Moving

I'm now at Wordpress.

http://techbitsnbytes.wordpress.com

Google Apps and Spreadsheets

Yeah, this one's been around for a little while, but I've been reading where some companies are actually going to Google Apps instead of the usual Microsoft Office products.

Interesting.

We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, getting a Google Mail account has never been easier. Now you don't need to have an invitation to sign up. All of the common Google services are right now at your fingertips.

Google

Personal VPN

I'm considering getting a personal VPN to use when I travel. We don't have one set up yet at work, but I'm sure one day we will. I love wireless connectivity, but I want to be safe when I'm away from the nest. I've been looking at a couple of them, and if you know anything about them, please post in the comments!

Public VPN

Personal VPN

New Cell Phone

Ok. I know it's been around for a few months, but I recently bought a new cell phone. I'd had my old one for over 2 years, and the battery gave up the ghost. I would've bought one sooner, but I just couldn't decide what I wanted to get. I finally settled on the LG VX8600. It plays mp3 ringtones, but you just gotta figure out how to get them to the phone! It also has a microSD card, and boy is it tiny, but it'll hold 512 MB of storage! It's the flip phone version of the Chocolate, which I didn't like. I've always like flip phones because they are easier to hold.

Image from VerizonWireless.com

Something New

Hello all!

I know I don't post very often anymore, and I'm sorry about that. I've run out of ideas of things to post about. Vicki and Stephen do really great jobs with their blogs, and I try to read them regularly. I wish I had as much to blog about as they do, but I guess I sorta blog about different things in a way.

Anyway, I have a presentation to make at a conference in a couple of weeks. I know the topic sorta well, but I'd like to know it better. One of my fellow educators knows the topic much, much better than me, but is unable to attend with me. I'm the type that is not bothered talking to large groups of people. I was a band director for 14 years. Audiences do not bother me in the least. She's the type of person that doesn't like to be in front of large groups. Through another fellow colleague of mine, I found out about something that should benefit both of us during the conference, and I thought I'd share it with you. It's called SightSpeed. It is a video conferencing software program that is freely available and uses the Internet. I hope to be able to use this program during my presentation to allow my fellow educator to "be there" with me to answer questions and point out key items to the audience.

Check it out!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone has a happy and prosperous new year.

Hooray for the Flash Drive!

I haven't posted in so long I almost forgot my password!

Almost...

;-)

Shiny Shiny has an intriguing article about an unusual use (IMHO) for flash drives with the new Vista operating system.

Article

Holiday Laziness

I hope everyone had a very good Thanksgiving. I did. I'm being so lazy over the course of my 5 day break! I'm taking the time to just sit around, surf the web a little, watch some tv, and work on my network. I came across this video today. This guy has way too much time on his hands!! LOL

Video

Google Earth Hacks

Google Earth did an update in recent months, and there is a site called Google Earth Hacks that's pretty cool. It's not affiliated with Google but has some great downloads for the Google Earth app. Check it out.

Google Earth Hacks

Haha

This cracks me up. Reminds me of that commercial from a year or two ago where the guy is clicking his mouse. His wife asked him something about what he was doing and he told her he finished.

The End of the Internet

Oh...now this is just...real good :- |

McDonald's has reportedly shipped some mp3 players with a trojan horse. Seems that the fast food giant teamed up with Coca-Cola in Japan to give away some mp3 players preloaded with music and spyware. Supposedly the trojan horse contains a variant of some code that will steal passwords when attached to your PC. McDonald's is reportedly handling the situation.

Link to Article at Engadget

Yay!!!!

I am officially a Lifehacker.com commentator! If you've not yet been to the Lifehacker site you MUST go. It is a website with all sorts of tips and tricks for computers as well as a host of other things. It is a VERY informative site that I think you will enjoy!

Lifehacker

New Web 2.0 Tool

I came across this new tool (at least new to me) while surfing yesterday. It's called StumbleUpon. You sign up for it and get the little toolbar that works similar to Google's toolbar and surf away. You fill out a little form with your interests, and that's the websites you will see! It's pretty cool.

Login to the Africam!

Check out the live webcam over in Africa! I saw some wildebeasts today!

Africam

Rural High Speed Access

I can relate to this article. My mom lives in a very rural area, and I work in one. Fortunately, I live in a small town with a couple of choices for high-speed access. I would find it very difficult to give up my DSL. My mom lives about as far in the woods as one can go, and she has DSL! It's through a company called CenturyTel, and they specialize in rural high speed access. However, I have some friends that live a little further out, and it hasn't got to them yet. Hopefully, it will soon.

Excert from the article

Verizon is not alone in its desire to reduce the number of landlines it owns. Big phone and cable companies are reluctant to upgrade and expand their networks in sparsely populated places where there are not enough customers to justify the investment. Instead, they are funneling billions of dollars into projects in cities and suburbs where the prospects for a decent return are higher.

Update: It's A Girl!

The itty bitty baby panda at Zoo Atlanta is a girl!!!

Mother and baby are doing fine. She will be named in a ceremony when she turns 100 days old.

Link to Yahoo article

Awwww

These two pandas at the Atlanta Zoo are the proud parents of a baby panda. The little cub was born Wednesday, September 6. The baby panda is very, very small and is only the size of "a stick of butter." You can watch the mother panda, Lun Lun, and her new baby on the Panda Cam.

Image from Yahoo/AFP/File/Steve Schaefer

Florence Update

Looks like Florence will probably not be a threat to the US, although it could hit Bermuda. It's becoming disorganized so the Weather Channel doesn't look for much to come of it as of now.

Let's hope so.

Update: Florence has some more thunderstorms so it's still possible for it to evolve into a hurricane, but still it's not a threat to land.

Florence

This picture is of Florence from this morning. She's churning away in the Atlantic and gaining strength. So far, she appears that she is going to miss the mainland US. Hope so.

Image from The Weather Channel

A New Name

Now Tropical Depression 6 is officially Tropical Storm Florence. Let's watch the progression of the projected path over the next few days.

Image from The Weather Channel