TechLife101 Logo 2

TechLife101 is about how to use technology to make your life better. Today we are being inundated with new technology products everyday and TechLife101 will show our readers how best to incorporate it into their daily lives to live a happier, healthier, and wealthier lifestyle.

Ever since I was little boy, I loved technology. I got my first computer when I was less than 10 years old and started to learn  the basic programming language. I would wire up switch boxes I got from RadioShack and saved all the electronic catalogs that hit our mailbox.

How great life will be once we have little robots roaming around making our lives easier. I have watched technology move from an optional part of life to one of its core building blocks. Where would we be without email, cell phones, computers, and now tablets?  With all this technology invading our lives everyday, how are we to live in this new plugged in world?

https://techlife101.com is a blog site that will publish news, ideas, reviews, and advice on how to live a better life using technology.

Technology shouldn’t be hard or something overly complicated. When technology is done right, it should fit into your life easily and fit your personality.  When technology is done right, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

Where you live can often change the way you use technology. Some parts of the world adopt technology faster than other places. Silicon Valley will often adapt technology much faster than more remote locations but it doesn’t mean the lifestyle in Silicon Valley is easier or even better than remote locations.  Technology is not the answer to a better life but should be considered a tool to make it better.

Many people and organizations often confuse the use of technology with productivity. Technology doesn’t automatically make someone more productive (but often can when used right).  I have often thought about this around Christmas time when I would have battles with my Christmas card list and spending so much time getting the labels printed.  I know I could have spend less time had I just written the addresses on the cards by hand but I wouldn’t have learned all the new features of the program I was using.

So I continued until I had leaned the process where today I can print my address labels and have them applied to all my Christmas cards in under 30 minutes.  Technology, although not a help when I first started using it, has become a needed tool to get more work done in less time when it is bundled with knowledge.

Business has also applied technology in the hope it would make an employee more productive.  We must always apply logic and common sense before deploying technology to make sure it will do what is needed.  If not, we risk the loss of productivity.  This leads me to the purpose of TechLife101.com.

We are dedicated to not only reporting on technology news and how it affects your life but how we can use it to make your life easier.

After all, given the pace of technology growth and what is expected in the future, we can all use a little more help understanding it.  Not all technology will fit everyone’s needs so feel free to read what is interesting to you, learn what you like to learn, and use technology not for the sake of using it, but with the goal of making life easier.  Do this so you can spend more time with family and friends or just taking some time to unplug and enjoy life.

 

Who is TJ Totland

TJ Totland Headshot

Todd “TJ” Totland is a computer and network engineer working for IBM. He is certified as a MCSE, MCT, CNE, and CNA with vast experience in many technologies used in businesses today.

TJ has designed, built, and managed hundreds of different types of computer and network systems for large and small customers since 1990. He is a subject Matter Expert in Cloud Technologies and has vast knowledge in VMware products.

TJ has worked for other companies like Bellcore, Alpha Technologies, Dataflex, Microsoft, and AT&T before starting work for IBM in 2016. He is currently a Principal Systems Engineer managing IBM’s private cloud for several large and small customers. TJ also runs his own computer and networking company where he helps local residents with PC problems and website designs.

TJ volunteers for several organizations including Tinton Falls EMS, where he held positions as the squad secretary and membership chair. He has been an EMT for over 25 years. He was also a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary where he served for 21 years, more than half at the national level, supporting government websites with the most current technology available. TJ also taught karate to children at the YMCA and has been practicing martial arts since 1980. He has earned 14 patents while working for AT&T and was appointed to the his town’s Technical Advisory Committee from 2010 to 2012.

TJ has lived in New Jersey most of his life and graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in 1986. He has a degree in Business and History. His hobbies are golf and genealogy and he enjoys relaxing with his family and friends. TJ is married with 3 children and enjoys many family activities.