2009 July | Calm, Cool & Connected

July
29
Win a BlackBerry Pearl 8110!

Hello, all!

We’re still celebrating the addition of our newest bloggers, and what better way to welcome them than with a giveaway! All you need to do is leave a comment telling us how this BlackBerry Pearl 8110 would help you stay “calm, cool and connected,” and you’ll be entered for a chance to win this sleek smartphone. It offers convenient “business tools” like email, document viewing, and GPS as well as cool “personal” features like texting, mobile banking, and a music player and camera. So, come one, come all and … enter!

Here’s how:

1) Leave a comment here and tell us how this BlackBerry Pearl would help you stay calm, cool and connected. Your e-mail address must be accurate in your comment, so we’re able to contact you. Make sure you double check.

2) You can also enter by writing a post on your blog answering the same question. Just be sure to leave a comment here linking to your post so we know where to find it.

This sweepstakes runs from today, July 29, 2009 to Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. It is only open to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older; one entry per person. AT&T employees and members of their household are not eligible to win. The winner will be notified by Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009.

Click here to read the official rules.

Best of luck!

Posted by Calm, Cool & Connected in Contests, SmartPhone, Uncategorized Tags: BlackBerry Pearl 8110, Contests
Comments (262)
July
28
To Game, Or Not To Game?

In the spring and summer, I find that Amy and I spend much less time playing video games and watching TV because we’re outside playing sports or working in the yard. Our gaming consoles lay dormant, begging for

Baseball Slugger 3D by Com2uS (www.com2us.com)

some sort of activity. The same can’t be said for our wireless phones. I find that, while we don’t game much at home when it’s nice outside, we spend more time gaming away from home than ever.

Waiting in line at the grocery store, the DMV, or movie theater isn’t the test of our patience it once was. Now, we get out our wireless phones and pull up our favorite game to pass the time. We previously would have spent time looking for a clock and muttering the unspeakable under our breaths.

With wireless phones and devices that are more powerful than the computers and gaming consoles we played as children, you can almost always have your favorite game in hand, ready for the next time you’re stuck waiting.

Do you game? Do your children game?

Posted by Cory in Cory, Just for fun, Shopping, Teens & Cell Phones Tags: Baseball Slugger, Cory, gaming, video games
Comments (8)
July
22
Notes Made Easy

Life has been crazy lately. I’ve been on the road a lot! And I mean a lot! I’ve recently found myself having to take notes to stay on top of everything. Especially since my trips home have been less than frequent and short in duration. So, guess what? I’m loving the notes tool on my smartphone.

Last weekend, while being lazy, I decided I needed to make a list of things I needed to get done within the 48 hours I was home. However, I didn’t feel like getting up for a pen. Then it dawned on me – I had my phone on me! So, I pulled up my notes and made the list right there. The best part? I was able to also e-mail them to myself. For the parts related to work, I had them in my Inbox on Monday morning when I needed the information.

Notes = a simple tool that doesn’t cost extra, but is making a big difference in my hectic world right now!

Posted by Brandy in Brandy, How To, Organization, SmartPhone Tags: Brandy, Note taking
Comments (1)
July
15
Welcome Our New Bloggers!

Hello, all!

We have exciting news to share – we’ve adding several new bloggers to our blog family! Please join me in welcoming Cory, Stephanie, Michael, and Effie! Like the original fabulous group, each will share personal stories on how they use technology to stay calm, cool and connected while juggling family, friends, and work. And did you notice that we also now have dads? Exciting, right?!

Stay tuned for new posts (including videos and how-to tips) from each of us. In the meantime, please check out the bios for our new bloggers on the “about” page to learn more about the new members of the Calm, Cool & Connected family. Of course we want to hear from you too, so remember to leave comments and ask questions often!

Chat soon,
Brandy

Posted by Brandy in Uncategorized Tags: Brandy
Comments (1)
July
14
When Your Kids Don’t Want to be Your Friend

I’ve always believed that you can be friendly and loving to your kids, but not necessarily their friend … and that there would always be a fine line between being a parent and a friend with my kids. This maybe an old school way of thinking, I know. But I never expected my teenage kids to decline my offer to be their friend on Facebook.

For some reason they think Facebook is not for parents, and that it is for singles and, specifically, the Generation Y. That isn’t true! I have been able to connect and, in some cases, reconnect with a lot of people I work with, high-school classmates, and other acquaintances that I have not spoken to in years. More importantly, why would my kids not want me to be their friend? What’s on their Facebook pages that my eyes cannot be privy to?

Should I mandate that we must be friends? Or does this fit the principle that I am their parent, not their friend? Thoughts?

Posted by Priscilla in Priscilla, Teens & Cell Phones, social networking Tags: Facebook, Priscilla, social networking
Comments (7)
July
8
Live TV? No Way!

So … I’m addicted to my DVR. I never watch live TV anymore unless it’s sports. It’s crazy! I even get frustrated when I have to travel for work because there’s never anything on TV in the hotel room and I’m always wishing I was at home using my DVR.

I hear there are some options available that allow you to watch your DVR-recorded shows on your computer. I haven’t looked into any of that yet as I’m not sure my experience would be the same watching it on my computer – especially after working and using a computer all day. Guess I’d have to try it and see, but I’m thinking I wouldn’t like it.

Anyone out there use DVR on their computer?

Posted by Brandy in Brandy, How To, Just for fun, Organization, Uncategorized Tags: Brandy, Computer, DVR
Comments (1)
July
2
Cell Phones … a Fashion Statement?

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Posted by Becky in Becky, Just for fun, Teens & Cell Phones, Vlogs Tags: Becky, cell phone charms, charms, fashion
Comments (49)