Post about our west coast trip coming soon...
Get ready for yours with some cool gadgets:
Sep 29, 2011
Sep 15, 2011
Two sides to every gadget
In my previous post I wrote about how GPS can Tell you how to get to places, though on this trip I realized another dimension to having this gadget on a trip. Here is what happened:
On our one-day trip we visited several wineries for some wine tasting, went to get ice cream at Bellvale Farms Creamery (which I highly recommend if you are in those parts as ice cream was really good and so was the view ..see pics in photo album), and went to a drive-in movie, they do still exist. After the movie, we were going to stay over in northern NJ as it was late and we have been driving for awhile. We plugged in the address into GPS and off we went. However, about 5 minutes into the trip, were were interrupted by the road closure on main highway we needed to take. It was flooded and/or had construction after the storm. We thought, "thats ok, we will just point the GPS to build a detour." And after some recalculation, it did. So, as we got so used to doing, we followed its directions. It turned out that it was taking us another way but to the same highway that was closed. We turned off the road again going in opposite direction, again hopping that the unit will find a detour. Once again it was leading us to the same highway, now from a different direction. To add a kicker to the situation we were also running low on gas. So we circled around the neighborhood for a bit, looking for a way out, as though we were in a labyrinth of some kind. Then we decided to take a pause and regroup as we realized that as smart as GPS seems sometimes, it was not going to help us out.
After starring at it the GPS for awhile, I started moving the interactive map on it. And that is when it dawned on me. We can use the map within the unit in less advanced way and find the side streets manually that would take us to our final destination. With my navigator, ie my wife, following the route we came up with, we made it out of the labyrinth and to the gas station, and at last, to the house.
Why good to have on a trip:
- Great for navigating to new destination
- Turn by turn direction
- Can be used as a map
- might lead you out of labyrinth
Warwick trip Photo Album
Sep 14, 2011
Life before the computer
Life before the computer
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!
Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy
You hoped nobody found out!
Compress was something you did to garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for awhile!
Log on was adding wood to a fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!
Cut - you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu!
I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens they wish they were dead!
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!
Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy
You hoped nobody found out!
Compress was something you did to garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for awhile!
Log on was adding wood to a fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!
Cut - you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu!
I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens they wish they were dead!
Sep 9, 2011
10 Cool Gadgets Girls Love via GlamChic
10 Cool Gadgets Girls Love:
..Sometimes gadget gifts go over well, and sometimes they don’t, but the trick is—especially when tracking down something special for those hard-to-shop for gals—to get something that’s as stylish as it is useful. (Indeed, that should be your shopping M.O. for just about everything.)..
Rest of article on Glam.com
..Sometimes gadget gifts go over well, and sometimes they don’t, but the trick is—especially when tracking down something special for those hard-to-shop for gals—to get something that’s as stylish as it is useful. (Indeed, that should be your shopping M.O. for just about everything.)..
Rest of article on Glam.com
Sep 8, 2011
Top 5 ways to keep you and your gadgets safe while traveling
One such great gadget is a GPS. It is a great tool while on a road trip as it shows you step by step directions of where to go and knows where you are located in the wilderness of our country. We have been using ours extensively on short and long trips. Recently, we have been musing how we have traveled before without it. On our first trips with my wife, we were using a paper map and it was not easy. During the longest road trip we have taken at that time, my wife let me know that she was not sure how to read the map. We were on the highway at that time by the way, speeding along to somewhere.
The GPS could also be used while walking to find your way around town or forrest, as well as while biking and boating. Though while in a boat it would be a great idea to put it in a water proof pouch
.How to Use Your Car GPS in Pedestrian Mode
Keep your gadgets dry and secure:
As we all know water is a top enemy for anything electronic. I know first hand, since I thought that my phone could go swimming in the pool with me. But it was not so. There are many different cases and skins available to protect your electronic gadgets from getting ruined by water. The LifeProof case
for iPhone 4 is one such case. It has a super thin and light profile that barely increases the size of your phone, has two parts with a back plate that clips onto the front with a ridge all the way around and secures via a clamp on the bottom edge. It prevents dust, water, and other stuff from getting inside.Waterproof cases: Amazon collection
and REI matrix of waterproof cases Hold on to your gadgets securely
Handstand iPad case - The Handstand case fits snugly around your iPad -- so far, nothing overly different from other cases on the market. Where the Handstand excels is a neat rotating hand grip on the back of the case. Simply slip your hand through the elastic strap, and you can hold your iPad with just one hand and rotate it in any angle you want. The rotating rear also doubles as a stand, allowing you to place your iPad on a flat surface and angle it up a couple of degrees for watching movies. The whole construction feels very solid, and even when you shake your arms around, your iPad won't budge. - Gadling.com
Keep an eye on your homestead while traveling:
Logitech Alert HD home monitoring system provides peace of mind for you while away with apps for IPhone, IPad, and Android that lets you easily access cameras located at home with secure remote access.
Keep things secure and with you while touring:
Venturesafe 200
bag - a small daypack with a lot of security measures. First of, the shoulder strap is slash-proof and snatch-proof. A thief can’t quickly cut through it with a knife because there is wire mesh inside. The same wire mesh goes through the whole bag as well, so the old trick of slashing the bottom of a pack and taking what’s inside won’t work either. The extra-strong zippers tuck into little pockets so they are hard to reach. This bag has essential compartments for several gadgets, keys, and headphones. Find out more on Pacsafe.comKeep your laptops secure:
When traveling on business and otherwise with a laptop, you would want it to be where you left it when you come back. Be it in the hotel room or lounge or library. Sooner or later you will get up and leave you laptop alone. You might need to get up to get a napkin, or when nature calls and you need to leave your computer behind to go to the bathroom. Laptop locks attach to your laptop computer equipped with a lock slot. Simply loop the lock around a desk or chair, then insert the lock into your notebook's lock slot and set the combination or lock it with a key. It is a best practice to lock it to something that is bolted down.
|
|
Secure Your Stuff: Top Hack-able Passwords (Infographic)
Sep 2, 2011
Powering Gadgets a Step at a Time
Powering Gadgets a Step at a Time - Technology Review:
by Prachi Patel on technologyreview.com
"A new way to harvest footfall energy could someday let shoes generate enough power to keep cell phones and laptops topped up.
by Prachi Patel on technologyreview.com
"A new way to harvest footfall energy could someday let shoes generate enough power to keep cell phones and laptops topped up.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have come up with a microfluidics technique that scavenges considerably more energy from human footfalls and converts it into electric power. Previous attempts to make energy-harvesting shoes have yielded less than a watt of power, but the new approach could lead to a shoe-mounted generator that produces up to 10 watts...
Cell phones and smart phones need about one to two watts, while small laptops need 10 to 12 watts. Power-generating shoes could be an important breakthrough for soldiers, who currently carry heavy batteries to power their radios, GPS units, and night-vision goggles...."
Cell phones and smart phones need about one to two watts, while small laptops need 10 to 12 watts. Power-generating shoes could be an important breakthrough for soldiers, who currently carry heavy batteries to power their radios, GPS units, and night-vision goggles...."