With every new piece of information my heart skips a beat. To be honest, I have some pretty specific ideas of what I’d like to see released, whether the actual product matches my ideas doesn’t really matter at this point, there has been so much build up to this moment that no matter what Jobs has in store for us I know I’m going to like it (unless of course what’s up his sleeve is letting everyone know that the Tablet doesn’t exist).
Update: even while finishing this post news rolled in that the likelihood of a new Tablet-like product being introduced this Sept has gone from extremely high to slim to none. The good news is, if these rumors are true the release is still on the horizon with new reports of the release occurring early 2010. Either way we’re getting closer to seeing a new product. I will not let this new information quell my excitement!

What do you think? Have you heard anything different? Are you excited about the new device? Let me know in the comments.

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As is life, things change and evolve – we’ve seen the car evolve from starting with a hand crank to starting when you sit in the driver seat with a sensor in your pocket/wallet/purse. We’ve seen the cell phone evolve from a 10 pound box with a phone and battery attached that was only used to make phone calls (usually only in emergencies since it cost so much to make any kind of call) to small multi functional devices as light as a few ounces. Just as cars and phones have evolved, so has the internet.

In the 90s the internet was starting to become much more mainstream, people were typically hopping on their dial up connection to send e-mails, chat with friends and/or do research for a school project. In the sense that it has helped us to communicate and learn, the internet hasn’t changed. It is in how we are going about communicating, learning and using the internet that has changed. As the internet has expanded, it evolved into a much more social and interactive tools as opposed to being static.

With Web 2.0 we don’t just use the internet we interact with it. Keywords to describe Web 2.0 are community, collaboration and user-driven. The way we used Web 1.0 was typically very linear. The internet was seen as a tool for business and utility. Webmasters created websites and users visited and viewed them. Communication was between webmaster and client. Webpages were static, when we needed an answer to a question our only option was to “AskJeeves” or “Yahoo”, now we have the opportunity to “Google it”, “Bing it” or ask questions of other users in forums.

Web 2.0 sites allow users to interact not only with the site and webmaster but with other people who access the site. Some good examples of Web 2.0 sites are Facebook, MySpace, and Digg. Web 2.0 is about web applications that users can interact with and control. Nowadays anyone and everyone is creating their own webpages filled with content that they enjoy. Making webpages is now within the reach of people who have no programming knowledge. In Web 1.0 website creation was left to the “experts”. The use of the internet went from being driven by expert webmasters to being driven by users. Users are now involved in creating their own internet experience. One way I like to think of the difference between 2.0 and 1.0 is to consider Web 1.0 as a 2D picture that one looks at and enjoys whereas Web 2.0 is a 3D experience where things are happening all around you and you are a part of it.

Here’s a visual representation of the differences between Web 2.0 and 1.0 for all you visual learners out there:

To put it simply here is a break down of some key differences between Web 2.0 and 1.0:

Web 1.0 had webmaster created sites, Web 2.0 has user driven sites
Web 1.0 used dial up, Web 2.0 uses broadband

Web 1.0 had AOL, Web 2.0 has Google and (now) Bing

Web 1.0 was about business, Web 2.0 is about community

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Enter, Good Food Near You.  This handy little application auto-detects your location (with the option to manually set your location if you desire) and provides you with a list of restaurants in your immediate area sorted by distance.  The list can also be sorted by lowest fat.  Tap on a restaurant you’re interested in and it will give you a list of menu items sorted by lowest fat, calories or carbs.  Tap on an item you’re interested in and you will be able to see all of the nutrition facts for that item.  In addition to the menu items you are provided with contact and location information and a link to a map.  I have found that the GPS can be a little off sometimes (locating me about 45 mins away from my actual location) but that may be due to my phone as opposed to the actual application.

Overall, this application has proven to be very helpful when I’m traveling as well as in my everyday life.  Along with the iphone application Good Food Near You has an equally easy to use web application.  Simple and intuitive, this application will help you stay on track with your diet when you don’t have the option of preparing your own meal.  Add this application to your arsenal of tools to help meet your weight loss goals.

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If you’ve played any 1st person shooter video games, think head’s up display.  The term augmented reality refers to overlaying images on a real time display.  The images augment the reality that we are in. Point your phone’s camera at a landmark and augmented reality applications will overlay the real time image with information (address, phone number, hours of operation, historical facts) about the landmark.

There is another form of augmented reality and that is in 3D object projection.  AR applications can use your computer’s camera to read icons printed on a page (similar to bar codes) and display 3D objects and animations.  What to see sights from around the world from the comfort of your office?  AR can help you do that.  For a real life example see below:

While this is an amazing capability that opens lots of doors this post will be focusing on some of the newer apps using graphic overlays of real time images.

This technology has been around for a while now and in fact there are a few AR apps that are available now in Europe and the Netherlands.  Even with these applications the quantity of functional AR apps is limited.

In regards to the mainstream (especially in the US), the functional everyday use of this fascinating new technology is still in its infancy.  With the new iPhone 3GS, augmented reality is becoming more of a, for lack of a better word – reality and thus more popular with application developers.  We’re expecting to see this technology available in applications with the iPhone 3.1 software release (expected this fall).

Developers are having a field day with creating apps with this new technology.  Some examples are the New York Nearest Subway app created by AcrossAir.   With this app you can view all of the nearest subway lines on your iphone by simply pointing your phone in various directions.  There are some pretty spectacular videos out there with prototypes of ways augmented reality can be used.

So far my favorite video (see below) that I’ve seen implementing an augmented reality application involves pairing facial recognition technology with social network and contact information.  For example, someone who wanted to know more about you could point their device’s camera at you and the social network profiles that you have will come up along with your contact information.  According to the video you would be able to create different profiles (ie a “work” profile for the day and “weekend” profile for the weekend) where you could choose which social network profiles and information you want to make visible to others.  While the thought of a complete stranger pointing their camera at me and getting my information is a little creepy (all anonymity would be lost if this application became popular), I do like the concept.    With augmented reality we are getting closer to making what once was science fiction and only seen in movies about the future, a true reality.

My fav AR video:

Do you think augmented reality is going to live up to the buzz?  Do you like the idea of people being able to get your information by just pointing their phone at you?  Let me know in the comments.

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I must admit, since I was a late bloomer when it came to buying the iPhone (my first iPhone being the 3G), I was a little late in hopping on the bandwagon of Apple Tablet lookouts.  As soon as I had a chance to really see all of the capabilities the iPhone had and as my reliance on the device became greater, I began to fantasize about having all of this functionality in a bit of a larger format using OS X.  I (obviously) was not the first person to realize what an awesome idea it would be but I researched and kept an eye out as diligently as someone who had been waiting for years for the device.

Last week rumors started leaking about some overseas companies (that Apple has used in the past to help manufacture iPhones and iPod Touches) receiving large orders for 9.7” touchscreens.  The rumormill went into high gear as this information circulated.  Since then we have heard “confirmation” that yes Apple will be releasing a new tablet device in the near future.  I put confirmation in quotations because the confirmation is coming from anonymous inside sources who have a history of being accurate but Apple staying very tight lipped (as usual) on anything they are working on.  Upon this “confirmation” all of the Apple websites are abuzz with polls on what people think will be included in the tablet, what they think will be the best feature and when they think it’s going to be released.

Speaking of release date, we’ve been seeing two release dates circulating, originally the release date was estimated to be early 2010 but as of late the date is looking more like early Fall (September), just in time for the holiday season.  My opinion?  Apple doesn’t necessarily need to release a product during the holiday season because the product is going to sell no matter when it’s released (case in point the initial release of the iPhone was in June).  However, if it’s possible, I think it’s better to release a new product for the holiday season to boost sales.  It would make sense for Apple to want to capitalize on the holiday shopping season and release the Tablet this Fall.

With all these rumors and speculation flying around there are bound to be people who think the tablet will be a flop. To those I say, don’t forget, Apple is known for their ingenuity and creativity.  They have introduced devices that have become part of our every day life and that have changed the way we view technology.  So don’t dismiss them just yet, Apple wouldn’t release something unless they knew it had something special to offer that other devices don’t (another reason why we may have been waiting this long for it’s release, Steve Jobs is notoriously meticulous in developing these devices and nothing will be released without his stamp of approval).

While this is all just rumor at this point, and there is the possibility that the tablet isn’t ready for release or even in existence, I continue to keep my fingers crossed and eyes peeled for the latest new.  So with everyone speculating on what the Tablet is going to look like and what kind of functionality it will have, I figured I would put my two cents in on what I would like to see in the new device.

MsJosay’s dream Apple Tablet:

* Beautiful fingerprint and smudge resistant glass screen

* Glossy black underside

* Chrome bezzle

(sounding familiar?  Ahem, iPhone)

* Lightweight

* Decent battery life

* Running OS X

* Ability to use Bluetooth accessories (keyboards, mice, etc)

* Come with a stand/dock that allows it to turn into a monitor while charging

* Some ingeniuous method of text input (besides the onscreen keyboard)

* Built in compass and other necessary technologies to support augmented reality apps

* WiFi capabilities (if I’m going to use a tablet I’m going to want to access the internet quickly, none of that 3 and 4G stuff!)

and of course…

* Apple’s standard “I never thought of that but now can’t live without it” feature to set the tablet apart from other tablets.

What do you think?  Is there really an Apple Tablet?  What do you want to see Apple include the in the new device?  Let us know in the comments.

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Easy Breezy Setup

Setup couldn’t be easier.  When you open the application it will ask you what your current weight is and what your goal weight is.  After that you can enter how quickly you would like to lose the weight.  This is where Lose It starts to stand out from the rest of the weight loss apps.  Lose It gives you have the option to lose weight at a rate of anywhere from 1/2 pound per week to 2 pounds per week.  The fact that it doesn’t go over that 2 pound limit is smart because losing more than 2 pounds per week over a long period of time is very difficult, unhealthy and not a reasonable goal.  A nice extra here is that Lose It will give you an estimated date to reach your goal weight according to the weight loss pace you chose.  After entering the information the app calculates exactly how many calories you can take in everyday to meet your goal, this is your daily calorie budget and it’s the thing you are going to keep track of most when using this application.

It Remembers Everything

With Lose It you are able to enter all of the food you are consuming throughout the day.  When entering this information you have the option to choose from a list of brand name foods from supermarkets or restaurants or you can enter the information manually.  If you choose the manual route, Lose It will remember that food and it’s nutrition facts so that if you eat it again you can access it quickly.  You can also create your own recipes and include calorie content for the recipe as a whole.  Lose It also remembers what meals you ate so if, for example, you eat a bowl of Raisin Bran, a glass of non-fat milk and a grapefruit for breakfast every morning, when you enter the information you have to option to use previous meals, just pick the breakfast meal from the day before and you’re set to go.  You only have to enter all of the separate food items once.

Graphs, Graphs, Graphs

Graphs are a great way to monitor your progress toward your end goal.  The opening screen of Lose It gives you a visual representation of how many calories you’ve eaten so far in the day, as well as how many calories you have remaining.  In the “Goals” section you can view your goal weight, your daily calorie budget and a graph that displays a line to show your goal weight and a line to show your actual weight.  It’s very satisfying watching your actual weight move closer to your goal weight, the graphs provide another motivator to stay on track.

Exercise

If you want to lose weight and be successful diet is not enough, you have to include some sort of exercise into your daily routine.  Lose It helps you track your exercise as well.  With over 100 different preset activities you’ll be hard pressed to find something that’s not on the list, if you do come across an activity that isn’t on the list you have the option to enter it manually (and yes that information gets remembered as well).

Calories aren’t the only things it tracks

While the default setting for Lose It is to track just calories you can adjust the settings to track nutrients as well.  This makes the app even more useful for those who want to keep track of things other than or in addition to calories.  Other items tracked include: total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar and protein.

The Best Part

There are so many great feature this application has to offer but the best part about it?  It’s FREE!  Yep, that’s right, you get all of the above mentioned features in a compact, fast, smooth running, stable application for free.  Really, if you’re trying to get healthy and lose weight you don’t have anything to lose by putting this app on your phone.  It’s helped me lose 20 pounds in 2.5 months, how can it help you?

Are you using this application?  Do you love it?  Hate it?  Share with us in the comments.

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Well on July 16th I finally received my Google Voice invite.  (Ironically I received another invite to a different e-mail address the next day).  As soon as that little red badget popped up on my Mail icon in the dock I was clicking on that invite link.  So I’ve had a few days to play around with it (wanted to give it a good once over before reviewing it) and I must say, so far so fabulous!  For those of you who haven’t received your invite yet prepare to get excited or jealous (depending on the type of person you are) because this post is going to be all about my experience signing up for Google Voice. (Part II will be a review of the features and pros and cons of Google Voice)

Photo Credit - Google

When you first click the invite link you are taken to a form that asks you for your area code as well as some letters and numbers (this is where you’re customization comes in) that you would like to be in your phone number. Unfortunately every combination of MsJosay was unavailable so I skipped the step and was provided with a massive list of numbers for me to choose from all with my area code.  As a side note – I found it interesting that even though the numbers Google provided me were preceded by my area code, the locations (cities) listed under the number were not the city I am living in (for example the city for my phone number is Mountain View, CA – I do not live in or really near Mountain View).

Photo Credit - Google

After scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of phone numbers to find the right one (the right one for me was one that was easy to remember) I settled on a number and proceeded to the next screen.  Which asked me to enter a forwarding number (this is the phone that will ring when someone calls your Google voice number).  I entered my cell phone number and moved on to the next screen where I was informed that Google would be calling me and asking me to enter a two digit code (which was provided in the dialog box on the screen). Within about 30 seconds I received a phone call to my cell phone, entered the code and Poof! my account was verified.

Immediately I was taken to the Google Voice home screen where there was already a voicemail waiting for me from Google.  How nice of them to welcome me with my first voicemail.  The first thing I did was go through and adjust all of the settings to my liking.  This took some time because there are an insane amount of settings and preferences you can tweak.  This is nice because you can customize everything just the way you want it.  Some nifty settings include:

- setting up personalized greeting messages by caller

- choosing whether or not to have Google Voice show up as the caller id when a number is forwarded to your phone (you have the option to show exactly who is calling but if you have your Google Voice number in use for business you may want to know who is calling your Google Voice number and answer accordingly).

- How you’re notified of a new voicemail message  (through e-mail or SMS)

- Calling screening

The list goes on and on and on.  So far I think I have my number set up the way I want it.  So for those of you who are still waiting for your invite you have a lot of great features to look forward to.  Stay tuned for my next post where I will review some of the key features offered by Google Voice as well as the service in general.

Did you get your invite?  What do you think of Google Voice?  Enjoy it?  Not what you expected?  Leave it in the comments!

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With social networking quickly becoming the most popular form of communication, people are finding themselves checking multiple websites to remain up to date on all of the goings on with their friends and family.  The reigning king of social networking is Facebook but most people have at least one other social network that they belong to (i.e., Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, etc.).  I am currently signed up with about 5 different social networking sites (partly because of friends who are using those sites and partly because of personal preference).  Being the geek that I am, instead of waking up and reading the newspaper in the morning, I wake up and surf the net checking friend’s status updates, updating my status and reading top stories on my favorite websites.  With the decline of the newspaper I’m sure I’m not the only one with this new morning ritual.  But wouldn’t it be nice if you could hop on one website, see (and comment on) the updates of all of your friends across all of their social networks and yours as well as catch up on articles on your favorite sites?  Enter FriendFeed.  FriendFeed is a social network aggregator that allows you to do just that.  It’s literally a one stop shop for social networking.

FriendFeed is a simple yet intuitive website that updates you (now in real time) on the activities of your friends across different websites.  For example, if one of your friends adds a photo to their Flickr account (and you’re following them) as soon as the picture is on the site you will get an update in your  FriendFeed.  You can comment directly in the feed, you can share the picture, or “like” the picture.  Anytime you do this it shows up in your FriendFeed which will alert your friends of what you’re doing.  You can follow friend updates on Twitter, Flickr, Digg, Facebook, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Reader, the list goes on (for a total of 58 services).

When you first sign up you have the opportunity to import your networks, from that point on anytime you update one of your websites your friends who are subscribed to your feed will be notified on your feed (don’t worry you can pick and choose which networks and accounts you want to show up on your feed).  After you import your sites FriendFeed helps you find your friends through your address books and contacts on various accounts (Gmail, Facebook, etc.), choose who you want to follow and voila you’re done.

“But what if my friend isn’t using FriendFeed?” you may ask.  Well, first I would recommend you get them on the bandwagon and second FriendFeed has this nifty feature called the imaginary friend.  If you know your friends username on the service you can follow their updates to that service by entering them into your imaginary friend list.  You can also make your feed public or private (only available for friends to see).  In addition to all that fun stuff you can also post directly to your Facebook and Twitter accounts from your FriendFeed.  Another great feature is the ability to create rooms (private or public) where people can come together and share their thoughts, pictures and links surrounding a specific topic (Apple products for example).  Oh and if you don’t have time to sit at your computer all day and watch the updates roll in FriendFeed has created a plethora of options to remain connected.  First you can always hop on to FriendFeed at the end of the day and click the “Best of Day” which will give you a list of the posts that had the most comments and “likes”.  If you want to be updated throughout the day FriendFeed has a new desktop notifier (which is very handy).  You can also be notified through e-mail, IM, or access your FriendFeed through any feed reader. (You can also embed your feed into webpages – see (and subscribe to) my feed in the right column of this blog)

All that being said you may be asking yourself, why isn’t everybody using this product.  Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for you, I have no idea why this service isn’t right up there next to Facebook. One thing I would like to see is an actual FriendFeed iPhone application, there are some alternatives and FriendFeed has a very nice mobile site but it would be nice to have a native app (maybe with push notifications?) but that’s not enough to keep me from using it.  Part of my reasoning for writing this is to get the word out to people about this service.  FriendFeed is an awesome tool for people who find themselves jumping from one social networking website to another.  It truly is your one stop shop for social networking so go check it out!

Do you agree?  Disagree?  If you’re not using FF why?  Leave it in the comments!

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Meetways has a free web app available as well as a $.99 iPhone app.  Since this is the iPhone app of the week I will focus on the mobile version of the program.  This is one of those apps that you don’t really realize how helpful it is until you come across a time when you need to use it.  If you’re a busy person like me you’d be surprised at how often you will be using this app.  I’ve used this app for finding stores that I need to stop by while on my way to another destination (for example the other day I was on my way to a friends house and needed to stop somewhere to get a card for them, I entered Target into meetways and it found me the closest Target on my route to my friends house).  Oftentimes finding meeting places for gatherings with friends who are just passing through town or are located in different outlying areas can be a difficult task but Meetways makes your planning much easier.

The app is fast to load (though loading directions can take a bit longer depending on your connection) and easy to use.  You can save locations (such as home and work) as pins to allow you to access commonly used addresses.  In addition to receiving the list of locations Meetways also provides a map with driving directions (when getting a route you have the option to avoid highways) which can be easily e-mailed to your friends by tapping the “Share with a friend” button in the application.

While I do enjoy this app it definitely hasn’t worked out all of the kinks.  For example, the opening screen can get mucked up sometimes and while all of the buttons work, things look off center and out of place.  Like I mentioned earlier depending on what type of connection you’re using the maps can be slow to load – the Meetways loading screen is a picture of an eyeball looking around the screen, I little creepy to me (could just be personal preference).  Also, I would love if the app saved all addresses that I entered before.  You can do this manually by creating a pin but I don’t always want to enter all of the addresses that I may use as pins.  Other applications have this ability and if Meetways included this it would make their app 10 times easier to use.  Overall though for less than a dollar you can get a great little app that takes the work out of finding that next mutual meeting place between two points.

Do you have this app?  Have a different experience with Meetways?  Agree?  Disagree?  Leave it in the comments!

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Starting a blog involves a lot more work than one would expect.  Sure you can write a blog but to bring readers in requires reaching out.  So, in an effort to promote this blog, I have recently registered for many social networking and blogging sites. Every time you sign up for a new account with a new service or website you are asked to create a password.  These days with Twitter, Facebook and MySpace accounts hacked on a daily basis having a strong password (one that you do not use for all of your accounts) is absolutely necessary.   I have recently been making an effort to create stronger passwords in an effort to prevent any account hacking.  One of the first passwords I created was the password to my MsJosay Twitter account.  Of course when I was typing in the password I thought to myself  “this is a great password, I’ll never forget this one!”  After creating that password I created probably 6 additional passwords for all of my new accounts.

The next morning I got to work and tried to sign in to my Twitter account and lo and behold I forgot my password.  I thought I had remembered it correctly but apparently after quite a few failed attempts I realized maybe my memory wasn’t as good as I thought.  Then I got the dreaded message that I have been locked out of my account due to excessive failed attempts at signing in.  LOCKED OUT?!  (Enter Twitter withdrawl).  This got me thinking about the program I have on my computer at home – 1Password.  While I was waiting to be let back in to my Twitter account I realized that 1Password is truly a lifesaver.

For those of you who don’t know, 1Password is a (Mac) program that keeps track of all of your passwords in one place.  Created by Agile Web Solutions, it is a plugin for all major browsers that allows you to automatically remember passwords for all of your accounts.  What sets 1Password apart from other password managers?

Take the Shortcut:

You can use a shortcut key to automatically enter your username and password attached to the website you are on.  1Password can help you generate strong passwords with their password generator.  Need a password that has numbers, letters and symbols?  The password generator has setting you can adjust to generate the perfect password.

Manage multiple accounts for one site:

Have multiple accounts (aka two Gmail accounts)?  After hitting the shortcut key 1Password will ask you which account you would like to sign in to.

Go & Fill:

1Password also has a ‘Go & Fill’ option that allows you to choose from a list of your favorite sites (set by you).  Too tired to open a browser window, enter a web address and enter your login information?  1Password can do that for you with Go & Fill, once you click on name of the site in the 1Password menu, 1Password will open the page and automatically log you in.

Wallet:

The wallet feature helps you manage multiple credit cards.  1Password keeps your credit card info stored to allow you to automatically enter your info when you’re shopping online.  You can enter info for as many credit cards as you want – is your AmEx maxed out?  Why not choose your Visa from your list of credit cards.

Manage your identity:

1Passwords identity manager lets you enter your real information to fill in website forms or create an alias (or two) to fill in those forms for websites that don’t need to know all of you personal information.  It can remember your favorite usernames, as well as your work and home information.

Protection from Phishing Websites:

Whenever 1Password remembers your login information for a website it also remembers the web address which prevents you from unknowingly logging in to a phishing website.  If the address for the website you are on does not match the address stored in 1Password it will not let you use your saved login.

Another great feature is that all of your information is stored locally on your computer (not on servers like some other password managers).  All of your passwords stored on 1Password are protected by, well, one password.  In order to access all of your information stored in the program you  have to enter one master password.  1Password stores other important information as well, car info, social security numbers, insurance id numbers, you name it.  Oh and for all you iPhone owners there is an app that allows you to have all of the power of 1Password on your iPhone.  You can wirelessly sync the information from your Mac to your phone to ensure that all of your passwords are current.

I would love to say that this program is free but alas, nothing good in life is ever free.  You can get the awesome functionality of this program for a price of $39.99.  In my opinion, a small price to pay for convenience and security.

Do you use 1Password?  What are you experiences with it?  Love it?  Hate it?  Leave it in the comments!

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