RichC | April 3, 2010
Once more Apple has inspired their devoted advocates into waiting in long lines for the chance to get a limited number of “first” iPad tablet computing devices — link. Many believe that the new product will usher in a new wave of computing, one that is slotted between the smartphone led by the Apple iPhone […]
RichC | April 1, 2010
Time Warner notified me that they needed to upgrade the existing cable cards in my Series 3 Tivo box with a multi-stream card AND install another piece of hardware in order to continue receiving their content (some sort of 2-way frequency sharing box or something). After they added some new wires and stacked the odd […]
RichC | April 1, 2010
A new webOS 1.4.1 update is available for the Palm Pre and Pixi … at least for Sprint users here in the U.S. The feature improvements (listed below) are welcomed fixes to the 1.4 release, but what I’m really looking forward to is tethering with the the new 4G access that is now available to […]
RichC | March 31, 2010
Gizmodo posts a few first look iPad review snippets from the “pro” technology gadget reviewers. Do you want an iPad? http://gizmodo.com/5506824/first-ipad-reviews-are-in The first iPad reviews are in and so far they’re sounding pretty great with very few reservations. Here are the highlights of what the early reviewers are saying: The WSJ’s Walt Mossberg is in […]
RichC | March 26, 2010
I’ve waited a few weeks in order to fairly judge the NetTalk phone service and it’s associated smallish hardware device which promises “Unlimited Local and Long Distance Calling in the US and Canada.” The VOIP service is similar to other marketed services and devices that transform broadband Internet connections into something that resembles traditional landline […]
RichC | March 23, 2010
Sprint announced the additional markets it has planned for it’s 4G WiMAX expansion. They include the Ohio cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland along with Pittsburgh PA. (Press release below) Sprint 4G Expansion Plans to Stretch Coast-to-Coast from Los Angeles to Miami Sprint extends its lead in making 4G technology a reality for millions of customers […]
RichC | March 23, 2010
As Palm Inc continues to suffer on Wall Street, some technology experts are wondering if this company is nearing the end? TWIT guru Leo Laporte commented a few minutes before his call in program this past weekend and pondered if there was any chance of an acquisition — perhaps a company needing Palm’s webOS. […]
RichC | March 6, 2010
I’m a couple days late in commenting on the newly released Facebook application for the Palm webOS smartphones, but wanted to mention that it has been significantly improved. If you are a Facebook user, or even a newbie, the enhancements available for the Pre and Pixi make the popular social networking site almost worth using. […]
RichC | March 3, 2010
As a ‘three’ Tivo box family (two at the house and my daughter has one), I was anxious to hear that there will soon be a new ‘must have’ gadget to use with our Tivo DVRs. The company announced, along with their new Series 4 devices, a new optional remote which comes with a QWERTY […]
RichC | March 2, 2010
Curiosity had me pondering just how well the Palm Pre could capture video directly off of an HD Plasma television broadcast? Not too bad it turns out, considering up until webOS 1.4 update was implemented this past weekend that the diminutive smartphone couldn’t even shoot video. When the update was first installed on my phone, […]
RichC | March 1, 2010
After a brief lost of tethering my notebook computer with my Sprint Palm Pre after the webOS 1.4 update this past weekend, all is good again … although speed seems to be slower than last year? I uninstalled MyTether 2.1 as instructed on the MyTether.net donor forum and after a reboot, put the phone in […]
RichC | February 27, 2010
The Palm webOS 1.4 update finally arrived and we’re still in February. It has been an anticipated update that includes new video and camcorder like features. While waiting for the substantial download and nearly 30 minute upgrade process, I ended up fiddling with a new piping or cording foot that arrived for my wife’s sewing […]
RichC | February 24, 2010
Palm Pre and Pixi users have known about and seen many of the new feature in webOS 1.4 demos (flash, video recording) for some time; most of us have been waiting patiently for the announced February 2010 rollout. According to most blogs and newsy Internet sites, the webOS devices on both Sprint and Verizon networks […]
RichC | February 21, 2010
After reading an article by Kathleen Hughes in this weekend’s WSJ, I just couldn’t help myself in reminiscing about where I grew up … they were wonderful memories for me – I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. Nevertheless, noting the comment about digitally visiting home, I “re-experienced” memories from my childhood taking the […]
RichC | February 19, 2010
I’ve added a little light reading to my weekend plans from Paul Thurrot and Rafael Rivera’s book, Windows 7 Secrets … it’s only 1080 pages. I’m hoping the book will help enhance an already satisfied Windows 7 user by teaching me a few tricks in using Microsoft’s newest OS. As regular readers know, I’ve been […]
RichC | February 16, 2010
“Google, are you playing nice … or do you need a little parenting?” (WSJ Digits).
RichC | February 13, 2010
With my daughter at home for a couple weeks while doing an M3 year “exploratory” at Children’s Hospital here in Cincinnati, I had the chance to use her new Barnes and Noble Nook to read a book. After the newness wore off and the expense of paying for digital ebooks and publications took hold, I’ve […]
RichC | February 12, 2010
Gadgets, particularly those with microchips are getting more and more ‘micro’ all the time. For the most part, this leads to improvements in electronic gizmos that serve us daily for convenience and even health. I read an article in TechNewsDaily about a solar-powered sensor that is small enough to supply endless power, yet powerful enough […]
RichC | February 11, 2010
From BGR: According to an OTR Global report, three different sources have confirmed that all future orders of the Palm Pre and Palm Pre Plus are being suspended as of Wednesday. One of the sources said, “The decision is very sudden, and Foxconn was told to reduce all February Pre forecast to zero on Wednesday […]
RichC | February 2, 2010
Testing the issuu.com publishing platform option for a couple clients using sample content. Posting the small embed version of Enviro-energies product spec sheets on my blog to see if it could be useful (think of it as a virtual color e-reader).
RichC | February 1, 2010
Apple not only makes great products that their customers love, but does and even better job of advertising and creating ‘buzz’ with product placement. Here’s the new iPad being showcased by Stephen Cobert at the Grammy Awards.
RichC | January 23, 2010
NASA’s Puffin electric-powered, super-quiet personal VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft concept is ideal for those wanting a quick commute to work on a traffic congested morning … particularly if you’ve got a charging station on your buildings helipad … and who doesn’t? The USMC V-22 Osprey looking aircraft could offer a bit more promise […]
RichC | January 18, 2010
There was a day when we didn’t watch much TV, but nowadays that wouldn’t be true. Besides too much football and cable news, my wife and I have become addicted to a few weekly programs … one which had its 2010 season premiere Sunday evening: 24. As usual, it was exciting and left me hanging […]
RichC | January 11, 2010
Who doesn’t enjoy a Palm Pre cellphone sunset photo? I’ll start with something simple that sooths my aching head … a beautiful winter sunset in Cincinnati Ohio (photo above) … and conclude with a very short comment regarding our Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter (EAA284) meeting on Sunday – one that had a subject over my […]
RichC | January 7, 2010
A few weeks ago, I noticed what I thought was a ‘scratch’ on the side of my Palm Pre next to the USB door. The ‘scratch’ has since revealed itself as a ‘crack’ which is slowly working its way to the screen. So far, besides the cosmetic issue, the touch display works fine. Unfortunately I […]
RichC | January 5, 2010
While I enjoyed reading on my daughter’s new “Nook” last week, it still leaves much to be desired. A well designed “tablet” might eventually be the best option. It will be interesting to see how Apple sees there up and coming device fitting in to the niche. By Geoffrey A. Fowler With Apple’s much-hyped tablet […]
RichC | January 4, 2010
News for tomorrow’s WSJ: Apple to Ship Tablet Device in March — Sent from my Palm Pre Posted via email from richc’s posterous EDIT:
RichC | January 2, 2010
Like many men (and women) in America, I spent New Year’s day 2010 watching way too much college football. It was really the first test of our updated HDTV home theater – totally pleased (photo).For the most part we enjoyed the games, particularly the Ohio State Buckeyes Rose Bowl victory. That said, we’re finishing the […]
RichC | December 31, 2009
A strange GPS story and follow-up courteous of the Air Forces Space Command Twitter account to usher out 2009 and welcome 2010 … Happy New Year, by the way. GPS strands couple in snow for 3 days GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A Nevada couple letting their SUV’s navigation system guide them through the high desert […]
RichC | December 30, 2009
Another phone to blog test this one with a photo from the Palm Pre ‘Update’ screen (via Posterous but edited): Palm updated their webOS to version 1.3.5 during the last few days of 2009, and from my preliminary testing has improved the speed on my Pre. I’m hoping for battery improvement that has been promised, […]
RichC | December 16, 2009
While traveling to northeastern Ohio this week I had a bit more fun playing with Photosynth (see previous post). This time I used my daughter’s apartment as a subject before taking her out for our father-daughter dinner — the highlight of my week. Unfortunately lighting and not spending too much time to take the series […]
RichC | December 15, 2009
I tried my first “synth” with Microsoft’s online computer-generated panorama photo application called Photosynth.net. The app automatically stitches a series of photos together in a semi-panoramic combination and creates an image called a “synth.” From a users perspective, the process is fairly easy and takes less than an hour; all that is required is to […]
RichC | December 9, 2009
My goal is to have the home theater upgraded by the time my kids are home from college for their Christmas break. The new Optoma HD20 arrived and I anxiously replaced my older Sony 900U ceiling concealed projector. Besides ‘still’ having a ridiculous combination of remotes, the HD picture enhanced from a standard DVD from […]
RichC | December 4, 2009
In a follow up to my post concerning defective Christmas lights, I’ve been working to salvage strings of mini lights before tossing them into the landfill. So far I’ve been pleased the Lightkeeper Pro and have been successful in being able to repair at least a dozens strands of lights. The fixes have not been […]
RichC | December 1, 2009
I know that I’m not the only one ‘collecting’ tangles of miniature Christmas lights which grows each season as the decorations are packed and unpacked. I’ve vowed a number of times to either fix or dispose of the faulty and half lit strings. This year, knowing my repairman patience is nearing it limit, I’m giving […]
RichC | November 20, 2009
Neither Palm or Sprint can be happy seeing the recently released (11/15/2009) Palm Pixi being heavily discounted by big box retailers who are handling their new “mass appear” smartphone product. The struggling Palm has had good press and reviews for its sleek Palm Pre and was no doubt hoping to build on the buzz with […]
RichC | November 12, 2009
Netbooks are growing up and the slightly larger models now sport a bit more memory, larger displays and the excellent Windows 7 OS. As a family, we’ll be gifting a new HP 311 netbook to my mother-in-law this year for Christmas. We’re hoping to re-introduce her to using a computer — primarily for email and […]
RichC | November 4, 2009
I’m a regular reader of Paul Thurott and he had a great article on the “convoluted, ridiculous and hard to understand” pricing and option packages associated with upgrading a Microsoft Windows PC to the new Windows 7 operating system. He compared it to the “Bataan Death Match … but this time, the victims are your […]
RichC | October 28, 2009
A quick thanks to Lee for expediting my Google Wave beta request, although I still feel a bit late to the game in getting a chance to play with this new Google app. Although I’ve talked to a few people about how they foresee using this new web based communications tool, I’m still struggling to […]
RichC | October 23, 2009
The copies of Microsoft’s new computer OS Windows 7 arrived today! I’m not planning to update anytime soon as I’m currently running Win 7 RC on both of my PCs. (they should operate until 2010) I’m certainly not planning to ruin this weekend by stripping the computer and re-installing all my software (the scheduled colonoscopy […]
RichC | October 20, 2009
An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal highlighted algae based biodiesel as one of the “Five Technologies That Change Everything” recognizing that a new generation of biofuel made from nonfood crops is one of the more promising sources of energy. Snippet from WSJ Article: Researchers are devising ways to turn lumber and crop wastes, garbage […]
RichC | October 7, 2009
The new podcast listening app available for the Palm Pre has just improved the sophisticated smartphone ten-fold when in comes to listening to audio. On the heels of the iTunes sync webOS 1.2.1 release/repair/update, the App Catalog new arrival of Stitcher now makes listening to podcasts a cinch. After a quick download and install (providing […]
RichC | October 6, 2009
I have been satisfied with my well used first generation Jawbone bluetooth earpiece and have found its noise canceling technology to work exceptionally well (old MP3 test). It is a bit cumbersome to wear regularly, especially in public, but has been a real help while in a car. I’ve taken to leaving in the earpiece […]
RichC | October 5, 2009
Unfortunately Adobe Flash is not available ‘just yet,’ bu t one can see from the demo that it is getting closer and looks to be yet another reason to patiently wait for the webOS upgrades. As I’ve mentioned previously, the webOS 1.2 upgrade has been a great improvement on my Palm Pre and as a […]
RichC | September 29, 2009
Here’s a safety tip that came from a “Dear Heloise” clipping set to me by none other than my mom; no matter how old I am she never stops being a mom. Actually I don’t think she was really thinking about me, but most likely my son and daughter … so I’ll forward them the […]
RichC | September 16, 2009
After attempting to delete photos from the Sugarsync gallery on my own and finding I could not recover several of my paid for and lost gigabytes, I contacted tech support — and have lodged a complaint to no avail. I’m eliminating my use of the backup software and switching to Dropbox.— Tech Support response below: […]
RichC | September 4, 2009
I used an excellent free conference call product from FreeConference.com yesterday. The registration took about 3 minutes and a conference call can be scheduled in about 5 minutes. I set up my first call and had very good results while conferencing with three others … that is, right up until the end — see comment […]
RichC | August 28, 2009
For those of you who occasionally check My Desultory Blog, the database server for this WordPress install was is suffering significant slowdowns. I’m unsure if it was is load related or something else, but my complaint was finally heard and addressed … although ever so slowly. The discount host that I use for this personal […]
RichC | August 11, 2009
After reading and commenting on an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning regarding the upcoming Chevrolet Volt boasting 230 mpg, about all I can say is we (the EPA) needs to create a new system of calculating fuel economy. It’s a bit misleading for a family sized sedan to be able to claim […]
RichC | July 10, 2009
Sometimes the best laid plans can go awry when you’ll not reading the details. My Achilles’s heel is ‘a good buy’ when it comes to tools and technology gear and the Hammer N1200 empty’ myshare’ NAS (Network Attached Storage) unit seemed to be fitting into my planned purchase since I had two spare 250GB 3.5 […]
RichC | July 3, 2009
I’ve been grumbling about battery life since moving from the Palm Treo to the Sprint Palm Pre for the past couple weeks, but it seems Apple iPhone users, besides having a high heat problem, are grumbling too. There are a few software items on my ‘disappointed’ list, but top on my software and hardware list […]
RichC | June 30, 2009
Ever need another outlet even when you have a couple surge strips and wall outlets are full? Perhaps you need an entire wall wired and ready for the latest and greatest electrical gadget. (See Make Online – Thanks Scott)
RichC | June 24, 2009
After a couple of weeks with the Palm Pre I’m learning to be more productive with the hot little smartphone device. The earlier cut, copy and paste complaints for supported apps complaint has become less of an issue and I’m enjoying the improved camera, yet still miss added camera features and video. There are also […]
RichC | June 15, 2009
Here’s an excellent video from the World Air Games in Turin, Italy showing a test flight flown by Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-75) Maurizo Cheli in the electrically powered SkySpark Single “Motor” Land aircraft (a lame attempt at aviation humor on py part). What makes this flight unique is that it has achieved an airspeed record […]
RichC | June 14, 2009
Spending a busy weekend away from the computer, but found time to catch up on some tech updates on my Palm Pre. Really I’d prefer watching video on a big screen, but I was impress at how well I was able to watch a couple YouTube videos and episodes of Cali Lewis on Geekbrief.tv. Very […]
RichC | June 9, 2009
— “Houston, we have a problem.” — Some heavy smartphone device users may have a problem with the Palm Pre’s battery life. My initial road test is turning up some pretty questionable results (click photo at right – used 80% of battery in 4 hours). I left the house this morning for a day on […]
RichC | June 8, 2009
My new smartphone, the Palm Pre, is growing on me and although I’m slow to change the smooth skipping stone of a phone is growing on me. Productivity with it is not happening just yet since the keyboard layout has change over the Treo and Centro line (moved some keys around). I’m am surprised how […]
RichC | June 4, 2009
As a long time Palm OS user from Palm Pilots to Handspring Visors to Samsung i500 phones (my mother is currently using it) to the latest Treos and Centros … I’m waiting … and waiting … for the new Web OS … and waiting for a new physical keyboard PDA smartphone. The Palm Pre is […]
RichC | May 27, 2009
Day two of the All Things D D7 conference had Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewing Evan Williams and Biz Stone of Twitter. The short on stage sit down offered one of the better reviews both the history and future thinking behind this fast growing social networking company (watch your audio volume in embedded video […]
RichC | May 18, 2009
I’ve been lax in posting a follow up to my new to me tech gadget since I really haven’t had the chance to use it much until last week, nevertheless, here is my take on the D-Link DPU-50U. I’ve been using the Skype to phones USB device lightly for a few weeks now and will […]