mobile – Bri Alys, LLC

Spotify + Hulu

Published on March 2019March 2019 by BriAlys

If you’re into streaming your entertainment, Spotify has a new trick up it’s sleeve. Now, instead of paying $9.99/month for access to its’ library of 30 million+ songs, Spotify is also including a free subscription to Hulu (on-demand video/tv streaming service), a savings of $5.99/month. The Hulu subscription will include ads; but, if you are into streaming tv shows/movies and especially if you are already a Spotify subscriber, I say definitely sign up here!

Once you do sign up, be sure to log into your Spotify account and activate your Hulu subscription – this won’t happen automatically. One other note: adding networks like Showtime or HBO is not allowed ☹️. The offer is valid until June 10th, 2019, or while supplies last.

You can also add live tv streaming to your Hulu subscription for $44.99/month…. 🤔👎🏽

Here is a list of tv channels currently available on Hulu:

Spotify and Hulu are available for download on all your (mobile) devices.

Amazon Go

Published on December 2016 by BriAlys

The future of shopping, according to Amazon, includes no lines, no waiting and no cashiers. For the past 4 years, the company has been working on technology that will allow customers to walk into a store, grab what they want and simply walk out – no checkout required. Amazon’s version of this tech-enabled brick-and-morter store, Amazon Go.

How does Amazon Go work?

Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. Our Just Walk Out technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.

All you need to shop at an Amazon Go store is an Amazon account and the free Amazon Go app on your smartphone. Employee’s at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters are testing out the first store as we speak. It will open publicly to consumers in early 2017.

Take a look below.

Sound in iOS 10

Published on September 2016September 2016 by BriAlys

I don’t usually do reviews about software upgrades. Why? Because everybody else is already talking about it and I usually have nothing else to add. This time is different! Prior to iOS10 one of the FIRST things I would do IMMEdIATELY after installing any upgrade was to turn off sounds. Well, two in particular: Keyboard Clicks and Lock Sound. 🔕 They were so very annoying to me!!! CONFESSION: I secretly turned off my mom’s sounds on her iPhone last year while we were in New York. My oldest neice and I had a good laugh, mostly because my mom didn’t even notice. Sorry, mom).

But iOS10 is different! One of my FAVORITE new features are the new SOUNDS! 🔔 #backon Instead of adding them here, I found a great site, iPhone Tricks, where you can listen to each sound individually and hear the greatness for yourself. They all sound amazing to me and it is literally music to my ears! Click the picture below, scroll about halfway through the page and click on the Play icon (▶️). Good job Apple! Enjoy!!!

Oh and mom – you can turn your sound back on by going to Settings -> Sounds. Scroll all the way to the bottom and enable the last two options, like below. 😔

Invitations the Easy Way

Published on May 2016 by BriAlys

How do you invite people to the events you organize? Forget paper invitations – no one really uses snail mail anymore. Then there are invitations sent through email that get lost or even worst, those emails incite the dreaded reply-all. We won’t talk about group texts so finally, there’s word of mouth – you know, the events no one really takes serious until the last minute because of the informality of the “announcement”. Can you relate? If so, that’s about to change!

Invtd is a mobile application for iOS and Android that makes invitations super easy! After you download the free app, you simply enter all the details (location, time, etc.) then select the guest list directly from your phone’s address book. The selected parties will receive a text message inviting them to your event and you’ll get a push notification when they RSVP. There’s even an option to add the event to your calendar after you RSVP. How easy is that?! (Note: The invitee does not have to download the app to RSVP).

Check out the demo below for a brief tutorial and Happy Inviting!

Invest with Acorns

Published on April 2016April 2016 by BriAlys

Investing is complicated. So much so that many people don’t even bother. Acorns, a mobile investment app can help! Essentially, every time you swipe your card (debit or credit), Acorns rounds up to the nearest dollar value and automatically invests the change for you! The money goes into a separate account that is completely under your control, meaning you can make deposits or withdrawals at any time. The fees are super simple to understand/digest: $1 per month (or $12/year) for accounts less than $5,000, 0.25% for accounts more than $5,000. Student accounts are free and every Acorns account is insured up to $500,000 for fraud.

To get started, sign up here. Acorns also has a money blog, Grow Magazine.