Some people have said that the iPad is a “laptop killer”. Well for someone like me, I’d say no way. I love my Mac Book Pro, but for those who are not necessarily using their laptop to produce things and are more using it as a tool to search the internet, save photos, connect with friends on social networking platforms, check and compose email, and possibly play a few games, the iPad is for sure a replacement for those people.

As for “Business Applications” - is the iPad a useful business tool and does it qualify as a good business investment. Well for me I would say absolutely YES. But you need to think about how and what you want to do with the iPad and how it will fit into your business goals. Now, I’ve tried to think of a business that can’t use the iPad and I am having a hard time coming up with one. There are applications for everything! Even the chicken farmer could use the iPad, to keep track of his hens or to document expenses, to keep a calendar of when the chicks will hatch, who knows, maybe a hundred other things!

For me, my businesses consist of lots of demonstrations. I use the iPad to demonstrate websites I’ve created, also for slideshow demonstrations for new users of applications we design. The hd graphics are amazing and photos look beautiful. I recently met a couple who are real estate agents and they purchased the iPad to show clients potential homes for sale. What a great idea! One of the many benefits is the speed of startup on the iPad. You pull it out and within seconds you have it opened to the app or webpage that you need to share with a client. Also, it stays cool and has an unbelievable battery capability. I leave mine on all day in sleep mode so I can just open it at anytime of the day without startup! As if the few seconds to startup is not fast enough. I love the accessibility and also the size. It’s easy to carry in my purse, no extra laptop bag or briefcase. I just drop it in an “InCase” soft cover protector and drop it into my deep purse and it’s easy to pull out for anything.

There are apps to demonstrate charts, apps for displaying slideshows that actually will integrate well with PowerPoint, there are apps to connect to other websites, the list is too long to even start mentioning the many Business applications available. I even use my laptop as my virtual terminal. Yes my merchant account has the terminal on a webpage so I could use my laptop but now it’s even easier to pull out and take a deposit or payment from a customer.

Now, along with my husband the software engineer, I have come up with SO many ideas for apps that would help me in my business as well as others that we’ve started the process of designing apps for our business as well as for our business customers. It’s almost daily that I think of a perfect app that has yet to be created! The iPad keeps me thinking and keeps me extremely organized in my business and in my personal life. It’s a conversation starter as well which has helped me to promote my book or my business. I’ve often had people approach me at a doctors office or a grocery store, or even a park, asking questions about my iPad. How convenient for the business owner with a product to promote…. a new customer that comes to you! I immediately share how much I love my iPad and then explain how either 1) I am a web designer and the iPad helps me with my business, or 2) I recently published a book and now am publishing it for Kindle which is available as an app for the iPad - either are perfect conversation starters to introduce my business, my book, or even one of the many other online businesses that I run. I currently also run a gift basket store, a baby store, and a vintage jewelry store and having the iPad has made it extremely easy to process orders when I’m out and about. I no longer have to worry about orders coming in and not being processed right away.. so I don’t have to run home every time I get an order! I just have my orders pushed to my email on my iPhone 4, then pull out my iPad, login to my store and process the order! So simple and then I can keep on shopping or running errands or whatever. I’ve even processed an order in a dressing room at a clothing store. Talk about convenience!

Here are some of the great types of applications that are helpful to businesses:

1) Expense charts / accounting aps
2) Presentation Apps (Projectors, slide shows, teleprompters)
3) Complex calculators
4) Virtual Terminal software / Retailer Apps
5) Document signing apps
6) Business Travelers Maps
7) Legal References
8 ) Productivity Apps (Too many to mention)
9) Business contact apps
10) Employee management apps
11) Customer contact information and tracking apps
12) Spreadsheets
13) Market Analysis Tools
14) Survey tools
15) Real Estate Apps
16) Journal and Business Note taking apps
17) Apps to help you sync w/ your mac or pc
18) Voice and meeting recorders
19) Whiteboards
20) Automobile appraisal apps
21) GPS business travel expense apps

Wow.. I’m getting tired and there are SOOOO many more! There are 424 pages of business apps on the iPad today, and 672 pages of Productivity apps. And as I type, new apps are being created and new ideas are popping up every second. You will be surprised at how this thin little piece of technology can help your business to become more and more productive!

Is the iPad a good business investment! Hands down YES! One of my favorite Apple lines about the iPad - “You already know how to use it!”

So I immediately look for a solution. I search google for anything and everything and one of the first posts that I find I discover that another user has solved the issue by completely restoring his iPad and then reinstalling the photos. I’m not happy with that choice, I don’t want to restore my iPad so I’m thinking there must be another way. And after an hour of trying to think logically I came up with an idea that turned out to work!! I thought about how I dumped 200 some odd pics in one album on my ipad. So I started by opening iPhoto and creating a album called “Deleted from iPad”. I then moved all my pictures from my iPad to the album and “deleted” the originals. At that point I built additional albums, one called “Kids” another “Travel” another “Family” etc. then I proceeded to move pictures from the “Deleted from iPad” album into the individual new albums according to their subject matter. Finally, I went to iTunes, and connected my iPad and set my sync to only sync with those “new” albums. I applied and then synced my iPad with the new settings. Afterwards, I open my iPad and see that I have many new folders in my Photos app and I tested every single folder and scrolled to the very bottom of each and wa la… it’s fixed!! It never crashed one time with multiple tests. Previously it would crash every single time I scrolled to the bottom and now not at all.

I have come to the conclusion that Apple products are like my kids. I love them all equally, and sometimes they have issues or problems and I still love them. We just work through the issues and we carefully think through them until we figure out something that works! There is always a solution, it just takes some tender love and care, and lots of patience!

Hope this works for you.. enjoy your iPad! And treat it with lots of love and care.. it’s a very special toy.

Well here goes. My friends are sick of hearing my doting over my new iPad but after having it a few weeks I must write my review. For starters, it’s awesome except for the stupid wallpaper that makes you think your iPad is scratched! I almost returned it but googled it and found it was the wallpaper. Everything else is a dream. I took it to Bestbuy and bought an “incase” soft case to keep it protected since it was an $890 investment I figured the $40 case was worth it. They were all sold out except for pink so it had to do!

Also aps made for iPhone are small and can be resized to fit the iPad but then poor resolution so now I only download iPad aps. There is an exception, some iPhone aps were made with the iPad in mind and are compatible so look fine. Hopefully some of the iPhone aps will get updated or recreated for the iPad because there are a lot of GREAT aps made for the iPhone/iPod.

The piano ap that is getting all the attention on YouTube is better than you think!!! Very cool and addictive… And I’m not musically inclined. Facebook ap really needs to be updated for the iPad!! The iBook store is awesome and designed for suckers like me… I HATE an empty bookshelf so will have to work on filling it up! The battery life is AWESOME … I’ve been on battery power for 5 hours and I’m still at 81% remaining!! Have had NO problems with 3G or wi-fi. The sound quality is great…I feel the vibration with my music videos.. Easily synced with iTunes… Simple startup!! Awesome toy for a spoiled child or hard working adult who deserves a little extra… Like me!

The photo ap that comes with it is awesome and I love the thumbtacks on the world map to mark shortcut to photos you took while you were in any location. So yo went to Italy..and you have an album, you can peek at them or open from the world map thumbtack. Too cool!! Oh and Bloggers will LOVE it… Seems so easy to jump between browser screens with multiple blogs open… And so much lighter and more comfortable to use just sitting on the couch or in the car (not driving of course)… It doesn’t get hot either!!!

I have been using it in bed when I can’t sleep to rent movies or browse or update my calendar or play addictive games like Harbor Master!!! I’m in love!! I don’t leave home without it. However, I keep hearing or reading bad posts about it and I find it funny that most people who are complaining don’t own one. I haven’t found anyone who bought one and is unhappy (except people wishing they had bought the upgraded one). And don’t even get me started on the reasons why Apple doesn’t allow Flash on the iPad. I’m so tired of hearing people knock Apple for that decision. Read this article and see what Steve Jobs has to say about WHY it’s not on the iPad. It makes perfect sense and also.. it’s his company.. he can choose not to put Flash on any product if he wants to. And it’s certainly not stopping me from buying the iPad or iPhone or iPod Touch. There are plenty of alternatives to watch video on the iPad. I watch them every day!

http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2010/05/why-no-flash-on-apple-iphone-ipod-ipad/

As for me.. I’m hooked! I’m totally happy with every dollar I spent on the iToy .. even though it is NOT a necessity.. it’s a nice addition to all my other techy toys, like my 4 iMac’s, several Windows, PC’s, my Mac Book Pro, etc. etc. I’m a geek but I’m picky and I am telling you… . you won’t be disapointed.

It’s a difficult balance because you have to eat to gain muscle and eat less to burn fat. To date, my weight on the scale has barely changed. At first I was freaked out because here I have been eating so carefully, exercising daily, karate twice a week and sometimes more, weight training from 2 to 3 times a week and I expected to lose pounds. But actually… I’m reshaping my body! So I’ve lost inches, built muscle tone and lost fat which is keeping me about the same on the scale. I have to learn to stop weighing myself and gage things by how I look in the mirror, my strength, and how I feel overall.

I’m excited about the strength that I’ve been building. I can tell that I’m getting better at karate, it’s easier to lift heavy items, I don’t tire as easy doing things like gardening etc. Most importantly, I feel good about the fact that I know that stronger muscles improve posture, provide better support for joints, and reduce the risk of injury. In my research I found that older people who take up weight training can prevent some of the loss of muscle tissue that normally accompanies aging—and even regain some functional strength—and by doing so become less frail, and can avoid some types of physical disability as well as prevent osteoporosis. The benefits of weight training for older people have been confirmed by studies of people who began engaging in it even in their 80s and 90s. Wow! So I have a huge head start.

It’s never too late to change your lifestyle!!

I’ve decided to start increasing my karate training to 4 nights a week. So far I’ve only been able to do the Body Pump class at Gold’s Gym 2 days a week. I have been so sore that I couldn’t make it the 3rd day. This week I am not as sore as last so I think I will try to go to the class on Thursday and Saturday as well. Since I’ve already gone Tuesday that will make 3 times.

I’ve learned that it’s very important to take in enough protein to gain muscle. You also have to take in the protein right after your workout. I’ve been drinking Odwalla Super Protein (Chocolate Flavor) Soy drinks right after my workouts. I’m trying to make the right decisions like wheat pasta over white and whole grain breads. The good thing is since I’m eating almost 100% at home, that means my family is eating better as well.

So far so good. I have lost down to 142 pounds and counting. I am expecting that in 11 weeks or so I’ll reach my ideal weight and hopefully will have gain a pound of muscle!! It takes 6 weeks to gain one pound of muscle.. but since I’ve been losing fat as well as muscle since it’s almost impossible to lose only fat when cutting calories, I’m figuring that I’ll take the full 12 weeks to gain that pound of muscle.

Feels really good to have a goal. Feels even better to see from the scale that I’m reaching it and to be able to feel the strength in my body increase.

I’m obviously having a difficult time eating enough to compensate for all the exercise I’m doing. I am worried about “starvation mode” but also figure that sooner or later.. I have to lose weight at this rate right? Or can my bodies metabolism really adjust to the low calorie intake and cause me to store fat? I want to stay up late and eat something I don’t usually get.. like desert. But then I feel guilty since I’m on a life change health and fitness routine. I don’t want to work out hard, eat better and then just to throw it away by downing a bunch of sugar. This would be so much easier with a nutritionist beside me all day telling me what to eat.

So I guess I’ll grab a spoonful of peanut butter and maybe a few sticks of celery and have it as a midnight snack. Still won’t add up to the 842 calories but will help. Lets hope this “starvation mode” thing doesn’t get me!!!

My mood today is good but my body feels like it’s been run over by a truck. My stomach was hurting this morning and I couldn’t tell if it was hunger or if I was getting sick. Finally brought myself to eat something and felt better but unfortunately that meant skipping breakfast which I know is not good. I’ve been trying to have 5 to 6 small meals a day and so far today it’s 3:00 pm and I’ve only had a tuna and pita with a little lettuce and 4 stalks of celery with 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter. I’m sure I need MORE calories than that to keep going!

This morning however, I weighed in at 144.6 which is about a pound less than 1 week ago. So I’m doing something. I’m worried that I might be reducing my calorie intake too much since I should be losing 2 to 2 1/2 pounds a week and not 1 pound. Perhaps my body is going into the infamous “starvation mode”. I remember that last year I faked out my body by using Saturday’s as “eat whatever I want day”. I’ve heard that it is the best way to prevent “starvation mode”. I would have very low calories all week and then on Saturday, go out to dinner, have dessert, pretty much eat what I felt like. This time I’ve been counting calories around the clock. So if I don’t lose 2 to 2 1/2 pounds by next Monday that is exactly what I’m going to start doing. When I think about “last year” I get down because I had lost down to 128 pounds and if I’d have only kept it off then I would only be concentrating on gaining muscle right now. But that is ok… the past is the past and I must move forward!

So my calorie intake right now is 1312 and of course that is net so if I exercise I can consume more calories. Problem is for some reason I’m having trouble consuming even that many calories every day. March 31st, and April 4th I went over a bit on that count. But the rest of the days I was under. So understanding that 3500 calories = 1 lb. of fat, then reasonably reducing my caloric intake by that much weekly would result in 1 pound of weight loss. But I reduced by significantly more and still only lost about 1 pound. Starvation mode? Maybe.

So for now I’ll keep munching and keep my calorie count low. Next week we’ll change things up a bit if I don’t see a change.

Funny how all this exercise and dieting.. and I still feel fatter than ever. I think feeling your muscles (being sore) makes you all too aware of your body and probably contributes to my “fat” feeling.

So I decided to start a 1 year diet and fitness diary to help me stay on a plan and make it part of my life instead of yo-yo dieting as I have for the last 7 years. Although I have a lot of skills, artist, writer, graphic designer, web designer, etc. etc., I’m not a nutritionalist, I’m not a personal trainer, and I really don’t know what I’m doing through this whole process. So I’ll be relying on books, the Internet, and friends advice over the next year to see how I can change my body. I’ll be posting pictures (as embarrassing as that will be) but decided to wait to put them out here until I have a little bit of progress so I can feel good about having people see the current fat roll around my middle section.

So to start my diary I need to share my weight, my height, and my physical stats so I can look back a year from now and see what happened.

For starters, I’m 42. My birthday is in November.
I weighed in this morning at 145. (naked when I got out of bed however I had eaten a granola bar at 6:30am)
I am 65 inches tall.
My hips at the widest point are 40 inches.
My bust line is 36 inches.
My waist is 32 inches.
My thigh at the widest point is 22 inches.
My calf at the widest point is 14 inches.
My neck is 11 inches.

So I’m not gigantous, I’m just an average size Mom. But I’m a Mom who remembers being very thin in my younger years and sees an upward trend in my 40’s. I am afraid it will spiral out of control. So I’m on a mission. A mission to change my eating habits and to lose 15 pounds and gain muscle and tone as I go. So in reality, maybe I won’t lose weight at all, maybe I’ll replace the fat with muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat maybe I’ll always be 145.

For starters I think we all need something to motivate us and keep us going. Although wanting a result for this diary is a good one, I’m choosing my daughters wedding in September. I want to look good and feel good as the Mother of the Bride. Last week I dabbled in a few things to get me started. So for my tools.. I”m using “Livestrong.com” The Daily Plate. This way I can track all the food I eat and exercise I do and easily chart my weight change over time. I joined Golds Gym and 2 days ago I tried a class called Body Pump which is free weight training. Even though two days later I can barely lift my arms and drag my feet when I walk because my muscles are so sore, I decided I loved it and that this would be my “constant” for building muscle over the next year. I’ve been taking karate twice a week and plan to continue. I have a mountain bike I like to ride and plan to include that as well. Our mailbox is 3 blocks away and plan to walk around the block which is 1/2 a mile to check it daily. I plan to park as far away from the grocery store as I can instead of getting the closest parking spot. So there are a lot of changes that I’m making when it comes to “activity” especially since I’m big into computers and spend about 8 to 10 hrs a day sitting in front of one.

My goal:
128 pounds (although this is negotiable if I am putting on weight as muscle)
26 inch waist (is this possible?? hopefully)
34 inch bust (average for me when I’m not carrying extra weight although I might lose all of this body building and that is ok)
38 inch hips (once again.. is this possible? My butt has always been big for my size.. not sure if I can drop 2 inches but thats the goal)

So if you wish.. follow me on this journey of change for the following year. I hope that I can stick to the good eating habits and exercise plan and become an inspiration for someone! I’m not even going to entertain the thought of failure… I’m going to be positive and plan that the end result will be a much healthier and better shaped me!

So I’ve started a full body weight training class. Yesterday was first day of taking the class I felt confident, since I’d been training twice a week in Karate, that I’d be able to do well and keep up with the others. And I did keep up. The problem is that today.. I’m in serious pain! Every inch of my body is completely sore with a major buildup of lactic acid. I need a massage but even touching my muscle hurts like hell. I’m downing advil and water and soaking in hot water and wondering if I will ever be over the soreness enough to take the class again!! I understand that the 2nd day is the worst day I am am sure I will recover but this was an eye opening experience. In Chun Kuk Do, I jump, kick, punch, grapple, spar, I’m extremely active, I warmup with sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, running, I ride my bike I speed walk, I run, but this was all together different! I didn’t realize how little that my fitness routine concentrates on individual muscles. I think I’ve neglected my triceps for years, and my back has muscles I didn’t know where there! But I am now painfully aware they exist.

I’ve been doing research and I’m learning that the two sports, karate and body-building actually train different types of muscles. So although I’ve been active, my muscles have have been trained for more aerobic type of exercise. And there is much more to combining martial arts and body building than just retraining the muscles; there is also learning how to eat. So now I’m having to research what foods do I eat before karate and what do I eat to build muscle. Carbs have always been my pre-karate meal and now I have to up my protein intake if I want to build. So I see that I’m supposed to take in more clean, slow burning carbs. What are they? It seems like I could just start weight training and get strong, take karate and learn self-defense, ride my bike and build endurance. But it turns out there is a more complicated thing going on inside my body and my muscles. Looks like I have a lot of learning to do. I’m not willing to pay the personal trainer at Golds Gym $40 a week right now so I’m off to buy books and do research by Google to find the best foods to eat and the best method to combine martial arts and body building.

If you have any good tips I’d love to hear! I’m new to the “nutrition” side of all of this and I’m starting to feel overwhelmed with all the recommendations. Maybe when I’m lean and muscled and have my black belt I’ll write a book about how I did it!