Sunday, September 30, 2012

Oovoo

Oovoo is a application that can be used on any PC or Mac laptop. Oovoo is a great way to video chat with up to 12 different friends across the globe! When using Oovoo you may also record a message and send it to a friend if they are not online at the time. Oovoo is also a great application because it is free. Some of the main features Oovoo has to offer are, the ability to screen share, instant message send files up to 25 MB each, and also Oovoo offers you a link to bring your blog onto other social networking sites you have already made for yourself! The application also has the mobile device application that is accessible through the Android, the Samsung Galaxy, the iPhone, the iPad, the iTouch, and much more.

    Having access to a webcam these days is a great way to communicate across the globe. Oovoo is a fast and easy application that allows you to use this kind of communication. It has many reviews of great video and picture quality as well as the speed in the calls.

Foursquare

Foursquare is an app that can be accessed through an iPhone, Andriod, and Blackberry that helps you and your friends make the most of where you are. Foursquare allows you to share and save the places you visit. Based on where you have previously checked in, Foursquare will give you personalized deals and recommendations for where you can go next. You can search for anything or browse popular categories. You can even discover insider tips and lists from local experts, brands, and even celebrities!

Foursquare is the number one featured  free app on the App Store for the iPhone. Over 25 million people worldwide use Foursquare with recorded check ins being over 2.5 billion. Foursquare can be accessed and found through social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus Flickr, and MeetUp.

Foursquare is also used by many businesses and brands. For small business or large chains, the app has many different tools that helps them attract more customers and gives the customers updates on a business or brand. This app allows people to see where their friends have been through so many different ways of communication bringing everyone closer together.

Sources:
https://foursquare.com/about/

Thursday, September 27, 2012

iBooks Author

I chose to write about an iTunes app called iBooks Author. The free app allows for someone with an apple computer to create and publish books into the iTunes Store. This app allows for the user to use a program similar to Keynote or Pages, in order to create any time of book, textbook or manual which can include interactive widgets as well as interactive hyperlinks.  When creating the book you are also giving an option to publish either a free book, publish for a profit or even just create a pdf version to distribute freely.

Something which we discuss frequently in class is the most effective way to communicate. Over the summer I worked at same place at which I interned the summer before, it handles both entertainment and sports events for many concierges in top NYC hotels. Every few months a book must be complied in order to send out to the hotels to show then whats going on when. This summer I found that creating and publishing an Ebook was the best way for our company to best cater to their needs in the most effective way. The book is now available on all of the hotels iPads and instantly updated on our end. Since all the iPads are also always connected to wifi, when people make a selection they can simply just use the request link that was placed at the end of the book thanks to iBooks Authors awesome widgets.

Originally created for educational purposes, I thought it was a good app to blog about because it makes sharing books, whether it be a textbook, cookbook, picture book, or manual, easy to do. With in a few simple step your a published author spreading your thoughts through out be it by pdf or the iTunes stores, in the click of a button your book becomes available for people to access in more then a dozen countries.



Assigned Blog post #1/ Google Voice

Karley Giles
Assigned Blog post #1

     I chose to write about a really neat app called Google voice.  The purpose of this app is to create a phone number which inst your own that people can still call, text,and leave you voice-mails at. These means of communication will be sent to your normal phone that has an already activated number.
     This app relates to what we have learned in class because we frequently talk about communication and the most effective way to communicate. I am co-executive producer of a television show for ATV and we use this app for show related things that we wouldn't want to give out our real numbers for. Another neat feature is that my co-executive producer and I can both receive the means calls/ text/ voice-mails from this number to each of our phones. It's like a business line where the messages are transfused to two separate locations. I will also be able to see any typed out responses she has sent and well as she I. also at the end of the day when were sick and tired of working we can turn the number off so that we do not receive any more messages and our phone acts as just our own. While having the Google voice app your phone will work for either number so I can still recieve my personal calls as well.
     This is an awesome app that makes life a lot easier and I would recommend it to anyone especially in a business setting.

Tango


  
Tango puts a twist on a traditional phone call, making it a better experience and easier way to communicate.  Tango is definitely an App that everyone needs!  For those who are a fan of Facetime, Tango is so much better because you can use it anywhere, no wifi connection is needed.  I originally discovered Tango, when I was using FaceTime and it kept failing because of weak wifi signal.  One of my friends suggested that I use Tango, and I have never used facetime again since.   Tango is similar to FaceTime, except it does no require wifi to work.   This makes it more accessible and can literally be used anywhere.   Tango allows you to select one or multiple people to video chat straight off of your mobile device.  It was originally created so that people with iPhones and Andriod can have an experience similar to Facetime, which is for iPhone users only.  Tango also allows the people involved in the conversation to use different effects while chatting that, and it also allows you to snap pictures.  This App is fabulous and makes phone conversations more personable.  I personally love it and would rather video chat than answer the phone and have a conversation.  So many more things can happen via video.  I have given a tour of my apartment, to my mom via this App, as well as showed my sister the dress I am wearing to her wedding, it truly is a great way to virtually be with people who are miles away.


           Tango makes phone calls more personal with face to face interaction.  It is more than a phone call and better than a text message.  Tango is just like the normal Oovoo or Skype program on the computer, except it satisfies the needs of today’s generation by incorporating it for the mobile device.  It takes communication to a new level.  You could be miles away from someone, and yet they are right in front of you through a phone screen.  It enhances communication, since there is eye contact it's hard for the other person to stray away from the conversation.  You can read facial expressions, and tones of messages do not get misjudged which often happens via text.   It is the perfect way for the college age to keep in touch with their families.  It also comes in handy when traveling.  Tango can better relationships and communication in a variety of ways, it has potential and is only going to get better.

Snapchat

A new app I have recently come to download per the advice of my friends is called Snapchat. Snapchat is a free messaging system for the iPhone (that can also be accessed through Facebook) that allows the user to take a picture and send it to a friend or a group of friends in real-time. The interesting twist is that the sender can control how long the receiver(s) can see the picture message, and after the allotted time, the picture will disappear and all the receiver can see is the receipt of the message. Snapchat also allows the user to have fun. There is an option to add a short text message on your picture, or to draw on your picture with a variety of colors- really the possibilities are endless with a creative mind. This app embodies the cliche of "A picture is worth a thousand words."



Snapchat breathes new life into a seemingly mundane from of communication- texting. Texting has become one of the main forms of communication among the new generation, and Snapchat makes it interesting again. In some instances, I find myself not wanting to explain myself via text because it takes too long, or it's too hard to explain in written form. With Snapchat, you can avoid the drawn out lengthy text messages and simply show your friend what you mean. It also brings a sense of intimacy to a usually cold and detached form of communication. Now, you are seeing your friend, you are experiencing their situation through images, rather than just reading about it. Snapchat is making computer mediated communication personal again.



Citation:

Snapchat Inc. (Photographer). (2012). Snapchat. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapchat/id447188370?mt=8

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Blindsquare


Blindsquare is a new app that will help blind people navigate and give them a better feel for what is around them. It combines aspects of already existing apps to make it work. For example, it uses the maps come from Open Street Maps and integrates venue data from another application called Foursquare. Using that data it then takes the text to speech feature from Acapela and Apples Voiceover technology. This technology speaks out what is around a person at any given time and allows you to speak to the phone. Blindsquare has the ability to tell a blind person what restaurants or businesses are nearby. It will share with the visually impaired what streets are nearby, give distances and directions which all help a blind person gain a better idea of where they are.

In a way this application is much like a more interactive GPS system. The user can search through the integrated data by categories such as food or stores. Blindsquare is like having a tour guide in your pocket. You simply ask your Apple device where you would like to go or what you would like it to search for you and it returns your request with a plethora of results. One can simply walk down the street and it will share interesting places nearby. When you select a target, Blindsquare can give you the locations contact info, open a twitter feed or restaurant menu, make a phone call, track the place, and start navigating your route. You can then add places to your favorites. This device can even tell how you are traveling, by foot or vehicle.

Technology is changing the way we live and is becoming more a part of our lives each day. This new tool gives the visually impaired a new way to interact with technology in a way they never could before. This gives them then the ability to search for something around them quickly and easily. Having all this information in one place will save someone who is blind a great deal of time. Before these advancements in technology people would have to do a great deal of searching to find places of interest. For example, people would not know if a restaurant was good before without doing research or asking a friend who has been there before. What this app does it allows people to interact with people who they have never met before but have already been to the restaurant and given a review. What makes this app so great is that it is always being updated. The more people check in with Foursquare, the more this app will be updated with new points of interest.

 

 

Cites:

 

MIPsoft. (n.d.). BlindSquare for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd

generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store. Apple - iTunes - Everything you need to be entertained. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blindsquare/id500557255?mt=8

Thompson, C. (n.d.). BlindSquare: a digital guide for the blind. About Foursquare - An unofficial

blog covering foursquare badges, news and apps. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from http://aboutfoursquare.com/blindsquare-digital-guide-blind/


GroupMe

The application that I had recently downloaded from my iPhone is an application called GroupMe. It is a pretty well-known app that all devices like the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and many more can use this awesome app. This app is used by all sorts of members but especially in the business world too. If your focus is around that field, GET IT!   


Why GroupMe, and that is because GroupMe is the best way to chat with everyone you know. It’s a free easy app to download and with its great features you would be pleased with it. You can do group messaging, open groups, and direct messaging. You can have as many members you want in a group and your text will go to all. This app is easy to reach anyone, anywhere, and anytime.

GroupMe hasn’t been around too long but it has become a pretty fancy app to use. This app was created in 2011 and now it’s 2012; it’s a worldwide known app just like other apps such as instragram or draw something. GroupMe is so good that you can catch up with your family, get a group together for a hangout, coordinate with co-workers, or just talk with a few of your closest friends. It’s a personal app that you can use on your own time whenever you want. Also if you are worrying about one thing and that’s if you gain poor connection, the app can switch to receiving messages via SMS. You'll never miss a message!

GroupMe is the future to all connections, get it and you will be successful with life!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Blog #1 Mint Application


The application that has caught my attention in the past few months is an application called Mint. Mint is an application that can be downloaded to your iPhone, iPad, iPhone or Mac. This application can only be used on Apple products. The application is designed to keep track of all your bank accounts into one application.

Once the application is downloaded it saves all the records of your bank accounts, credit cards, and upcoming bills. It is beneficial because when a bill is almost due it will send you an alert and will notify you. It will also notify you when your debit bank account is running low. But the all time best feature of the application it says a budget according to your income. It tells you how much you should spend on shopping, grocery, restaurant, and “going out” money; the best part of it anytime you go into a mall or restaurant it sends a notification stating the amount of money you have to spend from your budget.

I am very happy to say that I’m a member of the Mint community. I have it on my iPhone, iPad and Mac. I keep my finances on check everyday of every hour. I, myself, am a big spender and the application helps to keep me off spending money that should be saved instead. Also it alerts me when a bill is due, that way I would not be charged a fee for late payment. I recommend anyone who has an iPhone, iPad or Mac to download the application it is of great use.

Monday, September 24, 2012

HeyTell



A new mobile phone communication application that is available for iPhones and Androids is HeyTell. Its purpose is to convey voice messages between friends quickly, easily and in a more personalized way. What it essentially does is allow you to turn your phone into a walkie talkie. How it works is one party sends one of his/her friends a short message by hitting record in the application and speaks into the phone. That message is then sent to the chosen receiver and they hear the message, much like how a walkie talkie would work. However, unlike walkie talkies, the messages are stored in the receiver’s phone until the receiver is available to listen to them, as it is with texting. This application combines the best benefits of voice communication and texting; you can hear the other person speaking which allows for more understanding of the message and more personalization without having to both be available at once. HeyTell allows you to send messages at a convenient rate but none of the message’s meaning is lost because it is only sent through text. We have all experienced some instance where a joke was lost because tone could not be conveyed through text, or emotions were not expressed fully, or where meaning was lost and confusion occurred because of autocorrect or a mistype. Those issues are no more though. 

On the main screen of HeyTell the newest messages appear first and you are alerted when you have a new message, but each conversation is stored in order to see each message sent from both parties, just as in a text message conversation. In order to be friends on HeyTell (so that you can send and receive messages to one another) you must send someone an invitation and the invitation must be accepted, therefore there is no anonymity. This application is also free, therefore anyone with one of the previously mentioned smart phones can use it. The normal uses of Hey Tell are short messages between friends. However, there is nothing to stop it from being used in a more formal business setting or with longer messages as well. HeyTell is only used for audio messages though, you cannot send any text or pictures through this application. HeyTell has a map feature in addition to sending voice messages which allows you to send others your location on a map and to see the location of your friends. This feature permits increased coordination; you can find your friends easier to meet up. HeyTell is attempting to take the best features on text communication and voice communication  and combine them into one application that is easy to use and allows for the most understanding between the parties.