Right at Home with iPhone 11 Using AR

They finally listened to me! The iPhone 11 has a purple finish available!

Want to see something really cool? You can use the AR feature on Apple’s website to place the iPhone as an object on a surface nearby. I tried it out this morning while eating breakfast. The beautiful lilac color of the iPhone 11’s purple finish compliments my purple Ello water bottle nicely.

Go here: https://www.apple.com/iphone-11/

Then scroll down to here:

Next, tap the AR symbol.

When the page opens up, use one or two fingers to pinch and push onto the image to turn it around and enlarge it. The detail is amazing. Next, tap the AR button.


It will place the iPhone object on a surface.


You can manipulate the object in the space to swivel and enlarge. I couldn’t figure out how to get it to rotate from the bottom or top, only the sides, but you get the idea.




Tap in the center of the screen and you’ll see the options to snap a photo or share.


Because who wouldn’t love a ginormous iPhone 11 in their living room on a coffee table?!

CleanMyMac X Has A New Space Lens Feature

I am really looking forward to trying this new feature out on all my external hard drives! MacPaw makes some of the most beautifully designed interfaces on the planet and I'm thankful for the opportunity to review this version of CleanMyMac X.

Here is a peek at new feature called Space Lens.

One of the toughest parts of my job is trying to help my clients move their data around and optimize it so they can access it. So many times they have external hard drives loaded with stuff and they don't know what's on them. I'm going to scan a bunch of my own drives with this new tool.

I'll report back with new features as I discover them, but two features that look really interesting are the built in malware detection scan and the Menu Bar status. (It's a bit like iStat Menus.)

Download a free trial and check it out for your Mac.

Geekiest Show Ever - Episode 301

It was just Mike and I this time and we like to call it "The M&M Show" for fun. This time we geek out about the Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse, how we can't remember shit but want to and then we have fun being distracted by goofy gear for our pets. We talk about whether or not we'll watch Black Mirror's Bandersnatch and on which of our many devices.





Click here to listen in your browser or download the audio file. Please note this podcast is explicit.

Show notes for apps and stuff we talked about are here: Geekiest Show Ever 301 – All Your M&M Belong to Me

Road to Macstock 2017

Source: MacVoices #17142: Road to Macstock: Melissa Davis and Jodi Spangler On Delivering Remote Support

#SeniorMoments

That Time I Made Bart Laugh and Choke On His Beer

I have been friends with Bart Busschots for a long time now. I love to make him laugh and I've been wanting this very moment for a long, long time and it has finally arrived...at 56 minutes and 24 seconds in to this video podcast I contributed to for British Tech Network.

video: http://www.britishtechnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BIG_270616.m4v

Click below to watch their video and listen in as Ewen loses it and Bart chokes back his beers. Poor Jeff manages to recover it for us, almost.

Check out original show notes here: http://www.britishtechnetwork.com/big/molten-salt-is-my-new-safe-word
Thanks to Ewen Rankin for inviting me on the The Big Show with Jeff Gamet, Paul Wright, Chris Campion, and Bart Busschots who allow me to not behave myself.

explicit
Tap or click the play button in this player to view the show.




Maybe I enjoy it just a little too much?

WWDC 2016 Reactions With Mike & Dave On The For Mac Eyes Only Podcast

Mike Potter graciously invited me on his show with Dave Ginsburg to discuss WWDC 2016 announcements live. It was a really fun discussion and I had a great time. I felt like a golf announcer at certain moments! There was lots to see and talk about during the keynote. I may gotten just a little too excited about new emoji. Tap or click the play button in this player to listen to the show.


Check out Mike's show notes here: http://www.formaceyesonly.com/2016/06/13/for-mac-eyes-only-reaction-time-apples-wwdc-2016-keynote/

Click Podcast Audio Link to For Mac Eyes Only Show Number 339 to listen to the audio podcast and consider subscribing to the show.

Encouragement

This is beautiful to me and I wanted to share it here.

original link: https://media.giphy.com/media/l396JXjKtDsgQSbjG/giphy.gif

I'd also like to wish a very

Happy 10th Birthday

to my Nephew, Christian!

Ten years, already! It seems like just yesterday when your Mom and I were comparing bellies on a Skype video call. We were so excited for your arrival! Love ya, buddy!

On MacVoices Talking About The Road to Macstock with Chuck Joiner and Jodi Spangler

Chuck Joiner interviewed Jodi Spangler and I about our upcoming presentation called Senior Moments at Macstock 2016.

Here is the original link and I hope you will subscribe to Chuck's MacVoices podcast: http://www.macvoices.com/macvoices-16123-road-macstock-jodi-spangler-melissa-davis/


YouTube Link

Please consider joining us in July at Macstock. It will be so much fun!
Visit macstockconferenceandexpo.com to learn more.

I'm Speaking at Macstock!

I'm speaking at Macstock this coming July! I am so excited. I'm giving a joint presentation with Jodi Spangler and then we are doing a Deeper Dive to go over more details. The name of our talk is called "Senior Moments. It will be about working with senior citizens and some of the challenges we all face when helping one another.

Look! They even put me on their website! Go check out the speakers page here: http://macstockconferenceandexpo.com scroll down to see the list of all the awesome people I'll be sharing a stage with at the conference. I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends and I hope you can join us!

Upgrade Your Car With ZUS

Mother's Day isn't far off and I have a terrific gift idea! If the mom in your life is anything like me she may have any one or more of the following: an older or aging car, a habit of losing her car in a parking lot or parked on the street far away, and a smartphone or tablet that's running low on juice (because she just shot a bunch of home movie and photos). Sound familiar?

ZUS to the rescue! Thanks to a review unit from nonda.co, this handy new gadget has given my 13-year-old car a bit of an upgrade. ZUS plugs into the cigarette lighter port and converts it into a 2-port charging outlet for USB-powered devices. I love how each port is illuminated so I can find them easily in the dark. It's also built with military-grade materials so I don't have to worry about it melting or malfunctioning in the desert temperatures where I live. Not only does this thing charge our smartphones AND tablets quickly, it also helps me locate my car!

Imagine you're on a road trip with the family and your destination is an amusement park with one of those huge parking lots. I always have so much anxiety worrying about finding my car when we get back. Recently, I took the kids to the Children's Museum downtown where parking was a huge challenge because of the need to park so far from our destination. In these scenarios, I used to whip out the Notes app and jot down the row number or some kind of description or snap a photo – all while trying to keep my wiggly kids from having a meltdown because it's taking Mommy too long. Now I can park my car quickly and worry-free because ZUS will help me find it. When it's time to walk back, my kids love helping me find our car with the ZUS iPhone app because it gives us a compass to follow. If for any reason it can't pinpoint your location as you park your car, the app lets you know and directs you to snap a photo of the area surrounding your car. (So far in testing it out, it's only happened once during our current road trip.)

Another great feature in the ZUS app is the ability to set a parking timer right there as soon as you park. We've definitely been in that situation many times where we had to concern ourselves with a parking meter ON TOP OFF trying to remember at which meter we've parked! Two problems solved with one ZUS!

My family and I have travelled across the country and back several times and I can already see how handy ZUS will be for future road trips to come.

I really think this would make a fantastic gift for Mother's Day on Sunday, May 8th, 2016. When you buy a ZUS directly from nonda.co, use this 10% off promo code (valid until March 31, 2016)

SMM-AKZUSSUMMER16

If you're reading this after Mother's Day, then Father's Day next on the gift list! Check it out using my affiliate link and thanks in advance for supporting my blog!

Many thanks to nonda.co for the opportunity to review ZUS for my readers!

Adorable Little App Review: Find Adventure, Alfie Atkins

My very artistic 5-year-old son loves, loves, loves this app! It kept him completely entertained during our summer cross-country road trip. There is something very, very soothing about this app. (Besides playing it myself, I've witnessed my husband play it and become completely enamored with it for a long time.) There is no language barrier so children from any background or most any age could play with it. There is something so gratifying about completing these little building projects, exploring the make-believe land, and feeding little fruits to friends along the way. The app promotes creativity, exploration, imagination, compassion, and calmness. The incentive for completing the imaginary project builds is a new color dab or pattern. These can be used to color and design future builds.

I was amazed to check the progress my son was making as he earned new color dabs and bonus patterns. It's just a cool, entertaining app that reduces stress and gets imaginations going!

My only concern is the large footprint it takes up on our iPad. It's always up there at the top of the usage list. It would be great if the app developers found a way to reduce the size the files take up. Other than that, we love it and my son wouldn't dare delete it to save room! If you have room on your iPhone or iPad, I recommend it. Play it with your child and they will love showing you how to color the creations you can make together. You may find yourself playing it by yourself sometime just to relax!

Here is a link to the App Store where you can download it or put it on your Wish List for later. It would be a cool gift for a friend.



Thanks to the App Developers over at GroPlay for giving me this promo to review for you. They have some other amazing apps you should definitely check out!

My Adventures With The GMen On MyMac Podcast Epsiode 524

What did I get myself into with Guy and Gaz on
"MyMac Podcast 524: Bend it like Beckham"

Check out original show notes here: http://www.mymac.com/2014/09/mymac-podcast-524-bend-it-like-beckham/

Tap or click the play button in this player to listen to the show.

Celebrating With Friends On The Mac Observer's Mac Geek Gab Episode 500

It was such an honor to join the panel for this episode of one of my favorite podcasts with some of my best buds in the Mac and Podcasting Community. Here's to 500 more!

Check out their original show notes here:
"MGG 500: Geeks and Listeners Celebrate The Last Nine Years"

This podcast was hosted by Dave Hamilton and John F. Braun
Panel: Barry Fulk, Brian Monroe, Allison Sheridan and Cory Imdieke

Tap or click the play button in this player to listen to their show and then subscribe in iTunes.

I Have The Power!

While at Macworld/iWorld this year, I visited the Powerocks booth and they gave me some of their awesome products to review for you here on my site. I'm very excited to tell you more about them!

So hey, do you remember SheRa? She had the power and now I do too because thanks to Powerocks, I no longer worry about being without power for any of my gadgets. It's like an anxiety chill-pill! Let's just say, whenever I reach into my bag, I now feel like this:

Image Credit: The amazingly talented Zephyri http://zephyri.deviantart.com

I've been using these Powerocks over the past week or so now, showing them off to clients and bragging to friends and family about them. They are slick-looking, practical and PURPLE! Of course, you can get them in several other colors, they have something for everyone. Mother's day is coming up so it might be fun to get a pink one for your mom or grandma! The colors are nice and bright so they're easy to spot when you're digging for one inside your bag. They come in a wide range of sizes and capacities.

Flash Magic Stick
The Flash Magic Stick is a 3000 mAh capacity charger. It's about the size of a lipstick tube and it has a built-in flashlight. I love, love, love that it gives me feedback on how much charge it has with its blue indicator lights on the side. The Powerocks designers are so smart because they made it so that you must press the button twice in order to turn on the light and twice again repeatedly to cycle through the different features: solid, blinking and strobe lights. It drives me nuts when products are designed with loose buttons that easily power on and waste energy for who knows how long inside your bag that by the time you need to use it, it's drained! Not so with the Flash Magic Stick. It's a bright design in more ways than one!

This little charger came in über-handy while I was at Cirque du Mac this year because my friend Barry was running out of juice on his iPhone. I had this handy Magic Stick in my pocket which charged my iPhone so I lent it to him for his ride home because Friends Don't Let Friends Power Down! The Flash Magic Stick came in so handy and I'm very pleased with this product. I think they will make fantastic gifts!

Next up is the big boy — The Magic Cub 2 — at 12000 mAh this mighty little brick packs a ridiculous amount of power!! I won't lie, it has a little bit of weight to it, but it's not overwhelmingly heavy. I love, love, love, how they think of everything. When you pop off the cover to reveal the ports, does it get lost? Nope! There's a string that keeps it attached! Brilliant! There are multiple charging cables built right in with a USB port to plug in your Apple devices requiring a bring-your-own Lightning cable. They tell me future designs will incorporate a Lightning cable built in, so check back for that, but in the meantime, this isn't really a big deal, because I always keep an extra USB to Lightning cable in my bag along with this bad-boy. This Powerock will be awesome for camping trips or long flights. I'll definitely be taking it with us when we travel out east to visit family because it's great for charging multiple devices — power for the whole family!

Here is a video showing my friend Michael Portis and I reviewing our Powerocks among other products in action during our Macworld/iWorld 2014 Wrap-Up.

Check out Powerocks and Go ahead, Get lost!

Macworld iWorld 2014 Wrap-Up

Join Michael Portis and I in our Macworld/iWorld 2014 Wrap-Up discussing what and who caught our eye at the Expo this year.


Products Reviewed
Square Jellyfish
PoweRocks
Pocket Tripod
Contact Patch
Studio Neat

and a BIG personal thank you to:
Michael Rose
Jack Hollingsworth

If you would like to join our community, please visit http://smartphone-photographers.com/ 

Smartphone Photographers Point and Shoot Weekend Edition for 11-23-2013

Check out this lively discussion on sharing your photos online. We discuss apps, services and philosophies along with tips for integrating them with your photo sharing needs.

Have Fun

Children remind us of what is simple and most important in life: have fun, the rest will follow.

Playing With The Sun

A play on words and a play on, well, play. There is this awkward time on certain days of the week in between errands and appointments, specifically about an hour before I need to go pick up Lucian from school where it's not enough time to nap or really go anywhere, so on this beautiful fall day, Keagan and I got on the floor to play. We had some little squirt guns that had been gifted to the boys over the summer. Normally I don't allow them in the house, but Keagan was being impossibly cute with the asking so I caved. I figured I could at least have some fun with it if I set some ground rules about where he was allowed to squirt the water. I set up some little targets for him to aim at and as I was showing him how to shoot the targets, the sun was coming through with such intensity so, I decided to do some shooting of my own with my iPhone 5s — also my idea of a good time. I was able to catch a rainbow AND lens flare in one shot and I'm really pleased with the results. The only editing I did was in iPhoto; just some cropping and a little bit of bumping up the contrast on this first shot. I played with some other effects in the other two shots as the challenge was all that sunlight with which to work.

I love all of the elements in this shot: lines, curves, curls, shadows, rainbows, sun rays, color, highlights, the way my son's little lips are formed while he's making little sounds or thinking about where to aim.

Playing With The Sun 

Target Practice

At this time I am reminded of a newspaper clipping photo I once saw of my Grandfather as a middle school-aged child shooting a rifle at target practice during a class. I believe he was in some type of rotary gun club at school in the 1930s. Upon seeing that photo is was no wonder he later became a sharpshooter for the military during WWII. It's hard to imagine that there was ever a time when guns were in schools as a source of education if perhaps some sort of early military inculcation. 

This day, however, I chose to set those negative thoughts aside in order to have some simple fun with my son and some plastic toys that shoot water. He is innocent and unaware, just having a good time knocking little bottles and medicine cups off of triangles with water and studying the trajectory. I am not innocent, but somehow I managed to have fun with this time all the same.

Spritz

Siri Still Has A Sense of Humor

Either Siri still has a sense of humor or she's just been trained by many a parent who use her to play the "Bad Cop" in setting a timer for Time Out. By the looks of it, she's capable of assisting even Jeffrey's Mother.

Who remembers this (one of my all-time favorites) comedy skit by Bill Cosby?

Back to School App Sale: 1Password

EDIT:
Unfortunately, this sale is now over, but that doesn't mean it won't happen again. Use AppShopper, put 1Password on your Wish List and you'll be notified when the next sale occurs! Until then, read on to learn more about this great app...

One of my most favorite-must-have apps, 1Password, is on sale right now in the App Store!

GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT! (normally it's twice the price)


It's Back to School here in the southwest and pretty soon for the rest of the country. You know what that means? More user names and passwords to store for our little Digital Natives!

I just remembered I need to add money to my son's school lunch account and, since it's not something I've done all summer long, all I have to do is open my 1Password, search for "lunch" and there it is. All I need to do then is tap the hyperlinked text and it will log me right into the website.

Another great thing is that this is a Universal app which means it will work on both your iPhone AND your iPad or iPod touch! If you have a shared family Apple ID like we do, then you could have 1Password installed and synced to all the devices in your family! It really is a small price to pay for keeping everyone organized and secure — and now, that price has been cut in half!

Household Critters

Living in the southwest, it's not uncommon to find different types of critters inside your house. Geckos commonly show up at our front door, on top of it or scurry out from under a chair. They're quite cute and less troublesome than mice or other bugs I experienced out east.

Last night was a bit different because we discovered a snake for the first time! The boys and I could barely contain our excitement over observing this little creature that crawled into our home.

Here is my Flickr photo set of some various shots I took and these are my favorites.

Curious Keagan

Wrapped Around My Finger

Perssssssspective