Dr. Z came across an article on the web on this subject and decided to explore more and found some cool ideas, although some of you may already know about this. Tnis is a good diversion from all the things that have been happening out there of late.

Lets go over them….

1. Saving an argument with your spouse (or significant other) on buying whole wheat bread instead of white, non-fat milk instead of whole milk…

If you are at a supermarket and your shopping list just says “milk”, or “bread”.  With bread, the bread shelves have 50 varieties of bread, what shall you do?  Use Z4 (and soon the Z5) to talk with your spouse or significant other and turn your smartphone over to the bread shelves to point our which specific bread product should be bought.  Same with milk or even ice cream…end of argument, live happily ever after!

2.  You lose a small screw in a dark room and need to find it! Or you are in a dark area and can’t put a key into the keyhole of your home.

Simple, use the flashlight app on your smartphone!  It saved my day the other day in a rainstorm!

3. You visit a friend or relative and they seem not to answer the doorbell.

Use the email or the messaging function on your smartphone top send a email/message!

4.  You cut yourself on your face and want to see how bad the cut is, or even want to check your makeup or making sure your hair is in place.

Use the self-view on the camera app–it works as good as a mirror!

5.  You get a package tightly packed or bought something from a store that you are not sure you want to keep.

Take a picture before you unpack and more pictures every step of the way.  This way, when you return the package, you can repack everything and it will fit perfectly.

6. Playing Monopoly as a board game with someone remotely.

My grandchildren do that with their cousins.  It’s much better than the electronic version and promotes conversation and dialogue and brings the family together.  You can also do it with Scrabble and other board games.

7. Do something stupid and not using your mind.  Sometimes we need a good diversion.

Link to this website for some crazy apps (they can entertain, too.)  (For iOS users only for now, sorry.)

8. You need to calculate your tip or need to figure who’s paying what with a large group in a restaurant.

There are many apps out there which help you do this.

9. You want to do yoga, exercise, etc.

Again there are many apps out there. There’s even one app that counts how many times you jump rope by holding the iPhone in your hand.  NOTE:  Dr. Z is not responsible for any sprained ankles or rapid heartbeats as a result of using this app.

10.  Inventory

Keeping an inventory of your wallet, or what’s in each room in your home.  Use your smartphone camera to take pictures of all the credit cards in your wallet.  Also pictures of every room in your home.  It will come in handy whenever there is a need to refer to them.

Dr. Z had so much fun developing this list.  He will do it from time to time.

Coming soon!  Z5!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Dr. Z wants to express his concern for those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Dr. Z was at his son’s home in Connecticut–not at a coastal city, but inland.

Nothing much happened where Dr. Z was, except for some fallen branches, etc.

But for those who had blackouts, flooding – it is a difficult thing to deal with.

First of all, most of you have computers and mobile devices.

The information stored on your computers can be lost due to a blackout as it is often accompanied by a surge, so turn off your computers when you expect to lose your power and unplug it.

To add more insurance, save (upload) all your data and your photos (not your apps), on something called Dropbox or Box (cloud).  This way if your data is lost, you can always download it.  Apps take too much space and you can always download the apps from the App Store or your DVD’s. If you have a flood, and your pictures are on a DVD, it could be damaged.  The best is to upload it to the cloud.

For your mobile devices, they are always with you, but they can run out of power.  Remember, your car is a mini-generator, you can always plug in your mobile device in your car’s lighter or power outlet and have it charged (remember to do it with the garage door open or outside.) You can also use a battery charger such as Mophie or a Duracell/Energizer battery with a connector to your device. For an interesting story re charging in an hurricane, click on this link.

Wifi will go out in your house, so you will have a 3G or 4G connection on your mobile device.  You should download the Z4 to your mobile device to enable video communication in an emergency.

Dr. Z is hopeful the above information will be of help in the next natural disaster in your area.

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development

Let’s look at the Apple product line:

• iPod

• iPhone

• Mac (Macbook, Air Mac, iMac)

• iPad (iPad, iPad mini)

All of these products have video! All have cameras in front of the devices! (This is true for the newest Apple devices–some of the older devices do not have a front-facing camera so be sure to check before you buy!)

A little more explanation is necessary. Only the iPhone and the iPad has 3G/4G/4G LTE which means you can use video to communicate when you are out of the house or office.

The iPod and the Mac’s do not have 3G/4G/4G LTE, which means you use wifi inside your home or office.

The iPod, iPhone and the iPad mini-you can hold in your hand.

The Macs laptops and the iPad-you can move around the house and office with those.

Only the iMac will need to stay at your desk.

The point here–you have FULL video communication capability, wherever you are with the Apple product line!

One word of caution: 3G/4G/4G LTE have monthly data caps–which limit you to 3-4 hours of video per month. So for those devices, if you are in a wifi evnironment, be sure to switch to wifi as wifi does not have monthly data caps.

Dr. Z is thrilled with more choices!!!

By the way, the forthcoming Z5 will run on all of the above devices–it’s in the final stages of beta testing. Stay tuned!

Dr. Z cares about your communication access.

Disclosure: Dr. Z (Philip W. Bravin) is associated with CSDVRS, currently its Vice-President of Business Development