Category: Reviews

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If This Happens Then Do That

I found a cool website and wanted to share it with you, it is called www.Ifttt.com. With this interactive website you can connect your social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook and use their premade “recipes” or action steps to react automatically when an action happens.

This is what I have set up. When someone mentions me on Twitter on #FF or Follow Friday. I have Ifttt set up to send an automatic thank you to the sender – cool!

I’ve also got my blog feeding to Google+ using Ifttt also. There are literally hundreds of actions that you can use or you can easily create your own. It’s worth a quick look, you might just find and action that needs your action too.

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Amazon’s Kindle Fire Reviewed – A Real WOW

I just bought my Kindle Fire yesterday from Staples and wanted to add a bonus blog post today telling you what I think about it. First, WOW, this is really revolutionary! I can afford any technology I want, money is not a problem, but  with the iPad over $500+ I just could not rationalize the purchase. I was just not sure how much I would really use it. I have a laptop, I have a smart phone, I wasn’t sure I would drag something so big around. Besides that, it is heavy and large a 10 inch screen. Way too big to fit in my purse.

When I saw the first announcements on the Kindle Fire back in September and October in the Washington Post, it was the price that made me look and the reviews that said it was a real competitor to the iPad. I wanted to hold one before I purchased it however, and so did not buy one in the presale period. Staples sent me a newsletter via email yesterday and I went to our nearest store to check it out.

This is what made me buy it and what I like about the Kindle Fire:

1. It feels nice in your hand; not cheap and lightweight. The unit weighs 14.4 ounces.

2. It has a glass cover and very slim almost non-existent shell border. Very nice and polished looking. It looks expensive. Don’t confuse the Kindle Fire with the regular Kindle. It looks and feels different.

3. It took me a while to learn how to use my smartphone and so I was also looking for out of the box simplicity and ease of use. I was not disappointed. There was only a card in the box to explain how to turn it on. You turn it on, add your Amazon account number, and Fire does the rest. I downloaded my first book and app in the first five minutes.

4. I read a lot, I mean really a lot, and so when my library said they now had Kindle integration to borrow books, that was very important. You select the book from your local library site and then the library forwards you to Amazon.com to check the book out.

5. I already have a NetFlix account for our home TV. I just connected my Kindle Fire to that and my kids watched the Gumby movie last night on my new Fire.

6. I can do email. Although I use my Droid for mail, I have connected my GMail account to my Kindle Fire. It was done in two easy steps.

7. I can use the Amazon app store. I have already bought games and downloaded several free ones.

8. The screen resolution is excellent. Viewing quality is totally wonderful – crisp and clear. Web pages are not so small you cannot read them and the browsing experience is excellent. You can swipe and scrunch to change the screen size just like you do on a smartphone.

9. Make sure when you buy yours you get a micro USB cord. I did not, and will need to buy one. This will make it easier to move files and music from my PC to my Kindle Fire.

10. Get a case with a stand. I got mine for $40. It allows you to set your Fire up for viewing on a desk top for you to share.

I have to say I just cannot believe that this bit of technology cost only $200. The Kindle Fire lives up to the other reviews you have seen online. Everyone who has seen mine now wants one. Although it doesn’t do some of the things the iPad does, for me it is a very smart tool that is more for fun than work. Besides that, it fits in my purse to be on the go with me so I can use it anytime with my smartphone’s mifi hotspot.

Way to go Amazon! You have created an innovative tool that is sure to bring you an excellent new revenue stream. I have never bought ebooks or online movies at Amazon and now with my Fire and 1-click easy purchase at Amazon I am have already bought several things and am making my purchase list.

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See Your Website Through the Eyes of the iPad

With the popularity of iPads and tablets, it is important to take a moment and view your website the way an iPad would see it. I’ve found this free online tool that allows you to do just that; see your site like an iPad sees it.

http://ipadpeek.com/

If you watch your Google Analytics statistics you will see that Google is now reporting iPad and tablets users in the statistics.

Of interest to me recently was that screen sizes were growing and now with the advent of iPads and tablets, they are shrinking again. A good size for a design is about 1100 pixels wide or so as this looks good on tablets and on most computer screens.

 

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Office 2010 Why This Is An Upgrade You Will Want

I have recently gotten a new computer and my husband strongly recommended that I move to Office 2010 when he loaded my applications. I was really hesitant after problems upgrading applications before and so I told him he had to upgrade first. Better he be the guinea pig than me. (He had hoped that I would upgrade first so he could decide if he wanted to.)

He upgraded first, and liked the new interface and features and so I have upgraded about one week ago. I have to say my experience so far with Outlook and Office 2010 is wonderful. I love the new options, control, and features. In fact my experience so far has been so good that I wanted to write this post to recommend it to you. (No, I am not being paid by Microsoft, just being an advocate for a terrific product.)

If you live in Outlook like I do, you will find the new features and options a bit daunting at first. To help, I got this book from my library called “Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 QuickSteps”. I have really come up to speed quickly using the book. Many of the options I knew how to use already, but it was all about where to find them in the new interface and how to use new features that I never knew existed or are brand new with Outlook 2010. The application is rock solid, fairly intuitive (although using a book really speeds up the learning process), has so many really great configurable options, and has many of the same features that each Office product share such as how to print, where to find the save button, and how to add quick steps.

As for the other applications in the Office Suite, the other one I use a lot is Word. The common elements that are shared between all Office products help you to get going fast. I thought I would be intimidated with the new ribbon features, but I have found with books and a video tutorial that I am getting proficient quickly. If you are moving from Office 2007 this is definitely a worthy upgrade. You will find many of the features you never knew you would like but now have and love in Office 2010. I got my software for about $400. The price is steep, but out of all the upgrades I have done or reviewed recently, this is one of the best. I highly recommend Office 2010 to you. Just upgrading Outlook to 2010 is worth the price.