As I mentioned in a previous post, I loved Apple’s implementation of MobileMe locate and find for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. To see companies create apps for the other phones that could compete with MobileMe locate and find is actually great. On my Samsung Omnia I used LookOut Beta which I will review later on for you. Which brings me to talk about Mobile Defense.

Mobile Defense is an application now in its beta form for Android Phones. I’ve seen where people refer to it as the Lojack for Android as that is what it does. I am really impressed by this application, praying that I do not have to actually use it one day, it could be a great app to have on your phone.

Locate and Find: 

The locate and find feature states that it will take up to 4 minutes to find your location. However it depends solely on the GPS transmitting your location. A text message is also sent to your phone which enables Mobile Defense to connect to your phone and your GPS to activate. Surprisingly it gives you a very accurate location so you know exactly where it is.

Details:

Once you click on the details option the tracking details are shown. You could view the location info, the phone status and the location providers. It gives you a very detailed tracking information, which is impressive. You could email yourself the information or simple close the box.

Alert:

You do have the option to play a sound (which is LOUD) and send a message or require a pin to unlock and send a message. Both are very effective and should aid with finding your phone. Only one issue it could be deactivated when pressing the back button . Hopefully they will address this problem.

Lock and Unlock:

Speaks for itself, it unlocks and locks the phone remotely. So if you have the pattern lock it will unlock your phone. One other issue it removes the pattern lock.

Mobile Defense is a very comprehensive app that could help with the easy recovery of your phone. With room for errors I should say, it is indeed a great application, with only a few minor issues. So it is therefore a great app to keep handy. If you hold your phone as close to your body as I do I doubt you will need it, its however better to be safe than sorry.

The year 2009 has shown me that in life there are challenges and there are challenges that people create just to pull you down. As I am getting older, I’ve come to realize that if you don’t care about yourself no one really cares about you. I’ve accomplished a lot during this past year, and I have to say there were some things that evaded me. Can I say that I regret 2009? The answer is NO, as signs were sent to me and I learned quite a bit from them. Not to be negative, but I learned that there are friends and then there are “friends”. People would do anything to keep you where you are not wanting you to progress, like crabs they pull you down with them.

It takes a trigger to make you wake up and realize that something is wrong, and that you need to do something about that problem. You meet new people and realize that they have more issues than you, but then you learn about yourself as you try to help them. You realize that life is not as bad as it seems and therefore you stop wading in your misery, pull up your socks and you decide enough is enough. My favorite quote for the year 2009 is: "Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege."~Unknown. I think it’s self explanatory .

As I reflect on the year 2009 I cannot dwell only on the bad things, as that is not good. It was a good year despite the shortcomings and I am appreciating my blessings, my family and the friends I have. Life is too short to dwell on the bad, so many lives were lost suddenly due to car accidents, murders and illness. Cherishing your loved ones till your dying breath, loving them unconditionally (minus having to pay their expenses when it’s their fault) and showing them that you care is living happy. Learning to love yourself and cherishing yourself is also a way to see happiness.

I will not make any resolutions for the coming year 2010 as life is what you make of  it. Life is so unpredictable at times and therefore I see it fit to deal with the circumstances as they come. That does not mean however that I do not have a plan for a “just-incase-matter”. I do wish upon myself as I will wish for others that they will have a prosperous New Year and that good things may come their way. Despite any shortcomings they appreciate life and whatever it dishes out to them. We all have to make sacrifices, but in the end the reward is satisfying.

As the New Year dawns upon us I wish everyone a bright and a prosperous New Year.

Finally I got my hands on Spotify and I am praying dearly for it to be finally released here in the US. Don’t ask me how I got to try it out, just know that I did. IT IS AMAZING…that is the simple way of putting it. I could see where they were coming from trying to reduce the number of piracy, and illegal downloads happening *cough* *cough*. However, with it being only limited and as of now a price tag of £9.99 or $16.00 USD is really not very appealing as I pay only 3.00 per month for last.fm. The question on the table is will people be willing to pay $16.00 a month just to run an app like Spotify or will Spotify reduce the amount that people will have to pay in order to access the service.

Here are some of the things I loved about Spotify:

Search:

The ease of searching for a song and finding a whole CD or even a few of the artist’s songs is really what should I say, impressive? I searched for Buju Banton and had the pleasure of finding some old hits, and even some songs that were practically stuck in my head for days. The good thing is you could play the whole list from the search results. Which brings me to the next  pointer:

 Offline Play:

With each search result, you could right click and add that song to a personalized playlist. Mine for example is called just for play. The offline mode allows you to virtually add the song to your playlist without buying it and so you could play it at will on that device whenever you want. Disadvantage to that is you will have to buy the song if you want it to play on other devices. I have no need however to add my songs to another device, and so I am quite comfortable with my playlist.

  Home:

The home tab shows you all of the latest and most popular songs that are available and those that are being played by other users. Plus they give you access to new releases which is actually a great opportunity to hear an album before purchasing it .

 Desktop Application: 

The desktop app once signed in gives you the same access as it would on the phone. Your playlist is available and you could also search for songs and add them to your playlist. Please note that your playlist would be updated on the phone almost immediately and vice versa.

Spotify is a work in progress however, and I do hope they reconsider their pricing as no one would want to pay such a high price just to listen to music that cannot be transferred. A great application that could possibly curb  your appetite for illegal downloads and an excellent choice if you want to listen to an artist’s hit songs without buying the cd. So far I am loving my run with Spotify, it sure gives itunes a run for its money. Hopefully you can try it too when it is released hopefully in 2010.

Disclaimer: I am using a fully paid and active version of Spotify Premium.

Well sorry for neglecting you for some time, and yes I know it’s been a long time but I’ve been getting things sorted and making complicated decisions. You know the things adults do (yuck ). I do hope that you are enjoying this day a special day not only meant for giving gifts but for cherishing the moments we have with family. I know times are hard but that  doesn’t mean however that you can’t enjoy the holidays. In times like these a smile and a little bit of love is all someone needs. Having fun times together is cherished more than a gift, but hey people think differently. So Merry Christmas to you!

I’ve seen a few of James Cameron’s movies, Titanic, Terminator and a few others, he is a man who could set almost anything on screen and make it EPIC.  First off I will say awesome graphics, maybe I should have used a better word to describe it but this is my true feeling. This is cinematography at its best. I admit at first I did not want to go to see it, but after looking closely and seeing my friends excited over it made me decide to go.

Here is my interpretation of the movie. There will be no spoilers as I do not want to take away your spirit to want to see the movie.

First off I saw a political side to this movie, and my hubby mentioned it to me while we discussed it after. Certain things that were said in the script had a political connotation to it, however that did not take away from the movie. Watching the movie in the IMAX 3D theater at the AMC made me see how advanced this movie was in terms of its use of technology. I mean 500 Million is a lot and Cameron put it all into good use. The whole movie from start to finish was color filled and after a while I forgot that it was 3D as I’d gotten used to the action on screen. My son however reminded me that it was 3D when he continuously tried to grab the particles.

The movie was practically predictable, as I had an idea of what was going to happen next. However, I was not bored to death because I was interested in the story line of Jake and how well he adapted to the Na’Vi. Even though you know what is coming next you still want to watch. As Dave said earlier we have sort of shied away from SCI-FI movies as they have gotten boring and its the same old alien mess. Cameron however is showing Hollywood that they have to step their game up in order to capture the attention of the audience. Their movies may not be as good as Cameron’s but that will force them to do better.

Back to Jake and the Na’Vis it is a world that was basically untouched. A world that has a niche that was connected down to the dust. A world that is only in the imagination yet it seemed so real. The characters seemed so real, everything seemed real, I even wondered if Cameron visited a world like that and it was his little secret. People are fussing about the name of the planet Pandora, for all I care it could have been named Tim-buck-two and it would not have made a difference. The way Jake adapted the actions of the natives, all brought the story together.

Jake’s brother Tom who was his twin died. He was a scientist working on the Avatar project, and since Jake is his twin their gnome matched so it was no problem fitting him to his brother’s avatar. The scientists and the military had two different agendas as the cooperation funding the project had one aim and that was to get the natural resources from the planet. At first Jake went in obeying orders but as he adapted to the natives, he began to see the evil around him. In turn for becoming one of them he betrayed the humans. He learned their language, how to walk and appreciate the forest. Having turned his back on the humans he created a catalyst to what was going to happen anyway. Destruction happened faster and was more brutal.

Even with a predictable story line Cameron still manages to capture the audience’s attention and there was never a dull moment. Kudos to Cameron.