Let’s talk about Apple now. To be precise, the new iPad Mini. Do you get utterly confused by the fact that each time Apple releases a product that seems about that same as the one before it, only in a slightly thinner and lighter package, everyone somehow seems mesmerized by it? I see a guilty nod here, a condescending grin over there. Good, I’m not alone.

Don’t get me wrong, but when it comes to the iPad Mini, many consumers did get confused. If you’re going to offer people a gadget that’s a bit bigger than the iPhone and an inch or so smaller than a tablet, what are we supposed to do with it? Can we work on it? Or is it just another fancy Apple, high-tech, sleek-designed gadget that for some inexplicable reason we need to add to our collection?

With its 7.9 inch screen, the iPad Mini has some great features to boast about. Let’s examine them in terms of portability, performance, and design.

Portability

Its 7.9 inch screen means you can enjoy movies and photographs without the awkwardness of the iPhone – that platform can be a bit hard on the eyes. It’s also lighter, half the weight of the iPad 2. And it’s incredibly thin at 7.2 mm. Its battery life extends to up to ten hours, which is a very substantial increase.

Evidently this is a good piece of work, and it’s much easier to carry around. But the size is still somewhat awkward. Am I carrying around a swollen smartphone, or a shrunken iPad? Let them keep guessing!

Performance

Apart from its smaller, thinner design, the new iPad Mini has all the great features that make Apple products so loved, including built-in apps and over 250,000 others to choose from. All the iPad experience is still available, with iMovie and iPhoto, FaceTime and iSight Camera, and HD video recording, among other features. Evidently, the experience is the same even though the size is smaller.

Siri is also available on the Mini; she’s there to answer all your questions (the sensible ones and the not-quite-so-sensible ones …). However, she’s not alone now, because she’s accompanied by an advanced Wi-Fi connectivity, significantly improved from the earliest version.

Its functionality is far-reaching, covering all functions of the iPad 2, but it still does not seem to be meant to replace your PC or laptop. It’s an ultra-thin, well-designed media viewer and e-reader. Its size is just perfect for getting your daily dose of website updates while on the run. Its screen might not be high-res but it’s still is wide enough to give you a pleasant reading and viewing experience of your favorite social media and websites – it’s wide enough so that it’s possible to speed read articles, since they’re not reduced to inconvenient layouts and formats. Of course, you can also create and edit documents and reports, but for this function its size is a nuisance rather than a convenience.

Design

The Apple teams are the masters of high-tech, ultra-thin, and impeccably sleek gadgets. The iPad Mini is no exception. It highlights how wonderfully created Apple products are, managing to squeeze in all the iPad experience and still retain the modern feel and discrete classiness.

Ultimately, the iPad Mini gives you the same enhanced experience in a smaller package. If you’re after a compact but impressive reader, you will buy it despite its not-so-mini price tag.

What do you do when the power goes out and you have nowhere else to go? When hurricane Sandy hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States in October of 2012, many people found themselves stuck at home.

Not only did they have to deal with safety and security concerns because of the weather, they also had to deal with the loss of electricity. In today’s world where practically everyone relies on something requiring electricity, having blackouts for days on end is definitely not the most ideal situation to be in.

Still, it’s always possible to see the glass as half full as well as half empty. When the lights go out, and you can’t find a signal for your cellphone, much less log in to the Internet, you can pick up a book and spend some quality quiet time.

Everyone has been all agog about ebooks and online versions of popular printed publications, and it’s likely that most have actually forgotten the smell and the feel of an actual book. An event like Hurricane Sandy provides a perfect time to go back to the basics of reading.

Personally, I would like to separate my books according to categories: light-hearted fun, dreamy romance, jeepers creepers (suspense, horror, thriller), and any other category designed to keep your mind pleasantly distracted. If you can have at least one representative book for each category each day, then you should be able to survive the boredom of being trapped at home by the weather.

Light-Hearted Fun: Calvin and Hobbes – The comic series of this unlikely duo has always managed to lighten up my day. The philosophical musings of the boy and his stuffed tiger makes for all sorts of best episodes from “Kids Say The Darnedest Things.” Given the dreary weather, it would be nice to have something happy and cheerful on your bedside table.

Dreamy Romance: Eat, Pray, Love – Granted, it’s not strictly a gushy, mushy romance novel, but I easily put this in this category because the thought of being able to travel and experience love – of another and of oneself – while at it is just about as dreamy and romantic as it can get. Not to mention that it also does help to become a bit more empathic for others as a result of said travel.

Jeeper Creepers: Stephen King – No particular book title. Any Stephen King novel is sure to keep you up all night, constantly checking for monsters under your bed. Too bad you can’t sleep with the lights on because, well, the electricity’s out, remember?

All The Rest: That depends on your tastes! Whether you love reading through cookbooks and imagining what you’ll create in the kitchen once the power comes on, or whether you really only lose yourself in spy novels, having a stack of Julia Child or Ian Fleming ready to read will help you cope with the worst that the weather can throw at you.

You don’t remember your friends’ phone numbers by heart, your smartphone does it for you. It’s definitely more convenient, but do you ever wonder how harmful technology might be for your brain?

Ironically, technology remedies what it destroys in the first place. Below are five extraordinary apps that help you improve your memory, your thinking skills, and even your intelligence – and they really wake up your brain!

1. Brain Fitness Pro

For a one time $3.99 payment, you definitely get your money’s worth with this app. It’s sophisticated, user-friendly, and amazingly efficient. Brain Fitness Pro claims to to increase your IQ, sharpen your intelligence and give your memory a good push.

It’s especially addictive and the developers claim that with a daily half hour of training you get to see results in less than 20 days. If all it takes to un-rust your brain is $3.99, why not go for it

2. Eidetic

Eidetic is an app exclusively dedicated to boosting your memory. Through an ingenious, efficient tactic, it nags and nags and nags you some more, until you remember everything. It might not be the most fun to use, but it’s effective.

This app trains your brain in remembering dates, numbers, facts, and pretty much anything you think it’s worth remembering. Plus, you get to choose how often and in what way the app will test your memory on things you submit (birthdays, quotes, facts). For just under $1, memory improvement is on its way.

3.    Memory Trainer

Another hard-to-beat memory app is Memory Trainer, which boasts over 6 million downloads to date. Nearly all aspects of memory are targeted by Memory Trainer, leaving no room for excuses for missing yet another birthday.

Spatial and working memory, memory chunking and information recalling, all are addressed through its many exercises, and each exercise has various levels.

4.    Critical Thinking University Think-O-Meter

Yes, there’s an app (even) for that. Critical thinking is no laughing matter and Pearson has developed a free app to help you sharpen your critical thinking skills. Problem solving and decision making are just a few aspects of the critical mind that the Critical Thinking app focuses on enhancing.

5.    Lumosity Brain Training

This widely used (over 20 million users ) website for brain training, has its own app now. It was long overdue, wasn’t it?

This extremely efficient collection of activities and addictive games offered right on your smartphone allows you to challenge your brain any time you have a few minutes, on the subway, at your coffee break, and in between meetings.

You know this is not your average brain training app, because Lumosity teamed up with leading universities’ neuroscientists when designing both the Lumosity.com site and this new app.

The app is free but you can choose to purchase additional features for as low as $4.99 for a 3 month access.

Remember, any app you choose will only be effective if you use it consistently to train your brain. Find one that suits your needs and start practicing today for a stronger, smarter brain.