Grandma had hutches and hatboxes. I need a safe location for my electronic stuff. No, I’m not comfortable sending the carefully-pruned fruits of my imagination to someone’s cyber barn where they can be co-mingled, examined and possibly eaten. Backup and disaster recovery are important, but I want them home.
by Brian Underdahl
When was the last time you backed up your files? You don’t quite remember, do you? Sure, everyone knows they should make backups on a regular basis, but almost no one ever does. In a way, backing up your files is a lot like preparing an emergency kit so you’ll be able to grab the important stuff and run when a disaster hits–it’s just too much trouble and besides, it will never happen to you, right?
by Brian Underdahl
There are times when we take a bit longer to test some of the products we receive here at Under: The Influence. Sometimes it’s a matter of being swamped with projects, but other times it’s because we have a semi-diabolical plot in mind. That is, some products simply deserve to be tested by our most critical testers. Sure, that sounds a little mean, but if a product survives that level of scrutiny you can be sure that it will work well for the ordinary user. I’m happy to say that the Pinnacle Video Transfer not only survived but it even earned the respect of our toughest tester.
by Brian Underdahl
Who ever has enough storage? Your PC probably doesn’t. That’s why external hard drives are so popular–they’re an easy way to add some additional storage without digging into your PC. I just added a new external drive using the Zonet ZNS8010 3.5″ USB SATA enclosure and it couldn’t be easier.
by Brian Underdahl
Some years ago we signed up for a long distance plan with our local phone company and at first we were happy with the plan. But you probably know the drill. Sure, it started out fine at $3 per month and 3 cents per minute, but the phone company wasn’t happy with that level of profit (come on, how much does it REALLY cost the phone company for the minutes?).
The other day someone said that I should give CrazyTalk 5 Pro a try. It’s not like I need more things to do, but my friend thought I might have a little fun with it so I said I’d have a look. What is CrazyTalk, you ask? Well, it’s called a “face puppet animation studio”, but when you see the results you’re more likely to say that it’s creepy, weird, or something similar–along with “that’s really cool!”
by Brian Underdahl
Our Internet connection comes in one end of the house and through some wired and wireless connections, reaches each of our PCs. But our entertainment center is at the opposite end of the house where it’s not really convenient to run a network cable. Sound familiar? Needless to say, this was going to make it hard to get a good Internet connection for things like downloading movies and using interactive content on the media center. Wireless was good enough for audio-only uses, but video was going to take a whole lot more.
by Brian Underdahl
Let’s face it–none of us is getting any younger. After writing over 70 books I’ve spent a lot of time at the keyboard and sometimes it can feel like I did all of it by hand. My hands and wrists can certainly tell you that they’ve spent many hours typing. Fortunately, I’ve found a product that’s designed to reduce the damage which can be caused by constant keyboard work.
by Brian Underdahl
Every now and then something comes along that really changes how people do something. One of those changes is happening right now in the form of Internet radio. Why is this such a big change? It’s simple, really. Internet radio lets you listen to what you want–not what your local radio station manager (or more likely, the program pusher at some big media conglomerate) wants to throw your way.
By Darlene Underdahl
I’ll start by saying men are boys and women are girls, except… when they have to conform to the expectations of others. Don’t make the electronic product pink, orange or purple. Those are lovely colors, but not in proximity to other people, especially men. If a woman seeks color, she will wear a smashing blouse. I once worked in an office with a bright yellow feature that was permanent; I couldn’t possibly remove it. I brought in matching yellow flower pots and a yellow desk blotter. All the men came to look at my decorating. I’m not sure it was a compliment (at least I didn’t incorporate a Sparkle Pony).
You see your daughters or granddaughters wanting everything in pink, with sequins, and the odd rhinestone thrown on top, but most women in business want the same sleek tools as men. If they have to carry it, they’d prefer it went into their purse, or at least had a handle/strap (please don’t expect them to wear it on a belt). When traveling, it should stack with their rolling luggage.
It’s common for boys to hunt bugs and arachnids. Girls like mammals and dolphins, in a word, sleek. A boy once tried to chase me with a mouse. He held it by the tail, his arm extended, he didn’t really like it. I took the mouse, let it run up my arm and petted it. It squeaked happily. The boy was very disappointed. A spider would have been another story.
I can be as complex as anyone, but I don’t do it for fun. Women don’t appreciate “This thing has twenty eye-lenses! Wow! Can I keep it in the house?” Men love biological or metal doohickeys with antennae/wires sticking out, and red mouth-parts. A woman will accept a lobster on a plate, however… Read the rest of this entry »