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CardMunch 2.0 Release- The Future of Business Card Storage

December 5, 2010 by Editor Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of trying out the new 2.0 version of CardMunch for the iPhone in its beta phase earlier this week, and I must say… I’m pretty impressed.

I’m in the internet marketing business, so when I go to conferences, I get ALL KINDS of business cards- mainly because my main point of contact with people that I meet there is going to be either through email or through a social network. But what do I do when I get home? I store these cards away, because I’m slightly OCD about how the desk in my home office is, and I also refuse (hear that?! REFUSE) to use a Rolodex. They are sooo 2000.

I gave CardMunch 2.0 a whirl, and noticed it has a lot of great features. For one, all the data on your business cards is pulled in via a photo that you take, and it’s reviewed, transcribed and entered by real people- meaning you’ll get everything you need, and just exactly how you want it.

CardMunch will also automatically crop the logo from the business cards for easy reference, and you can even view the cards in a slideshow type view- where you can scroll through all the cards that you’ve entered.

If you want to enter a card it’s simple- you simply place the business card within the box, and let CardMunch take care of all the rest. You can also pull in multiple cards at once- and you’ll also have the ability to do full text searches through each one. If you utilize the tags system on here, you can even tag the cards so you can remember what event, conference, coffee shop, or whatever place you met that person at.

You’ll now have an online “rolodex” and you don’t have to look like a dork by having an incredibly large stack of physical business cards to reference.

CardMunch is a free download, and you get 20 credits as a new user. 1 credit = 1 business card. The app itself is free, so you may as well get your free credits and give it a try. Save the trees! Or something. :)

Linkedin Contact Exchange- In Person

August 7, 2010 by Editor 7 Comments

I was using Linkedin on my iPhone to approve some requests that I had, when I noticed something that I had never seen before. This very well may have been a feature for a while that I’ve overlooked, but I honestly haven’t seen it before.

On the homescreen, there’s a little button called “In Person”

When you hit that button, it takes you to a screen that explains how to use it. The feature allows two people to have “In Person” turned on, and they can link up via bluetooth.

Pretty awesome if you ask me. Now I just have to find someone to try it with :)

Appsgiving – a Day of Apps and Giving

July 10, 2010 by Josie S. Leave a Comment

Happy Appsgiving day everyone!  What’s that?  You don’t know what Appsgiving is?  Well let me enlighten you.  This year a group of developers   came up with a pretty brilliant idea to celebrate the anniversary of the App Store while simultaneously boosting their sales.
So what is Appsgiving exactly?  Appsgiving is the brainchild of the developers of the not-yet-in-store iWishApp, an app dedicated to creating and sharing wish lists of iPhone and iPad apps. Essentially, it’s a day for people to ‘gift’ their favorite apps to friends and family.  Not that this can’t happen every day but today people are especially encouraged to give .  Here’s what they’re saying over at Appsgiving.com:

We all love apps.  Your friends and family love apps too.  Did you know that you can gift apps to them?  There is one special day when you should make someone’s day with an app.  Appsgiving day is celebrated the official day the App Store was born.  Celebration is in order!  Give and bring more joy to the world one app a time!

For a short tutorial on how to gift an app head on over to Appsgiving.com.  They have a Twitter account (@appsgiving) with a few followers and,-this being it’s inaugural year-that’s to be expected but, hopefully, we will see this really catch on.  What better way to celebrate the store where we can find an app for ANYTHING than to give our friends and families apps we love?  So circle July 10, 2011 on your calendar so we can keep this new tradition going.

Happy birthday App Store, thank you iWishApp developers and Happy Appsgiving everyone!

This Week in Apple June 22 – July 2

July 5, 2010 by Josie S. 1 Comment

Well this week in Apple has been dedicated, surprise, iPhone 4 issues.  The week went from Apple looking for a few good antenna engineers, to apologizing for the reception issues to attempting to dodge class action lawsuits.  Needless to say it was another busy week for Apple but unlike weeks prior this one seemed to be all about damage control. Wanna know more?

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This Week in Apple June 13-20

June 20, 2010 by Josie S. 1 Comment

Pre-Order Debacles Galore

Lots has happened this week in Apple.  First and most prevalent piece of news coming out of Apple this week – the pre-orders.  Apple reported receiving 600,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4.  Both AT&T and Apple were obviously not prepared for the sheer volume of orders they received on June 15th.  AT&T was the first soldier down posting their “sorry out of iPhones sign” at around 1:30 pacific time.  Apple followed suit a few hours later changing the expected delivery date for pre-ordered phones from June 24th to July 2nd, then (as of today) July 14th.  In addition to pre-order issues, Apple’s website was simply not prepared for the influx of visitors attempting to order the coveted device, their lack of preparedness lead to a plethora of network issues, people getting booted out of the pre-order process and causing people to try multiple times over a span of the entire day to get through.  Add to that the fact that the white iPhone 4 was not available for pre-order with no mention of a date of availability Apple seemed to have stumbled a bit in the pre-launch of the phone.  Will that impact them in any way?  Most likely not considering they took the most pre-orders (for a product most haven’t even seen in person mind you) in one day in the history of the company.

Apple is moving to Ver- T-Mobile?

In addition to the frenzy of iPhone 4 pre-orders, rumors have surfaced indicating Apple may be bringing their prized phone to T-Mobile instead of Verizon once their exclusivity contract with AT&T is up (later this year).  While the general consensus is that this is much less likely than a move to Verizon, there is evidence to support these rumors.  One being the recent announcement T-Mobile made about bringing 4G networks to their customers.  4G along with a network that is already set up to work with the iPhone increase the credibility of these rumors but for now, they are just that, rumors.

Minis Abound

Apple also quietly rolled out an updated MacMini on the same day as the iPhone 4 pre-orders began.  The new Mini boasts a new, sleek design, feature upgrades and a lower price tag.  Some of the more notable upgrades include an SD card reader and HDMI output (great for all those looking to use the Mini as a media server).

Last but certainly not least, Apple did finally release the iTunes 9.2 software update (in preparation iOS4) alongside a new security update for Snow Leopard.

It’s been a busy week in Apple and with the actual release of the iPhone 4 they’re sure to see another busy one next week.  Stay tuned for more weekly Apple updates.  And, if you were one of the many who missed the pre-order window you can live vicariously through me, I will be tweeting my experience in picking up, activating and playing with my new iPhone on release day (June 24th), follow me at @geekfab.

Find more of Josie S.’s articles at her tech blog: Geekulous or find her on Twitter.

2010 WWDC Wrap Up

June 13, 2010 by Josie S. 1 Comment

Well the 2010 WWDC is now officially over.  We’ve seen new hardware and software introduced as well as some of our favorite software getting updates.   While the release of the iPhone 4 was the main event it somewhat overshadowed some nice software updates.  There was a lot going on at the WWDC so here’s a quick recap of the highlights (aside from the obvious):

Safari 5:

Safari 5 was released on June 7 at the WWDC.  The upgrade boasts increased speed, security, HTML5 support, and additional features.  This release of Safari has focused more on the ability to use 3rd party plugins, a feature that’s been lacking with past versions of Safari.  So far, the most discussed plugins have been the Gmail Checker (a plugin that provides a count of unread gmail messages in an icon next to the address bar), Xmarks (now you can sync your bookmarks across all browsers), and, my personal favorite Safari140 (this handy little plugin allows you to send a tweet directly from a webpage).

iTunes 9.2:

Alongside the release of the iPhone 4, iTunes 9.2 was seeded to developers during the WWDC.  iTunes 9.2 will be required for anyone using the iPhone 4 or a device using the new iOS4 software.  While there are no significantly interesting feature upgrades (aside from folder support for organizing iPhone 4 apps) the upgrade does include increased backup speeds, and overall performance upgrades.

2010 Apple Design Awards:

Much to Mac app developer’s dismay, this year the Apple Design Awards were open only to iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad apps.  Signs are pointing toward the Mac developers getting their day in the sun, but as of now, the well deserved awards were given to the best mobile app developers.  So who won?  Here’s the rundown:

iPad Winners:

Flight Control (FireMint)

Financial Times iPad Edition (The Financial Times Ltd.)

Pinball HD (OOO Gameprom)

Star Walk – Interactive Astronomy Guide (Vito Technology Inc.)

TabToolKit (Agile Partners)

iPhone Winners:

20-Minute Meals – Jamie Oliver (Zolmo)

Articles (Sophiestication)

Brushes (Steve Sprang)

Doodle Jump (Lima Sky LLC)

Real Racing (Firemint)

So there you have it, a quick rundown of Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developer’s Conference.  Always fun, always exciting and always leaving us wanting more.  What do you think Apple will have in store for us next year?  Let us know in the comments.

Find more of Josie S.’s articles at her tech blog: Geekulous or find her on Twitter.

GetJar

January 17, 2010 by Editor Leave a Comment

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I don’t know how many times I’ve went into my app store, browsed through applications, had someone call me, then lost my place or got sidetracked. I found this website- GetJar – that allows you to look through the applications for your phone online.

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It allows you to pick your phone, and it stores it for you so you don’t have to tell it again. When you’re browsing through the applications you can also see what other phones it’s compatible with, and if available, a demo and reviews. It has a great and very user intuitive setup… take a look at this screen shot and go forth to check out the website! enjoy :)Photobucket

iPod [also iPhone] SOCKS!

September 21, 2009 by Editor 1 Comment

THESE THINGS ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

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I was stalking the apple website yesterday for a new case and happened upon them. I won’t get these because I tend to drop my iPhone every now and then; however they are SUCH a cute case for iPod. They fit all models* except the shuffle.
*[There is a compatibility chart shown at the end of this article.]
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In 6 different colors, green, purple, grey, blue, orange, and pink, you can have a “sock” of every color. Now you won’t be stuck wearing a blue shirt and having a green case, and vice versa. Simple pleasure I guess. The price tag on these puppies is $29.00 FOR ALL 6! They just slide in, and when you want to use a particular control, you just slide it out. Very simple… although not much shock/drop/throw protection.
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Like I had mentioned earlier, here is a compatibility chart. Enjoy! If anyone gets one of these please let me know, I’m curious how they hold up and if they attract lint like regular socks do…
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Dear Swedeshop, thank you for the Ikea iPhone app. Now my pocket can be 'hip and modern' too.

August 19, 2009 by Editor Leave a Comment

PhotobucketIkea now has an application to help you locate and budget when you’re wandering around their large maze of a store!

During this groundbreaking time for technology, when new ways of using our phones and computers are being discovered everyday, Sweden has decided that it was now time for Ikea to jump on that bandwagon. Now, I love Ikea. It is my end all favorite place for furniture. When I walk in there, I start to utter these strange phrases that I never hear come out of my mouth, such as, “that is so hip.” or better yet, “that is the most beautiful and sleek modern piece of furniture I have seen this side of town.” Okay, so I don’t really say that, and shockingly enough, the word hip is rather deranged now anyway, but I do love me some good Ikea.

How many times have you wandered around, looking for “aisle xx” and bin “x” only to realize you have no idea where you are going and have veered off the beaten path to stare at a dazzling computer desk, instead of the side table you originally set your sights on? I do it alot, and I think the side table has had about enough of my wandering eye. This application, which is called “SwedeShop”, will save you from having your furniture beat the love into you because you forgot where it was, or spent too much money “looking” for it.

When you start the application, set your local sales tax, as well as the budget you are hoping to stay in. I know, I know. That is hard in the store. I walk in there and my budget suddenly goes out the window as if I’ve been brainwashed, but not if this application has any say in it.

From then on, you can:

  1. enter the name of the product, the location at which you are supposed to find it (Aisle/bin), attach a photo along with a priority [do I REALLY want this? or am I attempting to replace the one week old item I just bought that did not come from this heavenly store?] and then your price.
  2. Wander into the storage area to start picking off your list one by one, according to priority. You can mark each item as you pick it up. This way you don’t have to pull out those xray goggles you were hoping to keep secret in order to remember what exactly it IS that you have in that box.
  3. This also acts as a calculator/budget watcher. It tallies up what you’re spending no matter how many times you trade, drop or add items. You can try to confuse it, but I’m fairly sure it’s a stable calculation of what you’re spending. If you go over the budget that you set, it will ever so kindly remind you that you’re over-budget. Now, you don’t have to listen to it…

It’s multi-currency, so us Americans can indeed use it, as well as every other place in the world. All in all, this seems like a pretty solid app. While it doesn’t do the shopping FOR you, it provides great assistance and makes it easier to drag yourself away from the store. It’s easy to ignore your budget when you keep an arbitrary number in your head; not so easy to ignore when you have a little electronic in your hand warning you.

If you were interested in this article, please check out Ikea Mobile.

You can also follow me on Twitter or add me as a fan on Facebook.

hook up your iphones, kids.

August 3, 2009 by Editor Leave a Comment

I just happened to plug my dying iphone into my laptop via usb, because it is a battery sucking fiend, and noticed that there was a iphone 3.0.1 update available. Now, I’m not completely sure what this is actually adding, since I installed it and saw no difference, but when I find out I will share. So go update! We can make a game out of it. Who can figure out what was actually changed first wins a cookie. Oatmeal or chocolate chip. Now, if I WIN, I either get thin mints or samoan girl scout cookies. What? There’s nothing unfair about that at all. Didn’t anyone ever tell you the house always wins?!

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