#43 - If its Friday we need to be in Hot Springs

Yesterday we left off with my new Palm. A sleek looking Palm Pilot T/X. It has a large screen and several new features. I can watch movies and videos, if I can figure how to get them on the Palm. I can also get wireless Internet. Now that is keen. What they don't tell you is that the site you visit really has to be set up for small screen Internet or its a jumble. The original home page that came set up with the T/X is a Palm company site that is specifically set up for PDAs. It doesn't have much graphics and has lots of hyperlinks to other sites that are also set up for small screens.

With many phones as well as PDAs having Wi-Fi capability, there should be more and more sites that are small screen friendly. I can check my gmail account, find the weather, news and sports updates. Not bad for an item weighing less then 8 oz. I can flip the screen sideways to get more screen width and its almost readable. It has a great antenna so I can pick up wireless connections just about anywhere in a city. It has several new features I haven't checked out but they mainly have to do with downloading email and pdf files. It also has bluetooth capability, but the only other bluetooth device I have is my Mac Mini. I'll have to see if they can talk at some time. I have most of my music on the Mac.

The Palm makes a nice MP3 player. It has a slot for a SD memory card (like you use in cameras). You can put up to a 4GB card and use most of it for music. The music player that comes with the palm will do play lists and has decent sound controls. Moving music to the card is very easy (almost as easy as an iPod). It even has a teeny tiny speaker if you have forgot your headphones.

Cost of this modern marvel? $299 without the memory card. Palm sells a complete line up of PDAs and Phones with PDA capabilities starting at $99 and heading toward $600 at the high end.

Have a great weekend.

#42 - If its Thursday is this Selma?

Keeping track of where I'm supposed to be has become a very high tech activity. Getting old has given me the wonderful talent of completely forgetting where I should be. I've been using a Palm Pilot Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) for many years, but it has become more important every year.

My first Palm really only did a few things. Contacts, calendar, calculator and a few games. I waited until the Palm came out with a color screen to buy one. I have found that color is so much easier on my eyes. When I got the first Palm there really wasn't a choice of competitors. Microsoft came out with the Windows CE operating system and several manufacturers, notably HP and Toshiba, began making a Palm alternative. Unfortunately, I've found the Palm alternatives to be big, heavy and expensive.

The fate of my first Palm Pilot was unfortunate. It got lost. I mean, I think it got lost. One day I had it, and the next I didn't . Much searching and gnashing of teeth did not bring it back. Fortunately all my data was backed up on the PC. I purchased a new Palm and all my data flowed back. You will never believe how lost I was the days between not having the Palm and getting the new one. The new Palm had some cute features. It could play music (additional memory card required). And the version of the Graffiti writing recognition software was improved. It was smaller and lighter then the original. I was in heaven again (at least that's what the Palm said!)

My second Palm stopped holding a charge several weeks ago. That meant lost appointments and and unreliable Nick. So another new Palm is now in my pocket. This ones adds video and Wi Fi capability. I'll talk a bit more on those points tomorrow! Gotta run, meeting at 10PM says the new Palm!

#41 - Take me out to the Ball Game

The effects of technology on sports is more subtle then in other areas of life. Sure there are huge LCD screens in every sports arena. You can now pay big bucks to go to a stadium and watch the sport on a big TV. I'm missing something here. Isn't the purpose of going to a game, to watch the game live? I like seeing statistics and some instant replay, but watch the game on the screen? Boy those must be lousy seats you have.

Speaking of instant replay, the NFL announced today that they will have instant replay review as a permanent part of all games. Now that should make fans happy. We want perfection in our games so badly that we will stop the games to see if the call is correct. Well maybe not correct, but not overturnable.

Technology has really impacted the preparation phases of sport. From learning opposition tendencies to breaking down your team or players weaknesses to improving technique via slow motion video, its all being done. Remember this is big time sports so cost is no object. My beloved Virginia Tech Hokies basketball team bought a Free Throw improvement system that included a video analyzer and practice feedback system. Results were slightly improved free throwing, but we still lost 3 games due to missing free throws.

Golf has really gone high tech. New materials and designs pump hope into the hearts of every 20+ handicap golfer. Even the pros chase new technology in hopes of grabbing the brass ring. If you haven't had a lesson from a pro lately, then you are in for a shock. Your swing is recorded on digital video and can be broken down for all your swing foibles. They can even impose Tiger Woods swing on top of yours to make you truly feel inferior.

Even the grand old game of baseball has all kinds of high tech wizardry. Every pitch is on digital video with its speed accurately recorded. There are new training devices for batting, fielding and throwing. Lets not even talk about performance enhancing drugs. Thank goodness the 7th inning stretch is still celebrated!

#40 - Technology and Genealogy

A quick google search of the work GENEALOGY leads to tons of Internet sites dedicated to the process of checking up on your ancestors. The Chinese and the Mormons have major fixations on ancestors and have spurred a great interest in genealogy.

So what does genealogy have to do with technology? Well technology has certainly helped the ancestor search process. Many more documents have been placed online. It makes it alot easier to search records from the convenience of your study then having to trek across the globe. Musty old papers are preserved and you have the ability to easily look for great aunt Matilda.

I was thinking about genealogy due the birth of a great niece. Lucy Eleanor Bonadeo joined the human race yesterday around 3PM. Ellie (that's what the parents want to call her) is named after two great grandmothers. Thus keeping peace in the family. Now my only question is, if you wanted to call the young lady Ellie, why not Eleanor Lucy? Got to be some politics involved!

Back to genealogy, Did you know there is a Genetic DNA project? You can submit a sample of DNA and a search will be made to identify your surname history and your ancient ancestors. Click Here for more info: http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/ydna_intro_about.php

I've been back to my Grandparents homes in Romania, but that about peaks my interest in where I came from. I'm more interested in where we are heading (not a big history buff either). It takes all kinds!

#39 - Why do things cost what they do?

I am visiting some friends and they asked for some computer help. The idea was to hook up their printer/scanner/fax to the PC. They have been using it just as a fax machine. Oh and they couldn't find the driver CD. Ok no problem, I can download the driver since they have Broadband Internet. AND they don't seem to have a printer cable. Also no problem. I didn't bring one with me, but almost every store should have a USB printer cable.

So off I go shopping for computer equipment. Now, recall I have a PC business so I don't usually shop in stores for computer stuff. A nearby Office Max seemed to be the ideal solution. So I go in and get directed to the USB printer cable section. There I see a few cables, not a lot of choices. In fact there is only one USB printer cable with 10 feet length (what I need). And then I suffered sticker shock. The cable was $32.99. Oh my goodness! I sell that very same cable (Belkin) for $9.00. What is going on here? I talked with one of the dudes in a Office Max vest (Why do all the mega stores put their employees in vests? Hmmm) and ask if there are any other cables available. The only other item was a cable 6 feet long for $19.99. That wasn't long enough. I made a snap decision and walked out of Office Max.

I looked around and the only store that might have a cable was Target. I ran over there and was directed to the Electronics section. In the back of the huge store of course! But low and behold I find the exact same cable for $14.99. Now we are talking. I go to the checkout and viola it rings up at $17.99. I tell the check out person (in a Target Vest!) "Hey this was marked $14.99 on the shelf in the back of the store!" So I'm thinking this is going to be a hassle. But the check out person calls for a manager and the young lady (23 year old max). Looks at me and says "ring it up like he says". I dash out of the store as quick as I can.

So is that 10 foot cable really worth $32.99? Do people really pay that much for a cable? Should I increase my prices? I make a good % on the cable at $9.00. I remember the old days of PCs (the 80s) when you could get good margins on PC products, but those days are long gone. If you make 10% on a sale you are doing good. Amazing.

#38 MAC vs PC

Have you seem more humorous advertising? Mac vs PC. That poor old fuddy duddy Mr. PC. You wonder why anyone would buy a PC wouldn't you? Well to be fair, lets take a look at the other side of the debate. We love our Mac Mini, and there are lots of great things about MAC Os X that blows Windows away. However, there are reasons the world has not converted to MAC.

#1 and foremost is cost. There is no low end for MACs. The mini MAC is an underpowered 6"x6" box that starts at $599.00. For your money you get 512MB memory and a puny 60GB hard disk drive. For the same money you could have a pretty tricked up PC. And the PC throws in a mouse and keyboard (extra cost on the MAC). Desktop models like the iMac and Power Mac are way over prices versus their PC counterparts. Twice the price in many cases. See how nice a monopoly (Apple) prices its products? And don't even talk about laptops. The MACBook has a 13.3" screen and 512MB memory and that puny 60GB hard disk drive. Costs a scary $1099.00 vs $699 from HP, Toshiba or Lenovo. They will have 15.4" screens with 80GB hard drives. Is the MAC worth an extra $400 for less of a PC? To most no.

#2 Compatibility. Although there are an interesting array of software that runs on the MAC, it is tiny in comparison to PC options. I am constantly amazed at the lack of options of programs to run on the MAC. If all you need to do is browse the Internet and run MS Office, then the MAC is fine. Any specialization that isn't Graphic in nature you are hard pressed to find the program. And you'll pay more for the program than the PC equivalent. If you have some specialized software that your company uses, it likely won't port over to the MAC. There are also issues with the Internet browser that comes with the MAC. Safari is a decent browser, but it doesn't open every Internet site just right (of course the new Internet Explorer 7 has the same issues!). I've downloaded Firefox for the Mac and don't have those issues. Of course anything that was designed for the PC, like WMA audio files and MVM video files have to be translated to the MAC.

#3 Service. Apple is notorious for very mediocre customer service. Apples better be more reliable, cuz you are on your own if you have problems. Just ask ipod owners how nice Apple is when the battery dies. Now not all PC manufacturers are wonderful in customer service. But the options for extended warranties are much less expensive and available for PCs vs MACs.

I can think of great MAC vs PC commercials I can make from the above 3 items. The MAC would look as wonderful. I liken it to buying a car. The majority of people are happy with a Chevy, Ford, Honda or Toyota. Some have to have Mercedes, Lexus or BMWs.

#37 - Light enough?

I head the other night that the Phillips corporation is making a huge push into the florescent bulb business. They are calling for the end of production of incandescent lights by 2016. The announcement follows the recent introduction of legislation in California , Connecticut, North Carolina, and Rhode Island to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs. Australia recently announced it will begin to phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2010.

So is the end of the 128 year old incandescent light bulb (ILB) at hand? There are compelling reasons to make the switch. The ILB uses more energy to make heat then it does light. If the world were to change today to florescent bulbs we would reduce the annual energy demand for by the equivalent of what is generated by 30 nuclear power plants or up to 80 coal burning power plants. Moreover greater than 158 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and 5,700 pounds of air-born mercury emissions would be eliminated.

Of course there is no free lunch. Florescent lights cost 5 -10 times more then ILB, though they last much longer. There is also the issue of energy to produce the florescent bulbs. They are much more complex with a small ballast built into the base of every bulb. When small florescent bulbs first came out the manufacturers separated the actual bulb from the ballast. When the bulb failed you just replaced it and kept the ballast. This model was bulkier and consumers never warmed to it. They just wanted an ILB one for one replacement. Now you have to throw away the bulb and ballast when the bulb fails.

I've changed many of our bulbs over to to florescent. We've gotten used to the white light for reading. Make sure to get ENOUGH light for the job. You probably ought to try some out soon.

#36 - A wandering mind

Just a bunch of random thought this morning.

I see where our local KMart is recycling ink cartridges and old cell phones. The local high school gets a donation based on how many get dropped off. Do your part and don't throw away these items. The US needs so many more recycling programs. We waste more then most nations produce. Keep it green!

Today's Windows Vista rant. For whatever reason, Windows Vista Business has no way to burn a DVD. Only Windows Home Premium and Windows Ultimate have that capability. Hmm seems Microsoft doesn't think business people make DVD presentations. That's novel. Fortunately there are several free or inexpensive programs out on the net that can help. It seems Microsoft is using the leave out key ingredients to make you UPGRADE to their Windows Vista Ultimate program. That's how you make a buck.

Another way is the HP model on printers. Generally give the printer away and then charge an arm and two legs for the cartridges. I saw a cheap HP printer for $49.00 after rebates. To replace the ink cartridges? $60.00 for the two. Economically seems like you just buy another printer. This is one crazy strategy. (I think its the Gillette razor strategy - Give away the razor, make money on the blades).

HP also has a new computer designed for the kitchen. It has a cleanable touchscreen monitor (no mouse) and is a small form factor (small box). It can be placed in any nook and can also take TV input. Costs around $1800, so we'll see if all the hip kitchens start putting one in.

I think I'm randomizing too much, so hopefully I'll be more focused tomorrow!

#34 - Clean PCs out of the box

Today's blog is a rant. I admit it, I confess to being angry about the issue, but its my blog so I can rant at will!

Every PC or Laptop that I set up, I have to remove and delete a ton of programs. Computers come so full of programs that you don't need that they are slow to start out with. My biggest complaint is the Antivirus teaser. Symantec is the biggest instigator of this fraud. You get a 30 or 60 day complimentary trial of the antivirus. Come the end of the trial period and you are reminded (constantly) that you need to pay list price to continue to get protection. Many times its their full blown security program that is so bloated that most PCs just stop what they are doing when it wants to run. I ALWAYS remove these nuisance programs.

Next I remove all the Internet service files. Earthlink, AT&T and of course AOL put tons of files and services on your new PC whether you want them or not. I figure you'll put the Internet Service Provider you want on your PC. 99% of them don't require special files. Just plug and play.

Lately PC makers have been putting all kinds of photo programs on new PCs. I have to confess that what Windows XP has built in is fine for most people. If you want to do some editing pick up a copy of Photoshop Elements. It has EVERYTHING you need and won't use tons of valuable PC resources.

Bottom line is I have to spend 1/2 hour on EVERY PC that I sell to GET rid of programs you don't want or need. I would love to get a PC with NOTHING but the operating system and Computer drivers on it. That's it. Let the user decide what they want to run.

Rant mode off!

#33 Sound of Technology

Sorry for no Blog on Friday. I actually took the day off to watch the rain! Well that was the end result! So lets talk about sounds and technology. If I make a little chirping sound people all around me start reaching for their cell phones. Make a long Beep sound and people start to open their microwave oven. A ding ding sound and you check if you left the keys in your car or the lights are on. We have been trained by our high tech items to answer their call. Pavlov's dog indeed.

I get a kick out of the various ring tones people use on their cell phones. From college fight songs to classical overtures to hip hop/ rap ditties. Me? I usually put my cell on vibrate since I wear it. I feel any other action is rude, crude and intrusive. But hey, that's just Nick. I try not to use the phone when driving or in any public place, but sometimes even the best intentions get swayed by a buzz. Good news is that most Cell Phones have caller ID so if you get Beethoven's Sonata #3 calling you can not answer Aunt Gladys' call.


We have our door bell set up that for one ding its the side door, 2 dings its the front. An electrician not so long ago reversed the wires during a fix up job and we were turned around for days. I quickly changed the wires back to original settings. We understand change, but don't like it much!


I think Microsoft paid someone over $100,000 for the sounds that Windows uses in start up and shut down. I don't think AOL paid much for the infamous "You've got Mail" sound. My Apple mini Mac has a very unique sound that it plays when you turn it on. So having a unique hello must really matter. Again, I would rather they start up quicker and silently, but I must be in the minority.

The most annoying high tech sound for me is when a power supply fan or processor cooling fan starts to go bad. The fan gets a high pitched whiny sound that can last for weeks. It is an indicator that the end is near so don't ignore it! Let me know what high tech sounds you like or hate! Till Tomorrow

#32 – What’s going on outside?

Forecasting the weather is one discipline that has changed dramatically due to modern technology. But even with all our advances, disasters such as the Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the recent Southeast tornadoes happen with surprising regularity. It appears we can get the broad idea of what the weather is doing, but the devil is in the details.

Doppler radar, Meteorological Satellites, global seismographs and the use of modern computational power have all increased the ability of predicting weather phenomena. One of the issues with all these wonderful technologies is our ability to get the information we have to the people that need to hear it. In the case of the Asia tsunami, scientists knew a huge earthquake had happened and that a tsunami was likely. Unfortunately there was no easy way to get that information out to people in the path of the tsunami in time to make a difference.

The case of Hurricane Katrina is even more interesting. Who in the US did not know a big hurricane was going to hit the Gulf Coast? The hurricane was followed for days before it hit land a second time. What many didn’t believe is what the computer models had told for several years. A big hurricane could weaken the levees in New Orleans and flood most of the city.

The recent Alabama tornadoes that killed eight students and 7 others were clearly predicted by the National Weather Service. In fact, the students at the high school in question were in tornado warning position when the tornado hit. What went wrong? What more could technology have done? Maybe build stronger schools? I’m not sure. The power of tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes can’t be discounted. Knowledge of their coming isn’t enough. Being in the right place at the right time transcends the technology to predict natural disasters.

#31 Computer Waste - Why we should recycle

Today is garbage day. The day we present our waste for the county to bury. Now not all things we put in the garbage is fit for burying. High Tech equipment falls into that category. Batteries, motherboards, Monitor tubes and wires are all no nos for burying in the land fill. They never (and never is a real long time) break down and can pollute water and soil for a very long time. So what should you do as an educated American?

1. Pass on what you no longer need. If its still working pass it on. Your kids, couldn't care less if it can play games. Also, I'm sure there are children in every community that don't have sufficient funds to have a home PC. Work with local schools to see that there are less deprived children.

2. If it doesn't work, then check with local recyclers. A quick GOOGLE search should find companies in your area that accept equipment for recycling. Many schools accept used ink cartridges and cell phones for the money they will receive. Yes, you have to do some leg work, but you'll feel better after you have done it.

3. If you run up to a brick wall on #2 then there are National recyclers out there. We use HP and here is a link to their site: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/recycle/index.html

Please consider using the blank side of any printouts that you have for non essential print outs. Get a two sided printer. Only use color when you absolutely must. And finally if you aren't using your PC, just turn it off.

Mother Earth thanks you!

#30 New Software? What new software

I started to use the new Office 2007 that Microsoft hoisted upon us with the new operating system, Windows Vista. In particular, I was working with Word 2007. The interface is new and I was having a bit of difficulty finding some features (Like Save as, Outlining, Lines spacing!). While doing this, I started to think about what has happened to new software?

Other then some incremental upgrades, I haven't seen a program that does anything different in years. I would suppose that most new software is found on the Internet as web sites that do something more then give out information. If you have found some new commercial software, please let me know about it.

In fact I sell very little software anymore. Antivirus, Antispyware and Office are about it. Cameras come with graphics programs for free. Microsoft gives away browsers and music players. Apple gives away iTunes, If you have a CD or DVD burner on your PC, it probably came with free software (we use NERO) to make CDs. So I think its been the advent of free software that's killed innovation in software. Why work on a new program when someone will probably give it away with some hardware?

Happy Tuesday.

#29 Electricity Massage

Good morning!

Hope everyone sprung forward and is as tired as I am. My main PC had the Microsoft Patch and leaped without incident. We'll see how many calls I get today to keep the PCs in step.

Electric utilities do a fine job of providing power to us 24/7. They aren't real big on quality control. The variation of power provided can be harmful to your technology items that feed on pure electricity. Optimally, in the US, you want 120 volts of alternating 3 phase electrons heading your way. Note that most gadgets take that 120 volts and transforms them into direct (DC )current. I've seen as low as 103 volts and as high as 132 volts coming out of wall sockets. The transformers don't like that range of power and can do some interesting (read expensive) tricks when not fed their required 120volts.

We keep all of our valued electronics on UPS (uninterruptible power supply ). These black boxes have batteries that let them provide pure 120volt power no matter what is coming in to them. They also can provide power for a limited time should your faithful utility become unfaithful (read blackout). The price on UPS is pretty low ($49-$99) for most electronics. they need to be sized to match what they are protecting. Oh, and did you know that PCSS sells these gems? Go Figure. Have a great week.

#28 The High tech home - Part II

We left off our high tech home travels in the bathroom. Let's go back to outside the home. How do you unlock your doors? Still using keys? That's 500 year old technology. The latest is to use keypads and electronically open them. Keypads have great advantages. You can set up different combinations for different access. For example you can give out an access number to the cable guy that will only work from 9-5PM not at midnight. If you get a new housekeeper you can just delete the old housekeepers number and not have to rekey all your doors. You also can have a record of when everyone comes into the house. Teenagers will still craw through open windows!

Now the kitchen is the room that has seen the most technology change. Refrigerators that dispense all kinds of liquids and solids from the door are now the norm. Smooth ceramic cook tops and Convection/Microwave ovens have changed in a single generation how we prepare foods. Does anyone under the age of 60 really use their oven any more? I would love to have an instant hot water tap on our sink to make that cup of tea I like in the winter. You hardly ever see a kitchen without a TV today. Nice thin flat screen TVs that are small enough to fit in any small corner. Another newer innovation are the small wine refrigerators that have separate white and red wine zones. Santa I'll take the 50 bottle model, please!

Home theaters are the upscale equivalent of the old sunken living rooms. I've seen some in homes with theatre seats, popcorn machines and a sound system that could deafen half of Covington. Plasma, LCD and projection displays have gotten bigger every year. Costs have come down from outrageous to "wait for my Tax Return" size. Connecting your video system to your PC for all those MP3 songs and now downloaded videos is the latest rage. Two summers ago I digitized my entire CD collection. I hardly ever listen to music through the old sound system any more.

I would like to computer control my lights and heating. There have been systems to do this for 20 years, but its still isn't quite ready for prime time. I'll bet we'll see the time where you come into the house and tell it "Honey, I'm home!" and the house will adjust temperature, lighting and music to your taste.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to SPRING forward on Sunday!

#27 The high tech Home - Part 1

For being the techno geek that I am, I live in a pretty low tech house. We do have wireless Internet, but pretty much all the appliances and and elecronics are state of the art 1970s. We did install a geothermal heat pump in the late 90s. We drilled 4 wells in the backyard and ran pipes throgh the wells. Water is cooled or warmed to 57 degrees (the temperature of the deep soil) and then used to heat or cool air in the house. Its a pretty neat system and keeps our electric bills reasonable. It's not really high tech. We have old style mecury themostats the we push levers to heat, cool and select an approximate temperature.

So what would I put in a new house of the 21st century? Despite all the wireless craze, I think I would wire every room with fibre optics. You could use the wire for Internet and Cable/Satellite transmissions. I would definitely pick a heating/cooling system with computerized zone settings and programmed time controls. If your home isn't used much during the day, why heat and cool it for the ladybugs? I also would not put in a hot water heater. The new tankless hot water systems also make alot of sense. Why keep a big tank of water hot when you only need it 2 or maybe 3 times a day? The Rinnai system gets lots of publicity, but Rheem and Bosch also make great systems. Just google tankless hot water heater.

How hi-tech is your alarm clock? Ours plays music or harshly beeps you awake. I think I had one of those in the 70s in college. The latest gadgets put the time and temperature on the ceiling, play music from CDs and MP3 files and talk to you with information you didn't know you you needed to start the day. Any electronics in your shower? Music, massaging rain type water and computer controlled soaping while you sit on the shower bench are all available. Not ready for that? What about the high tech toilet? Surely you've seen the news articles of the Japanese toilets that are heated, salute when you leave and play cute tunes when you sit down. If you can think of it, someone will build it.

More tomorrow!

#26 Buying that Digital Camera

The Mrs. said she didn’t like my picture on the blog. Something about having a VT growing out of my head. The result of that conversation is the picture she took last night. Any comments pro or con can be left by clicking the comment button below. I’ll pass on the better comments to the Mrs.

PCSS sells just 3 brands of digital camera: Nikon, Canon and Olympus. Why these three? We’ve found that the camera manufacturers have the best lenses. The better the lens, the better the picture is rule of thumb. Our chosen three also do a great job of providing cameras at every price point. From the least expensive point and shoot to the expensive SLR replacements, they offer them all. They also keep up with technology, but don’t chase it. I mean they add new technology in a measured way, rather then putting in bells and whistles without regard to usability. In layman’s terms, they are easier to use.

So what do you look for in buying a digital camera? You first need to answer this question: What kind of pictures do I usually take? Vacation, Work, Kids, Landscape, Sports, or a bit of everything? These answers will help to determine what type of camera to explore. For example if you like to take action pictures (Sports) then we’ll look for cameras with a faster shutter speed. Early digital cameras had a 1-3 second delay from when you pressed the button till the auto focus worked and the picture was taken. Newer cameras have halved that time, but if you are serious about sports, you’ll need a faster response time.

We like digital cameras that are simple and have a nice feature set. We still like having a view finder and a nice large viewing LCD (minimum 2.5”). You should be able to turn off the flash and view your pictures on your camera in a minimum of effort. Controls should be easy to understand. The camera should be sized to feel comfortable in your hand. Not too heavy, not too small. We have a Canon elf SD 200 that the Mrs. and I fight over. It’s very small and takes great general pictures. Not the best for Sports, but for vacation and friends very nice. Notice that I haven’t mention megapixels. It really doesn’t matter anymore. Every digital camera sold today has more megapixels then most can use with their current printers.

Smile!

#25 Blogs, Blogs Everywhere

Since I've started blogging, I've become aware of the blogging community (a bit late!) and where it comes from. I'm not sure anyone knows where it is going. There are supposedly over 60,000,000 blogs out there in cyberspace. I would guess not many of them are read very often. Some are no more then the modern version of the diary. Others are in support of some cause, some group, something. Many, like mine, let individuals share their knowledge and thoughts on wide ranging issues. So how did we get to 60 million bloggers in so short of time?

Blogs were online diaries that gave the writer the opportunity to let others know what they were up to. Justin Hall, a student at Swathmore College, is credited with one of the first blogs. Begun in 1994, Justin continued his blogging for an impressive 11 years. In the beginning, blogs were just threads of commentary, that by nature were in order from today to the past. At some point, people began adding comments to the blogs. So many comments that the comments ended up having blogging lives of their own. One of the early news bloggers, Matt Drudge, began to morph from blogger to full fledged news web site.

The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on December 17, 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999. This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog"). One of the first sites to promote blogging was the still in existence XANGA. Begun in 1996, they now have over 20 million blogs.

So how can you make use of a blog? It certainly is a great way to get the same information to a great number of people. Better then email, because it doesn't go in SPAM filters or misses people because of vacation. It also leave a history that people can peruse at their leisure. We love the blogs our friends set up to document trips and adventures. We can live vicariously through their words (and pictures!). We use the Google sponsored Blogger software. Easy to use and still free. If you are thinking of starting a blog we highly recommend it: http://www.blogger.com/start

#24 Times they are a'changin

Next Sunday at 2 AM Daylight Savings time will be back with us. Your computer this year, may not know the time has changed though. Microsoft has an update on their site to keep your time up to date. This is a big issue for organizations that deal with money. Hopefully they have all updated their Windows to keep the clocks tidy.

Many customers would complain that their computer clock would not keep the right time. Slow or fast, never right. This was the case with Windows based computers until Windows XP. The older versions of Windows and DOS had no automatic update feature for the computers internal clock. The computer clock is a program running on your mother board that attempts to act like a clock. The program isn’t very accurate in comparison to a clock. With the advent of the Internet, Windows XP added the utility to update the computers clock with one of several internet clocks. The sites include a Microsoft site and a US government site. Just double click on your clock in the task bar and then chose the Internet time and Update Now. Viola, the correct time!

The “other” clock in your computer is the processor clock speed. This is the gigahertz, megahertz in the old days, speed that your processor is rated at. For many years the faster the processor the faster your PC would run. Processors are so fast now, that their speed is really not the slow down factor on your PC. The amount of RAM (random access) memory that you have installed in your PC and the speed of your hard drive are more important then the processor clock speed. You can find out how much RAM you have and your clock speed by right clicking on My Computer then left click on Properties.

Every new computer I set up, or every computer I restore, I have to change the time zone from Pacific to Eastern. This is the revenge of the Microsoft engineers. Since they all live near Redmond, Washington, they decided that every Windows operating system would default to Pacific time. Thanks for the aggrevation!

Have a great week!

#23 Mousing around

December 9, 1968 was a momentous date in the history of computers and technology. On that date in San Francisco, computer pioneer Douglas Englebart gave what we now call the “Mother of all Demos” at the Fall Joint Computer conference. Englebart had labored for over 12 years on a vision of a new way of computing. The culmination was this unique demonstration. In a short 90 minutes the world of computing was turned on its head and would never be the same.

Englebart’s group, the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford was interested in making computers more widely used. The group felt that punch cards and keyboarding would never be used by the mass of business people. In the demonstration, Enblebart introduced to the world: hypertext, networking, object addressing and dynamic file linking, as well as shared-screen collaboration. The highlight of the demo was the introduction of the computer mouse as a unique input device for the common business person. The mouse had been invented by Englebart earlier that year after many attempts to simplify human input to the computer. He wanted to create a device that anybody could use to control a computer more naturally than a keyboard. Made of wood with two wheels to determine X-Y motion, the first mouse looks quite boxy.

The patent for the mouse was awarded to Englebart in 1970, but was not fully adapted until the 1980s. Englebart never received a penny in royalties, since his patent expired in 1987, well before the mouse became the input device of choice. The first mouse used in a commercial system was the XEROX Star introduced in 1981. The Star also had the first graphical user interface (GUI) operating system. The founders of Apple loved the Star and introduced their version as the Apple Lisa in 1983. Although the Lisa was a commercial failure, Apple never gave up the hope of GUI and mouse input. The Apple Macintosh was the very successful result. Microsoft came up the “me too” Windows system in November 1985.

The development of the mouse using a ball and “chopper wheels” came in 1971. The “chopper wheels” chopped light beams as they turned and translated those chops into X-Y movement. Various attempts at getting rid of the ball were made in the 1980s. Optical mice that used a grid surface mouse pad and LEDs were made by several manufacturers. The Laser optical mouse we use today was developed by Sun Microsystems in 1998. Along with the laser came the cutting of the wire and wireless optical mouse, today’s ultimate mighty mouse!

#22 Why we type the way we do

Ah the infamous QWERTY keyboard. What idiot put this keyboard together? It makes no sense. It is awkward, inefficient and confusing. We've been saying that for 135 years. But there it remains. Those keys made their first appearance on a rickety, clumsy device marketed as the "Type-Writer" in 1872. The name QWERTY comes from the first six characters on the top alphabet row. Today the keyboard is a universal fixture on the most advanced computers in the 21st Century and is thus also known as the Universal Keyboard. The QWERTY has been the bane of everyone learning typing or keyboarding.

How could we get stuck with something so bad? In this case, the answer lies in the old proverb about the early bird catching the worm. As far as the typewriter keyboard is concerned, being first was the whole ball game. It was the work of inventor C. L. Sholes, who put together the prototypes of the first commercial typewriter in a Milwaukee machine shop back in the 1860's. For years, many typists have accused Sholes of deliberately arranging his keyboard to slow down fast typists who would otherwise jam up his sluggish machine. In fact, his motives were just the opposite.

When Sholes built his first model in 1868, the keys were arranged alphabetically in two rows. The crude machine shops in Milwaukee could hardly produce a finely-honed instrument that worked with precision. Yes, the first typewriter was sluggish. Yes, it did clash and jam when someone tried to type with it. But Sholes was able to figure out a way around the problem simply by rearranging the letters.

The first typewriter had its letters on the end of rods called "typebars." The typebars hung in a circle. The roller which held the paper sat over this circle, and when a key was pressed, a typebar would swing up to hit the paper from underneath. If two typebars were near each other in the circle, they would tend to clash into each other when typed in succession. So, Sholes figured he had to take the most common letter pairs such as "TH" and make sure their typebars hung at safe distances

He did this using a study of letter-pair frequency prepared by educator Amos Densmore, brother of James Densmore, who was Sholes' chief financial backer. The QWERTY keyboard itself was determined by the existing mechanical linkages of the typebars inside the machine to the keys on the outside. Sholes' solution did not eliminate the problem completely, but it was greatly reduced. Note that all these modifications were made for 1800s ENGLISH. The keyboard arrangement was considered important enough to be included on Sholes' patent granted in 1878.

Thus we have the wonderful QWERTY keyboard used on every personal computer due to mechanical interference. The irony isn’t lost on me…