Give Us One Minute

After much gnashing of teeth, trying to bend the Blogger css to my will (In best Jedi voice; “these are not the codes you are looking for”), Doc’s Tech Notes version 3.0 is finally online. This is a design I’ve been fleshing out for some time and I’m pretty happy with the results so far. I have some minor changes and annoyances to iron out, but this far and away is the best version of Doc’s Tech Notes yet.

One of the things I love about the new design is the flexibility I have including images. Be sure to scroll all the way down the page and look for fun images littered all the way down the page – more to come. Would love to hear your thoughts on the new design, so leave a comment and let me know what you think

Technorati Tags: web, design, docstechnotes, blogger, css

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s the case here. Click the image below (which overlays my route, in blue, on top of a map of Scott AFB) to visit my Flickr page which describes how I combine my TerraTrike riding with Google Earth to record my performance.

This was the first time I’ve tried to connect my GPS to Google Earth and I was amazed at how easy it was to download data. Seems Garmin GPSs are supported out-of-the-box. So if you have a Garmin with a USB connector, you can start saving and analyzing your GPS data today – at no cost.

Technorati Tags: terratrike, googleearth, gps, garmin, biking, tracks, colorado300, giveusoneminute

Took the new TerraTrike Path 8 out for a spin yesterday and while I was out, snapped some shots. You can view the Flickr set, complete with comments using the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bimp/sets/72157619396559240/detail/

Be sure to move your pointer on top of the Flickr images to view more notes. More info to come as I have some time to complete a full write-up/review. Quick review: I’ve never enjoyed a 10 mile bike ride like the one I had yesterday.

I recently saved a few bucks and purchased a Kodak Zi6 portable HD video camera. And I am lovin’ this thing! First off the price was right at $129.00 (It’s back up to $139) and the ability to have HD video capabilities in my pocket encourages me to take this little gadget with me everywhere to capture those “I wish I had my camera with me” shots.

Yesterday we were outside with Thomas blowing some bubbles. One especially large bubble headed my way so I broke the camera out, turned it on and captured the video below. I uploaded the video to YouTube to share so be sure to select the HD option to see the video in all it’s HD glory. What amazed me most about HD was the detail, especially during the segment where the reflections in the bubble were clearly visible.

Other great features that seperate this camera from it’s competitors (Flip and Creative Labs) include removable storage and removable batteries. Kodak even included two rechargable batteries, a charger and a case. You’ll need to add an SD card. I chose to pop in an 8Gb SDHC Flash Card. The Zi6 can also be used to capture still images or VGA/30fsp HD/60fps HD video. Nice!

This gadget is a difinite buy for those who want quick video and still images in the palm of their hand. Be forewarned though, this thing is not great in low-level light situtations. But that’s the only complaint I have with this device. I‘ll continue to run it through it’s paces and will probably be using it to document my new TerraTrike. So check back for more video and still samples.

We are off today to purchase two a (Nikki decided to wait) Terratrike Path 8. The Path 8 is a tadpole recumbent bike. As you’ll notice in the image below, it has two wheels in the front and one in the back. Very stylish and efficient design. If you aren’t familiar with them, just do a quick Google search. I’ll post some images later.

At the moment we are sitting at McDonald’s formulating our negotiation strategy and I’m creating this blog post using my iPhone (updates were made once returning home). I’ll be updating GUOM later with more info and some pics (or possibly a video) of a showroom model. We won’t be taking bikes home today as the dealer will have to order them.

This will be the first post of probably many describing our purchase and experiences. Stay tuned!

Back in the 80’s I would rush home to check out the latest episode of an NBC mini-series know as V. It was so popular that it spawned a follow-up mini-series, a short-lived weekly series and several novels. Granted, it wasn’t Star Trek popular, but it did have a cult following. Most of you probably remember the series, but if you don’t, click here to view the Wikipedia entry. Now…here’s the news. It’s being remade for the ABC network, again as a mini-series, and the first trailer is now available. You can check it out below.

Reminds me of Independence Day. Do you remember the series? If so, leave a comment and tell us or share your thoughts on this new version. If not check out the original series on DVD at Amazonor you can also rent it from Netflix. We’re looking forward to the premiere and will definitely have a season pass plugged into our TiVo HD.

Steven’s been busy this weekend.

:: New Design – now 100% cleaner, whiter and minty fresh!
:: New header design with better placement of logo and tag-line
:: Now including images to make concepts clearer
:: New URL: http://www.docstechnotes.com – bookmark it now!
:: Same great tech notes

Hope you like the changes. Check’em out and post a comment.

blogit.typepad.com

Also updates Twitter feed once post is submitted. Nice!

I’m a bit concerned by a headline featured on the FOXNews.com web site today. Check it out:

“Mac-Specific Virus Threat Hits Cyberspace”

Wow…the Mac community must be shaking in their shoes today as the Mac has just been outed as a non-secure platform. Right?

Now check out this quote from the article:

The iBotnet, a “Trojan horse” program, has appeared in pirated copies of Apple’s productivity suite iWork ‘09 that circulate on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, the New York-based Post Chronicle reported. Once infected, each Mac falls under the control of the malware’s creator, who can then “herd” the infected machines into a “botnet,” a massive virtual supercomputer stretching across the Internet.

Hmmm, am I the only one who sees a problem here? If you’re a Mac user, relax. If you’re a Windows user, don’t be so smug. Here’s why. Read that first paragraph again. “A Trojan horse has appeared in pirated copies.” Got that? These are illegal downloads of iWork ‘09. As I’ve always said, “natural selection” is man’s greatest enemy. Do something stupid, like download pirated software from some unknown source, and you’re bound to regret that decision someday.

To further add insult to injury, there several tasks you have to perform to install the Trojan horse:

• Download and install a Bit torrent or file sharing client
• Search for a pirated copy of the infected iLife ‘09 online
• Download software
• Unpack software
• Install software
• Enter your password authorizing the installation
• Run software

There are plenty of steps where the user should be asking themselves, “should I really be doing this?” Shouldn’t their moral conscience kick in; at least their common sense? Let’s face it, the process for becoming infected by this Trojan is a much more deliberate process than simply browsing a web site or opening an attachment. It takes real work on the user’s part to get infected. Think people…think!

Will Mac OS be secure forever? Nope. Nothing is ever truly secure. However, from my experiences, OS X and Linux (I’m becoming very fond of Fedora 10) are the only OSs that I will ever install on my personal computers. It’s just too much work wrangling spy ware, Trojan horses and viruses on a Windows box. I want to enjoy using my computer, not worry about it.

What say you readers? Am I missing something here? Leave a comment and let me know. This could be a very interesting discussion. Remember to keep those comments respectful or “natural selection” my cause your comment to be deleted!

Wonder what Steven’s been up to lately? Check out his new site; Doc’s Tech Notes available at:

http://docstechnotes.blogspot.com/

This new site contains technical notes from his private collection (which grows almost daily). In a couple of bullets, each note shares the steps necessary to fix, hack, or enhance your computer, gadget or web service. No wordy blog posts, no images, only the tech notes you need.

GUOM will still feature longer posts on these topics, but if you are looking for the down and dirty, this is the site to visit. Many of these shorter posts could become longer features at GUOM. Be sure to leave your comments and make the tech notes even more useful. You can even rate the tips so others can gauge their usefulness.

Here’s are some sample titles of recent posts:

:: Jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch
:: Sync Google calendar and contacts to your iPhone using Exchange
:: Google Reader keyboard shortcuts you should know
:: Create a symbolic link to add directories to Dropbox
:: OpenDNS addresses

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You might not find a tech note you need today, but subscribe, search or visit daily and you are sure to find something useful. Be sure to leave comments here to let us know what you think about this new endeavor.