tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61066086905181768692024-03-19T00:26:28.993-07:0023 mobile thingysStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-48246520761824898992014-05-13T11:23:00.003-07:002014-05-13T11:27:41.589-07:00Thing 23Here it is, the last thing, 23 of 23. This is pretty simple, analyze the program.<br />
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I'll use the prompts on the 23 Things webpage:</div>
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1) I'll say a lot has changed. I didn't realize there were so many great utilities for iPad and mobile devices and as such, I'm finding myself using my tablet more so than a PC.</div>
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2) Honestly, my favorite things were probably the games and hobbies, but I did enjoy the connecting to the community thing quite a bit.</div>
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3) I didn't connect too much with others doing the program, but HCL did launch a page in our staff web that allowed us to see who else was doing the program and their blogs. </div>
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4) I'm really surprised how many useful tools are available for mobile devices. I've heard about people using tablets in place of laptops, but I didn't realize how easily it could be done! I knew smartphones were pretty high tech, but I never realized a mobile phone could do so much!</div>
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5) The major improvement I'd like to see made is making sure all apps/things are applicable to <i>all </i>staff and useable in their systems. I mentioned several times that some apps were useless to me as service staff and a few more times that while some apps had awesome potential, we couldn't use them since their functions (videos, presentations, info graphics) are handled at an administrative level.</div>
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6) I'd certainly do a similar program in the future. I love self paced learning!</div>
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7) <b>FUN! </b>Even some of the apps I had little use for where fun to dilly with and explore.</div>
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I guess that's all folks! Thanks to MN Multitypes for a fun program and the opportunity to participate. Thanks to my readers/followers; I hope I kept it fun, but informative.</div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-13800614665029248222014-05-08T16:48:00.002-07:002014-05-08T16:48:13.599-07:00Thing 22Wow, Thing 22 of 23...I've made it this far!<br />
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I'll start by saying I'm usually pretty content with just opening the app store in iOS, but I will look at Quixey and Apps Gone Free.<br />
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Quixey is web based for me since I'm on iOS so that is kind of a turn off. It's a great way to search for apps, but I feel a little silly going to Safari, opening this page and then having it jump back to the app store if I find something I'm interested in...at least I don't have to tell it what platform I'm using (like I would if I were visiting the site on a PC). I'm also noticing broken links when it comes to screen shots, truncated or disjointed descriptions (even when tapping/clicking "read more")...I'm finding it inferior to the app store as I got the same results searching "baseball" in Quixey and iTunes/Apple's app store. One redeeming quality about Quixey is that if my iPad isn't handy, I can use the site to search for apps on a PC and not need to download iTunes to see the results.<br />
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Apps Gone Free has a neat premise, I want to tinker with it and see if I can find a "deal" or bargain "one day only sale".<br />
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After going through some preliminary "previews" and explanations and selecting my iTunes store, I see that I can ask the app to send me notifications, which is probably good...After tinkering with Apps Gone Free for a few minutes, I'm a little disappointed; I don't see a way to search for any type of app, I just get to see what the app found. I suppose if I used the app daily for a few weeks, I'd stumble across something but it's certainly not for instant gratification.<br />
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I'll give Apps Gone Free some credit since, as I said, it's a neat idea and the apps you are shown on a given day have great explanations and you can search previous days as well, but if you wait too long, Apps Gone Free will let you know that the promo expired.<br />
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For all intents and purposes, I'll stick with the app store as its built in to the iPad, it's a little more direct, a lot less cumbersome and it's native to iOS.<br />
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-10830418980859711502014-05-08T15:51:00.003-07:002014-05-13T10:43:25.883-07:00Thing 21<b>FREE-FOR-ALL!!!</b><br>
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The 23 Mobile Things program has done a <i>wonderful</i> job with apps that cover just about everything but I do have one I want to share I haven't seen much about: weather.<br>
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Weather is a big deal in Minnesota, we complain and/or talk about it all the time. Hey, at least we live in a state with seasons (and no, not just winter and road construction...) and differing, surprising weather patterns. There are all sorts of weather apps out there; iPhone comes with a native app and for iPad (and Android) users there are the local TV channels (KSTP and KMSP for sure) that offer specialized weather and severe weather apps, there's The Weather Channel, NOAA, Weatherbug, Yahoo and my favorite, AccuWeather (to name a few).<br>
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How accurate the "accu" is in Accuweather is debatable, but what drew me to Accuweather initially is the price (free), the graphics, the interface, the iPad optimization and ease of use. There might be better apps, but this is the one I use and I'm pretty happy with it.<br>
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Some quick images:<br>
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AccuWeather (and probably any of them) can use your location and give you notifications of approaching weather, warnings and watches, etc. Those are great, especially if you can't get a TV signal. The current conditions give, well the current conditions and there's an option to view a graph of the temp, a health index (allergies, etc) a sports index and an outdoor activity index. In addition to the forecast and current conditions, there's radar, news, video, social media, and a hurricane center (don't need that too much).<br>
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The only complaints I have about AccuWeather (the app anyway) is that there's no "future" or storm track options on the radar and that the 15 day forecast is pretty wishful once you get beyond a few days.<br>
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One other app I'd like to mention is i.TV . I might have been able to put it under hobbies, but what I use it for isn't so much hobby as it is info. i.TV has a large social media aspect, among things, but what drew me to it was the accurate, detailed listings section. Having cut cable long ago, I don't have Xfinity or the like and their built in guide/listings, but this app is more than an appropriate substitute. Kind of cool to see if a show is available on iTunes, Netflix or Hulu too.<br>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HrorQbI-sgVYE8CWWJH37_uZFFSd77nN__G0k8JLjTPREJxBQjs4ThIPPX-_pi76oE0GMK-lflmwp0ff15jHZXa-wiMVzvR6z4d_NaI-zVs3xkOsIgT5Cz7x4FwIHofceXieYiDT1bK9/s640/blogger-image-8638994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGLB-yvYcbgsWh353j1BIZL38BV67UvUvDEf2ji0odHfsZ07InE3aTbnSy4kZsAN4J1nITj2VyJpu97SkjqCSpVFUGhAu9Y4tT7bNBhSYnDKJ8UEP7_BK0HddWaiVego2tWm8E6MdFzdL/s640/blogger-image-2128150985.jpg"></a>i.TV isn't perfect, but it works for me. I recommend it.</span></div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-2908447654511721622014-05-08T15:41:00.000-07:002014-05-08T15:41:42.725-07:00Thing 20Games? I get to blog about games?! <b>AWESOME. </b>Games take up way too much space on my personal iPad, almost half...but when 3 people use it, I suppose that's bound to happen.<br />
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A couple of disclaimers<br />
1) I like mobile games, this will be a long post<br />
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Ok, so the 23 things page suggests some great apps/games. I'm familiar with 3 of them, so I'll start with those.<br />
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First: Candy Crush Saga. I honestly don't understand this game at all, but it is my wife's vice. That is all<br />
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Next: Minion Rush. This is one of the first apps I downloaded to my iPad when we got it. I am a Despicable Me and Minion fan, so it was a natural fit...until I got frustrated and deleted it. When my daughter started expressing interest in Minions and Despicable Me I figured I'd put it on there again, just for her...and found myself addicted again. It's not really a major break through in mobile gaming or anything, you use swipe commands to have your Minion (looks like Dave, for those that know their Minions) run a course. You have to dodge obstacles and have the occasional "boss" battle (where I got stuck originally, until I found out how to "beat" them) all while collecting bananas, bapples, Gru and Nefario's inventions and yes, trying to become Minion of the year. Points are awarded for distance covered and bananas collected, all the other things I mentioned are tools to unlock levels and gifts. Of course the developers inserted all sorts of in-app purchases to tempt you, but they're not necessary if you have a little patience. It's graphics are pretty good for a mobile game and the license is what really makes it shine.<br />
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Third: Frogger Free. Oh how I wanted to love and try this game, but download-er, beware. After reading the complaints in the App Store about the bugginess and crashing, I decided to fore-go this one. I loved Frogger as a kid and the premise is really adaptable to a mobile game. Too bad it doesn't work.<br />
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Now, on to some "original" ideas.<br />
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1) Real Racing 3. The second app I put on my iPad. The major downside, it's HUGE. If your device is low on memory (by design or your own doing) stay away, it's 1.8 GB...but if you like to drive accurately recreated cars on very well designed sims of mostly real courses, this is a must have. Totally free to download, patience is key and the ads aren't too intrusive. If you're ok with in-app purchases (IAPs) they're there for you. By default, the game uses your device's tilt function as your steering and throttle and brake are AI (artificial intelligence) controlled. You can tinker with those setting to your liking for a more immerse experience.<br />
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2) CSR Racing (and CSR Classics). Another car game. Hey, I like cars! What did you expect? Difference between CSR and Real Racing is apples and oranges. CSR concentrates on "street" racing, so you pick one of several detailed recreations of real vehicles and drag race, basically. The keys (ha, get it) to the game are in managing your launch and shifts and using in-game currency to upgrade your car and/or buy new ones. Like any good game, the further in you go, the tougher the challenges. Keeping with the "street" theme, the game has a few different modes. Daily challenge, ladder and crew. Daily challenge assigns you a car and a goal. Meet it and you win cred. Ladder allows you to race your car against consecutively tougher opponents and in crew mode, you start out as a noob on the scene and you take out the boss' guys race by race.<br />
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3) Angry Birds! Who hasn't tried Angry Birds? Sure, it lost some of its pop-culture luster, but it's still pretty popular. I downloaded the free version...which is supported by very annoying, intrusive ads. There are banner ads on <i>every</i> level, animated ads between levels, still ads between levels...and the most annoying thing is if you don't tap the "X" just right...you go to the app store and the app that is being advertised. IF you can deal with that, it's the same as regular Angry Birds: launch your birds via slingshot and/or use their attacks to destroy the pigs and the structures protecting them.<br />
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4) Hungry Shark Evolution. You're character is a hungry shark (no surprise), it's up to you to feed him. You swim about an ocean, eating fish, crabs, turtles, birds, the occasional person...as you advance, you level up your shark. As your shark levels up, it becomes stronger and can't be eaten by enemy sharks, stung by rays, etc. Once one shark is leveled up, it can evolve to the next species. The game uses tilt or touch controls, I prefer touch, personally.<br />
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5) The Sims: FreePlay. If you're not familiar with The Sims, it is a long running strategy game/life-simulation. You create little sim-people (the titular Sims), build them houses, find them jobs, foster relationships and ultimately create another generation of Sims to keep your world populated. It can be really in-depth or really silly, your choice. The mobile game sticks with the series' long running themes but introduces some mobile game-esque themes of its own. The game takes place in real time (when it's night-time in reality, it is in your Sims' world too). Technological constraints also limit the amount of Sims one can have and there are fewer levels. Actions take real-time (your Sim can be told to sleep for 7 hours and it will sleep that long, unless you interrupt or cancel the command). It too, is kind of a memory hog (800MB) and tempts with IAP to speed things up and/or buy in-game currency. I've been able to avoid them, but this is another game that takes LOTS of patience to succeed at, if you want to avoid paying real $.<br />
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6) The Simpsons: Tapped Out. Oh Homer, will you ever learn...One day, instead of working (well that's every day) Homer Simpson is engrossed in his Happy Little Elves game on his "myPad" (Simpson reference to iPad...) instead of paying attention to the critical warning signs that a nuclear meltdown is imminent. You can guess what happens. Homer survives and is tasked with re-building Springfield...which you make him do. Throughout the game, other Simpsons characters re-appear in the new Springfield as you rebuild. Long story short, this is SimCity with the Simpsons. I've been watching the Simpsons since 1990 and I find myself quite addicted to this game. See my advice regarding IAP for other games I've mentioned to save yourself real $.<br />
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7) Flick Kick Field Goal. Does it really need much explanation? 3 game modes: practice, precision and sudden death. Practice is well, practice. Precision is accuracy based; you have 20 kicks from various lengths and you're trying to kick it as straight down the middle as possible. Right down the middle is worth 100%, just inside the bar, 50%, a miss is 0. After all your kicks, the game averages your accuracy for your score. Sudden death, make as many kicks in a row as you can from consecutively harder distances; miss and it's over.<br />
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8) NASCAR Manager. I've been meaning to try this out and now I have an excuse. This game is part racing, part strategy, part sports manager. First and foremost, you're the crew chief, the leader of a fictional race team. You're given challenges to pass during "Speedweeks" (NASCAR exhibition season) and if you pass them, you can lead your team through a season or a 5 year career. It was fun, but nothing overwhelming; you get plunked into the driver's seat on a few occasions and do a little steering, braking, accelerating and so on; you manage your driver's strategy and your team pit strategy. You're given upgrades as you level-up and you have to figure out how and when to purchase them and how to optimize them. If done right, they allow you to run with the big boys. It's fun, but the only stand-out thing about the game is the NASCAR license which allows for real tracks, drivers, sponsors, etc. The price is a strong point since it is free, other than that it kind of reminds me of CSR but going in a circle. Can't complain about the graphics either.<br />
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I'll end by summarizing here: If you can think of a game, there's probably an app for it. We have found Solitare, Spider Solitare, Chess, Checkers, MineSweeper and FreeCell...to name a few.<br />
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All the listed games appeal to some of my interests, ranging from the strategies (racing, obstacles, sims) to the topic (football,cars) to the licenses (The Simpsons, Despicable Me). They are great ways to unwind and kill time.</div>
Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-64681658596323668302014-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:002014-05-06T12:29:11.498-07:00Thing 19Hobbies, I have hobbies...a few anyway. Remember Apple's slogan circa iPhone 3G "There's an app for that"? (fun break! here's a YouTube video of the commercial: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrsfeyLzyg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrsfeyLzyg</a>) funny thing is, there probably really is an app for any hobby.<br />
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I see a few apps listed on the 23 Things page to try: The ESPN app (I like sports, remember?) and I think I'll look at The Sibley eGuide to birds of North America app since my daughter and I like looking at birds and though she's very young, I think we can both get something out of it.<br />
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Note to all: It maybe just me, but ESPN Score Center is now ESPN SportsCenter for iPhone as well.<br />
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I see that the app wants you to log-in or create an account...blech, enough of those...though I suppose I can use Facebook (FB) to sign in since that's an option. Of course, FB wants to give ESPN or ESPN wants access to everything in your profile, so one may want to pass on that. On the upside, you can comment on stories and manage your favorite teams, leagues, etc but even without signing-up or signing in, you can still access scores, news, etc.<br />
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I like ESPN's app over the plethora of other specialized sports apps since it's a one stop shop, no need to download the apps for all the teams and leagues I like to follow <i>but</i> there's still the fact that the so-called ESPN bias can creep into stories and "news". Good joke I saw on social media the other night was how the Wild forced Game 7 of their playoff series but ESPN needed to spend a half-hour talking about Bryce Harper's broken thumb...if you don't completely get it, Bryce Harper plays on D.C. 's baseball team and is one of ESPN's favorite topics.<br />
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I don't want to spend a lot of time blabbering on about ESPN so I'll wrap up and reiterate that while ESPN has their faults they are still a good source and their app streamlines finding scores and news about my teams and my favorite sports. It's easy to use and has a lot of content.<br />
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Bird watching isn't a hobby of mine per se, but I do enjoy reading about wildlife and I really enjoy passing on a love and respect for nature to my child since we spend a lot of time outside going for walks around the parks and various nature "sanctuaries"in our neighborhood. This app can help us learn about the species we see commonly.<br />
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The first impression I get from the app's "title page" or "cover" is that it's very graphic and detailed, (upon further use, I'll find that that's true! <br />
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There's a Menu tab (with a "start here" helper) and an intro and help tab. Me, being a guy, I don't like looking at or asking for directions (wink wink)so I skipped right to the main menu which give options to look by taxonomic names, alphabetic names, a smart search that breaks things down by color, occurence, etc (see example), a search by location and an option to view a list ("My List") you make via the app.<br />
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The first bird I thought I'd look at is the ubiquitous American Robin. Lots of good illustrations showing sexual dimorphism, regional variations, what the juveniles look like along with a nice map of their range, an example of their calls and some encyclopedic info about the species. Take a look for yourself:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For fun, I tapped the the little stylus-like icon on the upper right corner and added the bird to my list, which is useful as a pretty simple log of where and when you saw the bird along with a box for comments. Again, not much of a bird watcher here, but that would be a great feature for those that are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I <i>might</i> add this app to my home iPad and heck, we might even leave it on the work one since we can see the Mississippi River and the surrounding environs, never know what we might see.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I will give a brief overview of a couple of apps I use for hobbies: IGN, Star Walk and Star Chart</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">IGN is a well-known video game magazine that also slightly caters to Hollywood buffs and comic fans. Their app allows you to break down your interests and caters them to you; for instance if you have no interest in Role-playing (RPG) games, but love sims, shooters (FPS) and sports, you'll be able to hear less about RPGs and plenty about FPSs; you can also indicate your interests in TV, movies and technology. The downside is in order to all of this...yup, you guessed it, you need to create an account or log-in via Facebook. If you've been following me here, you know my reservations about having eight zillion accounts and especially connecting things with Facebook, if not, to summarize, I hate it...so invasive! The app itself allows you to look at reviews about games, DVDs, movies, etc. It lets you know what's coming out soon that you might be interested in and allows you to watch various videos, etc. To be clear, if any fellow semi-gamers are reading, IGN's app is <b><i>not</i> </b>IGN magazine mobile or ign.com.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One more thing (insert Columbo voice) To be honest, if you're into Hollywood, there's better apps than IGN. IMDb comes to mind...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Star Chart and Star Walk are two astronomy apps I use. I love gazing at the night sky, looking through a telescope or using Augmented Reality (AR) on my tablet. A layman's definition of AR is by using coordinates from your device's built in compass(/GPS), the app creates a replica of the sky you're looking at, it's almost like a hand-held Planetarium! Star Walk is arguably the more popular of the two but it costs $2.99 so I'm not putting it on my work iPad, though I have it at home. Star Chart is free, but a lot of the "expanded" options (dwarf planets [i.e. Pluto], satellites, expanded star catalog, etc) have to be purchased...and in the end Star Walk costs a little less than letting Star Chart nickel and dime you. Star Chart does have a sibling app called "Star Chart Infinite" that bundles all of Star Chart's expanded options, but it still ends up being $4.99...so Star Walk ends up being cheaper. In a way, it's a Coke vs Pepsi or an Acura vs BMW thing. Maybe Honeycrisp apples to Florida oranges...anyway, it's hard to compare the two exactly; while they do the same thing one starts free but ends up being more expensive and some people might expect and want more from the more expensive option. They both have their strengths. My honest (long-winded) opinion is this: Star Chart looks better graphically, is a little more </span>intuitive<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and even without the premium content, lets you see a lot of things in the night sky. Star Chart also lets you explore the planets (and their natural </span>satellites<span style="font-family: inherit;">, if purchased) in more depth. Star Walk has a companion app called Solar Walk that I hear does a neat model of our solar system, but it's a totally different app and costs another $2.99, while the solar system upgrade in Star Chart is $0.99. Star Walk on the other hand has more initial content and actually ends up being a bit simpler to use once you get it figured out; for instance, Star Chart has this tendency to automatically "snap" to the closest constellation, so even when I wanted to center on Mars, it snaps to the Constellation Virgo, on Star Walk, I can center on Mars. It's hard to describe without really experiencing...as for the graphics, it's not that Star Walk's are horrible, but Star Chart's were (supposedly) created by people with backgrounds in the video game industry and I find them a little more pleasing. A few things that Star Walk has that Star Chart can't duplicate though (and this is what gives it a narrow win in my book) is access to NASA, the European Space Agency and other international government space agency photos of celestial bodies. There is a feature that uses your device's camera and then creates an overlay of what's there and Star Walk also has a "sky live" feature that tells you sunrise and sunset, moon rise and set, moon phases and any/all planets you can see and when to look for them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll give a few </span>pictorial<span style="font-family: inherit;"> examples of Star Chart and Star Walk for comparison's sake; top 3 are Star Chart, others are Star Walk</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Honestly, the reason I kept Star Chart after purchasing Star Walk was because I more or less accidentally purchased the solar system upgrade and found it superior to the solar system content in Star Walk. I'm not <i>that </i>big of a star nerd.</span><br />
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If you read this far in, thanks. There are so many hobbies and apps for them, one could blog forever about them.</div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-28200500830081873622014-04-22T15:38:00.001-07:002014-04-29T12:22:17.770-07:00Thing 18Thing 18, education. As the post on the 23 things site says, there are <i>many</i> apps for education and educational purposes; it's hard to start and pick. I do like the list they provided and I think I'll do a quick blog about Google Earth (something I'm familiar with and use personally) and I'll take a look at iTranslate.<br>
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I suppose that library staff could find a professional use for Google Earth, especially the crafty ones, but I don't know that I can come up with one. Beyond giving directions or using it as a reference to find a place (which I'd use something a little simpler for anyhow), I'm stumped.<br>
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I do use Google Earth for fun and sometimes as a reference to find a place, but I don't necessarily recommend or use it for directions; I prefer Apple's native app for that(go ahead and joke) and since my iPad doesn't have cellular capability, I don't exactly bring it along and look for directions "on the fly". Google Earth does have the same street view option as Google Maps and it uses gesture (pinching, swiping, etc) for zooming, looking around, moving around, etc. and it's pretty intuitive to use. I guess to shortly sum up Google Earth, it's a fun tool to learn some geography and monkey with, but it's not something I'd use beyond that.<br>
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The reason I want to look at iTranslate is that I see it as a useful tool for both my professional life and personal life. Hennepin County (my system) with little doubt, is Minnesota's most diverse place. As such, we encounter a lot of diversity in our libraries, even in the "far flung" exurban ones. Not all of our patrons speak English and only some staff speak second languages. I would LOVE to have a tool that can translate so we can better serve our patrons and let them hear what we have to say in their native tongue and vice versa. It might be a little akward at first, but a mobile device and app could help us with that.<br>
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On a personal level, I could use iTranslate to brush up and re-learn a second language I'm familiar with, but not fluent in...Between high school and college, I took 4 years of Spanish, so I do have a decent vocabulary but my grammar is horrible and I find that I make myself nervous when trying to converse with a native speaker, I want to rectify that.<div><br></div><div>Unfortunately, iTranslate is a bit of a let down and initially feels like a run around of an app. The app has been changed completely since the 23 Things page was first published, so when you download it, the first thing it asks you is if you want to download the new universal (phone and tablet, iOS 7 optimized) version, which isn't fully necessary...unless you want to use the voice recognition feature which is a premium (paid) option and it's $2.99. While that's not an outrageous price, it is annoying since that was one of the features I was really looking for and I believed was part of the app, guess I didn't look at the fine print, huh?</div><div><br></div><div>I do want to give credit where it's due and will because iTranslate is a good translator. One can enter text and/or copy and paste in <i>many </i>(81 total) languages and there's a detect feature in case you have no clue what language you're looking at, but would like to see. For example <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAsDnt5IGAkZ9y01sJkfPPduoJxVWpfgy9fhVTiHB49HZlITgGQlgxOstRS1aWV8o251EreBNRTnxusHTVFC4VpZkRdR48YJIn0rx-fZN6UONe6MNfPSHeEDX9MVimfu3KX0vroF0cHQJ/s640/blogger-image--332245086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAsDnt5IGAkZ9y01sJkfPPduoJxVWpfgy9fhVTiHB49HZlITgGQlgxOstRS1aWV8o251EreBNRTnxusHTVFC4VpZkRdR48YJIn0rx-fZN6UONe6MNfPSHeEDX9MVimfu3KX0vroF0cHQJ/s640/blogger-image--332245086.jpg"></a></div></div><div>I picked a simple sentence in Spanish that I know the translation for and was slightly impressed, considering I didn't use proper Spanish accent and grammar.</div><div><br></div><div>I won't include a photo example, but it's easy to copy and paste, just swipe the first box and you'll have a little icon to access your clipboard and the copied text will paste and translate. You can also revisit your translation history by tapping the upper right icon, kind of nifty.</div><div><br></div><div>In the end, I'll admit I'm a little disappointed with iTranslate, not because it's a bad app, but my ideas for its use have been unfounded. I suppose you could hand the device to someone, if they're trust worthy and have them enter text and vice verse, but I really liked the idea of voice recognition. For personal use, iTranslate can still meet my expectations to an extent, though Bing and Google both have the same simple translation capabilities and you can access them via your preferred web browser, not sure I really want or need an app. Personal preference, I suppose. <br>
<br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-1254590826480430682014-04-17T13:28:00.001-07:002014-04-17T13:28:40.682-07:00Thing 17Hey, I can get my groove back, apps I know, use and probably can use.<br />
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Connecting to our communities is important, I'm glad we're exploring that. Stick with me while I think of a way to use one of these apps professionally. In the meantime, I'll cover a few personal use ones.</div>
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Minnesota 511 hats of to thee (think of the tune to the U of Mn rouser, bonus points if you know the words...then you'll get it). I love this app, I check it every morning on the way out the door and if I had a smartphone, I'd probably use it there most. You get road conditions throughout the state in an easy to understand color coded interface, same goes for traffic. You can also view incident details and the metro traffic cams. Take a look:</div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrn6S7hWoAQWNYK2qF5ZSwAkJHXD8G82RuqMCcuLP0eZMu9DpKEuAsjTXxPcRhqiok8zH0211_F3zy3BlirE70rMwHsHUjpYe436Kfoj2adqA67HRwlVivUMuLFBQUz9DfmgKcHMpFG6u6/s640/blogger-image-1157182009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrn6S7hWoAQWNYK2qF5ZSwAkJHXD8G82RuqMCcuLP0eZMu9DpKEuAsjTXxPcRhqiok8zH0211_F3zy3BlirE70rMwHsHUjpYe436Kfoj2adqA67HRwlVivUMuLFBQUz9DfmgKcHMpFG6u6/s640/blogger-image-1157182009.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrn6S7hWoAQWNYK2qF5ZSwAkJHXD8G82RuqMCcuLP0eZMu9DpKEuAsjTXxPcRhqiok8zH0211_F3zy3BlirE70rMwHsHUjpYe436Kfoj2adqA67HRwlVivUMuLFBQUz9DfmgKcHMpFG6u6/s640/blogger-image-1157182009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtqrx9JE4-YY_ofIM-5z8i__8TyCpoxiRM693IBHWtwGohLVHYhEUKF8CV39LmxA1NWMRYh_dMnoSbII-GM0iybIkMjgFJy98c7fTd56hPXW_eacYM3KBe8fud1hf0uj1mS6v59Ln0r5B/s640/blogger-image-1982470426.jpg" /></span> </a>Zoomed in</div>
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Forgot to mention that you can search by location, roadway, etc</div>
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If you're familiar with MnDot's traffic info website...you can get the hang of this app in a snap, it's more or less the scaled down, mobile friendly version.<br />
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Oh one thing...you have to agree not to use the app while driving...that message pops up the first time you open the app. I'm sure <i>everyone</i> follows that agreement, right? Seriously, it's a good idea, but ya know what I mean...</div>
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An app I just had to try once I saw it was the Minnesota State Fair app. </div>
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It's last year's version (understandably...it is April and while some concert dates for 2014 are set, there is still a lot of time and planning to do) and probably makes more sense on a phone than a tablet (who brings a tablet to the fair? I'd be afraid to get grease or sugar or something all over it, that and I need both of my arms and hands to carry my bags and things on a stick. At least I could put a phone in my pocket). Obsolescence aside, I still want to check out this app and blog about it...from the home page, you can access a food finder, a merch finder, a fun finder and a map. All three "finders" are sorted alphabetically with the options to search for a specific vendor or event and/or break it down categorically and you have the option to bookmark them, you know, in case you finish your bucket of cookies and want to get more. The map is little more than an electronic version of the paper map you can get at the info booth. I decided to forego more photo examples and refer readers to the images at the app store since they're basically the same as what I'd post. It's pretty cool and I recommend it!<br />
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I thought I'd take a look a look at something local to Minneapolis that I know I could use both personally and professionally and while Minneapolis Open Spaces did appeal to me I said to myself "hmm, public transit". My main library is located along one of North Minneapolis' busier lines and is within walking distance of the busiest line in North Minneapolis and one of its first ring suburbs so we do occasionally do get questions about the buses, schedules, etc. Strangely enough, Metro Transit of Minneapolis-St. Paul does <i>not </i>have their own official app, though they do list apps on their website with an explicate disclaimer that they don't promote or guarantee any app over another...user, beware. I browsed the list, saw that several of them were pay (which would be fine if it were just for me) and after some crash course research via Google and the App Store, I found Transit App.</div>
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Transit App, to overview it quickly, is an international app that works in cities that use open transit data. Unfortunately, I don't know how to properly explain what that means...but I believe it has to do with systems that use GPS to track their buses and don't encrypt the data. Maybe it's best to put a link here to see the site and FAQ <a href="http://thetransitapp.com/">thetransitapp.com</a></div>
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Another reason I picked Transit App? Read the following from their site "<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Why use a trip planner when you already know the way? With Transit, all nearby departures are just a tap away. Not sure which route to take? Don't worry, our easy-to-use trip planner can still show you the way!" As I said, my library is located on or near busy routes, people likely know the way but just need to know the times or how long they'll be waiting; if not, we still have options.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The first thing to do is let the app locate you...that might seem obvious, but in case you are helping out a new mobile user, that's something you might need to explain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The app picked my location up <i>almost </i>exactly, we are actually at 4203 Lyndale...but whatever.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Tapping the "Nearby" icon leads you to, you guessed it, nearby lines and real time estimates</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The route listed first is the nearest and they go in descending order. When you tap on a route, you can swipe to switch directions and you get access to the schedule, a favorites icon and my favorite feature of the app, the actual nearly real-time tracker. Since we have a southbound stop right in front of us and the northbound stop across the street, that's pretty easy to point out...what's cool is showing people where the bus is in relation to that stop.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Besides that, the to and from here icons access the trip planner </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">and the icons on the bottom re-orient the map and gives access to the list of routes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I do realize Metro Transit has a mobile friendly site, but an app is just easier; on top of that, depending on the mobile platform, an app is probably more visually pleasing and easier to use.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I think I'll call it a wrap for Thing 17; I explored two personal apps and one that can be used by any of us, both personally and professionally.</span><br />
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-46780353582474909382014-03-11T13:41:00.000-07:002014-04-15T16:37:42.302-07:00Thing 16Hmm...Audio. Does anyone want to hear me talk? Yeah maybe...anyway. I'm having difficulty finding how to get this app into my professional life, but I do have ideas; again, if not for me, for my colleagues that are participating in the program and/or following my blog.<div><br></div><div>As the mobile things website says, audio apps can be used to make podcasts/webcastsor to interview an author or presenter. They could be used to record a speaker at a program. They could be used as training tools. Audio can be combined with other media for any of the above examples, though there are specialized apps for that. </div><div><br></div><div>On a personal level, an audio app can be used in the same way we once used tape recorders. You could capture your young child's first words or early speech. You could sit down with a family member and have them spin a yarn (though they only have a limited amount of time). Record Grandma. Add what you'd like here...</div><div><br></div><div>I think at this point, as said, I don't have much professional use for an audio app <i>but </i>I do want to explore the examples on the 23 Things page for my own use.</div><div><br></div><div>Audioboo...the Vine of audio apps? Three minutes really isn't a lot of time, especially for someone that has a lot to say...like me. I suppose it's a good tool to create sound bits, record quotes or make a real short pod/broadcast, but I wasn't overly impressed with Audioboo.</div><div><br></div><div>I looked at ipadio but quickly decided it's not for me. It's very cumbersome to use; going online to access my recordings? What's mobile about that?...No way to easily embed links and of course, I'm not interested in making yet another account, especially one that wanted a phone number, just...no, thank you.</div><div><br></div><div>So, that leaves me with SoundCloud...I said what the heck and signed-in/up via Facebook. I was greeted by this <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nHCLu0ZYiS-OzFvCBXpk7z48ckfkKi6ApRS_Se-IUeIbhnPyCLSJYz9eaK44Y8VjyTxiR8_95FLVes_DRLDxQo-l_CX7HMsoH4Q8b0xYmfpR5khLLsGmIQgW73wXMSeLoGZ7uwZmV4Ac/s640/blogger-image-1966087524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nHCLu0ZYiS-OzFvCBXpk7z48ckfkKi6ApRS_Se-IUeIbhnPyCLSJYz9eaK44Y8VjyTxiR8_95FLVes_DRLDxQo-l_CX7HMsoH4Q8b0xYmfpR5khLLsGmIQgW73wXMSeLoGZ7uwZmV4Ac/s640/blogger-image-1966087524.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You're working on filling my stream? How? Not to be cynical (I'm in a cynical mood today, I guess) but are you using FB data to process what I like? Am I just missing a step? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Moving along...I recorded a short, silly sound <a href="http://soundcloud.com/steve-mannie/sounds-from-tuesday-evening/s-78UjD" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://soundcloud.com/steve-mannie/sounds-from-tuesday-evening/s-78UjD</a> yes, I said that...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The only downside to SoundCloud is that there are limitations: 2 hours of audio, unless you fork up some $ for more! There is the option of clearing unwanted or unneeded recordings to free up time, of course. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As I said, I signed into SoundCloud with Facebook and it does gives us Twitter tweeters options to share there too, along with a few other social media platforms. That's a plus, if I wanted to share to an already established network, anyway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm finding myself most impressed with SoundCloud. I found it easy to sign up, and I like that you can choose where and how to share, for the most part. I was too impatient to wait for my stream to be filled, but based on the description, that might be kind of fun. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In the end, I still have little use for an audio app at this time, but if I did go with one, it would be SoundCloud.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-52703964530104720012014-03-11T13:21:00.000-07:002014-03-20T16:49:20.447-07:00Thing 15Oh boy, another one I'm struggling with. "Infographics" this is a new term to me and I really don't know how to apply it professionally, let alone personally.<div><br></div><div>I'm starting with info.Graphic. This app is mostly a collection of infographs others have already made; it's mostly a reference point, a place to go for ideas...and I really wasn't impressed. There are great examples on there, but the app performed horribly for me; it froze, wouldn't open my selections and downright annoyed me. </div><div><br></div><div>I really wanted to try making an infographic, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of a subject! I did take a look at I Visual info touch, but I didn't do much with it.</div><div><br></div><div>I did like learning about infographics and apps for them, I just can't connect to this thing...I do think they have use, visual learners and other arenas where graphics are a must, but I really have little use for them.</div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-36888789578829197542014-03-11T13:11:00.000-07:002014-03-13T14:58:45.808-07:00Thing 14Well, maybe I've hit the part of 23 things were I'm stretching to figure out how to use these apps in a professional sense; don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the program and discovering apps, it's just getting difficult to weave them in to my profession. As I've stated before (I think) I'm a "para"; different systems would call my position different things, but to sum it up, I mainly do circulation and customer service related functions and the occasional librarian's aide type of thing...anyway, with that said, I'm going to go ahead and discover Magisto. I'm sure I can find a way to integrate that into my personal use (I do have an adorable little girl after all) and maybe I can piggyback off some ideas that are given on the 23 things website and possibly offer ideas to my colleagues that are following my blog and/or this program some ideas.<div><br></div><div>Vine? Too short and really just silly. 6 seconds goes pretty fast...</div><div><br></div><div>Viddy's 30 second limit is a bit more reasonable, but still pretty low. I suppose you could do a quick overview of a program or a really short introductory type video, but I still don't see a lot one could do with 30 seconds.</div><div><br></div><div>Socialcam is probably the most feasible app for professional use IF I had a use for it. The other thing I just thought of is if I was making a professional-themed video, I'd have to be careful where and how I share it since our communications department is supposed to be in charge of that...might get in a little trouble. </div><div><br></div><div>Magisto sounds kind of fun. It would probably be more for my own use rather than anything professional, but it does sound appealing. I do like that I can sign in as a guest rather than create yet <i>another </i>account to forget. You have more limited options, but it's a good way to explore the app. I made a very, very silly video using some photos already on the iPad.</div><div>It did take an obscenely long amount of time to "make"...I'd share it, but you have to register to do that so, sorry.</div><div><br></div><div>Of course, if you want premium content, you pay a premium on Magisto. That's the turnoff. That and it took what seemed like <b>HOURS</b> to "make" my video. Never notified me either, even with notifications allowed.</div><div><br></div><div>All in all, if I absolutely had to keep one of these apps, it would be Magisto, it's not as social network-y and it has some fun options and it uses my device's native camera. It would have to be more for my personal use since I have no reason to make a video for work; even if I did, my library system has people for that and I believe it's probably best to defer to them...</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-39544865788653702332014-03-06T13:27:00.001-08:002014-03-06T13:31:06.532-08:00Thing 13Thing 13, presentations. This is going to be a thing I'll stretch on when doing since I have no personal or professional use for a presentations app. I will certainly browse the apps listed on the 23 Things website, but I know I'm going to struggle to incorporate them into something coherent.<div><br></div><div>What piques my interest most is Educreations. I do see it is more for teacher-student/classroom use, but it interests me anyway. I do see that there are suggestions on how to use it in libraries...but my device won't let me watch it. I say well, fine then, I'll discover it myself. HA!</div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I made a silly, kind of pointless, general intro to iPad and apps. I was pretty impressed with the app, its ease of use and after playing with it and looking at other examples, I think I could see ways for librarians and support staff to use Educreations. The most obvious way would be in a training or tutorials with staff, either remotely or in person. Since you can share your lessons (that's what Educreations will call your document) they could easily be viewed as webcasts, podcasts, etc if shared. I have no clue how, but the lesson could probably be shared amongst a group without iPads and could be used in meetings and training. If we had a professional, we could even use Educreations (or any presentation app) and have him or her create presentations that are linkable and viewable on our website, I'd suppose.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">If you want to waste 2 minutes hearing me talk (and the stupid fan for our data cabinet) follow the link. I did this for my sole educational and informational purposes only. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental...wait no, I mean any resemblance to other lessons, etc are purely coincidental (humor break...).</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The link </span><a href="http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/apps/18270393/?s=F9JP8T&ref=app" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/apps/18270393/?s=F9JP8T&ref=app</a> um, enjoy.</div><div><br></div><div>I think this is the only app for this thing I want to try. See above for my recommendations on how we as library staff can use presentation apps as training tools. </div><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div></dl></dl><h1 class="post-title" style="clear: both; font-weight: 400;"><br></h1><h1 class="post-title" style="clear: both; font-weight: 400;"><br></h1><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-22377873456183444382014-03-04T17:14:00.001-08:002014-03-04T17:19:56.177-08:00Thing 12Thing 12, Books, Books an more Books. Nice commentary on how books and libraries continue to be equated, even in this day and age; computers are a close second, but even heavy computer users expect <i>some</i> books in a library.<br />
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Op-Ed aside, it's time to talk apps...and a different op-ed.</div>
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Wattpad looks nice, though I'm not interested in the social media aspect of it. Maybe if I read a bit more, I would be or if I wanted to discuss what I do read (which, according to many, I do) I'd be more interested. I'll glance at the app anyhow and give my thoughts. </div>
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I'm glad to see that there is a <b>HUGE</b> selection...not sure if it's millions as claimed, but who's counting? I do see that there is a nice featured section with what seems to be popular, new-ish titles and breakdowns of normal categories. I am a heavy non-fiction and occasionally alternative history reader, so these were the areas I looked at. Pretty cool to see that here too, things are broken down by popularity, age and into a suggested "undiscovered" category. There's also original stories that can be shared and created, a neat community.</div>
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I was impressed by Wattpad, but I just don't see myself using it much personally. I think it could make a good readers advisory tool, though I don't do much of that in my job. If nothing else, it's something to recommend to our patrons and help them discover it more on their own.</div>
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Moving down the list, I decided to take a peek at Freebooks. I am amazed by the fact they do have a modern section, though you're not going to find anything by Stephen King or published by the conglomerates there. Here's a quick screenshot quote of what their modern section is, in nutshell</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmdaZDnumcYP4qqEmXXkxvQPF9bGIuUmJyL4iJMqh95WY1EeKeskYiHxKKbstYoiY2cEhPs2K1dNf-4JcN4DWGwPMyoMpETU8oGygMCBIqRXcq50hPUhq_0GVF9qQt_VChTTTM7Twr_FV/s640/blogger-image--1786842981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmdaZDnumcYP4qqEmXXkxvQPF9bGIuUmJyL4iJMqh95WY1EeKeskYiHxKKbstYoiY2cEhPs2K1dNf-4JcN4DWGwPMyoMpETU8oGygMCBIqRXcq50hPUhq_0GVF9qQt_VChTTTM7Twr_FV/s640/blogger-image--1786842981.jpg" /></a></div>
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Other than that, yes, most of their material falls into the classic lit category. I do like that they further group these classics by author, genre, etc and make it easy to navigate. Take a look</div>
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I selected Jane Austen as an example because, well, I assume she's fairly well known...as you probably see, included is a mini biography and a list of available titles. If you look toward the top of the screen, you can see examples of other authors and categories.</div>
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I did like the ease of downloading, the "bookshelf" graphic and the actual interface of the ebook. I understand there's a highlight feature, but if couldn't figure it out.</div>
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Bottom line, I do enjoy some classic lit and this app is very pleasant to use, is visually appealing and also has a social aspect that I'll say refer above to my thoughts on Wattpad for...where Freebooks lost me was <b>ADS TOO MANY ADS (</b>this piece of opinion brought to you by the New York Times...for further access sign in now or sign up for the low introductory price...) now of course there is premium edition for a small fee that among things, removes ads, but then thing it's no longer <b>FREE</b>books...</div>
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iStoryBooks was what excited me the most when I first browsed this mobile thing. I have a 3 1/2 year old budding reader and iPad expert. Perfect chance to combine two of her favorite activities...or at least use the iPad as a learning device rather than her attempting to play Angry Birds on it...in all seriousness, I have some great educational apps and I'm always looking for more. </div>
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The app initially comes with roughly 25 accessible books, which is the amount listed in the app description on the 23 mobile things website came from...maybe they've added a few since that time. As you may have seen and probably could guess, there is premium content too.</div>
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This app is wonderful and simple, it could be used by anyone, kid or adult, device expert or novice. Some aspects are a little hidden, but once found, can be tailored to the experience you want. For instance, you select a book from the initial menu, then it downloads. By default, the book will have the "read to me" selected, though that can be disabled if you'd like to read or want the child to read it aloud on their own. You can also select movie mode, which will automatically change the page for you. </div>
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The only beef I have with this app is that the selection is a bit spartan and those hidden features I mentioned. I should mention that I personally can't see this app being all that great on a phone.</div>
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iStoryBooks is going on my personal iPad ASAP. My child will love it and it fits perfectly into what my wife and I want from our iPad, it will be fun and educational! As for professionally, I have no immediate use for it, but I could see this app being used for storytimes, or in lieu of mixed media. I could see sitting down with young children that had to come to the library not by choice, but out of necessity (such as parent, sitter, sibling needing to come, even if the little one didn't want too..happens, a lot.) and trying to improve their experience a little by showing them this app.</div>
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While the other suggested apps for this thing look nice, I have no personal or professional need for them at this point, so I decided against exploring them.</div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-45485243437482346702014-02-25T12:16:00.001-08:002014-02-25T13:00:08.957-08:00Thing 11The first thing I did for Thing 11 was take a look at the ELM site. I'm using an iPad, so I can't speak for smartphone users, but I liked the overall look and presentation, it's not too much different from the PC/web version. I didn't delve into it much, though I encourage others, especially reference staff that haven't, to do so. It's a great resource for all and has sections dedicated to professionals and the public. I suppose a lot of the info and databases on ELM's site can be found on one's library site, but I do like having another option and even something just different than what I'm used to.<div><br></div><div>I looked at HCL's mobile app since it is the app of my local system in addition to that of my employer. Outside of work, I rarely use any other system...I think I've been to Anoka and that's really it. </div><div>Long story short, HCL mobile seems optimized for phones. Not that it can't be used on a tablet, but personally, I just go to the "regular" site via Safari on my home iPad. I've been using photo examples for a while...so why stop. Here's how the mobile app home looks on an iPad <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyRD2slp7Pwi2c7Tda0b9PI-B7pL0Fi0iW18Nw3Wbu2Z1lMTMycpCbwtq12RQQwhuMeaM54KyRipdgBWwyEF7wNUjsvG-QOfPp2uMC0xWsyd3jWibGc7RjV3sGA6iPdVigUT5NXj6Pa1Z/s640/blogger-image--352688805.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyRD2slp7Pwi2c7Tda0b9PI-B7pL0Fi0iW18Nw3Wbu2Z1lMTMycpCbwtq12RQQwhuMeaM54KyRipdgBWwyEF7wNUjsvG-QOfPp2uMC0xWsyd3jWibGc7RjV3sGA6iPdVigUT5NXj6Pa1Z/s640/blogger-image--352688805.jpg"></span></a><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyRD2slp7Pwi2c7Tda0b9PI-B7pL0Fi0iW18Nw3Wbu2Z1lMTMycpCbwtq12RQQwhuMeaM54KyRipdgBWwyEF7wNUjsvG-QOfPp2uMC0xWsyd3jWibGc7RjV3sGA6iPdVigUT5NXj6Pa1Z/s640/blogger-image--352688805.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjZaFeHDX4MNb-quAyTj60QWrRBmBQEetcJQxfh9UUQaUw3Tt9tgmkmbxLj_EqSAa0wq0sS4vArQ442F6FxilFUgztVMTHEn67UTPcmTqAKTrak0gZNMxrpVznXlj_K9MByGJrQ8Qo5A/s640/blogger-image-51988853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjZaFeHDX4MNb-quAyTj60QWrRBmBQEetcJQxfh9UUQaUw3Tt9tgmkmbxLj_EqSAa0wq0sS4vArQ442F6FxilFUgztVMTHEn67UTPcmTqAKTrak0gZNMxrpVznXlj_K9MByGJrQ8Qo5A/s640/blogger-image-51988853.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjZaFeHDX4MNb-quAyTj60QWrRBmBQEetcJQxfh9UUQaUw3Tt9tgmkmbxLj_EqSAa0wq0sS4vArQ442F6FxilFUgztVMTHEn67UTPcmTqAKTrak0gZNMxrpVznXlj_K9MByGJrQ8Qo5A/s640/blogger-image-51988853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> And here's Hclib.org on Safari on an iPad</a></span><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjZaFeHDX4MNb-quAyTj60QWrRBmBQEetcJQxfh9UUQaUw3Tt9tgmkmbxLj_EqSAa0wq0sS4vArQ442F6FxilFUgztVMTHEn67UTPcmTqAKTrak0gZNMxrpVznXlj_K9MByGJrQ8Qo5A/s640/blogger-image-51988853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimh5naXDbtEqutuDzPBvNoUXt9ddzF9c3Xu572CH1JkmfstIUoCeAfU29oMQhhyphenhyphen8bQGn-PnML_Ws2XVLN0iINaHEGVumZXQ9wqPvO_-EBkhMR5YFG1xXcabCpbGPIKQn0mQKNCy9eiy8Si/s640/blogger-image--299727261.jpg"></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">Since I can gesture to zoom, etc. I prefer using the regular site. There are some instances where the mobile app is superior; one instance is BookLook, which uses your device camera as a scanner and allows you to scan the ISBN code on a book and after it's identified, you can get a short summary of the item and see if any HCL branches own it. I had a tough time using it with an iPad, but I was successful, eventually. It is pretty nifty, but probably makes more sense on a phone than a tablet...say I'm at a bookstore, see something awesome...then I see the price. I can go to BookLook via HCLmobile and see if we have it anywhere for checkout. Or if I'm on the bus, plane, etc and I see something cool the person next to me is reading, I can scan the ISBN and see if we have it in HCL...with said person's permission I suppose.</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">The mobile app works with our ebook section a little (key word is little) better. It's just a slightly different process with a different interface. It's smoother, but sometimes it's nice to get all the info you'd get via the web version of our ebook catalog. I tried downloading both via our mobile app and the web...and I was successful and I will say I still prefer the web version.</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">Another strong point of our mobile app is if you're in a hurry or like going through less steps, taping the sections (ie catalog) is a little more seamless. </div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">My final thought though is that HCL mobile is more for a smartphone user and while it offers all the basics (account info, catalog, IM, locations, etc) in a easy to use interface, I like the web version more since it is more in-depth and it is useable with a tablet.</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">Onto Thing 11, "part 2"</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">HCL has an entire section dedicated to mobile apps, see below</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNE3aZKlNXC0VGF5HSSnNW5SoEx3w3SIqZBF68bp1J3yzf1UDst7pvazf1KJ1Dithf8PibJwQ6sH2hCiLp2dVccb_mR0mBrNFYGkxwO4RMqSIwZdu1446UBxo_xZMCgZEbQJMuY7Y-IHt/s640/blogger-image-364299937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNE3aZKlNXC0VGF5HSSnNW5SoEx3w3SIqZBF68bp1J3yzf1UDst7pvazf1KJ1Dithf8PibJwQ6sH2hCiLp2dVccb_mR0mBrNFYGkxwO4RMqSIwZdu1446UBxo_xZMCgZEbQJMuY7Y-IHt/s640/blogger-image-364299937.jpg"></a></div>Personally, I use Zinio since I like it for magazine browsing; including the ebooks I downloaded for this thing, I have now used OverDrive all of 3 times. I do like ebooks and enjoy them on my iPad, it's just that since my iPad rarely leaves home and since it is shared by 3 people, I don't use it much for ebooks since I won't have time to read the books before the app automatically returns them. I wouldn't say my system promotes ematerial over physical, but we are seeing increased ematerial downloads and checkouts and staff is starting to field more questions. </div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">Once in a while Zinio can be handy for us as a tool to show the public since they can access a magazine our location doesn't have, but one we subscribe to, etc. To reiterate, I like to use it since I just "flip" through the mags at my leisure then remove them when I'm done.</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">I've used Freegal to download free, legal (get it) music, but I'm not the biggest fan of it on mobile since it saves the songs to its own app rather than iTunes/music and they can't be moved (I've tried and according to Freegal, it can't be done). If you don't mind having a second or third app for music, by all means, check it out. Of course, you can find Freegal in our databases on hclib.org and download to a PC or Mac and then synch it over to your device.</div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;">The biggest complaints I hear about ematerial use is all the log in and log out and passwords, etc. The most annoying (to me) is the adobe account with OverDrive...but once you get the initial resistance out of the way, it's hardly noticeable.</div></div></div></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-8729329558777157882014-02-22T11:52:00.001-08:002014-02-22T12:41:29.777-08:00Thing 10For thing 10, I decided to try out Snapchat. What drew me to Snapchat is that it is privacy friendly and allows you to select receipients. <div>Personally, I usually go with Facebook for photo sharing. As I stated in a previous blog, I wholeheartedly welcome alternatives since I hate Facebook's Orwellain ideals and how once something is on Facebook, it's there forever...the downside of using Snapchat and/or Instagram is that I don't have as many friends/followers/fans,etc and wouldn't reach as much of an audience. From a professional standpoint, that doesn't matter too much since photo taking, editing and distribution aren't really a facet of my job. My system has PR professionals for that, though I suppose if there were a display I helped a librarian with or something of that nature, it wouldn't hurt to add it to some sort of professional portfolio.</div><div><br></div><div>Tried Snapchat...all I have to say is, um...no one to share with. The picture is pretty boring anyway, no point in sharing.</div><div><br></div><div>So, I went to Instagram, logged in/registered via Facebook and oh my, did I find a lot of friends to follow. Funny thing though...they post the same pics to Facebook, which to me, seems a bit redundant...oh but what's this I've learned Facebook acquired Instagram about 18 months ago, so no wonder...I still took a little time to explore and found a few neat things. One, it took all of 5 minutes for a couple of my friends to follow me (apparently, I'm just that interesting...and popular wink wink nudge nudge) I see that Hennepin County Library (HCL), my library, has an Instagram account. I have nothing to share at this point on my Instagram, but if you'd like to search, eventually I might have something there.</div><div><br></div><div>In the end, I prefer Snapchat, I'm a self admitted social network junkie (80 tweets in 4 days btw) but I hate Facebook and by extension, Instagram's takes on privacy. Instagram has built in followers and since my library system already has a page there and since I have followers, this is what I think I will go with.</div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-52198887399707888272014-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:002014-02-20T14:26:01.494-08:00Thing 9Editing and taking photos.<br />
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Honestly, I'm pretty comfortable with the plain camera included on the iPad, and it can do some simple editing. Heck my 3 year old daughter thinks the camera is just another game/app and plays with it all the time.</div>
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I'll give these apps a try, I'm not against trying something new. We certainly can use an app here at work to spruce up images and photos we take for publicity, etc and I may find one I would like to add to my personal iPad at home.</div>
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First up, Color Splurge. Sure, the examples they give in the tutorials are great...but that's like making your breakfast look like the ones on the cereal box...I vowed to try this app, and I did but I'm sorry to say that I'm not impressed. This app really does seem like something my child would use, almost like some funky real world coloring book. Here's my example<br />
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I made a snowy winter day into some psychedelic spring dream...or something. I didn't spend too much time with it for the same reason I wouldn't watch a bad movie...just not impressed, not interested, disbelief not suspended. Moving on...</div>
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Time to try CamMe. Who doesn't like selfies? They're as American as store bought apple pie and NFL football (not that football they play in Canada with an extra guy...or the football the other 90% of the world plays).</div>
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After figuring out the learning curve, you can have lots of photogenic fun for instance</div>
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Ok, enough silliness. Honestly, CamMe seems a little more phone friendly than tablet friendly, which makes sense, since we usually take selfies with a phone, right?<br />
oh fine, one more<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyfM2hHLNegDygycIhZKlP2uVPPLWDFSNpPwpqB1Rch7LeyJowoC7Sy3Mf95Y0WOACzGsJVs-gmN9N27JB011k5TBVOI2hBAv5jMCabIyZqEige_8OL4UQmETcJac_o7zXcVTGiI7C_F0/s640/blogger-image-2078187251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyfM2hHLNegDygycIhZKlP2uVPPLWDFSNpPwpqB1Rch7LeyJowoC7Sy3Mf95Y0WOACzGsJVs-gmN9N27JB011k5TBVOI2hBAv5jMCabIyZqEige_8OL4UQmETcJac_o7zXcVTGiI7C_F0/s640/blogger-image-2078187251.jpg" /></a></div>
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On to LINE Camera. I think I could spend days going through all the options and effects in LINE. There are options to have the app do the work and there are ways to do it yourself down to minute detail, here are a few examples</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkPZ05ig1uUfoXEMUKazJ4V6WnKk0ldyIhPyjXa3zNQJl5LEgkhgY839Y5mxkn0uTxUxpnQ39wIyAK-1MepXAMgG9_dbQ_6JqklCo9E-tqPTZe95mYo1tLpAh8uZxIRGUd4pMSy34THmM/s640/blogger-image-959507836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkPZ05ig1uUfoXEMUKazJ4V6WnKk0ldyIhPyjXa3zNQJl5LEgkhgY839Y5mxkn0uTxUxpnQ39wIyAK-1MepXAMgG9_dbQ_6JqklCo9E-tqPTZe95mYo1tLpAh8uZxIRGUd4pMSy34THmM/s640/blogger-image-959507836.jpg" /></a> Plain photo here</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtd1YtTlr9uu5kWH-wK3nqONXZv3JhcJph6sBgFLmNvQjgU_P9nn0COpYXRivpwgm3FP-_PZ8kviSnz2cLnSkEjSTtwoLPuQ3ZDhvU9nMT4RjIg4fWH33UYIO01_Qegm4RV9_f0vUIPe-w/s640/blogger-image--1798641002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtd1YtTlr9uu5kWH-wK3nqONXZv3JhcJph6sBgFLmNvQjgU_P9nn0COpYXRivpwgm3FP-_PZ8kviSnz2cLnSkEjSTtwoLPuQ3ZDhvU9nMT4RjIg4fWH33UYIO01_Qegm4RV9_f0vUIPe-w/s640/blogger-image--1798641002.jpg" /></a> Hey it's snowing...inside!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GHH_yBK7LgSwZNNUrI2eK-VNGTXSGSMuLxYZJU1uewuFgg0sw6SuJquJfE8izhyphenhyphenNJXJ5WnbTcAHPprO9owkKvek_-SFCyc0FeYhqRRLaD8Xtt6LhllegTwB-fz7v1GznhXfvZBFiRNmq/s640/blogger-image--1632050864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GHH_yBK7LgSwZNNUrI2eK-VNGTXSGSMuLxYZJU1uewuFgg0sw6SuJquJfE8izhyphenhyphenNJXJ5WnbTcAHPprO9owkKvek_-SFCyc0FeYhqRRLaD8Xtt6LhllegTwB-fz7v1GznhXfvZBFiRNmq/s640/blogger-image--1632050864.jpg" /></a> Added some text, recolored it, etc.</div>
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I think I'll go with LINE Camera and we'll see if/how we can put it to use here, I <i>might</i> even put the app on my personal iPad.</div>
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<br />Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-86309690333306844882014-02-18T16:29:00.001-08:002014-02-18T17:56:51.793-08:00Thing 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Social Media...I'm part of the generation that has almost always used some sort of social media or e-communications. Back in the 1990s, I was on Prodigy (long defunct competitor to AOL, if you didn't know) using their bulletin boards and chat rooms. In the 2000s, I joined the old MySpace; once they became irrelevant, I moved to Facebook (FB). I've been using FB for 5 years and my personal iPad has the mobile FB app on it. I finally joined Twitter and I am becoming familiar with it. This project (and thing in particular) gave me an excuse to sign up and try out the mobile app. I'll continue to use both FB and Twitter since I have friends on one that aren't on the other, FB has features Twitter doesn't (or does better) and vice versa...and if I may interject a little bit of personal opinion...I may Tweet more now that I'm on there since I feel that FB has lost its way. When I joined FB, it really was a place to reconnect with old friends, or as they say "</span><span class="mtl _3ma _6p _6s _6v" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">See photos and updates </span><span class="mlm _6q _6t _mf" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> from friends in News Feed.</span><span class="mtl _3ma _6p _6s _6v" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Share what's new </span><span class="mlm _6q _6t _mf" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> in your life on your Timeline." To me it seems like since FB went public a few years ago, it's been just another business (the business of social media!) and they've become a little Orwellian.</span></div>
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<span class="mlm _6q _6t _mf">Luckily, I can use both FB and Twitter seamlessly as I see that there's ('re) an app(s) for that! Back to that soon.</span><br>
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I didn't realize it, but I'm familiar with GetGlue, which is now TvTag, which is part of i.TV, which I have an app for on my personal iPad. I use i.TV mostly for its listings, but I am aware of it's check-in feature and that you can list your favorite programs, etc. <br>
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I've heard of LinkedIn and seen it used. If I were an actual professional rather than a para-professional at my library system or I needed to link up with colleagues world-wide, I'd probably join it. No reason to do so at this time.<br>
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Foursquare is fun, so I've heard. If I had a smartphone, I'd probably use it as something to kill time and see if I could become "Mayor" by checking in at a place I frequent. After looking at it a little more though, I do see that there serious uses like tidbits or short reviews of restaurants and businesses along with recommendations, things of that nature. Might be useful.<br>
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Alright, on to some new things...<br>
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Echofon looks nice, but it is Twitter only and looks to be optimized for smartphones. It can sync across devices but the only device I'd sync with would be a PC at this time...we'll I gave it a go anyway, just to be fair. I'm annoyed by the advertisements (though you can go ad free for $4.99) and honestly, I don't see much of a difference on a tablet. Judge for yourself by taking a look at the juxtaposed photos</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMrzzYSfEt_5PPXPodrQuXqtxrnIvFBkD98UoTFwYMMUuS0kx83RBq2zBor41y_9zISpPOzedzm43d9tinXYuAxlWcsU8v_AweO4riou71OU62AMcafY6d5KSTYwO5nsKSf_hejF5p_GA/s640/blogger-image-474815986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMrzzYSfEt_5PPXPodrQuXqtxrnIvFBkD98UoTFwYMMUuS0kx83RBq2zBor41y_9zISpPOzedzm43d9tinXYuAxlWcsU8v_AweO4riou71OU62AMcafY6d5KSTYwO5nsKSf_hejF5p_GA/s640/blogger-image-474815986.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMrzzYSfEt_5PPXPodrQuXqtxrnIvFBkD98UoTFwYMMUuS0kx83RBq2zBor41y_9zISpPOzedzm43d9tinXYuAxlWcsU8v_AweO4riou71OU62AMcafY6d5KSTYwO5nsKSf_hejF5p_GA/s640/blogger-image-474815986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eQi8vNX2BWgATTY_gUozUsH90rdSY7zcizWSv9MtakJep_zuGfg_U4Lm7yAwAY6M8LTN4qLQaRt_TRN4yhmCUFNHDM8XkZ6uVCmFenvJePFBgYqvoE2Sj-8sJN_FkxUXVSyXgb-1vt03/s640/blogger-image-157154491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eQi8vNX2BWgATTY_gUozUsH90rdSY7zcizWSv9MtakJep_zuGfg_U4Lm7yAwAY6M8LTN4qLQaRt_TRN4yhmCUFNHDM8XkZ6uVCmFenvJePFBgYqvoE2Sj-8sJN_FkxUXVSyXgb-1vt03/s640/blogger-image-157154491.jpg"></a></div></div>It's nearly the same interface, though navigation is slightly easier on Echofan. It probably would be more sensible on a phone but honestly, I see little difference on a tablet. NEXT!</div><div><br></div><div>Tried FriendCaster...uh the Echofan for FB. I like the interface and the ease of navigation and push notifications (for now). I've heard unproven rumors that any FB compatible app is better than the actual FB app due to the fact it would be less of a memory and power hog...not sure about the power hog part but FBs "official" app uses 115 MBs which would be a lot if you were hurting for memory. I did a photo comparison of Twitter to Echofan, so I'll do the same for FB and FriendCaster<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJcoV6IqcdF0bzVKcfPbwh3orCOh8brD0iRlBrv2o2RH4HniWi8dJhGMeiqWvqa9t5-QW0SBPs03-A_Rj90_s_u0Jd7pko6gEEhcYvZbWE6C3ue6oYQSrdMfOBDvd-6TsnlqqO5J2nLfE/s640/blogger-image-98859130.jpg" imageanchor="1"><br></a><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJcoV6IqcdF0bzVKcfPbwh3orCOh8brD0iRlBrv2o2RH4HniWi8dJhGMeiqWvqa9t5-QW0SBPs03-A_Rj90_s_u0Jd7pko6gEEhcYvZbWE6C3ue6oYQSrdMfOBDvd-6TsnlqqO5J2nLfE/s640/blogger-image-98859130.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQNFQkCQ8ql7FOzmbPyrLF0vql8zk2adu90KiXsWMUZfakfqEpA4ERRg6XeBYa5ZPPNURCyyhrLZdowFAJCmAj_4-s-mtcfX2jEPJoUxKzVq3r97uDsY_nzWiz58_qWZjfb-WzvekU-tP/s640/blogger-image--1498077249.jpg" imageanchor="1"><br></a><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpmlY6c6mmWIC1rPavP8FpO80QAGqrLC6B9CsFYskk9-TbwfCZLelGVKomjWKvRzJrnqjajzLZAcb_5u8qb_BUHpk167EAzCeH0LtcVk7mcz4GRcBG-tQqbplGQn0ZM05gCtfEgTjy4q-/s640/blogger-image--1652593903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpmlY6c6mmWIC1rPavP8FpO80QAGqrLC6B9CsFYskk9-TbwfCZLelGVKomjWKvRzJrnqjajzLZAcb_5u8qb_BUHpk167EAzCeH0LtcVk7mcz4GRcBG-tQqbplGQn0ZM05gCtfEgTjy4q-/s640/blogger-image--1652593903.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpmlY6c6mmWIC1rPavP8FpO80QAGqrLC6B9CsFYskk9-TbwfCZLelGVKomjWKvRzJrnqjajzLZAcb_5u8qb_BUHpk167EAzCeH0LtcVk7mcz4GRcBG-tQqbplGQn0ZM05gCtfEgTjy4q-/s640/blogger-image--1652593903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORcoFrdgd7jSYLOpn7nYjflqUmcWrROZV2IRPHIjNb0BLGzr725MLECfJ54agheIXPFfDjZh-_IaMcqTi0-v2bBIpONmJn2oQhB8D4ipr4DclKkDuGl7IUPzoHQ7exmvr1N3e3XXGBDVa/s640/blogger-image-989855902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORcoFrdgd7jSYLOpn7nYjflqUmcWrROZV2IRPHIjNb0BLGzr725MLECfJ54agheIXPFfDjZh-_IaMcqTi0-v2bBIpONmJn2oQhB8D4ipr4DclKkDuGl7IUPzoHQ7exmvr1N3e3XXGBDVa/s640/blogger-image-989855902.jpg"></a></div></span><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">FriendCaster is the top photo, FB is the bottom. I guess one last thing to say is that Friendcaster would take a little getting used to, while I'm fully familiar with the official FB app.</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">As I said way back in this blog, I'd like something I could use on Twitter and FB and manage my tweets and posts, etc. For that I'm trying Buffer and then HootSuite.</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Buffer has some neat tools. You can link to many accounts beyond FB and Twitter, you can schedule posts and it even has an analytical tool, you can see if people ate actually viewing, responding, etc. I do see some negatives though. Buffer seems pretty intrusive...you should see how many permissions you have to give it to use it on FB. It also comes with a learning curve. Buffer is just not for me.</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Finally...onto HootSuite. It's kind of a jumbled interface and has a little bit of a learning curve, but I think it would be the app for me. I can choose to post to both Twitter and FB or even one and not the other. Its Twitter breakdown makes a little more sense IMO and makes it pretty user friendly. The FB one on the other hand...um...we'll see for yourself.</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFhhnkY9Td0N5jmOLQe5-gD0SrbdjBZRN015HaY2vN-6Qj3W8LGU2r39JagQIbyTEW4CgWvakQ2BCyJL-OWwsfMBMy_PmjFCyNvxZgaMdyWKSEqY76nhkBQSduCE3JHynI2rOgKphj6L7/s640/blogger-image--1887402050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFhhnkY9Td0N5jmOLQe5-gD0SrbdjBZRN015HaY2vN-6Qj3W8LGU2r39JagQIbyTEW4CgWvakQ2BCyJL-OWwsfMBMy_PmjFCyNvxZgaMdyWKSEqY76nhkBQSduCE3JHynI2rOgKphj6L7/s640/blogger-image--1887402050.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFhhnkY9Td0N5jmOLQe5-gD0SrbdjBZRN015HaY2vN-6Qj3W8LGU2r39JagQIbyTEW4CgWvakQ2BCyJL-OWwsfMBMy_PmjFCyNvxZgaMdyWKSEqY76nhkBQSduCE3JHynI2rOgKphj6L7/s640/blogger-image--1887402050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OF1cgIPycTbxmYKdcuciLwDhzntDa_fdbyk4mkHRdhJ9JDYLjFRwid0odG_otG6eiZp__82AblY_SOG5YMGVJZbWxL1MFyuF4IJUNRqaWwL8fGgo_IH12zveWidhqDZZQUxbd8VKXOui/s640/blogger-image-455662429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OF1cgIPycTbxmYKdcuciLwDhzntDa_fdbyk4mkHRdhJ9JDYLjFRwid0odG_otG6eiZp__82AblY_SOG5YMGVJZbWxL1MFyuF4IJUNRqaWwL8fGgo_IH12zveWidhqDZZQUxbd8VKXOui/s640/blogger-image-455662429.jpg"></a></div></div><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">IDK, the FB part looks like FB on steroids...just too repetitive. Repetitive I say! I didn't include graphic examples but you can swipe to the left and see more...but mine were empty.</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Whew! If you got here congratulations...this only took a week, but it was worth it. I'm on Twitter, I explored and learned about some social media apps and I found something that can be used for Twitter and FB. Mission accomplished!</span></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div></div></div></div> </div><div><br>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-14829607957159723942014-02-04T11:54:00.001-08:002014-02-04T12:54:32.646-08:00Thing 7<div><br></div>Personally, I think I'll skip Pinterest since I am familiar with it thanks to the Mrs. It is a great way to share interests and tidbits from across the web in one place and if you wish, you can find the original source pretty easily. Since Pinterest can be endlessly categorized (I think) , you can break it down and it can be divided between fun things for your personal life and ideas to use professionally. <div><br></div><div>Bitly I will try though. I have seen countless Bit.ly web addresses in other blogs and as shortened links in various websites so I think I'll discover it a little more in-depth. </div><div><br></div><div>Bitly is not really difficult,the toughest part is copying a link out of Safari's browser (which must be darned hard on a phone). Once you've done that, you open the app, select that you'd like to add a bitmark and paste it...viola, here's a link.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWAToC21s5HufKf89CNip0Am-yTE9KygeZDrjcLx81m4diSwwPxM2sP0pEB5YaSmgwuNnIzqReH8LT1RQ-QJOP0vKbNBV2IBm9WcjjkgjmpyY4dDyZlhdSFQ_hbuvSz1Bd7PZIcY8Mk0/s640/blogger-image-431378626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DWAToC21s5HufKf89CNip0Am-yTE9KygeZDrjcLx81m4diSwwPxM2sP0pEB5YaSmgwuNnIzqReH8LT1RQ-QJOP0vKbNBV2IBm9WcjjkgjmpyY4dDyZlhdSFQ_hbuvSz1Bd7PZIcY8Mk0/s640/blogger-image-431378626.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's pretty easy to go bananas and start adding stuff left and right. I limited myself to literally several bit marks and here is how that looks...I imagine it can get a little dicombobulated after time</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOsqLmN7xW5SGTtc2YOfQgYQUyTgkrWMXkCg_QmdmCr43VPQu9Oqi_DkfjACqVOU6vqH_4k47xfHOFYx5b1IRyBwFzBHa6wQ_EYCqJAEwUzrLjrTJWupQXoyJWjL-W56fgosDcd0SuyHX/s640/blogger-image--178283412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOsqLmN7xW5SGTtc2YOfQgYQUyTgkrWMXkCg_QmdmCr43VPQu9Oqi_DkfjACqVOU6vqH_4k47xfHOFYx5b1IRyBwFzBHa6wQ_EYCqJAEwUzrLjrTJWupQXoyJWjL-W56fgosDcd0SuyHX/s640/blogger-image--178283412.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Luckily you can bundle your links! I bundled mine by work, news and sports as you can see here</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWB-oCVxcR3ekVl_UuZ1bgccWwsKthZicdXSEV2JUWCaQBzUa9GAqAAyptYz2ujwGwhr4YeGOUA6AYlwz7BF6aAss2l_ZOx6SGAj5IgWBuPOo6jhzeUKg6ZKnciGU-kBaq_IT1T9N8oFN/s640/blogger-image-1182990046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWB-oCVxcR3ekVl_UuZ1bgccWwsKthZicdXSEV2JUWCaQBzUa9GAqAAyptYz2ujwGwhr4YeGOUA6AYlwz7BF6aAss2l_ZOx6SGAj5IgWBuPOo6jhzeUKg6ZKnciGU-kBaq_IT1T9N8oFN/s640/blogger-image-1182990046.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You can almost seamlessly use bitly with Facebook and I joined bitly with my Facebook account initially. You can also send links as a message (text?) and email it to someone. I'd try the message option, but my phone is old and not web- connected and no one I know is nearby to try it on. I did email myself a link and that's pretty simple. Just tap the address of the recipient in and they'll get a cute little message saying you'd like share a link with them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The last thing I found fun and impressive about Bitly is that it will tell you how trendy an article or link is (for instance, Super Bowl XLVII on Feb 3, 2014 or Sochi Olympics in Feb 2014) or isn't (My staff web page). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bitly impressed me. I could see this as something that could be useful in our profession since you can bundle and it can be a fun waste of personal time too and they can be separated. No need to scrounge around for links or bug a collegue, as long as the use Bitly. I like Bitly's simple interface and its ease of use, I recommend it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-78787023226363074382014-02-01T09:29:00.003-08:002014-02-01T09:32:58.694-08:00Thing 6The first app I wanted to try was SignNow, a program that records an electronic signature for you and archives it and makes adding this sig to PDFs, Docs and even photos pretty easy. Honestly, I have no use for this app at work or at home, but I could see it being used by someone at an administrative level that does a lot of paperwork. It looks like a great tool for small business and I suppose employes of big business as well because it's a one stop place for your signature that works on multiple devices and it will keep your hand from getting tired ;) Like I stated earlier, I'm not a big fan of electronic writing, though this time it doesn't look so bad...and e signatures are here to stay. I had a previous job in the shipping and receiving field and e signing is they way they were going, even back in 2008. It makes sense thoug, you can save paper, you can quickly retrieve a sig and email it or add it to a Proof of Delivary document. UPS and FedEx drivers have you e- sign for your packages, if you haven't already noticed. I suppose with time and technology, I will get better at it. For fun, I will include a couple of samples from SignNow to show a couple of its uses and how they turned out<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA47t2-Lew-AA30qibtQ-iOtfpKj9o3Oc5mrmQG-QLMdrLuFjwwzw3ak8a_RpPK-aL49yKrPedk71uHYHRA5libr9E-BE6GTGPhW3vk9q5MTrmKNVdL6xMwoAGcTtGWpb-XNefJgKetdsh/s640/blogger-image--1053626791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7aWiF-M34dJg1RLtMjXVHtcf3b-R6eKTJUeKrnloy8cJ6gwmagCaGh6BgTCO398ZsokAFLBVlcmu-grurvKXScXEHUXP9pOC7CO2GRhyphenhyphen1vvmr4oIFaRyKN_BrpDR4xiNFGsF1hz2RBFG/s640/blogger-image--1285744064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7aWiF-M34dJg1RLtMjXVHtcf3b-R6eKTJUeKrnloy8cJ6gwmagCaGh6BgTCO398ZsokAFLBVlcmu-grurvKXScXEHUXP9pOC7CO2GRhyphenhyphen1vvmr4oIFaRyKN_BrpDR4xiNFGsF1hz2RBFG/s640/blogger-image--1285744064.jpg" /></a></div>
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The first image is a sample of the sample document you use when initially registering for SignNow.</div>
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The second is an autographed photo of me, save it! It may be worth something someday...you know, like a good chuckle...gosh I look fat there. Anyway...</div>
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On to my next choice, which was going to be QuickOffice, until it kept crashing after I would sign into my Google account. We finally updated the work iPad to iOS 7 so that may or may not be the problem...I would like to have tried it, it looked cool. Oh and ps to anyone that actually reads this...don't be mislead by the poo-poo one star reviews in the App Store since they are from people complaining about changes and not really about performance issues. If anyone can get the darn thing to work, I'd like to try it. I like the idea of being able to create Office files on an iPad, upload them to the cloud and the be able to access them via a PC, which I would love to do. Right now, I don't have much use for that capability professionally, but I do see some advantages in it...such as being able to bring work home or on the go. Why not do something productive while I wait for my oil change? At home this would be such an awesome tool since my wife and I were very PC based for several years and this would allow us to save, upload and download Office files we actually use often (receipes, household expenses spreadsheets, etc) and access them via our iPad. </div>
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Since QuickOffice was a no-go, I tried CloudOn instead. Maybe the whole situation is a blessing in disguise! CloudOn allows you to create, edit, save and access files via multiple Cloud platforms. I used my Google drive since I have one. I was SO impressed; it's really like using a mini version of MS Office that was tinkered with for iOS. I can totally see using this at home and eventually at work. I think I will hype this app for my coworker since he needs some MS Office support that an iPad doesn't usually have. Long story short, we have more employees that computers (which is probably normal) but we don't have a workroom unit at my library and sometimes he needs to get away from the hustle and bustle while doing things.</div>
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In the end, I think both QuickOffice and CloudOn are very useful apps. They will (probably) never replace a PC or a Mac since cloud storage is only so many GBs right now while a hard drive on a laptop or desk top is much higher. I see these as a possible wave of the future since they will allow us to take our Office files on the go on our phones and tablets and they look almost exactly the same as their traditional counterparts. Not everyone will want to adapt to this method, but I could see myself doing so. It's nice to be able to take work and/ or personal files with you and be able to access them while you wait for an appointment. I'm sure some folks are concerned about the work-life balance and always being connected and/or in their own digital bubbles and while those are highly valid concerns, I'd rather address them elsewhere.</div>
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Below are the links to my Google Drive saved files I created using CloudOn, feel free to open them and take a look, if you can...These are on-the-fly notes and thoughts I had while using the app and making the files</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ubhOdeWCmXQUtoM3VpMHhHYWM/edit?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ubhOdeWCmXQUtoM3VpMHhHYWM/edit?usp=sharing</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1802397513">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ubhOdeWCmXS0N4RDFJX1FCWWM/edit?usp=sharing</a></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ubhOdeWCmXZmhZNkNfYW1nY0E/edit?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ubhOdeWCmXZmhZNkNfYW1nY0E/edit?usp=sharing</a></div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-59904513187780449492014-01-30T16:34:00.002-08:002014-01-30T16:34:35.311-08:00Thing 5I started with bamboo book. I like the concept of a digital notebook and/or something that made me reminisce about the days of PDAs. Now, a was then, it's nice to be able to carry around a lightweight, pocketable (well, if used with a Smartphone anyway) device rather than some clumsy notebook or notepad. I like the ability to share your notes to social media and email....but in the end, I'm sorry to say, I'm not impressed with bamboo book. I don't have nor do I want to purchase a stylus, bamboo book pushes dreaded IAPs to allow more options and functionality. I frankly stink at digitally writing, especially with my fat fingers.<br />
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For example:<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qwVHhrvUTnc/UugbPCamOFI/AAAAAAAAAAU/-yV8WLnnd5c/s640/blogger-image-1975136629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qwVHhrvUTnc/UugbPCamOFI/AAAAAAAAAAU/-yV8WLnnd5c/s640/blogger-image-1975136629.jpg" /></a> </div>
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On to Don't Forget the Milk (DFTM). A very well designed and functional note-taker, I'm fairly impressed. I didn't like creating an account, but it was cool to see that by doing so, I could share my notes on social media (not sure why...) and DFTM even e-mailed me a silly reminder I gave myself. If I were to chose a note-taking app, this would probably be it.</div>
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Lastly I decided to try the <span style="line-height: inherit;">Dragon Dictation App. I like being able to dictate notes and even more so on a tablet or smartphone. Dragon is very simple and easy to use...but it </span>suffers<span style="line-height: inherit;"> from the same issues as most voice </span>recognition<span style="line-height: inherit;"> software I've ever tried: way too many mistakes! I'd take as much time editing as I would just t(ap)yping the darned thing out!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: inherit;">In the end, I'm not much of a note-taker anyway. In my job it's not a bad idea, but I don't need </span>to<span style="line-height: inherit;"> do it much at this point, maybe that will change someday. If I decide to become a note-taker with my tablet, I might just use the native/built-in app on my and my work's iPads. I don't need anything fancy and it's already there.</span></div>
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Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-88271556232170194962014-01-28T11:56:00.001-08:002014-01-28T12:03:07.302-08:00Thing 4I started out with Flipboard...kind of a mistake. It's just far too busy! I like the idea of a one stop place to catch up on social networking and various articles, but Flipboard looks more hip and fun than it does professional. I will admit I didn't spend a lot of time with the app, but at first glance, I was turned off. <div><br></div><div>Zite looked interesting in its description and screen shots, but it requires an update to iOS 7 and beyond...I know I should do this, but I really am more comfortable with iOS 6 at this point. One thing I found attractive (via the App description) is that Zite automatically will add/suggest content for you; I will admit that sometimes that can be annoying, but I do like the idea of the app finding material for me that I may have missed otherwise.</div><div><br><div><br><div><br></div></div></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-25412303980942410342014-01-21T16:51:00.001-08:002014-01-21T16:51:55.532-08:00Thing 3For fun, I started out with the RedLaser Barcode and QR scanner...for fun. I don't see a lot of professional use for this app for me, but a colleague of mine told me about a different colleague of ours that found a way to generate QR codes for her library displays. Basically she found a free QR code generator online, drew up or found a review for the book and made a code on a bookmark with that info on it. Pretty neat, huh?<div><br></div><div>In my personal life, I could see having a barcode and QR scanner, especially on a phone. RedLaser did have some nifty ways to find deals, prices, info, etc. </div><div><br></div><div>Google's app is pretty nifty, but I don't use Google much on my personal or work iPad, except for searching Safari. I have a separate app for YouTube and that's the only other Google product I use. Though they're not universally loved, iOS comes with its own map program, so no need for Google maps. Google goggles is interesting, but again, no need, beyond satisfying curiosity.</div><div><br></div><div>Wi-Fi finder looks like quite the app. I downloaded it to my work iPad to check it out and I am impressed. It came up with several free and paid hotspots using my GPS based location. I can see if a place I'm going or if something nearby has wi-fi before I even go there. Honestly, no need for it on my work iPad as HCL has wi-Fi in all its locations, but it looks like a must have for your smart phone or on the go tablet.</div><div><br></div><div>I am on the fence about downloading Chrome to an iPad...no need when you have safari, though as the description on the project page says, it's good to have a backup. I do like Chrome and prefer it on PCs but I just don't know that I want it for iOS.</div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-27352564271472417392014-01-18T10:27:00.001-08:002014-01-18T10:27:37.955-08:00Thing 2Very cool link to a tips and tricks page! I'm going to bookmark it on both my work AND personal iPad. I didn't view the video due to the fact I am using iOS 6 and I don't think I have permission to upgrade without consent on my work iPad and the same probably goes for my personal one too since it is shared by my family and I.<div><br></div><div>My personal favorite has to do with how to close background apps...it's so simple I can't believe I forgot how to do it. Closing unneeded apps will keep your battery from needing a recharge and get you out of apps you don't necessarily want to keep open at all times.</div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6106608690518176869.post-77922378410644396312014-01-18T09:59:00.001-08:002014-01-18T09:59:39.360-08:00Thing 1Registered and ready to go! I'm new to the world of mobile devices so I am looking for ways to educate myself and to see what is out there.<div><br></div><div>I hope to gain both personal and professional knowledge from this activity.</div><div><br></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745080994105320798noreply@blogger.com0Webber Park Minneapolis45.033126 -93.28926