TechnologyIQ

Listen to the audio from my twice-monthly Internet Seminar. Listen: Live from the Library - July 24, 2008

Listen to the audio from my twice-monthly Internet Seminar. Listen: Live from the Library - July 10, 2008

I have a long time client who has always had difficulties with their wireless network. The construction of their home, and outlying office suite, seems to suck up whatever bit of wireless signal a typical WiFi router sends out. In order to reach the outlying office, I had previously installed a Linksys Range Expander. While this worked, partially, it often needed to be restarted and wasn't nearly as reliable as I would like. What I really needed was a way to link these remote areas back to the main router without using wireless. Luckily, I found a solution. This client called last week and said that the Link Expander had failed completely. That wasn't too surprising as it was living in an un-cooled garage. The heat probably finally did it in. This meant, though, that I needed to come up with a different, and hopefully better, solution. I had looked at the powerline network extenders, which use your home of office electrical wiring to distribute network data, but most reviews se...

Noted items are interesting posts I recently found in my RSS feeds -- Douglas Totem Destroyer Totem Destroyer ... a puzzle game where you strategically remove blocks in order to lower a golden idol closer to the ground. Get it within 3 squares from the bottom, but not touching it, and you move on to the next level. ( via ) (Via Douglas' Clippings .)

A quick demo showing the new templates features within Google Docs . iPod Ready Video

I have started to move away from using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) in favor of online tools like Google Docs . Even as a computer consultant, I find that I use probably less than 10% of the features in any of these projects. One feature I really like in Google Docs is the easy, online file sharing that also allows you to edit simultaneously with someone else. Today, Google Docs added some templates including business cards, brochures and more. At the moment, it looks like they are rolling out this feature over time, so you might not yet see the templates on your account. When available, you will find the templates under the New... menu item. From Open Loops ... Today, Google quietly rolled out a new feature for their Google Docs Applications: Templates! It's so new that it isn't even listed on the new features page at this time. When one opens their Google Docs account and chooses to start a new document, a new "From Template..." command is pre...

Many times when I visit a new client for the first time, I can tell their broadband Internet connection, either DSL or Cable, isn't really working as fast as it should. To confirm my suspicions, I point my web browser over to http:/speakeasy.net/speedtest/ and give it a run. You can find another speed test site at http://www.speedtest.net/ If you want accurate results from the test, you should make sure that your computer, or others who might share the network, aren't doing something intensive like downloading files or system updates. If the network is already busy, the test results will be lower than they should be. When you run the test, you should be looking for values near these, depending on what type of connection you have to the Internet. DSL: 1.5 Mbps Down - 384 Kbps Up Cable: 3-6 Mbps down - 384 Kbps Up You will never get these maximum numbers, due to the overhead of the network itself, but you should be getting close to these numbers. If not, there might be an issue ...

I recorded a short video of my Lively.com room for my Seesmic buds a few nights ago. I forgot that I could embed it here, so I figured I would do that today. Lively.com is Google's new virtual world. It is Windows only at the moment, but check it out if you can. You can find my room here -- Douglas Welch's Room

Join me for my twice-monthly Internet Seminar LIVE from the Sherman Oaks Branch of the LA Public Library. ** Note: uStream's recording seems to have missed a lot of tonight's show, but here is as much of it as it recorded. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Links from tonight's show: Lively Virtual World from Google - Doug's Room on Lively Friendfeed Hedgehog Launch Apple's Time Machine JungleDisk SyncBack

Tech reporter, Robert Scoble , shot this video of a new project to document Yosemite Valley with a host of panoramic pictures that can then be zoomed and panned with incredible detail.

Hanging out in Lively.com Originally uploaded by dewelch Had a nice time hanging out in my room on Lively.com and chatting with Josh Cooper today.

I am playing around with Google's New Virtual World, Lively . I am just getting started, but here is my room.

I have been using the social bookmarking site, del.icio.us for a long time. I use it to track interesting items I find in my web travels, including links for TechnologyIQ. One of the great features of del.icio.us is that you can watch what I am bookmarking as it happens. You can do this by visiting the web site: My TechnologyIQ Bookmarks All My Bookmarks ...or using your RSS Feed Reader (like Google Reader), new bookmarks will come directly to you... TechnologyIQ Bookmarks via RSS All My Bookmarks via RSS You can share your bookmarks using del.icio.us too! Set up your free account today Even better, once you start storing your bookmarks there, they will be available from any computer on the Internet including your computer, your friends and public Internet terminals. Take your bookmarks with you!

I am re-posting this, as it seems obvious that some people need to hear the message again. With the new 3G iPhone coming out, people are once again lining up to buy it opening day, this Friday. DON'T Read on to hear why As much as the Apple iPhone might be a neat piece of technology, and even useful, it is NOT, NOT, NOT worth camping out at your local Apple Store or AT&T outlet to get one on the day that it is released. There are several reasons for this: NOTHING is worth camping out. Repeat, NOTHING. There are millions of people all over the world who have to "camp out" in order to survive. Camping out for the "priviledge" of buying an iPhone (or any other piece of technology) is simply stupid. NEVER by a Revision 1 device...EVER...unless you simply love dealing with buggy software, incomplete systems and fragile hardware. Waiting even 1 day will make it cheaper and less of a trial to buy. Waiting a week makes if like buying anything else. Waiting a month, ...

Microsoft Office 2007 is proving very confusing for longtime users of Office. The new Ribbon metaphor of organizing commands leaves most people searching for the most basic operations. The folks over at PC Doctor's Blog offers up some advice for those who are feeling a little lost...which also includes myself. (SMILE) 5 useful Microsoft Office Ribbon tweaks I'm slowly getting used to the Microsoft Office Ribbon, but I'm far from being as comfortable with it as I was with the old-style toolbar. However, in this age of increasingly larger screens (and slowly deteriorating eyesight!), the bigger icons are welcome. I'm always happy to come across Ribbon-related tweaks because these almost always end up saving me time, and today I came across five over on Channel 10 . Learn how to: Hide the Ribbon Customize the Quick Access Toolbar Find hidden commands Customize the Quick Access Toolbar on the fly Scroll through tabs with the mouse wheel (I'd never noticed you could do...

A July 4th Gift from WelchWrite.com “I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore” -- John Adams Prelude to Revolution - May 1775, to July 4th, 1776 A live audio production of Eclipse-1 Media . "Live your liberty, don't lose it in a history book." Listen: Prelude to Revolution Part 3 Listen: Prelude to Revolution Parts 1 & 2 View these photos on Flickr.com

If you haven't picked up your cell phone headset or speakerphone for the car, you only have a few more hours or you will risk a ticket and fine in California. Starting July 1, 2008, all automotive users of cell phone will be required to use some form of hands-free device when calling from their vehicles. I have been a big fan of cell phone headsets, even back when they were typically wired to the phone. Hands-free cell headsets allow the easy use of voice dialing and great services like Jott . If you don't have a headset yet, here is a link to the one I use, an Aliph Jawbone . There is also a new, 2nd generation Jawbone ( available at their web site ) which is much smaller. It's built in noise reduction features are great. You can see a demo on their site. ( Video demo) Link: More Bluetooth Headsets from Amazon.com