tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47558489977750738402024-03-05T08:52:54.159-06:00Practical iStuffPractical Stuff You Can Do with Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod TouchTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-64761437877244988772014-09-27T23:52:00.001-05:002014-09-27T23:52:50.749-05:00Random Thoughts on the iPhone 6
<p> I've had my iPhone 6 for a little over a week now, which is just long enough to have some random thoughts on it. OK, they technically aren't "random" as I put some thought into them. If you're thinking about upgrading, mayb these will help you.</p>
<ol>
<li>Although I wouldn't want it to be any bigger, the iPhone 6's "bigness" has not been the problem I thought it would be. It fits my front pocket, even on a pair of jeans. Of course, I don't wear skinny jeans. If you wear skinny jeans,…well, just don't wear skinny jeans.</li>
<li>The screen is actually more pleasurable to use at 4.7 inches.</li>
<li>Touch ID is awesome. It seems small, being able to unlock your phone with your fingerprint, but until you do it, you won't truly appreciate it. It makes it a no-brainer to have the iPhone lock immediately when it goes to sleep or push the power button, making it much secure. Buying apps with Touch ID is also a joy over typing in your iTunes password. Touch ID will become even more of a benefit as apps use it in iOS 8.</li>
<li>The step counter is a great replacement for a Fitbit or other fancy wearable pedometer. Also, the barometer in the iPhone 6 will measure your elevation, measured as flights of stairs climbed. It's surprising how motivating this is to keeping you moving more. I thought tracking your steps all day would quickly run the battery down, but that just hasn't been my experience. The M8 motion processor, the chip that handles measuring all this, seems to be very efficient with battery use.</li>
<li>I've just taken a few pictures so far, but the photos are better than on my iPhone 5. Coupled with the iOS feature of allowing apps to give the user manual control over things like focus, exposure, and white balance, make it more powerful than many point-and-shoot cameras. By the way, if you want manual control over these things, I recommend using <a href="http://campl.us/">Camera+</a>.</li>
<li>Ok, this is not about the phone itself, but I like the leather case made by Apple. It gives you grip without making it hard to pull out of your pocket, doesn't add a lot of bulk, has a classy look to it, and seems to provide good protection. It's open on the bottom to allow you to dock the phone, something that will avoid a lot of frustration for you should you decide you want a clock radio or speaker you want to dock it in. And, it's leather, which means that as it scuff and scratches, it will still look good.</li>
<li>This isn't out yet but I'm looking forward to Apple Pay. Fumbling through my wallet for my card to pay at Walgreens is going to be a thing of the past. I wasn't enthused about this feature initially because of security concerns. However, after <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone-6/apple-pay/">hearing how Apple has implemented this</a>, I realized it's actually more secure than carrying a credit card.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-85035679948887481272014-04-29T21:20:00.001-05:002014-04-29T21:21:11.906-05:00Take Pictures of Lightning with Your iPhone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://instagram.com/p/nXDGKqvzLV/" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://origincache-frc.fbcdn.net/10296688_226707337528392_1076195773_n.jpg" id="blogsy-1398824441654.479" class="alignleft" alt="Lightning" width="330" height="330"></a></div><p> Yes, it is possible to take a picture of lightning with your iPhone, without having to be the world's best guesser. In fact, there's an app that is designed for this very specific purpose. It's called <a href="http://www.i-lightningcam.com/LightningCam.html">iLightningCam</a> and it makes taking pictures of lightning as simple as pointing your iPhone at the sky, assuming, of course, you're expecting lighning in the direction you're pointing it.</p><p>When you launch the app, it will walk you through a few steps to calibrate it for the time of day and the intensity of lightning that you're seeing. This helps it take a better picture. The app will also ask if you're planning on holding the iPhone in your hand or mounting it on a tripod. I usually choose to hold it in my hand and point it in the direction I've seen lightning. The picture above is one I took with iLightningCam on a recent stormy night. Not every photo came out this good but if you see a lot of lightning and can get several shots, you're likely to get a few nice ones.</p><p>The iLightningCam app is normally $1.99 but, as of this writing, is on sale for free. Grab it before the price goes up. Of course, don't go outside when the lightning is too close. No photo is worth getting electrocuted over.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-77654756935693061952014-02-13T20:34:00.001-06:002014-02-13T20:36:44.816-06:00Watch Whatever Olympic Event You Want on Your iPad or iPhone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36uMaa3VUIatyCA33WPXLoyYZNJLZZpRyenPfo3JIQicN8L4wwIKsgeEJg8SEcimk-bZMFqHWz5p2SXFx-lS2amFflqXiGEPgw5nT7HDlS8NTybGifsVJu-5doOnt39VRvrHFZxH62bx8/s2048/Photo%252520Feb%25252013%25252C%2525202014%25252C%2525208%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh36uMaa3VUIatyCA33WPXLoyYZNJLZZpRyenPfo3JIQicN8L4wwIKsgeEJg8SEcimk-bZMFqHWz5p2SXFx-lS2amFflqXiGEPgw5nT7HDlS8NTybGifsVJu-5doOnt39VRvrHFZxH62bx8/s401/Photo%252520Feb%25252013%25252C%2525202014%25252C%2525208%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1392345375614.1997" class="alignright" width="401" height="301" alt=""></a></div><p> With the time zone difference between the US and Soche, Russia, many people are sleeping or at work when most of the 2014 Olympic events are on. In prime time, NBC broadcasts replays of what they want you to see. But what if you want to watch snowboard cross live on your lunch hour or want to watch replays of curling instead of ice dancing? There's an app for that.</p><p>The NBC Sports Live Extra app is a universal app that allows you to watch both live events and replays of events, even curling. The video quality was good for me when I had a good internet connection. With the Retina iPads, you can get up to HD quality, depending on, of course, how much bandwidth is available to you. To watch most of the video, including the live action, you need to have an account with one of the listed TV providers and log in to that account in the app. The list of TV providers is huge, including much more than just the big boys, so there's a pretty good chance your TV provider is on the list.</p><p>If you are outside the United States, you are out of luck with this app. It only works in the US. If you are inside the US, you can watch pretty much anywhere you have your iOS device and a decent internet connection. </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-6946917620268052192013-11-19T20:55:00.001-06:002013-11-19T21:18:52.704-06:00Be More Productive in Handling Email in iOS 7<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZEWEBHgNzH9gPmiRIw8mXeatfYVlf9QfclgT6R5Vgc-coNVs4eoaDAhsbc_zC8YJenmWe2nhEmOuwvFqsq6zHJytwyBkiXWGGDxQkLz_SzeomWfrbyDpziBY8peOA1ZvaRptWIsMxxMs/s1164/Photo%252520Nov%25252019%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZEWEBHgNzH9gPmiRIw8mXeatfYVlf9QfclgT6R5Vgc-coNVs4eoaDAhsbc_zC8YJenmWe2nhEmOuwvFqsq6zHJytwyBkiXWGGDxQkLz_SzeomWfrbyDpziBY8peOA1ZvaRptWIsMxxMs/s500/Photo%252520Nov%25252019%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1384917526396.9365" class="alignright" alt="" width="282" height="519"></a><p>Email is a very useful tool but when you have a lot of emails to deal with, dealing with it can be daunting. With iOS 7, however, some of the new features of the Mail app can help you be more productive in dealing with your inbox.</p>
<p>I recently found myself scrolling through my inbox hunting for that one unread email that the Mail app said that I had, scanning the list for that little blue dot. It was then that I sought a way to quickly find unread emails and found <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/2048962/get-to-know-ios-7-mail.html">this article from Macworld</a>. I had never noticed the edit Edit link above my list of Mailboxes but that link opens a world of email productivity.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: right;">When you click the Edit button, several new views appear that you can add below your Mailboxes, one of which shows all unread emails (Unread). Others that are useful are:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: right;">Flagged - This will show flagged emails. You flag an email with the flag icon on that email if you want to follow up on it later. For example, if you receive bill reminders vial email, this will help remind you to pay them and help you find the emails later.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: right;">Attachments - This is useful if you don't have a lot of space available with your email provider and need to delete some emails. Deleting emails with attachments will get you free space fastest.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: right;">All Sent - If you have multiple email addresses in your Mail app, this makes it faster and easier to see emails you sent no matter what address you sent them from. All Trash and All Drafts provide similar advantage.</span></li>
</ul>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-45784002309936004972013-10-15T20:11:00.001-05:002013-10-15T20:26:32.316-05:00Thoughts on iOS 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU-Ed62PTgiT-61BWt8rePoVva2zOEQJjcF-Tp_9mg7uZ5OfSrEGhC_dUvdKq3cqJGf311ZyUyUoDx97KlSPDB9EZUhstp8MziRBprfguPQcNQsuruRbdmW5w9ZPSN4yQOgo1z7yVA4FJ/s1136/Photo%252520Oct%25252015%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525207%25253A04%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU-Ed62PTgiT-61BWt8rePoVva2zOEQJjcF-Tp_9mg7uZ5OfSrEGhC_dUvdKq3cqJGf311ZyUyUoDx97KlSPDB9EZUhstp8MziRBprfguPQcNQsuruRbdmW5w9ZPSN4yQOgo1z7yVA4FJ/s250/Photo%252520Oct%25252015%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525207%25253A04%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1381886327720.5796" class="alignright" alt="" width="250" height="443"></a></div>
<p> It's been almost a month, at this writing, since iOS 7 became available. You may have upgraded but are still yet discovering all the new features. Some of you are late adopters and haven't upgraded yet. (You know who you are.)</p>
<p>I upgraded on the day iOS 7 was released to the general public. I debated waiting and letting the first round of bugs get fixed but the curiousity won out. I knew of the big features but wanted to try them out. I also wanted to discover all the little improvements that I knew would be there though I didn't know what they would be.</p>
<p>If you haven't upgraded or have upgraded and still haven't discovered everything new, here is my list of the most beneficial features:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Control Center - Pictured here, this is by far the best feature. The convenient access to wifi and bluetooth settings, the do-not-disturb feature, the brightness setting, the LED flashlight, the calculator app, and the camera are more beneficial than you can imagine. You'll find yourself opening the Control Center a lot.</span></li>
<li>"Unlimited" Folders - Folders can now hold a seemingly unlimited number of applications, whereas before iOS 7, you were limited to what could fit on a single screen (16 on an iPhone 5). The downside of this feature is that you can only see 9 apps on a screen, even on the iPad.</li>
<li>Training for Siri - Siri can now be trained to pronounce the names of your contact. I discovered this by accident when I asked Siri to text someone whose name wasn't pronounced phonetically like it was spelled. Siri asked me how she should pronounce it and gave me several options.</li>
<li>Siri-read Emails - Yes, Siri can read your emails now.</li>
<li>Automatic App Updates - In the iTunes & App Store settings, you can turn on automatic updating of apps, meaning that your apps stay up-to-date without you having to do anything. You can still go into the App Store to see what was updated and read the release notes.</li>
<li>One Address & Search Bar in Safari - The same field is used for typing the web address (URL) in Safari that is used to do a search via Google (or Yahoo or Bing).</li>
</ul>
<p>There are many more features than what I mentioned: iTunes Radio, dynamic wallpaper, AirDrop, camera filters, etc. These are just some that I've found the most helpful. What are your favorite features in iOS 7?</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-51634819842889186382013-09-12T19:37:00.001-05:002013-09-12T19:38:33.272-05:00Watch More College Football on iOS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDBJ5Z2LOqP3XhrsdGmn1SJ1iS7wstxge0lsg2F-fyuwckJbMdjnSNFFR5cKGDKdCWfmLr3avdwTjBwBNWCSJxhgBaE1vTGwxE2QIW0OsmXwrgQ5TnNvRAa917MqWcmoMdZa013KN6rkG/s2048/Photo%252520Sep%25252012%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDBJ5Z2LOqP3XhrsdGmn1SJ1iS7wstxge0lsg2F-fyuwckJbMdjnSNFFR5cKGDKdCWfmLr3avdwTjBwBNWCSJxhgBaE1vTGwxE2QIW0OsmXwrgQ5TnNvRAa917MqWcmoMdZa013KN6rkG/s430/Photo%252520Sep%25252012%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1379032710757.5276" class="alignright" width="430" height="322" alt=""></a></div>
<p> If your your favorite college team is playing and isn't shown on TV in your area, or if your team is on TV but you are away from home, you might think your only option is checking the score on your iPhone. However, if your carrier is one of the TV providers that supports <a href="http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index?rb=true&watchsrc=true&device=ios&">WatchESPN</a>, chances are good that you may be able to watch your game in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/watchespn/id429009175?mt=8" target="_blank" title="WatchESPN App">WatchESPN app</a> for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. WatchESPN streams a multitude of full games you can't see on regular TV. (It also streams soccer matches, NASCAR races, baseball, basketball, etc., even sports like field hockey and cricket.) </p>
<p>If you're at home and want to watch your team on the big screen, the <a href="http://www.apple.com/appletv/">Apple TV</a> now has the WatchESPN app. For a $100 one-time cost, if you went to a small school like I did, and want a chance to watch your team play more often, this is the way to go.</p>
<p>Enjoy.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-42253252417423395482013-09-10T20:56:00.001-05:002013-09-10T21:22:26.075-05:00iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S?<h5> A Choice to Make</h5>
<p>Today Apple announced the new <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone-5c/">iPhone 5C</a> and <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/">iPhone 5S</a> at their <a href="http://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2013/">special event</a>. Whether you are looking to buy your first iPhone or are considering upgrading from an older iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, you now have to make a choice. Do you go with the less expensive (by $100) iPhone 5C or the more powerful iPhone 5S. I'm going to try to give you some guidance based on my understanding of the benefits of each.</p>
<h5>iPhone 5C</h5>
<p>The iPhone 5C is pretty much the iPhone 5 in a plastic case. As an owner of an iPhone 5, that's a pretty good phone. It has some <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/11/why-upgrade-to-iphone-5.html">key advantages</a> over the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S:</p>
<ul>
<li>Larger screen - This is more advantageous than you think. The extra real estate gives you more apps on your primary home screen and, in general, makes a big difference in apps.</li>
<li>LTE - This is one of the biggest advantages. Web browsing, downloads, etc. are much faster.</li>
<li>Speed - The 5C has a faster processor than the 4S. If your have an iPhone 4, you will probably notice a significant difference in speed.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you are planning on using your phone primarily for talking, texting, browsing the web, checking Facebook or Twitter, managing your calendar and to-do list, and playing occasional casual games, this is probably the right choice.</p>
<h5>iPhone 5S</h5>
<p>The iPhone 5S has some advantages over the iPhone 5C if you need them.</p>
<ul>
<li>Speed - This is not the speed I talked about above. This is serious speed, the kind that you would use for processing video or playing graphically-intense games.</li>
<li>Camera - Even with just 8 megapixels like the iPhone 5, the camera has some major improvements over the iPhone 5 that the iPhone 5C doesn't have, mostly to give you better quality photos in low light. The f/2.2 aperture, the larger pixels, and the True Tone flash. These amount to less noise and better color in low light.</li>
<li>Fingerprint sensor - The fingerprint sensor should make securing your iPhone much simpler and unlocking it much quicker (and possibly safer if you have to make an emergency call when driving). Also, when you decide to purchase a song, app, etc. on iTunes, you won't have to enter your iTunes password.</li>
</ul>
<p>The iPhone 5S is the phone to get if you are a power user, a serious mobile game player, or want the advantages of the improved camera. </p>
<p> Are you looking to buy one of the new iPhones? If so, which one?</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-39654284518713441562013-09-05T19:27:00.001-05:002013-09-05T19:29:53.892-05:00Draft and Manage Your Yahoo Fantasy Football Team on the Go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HO9PgOAV0aJIzQIoGmqqI_OyVseCzT9k1Wn5jt10l0b9c6eIKnm6Z6oYVlQJM5tWTy1jrtZWsw7WprPh1Tjn4H_-A1xhEb6w8woOV_FCXatZIS4wShfHshlIZ037oo8DOVd3dvinbDoa/s1136/Photo%252520Sep%2525205%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HO9PgOAV0aJIzQIoGmqqI_OyVseCzT9k1Wn5jt10l0b9c6eIKnm6Z6oYVlQJM5tWTy1jrtZWsw7WprPh1Tjn4H_-A1xhEb6w8woOV_FCXatZIS4wShfHshlIZ037oo8DOVd3dvinbDoa/s500/Photo%252520Sep%2525205%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A54%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1378427359683.2256" class="alignleft" alt="" width="251" height="447"></a></div>
<p> If you are in a Yahoo fantasy football league, drafting and managing your line-up is possible on the go. This is true with other fantasy league apps as well, but both of my teams are with Yahoo.</p>
<p>The biggest feature of the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yahoo!-fantasy-football-12/id328415391?mt=8">updated app</a> is the ability to participate in live drafts and mock drafts on your iPhone or iPad, provided that you use a standard draft (i.e., a snake draft). Auction drafts aren't currently supported in the iOS app. If you are away at your kids' ball game or sitting in a sports bar eating wings with your league, this is a good option. I used my iPad to draft in one of my leagues and it worked very well. The only problem I had was not being able to scroll to the latest chat messages when the chat window filled up. The drafting part gave me no problems and was simple to do.</p>
<p>The new UI makes managing your team easy too. In the past, you had to drag and drop players into the right places in your lineup. This was hard on a small iPhone screen. In the updated app, you click a pencil on a player you want to swap out and it pops up a window that allows you to select who to swap him with.</p>
<p>Many other things are similar to the past version. You can see your schedule, send messages, research players, add and drop players, and even trade players. If you are in a Yahoo fantasy league, you can fit in the management of your team when your standing in line at lunch or even...er, otherwise occupied. There are no excuses for abandoning your team so manage well, my friends. Manage well.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-63043369057083922052013-08-21T20:52:00.001-05:002013-08-21T20:55:57.496-05:00Take Photos of Lightning with Your iPhone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2lbo3hEka1tLXKj_T30Hb4cDx4Pq1IVQkqRh949QJxuwtdt31AAYv3BtR1ayYotP55dh3ko41QKK3FUr2YlOQsACPp11iUBIa3pTdN5lbGVVpruiaUffQnXIIdFvRI5U5raT8Ijgvcj4/s2048/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2lbo3hEka1tLXKj_T30Hb4cDx4Pq1IVQkqRh949QJxuwtdt31AAYv3BtR1ayYotP55dh3ko41QKK3FUr2YlOQsACPp11iUBIa3pTdN5lbGVVpruiaUffQnXIIdFvRI5U5raT8Ijgvcj4/s412/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1377136510048.4949" class="alignleft" alt="" width="412" height="309"></a></div>
<p> Taking a photo of lightning is difficult because of the whole timing thing: You don't know when it's coming or exactly where. Photographers typically use a DSLR camera on a tripod with a slow shutter speed. However, if you have your iPhone, and no tripod, how do you get a picture of lightning?</p>
<p>Enter <a href="itms-appss://itunes.apple.com/app/id473721890?mt=8">iLightningCam</a>, an app that will take a picture of lighning when it strikes. You simply open the app and point your iPhone's camera to the sky. When the app "sees" lightning, it takes a picture. It will work with either bolts of lightning or sheet lightning. I used it to capture the sheet lighning in the above photo, which happened to be behind a tree and create a nice silhouette. I hope to capture a lightning bolt at some point.</p>
<p> Here are a couple of tips if you decide to use it:</p>
<ul>
<li>Be careful. Don't go out if lighning is all around you.</li>
<li>Even though you don't need a tripod, try to brace your arms on something as you point your camera. This will help prevent a blurry photo. I brace my elbows against my abdomin. </li>
</ul>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-78460336220178793662013-08-06T21:30:00.001-05:002013-08-06T21:31:44.927-05:00Managing a Busy Life<p> I haven't blogged in a while because things have been crazy-busy. This doesn't mean I haven't been using my iPhone and iPad, however. In fact, they've been critical tools in managing all that I have to do. One of the most critical apps that helps me manage it all is <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/01/to-doing-to-do-lists-on-iphone-and-ipad.html">Appigo Todo</a>.</p>
<p>To keep up with the crazy schedule, I use the built-in calendar on my iPhone and iPad. My iOS calendar is <a href="https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/151674?hl=en">synced with Google Calendar </a>so that I can enter calendar entries anywhere that I have access to a browser, such as at work. It's good have your calendar always with you on your iPhone, but sometimes it's nice to use a full keyboard for quick entry.</p>
<p>For quick, temporary notes, things I need to remember for a short time I use <a href="http://writeapp.net/">Write</a> on both my iPhone and iPad. It's simple and focuses on entry, not organization and the notes sync between my two devices. If I want to keep a note long-term and organize it, I export it to <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/06/capturing-notes-on-go.html">Evernote</a> by tapping <strong>Save in Evernote</strong> within Write, which is far more convenient than copying the text and pasting it in a new Evernote note.</p>
<p>All of these are essential to me because I know I can't trust my memory. If I don't write it down, I forget what to do, where to be, or some other important fact. What do you use to manage your busy life?</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-46771761204280503712013-07-09T20:02:00.001-05:002013-07-09T20:05:30.575-05:00An Artistic HDR Look for Your Photos<p> High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography combines multiple photos at different exposures to create a single photo with enough contrast that lighter areas and darker areas of the photo both look good. The iPhone has the ability to do with the included Camera app. There are also other apps, such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pro-hdr/id347104281?mt=8" target="_self" title="">Pro HDR</a> and <a href="http://www.pictional.com/TrueHDR/Overview.html">True HDR</a> that do a much better job of this.</p>
<p>Many photographers will use an HDR post-processing technique called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_mapping">tone mapping</a> to achieve very artistic, even surreal looks for their photos. Often these photos can have painting-like qualities to them. However, to achieve a tone-mapped or even realistic HDR look has typically required the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>A PC or Mac, sometimes using an expensive app.</li>
<li>Two or three photos of the same subject, taken one after another, preferably with a tri-pod. Some cameras, especially DSLRs, have the ability to do this automatically using a feature called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobracketing">autobracketing</a>.</li>
</ol>
<a name='more'></a><p>I use an app called <a href="http://jixipix.com/simplyHDR/simplyHDR.html">Simply HDR</a> on either my iPhone or iPad, to get a nice, tone-mapped look out of only one photo. Often I'll use that app on a photo I've already taken as HDR with the Camera app or with Pro HDR. Simply HDR comes with a large set of HDR filters to choose from, but with the ability for you to tweak the settings further after choosing a filter. I find that for a given photo, I'll experiment until I get the look I want. If you find yourself wanting to keep a set of tweaks, you can save that as a new filter for reuse later</p>
<p>Below are two photos of a waterfall at Falls Park in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. One I took with Pro HDR. The other is the same photo after using Simply HDR.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO28D_T7MhR_XY_Zzw2z_R9vmGorw3bb3okoVD3f7BRuQW3PAztTb0FSoFyVgRxvEuyE4USISK2RWc4L326CbvSALfM7DCKfhc0OfK35IDmAr5Uqm9F_n4EmRGmPjx1UMo737Xq-I5_Qaf/s2048/Photo%252520Jul%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO28D_T7MhR_XY_Zzw2z_R9vmGorw3bb3okoVD3f7BRuQW3PAztTb0FSoFyVgRxvEuyE4USISK2RWc4L326CbvSALfM7DCKfhc0OfK35IDmAr5Uqm9F_n4EmRGmPjx1UMo737Xq-I5_Qaf/s500/Photo%252520Jul%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525206%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1373418221488.0566" class="aligncenter" alt="With Pro HDR" width="500" height="376"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Pro HDR</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQpSryBaDcLLnCeVO-bIIV5gLZtUf6Dz1rG08KQpA2VuhFVNdijY3T6jB-tZZznTAndZ3_YfrcL5hECYMfdOK6_uft2juWAC-puPS1GgAUgwOFSISrqqntKt-laxhHLT94PDR0eG1udK6/s2048/Photo%252520Jul%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A39%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQpSryBaDcLLnCeVO-bIIV5gLZtUf6Dz1rG08KQpA2VuhFVNdijY3T6jB-tZZznTAndZ3_YfrcL5hECYMfdOK6_uft2juWAC-puPS1GgAUgwOFSISrqqntKt-laxhHLT94PDR0eG1udK6/s500/Photo%252520Jul%2525206%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A39%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1373418221494.1038" class="aligncenter" alt="After Processing with Simply HDR" width="500" height="376"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Processing with Simply HDR</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>As you can see, the first photo is vivid, but realistic. The second photo has more of a painting-like quality to it.</p>
<p>I use Simply HDR in a number of photos that I post to <a href="http://instagram.com/tlatkins">Instagram</a>, often in conjunction with Pro HDR. On Instagram you can find me as<a href="http://instagram.com/tlatkins"> @tlatkins</a>.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-44777161962480694832013-06-27T20:52:00.001-05:002013-06-27T20:52:22.142-05:00Integrate Your Fitness Apps for Less Data Entry<p> The iPhone, because of its fits-in-your-pocket size and because of its GPS, is <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2013/06/iphone-vs-ipad-vs-ipad-mini-strengths.html">great for tracking your fitness</a>, whether it's <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2013/01/premium-weight-loss-on-your-iphone.html">what you eat</a> or <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/09/track-your-walk-run-or-bike.html">what you burn</a>. I use <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/09/track-your-walk-run-or-bike.html">RunKeeper</a>, and sometimes <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2013/01/post-apocalyptic-fitness-running-from.html">Zombies, Run!</a> to track my walking (or my rare and brief running). However, I use Lose It! To track my food intake and my exercise, to try to stay in a calorie budget and lose weight.</p>
<p>That's a number of apps with redundant information in them. Much of my exercise gets recorded in either RunKeeper or Zombies, Run! And also gets recorded in Lose It! I hate entering the same thing twice. you probably do too. If you have an account with each of the services behind these apps, however, you start RunKeeper or Zombies, Run! and have your caloric expenditure automatically show up in Lose It!</p>
<p> Here's how I have it set up:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkRVyn7hgtHrflL2_57gF3U6jmqnNgbKEv_9YFA0tBa12qrMWABWEjhSMLd7n5gxasav7vscTKIQEwVObGouT0AzdsSD1ayr9seSVGNrOLWJYyHd2o8AVUaPg-Vy_LBKDEs_wmMsIAwyt/s744/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkRVyn7hgtHrflL2_57gF3U6jmqnNgbKEv_9YFA0tBa12qrMWABWEjhSMLd7n5gxasav7vscTKIQEwVObGouT0AzdsSD1ayr9seSVGNrOLWJYyHd2o8AVUaPg-Vy_LBKDEs_wmMsIAwyt/s500/Photo%252520Jun%25252027%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525208%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372384342506.3508" class="alignnone" width="500" height="111" alt=""></a></div>
<p>And here's how to do it:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zombiesrun.zendesk.com/entries/23046648-How-do-I-connect-to-Runkeeper-">Sync Zombies, Run to RunKeeper</a></li>
<li><a href="http://support.loseit.com/customer/portal/articles/756226-how-do-i-connect-runkeeper-to-lose-it-">Sync RunKeeper to Lose It!</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Happy syncing!</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-5844700194129469102013-06-22T22:18:00.001-05:002013-06-22T22:21:06.818-05:00iPhone vs. iPad vs. iPad Mini: Strengths of Each<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYFy74oJTyHtsf0sNfObNYEld_QXz5WGEDVxPa8hd-MFwpJH_62FlhyphenhyphenlpruyhhUJ1b_WS1vUYRsG9pQ7Rv0yVaH1GDgPd6-SMQyJgBeov8D3RzMBTB2d3Y6Kwjug0Wjmm7vPbAJcnfxI4/s2048/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525209%25253A53%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYFy74oJTyHtsf0sNfObNYEld_QXz5WGEDVxPa8hd-MFwpJH_62FlhyphenhyphenlpruyhhUJ1b_WS1vUYRsG9pQ7Rv0yVaH1GDgPd6-SMQyJgBeov8D3RzMBTB2d3Y6Kwjug0Wjmm7vPbAJcnfxI4/s400/Photo%252520Jun%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525209%25253A53%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371957651646.4268" class="alignleft" alt="" width="400" height="282"></a></div>
<p>I've owned three different iPhones over the last five or six year but I recently bought my first iPad, a fourth-generation iPad. Shortly after buying mine, my daughter bought an iPad Mini. After having some time with each of these, there are definitely things that an iPhone does better, things that an iPad does better, and things that an iPad Mini does better.</p>
<p>If you own an iPhone and are wondering if you should get an iPad, or if you own an iPad and are wondering if you should get an iPhone, it helps to know what the strengths of each are. Here are some general comments about each:</p>
<a name='more'></a><h3> iPhone</h3>
<p> This is the computer in your pocket, but as such, it's screen isn't as well suited as your iPad options to viewing full (non-mobile) web pages, reading books, watching videos, or serious content-creation. It's size makes it ideal though for listening to audio, geolocation/navigation, diet and fitness tracking (or any kind of quick logging activity), audio recording, video recording, photography, and basic photo post-processing. It's great for most mobile games, also. In addition, it's a phone.</p>
<h3> iPad</h3>
<p> The iPad is the best at web browsing, video watching, magazine and catalog reading, document reading and editing, note-taking, and content-creation in general. It's the best way to truly go paperless, which was one of my primary objectives in buying mine. It's also very good for detailed photo editing, because you can really make detailed selections for masking in powerful apps like <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-touch.html">Photoshop Touch</a>.</p>
<p>The iPad is a suitable laptop replacement for most people, especially when when paired with a <a href="http://www.apple.com/keyboard/">Bluetooth keyboard</a>, though in landscape mode, the built-in keyboard isn't bad at all once you get used to it. I'm writing this blog post right now on my iPad without the Bluetooth keyboard, though I have one. I'm using the very powerful <a href="http://blogsyapp.com/">Blogsy</a> app, in case you are curious. You can even use your iPad to effectively remote-control a Mac, Windows PC, or Linux PC.</p>
<p>The iPad has become known as a powerful platform for board game fans. In fact, there is a <a href="http://ipadboardgames.org/">web site devoted to board games on the iPad</a>.</p>
<h3>iPad Mini</h3>
<p>The iPad Mini, as a smaller version of the iPad, has a few strengths over the iPad. I think it's size and weight make it the best for reading books, for example. On an full-sized iPad, you'll find your eyes moving a lot from left to right when reading a book, unless you turn your iPad to landscape orientation to show two pages. Also, the iPad will get heavy to hold after a while. The iPad mini shows you a book page at about the size of a book page and you can hold it without it starting to feel heavy after a couple of chapters.</p>
<p>The iPad mini also does many of the things an iPad does. It does not do them as well, but much better than an iPhone. Web browsing, video watching, and photo editing are all still good on the iPad Mini. I wouldn't consider it a laptop replacement though.</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of an iPad Mini's size is one that it fits in many purses. As a man, I don't mind carrying my iPad when I know I'm going to use it but I'm not going to carry it everywhere (unlike my iPhone). However, a woman with an average-sized purse could easily carry an iPad Mini everywhere she carries her purse.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>I love my iPad and my iPhone, for a multitude of reasons. If you are thinking about any of these, it helps to know what they do best. I hope I've helped you in that respect.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-67360779233716650992013-06-13T20:40:00.001-05:002013-06-13T21:34:48.406-05:00Multi-touch Gestures on the iPad<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Before this week, the only iOS device I've owned was an iPhone. Perhaps that's why I discovered two of the three multi-touch gestures for my new iPad by accident:</span><div><ol><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">If you're in an app and swipe left or right with four fingers, you switch to one of the other apps that are running.</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">If you're in an app and "grab" with all four fingers, pinching toward the center, you'll go back to the home screen.</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">If you swipe up with four fingers, you'll see the multi-tasking bar at the bottom.</span></li></ol></div><div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">These are all extremely useful gestures and can save wear and tear on your home button. Item #1 will help you switch apps much more quickly so that you only need to do #3 when you want to close apps completely.</span></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><img id="id_1eb2_6915_e486_acd9" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWM2RKvVVSe34NiwmmdO6d9-FXTbCrD561efXTUOV8peVWQ-DPS-PEGO5KSN0EEADpP9HnDhBPGzHpihToOj2Buq7DJEu_9kjsUP0AjVg9hXlMX9KI_MEfcCPbLJoYDIjZJ-Zr8cojhfoD/" alt="" title="" style="margin: 4px; width: 496px; height: 372px; "><div></div></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-3953069132275147772013-06-11T19:35:00.001-05:002013-06-11T19:35:23.524-05:00More iPad Content ComingI ordered an iPad from the Apple web site yesterday after confirming that there were no new iPads announced. It came today. That's pretty impressive delivery time for free shipping. I'm actually typing this post on it.<div><br></div><div>This is my first iPad so expect to have a number of iPad-specific posts sprinkled in with the iPhone and universal app posts. For now, back to exploring my new tool. I'd say new "toy" but, after all, this is <b>Practical</b> iStuff.</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-70577376535313346612013-05-18T16:47:00.000-05:002013-05-18T16:48:24.071-05:00Buy or Sell Your Own Instagram Art<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IME7aVyXKwwUtBS3xduCvy__kK4-m4PZra5I01RmR1_HJLIj5NrxcV9wVFs3s1tZ9AqhOjxrR6P75_2lNJ6f9J_xDQDKMy7yPU1KeGou1NN9o1UIL01Ps6mv9Ivtd3ZOheH8NuW6CE4N/s1600/photo-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IME7aVyXKwwUtBS3xduCvy__kK4-m4PZra5I01RmR1_HJLIj5NrxcV9wVFs3s1tZ9AqhOjxrR6P75_2lNJ6f9J_xDQDKMy7yPU1KeGou1NN9o1UIL01Ps6mv9Ivtd3ZOheH8NuW6CE4N/s320/photo-1.JPG" width="320" /></a>I use <a href="http://instagram.com/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> as a repository for artistic shots, many which I take with my iPhone 5 and post-process using apps on my iPhone 5. On rare occasion, I may post something that I like well enough to want to get a physical print of it to hang in my house. Recently I used a service called <a href="http://instacanv.as/">Instacanv.as</a> to get a canvas version of my own photo. (The one to the right is a 16 inch by 16 inch canvas.)<br />
<br />
When you understand that images on Instagram are only 612 pixels by 612 pixels, it doesn't seem to make sense to create prints from photos on Instagram, even though Instacanv.as makes it very convenient to do. However, Instacanv.as has an answer to that. They claim to use a resizing and optimization algorithm that makes for "crystal clear, crisp images". That sounds like a lot of marketing but my experience was that they did a really good job. My photo was on canvas and was somewhat "painting-like" after my post-processing so there was some room for error, but I could find no pixelation and the printed image looks like the piece of art that I wanted it to be.<br />
<br />
Another benefit of Instacanv.as is that you can sell prints of your own. You pick what Instavanv.as photos to add to your gallery and you can add hashtags to your photos on Instacanv.as that are different than what you use on Instagram, though the Instagram hashtags are added by default. You can also enter a caption and assign a category for each photo to make the photos more discoverable. If you sell an item, which can be a canvas, a framed print, a prism (a 6x6 acrylic paperweight), greeting cards, or an iPhone case, you get 20% of the sales price, which really isn't bad since they handle the display, production, shipping, and collection the money. As of the time I write this, I haven't yet sold any of <a href="http://instacanv.as/tlatkins" target="_blank">my photos</a> yet, and I don't know if I will, but it's nice having that possibility for very little effort (aside from the effort it took to create the image in the first place).Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-71058486286403737062013-05-07T21:19:00.002-05:002013-05-07T21:23:16.737-05:00Shortcuts on the iPhone and iPad<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4soF6LwGHdozMjZPfcNZj6m9UN7IS4afTCLKNzSN_7J-xZ1tLJjfs1bGqWK5VEfD8vjiX5fvXIAUw3WofonTBM86haYDZDYo9Dhlgb7PSEOBHImmp2KUeynaowkB_tPDB74-cOJcTi2o/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4soF6LwGHdozMjZPfcNZj6m9UN7IS4afTCLKNzSN_7J-xZ1tLJjfs1bGqWK5VEfD8vjiX5fvXIAUw3WofonTBM86haYDZDYo9Dhlgb7PSEOBHImmp2KUeynaowkB_tPDB74-cOJcTi2o/s320/photo.PNG" width="180" /></a>Shortcuts on the iPhone is one of those features that you may not know about but are extremely handy when typing on small iPhone keyboard. Shortcuts, however, aren't very visible because they are tucked away in the <b>Settings</b> app. This little feature can change a quick "omw" to "On my way." or "ctn" to "Can't talk now, in a meeting."<br />
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From <b>Settings</b>, choose <b>General</b>, then choose <b>Keyboard</b>. Scroll to the bottom and you'll see <b>Shortcuts</b> and an option called <b>Add New Shortcut...</b> If you click <b>Add New Shortcut...</b>, you can enter a phrase and a shortcut for it.<br />
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The shortcut field is optional, which sounds odd at first. However, it allows you to enter a phrase that you don't want autocorrect to change to something else. One time I texted my wife "Woohoo" and autocorrect changed it to "Elohim", a Hebrew word for God. In the context, it didn't quite make sense. If I had "woohoo" as a phrase, even without a shortcut, my "Woohoo" would have come across the same way I entered it.<br />
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Here are some uses for shortcuts.<br />
<ol>
<li>Replace those text message abbreviations with real words. You'll be able to type "brt" quickly, while sounding more intelligent, and won't confuse those who are new to texting shortcuts. These are useful in emails also.</li>
<li>Enter a shortcut for your email address. You'll use it a lot when signing into web sites.</li>
<li>Use if for frequently typed words you use in response to emails. For example, "ism" could be "I'll schedule a meeting to discuss it." and "igbwy" could be "I'll take a look at it and get back with you."</li>
<li>Use it for less sensitive information you use in forms. For example, if you live in a city with a long name like "Birmingham", "bhm" is a useful shortcut.</li>
</ol>
Shortcuts are useful for many things. Just don't use them for anything sensitive like passwords, social security numbers, or credit card numbers. Keep those only in a <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/06/strong-passwords-and-password-managers.html" target="_blank">secure password keeper</a>.<br />
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Do you use shortcuts? What are some things you use them for?Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-78273966744287264682013-04-18T21:08:00.001-05:002013-04-18T21:11:50.629-05:00iPhoneography: Get That Distressed Look Easily with Distressed FX<a href="http://instacanv.as/tlatkins/piece/421278869085958920_444043" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBKKFA4vosxCjgKlqu4nnIqWALbDoygk5ku6JpBNNELPklxku-lzLYgVzFB5p1EaQ6SEyHOVqxMbqDghAOd_MyLhooVaeAtTFtgdqudvroCASmK7D5P1SKxXOIcEr68Q2l3_08LD2JAeI/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a>There are a multitude of iPhone apps in the App Store that allow you to apply filters to your photo, seeming to promise to turn your photo into a work of art. Many of them produce a washed out, dull look that falls short of this promise. <a href="http://www.distressedfx.com/">Distressed FX</a>, with some experimentation, will turn a good photo into a work of art.<br />
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One of the first things that you will notice about Distressed FX that is different than most "photo filter" apps is that it you have two sets of "filters", one called "gels", which seems to be more about colors (or birds, as I'll explain later), and one called "textures", which contains textured overlays. You can pick any combination of the two and choose the strength for each. You can also choose to control brightness, contrast, and saturation to further fine-tune your artistic creation.<br />
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Although Distressed FX comes up with a square crop box, much like <a href="http://instagram.com/">Instagram</a>, cropping your photo square is entirely optional. You can leave it in it's original dimensions and it will keep those dimensions.<br />
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With all of the control, it's possible to produce a very nice looking picture, one that looks like a photo-painting hybrid. One of the gels actually just adds birds in flight to the picture, which in some photos, complements the texture. If you find yourself wanting to use a color gel and a bird gel, simply use the color gel first, save the photo to your camera roll, open that photo with Distressed FX, and then add the bird gel.<br />
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Above is one of the pictures I created with the app, using the "Dove" gel and the "Lade" texture with no tweaks to brightness, contrast, or saturation. For other ideas of what you can do, see the <a href="http://statigr.am/tag/distressedfx/">#distressedfx tag</a> on Instagram.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-84763600055785227152013-04-04T20:51:00.001-05:002013-04-04T20:55:21.816-05:00Road Trip with the iPhone with iExit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0CnJagtr6Wi9rBbYCKm8pdiagBQGLMYjXBPihmjwbs0mCF2KPAV7_Yu-T_Y3-wIQ1wXOQ5DWxYOGVzEMeJn7Nt4cdrzGc2x2t5e9naml6Pfi8M1Fh8lpO3EajWOAWdUabDkwaj-fNJ87/s1600/photo+3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0CnJagtr6Wi9rBbYCKm8pdiagBQGLMYjXBPihmjwbs0mCF2KPAV7_Yu-T_Y3-wIQ1wXOQ5DWxYOGVzEMeJn7Nt4cdrzGc2x2t5e9naml6Pfi8M1Fh8lpO3EajWOAWdUabDkwaj-fNJ87/s320/photo+3.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVtJKMC3xP26nD9xlHE1fHkfWRe4yuFiLwQ5hQxgwjrAhBHfxnoB8X3XO70Zfvk7tBQ8Sgv-SYRCY0g9WgT_nnliH-kkOhmWksmNdEdJklucw8XQ8nR5o2nMR8ATN_X4TRjFDrqvLUo1E/s1600/photo+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVtJKMC3xP26nD9xlHE1fHkfWRe4yuFiLwQ5hQxgwjrAhBHfxnoB8X3XO70Zfvk7tBQ8Sgv-SYRCY0g9WgT_nnliH-kkOhmWksmNdEdJklucw8XQ8nR5o2nMR8ATN_X4TRjFDrqvLUo1E/s320/photo+2.PNG" width="180" /></a></div>
When taking a road trip, often you know where you are going. In fact, often you get on the interstate and stay on it for hours, maybe transitioning to another interstate somewhere along the way. You don't need directions to your destination but you may need to know what exit has the next restroom or lunch options. You don't need a regular, turn-by-turn GPS for this and you don't want to be searching your map application for restaurants or rest areas while you're driving.<br />
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The interstate road trip is the niche that <a href="http://iexitapp.com/">iExit</a> fills. By default, iExit doesn't show a map (though a swipe to the left will show you a map). It simply shows a list of upcoming exits, how many miles to each, and what types of amenities are at each exit. Tap on an exit, and you'll see exactly what gas stations, restaurants, lodging, etc. is at that exit. It's the kind of app that you turn on and leave on during your trip so that you can, at glance, know exactly where to stop and how far you have to go before you stop.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I recently went on a road trip with the family and found iExit to be extremely helpful. I put my iPhone in my Arkon phone mount so I could easily glance at it as you would a GPS, plugged my iPhone into the car charger, started up the app, and started the drive. I used it for restroom stops, lunch stops, and even a gas stop. As a extra benefit, I could always tell where we were at the moment and how far we were from upcoming towns, which gave me a sense of where I was in the journey toward my destination.<br />
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Although I've had iExit for a while now, this was the first time I used the app. I've had it for a while because it used to be free. However, at the current price of $0.99, I think it is worth the price next time you go on a long road trip.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-26330741714714905052013-03-18T21:25:00.002-05:002013-03-18T21:27:12.560-05:00Get Auto Service Estimates on Your iPhone with RepairPal, Before Visiting the Mechanic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMW4WpK4wiFZn5kbMFtWpVmnt8Wge4FOR5EZsxcfbCucmQQnrb3yk9bK05L1ZM7-QYa2vMoqyAJkGcTfgvYRmJ5H7LTnV0wu3VteHinHQK06t2RHWXae6QY2uimqaywMeqVvBaDEqOIiz/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMW4WpK4wiFZn5kbMFtWpVmnt8Wge4FOR5EZsxcfbCucmQQnrb3yk9bK05L1ZM7-QYa2vMoqyAJkGcTfgvYRmJ5H7LTnV0wu3VteHinHQK06t2RHWXae6QY2uimqaywMeqVvBaDEqOIiz/s320/photo.PNG" width="180" /></a>Whenever you need vehicle maintenance, such as replacing your timing belt, or repairs, such as replacing a starter, you often have to take your vehicle in to the mechanic before you have any idea how costly it will be. Even then, when you get an estimate from that mechanic, you may not be sure how it stacks up with the cost that would be charged by other mechanics in the area. If you don't know what to expect, you can easily overpay.<br />
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What if there were an app that would give you an idea what you might pay for auto service? That's what <a href="http://repairpal.com/mobile">RepairPal</a> excels at. If you know what you need done, it will provide a low-end to high-end range based on what mechanics in your area charge. For that service, it even explains what the estimate includes, best practices for taking care of the part, common symptoms leading up to the service, and in some cases, common misdiagnoses. With this information, you can go into your neighborhood garage armed with knowledge, not surprised by an unreasonable estimate.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I suggest signing up for an account with RepairPal. With that you can keep your vehicles associated with your account. That not only makes getting estimates tailored to your vehicles more convenient, you can keep your repairs in RepairPal and they are accessible and editable either via the app or <a href="http://repairpal.com/">their website</a>.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-35653972108438281482013-03-07T20:42:00.000-06:002013-03-07T20:45:01.723-06:00A Staging Area for Quick Notes on Your iPhone<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4KmOJemh4ZoIagwpUAFnDjl4RqAWzRLom1LiwZmFyX-0SqLGqQzG9siEr6UhGkExYvNJ-UOlL1_Q0cxdXqdDHDpBJrgfDFt_Vd0f0VUWkP2dt4o5kCflSne1G5pHH_P3GoC6YvZZsG-q/s1600/photo+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4KmOJemh4ZoIagwpUAFnDjl4RqAWzRLom1LiwZmFyX-0SqLGqQzG9siEr6UhGkExYvNJ-UOlL1_Q0cxdXqdDHDpBJrgfDFt_Vd0f0VUWkP2dt4o5kCflSne1G5pHH_P3GoC6YvZZsG-q/s320/photo+2.png" width="180" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWPeSDOU7vjqtZyZ_xuyiHcgw57ECBKVUssbZY6HRrjbjwcXPf_kHQxcGJlzR8hZUHj-bYvlD5gcDU6VHtoHz80rSi8Aes6t4aXDEL-RY0oxbPvcv0dgWw0tnZYW3bAQ-GhmioBqa3-yJ/s1600/photo+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWPeSDOU7vjqtZyZ_xuyiHcgw57ECBKVUssbZY6HRrjbjwcXPf_kHQxcGJlzR8hZUHj-bYvlD5gcDU6VHtoHz80rSi8Aes6t4aXDEL-RY0oxbPvcv0dgWw0tnZYW3bAQ-GhmioBqa3-yJ/s320/photo+1.png" width="180" /></a>
Although I love keeping notes in <a href="http://evernote.com/evernote/">Evernote</a>, I didn't often use it for taking notes that had to be recorded quickly, like when taking notes in a meeting. There were a few reasons for this:<br />
<ol>
<li>Launching Evernote and adding a new note in the right notebook takes a few seconds. Usually by the time I think of opening my Evernote app, I'll have to have either written my note down on paper or I will have lost it.</li>
<li>Evernote offers a lot of features (notebooks, tags, formatting, etc.) that make keeping organized notes very nice. When under pressure to record something quickly, these are a distraction. I find myself wanting to spend time to give my note a title, add tags, pick the right notebook, and make my note look nicely formatted, things I didn't have time to do.</li>
<li>Some notes were of a very temporary nature. I only needed the note for such a short time, keeping it in Evernote didn't make sense.</li>
</ol>
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<a name='more'></a>Sometimes my note didn't fit Evernote for what I use it for anyway. Maybe my note needed to become an email later, or a to-do, or a journal entry, or even an event on my calendar. What I needed was a staging area, a place to quickly get the information down without worrying about organizing it or formatting it.</div>
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<div>
I read about <a href="http://agiletortoise.com/drafts">Drafts</a> in an article on <a href="http://lifehacker.com/">Lifehacker</a> entitled <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5983391/how-we-work-thorin-klosowskis-favorite-gear-and-productivity-tricks">How We Work: Thorin Klosowski’s Favorite Gear and Productivity Tricks</a>. That was enough for me to decide try it out.</div>
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Drafts, when launched, automatically comes up with a new, blank note each time it's launched. This is actually configurable so that if you re-launch it within a certain period of time (30 seconds, 60 seconds, or 5 minutes), it comes up in your previous note. It's quick to get you to a place where you can write and doesn't distract you with a lot of formatting options or the need to save your work. It's made for quick entry and syncs your notes across devices. (There's also an iPad version.)</div>
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Once you've written your note, it's sharing abilities are where Drafts really shines. You can send your note, very easily, as an email, as a message, as an event, as a reminder, or to any number of services or apps. You can even print it or copy it to the clipboard. If you want to format your note before you send it somewhere, you can even add <a href="http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/">Markdown</a> to your note to bold or italicize words, make bulleted lists, etc.</div>
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<div>
I still love Evernote for organizing my notes and will enter notes in Evernote directly if I have time. However, for quick notes that I need to record now and organize later, nothing that I know of beats Drafts. I keep it on my home page for that reason.</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-66190217037512789012013-02-07T21:36:00.000-06:002013-02-07T21:40:00.935-06:00Adding Text to Photos on Your iPhone and iPad<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iAChPXqBRQFdgw480lhMTW1GOjuEjLP4JwEXLnmnfX4sbKseWw7VK6YUCtFqXW9fcGQf3f_HuVpciBHg4jx0YP2oOZS0VprszOdKUNkkwVth5T-pUrtDpmCV4nnS1zWDh5sRr_z2y_H0/s1600/photo-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iAChPXqBRQFdgw480lhMTW1GOjuEjLP4JwEXLnmnfX4sbKseWw7VK6YUCtFqXW9fcGQf3f_HuVpciBHg4jx0YP2oOZS0VprszOdKUNkkwVth5T-pUrtDpmCV4nnS1zWDh5sRr_z2y_H0/s320/photo-1.png" width="180" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3KsOBjhAm8oZYaHsfnnEFRw1SIj4tMebylUmXI-uaU0ejncAAW9bwmBSrqWrsoc5VumPeBvXDB0XrYukkHzX5uqda5rI25WOQCT2PxxzeLNrHRJjIl-DAoig9PUzh2wCSvfd8bxjr8He/s1600/photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3KsOBjhAm8oZYaHsfnnEFRw1SIj4tMebylUmXI-uaU0ejncAAW9bwmBSrqWrsoc5VumPeBvXDB0XrYukkHzX5uqda5rI25WOQCT2PxxzeLNrHRJjIl-DAoig9PUzh2wCSvfd8bxjr8He/s320/photo.png" width="180" /></a>
A picture is worth 1,000 words but sometimes a picture needs a word...or two, or three. With your iPhone or iPad and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phonto-text-on-image/id438429273?mt=8">Phonto</a>, that's pretty easy. In fact, it's pretty easy to make your words themselves a work of art.<br />
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Like most photo-editing apps, Phonto allows you to take a photo with the camera or import a photo from your albums. From there, you can type in text and easily position it where you want it. You can move the text around by dragging it, or if you need more precise positioning, there are positional arrows for moving the text slowly into place.<br />
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Fonts and styles are where Phonto excels. Text, stroke, and background can be any color or a gradient of up to four colors. There are numerous fonts included in the app but, if you don't see one you like, you can add any TrueType font to the app.<br />
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To add a font using only your iPhone or iPad, simply search for TrueType fonts in Safari and download one. When you click a link or button to download the font, you'll have the option to Open in "Phonto". This will give you the option to install the font into Phonto and use it on any future photos. No other app that I know of allows you to find, install, and use any font that you want.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNKNSJPpc8EdYgr85-A2FgMyOpGjoqXzQqwQxr247_bt5AK7JifTRKQCRbx-5M0ZkCu16hQbFJAUglK4yAd7XZoNYJ9xMpgHK_LfjhoWm0yWbUfzXgM8BPILGznR4oy2PtXof7kTzYu1S/s1600/phonto.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNKNSJPpc8EdYgr85-A2FgMyOpGjoqXzQqwQxr247_bt5AK7JifTRKQCRbx-5M0ZkCu16hQbFJAUglK4yAd7XZoNYJ9xMpgHK_LfjhoWm0yWbUfzXgM8BPILGznR4oy2PtXof7kTzYu1S/s320/phonto.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-16132171437360829502013-01-22T21:36:00.005-06:002013-01-22T21:38:53.206-06:00Post-apocalyptic Fitness: Running from Zombies<h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpZfylg28ctFUjkt-a7oAi0WjZXjlhqW0FH0fIEMrTmq-_5xmXTvaEeBRBiiTQ4pYUxtx2EdT-XGrpZOvqDy51vwZY8HqXnZwVW5ePO99jhXnC-wCnZ6jUg5CeGN17ttOUviRF_nbJlKw/s1600/photo+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpZfylg28ctFUjkt-a7oAi0WjZXjlhqW0FH0fIEMrTmq-_5xmXTvaEeBRBiiTQ4pYUxtx2EdT-XGrpZOvqDy51vwZY8HqXnZwVW5ePO99jhXnC-wCnZ6jUg5CeGN17ttOUviRF_nbJlKw/s320/photo+3.png" width="180" /></a>Removing the Monotony from Exercise</h4>
Exercising can be monotonous but, working behind a desk all day, it's something I need to do. If I have something that engages my mind, it makes exercise an enjoyable experience for me. This is why I typically listen to something that I find interesting, usually talk radio, podcasts, or an audio book. I bought a new app for my iPhone over the holidays that makes going for a walk or run a more immersive experience. That app is <a href="https://www.zombiesrungame.com/">Zombies, Run!</a><br />
<h4>
A Game and an Unfolding Story</h4>
Zombie's, Run! is an app that brings <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification">gamification</a> to running or walking, and makes it truly a fun experience. It's as much a story as it is a game. In fact, it's a very compelling story that you take part in. Here is the gist of it.<br />
<ol>
<li>You live in world where a disease of some sort has broken out and turned people to zombies. Those who get bit by zombies are doomed to become zombie's yourself.</li>
<li>You are Runner 5. Your helicopter was shot down near Able Township, a small fortified town where the citizens are protected by walls that keep zombies out.</li>
<li>Because the township needs supplies, runners are sent out to retrieve those supplies, occasionally encountering the zombies that roam the surrounding wilderness. Running is a way of survival.</li>
<li>Runners also have other missions, such as drawing zombie's away or saving someone stranded in the wilderness.</li>
</ol>
<a name='more'></a>When you start your walk or run, you start the app up and start a mission. The story unfolds in short segments, interspersed with your music (from the playlist of your choice). The story is told, not with a narrator, but as if others are talking to you on a radio or in person. You really feel like you are an integral part of this post-apocalyptic world. In between each song, you'll get more of the story for that mission, and all along the way, you'll collect virtual supplies for Able Township. You spend a couple of minutes after you're done exercising distributing supplies to different buildings in your town. This builds up the town and unlocks more missions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMpR2jJebyXhtxyaWXxzi5sHcQgO4fAsaiIbK4MfFJ8yPCphs_Dxe2Eg0o453Jy19U6mQCoOPuSFudVo4g916jfTyfW7accTyg_tX6EetmA-g8ZgLIieE2722dDkNwhvht7Nz2GdSGoad/s1600/photo+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMpR2jJebyXhtxyaWXxzi5sHcQgO4fAsaiIbK4MfFJ8yPCphs_Dxe2Eg0o453Jy19U6mQCoOPuSFudVo4g916jfTyfW7accTyg_tX6EetmA-g8ZgLIieE2722dDkNwhvht7Nz2GdSGoad/s320/photo+1.png" width="180" /></a></div>
<div>
Every now and then zombies will chase you and you'll hear them getting closer. You have to speed up for a little while to escape the zombie's. If you get caught, you drop supplies. (Actually dying or becoming a zombie would cut all of the fun a little short, after all.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After the mission is complete, if you are still exercising, the app switches into "radio mode", where two guys from the town play DJ between the songs on your playlist.<br />
<h4>
The Good</h4>
<ol>
<li>Zombie's, Run! makes walking or running truly fun and interesting. The story is well written and the actors do a good job.There's a lot of mystery behind your character, Runner 5: who you are and how you ended up in Able Township.</li>
<li>Escaping zombies, fulfilling missions, and building up your town to unlock further missions are motivating factors to exercise.</li>
<li>Being able to listen to your own music between plot segments is a nice feature.</li>
<li>The app syncs with <a href="http://runkeeper.com/home">RunKeeper</a>, which I use a lot. This allows me to keep all my walking or running in RunKeeper, whether I log it with Zombie's, Run! or RunKeeper.</li>
</ol>
<h4>
The Bad</h4>
<ol>
<li>Like any app, there are occasional bugs. Every now and then all audio will stop. If I tap the <b>Pause</b> button and then the <b>Resume</b> button, it starts the audio back up.</li>
<li>The options for playing your music are limited to a playlist of your choosing. You cannot choose an artist, an album, or a custom list of songs. This is not a big deal, however, as creating a playlist just for your run or walk is easy on the iPhone.</li>
<li>The zombies don't chase much, at least for as long as I've tried it. There have been a couple of times, I never encountered zombies at all. However, I've only completed five missions so the frequency may pick up over time.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Overall, I really like using Zombie's, Run! It makes exercise a fun, immersing experience, where you're part of interesting story.</div>
</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-3744527640225464102013-01-09T22:06:00.004-06:002013-01-09T22:10:12.656-06:00Premium Weight Loss Using Your iPhone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTLHUh0TvkKuvWv3hrGF7Uy1Q7-axGJEVIPfMjDXMrjtjMzIS9Ml2zFMBkqnfnLf8uH9gvcDgIns74b3A0r3pfdlYYkOfRcCLPjqn654qXVnzNrsxXlpWaYtfzwhYxQwDJyYL0WP_0NR3/s1600/photo+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTLHUh0TvkKuvWv3hrGF7Uy1Q7-axGJEVIPfMjDXMrjtjMzIS9Ml2zFMBkqnfnLf8uH9gvcDgIns74b3A0r3pfdlYYkOfRcCLPjqn654qXVnzNrsxXlpWaYtfzwhYxQwDJyYL0WP_0NR3/s320/photo+1.png" width="180" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLppUlXclOAflVvLFrbpvioAqavBJPGHqTCvzYjb0EhqrwaHd3YPGHX7OQXzNR0RM4gIS_krRP1UGmhPQUqC2rD26yuSPLIEKbEJ8F1zO43kqv3n97hsyfke1x1hFua4CiIqXr87EDez4/s1600/photo+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLppUlXclOAflVvLFrbpvioAqavBJPGHqTCvzYjb0EhqrwaHd3YPGHX7OQXzNR0RM4gIS_krRP1UGmhPQUqC2rD26yuSPLIEKbEJ8F1zO43kqv3n97hsyfke1x1hFua4CiIqXr87EDez4/s320/photo+3.png" width="180" /></a>
I've <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/search/?q=lose+it">written before on several occasions</a> about Lose It! for the iPhone, a great tool for weight loss and one of the best free apps in the App Store. You can get a lot of help in meeting your fitness goals by using this app's free features but it has some <a href="https://www.loseit.com/premium/">premium features</a> that are quite compelling if you need a little extra motivation in getting fit.<br />
<h4>
<b>Challenges</b></h4>
These are a great motivational tool. Here is where Lost It! gets both social and competitive. You can compete with yourself, with others (the public or just certain friends), and even as groups toward some goal. For example, a challenge might be between teams of four on which team can lose the largest percentage weight. You can join existing challenges that others have created or create your own. The challenges can be public or private and you can invite your friends to join with you for added accountability and competition.<br />
<br />
You can do all of this from within the app but I found it easier to find challenges on the <a href="https://www.loseit.com/">Lose It! web site</a>.<br />
<h4>
<b><a name='more'></a>Goals</b></h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmBL1wdVIvZyuLJrA0UCO0GlaI5gbnEW-FgCIbmTewz-_KITb9B1DTkEzq53pAZlt8oKeY826cuWELp8X_-fdcVKT3A0LfqXl7mJbaQe8HTk-CYdq0QydwrzBIB34j3imKXcs1hIWwPG1/s1600/photo+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmBL1wdVIvZyuLJrA0UCO0GlaI5gbnEW-FgCIbmTewz-_KITb9B1DTkEzq53pAZlt8oKeY826cuWELp8X_-fdcVKT3A0LfqXl7mJbaQe8HTk-CYdq0QydwrzBIB34j3imKXcs1hIWwPG1/s320/photo+4.png" width="180" /></a>The only goal you can track in the free version is weight. However, you might want to track other things like blood pressure or waist size since weight alone is not an indicator of fitness. You can also track toward goals that help you achieve fitness like exercise minutes, exercise calories, protein percentage of calories, carb percentage of calories, grams of fiber, etc. Many of these are tracked automatically for you log food and exercise, in which case, you don't need to do any extra work to keep track of them.<br />
<h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL6f47PGOINu810UjKnflBqmWmuTE2FvOMu1ubAB6SzF1Js-oCr40Ax4XKkxbnM4vhx_4V3f13lc6U4-0RBUFE2ayn1JG3QEy1norO27oRDu0-5HyFpnYh8msFS_lQMuzu1r4uoEB9S2P/s1600/photo+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL6f47PGOINu810UjKnflBqmWmuTE2FvOMu1ubAB6SzF1Js-oCr40Ax4XKkxbnM4vhx_4V3f13lc6U4-0RBUFE2ayn1JG3QEy1norO27oRDu0-5HyFpnYh8msFS_lQMuzu1r4uoEB9S2P/s320/photo+5.png" width="180" /></a>
Meal Planning</h4>
I had always wanted to log foods a day or two ahead, something you can't do with the free account. (You can only log today and in the past in the free account.) The Premium version of Lose It! added the ability to log for future days. Logging ahead helps you plan for the days coming up so that if you really blow it today, you can plan how to make it up over the next several days, seeing what your calorie budget would look like if you had certain foods over those days.<br />
<h4>
Integration with Other Apps and Devices</h4>
Be active in your exercise but lazy in your logging with this feature of the premium version. There are a number of devices and apps listed on the <a href="https://www.loseit.com/premium/">Premium page</a> that will automatically log exercise, weight, or blood pressure for you. I have my <a href="http://runkeeper.com/">RunKeeper</a> account hooked to Lose It! so that when I use my <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/runkeeper-pro/id300235330?mt=8">RunKeeper app</a> to capture my walk or run, my exercise is automatically logged for me in Lose It! That's really nice.<br />
<br />
At $39.99 a year, the features are probably worth it if you need more tools in your toolbox to ensure you are able to meet your fitness goals, such as losing those 20 lbs. that would get you back to a healthy size. That's less than $1 a week.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4755848997775073840.post-67631108245686534692013-01-04T21:42:00.000-06:002013-01-04T21:42:04.394-06:00Apps to Start the New Year RightIt's that time of the year when people have decided to keep a set of resolutions or goals. If you are one of those who set goals for 2013, there are apps for your iPhone and iPad that can help. Here are some that I've written about before that I think are among the best:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/01/losing-it-losing-weight-with-your.html">Lose It!</a> - This is a great, free app for keeping track of calorie intake and burn. The idea is that you have a calorie budget and record all that you eat and all that you expend in exercise. It has a huge database of foods with their nutrition information so you don't have to manually count the calories. Read more about it <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/01/losing-it-losing-weight-with-your.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/09/track-your-walk-run-or-bike.html">RunKeeper</a> - Want to track your walking, running or biking, automatically using your phone's GPS? This is the app to use. Read more <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/09/track-your-walk-run-or-bike.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/04/gamification-of-fitness-on-iphone.html">Fitocracy</a> - This app makes lifting weights a fun game for extra motivation. Read more <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2012/04/gamification-of-fitness-on-iphone.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/09/envelope-budgeting-on-iphone.html">MoneyWell</a> - Need to stay in budget? This is the app I use, along with it's <a href="http://nothirst.com/moneywell/">companion app </a>on the Mac. Read more <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/09/envelope-budgeting-on-iphone.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/10/use-your-iphone-to-memorize-scripture.html">Fighter Verses</a> - This is the app to go to if you want to memorize Scripture. It will quiz you and provide a number of other tools to help you memorize. Read more <a href="http://www.practicalistuff.com/2011/10/use-your-iphone-to-memorize-scripture.html">here</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Here are some other apps I'm using that I really like but I haven't written about...yet:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goal-master/id347105327?mt=8">Goal Master</a> - This is really more about the habits that help you reach goals but I've tried many goal apps and have found Goal Master to be the one that most meets my needs. It's the most flexible of any I've tried.</li>
<li><a href="http://dayoneapp.com/">Day One</a> - I started using this to journal every day. It's a great app and syncs with the Mac version of the same app via either iCloud or DropBox. It's ability to take photos, the ability to use markup (instead of just plain text), and it's ability to tag entries make it a very robust app for journaling.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.zombiesrungame.com/">Zombie's Run</a> - This app makes walking or running a fun, immersive experience. It's a story and a game that helps you stay motivated to exercise. I'm confident I'll write on this later, after I've used it a few more times, but having used it twice already, it does make walking or running more engaging. I delayed getting this until it added a feature that syncs with your <a href="http://runkeeper.com/">RunKeeper</a> account but, now that it has this, I can still see all my routes and activities in RunKeeper, even if I used Zombie's Run to record them.</li>
</ul>
What are your favorite, "start the new year right" apps, the ones that you think will help you stick to it all year?</div>
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<br />Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17583062603016061226noreply@blogger.com0