NFC tags: An interesting idea

These tags from Sony sound like the one of the best ideas I've seen for NFC (Near Field Communication). Most applications seem to focus on paying for things, which I'm not that excited about. Ideally, in the future, you wouldn't have to touch your phone to the tag, they would just have to be in proximity to each other, but it's a step in the right direction. I have had an NFC enabled phone for about a year now, and I have yet to use that functionality for anything. I'd love to have a real use for it.

Xperia SmartTags – Working with any NFC enabled smartphone (like Xperia S), it allows users to simply touch a NFC enabled smartphone to a SmartTag (which is the shape and size of a small round token) to load a pre-configured profile in the phone. For instance, one SmartTag by your bed can turn on the alarm clock, and the other one in the car can start a GPS application.

via Appy Geek (via @snklein)

As if I didn't love my Gmail enough...

It just saved me from that embarrassing moment when you realize you forgot to attach the document that was the whole point of sending the email.

I think I turned this on when it first showed up in labs years ago (It "graduated" to everyone's Gmail last year), and I don't think I've needed it until now, but I'm glad it was there when I finally did.

$2 Towards Amazon MP3s

Killer deal on Amazon MP3s!  They are giving away $2 credits to buy any songs or to put towards albums.  Can't beat free!  Even on a budget!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?tag=dealnewscom&ie=UTF8&docId=1000698991

Mac or PC for this Geek? His story.

So there I was sitting at my seven-year-old PC, editing some pictures for a client's website in Photoshop, when my PC decided to stop. And I mean stop cold. The hard drive was going nuts and processor at max. Needless to say I was a bit freaked out. Of course I hadn't saved the file I was working on. So I gave it a few minutes to see what it would do and to plot my revenge on it. Finally it worked out its issues and let me save what I was doing. Twenty minutes after it first stopped, I got it to restart. Everything was fine the rest of the evening after that. But this is a frequent occurrence.

So now what? Replace parts and try to keep it going? Or replace the machine? Well, of course, I just want to replace the whole damn thing! And now! But no... There is this budget thing that keeps me in check. And my wife that reminds me of it. :)

Being that it is 7 years old this fall, replacing the machine is really the option I'm going for. So I am saving for a new computer. I've been a Windows user since Windows 3.1. And I used DOS before that. I really like XP. Was really disappointed with Vista. I'm not entirely sure about Win7. Now they are talking about 8 coming out.

I've always had this dislike of Apple. I thought of them as overpriced and for snobs that don't know the first thing about hardware. But I was slightly brainwashed being a Microsoft Certified Pro and stopping just short of an MCSE.

Then... it happened. Last year in Best Buy. I saw it. Sitting there

all shiny and new. Plants vs Zombies was running on it and I had to touch it. My first experience with an iPad. I was hooked. Had to have one. Well, the budget got in the way again. So I saved. Every quarter I got back as change went straight to the pickle jar. Nine months and a couple of freelance jobs later, I had saved enough. But the iPad 2 was coming out! Even shinier! And faster! And I had to have it! Except there wasn't one available. Anywhere! Until one Thursday after work, I stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple things for dinner. My daughter and I walked past the electronics department like we always do, just to look (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). There in the cabinet were a few of the older iPads just like the last dozen times we walked past the display. Except this time there was another box that said iPad but the picture was different and it was a little thinner. A dozen

texts back and forth with the boss later, I bought it. FINALLY! IT WAS MINE!

Anyway... I'm still hooked. I use it every day. I keep thinking of app ideas. Even my daughter has ideas. So I looked into app creation. Yeah, you can learn programming and use an emulator on a PC but there is a lot of cool mac software out there that makes it so much easier. And I don't have to learn another programming language. But that means I need an Apple computer.

So now I am saving for a new computer and can't decide whether to buy a Win7 PC or a Mac. The Mac Minis are nice and cheap. The iMacs are cool with the large monitors. But DANG! They are pricey!

So there here I am. Mac or PC? What's a guy to do?