Bridget Carey: The Digital Dish

Apple's billionth app download gets Bump good press

A 13-year-old boy from Connecticut became the one billionth person to download an application from Apple's App Store. The free application -- which works on the iPhone and iPod Touch -- is called Bump, which allows contact info and photos to be shared between iPhones by fist-bumping two phones.

The finger behind the one-billioth download was Connor Mulcahey. He won a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule wireless hard drive and a MacBook Pro.

Apple's store has more than 35,000 applications available to consumers in 77 countries -- all for the tens of millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users.

And you know this press gave Bump a good boost. As I write this, it is #8 on the top free downloads under the social networking category in iTunes.

But it makes you wonder, if the billionth app download was something tasteless like a farting app... or something useless or poorly made... would Apple include mention of that app in the press release they sent out? If you were Apple, would you fudge the numbers so that a decent app was crowned as the billionth download?

Websites for greener living

In the spirit of Earth Day on Wednesday, here are a few websites to help you live a greener life:

• Track your carbon footprint using carbon calculators at these sites: CarbonAdviceGroup.com, BeGreenNow.com, Nature.org


• Find green recycling and waste management centers near your home on GenGreen Life. You can also search for green-friendly businesses, or places that sell green products.


• Rebecca Carter launched the blog GreenerMiami in 2006 to provide a resource for all things environmental in South Florida.


• The U.S. Department of Energy has this map where you can search for alternative fueling stations. Just pop in an address to see nearby sites.


• Planning an event? Instead of sending paper invites, use Pingg. You can create custom designs for e-cards and detailed event pages. But how will you invite grandma if she doesn't go on the computer? No worries -- you can order some invites to be printed and mailed.


• Greenwala is a social network for people to share news, videos, and make blog posts about living the green lifestyle -- everything from shopping green to cooking green.


• Before you toss that gizmo in the trash, visit HowToMendIt.com to see if you can fix it. The site is a bit messy, but it has a database of fix-it-up answers from users. Ask your questions or offer up some of your own advice.

Terremark, Aplicor, Office Depot among list of top green tech vendors and users

Terremark Worldwide, a provider of managed IT infrastructure services, has been ranked one of the top Green-IT Organizations for 2009 by Computerworld.

This is Computerworld's second year compiling the list of the top 12 Green-IT companies. Miami-based Terremark ranked 12th among vendors. But it wasn't the only company from South Florida on the list. Aplicor, in Boca Raton, ranked seventh among vendors this year, slipping from it's fourth-place rank in 2008.

The Computerworld list honors companies that are working to reduce energy consumption in IT equipment and are using technology to conserve energy and lower cabon emissions.

According to Terremark, the company uses various energy-efficient methods to reduce its power consumption, including hot-aisle/cold-aisle air segregation, computational fluid dynamics modeling (CFD) and employing rotary uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS). Also, Terremark’s virtualized products provides customers with solutions for their IT infrastructure needs while minimizing their environmental impact.

Among the Top 12 Green-IT Users, Boca Raton's Office Depot ranked ninth. Aside from other green initiatives, Office Depot has a device that track the energy used at all its buildings. So if the A/C is set wrong in a building and is using too much power, headquarters will be alerted.

Miami's Ryder System ranked ninth last year for IT users, but it didn't make the list this time around.

Computerworld's 2009 Top Green-IT Vendors:

1. IBM, Armonk, N.Y. (last year, No. 1)
2. Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif. (last year, No. 7)
3. Fujitsu America, Sunnyvale, Calif. (last year, No. 5)
4. Microsoft, Redmond, Wash. (last year, No. 6)
5. Qualcomm, San Diego (last year, No. 3)
6. Dell, Round Rock, Texas
7. Aplicor, Boca Raton, Fla. (last year, No. 4)
8. BT Group PLC, London (last year, No. 2)
9. Applied Materials, Santa Clara, Calif.
10. Entrust, Dallas
11. Compellent Technologies, Eden Prairie, Minn.
12. Terremark Worldwide, Miami

Computerworld's 2009 Top Green-IT Users:

1. Mohawk Fine Papers
2. State Street
3. Allstate Insurance
4. Citigroup
5. PricewaterhouseCoopers
6. State of Indiana
7. KPMG
8. Seventh Generation
9. Office Depot
10. Burt's Bees
11. Marriott International
12. Austin Energy

Product Review: Laptop haters might love the Atek OnBoard Travel Keyboard

If you simply hate the idea of having to do work on a laptop because you're not used to typing on laptops, then the Atek OnBoard Travel Keyboard might be for you.

But I can't relate to the laptop haters out there. For me, I just adapt -- especially since I do most of my work on laptops.

It's a desktop keyboard, but just designed travel-size. It's Windows and Mac compatible, but not all keys work with Mac OS X.

And I can understand the need for this if you never work on a laptop except a couple times a year when you have to work in a hotel room for a business trip. It's just faster to work on this kind of keyboard.

I had no problems using it. But it's not a perfect desktop keyboard. A normal desktop keyboard has 104 keys -- this has 99. (The five keys it does not have are Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause Break and right side Ctrl and Windows keys.)

See more about the keyboard in the video below, or check out my print review at MiamiHerald.com.

Beam a Star Trek theme to your desktop

If you need some Trek-tastic stuff to keep you happy until the new Star Trek movie comes out next month, then check out the official Star Trek theme from The Skins Factory. You can choose from command, sciences and engineering themes.

I wrote about this Cooper City, Fla. company back in November. Back then I got a chance to check out its Disney and Wall-E themes, and they were very well done. It costs $14.95 and the themes transform practically everything on your Windows XP desktop -- it's WAY more than icons and wallpaper!

 

Update: Here's a video showing the skin's audio player animation and sound FX:

Donate your old cellphone at The Heat game, at a store or mail it out

Donating your old cellphone is a great way to be green (don't just throw them in the trash!) and it can help a good cause. Why are you saving your old phone? Seriously. Are you going to use it again? Cause you know you're not. So why not put it to a good cause?

At the April 15th Heat game against the Detroit Pistons, Verizon Wireless and The Miami Heat will be collecting your no-longer-used wireless phones FROM ANY SERVICE PROVIDER. The donation bins will be located inside the Verizon Wireless Lounge, at level 114 in the concourse of the AmericanAirlines Arena. You can bring them starting at 8 p.m.

It's part of Verizon's program called HopeLine. The phones go to fund grants for domestic violence agencies, or they will be refurbished and donated to local shelters like Safespace in downtown Miami.

Not going to the game tomorrow? Donate your old phones anytime! For the HopeLine program, you can drop it off at any Verizon Wireless store.

Other carriers also have programs. AT&T will take your old phones to benefit soldiers.

Sprint's Project Connect benefits Internet safety for kids -- just download the free postage-paid label from the website to mail in your phone.

T-Mobile will take your old phones at any of its retail stores to benefit its Huddle Up program.

Boost Mobile has a form you can fill out to mail-in your phone. It benefits Global Inheritance.

Take it to a MetroPCS store and it will go to benefit educational programs for high school students.

Product Review: Corsair Voyager Flash Port is for folks with a big stick

Been looking for an easy way to backup your important files on your flash drive?

Yeah, me neither. Isn't that what portable hard drives are for?

Well if you have a huge flash drive already -- like 30 gigs or more -- you may want to have it as a dedicated backup storage device for folders like your documents, music or photos. The Corsair Voyager Flash Port makes it easy to back up whatever folders you want onto a flash drive. Just plug the port to your computer, plug the flash drive in the port, and press the button on the port to backup whatever files you want to your flash drive. You just have to use the software once to tell it which folders you want backed up whenever the button is pressed.

But, uh, it doesn't make sense unless you already have a thumb drive with mega memory. Corsair makes huge flash drives, so of course they made a product like this. The software it comes with also helps you restore files.

I did have one issue using the backup. Read my review online or watch the video below to see what I mean:

The 2009 SoFIE Interactive Awards Finalists announced

The following announcement was sent out by the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association today:

The South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA), a support and best practices group for the interactive marketing community, has announced the finalists for its third South Florida Interactive Excellence (SoFIE) Awards, which encourage creative, innovative and measurable digital marketing programs and reward the South Florida digital community for their hard work.

The winner in each category, as well as a "Best of Show," will be announced at the SoFIE Awards Gala held Friday, May 1, 2009 at 6:30 pm at Gulfstream Park’s Sport of Kings Room at 901 S. Federal Highway in Hallandale. The award show’s title sponsor is DynaPep.com and seven additional sponsors have signed on to support this annual gala.

Twenty-one judges, from media, academia, agencies and corporations, selected three finalists for each award category.  The finalists are:

Most Effective Integrated/Cross Channel Marketing Campaign
- Germville – A Sick Place to Live by The Factory Interactive
- Kaplan University by Ogilvy
- Levi’s Project Runway by Razorfish

Most Effective Direct Response Campaign
- ADT Security by Razorfish
- eCollegeFinder by DMi Partners
- Hotel De Soleil by LGD Communications

Most Effective Online Brand Experience
- Levi's Project Runway by Razorfish
- Mozilla Firefox 3 by Nobox Marketing Group
- Southeast Toyota Finance Web site by World Omni Financial Corp.

Most Effective Email Marketing Campaign
- ADT Security by BGT Partners
- ME by Melia by LGD Communications
- Pet Supermarket by Loop Consulting Group

Most Effective Use of Emerging or Innovative Media
- Coke - Burn Alter Ego by Sapient Interactive
- Destructoid.com by MethodMedia
- Community Podcasting by www.TenGoldenRules.com

Most Effective Hospitality, Travel or Tourism Campaign/Site
- Copa Airlines by Nobox Marketing Group
- ME by Melia - LGD Communications
- Southwest Airlines, Hallelujah Campaign by Razorfish

To learn more and register for the event, visit www.sofieawards.com or call 305-490-3627.

Product Review: Microsoft Explorer Mouse even works on Julienne fries!

OK, so I didn't test to see if it worked on Julienne fries. But when a wireless mouse tells me it works on virtually any surface, I like to put it to the test.

It actually worked on my hair! And a few other bizarre surfaces... some more dangerous than others. Watch the video below to see what I mean. (Billy Mays, eat your heart out.)

That mangy cat scratched my arm up! That's right folks, I do my own stunts and will put myself in the line of danger to get you the best product reviews each week.

I do it all for you.