Sink or Swim

I love reading eBooks on my smartphones. It’s actually the only thing that I do aside from browsing websites and checking emails. Which is why I got so frustrated when I switched to iPhone. Although there are several ebook readers that you can choose from (free and paid), either you still have to buy books from them so you can use the ebook reader or scroll left and right to read the whole page of the book. I got loads of ebooks in html, txt, prc, lit format and I want to be able to read them again. So I didn’t give up until I came across BookShelf for iPhone. I wanted something that I can read just by scrolling up and down, with nice sized fonts so it won’t hurt my eye and overall pleasant looking. I got all that with BookShelf and more. In fact I couldn’t stop raving about it that I emailed all my friends who have iPhone and told them to download it immediately.

First you’ll have to install the ShelfServer on your PC. Once installed, you’ll need to add a shared directory which is basically specifying a folder where your ebooks are located. On your iPhone, you need to install ShelfServer (around $3.99 at iTunes). You need WiFi to be able to download the books from your PC. Once installed, scan for Near-by ShelfServers until you find the one for your computer. Tap that server to see the shared directories that you created and then a list of all ebooks available. Just click on a file to download and that ebook will be stored on your iPhone.

I just love how the final output of the ebooks look like. It’s almost like you’re reading an actual book from the type of text and paper, the way you turn the page, bookmark and many more. I’ve read about 20 titles ever since I’ve installed this app. I’ve never been so happy with my iPhone until now.

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My DSL service sucks for the past two weeks. Which is why I’m now looking for a back up whenever this happens. I’m not sure which to get from the two – I know speed has to do with the location. However, the reviews vary a lot and I can’t really get a reliable answer. I hope that whichever I choose will be stable enough so I can finish my work even if my main DSL sucks big time.

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… can definitely make or break your career. No matter how amazing you are as a designer, if you can’t even attend a single conference call, upload your excellent work or update a client’s blog or page using CMS, then you’re no good for the company. I just wish my boss won’t see it that way and understand that it all has to do with the recent storm.

To make matters worse, I just got back from my maternity leave last Monday. It’s been four days and now and I’m nowhere near to finishing my deliverable. I hope tomorrow will be different. My boss and coworkers understand but for how long?

Great! So it’s not only my husband and my daughter who will love my phone due to the numerous games that I’ve downloaded so far. Now that I’m nearing my due date, I’m looking for all kinds of development apps that I can use while I’m in the hospital. And according to the list below, there are more than 90++ apps that I can choose from.

I’ll list my top three as they are the most essential to my work.

FTP On The Go

Download and upload files wherever you are. You can even edit files on the server.

Photoshop.com Mobile

Crop, rotate, adjust color and saturation of your images. Useful for quick graphics edits.

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I sooo love my iPhone 3Gs. I’ve always wondered what the big fuss was but now that I could see the difference in graphics quality, audio and performance, you could say I’m hooked. And did I mention the apps? There are just sooo much free apps out there that I spend most of my free hours now browsing and installing. My husband and I couldn’t help but make some ooh and ahh noises whenever we stumble upon a cool app with a kick-ass graphic.

And as if the coolness of iPhone 3Gs is not enough, Apple just have to come out with the new iPhone 4G.

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HP coupons are issued to customers who are interested in buying HP products by the Hewlett Packard (HP) Company. HP Home and Office Stores offer various types of coupons every week or month to promote online purchases of its products. The three main types of HP coupons are free accessory with a purchase, free shipping, and discount coupons. Using such coupons, you can get a superior deal on your online purchase of outstanding HP products. An HP coupon is your ticket to big savings or accessing free “extras” when you buy a product from HP.

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Haven’t I mentioned enough how convenient the Internet is? First, you can get degrees without leaving your home and now you can even enroll on lsat prep courses. For example, at knewton.com you can have access to all 5,948 releast LSAT questions online so you can practice whenever and wherever you are. There are also live, online video classrooms taught by industry-best LSAT instructors. A quick comparison shows how Knewton is the best value for money. The membership length alone is up to 12 months so you can practice online, print exams, attend online classes, have off-camera question and answers longer than what others provide. Check it out now. There’s a free 7-day trial wherein you can create custom quizzes, attend a live class and many more.

Thanks to technology, it’s now possible to get a College degree without putting a stop to your career or personal life. An online degree is getting popular these days not just because of how convenient it is but also because plenty of people wants to broaden their horizons, change careers or get promoted. In fact, you can even get masteral degrees online so you can finally get the dream job you’ve always wanted. I know several friends who specifically enrolled just because a masteral is the only thing stopping them from being promoted to a managerial level. As for me, I’m always on the lookout for design-related programs so I can enhance my skills and keep abreast with the latest design technologies. Being a designer has never been so competitive what with newly graduates armed with the latest design trends looking for work at a more affordable salary.

I’ve had my laptop with me for two years now. I used to have a desktop for heavier programming but since my Dell Studio is enough to handle all my graphics applications and has a huge monitor, I’ve decided to use it for just about everything. It was a bad decision, I now realized. It seems my 9-cell battery is about to give up and I’m afraid that the top cover getting too hot could be a result of something more serious. My one option is to get a smaller laptop for everyday computing. This would significantly reduce the strain from my main machine, giving it time to recuperate for hours. Aside from that, I really need to invest on some laptop accessories. My husband, who is a firm believer of supplementing your gadgets with accessories and improvements never fails to remind me how I should take care of my laptop more. I believe him now, after two years of not listening, so I hope I’ll still be able to save my machine.

As I was searching for laptop accessories online, I found some really  nice suggestions for coolers and laptop stands. I was surprised that they are not as expensive as I thought. In fact, most of them range from $10-$60 depending on the number of features. A laptop stand could be as simple as a small platform placed on your lap. It’s main objective is to provide ventilation for the laptop and on some, give your wrists a break from a flat keyboard. Some people I know would love to build one on their own using stuff around the house but for those who simply have no time, this notebook cooler from Zalman will be your best option.

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I know I shouldn’t be thinking of shopping especially now that we’re saving up to make a bulk payment on our lot property. However, I kept seeing tweets of my old boss’ and how he loves his new iPad. You know I’m a sucker for any Apple product even if I can’t afford them. Still, with the help of fast cash, I may be able to convince my husband to buy it for me just in time for my birthday in June. We can loan for as low as $100 up to $2500 and when I checked, he’s already pre-approved! So there’s really no stopping me from getting one. I’m sure he can pay it quickly the same month if he wants to. Besides, it’s my birthday and who knows, I may have given birth by then so it could also serve as my “push gift”.

Curious what is it that I want about iPad when I have a perfectly working 17″ laptop and a touch screen phone? Well, it’s the size really. The 17″ laptop is too huge and heavy to lug around while my phone’s screen, although considered big at 320px or so just makes my vision blurry.

These days, you can get answer to about almost anything in the Internet. Need natural hemorrhoid treatment? Google it and you’ll see tons of blog posts, health articles and online shops that are guaranteed to make you dizzy with options. What I suggest is go for review sites that compare products side by side or trusted web sites with testimonials from real people. It’s hard to recognize which ones are genuine but with thorough research, you’ll be able to separate the bogus stuff from the real deal.

So don’t you just love the Internet? Just be cautious when looking for health related articles. Most articles can scare you to death so it’s always best to check with a medical professional if ever you want to try a treatment or alternative approach to whatever’s ailing you.

If there’s one thing I love to do aside from designing, it’s budgeting our expenses. You’ll always see me holding my calculator, listing all incoming and outgoing earnings. You could say it’s my stress reliever too because I can sleep better knowing where our money is going. This is the reason why my friends ask my help all the time when it comes to budgeting. One of the tips that I always tell them is to get a home budgeting software. This kind of software can help you learn where all your money is going, how to budget in three or six months, compute savings and interest rates from your bank, schedule recurring transactions and many more. I don’t use a software because I love doing all these manually but for those who have no time yet simply want to get out of debt or expand their finances, a home budget software will be perfect for you.

Wow, toys are getting more expensive each year. Just check out Mindflex – a game that utilizes the power of your mind.

This latest mental activity from Mattel uses a lightweight headset with sensors for the forehead and earlobes that are supposed to measure your brainwave activity. As you focus, a small foam ball will rise and as you relax, the ball will go down slowly. Of course, I’m only basing it from the description and haven’t really tried it myself. But this will surely blow my brother’s mind as he’s been trying to convince me that he can move things ever since we were kids.

I really like the web site design of Ski Butlers. I’m in the process of conceptualizing for an advertisement for a ski resort when I came across their site. Ski Butlers specializes in hassle-free deer valley ski rentals. What they do is go to your house and bring any sizes of skis and snowboards that might fit you. Their ski rental expert technicians will custom fit all that you need including boots and other ski accessories to ensure that you’re ready for your ski trip. Because of this very innovative service, you’d think they will cost more. But you’d be surprised to know that their rental rates are the same and sometimes even lower than some of the local Deer Valley ski rental shops.

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There are about 40 beautifully done interiors from this post here but let me share with you my top 5 favorite. Click on the photos to access the owner of the photos.

Great natural lighting effect

Shiny floors and that hanging seating area is just spectacular.

Another play with natural lighting. Looks so real except for the bed sheets.

The details are simply amazing.

Looks like a CGI cartoon but great nonetheless.