CEIVA Advances Photo Frame Technology

My boys and I were strolling through Toys R Us yesterday (they had gift cards that were burning holes in their pockets). I dragged them away from thre Star Wars and Lego area so I could look at the electronics department (I’m a techno-geek). I saw some outstanding digitial photo frames on display. I was surprised to see how decorative and stylish they’ve become. Digital photo frames are kind of cool (I don’t have one). Most digital photo frames have some internal memory or require a memory stick (like a USB flash drive) to load photos into the photo frame memory. The photo frame displays the photos on the memory onto an LCD monitor. It’s pretty neat. But you do need to obtain a memory card in some way to transfer the photo data from your photo source to the frame itself. Sometimes you have to wait until Uncle Billy Bob is done with his camera photos in Bermuda, for him to load them onto his computer, to email them to you, for you to load them onto your USB flash drive, and load everything into your digital photo frame for display. Lots of steps.

The Ceiva Digital Photo Frame is a little different. This frame connects onto an existing phone line (or W-Fi connection). It will receive photos directly from a camera or cell phone, from anywhere in the world at any time. And there is no need to edit the photos to prevent squished images– the photo frame sets the photo up perfectly in the frame, automatically. I find this absolutely fascinating– such technology! I think all digitial photo frames are going to go this route, because it is so convenient. You essentially get Uncle Billy Bob’s snapshot of his sand castle in Bermuda at the moment he took the photo through his cell phone. The technology is AMAZING.

Ceiva has made it very easy for anyone to enjoy photos, even people who actually (*gasp*) don’t have computers!

Here’s the process:

• Choose the perfect Ceiva frame.
• Register your CEIVA frame and activate your PicturePlan® membership ($129 a year, includes service and frame).
• Send photos from your computer via email or cell phone directly to the frame.
• Receive photos from your existing phone line or Wi-Fi.

There are other ways to get your photos into the frame– the traditional USB drive, etc. See the site for more information. It’s pretty neat!

The Printer Chip Resetter WORKS!!

Excuse me while I take just a moment to dance around for joy!

Last week, I lamented my problem I’d suddenly had with my Canon MP530 All-in-One printer. I just LOVE the printer and it’s so easy to use. But I was suddenly getting an “Error U150,” saying that there was something wrong with the printer ink cartridge. It wasn’t being “recognized” by the printer. The cartridge was only half empty, and I wasn’t about to spend another $50 on a new cartridge. I’d spend that money and get a different printer if it came to that! This little bitty cartridge was shutting the entire printer down– I was unable to scan, copy, send/receive faxes, everything. All because of a stinking ink cartridge error. That’s evil. folks.

So I did some searching around and found out that this is an all too common and frustrating problem with Canon printers. I thought Canon was a high-quality brand, but apparently not. I had always gone with HP in the past, but my HP printers were doing strange things (like saying the ink cardtridge was empty, etc). I dumped my HPs thinking Canon was better. Looks like a whole lot of printer manufacturers are scheisters! They make cheap printers and then force consumers to purchase gallons of ink– even wasting the ink– and making their money that way. Um, Mr. Printer Manufacturer, that makes people angry. Why would you do such a thing and make people angry and hate your product?? Why would we want to throw away another perfectly good printer into another landfill because you can’t fix an ink cartridge problem??

ANYWAY, I’d also read that there existed an amazing little gadget called a “chip resetter.” This tiny device is used on ink cartridges that have microchips. Microchips on ink cartridges are the things that always cause the problems– they tell your computer that there is something wrong with an ink cartridge and you need to shell out more dough to get another one! Even when you have plenty of ink in that cartridge yet!

The chip resetter will reprogram the microchip. It tells the microchip to start over– a reboot, in a way. It reprograms to microchip to original manufacturer’s data. So now the computer thinks there is a brand-new cartridge in there. PERFECT!

The chip resetters are NOT cheap. This little piece of plastic cost me $30.00. But if it reprogrammed just one ink cartridge, I’d have immediately recouped my ink investment, plus $20.

IT WORKS! My Canon printer is back in business. So now I can receive faxes, send faxes, scan, copy, and print once again. But I will never chang emy mind that what these printer manufacturers are doing is EVIL and it should be outlawed. It’s corporate theft!

Fool Your Printer!

I have discovered the neatest little gadget! It’s called a printer chip resetter. I’m buying one from eBay, and I’ll tell you how it works as soon as I get it. And believe me, this is going to be used a lot!

A chip resetter resets the chip information on your printer cartridge. This is very useful for printer cartridges that have microchips (and most do, now) that are set to expire, break down, have technical problems, and etc. The chip resetter resets the information, and the printer will read the reset cartridge as a new cartridge with no problems. COOL!

I bought a new Canon printer several months ago, and already it’s been having problems. It keep saying the printer cartridge cannot be recognized (error U150) and therefore NOTHING will work- not the faxing machine, not the scanner, not the copier, not the printer. All because the chip says there’s an error with the cartridge. And the cartridge is NEW. Things like this could drive me insane, I tell ya. AUGHHHH!

So I ordered a chip resetter. It should be here in a week. I will be unable to use my printer for a whole week, but I have a feeling that the chip resetter will be more than worth the wait.

How Networks Work

I saw this book while browsing the library shelves. It’s called How Networks Work, by Frank Derfler, Jr., and Les Freed. It’s a great book!

I run my home network. We have so many computers in the house that the computer maintenance keeps me very busy. But I have to admit, when I am doing network stuff, I’m flying by the seat of my pants. A lot of my efforts are mostly trial and error.

So when I saw this book, I thought it would help me understand the in’s and out’s of what I am doing. It’s a good book because it’s written very simply, with lots of pictures and disgrams. The first half of the book is about the history of the network, which is really the history of telecommunications (starting with the telegraph and going through time). I found it to be interesting (and very educational), but it does take a long time to get to the part about how networks really work. I have found myself a little impatient at times while reading it. Sure, the wireless mysterious air tools of telegraphy can be fascinating but I really expected to crack open the book and learn all about networking from the start!

Nonetheless, I recommend this book! If you’re needing some education, need to figure out the concept behind your own network, or are simply curious, this is for you. It’s very comprehensive but extremely readable. Thumbs up!

It’s found at Amazon.com, but your local library may also have it.

Own Technology, Don’t Let Technology Own You

Way back when machines started to appear in the employment industry, machines were touted as the things that would make our lives better and more leisurely. Have you seen this happen in your life? I haven’t. I think our lives are much more hectic and fast-paced than ever before! As a matter of fact, Dr. Kathleen Hall of the Stress Institute is among many calling the stress the “epidemic of the 21st century.” The Stress Institute was founded in 1997 by award-winning author, Dr. Hall. The institute is a company of physicians and professionals dedicated to getting the word out about stress-causing elements in our fast-paced modern lifestyles, and working with clients toward stress reduction.

I’ve read studies that stress is the cause of a variety of illnesses and diseases. I know that I am susceptible to stress as I get older, and I feel terrible from it. I’ve been trying to build a new lifestyle of stress-free living; memorizing Bible verses has been very helpful for me! Things like exercise and setting aside parts of the day for peaceful moments are just a few things a person can do to relieve stress. The Stress Institute helps you to realize what’s making you stressed out, and it has an excellent website with media resources, articles (there’s a terrific one on work/life balance), tips and information to give you ideas for relieving stress in your life. Check it out for some practical and simple ideas. Don’t let our fast-paced society with all its consuming gadgets get to you!

A Review of Verizon Internet Service

I’ve had Verizon Internet Service for three years now (times flies!). I recently upgraded from the Basic Plan to the Premium Plan, and thought I’d share a little bit of my experience, for those of you still on dialup or may be looking for another ISP.

When I first ordered DSL with Verizon, I knew NOTHING about DSL. I bought a modem from Verizon, and those weird-looking phone jack filters, but I realized I had to buy my own ethernet cables (they have ends that look like the telephone jacks but are larger). I spent many hours (make that days) reading forums, tutorials, and advice on how to get the DSL set up on computers and how to secure the netwerk. It was a process– a long process– or trial and error for me. I learned a lot along the way. I just hope I never have to do that again.

Verizon tech support was awful, deplorable. It was obvious that the support people read from a list of “things to do” when someone needed help. Things like “use only Internet Explorer” was not good advice. I also HATED the “Remote Assistance” that the support reps kept pressing me to use. I did it a few times, and after I saw my mouse cursor magically move and start to do things with my files that I did not want done, I refused RA every time. These people had NO idea what they were doing. It’s sad when you know more than tech support.

Verizon now offers “upgraded” tech support for a fee every month. No thanks. I believe good tech support should be available right from the start. And I’ve been through so much now that I think (hope) I can handle things from now on. Thank God for the Internet, and for people who post their problems and answers in online forums! Kim Komando at Komando.com also has some very good tutorials about how to secure your network by altering settings and using passwords.

About the speed: I live very close to a Verizon sub-station, so I believe this is the reason for my good speeds. The speeds are not enough to shatter my chandeliers, but they are very good and they consistently maintain speeds close to the rates I pay for. I had the Basic Plan for 2 years, which guaranteed me a rate of “up to” (very important words) 768 kilobytes per second on downloads (receiving information), and.. I can’t remember what it was for uploads but it was pitifully small. It took me one minute to upload one megabyte of video to YouTube. Ugh.

When we first got the Basic Plan, the speed was a pleasant change. We’d had dialup which only gave us 46-56 kilobytes per second, so you can imagine what something in the 700s felt like. But after two years, we’ve added a bunch of computers for the kids, and they watch videos and surf the Net and download stuff, too. This was cutting in to the total speed for the network. My personal speed for my computer had slowed to 300kbps when the other computers were going. (I work from my computer, so it is important that I have good speed). Some nights the network was so congested that I drove to my local library to work from their wireless cable connection.

The Premium Plan is speeds up to 3 megabytes per second. This is almost 4 times faster than the Basic Plan, for only $10 more a month. It’s not cable-fast (what are cable speeds, like 40mbps?) but it was better than 700kbps! We decided to go for it. I’ve been testing it out all week.

I really like it. Verizon has proven itself consistent with service, even if their tech support is a big fat negative. My speeds are very close to the full 3mbps here. So I am a satisfied customer.

Mrs. Mecomber’s final opinion? If you’re looking for some reliable speed, Verizon does the job for a good price. However, if you need tech support, be prepared to spend more money or search out your solutions yourself.

Security Systems Becoming More Popular

I went to my local library for a few hours today, and finally got a chance to look around the place. They remodeled it and added a whole new wing over the summer. I was rather stunned to see a bastion of security cameras and a TV monitoring station behind the front desk. High-tech wireless security camera systems are becoming more and more popular, even with smaller organizations like my local library, which supports a rather small clientele. Wireless are the most convenient systems, and are becoming the most pervasive. I think to a certain extent, wireless camera systems do deter theft. The presence of cameras in large cities (New York City is the best example in my area) has had an effect. And of course, with a camera aimed at a crime scene, thieves are caught in the act! I’ve often considered getting wireless cameras mounted around the house, as the crime rate appears to be rising. Even dummy cameras would do the trick, I suppose.

One good online resource for security hardware is ITPlanet.com. I have browsed the selection; they have very comparable prices on security cameras, security systems, and other electronics like touchscreens for POS, barcode scanners, and more. They offer great information as well as sell equipment. For the budget-minded business or individual, they offer a lowest-price guarantee and free shipping; but they don’t scrimp on customer service– call 866-468-6044to speak with a customer representative, or visit their website, itplanet.com.

Easy Computer Backups?

Easy computer backups? IS there such a thing? I do say, computer manufacturers have not made it easy to backup your computer files. It is a loathsome and time-consuming task for me. As hard drives get bigger and bigger, it only gets harder and harder.

That’s why I decided to check out something called the “ClickFree” automatic backup device. It looks like a supercharged PC card, or a portable hard drive on a diet pill (slimmed down). You don’t need software, you don’t need to go through hoops and hurdles– you just plug it into your USB post and it starts up. Ingenious. However… a USB post means it is a flash drive? And flash drives don’t last forever. The reviews have been very good, though. Here’s one at Small Business Computing, and there are some mixed at Amazon. The ClickFree costs $150 retail but is selling for $103 at Amazon. It is a fantastic price for a hard drive backup, I know that!

The ClickFree can hold up to 350GB of stuff, whoa! But it’s still too pricey for me– an 8GB thumb drive, which is all I need these days, costs about $25. If I ever need more, I think the ClickFree would be a good deal, at $100.

So we’re running out of excuses to backup our data! If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! LOL

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