Tag: IPhone

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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Travel Thursdays: Dublin

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B travels.

In Ireland do as the Irish do!  Wear a leprechaun hat, just because you want to.  Walk around in green the whole day because you want to celebrate St. Patricks Day but are just a few months late.  Just.. HAVE FUN!  That’s what we did!

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Just because I am a serious person who takes life far too seriously. 😉  HAHA! I actually try to adhere to the aphorism “Don’t take life too seriously, it’s not like we’re going to get out of it alive anyways.”  I’ve met some people who are far too gloomy and make the sunshine seem grey.  Really not my sort of thing! Try to put LIFE in LIFE and LIVE.  I did that in Dublin.  Walked around like a looney and had tons of fun! Ok, so many people assumed I was drunk. It happens when you try to be high on life.

Dublin is a bustling city with surrounding beautiful nature.  I was there on a family trip with cousins, aunts, and my husband.  It was a nice mix of company and ambience.

We stayed at Louis Fitzgerald Hotel (4 Star) and very reasonable priced from lastminute.com.  I would highly recommend it as the rooms very comfortable, there was free wifi and it was air-conditioned.  However, my cousins would disagree as they argued with the manager (long story).  So I won’t get into the technicalities of that as it had to do with noise control.  We were a tiny bit noisy. 😉

Places to see in Dublin:

  • Main city centre (very much like London actually)
  • Ha’penny Bridge over the Liffey River – beautiful for pictures.  There are many love padlocks here to symbolise undying love of a couple. You can put one too! Though I didn’t!
  • Trinity College – pretty college to stroll along.  It’s near the city centre so you can simply walk there.  We met a friend from that college to show us around.
  • Temple Bar- the bar that holds a Guinness World Record of 114 hours and 30 minutes of guitar playing.  You go DAVE!  Yes, so we went there to see this famous bar.  It was bustling.  I don’t drink but it was worth seeing the atmosphere.
  • Day tour from Dublin – I highly recommend to do one! You get to experience nature like never before.

We did the Connemara Day Tour.  We left the hotel really early as we had to be in the city centre at 6.30 am.  This is an early start, especially for someone like me.  I stress about waking up early.  All my university classes were always late as I simply could not do early mornings.  Therefore, if someone like me is highly recommending waking up early, it must be completely worth it.  The tour lasts 12 hours in which you pass through Galway to make your way to Connemara.  A boat tour is also included in the tour package of around 38 Euros per person.

This was the breath taking view of Connemara (the place where the romantic movie PS. I LOVE YOU was shot):

ImageIt resembled a beautiful postcard.  The photography-freak in me could not help but keep clicking pictures.  Some on our DSLR camera and some on my iPhone to whatsapp my family and friends who were missing out.  The view was really breath-taking.

We stopped in Galway and were free to roam around for an hour in the small town.  We grabbed something to eat and were back on the coach.

All in all, it was beautiful.  I even saw a beautiful sunset!  I love sunsets – there’s just something about the sun setting that gives me peace.  The beauty it exudes lights up the sky and then in a moment it’s dark.  Sunsets are mystical in my opinion.  There’s just something about them that I can’t describe as words do not seem to do justice to it.

ImageThis was taken on my iPhone and was edited with just one filter on Instagram.

Like any holiday, it becomes a memory that is etched in your heart.  The adventure that it entails is a story for one to always tell.

Dublin was a wonderful memory!

xx

B

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Photo-editing app: Snapseed

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Snapseed – an app that I use for all my iphone photo editing.  I simply love it.  It gives richer texture and color to my food pictures too.  FYI – the food pictures that you see on my blog are all taken with an iPhone 5.  Some are edited with Snapseed, ok most are edited. hahaha!

Reasons I like Snapseed:

  • Easy to use
  • FREE (free is always good!)
  • Distinct difference after editing
  • Can be saved/emailed easily from the app

You can see the difference for yourself, here’s a picture of coconut scones with chocolate before editing:

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Here’s one after editing:

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The difference is pretty obvious.  The colors look more vibrant!!

 

Verdict:

TO DOWNLOAD OR NOT TO DOWNLOAD:  TO DOWNLOAD

Hope you enjoy editing your pictures!

xx

B

 

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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Living in the UK Exam – there’s an APP!

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Hello everyone! 🙂

I PASSED the exam! CELEBRATIONS are in place!  My husband picked me up from the centre and he got take away for lunch! How sweet of him.

I was in exuberance upon getting my result.  Ok, the actual exam was very tricky.  I was surprised that the first question left me dumbfounded. I was like huh? The Crimean War? What does that even have to do with Living in the UK.  Luckily, I remembered a bit here and there from the study guide.  I studied more on UK policies than the history.  Studying does pay off. I started off Uni in law school – that actually really helped me study smart and mind map concisely. All in all – I’m just so happy to get it out of the way.

Completely side tracking, but the examiner loved my nails. 🙂  Pretty nails are usually a conversation starter or just a simple ice-breaker.  🙂

YES.  So I passed.  The APP really did help.  I’d suggest anyone applying for a settlement VISA in UK to download the app.  It was 2 or 3 pounds – enough to make me pause and think.  Then I weighed out the opportunity cost and logically thought to myself that I just makes sense.  And it did.

There were about 7-10 exact questions, or very similar.  It’s a bit of a blur right now.  Somehow after an exam its always hard to recall EXACTLY what was asked.  Saying that, I know exactly what was not asked (nothing about the elections or the UK coalition party).  Which makes me wonder about the importance of the exam in the first place.

Furthermore, around 10 questions were completely new to me.  They weren’t in the trial mock exam database in the app and the remainders were just similar content but different wording.

Tips for people taking this exam in the future:

  1. I’d suggest to actually study.  Even if you feel nerdy doing so, do it.  It’s 50 pounds – don’t waste it.
  2. Download the app – do the mock exams repeatedly until you know the answer before reading the question.
  3. Make notes – trivial facts are actually asked.
  4. Be confident but not overconfident. Re-read the question.

Good luck to all.  Migrating often seems adventurous and fun to most.  Unfortunately there’s endless paperwork and issues regarding legality that need to be followed.  To top it off – an exam!

Technology Tuesdays: Whatsapp

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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.

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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

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