For those working in the tech world, the holidays are an ideal time to catch up on all the latent interests and hobbies in this field. For that reason, we have listed 10 tips for you with fun and inspiring activities to do during the sunny summer months. Now just hope you still have time left for swimming!
1. Experiment with Virtual Reality (VR). Did the introduction of the Apple Vision Pro headset convince you of the future of Spatial Computing? Or perhaps you’ve been waiting for the ideal time to get started with VR and AR? Meta’s popular Quest 2 VR headset offers an affordable way to get started right away. There are many immersive games available, as well as countless creative and social apps to immerse yourself in virtual worlds.
2. Enrol in an AI/ML course. Do you come across wonderful new AI tools every day, but cannot find the time to actually do something with them? Immerse yourself in AI while on holiday with an online course, for example through international websites such as Coursera and Udemy, but the range of courses by Dutch training institutes is also growing. Google even offers some free AI courses.
3. Learn a new language. For holidays abroad, it never hurts to speak the language, even if only a little. Fortunately, you can also study new languages in a modern and fun way with Duolingo. This app adds gamification to the learning process, which makes ‘studying’ much more fun and keeps you motivated. Duolingo supports more than 30 languages and you can use it for free, obviously with some limitations.
4. Build a DIY project. Do you enjoy hobbying with electronics? Then consider a DIY project with a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino-based device. There are countless modules and how-to’s available, for example to automatically water your plants or to build a kind of Ambilight system for your TV. With these, you will learn new skills such as hardware assembly and programming, while also making something useful or fun.
5. Listen to tech-related podcasts. Podcasts are an easy way to keep abreast of the latest tech trends and insights. Think BNR’s De Technoloog, The Vergecast from The Verge or Waveform from Marques Brownlee (MKBHD). And for some lighter entertainment, there is also In de ban van Rian, about the Dutch IT soap surrounding Centric and Structon owner Gerard Sanderink and his wife, cyber-charlatan Rian van Rijbroek.
6. Read a tech biography, You can learn a lot about the motivations of famous people from a biography. For example, dive into the life stories of influential tech figures such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or Sheryl Sandberg. Read about their personal and business development, their challenges, their ways of working and what concerns them in everyday life. This is interesting, but it can also be useful inspiration for your own life.
7. Try new tech gadgets. Invest in a new gadget that you can play and experiment with at your leisure during your holidays. Take for example a new smartphone, a 3D printer or modules for your smart home. Without your daily workload, you can explore and use these new technologies extensively while relaxing and having fun.
8. Watch a science fiction film. Unwind and get inspired by a good sci-fi film or series. Get transported to the future worlds from films like Her, Ex Machina, Ready Player One or series like Black Mirror or Silo. These are not only entertaining, they also make current technological themes like AI tangible and explore their future consequences.
9. Build your first mobile app. Develop your own app with an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. In fact, with these powerful tools, you can develop your own apps with some skill, simply by describing the way it works and asking the chatbot to write the code for it. You can read a good example of this process in this article, titled “Is It Possible To Create an Entire Mobile App Using ChatGPT?“.
10. Start a tech blog or vlog. Share your insights and experiences in the tech world (or something completely different, of course) through a blog or vlog. This is a fun hobby to start at leisure during your holidays. You inspire others with it and, in addition, you build your online profile and visibility. Last but not least, the creative process is often experienced as relaxing and therapeutic.
With these holiday tips, you should be able to feed your interest in technology in a relaxing way during your holidays. In any case, the LDJ Team wishes you lots of fun over the coming period!
