Egg Baby App Offers Life Lessons

These days there’s an app for everything. You want directions to a restaurant and on-the-go reservations? No problem. What if you’d like to scan products at the grocery store and find out their nutritional value, or find them cheaper elsewhere? Yup, there’s an app for that. There are apps that can simulate zombies chasing you (to motivate you to jog), apps that can save your receipts for tax time, and apps that can show you how to replace the wax seal in your toilet. So it’s no surprise that there are mobile applications designed to aid in the educational process, providing kids with tools and games that aim to get them interested in science, math, language, and more. But what about the lessons that kids don’t learn in school, life lessons about caring and sharing that parents are on the hook for? Well, if you’re having a hard time trying to teach your tiny tots about the concept of caring for another living creature, Egg Baby for Apple and Android devices is one app that can deliver.

The app is free to download and like many in the freemium model, there are in-app purchases (coins in this case) that can expedite gameplay. But what does the game have to offer? In essence this app provides users with virtual pets that they care for and raise, much like the Tamagothci of old. But if you’re familiar with the concept, you’re going to find that this little app that could is head and shoulders above competitors. And it’s still simple enough that even young kids should be able to grasp the concept and the controls. In fact, all you have to do to get started is choose an egg to adopt and bring home.

From there kids will have to maintain their eggs and they do this in a number of ways. Eggs must be fed, washed, entertained, and put to sleep. In other words, users have to pay attention to their egg babies in order to keep them healthy, happy, and on their way to hatching. You can track their progress with monitors that show you optimum zones to keep your eggs in with food, rest, and so on. And over time your eggs will earn you coins, which you can then use for customization. Give your egg a wig, some cool shades, a hat, or a hoodie to make it look special. As a bonus, you can now take screenshots to post to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to share with friends or enter in the Egg of the Week contest.

Eventually, the eggs will hatch, revealing one of several creatures that will live in your backyard and provide items for new eggs in the house. And then you can start all over again. For parents trying to teach kids about responsibility, the rewards of diligence, and the onus of a caretaker (to prepare them for a real pet at some point, just for example), this app offers a fun and creative format to impart these life lessons. And you shouldn’t be surprised if you get hooked on this engaging app yourself. When it comes to academic study, you can always hire a service like VarsityTutors.com to help your kids. But life lessons are a different matter altogether. Luckily, this is one instance where the app-sphere has you covered. So don’t hesitate to download Egg Baby and get your kids one step closer to caring for a real live pet.

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TweetPee: the App That Tells Parents When Baby Needs a Diaper Change

Parenting is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. Babies are incredibly demanding, in need of constant care and attention; for many parents, the strain is almost too much to bear. Despite the fact that parenthood is a lifelong dream for many, it is by no means an easy path. Parents need all the help they can get, and diaper giant Huggies is now offering help in an entirely new way–TweetPee, a smart phone app that alerts parents when their babies need to be changed.

Lots of new parents already make great use of their smart phones as parenting tools. Numerous health and education related apps help them care for their babies in the best possible ways, and many apps can be used to entertain the babies themselves. TweetPee goes a step further, offering a unique solution to the problem of diaper changes. Using a small sensor that attaches to the child’s diaper and measures humidity levels, this app sends out tweet-like alerts that tell parents when their babies have wet themselves. This could turn out to be little more than a novelty, or it could become the next must-have item for parents everywhere.

This app includes other useful capabilities, such as an option to track diaper changes in order to measure babies’ regularity and development. Parents can control who receives the alerts, as the app works either by sending out text messages or generating social media notifications. Babysitters and nannies could be included in the circle, making the app useful even when mom and dad aren’t around. Finally, TweetPee offers parents the option to order diapers directly through the app. Users can even use the app to track their stock of diapers at home and ensure that they order more before the stash runs out.

Huggies is currently testing its new product in Brazil to gather market research information. The device that is used to detect diaper changing time is a small bluebird that attaches to the child’s diaper. It is comfortable, safe and unobtrusive enough to work for any parent, and does its job by periodically measuring humidity in the diaper area. Fluctuations in moisture levels are used to generate alerts and notify parents about the need for a change. As the product is refined and improved, it will surely become even more capable in order to meet the demands of modern customers.

Will TweetPee catch on, or will parents stick to their old tried-and-true ways of dealing with diaper changes. The market will decide whether Huggies is solving a real problem or just generating a novelty item. Parenting expenses and responsibilities are huge today, ranging from postnatal care to the California Cryobank, and some parents may not take the idea of TweetPee seriously enough to give it a fair shot.

Wherever this new app goes in the future, parents everywhere can rest assured that technology will continue to grow and meet their needs. TweetPee is yet another example of innovation and ingenuity rising up to help the average parents.

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Google’s New Streaming Music Subscription Service

Whether you’re an artist or a consumer, “thanks” to the internet, the music industry has changed drastically. Take streaming music subscription services, for instance.

For the consumer, in many ways, it’s the best thing to happen in recent years to music fans. That’s because for a cheap monthly fee, you can add a mind-boggling amount of songs to your personal music library without doing a lot of cataloguing or waiting. All you basically have to do is go to one of the websites, search for the genre or artist that you want to listen to and click “play”. Plus, being that Wi-Fi access is only continuing to grow and smartphones are the “new black” for cell phone service, it appears that streaming music services are here to stay.

For the artist, in some ways it’s a bit like an Achilles’ heel in the sense that it does pose some real challenges as it relates to generating income from their music releases, although some experts say that it could prove, in time, to be somewhat beneficial. How? Well for one thing, streaming music subscription services for the artist could end up simplifying their income tracking and accounting while increasing their fan base and making their distribution challenges much easier.

So perhaps these are some of the reasons why Google has gotten into the music streaming music service industry. As they join the ranks of iTunes, Spotify, Xbox, Amazon Cloud and Sony Music Unlimited, it would only make sense that one of the top search engines in the world would further expand its market base. However, being that there are several options for consumers to choose from, is there really a need for one more?

In time, that is an answer that Google is hoping to provide thanks to many of its features including its (current) 15 million song track listing; its cloud storage for 20,000 tunes (although it does bear noting that any songs that you buy and store from Google Play does not actually count towards that total); its amazing audio quality (some say that it’s currently the best in the market) and its All Access for Play Music that is very similar to Spotify in the sense that it is an unlimited streaming service for Google Music (although that particular feature is currently only available in the United States). And, then there’s the price; one that is also fairly competitive with the other services on the market. If you obtain a subscription to Google Play Music All Access before June 30, the cost is $7.99. After that time, it’s $9.99.

So while iTunes is the oldest stream platform in the game, Spotify is still the most popular choice and Sony and Amazon continue to be rivals in their own right, whether you’re an artist, consumer or even if you’re a music journalist, manager or one of the top music promoters on the scene, if streaming music is your thing, the Google is definitely one to consider.

Especially if you are going to test it out before June 30 (because that price is pretty awesome).

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MedTube: a Medical Video Archive

Do you remember the first job you had, probably as a teenager? Since you had no education or experience that an employer might find useful, you likely had to take a low-level, minimum-wage job that required no expertise. You may have worked in a fast food restaurant, taking orders and flipping burgers on a grill, or perhaps you got a job at a retail store, folding sweaters and making sales. If you were a little less lucky, you might have wound up working for a telemarketer (shudder). But even in these jobs, which are commonly described as being so easy that a monkey could do them, you had to undergo some training. Do you recall how long it took you to learn to use a cash register, or to remember which toppings went on the Whopper? Although you probably only underwent a few days of training at most, it likely took you a lot longer to get comfortable with the demands of the position. So when you consider what goes into becoming a doctor, as opposed to prepping food at a restaurant, you can see why so many years of schooling and clinical training are required.

That said, there is such a vast amount of knowledge required in order to function as a medical professional that it should be no surprise that healthcare workers must frequently refer back to source materials in order to recall the nuances of lessons learned. And thanks to a handy little app for the iPhone and iPad, they can now do so with the help of video content. MedTube, which is free to download, provides a multimedia library of medical videos that includes actual surgical procedure, along with a slate of other resources like animations, presentations, lectures, podcasts, case reports, and all kinds of other materials for healthcare professionals to peruse. And the best part is that it’s completely free of charge.

The app itself is simple enough to use, whether you’re looking for something specific or merely poking around. The first step is to select a broad category, such as dentistry, gastroenterology, pathology, or surgery, just to name a few. Then you’ll discover a slew of subheadings to choose from, after which you’ll be taken to a listing of pertinent video content for your selection. If you want information on a hernia, for example, you’ll find tons of video content, including not only footage of treatments and procedures to correct specific types of hernia, but also lectures about the condition and potential therapies. With a wide range of categories and a growing library that currently numbers at over 11,000 videos, you’re sure to find something useful.

The content itself is provided by a wide range of reputable sources, including doctors, medical groups, and universities all over the world. And before any video is introduced into the archive it must be screened and approved by a team of doctors and specialists. Each video therefor has educational value, and users can reasonably expect that they will not find materials that contain questionable content (such as controversial procedures or technologies). Whether you are a nurse, a medical doctor, or a specialist; whether you own private practice, work in the ER, or operate a Los Angeles pain management facility; this application was made by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. So use it to refresh your memory or learn something new every day. MedTube is on demand, medical TV for any healthcare professional that wants to provide the best possible service to their patients.

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The Mobile App Every Internet Marketer Needs

If you’ve ever found yourself on a long morning commute, wondering how to advise clients when it comes to decreasing the occurrence of shopping cart abandonment, then perhaps you would benefit from an internet marketing magazine, created by and for the professional online marketing crowd, especially one that happened to be at your beck and call, anytime and anywhere, thanks to a mobile application you can download to your smartphone or tablet. If this sounds like a pretty tall order, just hold your horses – there is an app for that, and it is aptly titled Internet Marketing Magazine. It’s free to download, as are the monthly issues of the magazine, and it is one useful e-zine that can benefit marketers and online entrepreneurs alike.

Tips and tricks on minimizing shopping cart abandonment are the least of what you’ll get with this mobile app. It can provide you with the information you need to create automated webinars that help you to reach and retain clientele. Each installment could give you insight into new tools like Google Glass, or help you improve the output of tried-and-true platforms like WordPress and social media standbys like Facebook and Twitter. In short, Internet Marketing Magazine can open the doors to a world of opportunities when it comes to growing an online presence and participating in the virtual community.

Internet marketing is a field that is constantly changing. This can make it hard for even savvy and educated marketers to stay on top of trends. But businesses need to be on the cutting edge if they want to make the most of their efforts in the online arena, which means the internet marketers they hire must stay abreast of the latest and greatest in platforms, trends, events, keywords, and more. Your job is to increase traffic and leads for your clients so that they, in turn, may increase sales and hopefully profits. These are the ultimate goals of every business, online or otherwise. And thanks to a panel of expert contributors, those who peruse Internet Marketing Magazine will have access to content that comes from some of the brightest minds in the profession, on an international scale.

Whether you’re seeking information on niche marketing strategies, you want to learn more about optimizing online stores, or you need to know what’s trending where web design is concerned, this app can bring you the timely and topical information you need to run a successful internet marketing business. Even if it happens that you are not a marketer, but just a business owner that wants to make the most of his online efforts, Internet Marketing Magazine has something for you. Of course, you might have to look up terms that the intended audience is familiar with, like SEO or PPC, but once you get the lingo down you’ll no doubt be pleased by the wealth of information in this app. Engaging in internet marketing is no easy feat, especially considering how rapidly trends come and go. But with the Internet Marketing Magazine application at your disposal you should have no trouble staying on top of industry developments, whether you’re a professional internet marketer or a Joe Schmoe trying to transfer his business into the online arena.

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The Mango Health App Rewards You for Staying Healthy

Have you taken your medication today? All over the world, people are trying their best to get healthy and stay that way. Gym memberships are growing, health-oriented diets are becoming increasingly common, and millions of people are kicking their old unhealthy habits in favor of a more active lifestyle. However, one lingering problem is the average American’s failure to follow prescribed medication regimens. Mango health seeks to solve this problem with their new mobile app.

Experts estimate that up to 50% of Americans who are prescribed medication fail to take their medicine regularly, and this problem has serious implications. Aside from putting the health of individual patients at risk, this failure to follow doctors’ orders costs the health care system billions of dollars every year. The Mango Health organization, started by former game developers, has introduced a health-oriented mobile app that they believe will help people stick to their medication regimens and stay healthy.

Mango Health’s app works by turning the medication routine into a game. It employs a sleek, colorful interface for easy interaction, and makes the old chore of taking medicine into a fun activity. The app is also highly informative and educational, as it provides important information about medicine interactions. Users won’t have to worry about the negative effects of combining their medications, which is especially helpful for any patient on a regimen of multiple daily doses. Timed daily reminders give the users personalized notifications whenever they’re due for a daily dose, making it easier than ever to stay on top of a medication routine.

Best of all, Mango Health offers its users a reward system to keep them motivated. Users can earn points every day by taking their medication on time and logging their doses in the app. As they accumulate points, users can start to earn rewards like gift cards and charity donations. This is a great way to keep users engaged and loyal to the app while they keep up with their medication regimens. It also allows Mango Health to offer their app free of charge. Brand integration and partnership with businesses serves as advertising that keeps the cost of the app down for users everywhere.

Health and fitness apps are becoming more popular every day as people all over the world grow increasingly concerned about their health. Several popular apps already help mobile users keep track of their daily diet foods, generate new workout ideas, and track progress in exercise regimens. Several currently available mobile apps have attempted to solve the medication regimen problem, but none have been as forward-thinking as Mango Health. While other apps have tackled the problem in unique ways, Mango brings a light-hearted sense of fun into the situation, and that should help patients everywhere stay motivated and stick to their prescribed medicine routines.

With a successful background in gaming and over a million dollars in raised funds for development of their app, Mango Health is well equipped to tackle this important issue. Their new health game could be very effective in solving the medication problem, and experts everywhere are optimistic about its potential.

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The Most Common Mistakes When Selecting a Web Hosting Service

There’s always an awful lot of excitement when you’re getting ready to launch a new website. You’ve got something to say or a product to announce, and the expectation that the world will embrace this news with open arms. You’re ready to share your knowledge, interact with millions of new friends or potential customers, and with the freedom of the internet you can do it all with only a tiny financial investment. But some websites die before they’re even properly launched, due to a couple of missteps. The web hosting service you choose to run your site is the most crucial technical consideration you’ll make. But if you aren’t a web design expert, you could be swayed into a poor choice. That could lead to lost traffic and the generation of more bad blood than positive sentiment. So do your best to avoid these most common mistakes when selecting a web hosting service.

Probably the most common mistake made in this process is to choose a service simply because they offer the lowest price. This is a dangerous line of thinking to follow. When you do a quick web search for hosting services, you’ll see all sorts of low end prices and big promises. But the sites that promote their cheap service first and foremost may not offer all of the technical skill and structural integrity that’s even more important. In order to undercut their competition they must trim somewhere else. That means they don’t have as much support staff as they need, they’ve lowered their bandwith or are using a low end server. If you discover these issues later on down the line, when your site doesn’t work as it should, it’s already too late.

You also don’t want to lock in a website hosting service before you’ve clearly defined the requirements of your site. Every site is different, and the technical needs of a full-bodied e-commerce portal are far different than a business blog filled with posts and images. In addition, you should have some idea of how much traffic you expect your site to draw, and what the long term vision is for the site. Some web hosts offer a level of security, which you’ll need if your site will handle credit card transactions. Others don’t need all of that, but certainly require the bandwith to handle major traffic. If you don’t understand your needs, you won’t be able to select the proper service.

Some businesses will try to stretch their investment by launching multiple websites through the same web hosting account. This may sound like an easy way to increase your ROI, but it almost never works out that way. First of all, there isn’t a web host out there that won’t drop service from time to time. If you’ve chosen a low end provider, it may happen quite frequently. With all of your websites handled by the same account, that means every single one will go down at the same time. You’ll be better served spreading your sites out, to insure your entire online presence isn’t affected by such issues.

Finally, don’t think that all of your data backup requirements are covered by your hosting service. The majority of quality companies offer backup technology, and will do their best to prevent data loss. But you’ll never be 100% protected. Your best bet is to avoid relying on them at all for this type of service. Make sure you back everything up on your end, from the thousands of emails you collect, to the entire history of your blog and even the template you bought on FireBubble.co.uk. That way you’ll never be in the terrible position of having to recreate years of work on the fly.

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How to Build Big Web Traffic in a Tiny, Niche Blog

Blogging, for most, is a labor of love. Sure there are plenty of people out there with lofty goals of monetization, but most bloggers don’t start out with the idea of becoming a millionaire. They just want to share their ideas and opinions with an audience in the hope that they can connect with, learn from, and inspire a group of like-minded individuals. But as long as you’re sharing your passion with others, you might as well do what you can to extend your reach. Of course, it’s not quite as easy as waving your virtual wand and taking your tiny, niche blog to the level of popularity enjoyed by, say, Mashable, the Onion, or TMZ. You’ll actually have to take targeted steps in order to increase traffic, visibility, and your overall web presence. And even then you may never gain the expansive following you seek. But if you’re committed to making the most of your blog, even if it only appeals to a particular segment of society, here are a few tips to help you build your web traffic.

  1. Content, content, content. It’s not enough that you’re an expert in the niche topic you blog about – you have to remind readers of this fact constantly by providing them with current examples of your genius. And if you’re at all savvy concerning SEO, then you know that adding content regularly not only keeps readers interested; it also gives you a chance to use trending keywords to your advantage. Of course, your primary objective is to ensure the satisfaction of your readership, and you can do this, first and foremost, by keeping them riveted with your fresh, engaging, and timely content.
  2. Share and share alike. As a niche blog you will have to rely somewhat on a grass-roots type of movement to spread your name. The best way to do this is by encouraging current patrons to share your posts. And you’ll no doubt discover that certain types of content are more likely to be shared. For example, large blocks of text might not move well (unless they feature incendiary, shocking, or hilarious content), but infographics and videos might get passed around more. It also helps if you provide a means of sharing by featuring options like an RSS feed and ways for fans to like and repost you on Facebook, Twitter, and so on.
  3. Get listed. Listing your website with search engines may seem secondary to penning compelling blog posts, and it probably should be (especially considering Penguin directives). But if you fail to take the steps necessary to get your blog listed with search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and so on (mainly Google, which accounts for roughly two thirds of all search traffic), you’re shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to the potential to increase traffic. Well, there’s a lot more to it than simply getting listed, but this is a good place to start.
  4. Optimization. Once you’ve gotten yourself listed it’s time to start optimizing so that you can raise your page rank and ultimately increase traffic to your site via targeted keyword searches. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to shell out tons of money to hire the best SEO company on the web, but you may have to teach yourself, a potentially lengthy process, or devote some funds to hiring a little help when it comes to making your content work for you.
  5. Analytics. Optimization and outreach efforts are worthless if you don’t take the time to run analytics and see which strategies are delivering the best returns. Analytical tools can be used to provide you with custom reports that help you to create a plan for expansion based on proven data. This is a great way to ensure that you’re not wasting your precious time on efforts that aren’t increasing your web presence and bringing in more traffic.
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Voice Activated CheapAir App Lets You Speak Your Flight Searches

When you are on your way out of town and you’re running through the airport to catch your flight, although you probably notice the other people who are doing the same, chances are, you haven’t really thought about just how many individuals are sharing the airwaves with you. Well, you might be surprised that several studies indicate that close to two million people are flying on an airplane, somewhere in the world, on a daily basis.

This means there are a lot of people who had to spend a fair amount of time either on the phone with a travel agent or airline customer service assistance, or online on a flight-related website so that they could schedule their travel plans. If you’ve ever had to do any of these things, then you know that sometimes it can be more frustrating to communicate the kind of flight that need.

Luckily, Cheap Air, a very popular online travel agency, may have provided you with a bit of much needed travel planning relief. It was recently announced that they have invented an app; one that is truly unique in the sense that there is currently no another app that is like it in the marketplace. That’s because what it does is provide iPhone and iPad app users with the convenience of being able to search for their flights by speaking their requests into their devices rather than typing them out. That’s right, this particular app is voice-activated.

How it works is the talk-to-search app uses what is known as semantic language technology. This allows users of the app to state what kind of flight they are looking for and then once it processes the information, the app then displays flight options that are available based upon the request. Not only that, but it also alerts its users of more detailed flight information including whether or not there is Wi-Fi on the airplane or if there are personal monitors or live television available as well.

According to the chief executive of CheapAir, Jeff Klee, this is a kind of app that has been a long time coming because when people are in the midst of hustle and bustle of life, it can be quite time consuming to try and schedule a flight. Now, it’s much easier to multitask because they don’t have to wait to get still enough to type out what they need. They can simply say it into their iPhone (or other Apple device).

Although users of the app will still be afforded the option of being able to type their requests into their search parameters, the makers of the talk-to-search app are pretty confident that it will be only a matter of time before it will be one of the more popular apps around, especially for avid travelers and business commuters.

So, the next time that you’re looking to book a flight or you’re sitting in airport parking at MCO (or an airport closer to your home), why not save some time and use Cheap Air’s new app? In the amount of time that it takes for you to type your search out, by talking instead, you can have a few upcoming flights scheduled easily.

If Cheap Air and it’s new app has its way, anyway.

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MindSnacks Makes Kids Mouthy – in a Good Way

If you haven’t yet heard of app developer MindSnacks, Inc. then your kids could be missing out on a slew of tools designed to help them master language (or languages, as the case may be). The apps created by this company are dedicated to teaching kids new vocabulary, be it French, Italian, or Mandarin Chinese. But what may be of more interest to the average English-speaking parent is the app for the iPhone or iPad that focuses on vocabulary for a child’s native language. And the Kids’ Vocab application from MindSnacks aims to deliver with a slew of features designed not just to help children spell and memorize words, but to understand them so that they can learn to use them correctly in everyday speech. With nine games, twenty-five lessons, and up to twenty new words or phrases per lesson, kids age 7-12 (or thereabouts) will find a lot to love in this educational app.

While download is free, you’ll have to pay $4.99 for access to all 25 lessons available through this MindSnacks application. But you’ll no doubt consider it five bucks well spent when kids start using words like omnivore and invertebrate. And the fact that it makes learning fun will not be lost on parents or kids. The main thing that will likely appeal to kids is the fact that every lesson is a game. In fact, there are nine different games that are designed to help children learn in specific ways. For example, there is one that deals with spelling and sounds while another aims to teach kids how to properly use the vocabulary they’ve just learned. Not every child absorbs information in the same way, so the idea behind the multitude of game styles is to target all manner of teaching methods so as to ensure maximum retention. In a way, every child that uses this app will get a personalized lesson plan. And the best part is that kids will love it!

In addition to the 350+ words and phrases that kids will be exposed to, there are additional quests and challenges designed to motivate users and keep them going. And all of the elements of the application, from word selection to game design, were created with the help of in-house education experts as a way to ensure that kids have the best chance to learn and retain vocabulary. Plus, MindSnacks utilized state curricula to select words and phrases that children are most likely to find useful as they progress in school. And thanks to unique algorithms, the app can even pinpoint areas or words that kids are having trouble with in order to repeat material until users have it down pat. Your kids will certainly get more information here than they would from using flashcards.

Of course, that’s not all MindSnacks has to offer. When kids complete the lessons provided by the Kids’ Vocab application you might want to spring for the SAT Vocab iteration that offers 500 new words designed to help your kids prep for (and ace) the SAT. The familiar games and lessons will make it easy for them to tackle new lessons and learn the vocabulary that will help them get through this difficult standardized test. And if your children are learning new languages, look for the many foreign-language apps offered by MindSnacks to supplement the lessons they’re exposed to in school.

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