Douglas on The Typical PC User Podcast

Check out my latest segment for TPCU on Frustration. There is a ton of other good content in this 30 minutes, as well. Here is a link to the show and some quick show notes.

TPCU79_12-31-2005 Happy New Year

Douglas E. Welch on Computer Fustrations

Career Opportunities Podcast

Applications Reviewed by Victor

NirCmd v1.81 - Freeware command-line tool
Virtual Dimensions Windows Desktop Manager

Other Podcasts Mentioned

Typical Mac User Podcast

Mike Tech Show

Bell’s in the Batfry

In The Trenches

Infosec Podcast and Zero Day Windows .WMF Exploit Fix

(Via Typical PC User Podcast.)

Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas from Los Angeles

Need a last minute gift?

Do you need a last minute gift? Can't wait for delivery? Why not send an Amazon Gift Certificate with an e-Card. This is one gift that will make it in time for Christmas.

A musical interlude

...and now we present a musical interlude with Douglas E. Welch and Don Duboise for your mid-blog enjoyment. (SMILE)

Listen to "Back to Wyoming - Live" (MP3)

Bluegrass is good for your soul!

Mike Rohde, over at RohDesign.com tells a story of his most recent sketch, posted to his site. Click the link above to check out the original sketch and Mike's story.

In his post, Mike mentioned the bluegrass band he was sketching that night, The Stringdusters. Now, I am always a sucker for bluegrass music and the Stringdusters have 3 MP3s available on their web site at http://www.thestringdusters.com/. They are under the "Media" link at the top of the page.

There music is great! The 3 sample songs show a good variety of bluegrass styles and the band is very tight. Quite an enjoyable listen.

It looks like The Stringdusters perform all over the country, so check out their web site and see if they might be coming to your neck of the woords sometimes soon.

For me, though, its back to some toe-tapping, finger-pickin' good time music.

Link: RohDesign.com
Link: The Stringdusters

Holiday Gift Guide 2005

I hope you have enjoyed this year's Holiday Gift Guide. If you have any other shopping needs, you can use this Amazon Search Box to start the process.



You can link to all the items from the Gift Guide by visiting the links below.

Holiday Gift Guide Items 31-35
Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Thank you for reading My Word and Have A Merry Christmas!

Christmas Fun from Dr. Floyd

Grant Baciocco and Doug Price, from The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, have a cute bit of Christmas cheer as Dr. Floyd reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids from their village.



Listen to Twas the Night Before Christmas

If you haven't listened to The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, give it a try today. It's funny, kid-safe and great for car rides, long and short.

From their web site...

If Jay Ward, creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle, had created Mystery Science Theater 3000 mixed in a little Time Bandits and gave it an educational spin, the result would have been...

The Radio Adventures Of Dr. Floyd

This family friendly new twist on "old time radio" features the adventures and exploits of the World’s Most Brilliant Scientist, Dr. Floyd as he tries to thwart the plans of his evil arch nemesis, Dr. Steve, all the while learning about the people and events that shaped the history of the Earth.

THE STORY SO FAR...

When his Time and Space Travel Device is stolen by the evil mastermind Dr. Steve and his sock-shaped assistant Fidgert...Dr. Floyd, his young protégé Dr. Grant and their faithful robot companion C.H.I.P.S. must do what they can to get it back. Bent on achieving fame and fortune, Dr. Steve plans to race through history stealing historical items and then returning to the future to sell them on eBay. Can Dr. Floyd and his crew thwart the evil machinations of Dr. Steve and Fidgert? The only way to find out is to tune into the Radio Adventures Of Dr. Floyd!

Link: The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd

San Pedro rides the Red Cars again!

I have always found San Pedro a nice little town, despite what others might say about it. Recently, a new rail line, with old and replica Red Line Cars opened for operation along the waterfront. I will be sure to take a ride the next time I am down there. The Red Car was long gone by the time I moved to LA in 1986, but I have heard stories of it almost every day since.

Christiana Dominguez has an excellent post on the new line over at blogging.la.

Link: Clang Clang Clang Went The Trolley . . .

From the Port of Los Angeles web site...

Waterfront Red Car Line

Ride the Red Cars!

The Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line is a 1.5-mile vintage trolley line connecting the World Cruise Center with attractions along the San Pedro waterfront. Restored and replicated Pacific Electric Red Cars were designed to serve the area with both transportation and enjoyment purposes.

When the Waterfront Red Car Line was inaugurated on July 19, 2003, it marked the first time in more than 40 years that Red Cars had run anywhere in Los Angeles using a historic Red Car route. The four Red Car boarding points are at the World Cruise Center, Downtown, Ports O' Call and Marina stations. The Downtown Station at 6th Street and Harbor Boulevard stands where the original Pacific Electric San Pedro Depot stood years ago. [Read More]

A Retail Rant

A Christmas Retail Rant

After reading hundreds of articles and news stories and witnessing the carnage on television, I have to speak my mind.

Nothing, no xBox 360, no $5 microwave oven or television, no iPod MegaNanoShuffle, is worth waiting in line or, even worse, being trampled in a mob! Nothing!

Retailers have now done everything in their power to turn shopping into a frenzy that compares to food riots in starving countries around the globe. As we say in the blogosphere...WTF?

Let me say it again....Nothing is worth waiting in line or being trampled in a mob!

You will not die if you don’t get the product. In fact, the chances of you dying, being robbed or being assaulted dramatically increase if you engage in this retailer’s dream of people fighting to give them money.

Retailers aren’t the only one to blame, though. What sort of perverted thinking drives people to endure freezing cold, pouring rain, unsanitary conditions and abuse for the “privilege” of buying a couple of hundred dollars worth of silicon and plastic? There has to be a thousand more interesting, more fun , more productive activities people could be engaging in.

Have we consumers really become so sheep-like that retailers need only dangle words like FREE, BETTER, or NEW to push us into a mindless riot? Are we hopelessly addicted to NEW, always looking for the next “fix?” How long before we kill to get what we want?

This has to stop! Any retailer or manufacturer that seeks to create “events” like those we have seen this year, should be held responsible for every injury, every assault, every robbery. Then, they should be charged with hundreds of counts of fraud for the seemingly inevitable “bait and switch” that occurs once shoppers get inside the doors.

The next time you, a friend or a family member is thinking about doing something ludicrous in order to buy a product, take a few minutes to contemplate the absurdity of your actions. Instead of queuing up, do anything else. Go see a movie, read a book, have a nice lunch with friends. Anything is more productive and enjoyable than corralling yourself with hundreds of other consumer zombies who seem to have lost all sense of reality.

I can guarantee you that the new product will still be there, days, weeks or months later...at a cheaper price. Sure, you didn’t get it the first day it was released, but what did you really lose? Is the experience of a new video game somehow diminished 2, 4, 7 days after its release. No, what is diminished is the shallow egotism that results from being “first.” A hollow victory, as best.

Christmas time is here!

Having grown up in Ohio, I don’t think I will ever completely lose the need for cold weather to get into the Christmas spirit. The chill triggers a sense memory that immediately takes me back to New London. As winter deepened, we all became more aware of our surroundings. The bicycle was put away, after hundreds of miles of Summer riding and we walked more carefully, always watching for the small patches of ice that would suddenly put you into “the splits” or straight onto your backside before you even know what had happened.

Thankfully, this year, Joseph, my son, became interested in ice-skating. Even on the warmest days of summer, I found myself wearing coat, hat and scarf, shivering against the cold. Now, at Christmastime, this has been even more welcome. The cold, even if artificial, triggers the winter feelings and reminds me once again that it is Christmas.

Of course, like everyone else, life doesn’t stop simply because of the holidays. Childhood is blissfully free of worries about mortgage payments, work schedules and other stresses. As children we could simply “be” the holiday season – enjoy its special pleasures – without too many concerns. Today, though, I find myself engaged, then disengaged. The school Christmas program envelopes me in song and the joyful abandon of young voices, then the phone calls, email and other projects drag me, kicking and screaming, back into the “real” world. I drive slowly through the neighborhood, looking at all the lights, then barely avoid a crash when someone runs a stop sign.

So, I find myself snapping in and out of the season, trying to catch a ribbon of the joy that is there. Back in my hometown at this time of year, the Rotary Club would be installing the small, decorated shack on the Main Street corner where Santa (portrayed by the boys from the Senior Class) would hold court. They would greet the children and pass out candy canes, listening to Christmas wishes within easy earshot of interested parents. The nearest mall was 35 miles away, so the local hardware stores would open their Christmas boutiques, supplementing their more utilitarian wares with decorations, toys and presents a young child could buy for their parents. In a town of 2000 people in 1976, you could let your kids run free to do their Christmas shopping, returning with whatever their Christmas allowance could afford for family and friends.

When I was a teenager, I spent most Christmas Eves in the Methodist Church, the one that also housed the town clock in its bell tower, and chimed out Christmas carols several times a day. There I would perform as part of a brass choir made up of volunteers from the local high school band. I always enjoyed the joyful sound of the horns as the choir made a dramatic entrance from the rear of church, everyone joining in “O’ Come, All Ye Faithful.” As the Methodist service would conclude at midnight, the Catholic kids in the group would quickly dart out the back, dash along an icy sidewalk and into the doors of the Catholic Church which adjoined the Methodist. I would make my way home to find everyone else asleep, the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree my nightlight, as I got ready for bed.



More pictures from Christmas 2004

Last year, I was able to take my son back to Ohio for a traditional Christmas. For the first time in years, my 4 siblings and I joined my parents back in the same house where we all grew up. That year, though, the small house was full to bursting with married couples and many grandchildren. There was a certain joy on my parents face as they sat watching us decorate the tree. There was pride, of course, but I also saw in their faces all the Christmases that have passed. Visions of us sitting on the floor with the “A Chipmunks Christmas” on the portable record player – the fake cardboard fireplace that adorned the longest wall in the living room – the squeals of delight as we tore open our presents.

Earlier in the day, my wife, my son and I had trudged through thigh-deep snow in a neighbor’s field to select, cut and drag home the Christmas tree. We eventually got it back to the house, cold, wet and tired, but laughing at our adventure. We had almost 5 feet of snow in the time we were there and Joseph got to experience a particularly special Christmas – one that I might have enjoyed in my own childhood.

I hope that the season finds you and your family well and that this Christmas retains a bit of the magic of the past. We make new memories each year, but these memories are usually based, in part, on those Christmases that have come before.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Friends in Tech Presents "A Geek Christmas Carol" - December 18, 2005

Bothell, Washington, December 18, 2005 — Combining an age-old Christmas story and a bit of high-tech tomfoolery, Friends in Tech (http://friendsintech.com) presents a re-telling of Dicken's classic holiday tale in "A Geek Christmas Carol."This new audio production, featuring the talents of all the Friend in Tech members and some special podcaster guests, tells the story of Ed Scrooge and his holiday attempt to outsource and offshore every job in his high-tech company. Thankfully, some helpful tech "spirits" intervene and show him that there is more to life, work and Christmas than cutting costs and firing staff.
Listen to the Show

Friends in Tech (FiT), is an alliance of technology podcasters, joined together for the express purpose of cross-pollination, cross-promotion and, most importantly, fun. Producing specials like "A Geek Christmas Carol", and their Halloween show, "The Server Room of Horrors", is an important part of keeping the fun in high-tech and spreading it to all their tech friends. Every FiT member plays a character in the production and several members volunteered to edit and assemble the disparate parts, recorded all over North America, into a seamless show.

FiT Member, Kreg Steppe, the writer for both holiday specials, sees them as a great way to lighten the load of stressed out, high-tech workers.

"Back in October as we were working on Server Room of Horrors, I had so much fun writing and editing that I started thinking about the next special we could produce together. Immediately, Christmas came to mind and knowing so many jaded computer techs, a Christmas Carol seemed like a perfect fit," says Steppe.

"For this production, I took about a week to write it. Once that was done, I posted it to our wiki for all the member's additions and edits. Then recording commenced and we turned to editing the raw audio. I would say it took about 3-4 weeks to put the show together."

"A Geek Christmas Carol" will be released December 18th, 2005 on the Friends in Tech web site (http://friendsintech.com) and also via the FiT podcasting feed at http://www.friendsintech.com/wp-rss2.php. Listeners who are subscribed to the FiT podcast feed will receive the show automatically the moment it is released.

Friends in Tech

Friends in Tech members are regular guests on other member’s podcasts, bringing their unique knowledge, talent and insights to a new audience of listeners. Members also join together to create exclusive content for the Friends In Tech website, including FiT Tips, a collection of short audio hints to help ease listener’s computer life, Retro-FiT, a regular podcast review of all Friends In Tech podcasts.

Despite their common focus on technology, each Friends In Tech podcast provides a unique view of the high-tech world that surrounds everyday life. Member shows include In The Trenches with Kevin Devin and George Starcher (http://kevindevin.com), ChuckChat Technorama with Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe (http://chuckchat.com), The Typical PC User podcast (http://typicalpcuser.com), hosted by Victor Caijo, Career Opportunities: The High-Tech Career Handbook (http://welchwrite.com/career) with Douglas E. Welch, Steve Holden’s Tech Rag Tear Outs and Tech Tidbits Daily (http://technewsradio.com), the Mike Tech Show with Mike Smith. (http://www.miketechshow.com/) and The Digital Experience Podcast with Lance Heath. (http://www.digitalexperiencepodcast.com/)

Listen to the Show

Holiday Gift Guide #35 - Targus PA241U Podium Coolpad

I was first exposed to these laptop stands at a client's site and I was very impressed. It places the laptop in a more comfortable position, keeps it cook and can make you a lot more productive.

Link: Targus PA241U Podium Coolpad

Link: More laptop stands

See also:

Tamrac 5273 Expedition 3 SLR Photo Bag and More photo bags
#33 Logitech 980158-0403 Internet Chat Headset and More computer headsets
#32 Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
#31 Casio Disc Title Printer
Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Holiday Gift Guide #34 - Tamrac 5273 Expedition 3 SLR Photo Bag

Just as I mentioned earlier in the gift guide, every one of your electronic devices should have a protective case. It only takes a moment of inattention for your new toy to end up as a very expensive brick. Here are several options for protecting your camera, digital or otherwise.

Link: Tamrac 5273 Expedition 3 SLR Photo Bag

Link: More photo bags

See also:

#33 Logitech 980158-0403 Internet Chat Headset and More computer headsets
#32 Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
#31 Casio Disc Title Printer
Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

A Geek Christmas Carol - Coming December 18th

On December 18, 2005, Friends in Tech will release its holiday production,

A Geek Christmas Carol



Listen to the Trailer

Holiday Gift Guide #33 - Logitech 980158-0403 Internet Chat Headset

With the growing popularity of voice chat clients such as Skype, Gizmo and AOL Instant Messenger, a good headset is a must-have add-on for your computer. It gives you the best sound quality and cuts out extraneous noise. It also leaves both hands free so you can take notes or research information during your conversations.

Link: #33 Logitech 980158-0403 Internet Chat Headset

Link: More computer headsets

See also:

#32 Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
#31 Casio Disc Title Printer
Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

New RSS Feed

In order to provide some additional services, and gain better statistics, I am asking that all subscribers to the My Word RSS feed please update there readers with this new, Feedburner-based, feed.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/myword

Thank you for your help. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Douglas

Retro-FiT from Friends in Tech

Retro-FiT, the podcast review for Friends in Tech, looking back on the week of December 9th, 2005.

Listen to what all the Friends in Tech podcasters were talking about his week

Listen

Holiday Gift Guide #32 - Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

There are times in your life and your career when you have to have certain conversations. Fierce Conversations gives you the guidance and tools you need to make these conversations, in fact, any conversation, as useful and powerful as possible. If you have trouble talking to family, friends and co-workers, this book can help you to understand not only how to hold fierce conversations, but also, why you need to be a fierce communicator in everything you do.

(from the Career Opportunities column, Summer Reading List, July 11, 2003)

Link: Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

See also:

#31 Casio Disc Title Printer
Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Delicious Links - Watch my bookmarks

If you would like to see what web sites I am bookmarking, you can subscribe to my Delicious links and see them as they happen.

To view them on the web, visit these links:

My Word Bookmarks
A Gardener's Notebook Bookmarks
Career Opportunities Bookmarks

You can also subscribe to an RSS feed for the AGN Bookmark list at:

My Word Bookmarks
A Gardener's Notebook Bookmarks
Career Opportunities Bookmarks

Enjoy!

A Fabulous Online Adventure

Cory Doctrow over at BoingBoing links to another great web site today. Samorost 1 and 2 have kept my boy and I entertained for several hours today. It is an online adventure game in the style of Myst and Riven, where you explore strange lands and solve puzzles, some easy and some quite challenging.

I really enjoyed both Myst and Riven, so when I saw this, I wanted to check it out. It is very kid-friendly (my son is 7) and a great logic challenge. There were several times when his observations helped to solve a puzzle even after I had spent many minutes trying to figure it out. He then went on to replay the levels again and again for an hour or more. I am sure he will want to play it again, too.

You can play Samorost 1 and Samorost 2: Chapter 1 for free online. Chapter 2 is $9.90. IT is quite possible that we will buy it so we can have some more fun.

Link: Play Samorost

Samorost 2: Myst meets Terry Gilliam
Cory Doctorow: Samorost 2 is a free, Flash-based Myst-style puzzle-game with gorgeous, lush Terry Gilliam cut and paste-style graphics. Watching this is almost as much fun as playing it.

(via Wonderland)

(Via Boing Boing.)

Holiday Gift Guide #31 - Casio Disc Title Printer

A single-purpose tool, indeed, but if you find yourself cranking out lots of burned CDs, this might be a great idea. Much like the office labelers you find on many desks today, this printer prints directly onto blank CDs. Maybe with this I would finally be able to tell what is on my discs since I can't read my handwriting.

Link: #31 Casio Disc Title Printer

See also:

Holiday Gift Guide Items 21-30
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Holiday Gift Guide #30 - Coffee Calendar 2006

Anyone who knows me personally, also knows that I am rarely seen without a cup of coffee in my hand. I love to drink it, make it, use it in cooking and I even found a wonderful bar of soup that included ground espresso.

If you know a coffee geek like me, and who doesn't, check out this coffee-themed calendar for 2006. There are images of equipment, cups and more. You can read the story of its creation at RohDesign.com. I regularly read this blog and love what they have to say about art and design.

Link: #30 Coffee Calendar 2006

Link: Read previous post on RohDesign

See also:

#29 Planon DocuPen DPEN-R700
#28 Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
#27 E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
#26 Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter
#25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender
#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

100_0457.jpg
Originally uploaded by dewelch.

Just a sample of the cookies I have baking for my 12th Annual Welch Christmas Cookie Party.

Mpre photos are available on Flickr.com or in the Events Area of this site.

Holiday Gift Guide #29 - Planon DocuPen DPEN-R700

This could be an interesting way to quickly get image into your computer, although a digital camera works pretty well these days, too. Someone who deals in a lot of 1 page documents and such could find this very beneficial, though. Simply swipe it down the page and the image is stored inside the device. When you return to your office, connect the USB cable and download the images directly into your computer.

Link: #29 Planon DocuPen DPEN-R700

(Found on the Fast Company 2005 Gift Guide

See also:

#28 Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
#27 E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
#26 Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter
#25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender
#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Put better pictures on your Christmas Wish List

Very nice article on the how, whys and wherefores for getting great holiday photos whether you are using a digital camera or real film.

From my own experience, there are several hints I can offer:

• Keep your camera with you AT ALL TIMES!
  
• Use a tripod
  
• Shoot, shoot and shoot some more
  
• Get close
  
• Take your time

With that in mind, go read this article and then shoot some great pictures!

HOW TO - Take great photos of holiday lights

Goood tips for taking photos during the holidays, although I prefer photo by laser light... "There are some photographic subjects where it makes little difference whether you use a digital camera or a film-based model to capture the image. The colors and warm glow of holiday lights is not one of them. If you're not careful, you can run into trouble with a digital camera. All photographers interested in getting great holiday photos should read this article."
Link.

(Via MAKE: Blog.)

Holiday Gift Guide #28 - Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

If you haven't had a chance to upgrade your Mac to the latest version of Mac OS X, then put this Tiger in your tank. (I guess using that phrase really dates me, doesn't it.) This link is for the Mac OS X Family Pack, allowing up to 5 installs so the whole family can join the fun. There are also single user version available.

Link: #28 Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

See also:

#27 E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
#26 Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter
#25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender
#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Holiday Gift Guide #27 - E=mc^2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation

Another in the great genre of "micro-histories" which delves into history by focusing on one specific series of events. This book follows the history of Einstein's famous equation from his earliest ideas to today.

Link: #27 E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation

See also:

#26 Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter
#25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender
#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Holiday Gift Guide #26 - Belkin Tunecast II FM transmitter

This is the FM Transmitter that gets a lot of use in my vehicles, blasting my iPod content out the car speaker. Ok, maybe not blasting. Podcasts don't sound very good if you blast them. It comes with an auto adapter, so I rarely replace the batteries in the unit.

Link: #26 Belkin Tunecast II FM Transmitter

See also:

#25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender
#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

A Geek Christmas Carol from Friends in Tech

Friends in Tech presents their next holiday special,

A Geek Christmas Carol

Re-visit the age old tale of Scrooge and his ghostly visitors with a high-tech twist.

Coming December 18, 2005

Subscribe to the Friends in Tech podcast feed
to receive more details as they become available.

Word of the Day...in several different languages!

I haven't highlighted these folks in a while, but I have been receiving a daily Word A Day email with and Italian word and sentence complete with audio of a native speaker.

Transparent Language, who produces language learning tools, offers this service for free. You can currently get words in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and English For Spanish Speakers.

Link: Word of the Day

iPod 101 from Apple.com

LifeHacker.com links to these new pages at Apple.com designed to help you get the most from your iPod. It includes tutorial videos, too. If you just got an iPod or are getting one for Christmas, this should be one of the first stops on the Internet.

Apple's guide to iPod bliss Apple support has some tutorials and videos designed to help iPod owners, new and old alike, get the most out of the most popular digital audio player.

Whether you're a Mac or Windows user, iPod 101 contains tons of information that'll help you enjoy your iPod to its fullest and guide you on your way to becoming iTunes savvy (we're using iTunes 6 in our course materials). Get ready to walk through the virtual aisles of the iTunes Music Store; learn how to sync your music, contacts, calendars, and more; admire your pretty pictures (and force others to do the same); watch TV shows and video; and find out what to do when things don't go as planned. (continued)

(Via Lifehacker.)

Holiday Gift Guide #25 - Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calendar

Let's go RETRO! This is cool way to look back on the computers that have come and gone. Sure to generate geek gasps of delight and launch many stories of "That was my first computer and I..."

Link: #25 Classic Computers of the Past 2006 Calender


(Via Make Blog)

See also:

#24 The Complete Book of Spirits
#23 The Art of the Start#22 Palm Z22 Handheld#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20

Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

More Norton Internet Security issues

I ran into another issue with Norton Internet Security this week, one that I had run into before, but without finding this tech note to help me. In that case, I had to remove and re-install Norton INternet Security to solve the problem.

(See previous Norton Internet Security post with many reader comments)

Several times I have had clients disable their email connections. They could still browse the web and use other services, but the connection to their POP server was blocked. Despite poking around in the NIS settings, I couldn't find any particular rules that would be causing this. Then, I found this tech note on the Symantec site:

Modifying or restoring the default firewall rules in Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall

After performing the steps shown, downloading/running the referenced ISRIRstr.exe program and restarting the computer, the client was able to access their email again. Yet another frustrating bit of NIS troubleshooting.

Holiday Gift Guide #24 - The Complete Book of Spirits

All work and no play makes Douglas a dull boy. Hence today's gift suggestion for the imbiber in your life.

"The Complete Book of Spirits: A Guide to Their History, Production and Enjoyment," is like a cocktail recipe for a classic cocktail, like the Martini or the Margarita:

Take one book
Add:
2 ounces of history
1 ounce of science
a dash of interesting stories
and a splash of tasting advice
Shake or stir, with ice or without.
Pour into 324 pages
Enjoy!

These are the true ingredients of, "The Complete Book of Spirits."

Interestingly, though, the focus is not the famous cocktails we know and love. Instead, they are the stories of the main ingredient itself, in all its unvarnished and underappreciated glory. For the author, spirits are something beyond the mere alcoholic punch for our cocktails. They are historical artifacts and an art form in their own right. Almost all spirits were discovered by accident, refined to the utmost degree, eventually becoming part of almost every society on the planet. "The Complete Book of Spirits," starts at the beginning and gives us an understanding of each spirit's, past, present and, possibly, future.

(Continue reading this review)

Link: #24 The Complete Book of Spirits

See also:

#23 The Art of the Start
#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model
Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

An Audio Christmas Gift

Here is a small gift of the season from our house to yours. Be well and have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and the happiest of holidays! -- Douglas

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
MP3 Audio

Midi arrangement from the WoodShed's Christmas Midi Files
http://deckernet.com/shed/other.htm

Holiday Gift Guide #23 - The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

The Art Of The Start begins with a very promising sentence, “…doing, not learning to do, is the essence of entrepreneurship.” In the past, I have written about the necessity of applying your knowledge and your thinking and this book promises to “Cut the crap and tell me what I need to do…” Those lines alone were enough to put this book at the top of my reading stack.

Link: #23 The Art of the Start

See also:

#22 Palm Z22 Handheld
#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Holiday Gift Guide #22 - Palm Z22 Handheld

This is a great entry-level PDA if you are looking to move away from your paper planner and into the electronic world. At $99 the price is right , too.

Link: #22 Palm Z22 Handheld

See also:

#21 Speck Products ToughSkin for iPod and Find a Speck Cover for your iPod model

Holiday Gift Guide Items 11-20
Holiday Gift Guide Items 1-10

Online Advent Calendars

There have been a host of Online Advent Calendars ever since the Web was created. This year brings a bumper crop with all sorts of wonderful sounds and animation.

Advent calendars 2005

Advent calendars 2005. Back when the internets were very young, people began combining a wonderful old holiday tradition, the Advent calendar, with the latest in communications, the internet, and thus it was that interactive Advent calendars were born. This one (requires Flash) was the first one I ever saw and here are some other of my favorites: Leslie Harpold's and Tibi and Beens. Want more? Check Google. [MetaFilter]