Jeff's Blog

My Fav iPhone Apps

2008-08-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

So, it's been about a month since I've had my iPhone. And according to my wife, my face is in it ALL the time. I don't think that's totally true. But I am having fun with it. Have I gone nuts with the apps? Uh, you know I have. I've had a few friends ask what apps I like the best. Here are a few that I think rock.

Apps I Use Everyday

Bible, The YouVersion
I've paid a lot of money in my lifetime to read the Bible in different contexts. On my Treo, it would cost 15 bux just for one translation...on top of 20 or so for the program. Well, no mas, Christians, no mas. With this program, you get every translation you can think of...including NIV, ESV, and The Message. I use the Daily Read every day, and it has really helped my devotional life (take THAT, Kira! I'm reading my Bible!). Um, sorry...where was I...it is easy to look up any verse...and it even has a place for people to write their own commentaries (and read others'). Oh, and it's free. Yeah, free.

Facebook
Well, duh. I don't have to say much about this. I will tell you that this program has allowed me to pare down my Address Book. Folks that I only contact every now and then I now have their info in FB. It'd be nice to confirm/invite friends from this. But this does most of the simple, everyday stuff.

Loopt
The gps social networking app that most of my friends landed on. You can see what your friends are up to and where they are at...if they update their status!! :)

GF Caller
There are a bunch of apps like this (how many apps are there that do the exact same thing? Too many). But it was a buck, and it does what it's supposed to. I click the button, and it calls Kira. Saves me a couple of steps.

Twitterific
I never saw the point of Twitter. But now I guess I do. It's like FB on speed. People might add a post ten times in a day. I don't. But it's fun to see what people are up to.

Pandora and AOL Radio
Between these two apps, you can listen to any genre of music you can think of. For free. In the car, it's like XM/Sirius for nada. I am amazed how well it streams. I have never heard it drop the feed.

Quordy and Word Whirl
Both are word games. Very addictive. Quordy is like Boggle. Word Whirl is like Text Twirl..which my mom loves.

Awesome Utilities

Zenbe
This one rocks. The best to do list app on the iPhone. And I'll tell you why. It syncs with their website. Kira and I use it all the time for our grocery, target, chore lists. Kira can add/mark off stuff via the website. I can do it on my iPhone. And then they sync. So cool. Remember the Milk is another popular one. But to do this, you need to pay money. This one is totally free. Zenbe has a full on outlook-like site. But I like the simpler task-only site.

AB Groups
I just got this app tonight. But it does something that should've been built into the OS. It lets you send an email to a group. It also lets you edit all of your groups on the iPhone and not just on your desktop. C'mon, Apple. Why didn't you build this in?

FileMagnet
Pretty cool. Lets you transfer files from your desktop to your iPhone. I mainly used it to get my notes (from Palm to desktop to iPhone) on my phone. Because Apple's Notes suck. They don't sync to anything. C'mon!

1Password and SplashID
Use both of these to keep track of my web passwords and sensitive info, respectively. Both sync to my mac. Needed. And they work.

Birthdays
Does what you think it does. Like having a simple list rather than weeding through my calendar.

Stage Hand and Remote
On my Palm, I used a program called Clicker. It would allow me to control Powerpoint/Keynote and/or iTunes. Combined with an Airport Express, this was a very cool tool. Well, now with Stage Hand and Remote, I can do all of that again. Remote (made my Apple) is way more stable than Clicker and has a much prettier interface. Stage Hand is very well designed, too. If you are giving a presentation, you can see your notes and control the slides. You can even control a pointer on screen from your phone.

Other Cool Stuff

LocalEats

Has the top 100 restaurants in every major U.S. city. I've tried Phoenix. It nails it.

WhereTo
This is a decent app. It basically types things into Google so you don't have to. You just browse topics and pick one. And somehow, it always gets more results.

Yes, I'm Getting an iPhone, But... (or..Text Messaging, the New Gas)

2008-07-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have been saving for the new iPhone for over six months now. So, when July 11 comes (the debuit of the new version), I will be in line. There are just too many things it will let me do. One of the main things I'm excited about is being able to have a version of my

project mgmt software

with me at all times. It has literally been a God-send to me not getting overwhelmed by many balls in the air. So, yes, I will be buying one.

But cell phone providers are getting a little nutso when it comes to data plans...and more particularly, text messaging. I realized how much money telecomm companies were making when I realized Sprint was transferring all my support calls to a call center in Manila. I am calling somewhere in the States. They turn it into an international call. Okay. And now, they are doing the same thing with text messaging. Text messaging puts as little a strain on the system as possible. It's not a voice file. It's so few bits of data, it's like thin air. Yet, the phone companies know they have got you. They know how much you've come to rely on this quick form of communication. So, what are they doing? They are raising the prices of text messaging to profane amounts. The website, CrunchGear, breaks down AT&T's new plans (and it's not just AT&T. Most companies are starting to do this)...

Today is basic math day at

CrunchGear

where we discovered that if 160 bytes of SMS data costs twenty cents then 1MB (1,048,576 bytes) of data would cost 131,072 cents, or $1,310.72.

Check out the prices for a

text message plan on AT&T

, the exclusive carrier of the

iPhone 3G

in the United States. AT&T wants twenty cents ($0.20) per text message if you don’t sign up for a plan. A text message is nothing more than 160 bytes of data. The max is 160 characters, and one character equals one byte of data. Great.
In other words, if AT&T charged data downloads at the rate they charge text messages downloading 1MB of data would cost you $1,310.72.

So, what's the answer? Stop text messaging? I don't know. 200/mo even seems light. Anyone? Thoughts?

Sheep Me

2008-05-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hilarious. Look closer. The body is the cord. The feet are the handsets. Ingenious, I say.

The Latest Ultrasound

2008-05-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

I think he has my (Jeff's) overbite. :)

Presdo

2008-04-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

I don't blog too much about technology..despite it being a passion/temptation in my life. But I ran across a really cool web app that is worth checking out. It's called Presdo. It is a very quick way (if you are on the internet) to add a calendar event to your schedule. It's got some very cool features. If you are interested in a full review, there's a great one here.

Jeff Jr. Update

2008-04-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Rather than setting up another blog just for the baby, I figured I would just post them under mine. If you are interested in baby entries only, just click on the "baby" category to the left. We are jokingly calling him (yes, it's a "him") Jeff Jr. That's not really his name. I think it would be a great name (think of the possibilites..."Jeff Jr! Get me a Budweiser, will ya!). Kira wants no part of it. Actually, pretty much every name I like, Kira doesn't want anything to do with. To her defense, it is a similar story on my end, too. :)

Many of you have been asking if we do have a name yet. And the answer is nope. "How bout some of the ones you are thinking about?" Well, here's the short list. Feel free to add to it. We'd love your suggestions. :)

Kira's Fav's
Aiden
Luke

Jeff's Fav's
Keegan (Kira doesn't like b/c she had a crush on a guy in HS named this)(I think he didn't respond to her crush)
Brady

Other Friends' Suggestions (Besides those of you who suggested some derivative of your own names)
Steve (by Eric Mayhaus)
Macaroni Mike (Jeff's Nephew Quinn)
Wilbert (Quinn)
Bubba (Grandma T and Aunt Wanda)

Yes, it is both Fresh AND Easy

2008-03-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite store. And here's why.

Everything's fresh
Almost everything has a date on it. So you know when you need to eat it by. And if it's about to go bad, they mark it down 50%. Yes. 50. Per cent. I pretty much go in there either for lunch or shopping for dinner that night and badabing dinner is served for cheap. Last week we bought a pork roast that fed all of our guests at a small dinner party we hosted. It was 5.50. Last week, I saw the lady who was marking down food. I followed her. :)

it's easy
I don't have to go walking five miles to get a thing of milk. I am not inundated with choices, choices, choices. I enjoy simplifying my life. When I lived in the Philippines, there were two types of toothpaste (Crest and Happee). That's all I need. I want to get in and out. It's easy! On top of that, they have all self-serve checkouts. Which, you say, is more work. But no. You scan it, they bag it. You are in and out in a hurry. And twice now...twice...they gave me 15 bux off our bill. One time, we scanned a regular merchandiser's coupon (which, sadly, they don't accept). Well, it locked up their system. So they had to run all of our groceries through again and giving us a huge discount because of our inconvenience. They also ended up giving us free flowers, a free sandwich, and something else.

Fresh and Easy is only in Cali, AZ, and Nevada right now. But hopefully, this Brit-based grocer will be coming to your city soon.