If “If This Then That” ran your Android
If “If This Then That” (ifttt) ran your Android and automated any number of complex and creative tasks, you’d have On{X}, a new open project from none other than Microsoft, which surprised us as much as it may have surprised you.
By setting up what are called “rules,” or using existing “recipes,” which are combinations of rules that users have already set up, you can automate your Android to do an amazing number of tasks that you probably didn’t know you couldn’t live without. The program can tell when a person is walking, running, or in a moving vehicle, so it can automatically perform tasks related to a change in any of these, so without doing anything besides setting up a recipe, all of your runs can be tracked and recorded without having to remember to launch an app, or it can tell you where you parked just because your vehicle stopped and you began walking.
The toolbox includes geo-fencing which allows your Android to perform tasks based on where you are. Want to text your significant other when you’re on your way home without having to touch your phone? Set up the recipe on your phone, and let it do its thing!
Recipes you can use today
There are a number recipes already set up, and if there is something specific you want it to do, you or your tech support, or someone in the on{X} forum could help.
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- Launch the music app when I am running
- Remind me to visit the gym if I haven’t been there for 3 days
- Launch calendar when I arrive at work
- When my boyfriend texts me “where?” reply automatically with my location
- Show me the weather forecast every day at 8:00 AM if the expected temperature is below 50 Fahrenheit
- When I arrive home remind me to buy milk
- Show me the Aquarius horoscope every day at 9:00 AM
- Text my wife “I’m on my way” when I leave work
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On{X} has set up some recipes, and more will be added by community members as time goes on, and the recipe book will grow.
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Marti Trewe reports on business and technology news, chasing his passion for helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to stay well informed in the fast paced 140-character world. Marti rarely sleeps and thrives on reader news tips, especially about startups and big moves in leadership.
