MacHeist combines my love of cool apps with my love of free stuff.  They resurface every once in a while with a bundle of apps that’s usually about 10 apps for the price of one, but this time they have a “nano” bundle they’re running in the name of market research.

Basically you take the free bundle and they ask you one question:  how much would you have paid for it.  That’s it.  Then you get access to the whole thing.  But hurry, it’s only open for five days.

And there’s one catch.  One of the apps doesn’t open to everyone until they reach their goal.  So spread the word so that we can get our locked app

You can check out the MacHeist while it’s open, or sign up for information on the next heist by going to a very clean and pretty page here: http://www.macheist.com/

So I’ve been a little absent since the vacation.  I’ve been distracted by so many gadgets and gizmos…and well, work.  But back to the gadgets!

I don’t have the brain power or time tonight to do a formal, pretty, picture-filled post, but there’s a new gizmo I could not wait to talk about.

Magic Mouse.  Multi touch surface on the top – programmable.  It looks like Pro trackpad meets a mouse that actually works.  I can’t wait!  A friend pointed it out to me…I’m so buried at work that I forgot that Apple was announcing new goodies.  As soon as I saw it somehow my credit card jumped into my hand, and it’s due to arrive sometime between Oct. 28-30 which isn’t soon enough for me.

I actually hate my Mighty Mouse.  The little 360 ball on top gets clogged too often, it has pairing problems, the buttons on the sides are awkward.  It’s ironic how bad Apple mice have been considering how wonderful and elegant the rest of their hardware is.  But I have high hopes that Magic Mouse will change all that.  I will report back as soon as it arrives.  Maybe I’ll even do one of those dorky unbox videos!

Here’s where you can find more about Magic Mouse for now.  I’m sure I’ll write a whole lot more about it when I have more time!

I find myself in the tropical paradise of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic as I write this latest post.  I came loaded with gadgets for the trip, and girly’ed ‘em up of course.

Every day I head down to the palm-tree studded, white sand beach with my trusty Nikon D90, my Kindle DX, and my iPhone, even though I keep it in Airplane Mode while I’m here to avoid the roaming data and phone charges.

Sand and water can be the kiss of death for electronics, so I carry them all in a big striped bag I found at Target.  Just a vacation tip – carry the gizmos you’ll use, but don’t flaunt them.  It’s a good way to have them vanish.  Bags and camera straps emblazoned with brands like Nikon translate into take me please!  My cheap but cute bag serves two purposes – it keeps my precious gadgets out of the sand, and who would expect to find a couple thousand dollars worth of tech gear stashed in a $10 canvas purse?

Here are my must haves for a day lounging on the beach:

• Sunscreen – SPF 85 (this chica es muy blanca)
• Sunglasses – Target special so they’re cheap but cute … I lose them so I brought two pair
• Comfy flip flops, or Crocs when the flip flops end up giving me blisters
• D90 with a cute pink generic strap, a Marumi circular polarizer and a mid-range vibration reduction lens
• Lens brush pen to keep the sand and spray off the filter
• Kindle DX loaded up with the latest Pat Conroy Book
• iPhone loaded with some game apps to keep me occupied between reading and cervesas
• Mass cervesas!

Wish  you were here!

Tags: girly gadget bag, Kindle DX, Marumi, Nikon D90, pink electronics, punta cana