5 iPhone Apps you Need: App 1

This post is the first in a series of five. Look out for more every Tuesday and Thursday. Read the second post here.

So you just got a new iPhone. Or you've had an iPhone for a while, but you haven't really gotten into the hang of the app thing. Or you've had the iPhone for a while, and you've been downloading apps, but you just haven't heard of these. No matter what your situation is, you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you need to check out these cool apps.

The first app in this five app series is Mint. From mint.com, this free app is available in the App Store.

Mint.com

Once you become old enough to live by yourself, you're bound to be confused with all of your financial responsibilities. Be it the mortgage, your college loan, or the groceries. Mint.com's free app is here to help. Although you might feel worried giving Mint.com all of your personal finance information, Mint is using the same service to keep the information as most banks do, so you aren't really giving any information you haven't already given. Once you put in all of your info, Mint will help you create a budget, and really manage all of your  finance needs. Mint is free, safe, and a definite download for any iPhone user.

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"It's Been Far Too Long" - Comex gave up on Jailbreakme 3.0 for iPad 2?

Here’s another teaser from Comex webiste http://www.jailbreakme.com
Do you think its coming soon or Comex just gave up?

Google Revamps it's Universal Web-App Look

The new Google.com Interface

Are you tired of that simple looking Google homepage? Do you wish Google would get rid of it's simplistic design, and make it more exciting. Well, thanks to the new Google web-app revamp, you are still out of luck.

The new Google.com design also applies to all of the other Google web-apps, and basically makes Google look simpler, although the Google experience hasn't changed much.

The new update puts the links Google.com all at either the top or bottom of the page, making it easier to see the blankness of the rest of the page. The Google logo is now slightly smaller, and this also makes is easier to see the blankness of the page.

It seems that the new Google color scheme is red and black. Although the actual Google logo hasn't changed, the bar of links to various Google services that hovers above most Google websites has gone from a light grey to a dark black. The site you are currently visiting is overlined nicely in red, and when you mouse over a link, the boxed area around it becomes a dark grey.

This red/black color scheme is more obvious on the actual page of search results. When searching for a word or phrase, the updated Google, like the older version, shows search results in the main area, and has a sidebar on the left side which allows you to search exclusively for images, videos, blogs, ect. This sidebar has changed in a few ways, most of them, in my opinion, for the better. As pictured below, the sidebar's few default search refining options are now spaced slightly further apart, and, while remaining the same font as the previous interface, are now dark grey. Instead of becoming bold when selected, the options now change to the nice shade of red used throughout the site. The icons are now grey instead of colored, and are changed slightly from the previous versions. When mousing over an option, the area around it becomes a shade of light grey.

The search-box area is also slightly changed in this new interface, as it is now boxed in grey and the search button is now a nice, rounded blue button, with a magnifying glass icon instead of the actual word "search". The Google logo on the left of the search box is now slightly smaller.

The new red/black theme makes the Google experience feel much more elegant, as well as simple, but it also makes it feel that the Google logo shouldn't be that colorful. Google has been using it's red, green, yellow, and blue color scheme as a base for it's new services, but some of the latest additions have seen a slightly different color scheme.

The new search interface

Overall, the new Google interface brings a cleaner interface, a simpler experience, and ultimately, more eye candy, something that was not in the early search engines, and has kind of become a new thing. Google was earned a +1 for this one.

It seems that the bar of links on top of most Google websites appears updated for everyone, but the newly designed home and search pages have not yet rolled out to all users.

Read Google's blog post here.


Help Gadgetator by simply clicking on one of the sharing icons below. Also, like Gadgetator on Facebook by clicking the "like" button near the top right corner of the page. Happy sharing!

Gift Certificate Drawing Winner...

Thank you everyone that purchased items from my Etsy shop during my spur of the moment:

"I've got to get my jewelry making area cleaned up and in order" clay sale over the weekend!

I had my hands full this weekend with Chloe having a stomach bug, Dave being overwhelmed with work stuff, and Riley - well - just being a funny & crazy 18 month old toddler:

…that grape was a little cold or tart!

And because I'm a spur of the moment & like to give stuff away kind of gal…

And I really appreciate all that my customers do for me by buying my beads…

I'm going to do two drawings, not just one!

Winner #1 ($50 Marsha Neal Studio Gift Certificate):

The 18th item purchased in my sale was this set of shards in my FERN glaze:

Winner #2 ($50 Marsha Neal Studio Gift Certificate):

The 9th item purchased during the sale was this crusty porcelain flower shaped pendant:

Congratulations!!!

You two lucky winners will be receiving an email from me so you can go ahead and add $50 more worth of stuff from my shop!

***Is is me or did anyone else see some weird things going on with numbers in this post? 

Riley is 18 months old (tomorrow)...

2 winners - happen to be randomly picked as 18 and 9…

2x9=18…

Not to mention that my birthday is on the 18th...

Thank You Everyone!!!

WANT A HEADS UP NEXT TIME?
SIGN UP for my "new" email newsletter through MadMimi...

Gift Certificate Drawing Winner...

Thank you everyone that purchased items from my Etsy shop during my spur of the moment:

"I've got to get my jewelry making area cleaned up and in order" clay sale over the weekend!

I had my hands full this weekend with Chloe having a stomach bug, Dave being overwhelmed with work stuff, and Riley - well - just being a funny & crazy 18 month old toddler:

…that grape was a little cold or tart!

And because I'm a spur of the moment & like to give stuff away kind of gal…

And I really appreciate all that my customers do for me by buying my beads…

I'm going to do two drawings, not just one!

Winner #1 ($50 Marsha Neal Studio Gift Certificate):

The 18th item purchased in my sale was this set of shards in my FERN glaze:

Winner #2 ($50 Marsha Neal Studio Gift Certificate):

The 9th item purchased during the sale was this crusty porcelain flower shaped pendant:

Congratulations!!!

You two lucky winners will be receiving an email from me so you can go ahead and add $50 more worth of stuff from my shop!

***Is is me or did anyone else see some weird things going on with numbers in this post? 

Riley is 18 months old (tomorrow)...

2 winners - happen to be randomly picked as 18 and 9…

2x9=18…

Not to mention that my birthday is on the 18th...

Thank You Everyone!!!

WANT A HEADS UP NEXT TIME?
SIGN UP for my "new" email newsletter through MadMimi...

JailbreakMe 3.0 to be release on Sunday (July 3, 2011)

Is this true?

iPhone 5 Infographic

Final Day of Sale And Giveaway

Just a reminder that all of the Clay items in my Etsy shop are marked down 20% off for the rest of today.

And for every item you purchase, you get a chance at winning a $50 Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop gift certificate.

Check out some of the items recently listed in my shop:

Good luck with the gift certificate drawing!!!

Thanks for your continued support...

Final Day of Sale And Giveaway

Just a reminder that all of the Clay items in my Etsy shop are marked down 20% off for the rest of today.

And for every item you purchase, you get a chance at winning a $50 Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop gift certificate.

Check out some of the items recently listed in my shop:

Good luck with the gift certificate drawing!!!

Thanks for your continued support...

Saturday Night Special On Etsy

I've just heard about this Etsy Team: 

The Original Saturday Night Specials Team.

It is such a cool concept - join the team and run a special sale from 5pm EST on Saturday through 6am EST on Sunday. 

You list your shop on the discussion board with your shop, a brief description, your special, and list an item.

So hurry up!

You've got just under 7 hours from the time of this post to go check out all the shops running specials.

I will do what I can to have some kind of special running every Saturday!

Ok - going over to shop stuff myself now!

Have fun!!!

Saturday Night Special On Etsy

I've just heard about this Etsy Team: 

The Original Saturday Night Specials Team.

It is such a cool concept - join the team and run a special sale from 5pm EST on Saturday through 6am EST on Sunday. 

You list your shop on the discussion board with your shop, a brief description, your special, and list an item.

So hurry up!

You've got just under 7 hours from the time of this post to go check out all the shops running specials.

I will do what I can to have some kind of special running every Saturday!

Ok - going over to shop stuff myself now!

Have fun!!!

10.6.8 Mac OSX Update Safe for Jailbreakers

MuscleNerd tweeted regarding today’s 10.6.8 Mac OSX update is safe for the Jailbreakers.

Giveaway and Studio Motivation

Do you want a chance at winning a $30 $50 Gift Certificate to my Etsy shop or Website?

With the added bonus: Coupon Code: FreeShip and I'll make sure your order ships for free.

For each item you purchase today June 23 through Sunday, June 26, 2011 through:

Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop

or

Marsha Neal Studio Website

You will automatically be entered to win a $50 Gift Certificate to either of my shops.

The more items you buy, the better your chances at winning are.

I'll contact the winner on Monday via email.

Why the sudden sale you might be asking?

Well - there are a number of reasons for this motivation...

Health: Need to get that elliptical unburied for Dave and myself. 

Done! Yay!

Olfactory Health: I can only take working by litter boxes for so long. 

Almost Done...

Creative Flow: no organization means frustration means no flow. 

Not Done...

Safety: I have two little ones running around the main part of the house & this stuff - even though it is in the basement, needs to be in a lockable studio area down there - out of their reach.
Accidents do happen. 

Almost Done...

Socialization: I want my friends to come over and have a place to hang out & work with me. 

Almost Done…

The above picture is what I have to look forward to going to to work in (not very inspirational).

So this sale will hopefully bring in some monies so I can go out and get new chair and something to use to cover up that horrible hole in the wall (the crawlspace).

It is the back room-studio area where I have all kinds of shelves with boxes and storage for my jewelry making supplies (and all kinds of other craft supplies).

But it is all "stored". 

That's just not going to do anymore.

So I've kept some words from my friend Jenny Davies-Reazor in my head this afternoon:

"Work with What you Have…"

I have stopped my head from thinking about moving this and that, and sorting this first, then making a plan. 

Forget it - that is just a level of procrastination for me.

Jump both feet in and bring the iPhone just incase one gets stuck, needs music, or wants to take photos of progressions being made for ones blog - that has been neglected for a while...

Oh man - this looks like crap!

I need a good dose of pretty down there…

Please help me out! 

Yes - that was an extremely tired, frustrated, yet could be potentially turned around to giddy excitement way of asking for help. 

I think I'll be adding an extra surprise in each shipment too for this special clean-up and re-organizational event…

Many beautiful things will be coming out of this space…

I can feel it!

Giveaway and Studio Motivation

Do you want a chance at winning a $30 $50 Gift Certificate to my Etsy shop or Website?

With the added bonus: Coupon Code: FreeShip and I'll make sure your order ships for free.

For each item you purchase today June 23 through Sunday, June 26, 2011 through:

Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop

or

Marsha Neal Studio Website

You will automatically be entered to win a $50 Gift Certificate to either of my shops.

The more items you buy, the better your chances at winning are.

I'll contact the winner on Monday via email.

Why the sudden sale you might be asking?

Well - there are a number of reasons for this motivation...

Health: Need to get that elliptical unburied for Dave and myself. 

Done! Yay!

Olfactory Health: I can only take working by litter boxes for so long. 

Almost Done...

Creative Flow: no organization means frustration means no flow. 

Not Done...

Safety: I have two little ones running around the main part of the house & this stuff - even though it is in the basement, needs to be in a lockable studio area down there - out of their reach.
Accidents do happen. 

Almost Done...

Socialization: I want my friends to come over and have a place to hang out & work with me. 

Almost Done…

The above picture is what I have to look forward to going to to work in (not very inspirational).

So this sale will hopefully bring in some monies so I can go out and get new chair and something to use to cover up that horrible hole in the wall (the crawlspace).

It is the back room-studio area where I have all kinds of shelves with boxes and storage for my jewelry making supplies (and all kinds of other craft supplies).

But it is all "stored". 

That's just not going to do anymore.

So I've kept some words from my friend Jenny Davies-Reazor in my head this afternoon:

"Work with What you Have…"

I have stopped my head from thinking about moving this and that, and sorting this first, then making a plan. 

Forget it - that is just a level of procrastination for me.

Jump both feet in and bring the iPhone just incase one gets stuck, needs music, or wants to take photos of progressions being made for ones blog - that has been neglected for a while...

Oh man - this looks like crap!

I need a good dose of pretty down there…

Please help me out! 

Yes - that was an extremely tired, frustrated, yet could be potentially turned around to giddy excitement way of asking for help. 

I think I'll be adding an extra surprise in each shipment too for this special clean-up and re-organizational event…

Many beautiful things will be coming out of this space…

I can feel it!

Hulu Plus: Now Available on Android

If you wanted to watch movies or TV shows on your phone, but had an Android device, until recently you were mostly out of luck. Not too long ago, Netflix, the popular paid video streaming service, announced their Android version of their mobile application. Most probably due to issues of video piracy, it was only available on a few Android devices. Now Hulu Plus is following suit.

Hulu.com is a website that allows you to watch clips of movies and TV shows, or even entire movies or TV shows for free. One can also sign up for Hulu Plus, which, at $7.99 per month, brings some more content, as well as allowing users to access Hulu from more devices, instead of just being able to watch from a browser.

Hulu Plus was available for a while on the iPhone, Playstation 3, and XBOX 360, but the latest addition to the app lineup is Hulu Plus for Android. However, like the Netflix app for Android, Hulu Plus for Android is only available on a select six devices, with more devices coming later on. Hulu Plus can be downloaded from the Android Market.

Overall, it's great that Hulu is expanding their application platforms to include Android, but it would be really nice if the app was available on all Android devices, instead of just six. If you are on Android and want to access video content, look into Netflix, as Netflix price is equal to Hulu Plus', and definitely has more content, with no advertising.

 Help Gadgetator by simply clicking on one of the sharing icons below. Also, like Gadgetator on Facebook by clicking the "like" button near the top right corner of the page. Happy sharing!

Hidden meanings of famous logos (including Apple Logo)

No wonder Apple Fans are like "Aliens"..! LOL

New Jailbreak Release for iPad 2 and others will include 4.2.1 to 4.3.3

Here’s the response from @comex regarding the upcoming Release of Jailbreak which includes iPad 2.

Models, Photography, and Etsy Enhancements...

I've always wanted to convey a bit more scale of my pieces that are in my Etsy shop to people that have not seen them in person. And what better way to do that then with an actual person…

Photo By Katy Timney

This is Claudia Twardus. 

She is not just a fantastic model, she is the jewelry designer & artist of Antica Treasures with an eclectic outlook on life (it shows through her art and being) and she is a fellow Delaware Etsy Street Team member. She has a blog too.

Photo By Katy Timney

This is Becky Kolpak.

She is also a local Delaware area model & artist that has studied photography, so she is a natural when getting in front of the camera because she understands what the photographer is looking for.

We all met here, on an early June day, just a couple of weekends ago.

The photo shoot was arranged by Katy Timney of Katy Rose Photography.

Claudia and I brought the jewelry, Becky & Claudia brought various outfits and small props, and Katy brought her camera, expert eye, and artistic vision.

Becky, Katy and Claudia know exactly what to do.

I just stood back and watched the three of them move together in this kind of dance.

It was amazing…

Photo By Katy Timney

You can just see how much fun everyone was having…

Photo By Katy Timney

And amazingly natural (I would be so awkward)
Both Becky and Claudia were able to change expressions…

Photo By Katy Timney

I really like this shot that Katy took of Becky sitting atop the stone wall, looking down over the water cascading out of it onto the creek below…

Photo By Katy Timney

And Claudia is just so charming…

Photo By Katy Timney

She had us cracking up the entire time with her comments about her poses and things she was thinking as she noticed little nooks and crannies where faeries might be found in this eclectic park.

Photo By Katy Timney

Remarkable…

Thank you Katy.

Thank you Becky.

Thank you Claudia.

I can't wait to work with you all again on another photo shoot!

And here are a couple of screen shots of my Etsy shop:

My normal shop view - without models.

My updated shop view with models.

All still needing a bit more tweaking, but it's well on it's way to becoming more of a shop that I want it to be…

What do you think?

Have I reached my one goal to show scale?

How about the unmentioned goal of wanting to have these photos used in more treasuries?

I really think there is a balance to obtain for a happy Etsy shop.

Not just a successful one full of sales, but of something that helps to inspire you.

Oh - that gives me an idea for a giveaway…

Create a treasury and include one of my new shop photos featuring one of the models - which there will be a few more added as I get the time in the next couple of days, then link that treasury up below by July 10, 2011 and I'll pull a random winner for a $25 gift certificate to my Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop.

Models, Photography, and Etsy Enhancements...

I've always wanted to convey a bit more scale of my pieces that are in my Etsy shop to people that have not seen them in person. And what better way to do that then with an actual person…

Photo By Katy Timney

This is Claudia Twardus. 

She is not just a fantastic model, she is the jewelry designer & artist of Antica Treasures with an eclectic outlook on life (it shows through her art and being) and she is a fellow Delaware Etsy Street Team member. She has a blog too.

Photo By Katy Timney

This is Becky Kolpak.

She is also a local Delaware area model & artist that has studied photography, so she is a natural when getting in front of the camera because she understands what the photographer is looking for.

We all met here, on an early June day, just a couple of weekends ago.

The photo shoot was arranged by Katy Timney of Katy Rose Photography.

Claudia and I brought the jewelry, Becky & Claudia brought various outfits and small props, and Katy brought her camera, expert eye, and artistic vision.

Becky, Katy and Claudia know exactly what to do.

I just stood back and watched the three of them move together in this kind of dance.

It was amazing…

Photo By Katy Timney

You can just see how much fun everyone was having…

Photo By Katy Timney

And amazingly natural (I would be so awkward)
Both Becky and Claudia were able to change expressions…

Photo By Katy Timney

I really like this shot that Katy took of Becky sitting atop the stone wall, looking down over the water cascading out of it onto the creek below…

Photo By Katy Timney

And Claudia is just so charming…

Photo By Katy Timney

She had us cracking up the entire time with her comments about her poses and things she was thinking as she noticed little nooks and crannies where faeries might be found in this eclectic park.

Photo By Katy Timney

Remarkable…

Thank you Katy.

Thank you Becky.

Thank you Claudia.

I can't wait to work with you all again on another photo shoot!

And here are a couple of screen shots of my Etsy shop:

My normal shop view - without models.

My updated shop view with models.

All still needing a bit more tweaking, but it's well on it's way to becoming more of a shop that I want it to be…

What do you think?

Have I reached my one goal to show scale?

How about the unmentioned goal of wanting to have these photos used in more treasuries?

I really think there is a balance to obtain for a happy Etsy shop.

Not just a successful one full of sales, but of something that helps to inspire you.

Oh - that gives me an idea for a giveaway…

Create a treasury and include one of my new shop photos featuring one of the models - which there will be a few more added as I get the time in the next couple of days, then link that treasury up below by July 10, 2011 and I'll pull a random winner for a $25 gift certificate to my Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop.