Personal Technology Tips in Plain English
What I’m Buying Myself
An Apple A Day. . .
Sep 1st
Today was a big Apple day.
Steve Jobs donned his jeans and black shirt to announce the latest round of updates to Apple hardware.
Among them was the 4th generation iPod Touch which now includes dual video cameras for FaceTime video conferencing, an HD back cam that is a FlipCam killer, and the super-resolution screen and Game center that makes the device a PSP & Nintendo DS all-in-one killer.
But there’s another reason I celebrated Apple today when I got home today.
That’s because this was waiting for me on my doorstep. . .
Apple made good on their word to give me a free iPhone 4 bumper or case. I chose the Speck Tartan fabric-back fitted case.
After taking my temporary iPhone bumper off and putting on this 2-piece click-together case, I’m happy I chose it. Thanks Steve for the neat-o iPhone case.
QUESTION: ARE YOU USING A CASE ON YOUR CELL PHONE RIGHT NOW? Please share your answer in a comment below!
How To Get Free Access to 3 WiFi Hotspot Networks
Aug 12th
Last time, I blogged about getting access to Comcast’s WiFi hotspot network for free. It’s a little known secret that the marketing department over at the cable internet company hasn’t really pushed for some reason.
But today, I found out that there’s more to the story!
Comcast customers now get free access to two other cable internet wifi networks, completely free…and vice versa.
If you are a Comcast Internet customer like me, all you have to do is log onto one of the three wifi networks: xfinitiwifi, optimumwifi or timewarnercablewifi with your comcast email address and password like you do with your own Comcast wifi network
If you like Free, this is like FREE TIMES THREE.
If you don’t believe me, just look-up the coverage map for Optimum Online’s WiFi network and Time Warner see for yourself!
This is a huge win especially those that live in the tri-state New York City area since each company dominates different geographies around the City. So now when you travel about the region, you are most probably near either a Starbucks or McDonalds — or one of the three major wifi cable company wifi networks — You’re covered!
Check out this quick video that shares the details of the wifi network collaboration, worthy of to be called the real triple-play deal!
QUESTION: IS IT TRUE? DO YOU SEE ANY OF THE THREE WIFI HOTSPOTS IN YOUR AREA? LEAVE A MESSAGE TO SHARE THE RESULTS IN YOUR AREA!
How To Get Free WiFi Hotspot Access If You Are A Comcast Internet Customer
Aug 10th
Ever been out and about wishing you had a wifi connection?
Of course you have!
Instead of trolling for open wifi signals, you might want to consider a more reliable solution. Of course, you could sign-up for Boingo, Wayport or other WiFi networks, but if you are a Comcast Hispeed Internet Customer (randomly branded Xfinity recently to confuse customers as much as possible of course), you might want to check out this option before you go out and spend any more money.
I recently found out that I can get access to a free WiFi hotspot roaming account just because I’m a Comcast customer — and so can you!
In fact, through this largely unpromoted feature of Comcast Internet accounts, you already have it! There’s no need to turn anything on, upgrade or change anything on your account.
If you take a look at the coverage map of NYC and the Tri-State Area, you’ll see that there are TONS of Free WiFi Hotspots available for you to connect to in almost any general vicinity.
Check out the quick video blog update below which I recorded today and uploaded using the free WiFi connection that details how to get free WiFi access across town and while traveling:
Read the rest of this entry »
Effects of the Economy on Technology Purchases
Apr 1st
Are we there yet?
It seems like it’s taking FOREVER for the economy to get to where everyone wants it to be. We’re all trying to drive in the same direction, but for some reason, we’re just not there yet.
In the meantime, everyone is making do with what they have.
Computer and gadget purchases are no different.
Here’s what I found in my office today after I was told that we’d be getting completely new technology upgrades including new flat panel monitors, ultra portable desktops, and lightweight moveable phone sets.
Little did I know to expect THIS . . .
Totally “moveable” . . . “lightweight”. . . “FLAT-panel” . . . uh YEAH!!@#?!#@?
QUESTION: What tech and gadget upgrades are you drooling over, but are holding out on for the time being? (READ: What’s on your current wishlist?)
Outsource Your Work With Freelancers
Dec 7th
Not enough time in the day? Too much to do, too little time?
It’s time to look at outsource some of your workload. Hiring freelance coders, designers, proof readers, presentation specialists or even plain old virtual assistants can help save the day.
Nowadays, there are online marketplaces where you can go to find the help you need. You are able to submit a job description for small jobs (I’ve done jobs as small as $15) to full blown long-term contractor jobs. You can look to outsourcing as a virtual workforce or like a place to get digital handymen to fix the small things that you just don’t have the time nor people to do it in house.
Three in particular worth a look are among the biggies:
oDesk
oDesk‘s angle is interesting – this service tries to ensure that every minute billed to your project is actual work. So you’re not getting billed for when they go to the bathroom, go outside to check their mail, fix a snack in the kitchen, etc. In fact, they offer per minute pricing via a proprietary remote desktop contractor interface that monitors keystrokes, provides periodic screenshots so you can actually see what your contractor is doing if you so wish to.
Rentacoder
I’ve been using rentacoder.com for smaller jobs. They have a lot of coders around the world that offer decent pricing. Like all of these marketplaces, you have to decide for yourself if you’re willing to open up your bidding to contractors where English is NOT their primary language, etc. Their communication interface keeps track of all discussion you have back and forth so that if there is a need to dispute in the end, a record of everything agreed to is available. They escrow your money for the job and won’t release it until the entire project is done and you approve the release.
eLance
This marketplace got bought out by eBay several years ago, and got a lot of attention – quickly making it one of the “big guys” in the outsourcing marketplace marketplace. The key to any job listing is that you have a lot of coders that are available so that you can get quality help – and also increase competition. Elance fits this picture. Although sometimes because of its prominence, sometimes the overall pricing might come out a little high (vs. if you listed the same project elsewhere). Worth testing to see if you like their platform for some jobs.
There are a bunch of other coder marketplaces too like scriptlance.com, guru.com, etc. All worth checking out. The key point is that you should identify a small job in front of you and test the waters to see if outsourcing is for you.
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!