Ah yes, I remember it well

In my previous life – BSJ – my office desk, computer, bathroom mirror, and other surfaces were covered with Post-It Notes.

Some To-Do’s were vital; i.e. Send invoice to client. Others, mundane, as in Laundry. And still others, pathetic: No ice cream!

Then, the sky opened, sunlight filled the continent, and Steve Jobs ordered, "Thou shalt have Macs." Suddenly, ancient tree products and writing instruments were old hat, and programs or applications available on Apple computers, iPhones, iPods, and iPads replaced all of those Pitman-penmanship stickies.

Because #1 on my current To Do list reads, Play nice and share, I've decided to offer you a few apps and web sites that might come to your rescue. They’re likely available on non-Apple devices, but why go there?

1) Awesome Note Lite is a free Apple app that reviewers consider "ten times better" than Notes, Apple‘s default program. The same critic sniffs that the Notes application is very limited, and "Awesome Notes is a worthy solution and replacement for it."

He (oh, I'm sure it's a "he") says the biggest difference between Apple's Notes and Awesome Notes is that the latter allows you to organize your notes into folders. He says a bunch of other stuff, which you can find on the app's own page in the App store.

2) Evernote is my current favorite in this productivity category. Like the above, it's free and it's heralded for "turning the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life." You can save notes, ideas, snapshots, and recordings and the material instantly synchronizes across your devices. I like its ability to send yourself an e-mail, which I do to further remind me that I have a reminder. Oy,

3) Remember the Milk is a long-time free app that also travels between Apple products. It has an online service that syncs, and it can send reminders via email, SMS (Short Message Service), and instant messenger.

4) ReQall is free and useful when you don’t have time to write down an idea or reminder. Just tap the ReQall app and speak or type whatever you want to remember. ReQall can send you a reminder via voice, text message, instant message, email, or calendar alert.

5) Despite what the defamer said in Option 1, I still think Apple's Notes, which lives on the Home page of your iPhone, iPod, or iPad, is a useful list-maker. It automatically syncs to your Mobile Me mail account, and you can manually e-mail your lists (you can make as many as you want) to your other e-mail services. Naturally, it's free.

Now, with my publication of this post, I can perform a step that is the beauty part of every reminder and list-making service. I can check off, "Write blog on remembering." Done!

Apps for Valentine's Day

While shopping at Target on Sunday, my husband and I paused before entering the checkout lane. We looked at each other then split in opposite directions. Upon returning to our goods, Tommy dropped into the cart -- among the Diet Coke, No Caffeine and Vanity Fair Everyday Napkins -- a heart-shaped box of Russell Stover candies. I tossed in a glittery card, "To My Wonderful Husband, Happy Valentine's Day." With no attempt to hide our purchases, we headed toward the shortest line. Who says romance is dead?

That's us, maybe not you. So, as a favor to those who mush about the upcoming holiday, I've gathered some apps to help make hearts flutter.

1. Be Mine Lite is a free Valentine's Day Card Creator. It comes loaded with backgrounds, hearts, cupids, kisses and more. You can save your cards, send them through email, or share on Facebook. It's universal, which means you can use it on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

2. iCelebrate ~ Valentine's Day app costs $0.99, but that's not much to pay to set a romantic tone for the night. It streams love-inspired Smooth Jazz, Easy Listening, and Soul/R&B music. It can display either candlelit tables, a big red heart, or a New York City balcony at night.

3. Flower Coach by Teleflora is free and helps you write the perfect romantic greeting, including sweet, sexy, silly, traditional, Shakespeare-ish and hip-hop. And, you'll save 10% on your next bouquet.

4. Instant Poetry HD is a bit pricier at $1.99. But think of the fun you'll have as you create beautiful, passionate, and romantic poetry. Use your own pictures as backgrounds, tap a button to pop up some words, then drag them around the screen to design your masterpiece.

5. Open Table is free and uses your current location to provide a list of available restaurants. Search by city, neighborhood, cuisine or price. Valentine's Day is notoriously busy and expensive, but if you're undeterred, use this app to find a description, photos and reviews. Bon appetit!

6. Kiss N Blow costs $0.99. You blow a kiss into your iPhone, and have it sent to your Valentine via email or text messaging. Select from a variety of themes: Green Kiss (environmentally friendly), Eskimo Kiss (with your nose) Romantic Kiss, and Scuba Kiss, (from Underwater).

7. Now, if all of the above leaves you nauseous rather than excited, here's an app you might prefer: Love Sucks, a $0.99 app that recognizes Valentine’s Day isn’t for all. It displays anti-Valentine’s Day candy heart images of Love Sux, You Suck, and I'm Cheating.

Happy Valentine's Day!

iPhone IPad iSnob

Alas, Target is carrying the iPad and it's rumored that Walmart will be next. I don’t mean to be a snob, but I think customers will miss some of the Apple store experience if they purchase the device from one of those two megastores.

I haven’t seen Walmart’s supposed display, but at my local Target, although accessories were in plain view, the iPads themselves were stored in their boxes and locked in a cabinet. No ability to ooh aah or test drive.


But, I understand the demands of marketing to wider audiences. As a favor to those buyers of iPads who go the non-Apple route, and to all of the new iPhone users who may have missed my earlier How-to column, I’m going to repeat some jewels and add a few new tips. A caveat, this column is wholly the opinion of its author; it’s not vetted or endorsed by Apple. Having said that (I love that phrase, but have few chances to use it, so humor me.), here we go:

1. Download the User Guide. This works for both the iPhone and iPad. Go to Safari, Apple’s browser. Look for the tiny image that looks like an open book. That’s Safari’s Bookmark. Click on that and on the option menu you’ll see User Guide. Next, hit the plus () sign. When asked what you want to do with this page, select Add to Home Screen. Voilà, the guide is now on your Home Screen where you can refer to it as needed.


2. Safari’s plus and Home Screen trick works for any other web sites you’d like downloaded. Let’s say you’re reading this blog on either Apple device and you want to save it for later reading, or you want to do the same for my website, Elaine Soloway Public Relations. Hit the plus sign and down either site will go to your Home Screen. No need to go back to your browser, I’ll, um, I mean “they” will pop up with one touch.


3. This is a frequent question asked by iPhone users. How do I upload photos to Facebook? Take the photo with your iPhone camera, and save it in your Camera Roll. Then, open Facebook (let’s assume you’ve already downloaded the app and have kept it updated), and look for the little camera to the left of the horizontal space called, What’s on your mind? (Don’t write anything in that space.) After you’ve clicked on that tiny camera and you are given the option of Take Photo or Video, or Choose From Library, select the latter. When the desired photo appears, add a caption, upload, and it will soon appear on your Facebook page.


4. This works for the iPhone and iPad. When writing text on an email, and you’ve made an error in the middle of a word, it’s not necessary to use the “x” to go backwards and erase all you’ve already written. Simply place your finger on the error (think of your finger as a cursor) and a magnifying glass will appear. Guide the cursor to the spot and make the correction. Now move your finger/cursor back to the end of the line to complete your email.

5. This is another text tip. If you want to make some of letters on your iPhone accented, tap the letter, pause, and a trio of accented letters appears. Select your choice and it will be in the text. (Thanks to friend Frances Archer for reminding me of this trick.)


If I haven’t answered your questions, here’s an idea: check out the User Guide. You’ll find it on your Home Screen.

Turning to Tech for Homework Help

Have you seen my Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume EVA to FRA? I’ve been searching for that reference book since 1948.

Back-to-school stories have sparked my memory of those glossy pages and the frantic hunts that took place the night before a homework assignment was due.

Nowadays, missing volumes, or your lack of calculus acumen needn't challenge. To the rescue, come Google References, Mac OS X, iPhones, and the Internet.

Turn to your Google search button for these aides:

1. Calculator. To use Google's built-in calculator, enter the calculation you'd like done into the search box. Let's say, $2.87 (my last gas price) x 5.13 (gallons purchased). Do the math and you'll learn how much I paid for a half a tank. (1990 Honda Civic)

2. Unit Conversion. You can use Google to convert between many different units of measurement of height, weight, and volume among many others. Just enter your desired conversion into the search box and the site will do the rest. Their example, 10.5 cm in inches. (Answer: 4.13385827 inches. See how easy that was?)

3. Public Data. This feature is more useful for high school and college students. It provides trends for population and unemployment rates of U.S. states and counties. Type "population" or "unemployment rate" followed by a state or county, and you’ll get your answer.

4. Fill in the Blank. Sometimes the best way to ask a question is to get Google to ‘fill in the blank.’ Add an asterisk (*) at the part of the sentence or question that you want finished into the Google search box. (FYI. George Clooney was born May 6, 1961.)

Mac OS X

1. Dictionary Definitions. To see a definition for a word or phrase, type the word into the Spotlight at the very upper right hand corner of your screen. A definition, as well as Mac's built-in Dictionary application, pops up. You'll find the word's meaning, as well as a Thesaurus. (My example, since I used "searching" in paragraph one, I wanted to avoid a repeat in two. Hence: "hunts.")




iPhone users can turn to a variety of free apps for their homework buddy.

1. The free app, My Homework, is one popular example and it's currently the no. 2 most downloaded education app in the App Store. It lets students keep track of their classes, homework assignments, projects, and tests, with a simple (the developer's description) user interface.

2. College students may be interested in iStudiez Pro, which is more tailored to university studies. This app helps you keep track of lecture and lab sessions, tasks, homework, scheduling, etc. At $2.99, it's currently the no. 1 most popular paid education app in the App Store.


No smart phone? No problem. Go to the Internet and check out these websites:

1. Math.com provides everything a student or parent needs to know about Basic Math, Everyday Math, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, and Calculus. It even offers math tutoring.
2. At Homeworkhelp.com, students are taught how to learn. This site’s curriculum developers "are experienced classroom teachers who help students understand concepts, not just memorize them."

3. Point your mouse to Studentquestions.com, submit a question and offer an optional commission. The question will be automatically emailed to all the tutors, instantly alerting and giving them an incentive to give you homework help (non-commissioned questions are only posted).


Now that I’ve helped you out, you can do me a favor. Check your closet, bookshelf, and under the sofa cushions. Did I happen to leave my EVA to FRA at your house?

A Very Long Distance Birthday Greeting

It was an unfamiliar ringtone. I was expecting two early morning phone calls. From my daughters, Boston and Los Angeles. I knew when I picked up the phone, instead of “hello,” I’d be treated to choruses of “Happy Birthday To You.”

But this ringtone announced neither my daughter Faith (Piano Riff) or Jill (Pinball). It sounded familiar; something heard long ago. From my childhood?


Yes, that was it! “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon” being sung in Yiddish by the Andrew Sisters. A 1940s hit for Jews. I certainly hadn’t assigned that ring to any in my contact list. It wasn’t an option on my iPhone and the tune wasn’t listed in my iTunes library, so how could it attach itself to a caller?





And then I remembered my iPhone’s special abilities. It could relay phone calls between Heaven and Earth. Sure enough, calling me on my phone’s Conference Call feature, were my long-deceased parents, Irv and Min Shapiro, major characters in my memoir, “The Division Street Princess.”

I put my ear to the phone and as the Andrew Sisters wound up, I heard my mother and father belting out, “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you.” They weren’t half bad.

Before I could respond, my mother jumped in, “We knew you’d be up early, so we wanted to be the first to call.”

“Hi Princess,” it was my dad. “Surprised?’

“That’s hardly the word,” I said. My delight prevented tears.

“We’re so proud of you,” they said in unison. To myself I thought, how nice to hear them agreeable. When alive, their frequent tiffs made the child I was quite unhappy.

“First it was the memoir,” Dad said. “And now your retail job. Just like at Irv’s Finer Foods. Remember your cigar box register?”


“How could I forget?” I answered. “I was so full of myself waiting on customers in my sundries section. I can still see little me holding that box as if it were a treasure chest.”

“I wish you didn’t have to stand on your feet all day.” It was Mother. I recalled she hadn’t been that crazy about wearing an apron or standing behind a counter in our grocery store. She believed the stained cloth disguised her glamour. But that could never happen. Not with her blue eyes, raven hair, costume jewelry, and high-heeled shoes.

“It’s not so bad,” I said. “I can wear my running shoes.”

“Hmmph,” from Mother. “You look like a kid in that outfit,” she said. “They couldn’t let you wear a dress? Why a t-shirt?”

“It’s all about the logo and a feeling of casual and comfort in the store,” I explained.

I couldn’t see her expression (FaceTime was still being worked on up there), but I imagined a roll of those beautiful blues.

“I see how you ring things up on that gadget you keep in your pocket,” Dad said. “Quite impressive.”

From Mom, “It wasn’t impressive I could pencil a customer’s order on a brown paper bag? Add it up in my head? That wasn’t impressive?”

“Sweetheart,” Dad started.

I interrupted. “No, no, of course. You were amazing, Mom. I remember standing at the counter next to you, wondering if I’d ever be as smart as you.”


“And I never went beyond Tuley High School,” Mother said. “Imagine if I had your education, Elaine.”

“What about me?” Dad asked. “Grammar school was it. I had to go to work…”

I felt those old vibrations and jumped in. “You were both spectacular,” I said. Now came the tears. “I can’t thank you enough for all you've given me. You made me who I am today.”


Calm on the other end. Then, together, “And, it wouldn’t hurt your daughters to give us a call now and then. They’ve got iPhones.”

“Are you kidding?” I said. “The minute I hang up, I’ll let them know the lines are open. Expect their calls.”

“Don’t forget Princess,” Dad said. “Have a Happy Birthday.”

“Of course,” Mom added. “Why does she think we called?”