Personal Technology Tips in Plain English
Entertainment
Technology That’s Fit For A King (Sized Bed)
Aug 21st
Technology is a good thing, right?
Hey, I believe that technology should serve the master, not the other way around.
Yes, we all get frustrated when seeing how, say, Microsoft Windows or other really bad examples of technology are launched into the world out there.
But there are times — albeit rare moments in time — when we are simply awed by how technology is put into place.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and respect it for what it is. I mean, when you just sit back and think, “why didn’t I think of that?!” or better yet when you instantly just know for sure what you want for Christmas next year.
Case in point — check out the product in this video below where it really takes the title of “KING” (sized bed)…
Yup, that’s a 50″ plasma HDTV lift custom fitted to a king-size bed.
QUESTION: WHAT OTHER EXAMPLES OF TECHNOLOGY CAN YOU THINK OF THAT FUNCTION SOLELY TO SERVE THE OWNER?
How To Download YouTube Videos
Mar 6th
Sometimes you need a video clip that’s available online for offline use – like using it as an example for a class or workshop.
Other times, you may want to be able to play it offline for your own review at a later time when it’s more convenient for you, or when you know you won’ t have internet access (like on a plane).
There’s definitely a bunch of sites available now that let you download videos from YouTube and other video sharing sites out there.
Usually all you have to do is copy/paste the video page URL from Youtube, MetaCafe or other video site into the form on the video download site and you’re all set to go.
But once in awhile, your favorite Youtube video grabber site can’t download the video file. That’s when you have to go looking for other options.
Other than Kisstube and Vixy, I found another favorite that seems to work for me . . .
SaveVid.com works just the same. This site does give a couple of download options including flv format, mp4 as well as HD video which YouTube presents sometimes.
SaveVid.com also shares some of the videos that others have used the site to download so you can get a sense of what people are watching and downloading.
Do you have any other favorite sites to download videos from online video platforms? Please add them in the comments below.
Quickest Way To Look Up Movie Listings
Feb 19th
School’s out!
Winter break is here for the kids!
A whole week or two off to fill the kids’ schedules with fun stuff to do if you’re not going away on vacation.
A trip to the movie theater is in order since there are a couple of blockbuster movies that just came out and they pass the litmus test for child-appropriate as well.
Here’s a tip to find out which movies are playing now in your area:
Google has a search built just for movie theaters and listings. You can search by zip code, but movie, or by theater. There are links to reviews as well as listings for future dates so you can plan your movie nights out this weekend.
Just go to http://www.google.com/movies and type in your zip code to start your search!
Comparing Apples to Apples in High Definition
Feb 6th
This is the big weekend. . . for Flat screen TV sales across the country. With the SuperBowl being held this Sunday, all the consumer electronics stores are pulling out all the stops in order to get a shiny new plasma or LCD (or even LED!) television in your living room in time for the big game.
If you are making the switch from an older 4:3 analog tv screen to the 16:9 format flatscreen TV, you may or may not know that you can’t just get the same “size” TV. Since TV screen sizes are measured diagonally, and the ratio of height and width are different on a 4:3 screen vs. 16:9 screen, you have to do some math if you want the same size tv image to look at (or larger).
So if you have a 32″ tv in your living room, you can’t just go out an buy a 32″ LCD HDTV. If you do, you’ll basically end up with a smaller tv, since your tv image will be shorter on the new 16:9 screen than it was on your current 32″ analog 4:3 ratio screen. You’re not comparing apples to apples if you’re comparing two different format screens.
Of course TV manufacturers and the guy at your local Best Buy don’t really help you out in this area and instead will probably just shrug their shoulders and try to upsell you on a tv that’s larger than you need.Â
So what do you do?
The internet to the rescue! www.ScreenMath.com has a handy dandy conversion table which lets you look up your analog tv screen size and it will tell you the dimensions you’ll need to get in a 16:9 format in order to match your current tv screen size.
Just as a FYI, the popular 42″ HDTV size that has largely become the “base model” for LCD, plasma and LED tv’s in the store today is equivalent to a 34″ analog 4:3 ratio television set.
So technically, the 32″ tv we have in one of the bedrooms only needs a 40″ HDTV to replace it at the current screen size. If we got a 42″ HDTV, it would actually be an upgrade in screen size for that room. That’s nice to know!
Once you know the facts, you’ll probably feel a little easier walking into the store to pick-up a new HDTV. It’s just one less factor to worry about as you’ll have to sort out all the other alphabet soup jargon as you compare all the different options on the table these days for TV’s.
How to Load mp3 Music Onto Your Apple iPod Touch or iPod Nano
Jul 22nd
It’s easy as pie to go to the iTunes store on your iPod Nano or iPod Touch and download music directly onto your device.
But a lot of your music might be on your computer, and you want to load your iPod with the mp3 music you already have.
One you learn how to do this, you’ll have the freedom to take any music you have in the house or on your computer with you on the go on your iPod Touch or any other iPod device.
The Apple iPhone has a very similar process to load mp3 music onto the mp3 player device part of the phone.
Downloading music onto your iPod is a simple process if you’ve seen it before. Here’s a video that walks you through the whole process:
52 Free DVD Video Rentals Of Your Choice in 2009
Dec 24th
You have already seen them — since there are about 12,000 of them out there.
If not, once you start to look for them you’ll spot them all over the place. And every one of them is waiting to hand out a DVD movie of your choice to you for a free night’s rental.
You can go back over and over again for another free DVD movie week after week, all year long.
It’s the latest way that I get movies every week — in fact, there aren’t that many good movies worth watching, so this tip will get you more than enough video content than you would ever really watch in a given year.
What on earth am I talking about? Read the rest of this entry »
Design Your Own Emergency Party Button
May 29th
Are you just going through your days each and every day over and over and over and over and over and over and over again?
Do you feel the pressure of the daily grind sometimes to the point where you feel like your head may just explode?
In times like this, you really need one of those big fat red “use only in case of emergency” buttons. . .Something that sets off an exceptional break in your routine and lets you release all that pent up negative energy.
Without one, you are just living life dangerously (to yourself including others around you)!
If you could design your own “EMERGENCY PARTY BUTTON” what would it trigger? I think this is one of the most important parts about proactively managing your own life to ensure you stay creative, productive, and sane.
While it’s important to stay focused and keep moving forward with your life goals, there clearly is a need for you to be ready to make a rest stop here and there.
To help inspire you, here’s one amazing example of a RED EMERGENCY BUTTON that one guy created literally. . . Read the rest of this entry »
I love tech, gadgets and the web. Hope you pick-up a useful tip or two here today that helps you use technology to your advantage! Better yet, why not share your own expertise in a comment on a post today to help the other readers that land here for answers!