Saturday, February 6, 2010
Android Apps I Can't Live Without - Part Deux
FLYSCREEN!!!
I seriously cannot believe that when I started out on my Apps post I was thinking of Flyscreen, and by the end I completely forgot to mention it. I guess it's because I don't have to DO ANYTHING to use it. My screen locks, and instead of just a worthless blob of plastic and metal, I have things to do! I use it for Gmail, Twitter, entertainment and news sites (must keep up with the Charlie Sheen case since my case as victim is in the same courtroom with the same DA and same Judge!) and Icanhascheezeburger... There are so many different things you can do with Flyscreen. If you have an Android phone, I highly recommend trying it out. Love love love!!!
PS - you can also follow them on Twitter!
I seriously cannot believe that when I started out on my Apps post I was thinking of Flyscreen, and by the end I completely forgot to mention it. I guess it's because I don't have to DO ANYTHING to use it. My screen locks, and instead of just a worthless blob of plastic and metal, I have things to do! I use it for Gmail, Twitter, entertainment and news sites (must keep up with the Charlie Sheen case since my case as victim is in the same courtroom with the same DA and same Judge!) and Icanhascheezeburger... There are so many different things you can do with Flyscreen. If you have an Android phone, I highly recommend trying it out. Love love love!!!
PS - you can also follow them on Twitter!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Android Apps I Cannot Live Without
Yes, I am well aware that everyone and their brother is babbling on about their favorite Android applications. So stop yer bitchin'. I'm obviously not the first to annoy you! I'm writing this because after reading about what everyone else loves, I am surprised that my list doesn't have what I expected. Please note: I'm too damned lazy to included links, but if you type in the title to the Android Marketplace, you'll find these pronto.
Music Related
Tunewiki - I've tried so many music applications. Its not that I didn't like the one that came with my Droid, because it does a fine job. I just like extras. An application that provides me with the lyrics of songs and allows me to blip to Twitter wins. Not only does it do that, but it seems to "read" the file properties of songs better than other players. I don't have near the "unknown artist" issues utilizing this library than I do with other programs that I've tried and deleted. I was going to name them for you, until I realized that once I decided on Tunewiki, I deleted the others and my old mind flushed them to make room for more information! Oh - I almost forgot, right from the program you can choose to make any song your ringtone. Nice.
Shazam- Shit - this is the coolest application ever. I used to take pictures of my favorite songs and new bands on my satellite radio to remember what they were. Now I just press Tag Now and with the exception of TWO songs, it finds the song, artist, and will try to make the connection to YouTube or AmazonMP3 to purchase the song. I use this program more often than any other on my Droid. It has actually made an impact on my life. Seriously.
Album Art Grabber - It is so frakking annoying when you download something and the album art doesn't come with it. Or if your player doesn't bother to search the web for your art. Album Art Grabber actually give you an assortment of art to pick from. If I don't like the original cover, I can use one that was for a single. I like options.
MP3Tagger - since I sometimes get music from online "friends", it doesn't always come with the proper labeling to be seen in the right spot of my music library. This handy dandy tool lets you change the properties of MP3 files only so you can find the little buggers.
Other Stuff
I still haven't settled on a lot of things. For texting, I tried HandCent which seems to have a good rep, but there was just something annoying about it. I have now moved on to ChompSMS, but I'm not really sure what it is supposed to do. They want you to buy something or other (points??) to completely use their product, but other than that it just reminds me of HandCent, minus the bugaboos.
Tweeting was previously done with Twitdroid, but the free version doesn't support bit.ly, which is my favorite URL shortener. Today I switched to Seesmic, and it seems to be doing exactly what I want. If it falls by the wayside, I'll let you know!
I use Ringdroid to create ringtones from my library of music. You can pick whatever part of the song you like and trim it and make your ringtone. There were a couple others I tried, but this one works perfect every time, so I can't figure out why I would bother with anything else.
I use Jetflicks! (and you have to pay for it!) for TV and movie viewing. They have whole programs to view and when I'm at lunch or just hanging around the office being bored, I can watch a program. Yay! What could be bad about that?
There are a lot of other choices, but nothing that has been life altering. Not Android specific is Google Voice. The best thing about this is the voice mail transcription. I absolutely hate using the phone if I don't have to, and I really like receiving transcribed voice mails. I also like that I can record a call at the press of a button, that all of my other Google services are all tied together, etc. Android is fabulous when you actually utilize the Google products to the extent I do.
So there you have it. My contribution to the Droid application wars. Whoopthefuckindoo.
Music Related
Tunewiki - I've tried so many music applications. Its not that I didn't like the one that came with my Droid, because it does a fine job. I just like extras. An application that provides me with the lyrics of songs and allows me to blip to Twitter wins. Not only does it do that, but it seems to "read" the file properties of songs better than other players. I don't have near the "unknown artist" issues utilizing this library than I do with other programs that I've tried and deleted. I was going to name them for you, until I realized that once I decided on Tunewiki, I deleted the others and my old mind flushed them to make room for more information! Oh - I almost forgot, right from the program you can choose to make any song your ringtone. Nice.
Shazam- Shit - this is the coolest application ever. I used to take pictures of my favorite songs and new bands on my satellite radio to remember what they were. Now I just press Tag Now and with the exception of TWO songs, it finds the song, artist, and will try to make the connection to YouTube or AmazonMP3 to purchase the song. I use this program more often than any other on my Droid. It has actually made an impact on my life. Seriously.
Album Art Grabber - It is so frakking annoying when you download something and the album art doesn't come with it. Or if your player doesn't bother to search the web for your art. Album Art Grabber actually give you an assortment of art to pick from. If I don't like the original cover, I can use one that was for a single. I like options.
MP3Tagger - since I sometimes get music from online "friends", it doesn't always come with the proper labeling to be seen in the right spot of my music library. This handy dandy tool lets you change the properties of MP3 files only so you can find the little buggers.
Other Stuff
I still haven't settled on a lot of things. For texting, I tried HandCent which seems to have a good rep, but there was just something annoying about it. I have now moved on to ChompSMS, but I'm not really sure what it is supposed to do. They want you to buy something or other (points??) to completely use their product, but other than that it just reminds me of HandCent, minus the bugaboos.
Tweeting was previously done with Twitdroid, but the free version doesn't support bit.ly, which is my favorite URL shortener. Today I switched to Seesmic, and it seems to be doing exactly what I want. If it falls by the wayside, I'll let you know!
I use Ringdroid to create ringtones from my library of music. You can pick whatever part of the song you like and trim it and make your ringtone. There were a couple others I tried, but this one works perfect every time, so I can't figure out why I would bother with anything else.
I use Jetflicks! (and you have to pay for it!) for TV and movie viewing. They have whole programs to view and when I'm at lunch or just hanging around the office being bored, I can watch a program. Yay! What could be bad about that?
There are a lot of other choices, but nothing that has been life altering. Not Android specific is Google Voice. The best thing about this is the voice mail transcription. I absolutely hate using the phone if I don't have to, and I really like receiving transcribed voice mails. I also like that I can record a call at the press of a button, that all of my other Google services are all tied together, etc. Android is fabulous when you actually utilize the Google products to the extent I do.
So there you have it. My contribution to the Droid application wars. Whoopthefuckindoo.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Yes, I'm now watching Chuck
So many of my Twitter friends are rabid Chuck fans, but I didn't make it past about five episodes in the first season. I really wanted to like it, but Chuck was just too bumbling. The first episode was such a great set up, but the execution didn't make it compelling enough to be must see TV. I remember seeing Zachary Levi on The Bonnie Hunt show and thinking he was such a great guy that it made me want to watch Chuck even more. Didn't happen.
The little show that could got renewed and my Twitter friends said that this year he would be a super spy. Okay, okay. I watched. And I enjoyed it! Chuck is still likable, but he's not bumbling any more. He has more confidence. There are less "the joke is on Chuck the silly Buy More spy" moments, and it suits the overall appeal of Chuck. I actually find myself looking forward to watching it. {Gasp!}
Admittedly, I wouldn't be upset if the Buy More portion of the show disappeared all together. With the exception of his best friend, the rest of the characters are annoying and clownish. The trend these days of working in the generic version of Sam's Club or Home Depot is to, I assume, show that no matter their super skills (RIP Reaper), our heroes are still just regular guys. In the "old days" Superman worked as a reporter, Wonder Woman was in the Military, The Bionic Woman was a teacher and even Electra Woman and Dyna Girl were reporters. Now our heroes work retail. I'm not sure what that says about the average American. Just sayin'.
Finally, I awoke today to a very shitty movie on Showtime. Shitty, but conservative; pro-America. Not a popular Hollywood trait. Turns out Zachary Levi was in it which, I will assume given the rest of the cast, makes him a conservative (I leave out Republican, because the best conservatives are Independents, like me). That made me look into Mr. Levi just a bit more, and it seems not only is he a nice guy, most likely a conservative in a sea of progressives, but he's also a devout Christian. Despite the fact that I don't relish organized religion, I find him even more appealing knowing that in this political climate and in his profession specifically, he goes against the grain. Makes me want to really root for his success, and gives me an even more compelling reason to watch Chuck.
Live long and prosper, Chuck!
Watch past episodes on NBC.com
The little show that could got renewed and my Twitter friends said that this year he would be a super spy. Okay, okay. I watched. And I enjoyed it! Chuck is still likable, but he's not bumbling any more. He has more confidence. There are less "the joke is on Chuck the silly Buy More spy" moments, and it suits the overall appeal of Chuck. I actually find myself looking forward to watching it. {Gasp!}
Admittedly, I wouldn't be upset if the Buy More portion of the show disappeared all together. With the exception of his best friend, the rest of the characters are annoying and clownish. The trend these days of working in the generic version of Sam's Club or Home Depot is to, I assume, show that no matter their super skills (RIP Reaper), our heroes are still just regular guys. In the "old days" Superman worked as a reporter, Wonder Woman was in the Military, The Bionic Woman was a teacher and even Electra Woman and Dyna Girl were reporters. Now our heroes work retail. I'm not sure what that says about the average American. Just sayin'.
Finally, I awoke today to a very shitty movie on Showtime. Shitty, but conservative; pro-America. Not a popular Hollywood trait. Turns out Zachary Levi was in it which, I will assume given the rest of the cast, makes him a conservative (I leave out Republican, because the best conservatives are Independents, like me). That made me look into Mr. Levi just a bit more, and it seems not only is he a nice guy, most likely a conservative in a sea of progressives, but he's also a devout Christian. Despite the fact that I don't relish organized religion, I find him even more appealing knowing that in this political climate and in his profession specifically, he goes against the grain. Makes me want to really root for his success, and gives me an even more compelling reason to watch Chuck.
Live long and prosper, Chuck!
Watch past episodes on NBC.com
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