Technology
Stem toys, Steam toys, smart appliances and technology that makes your home work more efficiently. The pace of technology is rapid-fire and ever changing. Here's why it pays to stay on top of what's hot and what's not. This section of Thrifty Mommas Tips is basically the intersection of where technology lives and exists to make your life better. Technology exists everywhere we look right now and it is evolving every second. Apps are always with us and ready to be engaged or downloaded, but which ones are worth the time and real estate on your phone? For that matter, which phone is the one you want to partner with for the next two years? From the computer and camera in your pocket every day to the doorbell, the smart TV and dishwasher that texts you messages when something is wrong, electronics and gadgets can be brilliant tools that enhance our lives. Your home right now has never been more tapped in, or smarter reading your activity and comfort to achieve a better lifestyle for your family. But these same consumer electronics and apps can also be intrusive or frustrating and expensive if they are not what you expect. How is a person to know what to spend time on? I vet things thoroughly here, from cameras to small appliances, smart thermostats, steam dishwashers, and fun toys so that you can buy with confidence. These are my favourite things that exist right now in the technology space.
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The Newest Mystery Case Files App and Computer Game – Dire Grove, Sacred Grove
Dire Grove has been plunged into a deadly cold spell and wild animals threaten you at every turn. How will you find the mystery objects, place clues together to solve puzzles and reveal the mystery of why Dire Grove is coming unglued? That’s the idea at the heart of Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove. Mystery Case Files is Big Fish Games most successful hidden object adventure game. Mystery Case Files App and Computer Game brings the mystery and the fun back to hidden object adventure games with: Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove, the tenth instalment in this fan favourite. In this version of Mystery Case Files App…
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Dark Parables Computer Games: The Little Mermaid and The Purple Tide
I spent a large part of last weekend trapped on an island in Crete investigating the mysterious appearance of an underwater castle. Well, at least it seemed that way since I was completely absorbed in Big Fish games latest computer game Dark Parables: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide. Anyone familiar with the Dark Parables computer games series will look forward to playing this one as well. This game starts with the premise of The Little Mermaid fairy tale and uses that as a jumping off point for a journey beneath the Mediterranean sea to solve several puzzles and mysteries in order to eventually reveal the secret of the…
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My #LGG3Moms LG G3 Smartphone Review and Giveaway
Meet my new crush. This is my favourite gadget of the year – the LG G3 Smartphone has changed the way I work. I have been an iPhone user for as long as I have been a blogger. But then I got the chance to test-drive the LG G3 Smartphone. I never thought I would love an LG G3 Android so much. The thing about my iPhone that I loved the most was its reliability. It never dropped calls and it connected seamlessly wherever I travelled. Colombia with World Vision Canada, no problem! Mexico? No problem. So then the LG G3 smartphone arrived and I have to tell you that…
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My Favourite Phone Charger and #Giveaway Too
The Lifesaver III arrived here just in time for Blissdom Canada so I charged it up and packed it in my laptop bag and got ready to attend Canada’s most important social media conference. Now, as every iPhone user knows, Apple gadgets often run low on battery. They may be workhorses, but battery life isn’t ideal. My iPhone battery runs down fast when I spend the day tweeting, posting, sharing, liking and seeking out Google Maps directions to find the nearest restaurants. At Blogher in the summer I forgot my free no name charger that came courtesy of some event I attended last year. I ended up running for a…
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My Monopoly Game: New Personalized Take on Classic Board Game
My daughter Ainsley is a huge fan of Monopoly Junior and the new Monopoly card game we got this summer as well. I have many fond memories of playing Monopoly as a child with my Mom and brother. We were cut throat game players in the 80s and 90s and we were nothing if not extremely competitive. So Monopoly, in any form, makes me slightly nostalgic. This past month we received My Monopoly from Hasbro. We just started playing it this week. My Monopoly is completely fun, of course, as all Monopoly games are, but personalized Monopoly means you can place your own photos on the tokens and you can…
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Brand New App Release – Panda Pandamonium
I almost couldn’t write this post. Ask me why. Go ahead. I actually couldn’t stop playing Panda Pandamonium long enough to work. Panda Pandamonium is just that cute and that fun. Seriously addictive gaming, and have you seen the adorable little panda bears? I love them. It seems like Big Fish Games Inc. has a permanent corner of my iPhone carved out just for their creative diversions. So what’s unique about Panda Pandamonium? Well let’s start with the concept: Panda Pandamonium is a free mahjong inspired game. Now that’s different. I don’t play a lot of mahjong but I know it’s good stimulation for the brain and have even read…
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Cascade – A Brand New Spin on Some Favourite Apps
This summer I am excited to have my iPhone App Cascade to help fill my down time. It’s a fun new Match 3 game that will happily fill my summer with a bit of gaming. Right about this time of year when travel time, summer blogging conferences, and family vacation takes precedence over round the clock working, I start the hunt for a fun new diversion. After all, cottage time equals road trips, sometimes as a passenger. That means my iPhone is never far from hand. I have several killer apps I rely on when I feel like tuning out and turning off for a bit. Oh I still have my books, my…
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Fairway Solitaire Blast Release #FSBlast
Fairway Solitaire Blast is the perfect app for your card loving friend or family member. I have a card shark in my house. One of my daughters loves cards and she has from the time she was little. It’s freakish to watch actually. She’s like a little card savant. Card games are relaxing for her and she’s incredibly good at them. Even Go Fish is a competitive event in our house. It’s comical, in fact, how often she beats everyone in this house at games like War, Snap, Go Fish. Crazy Eights is another favourite and Old Maid too. So when I found Fairway Solitaire Blast I knew this was…
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Five Free Infertility and Fertility Apps
Fertility apps and infertility apps are a great way to track ovulation and reproductive health. Here are five free fertility apps that will help at any stage of your fertility or infertility journey. When you are struggling with infertility or trying to conceive you need a huge toolkit of resources just to get through the journey. Knowledge is power, right? Luckily power and knowledge in the age of Google are right at your finger tips. Lately numerous press releases regarding the latest and greatest fertility and infertility apps have been flooding my inbox here at thrifty momma’s tips, so I thought I’d take a peek at a few and share…
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Boost Your Business – HP Envy #Giveaway
Welcome to the Boost Your Biz, HP Envy Giveaway. Organized by Mom Powered Media If there’s one thing I love more than gadgets, it would have to be touch screen gadgets. This is the computer of my dreams that I was hunting for madly one year ago. I can’t get enough of touch screen technology. It is so simple and should be the standard. I did not buy this one. For business purposes I chose a Macbook. I love my Macbook and I adore Mac technology. But Macbooks are not yet touch screen and that’s the one thing missing for me. Anyways, take a peek at this great giveaway. Good…