The Colbert Report Live: What It’s Like and Tips for Tix

January 18, 2013 By Gino 2 Comments

I was lucky enough to watch two of my biggest heros and role-models back-to-back this week, and I am honestly still having a hard time grasping how amazing that was. That’s why, I wanna give you guys an idea of what it’s like and how best to try to get into these live tapings of arguably the funniest and wittiest political comedy shows in history.

Tickets

Check online, always. Usually, after big breaks, they release a whole ton, so keep an eye out then (I scored them first week of January, right after Colbert’s 3-week Christmas break). Also, check when you’re really close to the date. For example, check the night before or the morning of the show, usually, some folks cancel or some VIP tickets are removed, so, you might find a pair or a handful of available tickets you can reserve.

Reserving Doesn’t Guarantee

This is like The Daily Show, your online reservation and confirmation only allows you to stand in line. The ticket is issued to you when you’re standing there, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Unlike TDS though, CR doesn’t need you to spend your whole day in line. The doors open at around 6:00PM, so be in line well before that. I showed up at 5:10PM and was #87 in line, don’t show up any later. CR have set up a tent outside so you don’t freeze your asses off while waiting, and they quickly start letting people into the indoor waiting area at around 5:45PM

The Show

Stephen is perhaps the most vivacious and lively person I have every seen. He runs, jumps, screams and waves all the time, even when he is out of character. What’s special about Colbert is that he is basically always in character, EXCEPT right before the taping of his show, when he goes out of character and answers 3-4 questions from the audience. Now, that alone is something to go crazy for, cause Stephen didn’t even break character when he appeared before the US Congress to establish his Super PAC last year!

You all see how extra-enthusiastic the audience always is. They’re always on their feet and chanting “STEPHEN! STEPHEN! STEPHEN!” And, I must say, I am guilty as charged! The laughs you’d normally laugh get immediately amplified because everyone around you is as excited as you are. Also, Stephen is an improv actor, and he really really really does feed off of the audience’s energy. In other words, the bigger and louder the laugh, the more beautifully Stephen wraps up a hilarious joke or pun.

CR’s set is amazing and getting to see it up close was a real treat. From all the souvenirs and trinkets he keeps on his bookshelves, to the screens and props we are all so fond of. Watching Stephen live was exhilarating in every way. My only wish is that we got more alone-time with Stephen! There was so much I wanted to ask him!

I did manage to find out though that he loves his Brussel sprouts baked in the oven with bacon, and that the CR has bought an ancient type of BIC pens that are no longer manufactured, simply because they are “chewy” enough for Stephen, who nibbles at their ends before coming up on stage (that’s why you see him biting on a pen in the January 16, 2013 taping I attended, as an inside joke with the live audience!)

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Filed Under: How To Tagged With: colbert, colbert report, comedy, entertainment, watch colbert live

Jon Stewart Live: What It’s Like and How To Get In

January 16, 2013 By Gino 2 Comments

So, many of you guys who follow or friend me on social media already loathe me for rubbing it in everyone’s faces that I watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart twice in two days. I’ll walk you through what it’s like seeing this legend live, and keep in mind, that to me, Jon Stewart is a hero and role model. When I write, deep down, I’m dreaming I’m writing my satirical posts and tongue-in-cheek analyses for his show… Or a show like his where I’m the funny pundit…

Scoring Tickets

This is the hardest part. I have been checking in on The Daily Show’s website for almost 13 months, and I have never seen tickets available. BUT, as you all know, Jon took a 3-week vacation over Christmas and New Year’s, and I decided to check in on the website the second week of January. To my luck, there were plenty of ticket slots available and I pinched a few while I still could (they ran out in little over a few hours!).

Now, do not despair. Why? Because after you book the tickets, you need to confirm, and some people forget to open that email and click that link, so new spots are always suddenly popping up. The only thing I can tell you, is check in right after the show comes back from a break, and as often as you can. Good things come to those who wait!

Tickets Don’t Guarantee Entry

So, you found a couple of spots open online and you successfully reserved them. I’m sorry to tell you that those tickets aren’t tickets into the taping, they are just tickets that will allow you to stand in line. Meaning, to be able to stand in line in front of TDS studio, you need that email confirmation.

GO VERY EARLY! They open the doors at 2:30PM but be there at 1:00 or even sooner. Don’t whine, you all have smartphones or books. Just plug something in your ears and waste some time educating yourself while in line. The line swells to over 200 folks at around 2:20PM and they begin issuing yellow and blue tickets (yellow first).

Then, you go kill a couple of hours and come back at 4:30PM where they start letting you into the studio (past metal detectors) according to your ticket number (so you don’t stand in line again with a first-come, first-serve basis). Sometimes, they issue over 200 tickets, but cut-off the line before that. For example, on Monday, they cut it off at 176 and about 30 people were told they’d be given “VIP pass” tickets to a future show if they emailed and did the due process.

So, go there early, it’ll be worth it because, you won’t stand much in line at 4:30PM and you’ll get much better seats inside.

The Show

Perhaps the absolute best part of the show is right before the taping. Jon comes out, takes a microphone and lets the audience ask him questions. This lasts for about 15 minutes, and the improvised, witty and extremely sweethearted back and forth between Jon and the audience, is the true gem of watching the show live.

Sometimes, right after Jon announces his guest at the beginning of a show, he says something that sorta seems out of place. A joke that would make you say “huh? why? idk!” That’s the part where Jon punishes an audience member for a stupid question by turning that into a joke somehow. So, that’s another cool perk of being there live.

The taping of the show is basically hiccup-free and what you see live is the show you see later that night on TV. Jon and everyone involved work like clockwork and they rarely ever do a second take. Last night, they had to redo the opening, but not for lack of professionalism or experience, but because Assef’s whipped cream skit proved to delicious and Jon had to taste it and take up more than the 21 minutes and 30 seconds the show needs to be. Man, I love their jobs!

Also, you’d think the audience is given cues like “applause” or “laughter” on some screen. They’re not! The laughing is natural and organic, although probably a little louder than your laughs at home… After all, you are in the presence of Mr. Stewart and you bet your ass I was gonna laugh a hearty HAHAHAHA!

Conclusion

Go watch it. Empty up and afternoon if you score those tickets. If you’re a fan like me, the waiting will fly by and you’ll forget everything when your face muscles ache from too much laughing. Jon’s an extremely nice, courteous and hilarious comedy genius. It was perhaps one of my favorite parts of moving to New York!

Filed Under: How To, USA Tagged With: entertainment, jon stewart, jon stewart live, jon stewart tickets how to, the daily show

Instagram for Dummies

September 29, 2012 By Gino 5 Comments

Usually, when I grow very accustomed to a certain social media platform and put it through its paces for several months and try different approaches and techniques, I like to do a streamlined post for those wanting to, but not having the time and passion to find out everything you need to enjoy it. I’ve done it for Twitter before and this is the Instagram for dummies post.

What is Instagram?

Well, basically it’s the photo version of Twitter, on steroids. What this means that it can be several things depending on how you use it. You can stalk and lurk on celebrity profiles, you can build a network of your closest friends and family, you can explore different areas of the world, different interests, specific topics, events, etc. It all depends on who you follow and which tags you surf through.

The concept is fairly simple, you snap a photo of something or someone then edit it real quick and publish it. Editing is usually adding filters to your photo, altering the colors, contrast, sharpness, exposure and other stuff non-photographer folks like you and me would never be able to do on our own. Basically, it makes an ok photo look really awesome if you can mix and match properly between the effects.

Here are a few tips on how to be a good Instagrammer and get followers and follow people worth following

1- Don’t post other people’s photos

That’s just not cool. If it’s a hilarious meme or photo or something which you feel you must post, that’s ok. But no one wants to see something you screenshotted off 9gag. Also, don’t ever post a photo you googled. The beauty of Instagram is sharing the every day stuff you notice or experience, and sharing it with the rest of the world. Sure a photo from Kilimanjaro would look wicked awesome, but folks will know it’s not yours and wonder what was the point (unless of course you did climb it!)

2- Lose the frames and blur effects

Honestly, the frames on Instagram suck. I personally cringe when I see the burnt/torn edges one, or when someone blurs out part of the photo for no apparent reason. My advice is, never use a frame for your photo and only use the blur effect to really accentuate something, like a certain word or person in a crowded shot.

3- Don’t overdo the hashtags

NO!

The hashtag “#” is a powerful tool. When you click it, you will see every single photo tagged with that, which is one of the main ways of discovering new people to follow and photos to enjoy. The common mistake is people using popular, yet meaningless hashtags like “#instahub #instamood #instawow #picoftheday, etc.” Sure, these will land you a few extra likes, but they’re completely worthless and honestly annoying to your followers. Instead, use relevant hashtags to let people searching for a certain something stumble upon your creations.

For example, when you take an awesome shot of a nice building, tag it with things like #architecture #design #minimalism #beirut #lebanon which accurately represent your photo and it’s location, two things people would love to know. I personally get upset when I see a very nice shot, without it being tagged with the location and just the silly meaningless hashtags.

4- Post nice captions

A photo is worth a thousand words but a few words can make a photo a whole lot better and more meaningful. Write a nice caption of whatever the photo is about. Explain the situation, describe the area, write a nice quote, whatever you feel relevant to share with your followers. Also, if you’re linked up to your Twitter and Facebook accounts, it’ll make the posts and tweets a lot more interesting versus just a short url of the photo. Posting a proper caption is always a good idea, in my honest opinion, it’s best to post a plain text caption, and under it as a comment, use the relevant hashtags for the post (it’ll still work the same).

5- Don’t Instacanvas/Instagallery

Those leaching websites offer to print and sell your shots to people willing to buy them and give you a percentage. That’s cool, but come on, would you yourself buy someone’s Instagram shot? Very unlikely. Plus, if you don’t have PayPal (which most folks in Lebanon don’t have) it’s useless because even if you do sell, you wouldn’t be able to get paid. So, you’re letting people get money off your own work and that sucks. Plus, the automated “Like this photo, check out my instacanvas gallery…” comments are a real eyesore for me, cause I hate bots and I’m sure you do too.

6- Post nice photos

Ok, you’re not a pro photographer, but no one wants to see a photo of your name on a Starbucks cup… Take photos that are nice, the kind you’d wanna see on your own feed while scrolling through. If they’re not nice, at least make them relevant somehow, or funny or whatever. Don’t post ugly photos, entertain people following you, make them want to regularly check your feed for new photos instead of getting pity likes from silly hashtags for no reason and on a one-off basis. Build a following/follow environment that’s always active and interactive, which likes and comments and whom you like and comment back to.

7- Stay active

Don’t disappear for 3 weeks then post 1 photo. I hate that, and usually unfollow people who haven’t posted for more than a week. Instagram should be a minor part of your normal routine, not something you dedicate special time to. If I’m waiting for a metro and spot something cool, I photograph it, edit it and publish it in seconds. So, don’t expect me to believe there’s nothing worth posting for that long a period of time. Also, you might think I’m a spaz for being picky and whiny about this, but come on, I’m following you to entertain me, not throw a bone every now and then. This is Twitter-like, not Facebook-like, you need to always be there.

8- Link up

Let your photos get published on your other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, etc. That’s how they get more exposure and help you find friends and share the awesome photos with your non-Android and non-iOS friends and family. I personally tweet all of my photos when published, and that’s where all the interaction happens whether it’s retweets, favorites or replies and comments.

9- Dont auto-follow

When you create an Instagram account and link it up to your twitter/facebook/etc, it shows you your friends and following who also use Instagram. Never click follow all. Why? Because you’ll automatically have for example 200 people you’re following, while only a handful following you, which makes you look like a loser which no one wants to follow, or a spam bot. Go through these lists, check who’s active and who isn’t (cause most never actually post, they just sign up “and couldn’t figure it out” and give up) check who’s worth it and who isn’t. It’s nice to have a balanced follower-to-following ratio, and it’s even nicer to have a follower-to-following ratio tipped to the followers side.

10- Choose an easy and relevant username, don’t protect your photos and write a bio

Don’t call yourself puppykiller187, unless you don’t want people to find you there. Call yourself by your name (without special symbols) because the Instagram search engine is somewhat unreliable and if you miss a few letters, you’re not gonna find who you’re looking for. Also, write a short bio, like the ones on Twitter, letting folks know what kinda person you are and if you’re what they’re looking to follow. Also, try not to protect your photos, I mean, post things which aren’t incriminating or too naughty, after all, why would someone request to follow if they can’t see what kinda photos you post? And what do you have to hide? Share with the world!

11- Follow me and let me follow you

I love going through my Instagram feed, I follow a lot of cool and interesting folks and whenever I have some spare time, waiting for the bus, waiting for my order to get done, etc. I flip through and see what everyone’s up to in the world. I also post cool photos (or so I’m told) so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden to follow me =D

Filed Under: Extras, Fun, How To, Tech, Thoughts Tagged With: how to get instagram followers, how to instagram, instagram, instagram 101, instagram for dummies, instagram guide

Twitter 101: 8 Things You NEED to Do When You Sign Up

January 3, 2012 By Gino 4 Comments

Everyone is signing up to Twitter these days, and many go down in flames after a few confusing minutes. Here are a few pointers from a Twitter addict such as myself. I hope it helps! And don’t just follow Saad and Mikati, follow real tweeps who are awesome.

1- Sign Up on Twitter.com

This should be fairly simple to accomplish by yourselves, if you find it hard, then please stick to Facebook and spare everyone the horror.

: NO!

2- ADD A PHOTO

I never follow a twitter account without a photo. It doesn’t have to be your photo in a bikini, just not the generic egg thing twitter places by default. So, please, before you start following people and expecting them to follow you back, add a photo (I posted images on how to do that, just look for my mouse cursor) and fill your bio.

3- FILL YOUR BIO

Your bio should be somewhat revealing about who you are. Being funny is an added plus, being cocky is a huge minus. For example, calling yourself an “expert” or “guru” is sort of arrogant and makes you look silly. That’s for people to decide, not you. Being ambiguous is up to you too, but I’d rather get an idea what you’d be tweeting about before clicking follow.

As for location, it’s nice to add your actual city, like Beirut or NYC, but if you’re paranoid about your safety, then go ahead and put barf-inducing stuff like “planet earth” or “somewhere over the rainbow” and feel cute =P

4- Get Accustomed to the Vocabulary

Tweet – the 140 character message you send
Tweep – a friend you have from twitter
Following – if you follow someone on twitter, his or her tweets will appear in your feed
Followers – the people who follow your tweets
@ – The @ symbol followed by a username means you are addressing that person (mentioning him/her), for example @GinoRaidy will appear as a reply to me in my @GinoRaidy “mentions” tab
# – The # symbol is put before a word or name of interest, for example #GinosBlog, so when someone clicks that hashtag on twitter or a twitter-based search engine, all the tweets containing #GinosBlog will appear in a separate feed. This is super-useful if you’re following a particular event or story, like #jan25 for the Egyptian “revolution” or “#oscars” for the Oscar awards.
Direct Message – a DM is sorta like an FB message, which can only be seen by the sender and receiver. The catch is, they have to be following each other. Take your “chats” to the DM, people don’t like their timelines filled with chit-chat.
Trending Topic – is a topic being tweeted about the most around the world.
Lists – you or others can compile people you follow into lists, such as “lebanon” or “biology” allowing you to see a feed exclusively from the people you add in that specific interest/location/etc.

5- Start Tweeting

Before you start following people and expect them to follow you back, you might as well post a few interesting tweets. “Hello” or “I don’t understand this” aren’t good examples. Why not share a nice post you read somewhere? Or a funny photo, or something that will actually make visiting your profile worth people’s time.

6- Find Interesting Tweeps

People who’ve been on Twitter for a while, tend to follow only the best accounts they’ve come across. I for one, routinely clear up my following list, removing inactive accounts, accounts that spam and just simply annoying accounts. So the 1100-something people I follow, are all awesome, so flip through it and follow the ones you find interesting too. That’s how you begin building up your following list, and eventually your follower list.

7- Follow-Unfollow Etiquette

Which means you don’t have to follow back, and the other person doesn’t need to follow you. But, general Twitter etiquette dictates you follow back users who follow you. Give them a chance, maybe you’ll enjoy their updates, if not, you can always unfollow.

8- Twitter Clients

Very few people use Twitter.com. That’s because most os us tweet on the move via our mobile devices. That’s where Twitter clients come in. They’re apps which replace Twitter and allow you to customize the way you tweet, read and interact. I personally recommend Tweetdeck (I used it on Mac and Android) it’s so awesome, that Twitter bough it =P. There’s also Hootsuite, Echofon and the official Twitter app for iPad and Android which I’d also recommend.

Now you’re ready to tweet! Follow me on @GinoRaidy and follow the blog on @GinosBlog!

Filed Under: How To, Tech

How to Download Music For Free Using Google

October 12, 2011 By Gino 6 Comments

1- Choose Your Music

I for example, keep my iTunes up to date by checking out Beatport.com every now and then to see the latest hot tracks.

2- Open Google.com

3- Punch in: Song Title + Artist + Zippyshare

4- Choose Results that Start with “Zippyshare.com”, Listen to it then just click “Download Now”

5- Enjoy Your Music and Share them with us!

PS, if you’re in a country where the rule of law applies, please note this is illegal. I wouldn’t want you to end up behind bars cause of lil’ol’ me!

Filed Under: How To Tagged With: download music for free, use google to download music free, zippyshare music download

10 Android Apps You MUST Have

April 1, 2011 By Gino 6 Comments

I’ve been an Android user for some 8 months now, and I’ve tried out dozens if not hundreds of apps on my Samsung Galaxy S. The open-source nature of the android provides almost limitless possibilities on the one hand, but a fair amount of bugginess on the other. Here are the apps I believe every android user should have after testing them and using them myself.

With android on the rise, the Google OS has already overtaken RIM’s BB and Apple’s iPhone, and is poised to take 45% of the smartphone market share by 2016

1- Mobile Guard

To enjoy the full-potential of your android OS, you have to be in constant control of every aspect, from what apps are running, to how you’re battery is being used up, to how the files are managed, software is maintained and your network and data consumption. This app does all that, and more!

Besides being an amazing app killer (the best I’ve used), Mobile Guard is also a quick and easy uninstaller, for the buggy apps you need to get rid of. So, it helps you shave off the apps that are running without you knowing. It also allows you to set your GPRS data limit, and helps you keep track of it in realtime, so you know if you could attach that 1.5 mb photo or not… NetQin have even managed to cram in a file manager, that helps you delete, create and organize folders and files on your mobile. The widget is beautiful too, with a simple “optimize” button that you customize beforehand to speed up your phone’s performance, and buttons to turn on/off your WIFI, GPRS and Bluetooth!

Definite 5/5. It does everything you need, and is absolutely free

2- Opera Mini

I live in Lebanon, the country with the world’s worst and most expensive internet, so I count kilobytes and not megabytes when I’m keeping track of my data plan limit. That’s why, I use Opera Mini for Android. This beautiful browser has all the features you need, but offers you the fastest, least data-consuming mobile internet surfing. It renders the images on its own servers, and sends a watered-down version to your mobile, sparing you the time and kilobytes. What’s awesome too is that when you hit “back” or “forward”, you don’t need to wait for the page to reload… So, this needs to be your mobile browser on Android, love it!

I also use it to access Facebook, cause their app is super-sluggish on Lebanese internet connections =(

I give Opera Mini a 5/5 for speed, reliability and simplicity

3- Tweetdeck

This is my absolute favorite Twitter client. The only platform I prefer the official Twitter Inc. app on is of course the iPad, where Twitter truly outdid everyone else.

Tweetdeck encompasses anything you need to tweet photos, locations, videos, shorten urls, deck.ly long-tweet support, very customizable notifications and in-app previews of images and embedded media.

What’s cool is that you can also integrate your Foursquare account, and Facebook. I’d recommend you dont use Facebook on TweetDeck, notification over-load, especially if your timeline is active and your FB notifications are too much.

So, I give TweetDeck a 4.5/5, cause no “reply all” option yet

4- Shazam Encore

I club a lot, and listen to a lot of good, and bad, music. The technology gods have given us the ability to find out any song’s name and artist, to either glorify, bash, or just download illegally from somewhere!

For this, I use Shazam Encore. Why the “Encore”, well, the Shazam guys decided they’re gonna be greedy and charge 5$ if you want to tag more than 5 songs/month, which I think is absurd. To by-pass this annoyance, just go to http://www.4shared.com from your Android’s browser, and punch in: “Shazam Encore.apk” download, save, and voila! Fully functional paid app, for free, with no rooting or other jail-break-ish procedures needed.

Simply tap on the blue screen when the app is open, and let the app “listen” to the song. It will then match it and save it as a “tag” with full details about the song, genre, artist, remix, etc. It also has a cool widget which shows you a “tag stream” from users near you.

I’ll give it a 4/5, cause it doesn’t always get it right the first time, and gets remixes mixed up!

5- Google Goggles

This nifty app is pure Google genius. Your phone has eyes, can read, compute and even solve sudokus using your phone’s camera. If the person you just met’s name is too long, simply Google Goggle it, and it will be scanned, analyzed and become savable as a contact with a tap!

Goggles can also search the terms you scanned, or if it’s a famous painting or piece of art, identify it. It can also work in-sync with your GPS, to identify restaurants and link you to their Google Map entries or wikipedia pages. The app can also scan barcodes and QR codes, but I wouldn’t recommend you use it for that, instead, use the next app in line.

Recently, with Android’s Froyo OS 2.2, it can even solve Sudoku puzzles!

I’ll give the goggles a solid 4/5, cause even though the art and venue features don’t work, the text analysis works charmingly and has proven itself very useful.

6- Barcode Scanner

If you’re wondering what that code on the right side is, it’s a QR code (Quick Response Code). It can contain your choice of information and/or commands for your mobile. You just scan it with your camera, and it either gives you some text, redirects you to a webpage, or makes the information savable as a contact. It is much, much faster than Google Goggles and better than its iOS counterpart. I loved using it, and believe it will one day replace business cards…

I’ll give it a 5/5 for doing its job perfectly and swiftly

7- WordPress

If you use WordPress for your website like me, WordPress apps usually suck. The iOS one on my iPad is virtually useless, and most importantly, does not show you stats! The android app though is surprisingly fast and includes everything you need to moderate comments, create complete posts (several posts, especially Fashals, were posted here by my Android app) and most feed your addiction with stats =P

I give this a shiny 5/5 for being so awesome

8- Google Translate

This app recently gained voice! You can now speak Spanish into it, and it’ll translate it by voice into English, then reply to your Spaniard friend in English, and it’ll talk Spanish for you! For now, this feature is still in Beta, but soon, more languages will be added!

Apart from that, it is a perfect translation app, dictionary and thesaurus. It’s fast, not glitchy, and provides an audible pronunciation of the word (so you never have to argue with anyone over how to pronounce “develop” or “police”)

I give this app 5/5 because it allows you to speak any language, literally!

9- Spaghetti and Marshmallows

My favorite mobile game… You need to combine marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti to build elaborate structures to get to your destination. Watch out for the frogs though. Endless fun, but use 4shared.com to download the full version with all the levels!

It definitely gets a full score of 5/5

10- Dropbox

We all juggle between desktops, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and a million other devices. Unfortunately, USBs never contain everything we need, and for handicaps in certain devices, like no USB port in Apple’s iPad, storage devices aren’t the answer. Dropbox is a simple-to-use cloud-based storage area, where you can “drop” files such as photos, text and even programs and reopen them from any other device which also has dropbox. It is also perfect for sharing files too big to be attached on Gmail (+25 MB)

It is sometimes unresponsive and you cannot cancel an upload, so, it gets a 3.5/5 from me

I hope this helps! And please feel free to add any apps you think I should’ve mentioned too!

Filed Under: Extras, How To, Tech Tagged With: best android apps, top 10 android apps

iPad “Review” and Apps You MUST Have

February 17, 2011 By Gino 8 Comments

I’m tired of people whining and acting too hot for an iPad. “It’s useless” “too expensive” “too big” “too bla bla bla”. Well, I’ve had my iPad for over 10 months now, and I absolutely adore it. True it doesn’t have a USB port, no bluetooth, no built-in camera (I have the Wifi 16GB iPad). True it’s not the absolute first, or absolute best. But, as usual, Apple saved the day and made a new concept go viral. Just like it did with the iPod and digital music, the iPhone with mainstream smartphones and now the iPad with tablets.

Even though Apple might be the trend-setter, it’s not always the dominant one. After the iPone and iOS’s immense success, Google’s Android has surpassed the iOS as the biggest smartphone OS. The preferences are debatable, for Apple’s close monitoring and filtering of apps and it’s refusal to go open-source, and Google’s ultra-liberal open source policy, both have their ups and downs. I’m more partial to the Google mantra, cause even if the apps and software is buggy because anyone can do it, the sheer potential produces the envelope-pushing developments, that Apple then perfects tweaks.

Anyway, enough techie-politics. Let’s get to the chase: What I use my iPad for:

Notes. At university
Books. Both from the app store, and pdf files of my AUB textbooks (which Ghali Bookstore in Hamra would gladly scan and convert to pdf for you)
Games. Need for Speed series, Red Alert and about two dozen other games, both first-person action games, and god games
Music. In my experimentation with mixing and producing, the iPad acts as an invaluably versatile tool to both produce and mix music and light effects
Work. I use it to jot down notes from interviews and events I cover for Beirutnightlife.com
Internet. I browse the internet from the comfort of my bed, through elegant apps for portals such as the Huffington Post, the NYTimes and even Tayyar.org
Social Media. Even though Facebook fails at creating apps for itself, there are plenty of awesome FB apps for the iPad. Twitter apps are also fantastic.
Videos. Despite the fact iOS doesn’t support flash, YouTube and most video sharing websites have special iPad versions.
Scouts. I use it to present my sessions, preferring the HD, interactive, colored, energy-saving screen versus environmentally un-friendly photocopied papers.
Navigation. After I traded in my Nokia N97mini for a Bold 2 (horrible mistake) and then an Android Galaxy S (best decision of my life), the GPRS connection was way too slow, on the iPad, Google Maps is built-in with full navigation options that are incredibly accurate, and need no internet connection. There’s also several Lebanese apps that provide superb navigation services while offline.
Stalking people. Like anyone with an iOS, crank callers and stupid drivers can no longer stay anonymous, with the Lebanon number and license plate directory apps, no one’s anonymous, thanks to our glorious government who somehow believes it will help with security =\

So, spare me your whining of “it’s useless” and “i’m so hot”

Now, why not a Galaxy Tab? Well, I tried it, and it’s no iPad yet… I’ll wait a little before switching to an Android tablet. Plus, with an iPad and Galaxy S, I have the best of both worlds =)

Now, you might be wondering if I buy or illegally download these apps. I do both. Some apps I buy off the App Store, others through Installous. Here’s a YouTube that’ll help you learn how to jailbreak your iPad and then install Installous through Cydia

Now that you’ve done that, here are a few apps I downloaded, tried and loved myself:

Games

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit: this is the latest version. Beautiful HD, plenty of levels as both a cop and a racer. I LOVED this game. Do NOT download shift, it sucks! And NFS Undercover is just for iPhone, so graphix on iPad are not so good.
Angry Birds: Need I say more? The beloved game, on a 10″ huge screen. Enjoyed it a lot on both my Android and iPad
Cut the Rope: *nom nom nom* feed the kyoot creature the candy, using elaborate gestures and pure physics. Lovely game
Ninjump: incredibly addictive. You’re a ninja running up an infinite wall. You need to avoid obstacles and get power-ups. My highest score is 6776 meters, beat that!
World of Goo: If I ever designed a game, graphics and storyline, this would be it! It’s a very entertaining game, enough said, download it and play!
Tycoon Millionaire: This is a blend of sims with monopoly, super-addictive, very fun
Red Alert: It’s impressive, but takes a while to get use to the controls. Challenging nevertheless, a must-try for any Command and Conquer fan

Music

Looptastic

Shazam: You can tag music with it, handy. SoundHound sucks btw, don’t try it
Looptastic: I bought this app for 12.99$, worth every penny! Create music in a very simple, yet efficient way, with loops, effects and synth pads in a beautiful multi-touch display
Loopesque: my less electronic-music-savvy friends drool over this game. It’s basically a circle with several partitions, each with a distinct sound and frequency. Creating patterns and overlaying them will create awesome music every time.

Loopesque
RJ Voyager: Extremely fun way of combining technical music features, with a more visual control interface. Lovely, and doesn’t just create a loop, but can be used to create dynamic tracks, live.
TouchOSC: create your own knobs/faders/dials/pads/push buttons and hook them up to your TraktorPro laptop and DJ decks. FREEE. James Zabiela uses it =P

Social Media

Friendly for Facebook: these guys did a better job than Zckerberg
Tweetdeck: My favorite Twitter client, use it on my mac, iPad and Android
G-Whizz: the solution for your several google services, all grouped into one neat app (gtalk, picasa, google docs, gmail, etc.)
Stumbleupon: the reason I don’t sleep anymore…

News

AJA Live: Al Jazeera live, perfect resource for live feeds, especially with all the turmoil in the arab world at the moment
Huffington Post: Biased, but love it. Very diverse and very nice “gliding” app
NYTimes: editors’ picks which are always interesting
Tayyar.org: Not the greatest app, but a lovely initiative by a Lebanese website. Handy for live news about Lebanon

Medical/Science

3D Brain: perfect app of the 3D brain, free-moving, and with multiple labels and shading to show you specific areas, circuits and a anything you need for neuroanantomy
Brain Tutor: see the brain through MRI slices, dorsoventrally and longitudinally
Molecules: interactive ball-and-stick, space-filling and cylindrical models of any protein. Amazing for visualizing and understanding biochem and organic chem

Lebanon-Related

Lebanon Directory: punch in any mobile or landline number, and know who it is registered to instantly (not always accurate, especially for post-paid and newer lines)
Lebanon Car Directory (LCD): punch in any license plate number and find out if it is registered, and to whom
NRJ Lebanon: awesome app, with 6 streaming radios and lots of other interactive interfaces for NRJ Lebanon, such as charts, social media, etc.

Hope this helps =) Any feedback and recommended apps much-appreaciated

Filed Under: How To, Leb Tagged With: ipad apps lebanon, ipad dj, ipad music, ipad review, ipad top apps, ipad top games

GoNabIt.com: Deals That’ll Make You Get an Online Credit Card

January 12, 2011 By Gino 5 Comments

Gonabit.com gives a whole new meaning to “safety in numbers.” The group discount website is one of several that have sprung up in the Middle-East region, bringing the “groupon” movement to the Arab world. To be fair though, gonabit.com was the first to get there.

Basically, the site partners up with local businesses to offer deals you can purchase online. They can be anything from a manucure or pedicure, to delicious meals, dance lessons, days at the spa, massages and even extreme sports. Today’s Nab is 45USD worth of food at Estancia in Gemmayzeh, for just 20USD. The catch is though, that if not enough people buy the deal, the nab will not be valid! In today’s Estancia case, at least 10 need to be purchased for the deal to stick, hence, “safety in numbers”

GoNabIt.com already has 6 sites, for Beirut, Amman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Sharja and Kuwait City, with another 6 Arab cities on the way.

The main obstacle is of course the limited number of people who actually shop online in Lebanon, with people barely having a usable and online-compatible credit or debit card. I myself saw no need for the online credit card till I had to register for my MCATs and pay for some blog fees, otherwise, I doubt I would’ve realized how useful online shopping can be. So, next time you’re at your bank, open up an online credit card, get access to it online so you are able to transfer ONLY the exact amount you need for a given purchase (just in case, and in any transaction) and you’re all set!

I personally have bought one previous nab, and I definitely plan on buying today’s deal =P So try it out, they send you an email every time a new deal is up for grabs, who knows, you might be able to do some kitesurfing with friends for less than 50USD, or get a full-body massage for just 25USD. Rumor has it movie tix might be up for grabs on a regular basis too *halo appears*

So, check it out below and make sure you sign up so you get the daily deal

Filed Under: How To, Leb Tagged With: gonabit, gonabit.com, groupon middle east

RockMelt Review

December 16, 2010 By Gino 5 Comments

Facebook, twitter, foursquare, multiple RSS feeds, several chat platforms and of course a couple of websites to moderate, makes my Google Chrome’s tabs tend to infinity. Third party applications help, like taking twitter off to tweetdeck. Unfortunately, that takes way too much time (a few extra seconds =P) and is still a hassle. Managing the notifications alone becomes a nuisance.

That’s why RockMelt was created.

RockMelt is a Google Chrome-based browser (so it’s fast, secure and just awesome to start off with) But integrates a few social media valuable tools.

For one, the left and right sidebars that flank the browser are godsend. The left side shows you your online Facebook friends. You can drag any link or media file onto their icon, and share it with them. You can also access their profiles, write on their walls and of course chat.

On the right side, you can add RSS feeds from your favorite sites (like Gino’s Blog) which shows you the recent activity and new posts there, without taking you away from your current page, unless you click something there. Your FB Newsfeed, Twitter Timeline, Gmail inbox and even individual pages (that are RSS enabled) can be integrated there (RockMelt suggests to you if you want to, it’s that awesome)

Searching is also great, with a separate search bar that also opens a dialog box with the results, allowing you to browse through the results faster (like flipping pages with the index on your right)

I loved RockMelt, and it’s now my default browser. When you open RockMelt, you sign in to your Facebook account, which integrates all your preferences and feeds and friends. If a separate user is using your machine, they can log in with their own username and password and load their own preferences.

The one annoying thing is that if you’re on a secure wifi connection similar to that in AUB (dot1x) the “signing in” process at the launch of RockMelt might fail, due to the fact you need to log in using your wifi username and password before being able to establish an internet connection. To bypass that, simply wait till the login fails, and an “empty” RockMelt page opens. Go to some url (google.com) and when the wifi network logs you in, simply click on “log in to facebook” button on the top-left corner of your “empty” RockMelt browser, and voila! Your RockMelt is back.

All in all, this new, free, very social browser is fast, doesn’t crash and makes life a lot easier, streamlining the many portals we flood ourselves with today. It has all the hallmarks of a simple, neat, fast and secure browser, with the added value of being more social-media oriented.

RockMelt is still on invitation basis, and I have to thank Wissam Khoury for sending me the invitation several weeks ago =) To get an invite, go to the RockMelt website and connect with your facebook for the invitation, and spread the word to your friends and family.

Here are a few screenshots I took to better elaborate =)

The left-hand bar with your friends' icons, allowing you to take a look at their newsfeed, profile, start a chat and share with them what you're browsing

Simply drag the image (or any file) towards your friend's icon, RockMelt will ask you how you want to share it (wall, message, chat) and it's simple as that

Here are your feeds. There's my FB profile, my Twitter Page, Gino's Blog FB Page, Ginosblog.com and my Gmail in mine for example. Whenever you go to a new site/blog/email account, it gives you the oportunity of adding this feed-enabled site to your bar

Just type your search query, and a drop-down cloud shows you instant results. Click on one, to open it in the browser (to the right) with the cloud still open, you can click another query and immediately change the page on your browser's right to whatever you just clicked (flipping pages =P)

Filed Under: How To

Avoid Speed Traps: Don’t Give the Government Your Money

November 11, 2010 By Gino 3 Comments

Last Thursday, our glorious and indomitable police forces stopped me in Beirut and slammed me with a 50,000 LL fine and took away my driver’s license to reclaim it from the very clearly indicated spot of “Tayyouneh”

“Geofany, kinet meshe sab3een” which translates into pronouncing my name horribly and telling me I was “speeding” at 70 km/h, on 2:00 AM on an empty stretch of highway.

I’m all for better road safety, but this was absurd. Try to drive at 20km/h where it says so sometimes, I tried to do that in front of the Interior Ministry, I had to put my foot on the break even when I hadn’t stepped on the gas…

So, in the future, to deny part of the $166,000+ the government ripped off on Monday November 8, 2010, here’s what you can do for now:

Trapster. Trapster is an application for Android, Apple, Blackberry, Windows and Nokia phones that allows users to “mark” speed traps and other road safety “annoyances” like fixed radars or police checkpoints.

Basically, when you spot a speed trap, you specify its location on your Trapster app to notify other Trapster users. For example, If I mark a speed trap on Bliss for example, and you are headed to Bliss, your phone will alert you of the upcoming danger (of course, you need the app to be open and your GPS enabled as you’re driving). If you indeed find a speed trap, you “confirm” my entry and it becomes more “credible”.

Now, as with any app, if it’s not used by enough people, it’s absolutely useless. Fortunately enough (or unfortunately) most people have Blackberries or GPRS-enabled phones with GPS. As a result, many Lebanese people have already downloaded and begun using Trapster.

You should too. Just go here, or use your Market/App Store/Ovi Store to download the app

Good luck, and always update us on the sneaky speed traps =)

Filed Under: AUB Affairs, How To, Leb, Thoughts Tagged With: trapster, trapster android iphone blackberry nokia, trapster beirut, trapster lebanon

Kik: Better Whatsapp Alternative?

November 8, 2010 By Gino 18 Comments

Like everything awesome, something more awesome always comes along after the originally awesome thing loses some of its awesomness.

In other words, Whatsapp’s godlike ubiquitousness and ease of use is now hindered with registration fees after a period of time (a dollar isn’t much, but not everyone has an onlin-ready credit card). Also, I’m completely unsatisfied with the Whatsapp Android app performance on my Samsung Galaxy S.

Last night though, whilst browsing through the Android Market, I saw 4.5 stars for Kik Messenger and loads of very positive comments, so I said why not since the size wasn’t much (less than a megabyte I believe)

Today, thanks to the status by my dear friend Dima Hajj, I realized that some of my friends have Kik, including non-Android users.

Now, here’s what’s nice about Kik

Incredibly fast, unlike Whatsapp which crashes a lot and can be sluggish
Much better graphics and organization of conversations and contacts
S, D and R labels next to your IMs (sent, delivered and read) just like the BBM and an upgrade from Whatsapp’s notrious double-checks (which do not signal that the message has been read, or in fact received for that matter, only sent)
Finds contacts from your existing contact list (just like whatsapp)
Completely free

Disadvantages?

Versions for Android, BB and iPhone/iPod are already available, but no Nokia version (unlike Whatsapp)
No sending images/location/files/contacts etc.
Does not check phone numbers to automatically add contacts (like Whatsapp) but uses emails if stored in contact list

So, why not download Kik from your App Store/Market or through this link on your BB

UPDATE: As I’m sure many of you found out, RIM (Blackberry maker) has banned Kik from the BB, dealing a heavy (and very unfair) blow to the Kik application. You might want to consider that in addition to the above =)

Update 2: Kik is back on BB! Read more here. Thanks Sh4do3

Read more with:

Whatsapp vs Kik vs LiveProfile vs Kakao

Special thanks to Wael Toutoungy for pointing out some disadvantages I had so clumsily missed =P

Filed Under: Extras, How To, Tech Tagged With: kik messenger, kik messenger vs whatsapp

Study for the SATs, GREs and GMATs while Fighting Hunger

October 16, 2010 By Gino 1 Comment

After noticing several fellow bloggers that have signed up with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to become “Bloggers Against Hunger,” I decided to sign up as well. The banner above says it all, and even though it might seem useless or farfetched, you and I can indeed directly impact the world’s 1,000,000,000 hungry people by answering a few simple questions…

http://www.freerice.com is a website by the WFP dedicated to providing two free and essential needs for humanity: education and food. You can go to the site, and by answering simple questions in English, Chemistry, Math, Geography, Arts and other languages, you donate 10 grains of rice to the WFP.

Why? Well, advertisers pay to have their banners appear. Every question has a different banner, and the revenue generated by this ad will go to buy the 10 grains you just ‘earned’.

Questions are extremely simple, and are in the format:

small means:

little
old
big
yellow

However, they do go up in difficulty, and the 12,000+ words will most certainly help you with your SAT, GMAT, or GRE English or Math sections.

The average person’s diet needs around 400 grams of rice per day, that’s some 19,200 grains. That’s a huge number, and no one expects you to answer almost 2000 questions per day. However, if 20 people who read this blog answer 100 simple questions, their contribution will total to some 200+ grams. That’s half of what someone needs to stay fed for a day, which is an enormous contribution to someone’s life in one of the 75 countries the WFP helps feed.

So, go to FreeRice.com and help the 1,000,000,000 people online feed the 1,000,000,000 who go to bed hungry every night. And of course, improve your chemistry/math/geography and most importantly, English!