Electronics

There’s been a lot of talk about Facebook privacy changes recently. I think this is the double edged sword about Facebook. Everything they do and will do in the future will be scrutinized for privacy loopholes. As it should. The most recent change about Places really got people worried. How your friends can ‘check you in’ as being present at a place.

I can see where this can turn out to be disastrous. But really, you don’t need Facebook to give your location away. I am not talking about disclosing your location voluntarily via Twitter or Foursquare either. I’m talking about information you may not be aware you are sharing in your photos.

Yes, photos.

• Did you know that many smart phones save the exact location (down to the longitude and latitude) where your pictures are taken?
• And did you know that you could be openly broadcasting this information on photo sharing websites?

With each photo snapped on your smart phone, you could be saving, storing and sharing all this data all over the Internet. This makes it quite easy for anyone to well… stalk us. Here are full details and how to fix this issue on your phone.

Just saw this dealio come in and can’t help but pass it on. This Duracell charger normally retails for about $30. There is an instant savings that brings it down to $12.99 but, if you use this coupon code DLO3031 during checkout it will bring it down some more to $7.99. The catch? Coupon code is only good if ordered through this link. And, the deal is only good today June 25 through June 28 or until stocks last.

I’d order a few if I were you. The product has pretty good reviews. Here’s what one mom had to say.

For a working mom who has kids in multiple sports I am always forgetting to charge the video and or the digital camera or even my cell phone. Often going straight from work to games during the week after spending all weekend at sports tournaments. Needless to say I bought two of these 3 months ago and they are life savers! They charge ANYTHING that has USB charging capability quickly and completely and multiple times! I LOVE THIS ITEM and came back to buy several more for family and friends, because originally I thought I could share mine with my kids, but I use them too much, dont want to part with them! – source: TigerDirect.com reviews

In this video the guy also says it would charge his iPhone fully twice.

When I was little, we learned how the coconut tree can be used from top to bottom with not one bit of waste. For example, the leaves can be made into mats, the coconut shell into ladles, the trunk into a bridge, the husk into brushes (for cleaning), the coconut flesh and water for drinking or pressed into oil. This made me a huge fan of re-purposing and re-using material even though I’m not a particularly ‘green’ person.

These days, electronic waste is a huge problem. They can be toxic so you can’t just throw them away. Making matters worse, electronics go obsolete so quickly. So how else can one use these older but still good gadgets? Here are 10 Ways I can think of.

1. Turn old handhelds into portable ebook readers for everyone in the family. We covered this before.
2. Re-format old computer hard drives, pop them into external cases to use as storage drives.
3. Purchase older model phones for a low price then purchase a plan for the phone. This way, you don’t have to commit to a 2 year contract or pay hefty amounts for dropping that contract.
4. Turn an old laptop into a kitchen command center. This idea is kinda sketchy still, but I believe if you re-format and re-install Windows afresh (or go Linux!), install something like Google Desktop or Yahoo Widgets. Then add Widgets and Gadgets like Sticky Notes, Weather, Lists, Calendars and what nots – whatever you need. Make a space for the laptop where it can be seen and accessed easily. Start adding notes for each family member on it. You might want to lay a soft plastic over the keyboard so you can use it to quickly enter information even when you get your hands a little dirty. Hmmm. I wonder if clingwrap will work. If you try it, let us know how that turns out.
5. Put your old computer speakers in the bathroom. We did this one since my husband and I love to listen to something (webinars, music etc) in the bathroom, we put a set of un-used computer speakers there, plugged one end of the cord into the speakers and the other into the mp3 player/phone/etc.
6. Turn an old radio into iPod or MP3 speakers.
7. Turn an old Nokia cell phone into an awesome multi-use gadget the kids will love.
8. Make your own DVR from an old computer (or laptop). You might want to try going Linux and installing MythTV.
9. Control iRobot with an old PalmPilot.
10. Use an old PalmPilot as a remote control.

Finally, you could always gut the insides and turn them into a flower box Do you have any ideas? How are you repurposing your old gadgets?

This is such an awesome idea! I’m sure you have some of those big black binder clips around your house or office right this minute you probably don’t have to spend extra. I had like boxes of them because bought them cheap and in bulk once. I never knew what to do with all of them (shows how creative I am huh) until this picture caught my attention surfing online.

How awesome is that? Not entirely sure if this guy is the idea originator, some online indications say so. Well, whoever it is, thank you!

I already have one cable set up. Now looking to make a ‘charging station’ out of a small book case using this method. The nice thing about this idea, it is not permanent which is important to me and portable so you can take the clips with you while travelling. Now that is a priceless idea.

Don’t know about you, but when the kids are impatient to start the show – or you are impatient to get back to what you’re doing – it is so very annoying to sit there waiting for these trailers to be done.

You’re probably thinking just hit menu several times right? Well, some DVD’s aren’t so respectful of our time it just won’t work. This method does! Watch the video to find out how.

Have you shopped your heart out yet? I’ve heard some peeps tell me the great finds and deals they found this morning. It was my first time ever going out to the stores at the break of dawn on Black Friday. It will probably be my last time too. This year, nothing really caught my fancy. The deals are so-so. Maybe because the items I really have my eye on are not deeply discounted. They are cheaper than ever during the year, but they aren’t Black Friday special. Anyhow, I came home and did some more looking around. Honestly, I’m seeing a lot more fab deals online than in stores.

Here are a few awesome deals that made me stop and look. You still have a couple of hours to catch from the comfort of your own home.

E-matic 4GB Video MP3 Player with 2.4″ LCD & Camera – $45. I’m really tempted to get this for the older kids – all-in-one, camera, video and music player. Nice, 2.4″ sized screen. It even can be used as a web-cam and records audio. It has a built-in speaker which is nice for the girls when listening to music together and with their friends. Sounds perfect and the price is not too bad either. Oh yeah and it has a MicroSD slot so you can expand the storage, supports up to 8GB card. Plenty of space.

HP Pink 10.1″ Mini 110-1129NR Netbook with Sleeve Case & Windows XP – $378. I’m not one who likes girly designs or pink but got to admit this looks sooooo sweet and sooooo fun! Very nice for moms. Love that it has a matching Black and pink sleeve case.

Flip Ultra HD – $179. I’ve been waiting for this HD unit to come down past the $199 price all year! This is not the regular Flip Ultra but the HD version that records at higher definition, 120 Minutes, 8GB Hard Drive. You can also get this at Walmart.com for $10 less and if you get it at Walmart. Actually, Walmart is an even better deal because it includes a tripod, case and HDMI cable.

That’s it for now. I’ve been sick and suffering from a horrible migraine all day so I will be missing out on some of these deals hope you catch some for yourself though

Here’s what I don’t get. Ebooks have been around for a really long time. Fact. I’ve been reading ebooks since 1999 and no, I have never read an ebook on my PC. I take my ebooks with me – since 1999. Yeah. How?

The handy, dandy PDA.

There was no Kindle, no iPhone but I’ve been happily enjoying ebooks and news all this while.

Now I’m not bashing the Kindle. As a die hard gadget girl (mom now), I’d love, to have one. It does have its advantages but the PDA and regular smartphone is still serving me very well. I can’t quite justify the $359. Here’s what I am using currently to read my ebooks.

• Palm T|X or
• HTC Mogul – powered by Windows Mobile 6

Both phones have Mobipocket installed. Love it. If you already have a PDA even an older one or a phone, chances are you already can read a bunch of ebooks. Do a quick search for ebook readers for your device. Mobipocket happens to support a number of different platforms. You may want to start there too.