I was doing some errands in town (category @errands) and apparently had a taillight out. I got pulled over by the police. The officer came over to the window, standing back the way they do. He asked for my license. I reached into my pocket to realize that I had left my wallet by the door at home. I thought "S!@#" but then "Aha!” I reached into my inside jacket pocket to whip out my Palm. I had my license number in Splash ID! A glorious Palm moment! While I was having my glorious moment, the police officer was having a different kind of moment. All he saw was a guy pulling a shiny metal thing out of his pocket, in a manner that was a little too excited. He yelled, "Freeze”. I looked up to see a gun drawn in my face! So much for my glorious Palm moment.
He said, "Drop it! And put your hands on the wheel". Now, in a moment that most people would know exactly how to act, I paused.... my brain couldn't process "Drop my Palm?!". I plopped it into my lap and put my hands on the wheel. He looked down, sighed, and put his gun away. I just said "Palm".
We figured it out; I got my license number from my Palm. I didn't get shot, my Palm didn't get dropped too far, so... all was well. He asked some questions about the model and if it had wifi. Funny.
Even though Splash ID almost got me killed, it makes up for it by saving my digital life everyday. I'm not one of those overly-webbed people who have thousands of usernames and passwords to save, but when I look over the list I do have, it does surprise me. I didn't think I needed Splash ID, but it comes in the package when you buy Splash Wallet so I started using it. Every time I sign up for one more web access I enter my info into ID. Painless. I started putting my credit card info in so I can make on-line orders without having to find my wallet (obviously something I need to work on). After an embarrassing moment at my son’s school filling out the new years paperwork I didn't know any of the info I needed for the forms. I looked like a huge loser parent. I could see the ladies behind the desk rolling their eyes with that "Typical man" look. So, all that info is now in my Splash ID.
I know that there are a lot of apps like this out there. They serve a role that I have come to find pretty useful. Splash ID is unique in that it has a desktop app that allows you to enter info, which can sometimes be easier than entry on your Palm. The two apps sync very nicely back and forth keeping everything up to date. Splash ID comes with a lot of data forms and categories already set up with appropriate labels and slots. Every time I get a new serial number from an email order, I open the desktop app, enter info in the right fields, and then paste the whole e-mail into the notes area. Pretty cool.
On the less geeky front I have my wife’s clothing sizes in ID, which makes me an amazing superstar husband to come home with clothes that fit! (See…I’m not a typical insensitive man, I’m a typical man enhanced by insensitivity-masking technology). In the two years I have used ID, I’ve amassed a huge amount of critical data in it. I was skeptical at first, thinking that I could use my memos to keep track of the two or three logins and critical ss numbers, but I was kidding myself. I’m just a regular guy, with only a few on-line buying habits, and the normal amount of number data to haul around and I find this app invaluable. I have hundreds of entries. Heck, just to post to PA takes three ID entries.
And….using Splash ID probably won’t get you shot, but no promises. (LOL)