Technology Blog #5

     For this tech blog, I want to talk about one of the Digital Storytelling websites that we had the option of using. I decided to try out Smilebox, and I loved it. Smilebox is a free download for your computer-Mac or PC! There is a premium option that costs money; however, the free one is just as good, and you still get many features and designs. Smilebox allows you to make invitations, greeting cards, slide shows, collages, etc. with your own pictures. All you have to do is download the software, upload your pictures, pick what you want to create, and design it! There are multiple designs to choose from such as, birthdays, holidays, baby, wedding, and much more. You can also add music to your creations including what is already loaded onto Smilebox or your own MP3s. Once you finish your creation, you can preview it and edit it again if need be. Then, you have the option of sending it via email, printing it, posting it on Facebook, or burning it to a CD. It does, though, cost money to print like it would on other websites like Wal-Mart or Shutterfly. 
     Smilebox was extremely user friendly. I remember using it years ago and not really liking it, so I think they have definitely made improvements. I love that you can create things and send them right to someone's email or use something like Jing to share it as well, which is what I did to share it on our Google+. It would be great to use if you have family and friends that you want to share pictures of your recent vacation, a party, etc. I know my mom is always asking for my pictures, so she would love it if I made her a little slideshow. Smilebox creations don't have to take forever to make either, unless you want to change every detail. For the most part, all the designs have exactly what you need to import the picture and add text as desired. Another good use is invitations. In my family, we tend to use e-mail when we are having a get together, so this would add a little "pizzaz" to the boring messages. If you want to do something creative with all the pictures on your computer or send a special someone a greeting card, Smilebox is the way to go! 

Technology Blog #4

     For my fourth Technology Blog, I wanted to share a website called zulily.com.  I had often seen ads for this website, but wasn't exactly sure what it was, so I forgot about it until my mom brought it up to me. When I finally found out what this website was, I was addicted. Zulily is an online shopping website that has women, children, and men's shoes and clothing at discounted prices along with items for the home and accessories. While some things are not known brands, there are many popular brands such as Ray-Bans, Under Armour, and Coach. Each day, Zulily has new shops. While the other shops from other days remain, they only last for a temporary amount of time. You can choose to shop by what is new for the day, categories, or the shops that are going to go away shortly. Creating an account is required, but you can sign in with Facebook as well. 
    Zulily is great website for poor college students like myself. I have gotten wonderful apartment items, christmas gifts, and other things at prices I can actually afford. It is definitely recommended for people who love to shop but are looking for some good deals. Some negatives to this site are that shipping can be expensive, it takes a little while to get your items, and popular brands sell out fast. However, they often offer free shipping, and if you do not need something right away, the shipping and handling time is not a big deal. In fact, you might forget that you ordered something and be pleasantly surprised by a present to yourself in the mail! All in all, Zulily is like going to the mall, but you can sit in the comfort of your home. It is great for college students who need to be careful about their spending, and the positives of the website outweigh the negatives. 

Smackdown Number 3

For my third Smackdown, I found an example of a bad website. When I say bad, I mean bad. This website is so bad that I feel as though I have to warn people that they may get dizzy, throw up, or have a seizure. I looked at it for two minutes and came down with a headache.

The name of the website is lingscars.com. When you go to this site, you may be too distracted to figure out what its purpose is, so I’ll tell you. It’s a site for leasing cars. However, even given that information, you’re probably still distracted because the first obvious problem with this website is its design. The colors, animations, and amount of words on just the home page alone are completely overwhelming. Every picture and piece of text moves or pops out at you. There is way too much stimulation. This almost makes the website come off as fake or a scam or something that will leave your computer with a nasty virus. You could not pay me to lease a car from this guy. Most of the ads look sketchy. In fact, the website as a whole looks sketchy. 

The one positive note I can give Ling is his navigation system at the top of the page, which pretty much gives the user the information they need to find what they are looking for. However, Ling adds in stuff that is completely irrelevant to a car leasing website. He has a tab called “Fun Stuff,” which includes quizzes, hangman, and other stuff that I can’t seem to figure out. This is a car website; games are not necessary. Ling also does not provide a search bar for users, another downfall. Besides his toolbar at the top, this site has pretty much zero organization. There are things everywhere, and too much information thrown at you at once.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the flaws in this website. It is so bizarre and unprofessional. Ling is not a man I would trust to lease a car from.