After two days of trying, I finally figured out how to run the Treo 650 1.17 Update for Cingular Wireless on my Treo 650. I still have to repeat the process on Kathleen's Treo 650 before my upgrading is done. Here are a couple of things that would have really helped me streamline this process:

1. You need to have your IMEI and Serial Number recorded before you can download SplashShopper from Palm's website. I think it's best to shut your Treo 650 off, remove the battery, and write these numbers down at the beginning of the update process rather than the end.
2. Use the "hard reset" upgrade method from previous Treo updates. I tried to follow the instructions provided by Palm to update my Treo and this failed repeatedly. In retrospect, I probably had too little free memory or too many third party applications installed during the upgrade. The easiest way to do the upgrade is to:
   1. Hotsync your Treo in its normal configuration to your regular user profile.
   2. Perform a hard reset and re-hotsync the Treo in a new, blank user profile as suggested in the Treo 650 Updater 1.13 instructions.
   3. Run the appropriate Treo 650 Updater for your Cingular software version, following the included instructions.
   4. Once the update is successfully completed, perform another hard reset and re-hotsync the Treo to your original user profile.
3. The URL for downloading SplashShopper is only displayed at the end of the installation process. You won't want to repeat the installation even if you can get it to run through to conclusion twice. For the record, the URL is http://web.palm.com/support/cingular_treo650.

The Cingular 1.17 is out! thread on TreoCentral was very helpful in crafting this strategy, although I had to wade through a lot of meaningless posts.

Hopefully some Treo 650 users haven't done this update yet and will benefit from my experience.

Technorati Tags: Treo 650, Cingular, Treo 650 firmware updates

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I picked up my Trek 1500 a week ago and so far I've ridden it 71.2 miles (115 km). That's a lot of riding when you consider that I live in the Northeastern United States and it's the last week of December.

I love the way the Trek 1500 rides. It's a lot easier to get moving than any other bike I've ridden. It's also very maneuverable and feels rock solid underneath me. It's hard to believe I'm riding 700x25 tires.

I rode 48.3 miles in the last two days on two of my favorite routes: the 23-mile Newtown-New Hope Route that I spoke about in an article about pre-Tour of Hope training back in October and The East Windsor-Millstone Route that I used to prepare for the 2004 Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. These are great routes but they are hard to ride in windy conditions, and it's been pretty windy around here in the last few days.

I've been looking for noticeable time differences between the rides on the Trek 1500 and rides over the same routes on my Marin Bear Valley SE. I haven't seen anything significant so far. There are probably two reasons for this:

1. I haven't been riding much since the ice hockey regular season started. I've officiated 58 games since Labor Day and I haven't ridden much as a result. (I think my officiating last season also complemented my cycling more than it has this year, mainly because the role of referee requires more endurance and continuous motion than does my current role as an assistant referee / linesman.)
2. I hardly ever ride in such windy conditions during the main cycling season. On December 27, I experienced northwest winds of 22 miles per hour with gusts up to 30. Yesterday there was less wind: it was from the south at 13 miles per hour with gusts up to 16.

Right before Christmas I got a call from Cecil Ledesma, my friend who rode with me in the 2004 Tour of Hope. He wanted to know how I felt about riding the Trek 1500 and at the time, I had only ridden about 7 miles on it. Now that I've ridden over 70, I think that this bike is fantastic. It will help me to get to the next level in terms of my cycling training.

I'm planning to go back to Jay's Cycles next week for a more exact bike fitting. I also want to make sure that the bike is properly adjusted, particularly in terms of the brakes, shifters, and derailleurs.

Technorati Tags: Trek 1500, road bike, Tour of Hope, cycling, Trek, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday, Cool Tools highlighted an inexpensive electric power usage meter called Kill-A-Watt. This product, which costs less than $30 at Amazon.com, has the potential to save you hundreds of dollars a year if you identify appliances and other devices with higher than necessary electrical usage, limit their usage, and eventually replace them.

At my house, we have an old Gibson Frost Clear Refrigerator / Freezer. This looks like a potential power hog to me, but who knows? Any appliance that comes from an Energy Star-rated product group, but isn't Energy Star-rated itself is a potential source of significant savings.

We also run a number of computers on a 24/7 basis here at The Home Office. How much are we spending to keep them running annually? I have no idea, but with a Kill-A-Watt power usage meter, I will soon find out.

Technorati Tags: Kill-A-Watt, electricity use

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This Chistmas, my father and my sister-in-law both received digital cameras as gifts. My father got a 5-Megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5600 and my sister-in-law got the 4-Megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4600. This was an interesting coincidence, because the cameras were purchased independently by different people.

In my sister-in-law Mary's case, she received the camera and a set of four rechargeable AA-sized batteries, but didn't receive a memory card on which to store photos. This means that she has plenty of power available to shoot photos but can only store between 10 and 15 shots in the Coolpix 4600's internal memory before having to upload the photos to her PC. The question then became which memory card should be purchased for this camera?

I shot about 150 photos on my Canon PowerShot A95 on Christmas Eve and didn't fill up a 256-Megabyte memory card, so I recommend that people buy memory cards for their digital cameras that have capacities of 256 Megabytes or higher.

I looked at the cost of SD memory cards at Amazon.com and I was surprised to find that you can get a 512-Megabyte SD Card for less than $35 including shipping. Look for the Kingston 512 MB Secure Digital Card for that deal. In my opinion, if you are willing to buy a memory card from an on-line retailer like Amazon.com and you're not in the market for anything else at the moment, you need to try to buy one that costs a bit more than $25 to take advantage of the Free SuperSaver Shipping offer. Most of the 256-Megabyte SD memory cards I saw at Amazon.com fall just above or below the $25 minimum order threshold.

I also want to point out that most of the digital cameras currently being marketed by Canon, Kodak, and Casio generally take SD card memory. Fujifilm cameras take xD memory cards instead.

Technorati Tags: digital cameras, Nikon Coolpix 5600, Nikon Coolpix 4600, Secure Digital Memory Card, xD Memory Card, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

What a week this has been around the Home Office! I thought that having Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah fall on a Sunday (and on the same day) would have made things easier for everyone, but if my experience is typical, the schedule was a bit harder than it has been in other years.

I guess I brought some of this on myself. Christmas Eve was sunny and an unusually warm 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celcius). How could I pass up the opportunity for a half hour ride on my new Trek 1500? I haven't had time to write a review, but Kathleen's verdict is in. After a ride down the driveway she said, "Oh it's so smooth!"

Fourteen people spent the evening in our living room in Newtown, PA last night. The Christmas Eve get-together for our families has become a tradition since Kathleen and I got married. This year there were two regular digital cameras and a Nokia N90 in use, so we almost ought to start our own Flickr Photo Pool. Maybe I'll have time to post a few photos of the festivities tomorrow, but we're at another family party today-- there won't be time now.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all Operation Gadget readers and to my friends and family. Now that we've done most of our gving to others, I hope you all get something you really want from someone special.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I just received an email from Paul Terry Walhus pointing out that "Chasing Lance: The Fan's Story" will debut on the Travel Channel on Thursday, December 22 at 8pm Eastern Time. This is a film that documented the trip that five Lance Armstrong fans took to the 2005 Tour de France. The Chasing Lance program description on the Travel Channel website says:

Join five Americans on an emotion packed thrill ride as they chase the Tour all around France supporting their hero in his seventh and final ride. These are true fanatics who do far more than vacation, they redefine what it means to be a true Fan.

I'm planning to TiVo it in case I'm not home.

"Chasing Lance" will be followed by a second Tour de France-related program: Lance's France: the Traveler's Guide. I haven't heard anything about this program, so it may contain content we've already seen in other forms, but it still may be worth checking out. Both programs repeat beginning at 11pm Eastern Time.

Technorati Tags: Lance Armstrong, Chasing Lance, Tour de France

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Trek 1500 Road Bike: Members of my
family contributed to a fund so I could
get this bike for a combined birthday
and Christmas gift. [ Photo: Trek Bicycle
Corporation ]

One reason that you haven't heard much from me in the last few days is that I've been shopping for a new road bike to ride in the 2006 cycling season. If you've read Operation Gadget for a while, you probably know that I like to participate in endurance cycling events and occasional duathlons, and I trained extensively for the 2005 Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Washington DC Fundraising Ride.

As the events I've trained for involve more mileage, it's become increasingly clear that I needed to switch from a mountain bike to a road bike. My wife Kathleen decided that this year was the best opportunity we would have for some time to get a good road bike for me, so she told my friends and family that she was starting Dave's Road Bike Fund and invited them to contribute to it for my birthday and Christmas.

I didn't know anything about this, so I was loading up my wishlist at Amazon.com with a Video iPod and accessories for it.

When the surprise was sprung on me three weeks ago, my initial reaction was: Oh boy, now I can get an iPod and a road bike. Reality set in when I looked at how much money I would need to buy both without making significant compromises in iPod capacity or road bike performance.

I decided to buy a Trek 1500, the top-of-the line model in their Alpha Aluminum line. The suggested retail price of this bike is $1150 and I paid somewhat less than that at the dealer I chose, Jay's Cycles in Princeton, NJ. Trek makes a lot more expensive bikes, but, I felt that the 1500 was a good combination of price and performance for someone making the transition from mountain to road biking at my skill and training level.

I also want to say that my decision to purchase a Trek was heavily influenced by my experience covering the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team during 2005. My friend Bruce Turner from AMD put me in touch with some people at Trek like Michael Sagan who really believe in the products they make. I was able to learn a bit about Trek's design approach for pro-caliber bikes, embodied in the F-One partnership with other Discovery Team sponsors, and how that's improved Trek's bikes that I can afford. I felt that the 1500 was the right bike for me at this point in my life-- the full carbon fiber bikes will have to wait.

I'm planning to pick up my new bike tomorrow and I hope to be able to post some up-close photos of it within a few days. I rode it for about 10 minutes before I bought it, but I'm hoping for good weather, strong sun, and light winds one day before Christmas so I can get a longer ride in and post an article about the experience.

Technorati Tags: Trek 1500, Video iPod, road bike, Tour of Hope, cycling, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, Trek, AMD, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

Last Saturday, Scott Shalom, Bill Maurer, and I officiated a men's college ice hockey game between Drexel University and Villanova University in Philadelphia. I thought it would be interesting to see how Nokia N90 video clips of a hockey game would turn out, so I lent the camera phone to my friend Shane Hanlon who was at the game to evaluate our on-ice performance.

Before the game began, I gave Shane a 90-second explanation of how to shoot video with the N90. I showed him how to open the camera so it went into video camera mode, how to start and stop recording, and how to zoom in and out using the Carl Zeiss Optics Tessar 2.95/5.5 lens. Shane gave the N90 back to me with three video clips of the game on it. I decided to publish two of them as-is. I'm not publishing the third clip because it's very short and doesn't really show anything. It's pretty clear that Shane was just getting used to the camera at that point.

When you look at these two video clips, you'll probably ask, "Why is the camera focusing on the officials and not the play?" It's because Shane is there to watch the officials. He spent a lot more of his time taking notes than playing with the N90.

Drexel vs Villanova, December 10, 2005, 1 minute 09 seconds.

The point I'm trying to make by publishing these clips, however, is that the Nokia N90 is very easy to use and does a surprisingly good job of capturing the action in one of the fastest sports commonly played in the Northern Hemisphere. The lighting conditions inside the Class of '23 Ice Arena at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadephia are not very good, yet you can easily see the action and identify individual players and officials on the ice.

Drexel vs Villanova, December 10, 2005, 3 minutes 24 seconds.

Remember, these videos were shot with a palm-sized Nokia N90 mobile phone, not some dedicated video camera. These video clips are displayed at 246 x 210 pixel resolution here on Operation Gadget, but they are recorded at 352 x 288, so the image you see when playing the video directly off your PC with a media player is approximately twice this size.

Technorati Tags: Nokia N90, N-Series, Nokia, N90, hockey

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times published an article by David Pogue called Digital Photos Even a Miser Can Enjoy. In it Pogue and a group of 20 friends rated the images produced by 12 cameras priced at under $300. According to the article:

The {Canon Powershot} A610's photos were top ranked in an astonishing 12 out of 20 tests; this camera just takes fantastic pictures in almost every situation. Not bad for $250, especially considering you also get a 4X zoom and a flip-out rotating 2-inch screen - great for shooting over people's heads, or down low for baby shots.

On the other hand, the A610 is the biggest, ugliest camera here. Canon seems to be forcing the issue: Do you want good-looking pictures, or a good-looking camera?

I have a Canon Powershot A95 which is quite similar in size to the A610. I honestly think calling the A610 the "biggest, ugliest camera" is a bit excessive. It's only considered big because the fashion in digital cameras is as small as possible. I'd say a camera was big if it didn't fit in my coat pocket. Every Canon Powershot A-Series camera I've ever seen fits in my coat pocket.

I've always preferred photo quality and performance over style, so my preferences from their group of cameras they evaluated are:

1. Canon Powershot A610
2. Fujifilm Finepix F10,
3. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2,
4. Kodak EasyShare v530,
5. Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z57,
6. Nikon Coolpix S1,
7. Olympus Stylus 600,
8. HP Photosmart R817,
9. Konica Minolta Dimage X1, and
10. Pentax Optio S6

Technorati Tags: digital cameras, Canon Powershot A610, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since Operation Gadget has a strong relationship with Amazon.com, I think it's important to point out that today is the last day for Free Super Saver Shipping for Amazon.com. According to Amazon.com's Holiday Order Deadlines for U.S. Shipments, if you place your order by today for items from Amazon.com that are marked Usually ships in 24 hours, delivery before Christmas and the First Day of Hanukkah is guaranteed.

If you place an order with Amazon.com today, read the shipment options page carefully. An order that I placed last night said that I would receive all of the items that I ordered by December 23.

There are other shipping options for products ordered after today, so fear not.

Technorati Tags: Amazon.com, Super Saver Shipping, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Associated Press reports that Howard Stern bid his terrestrial audience fairwell today and encouraged them to tune in to him on Sirius Satellite Radio on January 9, 2006. According to the article, Stern began his show by saying, "Good morning, and welcome to the last show on terrestrial radio," while the sound of "Taps" played in the background. HowardStern.com has a countdown to the day when there is "no more FCC, no more boss, no more interference...."

Whether you like The Howard Stern Show or not, you have to have a certain admiration for Stern's willingness to walk away from one of the most popular syndicated radio programs in the United States. He will attempt to recreate it in the context of a subscription service.

I'm wondering if lifting the speech and content restrictions that have been the bane of Howard Stern's existence since at least 1995 will be entirely positive for the show and its audience. There will have to be limits, but what will they be? I guess you'll have to tune in on January 9 to find out.

But, before you do, you'll need a Sirius-compatible radio. So check out a few options:

• SIRIUS Sportster Replay Plug-and-Play Satellite Radio, 6-line LCD display, 44-minute memory buffer
• JVC KT-SR2000 Plug 'n' Play Sirius Satellite Radio Receiver, smaller and less expensive than the Sportster
• Sirius S50 Satellite Radio Receiver System Pack, 50-hour recording capability, MP3 capability, built-in FM transmitter

Technorati Tags: Howard Stern, Sirius, Sirius Sportster, JVC KT-SR2000, Sirius S50, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Poplife Media, the company that brought you Popgadget (the personal technology site for women), has just rolled out Babygadget. Babygadget is a blog about gadgets that mainly appeal to a baby's parents, not necessarily to the baby him or herself.

White Hot Infant Feeding Spoons are a good example of the kind of technology that Babygadget will be talking about. From the sound of the description, these are a great idea:

... Munchkin's White Hot feeding spoons have a heat-sensitive tip that turns white if the food is too hot for a baby's sensitive mouth. They also have suction-cup bottoms so the spoon can stay upright, and not touch potentially unsanitary surfaces.

I've heard stories about how my sister and brother-in-law sample my niece Emma's baby food to ensure that it's OK to eat sometimes. At this point in my life, I'm interested in technology solutions that allow me to avoid doing that, at least with pureed meats and vegetables. I guess I'd be OK with apple sauce once in a while.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A friend of mine told me that Rush Limbaugh has been raving about the Sony Cybershot DSC-N1 digital camera. Apparently, he got one from a national sponsor that is a computer retailer, and he was struck by the high resolution and the 3-inch touch-sensitive screen on the back of the camera.

I did some research into the camera and found that it has a pretty unique design. The DSC-N1 is supposed to be both a digital camera and a portable photo viewer. In spite of the small size, the Cybershot N1 can shoot an 8.1-Megapixel image that's optically zoomed up to 3x. It's also designed to allow you to organize your photos into albums so you can play slide shows of your recent photos. To me this means that it's unlikely that a DSC-N1 user would also have a Video iPod, but I doubt that most DSC-N1 or Video iPod users would push the limits of either machine for storing and showing off photos.

The DSC-N1 has very few controls other than the touch screen. This is probably a good thing in the minds of people who like to take their camera out of a pocket and snap a picture immediately. It would take getting used to for a lot of veteran camera users. On the other hand, on-screen menu navigation can be quick once you get used to it, thanks to the large screen and absence of buttons. The N1 also comes with on-board photo editing tools, including tools for simple line drawing and cartooning. So, the Cybershot DSC-N1 actually has more UI features than could easily be represented in physical switches and dials.

Another potential issue I see with the DSC-N1 is that it requires Memory Stick Pro add-on memory, such as the 1-Gigabyte Memory Stick Pro. The price of this memory has come down a lot, but it's still more expensive than widely-used SD cards.

More good information about the Sony Cybershot DSC-N1 is available on The Digital Photography Blog.

Technorati Tags: digital cameras, Sony Cybershot DSC-N1, Video iPod, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night Kathleen and I were watching something we had saved on our TiVo when I saw an ad for the Strait-Line Laser Level X3. The ad was interesting enough for me to stop fast forwarding and re-watch in real time.

I did some research this morning and I think the Strait-Line X3 gives a home handyman a little more control over the level lines than many other laser levelling tools. The features that stood out for me are:

• three-axis control with bubble vials for one or two-wall leveling
• Micro-Adjust knob to help get the line to the exact height needed
• 3M Command Strips for clean mounting on walls without damage

Compare the Laser Level X3 to similar products like the Black & Decker Bullseye Crosshair Laser Level and I think you'll see the difference in features.

Technorati Tags: Strait-Line Laser Level X3, home handyman tools, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently received a Nokia N90 mobile phone as part of the Nokia N90 Blogger Relations Program. I haven't had much of an opportunity to use or write about the N90 since I received it. What better way to introduce it to Operation Gadget readers than to show off it's biggest feature-- digital video recording-- than by bringing it along while I clear the driveway of snow after the first major snowfall of the year in Newtown?

Shot 12/09/2005 at 10:09 am

Ten minutes later, my neighbor Frank arrives with an 8-horsepower two-stage snowthrower to help me clear the driveway.

Shot 12/09/2005 at 10:19 am

After the snowthrower came through, it took me about 15 minutes to clear off my cars and shovel the parts of the driveway that the snowthrower couldn't reach.

In this video clip, I demonstrate features of the N90 that allow me to do a bit of on-the-scene reporting: the rotating camera lens-- a Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.95/5.5 Autofocus 2 Megapixel that can be used to capture a 352 x 288 pixel movie at 30 frames per second. That resolution and frame rate is said to be fairly close to VHS-quality. This clip also demonstrates the quality of the built-in microphone. I'm narrating in real time here.

I've done no editing to these clips. What you see is what came out of the N90.

Shot 12/09/2005 at 10:49 am

In order to post these video clips, I signed up for a trial of a service called Audioblog.com. Audioblog.com began life as an audio clip hosting service for blogs and has evolved into a podcasting and video hosting service. Hopefully it will make publishing video clips from the N90 a piece of cake.

Thanks to Jonathan Greene of atmaspheric | endeavors who gave me the idea to use Audioblog.com for hosting my video clips and Ross Mayfield who published a nice summary of Nokia N90 features which helped me fill in some facts about the N90 that I left out of my video clip narration.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

We have a number of people who like math in our family, so Kathleen and I were pleased to discover Sudoku last week when we were shopping for Christmas gifts. Wikipedia says that Sudoku is a Japanese logic-based numeric placement puzzle which reportedly became popular in 1985 but only broke out to the rest of the world recently. According to the article:

The aim of the canonical puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"). Each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral.

The game we bought Sudoku - The Utterly Addictive Number Puzzle Game is apparently so popular that Amazon.com is having trouble keeping it in stock. Here are a few other options for people who are trying to find Sudoku to give as a gift for the holidays:

• Board Games
  • SuDoku Sensations
  • The Original SuDoku with Wood Playing Pieces
• Electronic Games
  • Handheld Sudoku
  • Play at Joe's Sudoku Challenge
  • Sudoku Puzzle Addict
• Books
  • The Official Book of Sudoku: Book 1
  • Sudoku Easy Presented by Will Shortz, Volume 1
  • Sudoku Easy to Hard Presented by Will Shortz, Volume 2

Even more Sudoku options can be found at Amazon.com by searching for Sudoku.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku, Sudoku electronic games, Sudoku books, Sudoku games, Sudoku software, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My father-in-law has gotten back into LPs lately after the family got him a stereo with an integrated turntable. When he got it, the thought crossed my mind that someone who has a big vinyl collection and liked the sound would have all kinds of trouble ripping those tracks to their iPod. Ubergizmo reported yesterday on what sounds like a good solution. The Ion iTTUSB Turntable with USB Record works with USB-enabled PCs running Windows 98, 2000, or XP or Apple Macintosh computers running MacOS 9 or greater. No special USB drivers are required.

The iTTUSB Turntable works with 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records. It has adjustable anti-skating controls, line level RCA outputs, and pitch control for up to 8 percent.

The turntable comes with Audacity, a free, cross-platform sound editor that is often used by podcasters, as well as a trial copy of BIAS SoundSoap 2 which is a similar commercial product.

Update: On December 13, 2006, I decided to recommend the TEAC LP-to-CD Recorder Stereo System (also known as the TEAC GF-350 Turntable / CD-Recorder) instead of the iTTUSB Turntable. The reason is that the Audacity software that ships with the iTTUSB at this time is too complex for many PC users tastes. People who are not expert-level software users should consider the LP-to-CD Recorder Stereo System instead. Read the full article for a more detailed explanation.

Technorati Tags: Ion iTTUSB Turntable, iPod, Audacity, BIAS SoundSoap, LPs, 45s, USB peripherals

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cingular BroadbandConnect HSDPA
3G Service is rolling out in 16 U.S. metro
areas. [ Image: Cingular Wireless ]

Cingular Wireless announced yesterday that it launched BroadbandConnect, a third-generation high speed wireless data network using HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. According to the Cingular 3G Network Press Release:

Cingular BroadbandConnect is a super-charged enhancement to the company’s nationwide EDGE network, the nation’s largest wireless high-speed data network. When coupled with a compatible device and service plan, the service provides average mobile data connections between 400-700Kbps (kilobits per second) on the downlink and bursts to more than a megabit per second.

Cingular is offering unlimited 3G data service for $59.99 per month with a qualifying voice plan.

BroadbandConnect is deployed initially in the following metropolitan areas:

• Austin
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Houston
• Las Vegas
• Phoenix
• Portland, OR
• Salt Lake City
• San Diego
• San Francisco / San Jose
• Seattle / Tacoma
• Washington D.C.

Unfortunately New York and Philadelphia didn't make it in the first round, so I won't be able to use my Nokia N90 to test it immediately.

Technorati Tags: Cingular, Broadband Connect, 3G, HSDPA, Nokia N90

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I4U.com reported yesterday that Vodaphone is offering a global mobile TV service including content from HBO and Eurosport. Vodaphone's press release specifies the following programming:

• "Sex and the City" and "Six Feet Under" from HBO
• Eurosport
• MTV
• Specially edited for mobile, Seasons 1-4 of "24", featuring Kiefer Sutherland, from Twentieth Century Fox Television
• UEFA Champions League (European soccer)
• Discovery

I recently received a Nokia N90 mobile phone for review purposes. It supports 3G mobile service, to which I don't have access because Cingular has not yet rolled out 3G in my area. If I had 3G service, I'd love to try what Vodaphone is offering and I think the N90 would be a great device on which to try it.

Technorati Tags: Vodaphone, Vodaphone Live!, 3G, Sex and The City, Six Feet Under, HBO, Eurosport, MTV, 24, UEFA Champions League, Discovery Channel

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Canon Powershot SD200, on clearance at Amazon.com, is currently the number one product on the Amazon.com Camera & Photo Top Sellers List. This compact, 3.2-megapixel camera with 3x Optical Zoom is a very good choice for people who have never had a digital camera before. The SD200 has a sleek design that attracts attention whenever you pull it out of your pocket. It has enough resolution to produce very good 5x7-inch prints, it has plenty of automatic functions that can make a newcomer to digital photography look like a pro. The Powershot SD200 also uses Secure Digital memory cards which have fallen substantially in price recently and are faster than Compact Flash memory.

Canon digital cameras are occupying all of the top 5 spots on the Camera & Photo Top Sellers List at the moment. The models on the list are:

1. Canon Powershot SD200, 3.2-Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom, great deal
2. Canon Powershot A520, 4-Megapixel, 4x Optical Zoom, slightly larger and more expensive than the SD200
3. Canon Powershot SD450, 5-Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom, similar in size to the SD200
4. Canon Powershot SD400, 5-Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom, slightly less expensive than the SD450
5. Canon PowerShot A510, 3.2-Megapixel, 4x Optical Zoom, really inexpensive

I have a Canon Powershot A95 which I bought about a year ago. It's just a terrific camera for the money, and it's successors in the Powershot A-Series are even better. The Powershot SD-Series are terrific cameras as well. While not the smallest digital cameras on the market today, they combine small size with excellent photo composition and great ease-of-use.

It's amazing how inexpensive digital cameras have gotten. Now is a great time to be in the market.

Technorati Tags: digital cameras, Canon Powershot SD200, Canon Powershot A520, Canon Powershot SD450, Canon Powershot SD400, Canon PowerShot A510, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My wife and I saw the Black & Decker Storm Station advertised on TV last night, and thought it looked like a good thing to have at home in case of an emergency. I did some research on the product and learned it includes:

• a detachable and rechargeable flashlight
• a built-in room light that illuminates the immediate area
• a 25 Watt Power Source to operate low wattage devices
• a multi-band radio that receives AM, FM, TV audio and Weather-Band Radio
• a built-in locator light that automatically turns on when the power goes out

Kathleen and I have two APC uninterruptible power supplies in our house, so we can always shut our computers down and use them to power our mobile phone chargers, telephones, and other electronic devices that we would need in an emergency The Black & Decker Storm Station would be a great thing to buy for the house if you didn't have a UPS. It's a lot cheaper as well, and if you keep its accessories together, it's better organized than our ad hoc solution.

Technorati Tags: Black & Decker, Storm Station, emergency preparedness, disaster preparedness

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

USA Today ran a great story on the production of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" which will air tonight on ABC at 8:00pm Eastern Time. According to the article:

When CBS bigwigs saw a rough cut of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in November 1965, they hated it.... There were concerns that the show was almost defiantly different: There was no laugh track, real children provided the voices, and there was a swinging score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi.

The article goes on to point out that the elephant in the room was really the overt religious references. Bill Mendelson, the show's animator is reported to have said, "We told Schulz, 'Look, you can't read from the Bible on network television.'" In the end, however, the character Linus Van Pelt read from The Gospel according to Luke.

This is one of my favorite half hours of television of the entire year. I've always found something new and interesting in A Charlie Brown Christmas whenever I've watched it. I never really considered the historical significance of Linus' soliliquy, but now that I think about it, that's another reason why I enjoy the program.

I think America is a religious nation at it's core, and all of our religious traditions should have a place in our culture. So, I'm a supporter of A Charlie Brown Christmas, Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, and everything in between. If not for A Charlie Brown Christmas, lots of these other holiday specials would never have been produced.

Technorati Tags: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas DVDs, Hanukkah DVDs, Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Marketwatch.com reports that NBC Universal will make 300 episodes of 16 TV programs available via iTunes. NBC Universal and Apple said that certain content from NBC, USA Network, and the Sci-Fi Channel will be available for $1.99 per episode. Shows that are involved in this deal include:

• Law & Order
• The Office
• Surface
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Late Night with Conan O'Brian
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents
• Dragnet
• Adam-12
• Knight Rider

It's interesting that NBC has included a vintage show from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s to its iTunes video distribution deal. Look for more appeals to vintage TV fans in the future.

Technorati Tags: Video iPod, NBC, Universal Television

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the hottest stories I've ever written for Operation Gadget is What Alternatives to Garage Band Exist on Windows?. I originally wrote this article in March 2004 and I've updated it at least three times because of feedback from our readers.

I just added a professional level audio editing tools discussion to this article where I discuss:

• Adobe Audition 1.5
• Sony Soundforge 8 and
• Steinberg Wavelab 6

I like Adobe Audition best of the three because of it's integration with other Adobe tools and the wealth of third party documentation and training materials. Check out the full discussion and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Garage Band, podcasting, Windows audio software, Adobe Audition, Sony Sound Forge, Steinberg Wavelab

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Belkin Kickstand Case for 5G iPod is
available in black or white. [ Photo: Belkin
Corporation ]

I just noticed that Belkin has shipped the Kickstand Case for 5G iPod. It's a really innovative design that doubles as a Video iPod case and a stand. You simply flip the upper half of the leather case down and it will prop up the Video iPod so you can have a hands-free viewing experience. Why didn't I think of that?

Belkin makes it in black and white, although it may be tough to get either one before Christmas and Hanukkah. Good luck finding it-- it's not even available at Amazon.com yet.

When I visited the Apple Store in King of Prussia on Sunday I didn't see a case that I would buy for my own new Video iPod. I think the Belkin Kickstand Case is the case I'd buy if I had to buy one today. [ Kudos to PopGadget for scooping the gadget blogosphere again. ]

Technorati Tags: Video iPod, iPod, iPod accessories, Belkin Kickstand Case,