Remote Control Dog 
So I got a new
Green Laser Pointer which is great for skypointing and driving my cats crazy. I imagine that some day I'll also use it for a presentation or two. However one of the handier uses of the device is as a remote control for my dog.
As many of you know I am a complete logitech junkie. They have some of the best gadgets ever. Recently I acquired the new Orbit Cam and the new Bluetooth Headset. I recently added a review (see below). I've owned almost every logitech Keyboard and mouse but my latest and favorite is the diNova Desktop. Its sleek, stylish, gets great battery life and allows me to interface my logitech headsets directly with my computer.
The Logitech orbit camera is quite fantastic. It supports taking photographs up to one megapixel which is quite good for a $70.00 camera. It supports face tracking Which means the camera will rotate and follow my face as I reposition myself while having a video conference. It also comes with a stand which positions the camera at eye level. which is a great feature of the camera also moves verticly which means if I standup and pace around the room it does its best to keep my face in the center of it's focus. Its not foolproof, and turning from one side to another will sometimes cause it to lose you. The refresh rate on the camera is now 20-30 frames per second. overall though it is a step up from the previous camera. (Overall 7 out of 10)
Now the Logitech Headset on the other hand is a superior product! The microphone has built in noise cancellation and even works to block a light breeze should you be talking in the wind now we're not talking Gale force winds like if your walking through the city of Hartford... but mostly light breezes are not a problem for you, even strong wind seems to be fine if your speaking. The battery life on the headset is phenomenal: it claims six hours of talk time although I've talked on them for about seven hours and standby time of about a week. It is the first headset to out last my cellular phone. It charges very quickly and being a bluetooth device I use it for both my cellular phone and my computer. (Overall 9 out of 10)
New york times, Ct NOW etc etc Seems like every site I click on these days wants to know who I am, what my email is and my life history before they let me view the article I will read in less then 30 seconds. Well no more. The next time a site prompts you to register check out Bug Me Not and relax. One of my favorite features of this site is their registration page. Your only required to register if you force people to register for your site. And the questionaire is hysterical Register now... A few of their questions: "List the email addresses of three of your friends or family members most likely to buy Viagra over the internet", "List the names of any of your friends, family or neighbors you suspect may sympathize Al Qaeda:". Obviously the makers of this website are as annoyed as I am with soul sucking registration required forms. I mean really, we all get enough spam as it is.
Oh and please note:
Any subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, or employees of any site employing compulsory user registration mechanisms are not authorized to access the content or services of this site.
If you haven't read this book I highly recommend it. It's in the news again as it's being made into a movie. Slashdot is covering the story. Although I wonder how it will turn out... it's got a fantastic cast of actors. Willow is playing Marvin, Bill Nighy (Viktor from Underworld, Billy Mack from Love Actually) is playing Slartibartfast. Quite a few actors from Shaun of the Dead as well. I will probably catch this flick just to see how the on screen portrayal syncs up with how I envisioned it. As a side note Underworld 2 is coming out this year and again features Viktor and as I recall he died in the first one... Interesting. I enjoyed the first one and as long as its not another matrix sequel we should be good.
So I'm telling my buddy Travis about the wonders of Picasa and showing him a simple movie I created. (In fact the one in the previous post.) and hes just not impressed with the movie aspect. He askes me if I have ever even tried Windows Movie Maker. He swears it is installed by default in Windows XP Pro. So I navigate around the accessories menu and sure enough there it is.... But now I have to test this thing out... What to do? Who do I have some movie clips of? Oh yeah look at this guy:
So this here is Sean and I thought hmmm what a perfect test. I have a few videos of him kicking around and currently he's in Oklahoma so I feel a little bit brave. (He won't be back for months hehe) So without further or do take a look: Sean who may kill me when he returns..
Picasa is a fantastic image organization tool. I recently used it's label feature to organize about 300 pictures in ways that I can now find them. I love features like Split folder and the picture tray. Well I was clicking around and it appears you can make movies quite easily. Im sure you all know ryan:
Heres a quick movie of Christmas Morning I put together in about 5 seconds. Ryan on X-mas morning (avi Format, 1.8 MB). I don't believe you can add sound yet but it is hands down the easiest way I have ever created an AVI before. Hopefully in the future they will allow you to embed sounds and change some of the transtions. The size of the movie in terms of megabytes seems to vary quite drastically depending on the compression codec you choose so try them all. I also personally like the compression free format for hard copies. Enjoy and post links to your Picasa Movies!
So maps.google.com is just the tip of the iceberg here. There are a lot of tools that make my life easier. Image editors, Text Editors, Voice Chat software and all free. So my favorites are things like AdAware and Spam blocking host files as they have saved me a lot of headaches. Anyways lets check a few out:
Team Speak 2 Ok this product rocks. Free and easily allows me to communicate with multiple people all at the same time via voice. You have all been to forums, well this is a voice forum. You can break out into your own rooms and chit chat til your hearts content. I use this tool to talk to friends in Oklahoma, CT, MA... Anywhere. Of course it does require port 8767 to be open in order to function. If you would like to try it out my server is always up and running, just AIM me for me password and IP.
Hello Lets face it, E-mail is not well suited for pictures. This chat software put out by Google allows you to transfer images quickly and effeciently. Its also not bad chat software. I also use it to update this here blog with quick updates. Simply put: Hello is simple, well designed software and I recommend it.
Picasa This image editor/organizer is quite amazing. After installing it I found pictures I had completely forgot I even had. It loads lightning fast and renders every picture on your harddrive instantaneously. No more Win XP chugging along trying to show me a thumbnail veiw of a folder I have seen a 1000 times before. I also use this program to update this blog, make collages, eliminate red eye, straighten photos (That are crooked hehe) etc.
Having a digital camera is only great if you can find the pictures later. Picasa also lets you order prints of your digital pics should your photo printer be not quite up to par.
Norton This is the de facto must have consumer grade anti virus program. It comes coupled with so many great extras and its autoprotect feature has saved me atleast 3 times last year. You need anti-virus so why not pick a proven entity?
No More Spyware Spyware is just a pain! I have been using Microsoft's antispyware and have found it most effective! It eliminated spyware AdAware and SpyBots Search and Destroy missed! I defintely recommend this for sanity's sake. If for some reason your on an anti microsoft kick AdAware is not a bad second place.
Ad blocking Host File So if you use internet explorer (Which I love esp. with the new security upgrades) You will find a lot of ads hanging about even with IE's popup blocker. Replacing your host file can save you some potential nightmares espcially if you let other people occasionally use your computer. Personally putting this on my mom's computer has saved me so many headaches its not funny. Check it out!
Crimson Editor Notepad is notepad and is great for quick edits. But sometimes you need something a little more robust. Crimson editor is notepad with a twist. It supports columns, line numbers and syntax for a veriety of scripting languages. It also has a tabbed interface which is quite handy and a neat feature called 'Find in Files' which will basically search IN every file in a folder or drive looking for a word or sentence.
So what am I missing? Post your own tools!
Maps.Google.Com is google's new MapQuest-like directions site. The interface is streamlined and simple which I have come to expect from google. The zoom feature is pretty cool and the directions seem like they might get you from point A to point B. For instance mapquest normally can't find my mom's house but can get me to within 5 miles. In maps.google.com my search takes me right to her home.
