ultimate geek girl

Multi-Tasking Your E-Services with ifttt

HarriMac — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:00:02 +0000

We love to promote the use of multiple productivity tools. It’s pretty common to have a tool that does one thing really well or even a group of activities really well. But rarely does a single program do EVERYTHING you need done. Enter ifttt – if this then that. It’s a really cool way to link several services together.

The approach is that you have an action happening in one application (or channel as ifttt refers to them). When that happens ifttt does another action for you. An example:

I send myself an email as a reminder. I tell ifttt to take the body of any email I send myself and make it a note in Evernote. Magically there it is!

What if you get a link in twitter? Or send one yourself? Tell ifttt to save those in Delicious or to make an Evernote or to email it to someone. One of my favorites is to send everything I favorite on my twitter to Delicious. My second favorite would be that if I email anyone an article from Flipboard, the mere presence of the term “Sent from Flipboard” will make that article then be saved on Delicious and also saved in my Evernote. That is pretty cool since often I send links about recipes or really cool photos and no need to do double work by trying to bookmark by hand or add the recipe to my recipes notebook.

There are currently 43 channels (applications/programs) that can be used to create several hundred possible tasks. What’s to lose?

Check out ifttt here and check out recipes for ifttt (ifttt tasks that others have made that they decide to share with the world). I’ve created a couple recipes which you can find here. If I make more in the future, you can see them at that link. Recipes are a great way to reduce your own amount of work to create tasks. If you make some, please share the link in the comments!

A Review In Time for Mother’s Day

HarriMac — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:30:36 +0000

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and not everyone has gotten something super duper amazing…yet. Everything you give your mom is always super amazing since it’s from you. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t require a lot of time and it only has to be good enough to keep her wondering what you’ll do next year. We put together a list of things you can do in the next week to get ready for May 13.

1) Make a photo album. Sounds cheesy and most moms have a million pictures of their kids already, but if you have family photos you think your mom would like or if you have photos you took that you think she’d like (people or not people), put them in an album. If you don’t have a photo printer and don’t want to get a cheap one to do it yourself, you can use photo printing services at your local drugstore, shopping store (like Walmart or Target), or an online service. Don’t just stick with 4×6 photos – make them as big as you want. Another option is to pick the coolest photo you have and see if you can get it printed as a poster. Mount it and frame it and bam!

photo credit: Linda (Pane, amore e creatività)

2) If your mom never pampers herself, get her a gift certificate to a local nail shop that does mani/pedi services or a spa where she can get full body massage, nails, the works. Give her the certificate and maybe grab one for yourself so you spend time together that day. Livingsocial and Google Offers are places to start looking if you’re looking for a deal.

3) Bake for her – If your mom likes sweets (even if diabetic friendly ones), try making her something. Store bought is so passe’. Don’t just stick to cookies, try a cake or a cheesecake for a change. If you want to bring back good times, make a cake that an older family member used to make and do your best rendition.

4) If your mom is an outdoor buff, how about a park pass? National park passes are good for a year and some states have state park passes. Some money goes to help the park and it covers parking or admission at the parks. There are also several fee free days, so why not plan a picnic for one and invite her with you? A great way for everyone in the family to be together!

5) Is your mom a tech savvy mom? Get her something neat to play with. A new smartphone, a new laptop, a new desktop, a docking station, a new monitor (no offense but bigger is better!), a portable GPS for hiking or camping, a GPS unit or smartphone accessories to use GPS in the car, the newest game system (plus extra controllers!), a new hi-tech sewing machine or serger, etc. So many options to meet what she’ll want to play with. You don’t have cash to buy tech items? Make a “gift” by drawing or printing out the tech surprise you would give her and wrap it up.

6) Is your mom crafty? Depending on her craft, there are always things that need buying. Needles, thread, bobbins, quilt patterns, clothes patterns, saw blades, drill bits, yarn, the list goes on and on. Don’t pick one out for her unless you know what she wants. Give her a gift card to a place she can pick things up (local shops are a great option) or earmark some cash and go with her. Make an item for her. If you want to do a scrapbook for her or liked the photo album but want to put a personal touch on it, you can do that with few dollars and a few hours. If craft beer is her thing, here’s a place for ideas.

7) Does she like to read? Buy her books she wants or if she’s been eying an e-reader, grab one for her. Give her a gift card to her favorite bookstore (if it has a cafe, don’t forget some extra for that too!). Give her a cool new bookmark. Make her a bookmark. If you know how to sew, cross stitch a really cool one and laminate it. Plan a library day or get her a book light. Even with an e-reader, you never can have enough book lights.

8 ) New kitchen items – Especially if she’s been mom-ming it for a while (or just kicked all the kids out the house), what mom wouldn’t want some cool new kitchen tools? Think about items that make being in the kitchen easier or things that can fit smaller meals since she might be cooking for fewer people. Take a couple items from your own kitchen you know she admires and you never use. It is “new” to her. Give her some money toward a new set of pots and pans or a gift card to her favorite restaurant – who said the newest edition to the kitchen can’t be take-out menus?

9) Does your mom like trains? May 12 is National Train Day and there are events all over the place. Find one near you or at least find a scenic train or a train museum near her and give her an “all aboard” package including admission to some train activities, maybe a train trinket, a model train set, a train mug or something else similar.

10) Is your mom service oriented? Pick some interesting service projects and sign both of you up. Make up your own service project. Set a challenge to see who can do the best job of cleaning out your house and donating items to charity.

11) Does your mom need something fixed around the house? That set of dressers she’s been meaning to refinish or hanging the photos she’s always been meaning to hang could always use your help. That faucet in the kitchen that always drips? Yep, you got it. Fix it! There has to be a list. Get it and pick a couple things you know you could do or learn how to do on youtube then do them.

12) Just spend time with her. Especially if you don’t live nearby, take this time to spend time with your mom in person or via Skype. Even video chat via Google Talk. Something. The point of the day is to show her you care and letting her know that doesn’t cost more than the words out of your mouth

What are you planning on doing for Mother’s Day this year? Let us know if any of these ideas work for you!

8 Apps To End April!

HarriMac — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:00:45 +0000

There are always tons of new apps coming out and apps that are new to all of us. Some of these are available on Android, all are available on iPhone. We all need new apps to keep ourselves occupied during the work day or school day and during our down time. And with a few cool holidays and travel season coming up, what better to keep ou occupied in the airport, train station or bus station? As a side note, to make the Android users happy, there is an entire new series of Android posts with info on apps, new Android software releases, and some new tech to use Android coming over the next couple months. Stay tuned and look out!

Readability – There are quite a few apps for reading something later – instapaper, Pocket (formerly read it later), etc. but I like the look of Readability. It works well on my phone and on my internet browser, I like that i can use it at work or at home, and I can add articles from my phone (by copying and pasting the URL from my browser…admittedly a downside) or from my computer and it syncs automatically. The other downside? Most of the other apps I use only recognize instapaper or pocket to save things to read later. I really wish there were more options. Check it out for Android or iOS. Check out their 60 second intro video here.

Fitocracy – One of the latest exercise tracking websites (and crazes) has an iPhone app now. Before you could have done like me and made a link on your phone homescreen to their homepage, but now you get all the functionality of the website on your phone. Track your exercise as you do it, immediately after, or days later. It’s easy to give props or do challenges from the app. Though iMapMy… is still one of my favorite apps to use and has great functionality, I really think this app is much better laid out and easier to use. Definitely a must have if you use Fitocracy and have an iOS device.

AP Mobile – Yes – another news app. But many of them give you AP news with their own name on it. So go straight to the source and get notifications of really top breaking news. The notifications aren’t overwhelming, which is nice, but they aren’t pretty much non-existent (which is also nice). Adding the app is an alternative to trying to keep up with the tweets from AP but I still use both. Available on iOS and on Android.

PBS – You know you love PBS. So why not get the app so you can watch specials (including documentaries and concerts) in full. PBS Kids is available on the app as shorts but unfortunately if you’d like this app to keep your kids occupied, you’ll need to keep looking. If you’re needing to know when a certain program is on your local public television stations, you can do that from this app as well. That in and of itself is pretty handy. PBS app users get some perks through the app – some documentaries are available in advance to mobile users so keep an eye out for when this is the case. Available for iOS only (some other PBS news apps are available for Android)

Snapguide – I’ve never known how to fold a fitted sheet. Sad, I know. Why is this relevant? Snapguide is an amazing app that let’s people take pictures and write a guide of how to do something then share that guide with other people. So now I know how to fold a fitted sheet, make a candle holder from a soda can, and make a self-watering plant container. There are so many guides available and anyone can add one. If you’re a visual person like me, this is sweet especially because it’s easily integrated for Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Available for iOS only at the moment. They are open to having an Android version but haven’t gotten there yet.

Fathm – Ever wanted to visually see how you’re spending your time? In a piechart? Fathm is a new way to do it. Zoom in and out and add things to your schedule then click to look to see how you’re using your time. Don’t like a pie chart? Look at your calendar in a “normal” time layout. But if you’re looking for a new way to have a calendar, try this. Unfortunately, if you’re like me and already have a full calendar in your built in service or even something like Google Calendar, you can’t integrate them into Fathm. Available for iOS

Gain Fitness – Thanks to one of our awesome readers, I got turned on to the awesomeness of Gain Fitness. I can easily create workouts on my phone of any length, then do them whenever I want. The basic features of the program are just fine for me, but if you want some more specific workouts or things that work very specific parts of your body, you can buy add-ons with those exercises. I love that I can tell it what resources I have available and it bases the workout on that. Don’t have any exercise equipment? No problem. Have a great gym? No problem. Check out the free version for iOS or their website (click Quick Workout for the same functions).

TED – Yes, that TED. If you want to view different TED videos, listen to TED talks, search TED talks, save TED talks, share TED talks, etc, this is the app for you. This doesn’t include TEDMED in case you’re wondering but there are endless possibilities for learning here. The streaming video is awesome and so is the audio streaming. Very easy to find items on certain topics and with certain speakers. What do you want to learn about today? Available on iOS and Android.

Oh, Ranger! – If you like being outdoors in state or national parks or want to see what public lands or parks are near you to try it out for the first time, the Oh, Ranger! app (beta) lets you find items near certain zip codes and in certain states. You can select things you want to do and find parks that match that or just find your favorite park and see everything that’s there. It has contact info, reservation info, website links, info on permits you’ll need, nearby attractions and maps of the park in PDF format. One stop shop for getting outdoors and closer to nature. Available for iOS but they are supposedly working on an Android version. (I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Android version, they said a year ago it was supposed to be done by the end of 2011).

What cool apps have you found that you really like? What platforms is it available on?

We’ll be back next week with a review of something that might be able to help you get ready for Mother’s Day. Be excited!

Send Us Something!!!

HarriMac — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:00:58 +0000

We’re so excited it’s the middle of April already!!! We’d also love to be excited about what you send us! We’re doing a slight play on our normal send us something where you send us something via postal mail. Instead, we’d like you to take a picture of something really awesome and email it to us. We’ll compile all the submissions and write about them the first week of June so feel free to make submissions until JUNE 1, 2012.

Send us:

Photos of you on public transit

Photos of your local public transit

Photos of cool maps

Photos of your daily transportation

Photos of technology in your every day life

Photos of your go bag

Photos of you doing something healthy

Screenshot of your most used apps on your smartphone

Healthiest meal you’ve made this year (with recipe!)

Cool street art

Cool street signs

A photo with something really awesome (you’re the judge of the awesomeness)

Make your submission to us at admin@thepinkc.net by JUNE 1, 2012 then look for the post full of worldwide awesomeness shortly thereafter. We can’t wait to see!

Exercise Technology

HarriMac — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:00:26 +0000

I love to exercise even if I don’t do it as much as I should. One way I’ve managed to do more of it is to set my bike up on an indoor trainer. I can catch up on emails while I ride or watch Netflix/sports or do any number of things inside the comfort of my own home (or focus big time on the ride to get maximum workout in). And when I’m done? Quick shower and back to work or relaxation. Why is this relevant to a technology blog? Because we all should move more AND because my setup has benefited from modern technology, mainly a wireless bike computer and a trainer. I tried to use a wired computer but the cable wasn’t long enough to reach the rear wheel and had seen some bad reviews about using a wireless indoors. Mine works perfectly so I’m glad I took the leap. Moving from outdoors to indoors to ride is an adjustment because you do not know how far you’ve gone without the computer so I love the computer chip makers The trainer I have isn’t top of the line but it does the duty and I admit I searched for the perfect prices and sales to get everything (except the bike, I had that already). Do you take advantage of something like this? What’s your setup?

My components:

2008 Trek 820 Mountain Bike
Cycleops Cycling Block
Cycleops Fluid 2 Bike Trainer
Continental Sportcontact smooth tire for the rear wheel (knobby still works up front)
Serfas Rx Bike Saddle for Women
Sigma BC1009 STS Bike Computer
Water bottle cage + water bottle
Gaiam 3mm Yoga Mat (could use a thicker one but why? the bike fits)

As a note, I had to remove my rear racks that I used for commuting and really wish I had bought a spare wheel for my smooth tire (difficult to switch between them for indoor/outdoor so I’m totally an indoor rider now until a new bike or a new wheel).

Check it out:

Share your setups and other ideas in the comments! Can’t wait to see them!

Dual Boot (and More) Your Android Phone!

charleshb — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:00:37 +0000

Have you rooted your Android Phone? Do you like experimenting with different ROMs? Have grown tired of the whole wipe, install, wipe, install cycle? If you answered yes to those questions, then BootManager by Init2WinItApps is just the app for you.

If you haven’t rooted your phone but want to learn how then RootzWiki is probably your best source. If you haven’t looked at any alternate ROMs my current favorites are CyanogenMod and MIUI. You can find lots more via the aforementioned RootzWiki and the XDA Android Forums..

So, on to the main feature. BootManager will allow you to install ROMs to slots on your SD card and boot from them without wiping the main, possibly factory installed, ROM that is currently running your phone. It is way past cool.

Check to see if your phone is supported. Here are a few supported phones: the original Motorola Droid, Droid Incredible, Droid X, HTC Vision, Nexus One, HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Vision, HTC EVO 4G, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Desire, and the HTC Desire HD. Check out the complete list.

First step is to make a nandroid backup of your phone. If you don’t know what that is perhaps you should reconsider trying this. Of course, we all have to start somewhere, so google it and get it done! Second step is to download a ROM and save the zip file to your SD card. Step three install BootManager from the android market, now known as Google Play.

Now we have a ROM and BootManager installed. Start BootManager. After some of the usual verbiage to accept what the software does you’ll be presented with a screen showing your phone’s installed ROM. Choose Setup Phone which will make a backup of your phone’s boot.img. This is very important. Without this you may not be able to get back to your phone if something goes bad with one of the secondarily installed ROMs.

Once that is complete, simply swipe the screen left. The next screen will be labeled ROM 1. Select the Install Zip button and choose the ROM of your choice from your SD card. You will be presented with the install screen where you must select all three checkboxes to wipe. This will not wipe your phone, but must be done.

The initial install will take quite some time so be patient. Progress is monitored in the notification bar. Once installation is complete you can boot into your shiny new ROM and then back to your main or phone ROM whenever you like.

This is just a brief introduction to BootManager. Go to the BootManager web site for the manual and even a video tutorial. Happy multi-booting on your Android phone!

Exercise for the office bound or exercise haters!

HarriMac — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:48 +0000

from: http://neuroskeptic.blogspot.com

I’ve been used to being able to work on my tech then get up and move around or go to the gym on a whim. Now I’m in an office. For 8 hours plus lunch. It’s horrible. So I devised a set of activities I can do in my workplace that make me a little more sane until I can get home for a nice bike ride or something else active. Even if you hate exercising, these might be beneficial since any movement is better than no movement. You can do these once at a time (one per hour) or mix them up as you wish. Sometimes I do them all (which is why this shows duplicates).

Body weight squats – 10 as deep as you can go
Body weight lunges – 10 total (5 each leg)
Touch your toes – hold for 20 seconds
Walk around the office floor – 2 laps
Touch your toes – hold for 20 seconds
Pushups against the wall – 10
Calf raises – 10
Walk around the office floor – 2 laps
Deep breathing and meditation – 2 minutes
Crunches – 10
Standing crunches – 10 per each side
Stand up and sit down in chair – 10
Walk the stairs at work – at least a level, push for 2 or more then walk down

What do you do to stay in shape and keep your sanity during an office workday? If you don’t like exercise, what’s something you can do that you like?

Hey HarriMac! What podcasts are you listening to?!

HarriMac — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:32 +0000

Media gets many of us through our days. Whether it’s music, videos, news, or podcasts of all three, something has to come out when you hit play. This is HarriMac’s current podcast list. Most are available directly through iTunes if that’s your player of choice (or force). Otherwise you can Google or Yahoo! or whatever you use to find the URL to import to a player. A few have been discontinued but I have kept copies of old podcasts such as Stu Huck’s Jazz on a Thursday Night podcast. The radio show still exists but they no longer produce it for podcasts. It was a fave of Ellie!

What podcasts do you listen to? Where do you listen?

What’s in your bag, HarriMac? Part 2

HarriMac — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:00:47 +0000

This is a follow up to a previous series in which we clearly saw that Ellie was a minimalist and HarriMac is by comparison a pack-rat when it comes to being productive on the go! Things are still pretty much the same LOL

Items in HarriMac’s Work go bag (Timbuk2 Classic Small Messenger) -

Moleskine calendar
Moleskine squared notebook
Moleskine small notebook
Random articles HarriMac is reading
Barnes and Noble Nook Simple Touch
Inhaler
Nalgene 32 oz water bottle
Umbrella
iPod/iPhone travel charger
Scientific Writing Book
Headphones
TI-83+ calculator
Random office supplies
Lotion
Chapstick
Tissues
160 gb iPod classic
Keys on a diamond carabiner
Wallet (don’t forget the bus pass!)

If I’m headed out on a photo adventure or a hiking adventure, I still occasionally use a setup similar to the biking pack on my last go bag post, but I’m enjoying using this setup a bit better.

Items in HarriMac’s photography/hiking go bag (Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW) -

Bean bag tripods (2)
Sony a55 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses
Lens hood
Extra memory cards
Remote release
Extra battery and charger
Manual for camera
2 Liter Nalgene CXC hydration bladder
160 gb iPod classic
Keys on a diamond carabiner
Headphones

Share your go-bag in the comments! We’d love to see them!

Free software pack – 2012 edition

HarriMac — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:14 +0000

Image from:http://www.parentdish.com/2010/10/08/do-people-really-want-to-see-your-sonogram-in-outer-mongolia/

We all need to use different types of software in our day to day whether it’s to check email or type a paper or keep track of paper references. What about organizing and editing all those photos you took last weekend? Check out our 2012 edition of free software recommendations. I recommend keeping a download of all of these on a disc so you never have to be in search for them again!

Belarc advisor – Windows only – Ever want a complete list of ALL the software on your PC? Belarc will give you a list including install keys so you can more easily get your system back in shape if you ever need to re-image the hard disk.

Firefox, Chrome, Opera or Safari – Anything other than IE! It’s been said multiple times – Internet Explorer sucks. You can download Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera or Safari for Windows or Mac computers. All may or may not work on Linux machines. You may have to test them all to find the one you like best, but in the end you’ll pick a winner!

Open Office – It’s been out for a while and is still going strong as a great package of free tools to get your work done. It includes word processor, presentation, spreadsheet, drawing and database programs. There are extensions and add-ons to make it work better. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

doPDF – Need to turn a document, website, etc into a PDF, doPDF is a simple program to install and use. It installs as a printer. Available for Windows.

PDF Fill Tools – A free set of PDF editing tools. If you need to have access to a more comprehensive set of tools but can’t afford Adobe Acrobat Pro, this might be the closest you can get. Be aware that there is a paid version that includes these tools, but you’ll need to choose the free tools when you start the program. Available for Windows.

[Mac users: You can already print directly to PDF on a Mac. If you want to edit, Scribus is a pretty cool tool for doing so.]

http://www.jeffstanden.com/post_images/2007_12/20071230_rtm_1mo.jpg

Wunderlist or Remember the Milk- Many of you may have already heardof bothof these. They are very similar list keeping tools. Make lists for specific facets of life or keep a single list for everything. Easily check off completed tasks and set completion dates. The only perks so far of Remember the Milk over Wunderlist is that you can set repeating tasks and integrate into other tools such as Google Calendar. Decide your own level of simplicity. Wunderlist is available on the web and for Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad. Remember the Milk is available on the web and has services available through them or third party apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, OS X, Blackberry, Gmail, Google Calendar, iGoogle, Siri, Microsoft Outlook, Gears browser plugin, etc.

Zotero or Mendeley – Free citation management programs. Each has it’s own benefits and limitations but if you can’t afford a citation manager such as Endnote, there are few complaints. Both allow you to share citations with colleagues and/or make them public to the world. Both have an online component so be sure that if you choose one, you’re able to backup your citations and use them offline if you have no internet connection. Zotero is a Firefox extension (so works on any platform where Firefox works) and Mendeley works on Windows, Mac and Linux. [read about the drawbacks of both here or here]

Picasa – Even if you take really fancy pictures of your kids with a really fancy camera, most of the time you just want a place to organize them, share them, and maybe make a few edits to them such as cropping or trying to brighten that really dark picture you took. Picasa’s desktop application ties into their internet client so you can organize and store away. It’s very user friendly. Picasa is now a Google product so if you’re new to it and use Google+ make sure you tell it not to share data with Google+ if you don’t want all of your pictures and videos all over the internet. Picasa is available on the web, for Windows, and for Mac. Though you can only find the uploader and importer from iPhoto on the actual Picasa site (Mac tools), a 2011 release is available via CNET.

Delicious – Though Delicious is an online storage system for your bookmarks, the downloadable plug-ins for your browsers allow you to save and sync your bookmarks daily. Just got a new computer? You’ll be able to download your bookmarks back down to your new system with ease using the same plug-in. Delicious is available via the web and tools are available for uploading on their website. In addition, it’s available on Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and IE as an add-on.

Flux – If you have spent a lot of time in front of a screen, no doubt you’ve been rubbing your eyes or wondering why nothing other than your computer screen seems bright unless it’s the sun directly in your eyes. Let’s solve that. Flux takes into account your location and changes the brightness of your screen as the day goes on. It runs automatically, but you can turn it off if you need the brightness of your screen to be different (say you’re watching a movie or doing computer graphics that you really need that for). Check it out for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and iPad.

Evernote – We’ve talked about Evernote on our site before so we won’t rehash all of that. But Evernote let’s you keep up with all types of info via the internet, a program for your computer, or on your smartphone/tablet. Links, write blog posts, all those recipes you meant to organize…the possibilities are endless. Available on the web, smartphones, tablets, and as a desktop download for Windows, Mac, Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

Skype – Do we need to pump you up about this one? Chat with family, friends, coworkers, etc for free. Just do it. Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, smartphones, tablets and even smart tvs.

Dropbox – Dropbox is an easy way to keep up with files, pictures, music, and to share items with family and friends or even coworkers. Available via the web, on smartphones/tablets, and the desktop download for Windows, Mac, or Linux integrates itself into your documents system to make it very easy to add/delete items like you do for any folder on your computer.

handbrake screenshot

Handbrake – An easy way to convert your DVDs into a mobile form, whether you plan on leaving on your computer or putting on your smartphone or tablet. You can add subtitles and decide how large the file can be by adjusting the quality. Small download and very very intuitive to use. Don’t be caught without it. Available for Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, and Fedora.

IZArc – A free file zipping program. Though the advent of sites like Dropbox makes zipping files not as necessary anymore, there still are times when you want or need to zip or unzip files. Available for Windows.

Avast! – We all should be using anti-virus programs. Though many operating systems now include a firewall, anti-virus isn’t there. Avast! free protection really is free. Renew it once a year and you’re good as gold. They have paid versions, but then again, if you’re paying you have a lot of options. Available for Windows.

Did we leave anything off of this list? What’s another free program that you recommend for general use?