Category Archives: Computing

Computing news, tips, etc.

Dropbox: Sync, Share and Backup Your Files

Android Corner, Computing

Dropbox - Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.Dropbox has proven to be one of this year’s best utilities.  In my increasingly hectic life, I’ve found that I need access to certain information whether I’m at home, at a shared computer, or on the road.  Thanks to the Android phone, I have access to all of my email and messaging, and with Dropbox I am now able to have important files of mine available for access anywhere I go.

Dropbox is an online service that gives you a small but usable amount of storage space to store your computer files.  You can purchase a larger account that holds up to 10GB of files, but even with a basic free account, you can earn additional storage space for referrals, or other tasks such as installing Dropbox on additional computers.  Even if they began charting a small amount for their basic account, it would be money well spent.

So, how exactly does Dropbox work?  And what can you do to make the most of it?  Read on…

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Do you have your Chumby?

Computing, Electronics

Have you gotten your Chumby yet?  A Chumby, as their site describes it, “…takes your favorite parts of the internet and delivers them to you in a friendly, always-on, always-fresh format. It’s a window into your internet life that lives outside your desktop…”  Basically, it is a small WiFi-connected device with a 3.5 inch LCD screen that feeds internet content wherever you want it.  It can play internet radio, display digital pictures, deliver news and weather feeds, and function as an alarm clock.  Chumby has an active developer network as well, and there are dozens upon dozens of widgets that will add more content to your unit.  You can order a Chumby through their site, or via our Amazon affiliate link.

Epic FAIL: apple’s new ipad

Computing, Say What?

So, now apple has released yet another overpriced “something you don’t need, but you look cool owning it” product.   A limited-storage touchscreen computer.  The tree-hugging hipster crowd and apple fanboys will love this one, but the rest of us in I.T. are stifling our collective yawns.  Deduct $300, and you can actually get a real portable computer with a keyboard.  Hmmm.  Fail.

So why is it an epic fail? Can you say, “Epic marketing fail?” What company, with a single ounce of common sense, would name a product an “iPad”? Within minutes of announcement, the name was being compared to feminine hygiene products. No pun intended, it’ll now be the butt of jokes for years to come. Good going, apple.

Essential Firefox Plugins

Computing, On The Internet

20070520-firefox_logo[1]As much as I’ve been using Google Chrome lately (which still has a blazing fast Javascript engine), Firefox is still my primary browser. The reason I don’t switch is that Firefox has a plugin system. I have a lot of plugins I use that I now consider essential. Here is a short list of plugins I’m currently using, which I recommend.  I may have covered some of these in past articles, but others have been uninstalled or fallen out of favor due to lack of author support, or instability.  The following are the plugins currently installed and running on Firefox.

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The Internet Has Changed Everything

Computing, Say What?

Do you remember what life was like before we had the internet in our lives?  Internet graphicI certainly do.  As a somewhat heavy internet user, there isn’t any facet of my life that hasn’t been affected by it.  What I do on a day-to-day basis is enhanced by having access to so much information at my fingertips.

I can’t do everything on the internet, but there is plenty that I’ve found that has been helpful to me over the years.  Being an early adopter, I was a member of Compuserve back before the internet became an avenue of public access.  Compuserve’s information service was like a scaled-down version of the internet, but all contained in one place.   Things have grown by leaps and bounds since them, but the basic premise is the same.  How so?

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