Sunday, June 15, 2014

Thing #23

Here we are at the end and evaluating is the task.

Has anything changed as a result of this experience? What were my favorite Things and discoveries? How did I connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things? Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes? What could the program do differently? Would I participate in the future in something similar? How would I describe my learning experience in one word or one sentence?

The value of this program for me is having a better idea of what apps are out there, simple as that. More specifically, I was happy to have a better understanding of the categories of apps that are available. So, awareness of the breadth and depth of apps was the main take-away for me. An unexpected outcome was discovering just how many apps have little or no place in my personal life. There are so many apps available that are useless or extraneous that it helps to have a program such as 23 Mobile Things to wade through the hundreds of possibilities and point the way to those apps that are most robust or most popular. As far as connecting to others who are working through this project, I read a few blogs now and again that were of interest to me, mostly those of my coworkers in the Hennepin County Library system. There's nothing I could suggest that be done differently. I thought the project was easy to follow and cohesive and the apps that were chosen were interesting and represented well the best in their categories. I think the timeline was appropriate and the time allotted adequate. I was surprised to see just how many people abandoned the project and how quickly they did it. I would absolutely participate in a similar opportunity. I wish I had been able to participate in earlier renditions. My favorite Things were a renewed interest in Instagram, Remember the Milk, Viddy, Vine, and Audioboo. I am looking forward to using RoadNinja in July as I road trip with a friend to Montana and Yellowstone National Park. The most valuable thing I learned was an insider's nuts and bolts look at blogging.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Thing #22

I checked out Quixey and Apps Gone Free both, but neither really works for me. I've found the best way to discover new apps for my iPhone is to do a Google search and see what my favorite online magazines have recently reviewed and recommended. That list includes PCMag, MacLife, Gizmodo, Time Magazine, TechRadar, and Mashable. By using these sources, I learn what apps are the BEST, not just what apps are new or free. The New York Times technology section is also a good bet, specifically the Bits blog. There you can learn more information about not just how apps work or how successful they are, but details about the developer, financing, and marketplace.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Thing #21

I have a few apps to recommend for this Thing. The first one I'd recommend is called Around Me. It's available from iTunes. I don't know about its availability for Android users. This app sits front and center on my home screen because I use it all the time, especially when I'm traveling, but even around the Twin Cities. As the name indicates, this app informs you about what's "around" you. It lists restaurants and bars, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, post offices, grocery stores, etc. You can also search for specific stores, Target for instance, and it will locate the closest Target to your location. I have found this app to be endlessly useful as I've traveled to Las Vegas, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and as a recent transplant to the Twin Cities. Just the other day I was with a friend dropping a car off for repairs in a neighborhood neither of us is familiar with. We wanted to eat lunch and find a bakery. The app directed us to A Baker's Wife Pastry Shop and Pupuseria la Palmera. We had a delicious lunch of cheese and locoro pupusas with fried plantanos con lecheria for desert. The bakery was closed, but we intend to find our way back to it.

Another app I use regularly is called Flixster, the most downloaded movie app of all time. You can browse the top box office movies and movies showing soon, look up show times at your favorite theaters and buy tickets, watch movie trailers, get critic reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, and view and manage your Netflix queue. It allows you to create a list of favorite movie theaters so the films at the theaters you usually go to are at the top of your phone. If you regularly attend movies, this app is for you.

I recommended the A Beautiful Mess photography app in Thing #9 so I won’t go into detail here except to say it’s a simple and fun app that I regularly use to dress up my Instagram photos.

I also recommend checking out apps from your own bank. My bank, Commerce Bank, has an easy and elegant app that allows me to check my account and do transfers between accounts. I use it regularly.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Thing #20

I rarely use my phone to play games, though I do enjoy playing Sudoko with pencil and paper. I've tried Sudoko on my phone, but it's just not as much fun. For this Thing, I downloaded Word Warp. I spent a fun half an hour trying to create words out of a random group of six letters. I can see turning to this game in the waiting room of the clinic or on an airplane when I'm looking for something light to pass the time and don't feel like reading or doing some other activity. Word Warp would be enjoyable for a range of ages.

Pickin' Stix Classic is an app form of the the game Pick Up Sticks that people might want to take a look at it.