Almost a Geek

I have been looking for a solar charger for some of my portable electronics to get as a little experiment to see if I can go completely green on at least one of them.  I think I have narrowed it down to my iPod Nano and my Nintendo DS Lite. I am going to try not to use any power from “the grid” at all. I figured that they are small enough devices and that a small solar panel should be able to provide enough power to keep them going. I think I have settled on the Powermonkey eXpolorer for the job. I am currently living in Seattle and summer doesn’t last very long here from what I am told, so this should be a good test.  Cloudy, rainy Seattle winters might win but I am going to try my best!!

Solar Charger

Who out there is making interesting videos and new media? I am talking about the cool, interesting, funny, stupid, silly, informative, crazy, etc. type videos! One person that comes to mind is iJustine. She makes funny and original videos. Some may be product placement some may not, but I have to say that she has some editing skills. Also someone else that I have started to watch recently is GaryVee from Wine library TV. He has the passion and is starting to Vlog outside of his show, using a FlipVideo of course!

If you know of other people that are consistently making good videos let me know!

Here are the podcasts I am listening to:

• GeekNewCentral
• 808Talk
• TWIT (This Week in Tech)
• TWIM (This Week in Media)
• Marketing Over Coffee
• No Agenda
• Daily Source Code
• MacBreak
• Tekzilla
• DiggNation

I am going to try and link to all of these but it would easier if you just searched in iTunes Podcast Directory.

Well I was trying to think of a way to describe summer in Seattle but instead I will just do it with pictures:

Cant Beat VW Camper Buses!

A lakeside park in Bellevue

Ian at a park in Bellevue

Are you feeling the recession yet? Do you think it is going to get worse before it gets better? In Seattle, I don’t necessarily feel the recession yet, but I have noticed a couple things. First of all, the amount of people riding the bus has doubled in the last 6 months. I am on an express route from Bellevue, and there used to be plenty of open seats, but now there are none and people are standing!  I have also noticed that a couple condo’s in my area have been on the market for a long time and the owners have lowered their prices.  Are these signs of recession? Right now, I don’t really think so I think they are signs of expensive gas and a real estate market that is overpriced. I think Seattle has dodged the pre-recession bullet because we have a fairly strong job market.

Well, those are just some thoughts I had today.  Are you feeling it in your area?

Oh yeah, is all I have to say!! This is my big chance to get back to the islands and hang out with some friends and family.  Podcamp Hawaii and Wordcamp at the same time!!  If you are interested in Podcasting, New Media, Wordpress, Blogging, or just want to have fun in the sun.  Hawaii is the place you want to go!!  Plus if you run your own business you can use this as a business expense.  This alone is a good enough reason to go to Hawaii.

If you decide to go leave a comment or hit me up on twitter.  I can give you advise on where to go and what to do when you aren’t at Podcamp.  I know for a fact that all the folks in Hawaii will be hanging out having fun hitting up the beaches, etc.

If you want to get started early with your planning and get in the mood for your trip to the Hawaiian Islands you need to check out 808Talk for all the Hawaii insider tips.  VBrown’s passion is Hawaii so check it out. There is audio, video, pictures, reviews, and a lot more!

Podcamp Hawaii 2008: http://2008.podcamphawaii.com

When & Where:
October 24-25, 2008
Hawaii Convention Center
1801 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Map & What’s Nearby

Okay so I have had my R4DS for a couple days now and here are my thoughts.  The set up/software installation in the end was very easy, but the documentation was not the best. I believe there are several videos on YouTube that explain this process very well so I wont bother to do the same, unless the readers demand it.  It was a matter of finding what files that need to be copied to the MicroSD card, which wasn’t included with the one I bought.  Luckily I had a 1 GB one in my cell phone.  After that, you load up the files you want on it.  That’s it!

I wont go into the legal issues of putting ROM’s on it but know that I believe in paying for my software and games. (but believe that some software pricing is just CRAZY)  If you dont pay for your software then there will be less options. 

I added some homebrew applications, some music files and some games. It works exactly as advertised! It adds the extra functionality that should have come with the DS to begin with, or been a Nintendo provided one!!  If Nintendo had half a brain they would start selling their games as ROM’s and also sell a similar device! It’s such a pain to carry all you game carts with you when you travel or commute.  “WAKE UP NINTENDO!!”  Another option is to include a ROM download with any software bought.  It’s not rocket science, lets do it! 

So would I recommend this product?  Yes, It’s a must have!

1-10 Rating (10 being the best):  10

Price: A bargain at about $30 +/- plus the price of the MicroSD

There are so many services out there jockeying for all the social media attention.  Twitter is in the lead but it’s system problems have been really pissing off it’s loyal following.  They really have to get their act together before “we” all decide to leave.  FriendFeed is picking up the slack and i think it might end up replacing Twitter as my main stopping point in the social world.  The thing I like most about it is that you can import all your RSS feeds from every service you participate with. From flickr to twitter to jaiku to blog feeds, plus it allows comments.  This is what Robert Scoble would say is the “coversation” piece of the puzzle that he loves so much.  I agree it does add an extra element to the space but still think that the simplicity of twitter wins out.  That’s if they can get their system up to par. 

What do you think? Should we move to FriendFeed and import all our feeds? Should we stick with twitter and hope it improves, or should we just go to FaceBook and call it a day? 

I ordered my R4DS a couple days ago from Amazon and it still hasn’t arrived!?!? I am so excited to get my hands on this little piece of technology.  There are so many homebrew applications out there for the DS it isn’t even funny!  There is even a Linux port for the DS.

You can start your search over at Wikipedia for information on Nintendo DS Homebrew.

I will post more when the little bugga is loaded up with some choice morsels.

PS. I wonder if it’s illegal to take a game you have bought and put the ROM on an SD card?? Probably is, but if I were Nintendo I would start selling their back catalog ROM’s on the internet (Not just on the Wii). It could be like iTunes for Nintendo games.  I think a lot of folks that “find” ROM’s on the net would be willing to fork over some cash for legal versions of these old school games.  Hell, I know I would in a second. If you look at my Wii i have all the classics.  Just a thought @Nintendo

I have a less than one year old MacBook with 2GB’s of RAM and I have a 3.5 year old eMachines PC running Windows XP.  I use both systems on a regular basis, and it seems that even with an older PC Adobe Photoshop is faster.  I know it’s hard to compare a desktop and a laptop machine but a new Mac with the latest Photoshop should be faster than a 3.5 Year old system!!

I am not such a Mac Fanboy that i will refuse to use a PC when it is the better solution. The only thing that might get in my way would be the difference in keyboard shortcuts.  Luckily I dont use many of them. 

Have you noticed this in your use of Photoshop?  Do you only use the Mac version or only use the PC version?   Do you think it’s a desktop versus notebook thing?  Let me know.