BitStrips

BitStrips is a an app where you can make comics of your life and post it on Facebook. It is the definition of a fad.

While I did download it to my Droid X and got to make an avatar I never got past that point. The app is so large it does not allow me to make comics and sticks on the "make your own" screen.

Sounds fun but not made for older phones so thumbs down.

Inpaint

Inpaint 5.5 is a photo removal software that I been using for a long time and it works great. The program matches pixels nearby to replace the pixels you select. If you have complicated thing you want to erase and  time and patience then it may take a while. For simple pictures one pass and your done.

Here I try to get rid of some legs and shadows crossing three different backgrounds:

Guy walking away ruined my shot.

Using just the marker and the Select tool and Mask tool.

After six different passes this is what I got and it took a minute.

If I wanted to be more precise I could use a smaller marker, the lasso, polygonal lasso, magic wand, or guide lines. Since I like doing things quickly I want rather just use the mark and repeated passes. Of course I can take some time and go at a pixel by pixel level and it would be seamless.

I have used this program to remove plenty of hands and entire people and it works great. The example above was very rough and I wanted to see if I can do it in less than a minute. From start up to six passes and saving the photo took one minute on my Windows Vista laptop.

This program can be easy or become complex but it still loads lighter than Gimp. I would recommend getting this for free at Give Away of the Day next time it is offered. Also over at Inpaint you can order the newest with free upgrades for $19.99, Mac and PC compatible.

Silent Camera

One of the more annoying features of my camera phone is how loud the camera is always. There is no way to turn down the volume or make it quiet. This was done to stop creepers from doing pervy stuff.

I take pictures at work of paper files that I would need to refer to later but my office is so quiet the my camera app sounds like I am with the paparazzi. So I recently downloaded this handy app just to stop the odd looks.

Silent Camera

Alleged screenshot from original Google Play store that is only half fake.

The app itself is easy to figure out but there are few instructions. This is a Japanese app so stuff may not be obvious. The camera app works well but the photo quality is lacking and the ads are always on. The reason is this is basically a screenshot of the video image produced while the camera is on. It avoids the sound of a click by just taking a screenshot and not an actual image, that is why they can do burst mode. Burst mode is just a series of screenshots of the video feed.


I only downloaded this one because it was popular but I am looking for a better one.

Avast Free Antivirus

avast! Free Antivirus is rated one of the best Windows security programs even among the paid versions. I had Norton Symantec Endpoint Protection 10.2 for years but as of July, 4, 2013 it was no longer updating or being supported.

On my other computers I have McAfee but it is a monster of a program and tends to slow things down. So I was looking for a lighter alternative on computer that I only use to play online games and check emails. avast! Free Antivirus seemed great and most of the online reviews were positive.

Installation was easy and the first thing it does was a quick scan. It also checked for out-of-date programs and found two which I updated. Unfortunately trying to automatically update one program did not work and I had to do it manually.

The third thing I did was run a full scan and it took less than 2 hours on my 60 GB drive. I thought it would be faster but it was the first time so maybe it will improve. I found nothing bad as I expected so I think it was worth it.

They have other free tools and internet security options but I will ignore most of those. They do try to install some Google toolbars but I just opted out so no big deal.

Overall this is a 90% program, while for a free program it is great I expected more with all the race review. Also it could have been lighter because sometimes I noticed a bit of lag when navigating the tabs on the avast! free antivirus interface.

Skitch

Skitch for Windows to be exact. This is a Mac first program so I expected a few problems. Unfortunately it never worked past opening the program itself.

Skitch is supposed to be a quick annotation software from Evernote. I am always on the lookout for photo editing software that does one specific thing well to save time. I have no time to launch Gimp just to add an arrow, which Gimp does not do with out a special arrow plug-in.

This program seemed ideal but just would not work on my Windows setup no matter what I tried. While I cannot fully blame there website does not have a systems requirement page, at least I cannot find one.

My system does not have a graphics card but I still am able to do plenty, I assume that Skitch requires a graphics card. Oh well I still have Fireshot.

Picasa

As with everything else being updated Picasa is harder to navigate. The new interface does not allow for simple picture viewing instead it overrides common linear displays for an aesthetic never ending scroll. the problem of course is finding an image is near impossible and that programmers opinion on best photos is not mine.

Each time I want to check my new photos of my money collection at Coined For Money I have to go through many steps.

You have to:

• Click Photos
• Click the album you want to see
• Click Organize
• Click Date Taken
• Then click Reverse
• Then Done.
• After that you still have to click on each picture to view details.

Again this is done for tablet and phone users but does not give the simple option for desktop users.

Flickr

Before Facebook. Before Instagram. Before Twitter. There was Flickr a photo sharing site. It was social and simple. The community were skilled and it never catered to kids or celebs but was for the amateur photographer. The best part was seeing the exif info this way you knew how to setup similar shots. The worse part was the 200 photo limit for free accounts.

Well now they raised their limit to 1 terabyte for free or about 50,000 10 mp pictures. if you upload 0.5 mp photos that is over 1.5 million pictures. Sure now cameras are 20 mp or more but it silly to upload those since staling is common on the internet and a lower mp upload is always recommended.

Great photo showing the issue.

The problem is the new forma. It is made for tablets and young people who do not read and just like photos. I want details. I want to read captions and exif detail. There is an EDIT button that will take you to http://www.flickr.com/photos/<INSERT YOUR ID>/?details=1. The ?details=1 is what I want as a default layout or at least a second choice.

I have paid for the pro account so I am a big fan of Flickr hopefully I will find a way to use this new format.

Image Resizer

The best, fastest, and easiest small image resizing tool is the Image Resizer Powertoy originally for Windows XP. It unfortunately is no longer supported by Microsoft but a huge fan base keeps it going for newer Windows versions.

It is simple after you download and install the program it adds a line to you right-click options when right-click a picture.

The second screen pops up and gives you a several options to resize the image. It will create a second file for example: original.jpg is resized to original (small).jpg.

While there maybe hundreds of photo editing software this is the best for older computers and Windows machine in general is Image Resizer.

Currently you can get the latest community supported versions at CodePlex.

100% is what I would give this little app and I hope they keep supporting it over at CodePlex.

Viggle

Viggle is a free rewards app that works with TV. This app uses your phones microphone to listen to shows and match them to their database and gives you rewards. Along with that you get bonus for playing in app commercials, trivia games, and fantasy sports games.

Fantasy basketball game you play against 10 other whomever has the most points gets 1000 reward points. 2nd place = 500, 3rd = 300, 4th =200. You can choose a player and each time the player does something good or bad the points go up or down, Your allowed a limited number of substitutions so skill is needed.

Some featured shows that are promoted give extra bonus points but +50 is average. You get 1 reward point per minute. So check in Suits at 10:03pm and you get 57 points + 300 check-in bonus that is assuming you do not check in something after. So if at 10:30pm you check in on another show you just get 27 points + 300 check-in bonus.

Current rewards on my phone are the following:

• Sweepstakes for 777,777 reward points cost 1,000 pts.
• 20% off at Fanatics.com cost 3,000 pts.
• 1-Day Redbox DVD rental cost 4,000 pts.
• 5 digital issues of EW magazine cost 8,000 pts.
• $5.99 DirectTV Movie Money Certificate cost 9,000 pts.
• $5.00 CVS eGift card cost 10,000 pts.
• $5.00 Barnes & Noble eGift card cost 10,000 pts.
• $5.00 Hot Topic eGift card cost 10,000 pts.
• 5 digital issues of PEOPLE Magazine cost 12,000 pts.
• One month of Hulu Plus cost 14,500 pts.
• One month of Spotify Premium cost 20,000 pts.
• $10.00 Sephora eGift Card cost 20,000 pts. 
• $10.00 Gap eGift Card cost 20,000 pts. 
• $10.00 Papa John's Card cost 20,000 pts.
• $10.00 Old Navy Card cost 20,000 pts. 
• $10.00 JCPenney eGift Card cost 20,000 pts.  
• Viggle branded iPhone 5 case cost 25,000 pts.  
• $25.00 in value of participating salons for beauty treatments cost 20,000 pts.  
• $15.00 off Groupon cost 30,000 pts.
• $15.00 Chili's eGift Card cost 30,000 pts.
• Viggle branded water bottle cost 32,000 pts.
• Viggle branded T-shirsts (men or women, sm-xxl) cost 37,000 pts.
• $25.00 McDonalds ArchCard cost 62,500 pts.
• $25.00 BestBuy eGift Card cost 62,500 pts. 
• $25.00 Lowe's eGift Card cost 62,500 pts. 
• $25.00 Travelocity Hotel Card cost 62,500 pts.  
• Viggle branded Vlanket cost 80,000 pts.
• Kindle Fire HD cost 375,000 pts.
• 4-5 night Royal Caribbean Cruise cost 4,000,000 pts.

Conclusion: 
Started Viggling back in July 2012 but did not start doing this everyday until 1 month ago. So after 7 months of light use I got 7,000 reward point, and 2 months of heavy use added another 30,000. Great app but the most recent update has caused frequent crashes when scrolling. 
90% for the great games and quick points earning but the constant crashing should be fixed.

Scroll vs Book

Okay this is not a download but it is something related.

The trend for most internet sites is now Continuous Scrolling or infinite scrolling. This is where all the content is loading on one page and as you reach the bottom its adds more content. Yahoo has just changed to this pattern.

Notice the scroll bar on the right side it just keeps getting longer and jumping while never hitting the bottom.

This is done mainly for the smartphone and tablet market. They find infinite scroll is faster because you do not have to leave the page to search for the next.

Book or reading effect gives each page and the contents their own place so once you reach the end just click on next and you get more. For older computers like mine and slower internet connections it is great plus you always can skip stories and advance to page 10 or 100 without have to load 1,000 unwanted pages on to one.

This guy has a better argument against the scrolling effect...
http://timtfj.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/infinite-scrolling/

Partial scrolling where you are asked to load more is what Blogger.com did for their comment segement and it is horrible. For my blogs with 2,000+ comments per post you will never be able to see the newest comments without spending 2 hours loading and clicking "Load More".

This example shows after 10 minutes of clicking I still cannot see the newest comments and I am only inot comments made several years ago.

Many people have compared this effect to devolving. The scrolls used throughout history gave way to books because it was a better system. Finding information was faster and general thumbing through was better.

This quote from awwards is shortsighted.

It can be a smoother solution to show more content on a site than pagination, as it does not require to refresh the page and dynamic loading makes the site faster.

This is only true when content is limited and not added to on a regular basis. Unfortunately the shortsighted programmers are catering to a short attention span audience. After a few scroll downs most people give up. those who want to look for something specific can always use a search box.

I like browsing and that is why they are called BROWSERS. Often I just have nothing in mind and just want to look for new content. Also I have little to no confirmation bias so even if I search for something I want the right answer not a pat on the back. Both of these actions leads to a vast amount of links and with continuous scrolling it is difficult to keep track of everything.

I hope this trend is temporary or they do like Lifehacker and allow you the option on how your page loads. Still not great as they still have infinite scrolling.

Feel free to let me know your comments and possible solution to the continuous scrolling problem.

Excel Choropleth Maps for Coins

Project:
Have a map of the world that shows all the countries I collected coins from and have the shaded dark if I own a lot and shaded lightly if I only own a few coins, the top ten countries with the most coins owned should be obvious at first glance.

Plan: 
Create a heat map using my existing Excel file of world coins. Search the web for the best solution.

Results:

Map with U.S. and Canada included.

Map excluding U.S. and Canada.

		Row Labels	Sum of Value	Sum of Coins
	1	Great Britain	$34.41	228
	2	France	$34.33	160
	3	Spain	$28.28	145
	4	Trinidad & Tobago	$8.83	76
	5	Italy	$31.07	70
	6	Jamaica	$12.02	60
	7	Germany	$33.57	51
	8	Mexico	$53.87	51
	9	Israel	$6.98	47
	10	Greece	$31.08	45
		Grand Total	$274.44	933

To make the map I downloaded Chloropeths maps featured on the Clearly and Simple website, a great site for data visualization. These maps have Microsoft friendly shapes that are associated with data. The shapes color is set by the user and using a formula will increase or decrease in intensity with the corresponding data.

I modified the RGB value associated with the shapes color to this:

=IF(D9>499,(udf_RGB(255,255,255)),udf_RGB(230-C9,255-C9,204-C9))

The reason is this allows certain data that is small to get colored white instead of lightly shaded. Also altered the original color from black to green and changed the background to blue to look like a real map.

The map is not perfect as many countries are missing and the shading is not "extreme" enough. More contrast can be controlled but small changes alters the map wildly. I can see modifying it further to make the top ten a different color or making it change with the value of coins.

Greenland is mislabeled as part of Canada I currently do not know how disassociate Greenland from Canada without erasing all of Canada. Luckily I have no Greenland coins which makes the second map more accurate.

Conclusion:
It works well and has great potential. Learn from Clearly and Simply because the site is a wealth of information. I plan to keep tweaking the map until it is simpler to use and modify then post up somewhere. Warning the maps are both protected and macro filled so you need to deal with that first.

Color Wallpaper

Here is what I need an app that would just show one color on my phone's screen. Why because I was trying to make some light photography design. You know when you set the camera for long exposures and then use a light source to write or draw things.

As far as I know there are no apps dedicated to that so I tried to use a background changer app. I found a few that do solid colors but Color Wallpaper by Song Siyu seemed the best.

You can select from a multitude of shades.

The screen fills up with the color as a nice preview.

Unfortunately ads pop up during the preview leaving and unwanted trail of new colors when trying to make a light photo. It failed to give me what I was looking for in a full screen color app. Granted I did not try this as wallpaper app so it would not be fair to review it.

I had to delete it since it was not what I wanted, also tired Drawing Pad but that kept crashing so it was alos deleted. At the end I use SketchBook Mobile which allows you to fill a sketch pad to any color with no ads or unwanted extra color.

Hopefully soon I will review the other two apps and show off some nice light images but until then have a Happy Holiday and keep downloading.

Moon Phase Pro

A good looking Moon Phase app. It gives lots of moon phase information especially good for us amatuer photographers.

You can change locations and check the calendar for future or past days but I just like the simple interface that sends you a message every week.

Here's why this is a 90% program...
Cons:

1. Sometimes it is slow, but you can modify the picture settings.

Pros:

1. Very accurate.
2. Like the simple interface that can change with a simple touch.

Rating: 9 out of 10 (90%)

Play it at:
Amazon: Moon Phase Pro $0.99 although I got it when they had a free day.

Realm of the Mad God

Okay technically not a download but it had to be mentioned. This is a massively multiplayer online game and is free to play. You are a fighter of  a certain class and go around killing monsters and gods for loot. The more you stuff you get the stronger your character gets and there is no end, unless you die.You play it on Steam or like me on Kongregate.

Above is the entry flash page. You can see the credits, legends of the game, play, choose servers, and review your account. If you play at Kongregate you get bonus content and can earn Kongregate points.

You start out in the Nexus where you can chat with other, trade for better stuff, or get free drops. You can check your vault or change your character. Buying stuff is an option but I do not spend money on games. The guys who now make this game are constantly updating and celebrate many holidays with special items and places. From there you can pick different rooms once they reach 85 people the realm is closed.

The game play is simple, go out and kill monsters and gods. Sometimes they drop pouches full of goodies. Keep and upgrade good things until everything you have is maxed out. The better the item the more rare and the stronger you have to be to get it.

Here's why this is a 100% program...
Pros:

1. Super fun time.
2. Great game play.
3. Mostly cool community.
4. It is challenging.

Cons:

1. Lots of spamming.
2. Super strong players ruin the game by running ahead without clearing.
3. Lots of cheating.

Rating: 10 out of 10 (100%)

Play it at:
Kongregate: Mad God, free to play, some item cost money

My Phone's Home Screen

Not sure what my home screen says about me but it the apps I use the most on my phone. To recap I have a Droid X which is about to turn 2 years old in December and it has about 200 apps installed.

Facebook: A must id your social or bored.

FM Radio: I love the radio and is one of the main reasons I avoid the iPhone. This phone has a real radio tuner which is great.

Text Messaging: A must in modern society.

Settings: I need a quick access to the settings like changing the wi-fi or clear the cache.

Play Store: Best app store around and easy to navigate.

Browser: Just the default browser, I do not search the internet much on my phone so it I have never upgraded.

Shopkick: I like collecting points, even if I never use them.

Google Goggles: Great for QR codes, tags, or just scanning pictures to search online.

Camcorder: The default video recorder, I do not take video often but I would like the option close at hand.

Voicemail: I tend not to answer my phone so I always need voicemail close by.

Amazon Kindle: Again I do not read much on the phone but there are some reference books I like to keep close.

Camera: The default camera app is sill the fastest. Other camera apps tend to crash or get sluggish.

The four at the bottom are defaults also.
Phone, contacts, texting, and more button.


I would say that I like to keep things simple. Even though this phone is a mini-computer I do not need anything complicated in my daily life. Now the 200 other apps hidden by the "more" button are mostly just for fun.

CrossMe Color

CrossMe Color

The follow up to the great puzzle game CrossMe is here and in full technicolor.

Menu Screen

Level screen

Game play, I wonder what it will be?

As with the original you are given a blank grid and using colored numbers you must fill it in until the correct picture appears. At first it seems easy but the possible outcomes become more difficult. If you make a mistake and do not notice then it can get frustrating. 

Each puzzle should take a minute or two but it is still tons of fun. Round of applause for the people at Dynamix the makers of this and PrinterShare Mobile Print which I also have installed. They keep it simple and user friendly which is not true for all current mobile applications.

Here's why this is a 100% program...
Pros:

1. Great layout and ease of use.
2. Very calming
3. Works well, never crashed.
4. Can become very difficult and works your brain.
5. I got a $1.00 mp3 credit upon purchase but not sure it is still active. 

Cons:

1. Needs more puzzle for free.

Rating: 10 out of 10 (100%)

Got it at:
Amazon: CrossMe Color $4.95, 

CrossMe

CrossMe

While it has been months since I played Angry Birds but I have been playing CrossMe all the time. This is a nonogram Japanese puzzle where simple pictures are hidden on a grid and number hints on the grid's border tells you how many boxes should be filled in.

There are many puzzles and even a possibility to upgrade to a colored version with more complex pictures.

Here's why this is a 100% program...
Pros:

1. Very calming
2. Works well, never crashed.
3. Can become very difficult and works your brain.

Cons:

1. Needs more puzzle for free.

Rating: 10 out of 10 (100%)

Got it at:
Amazon: $4.95 and you get $1 mp3 credit, CrossMe

Optimum App For Laptops

Optimum App For Laptop

It is all your cable TV channels on your laptop. The software you download is pretty simple and requires only an Optimum Account and a monitor that is not separate. Apparently the first thing the software does is look if your screen is built in. If not then it won't download.

It works pretty well but there is some buffering in HD. It is not as sharp as many other services but you can watch one show on TV while another is playing on the laptop. This brings back my ability to watch two shows at once that I lost after the analog signals went dead.

Here's why this is a 90% program...
Pros:

1. Free for customer
2. Works as advertise
3. Watch two shows or change the channel on your TV.

Cons:

1. Buffering...

Rating: 9 out of 10 (90%)

Got it at:
Optimum: Only free, if you have an account and a laptop.

Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds

Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds

This is why they invented mobile apps.

I have never been thrilled about the scientific apps out there because at the end books were always better or to do calculations pen and paper. This is one of the few that I think the app is better than the book version.

Loading screen...

Login screen

Category selection

All them pretty birds

I am selecting Bronzed Cowbird

Options for identification include pictures of male and females, range, voice, description, and similar birds.

Most birds have songs and calls listed.

You can hear their voices to confirm what you may be seeing in real life.

Imagine if all Audubon books were turned into apps. The access to see, hear, and learn more about the world around you without having to swim through a sea of internet waste would be great.

I hope encyclopedia makers and other scientific publications take a second to copy and improve on these types of apps.

Here's why this is a 100% program...
Pros

1. You can hear and see the birds
2. The way it is set up is simple.
3. You can add your own content.

Cons

1. No knowing bird types can slow your search

Rating: 10 out of 10 (100%)

Got it at:
Amazon for free but currently it is $2.99,
Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North American Birds