Technology that I am loving....

Such a boring title, but I have been enveloped into certain technologies that I am enjoying so much I have to share....

Skype: I installed this program after reading Tressa's post about skyping her family. I figured since I had a video camera on my laptop, it would be pretty easy to do. I signed up and got my sister to sign up and spent most of the holidays skyping with her. My girls absolutely love it and they call her on their own now. I finally touched base with Tree this weekend - we haven't talked face-to-face in 5 years! It was so awesome catching up and seeing and talking to the kids! I've tried to get my Mom and my friend Jacque (in WA state) to sign up, but they both plead technological ignorance....hopefully they'll jump on the bandwagon soon. The only con is that all my calls (so far) have caught me sans makeup, hair done and usually in pajamas....and a cluttered house to boot...

Kindle: My husband got this for me for Christmas. Even though I was excited, I was a little apprehensive at first....why? because I am so cheap....the thought of shelling out $9.00 per book was putting me over the edge....however, I quickly found out that a lot of the "classics" are public domain and free. They also have a lot of books really cheap. Plus, when I really think about it, even though library books are free, you still have to return said books by the deadline or suffer the penalty charges (no biggie right?! not for the person who currently owes $70+ in library fees). So I am thinking I'll end up ahead in the long run ;) I loved that two of my bloggy friends, Kat and CaraBee, did posts about their favorite books of 2009 - I was able to add the suggestions right to my Kindle wish list so when I am stuck looking for a new book - it's there. I took their suggestion and read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins - it was fabulous....I can't wait to read the next book - though I am going to have to download it via audible or utilize the library as it's not on Kindle (there's a con). There is even a Kindle app for my iphone which enables me to sync between the phone and my Kindle so that I can always have a book with me....how cool is that?!!

Netflix: I know, I know...it's not a new technology, but now you can see a lot of movies and t.v. shows instantly via computer or on your t.v. via your gaming system. Now I've been a member of Netflix 2 times before and it really hasn't worked out that well because I always forget to return the movies in time for pizza and movie night the next week so we would always ending up going to Blockbuster to rent a movie then end up paying late charges there. We dropped Netflix and went with the Blockbuster plan which would put us in the same category (it shouldn't be too hard to return movies I know, it's just a matter of putting it into the mailbox...however, I leave every morning in a whirlwind and putting movies in the mailbox is not on top of the list). I've even tried Red Box and ended up paying $ for 2 movies I now own....so getting away from my humongous disorganized issues....I am loving this instant gratification I am getting from Netflix.... I am a secret documentary lover and I have a whole queue of movies to view...it's the little things.

Mobile Me: We are now officially an all Mac family....Bill got a Mac laptop about 1.5 years ago; I soon followed suit. For Christmas, we got an iMac for our family computer. I took advantage of the Mobile Me deal that came with the new computer and I am loving the fact that we can all have our own calendars and know what's going on. I am infamous for not letting Bill know about meetings, appts, etc., but now as soon as I add something new to the calendar, it goes into our "cloud" and everyone is in the know. This is a wonderful tool for a disorganized person such as myself and relieves some of the tension that said disorganization can cause a more organized spouse.

What technologies are you currently loving?