Month: December 2012

Top 10 Android Apps

I have two Android devices that are heavily used. The Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile phone and the Google Nexus 7 tablet.

A few friends have asked which are the best Android apps out there. Well, that is subjective to opinion. I can share which apps I use constantly and why. Everyone is passionate about their own platform and apps and there will be heated discussions.

Keep in mind, this is not a top 10 list that is to spark a debate. In no order of importance, here I go…

  1. Snapseed- Simply the best mobile photo editor out there.
  2. Vignette- This camera app has so many shooting options and filters it would take another blog post to list.
  3. EyeEm- As soon as Facebook bought Instagram, I looked elsewhere. Social photography is excellent.
  4. Google+ Again, the Anti-Facebook social experience.
  5. Drive- Sync my documents between my computer and phone? Yes please.
  6. Any.DO- My to-do list goes with me and sends me timely reminders too
  7. Currents- A great too to catch up on news, blogs for my tablet.
  8. Pocket- Want to read it later? Right click and put it in your web pocket
  9. Google Now- Instant information no matter where I am at.
  10. Spotify- web-based music and radio. I will never buy music again

What is in your list?

Chromebook: For Me

The Samsung Chromebook is a fantastic browser with a keyboard. It weighs less than  3 pounds with an 11.6” screen. The 16GB solid state drive is quiet and fast. Boot time is exactly 8 seconds to power on and go. True, 16GB is not much but it does come with an integrated 100 GB of free storage space in Google Drive!

Google documents and mobile photos do not count against your free storage space. So how in the hell would you be able to use it all? Wait, how will I even fill up my 16 GB of hard drive space? Music files? Please. Google Music gives me up to 20,000 song space, again, free.

Speaking of integrated and Google, it gives me immediate access to it’s ecosystem of apps. Apps like Docs, Gmail, Reader, G+, Picasa, webcam, Music and more.

Wifi, HDMI, 3 USB ports, Bluetooth (for my mouse) and SD card slot round out the features. No, it doesn’t have an optical drive.

Inexpensive at $249, lighter, faster, portable and entirely cloud-based. Welcome to the future.

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Physically Challenged

So I recently turned 40.

I also just weighed myself at 197.6 pounds. Let’s round up to 198.

This is the heaviest I’ve ever been. On a 5’7” frame…that’s a lot of BMI.

In the past, I’ve participated in a few adventure races and loved it.

There is a new one coming up in a few months that I will train for.

Recently signed up with a great fitness center and looking forward to dropping those pounds to around 175.

For some reason this song lyric resonates with me…

Well I don’t know but I’ve been told, you never slow down, you never grow old.

– Tom Petty