Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Lost FitBit? Use Your Phone

FitbitI have been using the same FitBit for over two and a half years now so losing it would give me a great deal of angst. I have probably convinced dozens of friends and family to get their own FitBits and it sometimes baffles me when they say they can’t find theirs (I’m very OCD about checking my pocket probably once an hour for my FitBit, even if I have been sitting for an hour). So the obvious excuse, when I taunt them, is they “lost it” *sigh*

Well now that excuse is no longer valid. An update to the phone app a few weeks ago will now allow you to link multiple devices to one account, including your phone. You can now add your phone to your FitBit account as a “Mobile Tracker” and it will record your steps just as your FitBit would (granted I don’t know if the accuracy is the same).

If you don’t know how to hook up your phone as a tracker, I can help you out (unless you have already performed a search on Google and found the answer in the FitBit forums). You will need to have the FitBit app installed on your phone which you can get from the App Store or the Android Store.

Once you have the app installed and you have launched it:

  • Tap on “Account” at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap “Set Up a New Fitbit Device” – which should be right in the middle of your screen.
  • Tap on the “MobileTrack” option at the bottom and follow any additional prompts.

This should set your phone up as a tracker and it will only track the basics (i.e. it won’t track sleep, stairs, etc). I use this option when my FitBit is charging and I am still going to be somewhat active – because every step counts! Once it has finished charging (or you find your by gone FitBit) I would remove the phone, which I recommend as only one device can be tracking steps at a time. Steps from all devices will be aggregated on your FitBit account.

So there you have it. If you have lost your FitBit or its charging, and you have a phone that supports all the functionality of the app (I believe the FitBit app still has functionality issues on iPhone 4) then you no longer have an excuse for your lower rank on the leader boards 🙂

Keep Calm and Walk On!

The MMO Times: RIP Sir Christopher Lee

count-dookuIssue 118: The man we all thought was really immortal, Christopher Lee, passed away on June 7th (his wife wanted to delay the public announcement so his family could be made aware privately). Everyone mostly remembers him for his role in Lord of the Rings and, of course, Star Wars. He also played a pretty frightening Dracula (opposite fellow Star Wars legend, Peter Cushing). He lived a very full and epic life and passed away at 93. RIP my good man.

We are a week away from E3 and I wonder what will happen that will make it exciting since everyone keeps making major announcements before the opening ceremonies. First we heard about Fallout 4 and rumors of a new XBox controller which Microsoft just confirmed along with a 1TB hard drive (to be revealed at E3). My 80’s nerd-child squealed with joy when I heard about the Mega Man Legacy Collection coming soon.

Even Blizzard is unearthing several announcements (as you will read below). In fact, this post seems pretty Blizzard-heavy again but they seem to be the only ones producing MMO news. In fact I think I touched on all of their current titles, but there is other news, including the annual Steam money-sink. KCGO

Biggs On: WWDC 2015

apple_logo-263x300This week Apple held their annual WorldWide Developers Conference where they often unveil new versions of their software or, sometimes, new versions of their hardware. This year they focused primarily on the software with changes to OS X, iOS, and Apple Watch. Honestly, there wasn’t much that aroused my inner geek, in fact I probably have more to criticize than to condone.

I might as well talk about the one thing that had me a little excited and that was Apple talking about the next iteration of their new programming language, Swift 2. As I mentioned in a previous post, I enjoyed the proverbial “getting started” tutorials from a few months ago. I’m really looking forward not only to what Swift 2 will offer but I’m especially curious about what the open source community will do with it as well.

“El Capitan” is probably the worst name for a product since “Microsoft Edge”! Sure, I get why they chose that name, because its some rock edifice in Yosemite (that’s a better origin story than Microsoft Edge … which I don’t even think has an origin story) but its a terrible name for software. It doesn’t sound like a piece of software, it sounds like a mixed drink or amateur Mexican porn. I was listening to the CNET TV crew while the keynote was going on and someone said “Big Sur” was their choice for the name; I think that would have been a great name. I’m glad I won’t have to pay for the upgrade. (Side-note: The CNET TV crew were a lot of fun to listen to; I may have to start listening to their broadcasts each week).

Book Review: Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2)Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

My rating:[rating=3]
(See this review on Goodreads.)

I’ll admit that I was a little concerned about reading the second book since the first one was a little slow and the writing hardly held my interest at times. I honestly enjoyed this book more than the first one, however the writing still seems a little sub-par compared to The Mortal Instruments. I am finding myself feeling more vested into the fates of the characters regardless of the fact that I know some of the genealogical links to the characters in Mortal Instruments.

I still suggest that you read the latter before the former. There is still some mystery as to how certain relationships come about (although one relationship in particular seems to be a very familiar dynamic to Clary and Jace … in fact I might even go so far as to say its practically identical). In fact I think the knowledge you have from Mortal Instruments is probably what compels me to continue reading.

View all my reviews

Tech Talk: Ready For Swift? [UPDATED]

swift-ogA couple of months ago I decided to start diving into Swift. I know Swift is still in its infancy and Apple seems to be breaking it with every XCode/OS/language update. I had watched all of the videos Pluralsight had to offer (though I noticed they recently published new ones). I have dabbled in Objective-C prior to Swift’s announcement and it is as convoluted and cryptic that everyone says it is; but it’s not impossible to learn. Swift, however, would make iOS app development a heck of a lot easier.

It might help that I have a sufficient background in object-oriented development in .NET as well as fluency in JavaScript and HTML5. I’m not sure if the latter would provide any value comprehending Swift, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt it. I think the concept that provides the most value is understanding the MVC design pattern. I completed a very basic “Hello World” style app back when I first tried out Swift; it appears there have been a couple more updates so I hope to explore those [potential] changes in a few weeks.

Apple has been pretty quiet about Swift since it was introduced. I’m not sure if that’s because they were expecting the Internet to pick up that mantle or if they are planning additional announcements (WWDC perhaps – which, ironically, is occurring on the day that I published this post). If you have been using Swift recently and have something to share (good or bad), I would enjoy your comments below. Perhaps, in a few weeks, after I have dived back into iOS development, I will post an update.

UPDATE: After watching WWDC it looks like Apple is ready to take Swift to the next level with Swift 2 and by making it open source (which was received with raucous applause). This announcement was probably the most exciting thing (for me, at least) to come out of WWDC this year; unfortunately Swift 2 (and the open source library) won’t be available until the end of the year.

/cheers

The MMO Times: “Chewie, We’re Home”

han-chewie-episode-7Issue 117: Hello again! Why the Han quote from the new Star Wars trailer? Because Star Wars! The past week has been interesting in that we’ve had some surprising announcements and the launch of a new IP. Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm officially launched this week (though I haven’t played it since early beta). Bathesda announced the next iteration of a popular title and apparently there is a video game hall of fame now. All of this before E3, which is still two weeks away. I wonder if E3 is going to have some big news.

As the weather gets nicer out you should get out there and enjoy. Save the gaming for after dark. While the daystar can burnz us, it also provides our bodies with vitamin D (which keeps you from looking pale so pale!) Granted the launching of Heroes, more Overwatch game play videos, Aion expansion, and other tantalizing news found below will test your willpower. In the meantime, KCGO!

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