“General” collection
Access a diverse collection of miscellaneous technology reviews, specialized DIY tool assessments, and unique lifestyle articles. From niche electrical equipment to general digital organization tips, this section covers the broad spectrum of a tech-focused life.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →September 7, 2007
These baby videos WILL make you laugh!
Just some Friday, YouTube humor to make you laugh...I hope. It's a bit contagious. Enjoy! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk] With the Wii, no less! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI] Weird cuts on this one but still classic. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vfSk-6tIvo] This one "rips" me up! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY] This one is a bit long...but it makes me hungry! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUUUj2DRVg8] Good thing this kid was strapped down! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wifEc7TNioY] I had to put…
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September 5, 2007
How to Upgrade your Discontinued 4gig iPhone to an 8gig
As many other 4gig iPhone owners are feeling right now, I'm a bit upset at "paying the price" of being an early adopter. I know, I know, I wanted the latest and greatest and wanted it right away. Well, now Apple no longer sells the 4 gig version AND has reduced the price of the 8 gig to $399...geez! So,…
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August 30, 2007
Netvibes & iPhone Compatible at last!
WOAH! I just reloaded my default home page and there is now a yellow message saying "Netvibes goes mobile! Now, you can check your Netvibes page on your mobile phone or your iPhone at the following address: http://m.netvibes.com" and of course I had to see how they implemented it. Well, the quick answer is, AMAZINGLY WELL! [Updated: they now have…
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August 30, 2007
iPhone app: ApolloIM version updated to -0.9 with connection persistence
As mentioned previously, ApolloIM has been updated from version -1 to -0.9 and now includes partial "suspend mode." I have installed and tested it and it seems to work ok. However, the author clearly notes on his development site that there are some limitations to how well this works. If, for example, your iPhone enters a low-power mode (e.g., if…
Read more →August 24, 2007
iPhone: Jailbreaking, Application Installing, Playing, Corrupting, Panicking, Resetting and Restoring
The subject of this post pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. So here are the details. First a little background. I come from a very varied cell-phone history. I was a big Sidekick users but got a bit tired of it because of the closed architecture and the fact that I couldn't make things "the way I wanted…
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July 31, 2007
iPhone Firmware 1.0.1 released
With little fanfare, lots of anticipation and a bit of a letdown, the first firmware update from Apple for the iPhone was officially released. It looks like it was primarily a security update with no truly outwardly visible modifications. Details on what was included in the release are below...but first a couple of thoughts. It makes sense to me that…
Read more →July 25, 2007
iPhone firmware 1.1 rumors – my own debunking
So there is list of potential iPhone firmware updates floating around the blogosphere. Most came out around the beginning of July. It seems like an "anonymous tipster" has submitted a laundry list of updates for the next "firmware release" for the iPhone. This list has been posted and re-posted on various tech sites including: CrunchGear, MobilityToday, GearFuse, IntoMobile and others.…
Read more →July 17, 2007
Fix-it: iTunes 7.3.1.3 install Error 2908 on Windows
Well, I'm back from a vacation in Mexico and have been catching up on things. Playing with my new 4 Gig iPhone and getting things working has taken a little bit of time. In the process of doing that, I saw that there was an update to iTunes for PC (I'm on Vista Ultimate) for version 7.3.1.3 and I ran…
Read more →June 19, 2007
Family Tech: Easily manage what sites your kids see with Glubble
Finally I have come across something to write about that truly talks to my site motto "where technology and fatherhood collide." It is not very often that I can write about a new service or piece of software that can help a family. Computers are now as common as TVs and now kids have computers in their rooms, at schools,…
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June 14, 2007
PC: Nice blogging software from Microsoft – Windows Live Writer
I'm writing this using Microsoft's latest beta of their blogging software called "Windows Live Writer". There are lots of ways to do blog posts out there, from using the built-in blogging tools, to using Word 2007, to using programs like Ecto. All have advantages and disadvantages, unique and common features. Now I will add Windows Live Writer into the mix.…
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June 13, 2007
Mac: Launch applications quickly with “Namely”
I'm sure that many of you have already heard of QuickSilver which is one of the most powerful, free, "finder-replacement" tools out there. QS is simply amazing in letting you quickly launch programs, execute tasks, find documents...all with keyboard commands. No need to dig through hundreds upon hundreds of folders and applications to find something, just hit the hotkey and…
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June 11, 2007
Fix-it: How to remove a document stuck in your Printer Queue
Recently when I was setting up a client's computer with Windows Printer Sharing, I ran into an issue where a document was stuck in the print queue and was brining the system down to a crawl. First I tried deleting the document from the queue the "traditional" way by opening "Printers and Faxes" and launching the stuck printer and right-clicking…
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