24 Sep, 2006
Storing cheap electricity
This post on the WierdTechNewsHub mentions the GridPoint Protect. This is a device that connects to the main circuit breaker and stores electricity when rates are low, and then it supplements utility power when rates are high. This will also work as a backup during blackouts.
Supposedly, this will save 10%-15% off your electric bill. The version of the GridPoint Protect that is meant for home installation is $10,000, so it might take a while to recoup the initial cost.
[via digg]
Technorati Tags: electricity, energy, GridPoint Protect
4 Jun, 2006
Problem with Harmony
Tonight I updated our Harmony remote to change some key configuration. After the configuration was installed on the remote the screen displayed the following message
Go to Website to update settings
It took awhile, but I finally figured out what was happening. I had configured the Harmony Remote application to "Watch download folder". The problem was that the application saw the file as soon as the Firefox created the file, but before the download finished. So the Harmony application sent a partial file to the remote.
Once I turned off that setting and updated the settings again, the remote is working fine.
Technorati Tags: Harmony Remote
1 Jun, 2006
Presto Digital Delivery Service
About a week ago, Presto Services Inc. announced their Digital Delivery Service. There are two parts to this.
- A photo printer that has a phone jack. The printer will dial a service and download and print pictures that are waiting in a queue.
- A online service where photos can be sent to be printed by the device. Also other device maintence can be performed on the web site. (i.e. Checking the paper and ink quantity in the printer.)
This is intended to be used when the person who has the device doesn't have broadband access, or where the person doesn't want to manually receive an email containing the photos and print them out.
I personally am not interested in this for myself, but I could see buying one for family members that don't have a computer. For example, we like sending photos to my Dad, and now we print them out and have them sent to him. With this device, essentially from my computer, I can "print" the photos directly to his house.
[via Digital Experience Podcast]
Technorati Tags: Digital Delivery Service, Presto
27 May, 2006
follow up on retractable iPod cable
A while ago, I got a retractable iPod cable made by Macsense. I mentioned that I thought that the moving part would make it more likely to break than the regular USB cable.
The cable has recently stopped being able to be only partially expanded. It remains expanded if I stretch it out completely.
19 May, 2006
3D puzzles
The Make Magazine Podcast has an interview with Lee Krasnow, a puzzle maker that makes amazing 3 dimensional puzzles. These are some of the coolest puzzles that I have seen.
Technorati Tags: Lee Krasnow, puzzles
15 May, 2006
Camera phone picture frame
Parrot has introduced a new digital picture frame that can accept images from camera phones, through bluetooth.
When I first saw this picture, I assumed that you could send the images via text messages, with image attachments. This would be a neat way to send photos to family, with a lot easier setup than the IP based picture frames (eStarling, CEIVA).
[via Gizmodo]
Technorati Tags: Bluetooth, digital picture frame, Parrot
26 Apr, 2006
iCarPlay
I mentioned how the the TuneBase FM for iPod didn't fit my iPod when it is in my case. When I returned it to Fry's Electronics, I picked up the Monster iCarPlay Wireless Plus for iPod.
I was unsure about how well this, or any other FM transmitter would work, with the interference from radio stations. But it works very well. I can hear the audio clearly, without much interference. In addition to letting you listen to your iPod, it also charges it.
The one thing that I need to get now is a cup holder stand for the iPod to keep it in east reach. I am sure that someone make something like this, but I didn't see one at Fry's.
Technorati Tags: iCarPlay, iPod
9 Apr, 2006
TuneBase FM for iPod
I wanted to get a temporary solution to listen to my iPod in our Odyssey. This was only a temporary solution, because what I really want is an integrated dock. Then I would be able to listen to the music on the stereo, and play the videos on the LCD screen.
That in itself would not be a hard thing to do. You could take the iPod universal dock, and wire the audio to the line-in on the stereo. And then run the s-video to the LCD screen. But this is is not the ideal situation. I would want to get a headunit that would be able to switch between audio and video sources, and be able to direct the audio from the different sources to the speakers or the headphones in back.
(More)
5 Apr, 2006
Spam Cube Review
David Pogue did a review of the Spam Cube, for the New York Times. Even though it says that it works with any Operating System, only Windows PCs running Outlook can train the collective Bayesian database.
I still don't know how it handles POPS and IMAPS. Also, I think that it is deceptive that they state that they filter the mail in gmail. This will only work if you use the pop3 access to gmail.
[via Engadget]
Technorati Tags: spam, Spam Cube
5 Apr, 2006
Netgear Wall-Plugged Ethernet Bridge
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Computer, Electronics, Gadgets
I wanted to move the Airport Express back to the office to use it as a print server. In order to do that, I needed to find a different solution to bring a network drop down to the living room. I decided to go with the Netgear Wall-Plugged Ethernet Bridge.
The ethernet bridge is very easy to use. You connect on of the to modules into an outlet near a router, and plug an ethernet cable into it. Then you plug the other one into an outlet where you need a network drop.
(More)
5 Mar, 2006
iPod USB Retractable cable
Apple has a created a huge racket with their iPod. When you buy an iPod for $300-$400, it comes with a USB cable. But if you want a dock, you will have to pay about $40 for the Universal Dock. If you want to use this dock on a different computer than where you have connected the iPod included cable, you will have to get another $20 cable since the Universal Dock doesn't come with a cable.
I didn't want to pay $20 for this cable, so when I was at Fry's, I saw this $10 retractable iPod cable from Macsense. It works perfectly. (In fact, the dock connector itself seems to grip the iPod better.) I can imagine that this cable could break before the Apple one would, as there are moving parts in the retracting mechanism.
Technorati Tags: El-iUA, iPod, Macsense
4 Mar, 2006
iPod media centers
The latest iPods seem to have all of the capabilities of a media center. In addition to Apple's Universal iPod dock, some third party companies have come out with some cool docks that have nice interfaces.
The HomeDock Deluxe and the TuneCenter allow you to play your audio, video and photo content on your TV. Each of these presents a interface that is designed for the TV. One feature that the TuneCenter has, is that it will play Internet Radio stations.
Technorati Tags: HomeDock, iPod, TuneCenter
3 Mar, 2006
SmartDeck
Until I get a new head unit, I was thinking about buying the SmartDeck, since my head unit doesn't have a line input, but it does have a cassette deck. This is a cassette deck adapter for an iPod with a Dock connector. It allows the cassette player controls to be used to control the iPod itself. This is a pretty inexpensive way to get an iPod connected to a car stereo, and should sound better than the FM transmitters.
Technorati Tags: iPod, SmartDeck
27 Feb, 2006
TuneJuice
I bought the TuneJuice to allow me to watch more than 2 hours of video on my iPod. The TuneJuice allows you to connect a 9 volt batter to an iPod to extend the playback time.
One interesting thing is that the internal iPod battery is not charged with the TuneJuice. When the TuneJuice is connected, the battery indicator on the iPod just shows that there is more charge.
Since the internal batter is not charged, I wonder if the iPod Dock connector has separate pins for external battery packs than for battery chargers.
Technorati Tags: iPod, TuneJuice
26 Feb, 2006
iSkin eVo3
This week, the iSkin eVo3 iPod cover was delivered. I really like this product. The eVo3 covers the whole iPod, including the click wheel, with a rubber-like material. Then there is a clear hard plastic cover for the screen. This plastic cover allows viewing of the larger screen of the latest iPod.
The only negative of this cover is that since this covers all of the iPod, it is not that easy to move the hold switch.
Technorati Tags: iPod, iSkin eVo3