Every so often there comes along a product that catches my eye. Not that I need it and not that I would buy it, but it is just a neat product. So it is with the Nikon Coolpix S1000 pj digital still camera.
This pocket size digital camera has most of the features of any mid-priced camera and is offered by Nikon, one of the world leaders in camera technology. It has a good lens and bright built in LCD viewing screen. The 12.1 megapixel resolution provides clear bright digital images. It is a very good basic camera.
What sets this camera apart from most others is not how the camera captures photos. Rather, it is what the S1000 pj can do after you take the shots. Like most digital cameras it stores the images on a SD card. Unlike most cameras it also has a built in projector so you can use a wall or screen to display the photos. The image can be projected with reasonable quality up to about 40” measured diagonally. Of course the darker the room the brighter the image will appear.
Now this is not a projector that will rival displaying your photos on a large flat screen TV or high power digital projector, but it will provide a way to share the party pictures with the crowd without the need for passing the camera around the room and repeating instructions for advancing to the next picture.
Nikon says that you can get about an hour of projection time from a single charge, but I suggest that if you are going to have a long presentation you use the AC adapter rather than the internal battery. It comes with a remote control for advancing the pictures.
The Nikon S1000 pj can be purchased at most electronic stores and on line. List price is about $400 but I have seen many discounted offers. Shop around. Next time your office mate pulls out his wallet with more pictures of his pet goat, you can trump him with a slide show right on his desk. That alone is worth the price.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
June is Back Up Awareness Month
Since I no longer have three teen age boys to nag, perhaps I am giving in to my repressed parental urges this week. No, I won’t tell you to be sure to buckle your seat belt (but you should) and I will take out my own garbage. I won’t lecture you about clean underwear and my embarrassment if you get hit by a car. Even though I have written about this often, I am repeating my plea for you to back up your computer files.
June is “Back Up Awareness Month.” Perhaps a better moniker would be “Back Up Unawareness Month,” since according to studies in 2010 only about one in three individuals back up computer files at least once a month. In 2008 it was only one in four so the trend is going in the right direction. Nevertheless, two-thirds of us still don’t back up our files.
The old saw regarding data storage is worth repeating. “It is not a question if your hard drive will fail, it is only a question when.” The hard drive storage in any computer device, lap top, desk top, game system or Tivo, is the most failure prone component. The reason is that it is a mechanical device with moving parts and some very precise movements at that.
In the past, back up was a real pain and often expensive. That is no longer the case. There are several options, some of them very sophisticated, others quite simple.
One of the easiest solutions is to purchase an external hard drive that has automatic back up built in. These drives connect with your computer and every time you create a file a copy is stored both on the internal hard drive and the external drive. Since the likelihood of both drives failing at the same time is remote, this is a good choice. You can purchase one of these drives at any computer store or office goods store for about 100 bucks. Of course this does not help if your have a fire or flood at your house.
In previous columns I have talked about services that literally back up everything you do by connecting your computer via the Internet to a secure, redundant data storage site. Most of these services charge a fee for the service and your computer has to be online. The chief benefit of these services is that your data is always located at another location. So a fire or flood at your house does not wipe out your files.
If nothing else for important records like taxes, bank information or family pictures, make a copy on a CD or DVD. Be sure to store it either in a fire and water proof case or place it in an envelope and ask a friend or relative to keep it for you.
I know I am nagging. Just chalk it up to old age. Oh yes, one more thing. Be sure your socks don’t have holes in them!
June is “Back Up Awareness Month.” Perhaps a better moniker would be “Back Up Unawareness Month,” since according to studies in 2010 only about one in three individuals back up computer files at least once a month. In 2008 it was only one in four so the trend is going in the right direction. Nevertheless, two-thirds of us still don’t back up our files.
The old saw regarding data storage is worth repeating. “It is not a question if your hard drive will fail, it is only a question when.” The hard drive storage in any computer device, lap top, desk top, game system or Tivo, is the most failure prone component. The reason is that it is a mechanical device with moving parts and some very precise movements at that.
In the past, back up was a real pain and often expensive. That is no longer the case. There are several options, some of them very sophisticated, others quite simple.
One of the easiest solutions is to purchase an external hard drive that has automatic back up built in. These drives connect with your computer and every time you create a file a copy is stored both on the internal hard drive and the external drive. Since the likelihood of both drives failing at the same time is remote, this is a good choice. You can purchase one of these drives at any computer store or office goods store for about 100 bucks. Of course this does not help if your have a fire or flood at your house.
In previous columns I have talked about services that literally back up everything you do by connecting your computer via the Internet to a secure, redundant data storage site. Most of these services charge a fee for the service and your computer has to be online. The chief benefit of these services is that your data is always located at another location. So a fire or flood at your house does not wipe out your files.
If nothing else for important records like taxes, bank information or family pictures, make a copy on a CD or DVD. Be sure to store it either in a fire and water proof case or place it in an envelope and ask a friend or relative to keep it for you.
I know I am nagging. Just chalk it up to old age. Oh yes, one more thing. Be sure your socks don’t have holes in them!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Enhance Your Outdoor Living Area With Music
Now that summer is in full swing, many of us will be spending more time outside on our decks and patios. As we move out of our family and living rooms to enjoy the summer breezes, many want to bring along some music to add to the experience.
For sure, the tried and true method of running speaker wire through the walls and in the attic to make these connections is an option. This method can be time consuming and messy. Also, with a wired system the location of the outdoor speakers is fixed, i.e. everyplace you want a speaker must have a wired connection. In my case I have had a set of Bose weather resistant speakers installed on our deck for many years. It has worked well. If, however, we want to move the speakers to another location in the back yard, it will require more wire.
There is a solution that might be a good option for those who may not want to hassle with wiring and time consuming installation. There are several wireless speakers that can be purchased that have great sound quality, run on batteries and can be located as much as 300 feet from the music source. And, since they are wireless you can move them to wherever you want. You can use several pairs of speakers in various locations to play the same music. So if you are having a party on the deck and some of your guests are in the pool or congregating indoors in the family room, all of the speakers can be playing the same audio. If the people move, the music can move with them.
There are several types of wireless systems but all use some sort of low power wireless radio transmission. There is a base station to which you connect the music source, i.e. a radio, traditional stereo unit, mp3 player or iPod. That base station serves as a personal radio station that broadcasts to a limited area. Each of the wireless speakers receives the same signal.
For those who want music in the garden there are even speakers that are in cases disguised as rocks or tree stumps. For those who may have a pond or water feature, you can get speakers that look like a frog. Why? I have no idea.
Some of these systems use Bluetooth technology but these do not provide a wide coverage. Be sure to read the description of how far the signal will travel and purchase accordingly.
Wireless speaker systems can be purchased at most any electronic retailers or on line. My research shows models beginning at about $50 a pair and going up to several hundreds of dollars. In most cases, the more expensive the system the more efficient battery life and sound quality.
Installing a few speakers in the back yard can be a perfect way to make your home retreat even more inviting.
For sure, the tried and true method of running speaker wire through the walls and in the attic to make these connections is an option. This method can be time consuming and messy. Also, with a wired system the location of the outdoor speakers is fixed, i.e. everyplace you want a speaker must have a wired connection. In my case I have had a set of Bose weather resistant speakers installed on our deck for many years. It has worked well. If, however, we want to move the speakers to another location in the back yard, it will require more wire.
There is a solution that might be a good option for those who may not want to hassle with wiring and time consuming installation. There are several wireless speakers that can be purchased that have great sound quality, run on batteries and can be located as much as 300 feet from the music source. And, since they are wireless you can move them to wherever you want. You can use several pairs of speakers in various locations to play the same music. So if you are having a party on the deck and some of your guests are in the pool or congregating indoors in the family room, all of the speakers can be playing the same audio. If the people move, the music can move with them.
There are several types of wireless systems but all use some sort of low power wireless radio transmission. There is a base station to which you connect the music source, i.e. a radio, traditional stereo unit, mp3 player or iPod. That base station serves as a personal radio station that broadcasts to a limited area. Each of the wireless speakers receives the same signal.
For those who want music in the garden there are even speakers that are in cases disguised as rocks or tree stumps. For those who may have a pond or water feature, you can get speakers that look like a frog. Why? I have no idea.
Some of these systems use Bluetooth technology but these do not provide a wide coverage. Be sure to read the description of how far the signal will travel and purchase accordingly.
Wireless speaker systems can be purchased at most any electronic retailers or on line. My research shows models beginning at about $50 a pair and going up to several hundreds of dollars. In most cases, the more expensive the system the more efficient battery life and sound quality.
Installing a few speakers in the back yard can be a perfect way to make your home retreat even more inviting.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Internet Appliances Finding a Market
Recently, Apple Computer, with its launch of the iPad and before that the iPhone, has given us a look at what “computers” should and will look like. Far from the iconic monitor, keyboard, mouse and big box CPU that many of us grew up with, these new breeds of computing devices are beginning to look like something right out of Star Trek. We are used to having computers buried in the innards of our cars, our microwaves and coffee makers. Now, there are some other special purpose computers coming on the market that may find their way onto your kitchen counter or bedroom night stand.
These devices are small, stylish, inexpensive and simple to use. Their beauty may be in that they do not do everything. Perhaps engineers and designers have abandoned the swiss-army-knife approach to all things electronic.
Sony offers one of these devices called the “dash” personal internet viewer. The dash uses wifi to connect to the internet and, just like many smart phones, can run special purpose applications. The color display touch screen measures about 8 x10 inches. It comes with built in speakers. So you can preprogram it to access the current weather, traffic and perhaps your favorite news service like CNN.com or Cincinnati.com. Of course, it has several clock features as well.
By connecting to web sites like Pandora, you can have your favorite music wake you in the morning. While you can’t send messages to Facebook or mySpace you can review postings on your sites.
Other special use devices that are getting very popular are Internet Radios. These small desk top devices look like a regular radio but they do not receive radio signals over the air. They use the Internet. Most every radio station in the US and many around the world provide their programming to listeners via the Internet. So if your taste in radio programs runs toward Lithuanian Folk Songs, you can listen to all your favorites right from Vilnius. All programs are crystal clear and you don’t need a short wave radio.
Internet radio was once a novelty. Using a regular computer to listen is a hassle since you need to boot up, connect with the Internet and then point your browser to the right address. Internet Radios make it a breeze since they automatically connect to the internet when you turn them on and you store your various internet addresses just like you do with the push buttons on your car radio.
Look for other special purpose computers and Internet appliances to show up on store shelves. Some may look and feel like your favorite lap top but most will be entirely new designs as different as a smart phone is from the black rotary dial phone in your grandma’s hallway.
These devices are small, stylish, inexpensive and simple to use. Their beauty may be in that they do not do everything. Perhaps engineers and designers have abandoned the swiss-army-knife approach to all things electronic.
Sony offers one of these devices called the “dash” personal internet viewer. The dash uses wifi to connect to the internet and, just like many smart phones, can run special purpose applications. The color display touch screen measures about 8 x10 inches. It comes with built in speakers. So you can preprogram it to access the current weather, traffic and perhaps your favorite news service like CNN.com or Cincinnati.com. Of course, it has several clock features as well.
By connecting to web sites like Pandora, you can have your favorite music wake you in the morning. While you can’t send messages to Facebook or mySpace you can review postings on your sites.
Other special use devices that are getting very popular are Internet Radios. These small desk top devices look like a regular radio but they do not receive radio signals over the air. They use the Internet. Most every radio station in the US and many around the world provide their programming to listeners via the Internet. So if your taste in radio programs runs toward Lithuanian Folk Songs, you can listen to all your favorites right from Vilnius. All programs are crystal clear and you don’t need a short wave radio.
Internet radio was once a novelty. Using a regular computer to listen is a hassle since you need to boot up, connect with the Internet and then point your browser to the right address. Internet Radios make it a breeze since they automatically connect to the internet when you turn them on and you store your various internet addresses just like you do with the push buttons on your car radio.
Look for other special purpose computers and Internet appliances to show up on store shelves. Some may look and feel like your favorite lap top but most will be entirely new designs as different as a smart phone is from the black rotary dial phone in your grandma’s hallway.
Monday, May 31, 2010
More Than One Way To Surf The Web
More and more of us are using the web for everything from finding an address or phone number to paying bills and banking. Those tasks, for the most part, can be accomplished without problems. Unfortunately, there are some more complex web applications that are much more prone to failure or intermittent operation. When this happens it can be frustrating.
For most people using Microsoft Windows computers, Internet Explorer is the “browser” of choice. (A “browser” is the software loaded on your computer to allow access to the web.) I guess the word “choice” may not be quite accurate since many may not know that there are others available and those browsers often do a better job than Internet Explorer.
Many find Firefox a great alternative. This software is known as “open source” software meaning that computer programmers all over the world can modify and improve it without having the Microsoft legal team increase their billable hours.
You can download the Firefox software free at http://www.mozilla.com/. Downloading and installing it on your computer takes only a few minutes. I have both Internet Explorer and Firefox loaded on all my computers and I often find that if I am having a problem with retrieving content, especially video and graphics from the web, just using the other browser fixes the problem.
There are other options. Google has a browser called Chrome. It is much newer than either Internet Explorer or Firefox and has yet to gain a lot of use. It can be downloaded free from www.google.com/chome. I have used Chome only sparingly. It does have a snappy look, but I did not find it any better that Firefox.
Finally let’s look at another option. All of the browsers discussed above have been designed for installation on a Windows PC. Many people have adopted a Mac platform and as such have been using the Safari browser developed by Apple. Safari is also available in a version that runs on a Windows PC. Like many products coming from the land of Steve Jobs, Safari is a clean, speedy browser that allows the user to have several web pages open at once and visible as panes on the screen. It can be downloaded free from Apple at www.apple.com/safari/ Downloading takes only a few minutes but setting up the various video configurations may take longer since Windows Media files and Flash Media files are not embraced by the folks at Apple.
Having more than one browser on your computer is a good idea and any of the ones listed above are good choices and are free.
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Cloudy Future for Personal Computing
A few weeks ago I wrote about the proliferation of world wide computer networks and how they have both improved the services that we use every day and also provide ample opportunity for hackers and other miscreants to disrupt these systems. For better or worse, the trend of concentrating data and computing power on large networked servers located at strategic locations is exploding. The phenomenon is called “Cloud Computing.”
Once home and office computers were designed to handle all of your tasks with internal computational power and the data storage housed within your machine. Ads for new computers touted large capacity disk drives and faster processing power. Today you will see advertised netbooks, smart phones and other devices with relatively small internal storage capacity and modest internal processing power because the programs and data are not stored on the actual machine. Rather, the data are sent to the “cloud” via the internet and the actual programs are running on remote computers.
The benefits of cloud computing are many. First, since all your data, i.e. documents, pictures, videos, addresses and calendars, are not stored solely on your machine but are sent to the cloud, the data is much less prone to loss. A recent study found that fewer than 10% of home computer users back up their data on a regular basis. Since the weakest component in most computers is the disk drive, it is inevitable that you will loose your data if it is not backed up regularly. With cloud computing the data is sent to servers that are redundant and backed up constantly, and the data is safe.
It is not only data that can be stored on the cloud, programs too can be stored there and actually run remotely. Since the size and complexity of these programs is irrelevant to the capacity of your machine, they can provide many more features. Also, they can be continuously updated and improved without the need for sending updates to millions of computers.
Finally, while any data on the net is susceptible to hackers, the operators of these cloud datacenters are much more adroit at foiling these intrusions than most of us mere mortals. While it is not impossible for hackers to retrieve your private data from the cloud, it is very unlikely. A good hacker is more likely to get information from the computer on your desk than she can from a secure databank.
The new version of Microsoft Office was just released and one of the touted features is ease of using cloud computing. Since documents can now be sent to the cloud, collaboration is made easy. Several people, separated by thousands of miles, can work on the same documents and presentations in real time.
Google, Microsoft and others offer free or almost free cloud data storage. You can see an example at http://www.skydrive.com/. There you can sign up for free storage of up to 35 mb of information.
As networks, both wired and wireless, get faster and faster and access is more ubiquitous, look for cloud computing to become the standard.
Once home and office computers were designed to handle all of your tasks with internal computational power and the data storage housed within your machine. Ads for new computers touted large capacity disk drives and faster processing power. Today you will see advertised netbooks, smart phones and other devices with relatively small internal storage capacity and modest internal processing power because the programs and data are not stored on the actual machine. Rather, the data are sent to the “cloud” via the internet and the actual programs are running on remote computers.
The benefits of cloud computing are many. First, since all your data, i.e. documents, pictures, videos, addresses and calendars, are not stored solely on your machine but are sent to the cloud, the data is much less prone to loss. A recent study found that fewer than 10% of home computer users back up their data on a regular basis. Since the weakest component in most computers is the disk drive, it is inevitable that you will loose your data if it is not backed up regularly. With cloud computing the data is sent to servers that are redundant and backed up constantly, and the data is safe.
It is not only data that can be stored on the cloud, programs too can be stored there and actually run remotely. Since the size and complexity of these programs is irrelevant to the capacity of your machine, they can provide many more features. Also, they can be continuously updated and improved without the need for sending updates to millions of computers.
Finally, while any data on the net is susceptible to hackers, the operators of these cloud datacenters are much more adroit at foiling these intrusions than most of us mere mortals. While it is not impossible for hackers to retrieve your private data from the cloud, it is very unlikely. A good hacker is more likely to get information from the computer on your desk than she can from a secure databank.
The new version of Microsoft Office was just released and one of the touted features is ease of using cloud computing. Since documents can now be sent to the cloud, collaboration is made easy. Several people, separated by thousands of miles, can work on the same documents and presentations in real time.
Google, Microsoft and others offer free or almost free cloud data storage. You can see an example at http://www.skydrive.com/. There you can sign up for free storage of up to 35 mb of information.
As networks, both wired and wireless, get faster and faster and access is more ubiquitous, look for cloud computing to become the standard.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Your Computer & Audacity Make a Great Recorder
Most often I try to write about topics that will be directly applicable to my readers. This week we will look at some free software and inexpensive hardware that may not have direct utility for you, but if you share this information with your teenaged grand kids, nieces or nephews, or the kid next door, you will certainly be looked at as a tech-savvy, albeit still old, cool person.
The explosion in the computing power of even the most inexpensive lap top or desk top computer is amazing. In reality we use very little of the processing power of these machines for routine tasks of surfing the net and sending email. How about using that lap top as a very good quality audio recording studio complete with multi-track overdubbing and CD mastering? Any budding garage band will jump at trying this out and since you suggested it, you will be dubbed “cool.”
Start by downloading the free software from http://audacity.sourceforge.net. This is a free package and safe to install on your computer. Once installed there is an easy set up, but before long you will have a very sophisticated audio recording system that will allow you to record and edit individual tracks and overdub multiple tracks so a single musician can play multiple parts and you can edit them all into one recording. You can then make a CD or MP3 file.
The Audacity software also allows you to record from other sources so you can use it to transfer vinyl LPs and even audio cassette tapes to MP3 or other digital files for playback on your iPod. The features in this free package are in many ways superior to some of the commercial recording software packages costing two hundred dollars or more.
Of course, to record live music you need a microphone. The microphones that are built into lap tops or come as plug-ins for desk top computers are not very good. You will want to use a good quality microphone. There are several good microphones now available starting at about fifty bucks that have a USB connector that can be plugged directly into the computer. Check out www.Amazon.com or stop by the Music Shoppe.
If you already have a microphone with a standard XLR connector, and many garage bands do, there are adapters available that modify that XLR connector making it a USB connector and able to be plugged directly into the computer. Again, these can be purchased on line or locally at the Music Shoppe. If Brian doesn’t have it in stock, I am sure he can order it for you.
I have used Audacity for a couple years and I continue to be impressed with it. It is only available for PCs running various iterations of Windows. There is no Mac version. The web site has a lot of tips and the community of users is very free with a helping hand. Oh yes, if that garage band records in the garage next door, there is a headphone jack on most computers.
The explosion in the computing power of even the most inexpensive lap top or desk top computer is amazing. In reality we use very little of the processing power of these machines for routine tasks of surfing the net and sending email. How about using that lap top as a very good quality audio recording studio complete with multi-track overdubbing and CD mastering? Any budding garage band will jump at trying this out and since you suggested it, you will be dubbed “cool.”
Start by downloading the free software from http://audacity.sourceforge.net. This is a free package and safe to install on your computer. Once installed there is an easy set up, but before long you will have a very sophisticated audio recording system that will allow you to record and edit individual tracks and overdub multiple tracks so a single musician can play multiple parts and you can edit them all into one recording. You can then make a CD or MP3 file.
The Audacity software also allows you to record from other sources so you can use it to transfer vinyl LPs and even audio cassette tapes to MP3 or other digital files for playback on your iPod. The features in this free package are in many ways superior to some of the commercial recording software packages costing two hundred dollars or more.
Of course, to record live music you need a microphone. The microphones that are built into lap tops or come as plug-ins for desk top computers are not very good. You will want to use a good quality microphone. There are several good microphones now available starting at about fifty bucks that have a USB connector that can be plugged directly into the computer. Check out www.Amazon.com or stop by the Music Shoppe.
If you already have a microphone with a standard XLR connector, and many garage bands do, there are adapters available that modify that XLR connector making it a USB connector and able to be plugged directly into the computer. Again, these can be purchased on line or locally at the Music Shoppe. If Brian doesn’t have it in stock, I am sure he can order it for you.
I have used Audacity for a couple years and I continue to be impressed with it. It is only available for PCs running various iterations of Windows. There is no Mac version. The web site has a lot of tips and the community of users is very free with a helping hand. Oh yes, if that garage band records in the garage next door, there is a headphone jack on most computers.
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