Merry Christmas from the Joneses

Abby and Christopher want to wish you a merry Christmas. Check out www.abbyandchristopher.com

 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. My wife and I decided to try a new take on the traditional Christmas card thing. We’ve decided a website card is more our style. Since we still have abbyandchristopher.com from our wedding website, we’re going to update it each year with a year in review and Christmas greeting for friends and family.

For me, it’s a great way to experiment with some Web design techniques. This year’s site uses the “full-page” trend that’s so hot now. It was fun to experiment with and I’m pretty happy with the final product. I was careful to craft something responsive since so many people will be looking at it on various devices. I wasn’t able to test on everything, but from the testing I did do, it works well at any size. I look forward to trying something new next year. I think I’ll archive each year’s site, which will be fun to look back at as time goes progresses.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Pro Tip: How to Properly Wrap an Apple Power Brick

There has been a lot of noise around the Web claiming to have a great new way to wrap your Apple MacBook power bricks. They say it is a great space saver. Sure they, might save you some space, but don’t be fooled, this is not a good idea.

Two photos depicting the wrong and right ways to wrap a power cord.

I planned on writing a whole post about this, but WIRED beat me to it. Basically the offending tip said you should tightly wind the long power cord around the brick and tuck it securely under the smaller wire. As Robert Baldwin of WIRED points out, this isn’t a good idea. It creates unnecessary stress on the wire and will lead to a shorter life of the cord. If that’s not enough reason, stress on certain parts of the wire could lead to an exposed wire, and that is a fire hazard. Read the WIRED article to get more specifics.

The best way to wrap or store any wire is to let it coil naturally. Every cord has a natural tendency to coil one way and forcing it to go another, or wrapping it tightly around something else will cause it to wear faster. Power bricks aren’t cheap, so I’d suggest using a little extra bag space and letting those cords coil naturally.

Coin: One Card to Rule Them All

What’s your wallet look like? Mine is huge and full of everything. For years I’ve searched for a better way to carry what I need with me, without filling all of my pockets. Enter Coin, an all-in-one card that might just be the answer.

An overstuffed walletI’ve seen this concept floating around for a while. A special card that can hold multiple credit cards so you don’t have to carry around a wallet full of them. Coin impressed me the most. So much so, I immediately ordered one. That’s out of character for me. I’m usually the research-it-to-death and look-at-all-the-options guy. I think I’ve followed this new class of device for so long that I jumped at the first one that seemed truly useful and possible.

Coin does more than just stores a few credit cards. It can work in place of any magnetic strip card (think gift cards, reward/loyalty cards). With the tons of cards I have at any given moment, that truly excites me. No longer will I be checking out at a store, only to realize my gift card is at home. I won’t lose reward points because that rarely used rewards card was left at home for extra wallet space.

With a few taps you can select between cards. While the actual Coin device only stores up to eight cards, the mobile app can store an unlimited number. You can easily use Bluetooth to switch which cards are loaded to the Coin device at any time. Coin swipes just like any standard card would and includes identification right on it, so it should be accepted anywhere. As long as your phone and Coin are around, you’ll never be without the card you need.

Security is always and issue, but luckily the creators have thought through this. In many ways they’ve made using Coin safer than using a standard credit card. Your phone will notify you if you’ve walked off and forgotten your Coin. It can also notify you if you card was swiped more than once (for when that shady looking waiter tries to steal your info in the back room). There’s even a lock function so the Coin can’t be accidentally switched to a different card after you’ve handed it over to pay. Still unsure? Check out their frequently asked questions page for other concerns.

I’m very impressed with Coin and how well thought out of an experience it seems to be. I think adding a Coin to my life will greatly improve it. More cards in my pocket, with more space to spare, now that’s a win.

What are you waiting for? Make your life easier and get in on a Coin before the price doubles.