Apps That Help You Manage Your Life 用App应用点亮你的生活

2014-02-27ChrisNuttall

新东方英语 2014年2期

Chris+Nuttall

“Know thyself，” advises the ancient Greek aphorism—and before others get to know you better， a modern-day thinker might add， given the surveillance to which we are all subjected to today.

If learning is to be life-long， we should get used to being assessed by the latest science of data analytics—a continuous monitoring of our thoughts， interests， attention span1）， productivity and overall performance culled2） from our interactions with online courses， social networks and other services. Then there are the data produced from observing us through cameras and sensors in our smart devices， and through an increasingly smart world around us.

But what if all this data could be turned to our advantage and we could stay a step ahead of those wanting to get our measure3）， whether in education or our working lives？ We have the means to do this with our gadgets and with new services that are emerging.

Companies are being forced to accept the “bring your own device” trend of workers using their own smartphones， tablets and laptops in the office and these devices contain a multiplicity of apps and sensors that can help us know our strengths and weaknesses， while optimizing mind and body for better performance.

I have tried many of these devices and services for reviews， but my experience pales4） next to BMC Software5）s Chris Dancy.

His day typically begins with him being woken by his Philips Hue lights6）. These are WiFi-enabled light bulbs whose color and intensity can be set with an iPhone app. His sleep patterns7） will have been recorded by a BodyMedia armband8） that has a range of sensors for monitoring sleeping and waking activity.

Stepping on to his Fitbit Aria WiFi scale9）， his weight is recorded and sent to an app. As he meditates， eats and gets ready for work， records are created for his activities， calorie consumption， mood， the temperature and humidity and what music he has enjoyed. Apps and services that enable this include Insight Timer10）， a meditation app that logs your progress， and WeMo11）， a home automation switch that will turn on and off lights and other devices， with remote control enabled through its own app.

Dancy also uses Lose It12）， a weight loss service； Spotify13） for logging his music； Netatmo14）， a personal weather station that monitors air quality； MoodPanda， a mood diary， and the Wahoo Blue HR15） heart-rate strap. All of these have related apps for your smartphone.

During his working day， there is another smorgasbord16） of services to record activity. Evernote17） stores notes and bookmarks， Trello18） helps organize projects， Google Drive19） stores documents. A lot of this is stitched together by Zapier20）， a service that lets you automate tasks such as data collection between more than 190 online services. Shopping at lunchtime can be recorded by a personal finance app such as Mint. He also uses Placeme21）， a free app that automatically records your whereabouts. Like him， I prefer RunKeeper22） for recording walks and cycling—it uses my phones GPS to map my routes， which gives it an advantage over other pedometer-based accessories.

Dancy uses the Withings23） blood pressure monitor in the late afternoon， then takes to GetGlue24） to organize his TV viewing， before checking his various social feeds gathered by Jolicloud25）， setting Nest—his WiFi thermostat26）—and retiring to bed.

This all might sound a tad27） data-obsessive， but he points to the benefits of these life-hacking28） and recording methods. Data collection means I could forget everything he had just told me， he said. This was true—I have pulled a list of all these services from one of his online feeds rather than going through my notes.

He argues we will have to integrate the technology of our personal selves into the technology of our work and study， and while it may look complicated and too much trouble now， the capabilities of these services are growing fast， as are devices—the new Samsung Galaxy S4 phone has added sensors measuring temperature， humidity and atmospheric pressure， for example.

The overall benefit is to empower people to optimize their environment for their day-to-day activities and make them masters rather than victims of their data. Unlike the mechanic plugging a computer into a car to read its vital signs， we would no longer be the human middleware29） between machines.

“认识你自己。”希腊古训这样劝诫道。而当今的思想家或许会补充一句：在别人更了解你之前。因为如今，我们全都生活在监视中。

学习若要伴随终身，我们就应该习惯最新的数据分析科学对我们的评估——当我们与在线课程、社交网络和其他服务互动时，我们的想法、兴趣、注意广度、生产力和整体表现都会受到持续的监视。我们智能设备上的摄像头和传感器，还有这个日益智能化的世界都在观察我们，数据便由此产生。

无论在学校还是职场，如果这些数据都能为我们自己所用，如果我们总能比那些想要了解我们的人抢先一步，又会怎么样呢？有了手头的智能产品和层出不穷的新服务，这一点我们不难做到。

各公司不得不接受“自带设备”这一趋势，允许员工在办公时使用自己的智能手机、平板电脑和笔记本电脑。这些设备上的应用程序和传感器五花八门，可以帮我们了解自身的优缺点，同时把身心调整到最佳状态，从而有更好的表现。

为了写测评，我试用过其中不少设备和服务，但比起BMC软件公司的克里斯·丹西，我的经验还是相形见绌。

丹西的一天从被飞利浦的智能照明系统唤醒开始。这些灯泡自带无线上网功能，其颜色和亮度可由一款iPhone应用设定。丹西的睡眠类型将由臂带式的BodyMedia记录下来。这款健康仪配有一套传感器，用于监测睡眠活动。

丹西一站在Fitbit Aria无线智能电子体重秤上，他的体重就会被记录下来，并发送至一个App应用。当他在思考、吃饭和准备上班时，他的这些活动、消耗的热量、情绪、体温、湿度和他刚听过的音乐都会被记录下来。在能够实现上述功能的应用程序和服务中，有一款冥想应用程序——“冥想定时器”，它能记录你的所思所想；还有一款名为WeMo的家用自动开关，可以通过其自带的程序遥控灯光和其他设备。

丹西还利用“减掉脂肪”的服务减肥，用“声破天”记录音乐，用个人气象站Netatmo监测空气质量，用MoodPanda书写心情日记，用Wahoo蓝牙心率带监测心率。所有这些在您的智能手机上都有相关应用。

在工作日，丹西会用另一套服务来记录活动。“印象笔记”用来存储备忘录和书签，Trello用来管理项目，谷歌云端硬盘用来存储文档。这些应用大多由Zapier整合，该服务能够帮助你实现任务自动化，比如在190多个在线服务之间收集数据。午餐时间的购物花销则被记录在Mint这样的个人理财应用中。他还用免费应用“我在这里”来自动记录行踪。和他一样，我爱用“口袋健身教练”来记录我的散步和骑行里程。这款应用利用我手机的GPS标记路线，比其他基于计步器的设备要更胜一筹。

临近傍晚，丹西会用Withings量量血压，然后打开“密友”整理一下要收看的电视节目，再看看Jolicloud为他搜罗的各种社交方面的反馈信息，最后调好他的Nest无线恒温器的温度，上床睡觉。

这一切听起来或许有点数据强迫症的味道，但他一语道出这些“生活黑客式”记录方法的好处。他说，数据收集意味着我可以把他刚说的话忘得一干二净。的确如此，这一份包含了上述所有服务的清单是我从他的某个在线订阅记录里找到的，而不是通过查阅我的笔记。

丹西认为，我们终究会将用于个体自我的技术与工作、学习方面的技术结合起来，虽说目前这可能看起来有点复杂、困难重重，但这些服务的功能正在飞速提升，智能设备也一样。比如，三星新款手机Galaxy S4就添置了能测量温度、湿度和大气压的传感器。

总体的好处是，人们将有能力来优化日常活动所处的环境，掌控自己的数据，而不会为其所困。和那种将一台电脑连到汽车上来读取重要数据的技工不同，我们将不再是夹在机器之间的人型中间设备。

1. attention span：[心]注意广度，注意力的持续时间

2. cull [k?l] vt. 采集（花等）；收集

3. get ones measure：估计，摸清，了解

4. pale [pe?l] vi. 显得逊色，相形见绌

5. BMC Software：BMC软件公司，美国一家企业管理软件提供商

6. Philips Hue lights：飞利浦公司推出的一种可高度定制的智能照明系统

7. sleep pattern：睡眠类型

8. BodyMedia armband：BodyMedia公司推出的一款臂带型健康仪