Taking calls on any computer (Apple or PC)

Today Apple announced a new feature on the next Mac OS that works only with Macs and iPhones but I have been doing for a long time with any cell phone and any computer.

Here are the simple steps to do the same thing. All you need is a US cell phone number, Google Voice (free), the Google Chrome browser and Hangouts for Chrome.

1. Get a free Google Voice account and link it to your cell phone number.

2. Install the Hangouts plugin for Chrome.

3. Configure Google voice to ring your Hangouts account.

Now, any time someone calls your phone, you can answer it from your computer. True, you have to be running your browser, but you are most likely running it anyway,  so not really an extra effort. Plus, you are not limited to only using a Mac and an iPhone.  It works combining any device pairs. Mac computer or iPad ir iPhone or Android or BlackBerry.  The phine device doesn't matter, nor does the computer.

In fact, you can combine multiple devices not only two.

So, there you have it. How to do it without waiting for the next Mac OS release or even needing a Mac at all.

Don't get me wrong, Macs are my computers of choice, but I am also realistic. Not the only hardware to do magical things with. I have a Galaxy S4 and an iPhone but the phone device is irrelevant.

Enjoy the tip.

The 2014 México journey

First post in a long time. I simply forget to stop enjoying life to do more stuff on the computer.

This week's adventure was in Cancun Mexico.

More details when I recover from the sunburns and exhaustion.

Godspeed!

Work-life balance at the core of our values

I have no idea why, but suddenly I started thinking about how I split my time between work and personal time, a.k.a. play. So before coming up with an answer, I thought, "let me take a look at how one of the most well known technology companies (rhymes with -oogle) showcases their "Life at Work".

They pride themselves in 5 major categories. 1. Doing cool things that matter, 2. Being big on culture and diversity, 3. Innovation, 4. Having one loud and single voice, and 5. Benefits. With that being said, I must admit, it's impressive. But, at Citrix, I've so far had the benefit of enjoying pretty much the same five categories at a level that is truly second to none.

For example, cool things that matter. As a design-oriented company, more and more Citrites are looking at how to solve big worldwide business problems in cool new ways. Most, if not all the products and services teams are at the forefront of mission-critical applications for all types of industries. From banking to healthcare, to education, we provide some of the coolest and most productive solutions, that allow companies to improve considerably meeting their business goals as well as flexibility working in and outside the traditional workplace environment.

We innovate and collaborate with people and companies of all business categories and pride ourselves on not only being profitable, but making worldwide positive changes. Our benefits are amongst the best on all industries in and out of the office and the culture is always striving for the best possible outcome.

So back to my original point. I think at this moment, I am being consistent when it comes to balancing the time I spend working and the time I spend living my personal life. All because I joined Citrix back in June of 2010.

If you want to know how we make a positive impact in the world, visit this page that has some of our customer success stories: http://www.citrix.com/customers/featured.html

By the way, I figured out what my first new adventure for 2014 will be. This weekend is my birthday, and to give myself a treat I "gifted" myself using only accumulated Amazon points, so for "free" I ordered my very first Raspberry PI and a few goodies for it.

My first PI project will probably be creating a point-and-shoot camera with an LCD touchscreen. If that works well, next I will attempt to build a car computer that will hopefully be able to run radio, TV, DVD, GPS navigation and a custom dashboard  with custom digital gauges reading the data from the OBD port of the car's ECU.

Random thoughts

Hi,

It's been over a month since the previous post and it seems like the pace at the office is as hectic or even more than last year. But that's good. I am extremely grateful for the work I do.

I know people that are qualified to be working but the job market is just not that great, still. I have plenty of interesting projects to work on during this quarter. Interesting, being the keyword.

My first three years working at Citrix have been extremely valuable. I have learned new business strategies and processes, and also increased my knowledge around technical expertise on several fronts.

On a personal level, I have been thinking of doing something new and exciting this year but I have not decided what it will be. Perhaps creating some new technology implementation or finding some time to get my VFR pilot license or go back to racing on the Florida road course race tracks. We'll see.

That's all I have for now.

At least some new content. Like anyone cares. . . S4 vs. 5S

Well, about 20 days later and yet, no new information here. Let's change that. (I wonder if anyone reads this. I'll have to check GA metrics.) Anyway. . .

For the past couple of months I have been using two phones. My personal and recently, the office insisted I get a new mobile phone since I support a worldwide team in my efforts as admin of our marketing automation platform. I am not going to get into too many of the specifics, but I still like my personal device better.

My personal phone is a Galaxy S4. The company phone, a 5S. Honestly, I have been trying to stay objective and find the things that are really better on the 5S than on the S4, but I am sorry to say that I just can't justify saying that it is a better device. To me it feels like a toy when I compare it to the S4. Maybe it is because I am used to the S4, because in paper, the 5S kind of sounds like a better device. But to me, it is not.

Both phones can do the job perfectly well. When it comes to the basics, they both meet anyone's needs in my opinion. But when it comes to doing things that are really special, that's when I feel like the S4 is just ages ahead of the 5S. When I first got my S4, I thought a lot of the special features it has were unnecessary bells and whistles, but once you get used to them, it is very hard to let those features go.

Hopefully, it is clear that I am not a crazy fanatic of any brand or any device. But now that I have both phones in my possession, I feel like at least I am not just saying that the S4 is a lot better than the 5S. Now I say it based on my own personal experience using both devices.

Time will only tell if anything from the 5S changes my mind, but I honestly don't think that will happen. I always try to keep an open mind when it comes to meeting my technology needs. I like to get the best of whatever I have so I can do my job better, easier, or more fun. The same goes for play time.

So there you have it. I probably spent 15 or 20 minutes writing this, and if you actually read it, maybe it took you 2 minutes to get to the end. But hey, at least I took out the keyboard for a quick drive on this PTO day.

Let's see what's next. Now I am just going to take my Hayabusa out for a quick ride in this amazing Florida afternoon while most states on the east coast are covered in snow.

Later!

Planning what's next...

Today I realized, again, that I have neglected this page. Now I wonder what to do next. I am so busy with work that I hardly have time to add new content here. Tomorrow I will NOT be working (officially anyway), so if I come up with the next big idea, I will post it here.

Stay tuned, and come back for more. I will make it interesting. I'll try.

Chromecast and my living space

Today I finally got my hands on a brand new Chromecast. Sweet device. It took me about 30 seconds to set it up. I tested it with Google Play Music, You Tube, and casting my entire desktop screen. I am pretty far from my wifi router, and even then, the connection was solid.

The casting of the entire desktop is an experimental feature. I already see why. While sending my desktop to the Chromecast unit, the connection dropped twice. Tab casting was smooth though.

While I am sure this comments will not make it to the world wide news scene, I simply wanted to make mention of the Chromecast device, since I can see the value to a lot of people.

I actually don't need it, but being the technology addict I am, I just had to get it. Since I have a Google TV (courtesy of Google when they first came out, I applied for a developer sponsored unit, and I got it), an XBox, and my DirectTV set top box also go online, most of the features of the Chromecast were already covered. However, now I can also load up my MacBook Pro screen on the TV without having to use a cable. Unlike the Apple TV, this puppy works with Macs and PCs.

But for those that don't have any online-capable device connected to the bigger screen in the house, the Chromecast is a great alternative. I can also see the benefit of having such a tiny device with me during business trips. You never know when you might need to do an impromptu presentation at the hotel or local bar, and with the Chromecast, it's a piece of cake.

That's all I've got for now.