My Wishlist for App Developers

Tags

help me organize my life, phone clutter

OK, the last time I ranted about my information needs I got a pretty good response.  And my previous posts about iPhone apps have gotten decent attention from the developers.  So here is my Issue Du Jour:

I recently upgraded my phone and lost most of my apps in the process.  Not lost as in forever, but lost as in they were no longer staring me in the face upon startup.  I had to go fetch them from the cloud as I needed them.  I hate to say my kids told me so, but they were among the first ones squawking that I had too many apps on my phone and there was no possible way I really used them all.  Five screens of apps, all in folders.  Too much, you say??

I hate to delete an app that actually has potential.  I’ve hung on to financial calculator apps and Christmas shopping organizers, saving my mad delete skillz for the likes of Talking Tom and virtual measuring tapes. (Do those ever really work?)  My argument for the useless apps I keep has always been, “But I emailed that developer and he is going to make this app do exactly what I need it to do, so I have to hang on to it!”  Except that I’ve been an app freak for four years now and those cool features I desire still do not exist.

Listen up, app-mappers.  I have needs.  I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one with these needs.  (Then again, maybe I am. Whatev.)  Essentially, I believe any app’s primary objective should be to make a small, even insignificant, aspect of my life easier.  Otherwise, you’re just cluttering my already crowded phone with more useless stuff and empty promises.  Allow me to be specific:

Reminders/To-Dos with snooze  I love the native Reminders app on the iPhone.  It will remind you of whatever your task is based on your location or time of day.  It’s as customizable as any app I could ask for with one exception.  I can’t snooze a reminder.  Admittedly, Outlook has spoiled me.  I can set any task and customize the reminder.  When the reminder pops up, if I’m in the middle of something uber-important, like facilitating Middle East peace talks, I can snooze the reminder for anywhere from another five minutes to the next day.  ‘Cause seriously, we can’t expect world peace to wait while I pay my Comcast bill, can we?

Product Usage I downloaded a beauty products app that touted it would remind me when to replace my cosmetics.  Except it didn’t.  It gave me a quick run-down on the known shelf-life of each beauty product, which had absolutely nothing to do with how fast I go through a product, or even when I opened it.  So mascara typically lasts three months.  Big whoop.  What if I regularly burn through it in two?  No, what I want is an app that will let me set a date that I open a product, assign my own typical usage period, and generate a list of items I need to replace.  “Hey, Lori, it’s time to add laundry detergent to the grocery list.”  Or, “You’ll run out of moisturizer next month.  Better place an order.”  It doesn’t even need to be that wordy, but you get the gist.  I actually communicated with the lady behind the app I downloaded (which was only for beauty products) and she thought my idea was awesome and she swore she would find a way to implement it.  Two years ago.  Ahem.  Movin’ on…

Recipe Storage Serving Sizer is a recipe organizer that I really liked.  I bought this app only after asking the developers if they would consider making the app calculate nutritional value of each recipe.  They assured me that they had already thought of that and were planning to include it in future updates.  I haven’t seen it yet.  (Three years, but who’s counting?)  But if they’re listening, let me bend their ear on one more matter. I’d really like to see cloud storage on this app so that I can access my recipes from any of my devices, including online via desktop and a simple login to my account. Yes, I know that whole account thing would be new…work it out, guys.  Additionally, I think that the desktop access is important because I also want to be able to upload recipes that I already have stored on my computer.  Inputting recipes into this app is a bit tedious, and an upload feature would seriously rock.

Voice Commands I will not bore Apple with my Siri aggravation, but let’s examine my only two requests of her.  The day after I got my new phone I asked Siri to install my WordPress app.  She informed me that she could not install things for me.  Later, I asked her what time a local business opened and she basically told me to Google it on my own.  I knew before meeting her that she wasn’t going to cook dinner or fold my sheets, but seriously…what good is she?

Gift Card Wallet  Passbook was on the right track, but it doesn’t support everything I have and/or want.  I need a gift card wallet.  You know, an app that will store all my current unused gift card balances and produce a barcode to let me pay with the gift card from my phone.  That way, if I have $2.83 left on a Bass Pro gift card, I don’t have to carry it around with me on the off-chance that I need more camo.  The app needs to operate like Cardstar, with the added feature of showing me a list of available balances.  I mentioned this to a developer friend of mine one day several years ago.  He just shook his head as he muttered something about “one single point of compromise.”  But that was long before the days of wallet apps, so perhaps he’s changed his tune.  Then again, this is the guy who used to chastise me for not changing my passwords every two weeks.  😉

Coupon Wallet  While we’re on this whole wallet idea and offering single-point gateways to our innermost sanctums, could someone do the same thing for coupons, please?  A coupon organizer on my phone – Holy frijoles! – wouldn’t that make me happy?!  I’m not an extreme couponer by any stretch of the imagination, but I would be better at it if I had more than my paper-hoarding accordion file.  I could add coupons to the wallet by scanning the barcode.  Or by downloading them into my app from some huge coupon-making conglomerate’s website.  If anyone is interested in creating this, it would be important to have a select option, much like in a grocery shopping app – click it to put it in a “cart.”  Then at checkout, produce a list of coupons for which I have purchased products.  And location services would be important too!  Add lists of stores where I can use the coupons, and when I arrive at that store, have a notification pop up that tells me I have coupons to use at this location.  Expiration dates will be important – they can delete themselves the day after expiration and immediately after use.  Half my problem with using coupons is that I a) forget I even have them to use, and b) forget to throw them away when they’ve expired.  Admittedly, this is probably the most difficult and least needed item on my list.  Take it for what it’s worth.

Oh, one more thing.  I’m willing to pay fair app prices for those that can make me happy.  I am not willing to pay for apps without the ability to test-drive them first.   So, be sure you have a limited free version for me to try.  I promise, if it impresses me, I will not hesitate to buy the full version.

 

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Day 350: The Skinny on Sunscreen

Summer officially begins for us next week, as the last day of school is Tuesday.  Yeah, that’s right…Tuesday – the day after Memorial Day.  Welcome to my world.

Since most of you either have already begun summer (luuuuuuucky!) or will begin it very soon, I figured this would be a good time to bring up sunscreen.  Long before this healthy change took place in my home, I had issues with sunscreen.  And for this generally-too-white girl, that was already a red flag.

About two years ago my mom was getting ready to take the kids to a neighborhood park and was protecting them with sunscreen before they left the house.  You know how kids are, so you can imagine the scene: this was RIGHT before they left the house in unbridled excitement, meaning that the sunscreen application happened just inches from the door in a hurry-up-and-stand-still-so-I-can-spray-you fashion.  I had purchased a common name-brand spray sunscreen, waterproof and 70 SPF, to make sure that my babies’ precious skin was protected.  Mom sprayed brisk swipes to the skin not covered by shorts and tee shirts.  The exterior door is in her utility room, so they were standing right next to her brand new front-loading washing machine.  An excited flailing arm wiped against the machine door, and when Mom went to wipe off the resulting smudge, it had ALREADY ETCHED INTO THE SEE-THRU DOOR!!! As in, permanent damage!!  In under two minutes!!

Have you ever spilled nail polish remover on acrylic?  Suffice it to say that I have.  (On accident, of course.  Plus, I was like, 14, so no judging, K?)  Anyhoo…the acetone in the remover made a permanent white etch-mark into the acrylic face of my alarm clock.  Mom and I both recalled this fact as we gazed at the damage to her washing machine door and wondered how in the heck we were gonna explain this to my dad.

Ooops??

Immediately after realizing that we could just let Dad deal with the door, our next thoughts echoed each other’s:  If sunscreen can do that to the washing machine door, what is it doing to our skin????  We stopped using spray sunscreens altogether, and opted only for lotions – messy as they are.

Now  that I have begun to avoid parabens, petrochemicals, and propellants in my skin care products, how in the name of Jiminy Christmas do you find an acceptable  sunscreen? One that is not going to actually do more damage to you than the sun itself??

You turn to the Environmental Working Group, of course!  They have produced the Sunscreen Guide iPhone app, which lists the safest sunscreens and gives you the 4-1-1 on sunscreen claims – the good and the bad!  It tells you what ingredients are best and what ingredients to avoid.  Over 1,700 sun-care products are reviewed and rated in this app.  I downloaded the app at the end of last summer.  They just updated it last Monday for 2011, so go check it out.  It’s free!!

So what am I using on my kids this summer?  Badger brand Waterproof Unscented 30 SPF sunscreen.  It’s $13/bottle at Sunshine Health Foods, and I’m hoping it rocks.  But, other than keeping my kids from getting burned, it really doesn’t need to do a whole lot more to impress me.  With none of the chemical ingredients that I am working so hard to avoid, plus having earned a nod from the EWG, it had me at hello.

SafeMama reviewed the Badger sunscreen and liked it, so I think I’m probably on the right track.  They also have a sunscreen guide “cheat sheet” on their website that you might want to check out.  It’s labeled 2010, but I’m sure they will be updating soon since I noticed that they had offered the guide in 2009 as well.

What are your favorite safe sunscreen products?  Help spread the word for a safe, happy and Purpose-Driven Summer!!!

Day 253: The Garden Groove

Spring is just around the corner and I am R-E-A-D-Y.  I spent Sunday in the backyard getting particular seeds ready for the growing season, partly because it is really time to do that sort of thing, and partly because I am sorely impatient when it comes to starting new projects.  I just can’t wait until my garden is bursting forth with food for all!!

Ok, I’ll settle down a little. 

I have some practical seed organization tips for any of you who can’t resist buying those cute little seed packets.   I have confessed more than once my natural tendency toward frugality, so I’m sure you aren’t surprised to learn that I choose to grow things from seed because of the cost factor.  HOWEVER, I have only had about 40% success growing from seed in the past.  (Recall my previous confession about my habitual neglect of my plants’ thirst…)  And to answer your next question, YES, I am willing to ride hell-west-and-crooked to make this garden succeed.  It is, after all, expected to feed us throughout 2011 and beyond. 

Wanna know what I plan to grow?  Sure ya do.  Herbs: basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint and oregano.  Vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, eggplant, and onions.  Leafy greens: arugula and spinach.  Flowers: lavender and marigolds. 

Did I mention that I have 75 square feet of garden to fill?  And no, with all of this in the list, I am still not going to fill the garden.  That’s okay, though. I gotta have room to walk through it and work, so there will be patches of veggies within the confines of the garden. 

I have decided to use the Square Foot Gardening technique for this venture, since it offers sound advice with the goal of minimizing effort and maximizing reward. (And I found an app to help me plan the garden space.)  I still have to purchase some soil components before I can grid off the area.  But so far I have bricked the border and installed a fancy fence just inside the brick to keep the dear Miss Mabel (our black lab) out of the goods. 

And now here’s the organization tip you’ve been waiting for (with bated breath, right?!):  Since I have a bajillion seed packets now, and some seeds (thyme!) are so incredibly small it makes me wonder how in the heck they ever found the seeds to begin with, I devised a plan for storage and seed preservation.  After all, an open packet of seeds is likely to be spilled.  I use the snack-size zip-top baggies for seed packets (the store-brand baggie, of course). The regular size seed packets fit perfectly in the bag – one bag per seed variety.  If your packet is larger, as some of mine are, simply fold it in half to fit. 

Get one of those photo storage boxes from Hobby Lobby or Michaels which are the perfect size to store all the seed bags.  The dividers that come with the box work great for separating different kinds of seeds, if you have a lot.  And since I have more bags of seeds than I realized, I also used the tiny return address sticker labels (Avery 8167) to put on the top corner of each bag so I can easily find the seeds I’m looking for.  Oh yeah, I alphabetized them too.  ;0  Did you really think I wouldn’t????

With the help of the Farmer’s Almanac, it looks like I need to go ahead and get my tomatoes and peppers started indoors.  So I planted a whole bunch of seeds today.  And I decided to go ahead and get my herbs going too.  Victoria is responsible for one pot of rosemary, at her request.  And the already sprouted seedlings?  Those are from Aaron’s Science Fair Project!!

So there it is, folks…my first step toward becoming an actual gardener.  Wish me luck!

Day 244: Here Come the Chores…App Addicts, UNITE!!

You knew I’d eventually find something like this, didn’t you?  Apps that track chores and payout rewards.  And you had to know I’d share it with you.  I apologize if you are not an app lover like I am.  I just get so darn excited when I have a new way to track and chart things, especially if it comes with cumulative reports and cool sound effects. 

I’m a mom geek.

Oh!  Speaking of mom geeks, that reminds me of a story.  We have time for a story, don’t we?

My mom has always been casually up-to-date on the trends I have been “into.”  When I was in high school she knew as much about MTV as I did. (Side note: I hope my kids never watch MTV.  It’s so very different from when it first came on.  Oh crap…there’s my age showing again.)  Anyhoo, Mom is awesome-cool, and was always able to recognize the songs of all the hair bands I liked even from two rooms away.  I loved that she “got” my kind of music.  I was not, however, a fan of rap so I nearly busted a gut when I saw my mom put her glass up to the fridge door for some ice, shimmy-shake her shoulders, bob her head and say, “Worrrrrrrrrd to ya muhtha!” 

She’s more hip than geek.  But still…

Oh yeah, the apps…

Chore Pad ($2.99 for iPhone) and Chore Pad HD ($4.99 for iPad) and Limited Trial Version (Free): Where was this app two years ago?!! Fully customizable chore charts for multiple kids.  Assigned chores have point or “star” values, and customizable rewards have corresponding values.  The overall theme is cartoon-ish, so the kids love it. Complete a chore, touch today’s square for that chore, and a big checkmark appears while the appropriate number of stars fly onto the chart.  My favorite part?  You can add extra stars for additional effort, and take stars away, regardless of a chore’s original star value. (So yes, you can have a negative star value!)  Chores can be arranged in any order, and can be assigned to any number of days in the week.  If a chore is not applicable for a certain day, like homework on Saturday, it’s just greyed out so no checkmark can be put in its Saturday square.  When enough stars are earned for a reward, a trophy shows up on the screen.  When the child is ready to cash in his or her stars, just hit “payout” and the star-bank resets itself accordingly.  I’m loving this.  “Hey, you emptied the dishwasher for me?  Three extra stars!!…Oh, is that your jacket laying on the floor of the entry hall?  Minus one star!…Wow, you’ve reached 50 stars already?  Do you want to have a friend come over, or do you want to keep working toward that iTunes card?”

Mama’s got it goin’ on!!

But don’t think for a minute that the kids are the only ones with chores around here.  Aren’t you starting to figure me out yet?  I have another app that is helping to keep ME on track: Home Routines ($4.99). This helps me keep track of all the little things I need to remember in a day, and allows me to assign different chores to each day of the week, focused on cleaning the house. (Bye-bye, Excel spreadsheet!!)  (( Yes, I’m that Type A!))  The app divides your house into zones (well, you divide as you see fit.  The app allows you 5-7 different zones, depending on whether you want to clean on weekends or not. Each day focuses on only one zone for cleaning.) It comes loaded with presets for rooms in a house and common tasks associated with each room.  But the rooms and the tasks are fully customizable.  I cracked up when I saw “Clean cobwebs from corners” as the first chore in every room.  You mean I’m supposed to be looking at the corners of the room??? 

Heh, heh, heh…DEE-LEET that task!!

Home Routines also allows you to set morning and evening routines, and comes preset with a “15-minute Focus Time” for meditation, which I desperately need.  They even included a 15-minute timer in the app – the idea being that if we just spend 15 minutes in the morning and evening focusing on certain routine items, we can free up our time, increase our productivity and decrease the clutter in our minds and in our homes.  I love that concept!  Oh, and so adults don’t feel left out of the fun, this app even has stars to click when each task is complete.  It also keeps a handy list of accomplishments for the day, so I can see just how productive I’ve been.  I set the app to gently remind me twice a day to check on my chore list. So, it’s not screaming all the things I forgot to do, and if I choose to ignore it the app simply resets itself the next morning with no hard feelings. 

Someone should pay me to write app reviews, don’t you think?  I rather like this. 

Worrrrrrrd to ya muhtha!!!

Day 235: iPhone Apps – PDM style!!

I love that Summer Tomato’s latest post opens with the phrase, “Geeks, this one’s for you.”  I was instantly tuned in!  David Harfield from iPhoneappcafe.com shares his top-ten healthy living iPhone apps, some of which I had previously downloaded, and some of which I acquired within minutes of reading his post. 

Let’s face it.  There is an unholy number of apps available, and it is virtually (get it?  virtually… ??) impossible to know which ones are worth the time, let alone the money. So I am grateful to the people who share the apps that work for them.  And when they share a list of apps that all generally feed into the same inherent line of thinking and lifestyle that parallels my own, I become a downloading MA-CHINE!

Now, please note that I am not sharing all ten apps Mr. Harfield mentions because I will only attest to that which I have tried, and I’m too cheap to try apps that aren’t free unless I feel quite certain that I am going to get some serious bang for my buck, or at least a hefty supply of iTunes gift cards for my birthday. 

So, here goes my litany of support for Mr. Harfield’s selections, narrowed down to the apps that pertain directly to our foods:

1. Food Additives 2 ($1.99 for full version, or there is a limited FREE version, which I am currently falling in love with, and which will likely compel me to purchase the former.)  From this app, you can look up over 450 ingredient names to learn about their origin, side effects, common uses and safety levels.  (Plus see the ones that are banned in other countries, yet still available in American products.) Waaaaayyy cool!!  The free app gives you information on 50 common ingredients.  I’ll be upgrading very soon, I’m sure. 
2. Fooducate (FREE) While I haven’t had much time to really delve into this app, I am intrigued by the information and functionality it seems to offer.  You can scan a barcode of any product (say, cookies you find at WalMart) and it will give you a snapshot detail of the product – calories, pros, cons, suitable alternatives, and the skinny on particular ingredients.  You have the ability to “like” or “dislike” a product, and also to compare it to another product by barcode.  There is also an internal link to the Fooducate blog, which seems to have some handy articles for educating ourselves on what we eat.  (Um, you kinda figured that out already, didn’t you?  Wisenheimer!)
3. Good Food Near You (FREE)  The accuracy of its location determiner astounded me.  I allowed it to “find” me and it did – right down to the Zip+4 of the building I was in!  The purpose of this app is to tell you what restaurants nearby offer healthy food options.  But wait, it doesn’t just tell you the restaurant, it tells you what to order,  although it only lists one food item – the healthiest item – per location.  I had serious doubts about the app when I saw McDonald’s pop up on the list, but then I saw that it listed “Garden Salad” as my option at McDonalds.  So, the app does not discriminate against restaurants that also sell non-healthy foods, as I tend to do.  Cons for this app are the single item availability and the fact that it only focuses on nutritional content rather than ingredients. 
4. Whole Foods Recipes (FREE) I have had this app on my phone for a while now, and was pleased to see it on Mr. Harfield’s list.  You can narrow searches by various dietary restrictions/preferences and see complete nutritional information of the recipe.  Plus, you can search for recipes containing ingredients you already have, which makes it handy for last-minute meal planning.  Oh, and it also tells you where the nearest Whole Foods is, which just gets me all riled up because our nearest one is SEVERAL hours away. Grrrrrrr…   That being said, it’s an awesome app!

Not mentioned on Mr. Harfield’s list, but one of my general go-to apps for dining out is the Eat This, Not That restaurant app, based on the best-selling books that grade restaurants and menu items based on the health-quality of their foods.  So, if you know you’re headed to Olive Garden, for instance, you can scroll through their menu items sorted either by overall grade, calories, fat, etc. to predetermine your menu selection. Please note that I’ve had this app for a while now, and I just realized it’s $7.99 in the app store.  I think it was around $4 when I bought it. But if you’re okay with spending money on apps, I have to say this is worth it. 

And please don’t forget the Dirty Dozen list which is a simple reminder of which produce really serves you better as organic, and which are harmless in non-organic form.  It’s free, and nice to have with you at the grocery store. 

 So get busy downloading, and let me know how you geek out.  🙂

Day 224: QWERTY Kids

Last week when I mentioned that I had typed Aaron’s research paper for the Science fair project (in which he placed 2nd! Yay, Aaron), I was struck by the realization that these little humans are indeed old enough to type. I mean, really…they are on the computer almost as much as I am, and they are fast becoming text mongers and game hounds. It only stands to reason that they should be typing correctly, right?

So that is my next goal. To get my kids moderately proficient in typing before school starts next year. So let it be written. So let it be done.

Bwaaaahaaaahaaaa!!

Okay, I have already nixed the idea of turning my kitchen table into a mini-computer lab, but only because I detest messing with cords more than absolutely necessary. Instead, I am opting for teaching each of them at their own pace and using multiple tools to interest them on a variety of levels. For instance:

I borrowed an iPad keyboard from a friend of mine (mostly for my personal use this weekend to determine if this was something I wanted to sink money into) and I realized that Victoria was as fascinated by the keyboard as I was. So I bought a 99-cent app that has typing skills games and set her up at the kitchen table. She was hooked! In fact, she has had possession of the iPad more than I have this weekend. Last night, she was poised at the table cautiously pecking away at the keyboard. I peeked over her shoulder and saw that she was on the “practice test” portion of the app, strategically placing her fingers on the right keys and moving through the sentences that the app was generating.

Um, wow. I really didn’t expect it to be quite that intriguing.

I told the kids that I wanted to teach them to use Microsoft Word as well so that they will be able to navigate the word processor for the effects that they want. Aaron replied that he already uses Word at school.

“Then why on earth did I type your paper?”

“Because if I had typed it, it would have taken me a week! I never said I was good at it.”

See what I mean???

So both kids are on board with Professor Mom’s Typing Class. This will be an adventure, for sure!

Day 175: The Better Christmas List

Tags

Christmas shopping, gift lists

You know if I find something that keeps me more organized, I’m going to tell you all about it.  Last year I downloaded the Better Christmas List from the AppStore for iPhone.  I don’t know if this app is available for other phone brands, but if you can get your hands on this app, you simply must!!  Here’s the skinny on how to play Santa:

The app allows you to create groups of people and set budgets per group.  Assign specific gifts to each person, noting how much each item costs and where to purchase it.  Mark each item as not-yet-purchased, purchased, wrapped, or mailed.  The app generates a budget tracker, tickler for how many gifts you have bought and still need to buy, and gift listing by store.  And don’t worry about prying eyes…you can password protect the whole thing.  When Christmas is over, you can archive the entire season for later reference. 

I have recommended this app to several people.  It’s $1.99 and worth even more.  Trust me.

There’s an App for That: Simply Organic

I am forever looking for easy lifestyle management on-the-go and my plethora of iPhone apps provide some great resources. My latest favorite app find is Simply Organic, a product brand I’m not certain I can find locally. But it’s still useful because the app has recipe and shopping list features, coupons and even a “Mix It Up” recipe spinner. Just set a few options and voilà – a fully organic-ready recipe for whatever your occasion. Each recipe shows serving and nutrition information. Best of all, it’s free!