Texting Etiquette…

I’ve always wondered about and never found a set rule for texting etiquette. Perhaps no one tried because it seemed like a daunting task, considering you might have to have all sorts of exceptions and corollaries. Fortunately, I was able to find this Slate article that boiled it down to a simple rule.

If you’re in a situation where you’d excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, you should also excuse yourself before reaching for your phone. Otherwise, go ahead without asking. Either way, don’t play with your phone longer than you’d stay in the bathroom.

That is concise and really covers any situation I can think of.

• Sitting at dinner with your significant other? Generally, you wouldn’t just stand up and walk away without saying something first. In this case, excuse yourself, then fiddle with your phone. Be sure to return in a timely manner.
• Hanging out at the sports bar with your buddies watching a game? It would probably actually be rude to interrupt the game by informing your compadres that you were heading to the bathroom so feel free to text away.
• At church? It would have to be a major emergency for most people to get up and head to the toilet during church. Same goes for your cell phone. Unless someone is dying, leave it in your pocket.

Be sure to check out the article itself for more insights on the Bathroom Rule.

Got any scenarios you don’t think fit in properly here? Every been a rude texter or had to deal with one? Let me know in the comments!

FYIJSYK: ZERO Charger…

You’ve got your phone plugged in for the night after a long day of yapping on the phone. The next morning, you hop out of bed, grab your phone, and head to your job at Uncle Ted’s Used Bubble Gum Emporium. You may think that after unplugging your phone, no more electricity is being used, after all, your phone isn’t plugged in.

Unfortunately, that isn’t true. That plug that charges your phone is actually a bit more complex than you may think it is. It changes alternating current (like the electricity in nearly all outlets) to direct current (like all batteries). Part of that conversion process produces heat. This heat is a sign that not all the energy is being put toward its intended purpose. In the end you are left with an electric bill that is higher than it should be.

And it’s not just your phone charger either. TVs, stereos, and computers are other examples of electronics that use electricity when they are off or on standby.

Enter the AT&T ZERO charger. When nothing is plugged into it, it uses no electricity. The savings of that electricity could be huge, especially if this technology moves into other appliances and gadgets. According to the AT&T ZERO website, the US uses (wastes!?) about 12% of its annual energy usage on these so called ‘vampiric’ chargers. Cutting all that energy usage could result in an annual savings of $120 billion.

Another reason this charger is terrific is that it has a USB socket on it, allowing you to plug in your iPod, cell phone, digital camera, or any other device that charges using USB.

At this point I’m tempted to pick up a handful of these. Anyone interested in a contest that gives away some ZERO chargers? Do you plan on picking one up yourself?

Load an iPod Shuffle Without iTunes…

Before we get started, note that this tutorial is for the iPod Shuffle only. We’ll get to other iPods later, don’t worry.

It is fairly well documented around these parts that I’m not a huge fan of iTunes (read here and also here). It is easy to find a new music player and manager (I mostly use foobar2000), but it much more difficult if you own and iPod.

Apple loves making beautiful, functional products, but then they manage to lock you into everything Apple. In order to use your Apple iPod, you have to use Apple iTunes. Want to use the gorgeous and simple OSX? You can only use it on a Mac (well, almost ‘only’).

I bought a iPod Shuffle because I loved that it was super compact, had good battery life, had a durable aluminum shell, and was nice and inexpensive. When I first got it, I used a program on Linux called gtkpod since iTunes isn’t made for Linux. I no longer have my Linux PC around so I was searching for a way to load music on my iPod Shuffle without iTunes and I found an amazingly simple way: iShuffle.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure you’ve either uninstalled iTunes from your computer or be sure to uncheck the box that automatically launches iTunes when you plug in an iPod.
2. Go to the iShuffle site and download the ‘iShuffle-without-iTunes.zip’ file. Open it and move to Step 3. We’ll use this zip file for Step 4.
3. Plug in your iPod Shuffle. Now click on “My Computer” or “Computer” and you should see your iPod showing up. Go ahead and double click on the iPod to view it’s contents.
4. Go back to the zip file from Step 2 and open it. Extract the file labeled ‘iShuffle.exe’ on to your iPod Shuffle. It should go on the iPod directly (in the root), not in a folder. In the above example, it should go in E:\.
5. You will need to create folder named Music to put in that same location. After you create the folder, its location should be E:\Music in the example above.
6. You can now load any music you want in the Music folder. After loading the music, double click the iShuffle.exe file to build the playlist and finish up the process!

Note that if you make any changes to the music located in the Music folder, you have to re-run the iShuffle.exe file to re-build the playlist.

If you are lacking some decent music to listen to on your iTunes-free iPod Shuffle, be sure to head to Amazonmp3.com to download some new tunes.

We’ll discuss Floola soon for managing iPods other than the Shuffle soon, but do you have any other media managers that you use in place of iTunes? I’m looking for some new running music, so be sure to let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!

Friday Night Links (3/5/2010)…

Friday, Friday, FRIDAY…

The weekend is here and I’ve got some good plans: sis-in-law’s birthday dinner, moving a friend, fixing a computer, making USB flash drives filled with goodies, and a couple other odds and ends. But for now, I’ve got some links.

• Homemade Granola Bars (http://thedig.in/c3) – Man I love granola bars. I will point out that I love crunchy ones, but if someone happened to make these and drop them off at my house, I would definitely eat them and sing your praises. If you didn’t quite get what I said there, “Bring me granola bars.” Clear?
• iPod Auction (http://thedig.in/c4) – Pictures speak volumes. I’m heading over there to put up my ‘$52 reward’ sign tomorrow. Hopefully nobody is smart enough to put up a $53 sign. That would just be CRAZY.
• Survive a Tsunami (http://thedig.in/c5) – After concerns about tsunamis from the recent Chilean earthquake, I saw this guide from the US Geological Survey that has a ton of pictures, charts, stories, and tips on how to survive a tsunami. I think the amazing thing is how low and how high the water actually goes. Additionally, the pictures of the before and after are pretty scary as well. Below is my favorite chart.
  

  Image from USGS website: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/images/fig17.jpg

Friday Night Links (2/19/2010)…

You may have noticed a lack of posting last night. You may have also noticed that I brought back a long-absent ‘Meet The Digitante’ box at the top with a picture and a little about me and this site.

But back to the lack of posting last night: I am working on some other projects and I want to be able to focus one night a week to doing so. Therefore, I’m going to be taking Thursday night off. I am hoping to re-post some of my old articles because my readership has grown significantly since I wrote some of those articles. Also, there may be a bit of information that needs to be updated.

Additionally, I plan on filling you in on my new projects, but not yet. Keep an eye out.

And now… THE LINKS.

• No Senior Year (http://thedig.in/bf) – Everyone is feeling the financial crunch in the US. One of the hardest hit entities has been the state government. The federal government can adjust monetary policy or fix demand if they are having a budget crisis. However, if you live in Utah, you our your kid may end-up ending things after only 3 years of high school. Then again, if you live in Utah, it’s questionable whether you could even complete 4 years of high school. Kidding aside, maybe it’s a good thing that someone is questioning the need of everyone to complete 12 years of schooling. Perhaps a little less would be good for those not needing college and choosing trade skills instead. Another Slashdot story talked about that.
• Mosquito Killer (http://thedig.in/bg) – PEW! PEW! PEW! Using lasers to shoot down mosquitoes? Yes please! The contraption was built by a dude with parts off of eBay and can identify the gender of the mosquito and only shoot down the female, the ones that bite. Also, it can shoot down 50-100 per second. I’m personally hoping it would put on a rockin’ laser light show too.
• Amazing Steak (http://thedig.in/bh) – I had never heard of Sous Vide style of cooking steaks, but one look at the pictures on this site and I sure wanted to learn how to cook steak like that. Essentially, you seal the steak, salt, and pepper in a vacuum pouch, then you place it in 135 degree water for an hour. Finally, you sear each side in a skillet. Supposedly this allows you to cook the steak to the perfect temperature and no lose or change any of the flavors. I can’t wait to try this one out.
• Newbie Fashion Tips (http://thedig.in/bi) – These fashion tips should be required reading for any guy who is freshly graduating from college. I knew most of these tips, but a few of them, such as requiring your shoes to be darker than your pants, were new to me. If this guy put out a book, I would absolutely buy it as graduation presents for guys I know getting out of college.

Gadget of The Day…

At The Digitante HQ, we recently had a new addition to our ranks. No, its not a new little baby. It isn’t a car. Regardless, it has changed my life. I look back and think, ‘How did I ever live without it.’

A waterpik.

A little back story may be in order here. The reason we got the waterpik is because Mrs. Digitante recently got braces. In order to keep her breath nice and fresh and keep her teeth cavity free, we decided to get a waterpik. When purchasing a waterpik, you basically have two options: the one pictured above (which we got) or one that hooks directly up to the sink using an attachment to the faucet.

While that one would have been less expensive and perhaps more economical, we decided to go with the version that could easily be packed up and tossed in the cupboard or a suitcase.

Now I’ll tell you a few things about the waterpik:

• It has a stop button so you can pause your teeth cleansing at any moment to listen to your daughters screaming “DADADADA” at the top of their lungs.
• The sharp jets of water go up under the gums and get the stuff that toothbrushing doesn’t get. Warning: Your gums will bleed the first couple of times you use it, but on the upside, I found that I didn’t have nearly the morning breath that I usually do. And usually it is BAD.
• It comes with multiple attachments including the orthodontic attachment for cleaning around braces, a sharp attachment called the pocketpik for between teeth, and a tongue scraper that looks like a spoon with a hole in it that squirts away the gunk while you scrape, scrape, scrape away.
• Mrs. Digitante’s favorite thing is to blast chunks of dinner out of her braces. If that sounds gross, just imagine if she left them in there for a day or two.

Mrs. Digitante has also decided everyone is getting Waterpiks for birthdays, wedding, child births, bar mitzvahs, confirmations, coronations, anniversaries (4th anniversary is water, right?), Christmas, Thanksgiving, and bachelor/bachelorette parties.

If you would like to get a Waterpik as well, hit up my link to Amazon below.

Waterpik Ultra

Anybody have a silly gadget like this that gets them all excited? Got any gadgets that you thought would be awesome and turned out to be duds?

Two Front Teeth? No Thanks…

What I did get for Christmas was exactly what I was hoping for: a wireless keyboard.

Not just any keyboard though – I got the Logitech diNovo wireless keyboard. The keys are a dream to type on. It is super solid. It has all kinds of media buttons for adjusting volume, fast-forwarding, and one-touch access to email, internet, and tons of other features.

Up until this point, we had a keyboard with a cord strung across the living room from the media center PC to the couch. If you’ve read my site, you would know that there are currently two 11 month old girls crawling around at a furious pace throughout the day. These girls were constantly unplugging, eating, and tugging on the cord, so I’m glad we took care of that situation.

Here is the ironic part: those same little mischievous girls were the ones that got me the new wireless keyboard. By making their father happy, they officially retired one of their favorite toys.

Will they find something new to get into? Looks like they already have…

Eye-Fi Memory Card…

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I posted about a great deal I found for an Eye-Fi camera memory card and storage space on Picasa Web.

Well, since that time, I’ve been uploading my scores and scores of pictures to Picasa Web. I’ve barely made a dent in the storage space (I’m currently using 10 out of the 200Gb of space I have available). Don’t you worry your pretty little face though, I’ve got a ton more pictures to upload.

More recently I received the Eye-Fi memory card in the mail. My overall impression of the device is that it is the most hands off, automatic thing that I own. I love it.

The nitty gritty

So we know that I love this thing, let’s get a little deeper into it.

Installation was easy. I mean super easy. You take out the card reader which already has the card inserted and you plug it into whatever computer you want your photos to upload to.

It then installs the Eye-Fi Manager software and allows you to sign up for an account. Once signed up, you have a couple of options:

• Wireless Networks – While the Eye-Fi card is inserted, you can manage your WiFi networks. You need to know the network name and security code. Same as hooking a laptop up to a wireless network.
• Upload settings – Once again, while the Eye-Fi card is inserted, you can determine whether to upload everything, only the protected items, or everything BUT the protected items.
• Photo Destinations – Here you can choose to upload not only to your computer, but also a number of online websites. I have mine configured to upload to Costco Photo Center. Later I can print pictures directly from what I’ve uploaded and pick them up when I head to Costco. Now if they’d just put them in a frame and add a “To Mom” card. Additionally, I could have added PicasaWeb as well, but since I have Picasa syncing with PicasaWeb anyway, there is no need to duplicate functionality.
• Video Destinations – There are a number of video destinations, but the most popular are probably going to be Facebook and YouTube.
• Geotagging – Even though your camera doesn’t have a GPS chip in it for recording the location of your photos, the Eye-Fi card adds the location based on nearby WiFi networks using a database called Skyhook. You can certainly turn off geotagging if you prefer.
• Upload Notifications – You can add up to four types of notification: Photo transfer begins, is interrupted, resumes, and completes. Additionally, you can be notified in up to four different ways: via email, text message, Twitter, or Facebook.
• Added Services – As mentioned before, you can upload to locations other than your computer. Since I purchased the deal mentioned at the top of the post, it included a year of free web uploading. This was almost a disaster, so I’m going to fill you in on a little trickiness. In order to activate your web uploads you have to type in the included activation key since web uploads are normally $9.95 a year. The key is conveniently hidden in the box and gets stuck there by the tape sealing the box shut. Check out the picture below so you don’t throw away your year of free web uploads.
  

Get it while its hot

Lucky for all of you, the deal is still going on, so hurry up and get your Eye-Fi card and Picasa Web space.

Anybody already order one and get it going yet? What do you think?

Palindrome Special…

Since today is 01/02/2010, The Digitante is running a special: Hire me for $22 an hour (instead of the regular $50). In order to get this special pricing, you have to email or call me before midnight tonight.

In case you weren’t aware, a palindrome is a number (or word) that is the same both forwards and backwards. An excellent example is the words race car.

Some of the things you might hire me for:

• Ditch your cable or satellite and save $100s a year by letting The Digitante build you DVR/Media Center PC so you can record your favorite shows and watch them when you like. At The Digitante’s house, we cancelled our DirecTV which cost $91 a month, built a media center PC for $1,000, and after paying a $350 cancellation fee, we recovered the cost of the PC and cancellation fee in approximately 15 months.
• Find the perfect cell phone and plan for your budget. Don’t end up with a phone that is too complicated or a cheapo phone with no reception. Get the scoop on what phone works for your lifestyle.
• Find the best TV, computer, or other gadget. Most expensive may not mean the best. Inexpensive doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. A little knowledge can go a long way. Additionally, I have connections to a number of sites where I can find the best deal for a particular gadget.  Why not get the same gadget for less than you find it at Best Buy?
• If you have special requests such as setting up your internet, installing programs on your computer, removing viruses from you PC, or other tech-related task, feel free to call or email for a free consultation to discuss your needs!

Digitante Search Terms…

Ever wonder what the top search terms are that bring people to my site? Me too. Here they are with some links to resources that will help you out.

1. the digitante – Obviously.
2. yahoo mail – Please see my post on signing up for Gmail and migrating to Gmail. Queries about Yahoo and Hotmail were quite prevalent.
3. http://www.thedigitante.com – This one always gets me. You just typed it, but not in the address bar. Of course sometimes your browser automatically places the cursor the search box, so this makes a bit of sense.
4. california tv energy – Check out my post on proposed California restrictions on energy usage by TVs. I got some great comments on that post as well. You can check out the whole FYIJSYK series as well.
5. cheapest 10.1 netbook – Its not the cheapest, but I’m loving the Asus EEE PC 1005HA-PU1X. Its got max battery life of 10.5 hours, it is super portable, and it has a great keyboard.
6. colts cheerleaders – Catch Sunday Night Football online, complete with bonus camera views and statistics.
7. electronic switches – I posted this on my Twitter, but check this out. Its an electrical outlet that has USB sockets. Now you don’t need your computer on to charge your gadgets. It is supposed to be out shortly.
8. facebook touch – Just covered this.
9. gadgets for men 2009 – Covered this as well. Buy him anything from that link and he will love you forever. I would recommend the 65″ plasma.
10. how much does sprint navigation cost – If you have a Simply Everything Plan from Sprint, unlimited navigation is included in the package along with unlimited email, texts, MMS, SprintTV, BIS, and web. I have an upcoming post next week that will discuss this further.

There you go, my top ten searches. Most of my queries involve trying to re-find some old article that I read a couple of months before. That never works out very well. What do you typically search for on the internet? Have you ever done a query and found The Digitante as one of the results? Let me know!