Kudzoo Logo (Photo: Kudzooapp.com) As a parent, you want your kids to get good grades, I know as a kid it was a precedent set in my house. I had a deal with my mom, she promised me $5 for every "A". Don't laugh that was alot back in the 90's when it added up. I myself am now a mother and I do like to reward my son for good grades, but what if there was an app that could do that too? Well Kudzoo is that app. It's really simple, you take a picture of your report card, upload it into the app and then it's reviewed by Kudzoo staff. After that they approve or deny it. If it's approved you get Kudzoo Cash (more or less reward points) that you can redeem in the shop section of the app. You can also earn more Kudzoo cash by completing a daily challenge. You can also earn more Kudzoo cash by referring your friends and entering your attendance. There's things like gift cards, deals for discounts, even experiences. Kudzoo Shop Screen on Android device (Photo: Google Play Store) Kudzoo Report card upload on iOS (Photo: iTunes) You are allowed to upload 5 report cards a year. The end of the school year is coming up, so this might be a pretty cool app to download for your kids or for you if your in school. It is available for iOS and Android. Oh and it's free! ~ChicDivaGeek

The White Queen (Photo: Starz) First off hello!!! I've been away but starting back with this bit of news makes me sooo excited! If you're a Phillipa Gregory fan, as I am, then you'll be thrilled to know that Starz has given the greenlight to the sequel to The White Queen series! The original series, debuted back in 2013 and captured audiences immediately. The 10 episode series combined Gregory's books The White Queen, The Red Queen, and the Kingmaker's Daughter together. The sequel will pick up where these books/show ended with the next book The White Princess. I've already read the book and can't wait to see what Starz pulls off for this! I am hoping that Rebecca Ferguson will reprise her role as Elizabeth Woodville. ~ChicDivaGeek

WWDC (Photo: Apple) As the weather begins to break and many of us start looking forward to food fresh from the grill and jumping into a pool there is something that many nerds, geeks, tech enthusiast such as myself look forward to....Apple's WWDC! Apple's annual developer conference where they let us in on what they've been working on and what's to come. Oh and they always share how business is doing too, but let's get to why you're still reading.... iOS 10 Touted as the biggest iOS release ever (I feel like I've heard that before) the one thing that jumped out at me that made this true is it will be for developers and third party apps. Third Party integration galore! From opening Siri up to it as well as iMessage. I want Siri to have a few more voice options with Apple loosing the reigns anything is possible. iMessage will now be more expressive is the word they used, but more animated is what I would have chosen. Balloons, confetti, and even fireworks to mark a special occasion. You'll even be able to send payments ( from within iMessage or schedule a dinner without all inside iMessage. With the help of SiriKit, developers will be able to make their apps work with Siri seamlessly. iOS 10 iMessages (Photo: Apple) Know that feature "on this day" in Facebook? Well now with Memories in iOS 10 you'll be reminded of those photos that you have from years ago that you may have forgotten about. So you can be extra accurate on Throwback Thursday lol. Also there will be a Raise to Wake feature so when you pick your phone up it automatically brings your screen up (not unlocked but wakes it from sleep so you can see your notifications as if you'd push the home button). Makes sense seeing as how you're not typically picking your phone up to look at a black screen. There will also be expanded functionality for Apple Pay, if you're using Safari you'll be able to check out on some sites with it, not to mention in more stores and in some apps. iOS 10 promises a redesigned exprience, you can preview it here and if you can't wait until fall for the full release, you can sign up for the public beta that will be out in July. *Sighs* While I'll be able to update my phone (iPhone 6s) I won't be able to update my iPad...it's an iPad 2 and iOS 10 will only be available for 4th Generation iPads, iPad Mini 2, 3, and 4, all iPad Pro and iPad Air models. I really don't feel like investing in a new one right now....*cries in binary* moving on to other announcements. Swift Playground I am all about making code easier to understand, for myself and particularly because I love introducing it to young minds. Well with Swift Playground, the new app that will be available in iOS 10, this is possible. It will have built in lessons from Apple to help learn coding. You will even be able to create and share with your friends via Mail or Messages..pretty cool right. Apple promises to update the challenges and templates regularly so that users skill sets can continue to grow. Again...the bullying of me having to upgrade my iPad Swift Playground (Photo: Apple Press) I was a little underwhelmed this year from the keynote to be honest, but you can watch it in it's entirety here: http://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2016/ This could also be me coming to grips with the fact that my iPad is indeed old..but it works fine!!!! ~ChicDivaGeek

Comfy App (Photo: Comfy Press) You walk into your office in the middle of the summer and you wrap yourself in a sweater...sound familiar? Well for me I know it happens almost every day by me working around servers and large systems our office is always cold. My space heater gets a regular workout year round, and currently I keep a sweater or something on my chair...mind you it's almost officially summer. So I got excited when I ran across the Comfy App. The Comfy App allows for myself and fellow residents of cubicle nation to regulate the temperature in their respective areas from the palm of their hand (or surface of their tablet). Now this is done by Comfy connecting to the building's existing HVAC system. On demand if you're feeling chilly you not so comfy (I know, I couldn't help it lol) you can request a stream of warmer or colder air with the push of a button. As the app is used and requests are made Comfy then makes adjustments to suit your preferences... in other words it learns! Comfy App Screen (Photo: Comfy) Comfy is primarily software based with the exception of one piece of hardware to allow communications between the building network and Comfy. Building Engineers can also get access to the controls or interface through a secure website. There is a monthly subscription fee associated with the service (of course) but to get people to stop touching the thermostat or complaining I'm sure a few companies wouldn't mind. ~ChicDivaGeek

The entrepreneurial pool is growing day by day, whether you're a full time one or a part time one, finding technical or online resources that don't destroy your profit line do exist. No I won't say you don't need technical help or not to get a professional designer, but if you are just starting out or need your budget for these kinds of things is not huge, here are some things that could help. Canva Photo: Canva I stumbled across Canva in my search for stock images and things of that nature on the Internet for my blog (which you are reading ;) and I definitely appreciate it!). Canva gives you the simple tools to design really nice digital or print graphics. Everything from flyers to menus, and for those that are building a brand on social media (i.e Instagram, Facebook, etc) it can create those too! There's even a template for gift certificates for those who wish to offer them but don't have the means to get one created and printed. Now there are some design elements that do cost but those are clearly marked and there's so much you can do for FREE! Not to mention you can upload your own photos and graphics and really get creative. They even offer some tutorials for people that really want to learn how to do their own graphics but need a little assistance. They also have an iPad app too for making graphics on the go! Google for Work Photo: Google Have your own site? That means you own a domain, and you should have an email attached to it. Now I know that for alot of people it doesn't easier to just place your business name in front of an @gmail.com address (or @outlook) but it looks better if your email address for your business has your domain name in it. Google Apps for Work will easily allow you to configure that with the ease of use that you're used to with your Gmail. Your email will say yourname@yourbusiness.com. Now this service isn't completely free, it's free for the first 30 days and then $5/month per user thereafter. But for that amount you also get 30GB of online storage as well as video and voice calling. That's really not alot considering all that you get, you spend more than that on your lunch daily. MailChimp MailChimp logo (Photo: MailChimp) MailChimp is an email marketing tool that will allow you to send newsletters (really nice ones I might add) to your subscribers. The great thing about it, for 2,000 subscribers or less you can utilize this for FREE! You can even create forms for people to sign up and embed on your site. I'll actually be customizing my stuff through MailChimp in the next couple of weeks to send all my subscribers more streamlined emails to keep you up-to-date with all the latest posts from ChicDivaGeek.com! You can upgrade to get more advanced features at a cost, but if you just starting out, business wise or new to email newsletters this is a good resource for you. Hope these resources help you a little!

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick off to beach vacations, cookouts and ushers in the summer season, and in this age we live in it's rare that we completely unplug. We have some type of technology with us at all times. But let's be honest sand, salt water and technology aren't a dream team. So I thought I'd share some ways you you can prep your tech for vacation. And before you say anything, I'v very aware that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is waterproof..... First up, there are no outlets at the beach or at the pool and there are any more than likely you're not going to be near a beach chair or an umbrella when you use them. So make sure you pack a portable power bank or invest in a charging case. Power banks range in price but you can grab these at your local Five Below (that's one of my favorite places to get inexpensive tech accessories for those on a budget). In terms of charging cases, Mophie makes great cases that can protect and can charge your phone! They've even got one that can waterproof your phone, the H2Pro The prices on the Mophie cases can go as low as $59.95 up to $129.95 (for the H2Pro case), Power Banks from Five Below (Photo: Five Below) H2Pro Waterproof Battery Case (Photo: Mophie) Now if you have a family or are going to have a few tech items soaking up the sun with you on the beach with you then it might be a good idea to invest in a DryPak Case. It does exactly what the name sound like, it keeps things dry. They've got small ones just for your phone, and even large duffel bags to pile a bunch of stuff in. If you're a photographer or someone trying to get a little extra work done on the beach? I wouldn't put my tablet, laptop or anything else in the same bag with my sandals or beach towel. And we all know how sand is...it ends up EVERYWHERE! The smaller cell phone/MP3 cases allow you to still use it through the bag, so getting a picture in the crashing waves doesn't put your nerves on edge. You can get them from Amazon or the Airhead site, I've even seen them at Target. DryPak Phone case (Photo: Airhead.com) Just a few tips so that you don't end up having to replace your devices! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

New Emojis in Unicode 9 (Photo Emojipedia.org) Remember all that fuss about the Avocado emoji, or the bacon one? Well they are officially here! Well officially as they've been released by the Unicode Consortium in Unicode 9.0. They will be released to your phone when your OS creator (iOS, Android, Microsoft) work it into their updates. For us iOS users, the next update is iOS 10 coming in September. I personally like the face palm emoji and the crossaint. Which ones are you looking forward to using?

Game Developer Barbie (Photo: Amazon) This makes our little geek hearts happy! Mattel recently released another addition to the Career of the Year Line and it's a Game Developer Barbie! I think they got it right this time...the last attempt, a book, which they made Barbie seem like she didn't have it all together, broke more things than she fixed sent the wrong message. She comes with a laptop, tablet, and headset and there is even actual code on her screen! I am ordering one to put on my desk! You can get them for $12.99 on Amazon, they will be back in stock on June 19th! Happy Friday!

Woman using I'mUp (Photo: MElely.com) There are few things better than technology that serves a dual purpose, and with the I'mUP (Innovative Makeup..pretty clever right?) portable charger you are getting glam and tech all in one! The I'mUp charger is a makeup compact and a portable charger, so you can touch up your makeup and boost the battery on your phone all at the same time! The I'mUp compact charger is made by MElely, an Italian company founded by Antonio Sorrentini and Silvia Cirillo. The compact contains two mirrors, two mini brushes and a blush palette that is 100% organic. There's even LED lighting in the larger mirror, so you can make sure you get the makeup look right every time. The battery is a 4300 mAh and can charge your phone, tablet, anything that uses a USB charger really. It currently comes in 3 colors, Artic (Silver), Borgogna Purple, and Stone Grey; with blush options of pink fusion or brown fusion. It retails for 125,00 € (they're an Italian startup) so that translates to $140 USD, and they ship worldwide. I love the fact that this little device has two functional purposes and it's stylish! I'mUp Charger (Photo: MElely) I'mUp Charger (Photo: MElely)