| Sunday, 23 December 2007, 7:01 pm Tags: Radio, Tech Guy |
This weekend on The Tech Guy I’ll be taking a look back at 2007 – all the wild and wacky tech stories. I’m on vacation, but we’ve recorded all new calls and segments, so join me for the last shows of the year on XM Satellite 158, KFI, KGO, and the best talk stations in the US!
| Sunday, 23 December 2007, 6:58 pm Tags: Egypt, Travel |
OK – I’ve wrapped up the last TWiT for the year. Four Tech Guy shows are in the can. Tomorrow morning bright and early Jennifer, Abby, Henry, and I fly to Boston to spend Christmas with my mom and sister in Cranston RI, then it’s off to Cairo for 10 days touring the pyramids.
I’ll post as many pictures as I can here and on Flickr. We return January 6 and I’ll be back to work making netcasts soon after. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2008!
| Saturday, 22 December 2007, 11:59 pm Tags: |
- Flying off to SFO with @drkiki, @stoweboyd, and Alex Lindsay. So long Vancouver. #
| Friday, 21 December 2007, 11:59 pm Tags: |
- I just learned that nine volt batteries contain six AAA batteries. Take one apart and see. #
- I arrive at the studio to shoot and everybody’s evacuating for a fire alarm. It’s like a clown car – hundreds of people in that tiny office. #
- New from Google: sync your Google calendar with your Blackberry over the air – http://m.google.com/sync #
| Friday, 21 December 2007, 9:25 am Tags: cfrb, John Donabie, News, Technology |
My regular segment on the John Donabie Show, Saturday mornings on CFRB is coming up. These are the top stories I’ll talk about this week:
- It’s not all iPhone, Blackberry sales doubled this quarter. Black Friday (the day after US Thanksgiving) was the best day in RIM history.
- After three years in court, Apple rumor site ThinkSecret shutters, but they don’t have to reveal the names of their informants.
- Last minute gift idea: try donating to Kiva.org – this charitable site helps people in developing nations create new businesses with small loans. Gift certificates are available.
Happy holidays to all my friends in Toronto!
| Friday, 21 December 2007, 8:45 am Tags: |
Today at 7:45a Pacific on the Bill Handel Show on KFI Los Angeles, I’m going to offer some last minute gift ideas.
It’s not to late to shop Amazon.com. They’re offering $3.99 overnight shipping as late as 11a Pacific on Sunday to guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve. They’ll gift wrap, too. But many items are backordered or out of stock, so check before you buy to make sure they can ship the item immediately.
Gift cards are always a good last minute choice, and they’re better than ever this year. Borders is offering personalized gift cards with pictures and messages for $4.95 plus the value of the card, and you can buy online, too (but go to the store to get it in time for Christmas). And every geeks loves a Starbucks gift card – Starbucks is also customizing their cards this year.
I give my mom a Netflix subscription every year. She loves movies and it’s the easiest way for her to get them. $9 for a month to $107 for a whole year
Memory for cameras is less expensive than ever, and always a welcome gift. Most cameras use SD cards these days. The $100 Eye-Fi card is even better because it combines wireless with 2GB of SD memory.
Photo frames are also a hot gift this year. Ceiva is the best known name, but they require a subscription to share photos online. I prefer the DSI MF-8104, a beautiful 10 inch screen with wireless photo sharing that’s free to use. $350.
| Thursday, 20 December 2007, 6:54 pm Tags: Gear, HG10, Suckerfish, The Lab, Vancouver |
I’m in rainy Vancouver this week working on 15 new episodes of The Lab with Leo – these are the last episodes of 2007 but I’ll be back at the end of January for another round.
We’ve had some great shows so far, including visits from Frank Linhares of Digitalunderground.TV (who proved to me that 9-volt batteries just contain six AA batteries), social media guru, Stowe Boyd, Blogher founder, Elisa Camahort Page, and my old friends Steve Gibson, Alex Lindsay, Mr. Excel, and Ray Maxwell, who gave me yet another reason to spend money.
Ray showed me his Canon HV20 with a wide-angle lens and shotgun-mic (there’s a shoe on top), and once again I impulsively ordered an HG10 (the hard drive based version) for the trip to Egypt. The Panasonic SD5 I was planning to bring has two big negatives: you can’t really shoot close-up or big objects because even at its widest it’s a little telephoto and there are no wide-angle adapters available for it, and there’s no external mic jack. The adapter and the mic have arrived, but the camera is backordered and might not make it before we leave for Boston on Monday. Drat.
Getting back to the show, Cali Lewis even did two gadget segments via Skype – I’d prefer to get her here in person but travel budgets are tight and Skype works pretty well. I even got my muscle tension read via remote control using Skype and GoToMeeting.
Tomorrow, Kristin Sanford is going to make oobleck and nitrogen ice cream. I can’t wait to find out what oobleck is.
Meanwhile I’m stuck in the hotel room with a bunch of spreadsheets trying to work out the TWiT payroll before the end of the tax year and wishing I could take some time to add dropdown menus to my blog. I’ve got the Son of Suckerfish code and Steve Gibson’s all-CSS variant, but I really should be doing the books. Ah screw it, why think about money when you can hack code?
| Thursday, 20 December 2007, 6:43 pm Tags: Tech Guy |
Just a few shopping days left til Christmas. We’ll be talking about last minute gift ideas on The Tech Guy this weekend, with visits from the Santa Giz Wiz, Dick DeBartolo and Gadget Guru, Ron Rosberg, photo expert Chris Marquardt, and home theater elf, Scott Wilkinson. Call in at 88-88-ASK LEO and listen in on XM Channel 158 (Sat and Sun 2-5p and 8-11p Eastern) and our other great stations including KFI, LA and KGO, SF.
Christmas Eve I’m flying to New England with my family to spend Christmas with my mom and sister, then it’s off to Egypt December 27 through January 6. We’ve recorded four new shows for you though, including an interview with Tim Ferris of the Four-Hour Work Week and my tech year in review and look ahead to 2008.
| Wednesday, 19 December 2007, 11:59 pm Tags: |
- Pivot tables, again with the pivot tables. #
| Tuesday, 18 December 2007, 11:59 pm Tags: |
- It’s a foul day for baseball, but a lovely day for indoor TV. Let’s do four. #
Swag
