It’s officially just 1 WEEK until the Disney Social Media Moms Conference at Walt Disney World and the excitement is palatable in my house.  As the person who makes sure that we get there with toothbrushes, underwear and socks, I’m channeling my excitement into planning and packing.   I’m also a little anxious that I have 2 more trips to Florida planned right after this one.  If I’m not organized something will get left behind.

Thank God that I am usually very organized.  I have been making packing lists in Word for years.  I worked from a master list and cut, paste and added items as I needed for each trip.   Then I printed them out and crossed them off as I packed.  It was a good system.  It worked.

But when I got an iPad, my world changed.  Pen and paper lists seemed clunky and outdated, so 2009.  I had learned to use my iPad for so many other tasks, surely I could figure out how to put packing lists on there.  Maybe there’s an app for that! I thought. There is; the people at QuinnScape certainly had me in mind when they created the Packing Pro app.

It seems a little daunting at first, but it’s really simple to use and customize.  There is a huge Master Catalog on Packing Pro that I used to make general packing lists for myself and each of my kids.  These are the lists that I will use as a foundation for each trip.  So far I have custom packing lists made for 2 of my upcoming trips.

While I use Packing Pro on my iPad because it’s bigger, I also have the app on my iPhone and I was able to export my packing lists between the devices.  First I exported the lists from my iPad and they were stored in Contacts.   Then I synced to iTunes and imported the lists to my iPhone.  Easy.

The photo below is a part of my packing list, the gadgets section, for the Disney Social Media Moms Conference.  (This is a screen shot from my iPhone; obviously the screen on the iPad would show more items.)   It’s a paid app, but worth every penny–and another reason to love my iPad.

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Something that has been on my “to do” for awhile is making a About.me page and I finally got around to it last week.   While my name is not typical, it’s not that unusual either and I wanted to make sure that I got the url before someone else did.   Although About.me hasn’t really caught on with the masses as of yet, I believe that will quickly change.  I think it’s a great idea.  Right now you know me as Funkidivagirl, but as my interests diversify this can be a central place to capture all of my personas and created communities.   I like that I can give someone just one url that contains all of my contact information instead of several.

Before creating my page I poked around a bit and saw that I liked the profiles that were cool and esoteric rather than straight forward.  That’s more my style and also I don’t have any straight-forward photos of myself (it seems like I need to schedule a photo shoot, hmm?).  So I played around with one of my favorite photos and I like the results.

This is the original photo.

Next, I turned it black & white and added a cool border.

I liked it in black & white, but wanted to keep my pink toenails.  It was tricky, but I I figured it out.

Finally, I uploaded my photo to my About.me profile page and added my name and a brief bio.  There are links to all my online profiles and “Dig it” actually links back to my Funkidivagirl.com About Me page.   Check it out at About.me/Sherrelle and let me know what you think!

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Let me say this first: I like Live With Regis And Kelly.    I have watched Kelly evolve from playing a rebel teen on All My Children to her current co-host spot and I have rooted for her all the way.  I think that if we ever met, we would be friends.  And Regis is fantastic; I will be sad to see him leave.  So, I like the show.  I don’t watch it too often because I have a rule about watching television during the day, but sometimes I will watch the opening banter (my favorite part) while I hoop.

I watched this morning and Ashton Kutcher was subbing for Regis.  This is a transcript of the banter between Kelly and Ashton (the transcript is from Livedash.com; I don’t know if it is exactly word-for-word accurate, but I heard it myself and it’s pretty on point):

00:05:07	The woman that was texting and could have slipped anything and meanwhile knell fell on a city fine.
00:05:15	Get off the twitter!
00:05:16	Look around!
00:05:18	[Laughter] kelly: how dare you?
00:05:22	Had us hooked on twitter as a nation and then tell us to get off the twitter?
00:05:28	I felt responsible for it.
00:05:29	I’m going to get subpoenaed.
00:05:30	I’m going to end up in courpt it’s going to a bad, bad day.
00:05:35	I cannot believe that they do not give you money for twitter.
00:05:39	At twitter.
00:05:41	You made this twitt thing happen.
00:05:43	I helped the twitter thing happen.
00:05:45	Here’s the greatest thing about it.
00:05:47	No, they don’t give me money but I’m connected from the streams.
00:05:50	So I see the coolest new stuff in technology before anybody sees i.

There it is, the line in bold that made me I drop my hoop and start tweeting myself.  Ashton Kutcher “made” Twitter?  Excuse me?   I don’t think so!

Nothing against Ashton.  I don’t know him and I’m sure he’s a great guy.  His celebrity-dom, his trillion Twitter followers–I don’t begrudge him any of it.  More power to him.  And yes, I’m sure he somehow helped bring Twitter out of Geekdom and into Mainstream America, but he didn’t “make” Twitter.   Twitter was made by ALL OF US IN SOCIAL MEDIA!

We who chat with each other so much that we actually become friends and step out of the social media anonymous bubble and  meet up In Real Life.  Like @dcanoli who upon meeting Twitter followers for the first time greets them like old friends. Or @hangingwitmrsc who is planning a trip this summer just to see her Twitter pals.

We moms like @theblogrollers and @banteringblonde who have learned how to turn social media into a business while still being present enough to attend to our children.

We business masterminds like my husband @keyinfluencer who makes his living showing major brands how to use Twitter effectively–not to pimp out their customers, but to develop real relationships with them.  Or @mariohouston who has figured out how to walk that fine line between tweeting about his career in telecommunications and authentically as himself.

We visionaires like @brokesocialite, a Twitter personality in her own right, who saw a void in social media conferences and created one of her own.

I could go on forever…..through the whole Twitter community.  We–all of us who use social media–made Twitter!  We made Twitter by using it every day, all day, to entertain, inform and engage.

@mariohouston created the hashtag #IAmSocialMedia and I’ve been using it all day.  If you believe that YOU are social media, use it too.

And chant.  Chant like Jesse Jackson while clicking your computer mouse in the air.

I Am.

Social Media.

© 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

But there are many social media conferences, so just what is it that makes Blogalicious special?

First of all there is childcare at Blogalicious.  Did you hear me?  Childcare–for free.  I think that it is absolutely brilliant to include childcare at a conference primarily for women.    I brought my daughter with me to Miami and she was in Ritz Kids–for free–each day and had a ball.   When she wasn’t in Ritz Kids, she was hanging with me or her dad, who was a keynote speaker again this year.   I loved that I was able to bring her to Blogalicious and surround her with such positive women.   To show her great women doing great things, and as an added bonus, most of them looked like her!

Me & Girly ready to hang.

One night there was a Beauty Bash party and since my husband was the DJ (taking his usual Friday night UStream show, DJ GeekSexy, live), my daughter was in attendance too.  She’s known as DJ Sushi Roll and had created a whole DJ set herself to play at the event, but once she got there, she was too busy playing at the So In Style Barbie table, presented by designer Stacey McBride-Irby.

Stacey MrBride-Irby & Girly

The childcare, the swanky hotel, the sessions, the swag–they are all good, but the real draw of Blogalicious is the women.  The women who attend and present at Blogalicious are so smart and so tech savvy and so nice.  Yes, nice; its not a dirty world.   The snarky, sarcastic people that you love to read online?  Great in cyberspace, but who wants to interact with people like that in the real world?

And finally Blogalicious is special because of the 3 incredible women of  MamaLaw: Justice Ny, Justice Fergie and Justice Jonesie.

They get it.  They get how to put on a top-notch conference with great sponsors, fantastic speakers and interesting workshops.   And fun….don’t forget about fun.  Fun is important.  We all have enough heavy in our everyday life.  A little time on the beach after conference sessions with other like-minded geeky chicks was a much-needed respite for all attendees.  Cocktail parties, a Latin dance party at Set nightclub, a live performance by Kindred the Family Soul, and a Wii Just Dance 2 competition were just some of the fun events at Blogalicious.  Here I am Wii-dancing to “Hey Yah”.  And yes, I won.  Twice.

I won’t list all the fantastic women in attendance at Blogalicious this year because there were just too many (everyone!), but if you follow the hashtag on Twitter, #Blogalicious10, you will be introduced to some phenomenal women who are taking the social media world by storm.  It may be a quiet storm in some cases, but make no mistake, these are women to watch.

*******************

Other posts you may like about Blogalicious:

Why I Blog (thoughts inspired by Blogalicious 2009)

© 2010 – 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Here are the products that I mention in the video and where to buy them:

Hard Candy Sleek Skin iPad Case

Hard Candy Bubble Sleeve iPad Case

Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit

Pogo Sketch Pen

Griffin A-Frame Stand for iPad

Apple Wireless Keyboard

*********************

Other posts you may like about Apple products and accessories:

What I Like (and don’t like) About The Apple Ipad

Uncommon Deflector Case For iPhone 4: Whomp, Whomp, Try Again

Believe The Hype: Apple

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Just when I was about to lose hope, I was excited to discover that I could make a custom Deflector Case on Uncommon‘s website.   I thought my own funki logo would look great on a phone case and when I received it in the mail a week later, I was pleased.

Pretty sweet, huh?

I thought so too.  That is, until I tried to take the case off my phone…..and found that I couldn’t.   Frustrated and afraid that I might damage my phone if I try too hard, I googled.  And I found out that this is a common problem with Uncommon cases.  Now I was really scared because some people had to take drastic measures to remove the case.   In the end it took me an HOUR to pry the case off my phone and I damaged the case in the process (but not my phone, thank God).

I have purchased an Uncommon Capsule Case in the past for my iPhone 3G and while it was snug, I think the 2 piece construction made for easier removal.  By contrast the Deflector Case is a one piece snap-on unit and once it’s on, that’s it, they are mated for life.

So until I find a phone case that is both fashionable and functional, my phone will be dressed in basic black.   Borrrring!

Do you have an iPhone 4?  Have you found a source for functional and fashionable phone cases?  Hip me!

Other posts you may like about Apple products:

Believe The Hype: Apple

Things I Like: iPhone Gratitude Journal App

What I Like (and don’t like) About The Apple Ipad

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Since then I’ve had a few months to use it and here’s what I think:

• The resolution is astounding.  I prefer looking at photos on my iPad more than on my MacBook.  Everything I view on the iPad is crisp, clean and bursting with color.  (*Note: if you want to upload photos directly to the iPad, you need the Camera Connectivity Kit as there is not a USB port.)

• It’s bigger than my iPhone, but easy to carry around.  I can easily carry it in a large purse or a small tote bag.

• The battery life is impressive; I hardly have to charge it at all.

• With Mobile Me, my calendar, contacts and email sync automatically between my iPhone, MacBook and iPad, so I rarely have to sync directly with my computer.  (Although I can go on a rant about Mobile Me, which is very wonky and always acting weird.  But that’s not the iPad’s fault.)

• It plays my music, just like an iPod.  The speaker is pretty good too.

• As with the iPhone, it’s all about the apps.  Although there aren’t that many apps exclusively for the iPad, most iPhone apps work on the iPad just fine.  Some apps appear small when opened, but can be made larger without too much loss of resolution.  Games are definitely more fun to play on the iPad versus the iPhone.  (I just don’t understand why there isn’t a Facebook app for the iPad!  I do not like viewing Facebook through the web!)

• I can read books on the iPad using the Kindle or iBooks app.   Although this is not my preferred method of reading books (I still prefer paper), it’s very convenient when I travel.  I will put a book or two on my iPad and my traveling load is much lighter.  I do feel odd reading with the iPad on the beach or poolside and I am paranoid about getting water or sand on my device, so it’s not perfect.   But if I run out of reading material while on vacation, I can easily buy another book online.  A good book.  Not Confessions of a Shopaholic, like I was once forced to buy at a remote hotel gift shop because I had run out of books to read.   That was most unfortunate.

• I have gotten much better at reading The Bible daily by using my iPad.  The YouVersion app is amazing; I use a reading plan that keeps me on track.   I often read while eating my breakfast after the kids have gone to school.

• The Penultimate app is perfect for taking written notes.  And although I haven’t tried it yet, I have Pages, iWork and GoodReader on my iPad for typing documents that can later be transferred to my computer.

Alas, it’s not all good.  This is what I don’t like about the iPad:

• I don’t type very well on the iPad.  I know other people who type with ease, but not me.  I often resort to one finger typing instead of typing like I have a keyboard.  So I bought an Apple bluetooth keyboard and it’s handy when I plan on typing a lot, but then it’s another thing to carry around also, which defeats the purpose.

• It’s not easy write a blog post on the iPad.  This is a major disappointment for me.  The WordPress app is very limited–when it works; it crashes most of the time.  Trying to blog in the backend of my website is impossible as well; there is a bug that won’t allow me to type in the body of the post or add photos.  I’ve researched this and everyone has the same problem.  I’ve played around with it and have figured out how to write a very simple blog post using 3 different applications, but it’s a pain.

• Multi-tasking is not possible.  I hope that a future update will allow this feature as it’s cumbersome to always go back to the home screen when switching between apps.

Despite the shortcomings, I like having an iPad.  I use it as a “big iPhone” (except I can’t use it as a phone) and I think that’s the best expectation to have.  As my husband said, it’s best for “consuming media” rather than outputting information.   When I don’t want to bring my laptop, it’s a good option.  It does not take the place of a computer, and it’s definitely a luxury rather than a necessity, but I think that it’s a worthwhile purchase.

And truthfully, it’s just FUN!

*Do you have an iPad?  What do you like (or dislike) about it?  What are some of your favorite apps?

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

But now if you don’t “like” me, well, I can’t help but to take it personally.

*sniff sniff*

I know you don’t want to hurt my feelings (you’re good people!), so just go to Facebook.com/Funkidivagirl and click the “Like” button at the top of the page for all the funki goodness to appear in your news stream.

*Or just click the Facebook badge below.

Funkidivagirl.com

Promote Your Page Too

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

I still have to sync it to my MacBook, add some apps and do all kinds of things to make it mine, but isn’t it lovely?

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

If we are sharing a meal together, then I deserve your attention.

During our lunch date I understand that sometimes you may be waiting for an important message or call from someone (because we are expected to be always available), but proper etiquette would suggest informing your companion of your expected interruption and if it does occur, excusing yourself, taking care of the business quickly and apologizing to me, your lunch date.  Once the business is handled, put the phone away.   If you would rather tweet or text or talk to your mother on the phone, then don’t invite me to to lunch.   We can be BFFs on Twitter while multitasking, but personal interaction requires undivided attention.

I can hear your computer keys clicking (or your mouth chewing).

Multitasking…this is such a normal part of lives now that we really don’t know how not to do it.  I multitask like everybody else, but I find that I can’t do it very effectively if a live person is involved and you can’t either.  Don’t kid yourself; I know when you are on the computer while also talking to me on the phone.  Your voice takes on that “uh-huh, right, really?” tone that tells me that you are only half-listening to what I’m saying.  Sometimes I use the computer while talking on the phone too, but I do let my callers know that I am otherwise engaged; I don’t try to pretend that I am giving them my undivided attention when I’m not.  If a friend calls and I am a engaged in light computer research then I will say so (I don’t even answer the phone if I am writing, so there’s no conflict there).  At that point we can have a half-hearted conversation under full-disclosure or decide to talk later.

The same rules apply to eating lunch while on the phone.  If we are close like that then just tell me that you are eating lunch, don’t try to pretend that you aren’t and then talk with a full mouth.   However, I draw the line at peeing while on the phone.  It doesn’t sound like running water, it sounds like pee.  Just don’t do it.  Put me on hold, handle your business and then resume the conversation.

I’m not your chauffeur; talk to me.

When my kids are in the car during our everyday transport, I prefer them to be engaged in conversation with me, listening to music or just staring out the window instead of playing games or sending texts on their phone.    Some of the best conversations happen in the car and that’s not possible if their attention is elsewhere.   I know that the car is a good place for an adult passenger to read their emails, return texts or update their Facebook status (“I’m riding in the car on the way to work”….the whole world is waiting to read that, you can’t let them down), but it’s only okay as long as you tell the driver that you are going to do that for a few minutes and excuse yourself from the expected passenger-seat conversation.  Nobody likes to feel like a chauffeur.

Jesus doesn’t follow you on Twitter.

I see people in church with their Blackberries or iPhones, thumbs flying.  I agree that they could be looking at a Bible app (my husband’s excuse) and reading scripture, but it’s such a temptation to quickly check your email or send a tweet (“I’m really enjoying church; the service is awesome today.”) that it’s just better to be totally engaged in church and leave your phone in your pocket.  They do still make Bibles in book form.

A few weeks ago I was at a school function and the speaker was a little long-winded for most of the people in the audience.  As I looked around the room I saw several heads bowed and iPhone lights glowing in the darkened theater.   That was rude.  If you are bored during a speaking event, the courteous thing to do is stare straight ahead and mentally play “what I would do if I hit the lottery tomorrow.”

If you read Emily Post I’m sure that she would tell you the same thing.

What do you think?  Do you think that technology is causing us to become less courteous?  Does it bother you when people text, email or are otherwise distracted in your presence?

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

You know those people who walk around with bluetooth earpieces in their ear? Like they are all pod-people and part of some alien nation? I hate that look. I understand that it is a convenient way to talk on the phone, but if you aren’t on the phone, TAKE IT OFF. Believe me, a bulbous ear attachment does nothing for your cool points.

As you can see, I am not a fan of bluetooth ear devices. But I had to admit that they seemed like a good idea when they first came out and I tried several brands to no advil; they just didn’t fit my ear properly and really I felt like a fool wearing one.  Style counts in my book.  Several years passed as I used my wired headphones to talk on my cell phone. The wires often got in my way and the quality wasn’t very good, but since I was anti-earpiece, that was my only choice.

Recently I got hipped to the Jawbone Icon Headset and although I was very skeptical that I would like it, I decided to give it a try.  First of all, the design is very appealing; gone is the pod people-like bulb.  The Icon is small, slick, shiny and blinging….I like bling.   This is my model, The Thinker:

Alright, so I figured that at least I wouldn’t look stupid wearing it.  Encouraged, I put it in my ear and I was pleasantly surprised to find that by trying different earbuds and earloops, I found a perfect fit for my ear.  The headset was comfortable, lightweight and didn’t feel like it was going to fall out of my ear (a problem with past headsets).   Already two of my biggest concerns (style and fit) were addressed.

Since I don’t talk on the phone while driving (and neither should you–take Oprah’s No Phone Zone Pledge), I wasn’t sure if I would actually get much use out of the headset, but then I took my dog for a walk.  I don’t have much free time to talk to my friends, so I frequently call them when I am walking my dog.  In the past they have complained that my wired headphones didn’t work well when I was walking, so instead I held the phone to my ear.  That’s not a good way to walk my dog; one jerk from him and my phone is on the ground.   The Jawbone Icon Headset works perfectly while walking my dog.  It was very windy the other day, but while walking Chili Dawg I could still be heard and hear with my headset on with no problem.   In fact it started to rain and I jogged the last block home–still on the phone–and my friend didn’t even know it.  I guess that’s the “NoiseAssassin” in action that Jawbone says is one of it’s best features.  Believe me; it works.

The headset is very easy to use with my iPhone; I flip the switch on the headset, set my phone to “bluetooth” in Settings and then they’re connected.  It’s that simple.  There is even a battery meter on my iPhone’s status bar that tells how much battery I have left on my headset.   If my phone rings while wearing the Icon, it talks in my ear and says the number of the person calling.  It freaked me out the first time it happened, but now that I’m used to it, it’s cool.

I really like the Jawbone Icon Headset and will use it whenever I talk on my cell phone (but I will take it off if I’m not on the phone. And if you ever see me just wearing it as ear jewelry, feel free to stop me and tell me about myself).  Whether walking my dog, folding laundry or strolling around Target, with the Jawbone Icon Headset I can talk hands-free, be heard clearly and not look like an idiot.

*Disclosure: My husband was sent several Jawbone headsets and I took one to use for myself because I’m his wife and I can do that.  The headset was not sent to me personally, nor was I asked to write this review.  My opinions are my own.

© 2010 – 2012, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

And if you’re not subscribed to Funkidivagirl.com, you really should be!

For those of you spend much of your time on Facebook (and who doesn’t?), good news!–I just added Funkidivagirl.com to Facebook Networked Blogs Directory.   Just go to my networked blog and click “follow” and when I update my blog you can read it on Facebook.   This is not to take the place of coming to my website, but just another way to read Funkidivagirl.com.

You might have noticed that I put a couple of new badges on my blog home page.  Click on the Facebook badge to become a fan of Chili Dawg (he does have some good status updates).   And you can see my latest 12 Second video right there inside the badge by clicking the “play button.”

Okay; the geeky updates are over.  Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

© 2010, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I love my iPhone!  I have a few apps, but really I am not utilizing the iTunes App Store as much as I could be.  So I added Pandora, Tap Tap, Tipulate and Shazam…..and to this date I haven’t used any of those.  But I did find this cool new app that I just have to tell you about.

I’ve been sort of in a funk lately (as opposed to funki, which is the preferable modus operandi) and so I’ve been thinking that I need to start a gratitude journal to focus on the good stuff.   The trouble is, as hard as I try, I’m not a very good journal writer.  I buy a pretty journal and pen, set them next to my bed, write in it for about two weeks and then fall off the wagon.   And about six months later I repeat the process again.  Instead of feeling grateful, I end up feeling like a failure.

That’s why while reading the latest issue of Skirt! I was so happy to read about an iPhone Gratitude Journal app by Happy Tapper.  For .99¢ I figured that I could give it a try and I must tell you that I absolutely love it!  I think that this will work for me!  The app is also very user friendly and has a feel-good, groovy feel.  The little Buddha is so cute and makes me smile.

You can change the background and even lock your journal from curious eyes:

The quote displayed after each journal entry is a nice touch (or you can turn this feature off):

I like the fact that I can type in my “grateful thoughts” the minute they happen in a concise bullet format and I love that I can add a photo to my journal entry as well (the photo goes in the spot of the little Buddha in the first screenshot).  

This week I have been grateful for:

a great pedicure

the ice cream truck

good iced tea

• a fantastic facial
• beautiful weather
• nice visits with my parents and mother-in-law
• a listening ear in Renee

And I am very grateful for my iPhone and the Gratitude Journal app.  Namaste. 

© 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

Apple pie, carmel apples, applesauce–apples are good right?  Well, maybe the food, but I wasn’t a believer in Apple the technology until recently.

My husband gets all the credit for keeping me technologically current.  He insisted that I get my first Palm long ago and then he bought me a Treo a few years ago and I loved it.  With the Treo I became hooked on having an organizational tool at my fingertips.  It is important to note that I did not activate the mobile feature on my Treo as I did not want to be connected 24/7.

When my husband got an iPod and then a MacBook he became a lover of all things Apple and never looked back; in fact, I think he’s sort of obsessed.  

My first baby step over to the Apple side (or the right side, my husband would say), came when I bought an iPod to use at the gym; my workout went a lot faster listening to podcasts.  Then when I needed a new laptop, I made the MacBook my choice (with a lot of coercing from my husband).  There was a learning curve, but a class at the Apple store helped tremendously and now I can work my MacBook just as well as he can.

A few months ago I decided that I needed a new phone and my husband was urging me to get a new 3G iPhone (of course), but I was not buying into the hype.  I loved my Treo and had planned to just buy a newer version, but when I found out that Verizon didn’t carry the new Treo, I became more open to the iPhone.   Still, I had to make sure that the iPhone would actually satisfy my needs.  At the suggestion of an Apple employee, I made a list of all the ways that I use my Treo and brought the list into the Apple store (yes, I’m crazy like that); the employee went over each item and showed me an iPhone application that could perform that function.  In the end I did buy the iPhone, but I am happy that I made an informed, well-thought out decision.

So now I’ve had my iPhone for a couple of months.  I have finally transitioned all of my Treo information and have used the iPhone enough to give an educated opinion.  The verdict?  I LOVE MY IPHONE!  There, my husband, that was for you: you were right.  I know that you don’t hear that often from me so I’ll say it again, YOU WERE RIGHT; Apple rocks!

Contrary to my earlier sentiment about not wanting to be connected, I love being able to check my email on my phone.   Since I am so mobile anyway driving my kids all over the world, at least I can surf the internet and read my email on the run and therefore have less to do when I arrive back at home.  

I confess; I’ve become one of those sick people comparing iPhone applications at kids’ birthday parties and school functions.  Well, now that it’s out there, here are some of the iPhone applications that I use :

Twitterific: Mirco-blogging on the go! It feeds the Twitter addiction.  

Facebook: Now I can update my status anytime and anywhere.  I particularly love being able to upload mobile photos: Me!–in the park; Me!–at the store.  My everyday life seems more exciting when I post it on Facebook.

Grocery iQ: My personalized list is organized according to my local Whole Foods aisles.  They even have brand names in the application.  And I like that I can email the list to my husband to pick up a few things on the way home from work.

Things: This is my master to do list for work, chores, and life.  I use the desktop application to input information and then sync with my iPhone.  One look at the “Today” list keeps me focused and stress-free.

mSecure: A secure place for my many web passwords.  My mommy-brain sometimes get overloaded.

Notebook: I keep lists of restaurants to visit, wine labels to try, etc.

PhotoNote: If I see something out in the world that I want to remember, I take a photo and attach a note. This will especially come in handy during holiday shopping.

SplashShopper: I had this on my Treo and used it to death, so I was so happy to see it available for the iPhone.  I keep running lists for Target, the mall, gifts ideas, movies to see, and books to read.  The desktop application syncs with my Macbook for easy entry of items.  It makes running errands a breeze.

My son also has an iPhone (hand-me-down from my husband) and he has many more applications than I do.  Here is just a small list of his favorites along with his reviews:

Dactyl-Mauvila Software (FREE):  The MUST HAVE classic iPhone game. Surprisingly fun for such a simple game. You just tap the bombs as they turn red before they explode.

Sonic Lighter-Smule ($0.99): There is a free lighter, Zippo Lighter, that is pretty good, but this lighter is amazing. You can tilt your light to ‘singe’ the sides of your phone, turn on the gas to make a blowtorch, view a world map of people who are using the app, and blow the flame out using the microphone. However, the best feature is the ability to light other people’s phones that have the app open. You turn on the blowtorch (with the sound on) and put your phone to the other phone. The app also has the ability to light Smule’s bomb app, Sonic Boom.

Pandora Radio-Pandora Media (FREE): Pandora is an iPhone based version of the website.  If you’re not familiar with Pandora, it’s a music service where you type in an artist, and it comes up with songs by that artist and songs like that artist, creating a ‘radio station’.  You can put multiple artists on a station, or do a QuickMix which shuffles your stations.

Recorder-Retronyms ($0.99):  Simple recording app that allows you to name your recordings. It has a pretty good sound quality for a cheap app.

SnapTell Explorer-Snaptell (FREE): This app allows you to take pictures of the covers of CDs, DVDs, and books, and brings up reviews and price comparisons of the product.

TapTap Revenge-Tapulous (FREE): This is sort of like guitar hero for the iPhone.  You tap the colored dots and shake your phone to the beat of the music.  You can download extra songs by artists like Michael Franti, Weezer, and Katy Perry.  The new update allows you to play song simultaneously against people worldwide.  The other MUST HAVE classic iPhone game.

Texas Hold’em-Apple ($4.99):  This is the most expensive app this cheapskate has ever bought, but I think it was worth all the money.  You play against video characters who show emotions like joy of winning, bluffing, etc.  You can also play turn-by-turn (portrait) or whole table (landscape). Very well done for the money.

Trace-Kevin Calderone (FREE): In this game, you control a stick figure that has to move through obstacles, but you must draw him safe paths to get to his destination. Very creative and fun.

Wikipanion-Robert Chin (FREE): This is the easiest way to access Wikipedia from your iPhone.

So if you are like I used to be and don’t believe the Apple hype, maybe this blog post wet your appetite.  I urge you take a bite, taste and see that it’s good.

© 2008 – 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

To document this historic Election Day, I used my new Flip Video camera.  This is the Mino model; it is so small that it can fit in my pocket!  Uploading videos to the computer is a cinch as the USB plug is attached to the camera.  In no time I had my images on the computer, edited in iMovie and on YouTube.   The Mino model can even be custom-designed; check out my funki camera–pretty sweet!

I am going to continue to document our experience on Election Day, but here’s what I have so far:

If you haven’t done so yet, VOTE!  There’s still time!

© 2008 – 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.