Last weekend I made this haul video, and I thought I should share it on my blog as well. Not really a tech post but still fun! Enjoy!
Unboxing & Haul: Lo-fi Cameras (TLR, Holga & Lomokino)
Hello Everyone! I recently purchased a number of Lo-fi Cameras and so, of course, I did an unboxing! Let me know if you have ever used one of these cameras before.
Photojojo Rangefinder: The Most Hipster iPhone Case Ever
I read somewhere that iPhones have overtaken traditional cameras as the preferred method of image capture and with ever increasing iPhone camera specs and awesome apps like Instagram, its really no wonder. Why carry around a dedicated camera when your phone and a few apps can create a variety of lens effects that rival any point and shoot? So of course Photojojo has taken that to the next level with this ultra vintage looking iPhone Rangefinder case.
Although you can buy the casing alone for that vintage camera look, this is actually a functional case as well. With the additional magnetic iPhone camera lens kit you have the option to turn your iPhone into a “complete phoneography system.”
Carry your phone around in a vintage camera case or slung around your neck with a strap for extra hipster authenticity.
Honestly though, this case really makes me want to buy an iPhone 4(s). That $99 price tag for the complete set is such a small price to pay for the ultimate vintage feel.
What’s in Your Little Black Bag?
A few weeks ago, I heard of an online monthly subscription service called Little Black Bag that really caught my attention. I’m already a fan of Shoedazzle, which I love because it has great accessories and an ever expanding line of new items, but ultimately its not as unique as one would expect. Little Black Bag is a completely new social buying website. Based loosely on the Japanese craze “Lucky Bag Sale” where a price is set for a bag whose contents are promised to be valued greater than the purchase price, LBB combines designer accessories with online swapping. Let me just quickly run through how it works. First, like many online personalized accessory websites, you take a style quiz to determine your personal style profile. Next, you are taken to an online gallery of 100-200 items of various value that have been chosen to fit your style profile. You then are asked to choose any one item you see to add to your bag, but at this point you can also “love items” to keep track of others you may also be interested in. With that one item in your bag which is guaranteed to be yours, one to three other items are added to your bag automatically based on your personal style so that the value of the overall bag is $100-$125. At this point you cannot see what the items are, but it does tell you how many items have been added and what category they fall under (make-up, jewelry, etc). So, you head to check out to pay. LBB offers two options, either a monthly subscription price of $49.95 or a one-time buy price of $59.95. Monthly subscribers have the option to opt out on a month if they do not want to participate, and there is no contract, you can cancel your subscription at any time. Once you have paid for your bag, you can now see the other items added to your bag. If you like everything you see and are completely satisfied, you can then hit “Ship to me” and you will receive your LBB in a matter of days. If you are not satisfied with the contents of your bag, well, that’s where the social aspect of this site begins. You can then start swapping items in your bag for up to seven days until you are ready to have the items ship. It’s important to note, if you choose the swapping option, you do not have to wait an additional seven days for your bag to ship, you can spend a few hours or a few days swapping items until you’re satisfied and ship your bag at any point, but after seven days, what you have in your bag will be shipped to you, so you need to make your time count.
What does swapping entail? Well, swapping works two ways. Immediately upon check out if you choose to delay shipping your items so you have time to swap, you will probably immediately receive offers from other users who want to offer you something of theirs for something in your bag. It’s up to you if you want to take their offers, but you get these notifications immediately because when you or someone else has an item they are looking to acquire and an item (or items) they are willing to swap, the notification goes out to everyone who has the item desired. Now, you may have noticed I said items above, because you do not have to make a one for one swap. You can offer more than one item in your bag to swap for another item and the value of your item does not matter. You can offer a swap between items of differing costs, although if you really want something good you should be prepared to make a good offer or expect to be rejected. You can get a leg up on swapping by watching the news feed on the site to see what is in people’s bags, what they are swapping and the hot items of the day.
Now, the system is not perfect, and if you have items in your bag that you do not like, it is not guaranteed that you will be able to swap for items you like, which is why it is important to choose that first item carefully and make sure it is something you feel is worth the full price of the bag because you may not get anything else you like. Before I tried out the site, I read through some reviews where people did not like what they ended up with, but I also found some others where people were able to trade and get what they wanted. Personally, I think there is definitely some strategy behind the social swapping aspect of this site and I could totally imagine that there are some people out there who are so good at watching the feed and seeing what is in people’s bags that they end up with exactly the items they want each and every time. It really makes me think of that story about the guy who traded a paper clip for a house using Craigslist. Now, perhaps that is an extreme example, especially since you have only seven days to swap, but I think if you’re smart about this site you could end up with a bag full of wonderful items, but you definitely need to play the game if you want to win!
I made a video unboxing and haul detailing my experience on Little Black Bag for the first time, so please check it out if you want to see what was in my bag, what I swapped and what I ended up with!
The Missing Links 4.14.12
This week, the tech world was abuzz with news that Facebook had acquired Instagram after it had announced it had reached 40 million users after its release for Android. With all the commentary surrounding this epic move, you may have missed these little gems.
- Take a look at this odd little gadget, and once you realize what it’s for and why you need it, you may find it hard to resist… And you may not want to touch your phone again until it arrives!
- I suffer from dry, bloodshot eyes after spending the day working at my computer. If you’re like me, than this article on how to keep your eyes healthy in the digital age is a must read.
- I will admit, I am usually obsessed with the latest and greatest gadget to help make the most of my iPad, but this kick starter project designed to amplify your iPads speaker is a little odd. Take a look and see for yourself.
- For a fellow productivity nut, you may be surprised to know the top five time wasters at work. Its quite an eye opener and may help you reorganize your time to be more productive.
- In case you were wondering why it was exactly that Instagram was worth 1 BILLION DOLLARS (Dr. Evil voice), here is an explanation. Nevertheless, it still seems like a plot for a bad spy film to me.
- And to just top off the Facebook stories, here is a surprising little tid bit you may want to print out and save at work just in case. Who knew allowing employees to play on Facebook was good for productivity? Still, I wonder if the study was funded by Zuck himself.
Happy Reading!
{Image via Flickr}
Paper: A Beautiful Experience
Paper’s simple, yet stunning interface mimics the feeling of your private journal perfectly.
The other day I tweeted “is it possible for a productivity/creativity app to make you more of both?”
This has been the question lingering in my mind for quite some time now ever since I downloaded the new app Paper by FiftyThree. The app is a seamless mix of productivity, creativity, and note-taking. The variety of pens for the app give the user the ability to express themselves in a seemingly endless number of ways. From sketching to notetaking, drawing to idea mapping, Paper brings the best of creativity to a productivity app. With Paper the user has complete control over their experience, able to transform the app to fit different day to day needs in a way no previous app has been able to. It is as if the full potential of the iPad has been reached with Paper as the app itself seems to disappear under the stroke of the users’ finger, opening up the creative channel of the user themselves. Personally, I have never found an app geared towards productivity and creativity that allows me to work in what I consider to be my own natural mode. The thing other great apps like Penultimate lack is truly the ability to mix media. Allowing the user to switch from a true drawing experience to a true writing experience to a true painting experience, all while allowing handwritten notes in a variety of styles. And the beautiful interface doesn’t hurt either!
With Paper I am easily able to sketch out ideas in a beautiful and expressive way.
The app itself of course is not without some flaws. There is the issue of the apps rigidity when it comes to manipulating the Moleskine-like journals, (for example one cannot reorder pages of a journal or transfer pages from one to another) and also some issues with the sharing capabilities of the app that are sub par for today’s app standards. The app is also missing some great functions like text input and image uploads that could open the app up to scrap booking functionality. All this, however, does not detract from the creative genius of the app as a whole. This app has made my own personal brainstorming sessions even more successful and creative then I could have originally imagined. Perhaps it was my own creativity laying in wait for me, or perhaps it was the app’s ability to open up and take in my ideas that forced them out. Either way I am sketching and brainstorming and notetaking in creative ways I have never before experienced on my iPad. As someone who has multiple unused productivity apps downloaded to their iPad, it is interesting that I have found myself continually coming back day after day, hour after hour to Paper.
What’s in My BAG?
I just finished uploading a fun little video where I discuss what is in my bag! I hope to have a picture soon as well to follow up, but I thought it would be nice to make a video this time around. Enjoy!
DODOCase Essentials for iPad: Video Review
Here is my full review of the new DODOcase Essentials case for iPad 2 & 3!
Become a "TV Hacker" in 3 seconds.
Your watching your favorite TV show or movie, when suddenly the bad guy is 60 seconds away from blowing up the moon. There is only one thing your hero can do – hack into the mainframe of the villain and shut it down before its too late. They frantically type away, spitting out lines of code at 80 words-per-minute in an attempt to thwart this evil plot.
20 seconds left, and the impatience of the cast around the hero causes outbursts of “Dammit, dammit! I’m almost through the firewall!”
10 seconds. Your hero is in, writing the final lines of code to deactivate the moon-blower-upper. Beads of sweat drip from their brow.
3 seconds, 2….. Your hero hits enter, flawlessly executing the program with no debugging to save the day once again.
So the question is, do you want to be just like your hero in the show? Just go to http://www.hackertyper.com and start typing, soon enough and with enough practice you will be able to be just like your favorite actor or actress when they do it on the set.
High End Tech
Love my new DODOcase Essentials, but I wish the magnet sleep/wake function worked. Alas, I will let you know what I hear back from the DODOcase team, and for now I will tend to my library.