Knowing how to keep your web traffic data safe while browsing the web on unknown networks is a vital skill that not enough savvy Internet surfers take part in. I have previously discussed a few ways of solving this issue through the use of SSH tunnels (manually-created and application managed). I have also discussed things like “anonymous” web browsing through the Janus Privacy Adapter as well as with public Tor nodes. (Side note: Anonymous in quotes because truly anon browsing requires encrypted, signed traffic over private Tor networks — not public, published ones everyone knows about — but I digress). While VPN is nothing new and has been used by businesses and their employees for over a decade, it has not generally been something aimed at the typical Internet user. [click to continue…]
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Encryption,
Giganews,
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How To's,
Internet,
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VyprVPN
Blippy is my pick for startup to watch this year (with Square being close by). Blippy enables people to automatically share their purchases done through a variety of services, such as Amazon, iTunes, Netflix and better yet their credit/debit cards, with their followers. At first glance many will be shocked and wonder why they would ever want to use such a service but that only brings up memories of people saying the same thing about Twitter just a few years ago. The concept behind Blippy is crazy enough that I believe it will take off rather quickly. In fact, they recently announced they are already tracking over $1M in transactions.
My Blippy Profile – Some aesthetic elements of Blippy are noticeably inspired from Facebook and Twitter, but that’s because they work well.
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Blippy,
Editorials,
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Reviews
I was recently in the market for an affordable, HD-capable pocket video camera. I knew Pure Digital’s Flip line of pocket camcorders like the Mino HD and Ultra HD were very popular in this space and as such I was just about ready to buy one. However, I decided to look around first and that’s when I discovered the $180 Kodak Zi8 HD pocket video camera. After having the Zi8 on hand for a few weeks, I believe it to be the best high-definition pocket video camera near the ~$200 price point on the market now. I’ll attempt to explain why in this review but if you’re looking for a quick answer, it’s because the Zi8 has an external microphone input, SDHC support and some interesting things I’ll get into soon.
Photo taken with D90 and my favorite lens: 50mm f/1.8
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Camera,
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Hardware,
HD,
Kodak,
Kodak Zi8,
MinoHD,
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Zi8
For those of you that have been reading for a while (thanks!), it’s no surprise that I am a music fan. I wouldn’t quite say audiophile as I don’t find the need to spend sizable amounts of money on audio equipment, but I always have some music playing and enjoy a high quality audio setup. About two years ago I reviewed the excellent Sonos Digital Music System. The only problem with that setup was the price — just over $1,000 for all of the components. Since then I haven’t been able to get back into Sonos’ product line as everything was still rather expensive. Sonos hopes to change that with their new ZonePlayer S5, running at $399 USD.
What? Your kitchen doesn’t look like this?? Neither does mine. This is a press photo. Pretty sure they used fake ice for that wine.. since when do chilled wine bottles lack condensation?
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Tagged as:
Hardware,
Music,
Radio,
Reviews,
S5,
Sonos,
Speakers
On April 25th, 2009, I picked up a 2011 Ford Fiesta for what would be the next 7 months as 1 of 100 hand-picked Ford Fiesta Movement “Agents.” Okay, well technically it is a European-spec 2009 Ford Fiesta, but it is a close representation of what will be making its way state-side come June 2010. For a little background information, Ford ran a contest many months ago. They wanted to find 100 so-called influencers to help promote the new Ford Fiesta through their audiences; largely through social media means. (Original press release here.)
The Fiesta in Tech Square in Midtown Atlanta, GA. Photo by Tim Dorr with a Canon 5D Mk II
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Cars,
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The saga continues as I go to all lengths to find 5 bars of cell phone reception at home. It first started when I moved into my new apartment. I didn’t think to check my cell reception when first touring the property so I was in shock after I moved in and noticed I had No Service. In the meantime, I signed up with Vonage for a VoIP line, but I hated having two phone numbers. I experimented with the Wi-Ex zBoost cell signal booster and that worked, but there were drawbacks. It only provided a 6 foot radius of signal, the booster [click to continue…]
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3G,
AT&T,
Cellular,
GPS,
Hardware,
Internet,
iPhone,
MicroCell,
Mobile,
Reviews,
Technology
Two years ago during a trip to San Francisco I met up with entrepreneur Steli Efti. He had previously contacted me and told me a bit about his story. He bought a one-way ticket from Greece to San Francisco with the intent of creating a startup called Supercool School. Steli wanted to change the way people learn. I remember talking with him then and noting how remarkably passionate he was about the idea of giving anyone the ability to teach or attend an online class about any subject. I thought to myself about how this type of passion is what startups are really about. [click to continue…]
People: Steli Efti
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Education,
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Reviews,
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It started out like any typical Friday morning. I snoozed the iPhone alarm about 5 times then got a late start to the morning and did a groggy stumble to the desk to check email before doing anything else. Unfortunately, this time my 11 month old 15-inch MacBook Pro (unibody) kernel panicked a lot, on every boot. It wouldn’t even see the Intel X25-M SSD I had in there although the drive was completely usable in two other computers. After a half-day of debugging I ended up going to the Apple store, doing a “quick drop” at the Genius Bar and buying a new 17-inch MacBook Pro so I could keep working; based on my experience that Apple repair can be slow sometimes and I didn’t want to wait a week or more before getting back to work. [click to continue…]
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Apple,
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Laptop,
MacBook,
MacBookPro,
Reviews
August 10, 2009
When it comes to music, I am a complete maniac. I must have some new, non-overplayed songs to get any work done. That’s why I invested in a solid studio monitor setup and that’s why one of my screens usually looks like this:
Left to Right: Hype Machine, SweetFM, thesixtyone, iTunes, Last.fm
Add to that my propensity [...]
Tagged as:
Internet,
Music,
News,
Reviews,
Software,
Spotify
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July 28, 2009
You have probably heard of a company called GrandCentral a few years ago. They made big news with their September 2006 beta launch of their service allowing people to use a single phone number for all of their phones. David Ulevitch of OpenDNS was the first person I knew that began using GrandCentral full-time. He [...]
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Android,
Apple,
Gizmo,
Google,
GoogleVoice,
GrandCentral,
Internet,
iPhone,
Reviews,
Software,
VoIP
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July 13, 2009
While inflight Internet access isn’t anything new, especially to airlines like Virgin America and JetBlue, I finally got my first whiff of it this past weekend on an Airtran flight. The particular Boeing 717-200 I flew on this past Friday, like many planes in the Airtran fleet (and some planes with American, Delta, Virgin America, [...]
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EVDO,
Gogo,
Internet,
Mobile,
News,
Reviews,
Technology,
Wifi
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June 15, 2009
Not too long ago I mentioned how I moved to a new apartment but was very disappointed to learn that I now live in an AT&T dead zone. A bit of testing has proved that I do not live in an AT&T dead zone (5 bars on the sidewalk outside), but the building’s stucco and [...]
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AT&T,
Booster,
Cellular,
Hardware,
Mobile,
Repeater,
Reviews,
Wi-Ex,
zBoost,
zPersonal
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