(Photo: D2D Creative) My son and I bond over a few things now that he's a teenager, one of them is Marvel movies. Like that's our thing, every movie, we watch the schedules and plan trips to the movies every time. So it was such a cool mom moment for me being able to take him to an advanced screening of Eternals. Now don't worry there aren't any spoilers here because I hate that too. Let's get into our experience because it was really a good night and a special screening. First, the screening wasn't held in a huge massive multi-screen theater but instead was in an intimate independent theater in Washington, DC, Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market. That added a level of exclusivity and chicness to the experience out the gate. Another thing that made this screening special is that it was hosted by Galludet University. Galludet is a research university for education of the deaf and hard of hearing, and many of the people in attendance used/spoke ASL. My son now wants to learn ASL, he said he thinks it's something everyone should know. Upon arrival we received popcorn and soda. Then we were lead to our theaters to be seated, but NOT before the security team took our phones and Apple Watch. To help combat piracy they hold your devices until after the movie. You get a ticket to claim it when you leave. But right before the film, there was a Q&A between one of the Eternals, Makkari played by Lauren Ridloff and Galludet Student Angel Piñero. Lauren Ridloff is the first Black and Mexican, Deaf superhero! Like that's huge! And her character is pretty cool in the movie, she's actually one of my favorites. (photo: D2D Creative) The film brings in the next group of heroes so well, it lets you get to know each one's story. The action scenes are so good, and graphics well it's Marvel, duh! What I love is how there's references to mythology through the Eternals, listen if you know me you KNOW I love Greek Mythology so I was having little inside laughs and "aha" moments the entire film. And I know you heard recently that theaters will start having captioned showings of films, this was one, and I enjoyed that because sometimes I miss a little dialogue. Now I'm not gonna hold you but if you've been to a Marvel film before you already know to get comfortable, well this isn't any different, the film has a run time of 2 hours and 37 mins. But it's worth every minute, and you have to stay for the post credit scenes...so let all the credits roll before you leave. I promised no spoilers, and there aren't any, but definitely go see Eternals in theaters today! Great outing for the family or your Marvel crew lol. Thank you to Marvel and Galludet University for the opportunity to see it early! https://youtu.be/x_me3xsvDgk

Photo by Alexander Suhorucov from Pexels It’s been a while and for that I apologize, but wanted to stop in and talk about securing your accounts, because well the hacking of accounts over the last year or so hasn’t gone down, it’s trending up.  One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is by enabling 2FA, Two Factor Authentication. Two Factor Authentication is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. So for example, you log in with your password, then you enter a code you receive to your phone or email. This adds another layer of security to your account. Most platforms/websites have this feature, how to enable it may vary from site to site. Another thing you may come across as an option when enabling two-factor authentication is using a token. This software (there’s also hardware options but those are phasing out) will generate a code for a site or application that changes every 60 seconds. You’d provide this code as the secondary means to log into your account. The best part about it being software or “soft” token is that you can’t loose it. Hence why the physical tokens are going away. It takes just a few minutes to setup 2FA on your accounts if nothing else start with your social media accounts as I see a lot of people losing access or being hacked. Here’s how for a few sites below: Instagram Facebook Twitter And you can also enable this functionality on your Wordpress site, there’s a couple of plugins, that help facilitate this, check them out here  It’s sometimes annoying to have to do that extra step but it’s that or you could lose your account, it happens a lot. Do you use Two Factor Authentication...if not what are you waiting on?

Photo by Lukas from Pexels So I'm not new to MacOS, I'm a happy convert lol. If you're new to Macs or have just been fiddling your way through since you switched from Windows, here are some tips, setup hacks that'll hopefully help. How do I right click? There's no buttons on the trackpad... Go to Settings--> Trackpad-->at the top make sure the Point & Click heading is highlighted, then go to Secondary click, check the box to make sure it's enabled, then select the action on the trackpad you want to associate with it. Click in the bottom right corner, Click in bottom left, or click or tap with two fingers. How do I take a screenshot? Now we all have a need to do a screenshot from time to time, to prove a point, show an example, troubleshoot, etc. But there's no PrntScrn button at the top of the Mac keyboard. No worries. To take a screenshot on MacOS. Hold down Command + Shift + 3 to quickly take a screenshot of the entire screen. If you want to do a selective screenshot of a certain part of the screen, hold down Command + Shift + 4 and then drag to select the area and release to grab the screenshot. How do I see my applications? So there's no start menu that'll show you what's installed on your Mac, but you can see all the installed applications by opening up a Finder window. That's this guy on the dock (at the bottom of your screen, so like the taskbar in Windows) Once you open a Finder window on the left side, select Applications, this will show you everything you have installed on the Mac. Once you open an application you'll see the icon in the dock at the bottom, if you want it to remain there so you can quickly open it/get to it, then right click aka secondary click ;) , and you'll see an option to "keep in dock". Copy & Paste shortcuts Now this isn't a drastic change, the control key is there on a mac keyboard BUT the keyboard shortcuts are a little different for something we do pretty intuitively. Instead of Control + C or Control + V...you're using Command + C for copy and Command + V for paste. Just a slight switch. The same adjustment applies to doing a Find command if you're searching for something in a document or webpage (Command + F) Frozen application? But wait I can't use Task Manager So coming from Windows you'd use task manager to forcefully close out an application that's not responding. In MacOS it's called Force Quit. Two ways to do this, go to the Apple icon in the upper left of the screen, then select Force Quit, it'll bring up all the applications running and then you can select one to force close. The keyboard shortcut for this..Command+Option+Esc. Want to do a screen recording? You can use Quicktime player that's built into your Mac for that! Want to show or capture a screen recording for a presentation, troubleshooting, etc. Launch Quicktime player on your Mac. It'll automatically open a finder window, assuming you're trying to play a video, but you can just close it by hitting cancel. Then you're going to go to the top of the screen (you should still see Quicktime player, meaning it's the active application) and then select File--> New Screen Recording. It'll give you the option to record the entire screen or just a selected portion. Need to find something quickly...use Spotlight That little magnifying glass in the upper right corner, just click on it, type what you're looking for in that box and it searches your Mac for it. Clean it up, throw it in the...Trash Looking to get rid of something then move it to the trash..no seriously it's called the Trash on a Mac, not a recycle bin. But it functions the same way, when you right click on an item or highlight multiple items the option is to Move to trash. Once it's there you still need to empty the trash for it to fully be gone from your Mac. The trash is located in the right end of your dock on the bottom of the screen. One more thing....Install antivirus software on your Mac! Seriously there's a misconception that Macs don't get viruses and that's simply not true. Now many years ago viruses weren't as common to target Macs because they weren’t the predominately used computer for the consumer, but even then the ability to exploit was there, but hackers went for the biggest exploit potential. There are more than a few Antivirus programs, and malware programs to scan your Mac. Antivirus programs: Avast (Free and Paid) Norton (Paid) BitDefender (Paid) Malware Scanner Malwarebytes That's all I got today, hope this was helpful! Got a specific MacOS related question? Let me know!

Photo Andrew Neels via Pexels Remember when I shared ways to organize and clean things up digitally? Some times you just gotta delete some stuff. No wait wait, that's clearly not something I need to teach you. But in a time where our phones literally hold all our photo memories that's not something you necessarily want to do. So I'm gonna walk you through how to move your iPhone photos from your phone to your backup drive, or your computer. Moving your photos off your iPhone on a Mac So if you're a Mac owner you want to first connect your external drive to your Macbook...if you're using the the newer ones you're going to need an USB-C adapter as there are no full size ports on the newer ones. Next you're going to connect your iPhone. Make sure both the backup drive and your phone are showing in finder, they'd be showing on the left side of the screen where you'd switch between folders Once they're both connected, go to the upper right hand corner of your Mac, where the time is and click the search icon. Type in "Image Capture" and open that application. Allow it a little bit to connect to your iPhone and load up your photos. You're going to click on the area where it says Import To to select the folder or drive you're going to import your phone pictures to Once you select the destination, you hit Import if you only want certain ones imported (You can do this with the command - click, to select to certain items, or click- shift to select a certain range of photos that are all together) or just hit Import All and start moving them over. Moving your phone off your iPhone on a Windows laptop So there's a few less steps if you're doing this from a Windows machine. Connect your drive and your phone. Your iPhone will show up like you connected another external drive, if it doesn't make sure iTunes is installed, that's where Windows pulls the driver from to recognize it. Next you're going to open an Explorer window (so that little folder icon on the task bar) look for your iPhone, it's going to show up like a drive but it'll say iPhone. Double click on it , then double-click Internal Storage, then the DCIM folder. Your photos are in there. Move the photos you want to the external drive, or just move them to a folder on your computer. Either way they're off your phone, free space, and memories preserved! *This post contains an affiliate link, This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

If you've been following me or reading for a bit, you know I'm am a network center engineer by day, run a website business of my own, and also teach coding classes to kids. Sounds like alot, right? With all of these roles, come ALOT of systems, and ALOT of passwords. Me working in IT doesn't come with some magical ability to remember passwords, if anything it makes it worse because there are more to remember. But I've happily found a solution to that...a password manager...specifically..Keeper Security. So what exactly is a password manager? It's exactly what it sounds like, it helps you manage your passwords, securely. It stores your passwords in a digital encrypted vault. Keeper Security stores and manages my passwords for any accounts that I have; not to mention my family. I have a teenager with multiple accounts of his own, virtual learning access, online gaming, social accounts, email and then some. And at his age, remembering complex passwords isn't high on his priority list. Ok but what else does it do? I can store my passwords in other ways... First off while I'm sure you've got a well organized note, or journal or some other way that you're managing your password, but that's just not secure. Anyone can find it, it can get accidentally tossed in the trash, coffee spill, did I mention that it isn't secure?? With Keeper I'm able to store my passwords in an encrypted vault, what's better I can organize my password records into folders, so accounts I use for my business in one, my personal accounts in another. Keeper Dashboard Keeper also has an app that allows me easy and on the go access to my vault, clearly we're all on our phones more so this is great. I rarely log into the desktop. The app also integrates with biometric authentication aka FaceID me please! I mean fingerprint scanning is also option but since iPhone got rid of the home button *shrugs*. Keeper app screen from my iPhone Active protection for your accounts Not only does it store my passwords, it also performs scans of the dark web to see if any of my logins or information has been involved in a data breach. You know those things you find out about months after they happen via a letter in the mail. It'll alert me and I can change my password in my vault, and of course then on the site I use it on. Not only that it performs security audits of the credentials I have stored, tells me the last time it was changed and the strength of the password. It also tells you which accounts have reused passwords. *Remember I told y'all about reusing passwords??* Keeper Security Audit dashboard Passwords aren't the only thing you can store in Keeper, I can upload files, like documents and pictures, and there's a secure sharing feature. So if there's a need to share something sensitive with a team member or a family member you can do so right from inside your vault. Because I know usually people will share them via email, text file, etc, but this is so much better. Oh and if you're like alot of older people I know and your passwords are scribbled on envelopes, scrap paper or in a notepad, there's hope! You can scan the paper and Keeper will use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to transcribe it into the notes of your record for safe keeping. Security...AND Convenience..Yes please! Web Access *check*, Mobile App *check* but I tend to move between different systems pretty fast and often, so while some systems will keep you logged in, what do you do when that system logs you out? Or when you delete your cookies and cache to resolve a browser issue? You gotta get those passwords again right? Keeper has a browser extension that'll fill your passwords in for you, Keeper Fill. I know there's already a function in Chrome that does this but the Keeper Fill extension works across multiple browsers. So I get that convenience and security even if I'm using Internet Explorer or Opera (not a performance, that's another web browser lol) This has literally been a lifesaver for me, helping me keep up with what seems like a never-ending list of passwords and I don't have to hit the "forgot password" button anymore. My favorite feature is probably the password generator right there, because I suck and coming up with unique passwords lol. Keeper doesn't alot either, for less than $5/month you get all these features. It's cheaper than Netflix! You can sign up here Do you use a password manager already? Got questions? Let me know! *This post is sponsored but opinions and experiences are my own*

(Photo: Pexels, Divinetechygirl) The one thing I love about working in tech is that there are countless fields to go into, tons of skills to learn. You can work in an area of tech for 10 years and still be learning. You also decide that an area doesn't challenge you anymore and go learn a new skill. Another beautiful point, skillsets overlap, they'll still be of use to you if you change. I get asked for suggestions for places to start to learn tech, thoughts on a program, etc. It's not a field where you really get a feel for something until you touch it or do some type of learning. So I put together a list of some online sites that you can take tech courses/training, some for free. Not all of them are but it's a place to start. 1. Udemy Udemy is a favorite for me currently, while the courses aren't free they're not overpriced. This is where alot of us already in tech browse for courses. It's like Target for courses (at least for me lol). They've got courses on ethical hacking, various IT certifications, cloud technology, and more. All their courses are self-paced...so if you missed something go over it again, oh and they have an app! So I can take my learning from the laptop to my phone, which would probably be a wayy more productive use of my time. 2. Udacity I know this sounds just like the first one but stay with me lol. Udacity is also another online site where you can take courses at your leisure. They focus only on digital skillsets. But they cover everything from data science to artificial intelligence. They have a more refined curriculum if you will. These courses offer nano-degrees, so it's like bootcamp in a sense. It's setup like a full fledge course. You get a syllabus, there's real world projects, and you get mentor support. They've got nano-degree programs for beginners, where you just need to know how to use a computer so no need to fear jumping in the deep end. Some programs are as short as 3 months. They've got payment plans as well. 3. AWS Training What's AWS? Amazon Web Services. If you've listened to any technical news reports, or been in a company business meeting, you've heard of "the cloud" well that's what AWS provides. Unless a company is completely opposed to innovation, they have something or some application that uses some type of cloud technology. Now get this...Amazon offers free technical training...yes I said Free and Amazon in the same sentence. Through Amazon Training Learn cloud technology basics, machine learning, serverless computing, even get ready for certification exams. This is good for those looking to get in the door in tech or for those of us in the field that want to add a new skillset to transition. 4. Coursera Coursera has a mix of free and paid courses but that doesn't mean that the free courses aren't good. They've got courses ranging from security and networking to cloud management and data management. They've got a Google IT Support Professional Certificate course, which isn't just a title, it's backed by Google; You can learn entry level IT skills. Something that sets them apart, alot of their courses are backed by national universities. You still with me?? Got a couple more 5. Cybrary.IT This online course resource..(that rhymed a little right? moving along) has free courses and paid ones, but you don't sign up for a singular course at a time. The way Cybrary works is you join, and take courses that are available in the different tiers. So there's a free membership, but of course limited courses..but I did spy a free Intro to IT and Cybersecurity course. But the paid membership for an individual is only $59/month. You get unlimited access to courses, virtual labs, practice tests and more..so that's really not bad at all, considering the knowledge you're gaining. 6. Flatiron School This one is a pretty well known one for it's bootcamps. But did you know that Flatiron School has free courses as well. I'll admit I didn't I hadn't looked in a while. Now the free ones are more like workshops to prepare for the bootcamps, but I love that they have this as an option because when you're looking at educational resources and deciding what to take, it's nice to know exactly what you're getting into. Give me a sample like I'm in Costco on a Saturday before I buy, because bootcamps are an investment that you want to pay off. Ok I'm done...for now lol. Are you signing up for any free courses, we updating our skillsets in 2021? Or are you looking to move into tech? Hope this helps, I've got some courses I signed up for that I need to go finish, so that's my goal for 2021.

I thought today would be a good day to touch on computer specs. Well on any day I don’t mind looking at them but I am the person that often gets asked if I have recommendations for new computers; or asked my opinion before someone pulls the trigger on a computer they’ve been eyeing. So I thought I’d share what you should be looking for when deciding on a computer purchase. Storage First things, first, making sure the computer has space for saving things.  The OS (operating system) along with other system files from applications will take up space so keep that in mind when looking at laptops or desktops.  You’ll see a lot of computers come with at minimum 128GB but they also have an SSD after the space. That stands for Solid State Drive, these drives are faster and more reliable, as unlike HDD, which have spinning platters in them, they use interconnected flash memory chips to store data. They’re also able to be designed much smaller allowing for more options for the manufacturers when building the computer. Inside of HDD (Photo: Pexels) SSD is predominantly the standard but you’ll occasionally see cheaper laptops/computers with high storage HDDs in them…cheaper isn’t always better.   For me I’d always recommend 256GB at least for average use, as a lot of people install lots of apps, games, and save ALL the things to their hard drive.  If you can spring for 512GB go for it, but you can always get an external drive to move things off of your computer to store. SSD (Photo: Kingston) Memory Next up, Memory…please, please don’t skimp on this area. I browse laptops often just to gauge the prices, and really inexpensive laptops..are out here being sold with 4GB of RAM..DON’T fall for it! While of course a laptop can function with just 4GB, I only say this is acceptable for someone who will only be browsing the internet. At minimum your laptop should have 8GB, and honestly for more longevity, go for 16GB. Particularly if you’re a multitasker like I am, you know if you’re running multiple apps (read..too many tabs/windows open lol). RAM stands for Random Access Memory, this is where the computer places data in the short term to quickly access it while it’s being used. Again so it can handle multiple things at once and not get sluggish. *On PC laptops (Windows) you can upgrade memory to a certain extent depending on the manufacturer, but if you purchase a Mac, you can’t sooo get the maximum you want when you purchase. CPU (Processor) The Processor (CPU) works hand in hand with the memory (RAM). It’s the brain of the computer, the more powerful your processor the faster your computer’s brain works.  The speed is measured in GHz but that’s not typically what you see in the product details. You’ll see typically, 1 core, dual core (2), Quad core (4). The more cores you see a system with the higher the price typically, as the processor is more powerful.  I won’t beat you over the head with clock speed, that’s too much lol. But having a good amount of RAM and a low level processor don’t math y’all. Graphics Card This is important but most of the time the typical graphics card is ok for the traditional laptop user, if you’re a gamer you want a gaming laptop or desktop as they have higher powered graphics cards to support the more advanced capabilities of the gaming experience. So are you in the market for a new computer? I’ve got a couple of my recommendations here.

(photo: Pexels) So if you've been following along and reading for a while, then you know Canva is bae! Like I love it. You can create practically anything in it; marketing materials, IG stories, highlight covers, Facebook banners, logos...heck I've even used it to make a certificate. But what I love most is that they are constantly adding new features for creatives and the 'not-so' creative to take advantage of. So here are some of the coolest features you may not know about yet! Content Planner Nowadays planning is how you best get things done...every social media workshop I've been too, every marketing expert I follow all emphasis it's easier to plan your content ahead of time than it is to do it in real time. This is especially true if you're using any type of social graphic that you create or use to share information/tips. Canva now has a content planner! You can go to the Content Calendar and either pick the day and create a post then assign it and schedule it for a platform, or you can assign a graphic you already created. Unfortunately it doesn't have the ability to schedule to Instagram but still having it queued up so all you have to do is download it from the app. You can schedule posts out to Facebook, Facebook groups, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Slack and Tumblr. Voiceover recording for your presentations Ok so being able to create a slideshow presentation in Canva, but did you know you can now voice record over your presentation. This is a feature that's still in beta, but really cool. So you create your presentation in Canva, and then share them via a link for people to watch or you to playback. It gives the full presenter effect with you visually in a little circle in the lower third of the screen. To use this feature, create your presentation, then instead of downloading it, select present, then select the "present & record" option, it'll then say take you to the Recording Studio and count you down to record your presentation. Upload your own custom fonts You have your brand guide all set to go, all locked up, but you need to make sure any new content or materials you create follow it right? While Canva has tons, and I do mean tons of fonts but sometimes what we're looking for isn't there. You can upload your own font! Just go to the Brand Kit on the left side of the screen, scroll down and you can upload the .ttf file of your font. You can also set your brand colors and fonts, so they are readily available whenever you're creating. Remove background from your images for overlays and transparency If you're looking up your flyers or other graphics, want to incorporate an image into a design but the background doesn't fit. You can remove the background from the photo, without having to use Photoshops. It's literally like 2 clicks! Add the photo, with the photo selected in the design, go to Effects, then select "background remover". That's it! Videos anyone? Listen video editing is a JOB, and a skillset that isn't my wheelhouse. The video templates in Canva allow you to create more polished videos for your business. If you're starting out in making YouTube videos or need one for marketing, there's soo many templates. And of course, the ability to upload and drag and drop things you want in the video. So effects titles, you can add that too! Now it worth saying that some of these features are only available through Canva's Pro subscription, which is like $12/month. That's a steal really, it's totally worth it in my opinion. The decision to go pro was a no brainer for me. But have you tried any of these features in Canva? What's your favorite use for Canva?

Lavii Founders, L-R James Bagley, Rea Huntley, Marcus Gunn) In a year when so many businesses are facing unprecedented problems, three brilliant black engineers sought to create a solution to revolutionize food establishment's customer experience, and promote safety amid a global pandemic. Enter the Lavii Smart Locker Solution. Tell Me More... The lockers were launched in August with their pilots in two small businesses in the DMV area. With the idea in mind, of getting customers their food safely, and reducing human interaction. Not to mention keeping your food safe. I know we've all done some type of curbside pickup or call in order, and you go to get your food and it's sitting on an open shelf, and you still have to wait sometimes depending on where that shelf is. Lavii smart lockers in Crab Boss (Brandywine, MD) Lavii Smart Lockers in Shark Bar (Waldorf, MD) The smart lockers can be integrated into existing POS systems that restaurants already have, a huge plus! And the process is pretty simple on both sides...customer places their order, restaurant receives order; customer receives confirmation, the restaurant assigns locker to the order; when the order is ready the restaurant places it in the locker, customer arrives, and scans their code to open the locker to get their order. This is a simple yet amazing solution that all restaurants need, and not in the way that the technology or design isn't complex, but in the sense that it's purpose is simple, and it fufills the overall purpose of technology. To improve, to make things we do easier. But what was even more amazing to me is that this startup was founded by 3 black engineers! We can literally do/create anything (but y'all knew that already). I had the privilege of speaking with the founders! Let's dig into some of our convo! CDG: I guess we'll start out with a general question that I want you all to answer...how did you get your start in IT? We're gonna get to the business but I definitely want to know. James Bagley, COO of Lavii: I guess I'll start what got me into IT was a computer class back in senior year of my in high school. I was actually on path to be studied law at the time. That's what I wanted to go in a school to study. I took a computer class as an elective in the twelfth grade and the computer teacher said that I had a gift for it said that I was just picking up things super quick and he believed I should just take a look at it and he put me into a web design class that was like an eight week course on the weekend and I fell in love with it. JB: I fell in love with writing the HTML code back. This was when, this is before the IDE and stuff like Dreamweaver and all that. It was straight notepad and Internet Explorer mostly things like Netscape back then; but I fell in love with it and he just he just kept pushing it and kept pushing. I know you want to go into law. I know you want to do that, but I think you should really look in to go into computer science or something of that nature and I agreed. I decided you know what that's less school, I'm all for it CDG: Ok soo who wants to go next? Rea Huntley, Founder and CEO: I'm Rea the CEO and Founder and I would say I first discovered tech by just having a curiosity mindset and also the needs of feel challenged actually when I was younger, I was always curious to kind of figure out how my PlayStation worked. So I would sit there literally take it apart and challenge myself to put it back together to kind of see if I can get it to work again and my curiosity just continued to grow as time went on and I ended up going to school majoring in electronics and just seeing the way that you can actually take an idea and visualize it from a idea to a concept in my class, which was amazing. So like in class we had this final project before we graduated. We had to come up with a programming where we had to program C language and kind of get it to to work the way you needed to so my final project was a stop light which seems so simple but on the back end it's very much so complicated so I had to kind of assemble the breadboard. I had to come up with all the wiring the capacitors everything needed to kind of get this job like to work and from then my curiosity just sparked and I just kept going. CDG: All right. That sounds like me. I was like I need to not be bored. They've like we don't know what you mean. I can't be bored or I'm not going to do anything. Real quick, I just want to tip my hat to you because I see your certs and ma'am! (Rea has her CCIE - Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) Those are some hard certs! RH: It's it's a lot of work and that and that's one of the things that kept me going the needs of feel challenged and that CCIE definitely humbled me and challenged me at the same time. Marcus Gunn, Chief Technology Officer: I guess I'll go now my I guess my story is a little less traditional. I kind of stumbled into Computer Science and Tech honestly, I was enrolled as a student at Boston University, you know Jenkins and I went to Bowie State but I was up there and I was actually supposed to be a dual-degree math and Engineering student. And yeah, my mom really wanted to I didn't even choose that myself. So but I was up there and like I just didn't find interest in it at all. So what I would do during class, you know is like just I would be drawing like a lot during class and like so a lot of people just kind of knew me as as guy whose failing the classes but drawing all the time. So yeah, it's not a beautiful story. But but yeah, so like I remember one time I was actually sitting in the Bowie State University library and I was drawing again, you know. I would just kind of draw as I was trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing for school and stuff like that and one of my team-mates kind of saw me and she was like Hey, like can you draw for our computer science department website like that, and I'm like, I don't know anything about that at all like how to do that. But I'm more than willing to you know, try like that sounds like if you could take what I drew and get it on on a website. I'd love to see that process took so she took me to one of the computer lab and she use Adobe fireworks to like break my image, you know, well, I guess like outline it and you know transfer it over to the website and all that kind of stuff. And when I saw the process, I think wow so I can draw anything and you can put it on the computer. That's that's amazing to me and then you know she could color in Photoshop and you know change sections of it to look a certain way and the whole thing just kind of was incredibly and it's like impressive to me. And then like I knew I could draw something on paper put her computer and take it even further, you know, and so I kind of like really enjoyed, you know, like I'm learning how to do that and then I actually had an opportunity to internship up there and that's what I met James, you know, she walked in the internship and when I saw, you know, what he and the other people, you know involved in the internship were doing with websites and code I just took off CDG: Where did the name come from? RH: So when I initially was thinking about names the first name that literally came to mind at first was Scan IT. I didn't like that. So I trashed that off. The next one was Express grab-and-go did like that one either. So when I started to like look up other Locker companies a lot of them started with at least off all the time with an l so I figured let me look up something. I don't want it to be Locker XYZ. So let me look up something that unique that's different that we can kind of put out on stage to it. And then after I actually came up with the name actually decided I saw that online the meaning behind it actually does have some meaning it's like it means ambitious, perseverance, just different characteristic traits that kind of resemble us. So it's almost like the meaning for the name was like the perfect fit. CDG: Tell me how is this going to grow how you going to be able to get this into more small businesses? JB: Yeah, the the ultimate market for us for the for the locker specifically would be chain restaurants. And if you look you know, look out there alot of chain restaurants are trying to make the transition to what they call off-premise dining which includes curbside drive-thrus as well as you know normal takeout. So that's all that's our I guess target market moving forward but we've we started with the small business just because you know, the pandemic has crushed a lot of these restaurants; restaurants people grew up on have closed a lot of restaurants are just struggling to kind of, you know, continue to trade water will stay afloat. So we kind of started there just to try to help I think started to to help with that transition, you know, the first step is normally just to educate cuz like you said people are stuck in their ways they've been doing this. And this is new tech to check is always met with opposition. There's so much more and I want you to hear all of it, so take a listen to the rest while you enjoy your cup of coffee. I love how they all found different avenues into IT. But most importantly how they are using their skills to start this business and did I mention they bootstrapped it themselves?? No backers? Please make sure to follow them on Instagram, and check out their website, if you're a business that is looking for a demo, definitely hit them up! Oh and if you didn't listen to the clip early 2021 they are launching their Kickstarter, please get behind this business! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6MgpakogE&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=LaviiINC Have you seen the smart lockers in restaurants yet?

By now your child's has been in school..virtually that is, for a few weeks...and COVID is still here. So of course this means our kids are sitting in front of the computer for about 4-6 hours daily, and that's just for school. Because we're still social distancing, and home for the most part till Covid is gone, and I don't know about your house, but my son bounces between his Playstation, iPad and phone being indoors. So add in virtual learning and that's screen overload, so I wanted to share some more tips and apps to help with managing screen time on your kid's devices. iOS, so iPhones and iPads If your kids have an iPhone, iPad or an iPhone there are built in controls for managing your child's screen time. In settings on any of these devices you can go into settings, then go to screen time, and set hours of use for the device. Set allowed apps (you can even disable the built-in ones depending on what you want child to have access to). Restrict certain content, based on maturity ratings, and web content because we know they can literally stumble across anything on the internet. You can do this directly on their device, or if you have configured Family Sharing, then you can manage these things from your device. Enabling Screentime: Go to Settings > Screen Time. Tap Turn On Screen Time. Tap Continue. Select This is My device or This is My Child's device. From here you can now setup and manage what your child sees, uses, and how often. For a more in-depth tutorial, or details, you can can check out this Apple knowledge article. Android OS/Chrome OS Family Link App screenshots (App Store) So while I'm Apple everything I the my son has an Android (teens still drop phones, and we have bills lol). So I've got you covered for Androids, and Chrome OS, because a lot of kids, younger ones have a Chromebook they utilize for school. For these devices you can use Google Family Link. Now of course you do need a Google Account of some kind, most of us have a Gmail account, as do our children. With Google Family Link (which is FREE) you can: monitor your child's activity on their device approve or block apps they want to download from the Google Play Store Set daily screen time limits as well as set a bedtime for their device. You can also remotely lock their device to make them take a break from it Family link even has location tracking, so you can see where you child is with their device. (I've used this because our son walked from the bus stop and got home before we did) There's an app for parents available on both Android and iOS . You can also manage Family Link from your web browser. Sign up for it here. Third Party Apps that help Manage Screen Now there are a few other options out there, who am I kidding there are floods of apps that do some variation of monitoring, but I'm gonna include two that I've used personally. Bark Bark Dashboard (Photo: Bark.com) The Bark App, is the one I am currently using because...teenager/social media...but I wanted monitor what he did without constantly asking to see his phone. Which don't get me wrong I still randomly do but social media is a whole other area to be careful in what your child is exposed to, because there are weirdos out here, and some flat out inappropriate things on social media. Bark allows me to monitor his social accounts, which of course it doesn't invade or hack them, you have to sit down and talk to your teen to have them grant access to the app. No it's not sending every thing he does to my phone, it scans for inappropriate things, such as alcohol, sex, cyberbullying, and suicidal thoughts, if it picks that up it alerts me. This is something that you can review, then have a conversation about with your teen. Now it's software sooo sometimes I'll get an alert for a YouTube video that is off, you can tell it not to alert about that video or similar ones. Bark monitors, Instagram, SnapChat, Tik Tok, Facebook, Gmail, Kik, WhatsApp, GroupMe, and more, over 30+ apps. It monitors text messages too, again doesn't send me his messages or let me peek into his threads, it only alerts me if it finds something troubling. They've added the ability to manage screen time, and location tracking which made it better! I mean clearly during this pandemic our kids don't go anywhere but still. Another bonus, Bark even works on Amazon tablets, so if you have a Fire tablet for your kids you can monitor it as well. Bark isn't a free app, but it calmed my nerves when we let my son on social because I didn't want him in a bubble but I don't want him overexposed. Bark is $14/month but that covers unlimited devices, they also have a junior plan that's $5/month if you have younger kids and just want to manage screen time, location tracking, and filter websites they visit. They have a 7-day free trial, you can try it here *I'm a Bark Ambassador, so there is a referral link in this post Qustodio Another one, that I've used personally...Qustodio. This one is my first suggestion if you're just trying to manage screentime and what your kids are accessing on the computer as they work on Windows and Mac OS. You can set screen time limits and block sites. It even works on the private browsing because kids try it. I've had a few people reach out and ask how they could manage where their kids were online during school hours because all it takes is another tab open and they're distracted. Listen I'm an adult and I always have tabs open and our kids know how to navigate this digital space better than some adults. This software has several different tiers based on the devices you need to cover, the smallest plan covering 5 devices, is $54.95/yr. So I hope these are helpful for you!! Do you manage your kids screen time?

You know the one thing that tells on you if you're not taking care of yourself, besides your jeans not fitting...your skin! I don't know about any of you but that's an ever evolving routine, like you have to learn about your skin, is it oily, does this fruit I'm eating cause my acne to flair up? The list goes on and on. And in the age of social media apps, whether it's a bomb selfie you're sharing or snippets of your daily life in videos, you want your skin to be glowing! What if I told you there was an app that would help you with that, just by taking a selfie (well to start anyway). Meet the Skinary App The Skinary app is an app that will allow you to track your skincare through selfies..yes I know I said that. The way it does this is by incorporating habit tracking. So tracking your skincare routine, your diet, and your lifestyle habits, so you can fully understand what is affecting your face. Ok but what can I do in the app? How can it help my skin sis? You can log over 20+ skin concern types and issues that impacts a variety of skin conditions including acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, aging as well as other conditions. Use the timelapse feature to show the progression with your selfies and your skin. You easily will be able to compare with the before and after showing selfies side-by-side Skinary is the first app to take an integrative approach to your skin health, all so you can get the most feedback on your trends. So it's going into so much more than your water intake and dietary habits. There's over 100+ options to incorporate into your habit tracking, including washing your pillowcase. *Pretty important considering our face spends a lot of time there* It also has over 20 different skin care products, treatments you can incorporate into your tracking. Annnd if you're like me and need or want more things to use your Apple Watch for, this also Integrates with HealthKit to make tracking and logging easier. I'm all here for convenience! Another amazing feature of the Skinary app is that it provides trending reports, so you can analyze your habits over a 30 day period. It also uses Glycemic Index vs Inflammation to see trends in concerns. Skinary App Screen, Selfie Analyzing Skinary App Screen, Habit tracking Skinary App Screen, habit analysis But while all of this innovation is dope all by itself (because I know I'm not the only one struggling with developing a real skincare routine, especially during this quarantine) the best part about this is that it was founded and created BY A BLACK WOMAN! I had the privilege to interview Skinary App creator, Bianca Maxwell to talk about her app! Bianca Maxwell, Founder of Skinary App (Photo: Skinary) CDG: What Inspired Skinary? BM: I had really bad acne growing up, I used to be called "pizza face", most people don't realize that looking at me today. CDG: Your skin looks amazing! BM: So actually what inspired it, was I was having a really bad breakout, and I didn't know what was causing it. So in the vein of trying to solve my issues, I went to see a dermatologist for the first time, that dermatologist met with me for all of 5 minutes, and prescribed me a cream that gave me a chemical burn. So I then took the next few months healing from that and looking for apps that could A) help me track what I was doing that was causing my skin issues, I had clear skin for like 5 years prior to that crazy breakout. And then also to track my healing for my chemical breakout. In looking for an app to track my skin, and to do the things I needed I realized there wasn't anything out there. There were apps that focused on lifestyle and wellness, apps focused on diet, lots of apps that provided product recommendations but nothing that pulled all of those things together. So that's kind of where the idea for Skin Diary, (That's how the name is Skinary came about..skin+diary) came from. So the intention of Skinary, had always been pitched over the last few years, the idea had been that it would use facial recognition to give recommendations on changes and what your triggers were. Now after we did some market research and also taken a pulse test..People are not f****ng with facial recognition, you can quote that lol. So Skinary is not using facial recognition of any kind it's been pulled out of our beta. As we looked further we found that people don't really care about that part of it, they care about the habit tracking. The plan following the beta, is to build this into a much more robust platform/ecosystem, that I hope everyone will be really excited about. A true beauty hub, you can have a profile, you'll be able to track everything you're doing, share your "shelfie" of your favorite products, you'll be able to shop brands. Leaning out of hard tech and leaning into my experience in having a managed an e-commerce brand. CDG: Soo it'll alll come together CDG: How do you think Skinary will change skin care? BM: I'm a really big supporter of integrative health, so you make full body changes to see how it effects your skin. I was actually really stringent about this about a year ago, but I wasn't doing dairy, meat or drinking alcohol. I'm kind of eating some of that since quarantine and I'm seeing it on my skin. But I'm definitely of the mindset, that whatever you do in your life will show up on your face. If you're really stressed out, if you're not wearing SPF, if you're not eating right, not staying hydrated, all of that is gonna reflect on your face. I'm hoping that the way Skinary changes the industry is that there is more of a focus on integrative health when it comes to skincare. And that people are able to find new communities within the beauty space but maybe one that's more informative. CDG: How did you get start in the tech industry, were you always into tech? Did you pivot into it? BM: So I kind of fell into the tech, I started off working in fashion, and when I started my career in fashion, that's right when brands started launching their own e-commerce websites, when social media was being used by brands to reach their consumers. So me being kind of like the person fresh out of college, all the digital stuff was put on me since I was the one closest to it. They were like you're young, you'll figure it out *laughs* BM: My first introduction into coding was through customizing MySpace pages in high school CDG: I know right? That was mine too! We didn't even know what we had! BM: Yeah we were kind of just copy, pasting code, kind of like self teaching. So that was kind of like where I had gotten taking my MySpace experience and creating e-commerce stores for startup brands in New York and doing that for almost 5 years. Then I decided I wanted corporate experience. This is where I was kind of forced into true tech. My last gig was at Reebok, when I first came on my role was to really focused on our the digital platform and marketing, and content management. Three weeks into the job, they decided that my role would actually be re-platforming our entire digital ecosystem into our parent company's ecosystem. I'm not a solutions architect, I'm not an engineer, I don't have a BA in Computer Science but I was able to do that in 18 months and saved the brand over a million dollars in operational expenses, year over year. I was able to do that because I truly fell into tech. I was given a problem to solve and I pulled it apart and started approaching it methodically. Part of that methodic approach was I started taking night classes around computer science and engineering. In this role my counterparts lived in Germany and Amsterdam, so I would spend a full day working, in Amsterdam or Germany then I'd spend about 5 hours at night doing Harvard Extension Business school computer science courses, and then I'd sleep for 2 hours then do the entire work day again. CDG: You just slid Harvard Extension Business school in there BM: The thing is, anyone can get into Harvard Extension Business School, I think their actually giving out free courses now. It was just like one of the only programs that really easy and that my company would actually pay for. *Note Harvard does actually have free online courses available here CDG: But still you already had the mindset of a techie, the thought process, all technology is looking at a problem, pulling it apart and fixing it. That's all it is at the root of it. It doesn't matter how you got your start, if you did bootcamps, got your Masters Degree, non of it matters. We're all there to do the same job. BM: That's how I say I fell into tech, it was never my intention. I went to undergrad for business and marketing, and I thought I'd end up in Silicon Valley working with startups, because at that time I thought all startups were tech enabled companies. Very much like I fell into fashion I fell back into tech, just over here tripping lol. However Skinary was my actual, intentional step. So in me starting Skinary, I've had alot of experience brand marketing, product management, product rollout, different platforms, I can do this. So kind of having that goal to start it, and having had 2 and half years of experience of figuring out the impossible with no resources. CDG: So all of your trips were actually steps Bianca Harris, Skinary Founder (Photo: Skinary) CDG: So what do you do when you're not running/launching a tech startup? BM: So I'm not technically running it yet, we're still in a beta/pre-launch phase. We'll be in stealth mode as I fundraise.*They launched the beta at the end of June 2020, this interview was done mid-June keep your eyes out for it in the App Store) BM: But as my partner would say I always have something going on. I accidentally just founded another company lol and I just had a call with a person who could potentially be a co-founder. So I like to read, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so I'm a supper millennial. I'm a Ravenclaw, always thought I was a Gryffindor, until I took my quiz, my patronus is a stag, I'm lit! *(ME TOOOOO!! no seriously it was the coolest sounding house and history to me in the books #Ravenclaw) BM: But my partner has also been setting me up with all kinds of kitchen appliances, so I've been baking my butt off, my grandmother loves to bake, so my grandma has been sending all these recipes. I made a double chocolate cake with strawberry filling. I've gained like 11 pounds but I don't care, sweatpants fit me. CDG: Do what works for you during this time, that's what I keep saying to people. Like if all you did was make sure your kids ate today or you made it through another day, that's ok. BM: The gyms just opened back up so he's making sure we work out everyday, I've worked out 4 days this week. I'm really happy about it. CDG: Last question, What are your words of advice for women in tech, looking to break into tech? BM: My advice for anyone in tech, trying to get into tech or is tech adjacent, is to reframe whatever negative thing you're talking about to yourself into a positive, you will manifest what you put your head into. Don't get down on yourself there are plenty of people out there who will do for that you. I truly enjoyed talking with Bianca about this amazing app she is developing, and I need all the help I can get with formulating a skincare routine. Bianca is currently fundraising for the next round of development, you can support her and this amazing app here The beta for Skinary launched on June 30th, and is still in development, so make sure you sign up on the site for updates when it's relaunched in the App Store. Also follow Skinary's journey on social!

(Photo: Apple.com) It's that time of the year again!! Yesterday Apple kicked off it's annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) with it's eagerly awaited keynote. Where they announce all the latest and exciting things coming from the tech giant. WWDC itself is a week long thing, and normally of course in person, but this year with the pandemic is being held virtually. But can I say I was still just as excited and the presentation didn't disappoint! But you're not here for my nerdy excitement, you're here for all the tea on the latest things Apple announced, so let's get into that. Tim Cook opened the keynote addressing racism, the killing of George Floyd and the on going injustices against black people in America. Thank you. He reiterated Apple's announcement of their Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which will distribute $100 million to "challenge systemic barriers that limit opportunity for communities of color in the critical areas of education, economic equality and criminal justice reform. He also shared Apple's Developer Entrepreneur Camp for Black and Brown developers https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/1271113929754685441?s=20 It's not business as usual, there is so much work to be done, we have to keep pushing change and demanding justice. Now for the tech tea...first up iOS 14 We all knew there was a new iOS coming for iPhone, and while that's not groundbreaking news, there are quite a few cool features coming that I'm very excited about. Widgets Widgets are coming! Yes your iOS homescreen will now have widgets! So all those important things you want to glance at quickly on your home screen can be added and adjusted in size as well. Widgets on iOS 14 home screen (photo: Apple) App Library Then they rolled out the App Library, which will automatically organize your apps into categories for you. This page will be at the end of the pages you swipe on your phone as you scroll to look for a particular app. I mean I think we (read me lol) can all use some help in the organization department..am I right? App Library page (Photo: Apple) No more paused when using Facetime! Apple has given us Picture-in-Picture!! You can now be on a Facetime call or while you use another app! Incoming calls will no longer take over your entire screen when people call, it's compact and at the top! Oh annnddd Siri got a makeover too! She doesn't take over the screen anymore either! She pops up as a cute little orb at the bottom Picture and Picture and incoming calls on iOS 14 (Photos: Apple) Messages There's a few new features that I'm particularly excited about in Messages on iOS 14. First you can now do threaded replies, and mentions in group messages! Listen reactions are good buttt this will definitely help with understanding a group text that's got more than 10 people in it lol. Also coming, the ability to pin conversations to the top of your messages list, so if you have lots of message threads and but want to make sure you don't miss notifications from a particular chat, boom, just pin it to keep it at the top. Threaded replies, and pinned messages in iOS 14 (Photos: Apple) More privacy please! The settings coming to the for the app store in iOS 14 will show you exactly what information apps are collecting from you and sharing. You will see this before you decide to download the app! I like how they stated it during the keynote.."it's like a nutrition label" you look at it before purchasing to be clear on what's being shared before installing it. App Privacy settings/details in App Store iOS 14 (photo: Apple) While we're on the subject of privacy...did you know Safari will know tell you if a password you're using is not secure. AND you can get a privacy report on the websites you are visiting? So how websites handle your privacy. Can't find your keys, no problem start the car with your phone Apple announced Carkey you'll be able to unlock, start your car with your iPhone. It works over NFC technology and the first car supporting this technology is one I can't yet afford lol, the 2021 BMW 5 series. You'll be able to share digital keys with people via messages. You can disable the keys via iCloud if the phone is lost. Now this isn't all of it, but the exciting pieces I thought to share with you guys. You can check out a preview of iOS 14 here. The update is due to come out this Fall, I can't wait! Watch OS So pretty safe to assume (actually it always happens) when you get an software (OS) announcement for one product you're getting one for them all. Watch OS 7 will come with improvements to the fitness app, so it'll be able to better track core workouts, dance workouts, and cool downs. (I just want it to stop cheating me out of my mileage when I'm walking). Another timely feature coming, the hand washing detection feature. Sad that we need it but listen if it leads to people not forgetting how to wash their hands not mad. It will use the motion sensors, microphone, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect hand washing motions and sounds. Then initiates a 20-second countdown timer, and if the user finishes or stops early, they will be prompted to keep washing. Apple Watch will also be able to remind the wearer to wash their hands when they return home. Hand washing feature on Watch OS7 (Gif: Apple) You can dig into all the upcoming Watch OS features here. And like iOS 14 will be coming in the fall. Mac OS Big Sur Apple announced a new Mac OS coming! Mac OS Big Sur. I won't drown you in the details but I'm extremely excited that Control Center is FINALLY coming to Mac OS! So that little box on the swipe screen that you can control bluetooth, volume, wifi from on your phone will now be available on your Mac! Control Center on Mac OS Big Sur (Photo: Apple) You can preview more features coming in Mac OS Big Sur here. Sooo what things are you excited about in the future software updates? Who's still holding out for a new phone? I finally had to upgrade to an XR because my trust 7 Plus was on the blink, and well working remotely you kind of have to have a phone.