Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

An Apple a Day

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Apple has been leading the pack in consumer music players with their iPod music player. The name has now become the defacto standard in which all other MP3 players are judged. Shopping for your new iPod or apple computer is now a breeze thanks to Ebates. You can find great deals and rebates on the latest technology introduced by Apple computers.

Ebates is all about saving money and getting Cash Back whenever you shop online. When you become a member and shop online, you can save literally thousands of dollars every year on the things you’re already buying. You’ll earn up to 25% Cash Back on your purchases. You will get Cash Back at Apple & up to 25% at more than 800 popular stores.

Securing data in 2008

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

As the use of the internet is used more and more to share data, firms need to make sure that they are using methods in which to protect sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Data Security has become a hot topic as recent losses of information by large banks, and even the government has everyone on edge as their personal information may be exposed leading to identity theft. But when companies are sharing files and information with their vendors and contractors sometimes the confidentiality contracts are not enough. Through solutions offered through Pinion they allow you to secure your data and place restrictions on who can access your information

Google to test airwaves

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

In a move to expand their services for their advertisers Google will be expanding to the radio airwaves. This is an interesting move in that radio is going through some major changes in order to compete with satellite. With the move to High Definition radio, this may be an avenue that will appeal to some advertisers and give them more avenues to selectively target their audience. The uptake of HD radio remains to be seen if consumers will trade in their radios to the new more expensive models.

LCD vs Plasma

Monday, November 26th, 2007

This year we are looking to upgrade our Mitsubishi 42 inch TV to either a plasma or LCD High definition TV. We have considered the  samsung 56 inch LCD which provides 1080 P technology which is the best pciture you can get on the market. Some of our friends have told us about the beenfits of plasma and the ability to get a better picture. One of the main things that you hear with plasma is that if their is a static image on the screen for a certain length of time that you might have that burned on your screen. Although this is a possibility I am not too concerned as the newer plasmas have information that is no longer a concern.

With LCD you get truer black according the specs and a higher resolution. Also, the LCD does better with high frame graphics and fast moving scenes such as those that you get with the newer gaming systems like the Xbox and the PS3. So we turned to a site online called krillion.com that has placed alot of that information as well as lists of local dealers that we could purchase from. This has helped to narrow down our search and not have to rely on the high school kids in the big box stores. So hopefully this Christmas we will be watching our favorite in true HDTV.

Vishing is the new Phishing

Monday, November 26th, 2007

I just read this article today on a new scheme that is called Vishing. While most are familiar with the Phishing schemes. Where you receive an email from your bank or PayPal letting you know that your account has been compromised, and you need to log in and verify information. While the site you log into looks just like your bank or PayPal site, they are actually not, and then gather your information to use to open credit under your name, or wipe out your PayPal account. Now it appears that they are moving to VOIP customers as their next target. They find VOIP numbers, and then through the internet call customers, disguising their true caller ID, via software, and ask the person to call a specific number to verify their information. They pose as the bank or credit reporting agency, and then there is a series of voice teleprompts that lead the consumer through the verification process. Please be warned. If asked call the number on your bank statement or back of your credit card.

Get your YouTube videos to go

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

In a proposed deal with Verizon wireless the ability to bring new fresh content to users cell phone is getting some attention. The fight to gain new customer in the cell phone market is fierce. Just this past weekend I saw an ad for a free Motorola Razr Phone, plus $200 back to be used in store for your purchases. With this new deal, subscribers of Verizons V Cast service will be able to view YouTube videos that have been selected by Verizon.

This helps Verizon in the lure of content for it’s customers and increases the customer base for YouTube. This agreement will allow Verizon to be the only mobile phone company to carry distribute YouTube videos for a limited time. While I have not seen the videos on a phone, I can imagine there may need to be some work done as the videos are generally not high in quality. Taking into account that you will now be viewing those on a small 2 inch screen, will be interesting to watch. I guess you don’t need high quality when you are watching a shrimp run on a treadmill.

I believe that with this new partnership, others will blossom. The one company that will allow their customers to use their phones video capacity, and be able to upload videos to YouTube or other video sharing services will be a huge winner. I am sure the technology exists, it is just matter of having the right phone, and the right provider.

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Inkjet options for your printing needs

Monday, November 12th, 2007

Inkjet options for your printing needs

I used to work in the copier industry a few years back and I remember them saying that with the boom in PC sales and email most offices would be paperless by the mid 2000. How wrong they were? What happened is that there were actually more copies and prints produced because people did not want to read their emails on their screen, the instead printed them out on the laser printers or inkjet printers. This increased the cost to produce a page since a typical cost to print via ink jet is about 5 cents.

This gave rise to all the various outfits selling toner and ink because this is where the profit was.Many companies today sell inkjet cartidges and toner cartridges online and offer a wide range of products. At carrotink.com they have made it very simple and easy to shop online and offer free shipping in the US. You can find HP inkjet cartridges, Epson, and other name brand ink jet printers. With the hundreds of different inkjet models find your specific ink type like the HP 56 black cartridge and the HP color cartridge. So when you are running low because you just printed out the photo of the dog skateboarding your brother sent you just click on over to carrotink.com.

Coke Zero make your own video

Friday, August 24th, 2007

For those that love new things to do on the internet Coke zero, with zero sugar introduces “Life as it should be” that allows you to direct your own video. You are given multiple clips that you can add your own voice over too and then enter your creation to compete against others for cash and prizes. Coke has introduced several versions of it’s Coke products but this Coke Zero offers real taste and is sure to satisfy even the most loyal coke fans.

What is your back-up plan?

Monday, March 12th, 2007

The web has made doing business across the globe much easier for small to medium businesses. This allows them to create a presence in distant places while being able to serve a greater customer base. What is not planned for is the potential disruption our downtime of your eCommerce platform. Downtime can cause lost profits and customers if you do not have the proper business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place.

FusePoint has launched a new online presence aimed at Canada businesses looking to help build the IT infrastructure and mitigate their risk. They offer a great tool for businesses to assess their risk through their Risk Assessment Test. They offer unparalleled expertise in IT infrastructure and have partnered with industry leaders like Bell Canada, Microsoft, and Cisco and others. Fusepoint is also SAS70 and CICA5900 compliant, which means processes are rigorously audited by an accredited third party each year and consistently operate at the highest levels within the industry.

HVX DVD Bootcamp

Monday, January 1st, 2007

The HVX BootCamp DVD is the ultimate training DVD set for the revolutionary Panasonic HVX200/HVX202 camera. Brought to you by the same people who put on the HD BootCamp training seminars (and from the author of The HVX Book and The DVX Book) the HVX BootCamp DVD is over three hours of intensive camera instruction. Hosted by Barry Green, the world’s leading authority on the HVX, you’ll learn every menu item, every switch and button and function, every recommendation and detail you need to know to get the most from your HVX.

The HVX BootCamp DVDThis two-disc DVD set shows side-by-side examples and comparisons, and features both test charts and real-world examples to illustrate the various features and help you decide what the best settings and techniques are for your particular circumstances, including plenty of recommendations as to what experienced HVX shooters are choosing.

What is the value of your IT investment?

Friday, December 29th, 2006

 Knowledge Management (KM) has been around for years, but has recently started to make a comeback as technology has made the process easier for end users, and IT to implement. In terms of content, nearly all organizations make documentation and content authored by support reps available in a knowledge base ,but nearly half also index or import discussion forum threads as well—much more of a KM 2.0 approach. At the same time, the average knowledge base contains nearly 50,000 documents, yet more than half of them are seldom or never used.

Acorn Systems a IT value management company enables meaningful and sustained profit improvement by providing continuous enterprise-wide visibility into business performance.  Our solutions enable you to confidently measure, optimize and predict costs, net operating profits, EVA, capacity and resources at any level of granularity such as by customer, supplier, product, facility, transaction and more.  At Acorn Systems they help to provide resources and solutions that will interface with your current systems to start impacting bottom line profit.

HP M517

Friday, December 29th, 2006

HP has announced a new addition to the M series with the 5.2 megapixel HP Photosmart M517. It features all the usual from HP such as in-camera red-eye removal and adaptive lighting technology, which automatically brightens dark areas in high contrast shots. Other features include a 2-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, ‘fast shot’ mode plus HP Instant Share, which allows you tag photos for sending via email or printing at a later date. The HP Photosmart M517 will be priced around  US$386

Equipped with 5 megapixel resolution the HP Photosmart M517 Digital Camera is perfect for taking pictures of both outdoor family activities as well as intimate portraits. With 24x total zoom (HP Precision 3x optical lens and 8x digital zoom), the images captured can be clearly viewed on the large 5 cm LCD screen or printed and enlarged up to A4 photo size, without any loss of quality to the image.

HP Photosmart 428 GoGo Photo Studio (M517 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom & Photosmart 420 4x6 Photo Printer)

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