The Stirling Family Blog

I've got another App for that!!

2010-06-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

OK.... So. My top 5 Apps seems to be growing (and I expect it will continue too...), so I may as well make this more of a regular post sharing some of the experiences I have had with Apple Apps......in particular the good ones!

Today we are looking at just a couple of Apps, I use these two on a regular basis and find them really handy, one of them is an oldie but a goodie, the other is newie!

The oldie but a goodie is Shazam (for both iPhone and iPad)
For those that don't know, Shazam is a service that listens to a song in real time and then process what it's hears and 9 times out of 10 will tell you what the songs called and who performs is. Soooo handy if you're listening to the radio, like the song your listening to and want to know what it is so you can download from your trusty iTunes store or equivalent service.

I've been using the Shazam service for many years, way back when the iPhone was just a sparkle in Mr Job's eye... You'd use the Shazam service by using a short phone number which would then dial in to the Shazam system.

As soon as the iPhone was launched they soon developed an App automating the service. So I was really pleased, mainly as the dial in system was chargeable whereas the iPhone App uses my inclusive data bundle.

There is (or was) a free version available in addition to a paid for version which has additional features, such as location based services and also a radio function, which I assume (having not tried it) listens to the radio stream and send track details periodically as the songs change.

There is no fee for the service, once you have the App on your device and as long as your on a fixed data bundle you can 'Tag' as many tunes as you like...... Sweet!

As you can see it keeps a record of all the songs you tag so you can revert back and purchase ones you may have forgotten about. All in all a really handy App, Like it!

The newie is an App I heard about from my good friend @fearoffish, who I believe heard about this App from an Apple store assistant.... So credit where credit's due....

It's called AirVideo (for both iPad & iPhone)
So.... You wanna watch movies on your iPad, but you don't really want to fill your swanky new iPad up, because movies are quite large ya know....

So what do you do? You could continually change syncing options within iTunes and only keep a couple on there at anyone time, pain in the bottom..... or you could use AirVideo!

AirVideo allows you to stream movies from your Mac wirelessly onto your iPad or iPhone. Ok video streaming is nothing new, but AirVideo streams it in realtime and converts it to a nice friendly format for your device on the fly....

You'll see below in the screenshot there are two entries for my iMac. Mmmm why two??

That's because one is for when I'm at home, and the other is for when I am away from home but connected to the Internet....Yes, you can stream movies to your device from anywhere as long as you have Internet connectivity, which is pretty much everywhere these days, even for WiFi only devices like mine.

There is a little agent that runs on your Mac which has an option to publish the directory that you store your films in to the Internet via your router. However to access the 'playlist' as such, you need to type a dynamically generated random PIN in the the App on your device. It can then locate your Mac and access your movies. Pretty cool :-) You can also add additional password protection for extra security.

You can then select the movie you want to watch (my example here is a the footage from my daughters 4d scan), you can either play with live conversion, or convert and watch at your leisure at a later date.... nice touch :)

More App related posts to follow, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy using these apps as much asI do.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I've got an App for that!

2010-06-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

For those that know me, will know how I like to maximise the use of the technology I buy, for example the iPhone (and more recently iPad)... For me it's so much more than a phone or PDA, it's an organiser, calendar, map, sat nav (http://yrobs.blogspot.com/2010/06/tom-tom-tastic.html), tv guide, sky recorder etc etc etc......

So I thought I'd start sharing some of the Apps I have been using, free and fee based ones and my feedback on their usefulness and value. We'll hit the list in small chunks and go from there!

My current 'Top 5' are....

1, 1Password (both iPhone and iPad)
2, Blogpress (both iPhone and iPad)
3, Dropbox (both iPhone and iPad)
4, Twitter for iPhone or twitteriffic for the iPad
5, Things (both iPhone and iPad)

Here' a little look at them in more detail...

1Password (both iPhone and iPad)
This is a great App I use for storing personal information such as website logins', software serial numbers and bank account details....

I like it because it has a great easy to use interface, there is a client for the Mac, so which ever device I'm using, I need not remember which login I need to access certain websites (shopping sites for example) I simply point 1password at the site's login box, enter my master password (the only one i need to remember now) and 1password does the rest.

On the Mac there is safari and other browser integration so I simply press a button on the toolbar and select the login to use ( it sees the URL and suggests the one so really easy). Or from the iPhone it synchronises a bookmark which contains encrypted login information for all your sites. So again on the safari browser on the iPhone or iPad I navigate to the site I want and am presented with the login box. I select the bookmark for 1password, I am prompted for my 1password code and then select the credentials to use, again being presented with only the relevant credentials for that website.

The program also produces a HTML version, so you can store it in your Dropbox (see below) and access your password store from anywhere.

Simply Brilliant and inexpensive....

Blogpress (both iPhone and iPad)
I'll be the first to admit I'm a newbie blogger... But am now rapidly accelerating my blog posts thanks to Blogpress. It's a single app that is developed for both iPhone and iPad.

It integrates with a number of blog systems, I user blogger as it's easy and can integrate with my website and allows me to blog while on the move, or whilst lounging around in the evening.

Its a nice lightweight interface and is really simple and easy to use. With built in photo integration I can include pictures from my camera roll or from the photos I sync to my iPad at a simple click of a button (so to speak ;-) )

It's cheap at under £2, I think it was £1.49 very reliable and makes blogging for a novice like me very easy.

In my opinion a bargain :-)

Dropbox (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows and Web..)
Since I was introduced to dropbox by a friend of mine @fearoffish the way I have stored documents and information has changed.

Dropbox is a free secure online storage facility you can access from anywhere.......literally

When you sign up you are allocated 2gig of space, which to be honest is more than I will ever use. You can increase this in two ways, first by paying for a premium account on a subscription basis, or free by referring people who join and use the service (P.S click here to sign up :-) https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEyMzA3MjM5)

There are free clients for almost every device going, so you can carry a copy of your info locally, when something changes in one of the folders, it automatically replicates to the other devices linked to your account Great!

I currently use the iMac, iPhone, iPad and Windows client (for my work laptop) so I can access my info wherever I am, even via a web browser, which I used at the weekend at a friends place.

When you access documents you've stored in your dropbox it renders it so you can view it without the client application loaded. Very handy.

Another feature I like, which I think is quite under rated is sharing. I can share a folder within my dropbox with another dropbox member. When I do this the folder I share will automatically appear in my friends dropbox and synchronises data I add into it automatically. I can also give them permission to write to that folder so I receive any information they want to share with me. Also very handy.

Finally the other cool thing about dropbox is that if you use a program like 1password, or Things (see below) you can set the application to save its settings in a separate folder in your dropbox. Why is this cool?? It's cool because if...

1, you need to flatten your OS and reinstall, all your application settings are kept safe in 'the cloud'
2, If your Mac application doesn't have built in syncing you can use a dropbox folder as a centralised database

So when one client makes a change, it writes the info to the dropbox and then replicates to the other clients linked. So wherever you fire the app up from, you see the same data..... Cooool!

Twitter for iPhone or twitteriffic for the iPad
I'm not a prolific or serial tweeter, not part of the club who tweets their every move, including bowel movements (sorry but....seriously I am sure some saddo's do). But I do like to keep up to speed with what some of my friends are up to and occasionally what a chosen few celebrities are up to...

Twitter for iPhone has been developed from what was known as Tweetie. A very easy to use reliable app that also had a Mac based cousin which again used a similar interface. I'm hoping and therefore looking forward to a port for this on the iPad, however I have found a suitable replacement on my iPad for the time being, its called Twitterific. Twitter for iPhone allows you to add live photos, or pictures form your camera roll very easily and also has the facility to shorten URL's built in. For a novice like myself I find this very handy, especially inserting pictures as that's what I normally tweet.... Like it and looking forward for further development of this app.

Twitterific for the iPad is again similar to Twitter for iPhone very easy to use, it displays the tweets in your feed in an easy to navigate between tweets, mentions and direct messages from the same screen. It also shows a neat little drop down so you can look at the current trends... Like most clients shortening URL's and inserting pictures are really easy to do for novices.

Things (both iPhone, iPad and also Mac)
Things is a Mac/iPhone/iPad to do organiser that does a bit more than just todo's, nor is it a glorified task list......(I hear you think...)

I was looking for a decent todo type system for both the Mac and iPhone and to be honest it was hard to find something that ticked both boxes in terms of synchronicity....(if that's a word :-))

During my search I looked at Things and dismissed it due to the pricing structure. The desktop license is £49 plus £6 for the iPhone client plus an additional £11 if you want it on the iPad. Little pricey... More on this at the end of this post. However, I decided to give it a go

Things allows me to organise my todo's using tags, timescales, areas of responsibility and also project base tasks, for more complex erm... well..... projects ( I would say assignments but that's too American for me' dude)

So I can set up a task for example and tag it with 'sienna' as it's for her I could also tag it 'shopping' if I need to buy something to complete it, I could also set a due date. It then reminds me on the app icon of the number of tasks due that day, and automatically puts the task in the 'Today' list which is my area of focus for time sensitive tasks.

I am also using the projects facility, to list jobs i need to do for the up and coming family holiday in France, like servicing the car, checking passports etc.

As I can sync the data across all devices (via WiFi in the house) I can keep the list of tasks updated wherever I am.

For me it's perfect, I'm pretty forgetful and unless I write it down I'll forget and the chances are if I write it on paper I'll loose it. I won't loose my iPhone, iPad or iMac. And if I do... Everything is backed up in my Dropbox :-)

An additional note on the pricing....
In my opinion, and hopefully this will get back to the sales director at Cultured Code (the developers) It's too expensive if you operate a multiple device environment... Personally I feel £50 for the desktop license is quite steep on it's own. Bundle it with a mobile license (iPhone or iPad) and that's quite attractive. If you're a gadget freak (like me an and many others out there) and you want a license for both devices you pay an additional fee, maybe £5 to unlock the other mobile client. I'm sure this could be managed with license codes given the flexibility of the App Store (noooot!).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tom-Tom-Tastic!

2010-06-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

As a 'Road Warrior' I find myself trekking the lengths and breadths of the country on my trusty steed.... (that's an Audi A4 for those that don't follow my blog)...

I recently changed car from one that had a built in Satellite Navigation system to one that didn't (it is still a recession ya know) so the months leading up to the car choice I decided to take the leap of faith and invest in a navigation app for the iPhone. Other reasons for this decision is the fact we will be driving down to a Chateau in France in June, doing so with a paper map was not too appealing.

So after reading reviews for Tom-Tom (who I see as the market leader), Co-Pilot (who have been in the mobile navigation market for some years) and a couple of others I saw on the App Store I decided to go with Tom Tom. I had a standalone Tom Tom before in the past and found it very reliable. There was also an offer on (discount for European Maps and free upgrade to the next version) so everyone's a winner... It was about £49 when I downloaded it.

As it utilises the GPS built into my iPhone I could simply stick my iPhone to the windscreen using a cradle and hey presto Sat Nav.

I didn't use it for a while, as I still had the built in navigation, but as soon as I changed my car, quicker than you can say 'do a U-Turn when possible' it was attached to the screen, charging from my cigarette lighter.

The first journey would be the test, Sheffield then Wolverhampton then back home. After searching via the postcode, it pinpointed my destination on the map and off I set.

Other than standard information such as ETA map position and next turn it also shows my speed as well as the speed limit for the road I am on. Bloomin' brilliant especially when driving in unfamiliar areas.

Also included is Speed Camera alerting facility with the type of camera and speed for that area in a small icon, again very handy.

It integrates with Google Local Search which I have used on almost every journey to pinpoint my destination easily and also can set the destination based on addresses stored within your contacts on your phone, again very handy.

The instructions are very clear and pretty accurate considering it's just my iPhone GPS supporting the positioning and could easily hear with the radio on at a relatively modest volume.

I have since starting using an FM transmitter as an interim measure while I wait for my iPod link and car kit to be installed, so I can listen to music from my iPhone in the car. When using Tom Tom, the music fades in the background and the Tom Tom instructions are played over the car stereo via the FM transmitter. Perfect :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Extreme Close Up!!

2010-06-01T04:31:00.000-07:00

Here's something you don't see everyday.....

Was introduced to this new technology whilst in a company presentation, where the technology in question could be used and applied to everyday business applications. In particularly where you need to 'drill down' through several layers of information.....

The technology is called Deep Zoom. It allows you to take an incredibly high resolution image and zoom in to see potentially microscopic detail with very little distortion. Hard Rock Cafe have used it in one of their websites which really shows off it's capabilities.

http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/

There is actually a you tube video that focuses on an item within the Hard Rock site and zooms in to and incredible level.

In fact here it is ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAVeQImW_Zc

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I turned to the dark side.....

2010-05-31T14:43:00.001-07:00

Or otherwise known as the 'diesel owners club'!.....

Unfortunately after 4 years the original YROBS has gone. It was a tough decision to make, but was being driven by the high running costs and low return from the company mileage scheme. After some calculations I quickly discovered how much I was loosing per mile, as opposed to how much I would save if I switched to a more economical car.

So the next dilemma was which diesel dog was I going make my own and re brand it 'YROBS II'... I looked at Audi, BMW, Skoda, VW, Honda and even Vauxhall.... After careful consideration and some budgeting I stayed loyal to 'Vorsprung durch Technik' yep another Audi. My third and our immediate family's fifth!!

I was originally looking for an A3 but after a number of searches over a week, I couldn't really find the model and spec I was looking for. I particularly wanted the one with Bose, however they seem to be as common as rocking horse poo....... So I opted for an A4 2.0 TDi S-Line, with a. 10 speaker sound system... Pretty much the next best thing to Bose.

I collected it on Tuesday 25th May and already had 3 days of long trips planned so was really looking forward to bedding her in!

So off I set on the next morning with my full tank of fuel and a grin on my face (well it was a new car....) and headed off to Sheffield, followed by Wolverhampton then home. The next day saw me driving to Bolton, then Altrincham, then back to Bolton and eventually home...

Over the two days I trekked about 650 miles, back on the petrol days that would be easily on a second tank of fuel..... Not these days....

A staggering 664 miles driven over the two days, on the same tank of fuel, with still another 30 miles to go..... Fan...tastic!!

So on that trip alone, I saved the equivalent to a tank of fuel.... Reeesult!!

It may not be a v6 growling beast, but it's going to save a fortune....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It's finally here!!! (my iPad review)

2010-05-27T16:26:00.001-07:00

The gadget of the decade, the very much anticipated iPad arrived today early! Fantastic!!

However this did not help the presentation I needed to write for tomorrow :-(

But being the professional that I am, I had a quick look at the iPad and then cracked on with the job in hand. 3 hours later I can finally have a play :-)

Now I have to say, my beloved wife Debbie almost diced with death, as the iPad was delivered earlier today and when i called home on my way home nothing was said about the delivery (probably not a bad thing). However she was going to keep it a secret as she knew I had work to do!! Bless.... Have to say, it was a good move leaving it out. I demonstrated superior patience (which i normally lack when it comes to any form of technology) to leave it until now......

So... Down to business... First impressions: 'kin awesome!!

I haven't fully test it yet, but have it configured and syncing some music, movies and pictures via iTunes. All purchased and free apps are installed, especially known iPad versions. Have also configured Mobile me and my google mail and calendar via the active sync client. All very easy to do.

Love the keyboard interface, am typing this blog in portrait mode effortlessly using the case I nought as a stand. I'm actually making less typing mistakes too whilst maintaining a fairy wick typing speed.

Web browsing is just breathtaking. Over my wifi it is lightening quick to render the page and then effortless to navigate. Very easy to zoom and pan around the pages. Have sent one email, again very easy to use the on screen keyboard, and of course amend my signature to... 'Sent from my iPad' yes.... Show off i know.....

Have tried a couple of apps so far, obviously this one 'blogpress' which is a very nice port onto the iPad. Have also forced myself to buy the iPad version of 'things' frustrating you need to pay for the client for the iMac, iPhone and iPad. But it's worth.. More to follow on that subject.. 1password also synced on straight away and again a very nice job in porting to the iPad.

Viewing photos is amazing, it's quick and very good quality due to the great screen that's embedded into the iPad. The pictures are very sharp and alive with colour, simply a pleasure to view.

The inbuilt speaker also allows you to listen to music while your ipadding. The speaker again is sufficient for what you need, it also has headphone socket for more privacy.

Am looking forward to exploring the interface more, but for now it's good night..... I've got a presentation to deliver tomorrow!!

Ciao

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Washed out golf....

2010-05-08T11:40:00.001-07:00

Almost played a full round of golf today with Ant and Irvin, but due to slow play from 2 golf societies playing in front of us we headed to the 19th hole after completing only 13 holes.

We had all had enough and after a few close shaves with the group in front we were all happy to be sat in the bar with a beer :-)

Still an enjoyable outing.

- Posted from my iPhone

Super Ryan does it again...

2010-05-04T14:51:00.001-07:00

My number one son Ryan has made me proud again for a second time in as many weeks,

About two weeks ago Ryan finally conquered riding his bike. He didn't just learn to ride his bike.... he learnt to ride his bike on his own! Well done Ryan!

More recently Ryan started swimming lessons at Middleton Pool, so he can make the most of the pool when we go on holiday on August. His first lesson was a bit like jumping in the deep end for the little fella, the instructor is firm but fair and is helping Ryan on his journey. His last lesson was great, as he;s more confident the water and was really pleased with himself that he could 'blow bubbles' underwater...

Simply Brilliant!

What we've been up to recently..

2010-05-04T14:30:00.001-07:00

Over the past few weeks we've been ordering our food shopping via the internet. and I've got quite mixed feelings on our experience so far.

We've trialled tesco.com direct and also ordered our shopping from Tesco, but via mysupermarket.co.uk

In general is been a good experience, deliveries have always been on time, we have only had a few items substituted, but you aren't obliged to accept them and the refund on the item you ordered is processed immediately.

We have had one incident where the rolls we ordered were delivered within 1 day's shel life and were already stale. Tesco's, without any fuss refunded the items.

So in general its been pretty good.

More to follow regarding mysupermarket.co.uk soon :)

Rob