Tablets: Yes, You Will Own One

Why is everyone so amped up about tablets?  What exactly is one to do with a tablet that they're not doing already?  Here's the short version:

Notebooks were about bringing the utility of a computer to a portable device.  Tablets are about bringing the utility if the internet to our "on the go" lifestyles.  Tablets will facilitate everything from interactive children's books to next generation newspapers.  The idea is that a tablet takes the portability of a smartphone and enhances the viewing capabilities.  Combine this with high speed wireless everywhere and an ever-growing (iPhone) app culture and you get a "game changing" device.   

Of course they will be expensive in their first generation ($250-$1000) depending on the features, but within 24 months they will be free with data contracts -- similar to cell phones.  This new hardware platform will have a huge influence on the publishing, education, entertainment and gaming industries.

Some really smart people have a lot to say about the iPad, here, here, here and here.  Well, the last one is clever rather than smart.

I'm giving you Cliffs' Notes!  Take advantage!  Seem knowledgeable.  Watch a short video example.  Impress your friends with your forward looking expertise.

WiLife: Security Camera for the Do-It-Yourselfers

I received a Logitech WiLife Digital Security System to review.  Essentially, these are digital video cameras that can be placed inside or outside and then connect via the electrical wiring in your home, to your computer.  You can also check on the status of what you're monitoring remotely -- when you're traveling, or even at work.  I'm not going to get into too many technical details.  There are many good reviews and I don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel.  If you are a gear head, check out the reviews here, here and here.
The main thing to note before buying this system is that there is a little hard work involved and there are a few technical issues to overcome.
First off: you have to think about where you want to put your camera.  Is there a power outlet nearby?  If not, you're going to have an ugly extension cord there.

Next: you should know that if your computer is asleep or off, the system won't work.  You won't be able to log in remotely.  Your computer must be on and the software program open for the system to work.
Also, if you are using home plug technology, you might have to forgo your current system in order to get WiLife to work.  (If you don't know about Home Plug, you're probably not already using it.  Don't sweat it.)  We use Home Plug and we had a lot of technical issues trying to get the WiLife to work.  Their tech support was unhelpful and could not direct us.  Eventually, we figured out that we just needed to unplug our current system and use theirs.  Not a long term solution for us.
But:  if you want a relatively inexpensive solution for a security cam, without having to hire a security company to install and monitor your house, this is a great solution.  You can use the system while you're at dinner or on vacation -- since your computer is on, you can just remotely log in and see what's going on at your house.  That's good for some peace of mind.
I have the outdoor camera and I'm amazed at how well the picture looks, even in very low light.  At first I thought the program froze, but then something moved and I realized I was looking at a live feed.
Really, just having a video camera set up outside is a good deterent.  If you're not into gadgets, you can look into the fake camera in the SkyMall magazine.  It's not hooked into anything, but you put a battery in it and it has a flashing red light -- as if it works.   Sometimes, a visual deterrent is all you really need.

Useful iPhone Apps for Travel

For the longest time, I was totally uninterested in iPhone apps.  To me, when I thought of iPhone apps, I thought of video games or iFart or the one where it tells you what kind of cry (sleepy/hungry/wet) your baby was crying.  Useless and a waste of time.

Change that: now, I'm addicted.  What changed?  Well, I actually went to the iTunes app store and started browsing.  And now, I have suggestions.

Yelp:  For those of you who use Yelp religiously on your computer, why wouldn't you also want it on the go?  And it's FREE!  Yelp gives you user reviews of anything you can think of in the city you are visiting:  restaurants, tailors, manicures, parks -- you name it!  Whether it's business travel or a vacation: The bigger the city, the more reviews.  I find the service essential.

Currency Converter Pro: For a mere ninety-nine cents, this app gives you over 220 currencies to convert -- and not just into dollars -- into any other currency.  It's easy to use and it's one less thing you have to concern yourself with.  Especially if you're bad at math and a nervous Nelly while you travel.

Flashlight: This seems a little silly, but it's always good to have a flashlight with you.  Dark hotel room.  Don't want to wake your husband. .  It's a free app that turns your iPhone very very BRIGHT.  Hence, the name.

Sit or Squat:  Bathroom Finder  When I lived in New York City, I prided myself on where to find the most luxurious public bathrooms (Bendel's on Fifth, downstairs -- like a studio apartment!  My god, you have to see this bathroom!) because I was always on the go.  Now, I don't have to work so hard.  When you're in a strange place, you want a stable, clean toilet.  Am I right?

Audiobooks: I just blogged about it recently, but it bears repeating.  This app gets you thousands of free, public domain books that are read by volunteers streamed or downloaded to your iPhone.  For $.99, it's a huge bang for the buck.

Pocket Express:  Also a free app, this one gives you all sorts of general information.  The weather is what I've keyed into.  It's easy to use and you really need to know what to wear in the morning, boots or sandals.

I was also going to tell you about Trip It: it's a free app, but for the past 72 hours, the website that accompanies it is down.  That's a LONG time.  Not sure what's happening.  Well, if it's just a blip, it's a great place to congregate all of your travel plans, no matter where you booked them: hotel, car, appointments, etc.

Go ahead to the iTunes store and start poking around.  I guarantee that you'll find something useful.  Even if it's just a game to while away the time while you're waiting for your delayed flight to arrive.

Free Audio Books for Children

OK, almost free. All you have to do is buy a 99 cent app for your iPhone. That's pretty close to free for a long car ride with two kids in the back seat, no?

There is a wonderful organization called Librivox. They take books in the public domain and have volunteers record them and then distribute them on their website. You could listen to the books on your computer for free.

An enterprising company called AudioBooks has created an app whereby you can download these books to your iPhone et, voila! You're all set. There are new titles being added all the time and tons of books for kids.

Here's the bad news: the people reading the books are not actors and god bless them for volunteering, but some could use a little pep, zest and tone fluctuation. And some ACTING LESSONS! It's not like listening to John Lithgow, people! But it's free! (OK, 99 cents)

Here's what you do:

• go to the iTunes store -- for those of you with PCs, yes you can download iTunes and go to the iTunes store (did you really think that Apple was going to miss out on all that revenue?) and...
• go to the App section and search under "audiobooks."
• Now buy the app. It's called "Audiobooks" and has a blue background. Version 3.1 as of today.
• Now sync it to your iPhone.
  

You are done.

Oh, here's the other kind of down side: the catalog could use a little bit better organization. And perhaps, user reviews. And key word searches like say "boy" or "girl" and "Princess" -- stuff like that. But it's almost free! And there is a children's category to search. Look, for free, you can spend 15 minutes searching the catalog and figuring out what to play before you get into your road trip. Right?

What do you mean you don't have an adaptor to play your iPhone through your car stereo? And you don't have a headphone splitter so that both kids could listen to the story on separate headphones? Honey, start clicking. This is a GREAT investment.

It's only getting better, people.

Not For Tourists: New iPhone App

I was asked to check out the new iPhone app from Not For Tourists. It’s like a mini-Yelp, a self-described “ultimate guide for the savvy city-dweller.” So far, there are three editions: Manhattan, San Francisco and London. My gut reaction was “why is this better than the Yelp iPhone application?” And now I realize that I have to back up: do you know what Yelp is?

Yelp is like a new-fangled Zagat guide of EVERYTHING. Dentists, restaurants, parks — you name it, Yelpers have written reviews about it. (Unless you’re in a city like say, Boise.) And unlike Zagat, Yelp does not edit their users’ reviews so you get the whole shebang of what people thought. Some helpful, some mean, some are friends of the owner of the restaurant being reviewed, some are just having a bad day and taking it out on the coffee shop — but it’s pretty easy to read between the lines with just a little experience.

So, back to NFT.  The organization on the app is well done: you can search by neighborhood, by category (restaurant, hotel, hospital) and then when you figure out where you want to go, you can search for other places nearby.  You can even bookmark your faves.  The one crucial category that they left out is “Bathrooms.”  It’s so key to know where the good bathrooms are in New York, even if you live and work there.  (Free tip:  Best Bathroom is in Henri Bendel’s on 5th, downstairs.  It’s like a studio apartment.)

Here’s why it’s worth $4.99 for the app: you don’t have to be online to get the information, like you do with Yelp.  This is helpful if you’re somewhere in New York and can’t get a signal.  Or don’t want to pay for a signal.  Whenever you sync your iPhone, it will update the information.  That’s nice.  And even when I was an expert on Manhattan, you really can’t know EVERYTHING.  The downside is that there is not a conglomoration of reviews like on Yelp — but then again, do you really need to read 170 reviews about Hotel Gansevoort when you’re on-the-go?  Do that at home.  On Yelp.

I say get it.  At the very least, it’s good entertainment on the subway for all of you closet know-it-alls.  And you know who you are.

Tiny Your Link: Here's What Bugs Me

The following tip is super easy and makes you look VERY in-the-know:

When you are forwarding a link to a friend and it takes up 4 lines of space, why don't you make it into a Tiny URL?

Say what?

A tiny url merely shortens the link into a more manageable link, one that won't lose its function when it wraps around to the next line because it's... short. Tiny. Very small.

Here's how it works: Go to the website and paste your link in the box provided and then click: "tiny it." The screen will refresh with a new, leaner link (url) that you can twitter with or send to a friend or post on Facebook, etc.

This is important to know in the same way that the following is important to know:

• Don't attach 30 photos to an email to your friends
• Don't forward chain emails
• Don't forward joke emails from your parents
• Don't use yahoo/hotmail/gmail for your business email

There are a lot of new rules of etiquette in the 21st Century online. How do you find them out?

Stick with me! I'll let you know.

Touch It: The Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide

Unless you're Ansel Adams, most new consumer-grade cameras will provide you with enough pixels and therefore, sharpness for the images you need. So how do you select a camera? First off, you need to touch some actual cameras and think about a few things:

• How does it feel? Might sound silly, but if it's too heavy or large (or small), you might not use it.
• Shutter speed: digital cameras are notorious for shutter lag time, but they are getting faster. When you press the shutter, does your subject move before the shutter clicks? Do you have children? Do you like candid shots? Does this matter to you? Finally: How many blurry photos do you have?
• Rear Panel LCD (that’s the screen on the back of most digital cameras): Most people don't look through the tiny little viewfinder anymore: it's so much easier to frame the image through the LCD. Which camera has the best LCD?
• Zoom/Lens/Image Stabilization: How often do you use the zoom? If often, perhaps image stabilization would be a good feature for you, since the closer in you zoom, the less stable the image. Is the lens decent?
• Check Out The Interface: Does the software on the camera seem intuitive to you? What about all the buttons? Do you have the patience to sit down with the owner's manual? If not, get a super easy-to-use camera. How do you know? Use it in the store!
• Batteries: Are they rechargeable, or will you have to constantly feed your camera new batteries?

When you are clear about the features you want, check out CNET.com. It's like Consumer Reports for electronics. Amazon.com has consumer reviews as well. One more thing to remember: Most cameras don't come with decent-sized memory cards (that's where you store your photos). Make sure to invest in a large capacity memory card – I’m talking 2 gigs, (see Tech Lingo in Chapter 4), especially if you’re shooting video with that camera. That way, you won't have to download your photos/videos after every dozen shots.

Now for the video camera: You want video of your children at this age. You want to remember how they walk, talk and smile. Let's step back for a moment and think about how you are going to use this video, how you are going to store it. I have a video camera that I barely use because downloading the video is a bear and viewing it is difficult (if it's part of a much larger block of video, I have to search). And editing? I mean, really, who has the time?

Most of my video is now shot from my digital still camera. It has great video capabilities and I have a 2 gig memory chip, so space is not an issue. I download the video whenever I download my photos and because each clip of video is separate when shot on a still camera, I can easily find the clip I'm looking for, once I've organized my inventory. Much, much easier.

So you want to know which camera I bought? I have a Canon PowerShot SD880IS. Why? It’s easy to use, it’s got image stabilization (I’ve got fast-moving toddlers), the price was right and the images look great. It’s my 2nd Canon in a row. My sister swears on her Nikon SLR because she can use her 35mm camera lenses with that camera. She turns her nose up to my Canon. To each her own.

Sidenote: What are you doing with your old digital camera? Why not give it to your kids so that they can learn how to shoot a camera? It’s a great project to do with smaller kids – they’ll feel quite accomplished when they see the images that they took all by themselves. You can even make a scrapbook – described later in this chapter.

Free and Reliable Wake Up Call

This past weekend, I booked myself a flight for 9am Sunday morning. I didn't realize it was going to be daylight savings time starting that day. So I was losing an hour. Ugh. 9am flight. At least I live close to the airport.

I was worried about being awakened by my smart phone, because I didn't know if the clock would reset in time. So this time I used Snoozester.com.

Snoozester is free and it works. I signed up online, entered my cell phone number and my time zone and told them when I wished to be awakened.

I got a call at 6:30 (which was really 5:30 in the standard time I was used to), followed by an ad. Funny, I don't remember at all what the ad was for. I was ASLEEP!

Note to self: don't buy ad space on Snoozester.

Free 411 on your cell phone

How much do you pay each time you call 411 from your cell phone? It seems like ten bucks, am I right?

Google has a free, voice activated information system, whereby you can get business listings.
You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free.

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. Example: Pizza. Then, say the city and state. GOOG-411 will give you multiple choices for pizza in the area. If you know the exact pizza place you want, then you can say it in the first place and it will connect you.
If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say "Text message" or "Map it."

Sometimes, it can't understand what I'm saying -- and it doesn't help that my children are talking loudly in the background, but it's been golden so many times that it has afforded us great eating opportunities in unfamiliar neighborhoods. (I live in Los Angeles, so there are a lot of neighborhoods -- and choices.)

Magic Jack! $40 for a year's worth of phone calls...

It's a friggin' miracle! No, it's MAGIC. Yeah. Magic.

So we got the Magic Jack and within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box (30 day free trial, by the by) and plugging it into our computer, we had a new phone number with voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling blah blah blah. The works!

After the 30 day trial is over, we will pay $40 plus shipping and handling and that will give us a YEAR of free calling to the US and Canada. We provide the phone. Right now, we use Vonage, which is pretty inexpensive at $25/month. But folks: $40 a year is INSANE.

Here's the negative: the jack plugs into your computer, so your computer must remain on to receive incoming calls. Otherwise, they will go straight to voice mail. I haven't figured out the other negatives yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.

A no brainer -- and great for a new small business. I'm just saying...

YAPTA! Save on Airfare!

Yapta is a newish website where you enter in your flight information so that the website can track whether the price of your airline ticket is going up or down. It will send you an email alert every time the ticket fluctuates in price. When it goes down, you can decide that now is a good time to buy.

And that’s when the fun begins…

After you purchase your ticket, you let Yapta know at what price you locked it in — and it will continue to monitor the ticket price. If it goes down again, you will get the email alert and then you immediately contact the airline, telling them that you want a voucher for the difference in cost between what you paid and what the cost is right now. Yeah, they will actually send you a voucher.

Last Summer, I bought 4 tickets to Boise for $300. The price went down three times. The lowest eventual price was $240. Can you do math? I saved $240 on those tickets.

And when I bought tickets for Denver for this Spring, I was able to apply those vouchers to my next tickets (they expire in a year, so I had motivation). End result: we are flying from LA to Denver for $77 roundtrip each.

My arm hurts because I’m patting myself on the back so much.

Wait a Minute: Backup!

You know you should, and yet, you don't. No, I'm not talking about essential fatty acids, I'm talking about backing up your data.

Imagine this scenario:

Your hard drive fails. You haven’t backed up your data because

A) you were too lazy,

B) you were too lazy or

C) you have been meaning to do it.

All of your financials, all of your emails, all of your contacts, all of your digital music and photos of your CHILDREN are lost forever. Oh wait! You could pay a company $750 to get that data back. Oh. They say that it actually can’t be done. It’s gone. Now you have to buy a new hard drive and totally reconfigure your computer and…

It’s a nightmare. And it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when. You can easily avoid this. There are many ways backup your data:

* You can get an extra hard drive, put it in your computer, and transfer the data.
* You can have the extra hard drive external to your computer, or
* You could backup online.

The simplest solution for the external hard drive is SimpleTech SimpleDrive. The software (StorageSync Backup) leads you through the setup, and once you’ve backed up the first time, the following backups will go much faster as it will be backing up only what is new or changed since the last time you did it. Some people love Simple Tech, some hate it. Let’s get to the good stuff…

My backup of choice is online backup. No more external hard drives, no more CDs and no more fiddling with backup software.

A company that backs up online elegantly and less expensively is Mozy. Mozy is an exciting (because it’s) FREE new software that lets you effortlessly, automatically and securely back up your data OFFSITE. The first 2 gigs are free, if you want unlimited gigs (um, that’s a lot of space!), it’s $5/month.

Good story: I told an acquaintance of mine heard about Mozy and she spent the five bucks a month for the big backup. TWO DAYS later, her hard drive failed! Kaput. Totally dead. No biggie, because she bought a new hard drive (for $80) and downloaded her backed up data from Mozy onto her new drive. This woman LOVES me. And I barely know her.

Here's how Mozy works:



Go to Mozy.com and click on "get mozy free." You will give them your email and create a password. In moments, you will receive an email from Mozy with a link to click. Once you've clicked on the link, you will be walked through a series of easy instructions to get backed up. That's it! If you choose, it can be a continuous backup, so when the software sees that you’re not active on the computer, it will backup your data securely because it’s encrypted.


Aaaah, the magic and mystery of online backup!

What If Your House Burned Down To The Ground?

OK, admittedly, it’s not something you really want to think about. But, what if? Let’s just imagine that no one was home, but that you lost every material item that you owned. Insurance could cover a lot of your loss, sure. But how are you going to get your children’s birthday photos off of your ashy external hard drive, mommy?

Back up your data! That is the single best piece of advice I will ever give you. Back it up online, even if you have an external drive. For $5/month at Mozy, you can achieve peace of mind in case, god forbid, your house burned, or someone stole your computer or your external drive crashed at the same time as your internal drive. See what I mean? Five dollars a month is NOTHING! For an unlimited amount of data! Sister, that is the bargain of the new millennium.

Just Tell Me The Answer! Cha Cha!

Have you been to Cha Cha? Here’s how it works: you text message or call via your mobile phone a burning question that you need answered immediately. (probably because you don’t have your computer handy, eh?) Within moments, you will get a text back on your phone with the answer. That’s it.

So, let’s say your in San Francisco for the week and you have no idea how to dress for the weather. Simply text your question to 242242 (spells ‘ChaCha’) or call 1-800-2ChaCha (800-224-2242) from your mobile phone to ask any question.

Or how about if you’re on a long road trip and you need a new joke to entertain your kids? Text cha cha! Truly! They will send you a kid-appropriate joke.

Now if your mobile could only babysit…

Internet Cafe Safety

Do you get more work done if you can get out of your house or office? Let’s say your location of preference is a coffee house with free Internet access. (Yeah, let’s just say…) It feels better to “work” when you know that there are others working around you, right? Do you sometimes procrastinate by going online to check your email, sports scores or any website that will give you 5 minutes of sugar? Me too – just not the sports scores.

Did you know how easy it is for the person “working” on the laptop next to you to see everything you’re doing online? I’m talking about every email you send or receive and every website you visit. There are free softwares available (even for Macs!) for people to “sniff” out your business. Thought you should know.

Are people doing this all the time? Who knows? Probably not. But it is a possibility…

If you’re not looking at anything earth shattering or exchanging more than banal emails with your friends, who cares, right? As long as you know there’s a risk that it could happen, you won’t send your kids’ social security numbers over an insecure connection to your husband.

But let’s say you are a very private person and can’t stand the possibility of some interloper looking at your business? There are solutions:

• You can sign up for encrypted email services, some of which are free. Try these:

http://lavabit.com/
http://www.safe-mail.net/
http://www.vfemail.net/

• If you have file sharing preferences on at home, make sure to turn them off when you go onto a public Wifi connection.

• If you’re connecting back to a home office or small business, you can get someone to install for you a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which will encrypt everything sent to and from your laptop. A VPN is a lot more affordable than it used to be. Think of it as a private tunnel on the Internet from your laptop back to your office.

• If the website you are visiting has a padlock in the corner or if the URL starts with https:// (with the ‘S” as opposed to http://), that means that you are on a secure website and your transmissions will be safe and private. Look at your bank’s website, it will have the https://

• Wait until you get to a secure network to exchange emails or to visit a website that you are intent on keeping private.

Most people who snoop, if they’re skilled enough to get through encryption, have more incentive to chase Citibank or UCLA to get bank account lists or social security numbers and not someone sitting with their laptop at Coffee Bean with their vacation photos.

Even though I know all of these things, I don’t encrypt my laptop. Why? I don’t think my transmissions are all that interesting. And I’m too busy “working.”

Where to Find a $99 iPhone

Check out this NY Times article.

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/where-to-find-a-99-iphone/?hp

Buying a refurbished piece of equipment is no big deal, especially if you have a warranty.

Happy New Year!

...And another thing about our Road Trip to San Francisco...

When we drove to San Francisco over Thanksgiving weekend with our kids, we were loathe to eat at a fast food restaurant off of Highway 5 — one of the plainest, most boring drives in this beautiful country that we live in. We wanted… an experience. But Yelp doesn’t really cover I-5.

We had our GPS set up — I know, what for? I-5 is one straight line — but we’re techy people, so we had it on, just to satisfy our curiosity. My husband suddenly clicked on “points of interest” on the GPS. One of the categories was “food.” Yeah, we clicked that, too. There was a whole mess of restaurants only 5 miles off of the highway. Near the state prison. Yay!

We got off and found that gas was sixty cents cheaper (hello!) and we ate AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS Mexican food for a very low cost. And I was able to practice my Spanish with everyone.

Hey, if you’re a traveling mom, you must take some risks. When they pay off, it’s beautiful.

Mom 2.0 -- Defined

You want to know what Mom 2.0 means? It's about using technology to increase your functionality, efficiency and fun-factor as a mom. The Internet has evolved to a platform that goes beyond sending emails and searching for shopping deals. There are so many ways to enhance your role as a mom (or dad) by accessing and embracing the best of what the Internet has to offer. For example, you ask?

• using a webcam to video chat on a daily basis so that your kids can talk to your parents who live 3000 miles away
• signing up for an alert system online so that if there's an emergency at your school, all parents can be emailed/phoned/texted immediately AND simultaneously
• asking your child to create a playlist from your music subscription (iTunes, Rhapsody) account to be loaded on the MP3 player for the family road trip
  

Mom 2.0 will offer pithy tech tips in a mom-context that you can read in 5 minutes and implement immediately in order to enrich and add function to your lives. I will also point you in the right direction for something that I can't figure out myself. Know this: one person can't know everything. And that's the beauty of Mom 2.0. We're all in this together.

The smartest people I know always ask for help.