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Archive for the ‘Tech & Toys’ Category

I know this service has been around for a while, but it has taken me some time to finally snap an add my number to their list. After being scammed by Long Distance Consolidated Billing, I spoke with a nice representative who suggested I register my number with The National Do Not Call Registry. I just called, 888-382-1222, and it only took about 30 seconds in an automated system to remove my number. Should have done this a long time ago.

With the evolution of Mac OS X and the popularity of the operating system, there have been more and more developers creating nice little (yet sometimes powerful and very valuable) programs that have definitely made my life easier for free, or occasionally $29.95 (or so). This post is partially self-serving, since I’m sure some day my computer may crash, and I’ll need to recover all these handy little nuggets, and I’ll never be able to remember what half of them are named.

Here’s my list (from left to right as they appear in my Dock):
Transmit – FTP program. Used to use Fetch, but Transmit is more intuitive and easier to use…even for an “expert” like me.

Direct Mail – Bulk Mailer program. I have a couple groups of 100 or so people that I email for events, etc. This program makes it easy to send out either text or HTML messages, directly or via SMTP.

Skype – Popular voice over IP app. Talk to anyone, anywhere in the world over a high speed internet connection, for FREE. Also available for PC.

TaskTime3 – Ever have troble keeping track of how much time you’re spending on a project? This little gem will put an end to that. Nice interface that lets you sort jobs by client. A real keeper.

Feeder – Just started doing a bit of Podcasting and this little guy makes writing the .xml file a piece of cake. For $29.95, I just couldn’t afford the time it would take to do it myself.

OmniGraffle – Nice app for creating flowcharts and diagrams. Pricey at $79.95, so more of a “business” application…which is what I use it for.

Renamer4Mac – Ever have a bunch of files that you want to rename in a sequential order…like some photos from a birthday party or something? It’ll never be any easier than this…can put in words, etc. i.e. jason_30th_birthday_001.jpg. Handy, huh? Donations accepted for this, but otherwise FREE.

Cocktail – Sounds like fun, huh? Well, sort of, but it will get rid of that hangover your Mac may come across every week or so—especially if you rarely restart your Mac (like me). Runs some scripts and fixes preferences and does some other tekkie things I really don’t understand, but bottom line, makes your Mac run like new. If you’ve got more than one Mac, get the Family Pack for $29.95.

SilverKeeper – No one can afford to lose all the data on their computer, so make sure you back up your system. Buy a LaCie Hard Drive ($150 for a decent size), and this little app is a FREEBIE. You can set it up to automatically back up your system every day, or you can click the big blue button on the interface and it will do it at your whim.

SnapzProX2 – Take screenshots. OK, I know you can do that without buying a program, but this app will let you select an area with a marquee, select a window to shoot, or even record a movie of a process taking place on your screen. One of the first Shareware’s I purchased for OS X.

iPods have been around for about 5-6 years now, and they quickly caught the public eye and have become the most-sold mp3 player on the market. Despite the buzz and popularity, I was able to curb my enthusiasm for the fancy little hard drive with the “mug me” white little earphones…until the recent popularity of Podcasts, and the release of the newest, minute version of the iPod, nano.

There are also many resources and websites containing tutorials and tips for creating your own Podcasts, detailing the steps and procedures you may go through to make a little “radio show” of your own to share with the world. I’m in the planning process of creating my own, hopefully starting in a month or so.

Other Podcast resources:
Macworld, Start Your Own Podcast
Audacity, Professional Podcast Polish

We’ve all had computer problems at one time or another, and sometimes the “help” on the other end of the line is far from helpful, but I actually had a good experience with a company today that sells memory chips for computers, etc. called Lifetime Memory. Only got transferred once and (assuming I don’t jinx my luck with this post) they’re going to fax me the info I need to send in my bad memory so they can test it and replace it. I was surprised how smoothly it went.

….gotta run, the chinese delivery just arrived.

Most everyone has used Yahoo Maps or Mapquest when planning out a trip or trying to find that new store out on the west side of town, but if you’ve used either of them very much, you’ll also find that many of the searches are innacurate, or that some of the roads are no longer there, or may be under construction. Well, Google, the internet search king, has entered the ring of mapping technology and I’ve found it to be very impressive in both usability and accuracy. It also offers “satellite view”, kind of an aerial shot, of any address that you key in—which is pretty cool, although my house kind of resembles one of those little Monopoly houses, since you can only zoom so close. Give it a try, I’ve used it for a new “Get Directions” feature on my Chicago golf green fees website, GreatGreenFees.com, so if a golfer doesn’t know where a course is, he can click on a link and it pops up a map of where the course is—I’m not sure how we all ever survived pre-internet.

Happy Father’s Day!

If by chance you try to find our old Weblog, you will instead be re-directed to here. The old site is no more—although we may go back and pull some of our favorite photos and repost them on this site—once we figure out the best way to handle photos with this new system.

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