Kidzui – Browser just for kids?

Parents, do you need help monitoring what your kids are exploring on the Internet? Your kids will never see the raw Internet, they’ll only experience the world approved by Kidzui. If you remember back in 1995, AOL to many people was the Internet, so why not return to those days with Kidzui?

Kidzui is a special browser installed on your desktop in which it’s surfers can only go to approved websites on their network. With this browser, parents can view kid’s online activities for up to 30 days and even block and add pages. What your kids will love about Kidzui is that they can choose their own avtar, a character which they can change hair color, clothes, etc…

The browser is free to download and use, however for $6.95 a month you can upgrade to their membership version. The membership unlocks more features and gives you a homework helper.

http://www.kidzui.com

Turn Website into Mobile Friendly

If you are a smart phone user (a phone that can surf the web), you’ll encounter that most websites aren’t mobile friendly. For example, on the iPhone if you surf a website that is entirely built in flash, nothing will appear because Apple has outlawed the Adobe Flash plug-in from working on their platform. Website owners is your duty to serve up a mobile version of your site these days because of the proliferation of mobile browsing. There are many free mobile detection scripts available, you just need to find one that works. If you need help, ask Leading Hands about mobile and we can point you in the right direction.

If you are a web surfer and you are tired of not getting mobile friendly content then use then point your smart phone to ITHY. Their website says, “IYHY.com allows you to surf any website from your cell phone, PDA, Blackberry, Treo, Sidekick, or other mobile device even if the page is not formatted for mobile use. Just enter the URL below and we will convert the site to text only.”

Convert any regular website into a text version.
http://www.iyhy.com/

Life of Iphone App: One day

I was just reading some articles about a study just released. A student concludes that 95% of iPhone Apps are only used once after they’re downloaded.

Check it out. http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C16982/

Google Latitude: Free Mobile Location Tracker

Do you want to know where your kids are? What about your friends? Now with Google Latitude, you can instantly see the location of your friends on a map on your mobile phone. Why bother connecting with friends the 1990s way, calling isn’t enough? Simply download this free application to your cellphone and get a bearing on where you are friends are hanging out in real-time. This application connects the real world with the online world.

Phone Compatibility
Google Latitude is available for use on most phones like the Blackberry, Windows phones, Nokia smartphones, but no iPhone use or Sony Ericsson devices yet.

Safety Tip
Parents, download this application and use it to maintain contact with your child. On the other hand, parents if you child does use this application, be careful who they let track their location. Realize that your phone can see others, they most likely can see you. You need to hide your location.

Is this a helpful tool or a safety nightmare?
http://www.google.com/latitude

Dial2Do: Hands-free Text Alternative

Last year Leading Hands recommended Jott, a service that will translate your voice message into text and then email it to an individual on your contact list. With more and more text messaging accidents on the rise, the need for more “hands-free” alternatives is imperative.

The other day I discovered “Dial 2 Do”, a service that will translate your voice into to text message. However the free translation service gives you the option to not only email it, but you can update your Twitter account or even send a text message. You can even set it up to listen to your emails.

Review: With any voice to text translation service from time to time it has issues understanding certain words and there is mis-interpretation. However as you continue to use the service, you can build your own unique vocabulary the system will understand. If you must text while driving, then this service is for you.

http://www.dial2do.com

Watch Inauguration on iPhone With Ustream

If you aren’t near a TV to watch the Inauguration then get it on your iPhone with Ustream. The application will let users watch any Ustream channel, live, directly from their iPhone. And not only that, users will also see and be able to participate in the live chat around the video as well.

If you have the application installed you’ll be able to watch it live from anywhere, even if you aren’t in front of your TV or computer. The world is changing before our eyes.

Go to the app store and do a search for “Ustream”, it’s called the “Ustream Viewing Application”.

Isn’t it awesome?

2009 Inauguration iPhone App

Are you heading to the big inauguration this upcoming Tuesday in Washington D.C.? If you are and you’re an iPhone user, you must download the free 2009 Inauguration iPhone App.

What will this app do?

• How much time is left until the inauguration
• How far you are away from the inauguration
• Transit service and locations
• Parking garage locations

http://appshopper.com/navigation/2009-presidential-inauguration-guide

Do you suffer from Blackberry Thumb?

When Will Ferrell answered his tiny phone in the classic Saturday Night Live skit Jeffrey’s Clothing Store, he was portraying the future. Now your mobile phone is almost the size of Will’s character’s phone but is packed with features that could be detrimental to your hands. If you are a frequent smart phone user, you may be suffering from Blackberry thumb.

What is it? Blackberry thumb is described as a repetitive stress injury as the result of overusing small gadgets. If you are using a miniature keyboard to communicate, you’re probably overexerting your thumbs.

What can you do to avoid Blackberry thumb?

• If you type more often with one hand, try using both at once
• Use a voice activation program to translate your voice to text
• Install the new voice activated Google search on your phone
• Establish canned phrases you reuse
• Switch to a phone with a larger keyboard

If your pain becomes unbearable, you should consult a doctor.

Must Have iPhone Apps

When you purchase your iPhone it’s already loaded with “default” apps like iTunes, Camera, Calendar, Text, Maps, Clock and Calculator. So what apps should you download after you get your new shiny iPhone? I am not much of a gamer, so the below applications are mostly focused on helping me get things done more efficiently.

Utilities

• Smart Dial – (99 cents) Give you the ability to look up contacts by entering a few letters
• TouchDial – Dials one number you call frequently
• iTalk – Digital recorder
• TipStar – Figures out what to leave for a tip
• Sportacular – Follow all sports stats easily
• Pandora – Mobile app of popular music site
• Wikipanion – Access user based encyclopedia
• eBay – Mobile app for popular bidding site
• Mobile News – Get the latest news
• Top 40 – Follow the charts and download tunes
• i.TV – What’s playing on TV, Movies, DVD releases?
• Free RSS – Follow website updates
• Amazon.com – Mobile app for popular shopping site
• If Found – Creates a wallpaper with phone # and email address

Games

• iBowl – Bowling Game
• TicTacFree – Classic Game of X & Os

Music

• MiniPiano – Tinkle the ivories
• More Cowbell – SNL Skit is Alive
• Drummer – Choose your kit and start drumming

Do you have any iPhone applications to add to this list?

Discover & Publish Docs with Scribd!

Do you need to post a bunch of PDFs to your website? However once you upload them to you website, your users are annoyed that they pop-up in another browser? Easily publish and share your documents with the world with Scribd.

Scribd uses iPaper which turns your PDF into a virtual flip book. Now you don’t have to wait for the document to load into another window because it loads in the same window. Flip through the pages like you would with your favorite book. Right now you can surf their website and explore many topics.

Scridb is striving for collective intelligence; they want to use their technology to make collections of your documents, ebooks, and presentations easily searchable. There are many topics currently available for you to browse.

Scribd Topics include:
* Cheat Sheets
* Cooking and Recipes
* Databases
* eBooks
* Economics
* Funny Stuff
* Magazines
* Maps
* Origami
* Photography
* Physics
* Programming
* Religion
* Sheet Music
* Sports
* Textbooks
* Travel and Tourism

Do you like this technology? What don’t you like about it?

Discover and Publish Docs with Scribd!
http://www.scribd.com/