SLB

How to upgrade to iPhone 3GS from iPhone Original, 1G, 2G, and 3G

2009-07-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

It was time. With the release of the new iPhone 3GS - available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB formats - coinciding with Ashley's birthday, it was perfect timing to get the new iPhone 3GS phone to replace her 1st Generation iPhone 8GB. The new features, the slightly different feeel, and the additional space were just a few of the reasons why she was excited.

Before upgrading, I did a little research to see what the process would look like and found a number of conflicting answers on how to go about it. On of the main keys of course is to be able to transfer all of your information, data, and settings over to the new iPhone. Any loss of information, apps, data, or ringtones is not something that anyone wants.

Some of the answers I found searching Google for"upgrade iphone to 3gs iphone" and "replace iphone 1g with 3gs iphone" included:

Make sure and sync your iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G before heading into the Apple Store or AT&T to upgrade to the 3GS iPhone.
Make a backup of your iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G before heading into the Apple Store or AT&T to upgrade to the 3GS iPhone.
Make sure you upgrade your iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G to the latest Apple iPhone to the
Do nothing at all and everything will be ok.

As you can imagine, with all the conflicting information, I was not sure which was the best way to go about upgrading your iPhone without losing any information. Now having successfully completed the upgrade process -- I can tell you exactly what to do and what to expect when you upgrade your phone.

First off, you can start off by doing nothing -- or at least that was the approach I went with. That way if you are just out and around town and you get the whim the upgrade your iPhone to the 3GS -- go ahead and do it, even if you have not backed up, upgraded to the latest iPhone OS version 3.0, or synchronized it.

However, you must realize that when you do pick up the new iPhone 3GS, it will be immediately activated. Your old iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G will stop receiving call, emails, and text messages and they will go to the new phone. And, depending on the queue at the Apple Store, you may wait up to 20 minutes for you new iPhone...like we did.

Now, once you get home -- you'll need to follow the exact steps below in order to transfer all data and settings to your new iPhone 3GS.

First and most imporant -- connect your OLD iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G to your computer and iTunes.
Synchronize your OLD iPhone to make sure you capture the latest settings and data.
Make a manual backup of your iPhone, by right-clicking on your iPhone in the left pane and selecting make backup.
Verify that you OLD iPhone is running the latest versions (3.0 at the time of this article) in iTunes by clicking on "Check for Update" under the version section. In some cases you may need to upgrade, like I did. Proceed with the upgrade.
(if you need to upgrade) Once the upgrade completes, verify your information and settings are correct on the OLD iPhone and then take a backup one more time from your OLD iPhone.
Disconnect your OLD iPhone.
Connect your NEW iPhone 3GS to your computer and iTunes.
Once the connection is initiated, you will be asked on whether to restore a backup. Say yes and/or perform a manual restore of the data from the OLD iPhone to your NEW iPhone 3GS.
Once completed, your iPhone 3GS is now ready for use with all of your data.

Congratulations, you've successfully upgraded, replaced, and migrated the data from your old iPhone 1G, 2G, or 3G to the new iPhone 3GS. And if you're like me, you've also acquired an iTouch 8GB with the deactivation of the old iPhone. That's good news for both Ashley and I!

Galaxy MGB Raid Pro Dies

2009-07-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've done some posting on my Network Attached Storage device, the Galaxy MGB Raid Pro (link here). It's manufactured by Galaxy Metal Gear, a smaller company that makes a number of storage and multimedia solutions.

In general, it had been a pretty good device -- problem free with the exception of the occasional lock-up on the linux based storage system. I even had upgraded from the original 500GB drives to a couple of 1TB drive -- and it supported a number of functions including JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1. I had been using it mainly as a backup for the 4 systems I run to protect against major failures...and it had been doing a pretty good job.

But then a few weeks ago, as I normally do...I shut down most of the computers before leaving on vacation. A great way to save energy, but seemingly has bit me a couple of times that when I arrive back -- the hardware does not always start up as I might have expected. Something about changing the way things are running.

As you might have guessed by this point, when I returned from our trip to Washington, DC -- the MGB Raid Pro wouldn't start up properly.

At first, I thought as I heard was sound a little bit like clicking, but more of a surging that it must be a hard drive. That would make logical sense and part of the reason I had the enclosure and a RAID 1 configuration so I could protect against that kind of failure...on my PCs. The conventional wisdom says that since the NAS has very few moving parts, that it would not be the device itself.

I went ahead and moved the four screws to see what was happening with the device. First I unplugged it, plugged it back in and then started it up. I noticed immediately that the internal fan tried to spin up, but could not -- I knew something more serious was wrong.

As I listened the pulsating buzzing or humming sound I was hearing sounded like it was coming from the board or the led indicators on the front rather than the hard drives. The hard drives themselves were not even attempting to spin up. I started disassembling the rest of the MGB Raid Pro in order to remove the drives -- which are held in via 4 shock absorbant screws.

What I learned is once I disconnected all of the drives, the NAS device actually started up properly, the fan spun up and the OS and network loaded. But, that was the extent of it. Whether it was one disk drive, the other disk drive, the primary or secondary SATA connection -- the Galaxy MGB RAID Pro would not boot up with any sort of hard drive connected to it.

Which led me think that something significant was going on with the MGB Raid Pro -- and it was unrepairable. To boot, I was 3 weeks outside the 1 year warranty from the purchse, so if it could not be solved -- I was just plain out of luck.

I attempted to contact the Galaxy Metal Gear Technical support, but they were resistant to any sort of email support at all. In fact, they were only available in a technical support capacity from 9am-1pm PST for any sort of technical assistance, Monday through Friday. Which made it difficult for me with my work schedule.

After a couple of weeks, I was finally able to get a hold of technical support and they mentioned first I would need to fill out the RMA form before they accepted it for repair. In addition, I would have to pay shipping both ways for the repair of the product.

Here we are a couple of weeks later, with device siting opened -- I still have not filled out the RMA form. So, instead yesterday I was in Fry's Electronics and they had the D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure for only $149.99. I had been looking at the DNS-323 and the pretty high ratings since I started having the issues...so it was an easy choice. (Amazon has it for $157, plus there is a $30 rebate right now -- here's the link D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure)

I'm probably going to still submit the RMA (not hopeful it will be accepted) to see what happens -- but needless to say, I am a little disappointed with the quality and outcome given the enclosure itself (not the hard drives) only lasted just under 13 months. So, if you're considering the MGB Raid Pro...just beware that it may fail on you close to the end of the warranty period -- like it did to me

Photo Blog: Beautiful Day in San Francisco

2009-06-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we flew up to San Francisco along with Ashley's grandma Carol to meet some friends from Italy (Stefania and Danielle) for the weekend. We weren't sure what to expect weather-wise since it changed throughout the week; but we had resigned to the fact it was going to be cloudy.

On Sunday morning after we woke at the Westin St. Francis right in the heart of Union Square, we were surprised to see the sky to be clear and blue -- and it was nice and warm outside.

We ended up spending the most of the day walking throughout the city with friend, of which the Google Maps Distance Calculator showed that we walked at least 3.906 miles for the day.

I'm guessing it was closer to 4.5 miles, but we still had a great time. Here are a few pictures from the day...

From 2009_06_San_Francisco
Stefania, Danielle, Grandma Carol and Ashley enjoy a laugh while walking down Market Street.

Ashley and her Grandma catch up in front of the Farmer's Market.

Eating your way through the Farmer's Market is always a good thing!

After lunch at the Fog City Diner, we headed to Pier 39...

Fun photo with Alcatraz in the background at Pier 39.

Posing in front of Alcatraz as the sailboat goes by in the background.

Ashley and her Grandma watch the Sea Lions at Pier 39.

The scene at Fisherman's Wharf.

Ok, so the cable car trolley broke. Bang, followed by the conductor shouting...what was that. The cable car was off the track and we decided to instead take a taxi.

After the Zombie Art exhibit opening, nothing like a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the top of Macy's in Union Square!

How to Download Telenav GPS Navigator for Blackberry

2009-06-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Every since I picked up my Blackberry 8800, I have enjoyed and enabled the TeleNav GPS Navigator at it's $9.99 or so per month fee. Not only was it with me all the time, but it saved a ton of cash since I find myself in Hertz vehicles at least 4 days a month with the $9.95 per day price tag.

Having become dependent on the TeleNav GPS Navigator, you could imagine my surprise when it was not included on my new Blackberry Bold 9000 Series. Checking the Blackberry App Store, I noticed it was not included there.

I figured I could just browse to the TeleNav website and that would make it easy. After about 4-5 minutes of searching for an easy download link -- I really started to wonder, "How do you download TeleNav GPS Navigator for Blackberry?" Specifically a download that would work with Cingular / AT&T.

So, I then turned to Google and after a couple of minutes I came to forum page which had a link to the direct file where you can download the file. Hopefully, in order to save you some time -- I figured I would publish this link in order to make everyone's life easy, so here it is:

http://ota.telenav.com/ota/tnatt/

All you need to go to is the Internet Browser, or the AT&T MediaNet Browser, enter the address and you can easily download the TeleNav application...

For other providers, here are some additional links:

Sprint / Nextel: http://ota.telenav.com/ota/sn/

Cingular/AT&T: http://ota.telenav.com/ota/tnatt/

AllTel: http://ota.telenav.com/ota/al/

Verizon: http://ota.telenav.com/ota/vz/

T-Mobile Blackberry 8100: http://ota.telenav.com/ota/tn/

Once I hit the link, I was able to download and install the application easily! Even better, I noticed a new upgrade to the TeleNav GPS Navigator version 5.5.31 -- which has a new UI, here are a couple of screen shots:

Hidden Mickey: Disneyland: Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: Ride Building Block

2009-06-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Hidden Mickey post from Disneyland, California! In this particular post, we'll show you both the location (including GPS coordinates!) and a picture of the block Hidden Mickey on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

As a reminder, we used Steven M. Barrett's book, Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Disneyland Resort's Best Kept Secrets to help us on our adventures. You can buy it at the park, or if you want to go prepared, click here to purchase from Amazon.

For the full list of Hidden Mickey's we've found in Disneyland, click here.

To find this Hidden Mickey in Buzz Lightyear, once you get on the ride and enter the first show room you will have to look quickly to identify this hidden Mickey. To the left of the vehicle you will want to identify the block located just past the rotating wheel and left of a target of batteries. On the bottom of the block you will see a classic Mickey etched into the decoration with three different color circles.

Here is a picture of the Hidden Mickey:

Here is a Google Map with the exact GPS location of this Hidden Mickey in Disneyland, 33.81242° N, 117.9177° W:

View Larger Map

Good luck in finding it! If you've found it, please let me know with a comment!

Hidden Mickey: Disneyland: Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: Green Squadron Mural

2009-06-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another Hidden Mickey post from Disneyland, California! In this particular post, we'll show you both the location (including GPS coordinates!) and a picture of the Green Squadron Mural in the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

As a reminder, we used Steven M. Barrett's book, Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Disneyland Resort's Best Kept Secrets to help us on our adventures. You can buy it at the park, or if you want to go prepared, click here to purchase from Amazon. But, this may surprise you...this Hidden Mickey is not in the book!

For the full list of Hidden Mickey's we've found in Disneyland, click here.

To find this Hidden Mickey in Buzz Lightyear, keep your eyes open looking at all of the murals and decorations while you are waiting in line for Buzz Lightyear. On the right wall just after you pass the FastPass check, you will see a Green Squadron mural. If you look in the lower right hand corner of the window you will see a set of double clouds that form the top part of a classic Mickey with the ears and top of the head!

Here is a picture of the Hidden Mickey:

Here is a Google Map with the exact GPS location of this Hidden Mickey in Disneyland, 33.81225° N, 117.9179° W:

View Larger Map

Good luck in finding it! If you've found it, please let me know with a comment!

FiOS TV: Early Adoption Pains

2009-06-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two years since I first signed up and installed Verizon FiOS TV in my home to compliment the FiOS Internet service along with standard telephone. It was a pretty easy decision as I had been unhappy with the service and television lineup that Time Warner / Road Runner Cable (previously Adelphia) was providing.

Since some initial problems, the service and reliability as well as the Motorola HD / DVR QIP6416-2 boxes have been great. Generally, I was pretty happy with the service and price.

But, about a year ago I noticed a few changes when Verizon FiOS went to a new channel lineup. The biggest one was that there were a whole bunch of new high definition (HD) TV channels that I did not have access to; basic ones like ESPN NEWS. (Doesn't everyone want to watch the NBA Finals after game interviews in HD?) However, I was too busy (lazy?) to call and find out the deal.

Still, I kept noticing that the Fox HD (FXHD West) channel had a bunch of decent movies on and I would go to it without realizing...I didn't get it. So, with some time on my hands one night I logged onto Verizon.net and tried to see if I could find out the details.

The first thing I noticed was the plan I was on, FiOS TV Premier -- was not even in existence anymore. That should tell you something...if you're ever on a plan that has disappeared, you're likely not getting a good deal, at all. Then I identified a plan that I thought I would like, the Extreme HD Package which added the missing 41 HD channels that I was interested in.

I clicked on the button to change my plan and found a bunch of error messages that ended up at a screen telling me to call the customer service, regardless of the path I took. Now having spent a total of 2 hours on the phone with Verizon FiOS, I now understand why.

I called on Monday of this week and found there were some great new "bundles" that would not only give me the Extreme HD Package, upgrade my Internet from 5MB down / 2 up to 20MB down / 5MB up, and add some features to my phone...but would also save me $30 a month. Call me crazy, but yes -- I'll definitely sign up for that, even with the one year contract commitment -- that's $360 in savings for the year.

The agent placed the order and I hung up...pretty happy about my discovery and savings. But then 48 hours later...no new channels. I called technical support and there was no record of my order. Uh-oh.

I then called back Verizon and spent the next 90 minutes on the phone with the agent. Apparently they were bumped out of my order three different times. And "Object not defined" error -- my account must be really old -- need some coding help to fix that one. It was escalated to a manager that was supposed to call me back. Of course, they didn't.

But then, last night I called back again and got a hold of "Sandy" a great service representative that submitted my order problem to technical support, called me back, tried again -- failed again -- went back to technical support -- called me back -- until it was fixed and right. Now it looks like Monday (and I have gotten subsequent email updates confirming my 20/5 service) I will finally have an updated package along with the great savings.

The message to me is pretty clear with Verizon FiOS like it is with most cell phone providers -- make sure you check in on packages and savings once a year -- if not, you're likely not getting a good deal. More likely, you are getting a very bad deal. Don't expect that because you were an early adopter of their service that they'll be looking out for you.

At least now, I do not need to worry about it for another year.

If you are interested in one of the Triple Freedom packages, the info on the one I choose is below...

Verizon FiOS Triple Freedom - Better Bundle with Phone, Internet, and TV:

Verizon Freedom Essentials
Unlimited calling combined with three great calling features.
Call anywhere in the country, Canada and Puerto Rico, and talk as much as you want for one fixed price. Includes Home Voice Mail, Caller ID and Call Waiting.

Plan Includes:
* Unlimited local & regional calling
* Unlimited long distance calling across the U.S., to Canada and Puerto Rico
* 99.9% Verizon phone network reliability
* Three popular calling features:
o Home Voice Mail (where available): Answers your phone calls while you're away or on the line.
o Caller ID: Displays the name and number of incoming calls.
o Call Waiting: Notifies you of another call when you're on the phone.

Verizon FiOS Internet - Faster (up to 20/5 Mbps speed plan)
The Network Built for Ultimate Speed.
Craving even more speed? Only Verizon FiOS brings fiber to your home with an all-digital, 100% fiber-optic network with 99% reliability, delivering the fastest Internet speeds available on the market today. Offering connections of up to 20 Mbps download/5 Mbps upload, Verizon FiOS Internet – Faster allows you to download full-length movies, videos and large photos, song albums, and email files in a flash.

Verizon FiOS Internet is the top-rated broadband service in America, offering a 100% fiber-optic network with 99% reliability. This plan includes:
* 9 email accounts with 4 GB of storage
* 10 MB of personal Web space
* Free email forwarding with TrueSwitchTM
* Remote email access to check Verizon email accounts from any computer
* 24/7 live technical support
* Anti-virus and spam protection
* Option to choose Verizon FiOS Internet with Windows Live, AOL or Yahoo!
* Online entertainment with sports, news and more
* Professional installation with the white glove treatment from a skilled technician

FiOSTV Extreme HD
Tomorrow’s Technology. Here Today For Total Entertainment.
Only Verizon can deliver the best HD experience, because FiOS is the 100% fiber-optic network built for HD, offering stunning picture and sound quality with virtually endless programming options. Get up to 348 digital channels and up to 55 HD channels (53 more digital channels and 41 more HD channels than FiOS TV Essentials.

MPT V5 Communicate Wireless Internet Dial-Up

2009-06-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Another great feature of the Motorola Phone Tools software is that it will enable you to use your phone as a modem for connecting to the Internet. Depending on your phone and your plan, you may be able to connect to the CDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, or 3G networks to get broadband speeds through your Motorola Phone -- although charges might apply, so make sure to check out your plan.

This is the description from the help:

With the Internet option, you can connect to the Internet using your phone. To perform this feature, your phone has to be connected and turned on.

Within the Internet Connection Manager window, you can also:
Manage your connections (create, delete or edit your connections).
View in real time the connection information (Operator, Network, Connection time, Data received or sent).
View your connection logs.

This guide will help you go through the process of setting up the Wireless Internet Connection so that you can use it. Here is the step-by-step guide on how to set it up for your phone.

1. Under the Communicate tab on the left hand side of the screen, click on the Internet link at the bottom to open the Internet Connection Manager in MPT.

2. Click on the Create a New Connection link and the tradition Internet Connection Wizard with the Motorola Phone Tools (MPT) skin or look to it.

3. Click on next and the wizard automatically creates the ATT wireless High Speed Internet connection for you.

4. From there you can open the properties and see the customer Cingular / AT&T settings that were put in the Internet Conncetion Wizard to fine tune if you like.

5. AT&T / Cingular provides you with the warning I mention above about being careful in regards to your service plan as extra charges may apply -- data charges can add up quickly!

Now just go back to the Internet Connection Manager and click on "Connect" to use your phone as a modem -- and connect to the Internet!

Here is the list of phones this guide and the Wirless Internet Connection feature may work with:
A1200 Bluetooth
A1200 Edge
A1200 Edge Bluetooth
A1200e America
A1200e America Bluetooth
A1200i
A1200i BT
A1200r
A1200r BT
A1210
A1600
A1800
A732
A780
A780 BT
A780+
A780+ BT
A810
A860
A860 BT
A910
A910i
Aura
C305 Asia
C363
C381
C390
C698p
E1
E1000
E1070
E1070r
E1075
E2
E375
E378
E378i
E6 Bluetooth
E6 USB
E680
E680 BT
E680g
E680g BT
E680i
E680i BT
E690
E690 BT
E6e
E770
E770v
E790
E8
E815
E815m
E816m
E825
E895
EM325
EM35
K1
K1c
K1cm
K1m
K1m Asia
K1m-Sprint
K1mk
K1mm
K1s
K1t
K1v
K2
K3
K3m
L2
L6
L6e
L6i
L7
L71
L72
L7c
L7cm
L7cmm
L7e
L7i
L7v
L9
M800
M900
M930
M990
maxx K3
maXX V3
maxx V3 i-mode
Ming
Ming BT
Ming Edge
MS 600
Pebl U3
Pebl U6
QA30 (Canada)
QA30 (USA)
U6
U6c
U6c Asia
U9
V.
V1050
V1050 BT
V1075
V1100
V190
V191
V195
V197
V230
V235
V260
V262
V262 BT
V265
V265m
V265m BT
V266
V266 BT
V266m
V267
V276
V276m
V280
V3
V3 CTP
V3/p
V320
V323
V323i
v323im
V323m
V325
V325i
V325xi
V360
V360i
V360m
V360q
V360v
V361
V362
V365
V367p
V3a
V3am
V3amf
V3b
V3c
V3C Asia
V3c Rev2
V3cm
V3e
V3i
V3i EDGE
V3ire
V3iv
V3m
V3m refresh
V3mm
V3r
V3re
V3t
V3v
V3x
V3xR
V3xv
V3xx
V3xxi
V3xxR
V3xxv
V501
V560
V6
V635
V635i
V6maxx
V6v
V6vb
V6vc
V710m
V750 (Canada)
V750 (USA)
V8
V8 2GB
V9
V950
V975
V975 BT
V980
V980 BT
V9c
V9cC
V9m
V9mm
V9mS
V9s
V9x
VA76r
Ve
ve20
VE20 (Canada)
VE20 (USA)
ve20 Canada
VE240
VE465
VE66
VU204 (USA)
vu30
W315
W360
w385
W385m
W385x
W450
W490
W5
W510
W750
W750 (Canada)
W755
Z1
Z3
Z3i
Z3mS
Z6
Z6c
Z6m
Z6mm
Z6tv
Z6w
Z9
ZN200
Zn4 (USA)
Zn5

MPT V5 SMS Message Inbox Send

2009-06-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

In Motorola Phone Tools V5 (MPT) you can use the tool as a complete SMS mailbox to send, receive, and create SMS text message. This is great if you're sick of typing or just want to keep a record of all your inbound and outbound text messages. Additionally, you can also create a number of messages when your phone is not connected to the network and send them at once.

In this guide, I'll briefly describe the feature of the Motorola Phone Tools V5 SMS Message manager and show you how to use it.

Here is the step-by-step guide.

1. First access the SMS mailbox by clicking on the SMS word on the left side menu bar under communicate. This will open up your message box.

2. This is the settings where you can modify a few items including the number you specify for a callback. Some of the other key features you can changes are: Delivery Reports, Message Retention, and Call back number.

3. When you attempt to create a message, it is just like any other email where you can specify the TO in the form of a mobile / cellular number, and up to 158 characters that make up the SMS message. Then click on send to deliver the message to your recipients through Motorola Phone Tools and then your phone.

Here are the list of Motorola Phones that this guide may be compatible with:
A1200 Bluetooth
A1200 Edge
A1200 Edge Bluetooth
A1200e America
A1200e America Bluetooth
A1200i
A1200i BT
A1200r
A1200r BT
A1210
A1600
A1800
A732
A780
A780 BT
A780+
A780+ BT
A810
A860
A860 BT
A910
A910i
Aura
C305 Asia
C363
C381
C390
C698p
E1
E1000
E1070
E1070r
E1075
E2
E375
E378
E378i
E6 Bluetooth
E6 USB
E680
E680 BT
E680g
E680g BT
E680i
E680i BT
E690
E690 BT
E6e
E770
E770v
E790
E8
E815
E815m
E816m
E825
E895
EM325
EM35
K1
K1c
K1cm
K1m
K1m Asia
K1m-Sprint
K1mk
K1mm
K1s
K1t
K1v
K2
K3
K3m
L2
L6
L6e
L6i
L7
L71
L72
L7c
L7cm
L7cmm
L7e
L7i
L7v
L9
M800
M900
M930
M990
maxx K3
maXX V3
maxx V3 i-mode
Ming
Ming BT
Ming Edge
MS 600
Pebl U3
Pebl U6
QA30 (Canada)
QA30 (USA)
U6
U6c
U6c Asia
U9
V.
V1050
V1050 BT
V1075
V1100
V190
V191
V195
V197
V230
V235
V260
V262
V262 BT
V265
V265m
V265m BT
V266
V266 BT
V266m
V267
V276
V276m
V280
V3
V3 CTP
V3/p
V320
V323
V323i
v323im
V323m
V325
V325i
V325xi
V360
V360i
V360m
V360q
V360v
V361
V362
V365
V367p
V3a
V3am
V3amf
V3b
V3c
V3C Asia
V3c Rev2
V3cm
V3e
V3i
V3i EDGE
V3ire
V3iv
V3m
V3m refresh
V3mm
V3r
V3re
V3t
V3v
V3x
V3xR
V3xv
V3xx
V3xxi
V3xxR
V3xxv
V501
V560
V6
V635
V635i
V6maxx
V6v
V6vb
V6vc
V710m
V750 (Canada)
V750 (USA)
V8
V8 2GB
V9
V950
V975
V975 BT
V980
V980 BT
V9c
V9cC
V9m
V9mm
V9mS
V9s
V9x
VA76r
Ve
ve20
VE20 (Canada)
VE20 (USA)
ve20 Canada
VE240
VE465
VE66
VU204 (USA)
vu30
W315
W360
w385
W385m
W385x
W450
W490
W5
W510
W750
W750 (Canada)
W755
Z1
Z3
Z3i
Z3mS
Z6
Z6c
Z6m
Z6mm
Z6tv
Z6w
Z9
ZN200
Zn4 (USA)
Zn5

Second Look Part II: Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB - Wireless and Geotagging

2009-06-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

After I posted my update on the Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB over the weekend, I was able to get in contact with the folks at Eye-Fi and work more closely with them on the main issue I experienced (link here) with the uploading of the files.

First off, would like to start by saying that the root cause had nothing to do with my suspicion that rolling over the "rolls" of pictures were contributing to the lack of geotags on a number of pictures.

After working with Eye-Fi, it was purely coincidental that it seemed to align with the upload time spanning over the days. After looking through the upload log, it was clearly not the case -- the tagging was working exactly as expected.

And while my uploads spanned over the end of the day it was not until 12:31am that the pictures started showing geotags, as shown in the partial log below.

10303337 IMG_3613.JPG 2009-05-27 00:28:42 2009-05-27 00:29:25 NULL NULL NULL
10303342 IMG_3614.JPG 2009-05-27 00:29:14 2009-05-27 00:30:16 NULL NULL NULL
10303353 IMG_3615.JPG 2009-05-27 00:29:54 2009-05-27 00:30:43 NULL NULL NULL
10303360 IMG_3616.JPG 2009-05-27 00:30:35 2009-05-27 00:31:04 NULL NULL NULL
10303363 IMG_3617.JPG 2009-05-27 00:30:54 2009-05-27 00:31:40 38.8970299 -77.0253372 Washington
10303369 IMG_3618.JPG 2009-05-27 00:31:30 2009-05-27 00:32:17 38.8970299 -77.0253372 Washington
10303374 IMG_3619.JPG 2009-05-27 00:32:06 2009-05-27 00:32:41 38.8973389 -77.0251160 Washington
10303380 IMG_3620.JPG 2009-05-27 00:32:31 2009-05-27 00:33:12 38.8973389 -77.0251160 Washington
10303388 IMG_3621.JPG 2009-05-27 00:33:01 2009-05-27 00:33:36 38.8973503 -77.0250702 Washington
10303397 IMG_3622.JPG 2009-05-27 00:33:28 2009-05-27 00:34:17 38.8973465 -77.0250854 Washington
10303407 IMG_3623.JPG 2009-05-27 00:34:02 2009-05-27 00:34:38 38.8973465 -77.0250854 Washington

This is good news on a couple of fronts...first, I really appreciate the effort in getting the by the team at Eye-Fi in digging into the details and answering my questions. The second piece of good news is that there was not any bugs in the system and all was working fine.

But, as I mentioned in my conversations with Eye-Fi, it's a mixed blessing to find both of those things. I still logically cannot explain why pictures taken from the same location on different days did not acquire a WiFi signal and why there the first 150 or so pictures did not pick any up and then it started working for the rest of them. Despite my inability to explain, in may be entirely coincidental and the fact remains that the data is the data and you cannot argue with facts. Maybe it had to do with the Lincoln house where it first started picking up signals. :-)

The bottom line is that my Eye-Fi Explore card was not in the range of a WiFi signal when those pictures were taken regardless of the reason and thus the pictures themselves could not be tagged. Something that cannot be blamed of course on the Eye-Fi card, but could have to do with a number of factors.

That's always the case, even if Skyhook Wireless shows great coverage for the area, like the below shot. No wireless connectivity, means no geotagging.

Skyhook Wireless Coverage at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC:

Which brings me to the expectations I have for the card. I was expecting given the general downtown nature of my visit to Washington, DC -- with the exception of the Arlington National Cemetery -- that the majority of my pictures would end of with tags. Since that was not the case, I need to do some more testing on additional trips to see what occurs.

The good news is that I have upcoming weekends in San Francisco, followed by Las Vegas. We'll see what percentage of geotagging success I see there so I can update my experiences. Hopefully, Washington, DC was just an aberration.

Geo-Tagging with your Blackberry Device with GPS

2009-06-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Lately I have become a lot more interested in geotagging (assigning GPS coordinates) the photos I take. Primarily because I think It's neat. Recording exactly "where" you took that photo is a great addition to both the picture and the "when" (date & time) information seems to complete the image itself.

But, for most digital cameras -- it is not easy -- since is not a standard feature...yet. But, if you have a Blackberry or similarly capable GPS tracking device, with a little ingenuity and patience you can easily geotag your photos.

The first step is install software on your Blackberry device that will create a tracklog, or a time recorded log of your various GPS locations that we'll use in a later post to associate with your photos.

After trying out several different utilities, I settled on TrekBuddy -- an open source, free utility application that runs on your Blackberry -- that in my experience uses very little battery while tracking your "treks" or basically where you journey to. It's a J2ME application for GPS tracking and also supports smart GPX as well as raw NMEA logs. You can learn more about it and download it from here: http://wiki.trekbuddy.net/index.php/Main_Page -- the current version as of the time of this post is 0.9.83.

Here is the application configuration and setting you'll need to make in order to get it to work properly on your Blackberry device and then use it later to associate with the photos to geotag the photos.

1. The first time you run the application, it will ask you to create a directory for TrekBuddy to store your GPS log files on. Choose yes to create the directories, which in my case was on my Micro SD Card.

2. Initially, no location is set in the application -- this is because the device has not been granted access to the GPS system on your Blackberry mobile device. Go to the menu and click start to request GPS access. Alternatively, if you are on the 4.6 version of the Blackberry OS or higher, at the time of installation you have the opportunity to grant TrekBuddy "trusted application" status which will give it access to the GPS location information.

3. If you have not granted trusted application status to TrekBuddy, it will ask you to grant application permissions to access the GPS location information. I selected yes and clicked the "Do not ask again" option in order not to be pestered further.

4. Now we need to configure TrekBuddy to track and record your movements properly. In order to do that, click on the "settings" menu and select either "Ask" or "Always" depending on your preferences and click the options for "log only valid" and "log GSM info". Save the settings.

5. Now just click start from the menu in an area where your GPS can reach a satellite (for example outdoors). You should here a chime, see the green circle in the upper right hand corner to record your movements.

That's it, you're now setup to record your GPS locations on your travels. So, before you start a trip, a hike, or photo shooting sessions, all you need to do is start and stop the TrekBuddy logging. From there, I will show in an upcoming article how to associate the logs with your pictures.

Motorola Phone Tools: 5.17d Version Update Available

2009-06-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

While continuing some experimenting with my Motorola RAZR Phone, I ran my Motorola Phone Tools version 5.0 and noticed that there was an update available for the application. It took my version from 5.13b to 5.17d -- with a 4.64MB download which just took a couple of moments to install.

As usual, no release notes or details of the changes in the Motorola Phone Tools (MPT) application from Avanquest. It is rather frustrating that such a standard development and release process is not followed by Avanquest to keep their users informed of the application. However, a cursory review of the application does not reveal any new features. My assumption at this point is that there are just additional phones now supported in the application.

Here are a couple of screenshots of the updates:

1. The Motorola Live Update software shows the availability of the download of the upgrade for Motorola Phone Tools (MPT) 5.17d from 5.13b.

2. The Motorola Live Update downloads and installs the update from Avanquest on Motorola Phone Tools for the 4.17d upgrade without issue.

According to the Avanquest Support site, below are the current list of phones supported by Motorola Phone Tools. Alternatively, you can turn to the Avanquest support site here: http://mptlookup.avanquest.com/

Here is the current list:
A1200 Bluetooth
A1200 Edge
A1200 Edge Bluetooth
A1200e America
A1200e America Bluetooth
A1200i
A1200i BT
A1200r
A1200r BT
A1210
A1600
A1800
A732
A780
A780 BT
A780+
A780+ BT
A810
A860
A860 BT
A910
A910i
Aura
C305 Asia
C363
C381
C390
C698p
E1
E1000
E1070
E1070r
E1075
E2
E375
E378
E378i
E6 Bluetooth
E6 USB
E680
E680 BT
E680g
E680g BT
E680i
E680i BT
E690
E690 BT
E6e
E770
E770v
E790
E8
E815
E815m
E816m
E825
E895
EM325
EM35
K1
K1c
K1cm
K1m
K1m Asia
K1m-Sprint
K1mk
K1mm
K1s
K1t
K1v
K2
K3
K3m
L2
L6
L6e
L6i
L7
L71
L72
L7c
L7cm
L7cmm
L7e
L7i
L7v
L9
M800
M900
M930
M990
maxx K3
maXX V3
maxx V3 i-mode
Ming
Ming BT
Ming Edge
MS 600
Pebl U3
Pebl U6
QA30 (Canada)
QA30 (USA)
U6
U6c
U6c Asia
U9
V.
V1050
V1050 BT
V1075
V1100
V190
V191
V195
V197
V230
V235
V260
V262
V262 BT
V265
V265m
V265m BT
V266
V266 BT
V266m
V267
V276
V276m
V280
V3
V3 CTP
V3/p
V320
V323
V323i
v323im
V323m
V325
V325i
V325xi
V360
V360i
V360m
V360q
V360v
V361
V362
V365
V367p
V3a
V3am
V3amf
V3b
V3c
V3C Asia
V3c Rev2
V3cm
V3e
V3i
V3i EDGE
V3ire
V3iv
V3m
V3m refresh
V3mm
V3r
V3re
V3t
V3v
V3x
V3xR
V3xv
V3xx
V3xxi
V3xxR
V3xxv
V501
V560
V6
V635
V635i
V6maxx
V6v
V6vb
V6vc
V710m
V750 (Canada)
V750 (USA)
V8
V8 2GB
V9
V950
V975
V975 BT
V980
V980 BT
V9c
V9cC
V9m
V9mm
V9mS
V9s
V9x
VA76r
Ve
ve20
VE20 (Canada)
VE20 (USA)
ve20 Canada
VE240
VE465
VE66
VU204 (USA)
vu30
W315
W360
w385
W385m
W385x
W450
W490
W5
W510
W750
W750 (Canada)
W755
Z1
Z3
Z3i
Z3mS
Z6
Z6c
Z6m
Z6mm
Z6tv
Z6w
Z9
ZN200
Zn4 (USA)
Zn5

Blackberry Bold: First Impressions

2009-06-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a little more than 6 months since the official release date for the Blackberry Bold, but I finally have my first hands on impression of one. This was after 2+ great reliable years from my Blackberry 8800 -- until it finally started failing a couple of weeks ago. First it was the USB connection -- it started getting loose and having unpredictable charging connections. Then it was the ringer -- started having intermittent ringing problems where it would work one day and then not work the next. Those problems, not to mention important missed calls meant it was time for a new Blackberry.

So, you might be wondering -- why not and iPhone or Android device for my next phone? The simple answer is corporate connectivity, support, and security. While the iPhone and Android may continue to have better support and security; they are still not recognized by most corporations as viable devices either from an integration or security perspective.

With Blackberry being the really only option -- and focusing on the larger form factor devices which I prefer versus the Pearl and Curve -- and being on the AT&T (Cingular) network, I had only two options. Either the updated 8800 series offering of the 8820 or the Blackberry Bold -- which given that the 8820 is just a "refresh" of the 8800 I easily choose the Bold 9000.

Once it arrived, I was pretty happy with how easily the change-over to the new device occurred. No SIM card swapping or configurations -- just calling the in box provided 800 number, enter my cell phone number and the Bold was activated.

Soon there after, the Enterprise Activation for the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) kicked in and I experienced something that had not occurred since I "hacked" my Blackberry 8800 about 8 months ago -- true wireless synchronization. When I dropped the V4.5 operating system on my 8800, I traded great wireless synchronization for phone and application stability and performance. Now with the Bold, I had both again along with the familiar yet enhanced keyboard that made typing even faster than on the 8800.

Here are my first impressions from my earlier experience with the Blackberry Bold:

The first call I was on, while listening on my Bluetooth wireless headset, I noticed an inbound message came in. What a welcome surprise...the Blackberry Bold 9000 can do voice AND data on the 3G network at the same time. Updated meeting invites and notes, important emails, and more can be worked while you are on a call.
Camera -- great to finally have one, now I can take some decent pictures and upload them directly to Facebook or TwitPic.
I had to pull out the quick start manual a couple of times. The interface and feature set is different enough that I had to get used to the new layouts and behaviors. Here less than a week later -- I am caught up and comfortable. The one thing that I still need to figure out is that when the phone goes to "sleep" the clock comes up on the screen. If you hit the trackball, it starts to change the alarm settings. Not really the behavior I want...what if I accidently enable that alarm for 4:00am?
WiFi support is great...now when I arrive home in the evenings, I operate off of the WiFi signal instead of the 3G network. Quicker, more reliable access to the Internet and email. I wonder if it can be used via Bluetooth or USB to connect a desktop or laptop to a WiFi connection....
The updated browser is great -- No more of the 400 errors for objects too large or not able to connect messages. Most sites are now usable -- but still Bank of America says that Mobile Banking is not supported on my device / browser. Bummer.
Battery life is poor, at leat in my brief usage. I would expect the WiFi to chew up a little more battery life -- but with it turned off, going much more than 24-36 hours just in normal business usage would be an stretch. Especially if you charge via USB -- which appears to charge much more slowly than via the wall plug-in charger.
Blackberry App store -- similar to the Apple store, but many of the basic apps I have used in the past are not there like Opera, TwitterBerry and TrekBuddy. Still, I was able to find WeatherBug and a couple of other apps -- still greatly disappointing -- mainline offerings like Gmail, Google Mobile Maps, etc are all missing.

All-in-all, a great few days with the Blackberry Bold -- looking forward to getting to used to it. A great upgrade from my Blackberry 8800 series!

Here are the features of the Blackberry Bold:

Email and Messaging

BlackBerry Enterprise Server® for corporate email
BlackBerry Internet Service for personal email (included with every BlackBerry data service plan)
Multimedia Messaging—send/receive messages, pictures, and short videos*
Mobile Instant Messaging—send/receive messages in real time using AOL® Instant Messenger, Windows Live™ Messenger, or Yahoo!®*
Text Messaging—send/receive short messages*

Software and Connectivity

Free Wi-Fi** use at 17,000 AT&T Hotspots with BlackBerry® data rate plan
Bluetooth® 2.0 with stereo A2DP support
USB port
MicroSD™ expansion side-loading slot
Laptop mobility/tethering support
BlackBerry Desktop Manager Software with Roxio Media Manager in box
Works with BlackBerry Enterprise Server—supported by: Version 2.1 or higher for
Microsoft® Exchange, Version 2.0 with Service Pack 2 or higher for IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Version 4.0 or higher for Novell® GroupWise®

Camera and Video

2 megapixel camera with up to 3x zoom and built-in flash
Video recorder

Personalization and Entertainment

Cellular Video (CV)—watch streaming video on your device*
Media Player (music and video)
Supported audio formats: .3gp, MP3, WMA9 (.wma/.asf), WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, Professional AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
Supported video formats: DivX 4, DivX 5/6 partially
Ringtones, preloaded games, and graphics
Vibrate mode

Second Look: Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB - Wireless and Geotagging

2009-06-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

In a recent post, I detailed my initial impression with the Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB Wi-Fi and geotagging SD-Card. Eye-Fi makes a couple of other cards know as the Eye-Fi home and the Eye-Fi Share, which are slightly less feature-rich versions of the card I had.

Just as a quick review, the card has built-in Wi-Fi technology which allows it to grab the GPS location thanks to Skyhook, and also uploaded your pictures wirelessly either via a Wayport WiFi or other open or authorized wireless networks.

Now having completed a couple of trips with my Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB, I feel like I am little more qualified to speak about my experiences out and about with the card. In some ways, it feels like two very different stories to tell. I'll start with the good and go from there.

First off, one of the trips I recently took with the family was to Disneyland for Mother's Day. I packed my camera and included the Eye-Fi Explore 4GB card as I have been considering it my primary card and just switch it out between my point and shoot and DSLR camera.

Frankly, I did not have super high expectations for geotagging success at Disneyland because I had no idea of what the WiFi coverage was there. However, I took a number of snapshots throughout the day, hoping that their GPS location would be captured by the Eye-Fi explore card.

When I arrived home, I turned on the camera and saw the pictures uploading from my Eye-Fi card to the network. After a few minutes, I was very pleasantly surprised that all the photos had a geotag associated with them. This was a great surprise, in fact -- below is a photo taken at the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, geotagged fairly accurately. Overall, a great experience with the Eye-Fi Explore card.

Then there is the other experience I had in Washington, DC which is on the complete other end of the spectrum, ending with a lot of disappointment. In fact, for one of the items below -- I submitted a technical support incident almost two weeks ago and have yet to receive any sort of response other than the automated acknowledgment that I will receive a reply within 1 business day. Which unfortunately, I have not. Here are the two issues I experienced...

First, I have found it impossible -- at least in the city of Washington, DC and anywhere else I have been for the Eye-Fi card to connect to either public or Wayport based Wi-Fi hotspots -- one of the main highlighted features of the cards. I've been to McDonalds, Starbucks, Hyatt Hotels, the Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) and at not one place has the card successfully either connected or uploaded photos from my camera or with it docked into the USB connection on my computer. Hugely disappointing given one of the features and reasons for the $99 cost was for this "Hotspot" access. But, it really has not worked for me anywhere other than home -- which I found most frustrating on the recent trip to DC.

The second, is there appears to be a bug or issue with uploading photos if you span days. For example, when I arrived back from the Washington, DC trip -- I started uploading the 250+ 12 megapixel pictures I took to my computer via the wireless at my home. Unfortunately with that volume, the upload went past midnight and I encountered a strange behavior. The Eye-Fi Manager software first split my upload "roll" as it is called midway through the upload and the outcome was pretty negative. All of my photos that were in the 2nd roll (~85 or so) were geotagged properly, but all of the pictures in the previous roll did not have geotags associated with them.

Update: After working with Eye-Fi, I've found this not to be the case. Please see the update here.

This is currently the item I have open with Eye-Fi support, and is critical from my perspective. I know now that I need to watch for this when I upload, but I really want to recover the geotags for those other 150 pictures -- and have not used the card since this occurrence for not wanting to eliminate the geotag information. I am hoping I hear back soon and will update when I can.

If I am to summarize where I am at with the Eye-Fi card, I would consider myself neutral at this point. The geotagging seems to work pretty well, assuming I can work around the upload issues. The wireless support thus far has been really disappointing, especially when I have been traveling. Something I will try a couple of more times -- in San Francisco in a couple of weeks and then Las Vegas -- to see if I can find something more reliable. Still, for $99 -- or about $95 more than Fry's Electronics had a Class 6 4GB SD Card in their advertisement -- Eye-Fi is a little on the expensive side if it does not deliver the expected experiences or outcomes. As convenient as it may be, it has not lived up so far -- I hope it improves as I continue to use it.

As a way of suggestion, there are a couple features that would really increase the value of this card that I would recommend (outside of some of the bugs with the Eye-Fi Manager, and spotty or non-existent Wayport working coverage). They are:

1) The fact that you cannot connect to networks that have any sort of splash screen type authentications. For example, with T-Mobile I have access to all T-Mobile hotspots in Airports due to my United Airless Red Carpet Club membership. If I can just use that screen or share with the system how to navigate it and enter the information, that would be a huge win and unlock tons of networks for me -- including many, many free ones that require a similar type of authentication.

2) The ability to join ad-hoc networks. If my Laptop has an internet connection, why not enable me to use Microsoft Networking and Internet Connection Sharing to give the WiFi card access to the Internet? This would be a great additional feature that would allow me to connect my Eye-Fi card for uploading wherever I go.

For now, I am implementing a temporary solution for this problem by going with a Mobile Router that I just purchased on eBay. My desire is to drop my Sprint Mobile PCS card for the EVDO network into the Linksys Router and setup both my laptop and the Eye-Fi card to connect so that I will never be without an upload connection. Still, this is rather bulky to add to my travel gear -- given I travel a couple of times a month. I wonder how airport security is going to like this....

iPhoto 09: On The Mend, Faces Feature Actually Works

2009-06-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I was a pretty vocal critic of the buggy feature of the iPhoto 09 system. With the faces feature crashing on me every 5-10 minutes or so, the application was basically useless.

After I posted my last article (link here) I even contacted Apple's support to try and resolve the issue. Even after a bunch of cache and temporary files were deleted, and even trying a different user, the problem still persisted.

I ended up giving up and walked away from iPhoto for a couple of months. That was until the iPhoto 8.0.1 update came out. Once I saw it, I scanned the release notes to see if the problem I reported a million times was fixed. Unfortunately, the notes were extremely ambiguous -- so I tried out the update anyways.

After the update, and subsequent update to 8.0.2 (402) and hoped for the best. To my surprise, an even better outcome than I initially expected. I clicked on Faces completely expecting it to crash since I had not deleted the faces.db file that kept getting corrupted. Instead, faces came up almost immediately and still retained all of the faces information from my previous run. This was great news!

Still, I was not fully convinced. I spent the next 25 minutes tagging and confirming names to the 6,000 or so photos in my library and could not reproduce the crash. For me this was great news and once again, iPhoto was usable for me.

But, I cannot same that iPhoto is my "complete" photo organization solution. While there are a ton of neat features, including automatic upload to Facebook -- I still find myself having to use Picasa for some of the basic organizing and photo optimization before importing into iPhoto. The "I'm feeling" lucky feature often tunes the photos for the most part how I like them. iPhoto missing that feature is a huge gap.

In addition, major piece of usability that bugs me about iPhoto is the naming feature in faces. When a face is not identified, rather than me creating a box around the face -- similar to how Facebook does it -- iPhoto plops usually a very large box in the middle of the page and then forces you to resize it. If they would allow you to start the box and create the size of it with the mouse, it would make it a lot more user friendly and save time.

My last complaint (for now) is with how iPhoto stores the Library (which is an option), in that you import your photos into iPhoto 09 with its own proprietary organization scheme. Unfortunately, if you combine "events" from your library to consolidate, iPhoto 09 only performs this in the database. It would even be nice...especially when you're sharing a library with other programs for it to mimic those changes in the file system.

In summary, for now...iPhoto 09 is definitely a step ahead from iPhoto 08, but still has a way to go to be my top choice. I am still hoping to see some drastic improvements either in upcoming point releases or with the iPhoto 10 launch.

BMW M3: Startup and Rev of 4.0L V8 414-hp

2009-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

One of the first videos I quickly recorded on my new Flip Video MinoHD camera was that of my BMW e90 M3. Capturing the start-up ignition, idle, and rev of the engine -- I finally put it together into a consumable video while learning iMovie at the same time. :-)

The pertinent information from the video:

Vehicle: 2008 BMW e90 M3 Sedan in Jet Black with a 4.0L V8 producing 414-hp
Chapters: 3, First is ignition and idle; followed by a quick rev to 3,000 RPM, followed by a rev to 7,000 RPM
Reason: Always great to hear the sound of the M3 Engine at 7,000+ RPM!

Here you go, enjoy!

Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB - GeoTagging & WiFi - First Impressions

2009-05-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

I had previously posted about my desire to geotag photos that I was shooting with my Canon cameras. It was a very rudimentary and painful process...but it worked. In fact, it was so painful that I still have not finished the posts on "how" I got it to work. However, that is a major digression about a decision to the fact that I have taken pretty much a 2-month hiatus on posting. Back, to the point of this post.

I was really looking for a much simpler solution when someone turned me onto the Eye-Fi series of SD-Card memory cards. They have a series of cards that have built in WiFi or Wireless cards that allow you to connect to a network in order to upload your photos.

Their "premium" card, the Eye-Fi Explore Video also supports geotagging of photos (based on the Skyhook network) and connects to open WiFi networks or hotspots through their partnership with Wayport (which has been acquired by AT&T). After a little reading, I was sold that it was definitely worth a try. You can get it for ~$99 at Amazon -- click here for an easy link.

The only wrinkle at first is that they were coming out in March with a 4GB card that was the same price as the current 2GB card. So, I placed a pre-order for the card and waited some. Once it finally arrived, I popped it in my Canon Rebel XSi and was ready to get going.

It came in a nifty little package as you can see above, with a USB adapter. Upon plugging it into my USB Port, the Eye-Fi Manager software installed. The software is really just a little joblet that provides some basic drivers and the bridge between the Eye-Fi Website and your SD-Card.

Setup only took a couple of minutes to configure my local network and then the card confirmed that it was able to connect to my local network for photo upload. Additionally, there are some great setup features such as automatically downloading the photos not only to a computer, but also posting them on one of about 20 photo services like Flickr, Picasa, SnapFish, Costco, Kodak, ShutterFly, etc. So that once your photo is uploaded to Eye-Fi, Geotagged and beamed back to your computer -- it is also posted to your favorite photo sharing site.

Pretty cool.

It was time to run a couple of tests. I popped the configured SD Card into my camera, stepped into the backyard and snapped off a couple of pictures. I was mainly looking to test our the WiFi upload capability -- thinking that it was unlikely that the Skyhook network actually had our residence in their coverage.

After a couple of minutes of leaving the camera on, I wandered back to my desk and saw the photo downloading to my Mac Mini.

I opened up iPhoto and took a peek at the information on the picture.

To my instant surprise, the photo was geotagged with relative accuracy, right into my backyard. I was initially very impressed with both the upload and the photo. I went on and did a little additional testing.

I took about 15-20 additional pictures and found that I was most ~75% of them were properly geotagged when their uploading was completed. The main issue I found was how quickly I turned on the camera, took the photo and turned off the camera. I basically ended up concluding that a best practice with both my EOS Rebel XSi and my PowerShot SD790IS was to turn on the camera for about 5 seconds before taking the photo and leave it on about 10 seconds after I stopped taking the photos. Once I tuned in to there pretty much all my pictures had a geotag on them. Pretty nice.

Overall from a first impression, I am pretty happy with the Geotagging and wireless uploading feature on the Eye-Fi Explore Video 4GB. However, I need a couple of trips to really try it out, as well as the hotspot capabilities. Will definitely post a "second look" once I have some more time on it!

Also, if you are interested in the geotagging capability, it is important to know that this card and the Skyhook system is completely dependent on WiFi signals to triangulate and place the location of your photos. So, if for example you are out on a boat, in the mountains, or in the ocean -- this card will not report your location. You would likely need another solution. Still, for most geotagging needs -- could work for you.

I am excited about the continued use of it!

Update: I have posted my 2nd look at the Eye-Fi Explore card here.

Fixed! Vizio LCD Problem Vertical Line in Pixels (VU42LF)

2009-05-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Vizio LCD FHDTV television that we have had up in our bedroom had been working great for the last couple of years since we purchased it on a Coscto special about 22 months ago. It is a 42" LCD TV, with 1080p resolution -- model VU42LF.

The reason I used "had" been working great is just a few days ago while watching -- Ashley mentioned, that blue line down the middle is annoying. I thought, what blue line...I do not see anything. But, then changing viewing angles -- I could clearly see it -- a one pixel wide blue line running the entire length of the screen. From top to bottom.

It kind of looked like:

I was not panicing yet, but I first changed the TV channel. The blue line was still there. Then I reset the DVR receiver. The blue line was still there. I then change to a different device using a different connection mechanism -- DVD and Component vs. HDMI. The blue line was still there.

I was beginning to panic.

I turned to the Internet and searched Google and the results were not encouraging. Not encouraging at all. In every case I found, the situation was some sort of damage to the LCD, irreversible and requiring either a costly repair at $400 or replacing the television altoghether.

And of course the warranty on the TV was only for a year -- that would be par for the course.

I was trying to figure out what to do, whether I should look for a new television, see what new LCD screens costs and do DIY repair. While thinking, I fired off an email to Vizio technical support to perhaps get more information.

Resolved to waiting, I was just standing in front of the television looking at the blue line and I did something odd. I just tapped on the line where the one pixel wide blue line was...and it disappeared. It was not really hard, just a tap...tap...tap with my finger and the television was fixed.

Now I am not sure if this works for red, green, black, or white lines in a LCD television, but for some reason it worked for me. If you are having an issue, I would suggest giving it a try. It may not work, but hey -- what do you have to lose?

Good luck!

DiCAPac-410 Underwater Case for Canon

2009-04-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, when you participate in various water activities whether it is white water rafting, snorkeling, or swimming -- you often want to capture the moment in pictures. While it may seem like a simple problem, generally speaking the options you had in front of you had been relatively limited.

Two of the most common options that people thing about are...

1. Buy a cheap "waterproof" camera like the Kodak Sport Single Use Camera (link here). However, the quality is generally questionable and without the digital camera functionality, you have limited exposures, expensive developing costs. In other words, getting the shots you want are how might you say...unlikely.

2. You can buy a waterproof case for a Canon Camera, which for the Canon SD800IS is the WP-DC9 @ a cost of $240. (link here) That's a little steep -- more than the cost of the camera -- not to mention it is not compatible with my other Canon Powershot SD790IS. That requires the waterproof housing Model WP-DC24, at another $240. With the rate I change camera, definitely not the best investment.

But, there is another option that is made by the company "DiCAPac" (link here)which is a soft case alternative that you can get off of Amazon.com (link here) for less than $30. It's waterproof up to 10m (approximately 30 feet) and certified by the standard JIS IPX8.

While a Velcro and Zipper system was initially a little concerning for me -- with my "extra" digital camera...I was willing to take a risk. I went ahead and bought the DiCAPac-410 (link here) and it had the added bonus of being compatible with both cameras.

The case arrived in time for our recent trip to Hawaii and the most important thing to do with it is to run the initial tests to verify that it passes the submersion test. I tightened the lens cap and placed the paper towel inside the case and held it under water...success!

I was ready to now test it out on the camera, and below is a picture with the SD800IS inside the DiCAPac-410 -- a great fit and I was ready to go snorkeling with the camera!

At first, it feels a little bulky but then you get used to the outer soft case. I snapped a couple of quick pictures while I was on the deck of the boat (link here). Then I jumped in the water for my Snuba session with the camera.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the performance -- and the camera came out without getting wet and no damage -- evening with heading down to 20-25ft below the surface. What was really cool was that as the pressure increased with the depth, the case collapsed around the camera for a great snug fit. When using the camera in the DiCAPac-410, it felt almost like the real camera.

If you're thinking of taking some photos on an upcoming snorkel, water adventure, rafting or a shallow scuba excursion -- I would highly recommend the DiCAPac! Below are a couple of the photos that I took while underwater.

Here is the compatibility chart for the DiCAPac:

2008.08.25	WP-110 (WP-100)	WP-310 (WP-300)	WP-410 (WP-400)	WP-510 (WP-500)	WP-711,WP-700 (All super clear lens WP-710)
SAMSUNG	(Kenox, Digimax) X70 L70	(Kenox, Digimax) V3/4/5/6/10/20/700/800 A4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 40/ 50/ 400 D4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 103 S85/ 800/ 1000/ 1030 Cyber 410 , X80 (VLUU)NV10,NV100HD, 24HD	(Kenox, Digimax) U-CA 3/ 4/ 5 X 1/ 15wide/ 60 Q 1/ 2/ 25wide, A55W, L 50/ 55W/ 60/ 73/ 74wide/ 700/ 730/ 830/ S 500/ 600/ 630/ 700/ 730/ 760/ 830/ 860/ (VLUU) L100/ 110/ 200 /210, NV8/ 15/ 20 / 25HD	(Kenox, Digimax) 360/ 370/ 420/ 430/ 530 V50/ 70, Cyber300/400 α5/7, D60/370/430/470/ 510/530/610/3000/3100/ 4000, L85/ X85, S1050	(Kenox, Digimax) #1/ #1mp3 / #11pmp i5/ i50mp3/ i6/ i6pmp/ i7/ i70/ i8/ i85 K50/ 60/ D512S (VLUU) NV3/ 4 / i8/ i85/ i7/ L83T/ i100 (WP-700) VLUU i80 SDC-k65
CANON		IXUS 950IS/960IS/970IS/900Ti /800IS/980IS/430/500/700 /750 IXY 500/ 600/ 700/1000/ 800IS/ 810IS/ 820IS/ 2000IS/ 3000IS Powershot SD500/ 550/ 700IS/ 850IS/ 890IS/ 900/ 950IS 990IS S500/ 410	IXUS 30/ 40/ 50/ 55/ 60/ 65/ 70/ 75/ 80IS/ 85IS/ 90IS/ 330/ 400/ 850IS/ 860IS/ i7-zoom/ i/ ii/ i5-zoom/ iis/ V3/ V2 IXY L/ L2/ L3/ L4/ 10/ 20IS/ 25IS/ 30/ 30a/ 50/ 55/ 60/ 70/ 80/ 90/ 95IS / 200a/ 300a/ 320/ 400/ 450/ 900IS/ 910IS/ 920IS wireless Powershot SD10/ 20/ 30/ 40/ 100/ 110/ 200/ 300/ 400/ 430/ 450/ 600/ 630/ 750/ 770IS/ 790IS/ 800IS/ 870IS/ 1000/ 1100 S200/ 230/ 330/ 400	Powershot A60/ 70/ 75/ 80/ 85/ 95/420/ 430/ 450/ 460/ 470/510/ 520/ 530/ 540/ 550/560/ 570IS/ 580/ 590IS S60/ 70/ 80	Powershot (WP-710) A 100/ 200/ 300
CASIO	Exilim EX-Z 3/ 4/ 5/ 30/ 40/ 50/ 55/ 57/ 500/ 600/ 750/ 850/ 1000/ 1050/ 1080/ 1200SR EX-S 10/ 100/ 500/ 600/ 600D/ 770/ 880	Exilim QV-R 3/ 4/ 40/ 41/ 51/ 61 EX-Z 10/ 100/ 110/ 120/ 200	Exilim EX-Z 8/ 9/ 20/ 60/ 70/ 75/ 77/ 80/ 250/ 150	Exilim EX-P 600/ 700	Exilim EX-M 1/ 2/ 20 EX-S 1/ 2/ 3/ 20 EX-V 7/ 8
Panasonic		Lumix DMC FX 100/ 150	Lumix DMC FX 1/ 01/ 2/ 3/ 5/ 7/ 07/ 8/ 9/ 10/ 12/ 30/ 33/ 35/ 36/ 37/ 38/ 50/ 55/ 500 FS 3/ 5/ 20, F 1/ 7 LS 1/ 2/ 80, LZ 8/ 10	Lumix DMC LZ 1/ 2 LC 50/ 70/ 80
FUJIFILM	Finepix F 440 / F450 / F455	Finepix A 345 / 350/ 850 F 10/ 11/ 20/ 30/ 47/ 420/ 650/ 31fd/ 40fd/ 45fd/ 47fd/ 50fd/ 100fd V10 /	Finepix A 203/ 303/ 310/ 330/ 340/ 500/ 510/ 600/ 610/ 700/ 800 F 460/ 470/ 480 J 10/ 50	Finepix E 500/ 510/ 900 A 610/ 820/ 900/ 920	Finepix Z 1/ 2/ 3/ 5fd/ 10fd/ 20fd/ 100fd/ 200fd WP-710 : A 120 / 202
Nikon	Coolpix S 550 / 600 / 700	Coolpix 2200/ 3200/ 4200 / 5200/ 5600/ 5900 / 7600/ 7900 P 3/ 4 L 2 / 3/ 4/ 6 S 710	Coolpix 3700/ 4100/ 4600 S 200/ 210/ 500/ 510/ 520/ 560/ 610C L 10/ 11/ 12/ 14/ 15/ 16/ 18	Coolpix P 1/ 2/ 50/ 60/ 5000/ 5100 L 1	Coolpix S 1/ 2/ 3/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 7C/ 8/ 9/ 50/ 50C/ 51/ 51C/ 52/ 52C WP-710 : S2500/3500
OLYMPUS	Camedia C 470z, X500/ 600 FE 150/ 160/ 300/ 5500 (u, Stylus) 710/ 740/ 750/ 760/ 810/ 1000/ 1200/ D630z	Camedia C 60z/ 370/ 480/ 500z X 1/ 2/ 3/ 350/ 450/ 550 FE 310 (u Stylus) 1010/ 1020/ 1060	Camedia C 310z/ 315z, X790 FE 130/ 140/ 170/ 180/ 200/ 210/ 220/ 230/ 240/ 250/ 270/ 280/ 290/ 320/ 330/ 340/ 350/ 360/ 370 (u, Stylus) 10/ 15/ 20/ 25/ 30/ 40/ 40digital/ 300/ 400/ 500/ 600/ 700/ 780/ 800/ 820/ 830/ 840/ digital S/ Mini/ Verve S	Camedia C 1z/ 2/ 40, X200/ 250 (u, Stylus) 535/ 545/ 595z	(u, Stylus) 700sw/ 720sw/ 725sw/ 730/ 795sw/ 850sw/ 1030sw WP-710 : C120/150/160/170/ 180, AZ1/ SP700/ IR300/ 500
PENTAX	Optio S/ S4/ S4i/ S5i/ S5n/ S5z/ S6/ S7/ SV/ SVi T10/ 20/ 30 A10/ 20/ 30/ 40	Optio 30/ 50/ 60/ 330/ 430/ E30/ X S 40/ 45/ 50/ 55/ 60/ 330RS/ 430RS E30 T30	Optio M 10/ 20/ 30/ 40/ 50/ 60 E 10/ 20/ 40/ 50/ 60 V 10/ 20	Optio 33LF / 33L / 330GS / 230 / 750Z/ S30	WP-710 : WP / WPi/ Z10 W10 / 20 / 30/ 60
SANYO		Xacti VPC AZ3/ MZ31	Xacti VPC S 1/ 3/ 4/ 6/ 7/ 60 E 7		WP-710 : VPC J 1/ 2/ 4 DSC A5 / E6
SONY	Cybershot DSC N1 / 2 W120/ 130	Cybershot DSC P100 / 120 / 150 / 200 W100/ S800	Cybershot DSC S 40 / 500/ 600/ 650/ 700/ 750/ 780 W 30/ 35/ 40/ 50/ 55/ 70/ 80/ 90/ 150/ 170/ 200/ 300	Cybershot DSC P 1/ 2/ 5/ 7/ 8/ 9/ 10/ 71/ 72/ 73/ 92/ 93 W 1/ 5/ 7/ 12/ 15 S 60/ 90	Cybershot DSC T 1/ 2/ 3/ 5/ 7/ 9/ 10/ 11/ 20/ 30/ 33/ 50/ 70/ 77/ 100/ 200/ 300/ 700 WP-710 : U 10/ 20/ 30 , P 31/ 32/ 51
KONICA MINOLTA	Dimage E 500	Revio KD 200Z / 300Z / 510Z	Revio KD 400Z	Revio KD 3300 Dimage F100/ 200/ 300	Dimage X1 WP-710 : X 20/ 21/ 31/ 50/ 60, X/ XG/ Xi
Kodak	Easyshare V 530 / 550 / 803 / 1003 / 1073 / 1273	Easyshare LS 633 / 753 / 755 C 613 / 663 / 813 ONE, JOC L108 V1233 / 1253	Easyshare C 533/ 643/ 653/ 743/ 763 LS743 , M 753/ 763/ 853/ 863/ 873/ 883/ 893IS/ 1033/ 1063/ 1073IS/ 1093IS	Easyshare CX 6230/ 6330/ 7220/ 7330/ 7430/ 7530 DX 4330/ 4530/ 6340/ 6440/ 7440/ 7630 LS443 , Z 885/ 1275 C 340/ 360/ 875	WP-710 : Easyshare V 570/ 610/ 705
KYOCERA		Finecam S3 Yashica EZ Digital 5030	Yashica EZ Digital 5031	Finecam L 3 / 3V / 4 / 4V/ 30 S 3/ 3R/ 3L/ 4 / 5R	WP-710 : Contax i4R
RICOH		Caprio RZ1/ R1/ RR630/ RR660	Caprio RR770, R50	Caprio GR-D/ GR-DII/ GX8/ GX/ RX/ G4wide / RR30
OTHER	Rollei Prego DP4200 BenQ DC E53 / 520 / 510 Hitachi imega HDC-531	Minox DC8111 Rollei Prego DP8300 / 6300 / 5300 DT3200 mach power DX-550 polaroid PDC3370 praktica DCZ4.3 BenQ DC C40 / C50 Toshiba Alegretto 3310 GE E 840S/ 850/ 1040/ 1050	Toshiba Alegretto 3330 Hyundai DC-4300 Epson L-300 / 400 Leica C-Lux1/ Lux2 GE A 730/ 735/ 830/ 835 E 1030/ 1035/ 1235	praktica DCZ4.4 Toshiba PDR5300 Premier DC2302 / 3306 / 5330 Kenko Z510 BenQ DC 5330 / S30 Kocom KDC-330 Hyundai HD-530 Hitachi imega HDC-331	Che-ez Foxz2 Che-ez moni-me GE G 1/2
모델명	WP-110	WP-310	WP-410	WP-510	WP-711 WP-710

The Flip Video Mino HD Video Camera - First Impressions

2009-04-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I used to own a video camera. However, I rarely found myself using them. Bulky, slow, and those darn MiniDV tapes and the time they took to transfer to a PC to edit and make a movie -- just killed it for me. In fact, the last video camera I had, a Canon ZR50MC ended up sitting in my drawer for a couple of years pretty much unused. By the time I hawked it on eBay, it had depreciated about $400 in value. Not the greatest investment on my part.

That was at least two years ago...since then, although I have mainly focused on photography, I dabbled with taking the little mini videos on my Canon Powershot camera, you know the 640x480 poor quality ones. I had a series of videos planned for the site to show a few videos on my BMW M3, and started to think if that was really how I wanted to shoot my videos, with my Canon Powershot.

Probably not.

I had casually looked around and was intriqued by the Mino Flip Video line of products. They were highly portable (critical requirement for me) and seemed to be a good mix of portability, quality, and compatibility (Mac and PC). Plus, they were in the $200 range, for a HD quality video -- the Mino HD which supports 720p resolution with a 60 minute record time. A pretty good value in my book.

Then I read Chris Pirillo's article in which he compared the Flip Mino HD bvs. Vado HD vs. the Kodak Zi6. Chris' review was not so favorable for the Mino HD, so I was not really sure where that left me -- previously I was pretty convinced it was the best of what was available. After doing some additional searching, I ran into Robert Scoble's blog in which he stated the Chris was flat out wrong. After reading his article and various reviews on the products, I completely agreed that Chris was in fact...wrong.

For me it came down to a couple of reasons, 1) picture quality, and 2) portability. With those being my requirements, the Flip Video Mino HD was clearly the camera for me if I was going to get a "digital" video camera. With that, I went ahead and placed my order on Amazon.com and I watited for it to arrive.

And I waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. Then it finally arrived...I was not sure what took so long, but I found myself wishing I was a member of Amazon prime.

I almost laughed when I saw the box inside of the Amazon box. It felt like I had received a product from Apple...kind of. Basically, the packaging was almost identical to the numerous iPod and iPhone packages we had purchased. Small, compact, attractive.

I thought about ripping open the box, thought again about the resale value and opened up the box. Almost identically to how the iPod is packaged the first thing you see is the Flip Mino HD and that's it. I was impressed immediately by how small it was. I pictured it fitting in my shirt or pants pocket, but this was even smaller. Almost what I would consider tiny.

I hit the power button and was pleased to find that the unit shipped half-charged, so I did not need to plug it into the USB port on my computer to charge it. My first thought as I powered it up and looked at the mini LCD screen at 1.5" -- can this really produce a decent quality video? It's tiny, it feel very light (not as solid as an iPod or iPhone), and you can't tell a whole lot from the screen.

Immediately when I got home, I decided to try it out -- I quickly setup the mini-tripod that I purchased as part of the "package" and started-up the M3 and a portion of the video is below.

While it was mounted on a tripod, I was absolutely blown away by the quality, even with YouTube's compression to get it down to a reasonable size. I was able to publish the video in just minutes from the time I connected the built-in "flip" USB dongle into my Apple Mac Mini and publish it to YouTube.

More to come once I have a little more experience with it!

Mac Mini - Upgrade to 4GB RAM Installation (Video)

2009-04-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed some sluggishness on my base model Mac Mini Core 2 Duo, with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Once the machine was up and running and I was looking at iPhoto, Mail, and Firefox, the 1GB of memory would basically be all used up.

I started a search to see what I could do to improve the memory. What I ended up doing was purchasing a 4GB kit of PC2-5300 memory from Newegg of Transcend memory (link here) for only $42 delivered. A great deal.

The full description if you're interested:
Brand: Transcend
Model: JM667QSU-2G
Type: 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM
Capacity: 2GB
Speed: DDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
Cas Latency: 5
Voltage: 1.8V ± 0.1V
ECC: No
Buffered/Registered: Unbuffered
Heat Spreader: No
Manufacturer: Warranty
Parts: Lifetime limited
Labor: Lifetime limited

If you are familiar with the Mac Mini Core 2 Duo, you know that unfortunately the Mac Mini due to the current BIOS is only able to address 3GB of the 4GB of memory, even though the system fully recognized the 4GB of RAM. A little bit of a bummer, but having matched DIMMs is always a good thing and based on the price I decided to go for it. I am also a little bit of a hold-out in that I hope there will be a BIOS upgrade someday, but I know that's a fat chance.

Now was for the tricky part, opening up the case. First, you must know that you need a putty knife, some precision screwdrivers, and lastly a set of tweezers come in really handily. Rather than recreating some content, below is the YouTube video I used and it really made this a breeze.

In all, it only took me about 20 minutes to open the case, access the RAM slots and upgrade the memory. Just like that my Mac Mini was back in business. And, in fact the upgrade made a huge difference in the performance -- as it uses around 2.0GB during my normal usage of the machine.

Here's a couple of pictures showing the machine recognizing 4.0GB, but Activity Monitor only showing the 3.0GB addressable.

See, the Mac OS X, Version 10.5.6 shows 4GB RAM available to the system:

But, when looking in activity monitor, only 3GB are addressable by the Mac Mini. You can tell this by adding the free and used values, which roughly come to exactly 3GB. When you add 4GB to the Mac Mini, you are wasting 1GB RAM unfortunately.

If you're considering upgrading your Mac Mini, it is pretty straight forward once you get the case off. As for me, my Mac Mini is happily computing -- although I must admit putting in a 128GB solid state drive, or overclocking the CPU are tempting!

Photo Blog: Hawaii Day 8

2009-03-07T23:46:00.000-08:00

Saturday was our last day of having the car and we decided to make the most of it. It worked out really well since it was raining most of the day...although the top stayed up on the Mustang.

In the end, it was the first time I had ever driven around the island in the day. From Waikiki, to the North Shore, to the Windward side, around Makapuu Point and Hanauma Bay.

After we cruised the North Shore...where the waves were small...we started looking for lunch. And, for lunch -- we did something that I had been interested in fro a long time. We visited the famous shrimp shacks on the North Shore near Kahuku. We tried "The Shrimp Shack" which had great garlic shrimp and then had the Sweet and Sour Shrimp at Romy's. Our preference was clearly for the garlic shrimp.

After that, we made the trip down the Windward side to breeze by Kualoa Ranch, Chinaman's Hat, a quick stop for shaved ice in Waimanalo, before stopping by the famous blow-hole on our way back to Waikiki.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

The picturesque mountains that serve as a backdrop for Kualoa Ranch.

A slightly different via (and tweak) of the trees in front of the mountains.

The cloudy and rainy weather contributed to the mountains being engulfed by the clouds.

Chinaman's hat off the eastern shore.

The stormy weather made for some great blows from the blowhole, shooting mist into the air.

Photo Blog: Hawaii Day 7 - Surfing and Windward

2009-03-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today I took my second shot at surfing. Rather than going to another class or trying another soft surfboard, I went for a regular long board -- a 9' 6". In addition, rather than finding an different beach -- I went our right off the Hilton Hawaiian Village right at the edge of Waikiki.

I learned quickly that even though the protected area of the Hilton's beach was relatively deep at 6-7 feet, in general Waikiki was not. The break that I decided to go out to was only about 3-4 feet deep in the a few places with a mix of coral and sand. On a couple of occasions I found some of that coral. Luckily it was just a couple of scrapes on my feet and toes -- getting on an off the surfboard rather than taking any bad falls -- and no major damage. Still, I cannot say that as of yet I am a huge fan of reef surfing.

Even with that, the surfing in the morning was a mild success with my catching a few waves and getting up. Definitely not with the frequency or stability that I had a couple of days earlier, but progress none-the-less -- and actually on a real board.

After our morning surf session (Evan joined me while Ashley hung out at the beach), we headed down for our required Cheesecake Factory Honolulu / Waikiki visit for lunch which was a enjoyable as usual. After that, Ashley and I just headed around the south side of the island and over to the windward side -- which consistent with the past week was really windy.

We then finished up the evening with the Hilton Hawaiian Village's free show, King's Jubilee and free fireworks before heading over to Benihana within the village.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

Evan and I paddle out to the break about 1/4 mile offshore from the Hilton Hawaiian Village to surf.

Coming back into shore after our hour and a half out surfing. A relatively successful second surf day.

The view from the windward side of Oahu, from Waimanalo Beach park -- one of our favorite spots.

Ashley hanging out by the shore in the wind at Waimanalo Beach.

Hmm, bad surf and Man 'O Wars. I don't think I am going to venture out in that today.

A kite surfer in Kailua gets airborne. The 20-30 mph gusts made from some pretty awesome aerobatics that we could watch from the shore.

Start of the King's Jubilee at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the free Friday night show.

My favorite part of the show, the fire dancer / juggler. His performance was about 10 minutes of pure watching enjoyment.

The fireworks amongst the palm trees over the ocean right next to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

Ending our night at Benihana where we had one of the most clever and humorous chefs that we've had. "Japanese Ketchup" for Soy Sauce among 10 other one-liners provided great entertainment.

Photo Blog: Hawaii Day 6 - The North Shore

2009-03-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today with a touch of good weather and the first day with a rental car from Hertz -- we loaded up the convertible Ford Mustang and headed to the North Shore. We had heard that with the trade winds blowing, the waves were pretty big -- not "The QuickSilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau" Big Wave competition big, but still pretty good size.

We made the trek through your standard run of breaks...Waimea Bay, Banzai Pipeline, before stopping at Sunset Beach to hang out for awhile. The waves were decent size, but smaller than a few days earlier at Honolua Bay on Maui -- but still entertaining.

We hung out for a few hours before making our traditional run to Matsumoto's shaved ice for a delightful treat before heading back to Waikiki to relax and then head into town to have dinner.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

The surf at Sunset Beach as one of the 20 our so surfers catches a wave.

The classic view of Sunset Beach on the North Shore of the Island of Hawaii.

Catching Ashley in front of the waves here at Sunset Beach.

Evan joined us today and took a couple of the great photos below. I am entirely jealous of her Canon EOS 50D camera, it's awesome. Still, she is jealous of my Canon L lenses. :-)

Some paddle surfers heading out on the North Shore. This sport is insanely popular since the last time we were here. In fact, Kate Hudson just had a photo snapped of her in Malibu on one of these in People Magazine. Still, these guys were heading out for a cruise rather than any wave riding activities.

Evan takes a picture of me searching for the right shot(s).

Don't want to break your neck on the beach. I love the picture here of someone landing on their head.

Another great photo from Evan as Ashley and I made our way down the beach. One of my favorites from this trip.

Back at the hotel from our North Shore adventure...this is Waikiki...this is Hawaii...this is vacation.

Our first "real" sunset. Provided some time to take a few photos -- but better yet enjoy the end to a magnificent day on the island of Oahu.

Photo Blog: Hawaii Day 5 - Surfing with Hawaiian Fire

2009-03-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

This was the day of our vacation that I had anticipated for some time. Today, I was going to learn how to surf.

Growing up in central California I had frequented the beaches of Pismo Beach, Avila, and others mainly taking to Body (Boogie) Boarding. In fact, this continued during college while I lived in Malibu, CA -- resisting any notion of surfing because in fact, I was a body boarder.

However, at this point it has been a couple of years since I have really "gone out" to go body boarding and many of the friends and people I know surf. I had decided that on my next trip to Hawaii I would learn how to surf.

And that is what Ashley and I did today. We signed up with Hawaiian Fire, a company ran by local Honolulu, Oahu based Firefighters. They say that they are Hawaii's best surf lesson and I have to agree -- our experience was awesome. The break they picked had plentiful smaller waves for starters, no crowds, and the six instructors in our group lesson made for a great and productive time. Even though it was a "soft" 10 foot surfboard -- both Ashley and I were able to stand easily -- and in the hour and a half in the water, I was able to ride 25-30 waves.

To top it off, I asked some general questions about how I would get started back when I was on the mainland and got some great pointers and tips in terms of the type of board and breaks I would look for early on. Without a doubt, both Ashley and I highly recommend Hawaiian Fire for surf lessons if you are thinking about it while on the island of Oahu.

On a side note, they also have a photographer come out who had a great Canon 40D and 100-400mm L lens that took some great photos. For only $40, we received the whole CD of about $150 pictures. Not bad since it was split between three of us...myself and Ashley, and our friend Evan who was in Hawaii for her medical residency.

Here are a few photos from the day...

We met a local at the break. Irma is a Hawaiian Monk Seal, and endangered earless seal of which there are only about 1200 left in the world. Thanks to the wonder of a zoom lens, we could get a good photo without getting too close. Apparently this is his beach.

Our group for surf lessons with Evan, Ashley and I just to the right of the surfboard.

Ashley standing up on her first wave. Good for her!

Riding one of the small waves on and getting a feel for the board.

Time to get off the wave as flatly as possible.

Ashley and I for a quick pose after our surfing lesson.

A shot of all the rash guards drying in the morning sun and wind.

The Hawaiian Fire team picks you up at your hotel with these fancy vans. :-) They give you transport to and from your hotel to the surf lesson, it runs about 4 hours in all.

The rest of the day we just hung out and relaxed. Here is a shot near sunset from our lanai at the room, catching the reflection of the palm trees in the lagoon. The cloudy weather has made for less than spectacular sunsets so far.