Mobile Post – Page 2 – IndyScan.com

From a Cell phone!

So I’m doing a little work after hours and away from home (too many distractions). As I continue to test OS X Yosemite and iOS8 I decided to try using my iPhone 5s as a hot spot.

Wow! I though things were cruising right along but I had NO IDEA I was getting this kinds of speeds. I normally use a dedicated Verizon Hot Spot but it kind of seems pointless if I can get this kind of Internet bandwidth from my cell phone.

This is better that I’m getting at home from U-Verse and paying $56 a month for…

Yes, I can hear you now Paul, loud and clear!

I Love Irony

Winter Wonderland?

Sure it looks pretty but this is one hell of a storm that’s blowing through the midwest tonight. With wind chills expected around -40F tomorrow it’s going to be interesting to see how Central Indiana makes it through this one!

Stay safe everyone!

Free Next Day Delivery!

Unusual bus bench near Stout Field in Indianapolis

Cincinnati Photo Walk – October 2013

I had one of those rare occasions where I could hop in the car and disappear for the day and visit my family in Cincinnati. Met up with my Sister for a local’s tour of the regentrification project occurring in Over The Rhine (OTR). Local’s always give the best tours and like to share what they love about their city. Today was no exception as we proceeded to eat, walk, shop, and admire the surroundings.

Having just received a 64GB iPhone 5s it was time to put it through its paces and see how it worked as an everyday point and shoot. So far I’m pretty happy with the results, especially the low light capabilities.

Monon Trail – Near Fall Creek Parkway

First Impressions – iOS7

It’s been a few days since Apple released their latest mobile operating system and now that the dust has settled I thought I’d post some of my first impressions about iOS7. This is not a complete review, of which you can find all over the web by better writers than myself, it’s just a summary of my initial thoughts after using it for a few days.

iOS 7 was unveiled at last Septembers World Wide Developers Conference and has been eagerly anticipated ever since. With this new OS Apple has introduced a new look and feel which gives new life to some of their older devices (iPhone 4 and above is supported). Visually everything seems somewhat flat and less cartoonish. The typography used throughout (mostly Helvetica Neue Ultra Light) is clean and easily legible, although I did need to bump up the font size a touch to help with my aging eyes.

We all have our likes/dislikes with various products. I’m going to focus more on what I don’t like about iOS7 (it’s a pretty short list).

Dislikes:

Smaller folder screens
- You can only have 9 icons on a screen vs 12 in iOS6 (but you CAN have more than one page!)
Takes up more storage
- 3.1GB needed to upgrade and you only get 2.8GB back
Parallax Effect
- Not very smooth on the iPhone 4S or iPad 4th Gen, I ended up turning it off
No AirDrop on pre iPhone 5 devices
- I was really looking forward to this feature but DeskConnect provides an alternative
No weather app for iPad
- Plenty of 3rd party options but it’s odd not to have it on the Notification Screen
Spotlight
- Only searches local data, no more Web or Wikipedia searches

With the negatives out of the way there are PLENTY of things to like about iOS7.

Likes:

Fresh new look
Bug fixes
Control Center
iTunes Radio
Slide anywhere to unlock
Multi-page folders
Safari Improvements
Camera improvements
Photo Collections
App Switching
iMessage Timestamps
Siri Improvements

Overall iOS7 introduces a lot of new and updated features. I’m not sure where Apple is going to go from here but I think we have a few years before we’re going to see anything truly unique and revolutionary. I have an iPhone 5s on order & I’m looking forward to seeing how some of the restricted features work on it (AirDrop, new camera, etc.). I’ll be sure to post an initial look at the 5s once I get it in my hands & have some time to put it through the paces.

Forecast.io is One of the Best Weather App to Date

Always on the lookout for cool applications, Forecast.io was recommended to me by a coworker. It’s one of the first HTML5 web applications I’ve used that acts like an installed application.

To access the application all you need to do is point your internet browser to http://forecast.io and follow the on-screen instructions (if any). In the case of the iPhone you create a link on your home screen and access that app from there going forward.

Visually the application is clean and gives a glimpse of what the new iOS7 will look like when it’s released later this year.

From a functionality standpoint it covers all the basics and has a few little twists that I’ve already found useful (like the small chart that shows the timing and intensity of rain in the next hour). It’s worth checking out of you want something different from what you’re currently using.

Broad Ripple Farmers Market

One sure sign of summer is the sight of the various Farmers Markets around town. I’m fortunate to be in close proximity to several during the week and check them out as often as I can. Last Saturday was no exception.

After getting rained out at an Indian’s game the night before I found a break in the clouds long enough to make it down to the Broad Ripple Farmers Market. This one is always well attended and has a great mix of vendors selling everything from bread to veggies to Hickory Syrup (good stuff).

Picked up some veggies for a Farro Salad I was making for a cookout later that evening & even bought some breakfast. All in all it’s worth the trip to the Village. If you can’t find what you want there’s a produce stand on Allisonville and another farmers market on Binford Ave.