Technology Blog

As someone who travels frequently for extensive periods, I’ve been interested in owning a spy camera. I’m particularly interested in wireless cams packages that are easy to install and mobile. The closest I got to having a surveillance camera was about 4 years ago when I went to visit my wife in California for 3 months. While I was away, I was able to have my home cam connected to the computer and have a live feed uploaded to the internet. While it was cool (and kinda fun because I could watch what my pets and pet sitter were doing) is wasn’t a complete enough solution. Pakatak seems have many packages available that just might fit the bill in the new house I live in.

Of particular interest to me are wireless camera kits. Night visions cameras like the one I’ve linked here are becoming more popular, providing a broader range of visibility. The best part of this camera: “The software features motion detection and allows remote viewing over the internet. Over 24hrs of full motion video can be recorded onto a standard 20GB hard drive.” Given the amount of hard drive space a lot of us use these days, 20 GB is not a lot to ask for peace of mind when traveling.

A complete list of security and technical products including babe monitors, IP cameras, atennas, and other camera kits can be found here: http://www.pakatak.co.uk. I’m tempted to get a kit before I leave the country again for a 2 month trip.

I thought this was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail.

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but what struck me, quite honestly is that it’s “newsworthy”. But then, I’ve always been a geek. When available, I’ve been bringing laptops on car camping trips for at least 10 years now. And these days, it’s *almost* rare that you can’t find a WIFI connection to connect to the internet even when you’re on vacation.

Nevertheless it is an interesting trend noted in this article. I’m curious to know what “vacation” will look like, say 10 years from now… will we all be so attached to our computers that we won’t know the difference between work and a break on the beach? Thankfully, if I so choose, I can simply work on any beach within a wifi area.

Recently, I had this tech blog approved by PayPerPost. I’ve been working on other blogs for a couple of months and use payperpost to help compensate my time already spent on writing articles. If you have a passion for any topic that comes to mind and want to start earning extra money, it’s possible to do that with PayPerPost without deluting the content of your blog. Now that I’m writing in two main blogs (a third is on the way), I try to keep writing about as many topic specific articles for each blog that I’m working on. Provided you’re writing for a topic that fits under one of several categories on PayPerPost, writing for pay can not only be rewarding but also motivating to keep your blog up to date.

Since joining PayPerPost, I’ve written 15 articles for an average compensation of about $7.50 for 100 words per post (average), for roughly 15-20 minutes of work per article. I love the math with this because this works out to be roughly $30 US per hour. Not bad!

I caution newbie bloggers though to first create a blog that you will be able to keep up to date on a regular basis. PayPerPost works best with bloggers who are dedicated to their blog, and like introducing products and services to their readers. Be creative. Be fun. A lot of advertising posts call for some creativity to articles. Last week I was paid $15.00 to post a 1 minute video on Youtube. Creativity isn’t my strong point, but it was a fun experience, I did something new (video blogging), yet I was able to keep on topic with my diet blog and get paid for it.

You might even make a friend or two as PayPerPost is very dedicating to offering a supportive community environment for fellow bloggers to post about their experiences or discuss support topics related to PPP.

Check them out. Have Fun.

Well no surprise, sooner or later we’d learn about Microsoft finally jumping into the VoIP wars that are going on. Also no surprise, they’ll be integrating these with existing office software platforms.

http://www.echannelline.com/usa/story.cfm?item=22009

Recently on a trip to Europe, I had to stay at the airport in Rome for over 12 hours while connecting to another flight bound for Malta. Unfortunately, I was completely unprepared for this situation communication wise! The mistake? I used a 800 calling number advertised on the phones available at the airport to make the calls necessary to my wife and my friend that I was visiting. I should have known better as I’ve been researching calling cards and IP telephony for years.

Pingo.com is one such company that I should have considered for my trip. Currently they are offering a father’s day phone card coupon code that you might be interested in.

I can’t emphasize how important it is to consider cheap alternatives that can serve well while traveling. Had I used Pingo for my phone calls that totaled no more than 60 minutes, I might have saved well over the $160.00 I spent. (yes, over $160.00 was charged on my credit card - never again!)

Right now, Pingo.com is offering International calling cards abroad along with a $5 sign up bonus. Here’s an example of International prepaid filipino calling cards.

Finally for those looking to promote Pingo, they also offer an affiliate and referral program. One thing is for sure, as I get ready to travel this year, I’m not going to forget options like this again.

Here’s a great article regarding: Victoria, Vancouver cab fleets go green

I heard this on the radio the other day and thought it was a perfect story addition to my previous post about admiring the hybrid cab that brought me home from the airport.

It’s true that hybrids are more expensive. The article touches on this, but also points out that there tax credits to consider provided by the government. I personally believe it’s a smart idea for all cab companies to go green. Perhaps over the time the cost savings in gas will reach the passengers.

Let’s face it, most of us are becoming more and more dependent on technology and the world wide web. More and more I see technology merging. Over the years one can see the uses of the internet become common place in our daily lives.

Photography is a prime example of that. Digital photography slowly started to become available to the average consumer in the early 90’s however film photography it’s almost unheard now.

So where does one store all these files? What about music files? I look at my desk and see clutter sprawled amongst 2 laptops, a desktop and about 3 external hard drives. Given my passion for sharing pictures, videos and music files amongst family and friends I need to look at other solutions.

One such solution is online backup services. IDrive.com offers encrypted backups for your important files. Not only do they offer free backup services for anyone looking at using 2 GIGs, but also have affordable pricing for unlimited backups for as little as $4.95 per month. The list of features are extensive, providing many user friendly features including an interface that’s similar to native Windows Explorer.

This website is definitely worth a look at. For more information, you can check out their online backup demo

After returning from my trip to Toronto, I grabbed a cab from the airport and immediately noticed the dashboard of the cab. It was digital readings showing everything that car was registering, including the mileage consumption. Although I was exhausted from travel, I couldn’t help but engage with the driver.

“Is this a hybrid?”

“Yes Sir, it is”

I couldn’t help but smile by this. I’d like to believe that my trip was cheaper as a result of this hybrid. On a recent trip to one of our favorite parks in Ontario, my father and I got a chance to really test his mileage on his new hybrid. We were amazed by its ability to average about 5 litres per 100 km. The driver of the cab proudly said he’s seen as little as 4.5/100km on his.

There’s a lot of buzz going on about global warming these days. A lot of the time it frustrates me to no end. It feels like a fad. Politicians are finally paying attention, yet using it for their own reasons. Care for the environment from politicians is roughly 20-30 years behind schedule as far as I’m concerned. Technological advances that we’re seeing today, could have existed a long time ago.

Recently I saw a program that showcased Jay Leno’s car collection. One of Leno’s pride and joy is an *electric* car from 1909 or 1910.

Is there any wonder why it’s so frustrating for those of us who care for the environment see the potential and only now , we’re starting to get only glimpses of what’s possible?

I’ve thought about starting an environmental news blog but until then, I plan to write, comment and post news articles about technological advances that aid our ability to stop the wave of destruction. It’s ironic isn’t it? The very thing that started the destruction of our world is the very thing that could save it: Technology

My 74 year old father has been involved in technology for over 55 years. His patience for technology “advancement” however is wearing thin, let me tell you, I tend to agree more and more with his observations and frustrations.

“Logic has disappeared.” I think anyone who’s ever choosen a PC over a Mac can well understand this. Anyone who’s worked as a technical support person can WELL understand this as well. Beta test software anyone? I have. You’ll KNOW all types of logic are disappearing.

Maybe I’m not making any sense. Many might disagree with me (and the thoughts of my old man). However, this week I feel like I’m putting myself through a crash course in audio visual concepts that just *boggle the mind*. With all the “advancements” these days, we’re also dealing with many incompatibilities, many file structures, formats, conversations, encoders, decoders, codecs, … whatever techy techy catch phrase you feel like using, it’s all there.

Is it ANY wonder why my wife’s eyes start to glaze over when I get even remotely techy with her? My late mom used to say to my father “one of these days I’m just going to get a hammer and smash everything into tiny bits.” I really feel like she was onto something there.

So I’m in a sea of .VOB files, painstakenly ripped out of corrupted mini dvd’s from my dad’s camcorder that weren’t finalized properly. And it dawned on me what these camcorder manufacturers are trying to do. They have mini DVD cams for people who want to record, finalize the disc, and plunk the mini dvd’s into theorhetically any dvd player out there to share with friends and family. A perfectly simple concept: unless you have errors.

The bundled video editing software that’s included in the package doesn’t happen to read the DVD files (.VOB) format outright. you have to convert to mpeg or avi and THEN reauthor to dvd. If you’ve followed through this far, let me know because I’m confusing myself just writing about it all.

Sometimes the intent to be simple ends up being more complicated and the discussions that have ensued since with my father have been enlightening to say the least. We speak the same techy languages but just with different experiences and perspectives. As the appetite for technology of the average consumer increases, the dysfunction between hardware and software and “standards” will continue. As a quasi tech support person (because I still provide a lot of free technical support to friends and family) this frustrates me even though its this very dysfunction that helps me earn a living.

My dad has a lot of conspiracy theories about the manufacturers having built-in inconsistencies and incompatibilities. After the hellish week I’ve put myself through this week, I’m inclined to believe him. In the meantime, my personal crash course continues.

I landed on a website today that looked pretty promising. If you’ve been on the net for a while you know there’s tons of online greeting cards. Personally I like to send the odd one when I’m a little too lazy to do otherwise.

Sometimes though, a real greeting card is in order. I love good quality photo cards the best. Scenic greeting cards are great when you want to show an online friend an area close to where you live that you love to visit.

There’s a great selection of black and white as well as color greeting cards here. Check it out next time you’re in the mood to order some quality cards to send out to family and friends. My particular favorite is Banff at Dusk. I’ve been to Banff a couple of times now, and this photo really captures Banff nicely. Beautifully done.