Top 10 Must Have Android Apps

Since getting my new phone in December I have had lots of time to experience the Android Market. This is my quick list of apps to get. Lets just call it the best of the best.

1. swiftkey: I love so much about this keyboard replacement. My most favorite feature though is the layout. the keys are setup with press and hold functions to select frequent characters. Not only that, but the number keys are vertical instead of horizontal. Of course, the headline feature of this app is the killer auto correction and text prediction.

2. Grooveshark: As far as music apps go, everyone is talking about Spotify. Me being an unintentional hipster though, I prefer Grooveshark. This app has so many great features, but the best is its ability to stream uninterrupted while driving through low coverage areas. It is my favorite...period.

3. Go launcher EX: This launcher replacement is the best in my opinion. The amount of launcher themes is incredible. Not only that, but it works smoothly and without crashes. If you don't like your stock launcher, this is the best choice.

4.ZPlayer: Switching from a Zune hd to an android phone wasn't too bad, except for the podcast support. Android doesn't come with standard podcast aggregation, and the Google app is a load of bollocks. Therefore, I looked in familiar ground. ZPlayer is a Zune interface emulator, and it does a great job. Its features are excellent, but its podcast support is without par.

5. evernote: I have found so many uses for this cross platform note management system. From writing a script, to saving information on my goats, it is indispensable.

6. Cloudprint: This app ties into Google cloud print service. All you need is chrome running on your computer, and it seamlessly integrates with your printers.

7. Google+: Although this social network hasn't seen the success of its contemporaries, its integration with your phone is unparalleled. it is what would happen if Facebook, twitter and Tinychat had a lovechild.

8. Play Books: Google's recently re-branded book source is a pleasant and trouble free reading system, 'nuff said.

9. Facebook/Foursquare/twitter: I know they are more than one app, but I don't feel they deserve seperate placement.

10. Lookout Mobile Security: This is both a must have, and a bit of an annoyance. The portion that I use is the phone finder features. If I think I left my phone somewhere, all I need to do is go to the lookout website, and check on its location, if I am near it I just hit the scream button on my account and it sounds an alarm to help me find it, even if it is on silent. The part I don't like is the security "feature". It gives me an automated "everything is okay" notification whenever I install an app. I don't know how much this does, if anything.

* Honorable mention: If you have sprint, I definatly recommend Google Voice.

The moment you realize Google deleted all the pictures from your posts. I will try to recover most of them, but some are lost forever. I already fixed the background and header. Therefore, the rest will be fixed in the next couple of days.

In other news, I am going to get REALLY familiar with Photobucket.

State of the Blog Adress

Well, we are well into 2012, and I have been very much absent. This will change. In the coming months I will be improving the content of this blog. There will be video reviews, text reviews, and a continuation of the stream of my opinions.  What won't be here? Well, the answer is food posts, I don't see a reason a tech centered blog should have them.

So, basically I have grandiose plans, I hope they come to fruition.

My opinion on windows 8

Most of you have probably seen the Windows 8 videos and articles from the popular gadget sites, so I will just jump right in.

Windows 8 is cool, really cool. If you read my The War for Windows post you already know what I said Microsoft needed to do. I was very pleased they took some of my advice, but I was sad they didn't take all of it. therefore, in the spirit of this blog, I will outline the things about windows 8 that made me say "WTH!!!"

1. inconsistent experience: the new user interface is great, and exactly what I wanted them to do...with one exception. When you wish to use a legacy program (i.e Office, Photoshop) the U.I. switches to the "old" windows 7 U.I.. This is the most glaring error in windows 8, and I fear it will be the Achilles' heel heel of this new platform.

2. App switching: As I said before, I am a fan of the U.I. BUT, I am not a fan of the way they implemented app switching. In its current form, you must switch through each individual app one at a time. if you only use two or three apps at a time, this isn't a problem, but I have been known to use up to ten apps at a time. This seems like the kind of thing where I would be looking for the app I want, and get into the habit of just swiping continually, and then blast right past the app I want, forcing me to start all over (there doesn't seem to be a way to go backwards). hopefully, there will be a way to view all open apps at once.

At this time, these two qualms are all I have. as time goes on I will probably have more, but for now this is it. If you want to learn more about windows 8, see the links below.

Engadget, Gizmodo.

Room Renovation

Ok, I am finally renovating my room. I am incredibly excited about this, mainly because the fishing lure wall paper is coming down (the wall paper choice was my brother’s idea, not mine). I am using cheery colors, like lime green, lemon yellow, and sunshine yellow. I am going to use two of the three colors to create a chevron pattern, the instructions can be found at design sponge.  Actually design sponge and Ikea were the inspiration for the entire project, from the furniture (which I am building myself) to the pattern on the walls.

Hopefully you are as excited as I am.

The next few weeks will be mostly devoted to this project, so keep a close eye on the blog.

So, I managed to completely miss Sony's announcement about their new tablets. And I am sorry I did, because at least one of them is absofreakinlutely gorgeous. The s1 tablet is the first tablet that is better looking (in my opinion, of course) than the iPad. WANT!!! As usual though Sony will probably overprice this beautiful piece of hardware, making it inaccessible to those of us who don't have much money. But hey! they ARE trying to beat apple.

Source:PC World Youtube

Ok, so when I started this blog I said something along the lines of "I will talk about FOOOOOOD!" despite this all I have been talking about is tech news and browsers (gosh, that sounds boring.) But, NOT TODAY!!! No, today you get a fantastic hot cocoa recipe from the fantastic (and World of War Craft themed) Nourish blog. Everything about this hot cocoa is perfect; from the subtle white chocolate flavor, to the slightly spicy cayenne pepper.  I put some chocolate shavings in mine, which gave a nice little ending to the mug. oh, and you must try the Tirisfal Glade Pumpkin Cookies, AMAZING...AMAZING, allow me to say it again...AMAZING!