Archive for June 9th, 2005

Digital Waterloo

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

voipHistorically, I have never met a gadget I didn’t like, and within, say, an hour or two it’s usually sitting up, rolling over and eating out of my hand. Forget about RTFM, I’ve become a power user over night.

Until now.

I’ve met my match, Cisco’s VoIP communication systems. Day 1 of a new job, I couldn’t answer the phone at all. Day 2, I was able to answer it and check my voicemail, but I deleted a message I meant to forward. Day 3, an additional added line was accidentally set to call forward into oblivion, but I did manage to plug in a headset. Today, Day 4, I finally solved the mystery of saved receipts in my voicemail box; They were email return receipts, able to be deleted as either text or messages.

I’m not sure if it’s technically progress when it takes me four days to gain telephone competency.

Blogging is Universal

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

FAB (Foundation for Accuracy in Blogs) has conducted a precise survey about the real numbers of blogs and bloggers on the net today. I read this article and realized that one had to read in between the lines on this one. At first one would think that this organization, FAB, didn’t know their math or have a rough idea of the global population. In fact FAB is so advanced that most readers fail to see that they are not limiting this report to humans or the planet earth. There are planets far far away in galaxies far far away blogging far far away.

How else could you explain the fact that there are 32 Billion blogs to date? Their numbers show that the average blogger holds 3 blogs. I don’t know very many humans with 3 blogs so that means extraterrestrial life forms are keeping roughly 6 blogs each! Boy, are us humans behind on the blogging scheme of things. 27% of the current bloggers blog each day, and 82% of the bloggers don’t blog daily. At first glance one would think that 27% + 82% = 109% and you can’t have 109%, but I see this as 9% of the bloggers blog daily and then don’t blog daily, then jump back to blogging daily. It’s an overlap of percents that is taught as basic math in the intergalactic gradeschools.

Map Modding, Thanks Google

Thursday, June 9th, 2005


In my childhood there was a song we’d sing every time we formed a ‘single file line’. “First the worst, second the best, and third the one with the hairiest chest! It was mostly sung by me, and only when I was second in line. Being first in line had an importance to it, a special place next to the teacher.

Google and I share so many things in common don’t we? Google wasn’t first in internet search, but they are definitely the best. Mapquest and Yahoo! Maps have been around for ages, and only 4 months ago Google joined in the online mapping world. If you haven’t used maps.google.com, then go there now and map something! Google has done it again, they’re the best. Different websites are incorporating their information into Google maps and creating quite a stir. Websites plot apartments for rent, crime locations, sex offender’s residencies, gas stations with the cheapest gas, and many other map-able entities. I can’t wait till can see this incorporation heading towards the online dating/matchmaking industry real soon.

Payback Time Bully, Virtually

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

From reading this site you most likely have assumed that I’m 6’4”, with a chiseled body, extremely popular with the ladies, played starting quarterback for the varsity football team, and straightened out the crooked administration that ran my H.S. Well I have something to confess, I was and am none of those. In high school, my mom was a teacher at my school and I turned all my homework in on time. Only a few school bullies picked on me and I only had my locker egged once in the four years I was there.

It’s payback time, and I’m not doing this the same way the Trench Coat Mafia did it. Us techy geeks are smart enough to know what’s fun, what’s real, and what’s not. We also know what’s real fun, beating up bullies, school principals, and getting the head cheerleader to plant a wet one on you 100% qualifies for that. Rockstar plans to release this procrastination-helping bit of software in Oct of 2005.

Seagate 5 GB Pocket Drive

Thursday, June 9th, 2005


LIVEdigitally is giving away a Slappa iPod Mini Shockshell case each week. In order to win one you must leave a comment on the post labeled “contest post”. This week our contest post is this post!
[ Seagate 5 GB Pocket Drive Review by Jonas, Review Editor]. Leave a comment telling us what you’d use the Seagate 5GB drive for and you’re eligible to win a nifty Slappa iPod Mini case!


Introduction

Seagate Technology is a leading manufacturer of hard drives in computers. For their 5 GB Pocket Drive, they decided to cross an external hard drive with those ever-popular USB flash drives, creating a product that addresses an emerging niche. The Seagate Pocket Drive is slightly smaller than a hockey puck and fits quite nicely in a shirt pocket. It is currently available in both 2.5 ($115) and 5 GB ($140) sizes. Similar drives with a 2 GB capacity sell for $200 and up, making the Seagate Pocket Drive a cost-effective option. While there have been portable USB hard drives before, they have been considerably larger. I believe this Seagate drive will be the first of a new product category of portable micro hard drive storage devices.

What’s In The Box

-Seagate 5 GB Pocket Drive
2 7/8” diameter, ¾” high
-Pocket Hard Drive Toolkit software
-Owner’s manual in PDF on the CD

Function: Hardware

The Seagate Pocket Drive is truly made to fit into a shirt pocket. It has a modern design, with black and silver plastic complemented by a blue LED. The LED acts as the hard drive activity light to indicate (more…)

Lawyers Bite Their Own @$$

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

Lawyers have the reputation for holding the “scum of the earth” title since before I can remember. They use our overly complex legal system to make the most money possible, regardless. Recently in Kentucky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no –it’s a blog! Blogs have taught lawyers in middle America a quick lesson.

A Kentucky lawyer who has a blog got caught in a trap that his own kind set many years ago. For a lawyer to advertise in Kentucky they must pay a fee, and each time they change or add to that advertisement, the fee must be paid again. This lawyer’s blog is viewed as advertisement, and each time it changed (added a post, someone posted a comment, uploaded a picture, etc…) he needs to pay up. Looks like blogs one upped ‘the man’ yet again, blogs 1, lawyers 0.

Evolution of the Chalkboard

Thursday, June 9th, 2005

I was in New York a couple weeks ago visiting a friend who is a teacher. Watching her class made me wish I was in 3rd grade again. Not because they are care-free, or still small enough to hide underneath a desk, but bcause they already know how to operate OSX. They use the Smart Board.

The Smart Board is a touch sensitive screen hooked up to a computer. The monitor is projected onto the board and it becomes like a computer chalkboard for the class. The picture above is a first grader using iMovie to show her class a project she worked on. I wonder if her mother helped her.

Read up on the Smart Board to find out more of the cool things it does and how going digital helps education.