Live & Google Doc

On this blog, we were asked to contrast and compare Doc and Live.  Of the two, Live is probably the one I'd use the most, for the simple fact of, hotmail is the mail I use and I'm more familiar with it.  I like the features of both, however.

When I checked out Live, first of all, I like the calendar and Skydrive.  The calendar helps me keep up with future events, as well as sending me a reminder for what I have coming up.  I also like the to-do feature.  I am familiar with Word, so it's a cool feature to have access to, for free, and then also be able to get to my documents from any computer.  Having my email account there is also a plus.  MSN is an information site that I really enjoy having to keep up with whatever is going on.  All in all, Live is easier to use and the features are right there at the top when I need to find what I'm looking for.

Google Doc, I liked it, but I thought it was a little bit more confusing to use.  I've always used Google as a search engine, but, as far as using doc, I'm not sure I would use it.  The sharing feature is cool, but, honestly, I really don't share my documents, so I don't feel like it's something I'd ever use. I did look around the site, and it's very informative and makes understanding Doc not to bad to figure out, but I'd still prefer to use Live.

So, Google or Live?!?! For me, it's Live!

Dropbox, Evernote, and Box....

In this blog, we were asked to check out and review Dropbox, Evernote, and Box.  Of the 3, I really liked Dropbox, and actually, before I even went to the site and downloaded it, I was going to check out this new song and it was through Dropbox.  So, I'm liking this one already!

I checked out Dropbox first.  I think it's awesome that I can share my files.  I've already posted it on Facebook and Twitter and earned extra storage.  I'm always adding pictures to Facebook, but now it's easy to add to my Twitter account too.  It's easy to use.  I love the drag and drop.  Being free makes it pretty cool too.  I haven't used it for anything else, but I think it's something I'll keep using.  I need to add it to my Ipod and phone.  Syncing makes it awesome!

Evernote was the next site I downloaded.  I liked the concept of the site.  Being able to go to a website and choose whether or not you want the entire site or just a portion of it was cool.  It was a little confusing for me to get it dowloaded, and I haven't really looked around the site other than just checking out the features.  I think it's a cool idea.  Being able to have documents or pictures in a folder and being able to access from anywhere.  It's probably something I'll use more too.

I didn't really like the Box site.  Granted there is a 14 day free trial, but I'm not going to pay for something I can get from the other two for free.

So, of the three sites we were asked to look at, I really liked Dropbox and Evernote the best, Dropbox being my favorite for sure.  Such cool sites that I never would have known about otherwise.

In this blog, we were asked to find 4 ways to efficiently search with Google.  These are a few of the ways I found: 1) To use quotes.  If you're looking for a specific term, use quotation marks and type in that exact quote.  2)Don't use words you don't need.  Adding extra words may hinder your actual results.  Less is definately more in the search word.  3) Wildcard search.  Use the * key acts as a wildcard in Google search that can be helpful with early stages of research.

Doing a search on how to search has given me tips on how to easily find what I'm looking for on the web.  Google has so many more features than I'd ever know about if not steered in this direction.

Google play, Voice, Igoogle review.....

In exploring Google Play, I saw many similarites of Itunes.  There are a lot of choices in books, music, apps, movies, and tv shows.  I liked that about Google Play.  However, there weren't many "free" choices in the music section, but that's a given on Itunes too.  There was a huge selection of music and I liked that it could sync with any music I have on my computer. The prices are comparable with Itunes, so I'd consider getting it on Play (if I decided to buy anything). I really don't buy books or movies for my phone, but, again, I liked that there was such a huge selection.  What I do use are apps, and I liked what a selection they had for my phone.  I will definately be adding some to my phone.  All in all, I really like the Play and it's something I will use in the future.

Google voice is a very cool idea for people on the go.  I also like that you can use it for people to get in touch with you, without actually giving out your personal information.  Going to the actual site was hard, because it wanted me to find a number or use my cell.  I don't actually plan on using this feature, but I did find an information page on it.  It gave all the information on it and I enjoyed reading it.  I'd recommend it to anyone that needs to stay connected, but it's just not something I need. 

Igoogle I LOVE!! In fact, it's now my homepage.  I love the different things you can add and how they can be moved around. There are categories for every interest and need.  It puts what you're into right on your homepage.  Really cool page and I plan on using it. 

In this class, we were asked to view Chrome extensions and choose 5 to review.  I've chosen  the Facebook timeline remover, Facebook emoticon and smiley, Glitterboo, Picmonkey, and Uno.

I liked the Facebook timeline and the emoticon and smiley extensions because I use Facebook a lot.  I don't like the new timeline and finding out about these apps was perfect for me to add to Chrome.  The Glitterboo app was really cute.  It's a fun app to use for pictures.  Same decision on choosing Pic Monkey.  I like to upload and decorate pictures for my Facebook.  It's fun to play around with different effects. I chose Uno because it's one of my favorite card games.

 All of these extensions were easy to find, once I decided what I wanted to look for. I hadn't previously used Google Chrome, but I'm enjoying searching for different apps to use and add to it.

Music site review...

We were given 5 online radio sites to review.  Some were good, some better, some bad.  The following is my opinion of Pandora.com, grooveshark.com, slacker.com, live365.com, and shoutcast.com.

The first site I checked out was pandora.com.  Of the ones listed, this was the only one I'd previously heard of.  I liked it and I'd probably go to it again.  I typed in one of my favorite artists, Chris Young, and it immediately popped up.  The site was easy to navigate, which is a plus.  If I didn't want to listen to someone specific, the various genres of music were also listed.  It's good to have a choice of listening to just one artist, or a variety.

Grooveshark.com was the next music site I visited.  This one was a little more confusing.  Being a country music fan, I had to actually search for this one.  It wasn't listed as an option.  I did like that there were also videos listed on here though.  Overall, not a bad site.

Slacker.com was the third site.  This site was ok, but, I typed in Hunter Hayes.  Apparently, he had an album out when he was 6 years old.  I clicked on some of the songs, and his recent stuff started playing.  It gives a lot of background on the artists tho, which I liked.  Not sure if I'd visit this site again.  I would have liked to listen to the older album and I'm not sure why it gave it as an option, but wouldn't play.

Live365.com was the one I liked the least.  I really didn't like how the site even looked.  It was boring and, honestly, I had no interest in even staying on the site and looking around.

And finally, shoutcast.com.  It was cool to see how many listeners there are per station, but I really didn't like this site either.  It just wasn't a very interesting site.  It's cool to see how many listeners there are for each station, but ultimately, it doesn't influence my decision on whether or not I'll tune in.

So, of the 5 I checked out, I'll still probably go back to Pandora, but aol radio is my favorite.  It was really interesting to check out some new music sites though.  I had never visited any of these.  I really like internet radio as an option because I tune into the radio to hear music.  I hate the "talking" shows.

Game Experience Blog

 

 

This was my first experience "designing" a game and being able to play games designed by others.  Overall, the experience was OK.  I got to know 4 of my classmates, which was good.  Coming into the class, I felt like a square peg in a round hole, but working on this game has changed that.  I look forward to being able to colaberate on other projects in future classes.

 

I enjoyed seeing what the other groups had designed.  The first game was "Gameland".  Overall, the game pieces were the cutest part of the game.  The spaces needed to be a little bigger and more defined.  They weren't big enough if more than one piece had to land on them and it was a little confusing to tell which piece was where.  I'd definately change the size of the spaces and make them easier to tell apart.   It was a cool game and my team enjoyed it. 

 

The second game we played was "Mario Party".  Not being familiar with the original concept of the game, I was a little confused with the rules of this one.  There should have been different choices made for the game pieces.  They didn't stand up, and actually, one fell apart while we were playing.  The board was a little confusing as well.  We were actually a little confused as to where "start" actually was.  The rules needed to be a little more specific for us "newbies".

 

This was a fun experience and I look forward to our next journey as a class.