a result, became much more immersive.

Fast forward to today and it’s changing again. The latest consoles blurring the line between console and computer. Games like fortnight and Minecraft. Are changing things again with their format and immersive universe.

In the last 35 years or so there has been a huge development in gaming consoles themselves and gaming as a hobby. Where we will be in another 10 or 15 years who know, but I’m excited to take the journey and see where it takes us.
Planned Obsolescence, or “why I stopped buying Philips products”
By: Krzysztof Chudoba
Tags: Philips, Environment, Battery, Planned Obsolescence, Electronics

About two years ago I bought a rechargeable beard trimmer/clipper from Philips. It was working reasonably well in the beginning — the battery was holding up for about 2–3 trimming sessions without recharge. Fast forward to today — the rechargeable batteries are basically dead. After charging, the device works for about 30s before it turns itself off. “Well, what do you expect?”, I thought to myself , “batteries lose their capacity over time — just plug it to the power outlet and use it while it’s plugged in!”

Well… here’s the first surprise — the clipper doesn’t work while it is charging!

What does this mean? It means that the device is basically useless at this point. Even though the clipper motor and blades are still good and working well, the whole thing can be thrown out, since it has no power to start.

Now, I thought that the battery they used would be some kind of special, custom designed model, made to fit the small enclosure. Imagine my surprise, once I (forcefully) opened the enclosure and saw the actual “battery” used— 2 simple, standard AAA rechargeable batteries!

WTF? Really?! — was my reaction.

Why would they use such small and shitty batteries? And why wouldn’t they allow people to simply replace the batteries? (you know, like we do with remote controllers and… less and less devices nowadays… sigh)

It’s in the genes

At about the same time (2–3 years ago) I bought another Philips product — a bluetooth speaker (model BT3500). And guess what? It had a suspiciously similar life story as the beard trimmer. It was working quite OK when it was new, but after some time, the speaker had to be charged more and more often. About 5 months ago I completely gave up on it’s “portability” and just kept using it while it was connected to the charger. Hey, at least it was still working while charging, right? Well, not so fast— recently it began to have difficulties to turn itself on — even while charging. Right now, it is basically useless, even though the speakers, and electronics inside would still work just fine, they don’t, because the speaker doesn’t start.

So I did what I always do with “broken” stuff — I opened it, to see if I can fix it. What did I find inside? A single Lithium-Ion battery cell — type 18650. OK, this one is perhaps less known than the AA or AAA batteries, but in fact, they are used in a LOT of battery-powered devices and power banks. And you can get one on Amazon or Ebay for about 3–5 bucks. But Philips doesn’t want you to.
Evercade Review- The Retro Handheld has Arrived
By: James Cosby
Tags: Retro Gaming, Gaming, Videogames, Electronics, Technology

After many delays, the Evercade finally arrived to my home. It’s interesting because I was super excited about the Evercade and pre-ordered it as soon as I found out what it was (a handheld gaming device that plays retro cartridges filled with retro games). As time passed and the delays mounted up, I considered cancelling the order multiple times. The system and the game carts cost me around $200 shipped. I purchased the Deluxe bundle that came with 3 game cartridges and then grabbed every available cart on Amazon at the time. The price is fair but as the pandemic raged on and my job security wavered, it was hard justifying the purchase. I can confidently say at this point that I am happy I didn’t cancel the order.

The Packaging is Gorgeous

The first thing you will notice when you open the Evercade is the packaging. It’s so striking! I felt like a kid seeing this amazing box with a picture of the system itself and then an explosion of every game’s box art and logo around it. I found myself looking at the games and wondering if they are available yet and just the nostalgia burst of seeing the images. One of my favorite experiences growing up was staring at the Sega Genesis box art and fantasizing about the games on the box that I don’t have. The amazing packaging extends to the game carts too. They are beautiful showcases of the companies and games inside. Each game has a full color manual and the carts themselves have great art on them as well.

This is an example of one of the manuals

Set up is easy. Jam in a cart (more on that later), turn the console on and play. It’s fantastic. There is no setting up your WiFi or figuring out settings. This is a gift you can give a kid or an adult who hasn’t touched a game since the Atari 2600 was new. You will be playing within minutes of picking the system up. From a software standpoint, things are simple. Each cart has a menu where you scroll through the games left to right and you hit the “A” button on what you want to play. The emulation is decent. I have only found a few problems with the games. The biggest flaw I have found is in the game Top Racer. When you hit the nitro button the car just explodes forward and never stops. The nitro never stops blasting and you can’t lose. It breaks the game. I also feel like the games runs a little slower than it’s SNES counterpart but I can’t confirm that. Every game on the Evercade has save states available which is a quality of life feature that improves all of the retro games dramatically. Save states make punishingly hard games beatable, and they make RPGs more accessible. No need for password systems anymore and that alone is valuable. All of the button mapping is done on the software side. There is no universal button mapping on a system level. You have to go into each game’s menu and see if you can map the buttons. It’s not a huge deal because most games only use 2 or 3 buttons but as more complex game become available this will become more of a problem.
Chatbots Life
By: Paramjeet Singh
Tags: Telegram Bot, Communication, Electronics, Messanger, Bots

We can use telegram as a bot also with some lines of code in ESP8266/ESP32/ESP01 by arduino IDE which is designed to code in C language.

Step-1 (Creating Bot)

Install “Telegram” app on your smartphone from your play store or apple store. Sign Up if you are going to use it for the first time with your country code and mobile number. It will ask for OTP code for verification.

Trending Chatbot Articles:

1. Knowledge graphs and Chatbots — An analytical approach. 2. Blender Vs Rasa open source chatbots 3. Picture my voice 4. Chat bots — A Conversational AI

After successfully sign up, search for BotFather and open it. Open BotFather and click on RESTART for creating your bot as shown in screenshot below. It will show set of codes which can be used to create and edit bots. Type “/newbot” in the text section for creating new bot.

Step-2 (Installing Telegram Library in Arduino IDE)

To integrate telegram in Arduino code, there is a library for that, to install it open Arduino IDE and Go to Sketch -> Include Library -> Manage Libraries

Search for “Telegram” in the Library Manager and install UniversalTelegramBot by Brian Lough.

Step-3 (Installing JSON Library in Arduino IDE)

On the same Library Manager sear for “json“. Install ArduinoJson by Benoit Blanchon. Select Version 5.13.5 DO NOT select any higher version (6.x.x ). Higher versions have compatibility issues and the code will not respond. This library is used for parsing json from the API responses.

How it Works?

First we create a telegram bot. Telegram has this good feature which allows to create custom bots and connect it using API’s. The bot provides a bot token which is added in the code. After saving we will upload the code in NodeMCU. Once the nodemcu gets connected with internet, then it is ready to take inputs from telegram app.

As per the code /start will start the bot. The bot will send below response for the first time.

Welcome to Universal Arduino Telegram Bot,

/ledon : to switch the Led ON

/ledoff : to switch the Led OFF

/status : Returns current status of LED

You can tap on /ledon and it will turn on the LED and /ledoff for switching off LED.

Download code from github.
How to Skip Forward, Skip Backward, Volume Control in Your AirPods Pro
By: Vinod Sharma
Tags: Airpods, How To, Gadgets, Airpods Pro, Electronics

How to Skip Forward, Skip Backward, Volume Control in Your AirPods Pro

In this article, you will learn Apple AirPods Pro tips & tricks so that you can easily do common tasks such as skip forward, skip backwards, and volume control.

In the AirPods Pro, you control things by pressing the stems. The stems of the AirPods pro is the bottom section that looks like a flat rectangle. These are not buttons but a pressure-sensitive area and will feel like buttons.
How I made a PCB Prototype in 1 Week
By: Aaron Yong
Tags: Pcb, Makers, Prototyping, Electronics, Pcb Design

When I first started out attempting to make PCB prototypes for little projects at my own expense, I was usually concern with a couple of things:

Is there a free easy-to-use, accessible software tool? How much would it cost just to fabricate a few PCBs?

With those 2 questions in mind, I have found the right tools and makers that would allow me to make PCB prototypes at a low cost, and be able to see my final goods within a week. Hopefully, sharing this experience of mine would help some find an easy way into making PCB prototypes at a low-cost and within a short time!

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by any of the vendors that I am going to discuss about in this article.

Schematic and PCB designer tool:

EasyEDA is an online-based free schematic and PCB designer tool. After registering an account, you could basically create project files that would contain your schematic and PCB drawings. This means that you could start designing and drawing without the need to download a software. Furthermore, I like that I could access my drawings from any computer, as the files are all stored on EasyEDA’s web.

As a start, I usually have a project file structure such as this:

And I would usually start off by drawing out my schematic:

Another good thing about this web tool is that I could create components and upload to its cloud library, and also use components from its library:

By clicking on Libraries at the left panel, a pop-up of the cloud libraries come up.

Once I believe the schematic is ready, I would move on to drawing out the PCB. This is done by clicking ‘Convert to PCB’ on the top panel:

Doing so would generate a PCB tab that allows me to start laying-out the components and define the PCB outlines, silkscreens, and so on.

I won’t go into detail into the drawing process, as EasyEDA has a good forum coupled with some tutorial webpages on how to use their tools:

My PCB drawing end result looks like this:

PCB Fabrication:

Once I am pleased with the layouts, I usually generate the gerber files from the layout drawings tab, and move on to the PCB fabrication ordering process.

The PCB fabricator that I use is JLCPCB:

Image source from jlcpcb.com

Mainly because they offer to fabricate 2 layered PCBs as low as $2/5pcs — that’s crazy! One thing to mention is the pricing does not usually include delivery fees. Usually, I would be paying about 10$ for 5pcs of PCBs, as I reside in Singapore, and JLCPCB is situated in China. Therefore, you might experience a different end pricing depending on the size of your PCB and the delivery address that you’ve put in.

I have tried out this service multiple times, and it has not disapointed at all. I am usually able to receive my PCBs within a week’s time of ordering.

Final Goods:
The most sustainable phone you’ve never heard of!
Tags: Shiftphone, Design, Sustainability, Smartphones, Electronics

Photo by Shiftphone

Today, we would love to introduce to you: the Shiftphone! Made by a passion-driven start-up in Germany, the Shiftphone is, unlike most phones, eco-friendly in many ways, while maintaining a sleek, clean and elegant design. Here’s why the phones are sustainable: For the production, they work together with fair and safe mines and have an office in china, where they assemble the phones. There, the workers have amazing working conditions, unlike anywhere else in china. It’s actually more sustainable to get that done in China, since most pieces are made there anyway.⠀

Photo by Shiftphone

Now here’s the coolest part: The products are designed to be modular, which means, that every user can easily repair their phone themselves, without having to pay much for the replacing parts. This is also a great way to optimize your phone, if you aren’t happy with, for example, the current camera. However, if you really want to get rid of your phone, you can send it back to them, you will receive money back and they will try to reuse as many parts as possible. Other parts are being recycled.

We really feel like Shiftphones are sustainable in every part and have a great future ahead. They even have all the details on where their money goes, how/where the different parts are being produced, online and available for everyone! Hopefully other brands are inspired by this and will act similarly in the future as well.

What do you think? Would you give up your smartphone that you own at the moment for a shiftphone?
Samsung: The Future of Connected Devices Lies in Experiences
By: Gina Clarke
Tags: Connected Devices, Samsung, IoT, Connected Technology, Connected Home

David Euan of Samsung Next speaks at Web Summit, Lisbon

In a 20-minute talk on the centre stage at Web Summit in Lisbon last week, it was the turn of Samsung Next President David Eun to give his view on what lies ahead.

Despite the news that Netflix may not work on some Samsung TVs from later this week, it is the job of Eun and his team to look years into the future. Together, they take horizon scanning to the next level and forecast a better and brighter future for your living room.

From watching the sunset in Hawaii to being part of a live-action sequence, Samsung Next imagine a time where your TV could become as important as the Star Trek holo deck.

The focus on experiences come from new surveys, such as 48% of millennials say they attend live events just so they have something to share on social media. This is combined with a 20-year survey from Cornell that suggests people gain more happiness from experiences than purchased items.

With the advancement of technology such as the 5G rollout and the news that 2020 will herald 30 billion connected devices, you can see why the company is re-envisioning your living room.

Facebook has launched Portal for that very reason, being able to connect with your family and friends in your own home while they may be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Watch parties on Facebook are already popular, being able to stream a live concert or enjoying a movie together on a high definition TV, while apart, is a future that is really just moments away.

Networks themselves are currently experimenting with the quality of broadcasts, especially in sport. Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch highlighted that the recent Rugby World Cup was broadcast in 8K and has given a commitment to continuing broadcasting sports in high quality as well as a drop in price, something that they hope will continue to retain customers.

With the advance of voice recognition, Samsung Next also foresee a future where the question will become not how many devices are voice-controlled, but how many are not? This would allow your TV to potentially interact with streaming capabilities. We’ve already seen Black Mirror on Netflix host its own version of Bandersnatch in 2018, soon it may be possible to interact with the programmes we watch each episode and help shape the future of our favourite characters.

Equally, our hardware doesn’t just have to provide experiences when requested, with voice recognition it also includes listening skills, turning your TV into a security guard on the watch for intruders or the sound of broken glass. Something that Alexa is already capable of doing now.

Paired with the ability to transform your living room from an intimate movie theatre to a packed stadium, the final thoughts from Samsung Next were that experiences will shape the direction of new hardware and software, but with 5G and connected devices already blossoming, it’s not a future that is too far away.
2020 Year in Review — Year of Calm
By: Krista Aoki
Tags: Personal Development, Goal Setting, Self Improvement, Personal Growth, Year In Review

2020 Year in Review — Year of Calm

At the beginning of 2020, I chose a word to set my intention for the year: calm.

It’s funny that a turbulent year like 2020 followed.

Curveballs from 2020 taught me how to ground myself and focus on what I can control in order to be calm.

2020 threw me, like the rest of the world, many curveballs. I spent nearly 4 months of it at home due to voluntary social distancing, strict lockdowns, and depression. But those turbulent times taught me how to ground myself and focus on what I can control in order to be calm.

Although I’ve spent the past three years living abroad and travelling as a digital nomad, I planted roots in Vietnam this year due to covid.

Of course, I miss my family and friends back home.

But I’ve taken the opportunity to approach 2020 as a year of looking inward, discovering what it means to be myself, and exploring how to design my ideal life.

Hoi An, Vietnam — where I moved in August

Writing this, I acknowledge how privileged and fortunate I am. I’m blessed with a normal life in a country with zero community cases of covid, I have relative job stability, and I have a supportive network of human beings around the world. I am grateful.

Why Write a Year in Review?

This is my first annual review! When I sat down to write one last year, every category (relationships, health, career, and development) related back to my then-recent decision to explore sobriety. Instead of writing a formal Year in Review, I wrote about finding myself through sobriety instead.

Writing a Year in Review can be better than setting a goal you probably won’t stick to beyond January. This is because you take the time to reflect about what worked for you in the past year, and what didn’t, and set intentions based on that.

I chose four categories that shape my ideal life: relationships, health, career + finances, and personal development. Under each category, I asked myself questions like:

What went well?

What didn’t go well?

How would I like to improve next year?

I’m taking this time to think about moments I enjoyed, commitments I dreaded, and activities that made me happy.

Friends, Family + Relationships

I’ve spent the majority of my adulthood prioritizing the relationship with a significant other in my life.

About halfway through the year, I went through a weird breakup. Without going into details, this was a profound period of the year for me — and it was during this period I realized not only did I lose myself to the relationship, but I also failed to put in the work to build new friendships since moving to Vietnam.

1–2 months later, I moved to the small Vietnamese city of Hoi An with the intention of making new friends. I immediately joined a coworking space, which introduced me to an uplifting community of people who work online and inspire me in their own unique ways.
Being a Distinguished Toastmaster
By: Sara Marks
Tags: Communication Skills, Goal Setting, Public Speaking, Professional Speaking, Toastmasters

Photo by William Moreland on Unsplash

It’s almost the new year and, as I assess my goal accomplishment for this chaotic year, I also reflect on the ways I work to accomplish those goals. Toastmasters has been an off and on part of my professional development. I’ve been a member for at least 10 of the last 20 years. I’ve completed the education program twice, earning the status of Distinguished Toastmaster.

Last week, after my post about outcome and output goals, I realized I can often get obsessively focused on output goals without thinking of them as a means to the outcome goal. When I joined Toastmasters I did it for personal and professional reasons. I was new to a city that was far away from my family. Joining a local organization helped me meet people and I could use professional development funds to pay for my membership when I had very little income to afford other purely social items.

Professionally I joined to improve my communication skills. I was already a confident speaker but I struggled (and somewhat still do) to develop a message and speak clearly. I can talk all day but I need to make sure I’m saying something worth listening to. Toastmasters was critical for me to learn this skill.

Their education program is an output goal. There is a checklist of what you need to do to accomplish the goal. None are very difficult, primarily focusing on speaking in meetings and serving in leadership roles to your club or the greater organization. I’m very good at reviewing an objective checklist, where everyone has to do the same things, and achieving each one to check it off. I love to check off items on a to-do list. Within six years I had completed the program twice and was working on a third round.

Then I asked myself why? Why was I going to do this a third time? Was I still learning skills? What would be gained by having three DTMs, rather than 2?

I had gotten a new job, had moved 45 minutes away, was burnt out, and trying to figure out what my new life looked like. I needed to test these skills beyond Toastmasters. My goal wasn’t about Toastmasters, but my life beyond the club. I had been successful at both my goals.

It took six more years for me to come back to the organization. By then I had new goals and new speaking skills to learn.

Coming back to the organization, with new goals, has been interesting. I had other priorities that kept me away from the club, except in the summer but during this year I was able to attend meetings virtually. It allowed me the chance to speak more and sharpen my communication skills. It was exciting to see how many things I learned that I still do as a speaker. It’s likely this will be a major part of my process to reach my goals.

I’ll be talking about it here because they’ve changed their education program in the last few years. It's a very interesting change and it’s pushing me to think about my goals in new ways.

Have you ever been a member of Toastmasters? Tell me about your experience in the comments!
5 Goals That Always Seem Like Great Ideas But Weren’t Worth My Time
By: Rachael Kable
Tags: Personal Development, Lifestyle, Goal Setting, Goals, Personal Growth

5 Goals That Always Seem Like Great Ideas But Weren’t Worth My Time

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

In 2020, I set a few goals that weren’t really worth my time. I remember having good intentions when I set them, but it became clear they weren’t right as they started to unfold. Even as a perfectionist, I’m pretty glad these goals didn’t work out the way I’d hoped.

So, if you’re looking for goal-setting inspiration, I’m here to give you a word of advice — don’t set any of the following goals. Like me, you might find yourself feeling frustrated, disappointed, or unfulfilled.
What’s Your Idea of Success? Really.
By: Barbara Hinther
Tags: Mental Health, Spirituality, Goal Setting

One of my welcome neighbors. Handsome, ain’t he?

The more I participate on Medium, the more I learn. And realize I’m at a much slower pace than the superstars. My goals are not to make the most money, receive honors, become the most viewed and clapped (please feel free to do so, though). At this stage in my life, my goal is to help someone, encourage someone, listen to someone. Maybe those are the goals we all have underneath the career goals. The goals that last.

I was not a writer, except during my career as a copywriter, PowerPoint presenter and business letter writer. No college degree, yet I entered the marketing field creating and selling radio, television and newspaper advertising. What a fun time! I had no idea I was successful, but I was.

Someone asked me what success meant to me because I was depressed over a couple of relatives coming to visit. Their idea of success was a big salary, college degree, awards and a McMansion in a big city. Why would they visit me?

That success question knocked me on my butt! I never really considered it. Here comes soul-searching and the realization I was successful by my own standards. I had a career in rural Idaho that I loved and love. What beauty! Weekends were discovering Idaho. Horses for the grand-kids to ride. Crickets and tree-frogs singing at night. A great little bar and grill in my little town of about 300 with community. A loving marriage. Health. Savings and retirement. Humble home paid for.

Did my relatives concur with my idea of success? Probably not. I loved my life! Yes! This was success!

A few years later, my husband got sick with Lewy Body Dementia. I became a full-time caregiver. Good-bye career. Good-bye financial security. Enter loneliness and fear. Hello widowhood. What was true success now? What could I leave for my loved one should I be outta here?

The same things I had before tragedy tore me and my life into shreds. The same things that truly last. We all face tragedy and loss someday.

Here are the anchors, the accomplishments I held onto during the dark times:

Love. My friends, kids and grand kids have in their heart that they had/have love, experiences, laughter and acceptance that will grow and be with them, their kids and grand kids. It’s okay to make mistakes, learn and get back on the horse that threw them.

2. Money. I can’t take it with me. If what I leave helps their lives and communities, it’s money well spent. A gift is for the receiver to decide. It all works out.

3. Faith. Everyone faces a dark night where one feels alone, confused and rejected. Health fails, money evaporates, death comes. All come with incomprehensible grief. Friends, family and enemies will abandon and reject sometime in life. People, money, status and things come and go. I have stumbled, but faith brought me back and better. May they hold this dear when dark times come.

Just a reminder as we hustle through life, to keep your eye on the real prize, but don’t forget the real treasures in your life.
The “But Why?” Strategy for Early Morning Domination
By: Daniel P. Donovan
Tags: Personal Development, Morning, Morning Routines, Goal Setting, Personal Growth

The “But Why?” Strategy for Early Morning Domination

Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash

So you want to wake up early, huh?

Become an early riser?

Join the ranks of the 5 AM Club?

Okay, okay — maybe you don’t want to wake up that early. Maybe an hour or two earlier will do.

If that’s the case, I’ve got you covered.

Because today, we’re talking about one of the oldest wake up early strategies in the book:

Know Your Why

Like I said, this is one of the most common wake up early strategies out there.

In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a YouTube video or article that didn’t preach this as one of the methods.

The only problem is, when it comes to peeling yourself out of bed in the morning, it’s a limited strategy, at best.

And it’s a limited strategy because it makes you fight against your desire to stay in bed. You need ample motivation and willpower to make it work. Which, in reality, is something few people actually have.

BUT, there is some merit to this strategy, as well — which is why I’m writing about it right now.

So how does it work?

First, you need to spend some time thinking about “why” you actually want to get up early.

Do you want to work on your business? Do you want to work on your health? Do you want to take advantage of quiet time in the morning when no one else is awake?

What is your big “why” for wanting to do this?

You’ve thought about waking up early. You want to wake up early. But what is that big reason why you actually want to do it?

The more clear you can get on this, the easier it will be to use as motivation to pull you out of bed.

But a word of warning:

This strategy is nowhere near a ‘nuclear’ option. Meaning if you absolutely must get out of bed, this isn’t a strategy to rely on. It can (and should) be used in conjunction with other strategies.

But if you ever want to make waking up early a “habit”…

And if you ever want to wake up feeling motived and inspired…

Knowing your why is something you’ll have to nail down eventually.

So start thinking about it, but don’t rely on it completely.

And as you do, may your mornings get a little easier every day.
Understanding Output and Outcome Goals In Order To…
By: Sara Marks
Tags: Smart Goals, Output Goal, Goal Setting, Goals, Outcome Goal

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Fifteen years ago I did an immersive educational experience designed to teach librarians how to develop better teaching skills. One of the activities was setting outcomes for our programs and workshops. As we worked on setting these outcomes, we were taught to do two things:

1- to think about what we wanted people to do able to do because of our programs.

2- to use Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs to describe the actions of these outcomes.

I’ve used this process for years when it comes to the work I do in libraries but rarely for setting personal goals. That is until my friend Rona mentioned a workshop she did. The person teaching the workshop talked about setting outcome goals instead of output goals. It got me thinking about my goals, across my life, which are outcome and which are output.

What is the output goal?

It is a SMART goal — specific, measurable, assignable, relevant, and time based.

There’s nothing wrong with these goals but we have been trained to only set these types of goals. It’s about what we can produce — our output.

What is an outcome goal?

It’s a big picture, performative goal. Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs may be good to use if you’re trying to learn something new but there are plenty of other verbs you can use to create an outcome goal.

I spent a lot of that day thinking about my main outcome goal. I tend to think very big about this goal. Big in the sense of where I want to be when I die.

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

It’s Paris, by the way. With Oxford in the UK as a back-up plan.

This was never a SMART goal. It has always been my ultimate goal. I do everything I do in order to retire to Paris.

I work to advance my librarian career so I have enough money to retire and can move to Paris with a skill that could allow me to work if necessary.

I write so I have some creative output that will keep me engaged when I move to Paris… and provide a small income.

It’s that phrase “in order to” that is important to an outcome goal. You are doing one thing, in order to do another.

You can have both output and outcome goals. I have found the output goals are tasks to accomplish the outcome. For me, I’m working to publish fifty books in order to generate income during my retirement.

The output goals are fifty books to be published by me before 2041 (when I turn 65 and retire).

So far I have published thirteen books and have a plan to publish 2–3 each year. That should take about 18 years to accomplish. This is a realistic goal with wiggle room to adjust it as I get a better sense of possible income from my books and to see if I have enough ideas for 50 books.

What about you? Do you set outcome goals or only output one? If you have an outcome goal, I’d love to learn about what you’re working toward in your life! Share it in the comments.
Goal Setting for Authors
By: Laura Winter
Tags: Writing, Goal Setting, Goals, Authorpreneur, Authors

Goal Setting for Authors

We wrap up 2020 and the first season of the Author Bound podcast talking about setting goals and how to set yourself up for a successful new year. Check out our blog and share your goals for 2021. We’ll see you next year!