Ongoing Roundup of Macworld 2009 News, Products, Links, etc.
I will be at (or currently am at) Macworld 2009 this week. As you can see, they have been waiting for me (GRIN – see picture below). I'm hoping to ...
Fix It: Opening Control Panel Crashes Windows Explorer on XP/Vista
Have you ever tried to open your Control Panel on Windows XP (or Vista) and every time that you attempted it, you received a “Windows Explorer has Stopped Working” message ...
How to Promote Teamwork Among Siblings
The holiday season is upon us and let's face it, my kids have lost their minds. Just like the sun's gravity, they are being pulled closer and closer to extreme ...
HighTechDad Interview on GoGrid Cloud Servers
When I was at GigaOM’s Structure ‘08 conference last month, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Daniel Brusilovsky. For those of you who have never heard of Daniel, he is a 15-year-old who is making waves within his TeensinTech.com movement. He also runs a site called Apple Universe Podcast where he has been doing video and audio podcasts for several years. His Teens In Tech company of which he is the CEO and has Robert Scoble and Loic Le Meur on his board, is striving to enable teens to become more involved in podcasting, blogging and social media. He’s definitely a young mover and shaker and one to watch.
Daniel and I spent some time talking at Structure 08 about GoGrid, a Cloud Computing offering that is getting a lot of press and notoriety lately as being an alternative for Amazon’s EC2 and other Cloud Computing providers. (I’m the Technology Evangelist for GoGrid and manage the GoGrid blog and ServePath blog. I’m also the organizer of StartUp SF, a San Francisco Meetup which provides information, tips and tricks on how startups can launch and become successful.) Those of you who are interested in trying GoGrid, click through this link and you will receive $100 off your first GoGrid Cloud Server.
TechDad on the Road
I have always wanted a personalized license plate ever since I was a child. I begged my parents to get one when I was a kid. That didn’t work. So this year I decided to take the plunge. It was a lot less expensive than I would have thought and I basically got it for myself for Father’s Day, with my daughters’ approval, of course (they were pretty excited). Now I can check that item off of my to-do list.
10 iPhone Tricks that you might not know
I have had an iPhone for over a year now and I must say that it is a great device. Today I’m posting some tips (in no particular order) of things that I have found useful and helpful. Also, I’m (trying) to post this article using the new WordPress application that is now available in the iTunes store (having some parse issues with it though).
Note that some of these tips might not work in the older version (1.x) of the iPhone software.
Social Messaging Communicators: Ping.fm versus HelloTxt.com
While Twitter seems to be ruling the airwaves of Social Messaging Platforms, there are plenty of other services that do just as well (or better) at keeping in touch with or sending messages and status updates to your friends, colleagues and family. These services can be broken out into different segments: services that just provide status updates and ones that are considered micro-blogging. There are nuances and slight distinctions between the two but it seems like they have been blending more and more. For example, on Facebook, Plaxo, MySpace, you can post a status update and also post other messages using other components (more micro-blogging). With LinkedIn, you are limited to simple status updates (that will probably change soon). And with other more social networking tools like:
“Daddy Spa” - Quality Floor-time for Girls and their Dads
My world is ruled by women! I have a lovely wife and 3 wonderful girls. So, how does one spend quality floor time with girls? I can’t say that I dress up as a princess (even if my girls would want it I don’t think I would fit in a yellow Belle dress). What is “floor time”? Basically it is a time that you spend with your child where you are truly down at their level, on the floor doing activities that they want to do. This is where you don’t structure the interaction with them and truly let them lead. It can become a bit chaotic at times and be prepared to do anything and leave a wake of disaster (e.g., destroyed rooms, for example).
While I wouldn’t trade my girls for ANYTHING in the world, sometimes it’s hard for a dad to find ways to interact and connect with his girls. So what did I do? I invented the “Daddy Spa” and don’t regret it the least! Let’s face it, girls love dressing up, putting on make-up and generally taking care of “people,” whether they be dolls or Webkinz or just each other. My girls are no different. I just integrated “Dad” into the mix.
Quick Roundup of iPhone JailBreak & Unlockers
Just a quick post here. Last weekend as I was installing a 3rd party app, I managed to freeze my iPhone. I could only restart the iPhone but it would freeze at the Apple logo upon each restart. So, since it had been a while since I had Jailbroken my phone, I had to find the latest and greatest iPhone Jailbreakers and Unlockers (I only Jailbreak).
With iPhone 2.0 just around the corner, some people may not be ready to jump ship and lose all of their 3rd party apps. Or, if you are thinking about selling your iPhone on eBay or something, you would want to set it back to a “reconditioned” status. Also, Jailbroken and Unlocked iPhone seem to be fetching a higher value in sales. So, if you want to stick around in the 1.1.x realm or if you want to prep your iPhone for sale, here are some apps that I found and used. Some worked better than others.
Children Should Not Be Allowed to get Sick!
All kids get sick. Colds and flu’s are just part of a child’s process of building immunities for their future health. When a child is sick, it is not a fun experience for either the child or the parent. But it is part of life. It’s when an illness becomes a child’s life that is the most devastating. It is truly not fair.
I have been blessed with healthy children. Sure, I have one child with severe peanut allergies but that sort of thing is manageable through education, awareness, and training. My wife and I are always in a state of constant alert when our child goes to birthday parties, camps and schools. How do you avoid the staple that makes up a majority of kids’ daily menus…the peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Trust me, it’s not easy. But this post is not about allergies but rather about something much more serious.
