Video: Flip Ultra vs. Flip Comparison

Eric Rice put together this short, but detailed comparison between the Flip Digital Video Recorder (which I highlighted a few weeks ago) and the Flip Ultra.

LIVE from the Library - February 28, 2008

Video from my latest Internet Seminar

Video: MIcrosoft Word 2007 Introduction by Paul Park

I came across this great screencast on YouTube and wanted to share it with those of you who might be thinking of upgrading to MS Office 2007 (2008, on the Mac). I don't have many clients who have upgraded yet, but it seems inevitable that it will happen eventually.

I had been meaning to do my own screencast of Office 2007 (and I still might do some specific functions), but this video is a great example of what YouTube can offer beyond rollerskating bulldogs. (SMILE)

Flipping the "Big Red Switch" on today's electronics

Listen: Flipping the "Big Red Switch" on today's electronics

I realize that this is going to sound incredibly simplistic, almost too simple to even bother writing and recording, and yet I explain this concept several times a week, if not every single day, when I am busy.

When talking with my clients it becomes clear that they do not know how to power off their computer, or other electronics, should they crash or otherwise become unstable. Back in "the old days" of the IBM PC, it was very clear how you turned off your computer. There was this Big Red Switch right there on the side that made this oh so satisfying "kerchunk" when you operated it. Flip it the other way and the computer came on. How simple could it be?

Then we entered the realm of electronic power switches on nearly every device. Sure they turned the unit off and on when it was operating normally, but what did you do when your computer crashed. In the early days, there was really no other choice but to unplug the device or, in the case of a laptop, pull the battery out. In fact, this is what many people are still doing today. Hence, the reason I am writing this.

After a few iterations of these electronic power switches, manufacturers realized that you needed an electronic equivalent of The Big Red Switch as yanking the plug out of the wall was probably never a good idea. Unfortunately, it seems that this alternative method has been very slow to filter down to the average user.

So, the next time your computer crashes or hangs and won't restart, hold in the power button for 10-15 seconds. That's right...just press in and hold until the computer powers off completely. Then tap the button as usual to start it back up.

So, the next time your computer crashes or hangs and won't restart, hold in the power button for 10-15 seconds. That's right...just press in and hold until the computer powers off completely. Then tap the button as usual to start it back up.

Now, you don't necessarily want to be doing this a lot, as powering off in this way can damage files on the hard drive, but when you have no other choice, this is the proper way to get working again. Then, you should find out from a knowledgeable person, like myself, why the computer was crashing in the first place.

You'll find that this power-off method applies to more than just computers, too. Cell phones, television sets, MP3 players, almost anything with an electronic power switch will have the same type of emergency power off functionality.

So there you go. Tell your family, friends and even your enemies that they don't need to be reaching behind their computer and pulling the power cable when their computer crashes, just use the electronic equivalent of the Big Red Switch.

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Douglas on Twitter | Douglas on Facebook | Douglas on LinkedIn | Douglas on MySpace | TechnologyIQ forums at Friends In Tech

FreshBooks - The Fastest Way to Track Time and Invoice Your Clients

Thanks to Chris Brogan for a tweet about this new site, Freshbooks, an online bookkeeping site.

FreshBooks - The Fastest Way to Track Time and Invoice Your Clients

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional - Fortune 500 professional. FreshBooks is easy to use and you can try it for free.

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BarCampLA-5 is This Weekend - March 1 & 2

(Updated 2/26/08 217pm: (from BarCampLA Twitter - While a more formal announcement is coming later tonight, we've upped the number of attendees to 250 people. http://icanhaz.com/bcla5-guests)

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The latest installment of BarCampLA is coming this weekend and I will be there. You should be, too. Check out the web site at BarCampLA.org

BarCamp is an unconference, which means the program is developed entirely by those attending. Everyone who comes is also a presenter. Come listen to sessions on business, technology, PR...whatever strikes our fancy and then give others the benefit of your expertise.

I am hoping to present 2 sessions at this BarCamp:

A Year of Visibility 2.0 - You need to let people know what you do, and how well you do it, if you want to take your life and career to a new level. I will show you how to go about raising your visibility in whatever realm you wish and the tools that can help make it happen.

Podcasting Now! - Using free Internet tools, you can be podcasting within minutes. I will give you step-by-step instructions on how to start podcasting right from BarCamp itself. No need to take weeks getting set up. Pick up you cell phone or camera and start podcasting TODAY!

Openings to attend BarCampLA-5 are filling up fast. Get your name in today or, at least, get on the waiting list. You don't want to miss it.

TechnologyIQ highlighted as Top 10 Technology Podcast - Welcome TechRepublic Readers

I awoke to a very pleasant surprise this morning. TechnologyIQ was selected as one of the Top 10 Technology Podcasts by TechRepublic Executive Editor, Jason Hiner.

This was entirely unexpected, but very welcome news. It is great to be included in with such tech podcast giants like Buzz Out Loud and TWIT (This Week in Tech) with Letecho Laporte. You'll find a link to all the Top 10 podcasts in the article excerpt below.

If you have arrived here from TechRepublic, welcome! I hope you like what you see and hear. Drop me a comment and let me know what would help you and/or your clients to "control your technology, don't let it control you." ... which is my theme here at TechnologyIQ.

While you are here, let me introduce you to my other blogs and podasts...

Career Opportunities

A print column for 12 years and a podcast for 3 1/2 years, Career Opportunities is "Helping to Build the Career You Deserve" with weekly, 5-6 minute columns on getting the most out of your career.

A Gardener's Notebook

Come and join me in my garden and watch as I both succeed and fail with my gardening projects. Audio and video podcasts bring you into my garden on a regular basis.

Careers in Podcasting and New Media

The home for my work and writing about New Media and what it means for all of us. Here you will find videos from talks I have given at various BarCamp and PodCamp events and more.

My Word

My catch-all personal blog, podcast and vlog highlighting all the neat stuff (and neat people) I find in my life. Travelogue videos, "What I'm Reading...", PlacesLA, interviews and more.

Sanity check: The 10 best technology podcasts | Tech Sanity Check | TechRepublic.com

Author: Jason Hiner

Because of the breakneck pace of change in the technology world, there is so much information that most of us need to keep up with on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to read as much as I would like. As a result, podcasts are one of the most valuable tools that I use to stay current in tech, because of the fact that I can multi-task while I’m listening to podcasts.

(Continues on the web site)

(Via TechRepublic.)

Troubleshooting is just a logic problem

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Audio: Live from the Library - February 14, 2008

Listen to the audio from my most recent LIVE from the Library Internet Seminar.

Listen: LIVE from the Library - February 14, 2008

Elsewhere Online: Lingoes - super impressive dictionary and translation freeware

Communication is becoming increasingly more global every day and good translation software can make a big difference in our understanding each other.

Lingoes is Windows-only, but it could provide you a good, free translation solution.

Lingoes - super impressive dictionary and translation freeware

Lingoes. Lovely freeware dictionary and language translation program. Comes with a bunch of useful features like clipboard translate, right mouse click access for immediate translation/definition of any word or phrase, and the ability to download and install a large number of add-on dictionaries in different languages as well as English. Super [...]

(Via The Red Ferret Journal.)

Video: Hymini Portable Wind Generator

This is a neat, little piece of technology...a wind and solar power generator that can charge your iPod, cell phone and a host of other electronic gadgets. Here is a video from Treehugger.com



GREEN DEETS 014 Greener Gadgets Hymini from George Spyros on Vimeo.

Web Video: LIVE from the Library - February 14, 2008

Online video from today's seminar. Video podcast and audio podcast versions coming soon!

Part 1



Part 2

Vote for our friend's idea in the Cisco I-Prize!

Our friend, Ben Forer, needs your help. It will only take 5 minutes…and may change the world.

I first met been, the son of a close friend, when my wife, Rosanne and his father, Dan, were working together on Touched by an Angel. Ben and I spent a lot of time together, back when he was 10 as Rosanne and Dan also produced 2 episodes of Nightline on then President Clinton. Ben and I even visited the White House together.

Ben is now at Syracuse University in New York state. My how the time does fly!

So, as part of his studies, Ben has submitted an entry for the Cisco I-Prize. The competition is for innovative ideas involving Cisco Technology. In simple terms, his idea is to create an interactive TV Network for colleges and universities. He calls it CTPN which stands for the Cisco TelePresence Network.

There are less than 24 hours remaining in the voting and he just needs to get it in the top 200 for it to be considered by the Cisco committee.

If you have five minutes, please go here and vote

Register with your name and email and then respond to the confirmation email you receive.

You will be taken to the website. At the top of the page, you will see a box that says Search. Enter the letter CTPN (for the Cisco TelePresence Network) and it will take you to the appropriate entry.

Next to the entry is a + plus and a – minus sign. Please just click on the + plus sign. That’s all it takes.

If Ben is selected he can win up to $250,000 to develop his idea.

Thanks !

Learning languages

>A href="http://www.transparent.com/subscribe/subscription.php">A Word A Day Email Subscription

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Always check the most basic items first

Fixed a printing problem for a client today and was reminded once again to check the most basic items first.

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Regular software upgrades can save you time and money

What's that? Paying money to upgrade your software can save you money? Doesn't sound quite right, does it? That said, it is true that upgrading your software on a regular basis can save you money in the long run, for some very specific reasons.

First, let me say that I don't think you need to upgrade to the latest version of any software immediately when it is released. In fact, it might not even be a good idea. New releases always contain a few new bugs. As a rule, I try to wait until there is at least one minor upgrade before I jump in. For example, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is the most recent release of the Mac operating system. I only recently upgraded though, back in December, when it received its first minor upgrade 10.5.1.

(Version numbers are typically stated in that fashion. 10=Mac OS X, 5=the Leopard release, 1=first minor revision of the software. The net release would be 10.5.2, 10.5.3, etc until Apple releases another major update i.e. 10.6, 10.6.1, 10.6.2, etc)

Additionally, in some cases, I might even skip a version, if I don't think there are pressing reasons i.e. new features, enhanced performance, for the upgrade. In my experience, you usually won't suffer much penalty for skipping one version. If you find you need the new features offered in a new release, then you might want to upgrade anyway.

Now, when should you upgrade? Well, there are 3 important factors in this decision. First, if you wait too long, you may find that any special “upgrade” pricing on the new version has expired and you will have to buy the newer version at full, retail price. Often companies offer a significant discount for users upgrading from an older version as an incentive. Wait too long and you will lose out.

Next, in the worst cases, if you delay upgrades long enough, you may find that the latest version of the software will no longer read your existing files, which were created with the older version. This is an extreme situation, as most software retains some backwards compatibility with older version, but it can bite you if you don't watch out.

Finally, if you wait an extremely long time to upgrade your software, the new version of the software can feel like an entirely new world. For example, users who continued to use Windows 98 until this year, found that any new computer they might buy would come with Windows Vista. While Windows Vista is very similar to Windows XP, since the had no experience with XP, it is almost like they are moving to another, completely different operating system. Had they upgraded slowly, as the new versions came out, even if they delayed a bit, the latest upgrade to Vista would not have come as such a shock.

So, the next time you are contemplating a software upgrade, I hope you will keep these thoughts in mind. It should help you to make a wise decision that best serves your needs and purposes, without penalizing you down the road.