Key Ring App Doesn’t Work

Key Ring App

I had such high hopes for the Key Ring app for my iPod Touch. It allows you to add frequent customer cards with bar codes to your device so you can go without the actual card.

I tried mine out with my Safeway card and my library card. Neither was able to scan and I had to resort to my backups. The program is very easy to use and I’m confident there is nothing wrong with the app specifically. The problem is likely with the very reflective iPod screen and bar code scanners have trouble focusing. I’ll continue to test the app, but the library card and grocery store card are my most frequently used.

Looks like I won’t be lightening my wallet yet.

Make $100,000+ on YouTube

Justine Ezarik aka iJustine
Scott Beale (Flickr)

An article at Yahoo! Finance presented some insight into how much money some of the top YouTube independents have made in the past year. The amounts are estimates from TubeMogul, an advertising company.

Some of the top YouTubers run news broadcasts while others focus on comedy skits. A couple on the list I’m familiar with are vloggers, i.e. bloggers that put out video clips multiple times per week instead of text posts. YouTube posters make money by displaying advertisements on the videos. They’re paid a percentage of the ad rate based on the number of impressions (displays) and/or number of clicks by viewers. Google owns YouTube and also gets a percentage of the ad revenue.

1. Shane Dawson – $315,000
2. The Annoying Orange – $288,000
3. Philip DeFranco – $181,000
4. Ryan Higa – $151,000
5. Fred – $146,000
6. Shay Carl – $140,000
7. Mediocre Films – $116,000
8. Smosh – $113,000
9. The Young Turks – $112,000
10. Natalie Tran – $101,000

More Streaming for Netflix Subscribers

Netflix Movies
Jason Coleman (Flickr)

I’m a big fan of the Netflix service and have pretty much stopped going to movie theaters. For $9 per month you can get one DVD at a time via mail and unlimited streaming. With a Roku HD Player you can browse your queue and stream movies right to the TV set.

The choices for movies that can be watched online is limited, but starting in September Netflix users will have more to choose from. Netflix has purchased the rights to stream new movies from Paramount, Lions Gate, and MGM.