Nanny Cams

That cute Teddy Bear sitting on the shelf in your child’s room may be watching you--if it’s a “Nanny Cam.” These cameras are a type of video surveillance camera designed to watch children or elderly adults to ensure their safety.

The simplest Nanny Cam is a video camera set to view the intended scene and wired directly to a remote monitor, such as a camera in the baby’s room and the monitor in the kitchen. But new technology lets you do much more . . . 

Now there are wireless cameras that access your home network to display the live camera view on compatible devices such as a computer, iPad, smart phone, or TV. If your home network can access the Internet (most do), you can get the live view anywhere you can connect to the Internet: the office, golf course, store and such. Other features include motion detection, auto recording, and auto notification. So the camera can be set to automatically start recording video whenever it detects motion in its field of view, and at the same time send an email or text message to a your phone.

You can use all this amazing stuff  for much more than “nanny” duty. Now you can have cameras placed to watch over swimming pools, garages, driveways and just about any place. Cameras can be obvious ( fake cameras sold for this purpose) or masquerade as a book, clock, plant, smoke detector, wall outlets and more. And some cameras have an infrared mode so you can see in the dark. Some cameras feature remote pan, tilt and zoom controls. 

The legal stuff:
There are privacy/legal issues in using surveillance video cameras. Federal law prohibits secretly recording oral communication, so most nanny cams sold can’t record audio. States laws vary though, some allow audio recording after consent of individuals being recorded, others have no special laws regarding the audio.

It’s currently legal in every state to make a video-only recording of anything in your home, at any time, without informing anyone. The fact that the camera is hidden has no effect on this concept; however, privacy issues do come into play, and it’s best not to include in the field of view scenes outside your home boundaries, such as the street or the neighbor’s back yard. We advise using common sense, but you already do that, right?

So - for as little as $69.95, you can use video cameras to address many issues of security and safety (even keeping track of your pet).

2013 International CES

We’re just back from the 2013 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Here’s what caught our eyes and ears as we roamed the conference halls and sat in at the press conferences:

NEW New:
    Small, truly portable power supplies that use fuel cell technology to recharge or power small mobile devices such as smart phones, iPads, iPods (but not yet laptops). These fuel cells provide 6-15 recharges before you need to replace the fuel capsule.
    A window cleaning robot. This little device crawls around your window on tiny suction cups built into tractor treads. It really does do windows.
    Earphones that use bone conduction to hear music or cell phone, leaving the ear canals unobstructed for hearing ambient sound, conversations, traffic noises.

 
TV: The new crop of TVs are bigger, brighter and, oh my, is the display sharper than we’ve ever seen. Large 55" versions of the long-anticipated  OLED (organic light emitting diodes) displays were especially notable. Want big? How about 80" and 90" displays (with price tags to match). A few “ultra HD” 4K and 8K sets were also on display. Look for improved sound quality from the TV’s built-in speakers. And most TVs are “smart,” connecting to the Internet with a built-in browser or included apps from TV and music providers such as Netflix or Pandora.

 Bling: One exhibitor proudly proclaimed “Bling My Thing!” Not what you think, but referring to a way to decorate your mobile devices as a fashion statement. Colorful crystal-encrusted covers for your smartphones, iPads and even earphones were everywhere. Likewise, wild and crazy colorfully designed covers for a variety of devices. Want a pink or purple wireless pedometer? We saw them--and lots more.

 
Home Networks: Products from Netgear expand the reach of your home wireless network to eliminate those annoying dead zones. Simple, plug-in and self installing.

Home Automation: Central control and monitoring, local or remote, for entertainment, heating and A/C, lighting, security and more in your home are available from several vendors, but prices are still high for the better quality systems and most need professional installation.

More details coming. Stay tuned.

Tips and Tricks for Internet Searching

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.

Apple iPad

The newest iPad (www.apple.com) is named simply iPad , but behind that simple name lies an amazing array of new features--so of course we had to buy one . . .

 Here’s some of what we like: The iPad physically looks almost identical to the iPad 2, but it’s a shade thicker and a bit heavier. The hallmark feature is the 9.7" Retina display that provides 3.1 million pixels total (1536 X 2048), four times more than the iPad 2 and one million more than HDTV. Couple this with the new quad core processor and a new operating system, you get a sharper, more colorful photo display, smoother video, movie and gaming displays, sharper text and improved Internet browsing.

Also new: a dictation feature that’s active with any app requiring keyboard entry. Just tap the Microphone Icon, speak, and iPad types. Major cool.

The forward-facing camera is also greatly improved. Video is now offered at 1080p HD and is amazing when viewed on the iPad's screen or, using an optional HDMI connector, on your TV screen. And--the iPad still has the features that made iPad 2 so popular: such as a GPS locator, Bluetooth connectivity, motion detector, contacts, calender, multi-touch swipe navigation and the like.

There are two basic configurations for iPad: WiFi only or WiFi + 3G/4G, each with a choice of three memory capacities: 16GB, 32GB or 64GB (Photos, videos, music, movies and apps tend to accumulate so--think carefully about intended usage.) iPad prices range from 16GB WiFi only at $499 to the 64GB WiFi + 3G/4G variety at $829.

We love our iPad for the new display, faster processor, improved camera and new operating system. Check it out!

Untangle the Charger Tangle

We found some terrific solutions to the problem of all the stuff needed to charge our many devices in need of charging.

 

The new Power2U AC/USB Wall Outlet (www.newertech.com, $19.95) is a simple, elegant solution: the A/C adapter goes inside the wall outlet. The device includes two USB charging sockets and two standard AC sockets in a single compact unit that neatly replaces a standard wall-type receptacle. A sliding safety shutter covers and shuts off power to each USB socket when not in use. Special circuitry provides only the amount of charging current required for each connected device.

Power2U AC/USB Wall Outlet is available in four wall plate colors and installs easily. A reminder here: Be sure to turn off power to receptacle you are replacing before installation. Printed directions are included, and a video tutorial is online.

Fueltank (www.callpod.com, $49.95 UNO, $89.95 DUO) is ideal for charging in the field and provides two to eight recharges of your mobile devices before Fueltank itself needs recharging. A handy carrying pouch is included.

The Mohzy loop (www.mohzy.com) is a short, flat charger cable with a standard USB connector on one end and a microUSB connector on the other. The microUSB end will fit many cellphones, mp3 players, GPS, and other devices. An Apple adapter allows use with iPhones and iPods. The standard USB end can connect to any USB port capable of providing charging current, such as an AC wall adapter, computer, car lighter adapter and others.

Mohzy loop has lots of colorful designs available, and magnetic ends serve as clasps for transforming the loop into a bracelet or for looping around purse or briefcase handles. Very easy to bring along anywhere and always be ready for charging.

Check out these charging devices soon. No need to put up with those tangles any more.

Graphics Pen Tablet . . . Great Fun

A graphics pen tablet is a terrific device to use with your computer. This flat pad lets you use a special pen to draw anything you want and then have your drawing displayed on the screen. Graphic tablets usually have drawing tools such as color brush, felt tip marker, chisel point marker, pencil for drawing (and an eraser for mistakes or changes) and much more.

 

We especially liked the intuos 5 touch (www.wacom.com), a professional grade pen tablet that has the common capabilities for graphics pen drawing and lots of other features too, such as:

* 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity for easily drawing a line or stroke of any width or make the line darker or lighter just by pressure on the pen.

* Full touch screen so you can enlarge, pan, rotate, and navigate your artwork using your finger(s).

* Eight ExpressKeys to program commonly-used functions, a touch scroll wheel, and reversible ergonomic design for left- or right-handed use.

 

Bundled with the intuos 5 touch tablet are several programs that allow you to start using the pen tablet right away:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 for PC and Mac, a photo editor.

Nik Color Efex Pro 4 Select Edition, a collection of photographic filters.

Autodesk SketchBook Express, a drawing program. 

Corel Painter™ 12 (free 90-day trial), the world’s leading digital art software.

Anime Studio Debut (Smith Micro), a fun and quick way to create animations.

The intuos 5 touch Pen Tablet comes in three sizes: Small, 6.2 x 3.6 in., $229; Medium 8.8 x 5.5 in., $349; and Large 12.8 x 8.0 in. active screen sizes, $449.

Using the intuos 5 touch Pen Tablet and the included bundled software is great fun for lots of your photographic and artistic computer projects--an experience not to miss.

More info on our web site at: http://www.norma-tony.com

I Didn’t Know You Could Do That With a Word Processor

Word processing isn’t just for writing; there’s LOTS more you can do, such as:

Spell Checking: Set your preferences to check spelling as you go;  save all those embarrassing mistooks!

Tables: Organize info in separate squares (across and down); edit, add shading, colors, headings, sort alphabetically or numerically.

Templates: Pre-formatted documents to use as is or customize with your text and graphics. Make professional looking greeting cards, invoices, brochures, invitations, business cards, certificates, newsletters, calendars and more. Just fill in the blanks!

Columns: Another way to make info easy to see and find; similar to tables but no lines around items.

Tabs: Tabs can be centered, left, right, with dot leaders or line up at decimal point or symbol.

Special Characters/Symbols: Multinational, math, scientific, iconic characters or symbols, accented letters, smiley faces and lots more, just select to insert at cursor.

Page Numbering: Numbered at center, left, right, top, bottom; auto re-numbered after changes. Saves lots of time.

Headers and Footers: Include text, lines, file name, path, time, date, page number on each page; auto reformat after changes.

Bulleted and Numbered Lists: Bullets, numbers, symbols inserted at  start of each line; numbered lines re-number if you add or remove items.

Explore these and other possibilities. Details on everything at:

http://www.norma-tony.com