Life…as it relates to Technology.
Search Engines, Programming and Gadgets.

Here is a very cool looking device called the Sony Mylo. It’s been around for about a year. “Mylo” stands for ‘My Life Online’ which is also the name of a now defunct wireless service provider from the early 2000’s (right around the dotcom implosion).

Anyway, this PSP looking device doesn’t play games. That’s right - no games?

And it looks like a cell phone………………………… but it’s not?

No, Sony created a portable wifi gadget the size of a cell phone so that you can carry something else around in your pocket that can do things your existing cell phone can already do???

I don’t get it. What am I missing?

Well, this is one of those of times that everyone has a little bit of time/space to reflect on their lives, their recent accomplishments, their home price and the upcoming presidential election. Best of all, they can do it while getting loaded and eating turkey - the traditional meal for Thanksgiving - also known as “Turkey Day”.

We get to see USC play Arizona State.

The Cowboys play.

Oh yeah, this blog is about Life as it Relates to Technology. So Here goes:

I am thankful I don’t have to check my email all day. (but I will anyway)

I am thankful I can send my friends text messages wishing them happy Thanksgiving and not actually having to waste time talking to them.

I am thankful I can watch Turkey Day Videos on my computer via YouTube.

I am thankful that Morrisey did such a great job putting together, “Every Day is Like Sunday“. Yes, this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but it is still a great song.

I’d like to give thanks to all the people who read this.

I’m hopefully going to be thankful tomorrow when I buy an Asus EEE pc when someone drops the price by $100 as a T-Day bonus.

Can You Dig It, Baby?

Today is a good day. I wandered aimlessly into an ACE Hardware store and heard one of my two all time favorite, but unknown songs. I’ve heard this song a handful of times in my life and could never figure out what it was. In fact, I never even really had a clue what the lyrics were……UNTIL NOW!

I thought they were saying, “Everything feels so Real, Can you feel it?” (I don’t hear very well. Just ask my wife.) There is also a really cool part where they repeat a bunch of stuff much faster than I ever could - and I could never decipher what they were saying. It just sounded like, “diggadiggadiggadigga” which is perfectly outta sight groovy by me regardless of what they are actually saying. They are really saying things like, “Can you dig it” and “I can dig it, you can dig it…….” (yeah, lots of “digging it” but it is good).

I’ve been walking around for twenty years singing this song to myself at various times, “diggadiggadiggadigga - can you feel it, baby!” with the wrong lyrics.

The actual lyrics are below. It is one of those “groovy songs” that just makes you feel good.

Now, if I could just find the group/song of the little asian kids singing and dancing against a pure white backdrop - wearing very colorful outfits - from the mid 80’s????

It sure is mellow grazin’ in the grass
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
What a trip just watchin’ as the world goes past
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
There are so many good things to see
While grazin’ in the grass
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
Flowers with colours for takin’
Everything outta sight in the grass
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
The sun beaming down between the leaves
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
And the bir-ir-ir-irds dartin’ in and out of the trees
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)

Everything here is so clear, you can see it
And everything here is so real, you can feel it
And it’s real, so real, so real, so real, so real, so real
Can you dig it
Whooo-oooh

I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it
Can you dig it, baby
I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it
Can you dig it, baby

The sun beaming down between the leaves
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
And the bir-ir-ir-irds dartin’ in and out of the trees
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
Everything here is so clear, you can see it
And everything here is so real, you can feel it
And it’s real, so real, so real, so real, so real, so real
Can you dig it
Whooo-oooh, yeah
I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it
Can you dig it, baby
I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it
Can you dig it, baby

I can dig it, he can dig it
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
Oh, let’s dig it
Can you dig it, baby

I can dig it, he can dig it
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
She can dig it, we can dig it
They can dig it, you can dig it
(Grazin’ in the grass is a gas, baby, can you dig it)
Oh, let’s dig it….

Podcasting with the Olympus WS 300M

I’ve started producing some podcasts for various sites. After experimenting with a bunch of different setups, I think I’ve come up with a winner. I use the Olympus WS 300M along with the Logitech Premium Headset. Here are some initial observations:

• You NEED an external microphone if you’re serious about sound quality. The internal Microphone just won’t do it for you. If you don’t have an external microphone, set the unit about 2 feet from your mouth on a towel (sound absorbing) and don’t move it through your recording.
• DO NOT RECORD in stereo mode unless you have their ME-51S Stereo Microphone. The Stereo Recording feature of this unit is great, but you’ll burn needless space if you’re using a mono microphone and recording in stereo (2x). Basically, if your mono microphone has 1 ring (true mono) you’ll be recording on the left channel only. If you have a hybrid mono microphone with 2 rings, you’ll be recording the exact same sounds across two tracks of audio.
• Stereo recording doesn’t produce a better podcast. Unfortunately, I found this out AFTER spending another $50 on the Microphone.
• This is primarily a Windows unit as it records directly to WMA. Of course, with a little creativity you can use it on a Mac, but this aspect peppers the Amazon reviews with negativity.
• Use the highest quality non stereo setting. You can experiment with the lower settings, but they are generally useless. These would probably work fine for classroom recordings and such, but don’t use them for something you plan on disseminating on the web.

As for the unit itself, Will store up to 17.5 hours in HQ mode using the 256MB of internal flash memory. Unfortunately, you cannot add additional memory.

One of the coolest things about this unit is the ability to plug it directly into a USB port on your computer (it is USB 2.0). The Olympus WS 300M can record your podcasts in up to 5 pre-named folders with 199 files per folder maximum.

Battery life isn’t great, but it runs on a single AAA battery. It feels cheap as it is so light and made of flimsy plastic (1.9 ounces). This will undoubtedly be an issue for me as I am quite hard on electronic devices.

First off, I confess to not being an Oregon fan (see voidgame.com), but the sportsman in me hates to see any athlete suffer and injury - much less an injury that will in all likelihood knock him out of contention for the biggest trophy in College Football!!!!

Dixon’s left knee buckled under him when he planted it to turn upfield on an option play with 5 minutes in the quarter. He was wearing a brace on the knee when the game started. Until now, Dixon has been this year’s leading Heisman candidate. He sprained the same knee when playing Arizona State on Nov. 3. Dixon scored a touchdown on a 39-yard run on the Ducks’ first possession. His stats were 5-of-8 for 62 yards with an interception in the end zone before leaving the game.

Dennis Dixon has been having a great year and has proven to be quite a playmaker. Unfortunately, this happens all the time in College Football. In fact, it happened just last year to this year’s NFL Super Star, Adrian Peterson, at the University of Oklahoma. Peterson was on track to win last year’s Heisman when he broke his collarbone and sat out the majority of the season.

With Dixon out, the race is wide open with Tim Tebow as the accepted leader. Missouri’s Chase Daniel is the main challenger. But, this year is now a heisman disaster. There is no standout player and no one has the name recognition that is so crucial in the late season voting.

I’m always surfing for more domains. I wanted to grab something “unique” so I check the 1and1 dropdown and saw the “ws” TLD. I had seen it before and always assumed it meant “web service” - duh! The .ws domain represents the country of Samoa, which was formerly referred to as Western Samoa. The .ws TLD is similar to other country TLD’s in that it is intended for use by the general public, companies, or other organizations. In short, you can use it the same way a .com can be used. “.ws” is an officially recognized top level domain accessible by every country in the world.

hmmm

I think I need one.

Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services developed an extensive Word template repository programmed in VBA. The repository consisted of a single network folder that housed over one hundred stand-alone Word templates. Each template launched a userform when invoked that prompted the user for basic information. This information was then used to populate certain areas of the document and make decisions about which clauses to create.

At the outset, the templates were created by an advanced business user. The templates were originally created merely as shortcuts to create business documentation. However, they incidentally gathered a great deal of foundational business data, such as customer information and transaction terms.
Users quickly became frustrated by having to enter data into two systems: (1) the Word templates, and (2) the central database application.

The IT department was faced with a dilemma; they needed to begin maintaining the templates and enhance their functionality to either pull information from the database, or feed the database directly from the VBA templates. A quick review of the templates found that they didn’t meet any of the internal application guidelines. They weren’t even signed and required users to have their security set to “low” in order to run.
This was clearly an example where a professional development environment (and some forethought) could have prevented a costly project.

Sidenote:
With the development of information technology, most of the people started using computers and software for managing their data. Different software tools are available in market to perform specific tasks, like if you are a tax consultant then defiantly you should have tax software.

Wal Mart has created a not-so-secret “Secret Site” for the Holiday Shopping Season. I came across a pretty cool Acer laptop with 1GB of ram for $348 (GET OUTTA HERE!).

The website offers a glimpse at some “Early Black Friday” specials that will start the morning of November 2. The regular website for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is operating as it normally does, but it doesn’t have any link to the new special section. Apparently, the only way to get to the site is if you know the web link to get there. (Very secret, huh?)

Everybody loves to have a nicely decorated home. People like roof design of their choice in their home. While driveway gates are the first impression of your home. Most of the people love to have concrete driveway of their homes

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com

The other deal worth mentioning: HD DVD movies for under $15.

Wise Man Say, “Secret Site Not So Secret, but Good Marketing.”

I finally got Linux installed on the laptop (Debian 4.0 - review coming soon). I’ve also been checking Probstisms frequently for an update on “Leopard” but he hasn’t posted a thing???

I surfed the web briefly and came up with nothing but negative comments. Looks like those cool looking paperweights also have security issues: check out More Holes than Spots at Eweek.