Chet Davis - Your Technology Tutor

Consumer Reports validates there IS a benefit to using premium batteries

I saw an interesting post on the Consumer Reports on-line blog - it addressed a conversation we have every now and then in my household.... how about those generic, cheapo batteries?

I had heard in the past that the inexpensive batteries at the Dollar Store or drug-store perform as well as the much more expensive name brand premium batteries. 

Turns out - according to both the Consumer Reports tests and recent tests by a  professor of physics at Southeastern Louisiana University - that there is a definite difference. 

Summary: for energy draining devices like digital cameras - use the premium quality batteries.  For living room remote controls, etc. use the cost efficient bulk batteries.  Read the entire post: Are no-name batteries a good value?

Helpful List of Symbols Availalbe On Your Computer with the ALT Key

A friend discovered some of the symbols available by using the ALT key on your computer keyboard, and wondered if there was a good resource that showed the many symbols available to us. 

Yes, indeed - I found a list of the 255 symbols available by using your ALT key in conjunction with the numerals 0 through 255.  Here's a sampling of these codes (compatible on your Windows OS computer)

You'll find this handy chart on the Alt Codes web site

Want Some Tangible Encouragement to Use the Gym This Week?

How about your own money? 

GymPact lets you set the financial stakes of not getting to the gym, plus earn real cash for every workout you committed - paid for by those who didn't get to the gym!

I saw this on Ski Mag.com this morning and thought it was a great idea!  For those folks who joined a gym as part of their new year's resolutions but find that other choices keep 'getting in the way' of your intentions to work out... you can now install this app on your iPhone and then put your money where your mouth is! 

Basically you indicate how much money you're wagering that you will make it to the gym this next week. If you don't, then your credit card will be debited the amount you agreed to -- and those folks who did make it that week will share in the pot of money from those who did not make it.

You can read more about this new service/app in the article
by Deborah Williams here: Get Paid To Work Out With GymPact

You'll find the GymPact web site here and the GymPact iPhone app here.

 

Facebook Begins Inserting Adverts into the News Feed

On the CNET Digital Media Blog author Dara Kerr reports that Facebook has begun inserting ads into Facebook Users News Feed stream.  While ads on Facebook are nothing new, this is a different approach as the ads used to be in the 'Stream' at upper right side of the page. These sponsored ads will appear in your regular news feed. 

As Dara suggests:

To figure out whether a post is legitimate or an ad, Facebook users can hover their mouse over the word "featured" and a black box of text will pop up saying, "A sponsor paid to feature it here." The only way to get rid of the ads is to click the "x" on the right corner of each post, deleting them one by one.

You can read the full article here: Facebook inserts ads into users' news feeds

A Satirical Look at the Power of Photoshop in the Advertising & Fashion Industries

There has been increased concern and scrutiny in recent months about the effects of models and celebrities who are 'Photoshopped' to look even more beautiful (or perfect) than they already appear.  It's no huge secret inside the fashion and advertising industries that the use of photo retouching software (like Adobe Photoshop) have been used for quite some time to give the image just the 'right look'. Even the American Medical Association has expressed concern about the effects of this practice: American Medical Association Pushes to End Photoshopped Body Images in Ads

I do share some concerns about how media impacts our society - especially the great impact such practice can wield on younger people and affect their self-esteem, etc.  Here's a fun way to poke at this issue - with praise today for filmmaker Jesse Rosten, who produced the following 2 minute video titled 'Fotoshop by Adobé'.

According to Jesse's blog "I was watching TV one sleepless night and stumbled upon an infomercial for some beauty product. The commercial showed before and after portraits, that to my eye, looked like the same photo just photoshopped. I laughed to myself. Then I made this video."

 

Computer 'worm' steals 45,000 Facebook logins

An article on Digital Trends.com shared news that computer malware called 'Ramnit' - which has previous history of sophisticated attacks in the financial sector - has recently turned it's sights on Facebook. 

The article indicates that some 45,000 Facebook log-ins have been stolen or compromised.

The long and short lesson of this threat is that we should always be careful what we click on, whether it's in your email in-box or on your Facebook status feed. We're reminded of this as reports surfaced this week about scams that were attracting Facebook folks with promises of returning their accounts from the new Timeline view to the 'classic' old Facebook (these are totally bogus links, some just referring you to on-line videos or websites, others possibly containing computer malware or other viruses)

And as privacy experts recommend - do not use the same password for Facebook and other accounts, especially any accounts tied to your finances or personal security. 

You can read the article here on Digital Trends.com: Ramnit worm switches focus from financial to Facebook, steals 45K logins

Consumers Now Take More Than a Quarter of All Photos and Videos on Smartphones

It's no surprise if you have been anywhere during the holidays where folks were capturing stills or video - that smart phones are becoming the go-to device for many.  This is particularly true for folks who are casually capturing special moments.

According to a report from the market research company The NPD Group’s new 'Imaging Confluence Study' the percentage of U.S. consumers taking photos and videos on their smartphones has grown, while the camera and traditional camcorders share has declined.

The percent of photos taken with a smartphone (Apple iPhone or any other smartphone) went from 17 last year to 27 this year while the share of photos taken on any camera dropped from 52 percent to 44 percent.

“There is no doubt that the smartphone is becoming ‘good enough’ much of the time; but thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before,” said Liz Cutting, executive director and senior imaging analyst at NPD. 

“Consumers who use their mobile phones to take pictures and video were more likely to do so instead of their camera when capturing spontaneous moments, but for important events, single purpose cameras or camcorders are still largely the device of choice.”

An interesting side note is that Detachable lens cameras (cameras like the HDSLR Canon, Nikon and Sony models) increased by 12 percent in the same period last year.  These are the more sophisticated digital cameras with an average price of $863. You can read more on the NPD Report here

Santa Claus is coming to town... find out where with Google and NORAD

The Official Google Blog has a nice summary of the internet based updates to keep track of Jolly Old Saint Nick tonight.  You may know that the U.S. Defense Departments NORAD has been tracking Santa for m0re than 50 years - here's how that got started:

"The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

You can also keep track of that jolly old Elf on Google Earth, via Google Maps.

Merry Christmas one and all!

It's Snowing on All Your Videos on YouTube (and it's Snowing at Google too!)

Just a few days ago you could 'make it snow' on your computer screen with Google, today YouTube joined the on-line snow makers. 

On any YouTube video, there is a new tiny snowflake button, in the bottom right corner of the YouTube Player - click on this button and snowflakes will start to fall over your video as it plays. The snow flakes can be pushed away by moving your cursor near them, and they will accumulate at the bottom of your screen.

Try it on the video below - created by a friend with footage of snow falling at their ranch in North Carolina, set to the St. Matthew's Women's Singing Circle at St. Mary's Chapel in Hillsborough, NC

And, if you missed the Google snow show - go over to the Google home page and type in 'let it snow' in the search bar and click enter/return.  The snow will begin falling.  Sit tight for a moment and your screen will appear to get frosty -- click and drag your cursor around to wipe away the frost, or click the auto-appearing defrost button to clear up your screen.

Power Outlets with Wireless Remote Control - Perfect for Outdoor Christmas Lights

I was late this season getting our Christmas lights up on the outside of our house - but I am happy to share a cool electronic gadget I came across and am so happy with! It's a remote control power outlet, actually a 2-pack, with a wireless remote control.  So, maybe this is an idea for your next Christmas.

This allows me to have my outside Christmas lights connected in the garage, and use the small remote control to turn the lights on and off from the convenience (and warmth) inside my home.  Stanley has these available as single outlets, as three outlets on one circuit (one remote controls all 3 outlets), as well as this 2-pack which has two different circuits - two outlets with 2 separate switches on the remote.

I chose this as we also have an outdoor pond with a waterfall in the backyard and am finally thrilled to have a remote control for this as well!  Perhaps now I will finally be able to set-up my outdoor lighting around our backyard pond and use the outlet presently occupied by the Christmas lights.

You may find these at your local hardware store - you can also shop conveniently via Amazon.com. Here's my affiliate link for this cool gadget:
Stanley 31188 Outdoor Wireless Remote Control 2-Pack

For those curious about specifications - the 2-pack outlets are both grounded (3rd prong) and the remote includes batteries (nothing more frustrating than going to use your new 'toy' and find you have to add batteries that you don't have around).  The package indicates you can use the remote up to 50-feet away, through walls, etc.  I have found it works well but does lose connection about 40-50 feet away.

I found the construction to be solid and unlike some of the cheap, frail power connections you sometimes see with budget equipment.