Tag: apps

Technology Tuesdays: iOS7

Leave a comment

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!

Image

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

Related articles
Advertisement

Technology Tuesdays : DOTS … … …

7 Comments

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!

Image

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 😉

Related articles

Technology Tuesdays: Do Social Networking Apps cause Anti-social behaviour?

Leave a comment
English: Data from April 2011 Editor Survey th...

English: Data from April 2011 Editor Survey that lists Social Media activities (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Facebook logo Español: Logotipo de Facebook Fr...

Facebook logo Español: Logotipo de Facebook Français : Logo de Facebook Tiếng Việt: Logo Facebook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This might seem like a puzzling concept at first glance, but I think anti-social behaviour is definitely at a rise since the APP Industry has kicked off.  For instance, apps such as Facebook and Instagram are both a platform for users to engage with one another.  However, by engaging with each other through cyber space the level of human social interaction is limited.

Whenever I go to parties nowadays, a large number of people are constantly on their mobile phones.  Well to be honest, so am I – it’s addictive.  People are checking-in on Facebook through location services or taking photos of food through Instagram. This limits their social interaction with each other.  It’s simply ironic – social media cause antisocialism!

I’ve always wondered if there’s a solution to this – or is this really the future?  If I want to talk to the person next to me, do I send an iMessage to send a virtual nudge?  Is this what the future truly holds? These questions are daunting and the implications are alarming.

The Ushuaia Beach Hotel (in Ibiza, Spain) combats this problem!  It promotes social interaction through social media.  Guests are given wristbands at the start of their stay.  These bands enable guest to activate their Facebook accounts at various Facebook stations that are scattered around the hotel.  Once the account is activated, checking in is simplified and users are able to share their holiday off-line with their online friends.  This hotel is officially on my bucket list!

Image

(Picture taken from cosmopolitan uk page)

I guess people have to consciously try to be sociable and engage in conversations without their phones constantly in their hands.   Alternatively move to Ibiza where they can have the best of both worlds!

Technology Tuesdays: Whatsapp

1 Comment

My most used app ever. Whatsapp.  I honestly forgot it was even an “app”! I use it more than normal messaging. I downloaded it when it was FREE (I’m usually that sort) but as a paid app it’s definitely worth it – as once you have paid, unlimited text around the world with other whatsapp users.

In addition, it gives the user the ability to create group messages up with up to 30 participants.  This enables me to keep in touch with my cousins scattered around the globe.  Namely in:  Thailand, Singapore, London, USA, Copenhagen, Indonesia, Australia, Shanghai etc.  My phone is constantly buzzing due to the different timezones.  With this app, I constantly feel like there’s always someone who is a message away.  Though, don’t be alarmed – chats can be muted with ease if this level of social networking terrifies you.

Image

The picture above is a snapshot of my iPhone.  I absolutely love being in touch with my family and friends.  Relationships are a beautiful gift from life, some you are born with and some you create along the way.  Some obviously you are stuck with 😉  Whatsapp enables you to be in the person’s life without personally being there – just through a simple free text.  Somehow, I am not too keen to being on the phone extensively.  I prefer just sending a message across if I am thinking of someone instead of making a phone call.  Small talk isn’t me, small message is!

Features that Whatsapp has which enables users to:

  • Send free text messages to anyone with Whatsapp (You can view compatible contacts under “contacts” in the app)
  • Send audio/video/photos to users or in chats
  • SendCurrent location map – this is especially useful if you are meeting a friend and are lost!
  • Broadcast Message to groups of people – this is efficient if you want the same message sent to many different people.  I use this for New Year Wishes to all!
  • Personalize your display picture, and name

These are the predominant features of this app.  Hope you enjoy it 🙂

X

B

Related articles

Technology Tuesdays: Paprika (Recipe Manager App)

1 Comment

Today’s app – PAPRIKA.  My favorite Recipe App!Image

Hello there!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Weekends we mainly eat out and try different restaurants.  Or we go to the same restaurant and end up ordering exactly the same thing to avoid disappointment!  Sounds ironic but when you get to one of your favorite restaurants, you know exactly what would satisfy you and the risk of a new dish is almost frightening.

Weekdays we eat at home, which means I get to show-off my culinary skills or the lack of. haha! Which brings me to today’s featured app – Paprika.  It’s actually the only app I use for recipes.  I usually download mainly free apps unless the paid app proves to be very useful.  I’m quite frugal when it comes to apps (not so when it comes to designer handbags).  We have to save somewhere! 🙂  This app is usually $4.99 and you can check it out here: http://www.paprikaapp.com/blog/ (apparently there’s a sale at the moment!)

Firstly, the APP lets you search for recipes from all over the web through your internet browser.  It also provides suggested supported sites which are very useful.  I especially like to go to AllRecipes and BettyCrocker.   However. there are times I like to go to other sites and Paprika gives me this flexibility.  When you come upon a recipe that you would like to save – instead of a snapshot, it will save it in a uniform template into your recipe organizer.  Prior to this app, I used to snapshot what I liked and had to go through my photo gallery frantically when I was about to try something new.  That was pretty inefficient and time consuming.  Now I am able to save, categorize and store in an effective manner.

Sometimes, you come across a site that is not supported by this app as it cannot differentiate the text in the blog from the recipe.  There is toolbar at the bottom of this app that overcomes this problem.  You are able to manually copy the ingredients, method, title and store it in the template where you can then save.

Image

The picture above is a snapshot of my Paprika Recipes.  This demonstrates the way in which my recipes are stored.  There is a search button on the top which allows the users to search their own saved recipes.  Also, you are able to save your own recipes in the same format to add to this collection.

Secondly, if technology isn’t quite your “thing”, it allows you to print recipes so you can have them in a recipe file if that’s how you are used to storing them.  I have to admit, that I print some of my recipes instead of taking my iPad or iPhone in the kitchen with me all the time.

The last feature that this app is able to do is – plan meals.  Frankly, I do not use this feature much as I rather plan my recipes weekly.  Also – my husband sometimes doesn’t quite like sticking to the plan and has spontaneous food cravings.  🙂  Eitherway, the picture below shows how this feature can be used.

Image

Related articles