My Tech Talk

Read Michael Horowitz’s article, originally posted on CNET News, for some good common sense practices to help secure your web mail account on Yahoo, GMAIL, Hotmail and others.

Being Smart About Web Mail

Tags: Email, Yahoo, Gmail, security, Internet

Read this article from Internetnews.com to get detailed information on how the Blackberry touch screen will differ from the Apple iPhone’s:

Smartphone Success May be in the Touch

Tags: Blackberry, Smartphone, iPhone, Touch screen, Email, News Article

View Original Article

Tags: Blackberry, mobile device, touch screen

Mobile phones are more indispensable than ever. And, more expensive than ever if you’ve got a smart one that can do everything but cook dinner for you.

At any rate, the folks at CPR in San Jose, CA can help you fix that phone when you drop it or damage it. If you don’t live in the San Francisco Bay Area, then you’re still able to get a phone repaired by shipping them the damaged phone.

One of my colleagues took a few phones there and said the prices are reasonable and the service is good. Cell Phone Repair will also provide you with free estimates so that you’ll know how much money it will cost before deciding to fix it.

One of the postcards I’ve received from them states the following:

1. Authorized repair center for Motorola, Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Sanyo.
2. Most repairs done on the spot.
3. Repairs include: Liquid damage, cracked LCD, dropped phone, shattered, no sound.
4. iPod repair also available.

Keep this option in mind if you’d rather pay a little to get a phone fixed instead of paying a lot to get it replaced.

Technorati : San Francisco Bay Area, mobile phone, repair
Del.icio.us : San Francisco Bay Area, mobile phone, repair

Voters in the 2008 Presidential elections deserve to know the facts. Candidates can get carried away with rhetoric at the expense of the facts. FactCheck.org is an unbiased web site dedicated to confirming, clarifying or denying the facts referenced in statements made by Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

As they said on the classic TV show Dragnet, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

Well, that’s all FactCheck.org cares about. They want to help voters understand the facts so that Americans are choosing a President based on substance and not style.

Another web site to visit is PolitiFact.org, which is a service of the St. Petersburg Times/CQ.

Get the facts and make an informed decision this November. Vote for the candidate that you think will help you the most, but please base your vote on substance and not style. America’s future depends on it.

The NFL Football season begins tomorrow. Millions of men and women will devote hours of time each week playing fantasy football at the expense of family time.

Well, why not include them in the fun?

Fantasy football can easily be enjoyed by families, much like board games or card games.

Don’t overlook its educational possibilities either. Math skills are key to keeping score, so young children can play with an adult and practice their addition, subtraction and multiplication while spending time with Mom and Dad.

Well, now there’s a free fantasy sports site for family fun. Check out http://www.familyfantasysports.com and enjoy the best of both worlds on Sundays this Fall: Family time and football!

Have you ever emptied the Recycle Bin and instantly regretted it? Well, as most techies will tell you, that data can usually be recovered. With Recuva software, that task is easier than ever.

The user-friendly wizard will help guide basic users. With straightforward questions like “What sort of files are you trying to recover?” and “Where were the files?” and a list of logical answers to select, it is clear to me that the developers at Piriform know the formula for software success: Make it useful, make it easy to use and serve it for free.

Free, easy and useful? You betcha.

Once you’ve answered the questions in the wizard, the program will scan the depths of your hard drive for the lost files. Once the scan is complete, it will display the results in a sensible table with columns labeled “Filename, Path, Last Modified, Size, State, Comment.”

The “State” column contains descriptions like “excellent, very poor and unrecoverable”. This should give the user a clear idea about the data’s chances of being recovered.

The “Comment” column contains statements like, “This file has been overwritten” or “no overwritten clusters detected.”

Check out the screen shots on their web site and you’ll get the idea.

The software can also search for deleted files on media cards or in a folder or directory specified by the user.

There is also an “Advanced Mode” button for those who’d like a few additional options at their disposal.

All in all, I’m very impressed with this program. I’ll tip my hat to the folks at Piriform on a job well done. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from the folks who make the wonderful CCleaner program (also free).

Download Recuva here.

Download Ccleaner here.

Technorati : Data Recovery, Free, Recuva, Software
Del.icio.us : Data Recovery, Free, Recuva, Software

The phrase “Automobile University” will be familiar to anyone who’s read a Zig Ziglar book or heard him speak. It essentially refers to the idea that personal productivity and development can be increased by using commute time for self-improvement and learning. Audio books and podcasts are excellent options for individuals looking to improve their productivity during their daily commute.

Of course, buying audio books isn’t cheap (podcasts are though), but you can take advantage of several online rental services. The various rental plans vary by price and many offer rentals without any late fees or due dates or shipping fees.

The web site eHow offers an article about what you need to do to listen to podcasts.

You can find a variety of inexpensive rental plans and prices from the sites listed below. Some even offer an audio download option , if you’d rather play one on an iPod or other handheld device.

Audio book Rental Services:

1. Audible.com (celebrating its 10 year anniversary)
2. SimplyAudiobooks.com offers CD rentals and MP3 downloads.
3. Booksfree.com offers rentals for audiobooks and good, old fashioned paperbacks.
4. Audiotogo.com offers a free trial of their service.

Of course, you can rent a good fiction novel to listen to in the car too. With thousands of choices, you’re bound to find a book to make your commute more educational, or at the very least, more enjoyable.

TIP: For many, money is tight these days. If that’s true for you, you may want to visit your local library to see if they carry any audio books. After all, the LIBRARY IS FREE and their selection may surprise you.

The ultra-cool new web browser, Flock, incorporates a blog editor for speedy posting.  I thought I’d try this out with this post.

Here’s how I used the blog editor in Flock:

1. I surfed the web with Flock for an article to blog about.
2. Once I found one, I went to the VIEW menu, the sidebars sub-menu and then clicked on the “Web Clipboard”.
3. With the web clipboard now a visible column on the left, I dragged/dropped a link and an image onto the sidebar.
4. Next, I went to the TOOLS menu and chose the “Blog Editor” tool and a new window opened.
5. On the blog editor window, I again went to the VIEW menu and chose sidebar and clicked on “web clipboard”.
6. In the blog editor, I see the link and the image that I previously saved to the clipboard in step 3.
7. I drag n’ drop the saved link and image into the body of the blog editor to use in the post.

All in all,  that’s an easy way to post to your blog from your web browser.  The blog editor is fairly basic, not a lot of whistles and bells, but it’ll help you post quickly.  Here are some of the features included in the blog editor:

• Choose Font, Size, Bold/Italic/Underline, color
• Bullets or numbers for creating lists
• Indent buttons
• Button to create link
• Button to insert images (if you haven’t used the web clipboard)

Before Flock can send the post to your blog, you’ll need to configure your blog account into the Flock blog editor. It can be configured for a blog hosted on a free service like Wordpress.com or a self-hosted blog. This is done from the TOOLS menu in the Blog Editor.

When you’re ready to publish your post, you can choose to create the entry as a new post or to replace an existing one.  You can also assign categories.

http://www.engadget.com/ 2008/ 07/ 12/ kodak-intros-the-c913-m1073-is-and-m1063-chea…

SAMPLE IMAGE:

It’s been said that there is no one else in the world just like you. Well, that’s true. However, the same truism doesn’t apply to your name. If you’re like me, then you discovered that your #1 choice for an email name was already taken when you signed up for the ever-popular Yahoo Mail.

Unless you were an early user on Yahoo or you have a unique name like Barack Obama, chances are you settled for a 2nd choice. The John McCain’s of the world settled for adding numbers or a middle initial, which often causes confusion. (My apologies for the appearance of politics in a tech blog, but it is an election year.)

Well, Yahoo is giving you a second chance to get the name you always wanted….sort of.

INTRODUCING……YMAIL!

(They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so Google should be blushing).

You can now get an email address that ends in @ymail.com. If you already have an @yahoo.com address, you’re not guaranteed to get the same email name with the @ymail.com. In other words, all email names are again up for grabs.

The @ymail.com account can serve as your primary Yahoo ID, if you choose. You’d need to login to Yahoo services with the full email address.

What are you waiting for? First come, first serve! Go get that email name of your dreams right now!

In pursuit of a new Blackberry, I visited a local AT&T Wireless store yesterday and discovered several high tech display tables utilizing Microsoft Surface technology! How cool is that?  I know I stayed in the store twice as long just so I could play with it.

By placing one of the display models of the Blackberry onto the tabletop, the table display changed to show me information about the device along with AT&T’s wireless plans. I could also touch the screen and change the table display into a large coverage map of the area, showing me where AT&T wireless service was available in the area.

Microsoft Surface technology is kind of like the touch interface on an Apple iPhone. It responds to your touch but also allows other users to interact with it at the same time.

A quick visit to the Microsoft Surface web site explained that a select few AT&T Wireless stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio, and the San Francisco Bay Area have received these revolutionary display tables.

Look at the FIND IT section of the Microsoft Surface web site to find the addresses of one of these stores near you.

Of course, you may want to wait a few days to visit since the new Apple iPhone is being released at AT&T stores today.

What other technology products out there are designed to help you exercise or enjoy the outdoors?

The excitement surrounding the release of the Nintendo Wii Fit got me thinking about this question.

I spent a little time browsing Amazon.com and came up with a few technology gadgets — with many positive user reviews — that will help you get off your couch and get outside (or at least break a sweat inside):

Wii Fit

Exercise without leaving the comfy confines of your own living room. With Nintendo’s addictively fun Wii game system, this new software package will get you exercising in four key areas: Strength Training, Aerobics, Yoga and Balance Games. The games and activities are designed to appeal to all ages, so Mom and Dad can enjoy it just as much as the kids.

Price: $171 on Amazon.com

Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G

This is actually an add-on package for an iPod Nano. You’ll need to buy the Nano iPod separately.

“Consisting of a wireless sensor and receiver, the Nike + iPod Sport Kit works exclusively with your Nike+ shoes and iPod nano to give you real-time feedback during workouts.” - Amazon product description.

Price: $29.00 on Amazon.com

Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS with High Sensitivity GPS

This one intrigues me. GPS devices like this one have led to an explosion in popularity of a game called geocaching. In a nutshell, geocaching is a game of high tech treasure hunting. Players hide “caches” in various places, like parks or camp sites or even urban locations. The map coordinates of the cache are then posted online and other players can go and search for it using a handheld GPS.

For a full description of geocaching, please visit The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

Geocaching sounds like a great family activity. I fully intend to play when my sons get a little older. When the time comes, I’ll take my friend Chris up on his offer to join him on a treasure hunt one day.

While there are a great many varieties of handheld GPS devices, this one is under $100 and should fit the budget of most families.

Price: $93.16 on Amazon.com

Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer

Amazon Product Description:

“The HJ-112 accurately measures your steps, as well as aerobic steps and minutes. You can also use it to measure calorie consumption during your workout, as well as the distance you’ve traveled.”

Price: $19.82 on Amazon.com

So, now you can have your “tech” and exercise too. I’ll see you outdoors. Don’t worry about that big ball of light in the sky. That’s called the sun. It’s a good thing. Have fun!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Dell will continue to offer customers the option to “downgrade” from Windows Vista to Windows XP when purchasing a PC until 2009.

In some cases, there will be an additional charge to do so, but at least the option exists.

For more details, please read this blog post: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/95202

Electronic Child Guard Child Safety Alarm

How many of you have worried about your child wandering away from you in a store, park or public place? OK, all parents may put their hands down. There’s nothing more heart pounding than losing sight of your son or daughter in a store for a few moments.

How much would you pay for a little peace of mind and your child’s safety? For less than $30, this little device can provide just that.

The “Child Guard” is a wireless transmitter/receiver. The transmitter (looks like a toy) on the child sends signals to the receiver in the parent’s purse or pocket, etc. If the child starts to wander, the receiver starts beeping to alert Mom or Dad.

If you’re traveling, visiting theme parks this summer or just going to the shopping mall across town, the “Child Guard” is an item you can put to good use to help prevent lost children or, heaven forbid, a kidnapping.

The image from Amazon.com shows a pink transmitter, but I’m sure they offer them in different colors to appeal to the boys out there too.

Hello,

How many of you have noticed that misspelled words are becoming more common online in legitimate news articles?  Whether I am browsing CNN.com or ESPN.com or a local newspaper web site like the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com,  I see the same problem.

Misspelled words are an exception rather than the rule in traditional newspapers.

Why are they more abundant in online articles?  After all, word processing programs have a handy little spell checker button to eliminate the problem. (On a side note….does anyone find it humorous that the word “blog” is still identified in many spell checkers — I’m looking at you MS Word 2003— as a misspelled word?)

I have a few ideas as to why spelling errors are tolerated in online news:

1. Need to produce more articles, more quickly
2. Sloppy editing or none at all
3. More “non traditional” journalists writing the news and making mistakes

OR……is it intentional?   I hadn’t considered this option until I googled “increase in spelling errors” and came upon Shaun Low’s blog where he had written this article:

Are Spelling Mistakes Good?

Shaun’s article asks the question from a blogging perspective.  Specifically,  googlers misspell words when they type in a search.  If you include a misspelled word in your blog post, it may increase traffic to your blog.  Of course, in theory the same line of thinking may apply to online new articles.

However, I’m not sure this is the reason for sloppy spelling.

I think it is just carelessness and a change in attitudes among writers and readers.