1110consulting

Over the years (and children) we have gone through the image capture gamut.  When our first was born we got a MiniDV Sony Camcorder.  We took video of the birth and some for the next few months.  Then the still camera we had (I believe it was a Canon at the time) had video features so we would snap quick moments of video on that.

Now with the current iterations of point-and-shoot cameras, video quality is excellent, length is almost limitless for the usual shots (singing happy birthday) and we rarely shoot video of either of the kids…  The younger got the shaft

Now Flip Mino has released a small (credit card-sized 3.30z HD camcorder that records up to 60 minutes of video) and cheap HD video recorder ($230).  2 hours of use/charge (via a USB port/arm) and an amazing product.  The standard flip mino was a hit among the college-aged crowd since they could capture their adventures day in and day out, post on youtube.com

Over the last few months my wife has started a new venture - professional photography using an AMAZING Canon DSLR but with the size and use that camera is a process.  I’m really tempted…  For the cost and convenience you could carry around 2 small devices (until canon or someone comes up with a point-and-shoot that will provide a similar solution).

For the time being, looking for a simple, inexpensive camcorder, check out the Flip.

wordpress.org is working on the next version of wordpress (2.7). 2.6.3 is the current version but after some playing i installed 2.7 on my server to see what the changes are.

from a practical view, 2.7 changes the way the admin sees wordpress (which i really like). the admin interface is clean, much more web2.0 and easy to navigate. i have not tried themes or plugins, but the system itself seems really clean, easy to integrate and when 2.7 appears for the masses- if wordpress holds true the update/upgrade will be easy.

in my test i installed 2.6.2 from godaddy. i then removed the entire wordpress folder and files (leaving the database) and copied over the 2.7b2 files. i changed the config file to match the file that was originally created when godaddy generated the database and uploaded that.

opened the 2.7 index page, the system told me to update the database (which i did and with one post took 15 seconds) and off i went. Logged into the admin and all was right with the world.

if all holds true, the system will show an update to 2.7 “soon”, i will upgrade to the version, update the database and off i will go! anyone else trying 2.7, let us know!

Tomorrow- get out there and vote! Make you “voice” heard. That is all…

mozy has been something i have been using and working with for the last year. they have improved the system, backups have been more reliable and most of all - recovery seems to be in place as expected.

i say again - if you are looking for a solution to back up 2gb or less of data, mozy is a great solution (free) and can be used for more online storage, just keep in mind how long backup and recovery could take for 10’s of GB online…

mozy has also been integrated with retrospect to allow for online backup in conjunction with disk or tape solutions. A great small option.

check it out - i encourage you…

Apple FINALLY updated the MacBook line for the fall of 2008. The MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air all got a revamp.

The MacBooks will be available in the coming day (hope to see them Wednesday in an Apple Store near you with some actual inventory and not just a few machines). The $999 model is still white plastic, 2.1ghz with the integrated intel video. The new models are all aluminum starting at $1299 (2ghz, 2gb RAM, 160gb drive, Nvidia card). The $1599 model is 2.4ghz, 2gb RAM, 250gb and Nvidia. Both are 13″, with the new screen, buttonless mouse and backlit keyboards!

At some time in November, the MacBook Pros and Air will hit the streets.

over the years, i have looked for ways to bill and track info from a client relationship in efficient and meaningful ways. studiometry from oranged.net has been really good. the cost has climbed over the years but so has what the product does… that being said, following moving computers and loss of some data - i have been reconsidering.

this is where freshbooks has been really helpful. the data is online, the solution is smooth and easy to work with and the result is professional.

if you are looking for a way to track your info client info? check out freshbooks…

A few weeks ago Dell announced a super portable and inexpensive laptop. The mini 9 is a 9″ laptop (looking and feeling more like a dvd player than a laptop) - but this little machine does a real nice job of being a great portable machine.

“Loaded” the machine runs with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (SD memory - no hard drive). There also is no CD/DVD drive, but there is wired and wireless networking and comes with XP Home or Ubuntu.

I have been working with the XP version and so far found it slow (installing software and networking), the storage has been fine thus far and the keyboard is SMALL! I type S before I type A - Annoying. I cannot work quickly when working with this machine.

I love the idea - but so far, the MacBook Air wins out in my mind.

The Air and Mini have similar features, more storage, larger keyboard and SO MUCH faster. Granted, you are going to pay $1000-15000 more but I personally know I can get the work done I want to get done on the Air…

If you are truly looking for a light, portable workstation in the $500 - check out the Dell Mini, it just may work for you…

UPDATE (09-25-08):
keyboard small no “disk” access light so there are times i do not know if the system is doing anything or just SLOW… Urg. How hard would that have been
SLOW to wake from sleep. Here is a real small and portable machine. when i’m on the train and want to quickly fire up something - why does it take about a minute to get to a point where i can type and work?

Last night my MacBook started acting up. I rebooted and nothing. Flashing folder (see this stuff even happens to me). I did some testing, attempted to boot from a CD, nothing.

Turned it off last night and figured maybe a “rest” would help and then went to the new iMac to see what I could do with dropbox and mozy.
I have my data backed up with mozy mid-day Sunday and I know time machine at the office is in place but I wanted to try and submit a check for some payment.

I could not recover from mozy (urg). The rule of backup is it is only as good as it’s recovery. So far nothing. Client failed, web-version failed and did not test yet this morning.
More to come once I get to the office and see why my next recovery steps are.

A FEW UPDATES:
Following some rebuild of the MacBook, I did some checking and found that Mozy (at least web-based) was responding to my recovery requests and I was able to recover some files (safari bookmarks for one). Also Time Machine came to the rescue by just giving me the easiest method of finding and recovering data (1password files and studiometry data files). Yeah for backup (in multiple places with multiple results)!

after a couple of weeks of rumors and speculation about this event coming on tuesday - i’m very excited about itunes 8 and the updated iPhone software…

i have also been waiting for the new macbooks. latest “news” has been that a couple of new iPods will be introduced, prices will drop and the software will be updated, but the macs (laptops or desktops) will be left out of the announcement… Urg

for the first time in my life i am on the edge of buying a new computer (macbook) and they just are not coming. generally they would be out for school season (which we are in the throws of), now the next thought would be holidays - but they try to get this all together so they do not appear on december 1 (i hope).

more to come tuesday! stay tuned.

firefox being the open platform that it is has been working on something called ubiquity. this is a plug-in for mozilla that allow the user to activate the command prompt and pull data from a number of places quickly and easily. it also allows the grabbing of data for insertion into one place (e.g. email or calendar).

i read about it a couple of days ago and then heard about it again yesterday on the buzz out loud podcast which drove me to a google search. tom merritt from BOL said it best - you have to see it to best understand it. check it out! this is one of the best implementations i have seen in a while and believe this could be a way that we all interact with the web in the coming years.