I’m having such a hard time writing BlogHer recaps, because there is so much packed into every single day, and so many people to meet! Since this is a product review blog, how about I tell you about some of the great products I got to try (and bring home!)?
I tried a Wii Fit and FELL IN LOVE. I did the balance test and my score was “unbalanced”, ha! I want one so bad, I pretty much shamelessly BEGGED the Wii PR people to send me one. I don’t know if they will, but I left my business card and I’m keeping all my fingers crossed! They did this whole “Nintendo Enthusiast” dinner cruise and when I heard about it I was like “but…but…our family’s first gaming console was a Gamecube! I kicked ASS at ‘Banjo Kazooie’ and ‘Banjo Tooie’! I’m a NINTENDO ENTHUSIAST!!” Sniff. Guess I need to write more about my love of video games, huh?
I met the wonderful ladies at the Leapfrog table, they were SO nice! I just got a Leapfrog Tag in the mail (thanks Mischa!) and even though the recommended age is 4-8, Kaitlyn is ROCKING at using it! She holds the pen correctly, she touches the right spots on the pages, I’m just thrilled with it. At the Leapfrog table, I also got a peek at the Leapster 2, which connects to your computer and downloads game play data that unlocks extra online games and rewards, plus provides info to the parents about what skills the child is learning. Awesome! And it comes with a DORA game, so I’m thinking birthday gift for Kaitlyn! I also learned about the Leapfrog Didj, which combines game playing with school skills like spelling and math, and has the user earn points they can trade for customizable characters, backgrounds and music. I think Nathan would love one!
I also met the Story Reader people, they were giving demonstrations of Story Reader plus Video, which is SO cool. It’s a portable audio storybook, plus you can plug it in to your TV and use the very easy to use controller to “watch” the story and play games that go along with it. I spotted a My Friends Tigger and Pooh Super Sleuths storybook that Kaitlyn would go nuts for!
Picnik was there, if you use Flickr to upload photos and you’ve ever clicked the “edit this” link, the site you go to is Picnik. I love how easy their photo editing tools are! They gave everyone a free Picnik Premium subscription which gives you advanced photo editing tools plus fonts for adding text to your photos and clipart images too. I can’t wait to play with it! I also snagged an extra subscription card which I will be GIVING AWAY here! And they gave me a very nice blue t-shirt which I happen to be wearing right now.
Oh, speaking of giveaways, remember when I was trying to figure out how to get to BlogHer and I mentioned the “Who’s your BlogHer Hero?” contest? Well, I didn’t win, but they did print up a booklet with interviews with each of the people who did win, and I snagged some of those too. I have four of them, let me know if you want one.
Let’s see, what else? I bought a TON of books, I couldn’t help it, I was there working in the Bookstore all weekend, surrounded by all those great books and meeting all the authors! I’ll have reviews for you shortly of “Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir” by Jennette Fulda, “Straight Up and Dirty” by Stephanie Klein, “No One Cares What You Had for Lunch:100 Ideas for your Blog” by Maggie Mason, “Good Night California” and “Good Night San Francisco” which are adorable children’s board books, “Emily’s Sharing and Caring Book” by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post (I met Anna Post! Granddaughter of Emily Post! And she was SO sweet and lovely, I wish we were neighbors and could be friends :).
I also brought home three books from the MomCentral party, they are “The Disorder of Longing”
by Natasha Bauman, “Confessions of a Contractor” by Richard Murphy, and “Comfort Food” by Kate Jacobs. From the Kirtsy/Alltop swag bag I also scored “The Wishing Year: A House, a Man, My Soul A Memoir of Fulfilled Desire” by Noelle Oxenhandler.
PBS Kids and SPROUT were there, I scooped up activity books, a DVD about the new show “Raggs” (SO cute), AND, from a total stranger who will definitely be enjoying good karma for a long time, I scored a Raggs Plush toy! They had a bowl to drop in your business card to win one of the toys, and he got the last one, and all I did is say “hey, you won a Raggs toy, that’s great!” and he turned around and said you know, why don’t you take it? I was all no, no, no and he was all I’m serious, I don’t even have kids, just a baby nephew, he’ll never know the difference, and I was all I LOVE YOU KIND STRANGER.
Speaking of PBS, the most awesomest thing they had at BlogHer this year? The SESAME STREET SUITE. A small room completely decorated to look like the street scene on Sesame Street! And inside, cupcakes frosted to look like Big Bird, Grover, and Abby Cadabby, plus bowls of candy, a computer showing the upcoming redesigned PBS Kids site, a TV showing Leslie Feist singing “1,2,3,4″ on Sesame Street. I got the DVD “Countdown to Sports” starring Bert, Ernie, and Elmo (even Nathan liked it!), walked a few more steps in, and then saw HER:
It’s Abby Cadabby! I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to talk to the puppet or the puppeteer, so I did a bit of both. The lady who does the voice is adorable, of course. I could have reserved a time to make a VIDEO with Abby or with GROVER, but all the slots were taken and I was so busy with the bookstore anyway. But I did snap a photo of the Grover puppeteer, who learned the voice from Frank Oz himself! You can see it on my Flickr page as well.
I’m sure I’ll find more stuff as I go, I’m still rummaging through ziploc bags and tote bags and finding more things that I brought home! It is always a bit overwhelming, more than a bit exhausting, and TOTALLY worth it to go every year. Remember, you DON’T have to be invited to BlogHer, it’s open to everyone (including MEN), you don’t even have to BE a blogger to go! So I hope to see more MomReviews readers there next year, okay?!?!?
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Written by Elizabeth on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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Windows web hosting has been around for some time and has evolved from a simple platform hosting static HTML pages to a sophisticated environment where applications can be designed to enable user interaction. In modern times, Windows hosting is ideal for personal sites, small businesses and large corporations alike.
Web hosting packages are backed by a variety of operating systems. Windows Server 2003 and Debian Linux are two of the most well known examples. Although Windows is often looked down upon by Linux users, this platform offers a number of benefits to the potential webmaster. Despite the advancements, the Windows operating system still supports common scripts such as HTML and also more advanced languages like ASP and ASP.NET, which are Microsoft branded technologies.
Windows hosting makes use of a built-in technology known as IIS (Internet Information Server). IIS contains servers of its own and is responsible for serving pages to a web browser. When you visit a Windows hosted site on the web and are presented with content, your browser downloads those pages stored on a Windows server via IIS.
Choosing Windows or Linux
The choice of whether to host on a Windows or Linux platform basically boils down to proprietary technologies. If you feel that your site requires ASP or ASP.NET to be successful, the Windows environment would be more suitable. However, if you have a bit of experience designing web pages, these scripts may work on a Linux system as well. While Windows has its own brand of scripting languages, it also supports the common PHP language as well.
When hosting with Windows, you have numerous options for uploading your web pages to the server. Many providers offer a number of FTP (File Transfer Protocol) clients which can be used for this purpose. Another web building tool is Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia DreamWeaver which allows you to upload directly from your offline applications.
Windows hosting also makes it easy to send and receive email. The average host will typically provide you with a number of accounts that can be set up rather quickly. Once your email accounts have been established, you can then use the WebMail interface to send and receive messages directly from your web browser. You can also integrate these accounts with popular Microsoft email applications like Outlook and Outlook Express.
Managing your Windows account is made easy with the implementation of quality control panel software. One of the most widely used control panels available for the Windows platform is Plesk, a comprehensive program designed by Sw-Soft. Plesk provides users with a web-based GUI (Graphical User Interface) that enables control over nearly every aspect of a website. You can create and mange your email accounts, handle domains and sub-domains, view website statistics, set permissions for HTML, ASP and PHP scripts, redirect requests, block IP addresses and much more.
Closing Thoughts
There is really no right or wrong when it comes to Windows or Linux hosting. Both are quite reliable and include many great features and services to enhance your web appearance. While Linux tends to be more geared for small business, Windows is suited for small companies and large e-commerce sites just the same.
Written by CommunicateBetter on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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The month of July has been inundated with moans and complaints concerning the Apple iPhone 3G and it appears that people aren’t done with it yet either. This time people are bemoaning about the 3G network.
According to Wired, there are hundreds of irate iPhone users all over Apple’s support forums complaining they are experiencing problems with the 3G network. CNET editors say they are receiving emails concerning 3G issues while Gadget Lab readers have also written in with complains.
At present is unclear whether the issues are network or hardware related, but one Gadget Lab reader said AT&T assures them it is a problem with the iPhone. Problems vary as some say they can only connect to 3G for a few minutes and then get bumped to EDGE and this is happening even in 3G rich coverage areas.
AT&T spokesperson, Brad Mays says the iPhone 3G is “performing great.”
Yep, seems like the iPhone fiasco continues to plod on, but I’m sure that one day everything will run smoothly, when the one day will be of course is anyone’s guess.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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Mobile phone usage worldwide continues to evolve and increase to include forms of enjoyment and entertainment. Mobile users want new and better ways to personalise and boost fun on their mobiles. Berggi’s ZipClip may be the answer.
A review on Slashphone says ZipClip can clip videos, images, photos, animations, graphics, avatars, thumbnails, along with text on the web and instantly send them to your mobile phone with just a right click of your mouse.
To gain ZipClip you need to visit their website and select “get It Now”, ZipClip will then direct the user through the installation process thus installing ZipClip onto both computer and mobile phone.
When a user browses the net and see a certain item they would like on their mobile phone, they just right click on the content, select “Send to my phone” from the ZipClip menu and the clipped content is instantly sent to their “My Stuff” folder which is in the ZipClip app on their mobile.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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The latest word on the net waves is Orange is to start offering their broadband customer free PCs.
Well according to PCRetail mag, Orange has apparently struck a deal with Asus and HP so customers, including SMBs who use broadband services will be given a laptop in exchange for signing a two year contract.
There have been rumours in the past that Orange may take this path, and Orange Chief exec, Tom Alexander saying he wants the company to “evolve”, however after than it all went silent.
However, Orange has now revealed a plan which could possibly have PC retailed biting their nails. Customers will gain a free Asus Eee PC 900 16GB laptop by signing to a £25.00 per month two year contract. While business customers will be offered the choice of an HP 6370 or 6730b carrying a tariff ranging from £35 to £45 per month.
Orange stores and online will stock Asus laptops as from August. So it now appears Orange is into computers as well as mobile phones
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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The SP500 Bluetooth speakerphone that “offers several advanced features not yet seen in the speakerphone marketplace” has been launched by Santok. Many thanks to Pocket-lint for this information.
This claim comes about because it is the first visor mounted speakerphone that will feature caller ID which automatically syncs with a user’s contacts list within the mobile phone it is being used with, and is said to display the caller’s name rather than their number.
The Santok SP500 Bluetooth speakerphone incorporates an advanced (DPS) Digital Signal Processing, with automatic echo cancellation while battery life comes along at 600 hours standby time and between eight to ten hours talk time.
This Bluetooth speakerphone has charging sockets located either side of the device, and an LCD caller display that is adjustable so it may be tilted to acquire the best angle.
The SP500 is compatible with all Bluetooth enabled mobile handsets and is available now for the price of £39.99.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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Emoze has announced a free, network operator independent mobile email offering. According to a report on phonescoop.com, Emoze will support Java based mass market mobile handsets belonging to Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola.
Mobile users who may be interested in using this email service can download the Java client free of charge from the Emoze website.
Emoze mobile email service uses technology supplied by Sun and will offer up a more superior user interface than many other mobile email products.
Emoze say their email service will support Microsoft Exchange, POP3/IMAP servers along with Web mail servers such as Gmail. The Emoze email service is to be rolled out in waves, while the first mobile phones to be supported are to be the Nokia Series 40 handsets. Other mobile phones such as Ericsson and Samsung will of course be added in due course.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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Great news for all you iPhoner’s out there who have been constantly griping on about the lack or copy and paste feature on the Apple iPhone, a 3rd party development may bring the copy & paste feature to your iPhone.
Thanks to AppleiPhoneApps.com we get to see this new iPhone app which boast cut and paste functionality, although it isn’t a system wide implementation, but it’s a step in the right direction.
The app looks to be a simple “notes” program but actually proves to be a lot more as it offers up rich text editing, something the iPhone’s “Notes” app doesn’t offer. Combine this with the ability to copy and paste text to another “note” and you get a good app that allows the user to change the copies text font size, type, colour, and also apply italic, bold, and strike-through.
Unfortunately though the cut and paste text facility will only work within the app itself, and the Apple iPhone SDK forbids this app from bringing its text transfer capability to other iPhone apps.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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It is somewhat obvious that in this ever dominated world of GSM, CDMA has nearly had its day, and to this end both Telus and Bell Canada are apparently considering switching their CDMA networks over to GSM standard.
As the rest of the world plays with the best latest mobile handsets as soon as their become available, CDMA users wait months for the mobile manufacturers to shove out a CDMA version, and for the most part CDMA just can’t compete with GSM hardware.
InformationWeek reports, following on from Canadian AWS auction’s close, rumours are rife around the possibility Bell Canada and Telus may be looking towards 3G or even 4G GSM tech in the future. Changing to GSM would allow the Canadian carriers to compete with Rogers Canada along with bringing in roaming revenue.
Whether these Canadian mobile companies will make the jump to 3G or 4G remains to be seen, but presumably 4G LTE would be the network standard of choice.
Written by Phones Review on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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I was one of those who thought that the Bugatti Veyron would always be the ultimate supercar, but I was mistaken as the Porsche-based GT9 will have enough power to make the Veyron seem slow.
Not only does the GT9 have the power but it also has the looks, this is thanks to the work by German tuner 9ff.
The tuner has been developing the GT9 for many years, but this is the first time that we have been able to give you details and pricing of the supercar.
The front of the car looks much like a 911 GT3, but the chassis used is very different as it has been constructed from carbon and kevlar fibre, this is lightweight but very strong.
The GT9 sits low at just 1.18 metres tall; the bodykit makes the car look low to the ground. Both of these features help the car achieve a top speed of 254mph, that’s just 1mph more than the Bugatti Veyron.
The engine used is a from the 996-generation Porsche 911 Turbo however; this powerplant has seen an upgrade. The turbos have been reworked; there is a gold-finished induction plate as well as dry sump lubrication.
All of this helps the engine push out 973bhp and a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds.
There will only be 20 of these GT9’s made, with a price tag of £394,000.
Source
Written by Peter on July 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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