So I really enjoy the sport of running it always seems to clear my mind so when geek mixes with running, I’m one happy man. Not so recently Nike released the Nike+ system with some of their shoes and I haven’t quite tried it all out till now. So just a month ago I picked up some new running shoes and they were Nike+ compatible I was way excited I had finally been able to get my hands on this system I had been drooling over for a while.
Basically Nike+ is a way to track how far your running how many calories you’ve burned and any overall improvement you have over time. By sticking a small chip in your shoe you can receive the data while running with a watch that Nike sells or simply by jogging with your Ipod while listening to music, that is what I did. Apple has loaded into the newer generation Ipods the nike plus program that gathers the data recorded by the chip which is activated by movement so it doesn’t hog loads of battery. Then after running you sync your Ipod or watch with the computer and it is loaded up to Nike’s website where they organize it nice and pretty for you record you distance ever ran and your best run times. It’s a handy way to keep it all in one spot and you don’t hardly have to do any work just push play then when your done plug it into the computer.
I personally have loved having my new shoes that are Nike+ compatible I would recommend it to those people who don’t wanna spend oodles of money for other equipment that is even more expensive and honestly only marginally more convenient. If you don’t have a pair of nike+ shoes you can take buy the chip and a case to put the chip on your shoelace then off you go in your favorite pair of running shoes, it’s not quite as pretty as sticking the chip in your shoe but just as useful.
Ill wrap it up and just say if you have been looking for a way to keep track of runs and even to motivate yourself this really can be a great tool.
If you would like to know more visit nikerunning
So after two phone calls with customer support, their application that generates shipping labels doesn’t seem to work properly so I get wait 4 business days for them to ship me one. Don’t worry I won’t hold my breathe, on a side note I am seriously contemplating the purchase of a new XBox, due to the fact the 20GB hard drive seems awefully small since the update of the software to allow you to copy your games to the hard drive for faster playback. Microsoft announce a new pack that include a 250GB hard drive, which is the first we have seen one that large, 2 wireless controllers and a game for only 100 bucks more then the Elite which has 120GB.
My opinion if you are in the market for a new XBox 360 make sure to pick up one of these 250GB version, with the new content and loading full games on the console it will be well worth the purchase. I’d hate to see anyone purchase a new XBox with a 20GB hard drive or the arcade version.
Recently I have been listening too a few audiobooks on my iPhone, and after fighting with the software a bit I thought I would throw together a few tips and tricks to converting your CD Audiobooks to your iTunes Library. As I have been working on this project I noticed a few things, first I don’t think iTunes was built with Audiobook importing in mind or even the playback of them, and second the naming of your files is key to keeping them in order. But there are a few tools included in iTunes which should help you out.
Importing Quality
By default iTunes imports in a 256k range which is much to high for spoken word and will create some rather bloated files. Technically you can take the files down to 32k but I wouldn’t suggest it as it makes skipping around in the files rather cumbersome and you can get some pretty distorted intro music to your audiobooks. I generally import at 128k and haven’t had any problems and it makes the file size fairly manageable. To do this click the iTunes drop down and select preferences.
Once preference pane is open select “Import Settings” which should pop up another window in which you select settings drop down and change to either Spoken Podcast or High Quality either of which will give you much smaller files. Now I know there are some audio critics out there who prefer a different codex or think the settings are to high or to low but much is up to debate on how you like to experience your audiobook. My personal preference is to listen to it on my iPhone with a cheap pair of headphones.
In the following days I hope to explain about combining tracks to create a since chapter, the naming for the files and what fields should be filled in, in order to get a nice looking audiobook on your iPhone or any iPod product. and yes this is for a mac but the step should be very similar no matter what version of iTunes you are using.
With the release of Windows 7 pending, I’ve been playing with the release canadites and the beta’s for a while now and I think Windows release is what Vista should have been. I have a few tips I’ve stumbled on and some I found on the web to show off some of 7′s new features.
In previous versions of Windows you always had to find some third party app be it freeware, shareware, or just software that came from the computer manufacturer. More often then not people looked at .iso files and scratched their heads usually calling me to ask how to burn it. Well now windows has included an applet that takes care of it. Just download the .iso file and double click it, and the applet will launch allowing you to insert either a DVD or CD into your optical drive.
I always like to find “cheat” sheets or helpful one page references and recently one was released that I thought I had to share. Over at Deviant Art someone has released an image all on a sheet to identify common computer components, several times I look at a CPU socket and it takes me a minute to figure out if the fan I have will fit. So this was a very helpful find out there for anyone interested.
There are few pieces of software I really recommend to people, one is Firefox, which by the way is getting a major upgrade, and VLC is another. VLC enables you to watch Videos from many different codex and origins, it plays DVD files straight from images files. It works for Mac, PC, and Linux so no matter what your flavor of OS your running most likly it will load right up.
Some basic uses included right after you install windows on a computer and you need to install a light weight app for video playback or a DVD encoder since windows didn’t include that.
Many people have heard the term defrag when it comes to their computer hard drive but what does it actually mean. when you defrag your hard drive your computer moves files on your computer into more logical place and closer together making the drive work less to recall your files, thereby increasing the speed of your computer. Many people wait to do this until someone tells them to or is fixing your computer, I would suggest doing it at least once a month.
Second critial hard drive maintance is free space, many people but your computer uses hard drive space as kind of an overflow from your ram, its a process called paging, if there is nowhere for your computer to wrire temp files back to there hard drive or ram. As a rule of thumb I like to leave 20% free but with the massive size of hard drives coming out this rule is pretty flexable just be aware that if you start filling up space it maybe time to look at external storage.
I know each Dad is different, but I am certain there are many people out there still wondering what do for their Father because fast coming is that Sunday. Here are 4 good ideas since let’s face it, Dad’s are hard to shop for!
1. GPS Unit- These things used to be so expensive, I remember I bought one just over a year ago and though I got a good deal becasue it was under $200. Now look at it and you can get them for$70-$80 for basic functionality. There are really three brands I trust more than all the rest, TomTom, Magellan, and Garmin are all good bets. TomTom is better on the lower end but if you want all the bells and whistles my dad swears by Garmin.
Dad won't have to ask directions anymore!
2. Blu Ray Player- You know that big digital TV he bought to go with the digital transition? Well the best thing to compliment it would be a Blu Ray player that he can see his favorite films in high def!
For awesome movie quality, use Blu Ray!
3. Digital Picture Frame- Here is the item you get that you can update with new pictures whenever you want. He will feel pretty cool putting it on his desk that flashes pictures of his kids and grandkids! These are getting quite reasonable if you are on a tight budget.
Suddenly he will only need one frame on his desk!
4. Swiss Army Knife- You know that knives are always useful to carry around, well what if it would be useful in the technology world when he can carry his documents around with a knife. That is just cool!
For the Dad with everything!
Leave us a comment if you have more good ideas for the Geek Dad!
So this is something I would like to start up this week and every thursday just post a quick tip on taking care of your computer and may tips, such as the one today, can apply to other electronics and consoles.
As many of you have experience PC and things such as game consoles become havens for dust bunnies, the fans used to cool these machines tend to attract dust rather rapidly. Its a no brainer but this build up of dust can slow fans down and inhibit the cooling ability of your devices. By cleaning your computer out regularly you will lengthen the life and save yourself some headaches. I usually try to clean my laptop, desktop, and consoles at least once every 6 months. To clean just take your machine outside and used one of those handy compressed air cans you can pick up at the store for 3 bucks.
The second thing that is more of a personal choice is cleaning your screen, while this won’t necessarily slow your computer down it can become annoying as people feel the need to touch your screen of your computer or TV. You can clean these several different ways but my preferred method is monitor wipes you can pick them up at your local office supplies stores pretty cheap and it doesn’t streak like some of the other products.
Remember if your computer is making a funny airflow noise get it check out quickly, most machines are built with a certain path for cooling and one hiccup in the airflow can cause unnecessary heat build up.
