Welcome! Are you an over scheduled mom with little time to figure out technology? Or are you a technology guru who loves sharing tips with others?
We cover different ways to make technology work for you without spending hours researching and learning how to do it on your own.
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by Lori Cunningham
While at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Techlicious invited me to a great mom blogger event where they showcased the new Sony Tablet S and two companies whose app/online program greatly aid moms and their families (AboutOne and A Day at Dollar General: Learn While Shopping). AboutOne has just become available and offers one place to keep all of our valuable info. on your family like records on health, home, vehicle, education, family contacts, and more. A Day at Dollar General is a great online program to teach your kids about saving your money and shopping wisely in a fun educational way, I highly recommend it, my kids have enjoyed it…and it’s free.
The Sony Tablet S
Back to the Sony Tablet S. All of the bloggers present were thrilled to try out the new Tablet S. It’s unique design was very intriguing and we were interested in discovering how such an entertainment mogul as Sony would customize their own tablet with entertainment possibilities. Sony gave each of us a Tablet S* to try out for ourselves. Once everyone received their Tablet S, the room grew silent as all the mom techs fervently swiped through windows and opened apps. The Tablet S has a number of impressive features: Features:
- Ergonomic – thicker on the top, slender at the bottom – designed to fit comfortably in your hand. Is also useful for typing when set on a table.
 Built-in IR controls allow you to control your TV, DVR, Receiver, and more!
- Built-in Universal IR Remote Control your devices – has a great remote control app that gives you the ability to control your TV, Blue-Ray player, receiver, and more
- 1 GB RAM memory – you can open many apps at once without loss of processing power
- 1 GHz Dual core processor
- 16 or 32 GB memory storage
- Full size SD card expansion for additional memory – slick!
- WiFi – b/g/n connection
- Android 3.1 – Honeycomb
- Dual cameras – front and 5 mp rear cameras
- 9.4″ (1280×800) touch panel
- Mini USB port
- Supports Flash
- PS3 certified and preloaded with PS3 games
- DLNA compliant – flick your pics and video to your DLNA compliant TV (pretty cool!)
Pros:
- Love the menu button within each app on the Android – iPad doesn’t have this
- Love the back button available in each app – iPad doesn’t have this
- The only Android Honeycomb tablet with built-in IR Universal Remote Control feature is great – easy to set up and use. Temporarily misplaced your TV remote? No longer an issue, use your Tablet S… or play dueling remotes with your husband!
- Playing the included PS3 titles are fun – great graphics (Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes)
- Easy to hold – the Tablet S is slightly triangular in form so that it is easier to hold in your hand for longer time periods
 This is the iMediaShare app on Tablet S that I used to "flick" pictures, videos, and other online programming up to my TV.
- The full-size SD card slot is great – you can expand memory without having to buy a larger GB Tablet S
- Great graphics with nice blacks for contrast
Cons:
- The Power button is on the side – I have to search for it every time to turn on the tablet
- Not a lot of availability yet for cases
- The AC Adapter is not a standard one, so you must have the Sony Tablet S adapter to charge your Tablet S – it is not compatible with your current chargers
- The WiFi capability is not strong and often drops. My other devices do a much better job at keeping the signal in the same room. This is a major concern.
Pricing
The Sony Tablet S comes in two memory sizes and priced proportionality:
- 16 GB $399.99
- 32 GB $499.99
With the new iPad priced at $499 for GB, Sony does provide a better value, more entertainment options, and a similar resolution camera.
Flick Your Pictures to Your TV?
You may have heard this term, “flicking your pictures to your TV” thrown around, but what exactly does it mean? The term “flick” means you can send the pictures, music, or video to your TV or other DNLA compliant device. OK, but what does DNLA mean and how do you know if your device is DLNA compliant? DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance. According to Wikipedia,
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a non-profit collaborative trade organization established by Sony in June 2003, that is responsible for defining interoperability guidelines to enable sharing of digital media between consumer devices such as computers, printers, cameras, cell phones, and other multimedia devices. These guidelines are built upon existing public standards, but the guidelines themselves are private (available for a fee). These guidelines specify a set of restricted ways of using the standards in order to achieve interoperability.[3]
DLNA allows for devices with the DLNA protocol built-in to talk to discover, manage media, and control one another. Using software programs or apps, you can pick a video, song, or picture…look at your list of DLNA compliant devices, and “flick” the media to the device. All DLNA devices need to be connected to your network to work together.
Any device I buy I make sure they are DLNA compliant. All of our TV’s have DLNA, along with our new receiver, Ditto Media Storage drive, etc. This way I can show pictures or play music from my computer or phone on any of our TV’s. Sony preloaded an app called iMediaShare. I “flicked” up some great “pretty” pictures on our TV in our family room during a party – a scene of a castle, a sunset, etc. It was easy to do and really added to our atmosphere. This weekend, we had some friends over and we played the Kinect Black-eyed Peas Experience (what a fun game!). I shot photos and videos of everyone dancing and flicked them up to the TV, they loved it! I’ve never been able to display pictures so fast on a TV before. Love it.
PS3 Games…on a Tablet?
During the Techlicious Blogger event, I got the chance to play the Pinball Heroes game on the tablet with a PS3 controller. That was really fun. To connect your PS3 controller to your S tablet, you first need to buy a Tablet S USB dongle and follow these online instructions. It really added to the excitement of playing Pinball Heroes and Crash Bandicoot using a PS3 controller – it took my gameplay to another level. I don’t have the USB dongle at home, but I just ordered one so I can use our PS3 controller with the Tablet S at home with my six-year old son, I know he’ll love it, as he’s a fan of Crash Bandicoot.
Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited
Sony has recently introduced two new entertainment options across all their platforms called Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited. One login gets you into both. In Video Unlimited you can rent or buy SD and HD videos. I purchased the Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix*, as my nine-year old has made us all Harry Potter fans. The movie was 1700 mb, so I have plenty of room on my 16GB Tablet S to house the movie.
I browsed through Music Unlimited and enjoyed 15 second clips of music from the songs I chose. I was trying to determine which Taylor Swift album my daughter would enjoy the most. But then I realized that unlike Video Unlimited, Music Unlimited requires a monthly subscription, so I didn’t purchase it. Sony does offer the first month free but then you will be billed automatically to your credit card afterwards. The monthly cost is $9.99. However, you then have any album or song at your fingertips ready to play at a moment’s notice. You can listen to the music on any of your Sony devices…smartphone, tablet, TV, receivers, network speakers, etc. You can even create playlists.
More and more data is moving to the cloud which makes it handier and more accessible to us. No longer do you need to buy mp3′s, now you have access to them all anywhere with a monthly subscription. As I am a PS3 Ambassador, I can’t wait to further explore the synergies between the PS3 and the PS Vita with regards to gaming, pictures, music, and more. It’s so exciting what the future of technology and access of data will bring. Sony with its media powerhouse of music, movies, and games will continue to drive innovation and synergies.
* I was given a Sony S tablet and a code for use in the Music/Video Unlimited app in exchange for my honest feedback. All expressed opinions are my own.
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By Jennifer Comet Wagner
Editor’s Note: Jennifer Comet Wagner is a fellow mom techie and good friend of mine. She blogs about connecting
with your teens through pop culture and technology at ConnectwithYourTeens.net. She recently authored the ebook,
The Gamer Generation: Reaping the Benefits of Video Games. She can also be found on
her website http://www.jennifercometwagner.com.
Parents have many things to worry about. It comes with the job. However, one of the things that many
parents worry about needlessly is playing video games. As you will see, gaming conveys many benefits
to the player, with very little downside.
Why don’t you know about these benefits? The newspapers love to write stories about violence in video
games because it sells. However there have been hundreds of studies during the last decade on video
games benefits and some that also show that violent video games do not create violent kids. The fact
that parents were only hearing one side of the story was the reason that I decided to write The Gamer
Generation: Reaping The Benefits of Video Games.
Here is a list of the various benefits discussed the in the ebook:
In my book, The Gamer Generation, I share many resources – articles, books, websites, videos, etc.
1. Socialization – For most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component of their overall
social experience.
2. Physical and Health Benefits – With all the new motion controllers, kids don’t sit still while
playing anymore. Video games are being created to help with a number of medical conditions.
3. Violence in Video Games: The Studies You Don’t See – “Video games are bad for you? That’s
what they said about Rock ‘n Roll.” There are a number of studies that disprove the theory that
violent video games make gamers violent.
4. Cognitive and Creative Benefits – Today’s video games are so complex that gamers become
experts at multitasking with improved cognitive processing.
5. Video Games in Education – Kids enjoy learning when they are having fun. And games are
perfect for education with the game design of clear goals, leveling up, ability to risk take and
rewards.
6. Educational Value of Video Game Creation – “It is paradoxical that many educators and parents
still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital
connection between them.”
 Author Jennifer Comet Wagner with a character from Pop Cap's Plants Vs. Zombies. 7. Business and Careers – In Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, players develop the
ability to multitask, think creatively, work in teams, and become leaders.
8. Serious Games – “Serious games are games with purpose beyond just providing entertainment.”
Serious games are being created in many areas that are impacting the world with charitable and
other endeavors.
9. Family Connections – Video games can bring families together. There are so many family
friendly games that families can spend hours having fun together.
A recent article that I’d like to recommend is Are Video Games Good for Girls? This is another excellent
article that brings out many of the benefits of video games.
As long as your kids play age-appropriate games, and don’t play every waking moment, gaming is not
something to worry about at all. It can actually be a very good thing. Give it a try so that you too might
reap the benefits of video games.
To find out more, you can find Jennifer Comet Wagner’s ebook, The Gamer Generation: Reaping the Benefits of Video Games at Amazon.com.
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By Jamie Wiersma
Our family recently downloaded Oceanhouse Media’s omBook “Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping” by Eileen Christelow on our iPad2 (available for most devices). Mama takes her five little monkeys shopping the day before school. While they are in the store the monkeys keep wandering off. Will Mama ever have all of her monkeys together again? If you are familiar with the Five Little Monkeys series, you already know that these are great books. But, the digital version is even more enjoyable for little kids because it is very interactive through fun monkey noises and words that zoom up and are spoken when pictures are touched.
There are three ways that this omBook can be read – Read to Me (listen to the narrated story with words highlighted as they are read), Read it Myself (read the book in its traditional form), and Auto Play (plays like a movie, automatically reading and turning pages.) The “Read to Me” version is great for my 5-year old. He is able to follow along as the words are highlighted while the story is being read.
Things That Make this Digital Book Great:
- It incorporates early math by adding and subtracting the monkeys when they run off and then come back to Ma
 ma.
- The audio is great – the monkey noises and other surrounding sounds are very cute and add a lot to the story.
- The book encourages early reading through picture/word association. The words zoom up and are spoken when pictures are touched. Early readers can also follow along with the highlighted words while the book is being read.
- The pictures are bright and colorful.
A Few Cons:
- It is not so great for my almost two-year old who likes to swipe at the iPad. His little fingers have figured out how to interrupt the story which then requires you to answer a prompt asking you if you want to continue or not. Then it starts that same page again. It’s probably an iPad thing, but it does get annoying. Especially on Auto Play it would be nice if the pages stayed locked.
- I think it could be even better if there was more touch interaction on the math side of things.
A Mom’s Perspective
Overall, both my almost 2-year old and my 5-year old really enjoy “Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping.” The book is probably best suited for ages 3 – 6. I would definitely recommend the book to any parent that is looking for cute books to download for your child that also encourage additional learning skills in math and reading. The app is available at iTunes for $2.99. If you enjoy this book, Oceanhouse Media has a ton of other children’s digital books available such as Dr. Seuss, The Berenstain Bears, more Five Little Monkey books as well as many others.
* I was given a code to download “Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping” for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.
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