Here it is, the last Advisorator issue of 2018. In a shameless act of self-indulgence, I thought I’d use this opportunity to look back at some of my favorite tech things from the last year.

Not everything here is new, but when I look back over 2018, these are the technologies that I’ve used and appreciated the most:

Typora: I’ve been using this text editor for a couple years now, and I’ve yet to find a better way to write. Typora uses Markdown, which is a text-editing language that helps with writing on the web, but it abstracts away the language’s code to look more like a regular word processor. The result is a minimalist interface that really helps you focus on the actual text, and it has customizable themes so you can change how your writing experience looks. Once you get used to writing this way, it’s hard to go back. (Download Typora for Mac or Windows, and read my Markdown primer from earlier this year.)

Lenovo Smart Display 10: Photos weren’t supposed to be a key feature for this device, which puts Google’s voice assistant on a 10-inch touchscreen. Lenovo’s marketing materials describe far more ambitious uses, such as watching YouTube videos, controlling smart home devices, and video chatting with friends.

None of those things compare, however, to having a steady stream of personal photos on your countertop. By tying into the "Live Albums" feature of Google Photos, the Smart Display lets you choose which faces should appear on the screen, and will then cycle through them at random, so you’re constantly being delighted by photos you’d forgotten about. It’s the rare instance of technology that makes you feel more connected to the real world. (I wrote more about the Lenovo Smart Display for Fast Company back in August.)

Fabric phone cases: For years, I’ve worn my disdain for smartphone cases on my sleeve. It seemed like such a shame to cover up these precious works of metal and glass, and a little extra attentiveness is really all it takes to avoid disastrous drops. (This even held true for me after having kids; the only time I’ve ever shattered a smartphone screen was on an adults-only night out a few years back.)

Then I reviewed Google’s Pixel 3 phone, which arrived with a dark blue fabric case, and something clicked: While smartphones are still at their slickest without a case, they’re also at their most sterile. I quickly found a fabric case for my own Pixel 2 XL—it was pretty cheap on eBay—and have been loving the change of pace.

Smart home Routines: Smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home have really come into their own this year as smart home controllers, that’s largely because of Routines. With either Alexa or Google Assistant, you can set up a single voice command to execute a string of events.

At our house, we use Routines to dim the bedroom lights and play relaxing sounds around bedtime. On weekday mornings, the lights come on again with a “good morning” message, a readout of the day’s weather and calendar events, and an upbeat playlist. This the stuff of sci-fi, full stop. (Read my how-to pieces on Alexa Routines and Google Assistant Routines on TechHive.)

iOS Shortcuts: Speaking of automation, Shortcuts is one of the most interesting apps that Apple has ever launched, allowing you to execute a string of actions with a single voice command, widget, or home screen button. Some of my favorite Shortcuts include downloading YouTube videos, talking to Google Assistant through Siri, and dictating text directly into the clipboard. Shortcuts greatly extends what’s possible with iOS, and you don’t have to be a tech whiz to get started. (Read my Fast Company story on how to make the most of Shortcuts.)

Mechanical keyboards: This is technology is hardly new, but 2018 is the year I fell down the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole. For as little as $60 or so, you can get a small keyboard that produces a satisfying clack with every keystroke. (I prefer the ones with Cherry MX Blue switches—the loudest of the bunch—beneath the keys.) From there, you can go about the business of buying alternative keycaps that give your keyboard a new look. And once you’ve gone this far, it’s hard to go back to typing on anything else. (The Wirecutter’s Nathan Edwards wrote a great mechanical keyboard primer earlier this year.)

Got any tech you’ve been particularly impressed with, or, conversely, anything you’ve been vexed by? I’d love to hear your thoughts over email.

I recently found out about a neat website called Remove.bg, which can instantly remove the background from photos with people in them. Just hit the “Select a Photo” button or paste in a link from the web, and you’ll get a .PNG photo file with a transparent background. You can then import the image as a layer in photo editing software such as Photoshop or GIMP, using whatever background image you want.

The only downside is that the output resolution is fairly low, at a maximum of 500x500. The creators are looking into support for higher resolutions, but for now this is a better solution for online photos (such as your Facebook or LinkedIn profile) than for prints.

Your location for sale: A couple weeks ago, the New York Times published a wake-up call story on how some free smartphone apps track your location—even when you’re not using them—and sell the data to marketers. The list of offenders includes several popular apps such as The Weather Channel, Weather Bug, Gas Buddy, TheScore, and DC Metro. Although app makers don’t tie this location data to specific people, the tracking is often accurate enough to figure out who individual users are based on where they’re spending the most time. This presents a security and privacy risk, and it’s also just unnerving in principal. Unsurprisingly, these apps tend to downplay or hide their data collection policies when they ask for access to your location.

If you have an iPhone, you can stop apps from gathering persistent location data by choosing "When using the app" whenever you’re asked for location access. You can also manage permissions for each app through Settings > Privacy > Location, or get a fresh start on all apps by heading to Settings > General > Reset and selecting "Reset Location & Privacy." Android doesn’t offer this type of granular control, but you can turn apps’ location access on or off by heading to Settings > Security & Location > Location, and selecting "App-level permissions."

More Facebook madness: I know, it’s probably tiresome at this point to read about more privacy and security scandals at Facebook. Unfortunately, we’ve got two more of them that are worth your attention. I’ll try to keep it brief.

First, Facebook acknowledged a bug that exposed the unposted photos of up to 6.8 million users. Essentially, if those users had allowed others apps to access their Facebook photos, those apps might’ve been able to access photos that users had uploaded, but not posted. Facebook says the issue was in effect from September 13 to September 25, and has since been fixed. It’s not the biggest problem in the grand scheme of things, but it’s not a good look after Facebook allowed hackers to steal personal information from nearly 30 million users just a couple months ago.

The more serious issue emerged last week, when the New York Times reported on Facebook’s expansive data-sharing agreements with other companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix. The deals allowed these companies to tap into Facebook’s network for new features, while sidestepping the normal rules for how third-party apps can access Facebook data.

Some of these arrangements were more innocuous than the Times makes them sound. The report notes, for instance, that Netflix and Spotify could "read Facebook users’ private messages,” when in reality those apps were just letting people see messages from their Facebook friends about new movies and music to check out. Likewise, Microsoft was able to “see the names of virtually all Facebook users’ friends without consent” because the company had allowed users to search for their Facebook friends’ activity in Bing.

Still, some deals appeared to be more nefarious. Amazon, for instance, may have been using Facebook data to flag book reviews written by authors’ friends, and Facebook may have used the data from its partners to fuel its creepy "People You May Know” feature. Facebook was also sloppy about managing these data-sharing agreements, allowing its partners to retain users’ personal information long after they stopped offering Facebook-related features.

I don’t have any specific advice to offer as a result of these issues, but every new scandal makes a stronger case for sharing less with Facebook and connecting it to fewer outside apps. That’s why I continue to write about it, even if the coverage is a bit like eating your peas and carrots.

Alexa’s ear for security: Amazon is rolling out a new feature called Alexa Guard for its Echo speakers. Once enabled, you can say "Alexa, I’m leaving," and the voice assistant will listen for smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and broken glass. You’ll get a notification in the Alexa app when something’s amiss, and if you have home monitoring service from Ring or ADT, Alexa can also have those services notify the authorities. You can also view live video from an Echo Show or audio from Echo speakers, and can even broadcast a message to the intruder, letting them know the cops are coming.

It’s clearly early days for the feature, though. For now, Alexa Guard only available on Amazon’s latest Echo speakers and Echo Show smart display, and CNet reports that it can’t tell the difference between a video clip of broken glass and the real thing. Still, it could be better than nothing if you don’t have a proper security system in place. To check if it’s available for you, open the Alexa app and head to Settings > Guard.
 

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