"AARP Tablets: Tech to Connect" - Review

"AARP Tablets: Tech to Connect" is a good resource for seniors wanting to learn more about tablet computing. This will not be very useful to those that have any hands on experience with tablets, but they are not the target audience for this straight forward guide. My mother has recently hinted at wanting a Kindle Fire or an iPad. I love my mother very much but this scares me to death considering the difficulties experienced walking her through simple PC issues, so thought this might be the right choice to see if she would be able to master one. The book is well written and is informative without resorting to a lot of overwhelming jargon. I liked the format and step-by-step approach which clearly explains tablets and their uses. The text is somewhat smaller than expected, but not so much as to be problematic with aid of good reading glasses. This book hasn't changed my mother's mind about wanting a tablet but it has convinced me that at least I might not be tied to the phone being her "tech support". Recommended! CFH

"The TEOTWAWKI Tuxedo: Formal Survival Attire" - Review

"The TEOTWAWKI Tuxedo: Formal Survival Attire" is geared towards those that are new to prepping and don't have military experience using the MOLLE (Modular Lightweigh Load-carring Equipment) system. Those that have been prepping of awhile, used MOLLE or ALICE (All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carry Equipment) packs in the past, or experienced backpackers/campers will likely not need much of the information presented in this book. That being said, if you are new disaster readiness planning and are considering a "bug out" strategy this is a very good starting point. The author is clearly experienced in using survival gear and planning for the worst, which manifests in a straight forward and realistic approach to dealing with the issue of carrying all of the equipment you might require in an TEOTWAEKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) situation. Actually, the author makes a good point that much of this prepping and planning has dual use in camping and hiking excursions, as well as for being ready to deal with localized disasters (hurricanes, flooding, blizzards, earthquakes, riots, etc). As noted above, the core item to being mobile with all of your gear is the MOLLE system. This is the system used by the military for soldiers in the field and it is very versatile and easily customized to address specific needs. Examples of these are VISM by NcStar Molle Pals Vest and Official US Military Molle II Army FLC Fighting Tactical Assault Vest Carrier (I haven't tried either of these since mine came from a "surplus" store). Once you understand the usefulness of MOLLE, the book covers configuring the system for specific uses, training advise once it is loaded up, and some basic care tips. The next section covers specific BOB (Bug Out Bag) items to include, such as how to stock a medical kit, clothing considerations, and basic daily needs. The final sections on weapons, optics, and body armor might not be critical to everyone's plans and are a little light on specific details, but they do provide a good starting point and food for thought for additional research. There are several illustrations and Black and White photos of varying quality, from very fuzzy to very useful, and this is the only area that could really use cleaning up in the next release of the book. As a beginner's guide, it is well worth the investment if you are looking for basic information presented in an easy to follow format. Recommended, with the caveats above. CFH

Been Gone For Awhile

Wow, I have let this go for quite some time since my creative outlet is on Amazon.com (currently ranked #8) and Rec.fm (currently ranked #2). Will likely pick this back up in the near future...

It's Been A Rough Year!

Well... 2010 started off in a very rough way, but that being said, I am getting caught up on things now and will start posting reviews again.

My Review of Roku HD-XR Player

Originally submitted at Roku

Extended range wireless (WiFi N) delivers the best quality video virtually anywhere in your home.

Roku HD-XR Player

My Favorite Thing, EVER! Very Highly Rec

By Chillnhill from South Central PA on 12/15/2009

 

5out of 5

Pros: Compact, Great value, High quality picture, Easy to set up, Video selection, Built in Wi-Fi, Easy to use

Best Uses: Primary TV, Living room, Bedroom

Describe Yourself: Power User, Technophile, Movie buff, Home entertainment enthusiast, Netflix fan

The Roku is almost certainly one of the best purchases I have ever made. If you know what this does and have been on the fence, just buy it now. You will not be disappointed. This is one of the few pieces of technology that worked exactly as advertised, with no issues or problems experienced with installation or use. For those that need more information, read on:

This very small device enables content streaming to your TV from the Internet and works over your home wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. There are several versions of the Roku devices that all provide the same basic functionality, but I bought the Roku HD-XR because I plan to upgrade to a dual-band "N" wireless router in the near future.

Installation was unbelievably easy: unboxed, connected it to my HDTV HDMI Cable, used the on-screen menus to configure the Wi-Fi (with WEP), the Roku "phoned home" (connected to the Roku site) and updated it's firmware. After it reset itself and came back up, the installation was basically over except for adding the "channels" I wanted (all under 15 minutes).

The image and audio quality of the streamed content is nothing short of amazing, and also plays flawlessly. This was somewhat surprising to me since my unit is installed fairly far from the wireless router and only gets "fair" signal strength.

Adding and configuring the channels involves following the TV on-screen prompts (to generate codes) and using a PC to register at the appropriate website. I was able to quickly add Amazon On-Demand (giving me access to the content I had bought in the past), my Netflix account, my on-line social and photo accounts (including Facebook Photo, Flickr, and Frame Channel which gave me access to my existing photos), and several other very cool channels that provide everything from technical blog casts (Mediafly and Revison3) to streaming music (Pandora). A visit to the Roku Channel page is worthwhile to see exactly what is available. I should mention that all of the TV On-Screen entries were made using the included remote control, which is incredibly simplistic and intuitive. The only problem I encountered during the whole process was on adding the Facebook Photo channel, and that was because the Roku presented a code that was all in uppercase and the Facebook page wanted it in lowercase (a very minor annoyance).

I have already turned off my cable TV (one month's savings more than paid for the Roku) since we get the major broadcast stations. The Roku more than fills in the gap of video on demand type services with it's easy integration to Netflix and Amazon. It is so good and easy to use I am seriously considering getting one for my technically challenged mother.

(legalese)

Taking a Break!

Well, haven't had any new toys to review in the last few days but expects some in shortly!

Review: Anime Studio Debut 6

Anime Studio Debut 6 is a very good animation application that gives you a lot of power if you are willing to spend the time to learn the software. There is a bit of learning curve that is only marginally assisted by the included PDF tutorial, but I was able to get the basics after a few hours of playing with it.

We wanted to add animations in our instructional videos to highlight key points, so needed the software to support video and picture "backgrounds". I have added a short video test clip to the review to show a basic star animation interacting with me. The Chromakey "Green Screen" and background were first rendered in Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro Pack and then imported into Anime Studio Debut 6 where the Star animation was added. The animation part took roughly 15 minutes to setup and about 5 minutes to render on my fairly powerful 64 bit Vista Compaq laptop.

The use of virtual "bones" that can be embedded into drawings or imported picture objects and used to bend and warp the shapes makes the animations fairly easy once you get the hang of manipulating the strength and range settings. I did have some difficulties mastering the included freehand drawing tools, but it is easy enough to import and use objects created in other programs.

This is a fairly powerful program that is geared to the beginner through intermediate level user. It is also a great value for the price. Now that I have the basics down and I have shown my son (13) how it works, he is starting to use it as has taken to it faster than I did, which means we will have to buy another copy for his computer soon.

Recommended!

MSRP: $49.99
Amazon: $24.99

My Amazon Review: Anime Studio Debut 6