Asides

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Interim: Going on Hiatus

Hey everyone.

So today I’m announcing that I will no longer be writing here every single week.  Since starting college, my school load has increased (I am an engineering student after all), and my time to write has dwindled quite a bit (and my time to keep up with tech news, through blogs and podcasts, has gone down as well).

I still love writing this blog, and I’m sad to end this era.  I’ve really enjoyed it.  I still see myself potentially writing on here every now and again, but I’m no longer able to stick to a regular schedule.

Thank you so much for everyone who’s read my work over the past almost two years.  It’s really quite humbling.  I appreciate every one of you.

With sadness,
-Nick

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Interim: Happy Birthday, Staring at Phones!

Hooray!  Today marks one whole year of the Staring at Phones Blog!

I’d like to thank all my readers for making this past year a great one.  I love writing here; it’d be fun for me even without readers, but there’s something about knowing that people are actually reading what you produce that’s really gratifying.  I appreciate every one of you.  Your support makes continuing this blog a no-brainer.

Thanks again, and here’s to another great year of Staring at Phones!  ••

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Interim: Best of 2014

Happy New Year from the Staring at Phones Blog!

I hope you all had a wonderful 2014 and I wish you all the best in 2015.  This was the first year of the Staring at Phones Blog, and I’d say it was a huge success!  In case you missed them, I’d like to highlight what I thought were the three best posts of the year:

How Apple can “Beat” the Competition  (Originally published on May 18, 2014)
Apple has a lot to gain from their rumored purchase of Beats by Dr. Dre.  Even if you don’t think you know what Beats are, you’ve probably seen people wearing them.  The super-trendy headphones aren’t cheap either – they start at $169.95.  I don’t understand why the average Joe would need headphones that expensive (though I could understand someone in the music business wanting them), but Dr. Dre must know something I don’t.  I see those headphones everywhere.  So obviously, if the headphones are selling, it’s a good buy for Apple – just because it’s a money maker.  However, I think Apple has their eye on something else: Beats Music.  Continue reading…

Why Tesla’s Open Patents Will Help the World… and Tesla  (Originally published on July 6, 2014)
Several weeks ago, the recently spotlighted Tesla Motors (famous for making high-end electric cars) made a very unusual announcement. They said that they will not sue anyone who, “in good faith,” uses their technology in electric vehicles. This is a hugely different approach from nearly every other big business we see today. In our trigger-happy lawsuit world, companies patent everything they possible can, fearing that someone out there will rip them off. However, sharing ideas is the fastest way for people to innovate, instead of forcing them to reinvent someone else’s wheel every time they want to make a product.  Continue reading…

August App Review: Aviary  (Originally published on August 3, 2014)
Photos are becoming a larger and larger part of the web. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat – we love to take and share photos. Photo editing used to just be for photographers, but with the rise of services like Instagram (famous for its filters), people have discovered how much fun it is to be creative with their photos. Aviary delivers traditional editing tools (brightness, contrast, and so on) as well as some fun new ones (yes, including filters).  Continue reading…

I hope you enjoy these posts, as well as other ones from this year.  Stay tuned in 2015 for even more great content from Staring at Phones.  Be sure to subscribe via WordPress, email, or RSS so you don’t miss any new posts this year.  Thanks again for a great year, I’ll see you Sunday!

-Nick  ••

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Interim: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Staring at Phones Blog!

First, I’d like to thank you all for reading this blog.  I love writing here, even without readers, but at the same time, it is nice to know that someone likes what I’m doing.  I appreciate every one of you.

I hope you have a great day with family and friends, and I pray that you all have a wonderful new year as well.  Take some time today to talk with those you love, and maybe even (gasp!) stop staring at your phone for just a little bit (you’ll live, I promise).

Anyway, merry Christmas and have a happy new year in 2015!

-Nick  ••

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Interim: Domains and Twitter and Readers, Oh My!

Hi everyone, this is just a quick note to let you know some of the stuff going on around here at Staring at Phones.

1.  I finally bought a domain name for the blog!  This means that you can access Staring at Phones by simply going to staringatphones.com (don’t worry, you will still make it to the blog if you go to staringatphones.wordpress.com).  This is an exciting step for the blog, and I hope the domain will serve it for a long time to come.  (Note: WordPress says that it could take as long as a couple days for all internet service providers to “figure out” the new domain name, so if it doesn’t work for some reason, please just be patient.)

2.  I also made a twitter account.  There’s not much up there yet, but if any of you are interested in what I’ve been up to, you can check me out at twitter.com/NickFoster56.

3.  Finally, I want to thank everyone who reads this blog.  It’s been almost three months since I started this project, and while I’m certainly not famous, I really appreciate all you who do read the blog.  I didn’t start the blog to get followers, I started it because I enjoy writing about technology, but it is nice to know that some people out there do appreciate and enjoy what I am doing.

Thanks again, and have a great rest of your week.  I’ll be back with a real post Sunday night, as usual.  God bless!  ••