The Beautiful New LG Touch

December 7, 2009 — Mrs. Mecomber

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of LG Chocolate Touch. All opinions are 100% mine.

I got to take a peek at the new LG Chocolate Touch over the weekend, at my local electronics store. I’d been hearing about it a lot, and was curious. (It was probably the word “chocolate” that got my attention!). It’s beautiful.

lg-chocolate-touch

I currently have TracFone for cell phone service. Yes! I’m an old curmudgeon with cells. I got it a few years ago before I got my WAHM job, and when the kids were smaller. Our needs have changed. For one, the girls and I are always sharing the phone. :S So if they go out somewhere, I’m without a cell, and vice versa. I’ve been shopping around for cell phones and prices. The LG Chocolate is just beautiful– it’s issued by Verizon Wireless (we already subscribe to them for phone and DSL), so it’s with a company I’m familiar with. The LG is a nice, nice cell. But it’s got more to it than making and receiving texts and calls.

These days, we expect a cell phone to do more. The LG Chocolate Touch does MUCH more:

  • It’s got Dolby Mobile, with an equalizer and incredibly rich audio features. So playing mp3s is something akin to a “live” performance.
  • It gives 1GB of internal memory, with an expandable capacity for 16 more GB. Yow!
  • It can automatically download the songs you like from listening to the FM radio!
  • It has “Rhythmical Beat” that will vibrate with the song that’s playing. You can even play along with virtual drums, etc. LOL
  • It is fully prepared for social media networking with a Social Network Message Key.
  • And that’s all besides the other stuff you can do: texting, social media networking, take photos, make calls, etc etc.

It’s a sweet gadget. Check out the website for the LG Chocolate Touch.
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Photography=Fun; Photo Uploading=BORING

December 5, 2009 — Mrs. Mecomber

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Eye-Fi. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a slew of blogs, and one of them is a travel blog. We have THREE cameras and a camcorder with which I or the kids take photos. It’s so much fun to snap photos! But when it comes time to get them off the camera and upload them– what a snooze! It’s become quite a chore. I usually leave the photos in my camera until I have time (or motivation) to work on them. Then, there’s the tagging, the organizing into folders…. BOOOORING. :S

I’ve seen a gadget on a few other blogs, and now it’s my turn to take a look at it: it’s called Eye-Fi. It’s a very special SD card, and it basically allows you to upload your photos and videos wirelessly from your camera to your computer, or even to your photo-sharing website (such as Flickr, Shutterfly, WalMart, etc) even if your computer is off. All you need is a camera that takes SD cards (and most digital cameras do) and a wireless connection at home (through your Internet router). Very cool! There’s a video by Erin Manning that shows how the Eye-Fi cards work. I found it very informative.

The Eye-Fi SD cards have 2 to 4GB space on them for photos and videos. It will automatically back up and sort your data into folders organized by date.

Technology just never ceases to amaze me. The Eye-Fi is the first wireless SD card. I had to go to the Eye-Fi website to see how this thing works. There’s a small wireless device in the SD card. You must activate the card first, then take photos for upload. There are four kinds of Eye-Fi cards: Home , Share, Explore, and Pro.

  • Home works in a basic way. It uploads only photos to your computer through wireless. All you have to do is snap photos, come home, and turn your camera on. The Eye-Fi will do the rest. It only comes in 2 GB size.
  • Share is a step up. It will upload photos and videos to your computer AND to your photo-sharing site. It comes in 4 GB size.
  • Explore is a little more adventuresome. The Explore will locate nearby Wi-Fi public networks, and upload your photos and videos wirelessly to your online sharing website, and will also tag your photos by location (called geo-tagging).
  • Pro is the top of the line. It will upload photos, videos, and RAW files and do everything the Explore does; but Pro also accepts Ad hoc wireless uploads.

You can visit the Eye-Fi website to see a comparison of the cards and more information. The cards aren’t terribly expensive– only a little more than a high-speed SD card would be. It’s all very convenient! I love the geo-tagging feature, that would save me a ton of time. Eye-Fi may just be the wave of the future, eh?
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Understanding Wireless Networks

July 21, 2009 — Mrs. Mecomber

We are getting so sophisticated with Internet today, aren’t we? Wasn’t it just a couple of years ago that the dialup was sufficient for moderate surfing and email?

Those days a LONG GONE. Now there’s DSL broadband, cable, satellite, and FiOs (which I hope to get someday). I work from my computer, and we play and get our news and information from the computer. It took me a good year or so to really understand the basic behind DSL routers, modems, gateway, WiFi, and WiFi security. And what makes it worse is that omce you’ve got it figured out, the technology advances and you have to learn things again.

Here’s a very good, basic video by NetGear about wireless capability. I loved it! I recently got a NetGear Wireless N capable gateway router, but I admit, the claim to spee dleft me puzzled… because none of my computers are Wireless N compatible (so far). This is a great instructional video for any of you who are wondering about all this wireless stuff. Kudos to NetGear for making such a great video!

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Extend Your WiFi Signal Range

June 12, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

I have a wireless DSL modem in the house. I have been unhappy with my very weak WiFi signal in my bedroom upstairs. I had heard that there’s an easy way to increase WiFi signal range, and I found this entertaining video about how to make a homemade “parabolic reflector” with stuff around the house. This looks cool!

The template these guys are referring to is this one. I’m going to try this and see if this fixes my problem. I’ll be sure to give a review when I do it! Now if only making Adirondack patio furniture was so easy!

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Cordless Phone Hunting

March 2, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

Well, we’ve added another computer to the household collection! My daughter got a laptop as an early graduation gift from her grandparents. It’s an older model, but it’s a business-style HP, so it’s a powerhouse. And huge!

I only installed 4 ethernet jacks in the living room (and besides, my DSL modem only has 4 jacks). So with all these laptops floating around the house now, we use our wireless a lot. Problem is, every time we get a phone call, all of us on the wireless are booted off. It is an absolute PAIN. Why oh why did they make wireless to interfere with telephone signals?! Hey, for a fun lesson on how cordless phones work, check out How Stuff Works. Great site!

Well, our little 2.4 Ghz cordless phone is on its way out. I have heard of a new phone that works on 5.8 Ghz. Has anyone ever tried these, and do they really not interfere with wireless stations? The prices for these phones are still up there ($150 AT&T, yow! I can afford that like I can afford real estate Branson style, rrright. eBay has some for about $50, but that is still too pricey). Before I even think about investing my cash in a better phone, I want to know how it performs. If you have any experience, drop a comment, will you?

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A Little DSL Modem Tip

February 7, 2008 — Mrs. Mecomber

I’ve had trouble for the past two or three weeks with my DSL router/modem. It’s a combination router and modem, and allows us to connect via ethernet and wireless. However, for some inexplicable reason, the wireless wouldn’t work. We couldn’t connect the laptops to the network or to the Internet. I did all sorts of troubleshooting, and finally came to the conclusion that it was the modem and not anything else (like the PC cards or the telephone service).

Usually, I unplug the modem from the telephone jack and the power source. I do this with our cordless telephone, too. Sometimes these devices just need a refresh to get back to business. But not even these techniques worked.

I was surfing around, and found a person or two who had the same problem. One response was to update the software for the modem. Hm. I had never updated the software since I got DSL service, about two years ago!

I went to my ISP’s home page and looked around for software update notifications. Amazingly, I found something (my ISP is notorious for its poor service and unfriendly user pages). I updated the software, and it all worked! We’ve not had any problems since.

So, if you discover that your DSL wireless won’t work, and you’ve tried the unplugging and replugging of your modem and phone, try looking for a software update. It may just be what you need.

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Posted in tips, wifi. 3 Comments »
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