Do you love apps and technology? Or are you a little intimidated by them? Your App Lady is here to help! This podcast delivers easy to digest, small chunks of tech information and incredibly usable apps that will improve your life.
This podcast is archived. Please join me on my new podcast - For All Abilities. For All Abilities -The Podcast is meant to inform the world of the amazing people out there who are succeeding in HUGE ways with brains who don’t find into the imaginary norm. While developing software to help businesses support their employees with , dyslexia, autism and learning differences, I was continually shocked to find out how many people were ashamed or felt less than due to these conditions. I vowed to change the way the world sees cognitive differences and the podcast was born.
Join me, your host - Betsy Furler, as I interview people living great lives with ADHD, Dyslexia, Learning Differences, Autism and other cognitive differences.
053 - An App for Weight Loss, Lose It! And Some Cool Tech Tools
Welcome to Episode Number 53! Today on the podcast, I talk about an app that helps you track your food intake and lose weight! But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leebelltech/2018/03/26/the-best-health-tech-2017/#2747737e38df Healthtech is changing daily and providing so many cool tools to help us get and stay healthier. This article describes 15 of the best health tech to improve your general well-being. In the article, they are organized by the area of your health they will improve. The Omron Evolv is a clinically-validated wireless blood pressure monitor that is light enough to take anywhere with you, while also being super easy to use. The device lets you easily measure, record and share your blood pressure data with your family or doctor using an app. The Wacaco Minipresso espresso maker is small, light and portable enough to ensure you never miss out on your morning coffee again. And it’s a good job. Regularly slurping a cup of the black stuff is associated with endless benefits, such as a lower incidence of Parkinson’s and certain types of cancers, and even reduced rates of DNA damage. The Center for Cohort Studies at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, recently noted that drinking coffee could also reduce the risk of clogged arteries, which can lead to heart attacks. A cup of coffee a day keeps the illness away. Smart scales are by no means anything new, but the Fitbit Aria 2 scales take weighing yourself to a whole new level. As well as weighing you, the connected scales will check your heart rate, water percentage, body fat, bone mass and muscle mass and keep a record of all this so you can compare your vitals over time. Accurately measures body weight, body composition (including body fat percentage, muscle, water and bone mass) and body mass index (BMI) The featured app today is Lose It. Lose It! is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Nook, Kindle, and the Web. Lose It! uses the proven principles of calorie tracking to help you succeed. It’s very easy to enter your profile details and goal weight to get started. The app calculates the daily calorie budget for you. Next, track your food, weight, and activity. This is the easiest app-based weight loss program that I have found. I love the database and barcode scanner feature. You can also log food by taking a photo of the food and the app will figure out what it is! Lose It! basic is free. After trying it out, I upgraded to the Premium version to unlock more awesome additional features. They claim that Premium members report 3x the weight loss of free members. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can help you navigate the intersection between technology and disabilities or set up an Individual Tech Plan for you or your child. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
10/26/2018 • 9 minutes, 28 seconds
052 - An App for Monitoring Your Phone or Tablet Use: Moment
Welcome to Episode Number 52! Today on the podcast, I talk about some of my favorite apps for focusing. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/major-life-insurer-says-it-will-require-customers-wear-health-n911461 Major life insurer says all customers can opt-in to wear health trackers John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance and instead sell only interactive policies that track fitness and health data through wearable devices and smartphones. Policyholders score premium discounts for hitting exercise targets tracked on wearable devices such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch and get gift cards for retail stores and other perks by logging their workouts and healthy food purchases in an app. In theory, everybody wins, as policyholders are incentivized to adopt healthy habits and insurance companies collect more premiums and pay less in claims if customers live longer. Privacy and consumer advocates have raised questions about whether insurers may eventually use data to select the most profitable customers, while hiking rates for those who do not participate. The insurance industry has said that it is heavily regulated and must justify, in actuarial terms, its reasons for any rate increases or policy changes. Featured App: Moment: https://inthemoment.io Moment is available for iPhone and iPad currently. They are hoping to release an Android version soon. Moment automatically tracks how much you use your iPhone and iPad each day. If you’re using your phone too much, you can set daily limits on yourself and be notified when you go over your limit. You can even force yourself off your device when you’re over your limits. Moment can also track your family’s screen time from your own phone and set up time for your entire family to be screen-free at times during the day like dinner time. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can help you navigate the intersection between technology and disabilities or set up an Individual Tech Plan for you or your child. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
10/19/2018 • 6 minutes, 49 seconds
051 - Academic and Organizational Success With An Individual Technology Plan
Welcome to Episode Number 51! Today on the podcast, I talk about the Individual Technology Plans that I create for kids who need support for academics and organization. Individual Technology Plans: Since the IPad was released in 2010, I have been in awe of the power of apps to level the playing field for students from elementary school through college. Students with learning differences, ADHD and other disabilities benefit greatly from using technology in focused, strategic ways to increase academic success.I have been offering Individual Technology Plans to school districts for several years and now I am able to offer these to indivual students and families.The process begins with a consultation with the student and parent to determine the needs. Test results and other school documents are reviewed. I then develop an individualized plan for using apps for academic success. The student and parent will be trained on using the apps efficiently. Here are some the apps I use in Individual Technology Plans : MicroSoft OneNote Inspiration Maps Panther Math Kahn Academy Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can help you navigate the intersection between technology and disabilities or set up an Individual Tech Plan for you or your child. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
10/12/2018 • 8 minutes, 44 seconds
050 - An App to Organize Your Medical Records - Backpack Health and Facebook Breach
'Welcome to Episode Number 50! Today on the podcast, I talk about an app that helps organize medical records. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/29/technology/facebook-hack-what-to-do-if-youre-affected/index.html Facebook was recently hacked and some information may have been compromised. When I went to look at my Facebook page, I had to re-enter my password. You may have noticed the same thing. You may want to change your password. Also make sure you are logged out of Facebook on all your devices. There are detailed steps in the article. Read the article to get the complete details. The featured app today is Backpack Health. I interviewed Brett Collinson about this great app. It is the app I am using to replace CareSync. Brett and I worked together to figure out how to export the data from CareSync to Backpack Health and we discussed it in the interview. Brett is the SVP for Product at Backpack Health. He is an award-winning designer with over 25 years of experience designing and building digital products in healthcare, finance, education, automotive, publishing, utilities and online marketplaces. A founding leader with two healthcare startups, Brett has a background in and works at the intersection of psychology, software engineering and design. Backpack Health is a health tech company building tools to help people manage their health details, care and communication. We believe everyone should be able to track their own health comprehensively, and do the same for the people they care about – no matter what their health concerns are, no matter what family means to them, and no matter what language they speak – all in one place. Backpack Health has a special offer for Your App Lady listeners! They are offering us free access to the PRO version of the app. The promo code is YOURAPPLADY – for free access to the PRO version. It can only be applied when logged into the web version of Backpack Health (backpackhealth.com), not the iOS or Android versions, but once applied you can use any version of Backpack to access your information. Go to the website. backpackhealth.com and create an account and use the promo code YOURAPPLADY. After you have created your account, you can download the app from the App Store or Google Play and use your login to open your account in the app. iOS App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/backpack-health/id1142624598 Android Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.backpackhealth.backpack Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can help you navigate the intersection between technology and disabilities or set up an Individual Tech Plan for you or your child. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
10/5/2018 • 25 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 49 - Apps For Travel Part Two, A New Google Feature and a New Disneyland Hack
Welcome to Episode Number 49! Today on the podcast, Italk about some of my favorite apps for travel in Part Two of my travel apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/26/17617522/google-search-events-recommendations-interest-based Google is rolling out a new search feature for events that are customized for you. There’s also a “For You” tab that should deliver events based upon your personal interests, with categories like running, cooking, and photography. Google has provided the tools for organizers to mark up their event listings, so you should see big happenings, but also smaller meetups happening in your neighborhood, like a local dancing class. Now when you search for an event and tap on it, an overview will be presented that shows details like ticket cost, venue reviews, time, and location. You can save events to revisit later, or click through to buy tickets via various vendors like StubHub and Ticketmaster. . Apps For Travel: I traveled to Washington, DC this summer and decided to do a two part feature on travel apps and how I used them for my trip. We were in DC for my son Henry to attend an educators’ seminar at the Holocaust Museum and I was along in case of emergency. I spent most of the week wandering around alone and occasionally stopping in museums and coffee shops to get some work done! Here are the apps I used: Maps on the iPhone - Maps on the iPhone or Google Maps are available for all smartphones. These maps/direction apps are invaluable when traveling. You can now chose your method of transportation - walk, drive, ride share or public transportation. You can also find nearby restaurants, shops or services. I used this constantly while in DC. Between navigating the Metro and finding dinner, I used all the features! Big Bus Tours app for iPhone. This app pairs with the Big Bus Hop On and Off tours available in many cities. I used it in DC to find bus stops and to track where the buses were and when they would be at the stop. The app also gives additional information about the landmarks. Weather from the Weather Channel for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows. This app gives you updates on the weather. I used it on my trip to DC to track the temperature, rain chances and the radar maps. Rinse Dry Cleaning and Laundry by Rinse - Rinse is a laundry and dry cleaning pick up and delivery service. The app allows you to schedule the service through your phone. This saved me on the trip since my son needed business casual clothes for most of the trip. We sent off his dress shirts and some laundry half way through the trip. The tip today is from: https://www.popsugar.com/tech/Disneyland-PhotoPass-Apple-Watch-Hack-44980530 This hack makes your Apple Watch work in DisneyLand like a Magic Band in DisneyWorld Before I get to the steps, you'll need to download the Disneyland app and have Maxpass. You'll also need an Apple Watch. Open the Disneyland app and click on "Show PhotoPass Code." Screenshot the QR code on your phone. Edit the image by cropping it as a square just around the QR code.Select the image in Photos and click "Create Watch Face." Select the top option, "Photos Watch Face." Click "Add" below "Photos." Now for the rest of your trip, anytime you have a Disney park photographer take your photo, all they have to do is scan your watch. You don't have to pull out your phone, open the app, and wait for everything to load. It's just a one-step process. After the Disney park photographer scans your watch, open up the Disneyland app and click "Photos." Your PhotoPass photos will be there for you to upload to your phone! Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
8/24/2018 • 10 minutes, 6 seconds
048 - Apps For Travel Part One, Phishing Scams and Facebook Problems
Welcome to Episode Number 48! Today on the podcast, Italk about some of my favorite apps for travle. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news today is from: https://www.cnet.com/news/facebooks-bad-year-just-got-worse/ Facebook’s bad year just got worse! At the end of July, Facebook missed revenue estimates, offered a weak sales forecast for future quarters and reported a decline of users in Europe. The news sent Facebook's stock downward, falling nearly 25 percent in after-hours trading. By the next day, shares opened down 18 percent, wiping more than $100 billion off its market value. By the close of trading, Bloomberg declared that Facebook had suffered the largest stock market loss in value during a single day ever for any US company. Apps For Travel: I traveled to Washington, DC this summer and decided to do a two part feature on travel apps and how I used them for my trip. We were in DC for my son Henry to attend an educators’ seminar at the Holocaust Museum and I was along in case of emergency. I spent most of the week wandering around alone and occasionally stopping in museums and coffee shops to get some work done! Here are the apps I used: AirBnB: The AirBnB app is available for Android and iPhone/iPad. While in DC, we stayed in an AirBnB. It saved us over $900 compared to a hotel and we had two rooms and a kitchen rather than just one hotel room. The app is easy to use to find a pace and to message your host during your stay. Uber and Uber Eats: The Uber Apps are available for Android and iPhone. We used Uber to travel around town and UberEats to deliver dinner to our AirBnB a few times. Smithsonian Museum Apps: The Smithsonian has apps available for many of their museums for Android and iPhone/iPad. These apps are great for directions within museums and to get more information about the exhibits. The tip today is from: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/technology/personaltech/phishing-password-email.html A recent scam message tries to extort money by claiming to have a secretly recorded video based on a hack of the recipient’s computer and knowledge of the person’s password Since mid-July, people have been receiving messages that have stepped up the scam by showing passwords in the subject headers as attention-grabbing “proof” that someone has access to your computer and has your personal information. This may be a real password obtained during database breaches from major sites and services like Yahoo, eBay, Sony PlayStation and dozens of other companies. Information and data are floating around the internet, often for sale on the black market. That data is now being melded into traditional phishing scams. The article states you can report phishing schemes to the FBI - Internet Crime Complaint Center https://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx/ . Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
8/17/2018 • 8 minutes, 59 seconds
047 - ACT The App Association Summer App Guide, Car2Go and Hear From Your VIPs Even On Do Not Disturb
Welcome to Episode Number 47! Today on the podcast, Italk about the App Association’s Summer Guide and one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/car2go-chicago-car-sharing/ Car2Go expands to Chicago. Now with 25 locations in cities across the US, I see Car2Go cars everywhere! Car2Go announced this week that it has started a car-sharing program in Chicago. The Chicago fleet has 400 cars with models are split between the Smart Fortwo and the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class and GLA-Class . With the focus on urban transportation, having small vehicles is important making it easier to park. Car2Go doesn't have set pickup or drop-off points. When you drive a Car2Go vehicle, you can leave it in either designated Car2Go spots or residential permit spaces, whenever you want. The price you pay is based on how long you've used it. The price also includes insurance, fuel, maintenance and parking. However, the car has to be dropped off within a 29-square-mile "home area" that stretches from Cermak in the south to Foster in the north, and from Kimball and Homan in the west to Lake Michigan in the east. The app will let you know if you are within that zone. There are no monthly or annual fees for Car2Go, but there is a one-time $5 signup fee, although that fee will be waived for folks who sign up before Aug. 23 and use a code. Early adopters will also get a $15 credit for future rentals. . App: Story Dice by Thinkamingo available for Android, Kindle Fire, Nook and iPhone/iPad Story Dice is one of my favorite apps and was featured in the ACT The App Association Summer Guide. I also talked about it on Episode 23 GrillTime is the perfect app for your next barbeque. With more than 100 different foods to choose from, just select the type of meat, thickness of the cut and desired level of doneness. GrillTime will recommend the perfect time and temperature for your meat. PackPoint Premium is a packing assistant app. Add trip details – from dates of travel, to events on the itinerary, to travel type – and PackPoint tells you exactly what to bring! PackPoint also saves packing lists, allowing you to easily replicate packing lists from previous trips. The tip today is from: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/technology/personaltech/do-not-disturb-interrupt.html The Do Not Disturb feature, found in slightly different variations on Android and iOS devices, mutes calls, notifications and alerts. You can adjust the settings to let calls from certain people through even in the Do Not Disturb setting. You just need to make sure the people you want to hear from are on your list of favorite contacts. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
8/10/2018 • 8 minutes, 24 seconds
046 - Data Privacy with My Friends From TechSwamp
Welcome to Episode Number 46! Today on the podcast, I am talking to my friends at TechSwamp, a podcast about top headlines, tech history, and the latest policy news. They also explore what all of the things mean for app developers and innovators. We discuss privacy and why you should care about data privacy. To listen to TechSwamp go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-swamp/id1330660803?mt=2&i=1000414835069 Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
8/3/2018 • 19 minutes, 53 seconds
045 - Telemedicine, the End of CareSync and Locked iPhones
Welcome to Episode Number 45! Today on the podcast, I will talk about telemedicine with my friend, Dr Audrey Ross Powell. But first, here is a little tech news for you. News: CareSync https://medcitynews.com/2018/06/caresync-is-shutting-down/ Unfortunately the company that owned one of my favorite apps, CareSync, has shut down. They abruptly closed their doors in June. I recommend downloading any records you have in CareSync just in case. As of now, the company is promising to keep the records safe and accessible to patients. I will update you as I find out more information. Today I interviewed Dr. Audrey Ross Powell of Rowe Docs about telemedicine. Follow Rowe Docs on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/RoweDocs/ and check out their website: https://www.rowedocs.com. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
7/27/2018 • 23 minutes, 41 seconds
044 - PDFs, Finding Your Phone and Hello Fresh
Welcome to Episode Number 44! Today on the podcast, Italk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. The news is from: https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/19/17478090/microsoft-office-365-adobe-pdf-partnership Microsoft and Adobe have announced that they are continuing their partnership this week with the integration of Adobe PDF services into Office 365. Adobe’s PDF services will be available from inside web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Office 365 commercial users will also be able to convert documents into PDFs. They will preserve font choices, formatting, layouts, and password protection while converting the documents to PDF’s. It is important to know how to convert a document to a PDF. Many people can only review emailed documents in PDF format. This is easy to do and I recommend you explore your word processing software and figure out how to convert a document to a PDF. In Pages, on a Mac or iPad, you simply choose “Export” and then choose “PDF” as the file type. App: HelloFresh available for Android and iPhone/iPad HelloFresh is a meal delivery service that sends you fresh ingredients as well as recipes but they also have an app. This handy, free app that has many recipes that are easy to follow. Each recipe includes a description of the meal, approximate time needed to make the recipe, a list of utensils needed and photos of each ingredient. Each step of the recipe is written with large print that is easy to read. There are photos of each cooking step and photos of the ingredients. The app includes preset built in timers for each step and can be accessed by voice controls. This is great for novice cooks, people with cognitive disabilities and kids who are learning to cook. The tip today is from: https://www.popsugar.com/tech/How-Find-Your-iPhone-Silent-37631381 You can easily misplace your iPhone somewhere in your house. While you could normally just have a friend or someone call it, this won’t help if your iPhone is on silent. You can use the Apple “Find My iPhone” feature. Go to iCloud.com on a desktop or laptop, sign in, and click on "Find My iPhone." The website will show the location of your phone. This helps verify if it is in your home or if you left it elsewhere. If you already know where your iPhone is, tap the dot on the icon of your iPhone on the computer screen. A box should appear with three options. Click the "Play Sound" button and, regardless of whether your iPhone is on silent or vibrate, a pinging sound will ring loudly. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
7/20/2018 • 9 minutes
043 - Another Tool for Tech Help and an Update to Apple Maps
This is Episode Number 43! Today on the podcast, I have a special interview for you with Debbie of Mobile Mom Tech Rescue. But first, here is a little tech news for you. This news is from: https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/29/17518344/apple-maps-overhaul-ios-12 Apple recently announced plans to introduce completely overhauled mapping data in the US over the next year. The new data will be information that Apple gathered itself, according to TechCrunch, which got a behind-the-scenes look at the plan. The new data will begin to roll out in the coming weeks. It will be first for people enrolled in the iOS 12 beta. The first roll out of the updated mapping data will only be available for San Francisco and the Bay Area. The report says it’ll grow to cover all of Northern California by fall and eventually come to all versions of iOS - the iPhone and iPad operating system. The rest of the US will receive the new maps “section by section” “over the next year.” Today I have an interview with Debbie of http://mobilemomtechrescue.com/. I found Debbie through the Facebook group of The Satellite Sisters. I love the Satellite Sisters podcast and have listened for years. They are real life sisters who talk about life and current events. You can find out about them at www.satellitesisters.com. Please check out Debbie’s website at www.mobilemomtechrescue.com Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
7/13/2018 • 16 minutes, 5 seconds
042 - All About Apps and Direct Marketing - An Interview with CinchShare
Welcome to Episode Number 42! Today on the podcast, I talk and interview Melanie Moore about one of my favorite app, CinchShare The news today is from: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/6/22/17495326/apple-macbook-pro-faulty-keyboard-repair-program-admits-issues Apple says that the MacBook Pros may have faulty keyboards. If you are having issues like sticky keys, go to apple.com to contact Apple or to get a Genius Bar appointment at the Apple Store for information on their extended warranty. App: CinchShare - available for Android and iPhone/iPad Today I have an interview with Melanie Moore of CinchShare. Melanie is the director of training and development for CinchShare. CinchSahre is a social media marketing scheduling platform built for direct sellers, MLM marketers and small businesses. Using CinchShare you can create, organize, save and schedule posts, pins and tweets all in one place. Find out more about CinchShare at https://www.cinchshare.com.Get a 37 day free trial with the code CINCHFREE. Tech Tip: Use your phone as a scanner and never lose papers. The tip today comes from my own blog! Find out more about using your phone to scan your papers here: https://yourapplady.com/2018/02/07/your-app-lady-the-podcast-episode-8-scanners-for-your-smartphone-duck-robots-for-kids-with-cancer-and-how-to-easily-identify-the-song-youre-listening-to/ Or here: https://yourapplady.com/2017/06/05/no-scanner-ive-got-an-app-for-that/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
7/6/2018 • 13 minutes, 1 second
041 - Another Meditation App for Kids and Adults and An iPhone Mystery Solved!
Welcome to Episode Number 41! Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps for life. But first, here is a little tech news for you. News. Lyra Health raises $45M to create a smart network for treating mental health problems This app and service partners with employers to help their employees securely and confidentially understand what kind of treatment they need to seek if they feel like they are suffering from any mental health problems. They have built a secure and confidential place where an employee can go and answer some questions that relate to their symptoms, severity, treatment preferences and use technology to match them for the right care. https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/07/lyra-health-raises-45m-to-create-a-smart-network-for-treating-mental-health-problems/ App Zen Studio by Edoki Studio - iPhone and iPad This is an active meditation app that helps adults and children find serenity through creation. It is a geometric finger painting app designed to help children relax and focus. Tech Tip Finally, an Answer to This Annoying iPhone Mystery While I love the iPhone's accept/decline buttons when you get an incoming call, it seems inconsistent in when it appears. This article explains why you only see the accept/decline buttons part of the time. Frequently, you see the slide-to-answer feature instead of the accept/decline buttons. This article explains that the answer is simple. If your iPhone is unlocked while receiving a call, you will see accept and decline buttons on your screen. If it is locked, you will see the slider. https://www.popsugar.com/tech/Why-iPhones-Switch-Between-Slider-Buttons-Calls-37001523 Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
6/29/2018 • 7 minutes, 16 seconds
040 - A New Note App: Bear and MicroSoft Embraces Accessibility
Welcome to Episode Number 40! Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. News. https://www.cnet.com/news/microsofts-satya-nadella-thinks-ai-can-improve-tech-for-the-disability-community/ Microsoft's Nadella thinks AI can improve tech for people with disabilities The tech giant Microsoft announced on May 7, 2018 that they have launched a $25 million, five-year program to encourage software and device developers to design products using artificial intelligence are aimed at the disabled community. AI or artificial intelligence could enable apps that describe what people see, better text-to-speech technology and predictive text so people don't have to type as much. This is fantastic news for the tech community and the special needs/disability community. The Microsoft app for iPhones called Seeing AI is an awesome app that narrates the view for people who are blind or have vision disorders. It can read text and handwritten notes. It can describe an object or a scene. App Bear - iPad, iPhone and Mac Bear is a new note taking and writing app. It includes a focus mode and also allows you to use a variety of fonts. Advanced markup options and full in-line image support sets this apps apart from other apps. You can also add files, links and written notes within you Bear note. You can view word count while type in the app. The app allows you to share you Note as a PDF or Word doc. The app has some accessibility features such as a high contrast mode and the Open Dyslexic font. The app also allows text to speech. Tech Tip How to Store All Your Photos and Videos in the Cloud Uploading photos to the cloud has a couple of advantages over storing them on your device: You can easily share the albums with others. You can access the photos and videos at any time and on other devices as long as you have an Internet connection. You have a backup of all your photos in case something happens to the copy on your device. Apple has iCloud Photo Library. I use iCloud to store my photos and also to sync them on my various devices. I have purchased some extra iCloud storage so I have plenty of room for all my photos and videos. The photos and videos are uploaded automatically to iCloud once the feature is enabled. For non-Apple users and Apple users, there are quite a few other options. The most popular choices here are Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive or Flickr. I upload all my photos to Dropbox in addition to iCloud. Dropbox can also be configured to automatically backup your photos from your phone. https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-store-all-your-photos-in-the-cloud/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
6/22/2018 • 11 minutes, 57 seconds
039 - Amazon Echo Dot For Kids: Pros, Cons and Skills
Welcome to Episode Number 39!Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps for life. News - The Echo Dot for Kids NBC News Article Echo Dot for Kids was designed to reduce screen time while connecting kids to services they need. By using the voice-activated platform, a child will spend less time in front of a screen, Amazon told NBC News. Alexa can also teach your child some manners through interactions with the device. When a child asks a question by saying “please”, Alexa responds with a compliment that thanks them for asking nicely. With data privacy still in the headlines, this article says that Amazon has stressed that the new Echo Dot Kids Edition is equipped with security and safety considerations. It also states that third-party app developers are never given access to a child’s data or information. Wired.com Article In the second article, It is reported that lawyers, child development experts, and privacy advocates are expressing concerns about two new Amazon products targeting children -Echo Dot for Kids and FreeTime Unlimited. They questioning whether they encourage children to be too dependent on technology and jeopardize their privacy. App: Special Echo Dot Just For Kids Money.com Article The Echo Dot Kids Edition plays music, answers questions and comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon's FreeTime Unlimited. FreeTime Unlimited offers access to kid-friendly books and ad-free radio stations built for kids. Both are aimed at kids ages 5 to 12. The colorful Echo Dot for Kids comes in a protective case with a choice of colors. Your child can choose blue, red or green. They are loaded with parental controls. Parents can set time limits for use and pre-select which services kids can access. Songs with inappropriate lyrics are automatically blocked. The child’s ability to purchase items from the internet is also disabled. Tech Tip 25 Best Alexa Skills For Kids This article lists 25 Alexa skills for kids. I mentioned two on the podcast that may help with summer slide. One is the Spelling Bee skills. If you say,"Alexa, Launch Spelling Bee". This skills will start. The spelling bee is designed for grade school children (grades 4 & 5) to help them practice their spelling words. You can choose as many rounds as you want. Each round is one spelling word. This article reports that Alexa hears you very well while spelling. The second Alexa Skill is Alexa, Ask Math Mania to Play" This contains two useful math skills for kids who want to practice their multiplication, addition, subtraction, or division skills. To open 1-2-3 Math say "Alexa, Open 1-2-3". These skills give you several math options and multiple difficulty levels. The challenges include word problems and number sequences in a quiz format. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
6/15/2018 • 10 minutes, 58 seconds
038 - My Favorite Apps for People Who are Nonverbal and AAC Consulting
Today on the podcast, I’m talking about AAC or Augmentative Communication. I have been passionate about providing clients with AAC for 26 years! My favorite apps for AAC are ProLoQuo2Go and ProLoQuo4Text. ProLoQuo2Go is icon based and doesn’t require reading or spelling. ProLoQuo4Text is a text to speech app and requires the user to type and spell. Find out more about them at www.assistiveware.com Find out how to purchase my books, online course or contact me for consulting, training or speaking at www.workwithbetsy.com Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
6/8/2018 • 13 minutes, 49 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 37: Apple's Airport Express, Mobile Passport App, and How Often Should You Change Your Passwords When Traveling
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 37 Welcome to series 1 episode 37 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News The tech news today comes from time.com. This article about travel gadgets has several interesting products. My favorite is Apple’s Airport Express. This is an awesome WiFi solution for anyone who spends time in hotels. The Airport Express functions as a wireless base station. Plug the Ethernet cable (usually located on the desk in a hotel room) into the Airport Express and then plug the Airport Express into a wall outlet and you will have access to your own WiFi network. Add a password and you will have a secure network that you can share with only the people you are traveling with. For more information: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1827576_1827591_1827971,00.html Another interesting gadget is this Swissbit Swiss Army knife. It has a 1GB usb flash drive along with the typical Swiss Army knife components. You can remove the flash drive so you can get through security. For more information: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1827576_1827591_1828238,00.html Featured App: Mobile Passport App Available for iPhone and Android. MPC enables U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors to expedite their entry process into the U.S. by simplifying the associated administration functions. Travelers may use the app to submit their passport and declaration information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) via their mobile device instead of completing the traditional paper form. The app does not require pre-approval and is free to use. The app is authorized by CBP and is sponsored by the Airports Council International-North America, Boeing, and the Port of Everglades (PEV). Tech Tip This tech tip is from travelchannel.com. Kevin Emert, Chief Information Security Officer at Scripps Network Interactive, suggests that you change your password when traveling. He recommends changing the passwords on any accounts you use on the trip before you leave and again as soon as you return. This is especially important for international travel. For more information: https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travel-tips/photos/how-to-protect-your-personal-data-while-traveling Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/23/2018 • 7 minutes, 3 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 36: RoboKiller Stops Robocalls
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 36 Welcome to series 1 episode 36 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Robocalls have become a huge problem. The Federal Trade Commission received over 375,000 complaints about them each month in 2017. The included article outlines some of the steps you can take to decrease the annoyance of robocalls. Some of the tips include blocking each number individually, using a service through your phone carrier or using a third party app. The article also suggests that you don’t let them know you are a human (don’t speak or even push buttons on your phone), complain to the FCC and add yourself to the National Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers are supposed to honor the National Do Not Call Registry. Add yourself to the list by visiting www.donotcall.gov. https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/6/17071478/spam-calls-how-to-stop-block-robocalls-robots-scam-iphone-android Featured App: RoboKiller Stop Spam Phone Calls by Tel Tech Systems for iPhone I tried RoboKiller app on my iPhone after I registered several domain names and was overwhelmed with RoboCalls. Within the first hour, it had already worked on a number that continually calls me. The app allows you to set a feature to answer and record the call. I used that feature and could confirm that it was a sales call and not a call I really needed to answer. RoboKiller offers a 7-day free trial and then is $25 per year or $2.99 a month. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/18/2018 • 9 minutes, 36 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 35: An Interview with the Founder of Wellbeyond: a Meditation App for Kids: Mike Sax
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 35 Welcome to series 1 episode 35 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News This article lists a variety of apps that help kids manage their anxiety. Both adults and kids can benefit from meditation. For kids as young as 2 years old, practicing healthy emotional habits like mindfulness can help them build their mental resilience. This allows them to handle whatever life throws at them when they’re older. There is a huge body of research that suggests that mindfulness meditation can be an effective tool for kids with anxiety, ADHD, depression and other mental health diagnoses. Our smartphones and tablets are great tools to deliver meditation content. This list includes Wellbeyond Meditation for Kids and other great apps. Be sure to check them out! For more information: https://www.simplemost.com/meditation-apps-kids-anxiety/ Featured App: Wellbeyond: Meditation for Kids By Wellbeyond Inc. This app has beautiful graphics and was designed to help kids meditate. It’s a wonderful app for parents and kids to use together. The app contains guided meditations for kids that are also useful for adults. There are a variety of topics to choose from such as focus, centering and sleep. You can find the app here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wellbeyond-meditation-for-kids/id1082891966?mt=8 Today’s podcast is an interview I did with Mike Sax, the founder of Wellbeyond Inc. Follow Mike: Twitter: @MikeSax Medium: Mike Sax LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesax. Tech Tip The tech tip today is from me! The app, Wellbeyond Meditation for Kids, is such a wonderful app for children and adults to use for meditation. My tip today is to think about how you can use your phone for health and wellness. In this digital world, we all need to slow down and meditation is so helpful. You can also use your smartphone to track your exercise and food intake, track your sleep cycles and listen to relaxing audiobooks or music. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/16/2018 • 18 minutes, 1 second
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episdode 34: TV White Space, New Apple App Clips, and Tech Gadgets for New Grads
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 34 Welcome to series 1 episode 34 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News TV White Space Even in the most developed countries, there are huge gaps in internet access. Fixed broadband access is unaffordable for 3.9 billion people around the world. In the U.S., about 72 percent of people have home broadband internet access, but 60 million people are still living without it. According to Pew Research, part of the reason for this lag in adoption is the expense of broadband internet. White Space refers to the unused broadcasting frequencies in the wireless spectrum. Television networks leave gaps between channels for buffering purposes, and this space in the wireless spectrum is similar to what is used for 4G so it can be used to deliver widespread broadband internet. Typical home Wi-Fi can travel through two walls. White Space broadband can travel up to 10 kilometers, through vegetation, buildings, and other obstacles For more information: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/white-space-the-next-internet-disruption-10-things-to-know/ Featured App: Clips Clips - Apple’s recently launched video editing app feels like a natural evolution of the iPhone’s camera. The tool makes it possible to stitch together photos and videos, all while letting users add elements like text, emojis, and filters. Plenty of apps include such capabilities, but Clips offers a bit more intelligence when it comes to adding captions. When shooting a video, a user can simply dictate a subtitle and the app will automatically add it in sync with what’s happening on screen. Tech Tip This is a great list of tech gifts for your favorite graduate! Some of my favorites include: 1) Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD with 30W Power Delivery Charger - this power bank will charge a laptop and a smartphone at the same time! 2) GoPro Hero6 Black - a tiny, fun camera that can be attached to helmets and other items (even the hood of your car). 3) DR.J (2018 Upgraded) +10% Lumens 4Inch Mini Projector with 170" Display - This little projector is under $100 and can be connected with a wireless adapter to a laptop or phone to show movies on a wall. https://grownandflown.com/10-best-tech-grad-gifts/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/11/2018 • 7 minutes, 36 seconds
Your App Lady: The Podcast Episode 33: New Nintendo Accessories, Open Table for Restaurant Reservations, and How to Clean Your Earbuds
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 33 Welcome to series 1 episode 33 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Nintendo came out with a new line of accessories for the Switch game system. Nintendo Labo's cardboard accessories can interact with the Switch in a number of ways. One of the kits has pre-cut pieces that users can build pianos that play musical notes. Another kit has an RC car that can be controlled with the gaming console. The kits are aimed at children ages 6 to 12. They are set to go on sale starting April 20, 2018. The variety kit -- which includes projects like a fishing rod and piano -- will cost $70. The robot kit will sell for $80. The Nintendo Switch ($300) is sold separately. For more information: http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/06/technology/nintendo-labo-diy-cardboard-toys/index.html Featured App: Open Table Available for iOS and Android Make online reservations, read restaurant reviews from diners, and earn points towards free meals. OpenTable is a real-time online reservation network for fine dining restaurants. Tech Tip How to clean your Earbuds Use a gentle cleaner, like a mix of dishwashing detergent and warm water. Use a gentle cloth with a small amount of soap mixture. Too much soap could leave a residue on your earbuds, and too much water could ruin your earbuds. If there is dirt or dust in the metal part of your earbuds, brush them with a dry toothbrush to dislodge the dust. Some earbuds, like Apple's In-Ear Headphones, come with removable (and replaceable) silicone covers, so try removing them and cleaning those separately. Never submerge your earbuds in water. You will damage the wiring. Only clean your earbuds when they are detached from your phone or other device! For more information: https://www.popsugar.com/tech/How-Properly-Clean-Your-Earbuds-7686915 Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/9/2018 • 6 minutes, 20 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 32: Find the Best Free Apps, Use Your Amazon Fire as Alexa Speakers, and How to Dispose of an Old Laptop
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 32 Welcome to series 1 episode 32 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Amazon’s Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets can now be used as hands-free Alexa speakers. This feature is currently available on the Fire HD 10. Amazon is expanding it to other tablets. Both compatible models, the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8, were released last year. Once the latest software update rolls out to the devices, you will be able to use Alexa’s full array of voice commands whenever the tablet’s screen is turned on. For more information: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/4/4/17197730/amazon-fire-7-hd-8-tablets-hands-free-alexa-new-feature Featured App: Apps Gone Free Available for iOS devices (iPhones and iPads). I use this app daily to find high quality free apps. While every day hundreds of apps reduce their price to free for a limited time, many of them are not worth downloading. AppsGoneFree finds the apps worth trying out. Each app includes a summary and a link to the App Store. The app features 4-6 apps a day. Tech Tip How to Dispose of An Old Laptop If you can’t give away or sell an old laptop, here are directions on how to safely get rid of it. Step One: Back Up Your Computer Store your files on an external hard drive or back up your data using iCloud if you have a Mac. Step Two: Sign Out of Everything Sign out of all your applications and software. Make sure none of your login information is stored in your keychain or any other app or software on the computer. Then wipe your hard drive. Here's the full guide to deleting everything off your computer. Step Three: Recycle Your Device at an E-Waste Location. Apple Recycling Program: Apple accepts old devices online at any Apple store. If your Mac or PC has any monetary value, you'll receive an Apple gift card in the amount it's worth. Gazelle: Gazelle is another reliable buyer that will take your old devices. Similar to the process above, all you have to do is enter your laptop's serial number and ship it to its processing center using the prepaid shipping supplies they send to you. Best Buy: You have the option of dropping off your old laptop at any Best Buy store for proper disposal. Staples: If your computer has any value, you have the option of trading it in store for a Staples eCash Card, or sending it in through an online process. Goodwill: Drop off your laptop to any Goodwill collection center. According to its site, "One working computer given to Goodwill is worth 5.3 hours of career counseling." Find a local drop-off center in your area: Do a quick search to see if any nearby stores accept e-waste. Many manufacturers, office supply retailers, and even hardware stores will be able to take your laptop off your hands. For more information: https://www.popsugar.com/news/What-Do-Old-Laptop-44666387 Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/4/2018 • 7 minutes, 46 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 31: New Emojis, Easily Track Your Spending, and Correct Your Autocorrect
Your App Lady Show Notes Episode 31 Welcome to episode 31 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Apple recently submitted a proposal to add 13 new emojis to the Unicode Consortium. They include a prosthetic arm and leg, hearing aids, as well as people using sign language and a wheelchair. Apple worked with the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, the American Council of the Blind and National Association of the Deaf, to develop the emojis. For more information: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/3/17193020/apple-emojis-disability-representation-media-carrie-wade-interview Featured App: Spending Tracker Available for iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android I use Spending Tracker everyday to increase my awareness of how much my family is spending and how much we are saving. Spending Tracker is easy to use and helps me feel more control over my money. I track expense by the month but the app allows you to choose to track expenses weekly, monthly or yearly. You can also set a budget in the app. You can schedule repeated transactions daily, weekly or monthly as well as export data to CSV for use in a spreadsheet or export the data to a PDF for viewing and printing. I was able to edit expense and income categories and add custom categories. I can also sync my entries on Spending Tracker on all of my iOS devices. The data can be backed up on Dropbox. Tech Tip Wrestling with AutoCorrect? I often find that autocorrect changes my words incorrectly. I finally found out how to correct this! This article says that the keyboard’s dictionary file may have saved incorrect entries. If you do not have a lot of custom words you have saved and want to start over so the auto-correction tool learns new words from now on, you can delete the old dictionary. To do this, open the Settings app on the home screen. Next, select General and scroll to the bottom of the list. Select Reset and then Reset Keyboard Dictionary. You may be asked to enter your passcode. Then delete the old dictionary. If you do not want to delete the current dictionary, you can turn off the auto-correction tool and make other adjustments in the iOS keyboard settings. Tap the Settings icon on the iPhone’s Home screen and choose General. Scroll down the screen and select Keyboard. If you have a tendency to repeat typos in certain words or want to expand abbreviations into full phrases, tap Text Replacement to set up automatic replacements as you type. For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/technology/personaltech/auto-correct-iphone.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftech-tip&action=click&contentCollection=personaltech®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=13&pgtype=collection Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
5/2/2018 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 30: Cute LOHOME Cleans Your House, Moppa Maths, and Save Your Child's Artwork
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 30 Welcome to series 1 episode 30 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News I am excited about this news! I found an article on using technology to clean your house. There are many cleaning devices, but my favorite are these fuzzy balls. They look like a toy, but they are actually great for cleaning. The LOHOME Automatic Rolling Ball Electric Cleaners come with machine-washable microfiber covers. They are balls covered with microfiber that are designed to roll around your floor picking up dust and dirt. Many reviewers say they were impressed at how well the product cleans! It can even fit under furniture, so you don’t have to worry about moving the couch for a deep clean. Get the LOHOME Automatic Rolling Ball Electric Cleaner on Amazon for $12.99 For more information: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2018/04/04/10-gadgets-that-will-make-spring-cleaning-a-breeze/33521945/ Featured App: Moppa Maths Moppa Maths is an interactive math app for 5-7 year olds. This game-based app lets them explore the magical world of numbers through six animated characters. The app has several mini-games designed in collaboration with preschool teachers. The app addresses the following math concepts: number bonds, number recognition, addition, subtraction, and buying and selling. Preschoolers can also mix and match sea creature gear to make a scuba costume or make music with the Blues Blubber band. Tech Tip Preserving Your Child’s Artwork We have all had the experience of feeling overwhelmed with the clutter of our kids’ artwork and simultaneously feeling guilty for getting rid of it. Your phone or tablet can solve this problem for you. There are several mobile apps that allow you to photograph your children’s art work and archive them. This can be a convenient way to save (and share) the memories. Keepy (for Android, iOS and Kindle) is one app in this category and offers the ability to record audio and video on the saved schoolwork from the child. Canvsly (for Android and iOS) is another app for saving and organizing your kids’ art and school projects. Once you have created the photos and clips, you can save the art or school work on file-sharing sites like Dropbox, Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/technology/personaltech/preserving-those-refrigerator-door-masterpieces.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftech-tip&action=click&contentCollection=personaltech®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/27/2018 • 8 minutes, 19 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 29: Beer Around the World with Untappd, Set Up Your iOS Device and Use That Files App on Your Phone
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 29 Welcome to series 1 episode 29 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Setting up an iPad for coding is my greatest feat as a computer user. This will help: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/27/17152482/ipad-pro-web-development-setup-how-to-terminal-apps Featured App: Beer Untappd For iPhone and Android Discover and share great beers, breweries, and venues with your friends, while earning badges for exploring beers of different styles and countries. Discover nearby venues, events, and beers that you'll love, keep track of the beers you like and create lists for later. You can get alerts when your favorite verified venues add new beers. Even find new venues with great beers, anywhere in the world! Also follow your friends and see what beers they're enjoying Tech Tip The Files app will bring every single file you have on an iOS device, such as your iPad and iPhone, into one single app. You can also add other file-storage services like Box and Dropbox to access your files on your phone. For more information: https://www.popsugar.com/news/photo-gallery/43717316/image/43717573/Meet-app-might-make-you-more-productive-Files Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/25/2018 • 8 minutes, 44 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 28: A New iPad, Vivino For Your Wine Choices, and QR For Home WiFi
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 28 Welcome to series 1 episode 28 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Apple’s Education Announcements The star of the announcement was the new “affordable” iPad with stylus support. Affordable is in quotations because it costs $299 for schools, but $329 for everyone else — the same price as iPad’s 9.7-inch tablet announced last spring. The biggest update with this iPad is that it’ll finally work with the $99 Apple Pencil ($89 for students / teachers), which was previously only supported by the iPad Pro. Most of the updates are in the software, with a new version of iWork that incorporates support for, of course, the Apple Pencil. Pages, for example, now include a Digital Book Creation tool that lets teachers and students build books together by adding pictures, handwritten notes, and hand-drawn illustrations. Numbers can now be used to create lab reports, and Clips will get new kid-friendly filters to encourage them to express themselves digitally. Notably, teachers will also be able to mark up documents on Pages with the Apple Pencil, similar to how they might grade a paper. A new app, Schoolwork, is designed for teachers to manage their classroom digitally. Schoolwork allows teachers to hand out digital assignments to students, such as homework, activities, and mark due dates on various projects. “Everyone Can Create,” essentially bills the new iPad as the ultimate creative classroom tool for students to learn and express themselves. The curriculum focuses on four areas: music, video, photography, and drawing, with tools like Clips and GarageBand For more information: https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/27/17155688/apple-event-2018-news-highlights-recap-ipad-education Featured App: Vivino Free for both Android and iOS. A wine companion app, Vivino (Android, iOS) boasts a photo label recognition system that can quickly bring up information for a given wine, complete with reviews, ratings and tasting notes. If the app can't automatically identify a particular vintage, Vivino's own team of wine experts can manually identify it for you with time. In addition to label scanning, users can browse the app's database of wine reviews, save their favorite wines, get recommendations for wines from within the app and find out where to buy wines nearby. You now can order wines within the app in supported countries, with a premium tier offering its members free shipping. Tech Tip Use this site to generate a QR code for your Wi-Fi network. It will require the network name, password, and network type. Print out the QR code and attach it to your wall. Have Android friends scan the QR code to automatically configure your Wi-Fi network's settings on their phones. BAM! Go here to get it: http://blog.qr4.nl/QR-Code-WiFi.aspx Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/20/2018 • 8 minutes, 31 seconds
Your App Lady Episode 27: Track All of Your TV, Updated Apple Maps, and a Better BlackBerry
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 27 Welcome to series 1 episode 27 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News New Blackberry phone model with physical keyboard. The BlackBerry KeyOne is a collaboration between BlackBerry and TCL. This is an Android phone with a physical keyboard, combining the traditional features of the BlackBerry phones of an excellent battery life and a priority on security, with the functionality of an Android phone. The BlackBerry KeyOne retails for about $550. For more information: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/blackberry-keyone-review/ Featured App: TV and Movie Tracking When I attended SXSW, I sat by a film student from NYU. He shared two of his favorite apps with me. trakt.tv - iShows TV Trakt is a platform that does many things, but primarily keeps track of TV shows and movies you watch. It integrates with your media center or home theater PC, so everything is automatic. You can also check in from your mobile device. We also make it easy to find where to watch movies and TV shows on hundreds of streaming sources such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and iTunes. LetterBoxd Free or pro Available for iPhone, iPad and Android https://letterboxd.com/apps/ Letterboxd is a social network for sharing your taste in film. Use it as a diary to record your opinion about films as you watch them, or just to keep track of films you’ve watched. Showcase your favorite films on your profile page. Rate, review and tag films as you add them. Find and follow your friends to see what they’re enjoying. Keep a watchlist of films you’d like to see, and create lists/collections on any given topic. Tech Tip Never get lost in a mall again or go without food in an airport with Apple’s updated Maps app. The app will now have detailed maps of airports and malls across the world, showing you where different shops, restaurants, and even restrooms are located. Search the map or airport you're going to and start exploring. For more information: https://www.popsugar.com/news/photo-gallery/43717316/image/43717578/See--depth-maps-malls-airports-Maps Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/18/2018 • 8 minutes, 8 seconds
025 - Apps for Education - Affordable MacBook, Marble Math Makes it Fun, and Alexa Only Speaks When Spoken To
Your App Lady http://traffic.libsyn.com/yourapplady/YAL-025.mp3 Show Notes Episode 25 Welcome to episode 25 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News An article on the Forbes website said that there is a report that Apple is planning to release a new, less expensive MacBook Air. They anticipate that it will be released in the second quarter of 2018. Not very many details were reported. Hopefully this new MacBook will be under $1000 and allow more people interested in switching from a PC to a Mac to be able to afford the new MacBook Pro. For more information: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2018/03/11/apple-is-planning-a-cheaper-macbook-and-other-small-business-tech-news-this-week/#3ffa0be5eb7c Featured App: Marble Math and Marble Math Jr. by Artgig Studios Available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire Marble Math suitable for 9-12 year olds. Using Marble Math, your child can practice basic math skills on a phone or tablet by rolling or dragging a virtual marble through a series of mazes to solve the math problems. Marble Math is a fun, engaging way to practice math concepts. It is much more fun than a worksheet! Artgig Studios also has Marble Math Jr for ages 5-8. It is also an engaging app that helps early elementary students practice mental math. Marble Math Multiplication is similar and targets only multiplication problems. Tech Tip Alexa frequently talks back to us when we weren’t talking to her! To avoid this you can turn off the microphone on your Echo by tapping the microphone button found on the top of your Echo. This will also give some piece of mind for people who are concerned about safety and privacy. For more information: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/20-best-amazon-alexa-skills-tips/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/17/2018 • 11 minutes, 1 second
023 - Apps For Education - Your App Lady - SXSW Experience, Apps for Conferences, and Story Dice by Thinkamingo
Your App Lady Show Notes Episode 23 Welcome to episode 23 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News I’m at SXSW as I record this. In this episode, I discuss all the fun and educational events I have attended so far. Featured App: Story Dice by Thinkamingo Available for iPhone, iPad, Google Play, Amazon, Blackberry and NOOK Story Dice is a great tool to use for prompts for ideas for plot, character, and setting. The app can be used for prompts for telling written and oral stories. It is a great tool in the classroom and in speech therapy sessions. Tech Tip: Look for apps for any conferences or events you attend. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/16/2018 • 10 minutes, 15 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast EP 20: Alexa for Quick Exercise, Mind-Mapping Tool, and Decreases in Smartphone Sales
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 20 Welcome to series 1 episode 20 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Global smartphone sales have not been firing on all cylinders for several years now but Gartner’s latest figures record the first ever decline since the analyst began tracking the market all the way back in 2004. (Though it’s not the first analyst to call a decline.) Gartner’s figures peg sales of smartphones to end users in Q4 2017 at nearly 408 million units — a 5.6 per cent decline over its Q4 2016 figure. It says No.1 ranked smartphone maker Samsung saw a year-on-year unit decline of 3.6 per cent in Q4, while sales of Apple’s iPhones fell 5 per cent in the holiday quarter, though it says Cupertino stabilized its second-place marketshare. For more information: https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/22/gartner-reports-first-ever-global-decline-in-smartphone-sales/ Featured App: Inspiration Maps VPP by Inspiration Software, Inc. Available for iOS. Inspiration Maps began as computer software. It is a great mind mapping/graphic organizer app that helps you get your thoughts from your head onto paper. The paid version has many templates to chose from. After completing the template, you push one button and all of the information you entered on the template becomes an outline. This app is great if you need to organize your thoughts into blog posts, papers for classes or emails. Children in second grade or above will also benefit from it. Tech Tip Alexa Skill that gets you to exercise, with one of more than 30 fitness-related skills. My favorites are the 5-Minute Plank Workout, which gives you six sets of core and various plank exercises with short rests in between. After you enable the skill, just say “Alexa, start five-minute plank,” and you’re off. I also really like the Five Minute Workout: Core and Cardio, for short blasts of exercise throughout the day, and the 7-minute-workout skill. If you say, "Alexa, start 7-minute workout," Alexa suggests top rated exercises based on various muscle groups. She also helps with yoga, guided meditation, and can now integrate with Fitbit too. For more information: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/12/25/10-things-you-didnt-know-your-amazon-echo-could-do/971951001/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/16/2018 • 7 minutes, 36 seconds
022 - Stack The States, A Smartphone that takes Blood Pressure and Listen In On Mom with Echo and Alexa
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 22 Welcome to series 1 episode 22 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/samsungs-galaxy-s9-include-blood-pressure-monitor-research-app App of the Week: Stack the States Available for iOS and Android Stack The States is a game-based geography app. I love apps that teach a skill while tricking a child into thinking they are playing a game. Stack the States is addictive AND they are learning at the same time. I didn’t learn much geography in school so I have been very focused on teaching my children geography. This app is great for practice. My son used it to study when he had to memorize the US States and Capitals. Tech Tip: Alexa Skill: Check in on Mom If your mom has an Echo device too, this one is awesome. Just say, “Drop in on Mom,” and Alexa will open a conversation channel, so you can chat with each other as if she were in the room with you. Or at least chat like she had a speaker phone/walkie talkie in her room and you had the same in yours. Thankfully, you have to do a little set up first for this to work. Because imagine if anyone could drop in on your living room whenever they wanted. In the Alexa app on your phone, tap the talk bubble icon and tap the person icon at the top of the screen that brings you to your own profile. Tap on “My Profile.” Under Drop In, you can see if this feature is enabled. If it’s not (it isn’t by default) tap the slider bar to the right so that it turns blue. (Get Mom to do this, too.) The go to your list of contacts and find Mom’s listing. Tap on that. There is another slider bar that says if this contact can drop in on you. Tap it so it turns blue. You can choose which of your Amazon Echo devices can do this so if you have one in the bathroom that you want to keep private, be sure and check that now. For more information: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/12/25/10-things-you-didnt-know-your-amazon-echo-could-do/971951001/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/15/2018 • 7 minutes, 23 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast EP 21: Smart Glasses and Timers
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 21 Welcome to series 1 episode 21 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Activity Tracking Smart Glasses by Level They track your steps, calories burned, distance and the total activity time, which is very similar to what most other activity trackers do. There's also Bluetooth for connecting with a companion app, plus a battery that lasts about five days in between charges. Also on the left temple is a microUSB charging port hidden inside the hinge. The app has a few uses beyond just activity tracking as well. You can also use it to connect with friends and, perhaps my favorite, find your misplaced frames with a "Find My Glasses" feature "As proud as we are of the technology and the platform, we also knew that to be considered truly 'smart,' these frames had to be beautiful and well designed," For more information: https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/22/level-activity-tracking-glasses-launch/ App of the Week: Timers Having a timer at your fingertips can encourage its use. We often need encouragement to focus. If you plan to work, write, meditate, or exercise for a certain number of minutes, it is easier to get through the task without becoming distracted if you set a timer. My Recommendations: Clock on Your Device The built-in clock on your phone should have a timer function. On the iPhone, you can set the buzzer for a variety of different sounds, including songs that you own through iTunes. Time Timer by Time Timer LLC Available for Android and iOS Time Timer is a great timer app for kids or adults who need a visual timer. This app is based on a physical product (also called the Time Timer) that has been used in classrooms for years. The app shows a visual representation of a clock face using a colored disk that increases as the timer counts down. The app is customizable and timers can be saved and reused. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/15/2018 • 5 minutes, 40 seconds
020 - Apps For Productivity - Inspiration Maps - Alexa for Quick Exercise, Mind-Mapping Tool, and Decreases in Smartphone Sales
Your App Lady Show Notes Episode 20 Welcome to episode 20 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Global smartphone sales have not been firing on all cylinders for several years now but Gartner’s latest figures record the first ever decline since the analyst began tracking the market all the way back in 2004. (Though it’s not the first analyst to call a decline.) Gartner’s figures peg sales of smartphones to end users in Q4 2017 at nearly 408 million units — a 5.6 per cent decline over its Q4 2016 figure. It says No.1 ranked smartphone maker Samsung saw a year-on-year unit decline of 3.6 per cent in Q4, while sales of Apple’s iPhones fell 5 per cent in the holiday quarter, though it says Cupertino stabilized its second-place marketshare. For more information: https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/22/gartner-reports-first-ever-global-decline-in-smartphone-sales/ Featured App: Inspiration Maps VPP by Inspiration Software, Inc. Available for iOS. Inspiration Maps began as computer software. It is a great mind mapping/graphic organizer app that helps you get your thoughts from your head onto paper. The paid version has many templates to chose from. After completing the template, you push one button and all of the information you entered on the template becomes an outline. This app is great if you need to organize your thoughts into blog posts, papers for classes or emails. Children in second grade or above will also benefit from it. Tech Tip Alexa Skill that gets you to exercise, with one of more than 30 fitness-related skills. My favorites are the 5-Minute Plank Workout, which gives you six sets of core and various plank exercises with short rests in between. After you enable the skill, just say “Alexa, start five-minute plank,” and you’re off. I also really like the Five Minute Workout: Core and Cardio, for short blasts of exercise throughout the day, and the 7-minute-workout skill. If you say, "Alexa, start 7-minute workout," Alexa suggests top rated exercises based on various muscle groups. She also helps with yoga, guided meditation, and can now integrate with Fitbit too. For more information: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/12/25/10-things-you-didnt-know-your-amazon-echo-could-do/971951001/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/14/2018 • 8 minutes, 30 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 26: Find a Restroom - Sit or Squat and Pizza, and Let Your Friends Know Where You Are
Your App Lady http://traffic.libsyn.com/yourapplady/YAL-026.mp3 Show Notes Series 1 Episode 26 Welcome to series 1 episode 26 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Domino’s Pizza is using several digital innovations to attract customers. Included are an app to track a pizza while en route to a customer; a Siri-like voice recognition system, nicknamed Dom; and the ability to order on just about any digital device and platform. Through these innovations, Dominos has managed to bring in more than 60% of its business through digital channels. The company feels they have convinced a generation of ‘digital native’ pizza lovers that it really does understand their needs. (Source: Detroit Free Press) For more information: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylewong/2018/01/26/how-dominos-transformed-into-an-ecommerce-powerhouse-whose-product-is-pizza/#467c832e7f76 Featured App: SitorSquat by Charmin Available for iPhone and Android https://www.charmin.com/en-us/about-us/sitorsquat SitorSquat by Charmin is a handy app for a road trip. This app helps you find clean bathrooms along your route on a road trip or within the city. Being a bathroom snob, I love this app. Today we used the app on our way home from picking up our son at camp. There wasn’t a Buckees in sight (Buckees has the cleanest bathrooms in Texas) so I used this app to navigate us to a decent bathroom. You can also use the filter to find only bathrooms that are accessible or have changing tables. This is a great app! Download it for your next road trip! Tech Tip: Share your location from Messages When you share your location in Messages, your friend can follow you in Messages and Find My Friends. Here’s how: 1In the Messages conversation with your friend, tap Details the “i” in a circle to the right of the contact’s name. 2Tap Share My Location, then choose how long you want to share your location. ▪If you choose Share for One Hour or Share Until End of Day, you see the time left when you tap Details in the conversation. You also appear in Find My Friends on your friend’s device for the hour or day. ▪If you choose Share Indefinitely, you’re added to Find My Friends on your friend’s device. 3Your friend will receive a map with your location in the Messages conversation. This is a great way to communicate your location if you get lost or separated from your group. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
4/13/2018 • 8 minutes, 52 seconds
019 - Apps For Productivity - Your App Lady - The Podcast EP 19: Use an Alexa Skill To Help You Lose Weight, NINE, and Huge New Apple Phone
Your App Lady http://traffic.libsyn.com/yourapplady/YAL-019.mp3 Show Notes Series 1 Episode 19 Welcome to series 1 episode 19 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News With a screen close to 6.5 inches, Apple’s big new handset will be one of the largest mainstream smartphones on the market. While the body of the phone will be about the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus, the screen will be about an inch larger thanks to the edge-to-edge design used in the iPhone X. (Apple is unlikely to refer to the phone as a phablet, a term popularized by Samsung). For more information: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-26/apple-is-said-to-plan-giant-high-end-iphone-lower-priced-model App of the Week: NINE - A Visual To-Do and Reminder List By Ideas Made Digital, available for iOS. NINE is a photo-based list app, meaning you take photos to make your list. Each photo is then paired with text and put into an icon-based list. You can add a date and/or time-based reminder; recurring reminders are also supported. The app automatically adds a location to your entry. You can send your entries to other people via text message, email, Voxer, What's App, Twitter, Facebook and more. You can also copy your entries into the Reminders app, the Notes app, Google Drive, Asana and others. Tech Tip Alexa Skill that can help you stay on a diet. As soon as the holidays are over through, this skill might be your new BFF. More pie? Pasta? Beer? Wine? Whatever you’re craving, this is the moment when a few words of support can make the difference. Enable the Talk Me Down skill and say, “Alexa, talk me down.” She’ll then say one of 31 canned phrases like, “Don’t give in to weakness,” “Fight for yourself. Defend your future.” Or, later when those cookie cravings come calling again, “You’re stronger than this. You’re smarter than this. You’re better than this.” Genius. For more information: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/12/25/10-things-you-didnt-know-your-amazon-echo-could-do/971951001/ Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
3/21/2018 • 5 minutes, 30 seconds
018 - Interview with Barbara Fernandes, CEO of SmartyEars, and Safe Internet Browsing Tips
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 18 Welcome to series 1 episode 18 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. Interview: Barbara Fernandes Smarty Ears: http://smartyearsapps.com Barbara Fernandes, the founder and CEO of Smarty Ears received her master degree in Speech and Language Pathology with an emphasis in bilingualism from Texas Christian University. Barbara speaks three languages (English, Spanish & Portuguese), and she has worked with children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and native languages in several countries. In addition to her passion for working with bilingual children, Barbara’s passion for technology has led her to become an active blogger known as “GeekSLP” and the blog of the American Speech and Language Association known as the AshaSphere. As GeekSLP, Barbara has been invited as a guest speaker in universities and international conferences, and given workshops and presentations around the world on how technology can be implemented to improve the speech and language skills. In 2004, Barbara was one of the participants of the program jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the Brazilian Ministry of Education, called “Promoting the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Society Through Assistive Technology: Culturally Appropriate Solutions.” Barbara has created over 60 applications that combine her knowledge of technology with her expertise in speech and language sciences. Smarty Ears is where Barbara’s passion is met. As the CEO of Smarty Ears, Barbara Fernandes has created applications which have been sold in over 50 countries to speech pathologists, special education teachers, and parents of children with special needs. In her spare time, Barbara enjoys traveling abroad, scuba diving and playing with her gadgets and three dogs. I interviewed Barbara at the Texas Speech Language and Hearing Association Annual Conference. We were in the exhibit hall so you may hear some background noise. I frequently recommend Smarty Ears apps for speech therapists. They are especially good for school therapists who have groups. Whether you are a speech therapist, interested in what goes into making apps or just curious about how people change careers, I think you will enjoy hearing from Barbara. Tech Tip My tech tip today is how to protect your computer or phone through safer internet browsing. For more information: https://www.addictivetips.com/vpn/tips-safer-internet-browsing/. When looking online, it’s important to be wary of downloading documents and software from unknown sources. Here are some tips that will help you download safely. 1) .exe files- Be careful to only to download .exe files from trusted sources. EXE files are installers that will install a piece of software onto your device when you run them. 2) .pdf files - Another file type to look out for is .pdf. PDFs are a legitimate and useful file type for sharing high quality text or image documents, so you’ll see them used for academic papers, business documents, and more. However, there are some security holes in the .pdf format so in general you should avoid .pdfs from untrustworthy sites. 3) Update any antivirus or anti malware software often to make sure you have the latest updates. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
3/16/2018 • 14 minutes, 45 seconds
017 - Apps for Productivity- Pocket, Self Driving Cars and Cutting the Cable (Streaming TV)
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 17 Welcome to series 1 episode 17 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Self-driving cars with "remote" drivers could test on California roads in April 2018. Reuters reported that in April of 2018, self-driving cars without an in-car backup driver will be tested on California roads. The cars will have remote backup drivers. If determined safe, self-driving cars will be life changing for people who have disabilities that keep them from driving. My son has epilepsy so he cannot drive. A self-driving car would increase his independence tremendously. For more information: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-autonomous-california/self-driving-cars-with-remote-drivers-could-test-on-calif-roads-in-april-dmv-idUSKCN1G72CU App of the Week: Pocket Pocket is available for iOS (iPhones and iPads) and Android. Pocket is used in conjunction with your web browser. When you are surfing the internet and you see an article you would like to read or a video you would like to watch, you can save it to Pocket and then you can read or watch it later, when online, at your convenience. Tech Tip My tech tip today is about streaming television services. We are about to cut our cable at home and I may have over-researched. There are several streaming plans available. We are trying out SlingTV, YouTubeTV, Fubo and Directv Now. We are comparing the streaming plans to the cable tv plans available in our area. We are spending over $300 per month for Internet, tv and landline phone and I am determined to lower the bill. I am looking for combinations of services that get us the TV channels we “need”. We have found that we could get two streaming services for less than the cable package we have. Streaming services require that you have a smart tv or a streaming media player like an Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV or Chromecast connected to your tv. The nice thing about the streaming services is that you can use them on mobile devices as well. Using the apps for the streaming services allows you to take your television with you everywhere you go! So far, I like the interfaces for YouTube TV and Directv Now the best. However, Directv Now doesn’t have an app for the Samsung smart televisions and we have a Samsung. We can still stream it but we will need an Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV or Roku to use with the TV. SlingTV has great channels but the interface is clunky and it takes a while to load on our television. I will update you all when we decide which service to use! Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by http://eepurl.com/cUETiP">clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourapplady?lan">@yourapplady Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourapplady/">@yourapplady Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourapplady/">@yourapplady LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsy-furler/">@BetsyFurler Website: http://www.yourapplady.com">www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 mailto:johnswasey@sbcglobal.net">johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
3/14/2018 • 8 minutes, 33 seconds
016 - Apps for Productivity- Last Pass, Swype Alternatives
I am Betsy Furler and I am Your App Lady. I am a wife, mother to two boys, a Product Designer, business owner and speech pathologist. I’m also an app addict. Join me as I talk about my favorite subject. Apps. And I may also occasionally talk about my kids, my work and the rest of my life. Welcome to Episode Number 16. a part of series number 3 all about Apps for Productivity! Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps for productivity But first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: The app Swype, a keyboard app is gone. Swype is a popular Android app that allowed you to type by swiping your fingers across the keyboard. This gesture typing app has been extremely popular. It was also a great keyboard for many users with special needs and was easy to use w a single hand. LifeHacker suggests that Android users who liked Swype use SwiftKey or the default Google keyboard. For iOS, iPad and iPhone, users, they suggest SwiftKey or Google’s Gboard. All of these apps offer swipe typing and predictive text. https://lifehacker-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/lifehacker.com/use-these-keyboards-instead-of-swype-1823169350/amp Featured App: Last Pass LastPass is available for iOS (iPhones and iPads) and Android and it is also available for web browsers. LastPass is a password storage vault. LastPass generates and stores unique passwords for all your logins. It can also be used to automatically fill in online forms. LastPass allows you to share passwords for single websites with your family or coworkers without jeopardizing security for other sites. Tech Tip: Moving your landline number to a mobile phone is possible! This is great news for me as we are about to (finally) get rid of our landline. If you are staying in the same area, your cellphone carrier can move your landline number over to mobile for you. You are also able to move or “port” your mobile number to a new cell services. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/technology/personaltech/moving-your-number-and-going-mobile.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftech-tip&action=click&contentCollection=personaltech®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=49&pgtype=collection Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her.
3/9/2018 • 7 minutes, 57 seconds
015 - Apps for Productivity- Google Drive, Heated Smart Jackets and Language Translation
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 15 Welcome to series 1 episode 15 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Heated jackets seems to be the new trend. As a perpetually cold person, this is great news for me. Ministry of Supply has designed a smart heated jacket called The Mercury that heats only if it senses that you are cold. It also turns off when you are warm and has an Alexa skill that lets you yell at Alexa to heat up your jacket! For more information: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/21/17035774/ministry-of-supply-heated-jacket-echo-kickstarter App of the Week: Google Drive Available for iOS (iPhones and iPads), Android and for web browsers. Google Drive is Google’s cloud storage service. It works well with the rest of Google’s system. Within Google Drive you can store, organize and share documents of all types. You can also store photos and videos. Google Drive syncs across almost all devices making it very convenient. You can also share documents and work on them at the same time from different devices. This makes it a great tool for group projects at work or school. It is also convenient for shared home documents. We used a shared document in Google Drive to coordinate flooding claims after Harvey. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Google Drive. It is extremely convenient when used correctly. I, however, have multiple Google accounts and can never figure out exactly where my documents are stored. My advice is to only have one Google Drive account! Tech Tip My tech tip today is about language translation tools. This tip is from the New York Times. Google’s Chrome and Microsoft’s Bing browsers have built in translation function for web pages. Look for the “translate this page” link. Microsoft’s Translator app and Google’s Google Translate app are both available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android and can be used to translate portions of websites and documents as well as verbal conversations into many languages. For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/technology/personaltech/web-page-translation.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftech-tip&action=click&contentCollection=personaltech®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
3/7/2018 • 8 minutes, 12 seconds
014 - Apps For Productivity - Trello
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 14 Welcome to series 1 episode 14 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Wireless headphones are so frustrating. At least to me... I have asked a million tech people to design something like Bluetooth that actually works! Well! And. All. The. Time! My prayers have possibly been answered. Qualcomm’s updated TrueWireless Stereo includes some small but crucial updates to how headphones handle Bluetooth audio. These updates are supposed to increase the reliability of the Bluetooth connection, simplify pairing and increase battery life. The new features are available on Qualcomm’s latest QCC5100 series chips. Device manufacturers will have to build headphones that use the chip and take advantage of these features. Qualcomm says to expect devices with the updated TrueWireless Stereo tech in the second half of 2018. For more information: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/21/17035502/qualcomm-truewireless-stereo-plus-tech-bluetooth-truly-wireless-headphones-mwc-2018 App of the Week: Trello Trello is available for iPhones, iPads, Android phones, tablets and web browsers. Trello is a productivity app that helps you organize all your projects. The tool is set up with boards, lists and cards that help you organize and prioritize. I think of it as hundreds of post-it notes that I have organized into columns that help me figure out what needs to be done next. The cards (like post-it notes) can be moved from column to column as you work through the project. Cards can contain due dates, tasks, checklists and tags. I love to use Trello in my business. Amber DeLa Garza of the podcast Productivity Straight Talk, is planning an online course to make use of Trello. Click here for more details: http://amberdelagarza.com/workwithme/trello/">http://amberdelagarza.com/workwithme/trello/ Tech Tip My tech tip today is another tool. It’s not only an app but also a website: http://unroll.me">unroll.me is a free service that lets you unsubscribe from email newsletters easily and quickly. It also takes all the subscription emails that you what to keep and rolls them into one daily email. This is a great help in taming your email. After you unroll from the other newsletters you no longer read, subscribe to mine and stay in touch! Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by http://eepurl.com/cUETiP">clicking here. Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com or 713-542-8118 to get details about working with her. Follow me Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourapplady?lan">@yourapplady Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourapplady/">@yourapplady Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourapplady/">@yourapplady LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsy-furler/">@BetsyFurler Website: http://www.yourapplady.com">www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 mailto:johnswasey@sbcglobal.net">johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
3/2/2018 • 7 minutes, 37 seconds
013 - Apps for Young Children: Toca Birthday Party, Finding That Game Manual, and Sprint for Students
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 13 Welcome to series 1 episode 13 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News I recently saw some local news that Sprint, the cellphone carrier, provided hotspots to high school students here in Houston that don’t have access to WiFi at home. This is such a big deal! Students in 2018 must have access to the internet in order to get their homework done. If they don’t have WiFi access at home, they are at a huge disadvantage. The Houston hotspots are a part of Sprint’s 1Million Project. They announced in late 2016 that the Sprint Foundation will provide internet access to one million high school students in order to bridge the digital divide. Kudos to Sprint! For more information: http://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-provides-free-wireless-devices-and-service-to-1-million-disadvantaged-students.htm App of the Week: Toca Birthday Party by TocaBoca For iOS. I love Toca Boca Apps! They all have great graphics and are well designed. The Toca Boca Apps encourage pretend play and creation. They focus on active screen time rather than passive screen time. Active screen time encourages a child to think, create and problem solve. This app is wonderful for language skills as well as social skills. It is also fun! I love to use Toca Birthday Party for pretend play and conversation. I also use it to work on following simple commands and answering simple questions. When playing the app with a child, I will ask for a certain plate - "Please give me a purple plate". I may ask "What do you want to eat?" or "Where are you sitting?". The child has to sequence the steps to the party. I also work on prepositions with this app - "Can I eat your cake?", "Hey, that's my tea!”. Up to 3 players can play with this app. You can also play with 2 players and a stuffed animal or an imaginary friend. Tech Tip Who knows where the manual went? Enabling the Board Game Answers skill lets Alexa remind you of how to play tons of your favorite games, including Monopoly and Pandemic. Simply say, "Alexa, ask Board Games who goes first in Scrabble." Debate over. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com
2/28/2018 • 8 minutes, 47 seconds
012 - Apps for Young Children: Will Apple Give You a Rebate, Freeze Dance the Kids and ToDo Math
Your App Lady Show Notes Betsy can guide you through designing (or redesigning) your app or websites. Contact her at betsy@yourapplady.com to get details about working with her Series 1 Episode 12 Welcome to series 1 episode 12 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Apple says it's "exploring" offering rebates to customers who paid full price for a replacement battery to improve the performance of an older iPhone. The tech giant noted that possibility in a letter to Sen. John Thune, in response to questions about the company's practice of slowing down older iPhones as their batteries age. In the letter, dated Feb. 2, Apple provided a timeline of events surrounding the issue, some technical details, and answers to eight questions Thune had asked early last month. The senator is a Republican from South Dakota and chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The last question was about whether the company had considered allowing customers who'd paid full price for a new battery "to seek a rebate for some of the purchase price." Apple said in December it would replace batteries on iPhone 6 and later models for $29. The company normally charges $79 to replace a battery for a phone not under warranty. Responding to Thune's question, Apple said, "Yes, we are exploring this and will update you accordingly." For more information: https://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-owners-who-paid-full-price-for-new-battery-may-get-rebate/ App: Todo Math Todo Math is an interactive and fun way to practice math skills from pre-K to second grade. The app contains almost 30 different games that match to over 60 educational standards. Todo Math is the fun, research-based, kid-tested, educator-approved alternative to supplementary math workbooks. Why use an antiquated method for practicing math when you’re nurturing and preparing your child for the 21st century? Whether your child is skilled or struggling, Todo Math provides a no pressure, no penalty, self-paced learning environment that builds the confidence and ability to solve challenging problems. They offer 28+ multi-level engaging games, 60+ standards-aligned missions, and oodles of learning to help your children master PreK-2nd grade math skills Tech Tip Here is another tip for your Amazon Echo. We have several Echo Dots at our house and we love the Crazy version of the classic Freeze Dance! Alexa tells your kids to dance in various funny ways and freeze when the music stops. If they're on a sugar rush or just having a crazy indoor day, open Freeze Dancers and let them go on and on and on. This game doesn't stop until the last kid drops! This skill is from www.pretzellabs.co. Alexa can also play music on your Echo. Music is available from Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Pandora, and SiriusXM. Prime Music from Amazon is included in your Amazon Prime membership and gives you access to over 2 million tracks. You can request specific songs or a genre. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com
2/23/2018 • 11 minutes, 42 seconds
011 - You Can't Park and Talk in France, Jump Numbers (An App for Young Children) and Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 11 Welcome to series 1 episode 11 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News France’s highest court has ruled that drivers can no longer simply pull over to use their phones. Instead, they will have to park in a designated area, such as a garage or a private driveway, and turn off the vehicle’s engine, according to Gizmodo. The ruling came after a 2017 appeal where a driver protested a fine he received for using a phone while he was parked at a roundabout with hazard lights on. Under the new law, those who text in non-approved areas while in a vehicle will receive a fine of 135 euros ($166) and will receive three points on their driving license that will stay for three years. This is the same punishment currently given to those who use their phone while driving. The law does not apply to hands-free devices (but does restrict wireless headsets), and it makes exceptions for emergency calls, like being stranded on the side of the road. For more information: https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/6/16979342/france-bans-texting-driving-pulled-over App of the Week: Jump Numbers by Artgig Studios Jump Numbers is an engaging math app. This app grows with your child and will be challenging from preschool to elementary school. The app starts with counting by ones and twos and then continues to get more challenging, counting by higher numbers. It teaches the concepts of calculation, number sense and multiplication and division. Tech Tip Here is another tip about using your Amazon Echo. If you want to use the kid skills with Alexa and the Echo, go to amazon.com and enable each app you want to use. A great example is Sesame Street. Hello, it’s Elmo! When children ask to “Open Sesame Street,” they’ll be able to speak directly to their furry red friend. Elmo's so excited! He can’t wait to share all the fun things he knows about the letter of the day. And Elmo's always up for a good game of Hide & Seek, with silly sounds as clues to where he’s hiding. Sesame Street encourages kids to engage in imaginative play, learn new words, and just be giggly together with the voice of a familiar, fun-loving friend. We hope your preschoolers have fun playing and learning with Elmo. We’re learning all the time, too, and really welcome the input of families like yours. Please get in touch with any suggestions or questions about this skill and how we can make it even better for you: sesameworkshopapps@sesame.org Try Saying Things like: “Alexa, open Sesame Street” “Alexa, ask Sesame Street to call Elmo” “Alexa, ask Sesame Street to play Hide & Seek” "Alexa, ask Sesame Street to find Elmo" Alexa can also keep a shopping list for her. Just say “Alexa, add milk to the shopping list” The list can be found in your Amazon Alexa app on your phone. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me! Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com
2/21/2018 • 9 minutes, 25 seconds
010 - Apps for Young Children: Bill Gates Predicts, Sound Touch, and Amazon Echo StoryTime for Kids
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 10 Welcome to series 1 episode 10 of the Your App Lady Podcast! All about apps and tech that I love and use every day. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News The tech news this week is about the smart predictions that Bill Gates made in 1999. The two predictions I am featuring today are about smart advertisements and online home monitoring. Gates' prediction: "Devices will have smart advertising. They will know your purchasing trends, and will display advertisements that are tailored toward your preferences." Today, I frequently see the shoes that are sitting in my Nordstrom shopping cart as a Facebook ad. There are now so many metrics for advertising that even a small business can easily target their ads. Gates' prediction: "Constant video feeds of your house will become common, which inform you when somebody visits while you are not home.” For more information: http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-15-predictions-in-1999-come-true-2017-6?op=1/#no-5-online-home-monitoring-5 With Ring, Nest and other devices, this has definitely come true. This is very apparent on my Facebook feed too. At least weekly, I see a video or photo of a package being stolen off a porch! App of the Week: Sound Touch For iOS, Android and Fire OS. Sound Touch is a great app for babies and toddlers that will also grow with your child. The screen opens to a group of 6 - 12 cartoon icons. There are five different categories. When the child taps the icon, a photo opens up. With each tap, a different photo shows and a sound or word is played. This is a great app for vocabulary development, cause and effect, and eventually, categorization. Tech Tip My tech tip of the day is about using your Amazon Echo. We have several Echo Dots at our house and I have been researching their uses. My assistant, Jessica, also uses an Echo and has been sharing with me how. If you want to use the kid skills with Alexa and the Echo, go to amazon.com and enable each of the apps you want to use. For example, one skill is called StoryTime. When you say “Alexa, ask Amazon Storytime to read me a story”, the Storytime skill offers a growing collection of professionally narrated short stories for kids aged 5 - 12 years old. This collection contains curated stories from the Amazon Rapids app library as well as a selection of Audible short stories. Alexa will also read books from your Audible library! To get her to read from your Audible library, just say “Alexa read” and mention the title of the book. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com
2/16/2018 • 14 minutes, 46 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 9: My PlayHome, Bill Gates the Fortune Teller, and Troubleshooting your Smartphone
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 7 Welcome to series 1 episode 7 of the Your App Lady Podcast! I am Betsy Furler and I am Your App Lady. I am a wife, mother to two boys, a Product Designer, business owner and speech pathologist. I’m also an app addict. Join me as I talk about my favorite subject: Apps. And I may also occasionally talk about my kids, my work and the rest of my life. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News Today I am featuring an article from Business Insider. I call it “That Bill Gates: He is a Smart One” It’s actually titled Bill Gates: 15 Predictions in 1999. I had a one year old in 1999 so I remember distinctly what the world was like. It is amazing how accurate Bill Gates’ predictions were. I will discuss a couple of them today. 1. Price comparison sites. Gates' prediction: "Automated price comparison services will be developed, allowing people to see prices across multiple websites, making it effortless to find the cheapest product for all industries." What we see now: You can easily search for a product on Google or Amazon and get different prices. Sites like NexTag, PriceGrabber, and even Microsoft's own Bing Shopping are built specifically to compare prices. Remember in 1999, we barely had the Internet. We were emailing but we weren’t purchasing online. I was on bed rest during my pregnancy in 1998 and I ordered all my baby stuff on the phone via catalogs. 2. Mobile devices. Gates' prediction: "People will carry around small devices that allow them to constantly stay in touch and do electronic business from wherever they are. They will be able to check the news, see flights they have booked, get information from financial markets, and do just about anything else on these devices." What we see now: Smartphones, smartwatches, speakers like the Amazon Echo, and even headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens give users a way to have all of their information on hand at all times. We had cell phones but all we could do with them was call people. I had a cellphone and a pager in 1999. I also had a laptop but with no WiFi, it was basically a word processor. Now I use my Apple Watch all the time! For more information: http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-15-predictions-in-1999-come-true-2017-6?op=1/#no-9-smart-advertising-9 App of the Week: MyPlayhome My PlayHome Hospital by Playhome Software - iOS, Android, Fire OS and Windows My PlayHome School by PlayHome Software - iOS, Android and FireOS My PlayHome Stores by PlayHome Software -iOS, Android and FireOS This is another one of my favorite apps. This app is a virtual dollhouse. You choose the members of the family and then can move the dolls around the house. Many actions can be done with the dolls including jumping, eating, bathing and sitting. You can use it to practice scrolling as you move the dolls around the house. It is also great for vocabulary development. The app can be used to follow directions and for prepositions and action words. My PlayHome Hospital, Stores and School apps can be played alone or in tandem with My PlayHome. If the apps are loaded on the same device, the dolls can be moved from the home to the school or stores or hospital. Or through all four environments. All four apps are fantastic for children in the preschool ages through elementary school. These apps are excellent bang for your buck! Tech Tip How to trouble shoot your phone. The first thing you should do is to simply turn the device all the way off and back on. This often gets rid of a glitch in the device. Then, go to the storage on the device. Your device needs storage for processing. Delete what you can. Close all the apps that are running in the background. Then turn the phone off and on again. If your phone still isn’t working, go to the Apple Store if you have an iPhone or your cellular carrier, ATT, Verizon, etc for more help. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
2/14/2018 • 14 minutes, 18 seconds
Your App Lady - The Podcast Episode 8: Scanners for your Smartphone, Duck Robots for Kids with Cancer, and How to Easily Identify the Song You're Listening To
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 8 Welcome to series 1 episode 8 of the Your App Lady Podcast! I am Betsy Furler and I am Your App Lady. I am a wife, mother to two boys, a Product Designer, business owner and speech pathologist. I’m also an app addict. Join me as I talk about my favorite subject: Apps. And I may also occasionally talk about my kids, my work and the rest of my life. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News AFLAC’s toy robot for kids facing cancer is the smartest toy of all! For more information: https://www.theverge.com/ces/2018/1/11/16874724/aflac-special-duck-robot-toy-children-cancer-therapy-ces-2018 I love this duck robot that is made specifically for kids who are battling cancer. AFLAC designed the duck to help kids cope. The duck has emoji patches that change the duck’s expression and the child can give the duck an IV. The duck will also quack and cuddle with the child. One of the emoji patches is a rocket ship. It will take the child to their “happy place” making the environmental sounds from that environment such as a rainforest, garden or amusement park. App of the Week: Scanner Pro by Readdle Available for iPhone and iPad. Also: Tiny Scanner by Appxy A scanner app on your phone is one of the most convenient apps you can have. I use Scanner Pro but know many people who are happy with Tiny Scanner - Tiny Scanner is available for Android and iPhones/iPads. I use Scanner Pro frequently to get paperwork into a digital form and on to my phone. I use this for business papers, handouts at conferences, medical records, baseball schedules, class lists etc. These papers are then stored on my phone and I can find them easily. I always scan my son’s school schedule with his locker number and combination at the beginning of each year. Then I have the schedule if I need to get him out of class or need to put something in his locker. It is also convenient when you need to sign and return a form. School permission forms can be scanned and then signed in an app like PDFExpert and emailed right back to the teacher. If you want a copy of a friend’s recipe or photo, it’s easy to scan it. A scan is much clearer than a photo and the corners can be squared so if you then print it, it will look like a copy and not like a photo. Tech Tip Identify Songs In An Instant. You no longer need an app like Shazam to identify songs. Siri, Google Now or Cortana can identify songs for you. Just activate your virtual assistant and ask her to name the song. For example, I said “Siri, what song is playing?” And she answered correctly. It was “Come Alive” from The Greatest Showman. I’m still obsessed! For more information: https://www.t3.com/news/23-smartphone-tricks-to-impress-your-friends Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
2/9/2018 • 11 minutes, 56 seconds
007 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Seven - Notes
Welcome to series 1 episode 7 of the Your App Lady Podcast! I am Betsy Furler and I am Your App Lady. I am a wife, mother to two boys, a Product Designer, business owner and speech pathologist. I’m also an app addict. Join me as I talk about my favorite subject: Apps. And I may also occasionally talk about my kids, my work and the rest of my life. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. Tech News What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? WIRED explains: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-of-things-what-is-explained-iot Have you wonder what people are talking about when they say “The Internet of Things”, often abbreviated as IoT? This article states that the Internet of Things is made up of devices such as objects with sensors, smartphones and wearables that are connected together. The devices, the network communication and the data form the Internet of Things. It’s interesting to think about how many “smart” devices that are now available. I have thermometers and blood pressure cuffs that connect to apps on my phone. Scales, coffee pots, slow cookers and thermostats can also connect to apps. We can install doorbells and cameras that allow us to answer our door at home when we are physically across the world. Tweet me @yourapplady and let me know about your favorite smart device. App of the Week: Notes The Notes app on my iPhone and iPads is one of the apps I use daily to stay organized. Notes is preloaded onto all Apple products.The app is a virtual notepad. You can type, write, draw, save links, photos and videos into the app. You can add to existing notes or start new notes. I title each note but titles are not required. Notes is searchable by keyword. The search function finds the word within the body of the note. For example, if I search for the name “Henry”, every note about my son, Henry, shows up. I use Notes to collect those little bits of information that used to be on post-its or on a scrap piece of paper. And then lost. Even with a paper notebook, I would write notes and then wouldn’t be able to find them when I needed them. With Notes, I don’t lose the pieces of paper or forget where in the notebook it was written. Google Keep is a similar app for Android devices. It is also available as a Google Extension. https://www.google.com/keep/ Tech Tip How to turn your old iPhone or Smartphone into an iPod Touch, MP3 player or small tablet. You can use your old phone as an iPod, MP3 player or as a tablet. This is a great alternative to getting a child a new phone. Without paying for a cellular plan, you can still connect the old phone to WiFi. You will be able to play music, games and videos. You can search the Internet and check your email. You can also use Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp or one of the many other messaging apps to make calls and send text messages. For more information: https://www.popsugar.com/tech/Turn-iPhone-iPod-Touch-31915752 https://www.androidcentral.com/ask-ac-can-i-use-my-phone-just-wifi-without-carrier Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
2/7/2018 • 8 minutes, 35 seconds
006 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Six - CareSync, Smart Kitchen Applicances and a Tech Tip
Welcome to series 1 episode 6 of the Your App Lady Podcast! I am Betsy Furler and I am Your App Lady. I am a wife, mother to two boys, a Product Designer, business owner and speech pathologist. I’m also an app addict. Join me as I talk about my favorite subject: Apps. And I may also occasionally talk about my kids, my work and the rest of my life. On each episode, I’ll talk about recent tech news, recommend apps that I use myself and leave you with a great tech tip. On today’s show: one of my favorite apps that helps keep track of medical records, appointments and medications. Tech News The Best Smart Kitchen Appliances of 2018 For more information: https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/352512/the-best-smart-kitchen-appliances The Perfect Bake Pro and Perfect Drink Pro scales and apps allow you to precisely follow recipes and measure ingredients. There are smart refrigerators like the LG SmartThinQ Fridge that lets you see inside your refrigerator from your phone! There are smart coffee makers, thermometers, ice makers and more. To see all the reviews, go to this article. App of the Week: CareSync By CareSync Available for iPhone, iPad, Android and on the web. CareSync is one of my very favorite apps, which helps you organize your family’s medical records. The app is free, but I choose to pay for some of the premium features to manage my son’s medical information. The paid version allows CareSync to gather, summarize, and organize records and make these records accessible from any device or computer. My son has a life-threatening medical condition and has been hospitalized over 100 times. It is vital he has his medical history and records with him at all times. He’s now in college and lives in a dorm. CareSync has allowed him to be this independent! He simply pulls up the app and hands it to the EMTs or doctor, which enables them to treat him appropriately. The app also stores medication names and dosages and has a medication reminder feature. All records are searchable and are arranged in an easy-to-read timeline. Tech Tip How to charge your phone faster. Your phone will charge much faster if it is not searching for WiFi or receiving texts, notifications and phone calls. Do this by turning your phone all the way off. If you don’t want to turn off the phone, put it on airplane mode. For more great tips: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a38725/secret-iphone-tips-and-tricks/ Bonus App I use the AMC app and iPic app to buy movie tickets. It’s so easy to buy tickets and choose seats via the apps! Go find the app for your favorite theater and go to see The Greatest Showman! Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Share the podcast with your friends, they’ll thank you for it! Get our newsletter and stay up to date by clicking here. Follow me Twitter: @yourapplady Instagram: @yourapplady Facebook: @yourapplady LinkedIn: @BetsyFurler Website: www.yourapplady.com Voice over work by John Swasey - VO Producer -281-794-6551 johnswasey@sbcglobal.net
2/2/2018 • 11 minutes, 5 seconds
005 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Five -Waze - An App That Helps Me Avoid Traffic
M“Welcome to Episode Number 5 a part of series number 5. This series is all about my favorite apps. Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps but first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: Neutrogena's iPhone 'SkinScanner' Analyzes Pores, Moisture, Wrinkles https://www.pcmag.com/news/358329/neutrogenas-iphone-skinscanner-analyzes-pores-moisture “Neutrogena unveiled a new device called SkinScanner, which attaches to your iPhone and uses 12 LED lights, sensors, and a 30x magnification lens to analyze the health of your skin. The device, created in partnership with a startup called FitSkin, works in conjunction with a new app called Skin360. Together, the Skin360 app and SkinScanner device can "give users an in-depth understanding of their skin's condition and needs, customized advice to address those needs, plus a clear way to track and assess skin's progress over time," App: Waze Navigation & Live Traffic By Waze Inc Waze is available for iPhone and Android phone Waze is a navigation/GPS and traffic app. It uses crowd sourcing to distribute real time traffic data. This means that other drivers report wrecks, construction and other traffic issues. The apps will map your drive based on the fasted route at that exact moment. While driving on the route, the app will continue to check for shorter and faster routes. This app can save you much time and frustration. While using the app, you can also provide information about traffic issues you witness for other users. Tech Tip: Clearing the Cache Android: https://www.techspot.com/article/1407-android-performance-tweaks/ Most experts recommend that you keep 10-15 percent of your phone’s storage available at all times. Even if you have plenty of storage on your phone, you can improve the performance by removing junk and unused apps. To free up space, delete apps you do not use. You should also delete any videos and photos you do not want to save and move other photos and videos to cloud storage. After removing apps, photos and videos, if you need additional space, you can also clear the cache data from your phone. On an Android phone: Go to the storage section of your phone’s settings menu. From there, tap cached data and click clear or OK to wipe away the cache for every app. Often this can free several gigabytes of storage space. iPhone/iPad: On an iPad or iPhone, open the settings app. Scroll down to the fifth set of topics. Find “Safari” and tap it. Scroll down and tap “Clear History and Website Data” and then click “Clear History and Data”. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Your App Lady. My website is www.yourapplady.com and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Betsy Walling Furler. Please share my podcast with your friends! Please join my email newsletter by clicking here.
1/31/2018 • 7 minutes, 24 seconds
004 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Four - Audible - An App That Lets Me Listen To Books
Welcome to Episode Number 4 a part of series number 1 all about apps that I use everyday. Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: Google Maps will now alert you when it’s time to get off the bus or subway https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/15/16763340/google-maps-train-bus-stop-transfer-alerts Google Maps has added a new feature. Now, when you use Google Maps for bus or subway directions, the app will alert you when you need to get off the bus or subway. These push notifications will help if you doze off or become engrossed in your book or music. It will also be a very helpful feature for people with cognitive impairments. App: Audible by Audible Inc. Audible is an Amazon product and is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and web platforms. Audible allows you to purchase and download audiobooks to listen to. Audible has high quality audiobooks and has a large variety. Audible is similar to the Kindle app in that you have to purchase the audiobooks from www.audible.com or www.amazon.com. You cannot buy the audiobooks directly from the app. When you open the app, you will see a button that will show your library. Within the library, you can choose “Device”or “Cloud”. If you choose “Device”, you will only see the audiobooks that you have downloaded onto your device. If you choose “Cloud”, you will see all the audiobooks you have purchased. To list only what you have downloaded, go to the Library and click on Device. This helps if you have multiple members of your family using the account. Sign up for Audible through this link: Audible Free Trial You will get a free trial w two free books! We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Tech Tip: Parental Controls: How to Lock Down Kids’ iOS Devices By David Matthews for TechSpot https://www.techspot.com/article/1483-iphone-parental-controls/ Under Settings > General > Restrictions, you can place controls on almost every aspect of the device You can allow/disallow Safari, FaceTime, Camera, and even Siri You are also able to allow or disallow downloading app or other media depending on the rating AND prevent them from deleting apps. If you allow Safari (the web browser on the iPhone and iPad), you can restrict types of websites or allow only certain websites. David also discusses the app OurPact. This is a subscription app that puts even more controls on your child’s iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet. See the article for more info. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Your App Lady. My website is www.yourapplady.com and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Betsy Walling Furler. Please share my podcast with your friends! Please join my email newsletter by clicking here.
1/26/2018 • 10 minutes, 3 seconds
003 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Three - Banking Apps: Apps That Help Me Manage My Money
Welcome to Episode Number 3 a part of series number 1 all about apps that I use everyday. Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: What’s App removes its app for older operating systems. https://www.pcmag.com/news/358165/whatsapp-bids-adieu-to-blackberry-os-windows-phone-8-0 I wanted to highlight this news today to remind you of the importance of keeping the operating system on you phones and tablets updated. If you don’t do the updates, you will risk not being able to use the apps you love. Apps - Banking Apps - My husband and I have accounts at two banks and a credit union. One bank is national - USAA, one is local - Frost and the credit union is local. All three have apps available. I love using the apps. My speech therapy business’ revenue is primarily insurance and the balance on that account changes daily due to the deposits from the insurance companies. We can also track expenses and move money to other accounts with the apps. I deposit all checks on the apps. I can easily move money into Henry’s account when he is off at college with the app. It is instantaneous. He can call me while he is standing at the movie theater and I can move the money for him at that moment. I know people are concerned about security. I have been using banking apps for five plus years. My account has never been compromised due to the apps or online banking. My accounts have been compromised from skimmers at gas stations and ATMs out in the real world. Here are some things you can do to make your mobile banking safer: 1). Never use a public WiFi network to open the app and view your accounts. Use your cellular data rather than the WiFi at a hotel, library, restaurant, Starbucks, etc. 2). Make sure the app is really from your bank. Download the app from the App Store, Google Play Store or the Microsoft Store. This ensures that the app is legitimate. 3). Never download a banking app on a “jail broken” device. These devices have layers of security removed and won’t be as safe. 4). Use the actual app on your phone rather than going to the bank’s website on your phone. 5). Make sure you use strong passwords and that the app requires the password. These tips are great for online shopping apps as well! This is a series of videos from Capital One about safe online banking https://www.grovo.com/readysetbank/welcome Tip: Cases A strong, high quality, protective case is so important for your phone and tablets. These cases can be very expensive but they don’t have to be! I order all my cases from Amazon where they are much cheaper. I usually pay less than $20 per case. When I have needed a case immediately and looked at Best Buy, Target or Walmart, lower quality cases were three to four times the cost. With Prime Now, I can order from Amazon and get the case the same day. When looking at cases on Amazon, you must know what phone or tablet you have. For iPhones and iPads, you can google the serial number and find which version you have. I then search on Amazon for that model and “case”. For my iPads, I add the word “protective” to the search. I then filter the results by Amazon Prime and average customer reviews. I only look at products with 4 or 5 stars. Then I scroll through and look at the description and reviews. Amazon is very generous with their return policy so you can easily return the case if you don’t like it. When I looked for a case for my iPhone 8, the Otterboxes were under $20 on Amazon and there were many good choices under $15. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Your App Lady. My website is www.yourapplady.com and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Betsy Walling Furler. Please share my podcast with your friends! Please join my email newsletter by clicking here.
1/24/2018 • 19 minutes
002 - Apps I Use Everyday: App Two: Voxer - An App That Helps Me Communicate
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 2 Welcome to Episode Number 1 a part of series number 2, all about apps that I use everyday. Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: Apple Heart Study from the verge.com. This study is with the Apple Watch. You have to have the Apple Watch that was released second. The first Apple Watch won’t work with the study. I may need to get a new Watch!!! “Late last month, Apple launched a new study in partnership with Stanford University, one of many studies the company has embarked on since the device’s 2015 launch, that will track Apple Watch users’ heart rhythms for irregularity. This type of data collection can be done with the current model’s heart rate monitor, but more advanced forms of tracking and testing, like EKGs, would require all new hardware and software. On the same day, the Federal Drug Administration cleared the Apple Watch’s first medical device accessory, an EKG reader built into a watch strap from medical device company AliveCor. Down the line, it seems like Apple wants as much of this technology built into the watch as possible, contingent only on what is actually feasible given current hardware and software constraints.” Studies are also being done for detecting seizures, mental health issues etc. Read more at https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/21/16806656/apple-watch-ekg-heart-monitor-future-models-development App: Voxer by Voxer Pro LLC The Voxer app is like a walkie talkie. You must have WiFi or cellular but otherwise there is a free version. Voxer is great for conversation without the need for the person to be there at the moment It’s like a monologue. You can send the voice message and then later the other person can respond back to you. You can also send text, photo and video over Voxer. The Voxer messages are encrypted end to end Voxer is available for iPhone, Android and web. I use the free version. There is a paid version that is $3.99 and includes more features like transcription and the ability to recall a message. Voxer has been key to my productivity and support in my business. My admin and I use Voxer for quick and easy communication. Because this is our primary method of communication, we are able to go back and read or listen to messages as needed. I also use Voxer to communicate with my business coach, mentors and business friends. I am able to send them questions, messages and wins and they can respond when it is convenient. This keeps the communication functional without interrupting them when they are working. Find out more about Voxer at https://www.voxer.com. Tech Tip: The tech tip today is how to save your battery power. On the iPhone or iPad, save your battery power by turning on “Low Power Mode”. Here are the steps to turn on “Low Power Mode”: Go to the Settings icon Click on Battery Look at Low Power Mode - make sure this is switched on and you see green. Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Your App Lady. My website is www.yourapplady.com and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Betsy Walling Furler. Please share my podcast with your friends! Please join my email newsletter by clicking here. Voice over work by John Swasey
1/19/2018 • 9 minutes, 33 seconds
001 - Apps I Use Everyday: App One: Sleep Cycle - An App That Helps Me Take Care of Myself
Your App Lady Show Notes Series 1 Episode 1 Welcome to Episode Number 1 a part of series number 1, all about apps that I use everyday. Today on the podcast, I will talk about one of my favorite apps. But first, here is a little tech news for you. Tech News: Many people complain that their iPhones slow down when a new update or a new phone is released. I’ve always thought that was crazy. Apple would never do that! Well. I was wrong! Sure enough, Apple has now admitted to slowing down older phones due to battery issues. There are now multiple lawsuits about this issue against Apple. See the link below to get more info. https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/12/27/16822736/apple-battery-slowdown-iphone-6-6s-se-lawsuit Apple is now offering discounted battery replacements for phones affected. Go to the Apple Store to get your battery replaced if your iPhone is a 6 or later. It’s about $29. Make sure you get an appointment with the Apple Store and make sure they have the batteries in stock before you go. https://getsupport.apple.com App - Sleep Cycle Northcube AB for IPhone, iPad and Android. Sleep Cycles is an awesome app that I use everyday. It’s a smart alarm clock app. It will wake you up when you are beginning to naturally wake up. Sleep Cycle also tracks your sleep quality and you can look at your sleep trends over time. Go to https://www.sleepcycle.com/how-it-works/. Tech Tip - Today’s tech tip is from PCMagazine. It’s easy to take a screenshot on an iPhone. A screenshot is simply a photo of what is on the screen of your phone. To take a screenshot on an iPhone 8 or earlier, simple press the home button and the power button at the same time. The screenshot will then show up in the lower left corner of your phone screen. After you take the screenshot, if you tap on it, it will open up and you can crop it by moving the corners in and you can draw or write on it. Then click done and choose to “Save to Photos”. It will be saved in your photo stream. I use this feature to make examples for you all the time. They have many more awesome tips in this article. https://www.pcmag.com/feature/356466/28-hidden-ios-11-tips-you-need-to-know Thanks for listening to Your App Lady today! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Your App Lady. My website is www.yourapplady.com and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn at Betsy Walling Furler. Please share my podcast with your friends! Please join my email newsletter by clicking here. Voice over work by John Swasey
1/17/2018 • 11 minutes, 56 seconds
000 - Welcome to Your App Lady
Do you love apps and technology? Or are you a little intimidated by them? Your App Lady is here to help! This podcast delivers easy to digest, small chunks of tech information and incredibly usable apps that will improve your life. Betsy Furler, AKA Your App Lady, wants you to love tech as much as she does!