Flubbernuggets

The easiest music server you'll ever set up!

2009-10-19T12:42:00.000-04:00

Sockso is, without a doubt, one of the simplest music servers you'll ever have the pleasure of using. Need to share your music with others? Want to be able to access your music library from anywhere? Need to serve up that special reading program CD to your kindergarten classrooms so they can listen to it anytime they want without using a several hundred dollar computer as a CD player? Check out Sockso!

I use Sockso for the last scenario I described....to serve up our Reading Program CD's to our K-2 students...particularly the kindergarten classrooms. This year I decided that I was spending way too much time trying to make the thin-clients in their classrooms into very expensive CD players. So, I decided it would be best to simply rip the CD's and serve the music over our school network. I set out to find a music server to handle the task. I was fully expecting to put some time and effort into it, but was very happy when I stumbled across Sockso. I had my first Sockso server up and running on my own machine in less than 2 minutes. Check out the screenshots below...try it for yourself! (click for larger images)

Create your own Font from your handwriting!

2009-02-04T12:57:00.018-05:00

Yep! That's right! Now you can create your own font based on your own handwriting....online! I stumbled across this site while looking for some new fonts. I decided to give it a try. First I downloaded and printed the template. I recommend reading the instructions on how to form your letters and where to write them. I neglected to do so the first time around and it showed. The second time my font looked a lot better. After you finish, (you really only need to do the first page), simply scan it and upload your scanned image. I scanned mine at 300 dpi and it looks fine. The site will accept most common formats like .jpg and .png...etc. If the site is busy it may take a couple tries, but once you're in you'll have your font in a couple minutes! If you're looking to get out of the "TimesNew Roman" rut...check this out!

http://www.yourfonts.com

Free OpenOffice Tutorials to make learning OO easy!

2009-01-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

OpenOffice is an awesome free and open source office suite that is a great replacement for other more expensive and proprietary office suites. OpenOffice is being downloaded as well as shipped with many new computers every day! Wanna' learn more about using OpenOffice? Maybe there's a feature you're not sure about? Check out some of the great online tutorials. LearnOpenOffice.org is a excellent and well-organized site with both Flash and HTML based tutorials for all the different parts of OpenOffice. Another great resource is a site called "Tutorials for OpenOffice". Tutorials for OpenOffice includes several tutorials covering all aspects of OpenOffice as well as a section for teachers. Definitely check out these detailed lessons! Last, but not least, check out the tutorials at OpenOffice.org. There are several tutorials in various formats.

LearnOpenOffice.org
Tutorials for OpenOffice
OpenOffice.org Tutorials

Don't have OpenOffice? OpenOffice is available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. Visit OpenOffice for more information and downloads.

Create awesome fake miniature photos with Tiltshift Maker!

2009-01-11T16:03:00.000-05:00

Ever seen those really cool photos where someone makes a landscape or city-scape scene and changes it into a photo that looks like it was taken from a model train set? Tilt-shift style miniature photos are simply photos of real life scenes that are made to look like miniature scale models.

This is done using either a special camera lens (one with tilt capability), or with software, instead of a special lens. These photos are sometimes called "fake" miniatures, because they are pictures of real-life scenes.

Now...if you're not a hardcore photographer, but you'd like to turn some of your photos into "tilt-shift" images...you can do so with "Tiltshift Maker"! Tiltshift Maker is an easy to use web site where you can quickly upload a photo and change it into a tilt-shift or "fake" miniature photo. Check out "Tiltshift Maker" and start creating some really cool images!

For more information on tilt-shift photography, see the Wikipedia article Tilt-shift photography.

Check out some of my samples below!

Portland Maine waterfront

Small fishing village in Prince Edward Island

Portland Headlight Portland Maine

TiltShiftMaker - Create your tilt-shift picture

Eureka! Picasa for the Mac has arrived!

2009-01-06T09:30:00.002-05:00

I've long been a big fan of Picasa. Picasa is Google's awesome photo management and editing software. I've actually grown to prefer it over Apple's iPhoto as iPhoto doesn't organize (at the folder level) the files quite as nicely as Picasa does. The newer versions of Picasa for the PC (especially 3.0) have really added some neat features. I really like the ability to upload photos to many of the popular photo services. I actually use the Walmart one all the time. Put the card in the computer, import the photos, touch 'em up a little, upload to the Walmart service by clicking a simple button and pick the finished photo or card up at my local Walmart! There's tons of other services and features too! I usually recommend that folks not install any of the common bloatware that comes with their digital camera as I've yet to run into a camera that Picasa doesn't recognize. Excellent software....FREE...and available for the Mac! (as well as Linux and Windows!) Check it out today!

Picasa for Mac: Free download from Google

FREE OBNOXIOUS & LOUD ringtones!

2008-12-27T10:02:00.003-05:00

Hello all! Christmas is over and folks all over the world are playing with or "moving into" their new cellphones. My daughter and wife are no exception. My daughter discovered how to make 15 second ringtones using iTunes and the "Get Info" dialog to shorten the song and then convert it to a 112 bit MP3 file for uploading to her phone. It was pretty impressive, but not nearly loud enough for someone like me. I often don't hear my phone in noisy environments. Calls go unaswered (which isn't always a bad thing) and people look at me like I'm nuts (which I am). If I'm focused, I simply don't notice sometimes. That's why I tend to try and find LOUD and obnoxious ringtones that are hard to ignore. Yesterday, after some experimentation, I was able to combine sound effects using Audacity and manipulated them into some pretty loud and obnoxious ringtones. The way in which I applied some of them to my phone is quite humorous. There are certain people in my contact list (you have them too...admit it) who I would like some prior warning before I answer the phone. I made several ringtones that centered around a theme of alerts, alarms, and sirens. For example, one particular contact is assigned an "air raid siren" to warn me of a potential "verbal" attack. ;-) I've done many ringtones, but at this point I'm sharing my loud and obnoxious ones. If you all like them....I'll do more! I've found some great sources of sound effects and the like. I've gotten the creation process down pat...I'll make more if you want them. Leave me some suggestions in the comments.

To download some great LOUD and obnoxious ringtones...Click HERE

The Family Holiday "Geek Squad"

2008-12-26T10:51:00.009-05:00

Ok, you know who you are. The geek of the family. The one everyone goes to for tech support during family visits back home. C'mon, you know it's true. Secretly...you know you love it too! It's nice to fill a need.

A little preparation can go a long way when getting ready to support your relatives and their new tech gifts or long overdue computer maintenance. Let's take a look at some easy things you can do to get ready...

The new Windows PC

Sometimes letting family members simply set up the new family PC with the default settings is recipe for disaster. Most new PC's come with a lot of "crapware". I urge you to save your family from this scourge. I have published a guide to assist you with setting up a new computer. You can find it on the Flubbernuggets site by clicking the link "Your New Computer" at the very top of the page. This guide tackles such things as removing bloated anti-virus programs and replacing them with lighter less expensive/free versions. It also highlights removing crapware and the better programs to use. Check it out!

The new web cam

Many of you have encountered this one already. I did a couple years ago. Your parents or in-laws got a new web cam so they can keeps tabs on you and the grandkids. First of all, tell them NOT to install the software that comes with the camera. Drivers...maybe, but all that other crap...NO! Simply download and install Skype or GoogleTalk. Both will allow you to use the camera and talk to family members on the other end. They are easy to set up and use. I recommend Skype simply because it's simple to use and very popular.

The new MP3 player

If it's an iPod...that's easy....iTunes. Download and install iTunes and you're good to go. You can also give Songbird a try. If it's another brand of MP3 player, check and see what it will work with, but 90% of the time it will work with iTunes or Songbird in some fashion. Both programs do an excellent job of simplifying music management.

Preparing ahead of time

If you are able to find out about some of the tech products your family members may have gotten prior to your arrival you can better prepare for what you may need. If you have an external USB hard drive or a large USB flash drive (or even a CD/DVD burner) you can easily download many of the programs and drivers you may need before you leave. This is especially helpful if your relatives have a slower internet connection. I usually download all sorts of Windows updates, Adobe Reader, Flash, and a bunch of the programs mentioned in the "Your New Computer" guide. That way I'm armed and ready and not spending all my time downloading files. If you know what you're going to be dealing with, try visiting the hardware manufacturer's website ahead of time to read up on any potential pitfalls and to snag the latest copy of the drivers. Even signing up your relatives for a Skype account or Google account ahead of time (be sure to tell them the password and have them change it) can speed things up. If you're installing something, don't forget the tools!

Enjoy the holidays and enjoy your moment in the spotlight with your family :-) Geek On!

Happy Holidays from Flubbernuggets.com!

2008-12-25T00:50:00.004-05:00

EcoFont...save ink!

2008-12-23T09:10:00.002-05:00

There is a company in the Netherlands, SPRANQ, that has the environment and your wallet in mind. They have developed a new Open Source (aka absolutely free to use and distribute) font called EcoFont. From the website:

"The prints we make for our 'daily use' not only use paper, but also ink. According to SPRANQ creative communications (Utrecht, The Netherlands) your ink cartridges (or ink toner) could last longer.

SPRANQ has therefore developed a new font: the Ecofont.

"After Dutch holey cheese, there now is a Dutch font with holes as well."
Appealing ideas are often simple: how much of a letter can be
removed while maintaining readability? After extensive testing with all
kinds of shapes, the best results were achieved using small circles.
After lots of late hours (and coffee) this resulted in a font that uses
up to 20% less ink. Free to download, free to use."

Grab the Ecofont and install it today! See how much ink you can save while still maintaining readability!

Ecofont | less is more

Technorati Tags: font, linux, mac os x, Windows, green

Annual Holiday Tech Gift Guide 2008

2008-12-19T14:04:00.003-05:00

The Annual Holiday Gift Guide

Hi all! It's that time of year again and many of you have asked me to put out my annual tech gift guide. So...here goes!

Computers

There are deals aplenty in the tech world right now. One of those is the laptop market. Laptops are getting more and more prevalent...far outpacing desktop computers in terms of use and sales. Laptops are now a commodity rather than a luxury item. Many folks now have more than one laptop! I know people who have a different one for home, work, and so forth. The newest arrival on the laptop scene is the very popular NetBooks. Netbooks are very small laptops. They are designed for ultimate portability and are generally the size of a large paperback book. They are not intended for serious gaming, home office work, or business, but rather they are for road warriors, vacations, and people on the go. I've been to several conference where I've seen a lot of people with Netbooks like the ASUS eeePC. The most common reason I hear is portability. It does what they need to do with regard to checking email, writing documents, music, pictures and the like. I've even seen several people use them to give presentations. When you travel, you realize just how heavy and cumbersome your laptop is. A Netbook gives you the features you NEED in a very portable package. Great for students in place of a big laptop...and reasonably priced. They typically range from a low of $300 to a high of $500. Names to look for are the eeePC from ASUS, the Mini 9 from Dell, the Wind from MSI, and the Aspire One from ACER. The eeePC has been around the longest and is very popular, but I have to admit, the Dell Mini 9 looks pretty sweet.

For laptops? There are many out there. Some of the really cheap ones are in the $400 range, but remember...you get what you pay for. A $400 laptop is generally a very low power consumer grade laptop that's skimpy on features. If you plan to use the laptop much, and be honest with yourself when you ask the question, you could end up frustrated pretty quickly. Just be aware of that. Aside from the old standby's of Dell, Acer, HP, and Toshiba...I am HIGHLY recommending Apple laptops this year. Apple has come a LONG way in the laptop market and currently commands a very healthy market share as a manufacturer. People are buying MacBooks like crazy because they are easy to use (drop dead simple) and they simply WORK. When you buy a PC you need to be aware of the TOTAL cost of ownership. A windows machine will require an anti-virus program and a subscription to keep it up to date (usually $20-$50 per year), anti-Spyware program, an Office program (MS Office is $80 for the Student version and $400 for the Full Pro version), and a lot of other programs. Most Apple laptops come with all this already installed or you can add it very inexpensively. In the end, the total cost of ownership for a Mac is often less than that for a comparable PC laptop. The new unibody frame of the new MacBooks is a breakthrough in manufacturing and makes for a rugged and light laptop. Common specs to look for in laptops this year are 100+ gb Hard drive, 1-2 gb of RAM, 128+ mb of video RAM, DVD burner, and built-in wireless. If you are buying a PC, be aware that Windows Vista is a memory hog...anything less than 2 gb of RAM is going to be a bit sluggish.

If you're considering a desktop PC, use the same specs I mentioned for laptops as your minimums. Keep reading and I'll suggest some peripherals or add-ons to make your laptop or desktop a better purchase.

Accessories

USB hard drives and flash drives

Ok, how about this? A New Year's resolution...this is the year you finally get serious about backing up those precious family photos and files on your computer. I suggest reading this article I wrote about making backups (http://flubbernuggets.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-backup-isn-backup.html). There's a lot of good info in there about why and how to go about it. I recommend NOT using DVD's as your sole backup strategy. Why? Because disk formats come and go...let's take a look at what happened to the VHS tape...the Sony BetaMax tape....the ordinary cassette...and even the common CD. These formats are all either long gone or on their way out. Hard drives on the other hand, have changed only a little and are generally compatible for a much longer period of time. They are also less prone to the elements. This is one of the reasons that external USB hard drives have become very popular and somewhat necessary for backing up files on your computer. Many people complain that their computers are getting filled up with files and pictures. Remember, off-loading your files to another drive is NOT a backup if you delete the originals. One copy is NOT a backup. I've actually been recommending to people to buy 2 or more external hard drives. One for everyday use and one to keep off-site at a workplace, relatives house, or other location. That way if your house burns to the ground or the external hard drive dies...you haven't lost everything, especially all the photos you've taken over the past few years. USB external hard drives simply plug into a USB port on your computer or laptop (even Netbooks). They range in price according to size. The more popular sizes at the moment are 250 gb, 500 gb, and 1 tb (terabyte). You can find them at almost any retailer online or places like Staples, Best Buy, Circuit City, and even Walmart. In the picture I am showing a couple of USB external drives that I have. The large one is for use with desktop computers (you can use it with anything, it's a matter of portability) and the small one is designed to be used with a laptop as it's more portable. Large form factor drives generally house 3.5" hard drives whereas small form factor or portable drives use the smaller 2.5" drives designed for laptops. You can use them either way. The smaller ones are simply designed for portability. I recommend getting a drive that is at least twice as large as your hard drive in your computer. This allows room for "full" backups of the entire machine as well as incremental daily/weekly backups of files. Just to give you an idea on prices...TigerDirect.com has the 500 gb Western Digital MyBook for $89. I've seen most around $80 - $200 depending on size and brand. Check online and read some reviews to get an idea of how people like certain drives. USB drives work with Macs or PC's....no worries there. If you're looking for backup software, check out this post (http://flubbernuggets.blogspot.com/2008/12/3-great-free-backup-programs-you-need.html) on my tech tips blog, Flubbernuggets.com.

Thumbdrives or USB flash drives are also still very popular and make great stocking stuffers. They are a must for any computer user for simple backup and transfer of files. Most new computers no longer come with floppy drives, so the USB flash drive is the new medium of choice for quick backups and saving files. They range in size from 512 mb to 32 gb and higher. The price increases according to brand and size. The most common sizes right now are 1 to 4 gb's. Amazon.com has good 4 and 8 gb USB flash drives for between $11 - $20. That's an amazing amount of storage for such a cheap price. You can also find them at any major retailer...online or brick 'n mortar.

Printers

Printers are fast becoming considered a disposable item. Printing is actually on the decline as more and more people share files electronically, thus cutting out the need for paper. As for ink-jet printers, I'm going to get out of that realm and not recommend anything. I'm not saying you shouldn't get one, but I haven't used one in so long that I cannot make any good recommendations. What I will do though is make this recommendation. If you do a lot of printing or if you run a small business, I would consider checking out a laser printer. Laser Printers used to be very expensive and only affordable by schools and companies, but that has all changed. A quick check on Amazon.com shows several laser printers for about $100 - $150 with color laser printers around $200 - $250. Given that laser printers are much more durable, faster, and cheaper to run, this is a pretty good deal! Printing with a laser printer yeilds a sharp clean image where ink-jets often will leave streaks and lines. If you already have an ink-jet printer and are looking to add a nicer laser printer, now is a good time to do so. Many new printers come with networking capabilities so you can hook the printer up to the network and allow anyone in the house to print to it....much like it is at a school or workplace. Some printers even come with wireless interfaces so you can set the printer anywhere and print to it without running any wires. I recommend checking the PCWorld web site (www.pcworld.com) for reviews and ratings to learn more about different printers.

LCD Monitors

If you are still using an old CRT monitor, you know, the old one that looks like an old TV....then it's time to upgrade! First of all, you'll save a bunch on your electric bill. LCD monitors use a FRACTION of the electricity that the old CRT monitors do. They take up less room, give off less heat, and are much easier to move around. LCD monitors were once a novelty when I first started featuring them in this annual guide. Now they are commonplace. Prices range according to size and features. You can spend over $1000 for a large wide screen monitor, but most people need not spend more than $150 for a good LCD monitor. I recommend checking out CNET for LCD monitor reviews (http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/)

Wireless Mouse and Keyboards

Do you know a laptop user who sometimes sits for long periods using their laptop to work on documents and so forth? I do this quite often and find that using a wireless mouse and keyboard is much easier than using the laptop trackpad and keyboard. Sometimes just having the mouse is enough. It allows me to be a little more productive when working for a longer period of time than usual. Every laptop user should have a wireless mouse in their laptop bag. If the laptop user is also someone who gives presentations using a laptop, then I recommend getting a wireless mouse that can also double as a "presenters mouse" for clicking through Powerpoint or OpenOffice slide shows and the like. There are several out there. I have a Kensington Slimblade Presenter Mouse. It can be used as a regular wireless mouse or with the click of a button, it becomes an awesome handheld "presenters device". It's small, fits nicely in your hand, and is reasonably priced (about $35). Wireless keyboards are also very handy. They allow you to move further away from the computer or move to an entirely different surface. Sometimes it's just nice not to have wires. Wireless peripherals like mice and keyboards come in two basic flavors. Regular wireless (radio frequency) and bluetooth. If your computer is equipped with bluetooth (many laptops are) then using a bluetooth device is generally easier and neater due to the fact there's no need for any wireless tranceivers sticking out of a USB port. Most of the newer wireless tranceivers are pretty small though. Wireless keyboards and mice are available anywhere computers are sold both online and locally. If you're really looking for a wireless mouse to use quite a bit, you may be better off visiting a local store and checking the mouse out and holding it for fit and feel.

Digital Cameras

Digital cameras used to be a specialty item or a bit of a novelty, yet now everyone has them! In fact, many folks I know have 2 or 3! One of the latest trends is to have a nice camera for photographing sporting events, graduations, weddings, and other very important family events...and then having another smaller camera for everyday type photo opportunities. I'm actually like this. We have a nice Olympus E-Volt 500 Digital SLR camera for taking pictures at our kids sporting events, concerts, and other events. This camera is VERY fast (recovers quickly and allows several shots per second to capture action shots). It also allows us to purchase additional lenses just like a regular 35 mm SLR (single lens reflex) camera. We have a nice zoom lens that allows us to get close to the action or stage. After years of crappy photos, we decided it was time to move up. However, a digital SLR is a big bulky camera and not recommended for everyday use. I found myself missing a lot of little photo opportunities because I didn't have a camera with me. I bought a small "shirt pocket" size digital camera like the Nikon Coolpix L11 (see image) which fits nicely in my pocket and in the palm of my hand allowing me to take shots with one hand and anywhere I happen to be. It takes great photos, is nice and small, and fits in my laptop bag so I always have it with me. Maybe this is the year to upgrade that old bulky Kodak or Canon to a newer smaller model. Digital cameras have really come down in price so you can afford to buy one for each of the kids! Most newer cameras are usually in the 6-10 megapixel range which is getting a little ridiculous because unless you have a several thousand dollar printer able to print up to poster sizes you'll never need all those megapixels. In fact, for most people 3-4 megapixels is plenty! One key thing to look for.... I always look for cameras that use regular batteries and not proprietary rechargeables. Why? If you're on vacation and your camera battery dies...you can simply pop into any convenience store or gift shop, buy some "AA" batteries, stick them in the camera and you're back in business. I usually buy "AA" rechargables and use those, but having the option to use a normal battery in a pinch is a huge advantage in my book. My little Nikon camera uses 2 "AA" batteries and can shoot hundreds of pictures on one set. Also...be sure to pick up decent sized SD card or compact flash card (depending on what your camera uses). Most cameras come with a very small card around 32 mb. This is SMALL. I recommend a 1 or 2 gb card. They're reasonably priced and will allow you to shoot pics to your hearts content without worrying about running out of space. Also, if you are buying a card for a digital SLR or other high-end camera, spend the extra money for a FAST card such as a SanDisk Ultra II. The faster card will be able to keep up with your fast camera. A slow card slows everything else down. Once you have your card, you should think about getting a card reader. Many desktop computers and laptops come with them. If yours doesn't have one, pick one up. They run anywhere from $10 - $25 and are very handy. Hooking your camera up via the cord that comes with it is generally quite slow and ties up your camera. Using a card reader is MUCH faster and allows you to upload images to the computer while someone else uses the camera (especially if you have more than one card). If you want convenience on the go...I recommend getting an SD card with a built-in USB connector. No card reader needed! Just stick it into the USB slot on your computer. I have one and LOVE it! See the image for an example. Pictured is the SanDisk 1GB Ultra II SD Plus USB Card from CircuitCity.com. If you are considering a digital camera I advise you to check out a site like PCWorld.com for reviews and ratings. I did when I bought my Nikon and my Olympus E-Volt and have been very happy with both of them!

Digital Camcorders

Remember when camcorders were these shoulder mounted things that made you look like you worked for the local network television affiliate? Things have changed. Remember above when I said formats change? VHS tapes, 8mm, mini-VHS, compact mini-DV tapes...are all out. Even mini-DVD's are going out. Why? They are limited in size and cost money to replace. The latest trend in digital camcorders is hard drive based cameras. Yep...that's right! Hard drives inside the camcorder! Small hard drives are generally more power efficient than tapes, thus you'll get better battery life. Many new cameras come with 30, 40, or even 60gb hard drives! That's hours and hours of recording without ever running out of space. You could record and entire soccer season! Most of these cameras come with a dock and cable to connect to your computer to upload the video and burn it to a DVD. Another new trend in lower priced camcorders is SD recording. These cameras record directly to an SD card just like a digital camera. These are excellent for recording short family events and vacation shots. With digital camcorders you get what you pay for. If you buy a very cheap camera, don't expect great results. A good camcorder will cost between $250 and $900 depending on model and features. I happen to have a Sony digital hard drive based camcorder. It's tiny...about the size of a can of soda and it fits very nicely in the palm of my hand. It has a 60gb hard drive so I can record for 10 hours or more with no worries. I usually record a few ballgames and concerts and then upload them to my computer to edit and burn to a DVD.

iPods and MP3 players

I remember a few years ago when these were a novelty item, yet now many folks have more than one! This market has become increasingly crowded with competitors to the iPod over the past year. There are many choices now for MP3 players. I actually recommend taking a lot at this page from CNET for great reviews on MP3 players http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/ . The big players in this market are Apple (iPods), Samsung, Sandisk, and Microsoft (Zune). The most common question I get is, "I don't have a Mac, so will my iPod work?" The answer is, YES. Apple iPods are made to work with both Macs and PC's. They require iTunes which is a free download for anyone on either a Mac or PC. Actually, to be truthful, iPods will work with other programs as well....such as Songbird (Mac, Linux, and Windows - www.getsongbird.com), Rythmbox (Linux only), and Amarok (Linux only). Chances are, if you have a computer your iPod will work fine with it. What about other MP3 players? Well, that's a different story. If you are buying an MP3 player other than an iPod then you MAY run into some restrictions as to which operating system you can use it with. Then again, you may not. Do your homework before buying something other than an iPod as they are less well known and may be limited to certain operating systems such as Windows. To be bit honest and perhaps biased...iPods are the number one players out there. They dominate the market and with good reason. Some MP3 players may be cheaper, but in the end the frustration may not be worth it. If you want an iPod...get an iPod. They are often less expensive than their counterparts. Let's list and describe the iPods. First is the little iPod shuffle. It's tiny and comes in many colors. It looks a bit like an overgrown tie clip. There is no screen or anything...it is designed to simply listen to music. They hold about 500 songs and cost about $49. They're ideal for people to use while running, working out, or walking around. They probably are not ideal for kids as they are small and can be easily lost. Next is the iPod Nano. This is probably the most popular iPod in the bunch. Nano's start at about $149 and come in a range of colors. They come in 8 and 16 gb sizes. The Nano has a nice screen and a click wheel for navigating around. You can view album art, song information, pictures, as well as videos on the iPod Nano. It also has a built in motion sensor so if you tip it sideways you'll get a whole new set of views and options. The Nano is ideal as an everyday iPod and is perfect for kids and teens (and adults too!) Next is the iPod Classic. The Classic has most of the same functions as the Nano, comes in 2 colors, and one size...120 gb. This iPod is ideal for someone who wants to carry their entire music and video collection around. These iPods are about $249....and I must admit...they are not very popular due to cost and size. A new entry into the market (and a hot one too) is the iPod Touch. The Touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone. It has a touch screen that allows you to do some pretty remarkable things. The iPod Touch allows you to listen to music, watch videos (on a much bigger screen), play games, and even get online using the built-in WiFi! The iPod Touch is difficult to describe so I advise you to visit Apple's web site for more info on this and all the other iPods. http://www.apple.com/itunes/ Understand, I'm not knocking any of the other MP3 player brands. I own and have owned a few iPods and know many people who have owned other MP3 players and then bought an iPod. I feel qualified to tell you about iPods, but not the others as I've never owned one and know very few people who do.

Broadband, Wireless networking, and Routers

Are you still on dial-up service? If you live in an area where broadband service is available, then it's time to upgrade. You're missing a LOT! Today's internet is designed for broadband. Youtube videos, online movies and TV shows and so forth all require a fast internet connection. You essentially have two choices. DSL (Digital subscriber line) and cable. Some folks may live in areas that are serviced by fiber services from Verizon called FIOS, but for the most part, DSL and cable are the normally available broadband options. If you live in the "sticks" you can also look into satellite internet from providers who bring you satellite TV.

Once you decide to go with an always on broadband connection you need to make a few changes at home if you want to use multiple computers/laptops with that one connection. The cable company or DSL provider essentially gives you a cable modem which you can connect to one computer. However, if you add a router or wireless router you can then add more computers to your connection. A router essentially creates a small home network with all of your computers. If you have laptops, I highly recommend going with a wireless router. There are many brands out there. I recommend NetGear, Linksys, D-Link, and Belkin as good brand names to trust. Check CNET for some great reviews on wireless routers. http://www.cnet.com/topic-reviews/wireless-router.html Wireless routers can be purchased online or at any major electronics retailer. Prices range according to quality and features, but you can buy a great wireless router for under $100.

Well...that's it for this year! Happy Holidays and have fun shopping! If you have anything to add...share it with us in the comments!

Free Public Domain Clipart!

2008-12-16T21:26:00.002-05:00

WPClipart is an excellent site for finding great quality images that are free and in the Public Domain. This means that you have no worries about using any of the images in your work. WPClipart is a great add-on especially if you use OpenOffice, Abiword, or NeoOffice. Check out the thousands of kid-safe and workplace safe images!

From the web site:

WPClipart is a collection of high-quality public domain images specifically tailored for use in word processors and optimized for printing on home/small office inkjet printers. There are thousands of color graphic clips as well as illustrations, photographs and black and white line art. Nearly all are in lossless, PNG format. As of Saturday, 12/13/2008 there are 23,932 images.

Public Domain Clipart optimized for word processors

10 Unique Desktop Wallpaper sites you gotta' see!

2008-12-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

Hey! If you're at all like me, you spend a little time each week tweaking your computer desktop by cleaning it up a little and changing the decorations. I'm always on the lookout for cool new desktop wallpapers. Recently I've stumbled upon a few new sites that have prompted me to share this article with you. I'll also share some of my old favorites.

Ok...I've got the glue, the brush and my old overalls...where do we start?

Umm...ok.... Hey! Put the wallpaper paste down! Quit eating it! It says "wheat paste", but that's no reason to eat it! Yuck! I'm talking about your COMPUTER desktop! Ok. Now, let's check out some cool sites.

Interfacelift.com

This one is my favorite. I use this site quite a bit and my students do as well. Good clean high quality wallpapers for everyone. My only beef with the site is I wish I could see more wallpapers at a time, but I can live with it. They have wallpapers for nearly every screen size. Interfacelift also features icons and themes as well! The icon sets are very nice. One really great thing I like about this site is the ability to download "mobile device" wallpaper. They feature wallpaper sizes for the Nokia n800/810 Internet Tablets, the Apple iPhone, Sony PSP, and ordinary cellphones. Gotta' admit, that's pretty cool! Check out Interfacelift here!

Caedes Desktop Backgrounds

You can get lost in this site. There are so many wallpapers that you can spend days looking around trying to find the right one. Luckily the site is broken down into categories and you can sort by screen size and shape. the illustrations range from artistic fantasy to photographs...and everything in between. Check out Caedes Desktop Backgrounds here.

DualScreenWallpaper.com

Are you one of the lucky folks who spend your days gazing at a large desktop that spans two or more monitors? If so, you've probably wondered how you could get wallpaper that "makes sense" on a multi-screen setup. Well, now you can! Dualscreenwallpaper.com has just what you may be looking for. They have sizes ranging from ultra-huge to a modest 1280x800. Go to dualscreenwallpaper.com for more details!

GraffitiWallpaper.com

This site is amazing. In case you haven't figured it out, I don't go for the typical movie/celebrity/same wallpaper everyone else has type of web site. I'm looking for more unique wallpapers and sites. Graffitiwallpaper.com fits the bill. The site is very well laid out and easy to navigate. The name kinda' implies that this site is all about graffiti, but that's not the case. There are some "graffiti" images, but most of the images are simply animals, landscapes, food, and other unique objects. Check out the site here.

Customize.org

I had to add this one simply due to the name and the sheer number of wallpapers to choose from. Customize.org features over 15,000 wallpapers for you to choose from. There's something for everyone. This site is primarily user driven in terms of submissions and ratings. You can even select wallpapers according to a color scheme! Customize.org Wallpaper s

N-Design Studio

If abstract designs from original artists are your thing, then check this site out! N-Design Studio has a small, yet awesome, selection of images created by some very talented artists. Check it out!

Veer

Similar to N-Design Studio, the Veer site offers a moderate selection of really cool wallpapers that seem to invoke a "retro" feeling that harkens back to the 70's and Peter Maxx. If you're a fan of active abstract art or a mix of digital photography and graphic arts...check this site out.

IW

I'm a fan of 3D graphic arts. This site is really cool. The artists are very talented. Although the selection is small, the graphics are so well done that it's worth a look. Go here to see what I mean.

David Lanham

David Lanham is very talented (and busy) grahic artist. He has several of his works posted for all to enjoy. I find many of the illustrations on the site to be kinda' like "cartoonish abstract" for lack of a better description. This is one of those sites you should plan to spend a few minutes on. I found myself clicking link after link just trying to see what the next one looked like. Click the icons on the left side of the page to find the wallpapers. (confession: I downloaded the snowman one *the cherry icon*) Check out David Lanham's wallpapers here.

wallpapr

Wallpapr leverages the power of Flickr, the popular photo site, for gathering thousands of unique wallpapers in one spot. You can browse as little as 20 or as many as 100 at one time. The selection is HUGE. You'll have fun browsing this one. Wallpapr

So...now that I've given you some great sites to browse, hopefully you can redecorate that ugly desktop you've been staring at for a few months. Time for change! Enjoy! Hey! If you have a fave wallpaper site that isn't featured here...share it in the comments!

Mobile Blogging and Working just about anywhere!

2008-12-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

This is kind of an interesting subject. Funny part is that I'm currently doing what I'm writing about. Mobility has always been important to me and my line(s) of work. I have several "occupations" and, pretty much, all of them include using a computer in some capacity. Tonight I put on my disc jockey hat. I've been a mobile and club DJ for 22 years. During that time I've progressed or evolved from the old turntables, to cassettes, CD's, and finally to all digital media (computers). My "other" occupations include public school Technology Director/Teacher, free and open source advocate and speaker, and consultant....oh...and of course, blogger. Mobile computing is a must or I'd never get anything done. Whether I'm entertaining elementary and middle school children by showing them all the coolest things in technology, or pumping up a group of conference attendees, or, as is the case this evening, entertaining the entire staff of a local hospital during their annual holiday party...I need to be able to get to work. Mobility has many facets. Connectivity, portability, and usability.

Let's start with Connectivity:

This is the most difficult piece. Unless you've been to a location previously, it's difficult to know exactly what's available for connectivity. Getting on the internet can be a challenge sometimes. Either you're dealing with "pay to play" services or spotty coverage. Even certain hotel chains differ from one location to another. Here's what has worked for me.

Airports:

Many airports offer all sorts of Wi-Fi access ranging from paid/subscription services to free access. The trick is finding the right one. If you are a customer of a certain wireless carrier such as T-Mobile or ATT, you can often take advantage of airport wireless as part of your contract with them. Other services such as Boingo are also an option. If you travel a lot, then one of these may be a good idea for you. Check online and see if your airport destinations have any of these services available to you. Google is your friend in this case. I recently stumbled upon this site which shows the wireless availability at over 200 airports!

Of course, another option is to bring your own! Many cell phone providers now offer wireless data plans. Many of these have respectable speeds and will most often meet your needs on the road assuming you're in a good coverage area. Contact your cell phone provider and see what the coverage looks like and the expense of the plan. Many laptops are now coming with cellular wireless cards built in, whereas most providers also offer the wireless broadband cards as well. In most case, this decision depends on the amount of traveling you do and your need for constant wireless broadband connectivity. If you don't want to shell out the bucks for a wireless broadband plan and all you need is enough bandwidth to check your email and a few web pages, then using your cellphone as a modem for the EDGE network may be enough. Many providers allow "tethering" and some don't, but depending on your usage you may get away with it anyway. The trick here is to find a phone that is capable of bluetooth DUN (dial up networking). Many cell carriers offer a low bandwidth service on the EDGE network for checking sports scores, weather, playing games, and buying ringtones. This network can often run at speeds from 100-300kbs or more. While this is hardly broadband, it is enough to do basic email and document retreival. I have actually been able to use this method to "tether" my Nokia N800 internet tablet and my MacBook Pro using the bluetooth connection between my Motorola RAZR2 and my computer. Yes, it's slow, but works in a pinch for a mere $10 per month! In fact, I am writing and posting this article via this method! Last, but not least, be sure to bring an ethernet cable. Many hotels haven't added wireless yet (the travesty!) and the only way you're getting online is to use an ethernet cable. You can get nice little retractable ones for traveling at any computer retailer or online computer outlet.

Now let's look at portability:

A couple years ago I travelled to San Francisco for an LTSP meetup and then on to Mountainview for a week at Google headquarters. I thought, for some reason, that I'd need way more computer power than I actually ended up needing. I ended up toting an HP zv5000 across the country. BIG mistake. Anyone who owns a zv5000 knows that this computer is heavier than a sack of bricks and the battery life is equivalent to the memory of a goldfish. You learn exactly how heavy a laptop is once you fly with it. Ever since then I've made it a point to pack light when it comes to laptops. I currently travel with either my System76 Darter Ultra2 (a nice little 12 inch laptop with oodles of power) OR a little Dell x200 with several extra batteries. I've been coveting one of the new mini-laptops known as netbooks. Examples include the ASUS eeePC, the Dell Mini 9, the Acer Aspire One, and many others. These little netbooks pack quite a bit of power in a very portable package. Granted, netbooks are a poor choice for a gaming convention, but they're great for most trips where you'll be presenting, blogging, or surfing the net. You'll love the portability and can easily live with the size of the netbook especially for the duration of most trips. If you'll be doing some serious typing or multimedia, then you'll probably be better off with a small laptop. I picked up the Dell x200 precisely for that purpose. It's a few years old, but perfect for blogging on the go. It's very light and easy to carry around. An older used laptop that's thin and light might be just what you need. Easy on the wallet and easy on your back!

Another device I rely on that rarely gets mentioned is my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. The N800/810 is about the size of a large PDA and can fit in a jacket pocket. Unlike a PDA, however, the n800/810 is a full-fledged computer. You don't get watered-down web pages...you get the real thing. It even does Flash and Youtube! The n810 comes with a slide down keyboard whereas the n800 can be paired with a folding bluetooth keyboard (which is what I use when I really need to type). The n800/810 is an excellent travel companion. I used mine for quick blogging, twittering, email, and watching ripped DVD's while flying.

The BAG....the most important yet overlooked item...

A good computer bag is a must! Many folks buy their laptop bags at Walmart or Staples. While this is OK, often times people sacrifice quality for price. I've owned a bajillion laptop bags (many still clutter my closets), many of which I bought at Staples or Best Buy. I learned after one of my cross-country trips how much a cheap laptop bag can make life difficult. Since then I've learned to spend as much time on choosing a laptop bag as I do a laptop. The right laptop bag makes the right laptop that much better. Recent laptop bags that I've owned include the Timbuk2 Blogger and a Tom Bihn Buzz. I love the Buzz! Easy to carry and easy to use. Many top end laptop bag manufacturers allow you to personalize your bag. Timbuk2 allows you to design your own bag! You pick the colors and so forth. The Tom Bihn bags have a lifetime warrantee. Send it back and Tom will fix it! On a recent trip to Indianapolis, I really got a chance to experience the freedom of having a great laptop bag. The Buzz allowed me to put all the weight on my back and have my hands free to do or carry other things. Very cool!

Last, let's talk about usability:

If you can't really use it, then it's pretty much worthless. If you spend all your time struggling to make something work or to get used to using something, then it's wasted productivity. Mobile computing needs to be easy. If it's not easy, you won't do it. Take me, for instance, I'm blogging remotely via a bluetooth connection to my cellphone while at a large hall doing a holiday party for a local hospital. It works for me, because I'm prepared. My phone is set up correctly. My computer is set up correctly to connect to the phone. I have my digital camera. I'm ready. How? I made sure it all worked before I even got here. Mobile computing takes preparation, planning, and a little practice. Once you get the hang of it and have all the pieces in place, taking your work on the road will be a piece of cake.

What's in my bag?

In addition to my laptop, I have a few peripherals that are necessary for taking my work with me. I usually bring all of them as I never know when I'll need them. I always have an external USB hard drive for backing up data and storing files. It's a small form factor (2.5") 250gb hard drive. Plenty of room for whatever comes up...including a full hard drive backup. Next I have one or two USB flash drives (aka thumbdrives or pen drives) for storing and transferring files. I often present at conferences and sometimes need to share files with others. USB flash drives make it easy. One thing many people forget is that typing in the dark can be a little tough. I prepare by bringing along a small USB LED light to illuminate my keyboard or my notes. I also have a small retractable ethernet cord for those times when nothing else is available. Wanna' become REALLY popular in an airport? Bring along a common household extension cord with an end that has multiple outlets. Power strips are too big and small brown cords are too small. What I use is a happy medium. It looks like a small brown household extension cord except it has four grounded outlets on the end. Kinda' like a power strip that's smaller and attached to the cord. When wrapped tightly it takes up very little room and is a great thing to have when charging laptops and peripherals in an airport or hotel room. I often share my extra outlets with fellow travelers in the airport. I've gotten to know some pretty cool people this way. Last, but not least, don't forget the lock! Traveling with a laptop is wonderful until the laptop goes missing. Thieves lurk everywhere preying on unsuspecting travellers. Keep your laptop with you whenever possible, and when it's not, lock it up. I even lock my laptop when I leave the hotel room. You never know.

Well, the gifts are done. The silly skits are over and now it's time to get down and boogie! Now I'll take off my blogger hat and put my DJ hat back on. Mobile computing is a great way to take advantage of downtime at other events. That's exactly what I've been doing. Well, off to work. Happy Holidays!

Take the edge off your noisy environment...free white noise!

2008-12-13T15:40:00.001-05:00

I recently blogged about a website called iSerenity.com which is a great site for grabbing a little peace for your busy day. In the course of my research I learned about one home office worker who uses "white noise" and "pink noise" to work in virtual silence. His claim is that eventually the human ear/mind will block out or ignore the white noise and leave you in virtual silence. I haven't tried it that long, but I can say that it's a bit "trance-inducing". I find myself being able to relax without having the urge to pee (like I do when I listen to the "babbling brook"). Sometimes just having light noise can make it much easier to concentrate than nothing at all. Definitely worth a try...check it out!

Free white noise! - White Noise MP3s.com - Because tinnitus sucks.

relaxation, white noise, pink noise, internet, firefox, home office

3 Great Free Backup Programs You NEED to check out!

2008-12-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

The holidays are coming and if you read my previous post about "When a backup isn't a backup!" you know that many people (yes, you too) don't back up their precious family photos, documents, and other files very often (or correctly). In fact, I heard yet another story today from a colleague of a person who lost a whole lotta' stuff due to hard drive failure and NO backup. You simply can't trust machinery. Computers break down. Components fail. Often without any warning whatsoever. You usually can't avoid disaster, but you can prevent the lasting effects. If your computer dies and you lose very little if any data due to having good backups, then all you've lost is a computer. Computers are a easily replaceable, files and memories are not. So...let's take a look at 3 programs that can help you keep your life's work and memories intact.

Cobian Backup

Right now, honestly, as I write this post I am using Cobian Backup 9 to backup all my photos to an external USB hard drive. Cobian was a cinch to set up and get started with. Simply install it, create a backup task and you're off! You can also create some pretty complex backup tasks complete with file exclusions and pre and post scripts (useful to turn off and start services prior to and after a backup job). You can install Cobian as a service, an autostart for certain users or all users, or to be launched manually. You can get started quickly with Cobian Backup and get started with backing up your files. Check out Cobian Backup here!

Comodo Backup

Like Cobian Backup, Comodo Backup is also very simple and easy to use. Simply install it, create a backup job, and voila! You're off and running! Comodo features an extensive set of tools, but not to the extent that Cobian does. However, for the most part I feel that Comodo is an excellent choice for the average computer user...particularly home users. It's simple and effective. If you're looking for a great backup program that can help you get your files under control and keep those backups on a schedule, then Comodo is definitely worth a look. Now, despite everything I've said here, the Comodo site sums it up perfectly...

Comodo BackUp is suitable for both beginners and experienced users alike and is completely free of charge. Features of free Backup Software include complete file and folder duplication to local / network drives, FTP servers and CD/DVD re-writers; intelligent incremental backups; e-mail reporting; extensive report logs; real time back ups with 'synchronization' mode; advanced rule-based filtering; flexible scheduling of backups; space-saving archiving capabilities and more.

Find out all the cool things about Comodo Backup here!

Bonkey

Silly name and silly mascot, but Bonkey is an excellent backup program for both Macs and Windows. Bonkey has a lot of great features. It supports email, FTP, and Amazon S3, compression, encryption, scheduling, and synchronization. It'll even back up MS SQL server databases. Bonkey makes it easy to backup easily to FTP, Windows shares, an Amazon S3 account, and even a MySQL database! If you're looking for an alternative to the backup program that requires you to buy a MobileMe account for your Mac or you're looking for a good Windows backup solution with good network backup features then check out Bonkey!
Learn more about Bonkey here!

Share your backup stories and solutions in the comments!

5 Great Mac Apps You Gotta' Try!

2008-12-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

With the holidays approaching and money being tight, sometimes it's fun to discover new applications for your computer. It's a lot like unwrapping a new present without the need to write a thank-you note or smile at a relative while you secretly loathe the fact that they bought you a years membership to the Steak-of-the-Month Club even though you've been a vegetarian for the past 12 years. These applications are free and open source. They cost nothing and make you feel good knowing that you are supporting free software. Let's take a look...

Seashore (a Mac image editor based on GIMP with a simple and useful set of features)

Seashore is an excellent image editor for OS X. Seashore is based on the popular image manipulation software known as GIMP. Unlike GIMP, however, Seashore is very simple to use and navigate. There are many times when I've using my Macbook Pro that I've found that I need to edit and image or screenshot. Seashore makes all of this stuff really easy, You can save in many formats including the same format that GIMP uses natively. When you first start the app, it offers you the chance to set defaults for image size, resolution and color. The interface will be familiar to anyone who has used Photoshop, GIMP, or other good editors. It has a lot more tools than you might expect to find in an open source image editor. Seashore features plugins, gradients, textures and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes and supports multiple layers and alpha channel editing. Effects include blur, Gaussian blur, invert, greyscale and posterize options and more. Seashore has a fantastic comprehensive PDF help manual. Grab Seashore here!

Electric Sheep (an awesome trippy and dynamic screensaver)

Simply put, I love Electric Sheep. The "sheep" are absolutely mesmerizing kaleidoscope style movies which dance around your screen when your Mac or PC is idle. I know this is a Mac OS X article, but Electric Sheep is actually available for Linux and Windows as well! Here's a great description from the Electric Sheep web site:

Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver created by Scott Draves. It's run by thousands of people all over the world, and can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers "sleep", the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as "sheep". The result is a collective "android dream", an homage to Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

Visit the Electric Sheep web site and learn more!

Adium (instant messaging application)

I admit, I use instant messaging every day to keep in touch with friends, vendors, and colleagues from all over the world. I get really annoyed when my IM client doesn't have the features I need. I have not been a big fan of iChat lately since there are some features that other IM clients have that iChat doesn't. Adium is an instant messaging client for OS X that works with multiple chat protocols such as AIM, Googletalk, Yahoo, MSN, Bonjour, MySpace, and many more! One chat client to "rule them all"....

Check out Adium here!

Handbrake (an open source DVD ripper and MPEG-4 / H.264 encoder)

Let's get one thing straight, I'm not advocating anyone using Handbrake to rip DVD's they don't own. Now...here's how I use Handbrake. I have a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet that I like to take along with me when I travel. The 800x480 resolution of my little N800 is perfect for viewing movies while flying or riding the train. I find that watching movies tends to shorten the trip quite a bit...at least for me. Handbrake is an awesome and easy to use program for ripping my DVD's into just about ANY format. I've ripped movies for my own computer, my kids iPod Nano, as well as a PSP! Apple TV support is now also part of Handbrake. Given the noise on an airplane, I often find it helpful to rip my DVD's with the English subtitles included. I highly recommend Handbrake for getting your movies on to your portable devices and computers. Like Electric Sheep, Handbrake is also available for Windows and Linux!

Download Handbrake here!

Burn (Simple CD and DVD Burner for OS X)

Are you sick of using Disk Utility for burning CD's? Don't have the $$$ for Toast? No problem! Check out Burn! Burn is an awesome, simple, and easy to use CD and DVD burner. Audio, data, and video...Burn handles them all with ease.

Check out Burn here!

Show your parents, friends, and co-workers how to "Google" it

2008-12-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

You know you have all had to do it. What? Show folks how to "Google" something. You try hard not to make people feel silly, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Now there's a web site that can take care of all of that for you.

Yeah! I get sick and tired of people asking me too many questions especially when they could just "Google" it....tell me more!

Finally someone came up with a way to deal with this annoying behavior. It's a site called Let Me Google That For You. If you've had enough...use this fun, and a bit "snarky", site to teach them how to "Google it" themselves! The site is very easy to use. You simply enter the search term, click the Google Search button, and a link shows up at the bottom that you can copy and send to your friend, relative, or co-worker. It will display an animation walking them through the search and then it actually displays the search results. Hopefully, this will help you get some of those annoying folks off your back. After all, using Google is simple and should be something everyone knows how to do. :-)

Let me google that for you

5 Google Docs Templates for Xmas!

2008-12-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hey! Google Docs is not only convenient for working online and making life easier...it can also help you with preparing for the holidays! Google Docs templates are useful every day, but here are some that are particularly useful for this time of year! Check 'em out!

Top 5 Google Docs Templates for Christmas

google, google apps, google docs, templates, firefox, internet

ClassMarker "The online test generator"

2008-12-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

The ClassMarker website is a professional online quiz maker for use in schools and organizations. The website is simple to use and an effective way to administer quizzes directly from your website or emails. You can randomize questions, have quiz results emailed to you, and create all different types of questions like true/false, multiple choice, and fill in the blanks. ClassMarker has a free and a paid version. The paid version offers more features such as the ability to add feedback, removal of advertising, and priority email support.

Try an online quiz here!

Create online quizzes free quiz maker Online testing ClassMarker

testing, online, Internet, Firefox

The little birdie finally sings! Songbird reaches version 1.0!

2008-12-07T00:10:00.009-05:00

It's finally happened! It's been a long journey, but the wait has paid off. Songbird, an open source music player based on Mozilla, has matured to version 1.0! What does this mean for you? Well, how about a great music player that keeps improving and adding new features? Songbird is essentially an open source "iTunes". Many of the features you may be used to in iTunes are now part of Songbird!

The long road to version 1.0

I admit, I tried Songbird over a year ago and found it to be very rough. It constantly crashed and had quite a few difficulties especially with add-ons. Simply put, it didn't deliver. I trashed it and moved on. Recently Songbird released version 1.0 so I chose to give it another chance. WOW! What a difference a year makes. Version 1.0 truly delivers!

Songbird is built on the same platform as the popular web browser Firefox. Given what I've seen, Songbird is poised to do for your music library what Firefox did for your web browsing. Like Firefox, Songbird is extensible. This means that users can customize the look and feel of Songbird as well as add exciting new features as they're developed. Songbird also prompts you to install Quicktime Playback so you can play the songs you've downloaded from the iTunes Store. This makes it easy for you to convert from using iTunes! Now you can "unshackle" yourself from iTunes...buy "non-DRMed" music from Amazon.com and feel the FREEDOM!

Hey! At least give Songbird a look. Check it out at the Songbird website. If you'd like to get a sneak peak, check out the slide show of screenshots below. These are from my recent installation of Songbird. I was truly impressed...I think you will be too.

Share files and photos, create backups...all in a FLASH!

2008-12-05T23:01:00.002-05:00

Imagine this scenario...

You have an awesome movie that you want to share with your friends. You think, "I could email it to them!" Whoops! Your email provider has a 10mb limit for attachments. Dang! Now what? Hmmm...

Enter...Drop.io

Drop.io is the simplest way to share files, photos, and more online! Check out the video below and I'll show you how it all works!

Visit drop.io and start sharing your files and photos! Click below!

drop.io

drop.io, internet, file sharing, firefox, review

When a backup ISN'T a backup!

2008-12-04T22:39:00.003-05:00

Ok...I'm going to take a few minutes to clear up a HUGE misconception and also chastise some of you. I'm also hoping it will shock a few of you into doing something NOW! NOT LATER! NOW!

Ok...90% of you do NOT have a backup! I know, I know...many of you are saying, "But I copied all my photos and documents to a DVD before I deleted them from my machine...so I do have a backup." Umm...NO! Let me explain...

Many computer users go through their daily lives putting their ultimate trust and faith in their computer, that is, until disaster strikes. Computers are not indestructible. They are simply machines...some more prone to failure than others. Not to pick on Windows, but given the user base and system design (aka most people are logged in as the administrator), Windows machines often have to be wiped and reloaded due to virus and spyware infections. However, regardless of the computer make and model, any computer can crash and burn at any time and often without any warning. Trust me, I know. It's happened to me more than once over the years. Laptops wear out from the constant bouncing and jostling. Desktops get dirty while tucked away on the floor under the desk. Dust gets sucked into the machine choking off the cooling air and causing components to overheat and ultimately fail. For the most part, average people do a lousy job of taking care of their computers. This is a huge reason to have a good set of backups.

But I told you...I backed up my files to my USB flash drive!

And then you deleted the originals from your computer, right? "Of course, I need the room for more files" If this sounds like you, then you are one of those who does NOT actually have a backup. The term backup implies that you have a "spare". Think of it this way. On a car we have a spare tire and the originals. The spare is in case one of the four original tires goes flat. Imagine if you treated the car like a computer. Because you now have a spare tire, you would take off one of the original tires (let's say the front tire on the drivers side) and throw it away. Sounds kinda' ridiculous doesn't it. Ok, so why doesn't it sound ridiculous when you simply move your files off your hard drive onto another form of file storage? Unless you have multiple copies stored in different places, then you don't have a backup or a spare in case of failure, you simply have moved the original.

Ah, so what! What can happen?

Hmmm....good question...let's see. Fire, flood, earthquake, theft, equipment failure, lightning strike, electrical surge, cat pee, small children, water spillage, coffee, drops, falls, bad driving, and many more. Each of these comes from many years of experience and observation. Some have even happened to me personally. Let's see...my daughter sat on one of my laptops, I slipped and fell on the ice while carrying two laptops, a student of mine spilled hot cocoa on his laptop, a local family lost their computer in a house fire, several people I know have had laptops stolen...and the list goes on. In many of those cases, people lost years of memories and hard work due to not having a good backup.

Ok...I'm guilty...I only have one copy...so what do I do?

Backup! NOW! Not later...your computer could crash in the next 2 mins...in fact, you may not even make it to the next senten....(Ok...just kidding...you're still here). Seriously though, make a plan to backup your data as soon as possible. Backing up your data can take quite a bit of time the first time you do it, so plan to do it in the evening or get things arranged and started before you go to bed. There are essentially two kinds of backups. One is a "whole machine" backup or an "image of the machine" which is used to restore the entire machine back to it's original state at the time of backup. This is useful for when you need to wipe your machine and get back to work quickly. It is NOT useful if you buy a new machine. The other kind of backup that we'll be talking about is a "file backup" or the kind of backup where you save individual documents, pictures, music files and so forth. This type of backup is the most useful in that it allows you to restore data at any time as well as move it from machine to machine. In todays world, many people have family photos and movies as well as important documents stored on their computers. In a blink of an eye, all of them could be destroyed. So...let's get planning!

I'm ready to back up. How do I put my computer in reverse?

Ha, ha..very funny. Item number one: We need somewhere else to save our data. This can be done many ways.

USB Flash drive

A very simple method for backing up documents is to buy a USB flash drive (also commonly known as a pen drive or thumbdrive) and store important documents on it for backup and portability. However, DO NOT delete the originals unless you have more than one copy on more than one device. USB flash drives are very common and can be bought at any local Walmart, Staples, Best Buy or other retailer. They come in many different shapes, sizes, colors and capacities. Prices varying according to capacity. At the time of this article, the most common sizes are between 1 and 4 gigabytes (gb). Larger sizes are available.

CD or DVD

Most modern laptops and computers are equipped with CD-R and/or DVD-R drives. This makes it easy for you to use your CD/DVD drive to backup your files onto CD/DVD media. The average CD holds up to 700mb (megabytes) of data, whereas the average DVD holds up to 4.7gb (gigabytes) of data. Therefore you can get approximately 5 - 6 times more data on a DVD than a CD. CD's and DVD's (recordable media) range in price and are available from any major retailer in quantities as low as one or as high as 100 (spindle). A rough estimate for the cost of a CD/DVD is about $1. A common myth about CD's and DVD's is that they're indestuctible and last forever. Anyone have old home movies that were shot using a Sony Betamax camera? Nothing lasts forever. Formats change...media changes...computers change...and DVD's/CD's have a shelf life of approximately 20-50 years when stored in ideal conditions. CD and DVD backups are a good idea for archiving documents and photos, but I do not recommend them as your only backup as the media can be easily lost, broken, or scratched.

USB External Hard Drive

The falling price of hard drives has created a new market for storage devices. External hard drive are just that, hard drives that you can connect to your computer via the USB port for purposed of having another place to store stuff. Many USB external drives come with software that allows you to backup files with the touch of a button. Prices for USB hard drives have come down drastically, therefore you can buy a LOT of storage space for a reasonable amount of money. Dollar for dollar, this is one of the best methods of backup, however as I've stated before, you should have more than one backup. Some folks buy more than one USB external drive and keep one off-site at a relatives house or at a workplace in case of fire or some other disaster at home. USB drives come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. The most common sizes a this time are 250gb, 500gb, and 1tb (terabyte). USB external drives come in two basic physical sizes, 2.5 inch for portable use with a laptop and 3.5 inch for home or office use. The smaller drives are usually a bit more expensive as they use the pricier laptop style hard drive. In other words, you pay more for the portability. The big advantage of USB external drives is that they often are quite large, many times 2 to 3 times the size of the hard drive in your computer, thus you have a lot of room to store not only pictures and other files, but also "complete backups" of your computer. I recommend grabbing two drives....one for day to day backup and one for archival purposes (to be stored off-site).

NAS (Network Attached Storage)

NAS's are relatively new to the home network scene. NAS, Network Attached Storage, essentially means a small computer with a big hard drive that sits on your network and acts as a server where you can upload and store your files. The premise is almost the same as a USB external hard drive, except this one is attached via the network either wired or wirelessly. NAS's are very convenient and great in situations where there's more than one computer involved. Generally speaking, backing up to an NAS is considerably slower than using an external drive, but it is great if you're doing incremental backups (backing up only the changes since the last backup). Incremental backups are generally quite small as you're only copying files that have been created since the last time. There are many different types of NAS's available on the market today. Some NAS units can simply be plugged into the network while others are wireless. You can also easily convert your old PC into an NAS unit. To build your own NAS check out some free software such as FreeNAS or Openfiler.

Online Backup Services

This one is a little tricky. Why? You're trusting your data to another party. It is, however, a good option in many cases and certainly better than nothing at all. There are many services, some free, that are available for online backup of your data. Many of them offer software that you can use to configure your backups in terms of what data gets saved and how often. Online backup is really only an option if you have a good high speed internet connection. Dial-up is simply too slow to be practical. The advantage to online backup is that your data is available to you anytime and anywhere you can get online. Most reputable services seem to be priced around $4 - $5 per month for unlimited backup.

Setting up a backup strategy

Ok...you've got your backup drive and/or your media and you're ready to go. Now what? Well, take a few minutes to think about what's most important to you. If you're talking about your home computer or laptop, perhaps you have a lot of family photos and movies. What about family financial information or documents? Depending on how you normally save things, it may actually be quite easy to back up your data. If you have a Windows XP or Vista computer, much of your personal data is probably already stored in an area known as "My Documents". In this folder you'll also find "My Pictures", "My Videos", and "My Music". It's not a bad idea to spend a little time tidying up a few folders before your backup to be sure you get everything where it needs to be. Gather up those stray files on your desktop, tidy up, sort some of those documents and make sure things are labelled so you know what they are. If you're planning to use some sort of auto-backup software then now is a good time to set it up and test it out. Be sure to think carefully about whether or not you wish to "sync", do incremental backups, or full backups. If you bought a USB external hard drive or an NAS you may already have backup software that was bundled with the device, however if you don't already have backup software, then give SyncBack a try. (Windows only) If you have a Mac, you can make use of MobileMe's backup software for Macs. Many Linux distributions come with several choices for backup software. One popular one is Simple Backup. Simple Backup is available in Add/Remove Programs or Synaptic in many Linux distributions.

Once you've got everything ready to go...run your backup! Be sure to check it out and make sure everything copied ok. Once you have a successful backup, be sure to make more than one copy. It's also a good idea to keep a copy somewhere off-site, such as a workplace or relatives house. Backup often, make multiple copies, and take precautions to safeguard your backup drives and media. Share your own backup strategies (or horror stories) in the comments!

Making web pages into "clickable" apps

2008-12-02T10:01:00.002-05:00

Good day everyone! Today I'm going to show you how you can make any web page into a quickly accessed application on your desktop, dock, or other launch panel.

Ok...let's get on with it! Ooh! Is that a rainbow I see?

Actually no. Yes...it's Prism...not the triangular glass thingy, but rather, the good folks from Mozilla have created an excellent project called Prism that allows users to create "mini-browsers" specifically set up for individual web pages.

From the Mozilla wiki page:

Prism is a simple XULRunner based browser that hosts web applications
without the normal web browser user interface. Prism is based on a
concept called Site Specific Browsers (SSB). An SSB is an application
with an embedded browser designed to work exclusively with a single web
application. It doesn’t have the menus, toolbars and accoutrements of a
normal web browser. Some people have called it a "distraction free browser"
because none of the typical browser chrome is used. An SSB also has a
tighter integration with the OS and desktop than a typical web
application running through a web browser.

Ok...wonderful. So what? How does this help me?

Think of it this way. Perhaps you use GMail as your primary email or even Google Calendar? How about Playlist.com and the standalone music player? Prism and the Firefox add-on Prism for Firefox make it easy to "isolate" these web sites as "apps" so you can quickly and easily access them. In the following screenshot you can see how I've actually made several "apps" on my desktop, each of which use Prism to launch a specific web site for quick and easy access. (yes...I'm a die hard Red Sox fan too)

Pretty cool! Ok...how do I do this? Go easy on me...

Sure! It's actually pretty easy. The easiest method is to use the Prism for Firefox extension...sometimes also referred to as Prism refractor for Firefox. Use the link below to go to the installation link. Install just like any other extension and then restart Firefox. Once you have restarted, you should see a new menu item located under "Tools" that says "Convert Website to Application". Browse to the site you wish to make into an "app". In my example, I'm going to browse to www.playlist.com and go to my playlist. I'll launch the standalone Flash Player. Once the Flash player is open, I'll click "Tools" > "Convert Website to Application". The next shot shows what that looks like:

You can choose to add icons to your desktop, dock, or applications folder. NOTE: This example was created using OS X...other platforms may look a little different and have a less options. (the Linux version only offers the "desktop" option)

Dude! That's awesome! Thanks for the tip! So...what does it look like in the end?

You're welcome! Here's the shot of my playlist using Prism in all its glory!

Notice the Holiday tunes! Enjoy the holiday season and let me know if and how you were able to use this tip in the comments!

Prism for Firefox :: Firefox Add-ons

Technorati Tags: Prism, Firefox, extensions, Mozilla, Playlist.com, Google Apps

Open Source Twittering! SPAZ twitter client is awesome!

2008-12-01T10:05:00.001-05:00

Ok, I admit...I'm a Twitter user. I write a lot of meaningless drivel for all to follow throughout the day. It's my way of sharing my life with all of you (who are interested) and also keeping abreast of the latest news and "goings-on". (My twitter name is "dtrask") Twitter.com is easy enough, but a tad cumbersome when trying to work on other things. Keeping a web page open and refreshing it every now and then is simply not practical. Problem solved...enter the Twitter clients! There are many Twitter clients out there and they run on all different sorts of platforms. The most popular ones such as Twhirl and Snitter, just to name a couple, all run on Adobe Air. They work great, but are not open source. Also...as a recent Twhirl user, one of my pet peeves is the inability to scroll down very far into my history of tweets from others. Sometimes I don't get on for a while and want to check back several hours or even several days to see what my friends have been up to. Well...the other day I stumbled upon Spaz. The name alone takes me back to high school and the days when we used to tell people, "Hey...don't "spaz" out!"...or "She's such a total "spaz"." Spaz is an open source twitter client that simply ROCKS! I love it. It works on Windows, OS X, and Linux and is simple and easy to use. It's also customizable for those who wish to tinker a little. You can write your own CSS files to change just about anything. There are also some CSS files already written for you that can be used to make changes in Spaz's appearance. Fed up with some of the other Twitter clients? Want to give something else a try and support a cool Open Source project? Download Spaz!

Spaz: An Open-Source Twitter Client for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux

Keep the names coming! You get to VOTE!

2008-12-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

Hey...if you read my previous post about naming our new GPS device, you'll know that I'm having a bit of difficulty coming up with a name. So...I've gotten a few suggestions in the comments, but need a few more. Then, I'll host a poll here on the site and you can vote! Yep...YOU get to pick the new name for me! So post your comments and suggest some names and let's have some fun with this!