Read Magazines online for FREE

Well it may not be legal, but it is available online to read magazines.  Maybe you are interested in a magazine and you want to check it out before you buy it, then this is the perfect site.

This isn’t tech related either, but you can find magazines on computer and tech stuff, so take a look.  If you like the magazine go out and buy it.

http://www.mygazines.com/

 

Oosah gives 1TB of free online space!

I came across this site a few weeks ago, but before writting about it I wanted to test it out.  I have uploaded a lot of my mp3s to Oosah without any issues.  I did try to use Google Chrome, but I was getting connecting issues so I switched back to Firefox.

I purchased an Ipod Touch 8GB awhile back and I am glad I never spent the extra money on the 32GB model.  All you need is a wi-fi connection and your Ipod touch and Iphone can now connect.  I would think all you would need is an internet connection to connect to all you media while you are away from your home computer.

You can upload audio, video and photos.  You can also take control of your Flicker, Picasa and Facebook accounts using this.

I don’t think there are too many people who require 1 TB of space, but I like being away from my computer and have full access to my media.

www.oosah.com

This is still in Beta, but it works FANTASTIC!

 

Snowflake Microphone by Bluemic

Well I haven’t posted anything in awhile. I bought an iMac 20″ a couple of months ago and I should do a review on that very soon and all the features and toys on it. After purchasing the iMac, I started listening to tech podcasts, especially ones on the Mac. I contacted WizardGold on Twitter, he runs the podcast Mac20Q which he asks you 20 questions about the Mac. At the time of doing the interview I only used the internal mic on the iMac and after listening to the podcast it was clear that I required a better microphone. I also use my laptop and make phone calls with Vonage Talk when I travel around the world to call and use Google video chat, Skype and Oovoo.

The microphone that I bought is the Snowflake from Bluemic This microphone is compact and great for traveling. I found the sound to be very good and when you hook it up via usb there are no drivers to install and it works on both Mac and Windows. You can either set it up on your desk or connect it to your laptop cover, so when you are doing video chat your voice is directed towards the camera. I purchased this microphone at my local BestBuy for $79.00
You can follow me on Twitter as rosscraig

 

Call Everywhere From Anywhere!

Supercharge your iPhone with RF.com

RF.com is available now in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. We’ll be adding other countries throughout the world soon, so please check back.

RF.com allows you to use basic cell phone service to:

• Call a Skype user, even if you don’t have a Skype account;
• Call a GoogleTalk user, even if you don’t have a Google account;
• Call an MSN Messenger user, even if you don’t have an MSN account;
• Call a Yahoo! Messenger user, even if you don’t have a Yahoo account;
• Use your own VoIP service to make calls over your cell phone;
• Make mobile calls through your office phone system or PBX as though you are sitting in your office;
• Make free SIP URI calls.

Use of RF.com is free, though use of a VoIP service provider may incur additional charges (from the provider). Calls to Skype, GoogleTalks, MSN and Yahoo users, as well as SIP URI calls do not incur charges over and above your cellular calling minutes.

Register for RF.com by visiting RF.com on Mobile Safari on your iPhone, or by clicking here.

 

 

Go to RF.com on the Iphone and you can sign up and download the program.

 

Hybrid Scooter

 

Well I bought this electric scooter about a month ago and it is great to ride around town.  To be classed as a hybrid you have to have the pedals installed.  I can’t stand the pedals so they are stored under the seat.

Wal-Mart Canada sells them for $999.99, but not every store carries them.

No license or insureance is required since this can only go 35 km/h.  You can drive it anywhere a bicycle is allowed, which means no highway driving where bikes are not allowed.  You are not supposed to drive it in the rain because of electrical wiring could be damaged.

You can lock the steering and also the back wheel.  There is storage under the seat and also a carrier on the back.  There are 2 mirrors (I can’t get mine to stay tight), horn, blinkers and front and rear brakes.

Top speed is around 35 km/h and can ride about 60 km per charge depending on the terrain.  This is a great little commuter bike to get you around town and for myself to and from work.

 

Using The Wii with TVersity for streaming music and movies

Well we bought a Nintendo Wii a few months back and we really enjoy it.  I found out that you can surf the internet using the Wii, not the best system using the controller, but it does the trick.  I think it cost around 1000 Wii points which is around $10.00, used to be free at one time.

I tried using Orb to stream and I didn’t have any luck, I came across TVersity while searching how to use Orb.  The instructions for TVersity weren’t easy either, well for me anyway.  I did another Google search and I came across how to get the Wii to find the files to be streamed.

When I first installed the program, using Vista Home Premium, I had to stop the UAC function.  To do that go into control panel and then user accounts and then disable.  You will then need to restart the computer.  For me that UAC was a pain in the ass, I am the only one using this computer so I am aware what is being installed.

Ok, once the program is installed you might get an error not connected to the server.  Up in the left hand corner you will see what looks like an O, click on that and then start sharing.  Have the program scan your computer for audio and video and then you are ready to get the Wii to start syncing with your computer.  This is also supposed to work with PS3 and XBox 360, not sure if the same set up I am about to discuss will work.

You have to know your IP address of the computer that you are going to use, and also you computer needs to be fast enough, not much fun listening to music or watching a movie with it lagging.  I am going to assume you don’t know your IP address or how to find it.  Both in XP go to run type in cmd and then ipconfig, with Vista go to the search in start and type in cmd and then ipconfig.  Write down your IP address, you will need this to log on to the server using the Wii.

Start up your Wii, go to the internet channel and enter the ip address you wrote down.  For example mine is 192.168.15.XXX (didn’t want to include it all) now you will need to put in a few more numbers so it will now look like this 192.168.15.xxx:41952/flashlib

Now all your music and videos and even podcasts will be available to watch and listen to.

I hope this helped you out and you use the Wii for me then just playing games.

After posting I did have some out of memory errors with the Wii, not sure what that was all about.

I did find some information on how to use TVersity with the Iphone and Touch:

For owners of the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch

1. Open the Safari browser on the iPhone and point it to http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:41952/iphone, where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the machine running TVersity.
2. It is recommended to do it initially with the iPhone connected to your home wireless network. You can find out the IP address of any given Windows machine by going to Start -> Settings -> Network Connections -> Local Area Connections -> Support tab.
3. You should now see your media library and be able to navigate it and play everything on it. Once an item has been selected for playback please wait till the little Quicktime play icon appears, then tap on it and the playback will start.
4. The only exception is live video streams, which cannot be played due to a current iPhone limitation (live audio streams such as Internet radio stations do work).
5. Please also note that videos that require conversion will start playback only after the entire conversion is complete, so please wait patiently – this is a result of the same limitation that prevents playback of live video streams. Once the conversion is done, you can play the video and FF/Rew freely. Repeat playbacks of the same video do not require another conversions so playback can be started immediately.
6. Congratulations! You have successfully installed the server and used it to play content on your iPhone.

 

Using Grand Central on Iphone and also the Touch

Well I bought an Ipod Touch a few weeks ago and still trying to figure out ITunes and getting all my music and album art to work together.

I paid the $10.00 to upgrade the Touch to version 2.0, I didn’t want to Jailbreak it.  One application that I started to use is a free 3rd party to use with Grand Central, but it isn’t authorized by Grand Central so not really sure how long it will be available.

It is called the Grand Dialer and you can find it in the application directory of ITunes.  Now I am sure someone is asking how are you going to use this on the Ipod Touch.  All you need is a wi-fi connection, open the application, enter the phone number you want someone to call you at in the settings section, now you can either manually enter the number or use your contacts.  The phone will ring that you have in your settings, you answer the phone and then the phone number you want to call will ring.

This is a great feature for the Iphone, but I am too poor to pay the $60.00 a month fee they want here in Canada.  This is a great feature if you have a cell phone that has free incoming calls or a land line to make free long distance calls.

Now the bad thing about this application is you can enter any number, to initiate the call so you could actually make prank calls.

It is easier to buy an Iphone or the Touch than it is to get a number from Grand Central, but you can try.

www.grandcentral.com

 

Vonage Contact Book

Here is another free item from Vonage. Vonage Contact Book Alpha stage is an online contact book.

Vonage® ContactBook is an innovative communications center that allows you to have more control over how, when and where you communicate with your friends and family. From simple contact management to group calling, ContactBook will transform the way you think about your phone service. And best of all, while in Alpha, ContactBook is included with your Vonage service at no extra charge. Calls made using any of the features of ContactBook enjoy the same great rates as your other Vonage calls.

• Contact Management – Manage all your contacts in one centralized place. You can store all of your important contact information online including phone numbers, addresses, and e-mails.
• Import your Contacts – Easily import your existing contacts from Microsoft Outlook.
• Group Calling – Want to talk to friends or co-workers all at once? Vonage Group Calling allows you to talk with up to five contacts at the same time.
• Call Blast – Have a message that you need to send to a group of people? With Vonage Call Blast you can record a message and send it to up to 20 contacts with the click of a button.
• Click-To-Call® – Call a phone number with a simple click of the mouse. No memorization of phone numbers needed! Also you can choose which number you want to make the call from, it doesn’t have to be your Vonage line!
• Speed Dial – Create easy-to-remember speed dial numbers for your contacts. One more way to make your life easier with Vonage.
• Voice Activated Dialing – Simply dial *44 from your Vonage phone and say your contact’s name and Vonage Voice Activated Dialing will place the call for you!

As Vonage® ContactBook grows you can expect to see a wide array of features being introduced . . . so stay tuned, we’ve only just begun!

Every great inventor has their own special way to keep track of great ideas. Here at Vonage, we put our great ideas into practice. You can even help us make them better by letting us know what you think. Step inside and play awhile.

Vonage: creative minds making the voice over network age…timeless. Go ahead… experience Vonage the Alpha way!

 

Garmin Nuvi 250 GPS

Well we purchased the Garmin Nuvi 250 GPS unit the other day at a Futureshop in Canada.  We only paid $299.99 and it works perfectly.

Features:

Preloaded North American Maps
Turn By Turn Direction (doesn’t mention street names)
Touch Screen interface
Loads of points of interests.
Use with vehicle, or as a pedestrian.

We got this running right out of the box, we tried to fool the unit by taking an incorrect turn and it went to recalculate and found us a way to get back on route.  Say you are driving down a highway and find out there is an accident ahead of you, you press detour and it will find a route to go around the problem.

We put the unit to the test yesterday.  We drove from Trenton, Ontario to Watertown, NY.  We never lost satellite signal, nor did it say off route (common problems with Microsoft Streets and Trips.

This unit doesn’t have text to Speech (telling you what street to turn on), but it shows you the name of the street.  This isn’t bluetooth and doesn’t have an MP3 player. You can’t plug this in an AC outlet to charge it up, but you can plug it in your usb drive to charge.  Doesn’t come with USB cable or a carrying case. If you are looking for a basic GPS unit then this is the one.

Edited August 19th, 2008:

Garmin has released new maps, but at a cost of around $70.00

I haven’t updated mine yet, and not sure I will pay out the $70.00, I bet my address is still wrong once I update.

 

Vonage Talk Alpha

Vonage has released some new tools a couple of months ago, my new favorite is Vonage Talk. I can call any number in North America for free using Vonage Talk application and a headset and microphone or usb phone. These calls do not count against your minutes with Vonage and the sound quality is fantastic.

Vonage Talk allows a Vonage customer to enjoy Vonage’s world-class phone service through their PC. Vonage Talk provides an intuitive, easy-to-use interface to meet all your communication needs. Place calls, and pick up your voicemail too.

In addition to making calls, Vonage Talk allows you to chat with your friends while logged into all of your IM accounts at once including AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, and Vonage’s new instant messaging service. Best of all, Vonage Talk is included at no extra charge and calls made using this feature enjoy the same great rates as your other Vonage calls.

Every great inventor has their own special way to keep track of great ideas. Here at Vonage, we put our great ideas into practice. You can even help us make them better by letting us know what you think. Step inside and play awhile.

Vonage: creative minds making the voice over network age…timeless. Go ahead… experience Vonage the Alpha way!

Edited August 19th, 2008:

Vonage has now released Vonage Companion so the life span of Vonage Talk could be limited.  Vonage Companion costs money and is only available in the United States.