The DAILY genealogy technology newsletter for genealogy
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I have owned a Mi-Fi card for several years and love it. This is a small device that connects to cell towers and provides wireless data connections for laptop computers and other devices when traveling. The Mi-Fi card connection speed is about the same as that of a DSL broadband connection. Unlike wi-fi wireless, it has a range of about five miles. As long as I am within range of a cell phone tower, I have always had a high-speed Internet connection. The Mi-Fi device is about the size of four or five credit cards stacked on top of each other.
I have carried the Mi-Fi card all over country, usually by carrying it in my pocket. It has turned out to be surprisingly reliable, even providing high-speed Internet connections while traveling in rural Vermont and in Wyoming. However, last night I discovered that the Mi-Fi device isn't as rugged as I would like: it didn't even survive a single trip with my laundry through the washer and dryer!
The following has nothing to do with genealogy but I consider it to be a neat gadget and thought that others might be interested.
There are dozens of methods of copying files from one computer to another, such as from your desktop to a laptop PC, or from your computer to your cousin's computer, or from your home computer to your office computer or vice versa. You could copy files to a floppy disk (if anyone still uses those) or to a CD disk or to a flash drive, then take that to the other system and copy the files to it. This is sometimes called "sneaker net" as you transport files by walking from one system to another. It is low-tech, but it works well.
Other methods involve plugging in cables to transfer files or copying files across a network or even copying files across the Internet. Many commercial services are available to help you copy files from one system to another. Copying files across a network or the Internet is perhaps the better method, but it typically involves some complexity with creating accounts, user names, and passwords. I know many people who simply email files to themselves or to someone else and then save the attached file on the second computer. That works well if you don't have too many big files. However, today I found a neat gadget that greatly simplifies the process of copying files.
I have written before about the handheld VuPoint Magic Wand Portable Scanner. When I have demonstrated it in person, it always generates a lot of interest, including during a talk I gave this afternoon at the Virginia Beach Genealogical Society. Imagine my surprose when I returned to my hotel room a couple of hours later and found these are now available on eBay at a much lower price: $54.99 with free shipping.
Keep in mind that these are refurbished units, so technically they are not brand new. However, each one includes a 14-day return policy with no questions asked plus a 90-day warranty. I'd consider that to be low risk.
At the recent RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, the busiest booth in the exhibits hall usually was at the company selling a one-and-a-half-pound battery-operated scanner called the Flip-Pal. This scans up to 4-inch-by-6-inch photographs or documents. In fact, you can scan larger photos and documents by making multiple scans. The included software for Windows and Macintosh will automatically "stitch" the images together into one.The scanner doesn't even need an attached computer when scanning. The images are stored on a tiny SecureDigital memory card which can then be later removed and inserted into or connected to your computer for processing. The included memory card stores hundreds of images. If you carry a pocket full of Secure Digital cards, you could scan thousands of images, then process them later.
On January 10, I wrote about the Motorola ATRIX 4G handheld computer and cell phone that had just been announced. This pocket-sized "smartphone" has an optional docking station that allows for the attachment of a full sized keyboard, an 11.6-inch video screen, and more. Running the Android operating system, the ATRIX 4G has been billed as a cell phone that is as powerful as any desktop computer of only a few years ago. Motorola engineers suggest that it will suffice as your only computer. I am not convinced.
The Motorola Atrix 4G is now shipping and is available from a number of merchants. Galen Gruman obtained one this week, along with its Multimedia Dock and related peripherals, and took it for a test-drive to see if delivers on this 'post-PC' promise. He writes, "The PC as we've long known is dead -- or it will be soon."
I wrote frequently (at http://goo.gl/0nKpw) about the Apple iPad when it was first introduced and for some months after. This tablet-sized computer is great for carrying your genealogy database with you on research trips and for a lot of other purposes as well. Today, Apple introduced an updated version, to be called the iPad 2.
I have written often about small, battery-powered computers that can easily be taken on genealogy research trips and elsewhere. These handheld computers are great for portable uses but I often wonder "How small can a computer be and still be useful?" Researchers at the University of Michigan apparently have succeeded in downsizing even further: their new computer fits on the tip of a pen.
To be sure, this is a special-purpose computer designed for one specific task. It does not contain a keyboard or a video screen. All output is performed by a wireless radio with an antenna that can transmit data to an external reader.
NOTE: Photo by Gyouho Kim. Click on the image to see a larger picture.
I haven't tried this yet as I don't need a new printer. However, if I did need one, I'd buy the Brother Printer HL2270DW. Amazon.com is selling it right now for $89.99, a bit less than the price for a toner cartridge alone for my present Hewlett-Packard printer! This thing prints at up to 27 pages per minute (single sided) and can be wired to a computer or used as a wireless (wi-fi) printer serving several computers simultaneously. Best of all, it prints on both sides of the paper which is called duplex printing.
At this price, I wouldn't expect the highest quality or the sharpest reproductions. Yet the specs claim that it prints up to 2400 x 600 dpi resolution for high-quality output. I doubt if you will find a better laser printer for $90. At these prices, there's no sense in ever repairing it, should it break. A printer at these prices is disposable; it is cheaper to replace it than to repair it.
I have written a number of times about computers that keep getting smaller and smaller. For anyone who travels a lot, such as myself, the newest wave of laptops, netbooks, and handhelds from the many manufacturers is a great convenience. This week I caved in and purchased a new computer to be my primary traveling machine: an Apple MacBook Air
The MacBook Air has been around for more than three years although Apple just updated the product line with a couple of new models a few months ago. I purchased the smaller of the two, the model with an 11-inch screen.
This may be the smallest flash drive available today. Sometimes these are called "thumb drives" which seems appropriate for a device about the size of a thumbnail!
Today, I purchased a Lexar Echo ZE flash drive. This thing is barely bigger than its built-in USB connector. Using this tiny flash drive is a great way to keep a backup copy of your important files in your pocket or purse. Even better, the Lexar Echo ZE even includes encryption software for Windows and Macintosh systems to keep your private files just that: private.
Computers keep getting smaller and smaller. That's no surprise as the trend towards smaller devices has been going on for years. However, Hewlett-Packard has now announced an even smaller device that might be questionable as to how useful it will be. This thing will display your family tree but I am not sure my aging eyes can see the information.
The new HP smartphone has a 2.8-inch display screen. That's smaller than a credit card. It will display 320×400 pixels, roughly the same as several other cell phones that are not full computers.
Several newsletter readers have written recently to ask, "What is the best scanner?" As a single individual, I don't have the financial resources or the hours available to obtain one of each of the dozens of available scanners and then run side-by-side comparisons. However, one organization does have such resources: PCMAG.com
You can find an excellent collection of articles comparing nearly all of the general-purpose desktop scanners and multi-function printers/scanners available today at PCMAG's web site at http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,7497,00.asp
Cell phones, so-called "smartphones," and handheld computers keep getting smaller and smaller. In fact, even desktop, laptop, and "netbook" computers also are shrinking in size. One of the biggest challenges is how to enter data as devices become too small to support a standard keyboard.
Chris Harrison has developed a possible solution for the tiny computers of tomorrow. Skinput is a method in which your skin can become a touch screen device for your computer or MP3 music player.
I need this! I am slowly converting a few hundred books and magazines at home to scanned documents and storing them on my computer. However, I find the process of cutting off the bindings and feeding the pages through a scanner's sheet feeder one at a time, to be really tedious. The newly-announced Book Saver Book Scanner claims to solve that problem: it will scan a 200-page book and convert it to e-Reader format in 15 minutes. Best of all, there is no need to cut the pages from the binding!
Ion Audio is a company well-known for producing record players with a USB cable that can be connected to a computer to convert old vinyl records to modern MP3 files. Now the company has moved into a new business: machines that scan books and magazines.
Yesterday, I published an article describing Chronicle of Life, an online photo storage service that promises to store your photos more or less forever. A number of newsletter readers asked questions about the new service, questions that I could not answer. Kai Pommerenke, one of the founders of Chronicle of Life, has now kindly posted a number of answers to the questions in the Comments section at the end of the article.
Motorola calls it the “world’s most powerful smartphone.” Indeed, the specifications of the Motorola ATRIX 4G handheld computer and cell phone sound interesting: a Tegra dual-core processor with each core running at 1 gigahertz to deliver up to 2 gigahertz of processing power and 1 gigabyte of RAM memory. That sounds like a desktop computer. In fact, this new device is as powerful as desktop computers of only a few years ago. Motorola engineers suggest that it will suffice as your only computer. I'm not so sure but I still must admit that it is powerful.
I recently spent some time at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and mentioned it in this newsletter. I also wrote about using wireless Internet access and my laptop computer to verify information on various genealogy web sites while seated in the big genealogy library. A newsletter reader sent an e-mail questioning the wisdom of my using a laptop in the library.
The last sentence of his e-mail sums up his question: "I am against it as a matter of principle and security of a prize possession."
Indeed, his concern is real. Laptops frequently get stolen from libraries and other public places. A friend of mine lost his new (and expensive) laptop from a college law library not long ago. He left the table "for just a moment" to retrieve a book from the shelves. When he returned, the laptop and its power cube were gone. I have heard of many other, similar stories. In fact, I am told that laptops have been stolen from various genealogy libraries in Salt Lake City, Boston, and elsewhere. They also can be stolen easily at local libraries, courthouses, and almost any other place where genealogists congregate. Luckily, such thefts are easy to prevent.
Writing in CNET.com, Dennis O'Reilly has published an article about preserving your files for a long, long time. He writes, "It's easier than ever to make sure copies of your most important records, documents, photos, videos, and other personal data will be readable/viewable/playable long after the hardware and software used to create the files have bitten the dust.
However, I found the article to be a mix of great information and some that was not-so-great. For instance, O'Reilly writes, "choose file formats that won't become obsolete." That strikes me as impossible, especially if you wish to preserve information for 50, 100, or more years. He also writes, "use storage media that won't deteriorate or become inaccessible," which is impossible with today's currently available technology. There are promises of some new disks that will last 1,000 years or more but such technology is not yet commonly available. (See my earlier articles at http://goo.gl/kesdk and at http://goo.gl/sgNA8). However, I have to agree completely with O'Reilly's suggestions to "make multiple copies stored apart, and check your archived data regularly to ensure it's still readable."
I have written numerous times (at http://goo.gl/QQs5S) about Skype, a great method of making both voice and 2-way video calls across the Internet, using either your computer or external hardware. I have also written (at http://goo.gl/y04Z6 and at http://goo.gl/mS6jC) about FREE 2-way video conferencing where you may talk with and see your grandchildren or other friends or relatives by using your computer or an ASUS videophone. Now Skype is expanding again by making video calling available to Apple iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad devices.
That’s right, Skype users on the iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch fourth generation, with iOS 4.0 or higher, can receive FREE Skype video calls over a WiFi or 3G connection. Actually, the iPhone 4 and the iPod Touch fourth generation are the only ones with two video cameras, one facing forward and one facing back. As a result, those devices can handle two-way video. All the others can receive video calls and can watch the person on the other end, but cannot send video.
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