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.

The Definition of a Vacation -- along with an iPhone App

My last vacation was a helluva long time ago.  Before kids.  Yes, I have traveled since I've had my (2) kids (ages 4 and 5), but those were "trips," not vacations.  A vacation is where you don't have responsibilities to pick up after/feed/referee your small children.

So, I have frequent flier miles to use and I no longer live in the same town as my parents, so there is actually the possibility that my mom and dad will come to our home to take care of the children while we go away -- ON VACATION.  When we all lived in LA together, our house was kinda shabby and their house was kinda far away (45 minutes in traffic) from the kids' school, so it was not a great situation.  Now that we live in Boise where life is easy (seriously, Boise is Shangri-La), we have a dedicated guest room and the local ski resort is free for seniors (!), I believe I can make a vacation happen for my husband and me.  My parents miss my children tremendously.

We can't go far (international travel is out, dang), and we want to go someplace warm and fun -- and that seems like another country.  Miami.  Last time I was there, we stayed in a shabby hotel.  Not sure why.  Oh, right.  We were poor.  This time, if I can make it work, here is where I would like to stay:

You can't really go wrong with the Four Seasons, right?  (Until you get the bill, that is.)  I've stayed at a Four Seasons in Chaing Mai and in Los Angeles:  calm, extreme attention to detail (in a good way) and the most excellent beds ever.  But the Miami Four Seasons is in the Business District.  I'd prefer to be in South Beach (who wouldn't?).

Last time I was there, I wandered through the Delano lobby.  Fabulous Phillipe Starck design.  Very kid unfriendly.  I liked this place.  The rooms are all white.  To me, that screams "VACATION!"  This is a place where I can be an adult and not a parent.  Despite the too-cool-for-school vibe, I would feel relaxed here.

Another option would be the Albion, also in South Beach.

(by the way, I'm getting my reserach done on Oyster.com -- they have photos and reviews from real people who PAID for their lodging themselves -- problem is, they only have seven cities' hotels reviewed right now.  Can someone please invest in this company?  it's like the yelp/Zagat of hotels -- but will all the photos, you get a much more in depth view.)

The Albion is a more modestly priced hotel, 2 blocks from the beach and is purported to be one of South Beach's best values.  Hey, I can do a value vacation.  No kids?  Still a vacation.

Now, what I would really like is for Oyster.com to get an iPhone app (please, investors?) so that I can do all of this research in-between shuttling my kids from school to their activities.  I would just be able to enter: South Beach, Kid-Unfriendly, and Value (you know my priorities).  This is something that Oyster could accomplish in two weeks.  Come on, guys!  I would even pay 99 Cents for it!

This is a TravelingMom dedicated post.

BYOW: Free Wifi in Every Hotel!

I was just telecommuting online (webicommuting?) with my boss (project-based, GDI to the end!) who was on vacay. He was at a schnootzy hotel that had crap wifi: couldn't get a signal, had to keep moving around to find his bars. And that's with a $20 internet connection fee! Now, this is a very FANCY hotel. I guess no one really has to work if they go to that hotel, but my boss, he's got a great work ethic.

Now, if you can afford that hotel and you DEPEND on your Internet connection to help you stay productive, you really should look into getting your own, personal wifi bubble. OK, no, I haven't used it, but David Pogue has and you know that I love/trust/want-to-be-the-best-friend-of David Pogue.

Mr. Pogue explains it very well, but here it is in a nutshell: You pay anywhere from $30-$60/month and you get your own personal hot-spot that you can share with up to four other people (children with iPods, co-workers, etc.).

How is it different from a cellular modem? Well, first off, it doesn't have to be plugged in -- it's cordless, small and has rechargeable batteries (and works while it's being charged!) and secondly, you don't need to plug it into your laptop -- you don't even need a laptop at all! It's got a super strong battery that lasts 4 full hours of full use and 40 hours in sleep mode.

Why can't hotels just supply free wifi? Let me answer that question with another question: If you work on your vacation, is it really a vacation?

Tweet This! Gain viewers to your blog.

A friend of mine had "tweet this" at the end of her blog post and I felt like this was something I needed. So I googled "Tweet this" and found a post that showed me how to do it. I found it here.

It looks difficult, but it's not. You just have to READ. For those of your who don't like reading... yes, it's difficult.

Why is this important? Well, it's a great use of Twitter -- rather than telling people who are "following you" that you just stepped off a plane or something (woooweeee), you can actually give your followers a tangible thing to do after they've read your post and found it awesome: "go and read this blog. I found it fascinating."

And I use the Tweet This after I've published a new post, to alert my followers.

Do it before everyone else does it. It took me five minutes.

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.