Technology

My 2nd Attempt at an iMovie Did Include Babies and Animals

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After our trip to Jayson & Gretchen’s we had a ton of video of Teagan.  I wanted to share it with our family but some of it was long clips with not much action and then we had several clips that were very short.  Lauren’s awesome job of putting together my dad’s 70th birthday video got me to finally try iMovie a week or so ago.  It went so well that I wanted to take the footage we had of Teagan with Jayson’s dog and clip it together.  By doing that I learned that 1, it is pretty fun and cool to do.  2, its a huge time sink.  Thankfully it was only 3 minutes of video i created in the end but i can see even slightly more elaborate videos sucking up my time.  I already want to go back and make a montage video of Teagan’s first year, but I just dont have the time to do that right now.

Maybe i didnt try the software enough but I don’t remember iMovie being that easy a few years ago.  I know Final Cut Express was not very easy and after trying both of them I gave up on video editing for a while.  I am glad I gave it another try.  These video’s wont be my last that I work on!

My UP is Broken

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Today when I went to sync my Jawbone UP I discovered the end that you plug into your phone was recessed a bit.  It made it difficult to plug into my iphone.  In the end i was able to sync it but it was obvious the device was broken.  I contacted Jawbone support and they are going to send me a replacement unit since this one is under warrantee.  I have to just keep this one working until I get my replacement unit.  It may take a week to 10 days to get.

Bose Cinnemate Speakers

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For a while now I have know I need to get rid of my stereo. It is a great stereo. I probably wrote about it before but aren’t 100% sure. Either way I love it and it has served me well for years. The problem is with Teagan getting ready to crawl we know we want to get rid of it. At first I was looking to get a sound bar speaker “system” since it is one speaker and a subwoofer. The idea has been to get rid of all the wires and speaker stands that are all over our living room right now.

Several months ago I picked out a decent sound bar but wasn’t 100% convinced to buy it. Flash forward to today and that system is now not available and comparable ones are more money than I thought was appropriate for the quality I would get. I know what I have (an Onkyo 5.1 receiver and speakers) is overkill for our apartment but i also knew how much a downgrade the sound bar was. When i found a well reviewed sound bar in the $250 price range i thought that was good. Then when that wasn’t available a decent one was more money and the reviews weren’t as good. At that point my friend Jayson convinced me to go and get a Bose Cinnemate II system. It was much more than i wanted but the reviews were much better than any of the cheaper sound bars. I know many people have polarizing opinions of Bose but i have had good luck with them in the past, so I went to buy them. As luck would have it they were marked down in price. The higher end version was around the price of the lower end ones, and the lower end ones were marked down even more. I opted for the higher end model and just got them.

I have been happy so far, but the real test will be when I get my new TV that i have been planning on getting for a while and put on a good movie!

My 2nd (or 3rd, depending on how you look at it) Jawbone UP

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Last week I got a new Jawbone UP.  So far I have been very pleased with it.  MC saw it and I was suprised that she was interested in one too.  She wants to work out more and it seemed like a good tool to motivate her.  After trying to see what colors I could get her I ended up back at the Apple store picking up another black band for her.  Only difference between hers and mine is hers is a smaller size.

We now are “compeeting” with each other and seeing our results.  I hope for both of us this gets us to be more active.  If anything it makes me smile every time I see the cute picture MC took for her profile picture.

My New Jawbone UP

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Last year when Jawbone announced the UP I thought it was a super cool idea and I got one.  I wore it every day for a month or so until it broke.  My UP was one of the many defective units that ended up being recalled by Jawbone.  Jawbone was very cool and I got all my money back so there was no hard feelings.

I still thought the idea was great but the alternatives (Nike Fuelband or the Fitbit) didn’t apeal to me.  The fitbit clips onto your clothes so i wasn’t a fan of the idea.  The fuelband doesn’t track sleep and it needed charging often compaired to 10 days with the UP.  The Fuelband is also big.  I was pleasantly suprised when Jawbone reintroduced the UP (even thought they said they would I am always skeptical until it happens).  I was in the Grand Central Station Apple Store getting a gift card for my Niece for the holidays and I saw the UP, so I got myself one.

I am excited to see how much it works.  I like the ability to track sleep and activity still but they added better food tracking.  I hope to write more about it once I use it a bit.

Automater Script Gone Bad

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Automation is great, but you have to be careful.  A few months ago I setup a script to look in a folder were i download videos and based on certain criteria I gave the script move them to another folder.  It worked great but today I dont’ know what happened.  I noticed all the videos on an entire hard drive missing.  I ended up finding them in one folder.  It seems that the script started applying the rules to all folders on the drive not just the one I told it to.  I had to spend several hours re sorting everything back to were they came from.  I was trying to be careful since I didn’t want to put in the wrong place a home movie or accidentally delete one.

I think the script went bad when I moved to my new Mac Mini.  Even though I ran the migration wizard to copy my old computer setup to the new one I think something went wrong.  I am on my new machine for less than a week and I dont believe in coincidences.  I do believe I have it fixed it so it should be working correct now.

Android vs iOS

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I am not a professional reviewer. I want to get that out there first thing. I have wrote about my opinions and comparisons of technology products in the past I am well aware that any number of people have written about this subject. I am writing about it because I continually try to be open minded and it has been very difficult to do so when comparing IOS to Android.

I can safely say that I’ve used regularly all of the major mobile operating systems in the past 10 years. I have owned many generation Treo’s with the Palm OS. I can’t even count the number of blackberries I’ve had. I have used three or four Symbian devices and loved my Nokia E60 for the 6 or 8 months I had it before I got my iPhone 3G.  I have tried numerous Android devices, and even had a few windows mobile phones.  I mention all that because I am not someone who just gets Apple stuff by default.  I look like that but that is a credit to Apple for making great devices and software.  I actually have only been buying Android devices because I didn’t want to be so reliant on Apple. My observations started between Android & iOS only because I wanted to see what was out there.

As a technology person on paper iOS has problems and Android looks promising.  What I mean by that is if I read anywhere else that an operating system and an ecosystem was so restrictive as Apple’s was I probably wouldn’t try it.  When you dig a little deeper that restrictiveness some of my Android friends like to complain about actually makes some sense.  it provides for a more stable phone.  It really does.  I have seen it between my iPhone and several Android devices.  I do not want to go back to the days were I reboot my phone every few hours like i did with my Treo 600.  Lack of true multi-tasking on iOS is another item that when it was announced iOS would be that restrictive i was turned off by it.  Now Apple has come up with interesting ways to let you think you have multitasking but still limiting it and thus reducing power usage.  Restrictive yes, but in the end it probably helps the overall experience.

On the other hand that restrictiveness has a drawback.  On my Galaxy Nexus I love the Locale app that changes settings based on my location and time of day.  My ringer goes off at night except for some work numbers.  My Google Voice # would change to point to my desk phone when I was at work and Skype when I was at home.  Come on that is cool.  Using that same example though, one of the best plugin’s for that app has a big note saying it is buggy and the developer does not suggest using it.  Really? If it crashes the phone then block it.  Apple would.  I know its heavy handed but the idea here is to be transparent as possible but have the customers interests at heart.

There are plenty more examples.  The last big one i would highlight is the fact that iOS is again restrictive on how the UI of apps look.  Sounds bad on paper, its apple being restrictive again.  Only problem is have you looked at Android apps?  How about comparing them to iOS apps.  Not just any iOS apps.  Compare something to the same app on iOS.  Apples restrictiveness gives the customer a consistent user experience.  Androids openness give you an inconsistent experience.  As a user i have been frustrated by this.  Heck I still don’t know what some of the dam icons mean on my Nexus 7.  Apple uses icons also but they just come across as more intuitive.  Getting back to that app comparison.  I have used many apps on both platforms.  When I bought my first Android phone that is what i did.  I went through making sure i could get the same experience on Android I had with iOS.  For the most part i found the same apps for Android that i had on iOS or ones that did the same thing.  Problem was they weren’t comparable.  Sometimes in features, but mostly in general look and feel and polish.  Some have improved over time but Apple still has better looking apps.  Foursquare, Facebook, Lastpass, Yelp, to name a few of the ones that I have had issues with.  The last aspect of user experience I would question is Exchange mail support.  Its built in to both platforms now but have you used the email app on Android.  Not the Gmail app because that is actually a great app.  I do give them credit for that.  I am talking about the regular email app.  Or the calendar app.  Using them on Android for my exchange mail was horrible.  It is just plain ugly and clunky to use.  iOS mail app may have its problems but it is intuitive and nice to look at.  Even the 3rd party apps such as Touchdown were horrible looking and I stopped using them after their trial ended.  That exchange limitation alone is a show stopper for me.

The theme I have seen with Android is that the apps work but they leave me wanting to go back to my iPhone or iPad.  Thats the problem.  I have gotten these devices wanting to be swept away and to sell my iOS stuff on eBay, but every time I get one I end up back with Apple.  Android keeps getting better but its been 4 years and they still aren’t that close in my opinion.

By now its clear I am in the Apple camp, but I really don’t want to be.  Given the opportunity I would switch.  The 5 or more Android phones I have had since using iPhones are an indication I do want to try.  Of course in the end I have a new iPhone 5 and an iPad Mini on order.  With those purchases Apple has locked me in for another year or two.  I will see how the landscape looks then, and maybe my own personal opinion may change.

 

Baby Tech

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I do not hide the fact that I am a tech person, or that I love gadgets.  If they have a usefull purpose and they are easy to use I am all for them.  Tech for me was always easy.  I found what I liked and just used it.  When we found out we were having a baby I knew there were some tech items we would need, but I didn’t realize how much stuff we would have that would help.

The first thing I thought of when I thought stuff we needed was a video camera.  My friend Jayson had one for his little ones and I thought it was the coolest thing to be able to see and even interact with them from your iPhone.  When the time came to look I narrowed my search down to the Withings Baby Monitor and the Dropcam.  Withings makes another device I have used and they seemed like their camera was pretty well built but it was $300.  The Dropcam was half the price but it wasn’t designed specifically as a baby camera.  We wanted 2 cameras anyway.  One for the play area the baby would eventually play in and for her crip.  I bought the cheaper camera first to try and if we didnt like it i would use it for the play area and then buy the other camera.  In the end I love the Dropcam and we will be buying another one.  As I write this post I have my Nexus 7 in a stand with the Dropcam app running on it.  I leave the Nexus 7 by the side of my bed with the camera app running at night.  MC switched from a blackberry to an Galaxy Nexus because Android devices could display the video.  She also leavs her phone proped up at the side of her bed with the video on.  When I am at work she props the phone up by the TV in our living room so she can see it on our couch.  I have been leaving the camera site up on my computer at work so I can easliy switch over to see if Teagan is napping.  We still use the audio monitor and leave the sound off since there is a few seconds delay.  We do realize that we may be quick to react sometimes because we see Teagan moving on the video but not making much noise.  We know now to stop and wait a bit before we go check on her but it is still a fantastic tool!

We also have the traditional baby monitor, but even thought it is a common house hold consumer electronic device it is still baby tech.  I got a model that was the best customer reviewed on Amazon and the same day we got it my friend Jenn sent us one from our gift registry.  Thanks Jenn, we use that thing all the time.  The battery lasts all day, and we only plug it in at night when we goto sleep.

The video camera and baby monitor were both items we knew we would be buying.  What I didn’t think we would ever need was a humidifier.  It is very low tech, but it is still tech.  We have steam heat and it gets pretty dry in the winter.  Teagan was very nasal sounding almost from right when we brought her home.  I have a video of her sounding like Darth Vadar.  The doctor recommended a humidifier.  Its a pain to clean often but it works.

Another item we didn’t think we would need was a temperature & humitity sensor.  When we realized it was dry we wanted to know how bad it was and when we should run the humidifier.  I bough a humidity sensor and MC put it in Teagan’s crib.  We put another one on my desk were my computer is since that is near were we will setup Teagan’s play area.  It tells us the humidity and temperature, and also says when humidity is high or low.  We are not sure how accurate the readings are but it has been good so far.  Consumer electronics have come a long way when a decent big LCD temperature sensor like what we got goes for less than $9.  I can just imagine how much something like that would cost 20 years ago.

The last major item that we use daily that you wouldn’t really consider tech.  My mom bought a Giraffe that plays music.  It also will play sounds simulating a human heart beat.  it is supposed to be soothing to the baby, and we find it great to use when putting her down for a nap.  Its a stuffed animal but it is a consumer electronic device with a mini music player inside and buttons up its back for the different options.  Not as high tech as the video camera but tech none the less, and we rely on it every time we put Teagan in her crip.

Other items we use are our phones to view the Dropcam, as well as my Nexus 7.  I am finding I use the Nexus 7 more at home as a clock and dropcam viewer than I do taking it to work.  That is due to other reasons i posted in late October, but because its around the house more I find myself using it for the baby more.  When we sit down to eat dinner or watch a movie we prop it up and use it to keep taps on Teagan.  When I feed Teagan in her room I will take it in and use it to play a sleep play list I made to calm her down.

It seems like a running theme for me in recent posts to point out that yes we dont need most of this tech, and things like the Dropcam weren’t really a viable option for kids as young as my 3 1/2 year old niece but they are pretty common today.  Need or not, they all make caring for our newborn significantly simpler than it would have been.  Raising a baby still isnt easy but it could be much much harder.  I look forward to talking about more tech I get to use with or for Teagan as she gets older.  I am personally waiting for the GPS tracker bracelet or neckless so i know when she is going or coming from school.  i know that is a way off but she is only 6 1/2 weeks old.  I have time.

The Decision To Get Another Mac Mini

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I know that I waffle on what approach I take with regards to my computer equipment.  I have been known to swing between wanting one laptop I use for everything to a laptop and desktop, to just a desktop and using works laptop.  Right now I have a semi-new 2012 Macbook Air.  I sold my main desktop, a 27″ iMac that I bought and tricked out in 2011 over the summer.  I also am selling my old 2011 Macbook Air because I wanted one computer, a laptop.  At the time my thoughts were I wanted a single machine so I can go between work and home and have my stuff with me.  I had the iMac because I previously worked from home 2-3 days a week and having the more powerful desktop made sense.  Since I am in the office most days as of early summer that didn’t make much sense anymore.  I also have a 2010 Mac Mini I have been using as a media center.  Its no longer plugged directly into my TV but is hosting all my media and acts as a headless server that my Apple TV or Macbook Air connects to.  I can’t use it as a desktop since the Thunderbolt display I have is not compatible with the older Mini.

Flash forward to now, and I am happy with my Air however I am finding myself wanting a desktop that is always on.  I still need my laptop for now for if I need to work from the bedroom or anywhere else if the baby is in the area were my computer is, but having a desktop for me and the family has its advantages.  Having a super powerful iMac still doesn’t make sense.  My current solution is to get one of the new Mac Mini’s that were just announced.  It is 1/3 of the price I paid for my iMac, and if i need to I can unplug the Mini from my display and plug in my laptop as needed.  The 1TB Fusion drive looks like a good compromise for speed and storage space.  The new Mini’s looked good enough that I ordered a new one on the 5th.  It arrived Friday.  So far the Cinema Display and the Mini is a great alternative to a laptop or an iMac.  I still have to carry around a laptop to work but I like having a flexibility the mini provides vs an all in one iMac.  Only time will say if I remain happy.