Friday, August 29, 2008

Greatest Tech Innovations of the 21st Century

I will attempt to identify the top 5 technological innovations of the 21st Century thus far. This is a great feat and I encourage you all to think for yourselves: agree or disagree with me. I will briefly describe the top 5 innovations and you can do the rest. All ladies should know about these as they have affected our lives one way or another.

No 5: I once was lost, but now am found

Global Positioning System (GPS) sheds light on your location, speed, direction, and time. Developed by the United States Department of Defense, GPS has finally found its way into the hands of the civilians and really become a popular item. GPS uses between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit microwave signals that assist GPS and tell the user that they have made the wrong turn yet again because most people still don’t know how to read the darn device. You don’t need to remember all that, just know that one of the top innovations of the 21st century is the GPS!

No 4: Lonely no more

Social Networking got ranked No4 on this list because it connects millions of people online through email, forums, videos, weblog, and communities. MySpace and Facebook are the most commonly used networks that help you stay connected with family, friends, schoolmates, colleagues and make new friends in your area or anywhere around the world. Companies even use them to create the online community for their employees, connecting managers and their workers 24/7.

No 3: Feed Me

Think of RSS as a text based radio station that anyone can put up. There are two parts, the radio station (RSS feeds) and the radio that tunes in (RSS reader). Most radio stations (RSS feeds) are websites and blogs. The radio (RSS reader) can be anything, a screen saver, a webpage, a special program in your computer or on your phone. This makes it easy for everyone to tune in and listen to just the radio stations (RSS feeds) that they like by subscribing to the right feed. Gives new meaning to the phrase “feed me.”

No 2: One of a kind

The iPhone or things related to the iPhone have appeared on this blog a few times and for good reason. The iPhone receives No2 on this list as it is the greatest phone of all time and Alexander Graham Bell would be very proud. (For those of you who do not know who Alexander Graham Bell, he invented the telephone in the late 1800’s) So you can actually thank him for the iPhone! There is nothing more that needs to be said, the iPhone speaks for itself!

No 1: Drum roll please

Lets give it up for High-definition television (HDTV). Even though this technology started development in the 1990s it has had the greatest impact on this century in recent years and that is why it sits at No1. HDTV is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution, this makes it big brother to SDTV (Standard-definition television). A higher resolution means a clearer and smoother picture, making the viewing experience much more enjoyable.

You may notice some of these technologies were developed years ago, however the 21st century is when they gained momentum and popularity. Now, we can’t live without them. Can you imagine your life without Facebook? Personally, I don’t know where I would be without GPS. And all of you with blogs have benefited from RSS in some way. We have also been spoiled by sleek technology like the iPhone and HDTV. Through all this, let us not forget our humble beginnings!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Personalized M&M's


This is for the chocoholic and egotist. But of course the cutest thing ever. Now you can personalize everybody’s all time favorite candy… the M&M’s. I’ve mostly seen this done for wedding favors (like I said egotist). But My M&M’s is also a great way to give a creative gift or celebrate a birthday.

You choose color, the message or picture on the M&M, as well as the packaging. May I remind you that this is a message or picture on the M&M itself… not the packaging. The best anyone else has done is personalized packaging like the Personalized Hershey Candy Bar Wrappers or My Dove Chocolate wrapper customization.

Now you can be creative with candy. Go crazy!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Phone Persona

WARNING: This article may contain spoilers.

With the new release of Sex and the City: The Movie, the story of the four female friends continues as their lives in New York City get more exciting (except for Samantha Jones who lives in L.A.). Most ladies watch the show to see the latest fashion trend because we all know that Sarah Jessica Parker is a fashion guru and this was reflected in 6 seasons of the television series and of course the movie. But has anyone given any consideration to the phones they used? I didn’t think so. I’m sure, those of you who watched the movie didn’t notice the cell phones the girls used. How about the laptop computer? You all have disappointed me greatly. I thought this blog would have taught you something by now! Well no worries, ladies. With the help of this article, we should be able to determine which Sex and the City lady you most resemble, which will help to find the best phone for you. Your cell phone should match your temperament and personality, after all, when you swing that phone out of your tiny handbag to answer a call you wanna WOW people.

Lets start with Samantha Jones. Aside from Samantha’s questionable predatory nature for the men, we see she has a number of admirable qualities. She is energetic and dynamic. Her lifestyle is bold and fast-paced as she is an independent businesswoman with a career in public relations. In the show we see she is using the iPhone. The iPhone is the latest in technology with fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping, accelerometer (responds to motion), multi-touch control, and smart sensors (light and proximity sensors). So we see that the iPhone is the best phone to represent Samantha Jones and ultimately any lady that lives in the fast lane and survives on latest technology to meet her needs.


I’d like to focus now on Miranda Hobbes. This lady is career minded. She is a lawyer and serious by nature. She is earnest, sincere, yet led by her emotions (cynical of men and relationships). But ultimately, what drives Miranda is her work. Working late into the nights, she remains steadfast to her duties of work. In the show, we see her using a BlackBerry, what better way to scream professional than by using a BlackBerry? The BlackBerry is the perfect phone for getting the job done. With its line of smartphones, staying connected to your work has become easier with better email solutions, instant messaging, GPS, video recording and more. However, the phone she used was too masculine. So I think, Miranda and all the ladies that make career and work a top priority, should opt for a BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Series. A good match indeed!

But what of Charlotte York? The lady whose gentle temperament and kind heart is agreeable to everyone, what phone could possibly suit her? Well we know from the series and even the movie, that Charlotte loves being outdoors. We see two very important passions in Charlotte. First is her love for her family (husband Harry and adopted Chinese girl named Lily) and the second is for jogging. Even after she gets pregnant in the movie, she worries for a short time that jogging might hurt the baby, but after talking to Carrie she realizes that she cannot stop being a runner just because she is afraid. It is also interesting to note that only one time in the show we see Charlotte with a phone, not only is it not recognizable but I am unsure if it is her phone. Therefore, the phone chosen to represent Charlotte and all ladies with passions for hobbies and family is the Sony Ericsson W760 Walkman slider. It was launched just this year and has some unique features such as a Tracker (sports application for tracking time and distance covered), Music recognition (record a few seconds of music and TrackID returns the song name, artist and album in seconds), and SensMe (create playlists based on mood). This is the perfect combination of a phone and portable music device for those long jogs through the park.

Saving the best for last, we now turn our attention to the leading lady, none other than Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie may have unique fashion sense and a great personality, but when it comes to cell phones, she is completely hopeless (however, I give her credit for the use of an Apple PowerBook throughout the series and movie). In the movie we seen Carrie using a pink Motorola flip phone with tons of pink jewels stuck on, this will not do. At her wedding when she hears Mr. Big did not arrive, she asks for a phone. When Samantha hands her the iPhone, Carrie takes one look and says “I don’t know how to work this.” We can tell Carrie is a simple lady that needs a phone merely to keep in touch and nothing more. The frills that most phones have today are not suitable for someone like Carrie. My favorite scene in the movie is when Carrie, in an attempt to avoid Mr. Big’s calls, throws her phone into the water. That phone was hideous and not suitable for the more fashionable gal in New York. Later in the show, her assistant (played by Jeniffer Hudson) brings her a new phone: another flip phone but this time by LG. The problem is that flip phones are no longer the hottest trend, rather, the latest craze are slider phones. To fix this problem we turn to the Samsung Soul (dual-screen slider): slim, sleek, and very fashionable. It is techy (touch sensitive display, features Bang & Olufsen enhanced audio) but simple nonetheless (5 megapixel camera has image stabilization and face detection). Carrie with Soul is a match made in heaven.

Now, which one are you?