Category: Technology Tuesdays

MY APP IS OUT!!! Envylope :)

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TECHNOLOGY TUESDAYS!!! OMG OMG MY APP IS HERE.  We were pleasantly surprised that it got approved by Apple on the first attempt! 🙂

Hello dearest bloggers and random viewers!  I’m in Singapore for a wedding and have been currently MIA – thought I’d update you just in case I have been missed.

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I’m in exuberance today…  Our APP has made it to the APP STORE.  Check out: Envylope at the App Store.  A money-envelope organiser.  You can create your own personal database of who you have given to, who you have received from etc.  Get your personal money organised today!!

In a nutshell if you’re lazy to do any clicking:

This app is all about organising your money envelopes.  Coming from an Indian background, a lot of our gift giving and receiving is in the form of cash.  This can be for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, Diwali, New Years etc…  In life before I got married, I was receiving more than giving.  However, now being married it’s become customary for me to give as well (SIGH. HAHAHAHA)  I will be posting on how I got the idea another day!

I’ve been to so many events with people from diverse backgrounds who give money-envelopes.  Having a personal database on your iPhone would just be so much easier….

I find it useful to have a database on my phone instead of flipping through a notebook.  This app allows users to easily filter their database and search seamlessly.  (No need to go through all your lists again!!)

This proves to be extremely useful when you are going to a friends wedding who gave you $x at your wedding years ago.  Now its your turn to give – and you don’t want to be the “cheap friend” who gave less than what she received.  With this app you can easily access the amount you got years ago at your fingertips….  🙂  Keep lists for what your child received for first birthdays, christmas etc…  We also added a functionality where users can email the lists as PDF for printing (just in case you love having things in paper!) 🙂

This is our first app ever.  We have spent so much time and effort building this as we both have no experience and it was completely a self-learning journey.

Amit (my husband) spent so many early mornings learning programming, as this has been his aim – to make apps.  I am not a technical person but I self taught myself UI designs on photoshop and together we made an app.

The feeling of seeing your name on the App Store is amazing as there’s a sense of creating your own product.  Right now my name is just under copyright (I am pestering my husband to put it next to his LOL –  but it was actually a previous developer account he had -we are trying to edit it hahaha)  But am really happy!

Invention is so much easier these days through technology.  🙂

Would truly appreciate support from my wordpress family and bloggers!!  Please give me feedback and suggestions to improve for the update..!

xx

B

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Technology Thursdays: The New iPhone 5c and 5S

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The latest announcement by Apple has finally been made.  There had been a lot of anticipation for it at home (my husband of course)!

So what’s all the fuss about?  What’s the actual difference?

Basically I can sum it up in three points.

  1. They now come in colors!  (But is it worth buying it just for a color especially since there are colored cases available?)
  2. They are cheaper. (That’s good if you don’t already own an iPhone)
  3. Tighter security with the users thumbprint is now possible. (That’s really cool but it doesn’t warrant me buying a new phone since I already have the iPhone 5) – iPhone 5S

Hmmm…  I don’t actually get the fuss. The functionality is pretty much the same – but it looks pretty.

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Here’s a screenshot of it from the Apple website.  I wonder how the sales would be for this one!

xx

B

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Technology Tuesdays: The Guy I Married – Amit Bajaj is working on his own APP!

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Hello everyone!  I’ve dedicated this post to my husband as it’s his birthday today!  We are both born in July – mine was on the 19th (FYI) – in case you missed it. I absolutely love birthdays.  I am very much excited about birthdays more than the birthday person!

ImageThis was his surprise birthday brekky!  He loves a good old fashioned British Traditional Breakfast.  I’m completely aware of how unhealthy it is, but a birthday is a birthday 😉

My husband and I are currently working on our app for the last few months.  Now it seems to be building up into a proper layout where he is implementing the user interface.  We are hoping for his programming and IT skills to integrate well with my creativity.  Hopefully this will result in a fantastic app!  You can check out his blog here. 🙂  I will keep you guys updated about our APP once it is 50% done.  At that stage I would welcome any thoughts/suggestions to improving our app as we are novice!  After our first app – I will definitely want to do an APP on FOOD and on TRAVEL!  As I love both!

The feeling of having our own app in the App Store will be one that I can’t put into words.  Although it’s going to be a free app – the reward will be priceless.

Just wanted to share this on my blog!

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE HUSBAND!

xx

B

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Review: Tastecard + Tastecard App

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One of my favourite perks about living in London is the affordable prices of eating out.  Eating out often is often seen as a luxury in many countries.  In Japan, Australia and Singapore – all the countries I’ve lived prior to my move here had a common thread.  Eating out in restaurants were expensive.  A night out with friends in an average restaurant would cost about 30 SGD per head.  If we take this value as a dollar-to-dollar value not accounting for difference in currency value, it is astoundingly high!

Eating out in London with the tastecard is very reasonable.  You can walk out a meal paying just 8-10 pounds per head.  The tastecard gives you either a 50% discount or a 2 for 1 deal in thousands of restaurants across UK.  This even works in Dublin, Scotland, Wales.  I’ve used it in all those countries.  It makes travelling across UK more affordable as your daily budget factors less money to food.

Tastecard has an app which makes finding restaurants near your radius simple.  Often we try new restaurants based solely upon the fact that there is a 50% discount.  That proves to be an incentive to try an unknown restaurant.  We have discovered many hidden gems this way.  I’ll be reviewing must-eat restaurants in London that are part of the taste card group!

This is the home screen of the app:

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It allows for easy reference to history, recent search and allows you to search.  I’ve recently searched for afternoon teas – as you can see!  I love good afternoon teas!

If you click on the search tab below, the screen would look like this:

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This allows users to make specific searches.  It helps me narrow down restaurants to the cuisine that I feel like eating 😉  (A girl needs what she needs!)

I strongly recommend this app to anyone who has tastecard.  And if you do not have tastecard and live in the UK – you should get an annual subscription now.  It’s usually 30 pounds (on offer).  One of the best inventions in UK!

VERDICT FOR TASTE CARD:
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY:  TO BUY!
I will be reviewing restaurants that accept taste cards!  I’ll be reviewing them with my Verdict: TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT.  If you discover a restaurant for me to check out, be in touch! x

Technology Tuesdays: The relativity of time in the age of technology

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Everyone has exactly 24 hours in a day.  Some days feel longer, and some shorter.  I was recently involved in a discussion that made me tie in technology with the relativity of time.  The use of technology makes time go faster.  This statement was worrying and yet intriguing.  I find it worrying as it is provocative and it demands people to question why we want time to fly faster.  Don’t we want to live our life fully and enjoy our happy moments?  But what if happiness is having wifi or 3G and in holidays we want that.  We want to be connected all the time.  In addition, procrastination is happening all around us.  We delay tasks we have to do and don’t realise where our time has flown by.  In university I remember checking Friendster (the ghost of Facebook), replying emails when my lectures just felt so long.  Time passed by fast and the lecture seemed to end earlier than it would.

When I’m out and about, I notice people glued to their phones.  People are constantly on Facebook and Instagram.  There is this persistent need to be connected at all times.  Time flies.

On the contrary, when you’re on a holiday without 3G of wifi, the day seems longer.  I experienced this in Vienna.  My 3 days there without wifi seemed longer.  I felt we could cover more in a day.  We were more engaged in conversations and less caught up with the internet.  I realised how dependant we were to be entertained by our smart phones even in restaurants while waiting for our meal to come.  This thought made me almost feel sad for what the world has become.  I was observing on other tables how everyone checked their phones at least 3-5 times during a meal.  I honestly don’t think it could be of any importance, yet I usually do it too.  I check my whatsapp messages, Facebook comments, Instagram likes etc.

Do we still have time to smell the roses?  Do we still have time to appreciate the world?  Time seems to be passing us by and we all seem to be paralysed by the paradigm shift in technology.

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Technology Tuesdays: iOS7

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The new iOS is out  to developers for now, but its out nonetheless. My husband was glued to the announcement yesterday. So much so, that he sat in a different room from me, in full concentration!  I must admit, Apple really knows how to simplify solutions whilst making an interface sophisticated. It’s pretty brilliant if you ask me 🙂

What I like about it:

  • It looks pretty! (Aesthetics are just important)
  • Simple to use new functions.  Such as:  You can adjust the brightness of the phone from anywhere. Similarly, wireless can be switched on and off at ease.  This would be a really convenient feature for me when I’m traveling and leeching of free wifi from McDonalds!
  • Multitasking in Apps made easier. I’m not good at multitasking haha!

I don’t have it yet on my phone though.  My husband does and he keeps showing it off.  I guess there are perks being a member of the Apple Developer Program.  He gets all the geeky stuff first 😉 He takes a lot of pride in it too!!

On a sidetrack,  I’m getting better at DOTS! Yaey!

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I was playing it on the tube today.  Fortunately, I managed to get a seat (just one way though!)  On the way back, I was squashed with the crowd which made it hard to play, let alone breathe. DOT DOT DOT.

xx

B

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Technology Tuesdays : DOTS … … …

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DOTS: In the end – everything connects.

A new game app that just came out in May this year has created a wave of fresh new downloads.  This has caused a rise in inefficiency and a decrease in productivity in America by 20-25%.  In 16 Days this app was played 100 million times. I had to try it after hearing this bizzarre statistic.  When I first played it – I didn’t think much of it.  Although saying that, it did remind me of connect the dots.  A basic game – simple yet addictive.

But after playing it a few times – I too got addicted.  SO DO TRY IT OUT if you plan to procrastinate.

The objective of the game:

  • Connect all the dots.  This can be done vertically and horizontally.  Diagonals can’t be done.
  • SQUARES are the key.  A square gives you the most points.  Swipe squares off!

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It’s only a minute long.  I find this terribly intelligent to engage players to play just another game, as it’s just a minute.  The snapshot above illustrates the dots connecting in a horizontal and vertical fashion.  If the green or purple dot next to the connecting dots were yellow an obvious square would be there.  That would result in far more points.

There’s apparently a strategy to get more points.  I came across this link.  One of the strategies I do use is to pre-empt my move.  To try to see if swiping two dots would give me a square of dots for the next move.  That helps me!

Also – an article illustrating that its the most beautiful game ever!  Hope this entices you to download it and give it a go.  It’s a free app which means there’s really nothing to lose.  Except a lot of minutes of your life 😉

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Technology Tuesdays: Articles in my “pocket”

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When you’re on the go, having what you need in your pocket is always convenient.  The Pocket App stores articles and videos. Once the article is downloaded it can be read offline anywhere. This proves to be extremely useful when I am on the tube (assuming I get a seat that is, which is unlikely – but anyways!)

My husband and I have been doing various research on the current app market. When he comes across interesting articles that would shed some light on the launching on our first app, he puts it in my pocket.  Although, I’d prefer a cheque book in my pocket, but articles for now would do 🙂

How the app works: 

I have a desktop client on my iMac which allows me to save links and send them to my app. In addition, another user (in my case, my husband) can add to your individual pocket list.

It’s a good sharing platform.  Also, it’s compatible with Flipboard (you can check out my review on that app) that makes it easy for users to read articles offline later.  Once the articles/links are saved they appear in a list format.

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The picture depicts the list format.  Furthermore, it shows the articles that have been sent to my list by my husband – Amit Bajaj.

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The app also simplifies searching for your saved material with the categories above.  This functionality makes it easy if you have numerous articles/videos saved and want to search for a specific one.

This app is pretty handy – download it and give it a shot and put it in your “pocket”. (Couldn’t resist being cheesy – sorry! haha)

xx

B

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Technology Tuesdays on a Thursday? Over dependancy on Technology!

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I wanted to write my Technology Tuesdays this week but my iMac froze on me.  That made me think how dependant we are on gadgets.  We expect them to work all the time – and when they don’t – a wave of frustration comes over us.  I could have written a post to upload later from my iPad or iPhone – but I was simply too annoyed.

I got over the annoyance in a day.  The next day another technology mishap was waiting to happen.  Yesterday I was out at Westfield with a friend and realised I forgot my phone at home.  I realised when I reached the tube station – before meeting her. I stood there paralysed for a minute.  How do I contact her?  How do I ask my husband to pick me up from the station in the evening?  How will he gauge the time?  I was stressed.

I regained my composure and used a public pay-phone.  To my surprise, they are hard to find and the price reflects the fact that they take advantage of people’s desperation.  60p as a starting rate is a joke in my opinion.  Funnily enough, the credit expired after a second of me getting through.

Fortunately,  I brought my iPad mini along in my handbag and upon reaching Westfield made full use of the free wi-fi. THANK YOU WESTFIELD!  🙂  I iMessaged my way into successfully meeting up with my friend and contacting my husband too.

Sadly, Wifi saved my day.  We depend on technology more than we know.  I’m questioning the effects of technology on my everyday life.  Certainly, it makes life easier.  Yet, the absence of it paralyses us in a way it would not if we weren’t so dependant on it.