World news comes to mobile apps

Here’s a neat new app from NetworkGlobal Companies, a sort of mobile CNN. They produce online videos, but also allow independent news outlets all over the planet to upload news material. They will bring their NGB.tv news resource library to  iPhone and iPad — likely, other mobile gadgets will jump on as time goes by.

The latest NetworkGlobal News app is free. Users can download or stream recorded news, political information and, social topic videos. NGC claims to host millions of online streams monthly with in their library. They will increase that traffic once the mobile viewing application is established. To kick off the new app, NGC will produce an official live mobile video stream of a 2010 UN General Assembly.

The entrepreneur behind NGC is 25 year-old Gunnar Larson, CEO and company founder.

Auto backup can be a reality

The most annoying thing about safe computing is trying to backup your data and files regularly and simply. It’s usually a task that requires a programmer’s logic, a guru’s insight, and the patience of Job (not Steve Jobs, the biblical guy). I have found a solution that totally turns me on – I took a look at Clickfree Products elegantly simple external hard drive automatic backup system.

About Clickfree Backup

It can take hours to hunt through your hard drive and tell windows Backup, or most other backups, what files to copy and what to ignore. Clickfree’s hard drives, USB Flash drives, DVDs and cables have a built-in bonus. When you plug them into your computer, they auto-launch a backup utility intuitive enough to go look for several hundred common file types or extensions.

You, the overtaxed user, doesn’t have to load software, configure anything, install, follow a wizard, puzzle out a schedule or otherwise frustrate yourself.

The Up Side of Clickfree Backup

• The designs are sleek, durable, and attractive. I used the C2N Automatic Family Backup in white (also available in purple, red, blue). It has a nice modern profile and sits in a USB dock with a very small footprint.
• It’s as easy as playing a music CD. Plug C2N in to a power source or use the included USB power cord. Connect to your computer with included cable. Storage from a few gig to 500 gig.
• No user input required. When they say automatic, that’s exactly what they mean.
• Fast. Total backup accomplished in under ten minutes. You can backup, transfer, restore data or store images, music, other files.
• Controllable. You can set preferences to your taste.
• Simple restore.
• Reasonable price points.  Thumb drives from $9.99 and external drives from about $100 to $169, including dock.

Down Side of Clickfree

• Enclosed documentation and instructions are in a font so small as to be next to invisible.
• The units will not work automatically if connected through a USB hub, even if it’s a powered hub. That information is not clearly indicated in the documentation. It took me about half an hour to figure it out, and I was frustrated.
• Unit must be removed from the dock in order to be powered down, unless you disconnect the whole set up. A bit clunky.

Clikfree Bottom Line

This is a product we liked a lot. There are many gadgets claiming to be easy, simple, and effective, but this one is for real. To date, my storage brand of choice has been Sandisk, a great company, but I have to make room for Clickfree. The auto backup thing is a real time and energy saver, appealing to my low frustration levels.

Other good reads:

Review: ViewGuard privacy filter

HTML5 for everyday computing

Save your eyes, your secrets, and your display

Whether you’re retired and journaling on your computer or still working and longing for privacy at your office desk, ViewGuard is a product that might make your computing environment more secure. I had a chance to try out ViewGuard Anti-Glare Privacy Filter. My test results surprised me.

I work from home, so there aren’t lots of people around. Still, as a writer, I sometimes work on sensitive material that should remain private. I work in the middle of my living on a laptop. Or I work at my desktop in my non-private home office. Sometimes I’ve wondered if I should turn all the monitors to the wall, or just give up.

Trying the Intelligen ViewGuard Anti-Glare Privacy Filter

I installed the filter in about two minutes, using enclosed directions (printed in several languages). It’s a matter of carefully opening the glassine envelope and extracting the filter. I was careful not to slime it full of fingerprints, though an anti-static, non-abrasive cleaning cloth is enclosed. Laying the filer against the monitor screen, I applied four small, clear, self-adhesive tabs on the frame of my laptop display to hold the filter in place.

Next step, turn on the laptop and explore. The size was nearly perfect for my wide-screen. I could see the display from straight on, but people around me could not. From an acute angle, they saw portions of the screen, darkened. From an obtuse angle, the screen was as black as though it were turned off.  No casual onlooker could observe what I worked on.

Benefits of ViewGuard Anti-Glare Filter

• Total privacy for your computing.
• Overhead or peripheral glare is reduced or eliminated, and the manufacturer claims reduction of UV damage.
• Medical personnel, sales people, government employees, or anyone who works with sensitive data can work securely. Personal correspondence or writings remain personal.
• Protects display against scratches, permanent finger marks, and other damage.
• Prices start at under $15.
• Variety of sizes means no cutting or adjusting necessary. It’s kind of plug and play.

Drawbacks or the downside of ViewGuard

• Reduces image contrast. Quick fix may be to increase your display’s brightness.
• Fingerprints pretty easily.
• Sticky tabs have to be glued (self adhesive) to your computer display’s frame. Unclear whether removing them will cause a problem.
• Scratches if in contact with rough surfaces, but is easily replaced and cost-effective.
• Size is not perfect fit. A tiny line of unprotected display appeared at the top of the screen, and felt awkward.

Bottom line – ViewGuard

I’m not a government employee, nor am I subject to HIPPA regulations when I work most of the time. Still, I am enjoying a more secure sense of privacy as I work with my laptop. I’m seriously considering purchasing another ViewGuard privacy filter for my desktop monitor, and am looking forward to seeing the company develop a filter for outdoor computing. This Intelligen product is useful, easy to work with, affordable, and practical.

Interesting things are happening at YouTube, now owned by Google. The cloud, cloud computing, is trying to be a big deal though it’s seems to start and stop. But this could be a shot in the cloud. Google says YouTube’s new editing tool allows users to manipulate video online, FREE.

Apparently there’s no complicated software download and a very shallow learning curve. You can be up and running, editing your video clips in the cloud to your heart’s content. YouTube Video Editor has a vast library of borrowable tracks to enhance your work and add some fun. You’ll need to register a free account to use the tools – all it wants is your name and email address.

Take a look, give it a try, and see if you can create your own cool portfolio of videos online. If that appeals, don’t forget to take a look at Animoto, as well.

More Reading:

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Dragons, wizards, and grandparents, oh my!

Want to see something cool? Fire up your computer, even your five year-old computer or your netbook. Go over to Wizard101.com, an innovative, entertaining, family participation role play game. Known as an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game), Wizard101 delights people from pre-readers to post-retirement and everything in between.

I know. I play it. So do my four year-old grandson and granddaughter. My husband claims not to be that interested, but he hovers around and tells us what we need to do when we’re playing. The game is based on a Harry Potter-type world of wizards, creatures, magic, and graphics to die for.

How Wizard101 works

In this MMORPG, you get to create a wizard character, male or female, hair color from brunette to purple, and any variation of ethnicity you could come up with. Diversity is integral. With your wizard born, you hook up with the headmaster for fun lessons in how to play. Everything you’ll need is covered in about fifteen minutes of play.

• Learn to use your wand
• Learn how magic spells are cast via an amazing card game
• Understand your tools
• See how to add pets to your experience
• Begin reading the imaginative backstory

You’re ready, Young Wizard, to play in earnest. Quirky characters visit your screen as you play telling you, in the nick of time, what you need to know. Six brightly beautiful worlds, soon to be seven, make up a universe known as “the Spiral.” Intense color, well animated creatures and characters, and a satisfying soundtrack put Wizard101 out in front of the pack of role play games I’ve seen.

Participate for free as long as you wish. There’s plenty to explore without buying areas or subscribing to the universe, and thousands of people have played free for almost two years. Still, KingsIsle, creators of the game, is characterized by brilliant thinking. They don’t hawk their wares. They never push product at you. They woo you, seduce you into desiring more because it is so much fun to keep going.

Why Wizard101 is perfect for multiple generations

I talked with Fred Howard, KingsIsle marketing VP. He explained, “In 2005, our founder, Elie Akilian, saw a huge space in the gaming world. There was hard core violence, and then sites like Club Penguin for very young children, but nothing in between for family entertainment. Of course there were no wizard worlds, no card-play based dueling. Ours isn’t a tight niche; it’s crossed niches that appeal to all ages.”

He’s right. Wizard101 RPG is simple, user friendly, with much of the story playing out in text-to-speech. Even pre-readers jump in, fiddle around, strike down a banshee with a well-played battle card, and are on their way to saving a world, with magic. More sophisticated players engage in all manner of strategy, learning, and power-ups, taking play to higher levels.

The cool thing, the very cool thing is that people from 4 to 84 can play together– as a team or group. They talk to each other on screen, help each other out, strategize, and learn from each other. Grandma or grandpa, living in Ft. Lauderdale, can spend a couple of hours roaming worlds hand-in-hand with grandchildren in Anchorage, a priceless bridge over geographic distance so difficult for families to manage.

It’s a social thing, this game. Howard likes to call it “family entertainment,” not “family-friendly” play. He means his game is totally engaging for everyone. While family-friendly products like the famous Florida Mouse’s website delight kids and are safe, they could quickly bore the pants off elders.

Why Digital Grandparent is sold on Wizard101

It’s simple. It’s grassroots. This year, KingsIsle will focus on showing

Grandparents can learn magic at this school

Wizard101 to people of mature ages and let us sell ourselves. We grandparents get that it’s wonderful to interact with family in a clean, safe space. We’ve embraced Wii, Skype, and other web properties.

My grands and I learned a new language around this game. We hang out in exotic places. I like Mooshu, the Oriental city of cherry blossoms, black lotus, and the fearful Jade Oni. My grandson can’t stay out of Dragonspyre’s lavafalls, dark broken villages waiting for rescue, and a breathtaking dragonride he can access anytime he wants.

We talk about the game and plan our best options. We talk to other players, without fear of inappropriate interactions. Filters prevent inappropriate comments in player chatter. It’s almost impossible for anyone to exchange personal information – again, filters remove anything that resembling an address, phone number, real name, even age.

The interface is beautiful. The infrastructure is extremely well-planned for safety, fun, and people-appeal. Once in a while as the audience expands, technical issues arise but are solved fairly quickly. KingsIsle’s parent award winning Wizard101 is not a perfect world. But overall,  I’d be hard-pressed to think of anything else with so much to offer so many.

You, a tech-friendly grand, might just discover how to enjoy this as much as the kids, at no cost or reasonable cost.

They say laughter is as effective in preventing ailments as is exercise – we laugh a lot over this jewel of a toy. Digital Grandparent gives the game a whole bucketful of stars and recommends you grab your favorite child of any age and give it a go. You’ll find yourself feeling younger and more spry with each spell you cast.

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Oil spill is larger than Connecticut

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Oil and water don't mix as BP's spill shows.

By Dan Pelland, tech guru guest writer

Remote-operated vehicles (ROV’s) worked on apparatus at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, trying to save a planet. I couldn’t stop watching the live feed from BP. It’s almost interesting enough to dispel some bitterness I feel at the unfolding events down there. Maybe that’s BPs whole idea as their digital imaging technology brings a tragedy into our living rooms.

Early Thursday morning June 3, about 10:30, engineers began work, apparently to disconnect damaged pipes atop the now infamous blowout preventer. Two ROVs were visible. The point of view was a camera onboard what looks like a Millennium II cage-deployed ROV, owned and operated by Oceaneering International, Inc .

The ROV had a circular saw gripped in its right hand. As the ROV maneuvered into position, I could see how intensely difficult the adjustments must have been for the operator 5000 feet above. Regardless of what hi-tech equipment I was looking at, placing a tool with this kind of precision, without the benefit of tactile feedback, requires an extreme amount of skill and patience.

As soon as the blade began to spin, a thick cloud of mud obscured the camera but the operator held the saw in place and kept up the cut. I knew, from my own experience, what could go wrong in a situation like this. A little off axis, and the blade could bind and, in an instant, wrench the tool out of hand.

On the second cut, it happened. As I watched the saw fall out of the ROVs gripper, I knew what the operator was saying. I wondered if it was in a Cajun dialect. The camera panned downward. The saw had come to rest, precariously, on the top of the BOP (blowout preventer). The second ROV moved in to assist. It took the two operators, working from separate consoles. More than 30 minutes to recover the saw and get back to the cut.

Finally after more than an hour of careful maneuvering, a strap around the main riser was removed. At the moment it broke loose, I yelled.

video by alexhiggins732 via Youtube.com

The human factor of BPs oil spill

Regardless of the ill will and contempt many of us feel for the oil industry right now, there are men and women working as hard as any human ever has trying to mitigate the damage to our treasured resource. This is an intense drama unto itself, as compelling and fascinating as anything I’ve ever seen. The fact that I can watch it unfold in real time is a testament to the ingenuity of people like the staff at Oceaneering who put this technology to work.

Display the World Wide Web with HTML5

If you follow tech news, you’ve heard a bucketful about the virtual war between Apple and Adobe (makers of FLASH) over web design. Apple supports adopting HTML5 and Adobe still says FLASH is the thang. What’s it all about? Money and sales, of course, but here are some facts about how HTML5 may relate to your Internet experience in the near future.

Definitions HTML5 and FLASH

HTML is hyper text markup language, a fancy way of describing the coding tags web designers have used since the dark ages of webpages to make plain old text look fancy. HTML causes a browser to display specific or general colors, fonts, text styles, images, links, and everything else that goes into making webpages cool. HTML is part of the web page, a container for design elements.

FLASH is Adobe’s add-in program that causes web browsers to interpret video, animation, special effects, and interactivity. It was invented by Macromedia, a property of Adobe who makes Photoshop and other imaging software.

Like all things digital, HTML (and FLASH) goes through various iterations of itself as the powers-that-be adopt changes and improvements. The coming generation, being fiddled with now but not in wide use, is HTML5. Because the two platforms overlap in functionality, there’s an ongoing debate about which is better, HTML5 or FLASH, for cell phones, computers, etc. Apple’s Steve Jobs (CEO) is a master of calling attention to his company and so, has made it his hobby to bash FLASH and Adobe. This has no impact on us, as people.

The 10 facts about HTML5

I’ve been writing HTML code since, I don’t know, like 1998? and I like it. It’s easy to write, easy to use, and it’s an open-source platform. That means no one owns or controls HTML. So here’s how HTML5 will impact your coming experience.

1. Any designer, including you or me for our home pages, can do stuff like liquid particles without much learning curve.
2. Web users won’t have to download new versions of HTML5 like we do FLASH. Designers have to keep up on new tags. You just browse.
3. It won’t cost you anything to use it, write it, read it.
4. FLASH may have serious security issues. It’s doubtful that would ever be the case with HTML as a platform
5. HTML should be transparent to users (you and me) and has the potential to be read in any browser or adopted by any cell phone manufacturer.
6. Because it’s open source, it’s development as a platform will gain from contributions of some of the world’s brightest developers. No one has to hire them. The developers just contribute. We win.
7. Browsers will be backwards compatible – meaning old browsers will ignore new HTML5 tags they don’t understand and still provide you a usable website experience.
8. Embedding video in web pages will be easier and standardized so you can add video to your blog or page, play it on any browser, and enjoy more of it.
9. It may become possible for us to have web applications that run offline even if you do not have an active Internet connection running.
10. There will probably be lots more gadgets or mini-apps on the Web, just like those found for cell phones now, that you’ll be able to download and play with. Many will be free.

HTML5 vs Flash

At the end of this story is a simple fact. Right now, HTML5 isn’t doing much for you, but behind the scenes it’s maturing like a toddler in a growth spurt. Right now, browsers mostly don’t know what to do with it. Developers for Microsoft’s IE, the most ubiquitous web browser, need a swift kick in the template to get them moving on adopting HTML5 as current reality.

Safari is onboard, others are partially onboard.

FLASH is FLASH and it’s insecure, and can cause display problems.  Adobe seriously needs to tighten up FLASH and make it safer and more stable.

The future isn’t here yet, but HTML5 will be in it, and really, I can’t wait. In all likelihood, you and I will never make a webpage with FLASH, it’s too complicated. I can write HTML all day long and enjoy the process, and so could you if you picked up one reference book. I think HTML will be fun for designers and for users.

More cool digital stuff:

High tech design for U.S. currency

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Ubuntu log-in

Ubuntu is a slick operating system you might want to look in to. It’s more user-friendly than Windows. It’s every bit as robust – meaning Ubuntu can do everything you need to do on your PC. It’s quick, less buggy than windows tends to be, and probably more secure. The best attribute of Ubuntu is it’s FREE and always will be. Ubuntu is open source software.

If you use Firefox, then you use open source software. That means the program is developed by members of a world-wide team of expert, experience developers whose goal is to make computing accessible. Ubuntu is a spin-off of the Linux operating system, but don’t be intimidated. It has a graphic user interface – that means it’s “what you see is what you get.” Just like Windows. It’s point and click. No learning curve. It looks very familiar and behaves nicely.

How to get Ubuntu

The package downloads pretty quickly from Ubuntu’s site, where you can take a tour and see what this free operating system looks like and how it behaves. The package includes a web-browser (a great one!) an office suite, media apps, instant messaging and a bunch of other useful stuff that’s compatible with most other systems.

Ubuntu is easy

Anything you do with Ubuntu can be shared with other PC users, even if they’re still spending big buck supporting Microsoft. If keeping up-to-date with office and operating software is getting expensive, complicated, and annoying, take a test drive.  Download Ubuntu, install it easily, open it and start working. FREE.

Ubuntu will always be free, just like other open source software. The products get better as time goes by and are never difficult to work with. Support is available and customer-friendly. The group is interested in your input – that’s part of how they make improvements. If you really want to get into it, you can become a developer or help develop the art work and interfaces. This is a project tailor-made for baby boomers – the generation with solid experience and a great work ethic.

Becoming an Ubuntu fan

Over the next few weeks, Ubuntu gets a new version, 9.04, the 10th release of the Ubuntu operating system. It’s nickname is Jaunty Jackalope. Ubuntu 9.04 features improvements to their GNOME desktop environment including Evolution, Control Center, Media, and GNOME Power Manager –all aspects that make computing friendlier. All typical consumer “wants”. In addition, wireless, webcams, and other up-to-date compatibility and support debut with this version.

Users get FREE

• OpenOffice.org
• GIMP image editing
• Mozilla Firefox
• Thunderbird

and the list goes on.

We recently bought a netbook, the handy small laptop so popular in the last year or so. We removed

Ubuntu has a familiar feel

Win7 op sys and replaced it with Ubuntu. Dan was right at home with it, being the uber-geek, and I loved it at first use. It took me about five minutes to get comfortable in the driver’s seat, then I was off and running. Truly, if it weren’t for the fact that we need to keep up on all operating systems in our business, I would be ready to dump Windows and put this baby on all our computers. FREE is such a budget-friendly price – especially when quality is right there.

More free stuff:

Video production service

Chrome browser

Free TV

You can make professional looking images with your digital camera, no matter what the pixel count is. I’ve always been a firm believer that it isn’t the equipment that makes the photo – it’s the photographer. Here are a couple of ideas to make your family photos pop.

1. Goo-free lenses are the best. They can be wiped gently with a lint-free, non abrasive cloth, like those micro-fiber things you dust with.
2. The owner’s manual usually talks in detail about white balance function. The balance makes colors look better, depending on where the photographer is shooting – indoors, in the sun, dim light. Those who know which white is the right white, make better pictures.
3. Composing is something only a human can do. I like capturing something interesting just off center frame. Centered makes me feel constrained. Offset just a hair looks good. I like to keep my background uncluttered, too, unless, of course, I’m shooting a landscape.
4. I love images that fill the frame. One of my favorite things is the macro setting (little thing that looks like a tulip) to shoot odd parts of objects. My little grandson’s toes, for example…filling the frame. Incredibly fun to frame and hang near a bathtub. No macro? Use telephoto – stand back, zoom in till a relatively small object fills your viewfinder. Click.

Want more tips? I like Kodak’s consumer photo Web site and Picture Correct has tips from beginner to advanced.

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Google just acquired a website called Picnik that you should know about if you like digital photography and photo editing. Picnik is FREE cloud computing, with an available upgrade if you want it. With a simple click you can edit and manipulate photos to your heart’s content. Use filters, special effects, and controls once only available in expensive editing programs.

People are bringing their photos off their hard drives now and sharing them, posting them, mailing then, printing them, and displaying them on my favorite gadget of all time, electronic photo frames. If you’re going to use your digital images, you might as well get all the functionality you can. Here’s how it works.

Browse the web or your hard drive and find a photo you like, but you think it needs a little work. Cropping? Red eye correction? Color shift? Ok. Go up to Picnik, there is no registration to fill in. Just click “Get Started Now” and — get started.

Follow the prompts to upload your image. The site is very intuitive and the documentation is right out front and easy to follow. Play around. Use the tools that appeal to you. Experiment. When you like what you’ve created, save the photo and download it back to your computer.

From there, you use it the way you have always used images. Picnik is an application that was ahead of its time and really did the cloud-thing right. I hope Google never decides to charge for this service. Picnik, along with Google Docs, Windows Live and a few other easy-to-use cloud-based application will get us into the nimbus very quickly. Let me know what you think of Picnik.