BoomerTECH Adventures: Have Phone, Will Travel
"Yeah!" Where is my cellphone? I was waiting in line for a bus at Logan Airport and looking for my bag when I realized that my phone, my lifeline for the next trip, was missing. Before you panic, I remember that I have the Find My app on my iPad. The Portland Transit Center has free Wi-Fi, so I opened my iPad and started searching. My iPhone icon has been washed away by the Lisbon falls. I was relieved to know I was home and nowhere on I-295.
Luckily, a good friend of mine found my phone and mailed it to California in two days. I followed Find My's progress across the country until the battery died at Memphis International Airport. I then used the USPS tracking number to track it back to me.
My first plan was to connect Find My to the Apple Airtag I bought to track the progress of my belongings. Since I already have several cases of packages arriving at their destination, I would like to know where they are. On my first trip to California, I couldn't track my luggage because Airtag synced with my iPhone in Maine. However, on holiday flights I was able to track the progress of my luggage from the main terminal to the destination airport. Have the security of having access to my bag at any time.
Find My is a very useful application to locate your Apple devices throughout the building or across the country. This allows you to erase all data if the device is not restored. You can get the app for your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Google Play Storm has a similar app called Google Search My Phone for Android.
This trip is my first post-Covid flight. The family met on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and after visiting my sister in California, we moved to Seattle to join the others. The digital world has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Like many people, we use the Internet to search for Airbnbs that sleep 11, book flights, find places to eat, use Google Maps, and navigate to our destinations. Additionally, we text constantly to coordinate plans, and of course, young people communicate with their friends at home through various apps. true confession I text regularly to make sure my wallet survives without me. His sleeping photos relieved the anxiety I felt.
An interesting fact is that all planes have Wi-Fi. Before Covid, some of my flights were successful but not all. The six-hour trip across the country was faster because I was able to use the transit app on my iPad. I watched a few episodes of Unforgettable on PBS, played word games with friends, and of course read books on my Kindle app. Wi-Fi in the sky makes air travel more enjoyable.
It's surprising how often the Internet and apps are used during these trips. For example, several members of my family suffer from occasional respiratory problems. We are in the Pacific Northwest and we have wildfires to the north and east. Most of the smoke missed us. However, at the end of the trip we were surrounded by smoke and it was worth checking the air quality feature on the weather app. If there is a severe weather warning, we adjust our plans accordingly.
Do you have the Google Earth application? This is great because you can see what the place looks like in 3D. We use this application to see the layout of the places we can visit. Two of our teams qualify for the "senior" label, although we won't admit it. However, gone are the days of walking up steep slopes and over slippery rocks. Google Earth helped us avoid surprises on our tour to get a closer look at the terrain.
My younger cousin introduced me to disc golf on this trip. I was curious to see how it would turn out, so I jumped in and acted as the official photographer. This particular trail goes northwest through some tall Douglas fir trees, very interesting. My nephew has an app called UDisc. Contains information on hundreds of disc golf courses, including hole locations. Great app I thought and wondered if there were other similar apps out there. It's no wonder there are apps for golf courses, ski slopes, backcountry skiing and snowboarding, hiking and other outdoor activities. In fact, there is an app for every activity. Very impressive!
I took the red-eye flight to Boston with some members of my family. We were about six hours before flight time. I could easily watch and read for hours at the airport. However, I was traveling with a family of Energizer bunnies, so we were looking for a good activity in Seattle. We found the Discovery Park. It is a beautiful forest with trails that run through it and along the shores of Puget Sound. After 45 minutes of walking, we stopped to decide which way to go. They wanted to go to the lighthouse, but I knew it was only a million steps away. As a warm-up, I offered them a ride to the lighthouse and waited with them in the parking lot.
I wasn't paying attention to our path, but I thought I could find my way without any problem. Then I came to a fork in the road. How amazing! I'm not sure where to go. My iPhone came with the maps app. I typed the parking lot as the destination and chose a direction to walk. I took the path from right to left. I sometimes use this photo app to identify plants along the trail. It was a fun trip. Turns out I probably made the best decision. They discovered a million-degree beacon. However, near the waste processing plant there is a smell that does not arouse enthusiasm. Having a phone makes it easier for us to separate tasks, keeping everyone happy.
Of course, I use my iPhone camera all the time. My nephew is creating an online album where we can all share photos. It will be a wonderful resource for all of us.
Smartphones have increased access to information, power and communication, as well as ways to capture our adventures while traveling. Don't leave home without yours!
I know there are still many people, especially my generation (boomers), who are still not comfortable with their digital devices. I fear those opportunities will be lost because they are not using their devices to their full potential. We can help at BoomerTech Adventures. Visit our website at boomertechadventures.com.
Boomer Tech Adventures (boomertechadventures.com) offers expert guidance and resources to help boomers and seniors develop skills and confidence when using their Apple devices. BoomerTECH Adventures themselves use their experience as educators to create experiences that meet individual needs through videos, demos, tech tips, and timely blog posts.
"Before
Three ways to save battery on iPhone/iPad or other mobile devices
posted by Admin @ September 08, 2023
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