OK...my boss, the librarian, keeps teasing me and telling me to stop learning. Due to a couple of things over which I have no control, I did just that. At least, when it comes to the 23 Mobile Things.
First of all, my tablet has decided to punish me if I let it run out of juice. If it gets to the point where it has so little charge that it shuts itself off, then it will take a full 2 days to charge up enough for me to turn it on. OK, fine, I just let it charge. I started looking at the list apps, but found that my attention was not grabbed enough to play with it too much on my phone.
Second, someone decided that they would go on a shopping spree using my PayPal account. Luckily for me, I have been using PayPal for all the purchases I made on Ebay and a couple of other sites. I have always felt a little more comfortable with the fact that I have only put my credit/debit card information on one site, without having to send it to multiple small, often out-of-country, retailers/vendors. Thank goodness that I did. I contacted PayPal when I had these unauthorized charges clear my checking account. They had already frozen my account and reversed the charges. They were very helpful, and even emailed me a letter to show to my bank since the third charge had sent my account into a negative balance, and I had been charged an overdraft fee. After taking care of this, and confirming that I was really me, I changed my password and they unfroze my account. It looks like it was just charges through PayPal, they didn't get my actual banking account information. I have always been very watchful for thing like phishing, and I'm not sure how someone hacked my account, but it happened. To be on the safe side, my husband & I went in and closed our current checking account, and opened a new one. Now I have to deal with all of the automatic payments and deposits that need to updated. Sigh.
Where to start? Make a list of all of the people that I needed to contact and what needed to be done. Wait! What was the item I was just working on? List & organization apps! Perfect. Now I know what to use them for. I started taking a look at them last night. Tonight will be a little more experimenting around...not to mention phone calls...and then I will post my next item tomorrow.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
23 Mobile Things - Thing #4
Thing #4...Keeping Up
RSS Feeds. Once upon a time, I had Google Reader. Apparently, it helped keep me so up to date that I didn't even know that it ceased to exist all the way back in July of 2013. I just figured that maybe RSS feeds wouldn't work for me. I have problems enough keeping up with my Twitter Feed.
Little did I know that 23 Mobile Things would give me the solution to keeping up with with RSS feeds with the bonus that I'll be able to keep up with my Twitter. All in one App! I can do this using Flipboard. I downloaded it on my tablet, and took a look around. I really like the layout. Everything from the news to my Facebook feed to my Twitter feed, all on one page. I like the fact that I can add whatever I like to the page. I think I'll be using this one a lot.
The other app that they recommended was Zite. It is billed as a Personal Magazine. When you sign up for an account, they give you a checklist of things that you might be interested in. Then when you go into the app, it will give you articles that you might be interested in. I don't think that I will use this one quite as often, but it did bring up some very interesting articles that I really enjoyed reading.
RSS Feeds. Once upon a time, I had Google Reader. Apparently, it helped keep me so up to date that I didn't even know that it ceased to exist all the way back in July of 2013. I just figured that maybe RSS feeds wouldn't work for me. I have problems enough keeping up with my Twitter Feed.
Little did I know that 23 Mobile Things would give me the solution to keeping up with with RSS feeds with the bonus that I'll be able to keep up with my Twitter. All in one App! I can do this using Flipboard. I downloaded it on my tablet, and took a look around. I really like the layout. Everything from the news to my Facebook feed to my Twitter feed, all on one page. I like the fact that I can add whatever I like to the page. I think I'll be using this one a lot.
The other app that they recommended was Zite. It is billed as a Personal Magazine. When you sign up for an account, they give you a checklist of things that you might be interested in. Then when you go into the app, it will give you articles that you might be interested in. I don't think that I will use this one quite as often, but it did bring up some very interesting articles that I really enjoyed reading.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
23 Mobile Things - Thing #3
Thing #3...Utilities
We all use utility apps if we have smartphones or tablets. Not that I knew that's what they were when I started with a smartphone. Then I got a tablet. I use apps every day, and not just those fun games like Candy Crush that I'm so addicted to. I've used Google Keep for my notes, Pandora for my music, Peel to control my TV, store apps to save money, not to mention the calendar & email apps that I use every day. So when this one came up, I was excited to try some new apps that I didn't really know about. Thing #3 was to choose at least one of the listed apps and give it a try. I decided to take a look at all of them.
The first one was RedLaser Barcode & QR Scanner. I get really excited about an app that promises to save me money. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. I tried it first on my tablet. My first disappointment was that it was not very compatible with the camera. It would not focus in on the barcode long enough to take the picture. Let's five it a second chance and try it on my phone. After all, it's my phone that I would have with me in stores if I want to compare prices. Good news, the camera feature worked just the way that it was supposed to. So I decided to do some searches for some simple things to start. Campbell soup. Every grocery store carries that. Here is where more disappointment came in.
These were the results. Target, Kmart, and I''m assuming a case of it from Staples. No Cub? Rainbow? Walmart? Hmmm...let's try another search.
Barilla Pasta...Target, Kmart, Walmart this time. Still no grocery stores.
Pasta sauce to go with the pasta. No results?
Let's try something else. Ink for my printer. I'm always looking for a good price. It sure looks like it's a pretty universal price around here. I have many more results. I went and looked at the websites. Office Max, Best Buy, Office Depot...yep...same price. Exactly what the app said. I wonder how accurate the online prices are...
Here were my results. Ebay. That's kind of hard as auctions are ending all of the time.
Sears...I'll double check that one against the website.
RedLaser gave me a price of $13.49. Sears website...$19.49.
What did I learn from this? I don't think it's worth keeping on my tablet or phone. I didn't even try the QR code part of the app, but I have one on my phone that I am already happy with - QR Droid.
Next! Google Goggles. I have like just about everything that Google has introduced. This streak has continued. Google Goggles uses the camera on your device and uses that to find information on the internet. I started by pointing the camera at various things around my house. Most of the things brought up a variety of
results. Pictures, videos, definitions, websites, retailers. I like it. Ok...tried to take a picture of my cat. No matching results. Well, she is one of a kind! Overall, this is one app that I will leave on both my tablet and my phone.
Third item...Google Search. Really? Is there anyone that hasn't used it? It's still my go to search engine. Sorry Bing.
Fourth item. StandApp. Good premise. Bad app. I should have paid attention to the reviews on the app store. Nobody was giving it a good review. Well, all in the name of research.... All those reviews were right. I didn't like the app to begin with. I don't appreciate scare tactics, even when they are for my own good. the whole introduction. If you work in an office or sit to much, it could kill you. Wow! After the introduction I got into the actual app. No matter what you are in the middle of, it will pop up for you to do the exercises. 5 minutes worth. I can't always devote that amount of time at one shot. Ok, not horrible. It also opened up every time I tried to open up anything else. That is not cool. No wonder it got bad reviews. I found another one that got really good reviews. It's not as intrusive, but still encourages you to get up and move and gives you a timer and exercises. If you want to try one, this one is called Healthy Break. Only downfall, I can't test it out until Monday, because the breaks are set to go off only Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM. I do like the simplicity that I have found so far.
Fifth item. iHome Sleep. I took a quick look at it, but realized that it was impractical in my life. I don't have a set schedule ever. Different times that I have to wake up when I have to drive my husband to work. Different times that I go to bed. Is this the healthiest thing for me, no, but it is a fact of life. It might be a good app, but I'll leave others to decide that.
Sixth item. Wi-Fi finder. I was hoping that I would get good results on my tablet when I am connected to the Wi-Fi here at home. I do not have a data plan on my tablet. It gave me good results for Wi-Fi around my house in people's homes. Not so good for public Wi-Fi. It couldn't pinpoint my location. Trying it out on my phone gave much better results. It found 3 paid public Wi-Fi and 13 Free Wi-Fi spots within a couple miles of my house. Most of these I knew about. Mcdonalds, Caribou, Etc. I think that this would be a really great app to use in an unfamiliar area.
Last but not least, Browsers. I took a look at Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin, and Opera. To be honest, most of them gave the same results on a search. Well, there's a big surprise. They all defaulted to Google Search. As for speed, Chrome and Dolphin had just the narrowest edge over Firefox and Opera. Coming down to Chrome and Dolphin, I stayed with Chrome, because I can sync up all of my favorites, and links between my phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop. I'm already using it so why change.
Some winners, some losers, and an affirmation that I am a Google Girl. Overall, an interesting evening.
We all use utility apps if we have smartphones or tablets. Not that I knew that's what they were when I started with a smartphone. Then I got a tablet. I use apps every day, and not just those fun games like Candy Crush that I'm so addicted to. I've used Google Keep for my notes, Pandora for my music, Peel to control my TV, store apps to save money, not to mention the calendar & email apps that I use every day. So when this one came up, I was excited to try some new apps that I didn't really know about. Thing #3 was to choose at least one of the listed apps and give it a try. I decided to take a look at all of them.
The first one was RedLaser Barcode & QR Scanner. I get really excited about an app that promises to save me money. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. I tried it first on my tablet. My first disappointment was that it was not very compatible with the camera. It would not focus in on the barcode long enough to take the picture. Let's five it a second chance and try it on my phone. After all, it's my phone that I would have with me in stores if I want to compare prices. Good news, the camera feature worked just the way that it was supposed to. So I decided to do some searches for some simple things to start. Campbell soup. Every grocery store carries that. Here is where more disappointment came in.
Barilla Pasta...Target, Kmart, Walmart this time. Still no grocery stores.
Sears...I'll double check that one against the website.
What did I learn from this? I don't think it's worth keeping on my tablet or phone. I didn't even try the QR code part of the app, but I have one on my phone that I am already happy with - QR Droid.
Next! Google Goggles. I have like just about everything that Google has introduced. This streak has continued. Google Goggles uses the camera on your device and uses that to find information on the internet. I started by pointing the camera at various things around my house. Most of the things brought up a variety of
results. Pictures, videos, definitions, websites, retailers. I like it. Ok...tried to take a picture of my cat. No matching results. Well, she is one of a kind! Overall, this is one app that I will leave on both my tablet and my phone.
Third item...Google Search. Really? Is there anyone that hasn't used it? It's still my go to search engine. Sorry Bing.
Fourth item. StandApp. Good premise. Bad app. I should have paid attention to the reviews on the app store. Nobody was giving it a good review. Well, all in the name of research.... All those reviews were right. I didn't like the app to begin with. I don't appreciate scare tactics, even when they are for my own good. the whole introduction. If you work in an office or sit to much, it could kill you. Wow! After the introduction I got into the actual app. No matter what you are in the middle of, it will pop up for you to do the exercises. 5 minutes worth. I can't always devote that amount of time at one shot. Ok, not horrible. It also opened up every time I tried to open up anything else. That is not cool. No wonder it got bad reviews. I found another one that got really good reviews. It's not as intrusive, but still encourages you to get up and move and gives you a timer and exercises. If you want to try one, this one is called Healthy Break. Only downfall, I can't test it out until Monday, because the breaks are set to go off only Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM. I do like the simplicity that I have found so far.
Fifth item. iHome Sleep. I took a quick look at it, but realized that it was impractical in my life. I don't have a set schedule ever. Different times that I have to wake up when I have to drive my husband to work. Different times that I go to bed. Is this the healthiest thing for me, no, but it is a fact of life. It might be a good app, but I'll leave others to decide that.
Sixth item. Wi-Fi finder. I was hoping that I would get good results on my tablet when I am connected to the Wi-Fi here at home. I do not have a data plan on my tablet. It gave me good results for Wi-Fi around my house in people's homes. Not so good for public Wi-Fi. It couldn't pinpoint my location. Trying it out on my phone gave much better results. It found 3 paid public Wi-Fi and 13 Free Wi-Fi spots within a couple miles of my house. Most of these I knew about. Mcdonalds, Caribou, Etc. I think that this would be a really great app to use in an unfamiliar area.
Last but not least, Browsers. I took a look at Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin, and Opera. To be honest, most of them gave the same results on a search. Well, there's a big surprise. They all defaulted to Google Search. As for speed, Chrome and Dolphin had just the narrowest edge over Firefox and Opera. Coming down to Chrome and Dolphin, I stayed with Chrome, because I can sync up all of my favorites, and links between my phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop. I'm already using it so why change.
Some winners, some losers, and an affirmation that I am a Google Girl. Overall, an interesting evening.
Friday, January 17, 2014
23 Mobile Things - Thing #2
Thing #2...Mobile Device Tips.
You would think that after having my tablet for a little more than a year, I would have discovered all of these things on my own. No, I guess I haven't experimented enough with it. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and I love it. It does everything that I wanted it to do.
Except...I didn't like the fact that I would have to keep touching the screen to keep it from going dark while I was trying to read a page. Bingo! Guess what one of the tips was? How to keep it from doing that without changing the setting for the screen timeout. The tablet comes with a "Smart Screen" Setting. How did I miss that? It uses the front camera to monitor if you are looking at the tablet. If you are, it keeps the screen from timing out. If you aren't, regular timeout applies. Cool!
I looked around at other tips, and found a few other little ones, plus a slew of youtube videos. I'm going to need to take a whole afternoon to sift through those. It's never too late to learn.
You would think that after having my tablet for a little more than a year, I would have discovered all of these things on my own. No, I guess I haven't experimented enough with it. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and I love it. It does everything that I wanted it to do.
Except...I didn't like the fact that I would have to keep touching the screen to keep it from going dark while I was trying to read a page. Bingo! Guess what one of the tips was? How to keep it from doing that without changing the setting for the screen timeout. The tablet comes with a "Smart Screen" Setting. How did I miss that? It uses the front camera to monitor if you are looking at the tablet. If you are, it keeps the screen from timing out. If you aren't, regular timeout applies. Cool!
I looked around at other tips, and found a few other little ones, plus a slew of youtube videos. I'm going to need to take a whole afternoon to sift through those. It's never too late to learn.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
23 Mobile Things - Thing #1
Ok...so 23 Mobile Things was the impetus for this blog. I love learning about new things, especially all of the new technology that is available now. As all the commercials say..."there is an app for that". Or a webpage, or a program, or...well, you get the drift.
Thing # 1: Blogging & Registering. Done! Yay! Two days down on my blog. I have to admit that I tried blogging once a few years ago. I took a class where we had to set one up and explore. I had every intention of continuing once I got out of class. Well, you can guess how many times I blogged...one. So far so good, I'm twice as far as my last attempt. My goal with this blog is to actually have more than the 23 entries that 23 Mobile Things requires for completion. After all, there are many more apps and applications out there to explore. I started making a list of all of the ones that I wanted to at least look at, if not explore further. Needless to say, my list started getting really long. We'll see how far I get, and if anyone is actually interested in what I have to say.
Time to go play...
Thing # 1: Blogging & Registering. Done! Yay! Two days down on my blog. I have to admit that I tried blogging once a few years ago. I took a class where we had to set one up and explore. I had every intention of continuing once I got out of class. Well, you can guess how many times I blogged...one. So far so good, I'm twice as far as my last attempt. My goal with this blog is to actually have more than the 23 entries that 23 Mobile Things requires for completion. After all, there are many more apps and applications out there to explore. I started making a list of all of the ones that I wanted to at least look at, if not explore further. Needless to say, my list started getting really long. We'll see how far I get, and if anyone is actually interested in what I have to say.
Time to go play...
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Where to start?
I love the actual librarian that I work with. Unfortunately for her, (or fortunately for me), she has a job description that would take 5 people to do thoroughly. This leaves me to do and learn about a lot of things that I might not have had the opportunity to learn about before.
It all comes down to public schools and their shrinking budgets. We are in a small district - 3 elementaries, 1 intermediate, 1 middle, and 1 high school. Once upon a time, all 6 of these schools had full time Media Specialists. Each of these schools also had at least a couple of Media Paras to help the Media Specialist. Now, we have 6 schools, and one district-wide Media Specialist. To top that off, that isn't her only job here. She is also the TCIC...Technology Continuous Integration Coach here at the high school. She works with the TCICs at the other schools. She also was the one to spearhead the rollout of our 1:1 initiative at our school. An iPad in the hand of every student at the high school. She has done an incredible job in the 1-1/2 years that she has been here.
So where does that leave me? Over the 12 years that I have worked here, I have been with 3 really great librarians...and 1 not so great librarian. I even spent a full year and a half with no librarian at all. Oh the things that I've learned! So I guess this is what my blog will be about. What kind of things have I learned about, and all of the things that I have yet to learn about. Changes are coming fast and furious, and new technology and apps keep coming. I'm excited to learn about them, and I'm excited to share them with you!
It all comes down to public schools and their shrinking budgets. We are in a small district - 3 elementaries, 1 intermediate, 1 middle, and 1 high school. Once upon a time, all 6 of these schools had full time Media Specialists. Each of these schools also had at least a couple of Media Paras to help the Media Specialist. Now, we have 6 schools, and one district-wide Media Specialist. To top that off, that isn't her only job here. She is also the TCIC...Technology Continuous Integration Coach here at the high school. She works with the TCICs at the other schools. She also was the one to spearhead the rollout of our 1:1 initiative at our school. An iPad in the hand of every student at the high school. She has done an incredible job in the 1-1/2 years that she has been here.
So where does that leave me? Over the 12 years that I have worked here, I have been with 3 really great librarians...and 1 not so great librarian. I even spent a full year and a half with no librarian at all. Oh the things that I've learned! So I guess this is what my blog will be about. What kind of things have I learned about, and all of the things that I have yet to learn about. Changes are coming fast and furious, and new technology and apps keep coming. I'm excited to learn about them, and I'm excited to share them with you!
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