When I switched to a Mac about a year and a half ago there was very little I missed about the PC environment. But I did miss Picasa for simple photo editing and easy uploading.
Hooray, Picasa for Mac is finally here! I’ve just started playing with it but it’s just as I remembered, an easy way to make minor corrections and add some fun/cool effects.
It’s not photoshop, or paint shop pro (something else I miss) but for most people it could be the only photo editor you need. And for Mac users like myself- I think it’s what iPhoto should be. Zero learning curve included.
With Picasa I was able to take a photo I liked but which felt kinda blah (above) and make it interesting in under a minute. Cool.
I was given temporary custody of a Nokia 6650 on AT&T over the past couple of weeks. I uploaded some photos to Nokia Chronicles (find me under Chapter 5) and gave it a little test drive.
Rockefeller Center
It’s a solid phone. It has a 2mp camera, video (although no live streaming like an N95), and what I think is the coolest feature, AT&T Navigator, turn by turn GPS with voice.
I’m already juggling 2 phones, and with the holidays I didn’t get to play with it as much as I would have liked. I do admit if it had live streaming ability I would have used it much more.
Since I’ve had an iPhone since July I’m a little spoiled when it comes to phones, but both the video camera (which is quite clear and smooth) and the GPS rule over the iPhone. While the iPhone offers traffic info in the form of red and yellow indicators, the 6650 gave detailed traffic info that came in handy as we drove north to spend Christmas eve with my sister-in-law. The NY State Thruway was stopped dead, and we learned early enough to ditch it and hit the back roads.
Green/Blue tinge with the flash
It does multi-tasking, too, which is pretty impressive. I didn’t have to sign out of the GPS to take a photo on the road.
The camera works really well outdoors, and it has a flash for indoors, but the flash makes everything a greenish-blue, so I avoided using it.
I didn’t have a chance to use the music transfer or cellular video features, but both make this a good phone for a kid. A luckier kid than one of mine, who generally get hand-me-downs or freebies.
I’ve tried so many tools and methods to get and stay organized I’ve lost track of them all. Generally, I get all my crap set up just the way I like… then I get distracted an forget about it, or realize I’ve gone and made things much more complicated than they need to be.
Last spring I bought a generic 2008 datebook (on sale of course, because, well, it was spring 2008…) and I went back to organizing my time the analog way. Paper and pencil (yes, I prefer pencil.)
I still have lists on the computer. Lots and lots of lists. And I use Google Calendar as my main datebook. I have it sync to both my MacBook & iPhone and I can’t think of an easier way to keep track of dates and appointments.
But when it comes to day to day to do lists and reminders, nothing beats paper and pencil for me. So I treated myself to a bright red Moleskine datebook for 2009. It’s got stickers, a little extra notebook (I use it as a catch-all for blog post ideas, movies, books and music I hear about, business ideas, etc.) and I have a stack of colored pencils to make it even more fun. I mix life and work together, so notes about a site for a client are right next to a reminder to buy a gift for a friend. I don’t use the colored pencils to organized, just to brighten things up when the mood strikes. I know others might make work notes blue, life notes green, etc, and that’s not a bad idea- I might go in later and circle in various colors if I find I need a more granular way to organize.
What’s your favorite tool for keeping track of all that stuff you need to do?
I was planning on adding a few more posts to my 2008 wrap up series, but real life and work got a little busy there.
It’s not quite midnight here so I have a little time to think back on the past year.
I won’t write it all out, it would take me all night and probably bore you.
But I’m thinking. I’m thinking that overall, there was much more good than bad. Mostly because of good people.
I see lots of challenges in the year ahead, but lots of opportunities, too. I’ll be pushing myself more than I ever have.
The winner of this one is 12seconds.tv. Hands down. The guys behind this one took the idea of webcam video a step beyond the competition, not by making something big and shiny, but by shrinking it down to bite-sized deliciousness. And with the recent switchover from closed alpha to open, no-invite-needed beta, anyone can join in.
The quickest, easiest way to record to 12seconds is via a webcam, but they allow uploads of most formats, live import via Qik, and now there’s even an iPhone app. What’s that, you say? You thought iPhones couldn’t record video? The brains at 12seconds went around Apple and created a unique but effective technique. You take 3 photos, record 12 seconds of audio, and they mash it up into a slideshow that gets posted to your channel. Couldn’t be easier, check out my first attempt:
You can reply to other videos either by posting a video yourself or with a text response, and automatically have your videos posted to twitter.
Don’t think 12 seconds is enough time to say it all? Then you’re probably an ideal candidate, because your videos are probably the ones we all fast-forward through or skip entirely! And if you really have more to say, there are othersites that work just great.
Shout outs to: Blip.fm be a deejay, and trade off songs with your friends. It’s like twitter but with music. Evernote a notebook that syncs with both my Mac & my iPhone. Tons of great features. Dropbox File storage in the cloud. Great if you have a limited number of files you need offsite backup for, and perfect for sharing files with others. Daily Mugshot A photo of yourself. Everyday. That’s all :). Ping.fm When I want to send the same message to Twitter & Facebook Ping is what I use. Also sends photos to Flickr.
I watch less and less TV. So this is short and sweet.
I’d heard great things about Mad Men during it’s first season, but, like most shows I hear great things about, I never made the time to watch. But as the buzz built up prior to season two MrB & I gave it a shot.
We ended up buying the season one DVDs and we watched in a very time-warped way, catching season 1 episodes when we had time and religiously watching the new season two episodes on Sunday nights. Heh, I even followed the characters on Twitter when that whole thing started up.
Now I’m just sorry it’s over & hope they come back for a third season!
(image by Dyna Moe - check out the rest of her great illustrations based on the show!)
There was a curious mingling of social media and TV as well during the presidential debates. Rather than just watch the debates and yell at the TV, I watched with my macbook open and twittered my reactions, along with hundreds of others. Current even had a setup where the tweets would float up over the screen in front of the candidates. No real purpose was served other than making the political more fun. And that it did! (photo by RodBegbie)
Last but not least, and continuing on the politics/strange bedfellows theme, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Brilliant. (photo by TaraLivesOn)
Um, this post is a bit of a joke. I saw three movies in 2008. Wall-E, Sex & the City, and Bolt. None were my choice, of course.
Of those three, the best was Bolt. Cute doggie, lots of action, neato effects. Wall-E was more thoughtful than just crazy fun like Bolt, but it was good. Sex & the City surprised me, better than I thought it would be. So, no clunkers in that group.
Obviously I need to see more movies. There have been a few this year I really want to see, and it makes me a little sad that it will have to be on DVD. Unless we get a nice big HDTV soon, then it would be ok.
What should I add to this list of movies to see (released in 2008)?
I’ve just started playing with it but it’s just as I remembered, an easy way to make minor corrections and add some fun/cool effects. 
Last spring I bought a generic 2008 datebook (on sale of course, because, well, it was spring 2008…) and I went back to organizing my time the analog way. Paper and pencil (yes, I prefer pencil.) 
And I use Google Calendar as my main datebook. I have it sync to both my MacBook & iPhone and I can’t think of an easier way to keep track of dates and appointments. 
The guys behind this one took the idea of webcam video a step beyond the competition, not by making something big and shiny, but by shrinking it down to bite-sized deliciousness. And with the recent switchover from closed alpha to open, no-invite-needed beta, anyone can join in.
