Chase the blues away

Hey Beth, I'm having a terrible day.

Here's a .gif set to fix that:

Why can't all this tech stuff work together?

Hey Beth, why can't everything just get along?  I've got a tumblr, a Jawbone Up, Instagram, Gmail, and a bunch of other applications.  I really want to make them all interact with each other but of course, they don't.  Have any magical ways to fix that?

Actually, there is a way to actually make this work.  It's called IFTTT (pronounced like 'gift' without the 'g').  Which means 'if this, then that.'

They are a free service that allows you to make conditional statements about your different applications.  For example, I set it up so that when I post to this blog, it also posts to my tumblr.

They have an iPhone app in addition to their web app so you can set up different relationships (or 'recipes') from anywhere.

IFTTT

Bonus!  IFTTT office dog blog!

The Rental Searching Blues

Hey Beth, I'm apartment hunting and I can't seem to find one that I like.  Help!

There are plenty of rental-searching websites out there.  Some of my favorites are Zillow, Trulia and HotPads.  They all basically work the same and have pretty similar results.

One thing that's great to think about when you're combing through listings is using multiple sites to get the information you need.  

Say you found the perfect place that's right in your price range but on Zillow you've only got a satellite view?  Take your search one step further and google the address of the place.  Chances are that the owner may have put up pictures of the inside on a different website or maybe the house was for sale online at one point and you can get an idea from those photos.

Taking this extra small step can really help you get a better idea of a place without having to go look at dozens in person.

(Photo from Fenway Triangle Trilogy in Boston)