LaserBlog.com

I was talking to a friend of mine via email and IM regarding the Nokia N95-3 and the Nokia N95-4.  I wasn’t sure what the difference was.  Here is what I found so far:

from my email:

I found some info on the n95-3 vs. the n95-4…

According to wikipedia:

“…the upgraded N95 8GB (N95-2), the N95-3, which adds 3G support for North America, and the N95-4 which is an America-targeted version of the N95-2.”
“…on January 7, 2008, Nokia announced the N95-4, which is the inevitable 8Gb version of the N95-3. ”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N95

I see some contradiciton there. Huh.

If you open these two pages side by side you can compare:
http://wirelessimports.com/Store/Catalog/Detail.aspx?productId=620
http://wirelessimports.com/Store/Catalog/Detail.aspx?productId=906

“…it seems the mythical N95 8GB with HSDPA 850 / 1900 is now in stock.”
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/03/06/north-american-nokia-n95-8gb-now-available/

My brain hurts now.

Lucky text messages led engineers to missing San Francisco family:

mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16171582.htm

Turning Cell Phones Into Lifelines:
news.com.com/Turning+cell+phones+into+lifelines/2100-1039_3-6140794.html 

I’m finding these articles about cell phone technology and how it helped to find 3/4 of the missing Kim family very interesting.

M. works for a cell-technology company. So as I find these articles they peaks my interest.

Meanwhile, the longer I own my Nokia N80 (3mp camera phone), the more I LOVE IT but as soon as the Nokia N95 comes out, I’ll be upgrading (if I’m not broke) because that will have GPS (and a 5mp camera).

This story was on digg:

Find_out_who_gives_away_your_email_address_with_Gmail_trick

Links to hedir.com/introduction/about17942.html and the mirror is here.

But I use spamex.com and it does the same thing and works much better. The spammers can’t just drop the “+whatever” to get to your real addy. I can host a domain name there for my own email use. It’s great.

Edited to add: spamex.com is free.  I have a premium account but that’s not required.  For each case of giving out an email addy you create a forwarding alias.  Then if u get spam at that addy, you not only know where it came from but you turn that alias off to stop the spam  “I GET NO SPAM” and this is how.    I host a domain there so I have my own domain name email.  It’s fantastic.

Please digg this story, I lost one of my clients domains becaue of them:

http://www.digg.com/tech_news/RegisterFly_preventing_Domains_from_being_renewed

This is kind-of a “note to self” kind of post:

Someone was asking me yesterday for this link:

Dynamism.com

It’s a neat website where you can buy imported electronics. These kinds of sites are great because the U.S. is so far behind in tech.

I got my new cell phone imported. It’s a Nokia N80: bluetooth, WIFI, and THREE megapixel camera phone. I got it from this import site:
WirelessImports.com
The upcoming version of this phone (the N95) will have FIVE MEGAPIXELS and BUILT IN GPS!

The same person told me about this site:

WildDigital.com, supposedly another good site for electronics. I have not checked it out yet tho’.

Syncing palm pilot handheld pda with Nokia N80 / Nokia PC Suite:

Ok, the final process that worked for me was:

1) export the palm calendar to a .dba file

2) import that .dba file into yahoo calendar online

3) *use intellisync (free, from yahoo) to sync my palm w/ Yahoo Calendar. (this step is *optional, I guess, if doing it all at once).

4) export the calendar from yahoo calendar to a .csv file.

5) import the .csv file into microsoft outlook

6) and then set the nokia pc suite to sync w/ outlook.

Now that I’m bald and bloody. But at least it’s done.

kw: sync palm pilot pda, palm os, with nokia pc suite, series 60, nokia n80, via microsoft outlook, using yahoo intellisync, .csv file, .dba file, yahoo calendar.

Still battling to get my palm calendar onto the new nokia phone.

Seemed I just had to sync palm w/ outlook, then sync outlook w/ phone and voila.

BUT NOOOOOOOOO.

” To synchronize a Palm Pilot with Outlook, you must have both the Palm desktop software and Chapura PocketMirror software installed.”, and THAT software is FIFTY DOLLARS! F*CK THAT. Thats nice. TO USE IT ONCE?

All I want is to get my palm calendar onto my series 60 Nokia N80. But apparently that’s too much to ask.

And we can put men on the moon…………..

I just did another “What’s In Your Bag” thingy on Flickr. (“What’s in my bag.”)

Pulling my hair out.

I have the new Nokia N80 and it’s very advanced, and so for the first time I am considering using the phone as my primary organizer instead of my palm.  I LOVE MY PALM, I have a Sony Clie UX50 which I’ve considered bying extras of because it is the ultimate perfect pda.
But I need to lighten my purse (tech bag, really) cuz I’m having wrist problems. As it is I take two bags to the car, one that stays in the car and has things I use in the car but don’t necessarily need w/ me inside places, such as my “liability camera” (*), my ipod, my umbrella (it rains every day in summer here), etc.

But anyway, the Palm OS will only export the calendar as a .dba file.

The Nokia PC Suite will only sync w/ the calendars of Lotus Organizer and Outlook.

So I don’t want to buy Outlook just to convert one file and never to use it again.

So far I’ve tried Yahoo’s IntelliSync (which created a .csv file) for Yahoo Calendar to sync my palm w/ Yahoo Calendar. Yahoo Calendar will THEN export to Outlook, but again, not sure I want to install Outlook.

IntelliSync worked great.

I can log into Yahoo Calendar using the very advanced web browser on the phone, but that’s a million extra steps that I don’t want to do in a hurry.

I tried importing the .csv file into Google Calendar, and Google Calendar said it was formatted wrong.

So I have a .dba file that Nokia won’t use and a .csv file that is broken and I don’t think Nokia would use anyway, and I don’t have (and am not sure I even want to install) Outlook or Lotus.

Therefore, I am going nuts.

(*) I always have at least one camera w/ me and I like to put the DXG 506v on the dashboard when driving in my neighborhood for several reasons: a) kids playing in a dangerous manner in the streets, b) psycho neighbor and his buddies who have been road-raging me since the last neighborhood annua1 meeting.

OH

MY

GOD.

MY NEXT PHONE:

http://asia.cnet.com…

Upcoming version of my AWESOME camera phone:

FIVE MEGAPIXELS!!!

BUILT-IN GPS!!!

Read more…

Wow, just now realized that my Kanguru Audio Flash…

…looks very much like the Iriver iFP-800 series:

I got a new toy and it is SO COOL!

It’s a Kanguru Audio Flash USB thumb drive all in one 1 GIG voice recorder, mp3 player, FM radio, data drive, music recorder, 10 hrs battery life, takes one AAA batttery, it KICKS ASS! It is just SO VERY COOL!!!

And you know places like Target and Best Buy and CompUSA don’t sell stuff like this! I’ve looked (and looked and looked).

http://www.kanguru.com/audioflash.html

There’s this guy at MIT who I saw on the news, Sunil Vemuri, who records his entire life using his PDA and then runs the audio thru voice-recognition software to convert it all to text so that he can always go back by date or using search to find what somebody said, to find things he said outloud to remember, such as phone numbers, etc. It’s a great tool for people with memory problems (or people who just love to document their life). I’d love to do that same thing. I don’t have software to convert audio to text, though. But for fun, I’ve been recording my entire days w/ this Kanguru thing. It comes w/ a leather case and I found a black leather bracelet (leather strap) so I can wear it on my wrist. It’s been fun recording everything.

Right now I’m ont saving the files or anything. But it should would be cool to be able to do what Sunil does and convert it all to text.

I will definately be adding this to my list of “Favorite Things”.

I just posted this to a board, if you know the answer, email me!

Do nickel metal hydride batteries have a “memory”? Do they need to be depleted entirely before recharging?

There’s such a vast difference between my brand new ones and the ones that are just a few months old. Can the old ones be reconditioned? Is it usual for them to only perform well for a few months?

Hey, do any of my readers use registerfly.com for web hosting? I always use olm.net and love them and use them for most of my sites.

But some of my web design clients wanted cheap hosting (and I have ONE of my own websites hosted there) so I have about 4 websites hosted there now.

Well, it’s been awful getting help and now 3/4 of my sites are down and they won’t answer me.

They have this “rapid response” support thicket system and it says “1-2 hours” for a response, then when you submit your inquiry it says it’s a “2-4 hour” response, but they don’t answer for DAYS and that’s only after I add on the to ticket asking what’s up.

Has anyone else had this problem w/ RegisterFly web hosting? Can anyone recommend a reliable (like you’ve used them for YEARS) yet cheap web hosting service?

Comments are still down so hit the sidebar and IM me or email me if you have any recommendations.

What is the BFD re. the nano?

It’s small, but so is the mini, and it holds barely any songs. I now have a 60gb iPod. Show me something bigger than 60gb with video and maybe I’ll blink and eye.

It’s just another mini in a different shape. Maybe I’m missing something. Does it clean the house for you too?

“Running Google Talk in Trillian Pro 3 in 7 easy steps”:

I did it, it works great:

www.jurassicpunk.com/tips_google_talk_in_trillian.php

I like Trillian because I can connect to multiple IM networks at once: aim, yim, msn, icq, google.

UPDATE: SCREENSHOT -

My Instant Message contact info:

mentalbites.com/asecondblog/archives/2005/03/instant_message.html

GOOGLE has released their instant messenger. I am using it and it works great. Also, you can use Trillian Pro to connect to that network, I tried it, it works great, I’m using it now. Look me up:

TWiT #19 is out.

To get TWiT episodes, go to www.twit.tv to get the mp3 or the torrent, or http://feeds.feedburner.com/twit-hib, http://twit.tv/hi-b, http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/twit/TWiT0019H.mp3 or go into iTunes (the new version) and subscribe to the podcast.

I’ll also upload a copy as a mirror but that’ll take a few minutes. Stay tuned, I’m uploading it now…
Click here for a copy if you can’t access the sources above.
Mirror of This Week in Tech #18 and #19.

about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

Twit #17 is here.

To get TWiT episodes, go to www.twit.tv to get the mp3 or the torrent, or http://feeds.feedburner.com/twit-hib, or go into iTunes (the new version) and subscribe to the podcast.

Or, if you need a copy from me (if the other places are busy), you can download it from here (in a few minutes, it’s uploading now as I write this).

about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

EEEE! My new iPod came today! I outgrew my 2gig iPod mini and we got a deal on a refurbed iPod 4th gen 60gb color iPod photo.

I hate to part w/ my pink mini, but it doesn’t make sense to keep both. It’s just that once I got into podcasts, I filled up the mini quickly when before with just music I was nowhere close. I subscribe to quite a handful of podcasts and only keep 2-3 episodes on the pod at a time (except for Leo’s KFI podcast, I keep a bunch of those on board at a time).

Guess I’ll put my pink iPod mini on ebay soon.

I did order a neato skin for my iPod.

It’s hot pink stripey that glows in the dark and has a creme-saver-like wheel cover.

Borderline tacky I know, but I like it. Hey, I like pink and I like fun. I came thissclose to buying THIS as my ipod holder just for fun:
(buy).
I still think it’d be fun.

Today was a lazy day. We planned to go to the pug meetup and then a “doggie wash” fundraiser for the local Humane Society, but we were both just so tired we couldn’t get out of bed. So we went to lunch w/ mom, went to PetSmart, Books A Million, etc. Then we lazed around, watched a movie on tivo that M was in as an extra when he was in high school, went to dinner, etc.

I’m getting ready to take a sleeping pill so I can sleep thru M’s snoring and get up in time to go to the UC (unitarian church).

Twit #16 is up. I should be in bed.

To get TWiT episodes, go to www.twit.tv to get the mp3 or the torrent, or http://feeds.feedburner.com/twit-hib, or go into iTunes (the new version) and subscribe to the podcast.

Or, if you need a copy from me (if the other places are busy), you can download it from here (in a few minutes, it’s uploading now as I write this).

about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

Ok, NOW I’m going to bed… I think.
4:19am

Thanks to my chat buddy J.T. for telling me about the Leo cams, you can actually watch Leo edit and upload the TWiT show!
http://www.leoville.com/cams.shtml

Does Leo have ANY idea how fanatical his fans are? LOL.

To get TWiT episodes, go to www.twit.tv to get the mp3 or the torrent, or http://feeds.feedburner.com/twit-hib , or go into iTunes (the new version) and subscribe to the podcast.
As usual, as soon as I get it (episode #15), I’ll put a copy here for you to download. Link coming soon…

mentalbites.com/asecondblog/twit
(I started the upload at 3am Tuesday night and then headed straight for bed, so give it a few minutes to upload.)

about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

Twit #14 is out. Go to www.twit.tv to get the mp3 or the torrent, or go into iTunes (the new version) and subscribe to the podcast.

I also have a copy of the mp3 here if you want to download it to your drive:

www.mentalbites.com/asecondblog/twit

UPDATE: From the podcast:
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=callipygous
about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

9:11am edt

Wow, I just heard my external hard drive going, so I check iPodder and Azureus, and there is TWit #13 downloading in Azureus 9which is set to auto-download it when it comes out)! Yay! I thought it would be delayed MUCH later than this.

Once it’s downloaded, I’ll upload it to my server so you can get a copy, although w/ their new servers you may be able to get it from them just as easily. We’ll see.

Edited to add: If you would like to set up Azureus to download TWiT via BitTorrent automatically, go to this forum post for very good instructions on how to do it:
http://leovilletownsquare.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/4068/

UPDATED: Get your copy here: www.mentalbites.com/asecondblog/twit
–
about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV (pre-G4), The Screen Savers and Call For Help.

I’ve mentioned ePrompter before (_1_|_2_), but today I realized it’s never been on digg.com, so I submitted it.

Please “digg” my story:
www.digg.com/software/ePrompter_checks_multiple_Gmail_accounts_at_once

ePrompter, a small, free program, checks multiple Gmail (and other web mail) accounts at once. It’s great for those that have several Gmail accounts and/or webmail accounts.

A copy of TWiT #12 is here:

www.mentalbites.com/asecondblog/twit

7-6-05:
I love my new hard drive. I got yet another external hard drive yesterday. I have two external hard drives on my PC for backup: Cobian Backup does LIVE backups (as an option) [it's fantastic!] to one external backup drive, and I drag-n-drop my files folder periodically to the second external drive. AND IT’S FREE. (if I remember right.)

[[Edited to add: Turns out that the TWiT episode that was just released today (7-7-05) talks about backup software. I can't recommend Cobian Backup enough. It'll do a full backup and then incremental backups. I periodically start over w/ a new full backup and each night at about 4 or 5 am Cobian does an incremental backup to one of my external drives. BUT, what I love about Cobian is that, as an option (which is what I do), you can do LIVE BACKUPS. This means that what it copies is USEABLE FILES, i.e. not proprietary backup archives that require the software to extract and recopy it. It creates backups which are basically drag-and-drop copies of what you wanted backed up. It's AWESOME.]]

But I got a third one for my laptop. I spend most of my time on the laptop downstairs. When we moved in we set up a computer room upstairs, but it turns out we don’t like to be way up there in the corner of the house (plus it’s hot as hell during the day up there), so that PC is basically a file-server for me now.

So this third external HD is just for downloading stuff off Azureus (BitTorrent), and podcasts off iPodder. This frees up my laptop drive, I cleared it off last night and defragged.

Last night was the Linux Meetup. At the last lan-party I got linux installed on my teeny laptop [_1_|_2_], and last night I got Gaim installed, which is like Trillian but for linux, i.e. you can chat on aim, msn, yim, and icq all at once.

The new TWIT should be out tonight. *keeping fingers crossed*

Tonight’s the Linux Meetup: http://linux.meetup.com

We’ll be going. Bringing my teeny tiny laptop which finally has linux on it after the last linux install-fest lan party we had at our house.

Good food, wifi, tech talk, what could be better?

I’m uploading TWIT episode #11 right now. When it’s done uploading, you’ll be able to get it from:
mentalbites.com/asecondblog/twit
11:08am EST

UPDATE: OK, it’s up now. 11:22am EST.

about: TWIT, or “This Week In Tech”, with Yoshi Deherrera, Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang and friends, from the original Tech TV, The Screen Savers and Call For Help.