Another "must have" item... This one for the car...

With so many "must have" items, I may have to cut back on some frivolous purchases, like food...

Anyway, a wheel which can show images with LED lights...

Click on above image for video. Worth checking out!

Collaborative calendars

Not only are there calendars available online to manage your schedule, but in these days of collaboration, calendars are also designed to not only manage your calendar, but in conjunction with others.

Calendar	Pros	Cons	URL
Airset	Can sync with phones Drag and drop Click on date for adding new event Very intuitive way of collaboration Maximum flexibility in sharing events Search capability	Little bit slow Cannot customize look Color-coding fixed by calendar	www.airset.com www.airset.com/User/Cal.jsp?gi=YdJCMGlxLgcP&all=0
30boxes	Click on date for adding new event Tag and search capability Ability to highlight selected tags Ability to "publish" calendar Supports "badges"	Only 3 themes for customizing look No drag and drop Events can only be marked private or not private Does not show time of event directly on calendar URL for published calendar contains my full name (privacy concern) Code for "badge" contains my full name	www.30boxes.com http://30boxes.com/
Planzo	Direct typing in calendar for new events Drag and drop Search capability	Some customization available but limited to approximately 8 color selections Color-coded events seem fixed per type of event Privacy limited to private, none (share with all), or with "favorites".	www.planzo.com jimrin.planzo.com
CalendarHub	Drag and drop Supports "badges" Tag and search capability Ability to "publish" calendar	Cannot click date or directly type for new entry Privacy limited to private, none (share with all) or with "favorites". Columns in calendar representing the days of week are not equally spaced. Aesthetically, it looks odd. No color-coding of events	www.calendarhub.com www.calendarhub.com/calendar/55776/month www.calendarhub.com/pub/jimrin
Trumba	Ability to "publish" calendar Click on date for adding new event	For free version, no customization for look and feel (except for primary color) Sharing limited to all (for those authorized) or none No color-coding of events No drag or drop No search capability	www.trumba.com www.trumba.com/t.aspx?e=CgAzdYV*VrG1eOBPBtwQYIzsehUA13kn5-S*H7VK2*CVig!!X www.trumba.com/calendars/jimrins_calendar
Goowy		Problems when adding full-day events (says end time cannot be before start time) Selection of date is not used as default when adding new calendar event
Mosuki	Can define specific groups for viewing events Search capability	No customization for look and feel No color-coding of events No drag and drop Limited view of event description in calendar
Kiko	Drag and drop Color-coding of events (16 colors)	Sharing limited to all, contacts, or none No customization for look and feel No search	www.kiko.com www.kiko.com/appt/application?user_id=2580

Is it still winter...?

I can't believe how cold it has been recently. While I was in Vienna on my last trip, returning on March 17, there were a few days when it snowed! Even in the last week I was there, the high temperatures were generally around 1-2C (low 30s F), just barely above freezing.

Then when I do get back to Dallas, which had extremely warm temperatures while I was away (even as high as 34C/93F), except for one day, the highest temperature so far on days I've been back has been around 13-14C (57F). Even now, the temperature is about 5C (42F) in the early afternoon with the average high this time of year should be around 21C (70F)!

Ugh! This doesn't really help my motiviation for exercising.

Another "must have" item...

Keeping in mind that "must" is a relative term...

The "intelligent" table... Actually, not exactly what I am looking for... I would prefer simply a computer monitor with the computer built into the table. Considering they are now making Windows MCE-enabled TVs, I am sure tables are not too far behind. I appreciate the concept that the data would be presented appropriately to the viewer, depending on where the viewer is sitting. Perhaps this can be done by determining where the mouse/keyboard are.



The "intelligent" wall is also a must have item.


I wonder if Santa Claus will think I've been good this year. I wonder if I can get a discount from our partnership with Panasonic?

More storage...

It would also be useful to have a USB flash memory storage device to carry around from computer to computer. It would be especially nice if plugging in the device would allow personalized settings to be on the USB flash drive too, so that just plugging it in will basically turn that computer into your own personalized computer. (On a side note, it would be good to have one which can be used to boot up Linux. And finally, it would be nice to have a USB flash drive for storing music which can be played on our FM modulator/transmitter.)

The best candidate at the moment is the Sandisk Titanium model for its durability. It comes in a 2GB model for a reasonable price. However, it would also be great if I could get one with 4GB, 8GB or even more...

• Notes storage is currently 7GB.
• My Documents storage (including Notes) is currently 20GB.
• Documents and Settings for my Windows login is 23GB.

L170 supports 1280 x 1024 or not...

I've moved the desktop which was in the study to upstairs, so that Kyoko can use her ThinkPad in the study with her new desk. I kept the old monitor in the study, and when I moved the computer upstairs, I hooked it up with a different monitor, the ThinkVision L170.

It's supposed to support 1280 x 1024 and from what I can tell when booting up Windows, Windows seems to recognize 1280 x 1024. However, the Intel graphics card seems to think that monitor can only support 1024 x 768. Therefore, when trying to configure 1280 x 1024, it then requires me to scroll the screen in order to see 1280 x 1024.

Baffling..! Aggravating!

Need more!

Already having more than 1TB to store recorded movies does not seem enough. Besides, with individual hard drive enclosures, I would prefer something which (1) allows power down when idling and (2) has a cooling fan built in.

I may have found a good candidate in the Sohotank U7-4-B2. The 4 stands for 4 bays and the B2 is for USB2.

NetMeeting, where art thou?

I find using NetMeeting makes it easy to access my other computers in the house without having to go to each PC physically. However, at times, it tells me that the certificate I have may no longer be valid. I have found that re-installing NetMeeting resolves this problem:

I found out how to remove and then re-install NetMeeting from Kelly's Korner.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm

Remove: Start/Run/RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection C:\WINDOWS\inf\msnetmtg.inf,NetMtg.Remove

Reinstall: To reinstall, open the Windows\Inf folder (this is a hidden folder, so you may need to adjust your Folder Options to show hidden files and folders. Or you can click Start, Run and enter %systemroot%\Inf). Locate the msnetmtg.inf file in the Inf folder. Right click and select Install. Have your XP CD handy.

One interesting fact I found out about NetMeeting is that when it is open, then Windows Media Player seems to have a problem with the codecs to show recorded programs from ReplayTV.

Voltage, schmoltage...

Argh! For the second time, I have ruined my electric razor by plugging it in to recharge but forgetting to switch it to 240V... You would have thought that I would have learned after the first time..

Improving ergonomics while working on notebook computer

One problem with notebook computers is that the screen is attached to the keyboard. If the keyboard is in a comfortable position, then you may have to slouch to look down at the screen.

One option is to use a separate monitor but the notebook computer's monitor may be in the way. Then, if you use an external keyboard, then you can place the keyboard and monitor anywhere you want.

Another option is the ThinkPad Adjustable Notebook Stand. Worst case is that this can raise the screen to eye-level position and allow a separate keyboard to be used.

Update: I also found that Kensington provides a notebook stand docking station.

And if I were to consider speakers to be hooked up to a notebook computer, I might consider the Logitech Notebook Speakers which gets the audio feed and power from the USB connection.

What the...

Michael recommended the book/movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?"

For photography tips, he suggested that it makes the picture more interesting if you take the picture from a view which is not normally seen. For example, take a picture from your normal height is rather "boring" because you always see things from that vantage point. However, taking a picture from an extremely low viewpoint may make the picture more interesting.

In addition, when framing the picture, the interesting part of the picture should be on the outer third of the frame. This is known as the Golden Cut. Here is an interesting article about the Golden Cut.

Fun with pictures

If you're looking for something to do with your pictures, you can try out Flash Gear at http://www.flash-gear.com/index.php?watV

There are different things you can do with pictures including making a puzzle out of it. I don't know how long they last though. Anyway, here is one created from today:Unfortunately it looks like this website only works with Internet Explorer, not Mozilla Firefox.

Update: I seem to have found how long the pictures stay on their website... Approximately 25 days.