Techie Love

Maybe you could blame it on the freak snow storms happening all over the country. Maybe you can use the age-old excuse that you don't believe in Valentine's Day, it was just a holiday invented by the card and candy companies (by the way, NO ONE buys that).

But for whatever reason, you have woken up this Friday with egg on your face. Because you forgot it was Valentine's Day and you now need a present idea. Never fear, Tech-Know is here! We helped all you unfortunate planners on Christmas Eve, and we can most assuredly help you woo your techie love.

Let US help YOU.

Here are some great ideas for the nerd in your life this Valentine's Day. No, no need to thank us. We will accept your leftover chocolates as payment.

And if you can't find these at your local tech store, just blame it on UPS. That's what I always do.

...

The Death of Flappy Bird

As some of you may know, the owner of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen, toldTechCrunch that the success of the app was "something that he never wants". Nguyen says he is not willing to sell the app, despite the fact it is the number one free app on the Apple Store and Google Play. He has not given any reasons to taking the app down, siting only to the press that he "wants peace". To find out more, read the full TechCrunch article here: http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/08/flappy-bird-going-down/ 

Please Excuse Our Progress

Hey all! I know there has not been a lot of Tech-Know for a while, but we are getting ready to relaunch with a whole new look. Please be patient!

Thanks to all the faithful techknows!!

5 Apps To Help You Through Your Back-To-Work Week

Hello all! I hope your holidays were merry and bright - and I hope you stayed safe in the polar vortex (how epic is that name, seriously? Polar vortex)!


I don't know about you, but this week certainly has been a one-way trip on the struggle bus. According to research, the Monday back from the holidays was called "Blue Monday" - because it was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year.

So how do you bounce back from the holiday blues? With a little help from technology, of course. These apps have helped me come back swinging after New Years...or at least have kept me awake at my desk.

Coffitivity (iOS& Android) is a bizarre but absolutely brilliant concept: for those of us that can't work along to music but can't stand complete silence either. Coffitivity emulates the sounds of a coffee shop with three settings: Morning Murmur, Lunchtime Lounge or University Undertones. You can add your own music as a background, or simply listen to the soothing coffee shop sounds by themselves.

Happier (iOS) is a 21-day course that helps boost your attitude through short daily lessons. The course costs $50, or you can get the free app here. If nothing else, this app will help you keep your perspective as you are remembering how late you got to sleep over the holidays. Sigh.

Have a really great quote that always helps you get through the day? Write it down, put a really cool background behind it and then share it with the world using Quollective (iOS). Or, if that just seems to hard, just browse around the Quote Library. Someone's quote will be sure to inspire you. How do I know? Oprah uses the app. Bam. Your argument is invalid.

Need help getting your life back into shape after the holidays? Meet your sadistic new friend, Carrot (iOS). Carrot  promises to be "your new task master" and will get upset if you "persist in sloth" (Carrot's words, not mine). Complete the things on your to-do list and Carrot will reward you. It makes crossing things off of your to-do list not only fun...but necessary. 

Color Zen (iOS & Android) is an addictive soothing game that combines a gorgeous interface with soothing music that will have that four hour budget meeting becoming a distant memory. As much of a puzzle as it is an addictive zoning-out program, the object of Color Zen is to match the shapes with colors to fill the screen with one outside color. Check out the trailer, it is about as soothing as the actual game is:

What apps have got you going this work week? Tell me by commenting below!

New Year, New Apps: My Interview With Creators of yAPPer

Happy New Year, Techknows! Here's to 2014, a year that will bring new opportunities, new ideas, and of course, new technology and apps.

To ring in the new year, I decided to focus on an exciting new project that will be launched in mid-January: the yAPPer app, created by three George Washington University graduate students and an iOS developer who have taken on the challenge of closing the gaps in modern communication.   

Think about this: have you ever been at an event, and wondered who else might be there? Have you seen something in your neighborhood and thought - "Am I the only one that saw that?" 

Enter yAPPer a localized chat app. yAPPer allows you to create a message board that anyone within five city blocks, or, to be more precise, 750 yards, can see.  

What sets yAPPer apart from other chat services is after 30 minutes of inactivity, your message will be deleted, not only from the app, but from the yAPPer's servers. 

"That helps our users to be candid", yAPPer President Rob Wyant stated. "People can use the app with the confidence of knowing that what they say on our boards won't come back years later to haunt them."

Another great function of the app is the ability to privately message your friends who are around you. By using a hashtag in your message subject line, the app will know to make your chat private and will only be seen by those that you invite to the chat or use the hashtag.

"Bar and restaurant owners or event planners can use this function to create their own unique hashtag in order to send special messages out to people in attendance," Wyant explains. "Anyone within 750 yards who have the specialized hashtag will be able to see the messages, which is great for sending out special promotions or just connecting with the patrons of your bar". 

In the summer of 2013, Wyant and two of his colleagues, Justin Lichtenstaedter and Dane Hinnen, came up with the idea of creating this app on a whim. "We didn't set out to create an app, the idea just came to us while in conversation", Lichtenstaedter stated.

The three colleagues realized they had a great idea and quite a lot of business experience between them, but no experience at developing apps. That's when they found the fourth member of their team, Anthony Agby, a skilled self-taught developer who had a passion for bringing other people's ideas to life.

 Recently, they have gained notoriety by becoming one of 64 apps to be chosen by South By Southwest, the famous Austin, Texas media conference, to compete in their Startup Student Madness tournament. On January 3rd, the judges will choose eight apps to go on to be the "Entrepreneurial Eight", who will be judged by a celebrity panel of judges and compete for top honors at the SXSW convention.

The founders say that none of their success would be possible without the help of the DC tech community and those at the George Washington University, who have mentored them and supported their project.

"A lot of what we have accomplished is through talking and networking with the community around us," Wyant stated. "Each day has been a learning experience, and each day I realize I don't quite know what I am doing. But my partners and I found great help through the GW community and those who are willing to support our start-up."

For more information on yAPPer, click here. To learn about SXSW's Studemt Startup Madness, click here. 

13 Things We Learned in 2013

Before we lay 2013 to rest and welcome 2014, I would like to take a moment to recap all the things that we saw in 2013: things that were good, mistakes that should not be made again, and ponderings of what the year has shown us. Unbiased politically but probably biased in almost every other way possible, here is my list of 13 Things We Learned in 2013:

1) Google Glass is for celebrities and Google tradeshows. Seriously, is that thing ever coming out on the market? Speaking of things that won't come to fruition...

2) Drones. Amazon got us all a-flutter when they made the announcement that drones were soon to be a part of the Amazon Prime package. But unless someone comes out with really great, all-encompassing drone legislation, there are just way too many problems with this. Darn you, Jeff Bezos! I will never be fooled again by one if your hare-brained marketing schemes. Until the next one rolls around. 

3) Who runs the world? Nerds. One even single-handedly took on the NSA and FBI and won. Sort of. 

4) Apple could slap gold or a fancy new color on ice and start selling it to Eskimos. 

5) The government is NOT listening to your telephone calls. Don't be ridiculous. They just know who you are calling and when and where you are located. Oh, and they also read your Facebook messages. But calls? Nah. 

6) It is now safe to search on Google! They won't give your info away to marketers! Unless, you know, they pay enough. 

7) We realized all too well that Big Data sort of sounds like Big Brother.

8) Beyoncé does not need advertising. Beyoncé can release a CD out on social media and it can be an instant best seller. It is also true that the Earth's gravitational force actually revolves around Beyoncé. 

9) Are you are a cat with a facial deformity? Congrats! Instant internet fame! 

10) We lived through the Twerkpocalypse and we survived. I tell you what, humans are a sturdy race. 

11) Farewell, honorable Nelson Mandela. We will never forget you nor the legacy that you left behind. Except for the kids that thought you were Morgan Freeman. Sigh. If you will excuse me, I have to weep for the future now. 

12) If the government gives you millions upon millions of dollars to make a website, you should probably make it suitable for, oh, I don't know, more than 10 people to be on it at one time? Maybe you could also make all the web site options work properly? Heck, just make the thing viewable for goodness sake. 

13) Pretty much the world cried when Breaking Bad ended. And I have yet to watch a single episode (at this point, it is just my pure stubbornness and a refusal to follow the crowd, although I am 'Breaking' down fast. Breaking...see what I did there?).

Tune in next time for my interview with the makers of YAPPER App, the app I will be supporting in the Student Startup Madness, a collegiate digital media tournament at SXSW! You won't want to miss it! 

Merry Christmas from Tech-Know

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope your morning was filled with family, good food and good presents!

This Christmas, the best tech gifts I got were a subscription to Wired Magazine and Roku, which will stream my Netflix to my TV.

At this rate, I will never leave my room.

What was your best tech gift this Christmas?

Holiday Gift Guide: Last Minute Shopping

I would like to say I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. However, I am a planner of the worst sort, and I got most of my holiday shopping done in November.

Online of course.

But I understand there are many out there who wait until the last minute. Is this you? Never fear! I have a list of GREAT last minute Christmas gifts you
can send - all you need is your recipient's email address. No wrapping paper or trips to the mall needed - these gifts are all online!

Digital Audiobooks/Albums

Audiobooks, my savior during horrible traffic jams, are a great gift to give someone you know that has to commute. Audible.com, an Amazon company, is an audiobook rental website that allows you to buy a monthly subscription (one or two books a month) or an annual plan (12 to 24 books).

My favorite place to get audiobooks, the Pottermore Shop,  has all the Harry Potter books on audio at a discounted price that you can send to your friends or family via email. Go ahead, make someone's Christmas a little more magical.

This also works with iTunes albums. You can send out a Christmas album of your choosing, or even better, get someone that new Beyonce CD. Because lets be honest, Beyonce > Christmas music.

eGift Cards

The most obvious and easy last minute gifts, eGift Cards allow you to email  a gift card to that certain coworker you know that is always online shopping.

Some of my favorite gift cards include:
Barnes & Noble
Best Buy
Apple Store
Etsy
Amazon 

Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Amazon Prime...


For those pesky brothers/sisters that keep using your account. Or for that neighbor that is always in their pajamas every Friday night.

P.S. I'm that neighbor.



Monthly Box Subscriptions

For those people in your life that don't have time to shop, I recommend get a monthly box subscription, such as Birchbox ($10/month) for the glamazon in your life, or the Barkbox ($19-$29/month) for the lazy dog lovers on your list.

Have a friend that marches to the beat of their own drum? They would probably love Skoshbox ($12/month), a monthly delivery of Japanese candy and snacks delivered to their door. Or, for that DIY diva in your life, Lullubee ($125/month) sends a crafting kit in the mail.

The Gift of Blog

With more and more people sharing their opinions, experiences and stories these days, I would recommend you give someone the gift of a creative writing space and help them set up a blog. How? Here are a couple of ideas:

Buy them a domain name on Godaddy.com, starting at $12.99/month. GoDaddy also offers packages to help people set up their website and improve their website's search rankings.

Have a blog beginner? Help them set up a blog on Blogger or Wordpress, and then give them a gift DesignerBlogs.com, which will help them set up the look and feel of their blog.  They can either get a custom web design starting at $300, or can choose from pre-made blog templates for only $15.
certificate to

Just be careful who you give this to. The world does NOT need another gif-only site.

And if all else fails, go to the grocery store. Buy wine. Can't go wrong with that!

My Christmas Gift To You

As I was sitting at work today, a coworker sent me this gem that I don't think you can go with out this holiday season.


Please note that this is LIVE.

Click here for the best thing you will see all Christmas. Eat your heart out, claymation Christmas movies.

#GivingTuesday: Google Hangout-a-thon

Black Friday, Cyber Monday....#GivingTuesday?

Google has partnered with Mashable to create the first ever Google+ Hangout-a-thon, where from 9am - 9pm today, you can see different charities present on why they do what they do.

Hear from charities like Charity:Water, Toms, Unicef, Save the Children, Happy Hearts Fund and many more. Google then makes it easy to donate using the Google Donation Shortlist, which you can simply click and go to the donation websites.

If you're like me and have been spending money on Christmas gifts and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, it feels great to give back to someone else and put my money toward those in need.

Check it out here. I promise you, its worth it!

Jennifer Garner presenting on Save the Children 

Droning On and On...Check Out What Amazon Just Announced

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced Sunday on 60 minutes that Amazon will be offering drone delivery service in the future. If you live within 10 miles of an Amazon distribution center and are an Amazon Prime member, a drone will deliver your package within 30 minutes of your order. Check it out:

What do you think about this announcement? Are droids the new delivery method of the future? 

The Places I Am Shopping on Black Friday

Happy Turkey Leftovers Day!

Hope all you TechKnows had a great Thanksgiving full of turkey, pies, family, and little kids saying funny things that they are thankful for. My little niece blurted out "CUPCAKES!!" as we were all going around naming what we were thankful for.

You and me both, sister.

Anyway, just when you thought you could have time to digest your turkey....Black Friday is upon us. Everything is also now online, since Cyber Monday apparently is not a thing anymore. Really, is it still a thing? Anyone? Bueller?

So, in order to save you some time with your family and football, I have scoured the internet and came up with a list of the best deals that I could find. I know, you're so welcome. You can thank me later... with cupcakes.

Bloglovin

Hey everyone!

Please follow my blog on Bloglovin' to get regular updates!

Check it out here:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

My Visit to the Atlanta Tech Village

What cities make you think tech startups? San Francisco?

New York? Los Angeles?

....Atlanta?

Enter the Atlanta Tech Village, a business complex that was built to foster starting tech companies and create a tech community in Atlanta. Boasting of over 100 tech startups, the Atlanta Tech Village holds events, promotes outings and provides food and drinks to employees all in the name of "creating engineered serendipity". The premise behind this goal is to create opportunities for intelligent people to collaborate and come up with even better ideas, no matter what company they may be working for at the time.

In other words, by creating a roof under which a density of tech companies can live, more ventures could come from accidental idea collaboration. 

At the heart of it all is tech entrepreneur and Kevy CEO, David Cummings. After selling his successful marketing automation company, Pardot, Cummings came up with the idea for a cloud-integration software company and this tech community - seemingly simultaneously. His new company, named Kevy, is housed in the Tech Village, and its president, Ed Trimble, was my tour guide for the day. 

Me, Ed Trimble and Brooke Beach, Kevy Marketer, in front of the Kevy mascot

Startup Space

With all the buzz around this new space, many companies are asking how they can get involved.  But, as Ed pointed out, the Tech Village started filling spaces through the word of Twitter and its website.

"Atlanta Tech Village is only 10 months old," Trimble stated, "and is already the largest co-working space in the Southeast. We didn't really advertise, people found out about it through word of mouth marketing, which shows that there was a big pent up demand for a space like this."

Don't mind me, just getting a little work done

Between the fun, quirky decor, the relaxed atmosphere, the great Buckhead location and the multitude of employee benefits, it's not hard to see why people are scrambling to work here.

Want to work while exercising? Try the treadmill with desk space for your laptop.





Need to take a private call? Try one of their small meeting rooms with an Atlanta theme in each.

Need to get around Buckhead? Take one of the Razor scooters that are provided for employees to borrow.

One of the mottoes of Atlanta Tech Village is "work hard, play hard", and the Tech Village makes sure to do just that. From cardio yoga classes, rock climbing outings to fencing classes, the Tech Village makes sure that there are plenty of opportunities for companies and employees to interact and get to know each other.

Event Space

Atlanta Tech Village hosts several events each week, all focused on helping startups break ground in Atlanta. Every Friday, there is a Startup Chowdown, where ATV provides lunch and allows guests and employees to mingle. Also on the calendar is a Pitch Practice, where startups can bounce their ideas off of each other and perfect their pitching points for sales.

There is also an iOS Developer Study Group, countless award ceremonies, and a Google Developers meetup. You can visit their website for more information on what's coming up soon!

Under Construction

Currently, the Tech Village is under a lot of construction. Cumming's vision includes more space for events, meeting spaces and places businesses to settle into, and even a life-size chess board on the front lawn. This blogger is very excited to see the changes happening in the Atlanta tech community, and will look forward to seeing the building after construction. Who knows? Maybe I will be invited back to document the grand opening after all the construction is done - we'll see! *Crosses fingers hopefully*














Want to see more pictures of my behind-the-scenes tour? View the slideshow below!


What do you think about the Atlanta Tech Village? 

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Broadcast to Bring You....

With art, you always have someone in every medium that pushes the envelope and creates something entirely new and unheard of; artists who try to take some ordinary substance and turn it in to extraordinary pieces of art.

It is no different with social media. As technology progresses, people are finding different ways to use the social media forums given to them to create something the world has never seen before.

These pioneers have done just that. Some have used apps, others have used Tumblr, all producing content that is unique and never-before seen. Enjoy!

Didn't get enough Halloween? Check out the new app Haunting Melissa (iOS). The Producer of The Ring and Mulholland Drive created this ghost story video series that will give you chills. Episode by episode, you will learn the whole story, and experience twists and turns along the way. The interactive story will even let you snap in-app pictures and upload them to Instagram, to make sure you creep out all your friends.

The first app of its kind, Haunting Melissa may change the way producers share their content in the future. Instead of creating a mini-series for TV, more and more video series may show up as interactive apps, which allow for audience participation as well as social interaction. I mean, come on. You know you want to post the creepy ghost pics on your Instagram, tell them that its real and scare the beejezus out of your followers.

You know I will. 

Want more eeriness? Listen to the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. Set in a small desert town, the podcast is played as a radio show that points out the mysterious goings-on, from unexplained lights overhead to disappearing aircraft to bizarre neighbors. Read like a radio show broadcasting the news to this small town, this podcast has become wildly popular due to its original content and dead-pan humor. 

The podcast started a wave of entertainment personalities using podcasts as a story-telling device, rather than simply for interviews, education, marketing or news casting. Like the radio programs of old, podcasts have been rebranded to story-telling devices, and this story...may make you weary of small desert towns from now on.

Humans of New York is a Tumblr profile that takes photo blogging to a whole other level. What started as one man's project to create a photographic census of New York turned into a series of photographs and short stories about the unique people of New York. 

Unique New York. Say that five times fast. 

Instead of the normal memes and Harry Potter/Mean Girls mashups you regularly see on Tumblr, Humans of New York uses the photo sharing platform to tell mini stories about people he encountered. Potentially, more and more people could use Tumblr  to facilitate photo-journalism and news bullets.

Not that I'm hating on Harry Potter/Mean Girls mashups.

Speaking of great Tumblr users, Electric Literature is an indie publishing company that has revolutionized the book publishing process. Instead of traditional book printing, Electric Lit makes releases eBooks as well as a magazine called Recommended Reading that can be seen on either their app or on Tumblr.

They were also the driving force behind author Ricky Moody creating an entire short story simply using Twitter.  Charged with the task of creating a story using a series of Tweets, Moody wrote "Some Contemporary Characters", a tale of two online daters whose date does not succeed. Unlike other stories that have been produced using Twitter, Moody wrote this with Twitter in mind, using the social media platform to create these two characters and develop their personalities to the readers. Even thought this project was met with a lot of media backlash, Electric Literature became well known and succeeded in gaining many interested readers.

Question: where can amateur film makers go to market their movies and connect with their fanbase? Look no further than Chill, a website that will advertise and distribute your movie, and allow fans to follow their favorite producers. If someone produces a mini-series, Chill will email their viewers to alert them of any upcoming episodes or to sell any merchandise made for the movie. They have revolutionized the way that movie makers are able to distribute their content: no longer having to show their groundbreaking footage for free on a shaky YouTube platform.

These are just a few examples of some social media pioneers. Do you know of any not shown on this list?   

HaPpY BiRtHdAy GoOgLe!!!!

Happy 15th birthday, Google! From all of us Google fans out there, you have made our lives easier and more complete.

Keep doing what you do, Google.

In honor of Google's birthday, I have decided to give you a list of my favorite Google easter eggs - that is, fun things you can do with the Google homepage, as well as some Youtube, Google Earth and Google Hangout. Seriously, pull up the Google homepage now and get to searching. You WON'T regret it.

Google Homepage

Google in 1998: In honor of their birthday, Google just came out with the "Google in 1998" easter egg. Just enter those words into the search bar and get a blast from the past.

Google Gravity: Click this link to have your Google world come crashing down: http://www.mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google-gravity/

Askew or Tilt: Search "askew" or "tilt" then try really hard not to tilt your head. 

Barrel Roll: Search "do a barrel roll" or "z or r twice", an homage to the video game Star Fox 64.  

Google Interfaces: Google has made different interfaces over the past years. Here's one for pirates, one for the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, one for hackers, and one for those who are more pig latin inclined. 

YouTube 

Beam Me Up, Scotty: Search these words in your YouTube box for an out-of-this-world surprise.

Use The Force, Luke: Enter these words in your search bar to control your screen using the force. 

Ponies or Bronies: If you enter "ponies" or "bronies" in the YouTube search bar, YouTube will not only pull up "My Little Pony" videos, but ponies will come prancing across your screen. Ummm...yes please. 

Google Hangout 

/ponies: If you enter "/ponies" in your chat bar, a pony will run across your Google Hangout. Copy and paste for a whole stream of ponies. OR...

/ponystream: is for if you want a pony stream across your screen and your screen only. 

/shydino: "/shydino" will make a cute dino run across your chat and hide. 

/pitchforks: Like angry mobs? well "/pitchforks" is for you! Enter it in your chat, and an angry mob will run across!  

Google Play 

Unicorns: If you don't enter anything in the search box and click search anyway, Google Play will direct your search results to "unicorns".

What are your favorite Google easter eggs? Let me know! 

Reliving your childhood? There's an app for that.

Hey lovely techknows! I apologize for being MIA lately, I have had work project after work project, then a car accident...sigh. I could do with a vacation right about now.

Anyways, in order to apologize for my absence, I have decided to scour the internet for apps that would remind you of your childhood.

These apps are a serious blast from the past. Be prepared to go buy them instantly and then spend the rest of the afternoon raising your Tamagotchi. Yeah, you read that right. 

For those of us who could never keep our Tamagotchi alive for more than a couple days, there is an app that will let you vindicate your poor virtual pet keeping skills. After all, we're older now right? Tamagotchi Life (Android & iOS)  helps you relive the days of feeding your Tamagotchi under your desk so that the teacher couldn't see. Not like I did that...or anything...

For those who spent their afternoons in the arcades as kids, Atari's Greatest Hits (Android & iOS) might be the app for you. Relive the golden age of gaming, where pixelated spaceships were your worst enemy. And no quarters needed! 

90s kids, level with me. You always took your mom's Nokia phone and played Snake on it, right? I mean, that game was hours upon hours of entertainment. And you only needed the numbers 2,4,6 and 8 to play it. Now you can download Snake Classic (iOS), an app remake of the game that even includes phone number controls! I feel 13 again. 

And just where would your childhood have been without your favorite rainbow accesssories? That's right, Lisa Frank has an app. Two, in fact.  Lisa Frank Pic n' Share (Android & iOS) and Lisa Frank Zoom n' Color (Android & iOS) help you reenter that rainbow technicolor world you know and love. Pic n' Share lets you set the scene by dragging and droping Lisa Frank characters into backgrounds of your choice. Zoom n' Color is a virtual coloring book that lets you choose your paint color to fill in a Lisa Frank picture. Warning: looking at Lisa Frank for more than a couple minutes at a time may cause over stimulation and serious migraines. Like, was it really THIS technicolored when we were little? SHEESH.

Dysentery, ahoy! Remember Oregon Trail (Android & iOS)? Once again, make decisions for your pioneers as they cross treacherous trails and rivers to tame the frontier. But seriously, what is dysentery? And why did EVERYONE always die from it?!

There was nothing more stressful as a kid as Frogger (Android & iOS). Keep your frog alive as you hop across the highway once again with this free app.

Know of any other apps that remind you of your childhood? Seriously, when are they coming out with a channel that just plays vintage Disney Channel movies and "All That" reruns?! 

Going to the Movies

Whether its staying in with a bag of popcorn or going out to the theater, horray for Hollywood! I love movies, especially anything that involves Pixar, Disney, happy endings and brightly colored shiny things to hold my attention.

Nobody claimed I wasn't a seven-year-old trapped in a 23-year-old's body.

However, the movie experience can be made even MORE enjoyable through...what, class? Anyone? Bueller?

That's right, technology! There are so many apps and websites that will make sure you get the right movie-going experience or chose the right movie. After all, movies are like, $20 now. It would almost cost you the same to see a bad movie as it would to buy a plane ticket and go throw tomatoes at the director/screenwriters house.

I'm just saying.

To start, you need the basics of movie-going apps. Apps like Fandango (Windows, Android & iOS) will tell you what is playing in a theater near you. It will also let you preview the movie and buy movie tickets right from your phone. So when the midnight premiere of the new Superman/Batman movie with Ben Afflek goes on sale, you will be able to buy tickets before everyone else!
\
Just kidding, no one will be there.

Speaking of bad movie decisions, Rotten Tomatoes by Flixster (Windows, Android & iOS) is a movie rating app that shows you what the critics think about a certain movie (is that an actual job? movie critic?) to what rating actual moviegoers gave it. Save yourself some time and read what other people say about the movie you are thinking of seeing. Just watch out for the spoilers!

RunPee (Windows, Android & iOS) wins the award for Most Useful App That No One Actually Knew They Needed. Seriously. Turn this app on at the start of your movie, and it will tell you the best times to go use the little girls/boy's room. It will tell you how much time you have to make it there and back, and will give you a synopsis of what you missed while you were gone. I always have to pee during movies (darn you, 40-0z jumbo soda!) so this app is the best invention, hands down.

We all know the feeling: "O darn. That guy, that was in that movie...the guy with the hair....and the teeth! You know the one I'm talking about!" Breathe easy, my friend, and iMDB that ish (Windows, Android &iOS). It has saved me many a times from only remembering the name of that actor/actress 30 minutes after the conversation has ended, believe you me.

Not sure what to Netflix? Try Movie Twist (Android & iOS). This app allows you to type in the name of a favorite movie and will recommend other movies that are similar to that one. Or click "explore" and tell the app how much of the following characteristics you want in your movie: loving, funny, violent, thrilling or clever; and it will also give you great recommendations.

Except "White Men Can't Jump". Stop giving me that recommendation, darn it!

For those who want a different movie watching experience, Chill is a website that was created for those lesser-known filmmakers to exploit their talents, allowing users to rent and watch their movies, and then support their projects. Chill is equal parts Kickstarter and Pinterest for movies, and some movie projects even have a merchandise store, so you can wear your support. It is definitely worth taking a look at on a slow Friday night.

Also, I need this.


What are some of your favorite movie apps? Comment below to let me know!

Most Distracting Apps

Warning...do not open these apps at work. Productivity will go down 100%.

These apps are oddly addicting and will be just what you need on that long car ride to the beach or when your Grouper date won't stop talking about his/her job.

I mean seriously, I don't really care how drunk you got at your company's Christmas party. I really don't.

Dots (iOS, Android & Kindle Fire) because, really. Dots is the best thing ever. Who came up with a game of connect-the-dots and made it so darn addicting? You will do this for HOURS and come out of it realizing: What the crap have I accomplished today?! Answer: nothing, but you sure had fun doing it. And it just came out on Android and Kindle Fire. Dots party!

Zillow (iOS, Android) - This one may be for the older crowd, but does anyone know WHY looking at all of the houses for sale around you is so much fun? And why I do it everywhere I go? Most. Distracting. Real. Estate. App. Ever.

Knotch (iOS) and Seesaw (iOS) are great time-spending apps for the opinionated among us. Knotch lets you judge a topic hot or cold by color coding it - red for hot, blue for cold, and any color in between. Pick the color based on how you feel about the topic, and make a comment along with it to explain your choice. Seesaw allows you to ask either "yes or no" or multiple choice questions to a multitude of people. Pick pictures to go along with your question, and sit back and let people answer. You can also browse and answer other people's questions.

We all know about Pinterest  as a distraction, but for the DIY-ers among us, craftgawker (iOS) is like a Pinterest just for crafts. In fact, the company that makes this app, gawkerverse, has specific apps for any of your interests, such as foodgawker, stylegawker, weddinggawker and dwellinggawker. So...gawk away.

For those of us who like funny pictures/memes, check out apps like the Chive (iOS, Android) or Buzzfeed (iOS, Android).


What are your favorite apps to open when you are bored? 

Best Vines You Need to Follow - NOW.

Hopefully by now you should all know about the social media app Vine (because after all, I did post about it here first). If not, let me give you the 411.

Vine is a video sharing site that lets you take 6-second videos and post them to a feed to share with your friends. Its sort of like a moving Instagram.

How good can videos that only last 6 seconds get? See for yourself. I have compiled a list of my favorite Vine users with a little help from the Facebook group Best Vines and Mashable.

Creative: 

Yves Das

Jethro Ames

Ian Padgham

Educational:

Nordstrom

Lowes

Labanauskaite123

Funny:

Jerry Purpdrank:

KingBach and watch this and this

Brandon Calvillo

Jerome Jarre and watch  this

dem_white_boyz

kingdaddy

David Lopez


And these Vines that tell the truth:

How I leave rooms after turning off the lights

How I feel when I close my eyes when I wash my face

If you like it, then you should've put a ring on it

Expectation vs Reality when I do the cup song