Author: David Shanske
All posts by David Shanske
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How to Download YouTube Videos
The people at Crunchgear have a simple way of downloading YouTube videos for an Ipod or other non-internet connected device. Here is their advice.
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Is Vista Worth It – Another Look
Courtesy of Lifehacker.com, here is the report on their Q&A with Microsoft about Vista. Vista, as you should know is the next-generation operating system that is set to replace XP. It offers several improvements, but not necessarily anything worth rushing out for the day it comes out.
If you feel you must jump on the bandwagon, wait until the majority of companies have driver support and software support for Vista, which will take a bit.
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Identifying the Energy-Wasters
Recently, the Consumerist directed us to a review of the Kill-A-Watt, a device that plugs in between an appliance and an outlet to give you a reading of its power consumption. We actually already owned one of these devices, from our affiliate, Smarthome.
With it, you can determine the energy wasters in your home and, if possible, replace them. Look for the EnergyStar label…and for computers, use the power-saving features built in…program them to blank your monitor, spin down your drives…even standby or hibernate if it works for you.
Since devices draw power even when apparently off, especially ones that can turn on via a remote, you might want to put devices on power strips you can manually turn off. We made a list of our devices and redistributed our electronics to allow us to turn off power to our computer monitors and such when they weren’t being used.
Just remember…a tech-enabled lifestyle doesn’t mean you are wasteful.
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Blank Media Quality Guide
Sometimes the best deal is not the best option you can have. After years of trying to save money on blank CDs and DVDs and having an annoying failure rate on many of the discs, we found this guide to the quality of media.
To summarize the results, the best media is manufactured by Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Taiyo Yuden, Hitachi Maxwell, Sony, and TDK. Our advice, consult the guide, and take the advice, and don’t buy something that is likely to fail.
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Backup Your Windows Notebook Now or Face Dire Consequences!
We like the title of this article from the Mobility Guru a great deal. Backup is something we save for the last minute too often…and ultimately forget, dooming us in an emergency. It is not a matter of IF you need to back up your data, it is WHEN.
For the frugal individual, try an old hard drive. For a minimal fee, you can convert it to USB operation and use it as backup. There is also the CD/DVD option, which will definitely work for some data. For the average person remember…your media files will not change, and thus can be backed up on a few DVDs rather efficient. For frequently updated information, such as application data, a copy of your registry, and your documents, you can use the old hard drive, supplemented with regular optical disc backups to back that drive up.
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You Can Now Break the Software Locks on your Cell Phone
As CNN reports, new copyright rules announced Wednesday allow cell phone owners to break software locks in order to use them with competing carriers.
The U.S. Copyright Office determined that consumers cannot enjoy full legal use of their cell phones because of software locks added by the providers block access to the phones’ programs. Since ownership of the cell phone is technically that of the customer, restricting the software means that they are putting an artificial limit on the hardware.
For those of you choosing to stay with your provider, the advantages come with features that are locked out. For example, many providers lock out the feature allowing you to transfer ringtones or pictures taken with a camera phone to a computer using a data cable so that they can charge you for transfer over the network. Ringtones and such are big business.
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High-Definition Television
Consumer Reports has a special feature on their website about HD Televisions. The reviews require a subscription, but the basic advice is rather useful, and it prompted us to address High Definition as it exists.
High definition television has more lines making up the picture(pixels for the computer monitor people there) than a standard definition television. Thus, it produces a more vivid and clear picture. It is not just the television that adds to the cost though. You need to plug some high-definition equipment into it.
Now, as we mentioned, HD-DVD or BluRay equipment is expensive and unproven in the marketplace, but a simple solution is an HD upscaling or upconverting DVD player. This will take the DVD output and scale it up to match the high-definition inputs of the screen. There are varying qualities of thi.
The simplest way to get HD is to call your television service provider and tell them you want to upgrade your service to HD. Hopefully it won’t be too much. That will at least get you the big networks to start your HD adventure on.
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Nintendo for the AARP Generation
Nintendo showed up last month at the Life@50+ event, the New York Times reports, sponsored by AARP in Anaheim, California. Promoting games to generation more used to board and card games might seem like a stretch or a reach, but it is apparently working in some countries.
Nintendo in Japan has been focusing on producing products for an older generation, including a which puts players through a daily routine of number games, word puzzles, and reading exercises. They were offering the US Version of this, called Brain Age, at the AARP event.
We think the idea of designing computer games for an older generation is a good one. Marketing to them may be a bit harder, but as with many other things, if you feed an untapped market with well-designed, thought-out, and tested products, you will not only be successful financially, but you will be starting a new trend.
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Presto: Because Computers Scare Old People
TechCrunch reported today on Presto, a new service for people who don’t currently have internet access. The service uses a printer which hooks to a telephone line to receive email. When someone sends you email at your presto.com email address, it prints on the printer.
The Presto printer costs $150 and the service costs $10 a month. Only approved users can send email to the account, thus reducing spam printing out. But the adding of approved users requires a computer or calling an 800 number. Emails can also be sent to others, ie a more tech capable relative, advising low paper or low ink.
Such an item is perfect for those people who want to be able to receive email but do not know how to use a computer. It would allow relatives to forward pictures, documents, and other information to them with a minimum of fuss. It also helps their tech savvy relatives avoid being tech support for their less savvy relatives.
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Gift Box of USBCells
With our continuing coverage of the USBCell product, we announce that USBCell is offering a Gift Box of 10 USBCell packs(2 AA batteries in each pack), for $180.
Remember, the USBCell is a battery with a built-in USB connector for charging. Great idea. Wish we didn’t have to send to the UK for it.