by Brian Underdahl
One of the coolest new ideas I’ve seen recently is the Trips & Pics package from Pharos. The concept is actually pretty simple–you take photos with your digital camera and the Trips & Pics application lets you display those photos at their correct locations on things like Google Earth. But while the concept might seem simple, the results are pretty amazing as well as being an awful lot of fun.
by Brian Underdahl
It’s kind of a sickening feeling when your computer refuses to start–especially when you know that you should have been backing things up, but somehow never got around to it. Haven’t had that happen yet? Don’t worry, your turn is coming.
I like Vista. I was listening to music in the early morning hours with random visualization and saturated color. Talk about mesmerizing!
A lot of people are maligning Vista, and they seem to be Linux fan-boys, or just grumps. It’s cold in the basement, and Mom won’t spring for a new computer. OK, maybe Vista doesn’t do games perfectly, but Windows XP needed tweaking, as I recall. Vista will change through upgrades. Sometimes you sacrifice the first pancake to season the pan. I recall a ditty about grandma, a cellar, and pancakes. I won’t repeat it. (more…)
by Brian Underdahl
When was the last time you used your VCR? These days the videotape is going the way of the 8-track. DVDs are just so much easier to use and to store. But what if you’ve still got a pile of tapes sitting around? Or worse, what if you’ve managed to become the family caretaker of a bunch of family movies that you want to be able to pass along to your kids or grandkids? Sure, you’ve got a PC with a DVD burner, but how are you going to move all that stuff?
There was a time when little changed in hundreds of years. Today’s nerds/geeks were yesteryear’s tinkers. They were a small minority, and regarded with a mix of amusement and downright hostility. “What? You think you’re better than the rest of us? If it was good enough for your parents, it’s good enough for you!” The tinkers listened to the criticism as they tried to find fulfillment and improve/create objects for society. They had spectacular failures. The villagers jeered lustily.
We haven’t evolved much. This occurred to me as I was dusting my office. My techie husband showed up with a laser scribe. I can use a laser scribe, but what I saw at that moment was yet another black box with a cable sticking out of it, and I have cables aplenty. The wooly duster flew into the guest room (I have to watch that. I’ve got lots of art glass should the techie decide to start pitching.) I guess I was fed up with trying to clean around all the techno stuff. (more…)
How many user names, passwords, accounts, and so on do you have? If you’re like me, it’s far too many to remember. That’s why I started storing all of that information in an Excel file on my PC. The list was so handy that I decided to also keep a copy on my Pharos smartphone. But that’s when I realized this might not be such a swift idea. (more…)