Allison's Blog

 Posts Tagged ‘Technology’

It’s coming soon like I promised!!…I know this solves a bunch of issues for sleep, mood, and interval tracking of all sorts! Watch for the release!

Time Tracking

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Users can now monitor the activities of the Individuals quickly and easily with the help of our new Time Tracking module. It provides a unique platform for our Users to record the activities of the Individuals at regular intervals. Users will now be able to enter data easily on the templates created by the Provider Administrators, to track the behavior of the Individuals.

Users can record the activity for a particular Individual by clicking on the drop down box at each interval from the template created by the Provider Administrator.

Time Tracking Report for a particular Individual for a selected date range can be generated easily.

More later!

Allison

Therap’s first native iPhone app is available through iTunes NOW. Go get it. It does cool stuff with Tlogs on any iThing…

Allison

Amazon’s Kindle is a great e-book reader. I maintain that it is indeed the best e-book reader even in the face of iPad (and I LOVE my iPad, as you know!) and other tablets. It was built for those who love books and want no distractions when reading, including simple functionality that includes highlighting and adding notes, as well as an elegant e-Ink display that is easy on the eyes without glare or back lighting. And if you have the (free) 3G enabled model with Whispernet, you can download books wherever you are.

But did you know that–in a pinch–you could use your Kindle to access Therap?

If you look in the MENU>EXPERIMENTAL>LAUNCH WEB BROWSER (and your wifi is turned on), you can launch Amazon’s browser. Given the keyboard and clunky arrow button, it will not be the easiest thing you’ve ever done but it works. I was able to log in, send an SComm, read some Tlogs, and create a GER. Again, not easy, but functional. So, if you are a provider administrator and get an after-hours call and all you have on hand is your trusty little Kindle, it is all you need.

Allison

More later on iTherapin’…

Allison

So, we just got new phones which make Therap like a virtual office…You can call Connecticut and the phone will ring here in Washington for me to answer. That is, once I get my Internet sorted out (don’t ask!).

But as of late, people are finding other ways to get in touch aside from the three phone numbers, Google Talk (yes, some of you have found me there, too!), live help, and plain old boring email.

Some users leave comments on my blog (Ginny!) and others IM me on Facebook (you know who you are!).

Others send messages (Marie…) and write on my wall on Facebook.

I am not complaining at all.

I find this very, very interesting at how my role as a formal, technical support person has merged with social media. There have been numerous articles about how Twitter, Facebook and Yelp have impacted businesses’ images, communication with their clientele, and their overall presence on the Internet. There are few businesses that can dismiss the “interweb’s” potential for advertising with Google Ads and such. And for overall communication, information is instantly available (some say too much so) and it has given people greater access to like-minded folks regardless of geography (for a great read on the role of technology, check out Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky).  I personally think that’s awesome.

I can share pictures of Archie, discuss the coolest iPad app, and answer questions about Health Tracking all in one breath.

That works for me…but its overall meaning and impact are bigger than I think we realize; our lives are less and less divided into work, play, home, etc., and are becoming an amalgamation of all of those dimensions using social media mechanisms like Twitter and Facebook.

Some think it is the end of the world. Others will be tweeting away during the apocalypse…like me.

Allison

OFCO is so darn cool. I had a blast working with them…we did MONSTER, stacked-to-the rafters, training sessions from Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon. They plan on hittin’ it hard this upcoming week and going live with Therap. (Their enthusiasm is pouring all over Facebook!)

Thank so much, Jan, Julia and Deb for your kindness and hospitality shown to a slightly weary Therap person. Hope to see you all again soon!

And now for the next round in Sacramento!

Allison

There are a lot of dead cool applications out there for your iPad. Some are very useful, productive and noteworthy. Some are just cool vampire-killing or molecular bouncing or definition-defying fun (Uzu).

Here are my favorite so far:

1. Instapaper allows you to mark blogs, articles, and anything you want to read later and syncs it on your Mac and iPad…it is like a newsreader but better.

2. Kindle for iPad lets me read books I purchased for my Kindle from Amazon right on my iPad (or Android, Blackberry, or iPhone). Given that the Kindle is getting pounded by iPad, they are working hard at becoming the best ebook seller with the most usable platform. And it may be working.

3. New York Times Editors’ Choice selects their noteworthy articles (including great pictures) and sends them to you daily. For free. ‘Nuff said.

4. Pulse News Reader lets me follow my favorite news suppliers and displays them with a great graphic interface that makes it easy to sort and browse. Much nicer than a simple newsfeed.

5. Speaking of news, the NPR application is equally awesome for those NPR nerds among us.

6. Pages, Apple’s version of MS Word, which was customized to work with iPad allows me to create documents, PDFs and such very easily. Handier with the Bluetooth keyboard, however, as the on-screen keyboard is not ideal for lengthy writing sessions.

7. Draft by 37 Signals is a simple application that allows me sketch and doodle out ideas. This also allows you to email the sketches and dump them into Campfire. Very nice.

8. Dropbox is a storage solution that creates a local folder on your PC or Mac that syncs to an online account, making your material accessible from anywhere–including your iPad if you left your laptop behind.

9. Guardian Eyewitness brings you daily photos from around the world. Some of which are truly breathtaking.

10. Brushes lets you sketch, draw, paint and work with photos on your iPad. For the artist in you, this is a great application…

Allison

So, as you know, I went out and got an iPad. Not really. Given that the entire Portland area is out of EVERY model, I had to order from Apple and it took several weeks to get here. I watched it on FedEx ship from China to Alaska to California (don’t ask why…) and then come back to Portland.

Once I opened the box and turned it on, the first thing I noticed was the display; phenomenal for films and movies, with built-in speakers that were not all too shabby considering the size of the thing. Had to test it out with Lord of the Rings. Of course.

Here’s my take: this is only the beginning of a tremendously powerful device. The applications include everything from iPad ready versions of Apple’s iWork, to newsreaders, games, art and photography apps, on top of iTunes and about a billion other things. It works with my Kindle in the fact that I can read my books purchased on Amazon here as well…still, given iPad’s size and such, I think my Kindle still will be my primary book reader. However, reading The New York Times on the iPad is a pleasure.

The onscreen keyboard works very well and I can type nearly as fast as on a regular keyboard. I have a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard that I use as well with the iPad perched on its dock as it charges. Handy indeed.

I’ve read some reviews of the iPad dropping connectivity but that has yet to happen to me. It has worked very efficiently and is lightning fast. The gyroscope technology that spins the display is very accurate and quick as well–there is truly no wrong way to hold it.

For Theraping, it works very well, however, some of you will notice that there are some functionality issues around the Safari browser…I have it from a good source that Therap will be looking to support this in the future to make it a fully functional tool for a complete and amazing Therap experience!

There is plenty more that I could say but I’m tired…long and short of it: it’s just the beginning.

Allison

and I know my MILLIONS of readers have missed me. So, what was I doing? I had a friend visit from Connecticut and showed her around Oregon: the Coast, the Columbia River Gorge, SE Portland. Here are a couple of pics:

So we did that…and then I’ve been talking to folks around the country; new providers from Utah, Texas, California and of course, Oregon. Today, I drove all the way down to Corvallis to work with Cornerstone Associates. They run all sorts of businesses in the Corvallis area: bookbinding, nursery, packaging, wood making, a janitorial service and (my favorite) Taylor Street Ovens. They make some mean cookies over there.

I trained staff and managers and have another visit tomorrow to get them rolling for next week. They are a lovely group of folks indeed.

Now, off to play with my new iPad (I’ll tell you more after some play time!).

Allison