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Product Review: Flip Video

Jason — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:08:02 +0000

I won a Flip Video a little while back and finally had a chance to really test it out on a recent scenic trip through Colorado. I have the original Flip Video, which I'll be reviewing, and a new Flip Ultra HD version of the pocket camcorder is on the market. Flip Video started off as a creation of Pure Digital Technologies, a company which has since been bought by Cisco Systems. Despite the fact that I don't have the latest version, the Flip Video is still an impressive device and amazingly simple to use. Hopefully this indicates a good trend for the newer Flip Video Ultra HD and Flip Video Minos.

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Product Review: Flip Video

Simple Tip: How to Take a Screenshot

Jason — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:34:53 +0000

Screenshots are just images of what is displaying on your monitor. These images can be very helpful for capturing error messages or other things on your computer you'd like to record. No special screenshot taking programs are required despite what many will try to convince you of. It's a function built into Windows.

There are two ways to take a screenshot. One will take a picture and include everything you can see on the monitor the other will take a picture of only the active window (the top most window that you have actively selected/you've clicked on most recently).

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Simple Tip: How to Take a Screenshot

Doing More With Less: Links and Shortcuts

Jason — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:32:18 +0000

In this economy, everybody is trying to get more for less, but should you be concerned about conserving clicks? No, don't be silly. Regardless of that, here are some services that might come in handy for other reasons: you can create a shortcut that will open multiple programs or generate URLs that will link to multiple websites with a single click.

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Doing More With Less: Links and Shortcuts

Idiot-Proof FTP

Jason — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:36 +0000

I was recently tasked with improving the workflow of a process that involved using FTP to upload files to a server. The main part of the workflow that needed reworked was making the interaction with the FTP server more user-friendly/idiot-proof. In researching and accomplishing this task, I uncovered a few tools that warranted mentioning here so that it might help others that find this article. These tools are not full-blown clients, they are simplified means of interacting with an FTP server. If you're looking for a full-blown client, I recommend FileZilla. The full article lists the different tools I came across in my search for a simplified approach.

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Idiot-Proof FTP

Digital Signage on the Cheap

Jason — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:20 +0000

There seems to be a lot of hoopla, brouhaha, and hullabaloo (or whatever you want to call the hype) about digital signage these days. Digital signage, at least typically with expensive systems, are a series of LCD monitors that are networked (either hard-wired or wirelessly) to a computer to display a variety of information. It might show what's currently scheduled inside a room, upcoming events, or a map to other locations. Some might also be interactive through a touch-screen, bluetooth, or SMS text messaging. All of this seems very cutting-edge, can make for a better experience, and cut down on printing costs and time spent hanging posters.

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Digital Signage on the Cheap

Vista and iTunes finally play nice

Interacting with Text Messaging Systems

Jason — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:10 +0000

Perhaps you haven't noticed the same trend that I have, but it seems a lot of radio stations are switching to text messaging instead of calling. Instead of saying "Be caller number 9 to win...", it is now "Text us and be the 94th texter to win." They are also offering different services like "We'll send you a text message with half-time updates for [your local football team]" or "Sign up for our text messaging and we'll send you alerts whenever we're about to give away concert tickets on the air."

One of the big reasons that radio stations and many others are switching to text messaging is that this provides them with a constant means of contact with listeners/subscribers. That translates into being able to advertise more and have a count of how many people they're reaching. If you've text messaged a radio station to win concert tickets, you might end up receiving text messages with random advertisements from the radio station as a result. Here's how you can hopefully unsubscribe:

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Interacting with Text Messaging Systems

Referencing Cells from Another Worksheet or Workbook in Excel 2007

Jason — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:32 +0000

Referencing cells in an Excel spreadsheet and using the data quickly for calculations automatically is one of the spreadsheet programs greatest abilities. What if your information is held in another worksheet or even another workbook? Can you reference the cells in different sheets or even different files? Yes, indeed you can. In this article, we'll start with the basics and you'll find the formulas needed to do just that, screenshots demonstrating it, and two excel files to download to help see the formula in action.

General

A normal reference (utilizing cells within the same sheet), as an example, for cell D3 to be the product of the contents of cell D1 and the contents of cell D2 would use this formula:

=D1*D2

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Referencing Cells from Another Worksheet or Workbook in Excel 2007

Read the Bible in a Year – By E-mail

Jason — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:52 +0000

If you've set a goal to read through the entire bible, the site BibleInAYear.org can help keep you on task. Just as the name implies, they will help schedule you to read through the Old and New Testament in one year over e-mail. You can choose from many different versions, including King James, New King James, American Standard, New American Standard, World English Bible, New International, Conservative, and Revised Standard. You can also choose the format to receive the scriptures in: in biblical order, in chronological order, or alternating between Old and New Testaments books. In subscribing to this free service, you can pick your Bible version, choose the schedule you'd like to go with, select a reading format (either the traditional verses list or a modern paragraph), specify whether your e-mail is HTML formatted or text only, and a date to start.

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Read the Bible in a Year – By E-mail

Three Free Web-Based Charting and Mind Map Tools

Jason — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:39:41 +0000

There's a guest post over at today that I've authored on three charting and mind map tools. I discuss and introduce three services that can help you diagram out your thoughts with just a Flash-enabled browser. The three services include Text 2 Mind Map, Lovely Charts, and Creately. Check out .

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Three Free Web-Based Charting and Mind Map Tools

Adding a Russian Cyrillic Phonetic Keyboard to Windows

Jason — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:00:22 +0000

I am in no way expert enough to thoroughly discuss the Russian phonetic keyboard versus the Russian keyboard that ships with Microsoft Windows by default, but working on a campus with international students and faculty I come across this stuff. Mostly, I apply a fix that I know about and I ask the user to test it out since I can't tell the difference. This Russian phonetic keyboard fix that I found was previously hosted on a CompuServe site that has since closed up shop. I'm republishing this information so that it will still be available to others. (Photo from Flickr)

This is an excerpt of the article. Read it in full here:

Adding a Russian Cyrillic Phonetic Keyboard to Windows