Artsy Pics: Thing 9 and 10

I downloaded two apps for Thing 9: LINE Camera and Color Splurge.  This Thing is all about Taking and Editing photos, and when I first looked through the choices that 23 Things provided I was like, "Hasn't anyone heard of Instagram?"  Because Instagram wasn't a choice.  Then I noticed that Instagram was under Thing 10, which involved sharing photos. 

I'll be honest, I can't see the real point of having LINE Camera AND Instagram on one's phone, unless one really enjoys schnazzing up photos.  Instagram has plenty of options for filtering, but if you want to add text and frames and the whole nine yards, then by all means, install LINE Camera!

I really enjoyed the Color Splurge app and will actually probably keep it around on my phone!  You can do artsy filters, of course:

But the real fun of having Color Splurge is the color-select tool.

The frustrating thing about this feature is the fact that you have to color in the colors you want to show.  Using your finger, you rub the picture where you want the color to pop out (much like a paintbrush tool). The ducks were pretty easy, but the flowers below were quite difficult.  I kept having to erase my mistakes because the green of the surrounding leaves kept popping up.  I wish there was some way to just tell the app what colors you want to appear and which you don't.  Maybe there is!  I'll keep playing around.

A word on Thing 10: I've used Instagram a lot in the past, but got sick of feeling like I always needed to photograph my life.  It's addicting!  Seriously, install it for one day, and every plate of food you eat looks like a masterpiece.

SnapChat is weird.  I used it for a couple weeks about a year ago.  Just think about it for a sec.  What kind of pictures would you want to send to people that only hang around for a couple seconds?  Hm...

Thing 8: How I don't qualify.

I know in order to be a really good and really trendy librarian I should have at least two Twitter accounts and want to always be in the know, but I honestly find social media really draining, and this is coming from a 24 year old.  So when I saw Thing #8 and how it is all about managing our social media, I felt super stressed out, because I had just uninstalled the Facebook app from my phone for the summer (along with Tumblr, but never Goodreads.)

I spend at least 8 hours a day in front of a computer, which lends plenty of time to keeping up with my social media and with what's trending.  I just can't justify carrying it around with me on my phone, too. 

Maybe I'm just a boring person!  But: I don't have a FourSquare, I don't see the reason to install the LinkedIn app (now I can network on the go!), and try as hard as I might, I somehow keep ending up with a Google + account even though I don't want one. 

Therefore: I do not have social media apps that need managing.  So I didn't use any of the managers.

Thing 7: Saving Sites

 Thing 7 is all about organizing the sites you visit often.  Bookmarks are a thing of the past--you might have multiple computers or mobile devices--so where does that leave you?  In the grocery store without a recipe, lamenting that you can't remember the URL. 

A quick word of praise for Pinterest:

I've been using Pinterest for about 3 years.  I used it to plan my wedding (Note: once I actually got engaged.  Not as a wedding-crazy single person.), and I continue to use it to bookmark vacation tips but mainly: RECIPES.  

I'm a super visual eater, so if I'm preparing the week's grocery list, I'll just go to my Pinterest account and scroll around until I'm drooling.  Pinterest is also a great place for discovery.  Sure, you can go to Allrecipes.com and type in what you're looking for and pin your URL from there.  Or you can use Pinterest's search feature and type in something like, "lasagna," and get a million pictures of lasagna--vegetarian, turkey, you name it.  The more pins something has, the more you can assume it's a great recipe. 

Negatives?  This is becoming less frequent, but sometimes people accidentally link their pin to the image of the food item, and not the URL of the recipe itself.  So you're scrolling along thinking, "Damn, that peanut butter cookie looks amazing!  I'll pin it and bake it later."  Three months later, peanut butter in hand, you open the pin, and all it takes you to is a slightly larger picture of the cookie.  No recipe!  Disappointment.

Thing 6: CloudOn vs QuickOffice

CloudOn and QuickOffice are both ways you can open and edit Microsoft Office documents from your mobile device.  I spent the last couple weeks with both installed on my phone.  Here's the run-down of what I liked and didn't like about both.  (Sorry that my last screenshot for some reason includes the volume control in the picture... lame!)

CloudOn

One of the huge benefits of CloudOn is that it will load the document with all the formatting displaying properly--just as though you've opened the document in Word.  Your document will not be Googlified. (Scroll down to the QuickOffice app to see how this document would load in QuickOffice--Google's product).  So if you're opening something and want it to look the way you want it to look, then I would definitely use CloudOn.  

One of the HUGE negatives is the app is super slow.  Downloading a document makes me feel like I have dial-up, and the scrolling is super glitchy.  The editing tools weren't very intuitive for me, but I didn't use them that much. 





QuickOffice
QuickOffice is Google's product for opening docs on your phone--if you have an Android you probably have it on your phone already.  And, because it's Google, it's super fast, slick, intuitive, and shiny.  I use QuickOffice for just about all the documents I open. 

THE ONLY PROBLEM is the formatting.  Look at what QuickOffice did to my resume!  So lame.   

My conclusion?  Download both.  If you need to open a fancy document that you just want to look at, you can use CloudOn.  For everything else, there's QuickOffice. 
 

Thing 5: List making and note taking

Here are some note taking/organization apps I played around with for Thing 5!

Springpad
Springpad struck me as a Pinterest-type app.  On Springpad you can create different "notebooks" where you can import recipes, books, movies, lists... anything you want to keep track of.  It has a bunch of neat notebooks like wine lists and "products"--where you can scan barcodes of items and add them to the same book.  I think that feature would especially be useful, since it enhances the mobility of the app.  If you're in a store and want to scan a bunch of things at Target that you might get your friend for their birthday, it could be an easy, mobile, and visual way to remember what your ideas were.  Since I already have Goodreads for my book collection and Pinterest for my recipes and inspirations, I think the highlight of the Springpad app for me would be the mobility.  We'll have to see if this app ever comes in handy!

Carrot
I thought I would contribute a to-do-list app that wasn't included on the Thing 5 List for fun: Carrot.  It's a to-do list with attitude.  If you don't finish your tasks, it get's angry.  It's also sort of a game.  The more tasks you get done, the happier the Carrot App is, and you can level up and earn rewards. I think this app is only for Apple products (I've seen it on my friend's devices), but it's pretty funny to play around with.  For people who want to have some fun and get motivated at the same time!

RSS Feeds: Thing 4

RSS Feeds are a way to make the information come to you.  Rather than searching your favorite news and tech sites and wasting a lot of time trying to find new articles, an RSS Feed is a one stop shop for all of your favorite content.

I really like the idea of an RSS Feed.  It seems like a great way to simplify your life and pause some of the frantic feelings of "is something new happening?"  RSS Feeds save you the hassle of checking, checking checking every five minutes. 

I installed the Flipboard app to try out an RSS Feed manager and play around with the idea.  I liked that you could insert different "genre"s--sports, music, travel--so even if you don't have a favorite tech blog, you could still be supplied with some articles on that subject.  However, to use Flipboard effectively, it seems like one would have to have many sources they like to frequent and have in one spot.

I have to be honest, though.

I don't follow a lot of blogs.  A couple at the most.   I don't have a Twitter.  I listen to NPR in the morning as my news source.  I am a very busy person, and when I'm not busy, I like to do things like read books or cook or watch documentaries.*

I don't think an RSS Feed fits my lifestyle.  I like to stay in the loop when it comes to technology and current events and the library world, but I would rather seek that information when I have time to dedicate to those articles.  I also just don't have the sort of personality that frequents several websites consistently throughout the week (unless you count Facebook and Tumblr).

Speaking of Facebook, you can integrate your Newsfeed into Flipboard.  At first I thought this was pretty cool, but the formatting for the information was just so cluttered that it seemed more frustrating than useful. Some of the images were hard to read, too.

I can see where having and RSS Feed app would be useful, but I'm going to have to say that Thing 4 is not for me!

*This probably made me sound, like, 50 years old but I swear I'm 24.

Thing 3: Utilities

Thing number three is all about using awesome apps on your phone to help you with your everyday life.  For example:

Google Goggles. 
You guys, the craziest thing just happened to me.  So I was working on Thing 3, right?  When all of a sudden, I get this little notification on my Nexsus.

 Last night I had attended an Edward Hopper event at the Walker Art Museum.  I had snapped a couple pictures of Hopper's sketches of Nighthawks, because it's famous, you know?  Google Goggles decided to share it's knowledge with me this morning.  "I know what that is!" said Google.

Google managed to recognize a Hopper sketch.  Granted, it actually thought it was this book, which has the sketch on the cover, but I'll give it credit!  This happens to me all the time when I take pictures of art, wine bottle labels that I want to remember the name of, things in the store that I might buy later.... Google Goggles is great!

Besides snooping your gallery for facts to impress you with, Google Goggles can also be used in real time.  Simply snap a picture of the real-life item you want to learn more about, and, 9 times out of 10 Google Goggles will give you it's name (especially works well for logos, brands, and man-made items).

Thing 2: Mobile Device Tips

Thing 2 is all about making the most of your mobile device.  I have to admit--I'm pretty vanilla when it comes to using my Nexus 4.  Sure, I know how to change settings, install stuff, and dig around to find what I need on my phone, but I've never really gone out of my way to learn the Easter Eggs my phone was hiding.  Such as:

Screen Shots. 
You can easily take a screen shot on the Nexus 4 by holding down the Volume Down and Power Button at the same time.  I didn't know that!

3D Images. 
You guys I am a HUGE FAN of taking 3D images!  I knew about this tip before doing this Thing, but I still have to share my excitement.  The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to transfer a 3D image from your phone gallery to your desktop... can it be done?  Below is a 3D image I took a few weeks ago in Times Square.  It doesn't look as cool as it does on my phone obviously. ...How to change that? 

Face Unlock.  
Usually I'm not one to fall for the "draw a picture of an elephant to unlock your phone.  No really, it's cool!  We swear!" sort of things, but Face Unlock is slick.  Once you've stored an image of your face in the phone, all you have to do is have your phone at eye-level while unlocking.  In milliseconds, your phone will unlock upon waking it up.  It's super fast! 

Speech-to-Text.
Otherwise known as April's Parent's Favorite Pastime.  
 


Bonus: iPad tips. 
I rented an iPad from my workplace 6 months ago and have formed a bond with the device.  The tips and tricks video presented on 23 Things reminded me of a session at MLA I attended last October titled (something like) 60 iPad Tips and Tricks in 60 minutes.  I didn't find the video provided particularly helpful, as it seemed to just name differences that the new operating system provided, which weren't as fun as the tips from the MLA conference I learned.