Ditching Passwords With Your Phone

Google has finally enabled Passkeys for normal Google accounts (Work/School accounts coming soon TM). Passkeys is a standard Google and many other tech companies came up with in the FIDO Alliance, as an alternative to passwords.

The TLDR as to how it works is, your phone keeps the keys for your account in something like keychain if you use an iPhone, and when you go to log in to say google you will be prompted to authenticate on your phone with either a face scan, fingerprint, or a pin code. However, you normally unlock your phone is how it will know the right person is logging in to Google.

Other sites allow for this type of authentication like Paypal, Shopify, and a few others. More will likely follow now that Google has implemented passkeys.

Now let's go over how to set up passkeys for Google.

1. Go to your Google account settings.

2. Then go to your security settings.

3. Click Add Passkeys.

4. Click the create Passkey button.

5. The click Use another device.

6. Scan the QR code with your phone (you can use the camera app on most smartphones or your QR scanner app of choice).

7. Follow the prompt to authenticate with your phone (Face scan, fingerprint scan, or pin).

8. Add the account keys to your device (iCloud key chain or Google Password Manager).

9. You're done!

You can now use your phone to log in to your Google account. This is something you might see more and more in the coming years.

Apples Week of Hardware Updates

Next week Apple is having an event to announce something. We are pretty sure it is the Apple TV service and Apple News subscription service. When Apple has an event we normally speculate on what new hardware they might announce. Well, Apple must not want to focus on hardware next week so they let us know this week.

iPad Air and iPad mini:

This will be a running theme through all of this. The device is the same except they swept out the old chip for a new faster chip. Now we have faster iPad Airs (we are back to the Air name now) and the iPad mini isn’t dead. Both iPads are now sporting an A12 Bionic. With last years iPad update, we got use of the Apple Pencil but it couldn’t register things like how hard you are pushing on it. Well, now you can use the original Apple Pencil with the new iPad Air and mini just like you could on the original iPad Pro. You can pick up the new iPad Air for $499 starting next week or $399 for the iPad mini.

iMac:

The iMac line is now faster as well. The 21.5 inch iMac now has a faster 8th generation quad-core processor from Intel and sports Radeon Pro Vega graphics. The 27 inch iMac now has a 9th generation 6 core processor or you can get it with an 8 core processor. The 27 inch iMac has the same graphics but runs 50% faster. Just like the iPads, you can pick up the new iMacs next week. The 21.5 inch iMac will start at $1299 and the iMac 27 inch will start at $1799.

AirPods:

AirPods just what we have been waiting for, or am I the only waiting for this? Either way, we finally have new AirPods. The new ones are like everything else pretty much the same as the old ones but in this case, the new AirPods add a new feature. You can now use "Hey Siri" with the new AirPods. With the current ones, you can only activate Siri by tapping one of the pods. This is nice if like me you connect your AirPods to say your iPad and then leave that room and want to just say "Hey Siri" instead of tapping your ear. Along with new AirPods Apple is offering a new wireless charging case for the AirPods. You can buy the case with the New AirPods for a bit more or buy the case separately to use with your original AirPods. You can Get the new AirPods for $159 or $199 with the wireless charging case. You can pick up the wireless charging case for $79 if you want it later on or use with your original AirPods. You can pick up your new AirPods next week.

Mondays the Day:

Next week is going to be a busy week for the Apple Store with all this new hardware. I think the only thing left to be updated is the iPod Touch and Apple TV. With Apple's announcement being center around a streaming service, if they have an updated Apple TV they might wait until Monday to announce it. None of these products got major overhauls that some wanted but they are all faster now may have a new service or two on Monday.

My Top 5 Apps

Every day I use my iOS devices to work on things and to play. Hell, I'm using my iPad right now to write this article. Today we are talking about my 5 most used apps. I will leave links to the Android version of them as well as the iOS. So everyone knows I don’t use these apps on android so I don’t know how well they work there. With that said let’s get into the list.

File Browser:

App Store:

Google Play:  No Android App

Now I’ve used other file browser apps. I also use files which is built into iOS but I found a tip about this pacific app a month ago while on Facebook. FileBrowser lets me import different files into the app and plug-in cloud drives like Dropbox. What it does differently is let you access shared folders on your network. Allowing you to access these folders in the built-in files app. Now it may seem counterintuitive to us an app so I can use that same feature in another app. 

Here me out though. Being able to copy a file from my server onto my iPad and then put it in the right folder for the app I want to use it in makes things simpler.  Otherwise, I have to copy it the FileBrowser app then copy it again from that app into the one I want to use it with. Then vice-versa to get it off my iOS device. 

WoW Companion App:

App Store:

Google Play:

Well, we all knew this was coming. The World of Warcraft companion app is for those who play wow in the current expiation. If you used the legion app before it, this app is much of the same. It allows you to start follower missions, recruit troops, and to collect your rewards. It also adds the ability to your characters in the armory.

I’m in and out of this app a lot. Especially when I’m leveling a character to do XP missions while I’m not playing or to get a little more azurite on my main. If you are currently playing wow this is a good way to get something done in wow without having to open the game.

LastPass:

App Store:

Google Play:

You can file this app under work or play. LastPass is a cloud-based password vault. Now some might say being a cloud password vault might make it insecure. But I’ve used things like keypads in the past and it was was too much to manage. LastPass keeps everything synced up and secured. I’ve been using LastPass like 2008 when I was still in high school and it has only gotten better over time. For free you can use LastPass on your PC through a browser extension to keep track of your passwords or create secure passwords. If you want to get access to your passwords easily and securely on your mobile devices, for $3 a month you can use the mobile app.

Reddit:

App Store:

Google Play:

Back to play time. The Reddit app I mean what else can I say it’s Reddit login and go to r/aww when you need a pick me up. I use the normal Reddit it works. If I am going to bed and then open this app before I know it the sun is up.

Overwatch League:

App Store:

Google Play:

Overwatch League started up last week and normally I tune in if one of my teams are playing (NY Or Soul). Otherwise, I have it on in the background or watch something else, but I do still want to see what is going on in the league. The Overwatch League app keeps you update on league news, standings, and scores. It will also show you schedules when teams are playing. You can set the app to give you an alert when your team is playing. It is a must-have if you are an Overwatch League fan.

These 5 apps I have been ushering the most right now, but it does change from time to time. I thought it would be nice to share what I use. If you have your own list or have apps you think I might want to check out let me know in the comments.