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Links of the Day 4.4.11 and 4.5.11

By on April 6, 2011 in Gadgets, Health, Links 'O The Day, Travel, wine

Catching up on two days worth of notable links:

April 4

April 5

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My Current Top 5 iPhone Pet Peeves

By on October 2, 2010 in Gadgets

I love my iPhone, probably more than I should. I love it because it syncs seamlessly with my MacBook. I love it even though it’s a 3G and upgrading to iOS4 nearly killed it (I eventually downgraded back to iOS3). I even love Mobile.me.

But that doesn’t mean I love everything about it. Here are 5 of my current pet peeves. If you have workarounds for any of them, or know of updates on he horizon that will address them, please let me know in the comments.

  1. Limit incoming email messages to first nK. For heaven’s sake, I could do that on my Treo 600 back in the day, but I can’t on my iPhone? For those of us who travel internationally… or just don’t feel like waiting while a large photo or file downloads… it would be nice, and vastly money-saving when roaming internationally, to have that option.
  2. It’s too many clicks to get to the #. Why not move the hash mark to the numeric keyboard window? Currently you have to click though from THAT keyboard to get the one with the hash. Hashtags have become such a staple of social media, which many of us access via smartphone… why so many clicks to access the hash?
  3. You can’t access a map directly from the Location entry in a calendar item. That’s just silly. If you can do it from address book, why not from calendar?
  4. You can’t attach multiple photo album images to an email. Why ever not?
  5. You can’t easily delete or move all emails in an inbox. Even though you now have the circles, you still have to click them individually. Why no “select all” option in email to delete, move, etc.?

Those are my top 5. What are yours? Leave them in the comments.

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Qlocktwo

By on June 22, 2010 in Gadgets, Gift ideas, Shopping

Simply gorgeous, and quite clever: a clock that literally tells you the time.

Via Uncrate.

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Luggage Lifesaver

By on May 19, 2010 in Gadgets, Travel

I snapped up this Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale before heading back East to bring my son home from college for summer break. Since bags over 50 pounds can incur hefty ($50 and up) surcharges, I wanted to make sure our luggage stayed within the weight limits. The $20 I spent on it more than paid itself back. It’s accurate; we filled a few of the bags to 49 pounds, and sure enough, that’s exactly how they tipped the scale at the airport check-in counter. Zero overweight baggage surcharge = one happy camper.

It would also come in handy on international flights when carry-on cabin baggage can be subject to weight limits.

This particular model displays either pounds or kilograms, and uses a strap as opposed to a hook to attach the bag for weighing. That makes it somewhat easier to secure the bag, although it can still be a strain on your back and leg muscles when you’re using it to hoist a 49-pound bag off the floor (trust me on that one) to get a reading.

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My Top 10 iPhone Wants

By on May 7, 2010 in Gadgets

I unapologetically love my iPhone. Having said that, it’s not perfect. Here’s what would make it better for me. (I believe a number of these fixes may be on the way in the next OS/hardware update… but that won’t help me as I’ve got a 3G and don’t expect to upgrade it for another year or so.)

  1. Calendar: Clickable addresses. What’s the point of having locations in a calendar entry if you can’t click through to a map/directions?
  2. Email: A “select all” option for deleting/moving email.
  3. Email: The ability to move an email from a POP3 inbox to a different folder (e.g. “save for later”). Currently you either have to keep it in the inbox, or delete it.
  4. App Store: A “bookmark” or “save for later” option when checking out Apps in the App Store. Sometimes, when I’m interested in an App, I’d like to check it out further before making a decision The only thing you can do now is buy it or email it to yourself.
  5. Contacts: Ability to access ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact details if one chooses (as I do) to keep your phone locked. I’ve done a workaround by putting my emergency contact details on my wallpaper, but it doesn’t seem right that you have to choose between one and the other.
  6. Printing: Wireless printing (without having to use an add-on App).
  7. Photos: An easier way to get photos off the phone and onto your computer. Come on, already.
  8. Camera: A front camera for video chat.
  9. Storage: An SD slot (although someone’s coming out with an SD reader for iPhone this spring, supposedly).
  10. Battery: A removable/replaceable battery. We all know how much power 3G, Bluetooth, etc. drain. Why not give us the option to pop a new battery in, especially when (on planes, at events, or in long meetings) a charger might not be readily available?

I try to stay pretty current on this stuff, but it’s possible that some of my wants already exist for the 3G, and I don’t know it. If so, please enlighten me in the comments!

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