Tech Window - from Norma & Tony

Tech Glam and Glitz

2012-02-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Who says techie stuff can’t be glam or glitzy – not us.

Take smart phone covers for instance. Snap on a cover to suit your mood or the occasion. Hearts and flowers for Valentine’s Day, snowflakes for winter, abstract art for those wilds moods or sparkling crystal beads for those formal occasions. Or create your own design, including a custom message and a photo of your favorite person, pet, place and such. Ditto for your iPad 2 or other tablets. At www.skinit.com or www.mybat.com

Why carry your USB thumbdrive around in your pocket or purse when you can wear it as a heart-shaped pendant, with or without encrusted crystal beads, or on your wrist as a bracelet.

Speakers to use with your computer can have great sound and imaginative looks too. Check out the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks III. Really cool. Same goes for earbuds for your smart phone, iPad or MP3 players; earbuds come in every color and style and, of course, with crystal beads when you want to really stand out. Chicbud.com even has models with retractable cords to reduce the dangle.

Tech savvy does not mean dull and boring.

International CES 2012

2012-01-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

International CES 2012 gave us a lot to look forward to. Of all the WOW products we saw, the larger, brighter and more colorful OLED TV displays from LG and Samsung took top honors. “Smart” Internet-connected TVs link you to everything from movies to photos to YouTube and much more.

“Smart” phones have terrific new features too: Samsung Notes, with a built-in drawing screen lets you write or draw freehand--just use its stylus and go wild. Nokia and others offer much improved 8-megapixel cameras.

Home automation technology is big, and now there are common control formats. Lights, heating/AC, security, entertainment and more are at your command with a tap on your smart phone or iPad screen; do it all from home, across town or anywhere in the world.

Home wireless networks are better than ever. NetGear introduced dual-band wireless routers, range extenders and a media server that can simultaneously play video, show pictures and backup your systems. NetGear’s Genie software helps make sense of your whole setup.

Fun and useful gadgets were everywhere: surveillance remote control helicopters and cars, glitzy cases, a cool charging device on a small loop doubling as a stylish bracelet. Some here, some coming soon, but you’ll love ‘em all.

Future technology was there too, with eye-tracking and hand or body motion control for your computer or TV set, with all kinds of possibilities for gamers, disabled and many others.

Lots more to come--here and on our Web site http://www.norma-tony.com

Tech Gift Ideas for the Holidays

2011-12-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

Apple iPad 2 ($499, WiFi) is our top choice. It’s a tablet computer that lets you surf the Internet, send and receive email, double as an eReader, take photos and HD video, display your location, keep your calendar, play games and hundred of thousands of other things using apps available from the App Store free or to buy.

Another good choice: eReaders. Amazon’s Kindle ($79+) and Barnes and Noble’s Nook ($99+) are the most popular. Both offer access to a huge selection of books, magazines and the like. Some versions include Internet browsing capability, photo slide shows and more.

Tablet computers or cell phones users will like the Breffo Spiderpodium ($16+). Eight bendable legs to configure as a stand or wrapped around poles will hold a device in the position needed.

Looking to spend less? Check out USB thumb drives (2GB to 124GB, $10+). They come as a Swarovski crystal pendant, hidden in a Swiss Army Knife, in mini animal or character statuettes, a pen, shaped as surf boards and lots of other shapes.

How about Just Dance 2 or 3 ($40) for the Wii gaming console? Great for fun exercise or just dancing.

Digital Photo Picture Frames ($59+): Just add photos for a personal gift they’ll love.

It’s OK to give a useful gift too: Rebit ($179, 2TB), a backup system to safeguard all computer files; details in previous posting below.

More on each of these on our web site at www.norma-tony.com.

Easy Backup and Recovery

2011-10-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

We’ve been doing manual backups of everything on our computers forever. The process takes a lot of time, but we don’t want to deal with what can happen when you have no backups . .

We wanted a simpler way to secure our computer info and aren’t comfortable just yet with “Cloud” backup, so when Norma switched to the Mac world, there it was: the Time Machine: continuous backup to an external hard drive. No muss, fuss or bother--but a huge timesaver when the dreaded hard drive failure happened.

After that, we searched for a similar way to secure Tony’s PC. We found Rebit (Rebit, Inc., 2TB $180, www.rebit.com) backup hard drive and recovery software, which backs up everything on your PC-—and keeps on doing it with every file you create or change. Ditto system files and the like.

Disaster recovery is easy. If your PC suffers a hard drive crash, just install a new hard drive and boot the computer with the included Rebit Recovery CD. You can select the point in time you want to restore from (usually the most recent), and your hard drive is restored exactly as it was at that time.

Rebit is a must have for easy, ease-of-mind backup and recovery. We did notice a modest slowdown in performance in Tony’s PC, but we think it’s a small price to pay for knowing we can recover what we need if we have a computer problem (again). There’s more info at: http://www.norma-tony.com/093011.htm

Google Calendar - Free and Easy

2011-09-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

“Free” and “Easy” are part of what makes Google Calender (www.google.com/calendar) a terrific help in keeping you organized. Use it to add single events (Little League game, doctor appointment), recurring events (birthdays, anniversaries, other yearly events), or monthly or weekly activities. Make it fun, decorate with a birthday cake, soccer ball . . . you get the idea.

Display business, personal, organization calendars and the like by different colors, separately or with all calendars together, by day, week or month. Google saves your calendar on its cloud servers, ready to use any time, from anywhere.

Share your calendar with family, friends, business associates or organization members, sync with your desktop calendar, access it on the go or print a hard copy. It’s available in 40 languages and tracks appointments across time zones.

Need to set up meetings between members of your organization? Just pick a date and time, and Google Calendar checks each member’s calendars; if that time and date is clear, it adds the event to each person’s calendar. If not, it suggests alternate “clear” times for everyone. Saves all those phone calls or emails.

Ditto for a family or school reunions and the like. Or use the calendar to send invitations and track replies.

Google Calender can send you reminders of events via email, text message or a popup window and lets you add a mini-version to your Internet browser’s home page so it is always there.

No excuse not to get organized now. Free and easy works! More info in our column at www.norma-tony.com

Searching The Internet: Tips And Tricks

2011-09-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

You know the information is on the Internet somewhere, but with BILLIONS of Web pages and sites, how do you find what you want?

Use search engines -- those specialized Web sites such as Google.com, Yahoo.com, Bing.com or ask.com. Enter words or phrases related to info you want, and the search engine displays a list of Web sites that include your search words or phrases.

Each search engine has its own set of rules so may not display the same results. Try more than one site or use meta search engines, such as Metacrawler.com or DogPile.com, which simultaneously search several search engines.

Or, narrow your search by using:

* phrases in quotes that search for a whole phrase rather than individual words.

* the + or - signs to include or exclude specific words.

* advanced search to specify languages, file formats or other parameters.

* a wild card symbol * when not sure of word ending.

* natural language, such as “My computer locks up when I try to save a Word document to a thumb drive.”

* a comprehensive list of search engines www.search-engine-index.co.uk.

* parental controls for safe searching; also www.askkids.com.

* help menu from each site.

Be patient and persistent to get results.

Explore (surf) the Internet with www.awwwards.com for sites that have won awards for good design and useful content, or try www.stumbleupon.com. But be sure your anti-virus and anti-malware is installed and up to date.

Fun, Creative Story Writing Using Technology

2011-08-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

We’ve discovered some terrific programs that can spark the creative spirit in children and give parents and grandparents hours of fun watching what happens:

StoryBird book cover

Storybird (www.storybird.com) encourages building a story from a set of images you drag and drop onto the page and then add text to develop the story. The images are wonderful, drawn by professional artists and are mostly “open ended,” suggesting multiple interpretations. Create as many pages as you want, rearrange or edit and save.

An added value is in getting two or more children to toss ideas back and forth and collaborate on a project. They’ll have a ball doing it. Publish the story free on the Storybird website to share and have others comment on, or pay a fee and have it printed as a keepsake.

Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu) lets you create interactive stories, games, fun animation and more, all while learning some principles of logic programming by snapping together color coded blocks that represent various commands.

Commands control the actions of on-screen figures, sound, music and narration, take input from the keyboard or mouse and more. Children soon get beyond the nuts-and-bolts of programming commands to the fun of interactive story creation.

Zooburst (www.zooburst.com) lets you write stories and illustrate them with provided images, which can be assembled into a 3-D pop-up page viewed on screen. For even more fun, add pop-up text balloons or record your voice, speaking as a character when clicked or, using a webcam, include yourself surrounded by the 3-D story characters.

These are fun ways for youngsters–or adults--to create stories.

Free Music From the Internet

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

A great choice of free music is available to stream from music services such as Pandora, or Spotify, allowing you to listen to a vast selection without having to rip CDs or copy files.

Spotify (www.spotify.com) is new in this country and offers streaming music from a choice of more than 15 million songs.

Spotify offers several choices: What’s New details newly-released albums, including album art and track listing. Top Lists show the hottest tracks or albums chosen by other users. Feed connects to other users to share new finds or playlists and the latest news from Spotify.

We used the provided free software to build playlists by dragging and dropping tracks. Play for enjoyment, share with friends using Facebook, or sync the playlists with your iPod, iPhone, Android or (soon) iPad.

Spotify’s free version includes ads and a time limit. Premium version ($9.99/month) has no ads, unlimited access, enhanced sound quality and allows streaming to mobile devices.

Pandora (www.pandora.com) takes a different approach. Custom “radio stations” are created after you enter an artist, song or genre that’s used to match more than 100 characteristics to produce a playlist for you.

Refine the selections by indicating those you like or don’t. You won’t see the playlist, and selections are randomized, but when we used Pandora, we were usually happy with their selections.

The free version lets you set up radio stations and stream music, has a time limit, and includes ads. Pandora One ($36/yr) offers unlimited time, no ads and improved quality sound. Mobile versions are available for iPhone, iPad and iPod.

More Life With An iPad

2011-07-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

We keep finding fun and effective ways to use our iPad, but we’re also hearing from readers who found it helpful in other ways. A reader who has a medical condition that made it impossible to hold books for reading or sit without pain when using a computer found the inherent mobility and flexibility of the iPad helped with both problems. The reader said “the iPad gave me back my books, my computer games and Internet!”

The included Internet browser, based on Apple’s Safari, allows searching, surfing and more. Internet uses open a world of opportunities. We can go to our favorite sites from our iPad with touch ease and enjoy all the Internet has to offer--all with us wherever we are. Also bundled with the iPad is Apple’s Mail program, which can support several email accounts, so we each can check our email and reply, print or delete messages. Internet and email do require being logged on at a WiFi hotspot (including your home wireless network) or having the 3G/4G version of the iPad, and printing requires a network connected printer.

We’ve barely scratched the surface of all we can do, and we’re still learning. Stay tuned.

More Life With An iPad

2011-06-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a great time discovering some of the fun apps that come with our iPad 2, but we also enjoy the ways we can use it to have information at our fingertips, anywhere, any time.

For example, we’ve set up our family calendar and contact list on our iPad. It was a snap to use iTunes to sync our current Mac calendar and contact list into the iPad, so we can see appointments, recurring events, holidays, contact information and more while on the go. Any changes we make on the iPad can be synced to the Mac and vice versa,

Another app we like that comes with the iPad is Maps, which uses the GPS in the iPad to pinpoint our location and provide text and map directions to desired destinations. The GPS also displays a tracking ball that shows your route as you move along. Cool.

Although many smart phones can perform these calendar and map functions, the large, bright screen makes everything easier to see, and the touch screen makes interaction easier.

Now to move on to those nearly 500,000 more apps to explore.

Life With An iPad - photos

2011-06-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of having an iPad is that you can show off photos on the large (9.75"), bright display by just sliding your finger across the screen to scroll from one photo to another. The iPad changes automatically from horizontal to vertical view, has easy touch zoom in and out, and shows photos in brilliant color. Oh, did we mention that it does videos too?

So how do we get photos into the iPad? Just use the iPad’s built-in camera (two actually) , take the photo you’d like and it’s ready to display. Another way is to e-mail photo(s) as attachments and pick them up on your e-mail on the iPad.

Apple also sells a camera connection kit that will connect the iPad directly to your camera or, using the included SD card reader, to the camera’s SD card. Thumbnails are shown for the entire contents, and you can select which you want fully downloaded and ready to view.

But the best way to get photos into the iPad is to install Apple’s iTunes program on your PC or MAC, load the photos directly from the camera or its memory card into iTunes, sort them into albums if you want, edit if needed and “Sync” them into the iPad.

It’s that easy to wow everyone with photos of friends and family, share trips and special events, and much more.

Life With An Apple iPad 2

2011-06-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

We finally did it – we got an Apple iPad. Our excuse was a mutual gift for each other for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Wedding Anniversary. Mostly we really wanted one.

We looked at the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy and others but none of them had as many features or apps, and they couldn’t match the smooth touch screen scrolling. We settled on the iPad 2 (the WiFi 64GB version), trotted down to the Apple Store-- only to find they were out. And, with the huge demand, they didn’t know from day to day when they’d be re-supplied. So we took their suggestion and ordered online. Three weeks later, after eagerly tracking its shipment from China, our iPad 2 arrived. It was all we expected and more.

On our first power up, the iPad found our secure home wireless network and asked for our password and other information it used in registering itself with Apple. We were delighted with its silk smooth finger scrolling and its “just right” touch screen.

Now the fun part – what to do first? Load some photos to show off to friends and family; ditto music; watch our favorite You Tube video or movie; read a book; fill in a calendar; check email while lounging on the patio; browse the Web; or . . . and much more. Check in again in a day or two and we’ll fill you in on some details of life with an iPad.

Stay Fit: - Use Technology To Help

2011-05-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Technology-related programs can make exercising fun and even help monitor your fitness level. We’re using Wii Fit (www.nintendo.com/wiifit), a program that runs on the Nintendo Wii video game platform--a fun fitness romp incorporating elements of balance, strength training, aerobics and Yoga.

Use Wii Fit structured (requiring discipline on your part), or random, picking the elements you want (we like random).
To start, you’ll need to enter some one-time info: your age and height and then weigh in on the included Balance Board. The program calculates a BMI (body mass index) score, and uses the board for balance tests, and assigns a “Wii Fit Age” for you. Now you’re ready to get moving.

There are balance games, such as the Tilt Table, where you tilt an on-screen table by shifting your weight on the Balance Board, and Ski Jump, where you hold your balance as your on-screen avatar whizzes down the jump. Or choose aerobics, such as Hula Hoop, where you spin a virtual hula hoop by rotating your hips.

More serious categories include yoga and strength training. For either one, you match the moves of an on-screen instructor.

Time spent is tracked so you can earn Fit Points to move on to new activities or increasing levels of difficulty. Graphs chart your progress.

Wii Fit is an easy and fun way to exercise and get you moving, all without leaving your home. We’re definitely hooked.

Making Digital Photography Easier and More Fun

2011-05-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Digital photography makes it so easy to take and share photos that we lose sight of ways to make it even easier, exciting and more fun - by using photo editing software to:

Organize Photos: Retrieval later is easier if you place photos in folders or albums sorted by category (Christmas 2008, California trip) and tag each photo as to image (Sis, trolley car).

Remove Red Eye: Some programs remove it one-click easy; others require manual intervention.

Crop Photos: Zero in on important parts (child’s face, a couple) or crop out unwanted backgrounds. Some programs even allow a circular or oval crop.

Change Brightness or Contrast: Changing brightness and/or contrast of a picture can make a dull or dark scene “pop,” brighten dark faces and more. Do it automatically or manually in photo editors and preview to see the changes before accepting them.

Improve Sharpness and Color Balance: Sharpen fuzzy pictures; change color balance, to “warm” or “cool” the overall look; increase or decrease color intensity.

Easier viewing for emailed photos: Optimize size and resolution manually or automatically so photos upload and download faster and are easier to view in emails.

These are a few of the many features you’ll find in photo editing programs such as Kodak EasyShare v8.2 (www.kodak.com, free), Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 (www.adobe.com, $80), or Serif PhotoPlus X4 (www.serif.com, $90). The latter two provide more precise control but require more practice, patience and time on your part. But they all can help improve photos.

Wireless WiFi Repeater

2011-05-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

We’re using our home wireless network to connect to more and more devices, but we found a weak signal in some areas and even “dead zones” around our home.

We found a solution by using a wireless repeater (also called a range extender), which you place somewhere between your current wireless modem/router and the poor signal areas. The repeater retransmits our home WiFi signal to cover the weak signal areas. The re-transmitted signal quality is commonly slower, but quite usable for most needs.

We’re using the High Power Wireless - 150N Smart Repeater from amped|wireless (www.ampedwireless.com). We needed to “teach” it about our home network (configuration, passwords and the like), but a setup wizard stepped us through the rather tedious process of scanning, entering info and such. The repeater sets up as a separate WiFi hotspot that must be logged in to so, as we move around between coverage areas, we need to keep switching between our regular network and the repeater network.

The High Power Wireless - 150N Smart Repeater comes with the option to customize security features such as limiting signal strength, protected setup, and passwords. Included also are five wired ethernet ports that can be used for connecting PCs, Internet TVs and other A/V devices. We think it’s a great addition to our home wireless network.

Pico Cricket Fun

2011-05-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

The PicoCricket Kit (www.picocricket.com, $299), gives children (and adults too) a way to express artistic creativeness, learn simple computer programing and have a barrel of fun doing it. The kit looks like an arts and crafts set, but electric wires and gizmos give a clue that it’s different.

A colorful assortment of fuzzy balls, felt pieces, bells, glittery pipe cleaners and more are just waiting to be glued, twisted and strung together along with an assortment of Lego blocks, wheels and pulleys--all used with those electronic parts for interactive creative playthings.

The emphasis is play, but you also use the included computer, the PicoCricket, for a fun way to learn programming (really!).

Use Pico Blocks (a graphical representation of programing) on a PC screen and fit them together to form a program stack. The blocks show program flow and allow changes by dragging the blocks around. Voila! You’ve created a computer program to run your creation: turn on lights to a hand-clap, blow out a candle (LED light), make a cake sing Happy Birthday and much more.

The tiny Pico computer has four ports for sensor inputs and action outputs, all directed by your programing. The input sensors are for light, sound, touch and resistance. The output devices include multi-colored lights, a sound box, numeric display and a Lego motor.

PicoCricket Kit is based on years of research at the MIT Media Lab and their Lifelong Kindergarten Lab. We found the Kit sparking lots of trial-and-error learning, a bit of programming and a whole lot of fun.

GPS (Global Positioning System) Navigation

2011-04-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

“I wouldn’t go anywhere without my GPS” said a friend of ours. GPS (Global Positioning System) units are popular devices that accurately display your location on a map and also provide precise directions to other locations. GPS devices are loaded with road maps and are invaluable tools for travelers, commercial and military purposes and even gaming fun.

Car navigation is the most common use, but GPS capabilities are found in hand-held units for hiking and biking, and in newer smart phones and in some digital cameras for geo-tagging the location of a photo (although this feature can be disabled if security is a concern).

GPS units commonly provide voice prompts and a map to track your position as you travel. Additional functions on some units are a display of locations of nearby hospitals, police stations and gas stations, updates on area weather, traffic reports, entertainment news, restaurant, shopping and hotel information. Some units will play MP3 music through the GPS speakers or your car radio/audio system, provide Bluetooth hands-free cell phone calling or password anti-theft protection.

Choosing the GPS that’s right for you can be bewildering, so we recommend looking at one of the Internet product comparison sites, such as www.buzillions.com, to see what users like or dislike about any specific unit. Once you find a GPS that suits your needs, you’ll likely become a believer and not leave home without one.

Video Editing

2011-04-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Those video clips you have can make a terrific movie that includes music, narrations, titles, special effects and more. The process can be easy if you use a video editor (such as VideoStudio Pro X4, Corel, www.corel.com, $99.99), which will create a complete movie for you or lets you fully control how your movie looks, also supports HD.

First you need to capture your video clips into your computer (the program helps with this). To have the program guide you in creating your movie, use the three-step Movie Wizard: select your desired clips, choose a design template, and create your movie.

For more editing options and control, use the VideoStudio Editor. Trim individual clips for time or content, select transitions, add sound (including narration), choose from a wealth of special effects, and add a title and end credits (a Timeline lets you trim audio to match scene length and adjust music and narration volume separately). That’s it!

Either way, you’re then ready to burn your project as a DVD movie complete with menus, chapters and such, or upload to Facebook, YouTube and other online sharing sites or transfer to your iPod, smart phone or other video devices.

Tool tips and online tutorials are there to help. Spend time learning the features, and you’ll have some great movies.

Fun and Easy Music for Slide Shows or Videos

2011-03-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

We think making videos or slide shows is a great idea, and we’ve found a fun and easy way to add music: Sonicfire Pro 5 (www.Smartsound.com), an amazing music editor.

The program includes a sample of original musical pieces, created as music blocks that you can arrange to make the music you want. It’s called SmartSound, and you can have the program add the music automatically or have the entire selection or any block stretched or squeezed time-wise to fit your video or slide show. You can also watch the video as you match the music to the action.

And–-it’s quick and easy to find and preview optional additional SmartSound music by genre, mood, tempo, intensity and more.

Add narration or add music from your own audio CD, and the program fades the music volume up or down to fit. Save your completed soundtrack with the video, or export the music soundtrack separately.

We used Sonicfire Pro 5 to build a soundtrack for a youngster’s “How to Make a Muffin,” video, and it was a charge. We customized the music for the on-screen action and had fun doing it. Loved the results.

SmartSound’s Web site has detailed online tutorials if you need help, so no reason not to enjoy this program.

New Webcam

2011-03-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t used a webcam, now is the time to do it--so you can enjoy the fun of seeing and talking to family, friends or business associates over the Internet (think video conference). You’ll need a webcam, software such as Skype (www.skype.com free), a computer with Internet connection, and someone at the other end who has similar stuff.

We’ve just tried the new award-winning Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 (www.logitech.com $80). Easy to install, includes built-in stereo microphones, and lets you zoom, tilt and pan the auto-focus webcam using on-screen controls while talking. Works in any place you can bring your computer, webcam and have Internet access.

Two of the cool features we used during our “Skype” sessions and with still photos were terrific: facial recognition to automatically keep your face centered within the frame, and auto-focus Carl Zeiss ultra-wide glass lens for a sharp, clear pictures.

Video for calls is 720p, with 1080p resolution for video recording, and snapshots are at 10 megapixels. And Logitech Webcam Software (included) has fun effects: turn yourself into an on-screen alien, cat or bat, add a crown or arrow-in-head to your image, add distortion, and more.

We use this webcam to talk to people in this country and abroad–-people we couldn’t easily connect to any other way. Try it!

Wireless Music System - Fun & Flexible

2011-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

We love the wireless Sonos S5 Digital Music System (www.sonos.com) that we’ve just installed at home. Now we can play music from our computer, any audio source, Pandora or Internet radio anywhere in our home, wirelessly.

The system has integrated wireless units called S5 Zone Players incorporating amplifiers and speakers, and comes with PC or Mac software, including an on-screen controller. Installation was super easy: install the software, power up the Zone Player and plug in the network cable.

Sonos uses its own wireless network that’s secure, matrixed and able to interact with all Zone Players. The Controller provides flexibility and wireless coverage anywhere in your home. Plug a unit into a wall outlet, push the button, and the ZonePlayer automatically connects to the Network.

Control your music system from your computer, iPhone, Android or iPad, or buy the wireless hand-held Controller. We love the flexibility: Play single songs saved in our computer or play iPod or Sonos playlists. Control zones individually. Play the same selection in a single zone, linked zones or in all zones. Play one selection in one zone(s) and a different selection for another zone(s) or mix and match music from Pandora, Internet radio stations or an auxiliary input.

Independently control volume and equalizations; if you mute a zone, unmuting ramps the volume up rather than suddenly blaring on. One of many nice touches we like. The hand-held Controller(s) and the PC control program display information (including album art) about the selection being played.

We’re enjoying the sound quality, convenience and the compact package that makes up the Sonos S5 Digital Music System.

Easy/Fun Print Projects

2011-02-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

One of the fun, useful and often money-saving ways we’ve used our computer is to create print projects. We make greeting cards, calendars, posters, and much more. Some print projects are part of word processing programs, but we like the creative freedom of PagePlus X5 (www.serif.com), a desktop publishing program that lets us make professional-looking stuff - and it’s easy and quick to do.

PagePlus X5 has nearly 1,000 templates we can customize, but you can also create your own projects from scratch. We make all our greeting cards with the templates. Just substitute our text, color and font–and Voila! A personalized, colorful card in minutes.

There are lots of projects (flyers, invitations, banners and more), and the color schemes option lets you preview projects with different combinations of colors for text, background, graphics and borders.

Those of you who are more creative will also find plenty of features to make projects from scratch. Place text on a curve, use it in any place or shape, add graphics and photos (sized, shaped and/or altered if you want), or put inside one of the many included shapes. Go wild at will.

Tool tips, onscreen help and video tutorials are there to help, or order the 300-page printed User Guide. PagePlus X5 has dozens of simple, easy projects, but the many advanced features (OK, they’ll take some time to learn) will let you creative types shine big time.

Just Dance 2

2011-02-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

Taking advantage of technology makes life easier and more productive, and it can also be a lot of fun too. Case in point:

Just Dance 2 for Nintendo’s Wii combines music, dance and a bit of competition and uses the hand-held remote controllers to track and score your dance moves as you mimic the on-screen dancer’s moves. Music ranges from today’s hits to yesterday’s favorites, with the artist’s original recordings coupled with choreographed fun dance routines and on-screen lyrics if you want to sing along. Choose from Rihanna S.O.S., Vampire Weekend A-Punk, Kesha Tik Tok, our favorites, Cher The Shoop Shoop Song, Ike & Tina Turner Proud Mary or any of the 40+ included songs. Others available to purchase.

Select Just Dance, Dance Battle or Just Sweat, depending on what you’d like to do. We usually Just Dance--great for exercise and lots of fun, especially when shared with up to four “dancers.” We’re definitely hooked.

Wikipedia 101

2011-01-31T13:09:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com) is a free, Internet-based multilingual encyclopedia that has more than 15 million articles and is currently the largest and most popular general reference site on the Internet. The articles are written by registered volunteers around the world and cover an amazing variety of subjects.

The occasional cultural bias, as well as reliability and accuracy, have been criticized, but Wikipedia is supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, and its policies strongly support verifiable information and a neutral point of view.

For Wikipedia on the go, there’s the Wikireader (www.thewikireader.com), a self-contained device that holds more than three million entries from the online site, all quickly and easily searchable. It’s a snap to check out a word or concept by just looking it up on the spot.

Wikireader’s 3.5-inch touch screen has a virtual keyboard and selection and scrolling functions. The text-only LCD screen is easy to read but not back lighted, so you’ll need good ambient lighting to view it. Wikireader is compact, portable, and fun to use. Information has never been easier to find. We like it.

Smart TV

2011-01-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Get ready for the merger of TV and Internet with “Smart TVs.” Smart TVs are television sets that connect to the Internet to access content for entertainment, information and more--without turning on your computer or even having a computer (OK, you do need a wireless or ethernet connection to the Internet via cable or DSL modem, which may need a computer to initially configure). Smart TVs can also stream videos, photos and music from home media servers or a computer.

LG Electronics (LG) (www.lg.com) will soon ship Internet connected Smart TVs. They’ll have a simple on-screen Home Dashboard, controlled in point and click fashion by a Wii-like remote, to select TV programs and access online content from sources such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and many others.

The LG SmartTV includes a web browser (so you don’t even need to turn on your computer to access the Internet), which lets you watch news, reviews and more directly on the television screen.

If you have an older, not-so-smart TV, LG has a SmartTV Upgrader that converts your TV set into a wireless Internet connected SmartTV with all its benefits, including easy access to premium content, a web browser and the ability to stream content from any device connected to your home network. Just connect the small Upgrader to an HDMI input on your TV, and you have a “Smart” TV. Very cool.

2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

2011-01-14T10:56:00.001-08:00

We were two of the 140,000 people at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where more than 2,700 exhibitors showed the present and future in technology. Our impressions:

Cell phones are filled with an ever-growing number of capabilities. Your iPhone using the appropriate app (application program) allows you to check your home security system, control a home-wide music or TV system, turn lights on or off, set your heating or A/C--and much more--from anywhere you can get a cellular and/or a WiFi signal. Android phones promise similar capabilities soon.

The Apple iPad was everywhere, running about anything you can imagine. More than 70 other tablet computers were on display too; some available now in a variety of sizes, more coming soon.

Connected televisions are hot. These TVs “connect” to the Internet via a home wireless network or ethernet cable, showing streaming content from some major providers (i.e. Netflix and Pandora), or from your home media server or PC and can include photos, videos and music.

Excitement over 3D-TV has waned a bit, but we did see some new 3D-TV sets, and at least three companies introduced consumer level 3D HD camcorders. We’re not sure about wearing those 3D glasses; the promised glassless sets may help, but we were not impressed with the one we saw.

Other areas showcased products to monitor health and fitness and those designed for seniors and much more. We’ll cover these and more in future blogs. Check back soon.

HD Radio - What is it?

2011-01-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

HD Radio (hybrid-digital radio) provides clear, near FM quality AM radio reception and also provides FM radio reception that rivals CD audio quality. The cool factor is the FM subchannels (not available in AM HD) for carrying content different than the main signal. That means an HD FM radio station could carry soft rock on its main signal, while one of its subchannels carries live sports events. Very cool.

Listening to HD is free (the cost for needed equipment, upgrades and the like is up to the station). There are more than 2,000 HD radio stations and more than 1,000 subchannels in the US.

You’ll need to buy a HD Radio if you want HD features. We tried a small FM portable HD radio from Insignia (www.insigniaproducts.com, $50), and the local FM HD radio stations did sound clearer than standard FM stations, and we enjoyed having the subchannel content so readily available.

Since almost all HD stations transmit a “hybrid” signal containing both a standard signal and the HD signal, your old radios still works fine, but you won’t have the HD features.

If you want to know more about HD Radio, go to our web site at http://www.norma-tony.com/031010.htm

Cure the Charger Tangle

2010-12-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Living the techno-life surrounds us with a tangle of wires for all our devices that need charging -- individual AC adapters for charging our cell phones, iPods, Bluetooth headsets, MP3 players and other devices. And multiple AC outlets for plugging in those adapters.

We’re using a simple solution: the Chargepod (www.callpod.com, $49.95), a hockey puck-size gadget that’s only 5/8 inches thick and sports six charging ports, all powered by just one AC adapter. Each port can charge any one of more than 3,000 different electronic devices by using a short (three-inch) type-specific adapter cord. The Chargepod came bundled with three adapter cords, one each for the most common electronics, and a certificate for one more free adapter cord of your choice. Additional adapter cords are $9.95.

The Chargepod also comes with a handy nylon zipper storage case, handy for travel and an optional car adapter is available.

Electronic Dictionaries

2010-12-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

Electronic dictionaries are a terrific way to look up words--and much more--when you’re away from your computer/phone/PDA. These digital pocket-size devices also usually have other info, such as a thesaurus, translator, vocabulary list, games, and the like.

We’re using the Franklin Miriam-Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus (www.franklin.com), as a fun and easy reference source while reading by the fire, in the hammock and the like--you know, those analog times that we need regularly. Now when we run across a word we don’t know, we can look it up on the spot, quick and easy--without trying to remember it for checking later.

Sharp also has a similar device, but we like the extra the options in the Franklin model we have. We check the biography and geography entries often and play the games while waiting in line. The five-language translation dictionary is very handy for our needs, but we think a bunch of people would like to have one of the four Spanish-English models available. Prices range from $20 to $80 for Franklin or Sharp devices. Both have many models, each with a variety of options, and are great gifts.

Thumb Drives, aka USB flash drives

2010-12-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Don’t you just love thumb drives? Also called USB flash drives, they’re small, portable, and now hold lots of data. Some of them come in cute cases, such as tiny teddy bears or Star War statues. Great for gifts. Norma has her eye on one adorned with Swarovski crystals (Amazon.com) and loves the ultra small “Tuff ‘n tiny” model from Verbatim; Tony likes the high capacity 256GB one from Kingston.

OK, they’re easy to lose if you’re not careful, but you can make them easy to find or carry along by attaching them to a cord, string or something more creative (think key ring, leather strips, and the like). Some thumb drives can be password protected or even encrypted or have options to password protect individual files to limit access “for your eyes only.” Victorinex and others have ones that use fingerprint protection (why don’t they all make it this easy?).

Those CDs, DVDs and the like take up too much space and too often end up in landfills. Our files are now backed up on thumb drives--and they all fit into a box in our desk or in our media safe. Convenient, save lots of space, AND reusable too.

Digital Photo Frames

2010-12-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog. We write about how technology can make life easier and more fun, and for the last 14 years we’ve shared our views via a column in print and on our web site. We’re both techno people who like learning about technology and trying out new gadgets and devices, so please join us as we share our views with you.

Digital photos frames are one of our favorite devices and a great way to enjoy photos - sort of like seeing a slide show, on your desktop or anywhere we put the frame. We love that the colors are brighter in these photos - much brighter than most prints - and these brilliant colors make them even more fun to watch.

We have two photo frames running all the time: one from ViewSonic, filled with photos from a recent trips; another from eStarling showing recent celebrations with family and friends. Some frames let you add video and audio too, but we like watching just photos and reliving all those happy memories.

And - these frames make great gifts, especially when you load them with photos for the person receiving the gift.

We put our photos on a memory chip to use in our frames, but there are lots of other choices, depending on your frame: internal memory, thumb drives, USB cable, wireless PC connection or wireless Internet connections via Picasa, Kodak Gallery, eStarling, and others (and these Internet ones let you share your photos anywhere in the world).

How are you using technology to bring more fun into your life? We’d love to hear from you.