Hewie's Views and Reviews
January 07, 2008

 

 

Hewie's Views and Reviews
By Hewie Poplock

Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ .

++++ Convergence 1
++++ Convergence 2

++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

++++ Convergence 1

My first real taste of convergence came when I decided to use the IPhone as my cell phone. I wasn't swept up with the publicity and didn't stand in line to purchase an IPhone. Only after I had a hands-on experience did I even consider purchasing one. Once I got a new desktop with Vista and realized that there were issues getting my Palm PDA to sync with my PC, I realized that there might be a value in changing.

I already was using AT & T and didn't have to change my plan. All 3,000 of my roll-over minutes would stay with me. The total increase was going to be $15 a month which included unlimited web & wi-fi access.

My new IPhone not only syncs with my Outlook 2007, but so do all of my 30 e-mail addresses. My favorites from Internet Explorer, all of my 300+ phonebook with addresses, and my calendar all match my PC and do so every time that I synchronize.

In addition, I can click on an address in my phonebook and it jumps to Google Maps and shows me the location. While it's not a GPS, a map usually works.

Other features include instant weather for any zip code, current stock prices (20 minutes behind), and a direct connection to You Tube. In addition to all of that, it's an IPod. While I don't use it for music, I do download podcasts, both audio & video, about technical topics. There are several drawbacks of the IPhone, but it really does meet my needs as a connection to others via phone, e-mail, and web sites. I don't use text messaging, but that is also included.

++++ Convergence 2

The Presidential Election Primary season is utilizing many technologies available. I decided to try it a few nights ago. During a set of debates, the Republican candidates debated and were followed by the Democrats.

The news people teamed up with Facebook and had a series of polls for Facebook users to answer. There was a link at the news site to set up a Facebook account and then by logging in, I had access to the questions. As soon as I answered a question, I was shown the results and percentages of all of the respondents.

It was not only fun, but interesting. The talking heads on TV were then discussing the results and I had a feeling of having a say in the discussion. While none of my comments were quoted, some of those participating had their say to the world on TV.

Prior to this, the closest that I came to participating in TV/PC/Internet convergence was to answer a poll during a newscast on the Cable News Station, Bright House Channel 13 in Orlando. Even that is spectacular in that I only had to push 1 of 3 buttons during the 5 minutes that they give you to respond. If I clicked on the "A" button, I answered "Yes" , B equaled "No" and C equaled "I am not sure."

That's convergence and I am now a part of it.


++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

FileFormat.Info
http://www.fileformat.info/
Source for file format standards, online file conversions, and detailed file specifications, including Unicode characters, MIME types and file extensions

VectorMagic
http://vectormagic.stanford.edu/
Converts bitmap images to vector images - it's an online auto-tracer. Just upload your image and they vectorize it for you

Vecteezy
http://www.vecteezy.com/
Index of Free Vector Graphics available for download

FreeVectors.net
http://www.freevectors.net/
Free Vector Graphics Gallery - images on this site are free for personal use and most of them for commercial use

WiPower
http://www.wipowerinc.com/
WiPower system is a universal, wireless charging platform that charges virtually all consumer electronic devices from cell phones to MP3 players

Florida Attorney General - Identity Theft
http://myfloridalegal.com/identitytheft
Official website of the Florida Attorney General

Retirement Jobs
http://www.retirementjobs.com/
Jobs for People Over 50. Full & Part time jobs from age friendly employers

Digital Trends
http://www.digitaltrends.com/
Consumer Electronics reviews, news, videos, shopping and more

Free Windows Vista Drivers
http://www.radarsync.com/vista/
Latest Windows Vista drivers and provides direct links to the files for downloads

HijackThis Quick Start
http://www.whatthetech.com/hijackthis/
HijackThis examines certain key areas of the Registry. This is a quick start guide and a link to download it

What the Tech
http://www.whatthetech.com/
Answering your tech questions. Lots of great stuff here

Giveaway of the Day
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/
Every day they offer free licensed software you'd have to buy otherwise

Free Printable Greeting Cards
http://www.freeprintablegreetingcards.org/
Free Printable Greeting Cards in .PDF and Microsoft Word .DOC formats - Editable versions cost about the same as a card in a store

Exalead
http://www.exalead.com/search
8-billion-page database includes a clean results display with thumbnail screen shots

Kijiji Orlando
http://orlando.kijiji.com/
Kijiji Orlando has local new and used goods for sale, furniture, cars, pets, apartments and more. Other cities available

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