Ideas from Mark Stout

Have to keep track of doctor appointments for a family of five?  Add to that various recitals, sports practices, meetings, etc.  Families need a good  calendaring system as much as any professional.  That's the topic of this week's Family Tech column .

Gizmo's Freeware has a pretty comprehensive list of free Android apps today.  It may be a good thing I have very limited app space on my phone, or I'd have them all.  On the other hand, I have to be super efficient about the ones I do choose to keep around and lists like this help. Best Free Android Apps

James Kendrick  rants in ZDNET.com that pricing for Android tablets is unrealistic.  I couldn't agree more. I've keep waiting for a tablet to come out competitive with the low end of the iPad.  We have an iPad and am quite happy with it.  So much so, I would like one or two more.  Tablets are really a personal device.  Sharing one among three people works but we miss out on a lot of the productivity a tablet can bring. Every tablet that comes out seems to be burdened with "nice-to-have" features that drive up the price.  Videoconferencing?  I wouldn't do it very often, so you can nix the two cameras.  Cell access with a new monthly fee?  My phone has hot spot capability.  Besides, most of the  time I'd need info outside my home or another wi-fi access point, I'd use my phone to get. You would think the market would take notice of how many people are snapping up Barnes and Nobles Color N...

Now I can carry my shame with me where ever I go.  We've had a spirited round of WWF across my extended family taking in three generations.  We have  a couple superstars and then nubs like me. I've reported a couple bugs, but I am so happy to have it on the Android, I'll put up with a few bugs if they don't mind me reporting them. Download it here

One of the best experiences my son and I have shared was attending Aviation Challenge together when he was eight. Aviation Challenge is another summer camp put out by the same people who do Space Camp .  It wasn't all geeky stuff. There were zip lines into a swimming pool (simulating an ejection from a plane), escape from a partially submerged fuselage (simulating a ditched aircraft), and paint ball battles. On the geeky side, we got to fly flight simulators and sit in an actual B-52 flight simulator and tour Castle Air Force Base's excellent aircraft museum . Not all summer camps are about hiking, canoeing, and athletics.  There are some for the little geeks in our homes, and for us as parents to sometimes share with them. This is the topic of this week's Family Tech column .

I've been ,meaning to review the various Evernote clients I use (iPod Touch, iPad, Windows, Web and Android).  Today, Evernote updated the Android client .  Looks pretty cool.

This week's Family Tech column is about tracking your to do items using your computer or phone.

A test of the new Blogger app on Android.