Fancy Finances with iBank

Well, it's April and you know what that means! Tax preparation hell time! You know what would make it easier, and maybe even a little more fun? Use iBank to manage your finances on your Mac, iPad and iPhone. I've posted about this app in the past but I feel like I just have to repeat it because the fine folks over at Igg Software and makers of iBank just keep raising the bar on the features and design of their products. Like a shiny penny, they just keep polishing it. Yes, they gave me a review license, but trust me, I would still endorse this app because I have seen the horror that is that other software that shall not be named for the Mac and iBank is the just the way to go. My CPA loves how organized I am come tax time, thanks to iBank.

Here is a link to their latest press release so you can read up on the newest improvements and enhancements.

As always, you can try before you buy which is extremely handy when it comes to learning a new personal finance tool.

Watch these handy-dandy tutorials, I mean, can they make it any easier?

iBank is the personal finance product I recommend to my clients when they want to learn how to manage their finances digitally or become more comfortable with online banking.

When you're ready to upgrade or purchase, click these affiliate links because that helps support my efforts to bring you reviews and hand-picked endorsements here on my site.


iBank is available on your iPad and iPhone too!
Click here for iPad

Click here for iPhone

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/ 

Interviewed for Chit Chat Across The Pond - Show 462 of NosillaCast Mac Podcast

Have a listen to yours truly interviewed by Allister Jenks discussing the topic of Teaching Technology to The Young and Old on this week's Chit Chat Across The Pond segment for Allison Sheridan's NosillaCast Mac Podcast show "#462 Watershot underwater iPhone case, IcyDock EZ-Dock, AnyFont, teaching technology to the young and old"

Of course you should listen to the whole episode because ya might learn somethin! (Click the link above to see the entire post for the full show content.)

Click on this audio player to listen to NosillaCast Mac Podcast

This is my written contribution to the show:

CCATP — Melissa Davis on Teaching Technology to The Young and Old: Hard or Just Scary?

I love to compare 7 year-olds with 77 year-olds. I happen to be the parent of a 7 year old (and a 4 year old). I’ve worked with people of all different ages helping them or teaching them how to use Apple tech and most of my clients these days are in the 60 to 80 year old age group.

A person’s life experiences work to shape their personality and vice-versa. Most small children, who presumably haven’t had much exposure to computers, who haven’t yet developed much of a fear for anything, will use and embrace technology because they naturally explore things in their environment. Nowadays babies are born to parents who capture their very first moments with their smart phones. They’re accustomed to this thing their parents tote around – in addition to them – that glows and makes noise and constantly gets shoved in their little faces. Of course there are also parents who are careful to keep their babies away from the exposure to backlit displays for their own reasons. There are inconclusive studies out there that suggest backlit screen exposure can be harmful to developing eyes. I can not confirm or deny any of it at this point so I’m working off of experience with a healthy dose of caution and practice of moderation. Of course the nature vs nurture debate will come up here as well.

Let’s think about the type of exposure. This could be a void of technology exposure in the home and limited to school or vice-versa. It could be a third-world country. Think of the documentaries you’ve watched where film crews go to these countries to document the lives of the people there. Watch how some react to having people moving about with these large and small cameras and computers. Some are cautious, others are curious.

Think about a generation of workers in the 80s and 90s who were introduced to computers in the workplace. So many times you’ll hear people say, “I use a computer at work all day, the last thing I want to do is stare at a screen for longer than I have to.” That generation is skeptical of computers. They’ve been taught computers and devices are for work, not play and that work could never be much fun. Work is not something to enjoy. Their exposure to computers has been, “if I press any other buttons besides the ones I’ve been instructed to press, I might blow up the computer and my boss will fire me.” That kind of exposure breeds fear so no wonder some people in their 50s and 60s can be somewhat apprehensive to computers. They’re also the generation that believes Big Brother is out to get them. We’re seeing that again now with NSA. We’re all very cautious about using devices because of how they infringe upon our privacy or how we might get into trouble by using them.

Lots of people either forget or don’t understand that you can operate software without being connected to the Internet! There are fun things you can do with computerized devices that don’t involve being “online.” This is where I have to teach clients about using the Mail app versus Gmail.

People both young and old may see learning how to use computerized devices as a chore or a task they need to learn and want to get it out of the way so they can go do something else. You could have children in which you’re trying to teach them something specific, say word processing, and you’re getting into the nitty-gritty of how to format a paragraph of text for a report. They may be daydreaming about the video game they want to play while you’re trying to teach them something fundamental.

Older folks have short attention spans also. They get “fried” or “OD” pretty quickly. It’s no secret to us that time practically evaporates when we’re working on something technical whether it’s troubleshooting a problem (that time seems to go the quickest because you’re under stress to work some magic to fix it) or teaching someone how to do something.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can offer is that everyone learns things a little differently. When you’re working with someone you need to find out how they learn best and adapt your method of teaching them.

Consistency also is key and hard to stick to when your working in a field where everything changes so rapidly. How do you keep consistent? Many people crave consistency. One way I try to achieve this is by drawing parallels across different apps. This is one of many things I love about the Mac OS. I can say things like, "Remember this last lesson we talked about how to search for things within an application and I told you to look for the little magnifying glass? Well, what do you see right here? Notice how the symbol is the same?"

Another way to achieve consistency is by modifying the interface preferences — make everything look the same, enlarge the fonts, and if you customize the toolbar for them, try to put similar tools in the same spots to reinforce muscle memory.

What have you learned by teaching the old and young? 

• Relating analog to digital examples helps.

• Do not take little things for granted. I cringe every time someone says, “Yeah, ya just hit enter.” There are people that don’t understand what it means to “Hit a key” and they don’t even know you meant a key on the keyboard for starters. Do not assume everyone understands all jargon. Look through their eyes and start slow and basic, then drop it down one more level lower because chances are you’re not aiming low enough. Ask them about their experiences first and try to gauge what terminology to use. Explain how you're trying to strike a balance of not insulting their intelligence but also not going way over their head, too.

• When you say “to your left” be prepared to say, “your other left.” People get nervous when they’re being instructed and fumble over basic things and it’s natural. Do not make fun of them for it. You’re no better!

• Don’t do it all for them, put them in the driver’s seat. If you always do it, they won’t learn it. Be gentle at times when you do need to do it first in order to understand it and tell them so. I explain, “In order for me to teach you this, let me do it first and then I’ll break it down for you.” Say things like, “Don’t feel pressured to remember this all at once. We will get there. I’ll go over it as many times as you need.”

• Explain as you go along – verbalize as much as you can while you're whizzing the pointer around the screen.

• Teach people to leave themselves a little breadcrumb along the way.

• Have a boat-load of patience and get used to repeating yourself, hearing the same stories and questions over and over.

Sometimes clients need to stop and tell you a story. It’s how they process information and deal with overload. It’s OK. They know the clock is ticking and you’re charging for it. It took me a while to learn this and I felt very guilty at first, but friendships develop at a deeper level and it’s incredibly important to for trust especially when you’re working with people who are showing you their online banking and other very personal information.

It’s all personal. Very personal. Emotional. This is the most true when teaching people how to work with digital photos or how to make a birthday card or calendar. Be sensitive to this.

Mother's Little Helper App: Naturespace

My littlest guy is sick right now with an upper respiratory cold. Some Vicks Vapo Rub on his chest, along with some snuggles and this app is helping to keep him calm.

Naturespace: Relax Meditate Escape Sleep with 3D Sound by Holographic Audio Theater
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/naturespace-relax-meditate/id312618509?mt=8

FitBit Stride Length Calculator

Are you a FitBitter like me? Did you get one of these little gadgets for Christmas? There is also a wristband version called Fitbit Flex. I got a FitBit One for myself for my birthday last year so I've now had it for a few months. One thing I have learned since wearing this gadget is the importance of stride length. When I went to input the number though, I wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly. I found this cool calculator widget and I thought I'd share it with you. I hope you find this as helpful as I have. I believe wearable tech will grow to be a bigger hit in the coming years.

Are you hooked up yet?

Click this link if the hosted graphic doesn't load below: Stride Length Calculator

Evening, Javelina!

All this time living in Arizona, I have never seen Javelina up close, until now. I was leaving a client’s home Thursday night and it was around 7:45 pm. I was accelerating up a small hill when I had to hit the hooks as they were just congregating in the middle of the road! They scurried up the side of the road and continued their little meeting and I just had to stop the car and marvel at them. It was really hard to photograph what I was seeing with just my iPhone. It didn’t help that I was kinda of scared that they might charge me or that a car could come up behind me at any time. Instinct told me I should not get out of the car, but I admit I was very tempted! I decided they were a safe enough distance away from my car, so I took a deep breath, picked up my iPhone with one hand while rolling down my electric window and keeping my finger on that window button, my left foot on the clutch, right on the break, paused the podcast I was playing, brought up the camera, enabled the flash while trying to reach up with my thumb to tap the screen in an attempt at focusing on the peccary then snapped 2 photos. The super bright flash from my LED flash startled them and they began scurrying away. The photos I captured were pitch black and I was disappointed that I couldn’t capture the moment. I rolled up my window, put the phone back in my dash, engaged in first gear and slowly drove off in amazement of having witnessed these nocturnal animals. I was glad I got to see them with my own eyes.

While organizing my photos for this evening, I decided instead of discarding these back blobs that I’d try and edit them in iPhoto. It turns out I was able to get something out of one of them and as you can see here, you can almost make out the shapes of the Javelina. You can make out 3 or 4 of them in the shadows.

This is what I absolutely love about smartphone photography: the thrill of the moment. Your heart beats in your chest and you feel alive in the moment.

So many times I feel guilty because I am always snapping photos of every little thing. “Melissa, how can you be present in the moment when you’re always behind the camera?” Well, maybe everyone’s way of being present is just not the same. I felt very much alive trying to capture this moment. Not only was I present then, but I can recall that moment now any time I like and feel a sense of pride. Is this not being present in the moment?

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.

Clumsy Ninja!

Yesss!! Clumsy Ninja is finally out! I have been looking forward to this game! Are you playing it yet? Download it FREE here!

Smartphone Photographers Community Hangout for November 21, 2013

This was another fun Hangout On Air with the Smartphone Photographers Community.
(That link will take you to the Google Plus page until there is a more official link which I'll update if that happens!)

If you click this link it will take you to the part where we discuss my "Butterfly Kiss" photo at the 36 minute mark. (Otherwise watch the show from the start below.) I had fun talking discussing this photo and the other suggestions that were made sound like another cool challenge for me to try! I really enjoyed learning about High-key photography technique from Michael Sweeney and I'm looking forward to trying out the effect.

An iPhone app called FX Photo Studio was discussed and I wanted to let you know it's on sale at the time of this posting so go grab it because it looks like a winner. I haven't yet had a chance to play with it, but it's got lots of recommendations so far. There is also an HD iPad version:


What do you think of smartphone photography? Come join us sometime.

Here is the "Butterfly Kisses" image I posted. I have several more eye images I'm working on and I'll post more once I process them. You have heard of a butterfly kiss, right?

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

Advanced Chore Charting: iAllowance App Review

iAllowance by JumpGap Software

I have been using this app for a couple of years now and I really love where it is headed. This parenting tool is incredibly versatile with amazing attention to detail. The developer truly cares. The most recent update really looks great with iOS 7. I really appreciate how the developer keeps on making improvements and he's also really receptive to feedback! Those are important qualities to me when deciding where to invest mine and my family's time and attention to an app such as this.

First, let me get my nit-picky criticisms out of the way:
• Customizable sounds would make this a 10-★ app!

• I wish I could make the sad face sound ☹ a little louder and the cha-ching sound a tad softer and have different sounds for stars, checks, coins or time. I just think it would help. (Think Pavlov.) It's the sounds that I find the most cumbersome yet. For example, I know I could just turn the sounds off or mute the loud sounds in the app's settings, but it doesn't seem to respond yet. (bug?) I like the audible feedback, I just wish it wasn't so loud. Sometimes I forget to turn the volume back up after using this app and then my alarm goes off and I barely hear it. I'm sure this could be tweaked in another update sometime or maybe I just need to use it differently; or maybe the Dev has something up his sleeve? It's quite possible!

Now, the accolades:
• This app is universal and looks great on all iOS devices. It is still supported on an iPhone 3GS running iOS 6 which is what my littlest learner is using.

• Try before you buy: there is a lite version and a full version along with incremental in-app purchases so you can really make it fit the needs of your family. An app that grows with you — imagine that!

• I use most all of the banking features and my Second Grader has a pretty clear picture of his total net worth right now — which is more than I can say for many college grads! (self included) He enjoys looking at the pie chart and we also show him his savings account where his Birthday and Christmas checks get deposited along with Gift Certificate balances. I use my iPhone and iPad for all of our banking, which includes snapping photos to deposit checks, so both my boys can see the entire banking process.

• Right now we're only using stars for my 4-yr old along with tracking his savings account. We began using iRewardChart with both boys when they were younger so the 4-yr old is especially fond of earning "good stars" and knows that "bad stars" (his term) mean a deduction. iRewardChart has great sounds which really got their attention. (I still recommend that app for a great introduction to using chore charts!)

• I recently started filling out the description section of individual "chores" in addition to using pictures. This is great because the 4-year old can "read" each item by looking at its picture icon (which you can choose your own or select from an in-app picture bank) and the 7-year old can practice his literacy skills by reading the descriptions I enter. This cuts down on the "but wah, you didn't tell me I had to do xyz."

• Pro-Tip: view this app on your Apple TV via AirPlay and it's a great way for the whole family to become involved with household contributions. Sometimes we ask our 7-year old to review his iAllowance on the big TV and then we discuss money, transactions and things he wants added to his rewards list together.

• The best part of this app is the syncing. (Unfortunately, there is no legacy support on older devices running iOS 4, but that's an Apple  issue, not the Dev.) The ability to sync with DropBox was a long-awaited triumph and well worth the wait. Now that our little ones have their own hand-me down iDevices, this app is that much better because now they are (mostly) in charge of checking off their own Contributions and good behaviors (or negative behaviors). I love how I can lock out each child on the other's device. Our 4-year old is oh so fond of giving his big brother time outs and wanting to x-off contributions his big brother did not fulfill! We gently remind him that only parents can decide on that, but I'm glad he understands the message about being accountable for contributions to the family! (I changed the "Chore" bank to "Contributions" as it just fits us better. Yes, you can call it whatever you like. Thumbs up for tweakability!)

• Reliable syncing is absolutely crucial if you're an iFamily. It works best when children are made accountable for their own input and then parents have the ability to approve that input with feedback despite which device it's queued up on. Parents who work different shifts or even a babysitter will see the value in this feature alone!

• Bottom line, you get out of this app what you put into it. It can be overwhelming in the beginning, but investing the time to populate and customize it is worth it. If you're consistent and diligent, you'll definitely see results by using this fantastic tool!

Download it or gift it today!

If you liked this review and you haven't yet signed up for DropBox, do me a huge favor and click this affiliate link which gives us bonus cloud space! https://db.tt/9vTsqNJu

Disclaimer: I was gifted the full version of this app by the developer for the purposes of a review but no other compensation has influenced any personal bias in favor of reviewing this software.

Smartphone Photographers Point and Shoot for November 7, 2013

Join my comrades and I for an informative discussion on smartphone photography tips.

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?

Guest on 'Not Another Mac Podcast - Episode 117'

I join Mark Greentree on Episode 117 of his Not Another Mac Podcast along with John F. Braun and Kirschen Seah




Click here to listen:

http://www.markgreentree.com/storage/NAMP117.mp3


from Mark's Show Notes:
• Melissa plays with "Woz"
• The film "Jobs"
• Polaroid iS2132 21x optical zoom (25mm - 525 mm) camera.
• Photography and pro Mac applications
• Consumer-based applications and iCloud
• We reminisce about technology changes
• Internet connections and associated access

Other Random Mentions:
Steve Jobs: The Journey Is The Reward
Topaz Labs - Photography Software
John's Dragonfly photograph


Our Picks:

Alfred

HardwareGrowler

Little Snitch 3

iTeleport

iTeleport Developer Site




John F. Braun contributes to: The Mac Observer, Monday's Mac Gadget, Mac Geek Gab Podcast and tweets @johnfbraun

Kirschen Seah can be found at http://www.freerangecoder.com and tweets @kirschen

RSS Feed for Mark's podcast and blog

MacJournal for iOS

I'm finally getting around to trying to blog from my iPhone using the MacJournal app. I'm disappointed right away by the fact that I don't yet see a way to add an image or place a text link. This is a severely underdeveloped app! I see I can "attach" an image. What is this? An email? Even emailing a blog post is better than using this app at the moment. Lets see how posting goes.

• Ok. That was awful. First off, I attached two images and neither showed up in this post on my blog. So, I headed back here to the MacJournal app on my iPhone to see if I can amend the post. At least that part works. Coming back to the post and making changes (as I'm doing right now) seems to work out alright without the need to re-authenticate.

Before I could submit the first post, I had to authenticate through my 2-step verification several times despite already authorizing the app to post to my blog. This is a major pain and I've seen other apps that get it right so why can't MacJournal? Come on!
Tapping out text in the app is a horrible user experience. The scrolling in portrait mode is unreliable. Tapping text in landscape mode is ok, but the tools are much too close to the keyboard which makes for east formatting mistakes while tapping fast.
Formatting text is not intuitive
So lets say you want to make a word bold. In this app, you tap the 'A' button and then toggle switches for bold, italic or underline. This is redundant since it's much easier to just highlight the word and use the built-in iOS formatting.
When coming back to edit the post, all the single spaces between periods have been removed and all the hard return in between paragraphs have also been removed making it extra work to go back though and put them all back.
Changing the font size does effect the published version, but only the size changes, not the typeface so no WYSIWYG editing there.
When choosing a typeface, they show up in a boring scrollable list but just in Helvetica, not their native typeface.

Sometimes while typing really fast, the text output doesn't seem to be able to keep up and it freezes while tapping out text.

When sending the edited post back out to the blog as published, there's no real indicator that the task has completed. You just have to go to your blog, load it into Safari and refresh to view changes.
I'm not impressed by this app at all which is a shame because I own all versions of the app including for iPad and Mac and feel it was a wasted purchase even if it was on sale. I had high hopes when I used the Mac version but the iOS app versions really fall short. I'll probably delete MacJournal for iOS off my devices to make room for something better.

AirPlay or Apple Remote App Not Working? Try This

Are you looking for this:

AirPlay (double press on Home button then swipe twice to the right on Multitasking Bar)

Or this:

iOS Remote App

and not seeing one or either of these features on your iOS device?

Try this:

If you know how and are able, try changing the Channel setting on your router. This is what works for me! This is a screen shot of what it looks like on my Linksys router. Yours may or may not be similar but you're looking for this general area.

I posted this in part as a reminder to myself for figuring out how to fix this problem, but I thought you might find it useful as well. Let me know if it works for you.

The question I still have is why I need to keep changing this setting from time to time. I believe it has something to do with the fact that I now have more neighbors with routers and the channels are experiencing some kind of traffic or compromise. I don't yet know how else to explain it. One of these days I'd like to take a networking class because this stuff fascinates me. I wish I could fully understand all the ins and outs of my own router. For now, this is what I am comfortable tinkering with when it comes to my router settings and fixing the problem even if it's only temporary.

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

Day One App As A Mobile Blogging Tool

How does Day One (Journal / Diary) app stack up as an integrated and mobile blogging tool?

I began this post by tapping out text directly in the Day One app with the hopes that it might serve as good on-the-go blogging tool. I'm always looking for ways to blog more efficiently from a mobile platform, hence I would actually blog more! I came to the conclusion that this app doesn't meet all of my needs yet, but I do believe it has huge potential for becoming a great mobile blogging tool if only to get a draft started so I can go back later and flesh it out more like I'm doing right now. What began as a quick, down and dirty app review is now developing into a more complete post that might benefit my readers a bit more than when it started out.

While the Day One app is a little slow to launch on my iPhone 4S, I love how easily I can type text in portrait and landscape modes. Those are two usability features I look at first when reviewing a mobile app. The ability to tap text in landscape mode can make or break an app for me.

Formatting

I appreciate the need for text formatting. I like that Day One has Markdown baked right into the text editor. It even has a built-in word counter. I am in the process of trying to learn more about Markdown so I believe this app will help me out with that quest.

Images

One place where this app falls short for me is in the ability to place images. I know it's not meant to be used the way I'm wanting to use it for mobile blogging so I don't expect a whole lot when it comes to image placement within the text, but what I do expect is multiple image capability. Currently, you can only attach one image per entry. The Camera+ integration is nice, but in my opinion, you're likely to be a bit of a shutterbug if you know what Camera+ is and vice versa. I've used other apps like Momento that allow for multiple photo insertion so I'm not quite sure why the limitation on this app.

Security

A feature I'm willing to be patient for is encryption. I want it done right. If you're going to spill your guts and journal your most private thoughts into an app, then you should feel secure while doing that. I think this is an area the developers will address soon especially with all the attention lately on NSA, data mining and secure mobile usage. If you're an app developer and your app deals with the storage of private information, security should be a laser focus for you. Currently, Day One gives you the ability to lock down your information using a 4 digit PIN. The ability to lock stuff up anymore is not just a requirement or feature but a necessity — even if it's only to keep Mommy's blog entries from being replaced with "areiu45%^##ergh;ad%&_OKDHWiwkw7&*&&&^a dfg[8a[reuw8245;oi24h5" by my 3.5 year old.

App Store Links

When I review apps it helps to give the reader a direct link to where they can purchase (free or otherwise) the app in my review. I'm still on the hunt for a better way to do this! So far, it's cumbersome at best but I have hope it will improve over time. Adding code while tapping this out on my iPhone in Day One didn't work out so well, so I had to edit it directly on my blog. That may be a user issue since I can see that there is an ability to enter code using the Markdown feature but maybe I just didn't do it correctly.
Day One is a universal app for iOS so get it here for your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad!


Day One syncs between all devices including the Mac version.

Export

One of my rules of thumb for data entry is: If you can get the data in, you must also be able to get the data out. PDF creation is another useful feature available in this app. I'm not sure how often it will come in handy for my own use case since I keep most everything digital, but I imagine it could become invaluable later if I ever decide to create some type of printed book or just want to store archives in PDF format. I don't yet know how much hard drive space this app will consume over time, so PDF export is something I'll need to investigate and report back on once I've amassed enough data to experience it first-hand. It will need to have selective export using tags and I haven't yet read the complete user guide available on the developer's support page.

The Verdict

Many times I feel like The Queen of Hearts when I'm reviewing an app. Something as simple as whether an app does not have landscape text mode can mean it's "Off with their heads!" and the app is deleted. When reviewing the use case scenario of a mobile blogging tool, Day One is good for getting a blog post started if only to go back and tweak the post later. This is all contingent on the ability of your blog platform to accept posts via email and whether or not that configuration automatically publishes the post or just queues it up for draft. Day One is a benchmark for journaling and diary apps with its ability to synchronize and port to other platforms.

I'm willing to allow Day One to keep residence on my iPhone's small hard drive while waiting for its developers to beef up security and features like adding multiple photos because it syncs up with other devices like iPad and MacBook Pro. You can pick right up where you left off no matter which device you're using and that is paramount to blogging while mobile. It's a well-designed app with a sleek interface. It feels good in the hand. Tapping out text in this app is very smooth and responsive. Day One will be sticking around for a while in my court.

I'd like to know what your favorite mobile blogging app is. Let me know in the comments!

Other Apps Mentioned In This Review

Momento is a rival for Day One, in my opinion — review to come


Camera+ is great for getting decent shots of busy toddlers

Words With Woz

I'm playing Words With Friends...With Woz.
Try saying that ten times fast!
Try playing this game – or any other game – against a genius and see how you feel!
#nervous

Hand-Made iPhone Tip:

Whenever you fear the memory zombies will make you forget your next potential move, Skitch it.
(of course, this also applies to iPad, but I prefer playing Words With Friends on my iPhone)

1. Take a screen shot of your current screen by holding down the home button then immediately press once on the 'lock' button at the top of your iPhone. You must press the lock button immediately while holding the home button because if you hesitate too long, SIRI will beep.

2. Launch Skitch and tap the plus + sign in the upper right corner.

3. Navigate to your Camera Roll in the photos (yes, you want Skitch to have access to your photos) and select the screen shot you just snapped

4. Use Skitch to annotate your screen shot to remind you of your next move

You can use Skitch for so many occasions. I use it all the time for tech support. It's so easy to say, here, see this? Tap here and then draw and arrow or circle something. Most times when people are lost, so are their eyeballs, so it's helpful to show them exactly where to look. It's one of my very favorite apps and I've been using it for years now since it was a baby website!

Get Skitch for iPad

Get Skitch for iPhone

Get Words With Friends for iPhone

Get Words With Friends for iPad

Find The Clownfish

I recently saw a link to this article about clownfish and it made me think of Apple and Steve Jobs. Whenever I see a clownfish I think Finding Nemo, of course, but being a geek, I also visualize one of the standard-issue Apple Desktop pictures. Thinking about that then leads me to wonder just how these iconic desktop backgrounds are selected to become a part of the OS installed on all Macintosh computers. Can you imagine the hundreds, or even thousands of photos the Apple OS designers pour over? Every time there is an OS upgrade, one of the very first things I ever do is to go check out what new desktop backgrounds come pre-installed. For some reason, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in doing this. If anyone does know how the images are selected or has photo credit information for this or any of them, I've love to know.

A long-time friend once told me a cute story about Steve Jobs while we were catching up on Facebook. She knows I'm an Apple Geek and told me she works out in Silicon Valley right off of Woz Way. (I'm envious and must go visit, of course!) Her friend's husband is the Facilities Manager at Apple. One time he was sent to Steve Job's office because he had set of Finding Nemo cast figurines from Pixar on his credenza. Apparently Steve had run into it with a cart or something which resulted in one of the figures falling behind it. Can you guess what the note said?


He needed someone to "Find Nemo."


I love that story. I can only hope that the Facilities Manager kept that note. I know I would have!

I believe Steve Jobs even resonated with the clownfish — identified with it somehow. Here is the link to the Wikipedia article on the Clownfish. If you're an Apple Geek like me, you might see the same parallels.

It's also interesting to note that Finding Nemo is one of the few DVDs that will still play on our 1999 Tangerine iMac G3! You can even still use the screen savers and play the bonus DVD content! Makes ya wonder, doesn't it?

Here is another cool link that will educate you on the Clownfish.

What is your favorite Pixar character or desktop background? I'm always looking for new backgrounds for my desktop so share if you have a link to one you really like!

Who else is excited to see Finding Dory in 2015?!

My Toddler Loves Photo Booth on iPad

And here I was wondering why the iPad was running out of space! Attack of TheKeaganator!