IS THE MICROSOFT SURFACE TABLET GOING TO BE THE NEXT BIG THING

The mobile market is getting ready to be hit with the Microsoft Surface tablet.  Although I don’t think it will be an iPad “killer”, which I don’t think there ever will be, I do believe that it will hold up and give the iPad a little competition.

The biggest reason it will compete with the iPad is the same thing that Apple has done with all their devices, making them work together.  Apple’s OS X is getting a big upgrade with the Mountain Lion coming out this summer and it is said to be more like a mobile operating system that will work together with the iPad and iPhone.  So you can work on any one of their devices and pick up where you left off using another.

With Window’s 8 coming out and Microsoft gearing up for the desktop and mobile version along with the Surface tablet that will run Window’s 8, I believe they have seen what Apple has done and will try to create the same experience for Window’s users, which let’s face it, is over 50% of computers users today.

This is where Google’s Android operating system has failed.  They have really only focused on one device, the smartphone.  Sure, they will still keep a chunk of the smartphone market because it seems to be the “cool” thing to have now and with them keeping up with newer versions of their OS, will continue to be up there with Apple, but watch out because with this three punch Window’s 8 bit, Microsoft will be stepping up.

Usually with competition comes lower prices in order to compete, but don’t expect this with Apple.  They are in a world and league of their own and I don’t think any competition you see will make them lower any of their prices.  They have a standard and with lowering prices just to compete will bring down their high status symbol that Steve Jobs has worked hard to establish.

The only downfall I could see with this mobile version of Window’s 8 is that the current Window’s smartphones will not be able to upgrade, you will have to buy an actual Window’s 8 phone or hopefully your contract is coming up and upgrade at that point.  Apple upgrades their mobile OS, but generally will allow the last two handsets to handle the upgrade getting it into more users hands.  The iPhone 4 and 4s should be able to upgrade to the iOS 6 that is coming this fall.

Time will only tell if the iPad will see its first real competition hit the market and as long as they don’t take the Blackberry/RIM road and stupid marketing tactics, I think we will.

Talk soon,

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THE LASER VIRTUAL KEYBOARD FOR SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS

I know the word is already on the street about the next iPhone, reported as iPhone 5, and the integration of the laser virtual keyboard.  Unfortunately I don’t think the next iPhone, which I think the naming may start going along the lines of the iPad and be named The New iPhone, will have a laser virtual keyboard incorporated into it.  I think it’s to soon and it hasn’t been perfected yet to be put into smaller devices.  Also, I don’t think Apple will make that big of a jump incorporating big new tech items in the next iPhone.

There is already a bluetooth device that you can use with any bluetooth enabled device that will shine a nice laser onto any hard service, giving you access to a complete keyboard to type on just like you would on any desktop or laptop.  If you tuned in to watch the recent TV series Alcatraz, you should have caught this futuristic tech being used in their high tech control room.  Their computers didn’t have real keyboards and they weren’t using this bluetooth device either.  It was built into the computers themselves shining that bright red laser keyboard on their desk.

Tech is moving fast and the desktops are being replaced with laptops and the laptops are being replaced with tablets and smartphones.  I have found that with my iPhone 4s I can do just about anything I can accomplish with my laptop, except typing long documents or articles.  So I tend to open my Macbook Pro up for bigger projects like that.  But with an iPad or any other tablet I could get these things done, except for the keypad is not good for placing your fingers properly like you would on a normal computer keyboard.  Which to solve that problem you are seeing companies develop clamshell type devices to slide your tablet into making it into an instant laptop.

The problem I see with this is that why would someone purchase a tablet and then get clamshell dock to use with it, when you can just get a nice 11″ or 13″ laptop that has much more power and capabilities and still just as portable as a tablet?  It doesn’t make sense so I don’t see this device holding much water in the future and eventually will end up in the tech junkyard.

So there is proof that the technology exists and I find it quite fascinating that if you watch current TV shows or movies, pay close attention to the technology being used and you can get a glimpse into the future.  Just an example, but check out the movie Minority Report from 2002 starring Tom Cruise in 2002.  I bet you can see some good tech being used in the film that you are now seeing in gadgets today.  And although I don’t see it today, I can’t wait to see what becomes of the stuff that was used in the movie Avatar.

So I think within a year or two you will start seeing smartphones and tablets, including Apple’s, incorporating these virtual laser keyboards.  Which will be quite interesting to see what happens to the laptop sales.

If you can’t wait for these built in virtual keyboards and want to try your hand at the virtual keyboard via bluetooth you can check it out below.

Celluon Magic Cube Laser Projection Keyboard and Touchpad

Talk soon,

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I FOUND THIS ONE SMALL CHANGE IN YOUR WORKOUT PLAN CAN GET YOU PAST THAT DREADED PLATEAU

I’ve been working out consistently for the past 10 years and I often get the question about how to get past that nasty plateau when trying to build muscle.  I’ve been there so I know how you feel because I’ve felt the same way at times, but what I have found is that you can get past it with a very simple solution.

It’s nothing new, in fact you have probably heard it numerous times, but never tried it or thought it was all shenanigans.  It does in fact work and I’ve been incorporating into my plan for years.  This little gem of a “secret” is CONSTANTLY CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT.  You have to keep your muscles confused and guessing on what’s coming next.  If they adapt, that’s when you hit the plateau.

How Often

I’m not talking about every week, but you can’t stick to the same workout for years and expect to continue to get the same results as when you started.  I’ve been down that road and found I would get into a comfort zone with my workout.  I knew exactly which days I would work each muscle group and the exact exercises, reps and sets I would do.  It worked.  I got results at first and then just plateaued and the results stopped.  Nothing lost, but couldn’t get by this hump.  Sure, just like you, I heard experts out there saying to change it up to get over this hurdle, but I didn’t listen and didn’t want to take the time to look for a new workout and learn something new.  But once I started changing things up a bit, I was seeing the results.

A good rule of thumb is to pick out a routine and complete it then move on to another.  If you liked a certain routine, you can always come back to it and start over, I would just increase the weight a bit from what you previously did.  Some routines will be six weeks, some twelve, whatever it calls for stick with it until it’s complete.

How does it work

So why does this switching routines help you get past this and start building muscle again?  I can’t get into all the scientific mechanics of how it works, but I can give you a basic idea that will help you out.  Your muscles have memory, strange I know, but they do.  They remember your workouts just like your brain does.  After so long doing the same routine over and over, your muscles remember your exercises and the load (weight) you are going to put them through.  Once your muscles have been accustomed to the workout and weight, the fibers will stop breaking down and stop trying to build new growth.

I know it’s a little strange, but when you are working out you are actually tearing your muscles and when you sleep they repair themselves which enables the growth.  This is why you hear that getting a good nights rest is one of the best things to do.  Here’s the trick though, muscles are like scares, if you keep picking at them they never heal.  So if you work the same muscles groups day after day without giving a specific body part enough rest and repair they just stay in that “tearing mode” and never grow.  That’s why I always suggest giving each group a week to repair and then go at ‘em again.  And yes, you are not actually building muscle when you are in the gym, so quit trying to spend hours upon hours in the gym thinking you are going to get better results by spending more time there.  Get it and get out is my philosophy.

High Intensity Training

This is why I like the H.I.T (High Intensity Training) programs so much.  First they are intense, but they tend to be short.  The philosophy behind this is that you work a muscle group to complete failure with fewer sets but with extreme intensity and then stop because you have torn down the muscle fibers enough so they can now rebuild.

A great resource I have found for finding different workouts is Bodybuilding.com.  You can choose your workout according to sex, goals and age and they are all free.  If you’ve hit that plateau, check the site out, pick a workout and get busy!

If you looking for one of those H.I.T programs, here is my favorite one on the site:

Dorian Yates – Blood & Guts 6 Week Trainer Main Page!

Talk soon,

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WHY DIDN’T I MENTION APPLE’S ICLOUD SERVICE, ITUNES MATCH, AS ONE OF THESE SOLUTIONS

In Part 1 I explained why I was ditching iTunes, laid out the top three services for streaming and why I believe these are much better for any music fanatic than iTunes.  But you may be wondering why I didn’t even mention Apple’s new iCloud music service called iTunes Match.

Apple has done a great job on marketing iTunes Match as having your entire music collection at your fingertips and not having to worry about syncing multiple devices because your music is stored in the cloud and is available on any Apple product.  Can’t argue, this is a “semi” true statement, but a little flawed once you take a look at the “at your fingertips” part.  First, the iCloud service as allowed me not to have to worry about syncing my devices every time I would purchase music, all I have to do is look in the purchased area on my iPhone and it’s all right there.  Here’s the interesting part, I have to download the music to my device, taking up storage.  So essentially, I don’t have my entire music collection at my fingertips.  I can download as many songs as I want that will fit on my 16gb iPhone.

This is where the iTunes Match service and Apple have missed the boat by a long shot and it’s why I didn’t mention it as a solution.  You cannot stream music from the iCloud as of yet.  So once you have downloaded what will fit on your device and want to listen to more from your collection, you have to delete the music that is already on the device so you can fit more onto it.  Kinda lame in my mind.  You have to keep downloading a deleting music so you can listen to all your music.

Apple has already released that by 2015 it will profit more from apps than it will in music.  So I have a feeling that eventually Apple will have to get into this game of streaming music.  And not just streaming your own purchased music, I think they will have to have a separate service like Rhapsody, where users can opt into a monthly fee to stream music from iTunes like cloud.

Even if they came out with an iTunes Match streaming service of your own collection, I still would stick to Rhapsody because there is still the issue of purchasing the music to listen to and with Rhapsody a small monthly fee gets you a ton more music to stream or download.

Talk soon,

P.S. Rhapsody just hit me up with a 30 day free trail to all my music fanatic friends out there who want to try it out.  The normal free trial is only 14 days if you visit their website directly, so this is an added bonus for 16 days if you hit the link below.

Try Rhapsody for a 30 day Free trial

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I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M SAYING THIS, BUT THERE IS A FAR BETTER MUSIC SERVICE THAN ITUNES

As an avid Apple product fan and music lover, I can’t even believe it myself saying that I have found a much better music service than iTunes, but I have and I’ll let you in on what it is and explain how music lovers can benefit.

For the longest time I couldn’t pry myself away from iTunes and my iPod.  I always wanted to own my own music so I could do with it as I please.  If someone wanted a copy of what I had in my collection of tunes, I could share it with them.  I also wanted my entire music collection on a single device and take it wherever I would go.

But there was one big issue I could never get over, I had to pay for each song or album.  Now if you are someone that may hear a song on the radio every so often and what a copy, money isn’t an issue.  Pay the $.99 and your done.  But if you’re like me and have a ton of music you want to purchase, this starts chipping away at your bank account fast.  So needless to say I am WAY behind on my music collection due to the costs.  What’s the solution? Well, it’s hard for me to say, but renting some one’s entire music collection for a monthly cost.

I think we are starting to get into the era of streaming music from our mobile devices and the old hard drive music players are on their way out.  Even Apple’s biggest iPod, the iPod classic, is starting to see big decreases in sales and I think they will start looking at discontinuing them.

Here’s my thinking behind this whole renting thing.  Let’s say you just purchase one album at $9.99 a month, what do you get….one album.  Sure it’s yours, but in my years of owning my music I’ve only burned a couple of albums for others to listen too.  So, if you’re like me, I could spend about $25 or more a month just getting caught up on old music I want and also new releases.  And, I would be paying for music the rest of my life.  That’s going to leave a mark for sure.

So, I changed my thinking.  I could rent a music collection of 13 million plus songs and have all of my music on one device just as I wanted for $9.99 a month.  And the best part is, they keep adding music to their collections weekly.  Honestly this seems like a no brainer and should have thought of this a long time ago.

So let’s take a look at the top three music collections for streaming music on the iPhone and what I found.

I checked this one out because it just came out in the U.S. and people were raving all over social media about it.  I took it for a free trial spin and only after about two days cancelled this one.  Their music collection is only about 11 million right now.  I checked out one of my favorite country music artists that has been out since 1993 and they only had one of their albums.  Moving on……..I checked out more of my favorites and found a lot of albums missing.  Sure their collection will grow with time, but does me no good right now.  So as far as I’m concerned, Spotify just ain’t all that.

This service I had read about searching Google for the top music streaming services.  I went ahead a got on board for the free trial.  I have to admit this seemed like the one.  I really like their iPhone app, simple and easy to use.  You could add any song or album to your favorites and listen to them whenever you wanted.  The streaming part was great, no hiccups and sounded great.  It also has a feature that allows a play queue, so it was really like a on the go play list, which you could clear out at any time.  Also, it has a feature that when you play a song, it lists other songs in that genre that might appeal to you.  Pretty cool for finding new music, but only suggests up to about five or six songs.  One downside, which didn’t really matter to me, but may for you is that you cannot create play lists from the iPhone app.  You have to create play lists on your computer that automatically syncs to the iPhone app.  There music collection is quite impressive too, although it is missing some of my favorites.

I really had forgot about this little gem, until a friend of mine reminded me of it.  I had read some reviews about their iPhone app and weren’t that great.  Reviews were saying that it crashes a lot which is not good if your streaming music and can be a huge issue, one that could stray customers away.  So I dug a little deeper and found that their music collection was even a bit better than MOG.  So I had to try it to see what their iPhone app features were and if the reviews were true.  I have found that it will sometimes crash, but nothing significant and doesn’t get annoying.  The one thing I found that MOG is better than Rhapsody is when you are looking at an artists album within Rhapsody, some of the songs are greyed out and you can’t play them.  This is because you can’t stream or play them unless you purchase them.  This could be a problem if there was a certain song you wanted off the album.  It’s not often and I haven’t came across a “had to have song” that was greyed out.  Their iPhone app is pretty slick and has a lot of features that MOG doesn’t.  You can create a play list right from within the app.  Another feature I use often to find new music is a feature called related artist.  Once you click on a singer you can go to the related artist tab to find additional related music.  Very cool.

These three services are a like in many ways and it really depends on ones own preferences. So as you may tell, after trying all three I went with Rhapsody for the $9.99 per month option.  This allows for you to use it on your computer and up to one mobile device.  You can opt for the $14.99 per month and it allows you to use it on up to three mobile devices.  The only problem is you can’t stream music at the same time on all three devices.  So don’t think you can load it on to your spouses or friends device and all enjoy streaming music, won’t work.

The biggest limitation you will have for streaming music is your data plan.  If you have an unlimited plan you should be ok.  Although this may put you into a pinch because cell phone companies are now throttling unlimited data plans.  This means if you are within the top 5% of their data users per month and you hit a certain usage ceiling, they will slow your speed down to a crawl after hitting that mark for the month.  After that month is up, you get your top speed back until you hit the ceiling again and so on.  The only good part is, if there can be in this situation, is the company should let you know if you are getting into that 5% and you are getting close to having your speed downgraded for that month.  I have an unlimited data plan and use my iPhone for simple things like browsing the internet and email.  I also steam music for about 4-6 hours per day and have never received this type of notification from my cell phone company.  I have checked and as of January 24, 2011 I have used 2.7gb of data on my unlimited plan and my billing cycle doesn’t end until February 11, 2011.  So we will see if I get a notification and what this ceiling may be.

If you do have a limited data plan, streaming music may not be an option for you and you would have to download your songs to your device for listening.  Each one of these three services allows for unlimited downloads so that won’t be an issue, except for your a limited to the data storage on you device.  Below I have included a chart so you can see how much data you will use if you stream music.

Here’s how many hours of music streaming you can do on a 2GB data plan.

96kbps (Radio Quality) — 45.76 hours of streaming per month

160kbps (3G Quality) — 27.52 hours of streaming per month

320kbps (CD Quality) — 13.79 hours of streaming per month

I believe all three services are the same.  If your streaming on your 3G data plan it plays at 160kbps.  If your are streaming on a WiFi network, it would be at the 320kbps.  But on a WiFi network you shouldn’t be using any of your data plan, so this should only come into play while using your 3G data plan.  Keep in mind this is just streaming music and doesn’t include data for anything else you may use it for.

As a side note.  Streaming music does eat up battery life, so have some type of charging device handy.  Although I have noticed it doesn’t drain it as quick as when I listen to the radio using TuneIn Radio.

What’s your thoughts?  Is there any top notch service I have left out?  Leave a comment and let me know your experience or opinions.

Talk soon,

UPDATE:  It looks like data throttling is set to around 5gb per month on an unlimited plan.  Although looking at some of the tech blogs, once you reach this limit still doesn’t mean that you will start seeing a drop in network speed.  The company states that throttling is based on a case by case scenario built around many factors.  See the pictures below, I reached the 5gb mark and received the text from hell stating I was now in the top 5% of users and had to use wifi to avoid reduced network speeds.  The day the text came in was the last day of my billing cycle, but I did test the speed and my iPhone was still seeing some highend speeds on 3G.

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ONE MONTH REVIEW OF THE IPHONE 4S AND SIRI PERSONAL ASSISTANT-READ THIS BEFORE MAKING THE DECISION TO UPGRADE

It’s been a month now using the new iPhone 4s and it’s built in personal assistant Siri.  If you don’t already know I’m an Apple product freak and believe Steve Jobs was a true visionary in the tech world.  Hell I was watching a 1997 video of him speaking at the big Apple convention and he was already talking about cloud services before anyone knew that they would become a part of our lives.  He could see computers not having any “working” parts in them and seeing us just having a keyboard and screen.  None the less, I do like Apple products.  I currently have a 13″ Macbook Pro, iPod Classic and just upgraded from the iPhone 3gs to the 4s.  And what I’m about to reveal and tell you may be shocking after hearing my praise of Apple products.

I can say after owning the 3gs for two years and upgrading to the 4s, there was quite a bit of difference.  First going from the curved edges and back of the 3gs to the candy bar slab of the 4s was remarkably different.  And I have to say I don’t agree with most that the curvy casing is better.  I happen to really like the candy bar style of the 4s.  Next up is the camera and WOW, what can I say.  I now enjoy shooting photos.  The pictures turn out excellent and the colors are realistic to what was shot as opposed to the 3gs.  Now that the 4s takes video in 1080p, I can now ditch my Flip video camera and carry one device with all my goodies.  No need to carry around a phone, camera and a video recorder.

Since I decided to go straight to the 4s and skip on the 4, I really didn’t get a feel for what the difference was between the two devices.  But, after purchasing the 4s and wondering if I could have saved a Benjamin, I began testing the two devices between my friends and I.  I was really in shock on my discovery.  First, let’s take a look at the major differences between the iPhone 4 and 4s.

iPhone 4:

• 5 megapixal camera
• 720 Video Recorder
• Single Core Processor A4 Chip
• 8gb

iPhone 4s:

• Better Camera (8 megapixals)
• Better Video Recorder (1080p)
• Siri Personal Assistant
• Dual Core Processor A5 Chip
• 16gb

After testing both of the major differences here was my conclusion.

CAMERA

I took two shots of the same photo using both devices and found that the iPhone 4 was a bit brighter and did have great color and was a great picture.  After looking at the two I got a little miffed because it seemed there was not much difference.  But after taking a closer look, the 4s captured the true color of the photo.  The orange in the 4 photo was very bright orange and the actual color was more of of a burnt orange that had a hint of red, which the 4s captured.

VIDEO RECORDER

Again, it’s obvious that the iPhone 4s 1080p recorder will take a better shot for you than the iPhone 4 720p video.  The biggest difference I saw was that the 4s has video stabilization feature that does help if you tend to have shaky hands.

STORAGE

With Apple reducing the size of the iPhone 4 to 8gb, your losing a bit of storage for music, videos, audiobooks, etc.  But if you mainly use your phone for apps and a little playlist of music, I think the 8gb will suffice.  Photos don’t take a ton of space so I don’t think you would run into any problems.

PROCESSOR

Apple did a great job hyping up the new A5 chip with dual core processor, but it’s just that…..all hype.  This to me is the first fail for the new iPhone 4s.  One day after my purchase of the 4s, I sat it side by side a very dilapidated iPhone 4, meaning it had seen it’s last leg so to speak.  It had been dropped several times, the left front corner of the screen was completely busted out and the home button didn’t work.  I actually have seen this phone slammed on the floor several times just to try to get the home button to work.  So with that being said I thought for sure my brand new iPhone 4s would demolish this thing in speed.  Guess what?  I was completely wrong.  Performing several tests with app loading, internet speed and even downloading news feeds.  My iPhone 4s only beat this damn thing once and not by much.  Honestly after a month of use I only notice two items that seem to be just a tad faster than my iPhone 3gs, updating and installing apps and uploading photos to my Photobucket app, that’s it.  So if your thinking your getting a huge boost in speed with your upgrade think again.

SIRI PERSONAL ASSISTANT

This is the second fail on the iPhone 4s.  It seems this new talking to your phone era is a joke.  I see more people using Siri as a novelty more so than an actual assistant.  Asking it stupid questions to see what she’ll say.  I have to say it’s quite amusing on some of her answers.  I don’t find myself using it over my fingers doing the talking, like texting and searching the internet for my answers.  When I have used Siri to text, if I don’t speak VERY clearly what I want it to say, it comes back with gibberish which I have to back out or say don’t send and then try again.  If Siri doesn’t catch what you say the first time, it could take up to 4 minutes just to send a text.  Not very groundbreaking in my mind.  I have found myself at times, when I think of it, to ask it to call a business, which seems helpful.  But guess what, this isn’t a huge discovery that Apple has uncovered.  You can get the same service for free on an Android device and it works just the same.  I have seen video of the two in action side by side and at times the Android version comes back with faster and more accurate answers.

My take is that I don’t think we are in this era yet of talking to our devices, TV’s included people.  I think Apple is to quick to pull the trigger with this technology that just isn’t ready for us to accept.  We are still in the “finger” talking with text and search era.  I have a feeling we will get there, but it’s a ways away in my mind.  Apparently other companies think we’re ready to just jump into this tech and their spending big money to incorporate this into their products.  Microsoft is trying to be the first on the market to have humans speak commands to their TV before Apple has a chance to launch their Apple TV product with Siri built in.  They have put this software into their Xbox Kinect so you can talk to your TV.  I just don’t see this stuff taking off like these companies do.  Just as I don’t think 3D TV will. (Which is a whole nether subject I could go on about, but not here)

So there it is, my one month review of the new iPhone 4s.  I would say if your using the iPhone 4, I would stick with it until the unveiling of the iPhone 5.  If you’re a iPhone 3gs owner, it’s your call.

Talk soon,

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TRIM YOUR WAIST AND GET RID OF THAT UNWANTED BELLY FAT BY MIND CONTROL AND THE MENTAL GAME

Trying to eliminate belly fat and trimming your waist is one of the biggest talked about subjects and myths in the area of losing weight.

My disclosure:  I’m not a doctor, don’t claim to be and don’t play one on TV.  I’m not a fitness, nutritional or weight management trainer or physician.  I’m not saying that any of this will work for you.  These are only my experiences and opinions.  Now that that’s out of the way……….

The weight loss industry is estimated at a $60 billion dollar a year industry and keeps going up in the United States.  But by 2015, 75% of adult Americans will be overweight and 41% will be obese. (John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).  How does this calculate out?  A billion dollar a year industry with that big of a percentage of overweight and obesity.  Seems unbalanced doesn’t it.

I know this isn’t rocket science by no means, but the reasoning behind this unbalance is people don’t focus on the positive behaviors of living fit.  They let excuses and laziness get in the way of this thought pattern.  People spend billions of dollars on books, videos, supplements, gym memberships, you name it, all in good intentions.  They put this positive thought in their mind, but somehow fall short of reaching their goals, which is good for businesses in the weight management industry, but bad for overweight and obesity.

SOCIAL PROOF

To prove my point, let’s look at gym memberships.  And I know this because I see it year in and year out.  Every January millions of people make that BIG New Year’s resolution of getting fit.  January through about early March gyms are packed with new comers and veterans that have been going there for years.  You have to stand in line just to get on a piece of cardio equipment and the weights area is jam packed.  Slowly towards the end of March, lines to the cardio equipment are dwendling.  The positive behaviors of the newcomers are starting to go back to old habits and around April gyms are now back the way they used to be, same old faces you’ve seen everyday.  Some good in this is that I do see a handful of those new faces that started back in January still kickin’ it with their programs.  But a handful is not going to cut it if we want to see these numbers more in balance.

MIND GAMES

You have to let the mind stay focused on these positive thoughts and get to a point to where you see results and when you do, I promise you will be hooked.  I’ve been through it.  Just starting out going to the gym and working my tale end off, but seeing no results.  I couldn’t understand why this was happening until I realized the duh moment.  Which was, you can’t just exercise and keep the same ole crappy eating habits.  So I gave that a shot and bingo, the balance between exercise and eating a better diet IS actually true.  You can’t go to the gym, then walk out, light up a cigarette and stop by McDonald’s and order a Big Mac, large fries and maybe get one of those chocolate fudge sundae’s for your treat afterwards.  Although I will show you in future posts how you can still enjoy the foods you love and still get results.(Note: except cigarettes, if you smoke, please quit)

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Here’s what I see happening with all of these facts.  The decision is made to get in better shape and then look for a program to hop on, very strict program at that.  But guess what?  All the books, dvd’s and such are all very strict programs, both in exercising and diet. You may feel that if you don’t stick to the complete program right down to each and every step, it won’t work.  So what happens is, everything gets started on the right track.  Exercising regularly, eating a better diet and then something happens.  Slowly the old habits start overpowering the will power and eventually takes back over and you quit the whole thing all together and will try again next year, instead of working with these programs within your means.

Instead of just deciding that you want to eat that nice helping of grease during lunch and then getting right back on track, you decide you can’t do this because it’s so damn hard to stick to that healthy eating plan day in and day out.  So I guess what I’m trying to say in all my gibberish is that people flock to the “get fit” programs by buying all “get fit” stuff out there and then never follow through because they think you have to stick to these programs to the T, which is why we see the industry being stock piled of cash without seeing the results for their customers.

QUICK TIP

I want to leave you with a quick proven fact and quick tip on how to avoid it.  You probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  And yes, the claims are correct in saying this, but do you know why besides getting a well balanced breakfast starts your day with all the nutrients and gets your energy flowing?  If you start your day eating a healthy meal, your brain is then put into this positive healthy eating pattern for the rest of the day since you started it out right.  Let’s say you decide to stop by McD’s for breakfast and order a value meal of pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns or maybe some biscuits and gravy.  What happens at lunch?  You decide that since you cheated at breakfast, what’s the use in trying to eat healthy the rest of the day, so you decide there’s no use and the whole day becomes a cheat day.  And the next day, and then the next.  Has this happened to you?  Which I have to say is fine every so often, but some people can’t switch their minds back into the positive pattern.

So how to you avoid it?  It’s very simple, again not rocket science, but it’s up to you and your will power.  If you happen to cheat at breakfast, get right back into healthy at your next snack and lunch.  If you can switch back to this at lunch, your brain is back on track for the rest of the day.  I’ve done this from time to time and it works like a charm.  This also goes for those office party snack days with all the junk sitting in an office cube, but how I avoid not even touching any of it is I don’t bring anything.  Selfish, hell no.  If you bring something, you feel obligated to indulge, but if you don’t, you feel guilty eating everyone else’s food because you didn’t offer something to share.  Try this next time and see if it works for you.

Talk soon,

P.S. Here are a couple of recommended programs for you to work within your means and can start seeing results.

• The Diet Solution Program – Why Diets Keep You Fat and Prevent Weight Loss
• Fat Burning Furnace – Fast Weight Loss Tips

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AMAZON HAS RELEASED THE KINDLE FIRE AND IT’S NO MYSTERY OTHERS ARE CALLING THIS THE IPAD KILLER

Well the time has come once again with what some are saying is the next iPad killer.  Amazon has released their new Kindle Fire with an all new look and OS.  It’s just Android with a lot of tweaks Amazon is saying.  So why is this the next big thing that will kill the iPad?  Bigger companies like Samsung and Motorola released their tablets and guess what, they were said to be the next gadget to put the iPad in it’s grave.  Neither one has succeeded, so why does Amazon think they got what it takes?

They don’t and no tablet has yet to meet the makers match.  All the Kindle Fire is is a glorified e-book reader with some extra punches, without a camera, mic and doesn’t come in 3G.  Sure it’s a great device, but no where near what an iPad has to offer.  I really do like all the 7″ tablets that are coming out and I think Apple needs to start considering offering a 7″ version of the iPad with a lower price.  I think what’s going to draw people to the Kindle Fire is the price.  We just saw the HP Touchpad go on sale for a record low $99 and completely sold out of stores and online in record time.  People were then reselling them for up to $250 and still selling out of them.  So we know price point is huge in the tablet world.  With this thing selling for $199, it’s definately going to a good thing for Amazon.

Now if Amazon really wants to compete with the iPad, it’s going to have to drop the Kindle name and start with a new fresh and hip name.  When the Kindle was first introduced it was nothing more than an e-book reader.  Each version after that added a couple extras, but still it was an e-book reader in peoples minds.  So Amazon has cornered themselves with this Kindle name and it’s going to be hard for people to think of that name as a true media tablet like the others.

I think the Kindle Fire is a nice tablet, but just isn’t close to kill the competition.  What are your thoughts?

Talk soon,

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HERE’S A SIMPLE METHOD TO SNEAK IN ON A MARKETING FUNNEL AS AN INTERNET MARKETING BEGINNER

You’ve been studying online marketing strategies and getting into or have been doing internet marketing or online marketing to make a profit and to do this you have to market or sell something, whether it’s your own products or someone else’s products.  This is as basic as it gets.  But, I want to show you a little trick to come into the perfect position in a marketing funnel as a beginner.

Most serious online sales (and offline) follow a specific process or cycle of events.

Buyers Behavior Stage 1:

The potential buyer decides that he has a problem or need something.

Buyers Behavior Stage 2:

He begins to research the problem and sound out possible solutions. Many people find free information/solutions to their problems at this stage and drop out of the cycle.  Many times in this step friends come into play because of the trust/influence level, but they still recommend products that have helped them and then it’s on to Step 3 to do research and find reviews on these recommended products.

Buyers Behavior Stage 3:

His research and his own particular leanings make him begin to favor a particular type of solution or product. He now starts looking at review and comparison sites.

Buyers Behavior Stage 4:

Having read a few reviews he’s now favoring a particular product, and seeking reassurance, looking for the best price or the best bonus.

Although it’s only four stages, it can become complicated on how to implement this whole process into your business.  The so called gurus have figured this out to a science and can take their prospects through the whole thing until the last stage where they buy their products leaving them with a nice helping of cash in their bank account.  So I want to break this down into one small action step and give you something to take away from this that can be done right away without having to be a super ninja guru.

Check out Stage 3, reviewing the products.  This is a great place to come into this funnel as a beginner because the buyer has already concluded they have a problem, need a solution and have a handful of products to review and then make a choice on which one to buy.  Generally buyers will not drop out of the funnel at this point because they have invested valuable time getting this far.

I’m sure you have some products that you have bought along the way sitting on a shelf collecting dust at this point.  So dust ‘em off and create a blog post, Hubpage, or an Ezine article (the best would be to do all three) and put your review or recommendation about the product with your affiliate link inside the article.  Pick a couple that you gained the most knowledge about and even implemented in your business already.  Just make sure you at least have the name of the product first and then the word review in your title so you have a chance at being found in the search engines.  Be creative with your title, but make sure those two elements are in there.  You want it to stand out from the other reviews out there.

One suggestion.  Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income gets the best conversion rates of a product review by creating a video of some sort along with the review explaining to others how to use the product.  I know some other marketers that video themselves opening up the product package when it arrives, flipping through the book, opening the CD cases and then following up with a “how to” video.  You could also create an audio or pod cast outlining some of the key points of the product and how they can put it to use.  This works because of the personal interaction and not just a bunch of words.

I you want to crush it out of the park, then become an expert about the product you are reviewing, not just someone who has read the book, listened to the cd’s or downloaded the software and used it a couple of times.  Pick the ones you are passionate about and can answer questions that may come about from those who are responding to you about the product.  These will most likely be the ones you have implemented in your business up to this point.  In your review think about the objections your buyer may have and answer them up front.  This creates value and puts you in front of everybody else out there that has reviewed the same product.  Also, by creating these “how to” videos, audios or how ever you chose to present them while presenting yourself as the expert and the resource to go to, the potential buyer feels comfortable buying the product from you.

So go through your library, pick the ones you want to review and get going.  This is an action step that does require a little work on your part, but once you get started you’ll see how much fun and easy it will become.

I hope this article has helped you in some way, shape or form.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  Also, if you have created product reviews, what has been your experience and some of your tips.

Talk soon,

P.S.  If you have an iPhone I highly recommend you download Pat’s Smart Passive Income app.  Super cool app that you can take on the go to get all of his information, including blog posts, Twitter stream and podcasts.  And best of all it’s FREE.

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THE IPHONE IS NOT THE COOLEST SMARTPHONE TO OWN THESE DAYS…..THE THREE BIGGEST NAMES IN SMARTPHONES BATTLE IT OUT TO WIN POPULARITY CONTEST

It looks like the iPhone is falling short in the popularity contest with the kids and college crowd.  And the reason is “because my dad has an iPhone.”  Guess the kindergarten attitude is coming out a little in the gadget world.  It looks like what’s being carried around one major campus is HTC and Samsung devices, not the iPhone according to the Boy Genius Report.

This is interesting because HTC and Samsung have been hitting the market hard in the last year or so with new devices every couple of months it seems.  And Apple continues to only release one upgraded iPhone per year.  They each started out doing the same thing Apple did with the iPhone, release one great smartphone, and then follow it up within a year.  But it seemed HTC and Samsung weren’t gaining ground with the iPhone.  So they switched the game up a little to see what they could do to get get a piece of the pie.

Let’s face it, Americans want the latest and greatest of whatever product is out there.  And smartphones are falling into the same category very quickly with HTC and Samsung figuring this out, Apple not so much.  The iPhone was the best and coolest device to have for a long while when smartphones started becoming the thing to have.  So as usual, other companies wanted in on the action so the battle starts.  The only two major players that have risen to the top are HTC and Samsung.  But they noticed that by following Apple’s lead, they would never catch up because everyone just waited until the next iPhone.

What HTC and Samsung have figured out is that since smartphones are in almost everybody’s pocket now days, every two or three months millions of subscribers were due for an upgrade.  And guess what, Apple couldn’t deliver on all these upgrades and the American desire to have the latest and greatest cool gadget, so these two giants are now able to quinch peoples thirst by having a new device ready and waiting.

Does Apple really care?  I don’t think so and never will.  Steve Jobs didn’t build it this way.  I don’t think his company would be where it is today if he came out with a new iPhone, Macbook, iMac or any one of their products every couple of months to satisfy this desire.  He wanted his company to stand out and this is exactly what it is today.  I put Apple in the same category as Bose.  Bose is the premiere company that gives its customers the best quality sound in many different formats.  Yes they both produce products that follow where the market is going, which is what all companies do, but Apple and Bose look at the way they do it in a very unique light.

So what do you think about all this “hip to be square” stuff?  Which device are you using right now and why?

Talk soon,

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