Want to watch the latest YouTube content on your 5th generation iPod? My favorite magazine tells you how and runs through those steps in an online-accessible article. I’ve not tried it yet, although my son is anxious for me to give it a whirl — for HIS iPod, of course. Here’s the link…

Video How-To for YouTube.com to iPod conversions and downloads.

technorati tags: you+tube, YouTube, ipod, video, downloads, how+to

Today, Government Technology released an article with some pretty alarming statistics on where America is in the digital revolution. We are losing.

The article, The Truth Behind America’s Digital Decline, by S. Derek Turner, offers a great snapshot of how far behind we are, including these little tidbit-facts…

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As the time passes and the Net Neutrality Nay-Sayers get stronger, I must push aside my differences with some of our political leaders and come together on this one issue. I think it is one of the biggest issues of my adult life… and I think the full impact of how this decision plays out will not be felt for several years.

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This last couple of weeks, I’ve been working with a peer using a new “beta” offering from Google. It’s called Google Docs and Spreadsheets and, I must say, it rocks!

How do I use it, and why do I recommend it for people who work remotely? Why is it a good fit for those who travel alot? Because it’s a web-based FREE way to collaborate on documents and spreadsheets and then download them in a multitude of file-type options… like .doc (MS Word format), PDF, .odt (Open office format), RTF (rich text format) or even HTML. You can export spreadsheets in .xls (Excel format), CSV, .ods (open office), PDF or HTML.

You can archive the files on your account, you can flag certain files, you can tell at a glance which (of the people you invited to view or edit your documents) made a change last. It’s like having a whiteboard, a word processor, an spreadsheet program, and a storage place online…. and *God Bless Google* it’s free!

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Just a bit of food for thought:

Learn more on www.SaveTheInternet.com.

technorati tags: Net+Neutrality+Video, Save+The+Web, My+Internet

Yesterday the good folks at www.SaveTheInternet.com hosted an online web forum for bloggers with Bill Moyers. Bill is doing a segment called “The Net At Risk” during his “Moyers on America” program later this month. He met with several bloggers and net-aware individuals to discuss their own concerns, to ask questions and to offer feedback before the new documentary airs nationwide.

I attended the event and must say that it was a worthwhile use of my time, even though Tuesdays are always extremely busy for me.

The “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” approach to this topic by the Telcom industries and some politicians irritates me. I’m a firm believer in minimizing governmental interference in most things — so my feelings on Net Neutrality are a little off my usual mark. But, I want to ensure — and I want assurance — that the cable and phone companies can’t, in essence, control the access to unlimited information by shunting the pipelines and filtering content.

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I had a client with an interesting problem this week. Their T1 connection had gone down for a few hours and suddenly their emails were bouncing, being delivered to their webmail instead of siphoning through their onsite router, and life was just generally difficult for them. They were also no longer receiving their web-based forms email.

It took a bit of research (and calling in favors from some of my most talented fellow techies) to resolve the issue. These things are never as simple as they should be, are they?

In case it’s of any assistance to anyone else, I wanted to deconstruct the problem here… and share the solution.

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My life has taken a seriously hairpin turn for the better in the last couple of days. It was a bit less than wonderful before the changes started. It was getting to be a bit of a drag, honestly. And then a slew of related and unrelated developments and changes started… like a well-placed pattern of dominoes awaiting that first domino to fall…

Although I can’t go into all of it right now, I can say that I’ve reconnected with an old friend, I’ve put one seriously PIA part of my history to rest (may it RIP forever), my son and my husband have had some GREAT news, many “pending” items — the stuff that has left me in limbo for months and even years — has started to resolve itself. (Have I mentioned how limbo is my least favorite place to be in life??)

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Here begins today’s rant. It follows yet another call from yet another real estate agent (and genuinely nice guy) that has been taken for a ride, financially. This has been bugging me for awhile, even before the most recent call (I get several of these a month, BTW). I’ve talked with my own clients about it, and I’ve probably run off a few potential clients with my blatantly bold and brash “brutal” honest opinion on this particular topic.

The fact is, real estate agents are an easy mark. They believe in and look for a silver bullet to fix all their online and offline marketing woes and they are willing to buy false “Holy Grails” over and over again.

They don’t get what they want from one company (even though what was advertised was exactly what they did want)… so they go on to the next company and buy yet another “service” — another “software program” — another online lead generator — another “one size fits all” website, etc, etc, ad nauseum…

And they wonder why they never quite make it to the big leagues. They wonder why their overhead is so high, their profits so low and why the concept of personal “free time” is a misnomer.

I’ve HAD IT!!!

(Not with these agents… but FOR them!)

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In addition to the recent announcement of downloadable TV and movie content, Amazon also announced the launch of an online grocery delivery service a couple weeks ago, and I took a few moments to go in and poke around a bit., I must say I’m pretty impressed with the varieties of non-perishable organic foods that are featured.

When I get a few moments, I’ll have to go back in and look around a bit more carefully. I wish I’d done it when they were offering a $10 off coupon for new grocery customers… but time slipped away from me (the coupon was good for less than 24 hours, and I simply didn’t have the time).

Enjoying the concept of having groceries come to me, instead of me going to them has never been more appealing. Yes, I like “small” and “compact” — but I also tend to buy my staples and my essentials in bulk and the prices for the bulk organic items are quite reasonable and are, for the most part, a bit lower than what I have to pay at Wild Oats in Lexington (a two hour trip away).

So, I’m looking forward to placing my first order and evaluating the delivery time, the condition of the products ordered and … of course… my monthly “bottom line” on the family food budget. Granted, I’m the only one sticking with the “all — or dang close to all — organic” approach to food consumption, but I’ll take any savings I can get — savings in money, savings in time, savings in overall life hassle.

I’ve been so busy since I returned from Colorado (and during the last couple weeks there and in transit) that I’ve not blogged as I should. But, even with this stack of stuff on my desk, and my overwhelming “to do” list and the stomping of fires that comes with any long trip away… I had to take a moment to talk about the Net Neutrality issue and to encourage everyone who uses the Internet to write and email their congressmen, legislators, governors… and anyone else who will listen and have an impact on getting their opinions heard.

Unless you want someone else determining what you can do online, where you can go and how much it will cost you… read on…I’ve contacted my leadership locally and have written emails and signed petitions… but this morning I read this: (more…)

I’ve been able to get online with my laptop, while here on retreat. My father, on the other hand, … not so much. I’ve been a bit frustrated with the download speeds (read this as “impossible to download large files at all”) and I always am amazed/shocked to learn how dependent I am on the Internet. Five minutes doesn’t expire here at the camper without me having the urge to look something up, jot something down, send something out, or check on something on the Internet.

So, I was doing ok and had decent signal strength… until the RV slot next to us (and between us and the office where the wi-fi lives) filled up with our neighbor. Then, signal strength plummeted. We are lucky to get one or two bars (for those of you that know wi-fi meters).

Pops and I looked online for an antenna to help draw in the signal. We ordered one — one that was going to cost nearly $200, including the shipping and handling, but I was desperate. So I ordered it and paid extra for fast delivery. Today marked the SIXTH day since the order was placed, and still no antennae. So I called the company (radiolabs.com) and they informed me that my antenna had not yet been sent!! It was on back order and they really couldn’t tell me when they would get the part they needed back in, nor did they bother to inform me of this at any time within the six days since I ordered it.

ARRUUUGGHHH!!!

So Pop and I drove into town and he got a little creative. We ended up making our own for a fraction of the cost. Want to know how? Read on…

We went to the local computer store and purchased a USB Wi-Fi dongle. We got a 10′ USB extension. Pops got up on top of the camper (I really shoulda had my camera, but alas, I didn’t think of it), He took the USB dongle plugged up to the USB extension. I’d double wrapped it in a heavy gauge zip lock baggie plastic. (Hey, I had zip lock baggies and a pair of scissors… nuff said). And he borrowed some electrical tape from a neighbor (the one next door, no less!).

Then he taped the baggie-covered USB dongle to the FM antennae and taped the extension cord down the length of the FM antenna and we then snaked it into window and it plugged into the USB on the back of his desktop. Thankfully, the measurements were right… otherwise it wouldn’t have worked. The 10′ on the USB is about maxed — beyond that you start losing signal strength.

However, if you are looking for this type of booster for a camper, RV or even a Van or vehicle… it just might work for you. It works great for us.

Since we were searching the Internet for a solution to this problem… and couldn’t find one… I figured I’d share it to help out the next guy.

Price? About $60.

Have fun!

The Internet is a wonderful place. . . REALLY.

I’ve been doing a bit of research on a couple of new projects and I’ve found some pretty interesting stuff (as I usually do when I’m poking about). And, I thought you may be interested in a few of the sites I’ve found that rock my “coolness” chart…

First, while looking for more on iPod video info to incorporate into my pocket-sized real estate information ideas… I found these two sites:

http://www.archive.org/details/movies (where you can download freebie open source and creative commons movies).

I also found this site: http://publicdomaintorrents.com/ a freebie movie “bit torrent” type site. This site also allows a person to decide if they want a full-sized, DVD quality movie (huge file) or a smaller iPod format or even… you guessed it, a Treo movie format (.avi). I’m downloading the old Vincent Price Movie “The Last Man on Earth” and a short “Betty Boop” cartoon as I type this. The Vincent Price Movie, I’m getting in full DVD quality format, the Betty Boop will be for my Treo (to entertain my daughter). Video is an exciting new toy for me on the Internet — thank goodness for fast Internet!

This is my first voyage into online movie downloads (other than iTunes) and it’s pretty fascinating. I’ve always worried about the “bad” stuff that comes in with movie downloads, but these two sites are quite reputable for safe, free movie downloads — so go give them a try. (You need another distraction from work, right?)

If you are more into the reading life, I thought you may enjoy the book version of wikipedia… called wikibooks. At this site, you not only read cool books, you help to write them!

As I continue my research, I’ll be sure to share the treasures I find… but for now… back the the old grind *giggle*. (I love my job!)

MSN’s awesome new beta virtual “sky cam” dubbed Windows Live Local (www.local.live.com) has added Detroit to the list of cities covered, according to a recent Virtual Earth Developer’s blog

And has a zoomed up close up of the Superbowl Site (Ford Field) displayed front and center here.

Pretty isn’t it? Nice and clear and amazingly CLOSE UP!

Read the blog yourself at:

Virtual Earth Blog.

But don’t get excited about the Superbowl, there aren’t any “live footage” options available… yet!

Still not a Microsoft fan, but liking it better all the time with perks like these.

(… and request a “Full Monty” under the guise of protecting youth)

You gotta love it… the Bush administration is making another full frontal attack (pun intended) on American’s privacy — this time under the guise of protecting children from porn. The “federal government is trying to force Google to reveal all searches conducted in a one-week period, as well as records for 1 million Web addresses” according to an article released today by MediaPost.com.In a Search Engine Watch blog article, Google was the only one in the big four (AOL, Yahoo! and MSN) that said NO! The other search engines agreed to hand over the information. (more…)

Ok, picture the scene… I’m working with a client, helping her to develop her webpage and we are talking about her blog.

I’ve encouraged her to offer an RSS feed and we are discussing the way to advertise that fact on the web.

I think a casual approach might be best, given her business model. I think that something off-hand like “Get” or “Grab” may be the right term… until I type it in my notes…Then it hits me that:

“Grab My RSS”

is probably not the most professional sounding way to approach this problem. It doesn’t look casual and off-hand, it looks off-color. I also determine that “Get My RSS” isn’t any better.

Soooo… I decide it’s time to quit for the evening, before my tired brain implodes.

Today, I saw a tee-shirt on CafePress that is quite confident about the RSS issue. It invites people to:

“Kiss My RSS”

Maybe I was onto something afterall…

LOL

After all the hubbub over Google’s satellite earth imagery product… MS has launched the beta of their own local, imagery product in certain locations (one of which is right here in Kentucky… in Lexington). I used the bird’s eye view to zoom into my past — and found the apartment where I lived when I met Wayne (we met back in college) just off the University of Kentucky campus on Conn Terrace. (more…)

I had an offsite appointment today, and didn’t have a chance to upload my new Audible content from this month (I keep a monthly subscription and listen whenever I’m in the car, walking or even cleaning house).

Audible Air came to my rescue!

I’ve probably “read” more books on marketing and small business and ebusiness in the last six months (thanks to Audible.com) than in the past two years. I’m constantly devouring online content, but sometimes a well-written book is a nice change of pace!

I keep extra books on hand everywhere I go — thanks to my SD card — but I really wanted to listen to my newest selection and I didn’t have time to download and sync before leaving the office.

I did (over the weekend) load up the Audible Air program, so I thought I’d take it for a test drive on my way up I-75. (more…)

It’s interesting that the author of the cover story for Forbes Magazine this month should claim that bloggers are dangerously opinionated. I find it even more interesting that this writer entitles his article (in a fair and even-handed tone) “Attack of the Blogs!” which is illustrated with an (equally non-judgmental) image of a man being punched out by his computer monitor .

The author, Daniel Lyons, states, “Blogs started a few years ago as a simple way for people to keep online diaries. Suddenly they are the ultimate vehicle for brand-bashing, personal attacks, political extremism and smear campaigns.” Hmmm… Now THAT’s a fair, even-handed, and balanced and position, wouldn’t you agree? (more…)

Oh, isn’t THAT charming?!?! Someone spoofed my email address. In under two minutes, I had 127 bounced deliveries arrive in my inbox. All apparently originating from my own account, but they didn’t come from me. And, judging from some of the headers, they never would (I don’t make THOSE kinds of offers to people I know, much less a few hundred strangers, nor do I sell products to improve their … ahem… private — errrr, “activities” … but I digress).

I live by email. My business depends on it. I’m also a person that freaks if I have more than 25 emails in my inbox at any time, and more than three at any moment that aren’t sorted and/or handled properly.

The sheer volume of that delivery put my machine on its little knees. It was begging for mercy and refusing to let me run other programs, unless I wanted them to run at the speed of a tiny ant, crossing a sea of warm honey. (more…)