KRISTOPHER DUKES .com » iPhone

The Age of Innocence Free eBook

Kristopher — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:56:01 +0000

Reading

I’ve been reading ebooks from ManyBooks.net since high school. ManyBooks.net is a site full of free, public domain ebooks downloadable in all formats — a Treo when I was in high school and Kindle downloads for my iPhone now.

The Age of Innocence is one of those (e)books I read at least once a year — Edith Wharton was so elegant a writer that you need to read each of her stories at least three times before you realize how rich her work was with moral tension and scenery that reflects the living souls of characters.

If you watch The Age of Innocence — with Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer directed by Scorsese — you’ll note that the drawing room’s fire sparks during high points of quiet conversation between unrequited lovers. Then you’ll reread the book — going on five times? Five hundred? — , and wonder how you ever missed that…

Google Voice

Kristopher — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:38:06 +0000

Using

You need to sign up for Google Voice .

I signed up last week, received my invite email, and snagged a great Google Voice number. The most basic, boss thing about Google Voice? Google Voice lets you pick one number that’ll ring all your phones: your Blackberry, iPhone, home phone, that home-no-one-knows-about phone, and your office. But it gets better than that: Google Voice screens all your calls discretely, lets you set up different outgoing messages for different callers (“Maybe you’ll get lucky and I’ll call you back, toots,” to “You’ve reach the office of Me, Incorporated,” and even “The number you have dialed has been disconnected”).

But the best part of Google Voice? Voicemail. All of your messages are automatically transcribed, emailed or texted to you, and saved online, forever. You can mark voicemail as spam and block callers that way. Or you can listen into your voicemail messages live, and interrupt a message if the call’s worthy of your immediate attention.

How much trouble is Google Voice going to help you avoid?

I’ll give you my new number — it’s good — but since I can so carefully screen my calls now, I’m not sure I’d pick up.

You know, because you give such good voicemail.

Google Voice Text Messages

Google Voice sends your text messages to whatever numbers you want (all of your cells, you player), and saves every message online.

Google Voice International

International calls are $0.02-$0.03 per minute for 200+ countries, which makes it cheaper than Skype. (900 numbers, I’m looking into.)

Google Voice Mobile

You can download an Android Google Voice app, or turn your Blackberry into your Google phone with the Google Voice Blackberry application. Until you can access Google Voice as a web app on your iPhone, you can jailbreak your iPhone and download the iPhone Google Voice app (you should jailbreak your iPhone anyway. You can do so without turning your iPhone into a slick brick). But if you don’t want to bother with more software, you can always route calls through Google Voice by dialing your Google Voice number from your cell.

How to Set Up Google Voice

Sign up for a Google Voice invite, and wait for your email.
When you get your confirmation email, log into Google Voice using your Google account.
If you use GMail, you may already have a stuffed addy book for Google Voice. Otherwise, import contacts into Google Voice by exporting your contacts from Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo!, etc., as a comma-delimted CSV file. Then, import this .csv file into Google Voice by clicking “Contacts” on any Google Voice page, and selecting “Import” in the top right portion of the Contacts section.
You’ll be automatically prompted to set up your voicemail greeting. If you want to change it, trip through Settings > General > Voicemail Greeting > Personal Greeting drop-down menu > Record.
Need to add another phone? Select Settings > Phones > Add a phone that you want to forward.

That’s it.

Now I want to hear about all the trouble you’re avoiding using Google Voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Q9MJdT5Ds

To-Do iPhone Apps K Is…

Kristopher — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:03:06 +0000

Wanting.

reQall is your iPersonal assistant: tell it to schedule appointments in your calendar, and let it remind you what groceries (matcha green tea, thank you) to buy when you’re near a mart…

Using.

Things is your to-do list on steroids. In my “Today” list? Strategy Room on FoxNews.com, petting my new Hermes bag. In my “Someday” list? Petting a future new Hermes bag, and figuring out how to put on my face in less than 45 minutes…

Hating.

iClarified lets you scribble on top of your iPhone screen, but there’s no satisfaction in scratching off a to-do list without that actual scratch..

Date Your iPhone. Vibrating Apps K Is…

Kristopher — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:13:44 +0000

Wanting: iBrate Pro

I’ve paid more than $99 for a personal massager, and now I’m tempted to shell out a single: for $0.99 iBrate Pro offers a slow pulse, a fast pound, and “an invigorating massage.” This app is exactly what Steve Jobs had in mind when he created his uber smartphone…

Using: iBrate

I only downloaded this free iBrate iVibrator so I could blog to you about it, lovely. Promise…

Hating: iVibrateMe

iVibrateMe swears it’s “great for your ‘special’ private areas.” I adore direct men, but I prefer a little more subtlety from my iPhone vibrating apps. Creep…

Hot Girl iPhone Apps K Is…

Kristopher — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:53:40 +0000

Wanting: Pocket Pinups iPhone App

Get a Dita’ish dame in your pants for less than a buck — Pocket Pinups iPhone app is an exclusive collection of hundreds of vintage pin-up pics, including everything from rare burlesque shots to that go-go girl next door…

Using: Hottest Girls iPhone App

Hottest Girls is an iPhone app that gives you 1,500+ hand-picked pics of beautiful broads. You can even request certain types of chicks — Megan Fox with her mouth shut? — for the next Hottest Girls update, which is free. If I was a dude, I’m not sure I’d bother dating anymore…

Hating: Corvette Girls iPhone Apps

I’m supposed to get excited about girls in Corvettes? A chick driving a Porsche goes from a six to a nine, a new rig gives her plus two, but cruising in a Corvette? Minus four…

Wardrobe Managers K Is…

Kristopher — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:27:29 +0000

Wanting.

Pocket Closet styles your iPhone into your own closet organizer: categorize clothing, create outfits, and note when and where you wore something. I’m digging this wardrobe manager app. I’ll be able to pencil in my Monday through Friday work attire — Marlies Dekkers thongs and Giuseppes…

Using.

Closet Couture is a wardrobe manager and shopping party — upload pics of your Birkins and baubles, and let your friends slip into your online closet. And when I say “your online closet,” I mean “yours”: I’m not sharing my e-Kelly or e-custom silk dress with anyone. On third thought, message me a suggestive pic, and we’ll discuss…

Hating.

Weardrobe is a site of hipster chicks sharing self-styled pics, with lists of every thrift-store scarf, maxi skirt, and turtleneck they’re wearing. It’s like an American Apparel ad, only with less skin and more of women’s words. Save yourself some time and flip through a vintage Playboy instead…

Lapàporter iPhone Sleeves K Is…

Kristopher — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:51:31 +0000

Wanting.

I’ve never been into iPhone condoms — the sex appeal of the iPhone is its sophisticated simplicity — I like it raw. But then I saw these Lapàporter iPhone sleeves, which echo the elegance of the economy of the super-smart phone’s design: a simple sliver of skin becomes extra choice as the shape highlights a rich python…

Using.

I love that Bottega-like basketweave. Bags are a last resort for me, so this Lapàporter iPhone sleeve is great — I can slip a credit card in here for a quickie. Errand…

Hating.

We just chatted about how choice rich minimalism is, and here’s a useless bow…

iPhone eReaders K Is…

Kristopher — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:40 +0000

Wanting.

People talk about how they love the feel of paper in their hands; they can’t read a book any other way. Please. Unless the book is beautifully bound, who cares? It’s about the mental movie playing in your mind. I need to download Kindle for iPhone so I can enjoy more Ayn Rand…

Using.

I used eReader on my Palm Treo, years ago, in school — it was a great way to get around lugging the books I never bought to class. Now I used eReader on the iPhone, and it’s so good — it’s connected to ManyBooks.net, a site full of free ebooks. I’m always re-reading Ibsen, Edith Wharton, and How to Use Your Mind (though why a chick would need to know how to think, I’m not sure)…

Hating.

I downloaded Stanza on the iPhone. It’s not that Stanza is awful — it looks and e-feels just like all the other iPhone ereaders. It’s more about how hard it is to get books on your iPhone…

T-Mobile Touch Phones K Is…

Kristopher — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:12:17 +0000

Wanting.

The Ivanka Trump of T-Mobile touch phones: unapologetically smart, and obviously sexy.

T-Mobile Behold touch phone gives you audible, turn-by-turn driving directions, and vibrates when you touch it.

Who needs a girlfriend…

Using.

I wouldn’t date T-Mobile G1 phone if it were a chick: it’s fatter than the iPhone.

Or maybe I would: its ShopSavvy app lets you snap a pic of a barcode with its phone cam, then automatically compares prices for you.

That’s the touch-phone equivalent of putting out on the first date…

Hating.

I read on a blog a Facebook’s friend’s Twitter linked to that HTC Touch will be rebranded as T-Mobile Touch Plus; it must be true.

The phone’s sexy, but it vibes more style than substance, compared to the G1…