My Afflation

Unboxing Pros Google Assistant in my ear . It also showed me that I really need to clean out numbers for everyone on speed-dial. Took entirely too long when speaking because Assistant kept asking me which number to use for the various contacts I wanted to call. Instead of, you know, the one that I text and call all the time . So for all you conspiracy theorists, Google does not know all, even when it's on your phone . Either that or the AI needs a lot of tweaking. Google Pixel Help - Can it be broken? Just hand it to me. I'll QA that thing in ways you never imagined. via GIPHY The Google Chat help techs were good, even if I did eye-roll once or twice (because, help desk, and I am contacting you because I couldn't figure it out on my own and I am not a normal user).  I haven't had a chance to play with translation , but the Babelfish ability was the main selling point. Cons This list was surprisingly easy to come up with starting within just the ...

Or, at least for all of my toys. My Nexus has been having issues lately with charging from a cable (as in, I can't remember the last time it took less than 8 hours to get to 100% even using a high capacity block), so I went looking for a dock, but discovered that I could get two wireless chargers for the price of one dock , wired or wireless. Sweet, one for home, one for the office. Bonus, they come in colors other than matte black, so of course I got one to match the shell case of my Chromebook. And then I thought ... Let's make my M8 wireless too . The only inconvenience is that I will have to change from my wallet case back to the Dot View Case  (which has a tendency to butt dial people) ... Now I just have to wait until Friday for everything to arrive.

Last night I discovered Pepperplate in the in Nook Color app market , I think I am in love. Menu planning may have just gotten enjoyable (along with cleaning the toilet, it's one of the chores I hate the most). It's much easier to use than BigOven or Allrecipes . I feel like I'm taking pictures to the grocery store. I already have a bunch of recipes pinned on pinterest ,  and it's been a cinch to go to that board, pick the recipes I want, open the source page, and hit the pepperplate bookmarket. Within seconds it's on my Nook. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I'm going from a source other than straight from the web. This will make menu planning so much easier! I can search for vegetarian on EatingWell , other people's recipes on pinterest, and of course, I have almost 10 years of favorite recipes on Allrecipes, most of which I have printed into my own personalized cookbook, but it would be nice to have them digital again. I like the fact that...

Well now, talk about driving customer engagement. And a good tie-in between virtual and brick and mortar. Customers are bound to buy more when they are actually in your store. Right? I know they are in my family. My son prefers old-fashioned hardbacks and hates reading anything not a manga on a screen. Likewise, my daughter loves going to the bookstore weekly to increase her selection of series. Her favorite right now is Seekers . Both of them require budgets when we enter the store. I have been buying, sampling, and borrowing books like a maniac ever since I got my Nook Color about two weeks ago ( please friend me! I loan books too ). I'm reading for pleasure again! Barnes & Noble has teamed up with Rovio to bring a whole new experience dimension to Angry Birds , one of the most addicting and mindless games ever created. It's $2.99 in the Nook Color market and now you can get an exclusive free update by going  into  the store. You can only get the update (until s...

I'm an app! You can download me from the Android Market or scan the QR code below. You'll get: Free alerts on the latest stories Search in-app Tag Cloud Optimized mobile delivery It's free and it has alerts so that you'll know whenever my blog is updated. You can search my blog for certain topics or specific posts right from your phone. The app also has Apps2SD and you can turn off the twitter feed. I downloaded the app myself and requested the changes because I know you don't want your phone blowing up every time I tweet. The customer support at Notice Software is amazing, getting my blog turned into an app was free (there are ads), but so far I am pleased with the experience. Best of all, it's an easy way to monetize. I've been blogging for over a decade, and monetization has not been a primary goal, but hey, I'm not going to say no. Notice Software shares a percentage of the ad revenue with you (me), the publisher. Please let me know wh...

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!! YES! Ok, I am a little excited. And this is why HBO GO has got to be one of the best apps out there, and I love how HBO has made special content available to mobile users. *HBO GO® is only accessible in the US. Minimum 3G connection is required for viewing on mobile devices. Some restrictions may apply for mobile devices. ©2011 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc. Click to go to the Game of Thrones streaming site. Get caught up on the best mini-series of the year! Download the app now Now I just need an actual hour or eight to catch up! I haven't been able to get through the first episode without interruption.

I have high hopes for the 2011 myNABShow app. It allows you to sync your schedule with the website, add friends, find exhibits, and follow the #NABShow twitter stream.  If you have Twicca you can reply from within the app. These are just the features I use. However, as of this writing there are still issues syncing your profile, which negates the most useful parts of the app.  It affects your schedule and also affects the 'add friend' function.  I've redone my profile three times in the last two days, logged out, logged back in,  and right now I'm waiting to hear from support. If you have issues with the app, please email them. I received a very quick response. The more info they have hopefully the faster they can push a fix. I'll update this as soon as I have a fix. Tweet

This is a Words with Friends "pass and play" game I started with my daughter tonight.  She's never played the Scrabble board game and has only watched me play Wordfeud. She refused any pointers I tried giving her to up her score. Honestly, she doesn't need much help. I better watch out once she figures out how much math is involved in this game :-)

I keep winning things that are good for me.   It started with the Borders Android app (ok, not a win, but the free books were available only for a short time). One of the free books was Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism . That got me to buy the related cookbook and also Eat to Live . Both of which I am still working through.   Then I entered a Klout Perk and received a Southland jacket - perfect for walking/running in. In the last month I have won a bag of Coach's Oats, just by entering a contest on Facebook and a Tribal Dance DVD from Mamavation from the blogging carnival (can't wait until I can actually participate in Mamavation TV) and another sample of Coach's Oats. I think the universe wants me to eat more oatmeal too....     Related articles Don't Irk The Influencers: The Power of Klout (compete.com) Oatmeal Month Roundup ( www.coachsoatsblog.com/ Mamavation Monday: Maintaining and Wellness (annetteholland.com)  

Photo Friday: Dark Originally uploaded by Nannerlady Last night I was playing with the different cameras available in the retro camera app and caught this one of my daughter at soccer practice. She loves being goalie. Luckily everyone else was at the other end of the field.

Check it! Still taking baby steps, but there's a new tech review blog on the scene. Nick and Nanner on Tech . We'll be talking all things tech and mobile, without all the Apple fanboi fluff you get from some other sites. We're just two users who like open source, PCs, Macs, Android, etc. Expect it to evolve and get better. We have a lot planned. And please, send in your suggestions! Related articles by Zemanta Android market share to surge over next four years (news.cnet.com) Google: Android not yet ready for tablets (news.cnet.com)

Well, hot damn! I think it's time for me to upgrade, well ... on contract it says that I have a G1, and upgrading from a G1 to a Vibrant would be an awesome deal, and who doesn't love a BOGO (that's Buy One, Get One - popularized by Payless ). I wonder if I can get it for less, I got the G1 for $179 since I am such a loyal T-Mobile customer ( no sarcasm there, nope, none at all, be sure to read the fine print ). But what would I do with two of them? I just got Josh a Blackberry. And Joy DEFINITELY does NOT need a smartphone. Decisions, decisions ... @hankito and @phatemokid should never have shown me how the Galaxy S blows away the Nexus One in benchmark tests.

Instead of blogging today when I had some downtime and began suffering from writer's block I took @KG_Photography's advice : Looked at various searches as to why @hankito couldn't get his Samsung Galaxy to sync with Picasa . None of my suggestions worked so I'll have to do some in-person troubleshooting since I have an android phone and have had picasa albums on my phone I think since my G1. If not, I have just become so used to having them in the gallery that "it's just the way it is" now. I <3 Android.

YESSSS!!! Took long enough. And yes I am downloading it this instant. Review to come after I have downloaded some books. You can download it now too using the QR code below. From the Amazon website: Shop for books in the Kindle Store optimized for your Android phone Buy a book from the Kindle Store optimized for your Android phone and get it auto-delivered wirelessly Search and browse more than 620,000 books, including 109 of 110 New York Times bestsellers. If you are a non-U.S. customer, book availability may vary Find New York Times® Best Sellers and new releases from $9.99 Get free book samples. Read the beginning of books for free before you decide to buy Books you purchase can also be read on a Kindle, computer, or other Kindle-compatible mobile devices Kindle newspapers, magazines and blogs are currently not available on Kindle for Android Kindle for Android is currently available for customers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croati...

I get so hot and bothered by new tech, it's silly sometimes. Like premature ejaculation. There is a new subscription music service on the horizon called  Rdio . I signed up for an invite largely based on this photo (and some hype from friends): See the Nexus One there next to the Blackberry? I wanted to *SQUEE* so badly for a application that launched on both iPhone and Android (OK, and RIM) with the same functionality * at the same time *. I'm not even sure if when I signed up they had the disclaimer Rdio in your pocket. With apps for iPhone, and BlackBerry phones, your music goes where you go — even if you're offline. I wonder if it's just how we read the web these days or if it's user error on my part. I see a picture of three phone platforms, I sign up for an invite. I get the invite a mere two weeks later (or so, nice turn-around! faster than Google Voice and Wave ) I would've appreciated even a simple "Coming Soon" stamp over the Nexus One in...

I've been "moblogging" for years, ever since Blogger introduced the go@blogger.com integration with MMS.  I used to mo-blog from a Motorola camera phone (NOT a Razr), then my Dash, but not so much with my G1.  It's just not as intuitive and the other night i discovered a word limit that I wasn't aware of. My work-around involves using AK Notepad to write the post, and then either email it, or if I had a photo attached, send photo and blog text to my flickr2blog account (yeah, I'm all over linking my accounts to my blog). This doesn't give a lot of control for formatting. I don't like blogging in the mobile blogger.com interface. It's actually more difficult to write, add pictures, etc. And if you lose data connection, there goes your post! For over a year I have been looking for a decent Blogger blogging app. The Android Market has had two really good ones for Wordpress and LiveJournal, and even a Drupal app. It has always puzzled me why Google d...

So if you are like me and occasionally (though Josh will say constantly) text while driving, you might want to try Dial2Do . You have your hands-free headset, right? And of course, the line that convinced me .... "post updates to your TWITTER or JAIKU stream". Not that I have an addiction or anything...