DigitalFanGirl

I didn’t want much for Christmas. The only thing I really wanted was a microphone. I’ve been using the headsets with the boom mic attached for my Moms Gone Geek podcast and since 2008 I’ve gone through several iterations of various headsets. I told myself I’d upgrade to a real microphone is Moms Gone Geek survived two years. Well, we survived, so my mom ordered me a brand new microphone and it arrived last night! I’m kind of excited.

I’m now the proud owner of the MXL Studio 1 Recording Kit. I cannot wait to hook it up and test it out.

Let’s see what specs this puppy is working with:

• Frequency Response: 40Hz to 20kHz
• Sampling Rate: 44.1kHz and 48kHz
• Bus Powered
• USB 1.1 and 2.0 Compatible
• 16-bit Delta Sigma A/D Converter with THD+N – 0.01%
• No Special Drivers Needed

I was pleased to see it wasn’t just the mic that came in the box. The kit also included the following:

• Collapsible Tripod Stand
• Universal Microphone Stand Adapter
• Custom Molded Hard Case
• USB Cable
• Headphone Monitoring Jack

I’ll be using this on the next Moms Gone Geek show. I can’t wait!!!!

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and I really missed it, but I feel refreshed and ready to get back on the blogging train. Today is a great day for one main reason………..I just upgraded from my G1 to the new MyTouch 3G Slide!!! I left the Blackberry world for Android June of 2009 and I haven’t looked it. The G1 and I spent some wonderful times together, but I have given it a run for its money. I could not go another day with the G1. I have killed it, overworked it, put it on the slave train – I had to bury it so it can finally rest in peace.

So now I have the MyTouch 3G Slide and I’m hoping this device can keep up with me. I waited a while to see what was coming on the T-Mobile line and I was hoping and praying it would be an Android with an actual keyboard and then came the MyTouch 3G Slide. I was honestly eyeballing the Droid Incredible and was almost prepared to buy it unlocked, but I am not ready to go exclusive with a screen based keyboard. I email and text way too much. I’m just not ready nor prepared to give up the speed and accuracy of typing on an actual keyboard. I know, call me an old foggie, but hey, a sista likes keys (hehe).

Out the box the MyTouch 3G Slide is shorter than my G1, but has a slightly bigger screen which is really nice. The phone also appears to be slimmer, but I think it’s actually the same width as my G1, but for some reason the way the MyTouch 3G Slide is designed makes it feel thinner (bazaar)… The phone came in some really nice packaging. I think all phones should come in a case like this one. The box is padded on the inside and securely holds the phone, charger and other components. It’s a nice touch.

Setting up the phone was easy as usual, but there are a few new things I noticed in the set up that pleased me. On set up it of course asked for your Gmail account, but it also asked for your Flickr (you know I love Flickr – check out my photostream), Facebook (can’t stay off of it) and Twitter. I use Flickr for ALL of my photos, so I was pleased to see this automatic integration.

Being as though I just set up the phone thirty minutes ago, I will give this phone a 7 day test run and blog about my experience with this MyTouch 3G Slide.I can wait to give it a good spin. I am already impressed with what I’ve seen thus far….

Stay tuned for Hello MyTouch 3G Slide Part Deux!

DigitalFanGirl and Her New G1

Well my friends, I have jumped ship. I dumped my BlackBerry for the G1 (gasp).  On May 20, I got home from Tech Cocktail DC and my lovely G1 was waiting for me (thank you UPS delivering my product on time – you done me proud).

I’ve been a BlackBerry user for a little over three years and I honestly enjoyed my first two BlackBerry devices; the 8700 and 8800. When I got the Curve (8320), I started experiencing all sorts of issues, which I talked about at length on Moms Gone Geek  (you know, that fun, zainy technology podcast I co-host with TheMacMommy  [shameless plug] ) when we talked about Mobile Mania. I had been getting JavaScript errors regularly and I’ve had to do a hard reset at least once a day or it would completely lock up. Needless to say, this has been very frustrating.

But the other thing that really bugged me was the fact developers just don’t put a priority on developing for the BlackBerry device.  I don’t know why. All I know is I wanted the apps and they never came.

This was really a big annoyance for me. There are so many different web services I use on a regular basis; Evernote, BaseCamp, HighRise, Whrrl, Delicious, Last.fm and many others I won’t name right now, but majority of these services have an iPhone app and an Android app (or atleast I can view the mobile site and have it look like it does from my laptop), but NO BLACKBERRY APP; or if they do have a BlackBerry app, it looks completely different (less appealing and less functional) than the apps for the other phones. I was starting to think it was a CONspiracy.

So, I decided to try the G1. I’m a T-Mobile customer; have been since 2004, I like their service, I have a great plan and  AT&T can #suckit as far as I’m concerned.  They (AT&T/Cingular or whoever you are this month) did me dirty some years ago and I’M NOT OVER IT! I digress.

So, I am now an android head and I am loving this phone!!! You can now expect a decent amount of my blog to be dedicated to the android community. I still think the BlackBerry is a great device, but my new love/addiction is the G1……

I’m sure everyone knows the new Kindle 2 has landed and word is it’s fabulous. It is pretty sleek and thinner than the original version.  I mean, let’s be honest; it is dead sexy (spoken in my fat bastard voice). You can even dress it up with Gelaskins (I love Gelaskins!). On top of the sexy factor, it also has a ton of  features. You may ask, who wouldn’t want one of these puppies. The answer is [drumroll please] ME.  I know; don’t clutch the pearls too hard.  Hey, I think the Kindle 2 is an awesome product and I can certainly see why people are lusting over it and I would totally buy this for someone as a gift (if they were into reading digitally). But, I have a special love affair with books and the bookstore and I can’t imagine going completely digital with my reading habits.

There is something very therapeutic in picking up a book and turning those pages. One of my favorite things to do is to get up early on a Saturday morning, brew some coffee, play a little jazz and read in bed for a few hours. I live for those moments; so relaxing. I admit, I also love book cover designs. My kids and I spend hours in the bookstore and we really enjoy it. As a kid I spent hours in the library with my mom and hours in obscure book stores with my dad. There is no doubt my parents passed down the love of books and reading to me and I’ve done the same with my kids.

Now, as much as I love books, I most definitely could have used the Kindle when I was in college and I think the Kindle is a great product for college students. If college textbooks were available for the Kindle; that would be awesome. I’ll tell you why:

1. College textbooks are too freaking expensive
2. College textbooks are too freaking expensive
3. College textbooks are too freaking expensive

I  dreaded buying textbooks. Spending $100+ on a textbook would literally make me wanna throw up in my mouth. I don’t know if textbooks are available for the Kindle, but that would sure take the financial burden off of college students if it were.

Whether you’re a book or Kindle lover; at least you’re reading. Remember what they taught us in school – Reading is Fundamental.

I’m usually reading two or three books at a time. I am currently reading:

1. The Host
2. The Secret Handshake: Mastering the Politics of the Business Inner Circle (I’m re-reading this book)
3. Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide (I’m re-reading this one as well)

Are you a Kindle or old school book lover? What are you reading right now?

My geeky sisters over at Girls Gone Geek have been doing a what’s in your bag kind of thing, so I decided to join them and expose what’s in my bag (gasp).

Items inside to bag:
15inch MacBook Pro
Make-up Bag
BlackBerry 8800 w/case
Keyboard brush (gotta keep the dust off)
iPod w/charger
Eyeglass case
Smart Trip Card
4-Port USB Hub
ID/Badge Holder (facing down because it’s a Navy/DoD Badge)
Business Card Holder
Sanyo Xacti CG6
Office Keys
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S650 (which I used to take this photo) w/camera bag

Tags: my_stuff, inside_my_bag, girls-gone-geek,

I subscribe to a series of Mac fanboy fangirl podcasts and for the last month they have ALL been drowning me in iPhone information, news and updates. I gotta be honest; I am sick of hearing  about the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s an amazing phone, but I don’t ever see myself abandoning my BlackBerry for the iPhone. I started off with the 8700 and last summer I got the 8800; love them both. NOW I am anxiously awaiting the BlackBerry BOLD.

There are so many things I LOVE about my BlackBerry; the super stable email, the ability to add 10 outside email accounts, BlackBerry maps with built-in GPS, the calendar and contacts, wireless syncing of my calendar and contacts from my BlackBerrry to my mac (using Pocketmac and Bluetooth) and the most important thing – the full size qwerty keyboard.

If I didn’t send massive amounts of text messages, emails and instant messages from my BlackBerry the keyboard thing wouldn’t even be an issue. Not to mention I tweet, update/check facebook and use BlackBerry Messenger from my BlackBerry as well. All in all – it’s just a good solid phone and it is truly my main communications tool.

A couple other things to note about the 3G BlackBerry BOLD and 3G Apple iPhone:

• The 3G iPhone’s internal processor is STILL the same as the original. So much for more speed. Whereas previous BlackBerrys had 312MHz and the new BOLD has a 624MHz processor. Who’s truly “twice as fast” as before?

• BlackBerry’s consumer PUSH email service is included with your BlackBerry internet Service (BIS) plan. In addition the iPhone internet you must pay for “MobileMe” subscription for PUSH email.

Listen and Respond to My Seesmic Question for this Blog Post
You don’t need a seesmic account to post your video response
{seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/Tg1c0pnQqg_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”3G BlackBerry BOLD vs 3G iPhone ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/u1mK0npBLc”}}}

Tags: blackberry, blackberry_bold, 3G_blackberry, iphone, 3G_iphone

All of you know I’ve been patiently waiting for the new BlackBerry to come out. I have an 8800, which I love, but I truly want a camera on my BB and wifi and am so anxious to see what other great new features the 9000 series BB will have.

So, it is official. The new BlackBerry Bold (yes, that is the official name) is here. UNFORTUNATELY (for me) AT&T will launch this phone first (dammit to all hell). But there is a 1700mhz model coming out later, which will support the T-Mobile (that’s my network carrier) 3G network.

By geekycybermom at 2008-05-12

I must say, I’m kinda diggin’ the design of this phone. It’s kinda sexy – very sleek – way thinner than my 8800. It is also longer and wider than the current BB Curve.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the features:

• 1GB on-board memory with encryption
• Tri-band HSDPA
• Pricing in the $300-$500 range with a carrier
• Launching on AT&T “this summer
• Interchangable color back plates
• 5 hours of talk time, 13 days of standby time.
• 624-MHz Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor
• BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users

Check out the official BlackBerry Bold site

Try this new USB pregnancy test.

No batteries required – draws power from USB
USB 2.0 compatible
Plug and play, easy operation
Operating Systems: Win 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux 2.4 or higher, Mac OS 8.6 or higher
20 test strips included
99% accuracy*

This clever little gadget is from our folks at Think Geek……

I swear; if I go to Target next month and see a damn USB pregnancy test; I’ll fallout right in the store.

Some of you from twitter know that I want to start adding video to this blog and my Podcast; Tales of a Single Parent. I have a budget of $250 and am looking for a mini camcorder; one I can carry around in my bag. Some twitter friends recommended the FlipVideo, but after researching it there were some things I didn’t like.

1. There are 2 models (one model allows 30 min of recording and the other allows 60 min of recording)
2. It records directly to the device
3. There is SD card expansion slot
4. Unsure about it compatibility with iMovie for editing purposes

So, I researched some more Mac compatible mini camcorders and found the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 Digital Camcorder in Blue w/ 5x Optical Zoom, SDHC Compatibility, MPEG-4. It has some great specs, it is Mac compatible and it’s within my budget – $199.84. Wal-Mart has it and I am psyched. I’m picking it up this weekend… So watch out. I don’t know; me and a camcorder – could get crazy…..

WOW – I am shocked to see you can buy an Apple TV at Wal-Mart. I guess it was bound to happen…

Who says girls can’t pack heat. This Glambo Signature Series “Hello Kitty” HK-AK-47 is a fully functional firearm fires standard 7.62mm 125 or 150 grain ammunition with a muzzle velocity of approximately 710 meters per second and a maximum effective range of approximately 300 meters. DANG! Can I get that??

Ticket price: $1072.95

BlackBerry apparently has a new patent in the works. It’s for a BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard. Looking at the drawing, the design looks just like a Pocket PC. I am intrigued. Why are they going after this type of design to add to their collection? Is it because the Blackberry Pearl gained them such a large number of new younger subscribers? Are they trying to make a bigger effort in marketing to this audience by designing other Blackberry models that are much more hip and sleek in its design (similar to the Pocket PC, The Wing and Sidekick)? I wonder. I don’t think it’s a bad design; just curious about the motive. If this comes to fruition, I wonder if it will have any better camera and video features.

The official patent title is: HYBRID PORTRAIT-LANDSCAPE HANDHELD DEVICE WITH TRACKBALL NAVIGATION AND QWERTY HIDE-AWAY KEYBOARD

If you want an iPhone, but don’t want to pay that price tag; you may want to look at 99% iPhone clone – the HiPhone, which is about half the price and can be purchased online. I’ve read a lot of reviews on this phone and it’s a mixed bag. Some folks say it’s great and say they’ve experienced no problems. Others say they were unable to change the language from Chinese to English and other small problems. So, if you’re feeling lucky, order it and give it a go.

Here are some of the specs I found online:
1. 3.5? screen with finger touch, touch pen.
2. Dual SIM slots and supports SIM card switching.
3. Triband GSM (900/1800/1900MHz) USA GSM standard.
4. Web browsing, WAP setting, web address management.
5. Unlocked.
6. SMS, MMS, voicemail and cell broadcast
7. MP3, MP4, file playing, recording (wow!), phone call recording (wow!).
8. Video capturing
9. Hands free speaker phone. 3D sound.
10. Bluetooth.
11. TF card supported.
12. Diversified screen switch
13. Return
14. Automatic screen rotation

Accessories: 2 batteries, Charger, USB Cable, Earphone, 512M T-Flash Card, User Manual.

Watch the unveiling of the HiPhone

Thumb drives are great devices that allow you to carry around a ton of files, photos, music and video in a very small sized device. So small in fact, any clever thief could grab your thumb drive, copy all of your data and return it without you even knowing. Well, that would suck BIG TIME. Ironkey may be the solution to that problem. The Ironkey thumb drive holds up to 4 Gigabytes of data, but includes a hardware encryption chip that scrambles the data so as to be completely unreadable without a password. Passwords cannot be hacked on the Ironkey;

10 incorrect password attempts, and the encryption chip self-destructs, making the contents of the flash drive totally unreadable. The contents of the drive are filled with epoxy, so if a hacker tries to physically access the chips, he’d more likely damage them instead. Even if he did get access to the memory chips, they’d be worthless without the encryption chip. Electron-shielded, even a scanning electron microscope can’t get inside.

This Ironkey sounds so awesome, I plan on buying one and giving it a whirl myself.

Check out the Ironkey demo.