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By Steve Benoff Whether it's because I'm lazy or the app is the best way, there are certain apps I prefer to their corresponding website. The example that prompted this column is an app you all should have. That's our very own dwellingLIVE app. If you use your computer to add a guest or vendor for front gate entry (www. community.dwellinglive.com), you should know that you can do the same on your phone. Don't search for Four Seasons; just enter dwellingLIVE in the search bar. As easy as it is to add a guest on your computer, I find it even easier on my phone. I can think of two reasons that's so. In the likely event I'm away from my computer, when I make a date or appointment with someone, I can do it immediately with my phone when the date and time are fresh in my mind. But even putting that aside, the app is so well designed that I prefer it to the website. There is a caveat here, as there is with many apps that require a password to use. I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't remember my passwords. And even if I do remember, it's a pain to enter it every time I use a secure app. That's why you enable fingerprint access whenever possible. When you first use a secure app, you will have to type in the password. Next, you'll likely be asked if you want to use your fingerprint instead of entering your password each time. Say yes. It will make your life much easier. That way, you can get started with dwellingLIVE with the touch of your finger. If you want to add a guest or vendor, press Invite Guest at the top of the page. You'll be prompted to choose between Individual Guest or Create a Party. Make the appropriate selection and you'll be given several choices. You can Create New Guest or, and this is the ingenious part of the app, simply select from lists of Past Guests and people or companies in Your Contacts. Once you've made your selection(s), press Invite at the top of the screen. The next screen shows your guest(s), and now you can choose when your guest(s) will be arriving. There are buttons for Today and Tomorrow, or you can press Start and End Dates and choose from a rolling calendar. If there is a guest for whom you want to grant permanent entry, you can make that selection by pressing Guest Type. Then press Save, and you're done. It sounds more involved than it really is. The flow of the app is terrific and selections are easy, intuitive, and fast. Try it. Here's another example of an app I prefer to its website - my connected sprinklers. When I say connected, I mean my sprinkler controller is connected to my home network. That way I can create sprinkler schedules on my computer or on my phone using an app. I admit that when setting up zones and schedules, I used my computer, but after that I much prefer the app. For example, when the weather turns hot for the summer, I just used the app to change the watering schedule durations. And when I was in New York last year and I saw that it rained here (using my weather app, of course), I suspended watering altogether for a couple of days. Periodically I want to test my sprinklers. I can physically turn a valve on manually, or on some controllers I can turn on a zone individually. But I much prefer to use the app for the controller. I can start and stop each zone when I'm in the yard. It makes my life easier using the app. I mentioned lazy at the beginning of this column. Sometimes when I'm sitting comfortably on the couch watching television, it occurs to me that it's time to reduce the heat. (I'm talking winter now, as I was advised to leave my air conditioning set at one temperature for the summer.) Well, of course, I could get up from the couch and make that long walk to the thermostat, but I'm lazy. Fortunately, I have a connected thermostat. So all I have to do is use an app to lower the heat for the night. Do you use an app you'd like to share with others? Let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. 16 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2019 THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! Sometimes Apps Are Easier Than Computers *Not Steve Benoff

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