Safe Holiday Driving
image courtesy of flickr.com/Xurble
Nothing burns a brotha up more than having to dodge soccer moms with “neckdontworkisis” trying to coordinate offspring pickups/dropoffs.
neckdontworkisis (neck-dont-work-isis); n:
- The inability to turn one’s head around and look in one’s blindspot BEFORE switching lanes during a phone call while driving.
Multiply that with old people who should be forced to take a eye exam/driving test EVERY YEAR and road yachts full of anxious family members struggling to get to Grammy’s house to suffer the misfortune of tasting her green bean casserole, and VOILA’ – the perfect storm for what is known as “Holiday Traffic”. So during one of the busiest travel days of the year, please allow Brotha Tech to give you some tech tips & gadgets that will help you stay safe…and sane!
The Lowdown:
- Actually use your GPS/Navigation system:
Don’t use your smartphone as a GPS, unless you can attach it to your dashboard/windshield (I am a culprit). Why? Unless your arm is made of steel and/or you can drive for MILES with your knees, it’s not a good idea to take your hands off the wheel and eyes off the road in order to fool with your phone’s tiny screen to find out where your next turn is. I know it’s quick to whip out your phone instead of playing with the GPS screen that places all the letters alphabetically, instead of keyboard style, but do us a favor and deal with it!
- Program your GPS ahead of time:
Most of the built-in GPS systems don’t allow you to operate the system while the car is in motion; but for most of us who buy aftermarket systems from Garmin, TomTom and others, all we have to do is ignore the “do not operate while car is in motion” notice after the unit powers up, and keep on trying to decide between the “shortest route” and the “fastest route” while flying down the interstate. Just take the time and do it while you are warming up the car, please.
- Speed/Voice dialing is your friend
If you MUST call Grammy and update her of your ETA every 2 hours, program her number onto one of the numbers on your keypad. Or setup your voice dialing (voice dialing is getting better, I promise).
…and while you are on the phone (you didn’t think I was done with soccer mom did you?)
- Take that phone off your ear and get a Bluetooth Headset or Car Kit!
For some strange reason, people MUST talk while they are driving. Even stranger is that people think they can drive as good or better while they are talking while driving. Fact of the matter is, a distraction is a distraction. Trying to explain to Grammy why your brother isn’t coming this year because he thinks nobody likes his perky, half-his-age new girlfriend is a recipe for disaster if you are trying to navigate Thanksgiving traffic. So at the very least, do it as safely as possible.
- Do I even have to tell you not to text while driving?
Twitter, Facebook and your BlackBerry Messenger Contacts will be okay if you are off the grid for awhile you spend time with your family singing holiday songs in the family ride.
Here are some useful links:
CEA’s Position On Driver Safety
Using your Car Electronics Safely
…use some common sense and stay safe out there folks!
Oh, and before I forget, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
(Tell Grammy I said Hello)
New worm making its way ‘ROUND’ Facebook
“Want To C Something Hot…Click da Button, Baby!”
Brotha Tech’s suggestion is that you NOT click da button………Baby
The Lowdown:
The folks over at AVG: Antivirus and Security Software have uncovered a Facebook worm that infects your Facebook page (and prolly your computer) and is waiting to infect all others who click on the curvy sista in the sexy undergarments that is now lamented on your FB page.
By clicking the pic you noticed on a friend’s page, it takes you to another site with a larger view of the temptress. If you roll the dice and “click da button, baby” it will take you to an adult site. After a couple more clicks, Instantly you realize that’s not where you want to be and browse back to you FB page, the image is now pasted on your wall working it’s magic, and just waiting for others to follow suit.
Here is video from AVG showing how the worm works.
Be safe out there on these social networking sites folks!
Safe Holiday Online Shopping
image courtesy of flickr.com/Penny Sense
If you’re like me, then you don’t shop for the holidays. If you’re better than me (I hope so) then you will probably buy something for somebody for the holidays. Most of us have been able to get over our “scared to death to buy something online” and will do a great deal of their holiday shopping online. So let Brotha Tech give you some tips on how to make those online purchases as non scary as possible.
The Lowdown:
- Get a Paypal or Google Checkout account. They are accepted just about everywhere online. You create an account, enter all of your personal information in one spot (with one login), and use that to make all of your purchases. If you do run into a snafu, you have one source to cuss at deal with versus dealing with whatever merchant (and there are many) that half-assed your transaction.
If you really don’t wanna go through the painful 5-minute registration process then:
- Designate ONE credit card/bank account as the online purchasing account. It will be easier for you to track a charge/purchase if you KNOW what card/account you used. Then, I would contact the company that issued the card/account and see if they have purchase alerts that will notify you by email of recent charges you made. So if something fishy pops up, you will see it almost immediately, and have the opportunity to react faster. Most companies give the you the ability to customize the alerts so you only get notified if there are a string of quick purchases or large purchases of x amount or higher.
I like the “BBD” (Bigger Better Deal) just like the next person, but if finding that deal means buying from a shady-looking site where you need a secret handshake just to see the merchandise, it’s better that you just:
- Trust your gut. If it’s too good to be true… If it walks like a duck, quacks like duck… (I’ve got more if you don’t catch my drift). If you have even the slightest reservation about the site – LEAVE. You will be able to find that exact item listed on a bunch of other sites, I promise!
Bottom line, online shopping is supposed to give the shopper the freedom to shop at home in your drawls pj’s. You shouldn’t have to be stressed out about whether or not your every keystroke on a site is being recorded by some loser who spent a whole lot of time, effort, and money into taking your hard-earned holiday cash.
I know I may have missed some online shopping techniques, so tell me, how do you ensure your safety while making purchases online?
Droid vs. Storm 2
…Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut!
At the end of my last smartphone head to head blog post: iPhone vs. anDroid I scoffed (well maybe not scoffed) that the BlackBerry Storm 2 was missing from the lineup
Maybe when the BlackBerry Storm 2 drops, they will revisit the smartphone battle *hint hint*
The Lowdown:
Again, the folks over at Techno Buffalo do not dissapoint and throw up another vid of the Motorola Droid up against “Precious” A.K.A., BlackBerry Storm 2.
Yes, I must admit that I agree with the assessment that Rim’s browser for all their BlackBerry’s blow…and Rim agrees as well. Word on the street is they may be working with a developer to step up their web-browsing game: RIM advertises for “WebKit Developer” [via: Pocket-lint].
If that is the case, I hope Techno Buffalo (or your very own BrothaTech…send me your products to review plz *cough, PLUG, cough*) will do another head to head with a new kick-ass BlackBerry browser *hint hint*
Can You Drop Cable/Satellite?
In addition to Brotha Tech, I also do Residential Electronics Integration (I install TV’s and other stuff). I am currently working a friend/customer on hooking up her place with some nice new toys. One of her concerns is that she isn’t sure if wants to pay for cable. The initial thought that popped in my head was “I am about to hook your place up with some very nice gadgetry and you are not gonna use it?”
But, as I learned from a short stint in sales, you are not supposed to object to any customers concerns. You listen, qualify, and determine the best solution based on their needs/wants. So I am gonna talk to her about dropping cable and using her nice new shiny televisions as giant computer screens to watch TV over the internet.
The Lowdown:
Which made me ponder the question, “Could I drop my own cable/satellite provider?” In order to do that, I would first have to list all of the shows and events I watch regularly.
Sports (duh!)
Kids shows (I my daughter loves SpongeBob SquarePants and I Love Carly)
Comedy (mostly Comedy Central…and I too don’t like bears)
Movies (movie tickets are getting mad crazy expensive these days)
That’s about it. Now the question is can I find alternative ways to enjoy TV without cable? Well let’s run through the list:
Sports – I never REALLY needed cable to watch all the major sporting events in the first place because they have been broadcast free via the major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). All I would need now is a TV with a built-in digital tuner (or use my current TV and buy a digital set-top box) and maybe a digital antenna if I get a crappy signal.
Kids shows & Comedy – Hulu.com (among others) does a great job at throwing up a huge number of television shows for free (for now)…AND the commercials are short. I just have to make sure I browse for complete episodes (and not the tons of clips and exclusives that may cloud up your selections)
Movies – Netflix, itunes, amazon…take your pick (more are popping up daily) – All are offering ON DEMAND TV shows and movies for very nominal rental/subscriptions fees compared to the monthly charges I could rack up messin’ around with cable/satellite.
[image courtesy of moko.labs]
The downside:
Equipment – I can’t get away from the devices cluttering up my entertainment center. So in order to get rid of the cable/satellite set-to box, I would have to replace it with a box that will enable to get the free network broadcast signals, surf the web, and download on-demand movies. Luckily, I know of one box that do all of that – my computer! I don’t have to, my current computer setup could handle it (I don’t have anything special), but that would give me the chance to upgrade my computer with a TV tuner video card, and upgraded audio card (for surround sound). Or I can just use my computer to browse for the shows on the net and use the built-in tuner in my TV (since the digital switch, just about all TV’s have a built-in tuner).
For my movies from Netflix, Amazon, and other places, I can use my computer as well, or purchase a box that will enable me to connect to these services without the need for a computer (PS3 and XBox have these features built in as well as some nicer DVD players and other boxes specifically designed to utilize these services)
HDTV – The ONLY thing cable/satellite is good for is HDTV. Cable/satellite providers are pushing out a great of HD programming. Add that with the fact that the internet is not big enough to handle ALL of us streaming pure, uncompressed HDTV signals to our computers, and your average computer can’t display that nice image (yet). BUT, if I can get the free network broadcast signals, I am good on getting the major network signals in HD. The rest (internet shows, and on demand movies) aren’t too far off from the quality they currently display. Good enough that I could consider sacrificing quality for the savings I get if I ditch cable/satellite.
Here are some other links/resources on the subject.
TV Over Net
Cancel Cable
Web Browser TV
Boxee TV
Devices To Help You Ditch Cable TV
So to answer my own question of whether or not I can live without cable/satellite, the answer is “sure”. The real question is can you?
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