I had the opportunity to be featured in another TV segment on WJLA's Good Morning Washington this past Monday!  I loved the fact that it was called Motivation Monday.  I went on to speak about the lack of diversity in IT and STEM period and to share news about the upcoming Flash Tech Summit.  I was honored to be invited back to speak on something that I am so passionate about.  As a black female in IT it's important that we're not anomalies.  It's important that we introduce the kids to these kinds of things early on.   You can check out the entire segment here!

You ever had a misunderstanding with a piece of technology?? Like they just couldn't get what you were trying to say?? Just me? Alot of times these little gadgets or assistants are programmed to receive information a certain way.  I don't know about you but I had to turn off the "Hey Siri" She'd always think I was talking to her and randomly yell out "I'm sorry I didn't catch that". But I also have a Google Home, and it's really kind of cool!  All you have to say is "Hey Google" followed by a command.  But since Google isn't my first language, I thought I'd share some cool commands I came across so you can get more enjoyment out of your Google Home. You must always say "Hey Google or Ok Google" It's kind of like Mother May I? Your command has to be preceded by "Hey Google". "Hey Google, are you SkyNet?" This was my favorite by the way..she responded "Are you kidding? SkyNet couldn't get past the preliminary interviews for the Google Assistant gig" "Ok Google, up up down down left right left right B A Start" If you were a gamer this might look a little familiar. "Ok Google Beatbox for me" Now if I could freestyle mannn look. "Ok Google, I'm bored" It'll give you a few options for trivia It's not just fun, it's got purposeful commands too Those are some of the fun ones,  but there are also some normal commands that make the Google Home do much more common things.  Such as: Play Music: "Ok Google, Play New Edition...you need to have a default music provider selected like Spotify or Pandora.  You can also say "Ok Google turn on WPGC 95.5 and it'll use TuneIn to play that radio station. Get the weather: "Ok Google, what's the weather today?" Planning a vacation: "Ok Google, How much is a round trip to Egypt?" or "Ok Google, find me flights to Florida" Skip WebMD (kind of lol); "Ok Google, what are shin splints?" or whatever ailment you might have Looking for an inspirational qoute: "Ok Google, give me a quote" Not sure what a word means: "Ok Goolge, What does prestidigitation mean?" Missed the game last night: "Ok Google, what was the score of the game?" Preparing to go on Jeopardy, it can fact check for you: "Ok Google, what year was the Blueprint album released?" Not to mention Google Home works with your smart appliances too.  I couldn't test that out yet but one day listen it's gonna happen.  If you have a Google Home have you actually used it? How are you liking it so far? Are thinking about getting one?

Ever wanted to learn more about SQL? Maybe you want to learn more about that new emerging programming language or develop your own app?  But let's face it, we didn't all go to school for Computer Science or Engineering.  In a time where technology heck pretty much everything is constantly changing, you've gotta have a sharp learning curve.  But I bet you guys didn't know there are some great online resources to help keep you sharp. Oh and did I mention these are FREE?!? UdemyUdemy.com offers thousands of courses for what you'd spend on a business lunch (probably less).  Everything from developing games, to IT certifications.  They've got courses for personal skill development too, so finances and better organization too! You can take a lot of these courses at your pace, so no complaining about time. Microsoft Virtual Academy Microsoft is synonymous with computers, so it makes sense that they'd offer some type of resource to help those in tech. But that's not to say that the Microsoft Virtual Academy is just for those in the field already.  Primary difference between this platform and others is well it's all Microsoft products but if you're working in any enterprise environment the odds are pretty high that Microsoft is in it.  There's courses on SQL, Cloud Development and you can learn the ins/outs of Windows 10.  Oh and you have to have a Microsoft account (so Outlook.com, hotmail.com, msn.com) account to access it.  But that's a small price of admission for some really great resources. Alison Another good website to check out is Alison.com. It's filled with courses that are FREE! They are backed with courses published by Cambridge University, Google, Microsoft, and even MIT! You just create an account and start learning!  Now if you want to have certificates, they do charge for those, but in your account there is a running document of courses you've taken. My goal is to take more advantage of these courses as well.  You don't have to pad your resume when you can actually take some time and really sharpen your skills or even if you want to go beyond the online courses and pursue a degree this will let you dabble in a subject to see if it's really what you want to do minus the financial aid headaches.  What are some other subjects or areas you're looking to get into? What skills do you want to add to your resume?

New Year, New well you know how the rest of that saying goes.  The top of a new year is when we all get a chance to reset and start things fresh. It's also when all the companies are trying to get rid of inventory from last year and there are crazy sales.  It was also the perfect time to test out a new car! Well how was it? For an entire week the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander was our ride and it was nice! I thought it was fitting that it was a winter white since we had recently got our first measurable snow in the DC Area.  Well it wasn't winter white it was technically Diamond White Pearl (seriously who names these car colors, do they take a vote?).  Now I'm not a huge fan of leather seats but with leather seats come heated seats and considering we were getting temperatures in the single digits these were right on time! It's in the interior details The interior was black leather, a good complement and contrast to the white exterior. It comes with push button start which I think is the new standard on most cars. My current truck doesn't have it so driving this made me miss it. I don't however miss the fumbling for my keys because the car will start as long as the keys are in the vehicle lol. But moving past my knack for losing things...The truck rides smooth, really smooth and has great pickup, which for most trucks isn't always the case.  Under the hood there is a 2.4L MIVEC DOHC 16-valve 4 cylinder engine so that explains that.  The beauty in that is the Mitsubishi technology behind MIVEC has a very small impact on the environment. Funny story while I was trying to find the button to turn on all the lights inside while the car was closed, I hit a button and found out there were like decorative lights in the panoramic roof. My son said it was like being in a limo Let the sunshine in But moving right along, I really did love the panoramic roof, it extended all the way back to the backseat so everyone (by everyone my preteen) could enjoy the sunshine.  I did think it was odd that the trunk didn't have some type of automatic feature or button, but it was extremely spacious and has a built-in cover, so what's in my truck is my business lol.  The gas mileage was pretty good too, it gets 25mpg combined city/highway.  Considering my commute to work is about 30 miles each way this definitely helped. It's not a huge truck either but there's plenty of space so this would be good for a small family or even someone who doesn't have kids but just needs a bit more room.  The 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport retails for just shy of $30,000 ($29, 310).  Mitsubishi is known for it's fast cars and most times sports cars tend to come to mind but maybe it's time we start looking at their trucks too?

What's your morning routine? After your alarm goes off what's the first thing you do?  For alot of us we grab our cell phone and that's how our day starts. Now for some of us it is our alarm clock, but do you sit it right back down or do you check your notifications? Be honest....we all do it. We check into our social sites to see what we missed, what our friends are doing, etc, etc. I go for hours without picking up mine, but sometimes it's in my hand every 5 minutes.  So I downloaded an app that would track my usage to see how my phone use actually broke down.  I really want to maximize my time or at least dodge procrastination a bit if I can. I downloaded an the Moment app to help me get a better idea. Well what happened? The Moment app is free with a few premium features you can pay for but for the basic stuff like tracking your phone and app usage that's free.  After a couple of weeks ( it's been a busy couple of weeks so don't judge me) I went to analyze my app usage.  Welp there wasn't any..because apparently I didn't take a battery screenshot so that Moment could analyze it. So I followed the steps to have the app analyze my app usage by going to my settings-->battery-->then toggling the little clock on the right side where it shows the percent used.  And ta-da! It shows you how long in minutes you've utilized an app for the past 24 hours. Sooo why do I need the moment app? I don't really, so after weeks of letting this run in the background (my phone battery isn't all that great now so this didn't help) I figured out that I don't need the app to help me know how much I was using what apps.  Now we know social media can be a productivity black hole, so I figured why not take a good look at it to help focus a little better this year. Here's how my usage panned out Ok so it wasn't terrible on average my phone is in my hand about 5 hours a day according to the Moment app.  It did also  put into perspective how often I pick up my phone, I believe as of Monday it was at 61 pickups. But for the app breakdown (which I got from my settings on my iPhone), well Instagram is my top used app, totaling an hour at least a day, followed by Facebook, then Twitter, and my messages app.  Now that isn't the average that's just for the past 24 hours as of Tuesday January 9th. I had downtime since there was an early dismissal for schools.  But I know I can check this on my own right in the settings so I can improve that, and focus more on the tasks or task at hand. Remembering to do a daily screenshot to have analyzed is a no for me because well I'll forget and then the information is already there. Check your battery settings now and let me know what you top 5 are for the last 24 hours, or you can toggle the settings and have it show for the week too.

Smartphones have changed our lifestyle habits in many ways. One of the biggest changes has come through mobile gaming, which has now reached a level equal with early games consoles. The variety of games available on mobile devices is vast. Apart from resolving issues of boredom and idleness during downtime, mobile gaming presents more than a handful of benefits. From sharpening reaction times, improving your mood, boosting cognitive capabilities and more, satisfying your gaming fix via your trusty mobile has its definite advantages. Many game developers and publishers have capitalized on this and have further refined their products to become more available on mobile platforms. Titans of the gaming industry like Nintendo are now more than ever looking to further concentrate on mobile game development. As many of these companies continually put their efforts into coming up with a superior gaming experience, gamers' phone usage naturally increases. Gaming Realms who specialize in online games details how 80 percent of their users enjoy their games through their phones. Gaming Realms’ flagship gaming platform Slingo has a wide array of games that are mobile-friendly, with the aim to make them as accessible as possible to all gamers. It is telling that every part of the gaming industry is adapting to the advancements of mobile technology. As we welcome 2018, mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular. While there are a lot of things to look forward to this year in the world of mobile gaming, sticking to these five rules will help gamers take advantage of all the benefits that come with this type of recreational play. Rule # 1: Be Excited and Exercise Game developers always aim to not only outdo their most recent work, but also exceed gamer expectations as much as possible. A report from News Watch TV emphasizes that this year we can expect more gamers to be blown away by the sheer innovation that goes into mobile game development. Two elements of mobile gaming that were further developed in 2017 and expected to expand in 2018, are virtual reality and augmented reality gaming. Games that use this technology will allow the gamer to incorporate a facet of physical fitness in their gaming. The famous example of this is Pokémon Go, where players had to get out of the comfort of their living room to capture all the monsters. Instead of choosing mobile games that work just the mind and muscle memory in your fingers, opt for those that actually make you move and earn your game’s rewards. Rule # 2: Ditch the Device Before Bedtime Every player has experience in terms of losing sleep over a game. While a night now and again of uninterrupted play is fun, the Ohio State University stresses that smartphone usage before sleeping may cause daytime tiredness. It goes without saying, that you should change your habits when your energy levels are compromised as you accomplish less and get behind on important tasks when tired. Enjoy the games but don’t let them compromise your sleep. Rule #3: Play When You Take a Breather Productivity at work should always be of top priority. Instead of playing your game without a real schedule in mind, amend your habits and pick your spots. Going for a short work break not only allows you to take a step back and assess the situation, but can also boost creativity. So, why not, play your game for a couple of minutes during your lunch break. After completing a level or two, resume official business. Rule # 4: Keep It Educational Choosing the right mobile game can better your mental approach when it comes to analysis and discernment. It’ll be refreshing to skip shooter games every once in a while, for something that will force you to use your brain in a different way. Opting for word puzzles, word searches, number puzzles, or even traditional games like chess and checkers can help keep a mental edge you may have overlooked to sharpen from time to time. Rule # 5: It’s Just a Game A report from Statista revealed that U.S. gamers play an approximate 1.3 games on a daily basis. However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if those numbers increase very soon as the same post notes that in 2018, it is expected that penetration of mobile gaming in the U.S. will surpass 60 percent. While it may be difficult at first, it will be beneficial to put your phone down and take part in other activities. Enjoy gaming but don’t let it consume all of your time. ~ Article written by Martin Wiggins

Coding to me is where technology and creativity meet.  The possibilities are nearly endless for creating viable solutions to address societal needs. People being arrested and sitting in jail awaiting trial because they aren't able to make bail is one such problem.  As we see within the community and in publicized instances, such as the Kalief Browder story, they'll sit in jail for extremely long periods awaiting their trial dates.  This is before they've even been convicted of the crime. All because the bail they need to post is out of their reach.  The Appolition app intends to help change that. What is it?Appolition works in the way some popular savings apps do but it takes your spare change and donates it to National Bail Out to help those who are unable to afford bail.  You simply have to link your credit/debit cards and spend as you normally would. Your spare change is what is donated. It rounds your purchase up to the nearest dollar and when it reaches at least $.50 in spare change it's automatically donated. The app was co-founded of King Cortney known as @FakeRapper on Twitter.  He and his co-founder sought to address the societal issue of people not being able to afford bail. He's also the founder of Trans*H4ck, a non-profit organization that focuses on fostering community and helping provide visibility for transgender techies and founders. You can create an account and start donating today here.

Right about now your feeds are probably flooded with people's plans for the new year.  People are preparing to start the new year fresh and one way I've always tried to start each new year, besides doing a vision board *reminds me I need to get on that* is to clean up. Clean the house, get rid of things you aren't using, etc, etc.  Well you know that old iPad you don't (or can't) use, or that old desktop that you don't even power on anymore? You can toss that stuff too, well not literally, you might even be able to get some cash for it. Trade it in Technology is great but it is constantly out-dating itself.  As soon as you get your hands on the current BIG thing the next BIG thing is on it's way! With that being said we're constantly purchasing new devices or other tech items. You've got a couple options, the first one being trade it in to see if you can get some money for it.  Now again you're not going to get your full purchase price for it. *Sidenote* Anyone remember taking your old video games..like games you spent $50 on and then only getting like $8 for them?? Amazon But anyway....First place to get money for your old tech would be Amazon. Now this actually shouldn't be a surprise, but I have never used their trade-in program for electronics, I have used it for books though.  Very simple process.  Now you don't get cash from it but instead you get an Amazon.com gift card (and really that's as good as cash because you can buy just about anything on there).  You can trade old gaming systems, tablets, phones, and even smart watches. NextWorth Same simple concept with a different provider.  You get an instant quote for your old  device by answering questions about it.  Then you get a prepaid shipping label from NextWorth and then you can track your old tech from shipping through the inspection process to payment.  Did I mention they provide free insurance on the items you send them? Key difference you get the option to receive a check or PayPal payment for your devices. Recycle it Now of course you can't salvage everything and sometimes you just need to get rid of it period.  But with it not being paper, plastic or leftovers from Popeye's, you can't just throw it out with the trash.  So there are some companies that take your items and properly dispose of them for you,  no seriously there are rules about this stuff.   Best Buy takes items for recycling, Staples, Office Max and more.  Here is a list from the EPA website that can point you in the right direction of properly disposing of your tech. Tech Tip..ALWAYS Wipe your devices, tablets, hard drives before trading in or recycling them One more idea, if you've got younger kids or know a family that doesn't have a computer or device, you can always gift it to them. Now this doesn't mean give someone the old tower PC you have in your basement, but if it's not too old why not? You're not using it.  Do you have any tech items you have to toss out? Or maybe you're not sure so you're going to look into seeing if they are worth some money?

I don't know about you but I was excited for iOS 11 to be officially released.  But here we are a couple of months later and I'm slowly leaning towards this being one of Apple's buggiest releases ever.  Seriously I think there have been about 5 updates since it's original release.  That "i" question mark issue was probably the most notable and annoying.  Aside from that there are some features that you might want to take advantage of besides the emojis. Siri So we all use Siri even if it's only every once in a while or for the jokes.  Seriously ask Siri what you should be for Halloween. In iOS 11 you don't have to talk to Siri, you can type to Siri.  Have a text message convo with your favorite virtual assistant.  You can configure this by going to Settings-->General-->Accessibility-->Siri, and toggle on the Type to Siri option. FaceTime Live Photos Now this isn't an amazing new feature, if you know how to screenshot on your phone (just hold your home button and your lock button) then you've already been able to capture a FaceTime call.  But now there is an option that allows you to take FaceTime Live photos with the touch of a button.  I think it's a feature that is automatically turned on but not used.  While you're on a FaceTime call you should see a small white circle to the left of the end call button in the center. If it's not there then do the following, Settings-->FaceTime-->scroll to the bottom and turn on the feature. PDF Markup This may not be high up on the things you need but when you do it definitely comes in handy.  So the PDF markup feature. If you're browsing the web and come across a page or like a recipe on a site, you can save it as a PDF. You know that little upward arrow in the middle at the bottom when you're using Safari, hit that, then scroll over and you should see an option to create a PDF. Once it's created you've got the option to markup (write/make notes) on the PDF.  So this really comes in handy if you're trying to throw your signature on something and send it back on the go too! Shutdown your device sans the power button In more computer OS like behavior iOS 11 has added the ability to shutdown your phone from within the OS.  This is handy if you've got a phone with a janky power button.  Even though in that instance you should be at the Apple Store getting some assistance. But it's good to know it's there..even though you'll end up like this eventually Sharing is Caring.... So how often do you go somewhere and you need to connect to wifi...don't answer almost everywhere right? You go to a family member's house and you need to get on the wifi and they don't remember or know the password.  If they've got an iPhone like you, and you're on the same network when they try to connect it'll ask you if you want to share the password with them to connect.  Seriously sharing the Wifi password is caring. One more thing..those apps you don't use We've all downloaded a ton of apps, especially if they are free.  But often times we may use them for that one thing and then it just sits on our phone collecting digital dust.  We think to delete them when we get that "running low on space" message.  Well with the Offload unused apps feature, this will automatically remove unused apps when you're running out of space but it will save the data and documents.  You can enable this by going to Settings-->General-->iPhone Storage, and click enable. It is the end of the year so this can help you declutter for the new year. So have you tried any of the new features? Are you just over iOS 11 all together?

This year I've really noticed a concentrated effort to support more black owned businesses, not just those of your friends and people you know but in general.  Alot of people are looking to do more of their spending with black owned businesses.  Now if these people aren't in your circle or don't necessarily do a ton of marketing how are you supposed to find them? Well the Black Wall Street App can help you with that! I'm a potential consumer, how does it help me? As a consumer you're looking for black businesses in your area to purchase from right? The Official Black Wall Street App can send you alerts when you're near a black owned business.  You can also search for businesses.  The app also has reviews on the local businesses.  Because let's be honest, not all businesses conduct good business so knowing that ahead of time is important. Find a business that has become your favorite? Then you can bookmark them and get notified when they have updates or new offers. I'm a black owned small business, how does this benefit me? Well first off, it puts your business in front of other eyes.  Marketing is a huge part of growing your clientele, and while Word of Mouth is good, you want to really bring in business.  You can interact directly with your customers from within the app, respond to messages right in the app.  You can also promote your business to the top of listings when people are searching for businesses that offer those services so they see your business first. You can also share promo codes and special offers with them in the app. It's a win for the consumer and the black owned small business.  It's connecting you to the what you both are looking for..customers find and support black owned businesses and you get new customers. The app is available to download for iOS and Android. Happy Shopping! If you discover any new gems share them in the comments below!

Listen, by now you’ve heard the term BitCoin at least once…if not I’ll assume you don’t watch the news, or get on the internet at all.  Most of the buzz around it has to do with the massive jumps in value BitCoin has experienced over a short span of time.  But let me circle back and get the basics. What is BitCoin? What is BitCoin? BitCoin is a type of Cryptocurrency. It is the first peer-to-peer payment network that has no central authority.  It’s digital currency and in that vein it’s software.  More specifically it’s open source in that any developer can access, review and modify the Bitcoin Software.  There is no one person that profits from BitCoin since it has no central authority, it is controlled by those who use it..the consumers. Can I go on a shopping spree with BitCoin? Now you can’t go to your local 7-11 or WalMart and use BitCoin to purchase stuff yet, but there are some businesses that accept it and they are of course onlin.  Reddit, WordPress, and Expedia are a few that accept it. For the average consumer you may or may not have seen the BitCoin wallet apps that are available, (there's a section on the App Store for it).  This is how you'd typically interact with BitCoin. You can get bitcoins by way of accepting them as payment for a service, or you can purchase them from someone directly selling or by going through the BitCoin Exhcanges . There are plenty available worldwide, two such entities for the United States are Gemini and itBit. Will it become as widely used as the dollar? If BitCoin really expands as an accepted form of currency I think business owners especially those that do business online will appreciate that BitCoin transactions are both secure and irreversible.  So no more people pulling a fast one after they've racked up a ton of purchases and then reporting them as fraud. It also offers protection for the consumer, no personal information is contained in it. Now that doesn't mean that it's anonymous. Due to the open source nature of  it, there are tons of public records regarding transactions. You want better privacy then going off the grid aka the internet and any other form of digital means, is best for you. I don't pretend to know it all and I'm currently doing my due diligence on learning more about this cryptocurrency as I do with all new technology so I can be informed. I mean if the Winklevoss twins (you know the guys that got swindled out of that social media site lol) can be BitCoin billionaires why can't I? Have you purchased any BitCoin or started looking into it?

Chef Curry with the pot boy *in my best Drake voice*...ok...ok now that I got the obvious pun out the way lol. Did you guys know that Ayesha and Steph Curry have their own mobile cooking game?  We all know that line from Drake's 0-100, so it fits, but it'll make even more sense after you check out Mrs. Curry's resume. Ayesha Curry is known for her cooking skills, she's got her own show on Food Network, a cookbook, her own meal delivery service called Home Made, a YouTube channel, and then some! About the Game Steph appears on the show and on her YouTube with Ayesha so we've seen Chef Curry before but now you get to have some fun and play along!  In the game, you get to run a restaurant with The Currys. Ayesha and Steph Curry do the actual voices in the game as well.  Think Cooking Dash with a twist, the twist being one of favorite couples in the kitchen.  Games like these are all about time management, but they are so fun!  The game has over 500 levels and you can connect to Facebook to invite your friends and get extra rewards. *Please don't spam your friend with requests* If you've played any time management games then this is definitely for you . If you're just looking for a new game to check out this might be a good fit too.  Chef Curry is available for free on iOS and Android.  There are some in-app purchases of course, but now you too can be Chef Curry with the pot, pan, spatula lol.