Gaim - Combining Your Instant Messaging Experience

I use many different instant messaging (IM) programs to talk to people, and sometimes it's very inconvenient to have them all open on my desktop at the same time. I don't like to have my desktop cluttered with too many unnecessary open windows, and instant messaging programs have a tendency to do that. It would be nice to have a program to combine them all into one. Well, thanks to my brother, I discovered a convenient and free program that actually combines them into one.

Gaim is a multi-platform instant messenger that supports most of the commonly used instant messaging programs. With GAIM, you can combine AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, Jabber, Lotus Sametime, Novell GroupWise, OpenNAP or Zephyr. Combining all these saves so much time while logging in and space on your desktop.

Since AOL Instant Messenger is probably the most popular IM program around, chances are you are familiar with the functions, etc. Gaim's look and functionality operates much like AOL's program, so it's fairly simple to master. The buddy window has the similar icons you’re used to seeing on AOL, including the menus, chat and away functions.

Gaim supports many features on the various programs such as file transfer, away messages, typing notification and MSN window closing announcements.
It gives you Buddy Pounces, which notifies you with a message, sound or runs a program if a specific buddy goes away. It will automatically sign online and return from idle status. Gaim also has plugins that consist of text replacement, a buddy ticker, extended message notification and icon notification if you’re away from your computer.

Gaim is maintained by a group of programmers who work on it in their spare time. It was originally written to support Unix operating systems, but is now runs on a variety of platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, GNU/Linux, SkyOS, FreeBSD and Qtopia (Trolltech's PDA system).

If you're on a public computer that has a USB port available, you can download a portable copy of GAIM to a thumb drive, your iPod or any other portable media device. It is functional on any Windows computer and it works just as you would be on your own computer, but with no installation required. The Gaim program just runs, worry-free, off the portable device.

The latest official release is the 1.5.0 version. Gain your own copy of GAIM at http://gaim.sourceforge.net/.

Crossing Radio Signals

I grew up in a very “radio-savvy” environment with my dad being a HAM radio enthusiast and him always trying to teach my brother and I morse code. I guess some of it actually stuck with me, since I guess I can fairly say that know a fair amount about the electromagnetic spectrum (with frequencies their ranges, etc.). Well this new radio that just came out really reminded me of the ever-reliability of radio waves no matter how far we’ve advanced in technology.

After about 10 years in development, the Eton E1 “Universal Radio” is the first radio that combines AM, FM, shortwave and XM Satellite Radio into a high-performance, full-sized portable unit. The frequency range covers 100 - 30,000 kHz and includes shortwave, medium wave AM broadcast band and long wave. In addition it covers 87 – 108 or 76 – 90 MHz FM broadcast band.

The Eton E1 is the top-of-the-line in shortwave portables, a market that has been shrinking since the end of the Cold War and the growth of the Internet. The internal speaker has a fairly good sound, but it’s not stereo. If you use the headphone jack, then you can listen to it in stereo. The E1 has six knobs, which keeps it simple to use, and have up to 1700 station presets with a memory scan function. A stereo line-level input and output allows you to listen to other devices with the E1 or recording or routing the output to another device (such as a home stereo).

Operated by either an AC adapter or four D cell batteries, the E1 weighs four pounds, three ounces. It comes built-in with a 5.7-inch LCD display and has four levels of backlighting that shows you the compete status of your radio. It has a built-in telescopic antenna for the AM, shortwave and FM reception. There is also an additional antenna jack that allows you to attach an external antenna for the XM feature.

If you activate XM Satellite Radio (www.xmradio.com) you’ll have to pay a $12.95 per month fee. With it you’ll receive commercial-free radio with over 150 crystal-clear digital channels from across America.

The Eton E1 is quite pricey, at around $500, but is well worth it if you are in the market for a high-end table radio that includes shortwave. It is available at Circuit City (www.circuitcity.com) or www.amazon.com.

MidWeek’s Website Receives Facelift

Years ago, in addition to my wonderful geeky job in the systems department, I was also honored to be MidWeek’s webmaster. Every week I would tediously update it, and even though I didn’t create the website from its beginning, I still think of it as sort of my baby. Well, the time has come . . . midweek.com has received a nice facelift thanks to the hard work and countless hours Online Advertising Director Troy Fujimoto put in.

The new and improved midweek.com includes your favorite stories from MidWeek, and now MidWeek the weekend. The top portion of the webpage links to Island Homes, job listings, Wheels and Star Classifieds. The Quick Links feature on the right side gives you access to the newspapers’ classified ads, retail ads, coupons, legal notices, travel ads and the popular Bidding Advantage online “auction.” The left sidebar includes links to just about everything else with MidWeek and the weekend’s cover and feature stories, business, the editor’s desk, entertainment, food, lifestyle, movies, sports/fitness, travel, classified ads and the Click Chick Corner by yours truly.

One of the more appealing features of the new design is that you can see the two newspaper full-color covers of the week right when you go to the homepage. The teaser text/link under the covers takes you right to the respective cover stories. Right under that you see the feature stories, Newsmaker, Don Chapman’s special section covering his visit to South Korea, Food, Kimo’s Vegas Travel, Entertainment, Sports/Fitness, Politics, movie reviews, business and lifestyle. In addition, there’s also a link to our sister newspaper the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (www.starbulletin.com) with links to some key stories located on the bottom right of the page.

The new midweek.com design definitely makes it easier to share MidWeek with those who do not receive it in their mailbox. You now have the ability to comment on stories, e-mail a friend, or access a printer-friendly page, standard features most websites would have these days. According to Fujimoto, the best added feature is the RSS feed for each columnist. It’s definitely an excellent feature, but for those of you who don’t know what an RSS feed is. . . it stands for Real Simple Syndication. It’s basically a service (usually free) that allows Internet users to subscribe to websites, such as ours. It’s typically used for news websites and weblogs (blogs). For example, you can RSS feed the text of our columnists onto your iPod or into a screen saver.

Don’t forget to check out www.midweek.com for yourself and share it with your away-from-home ohana.

Helping Keiki Patients At Kapiolani

The holidays are here, and tis the season for giving! Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children needs your kokua, to help meet the needs of its keiki patients through the Child’s Play program.

Child's Play is a national charity that was created to allow gamers and geeks around the world to raise money and collect toys and games for sick keiki in children's hospitals. Within the past three years over a million dollars in cash and good have been raised. So far for this year over $200,000 has been contributed.

This year Child's Play expanded worldwide to assist children's hospitals across the globe. Kapiolani Children's Hospital was one of the fortunate hospitals that was selected as a part of the Child's Play Network. The network was created by the creators of online gaming comic Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com).

You don't have to be a gamer nor a geek to participate in this worthy effort. Go to www.childsplaycharity.org and click on the game controller on Hawaii. Doing this will take you right to Kapiolani's Amazon (www.amazon.com) wish list. Your items will be sent directly to the hospital, but remember to change the shipping address to Kapiolani's address during the check out process to ensure it gets there directly. If you order at least $25 worth of goodies, the shipping is free.

When you go to Kapiolani’s wish list, you’ll see a variety of items ranging from books to video games to game consoles. Each item indicates the desired amount, priority (low, medium or high) and how many were actually received. Conveniently, you can also view the items by purchased/purchased or product categories to help make your decision. Whatever your donation budget is, you can surely spare some extra bucks and a few mouse clicks to contribute.

Quick Tips On Maximizing Battery Performance

Okay, so you’ve opened your Christmas presents and chances are you received at least one gadget (that uses a battery). Remember that batteries don’t last forever. They lose capacity over time, but there are a few steps you can take to help prevent them from degrading as fast as they could if they are mistreated.

• Charge batteries properly – If your battery is nickel-based, keep in mind that they require conditioning so make sure you completely charge and discharge it a few times before initial use. Failure to properly condition nickel batteries will result in the formation of crystals, which can lead to batteries that will not hold a charge. Lithium-ion and lithium-polymer typically arrive in a partially charged state, so just make sure you fully charge them before use, otherwise they do not need to be conditioned.

• Store batteries correctly – It’s best to use your batteries regularly, but if you must store them, make sure your nickel batteries are at least 50% discharged. As for the lithiums, just make sure you charge them when you’re ready to use them again.

• Battery disposal – when the end of your battery life arrives, it’s important that you practice proper disposal since made out of hazardous material. Some stores offer collection points, but check the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s home page (www.rbrc.org) to find a drop-off location.

No Hassle Home Videos

Just about ever since I can remember, I always remember my parents videotaping just about every important event in my life, and took it everywhere we traveled. It was a trusty camera, but I swear my mom could have launched a missile from it because it was so hunking big! And those tapes it used. . . that’s another story.

Well, thankfully over the years camcorders have become smaller and smaller, with one problem . . . they all used tapes, which can get expensive. A few years later, the DVD-recordable cameras came into fruition (which wasn't actually that bad because DVDs aren't that expensive). Well here and now, the video camera gods have given us one of JVC's latest creations, the Everio G series camcorders.

The Everio G series camcorders consist of five different cameras which will give you ample recording time without worrying about tapes or DVDs to carry around and lose. The GZ-MG40 and GZ-MG20 models have a 20GB hard drive with 25 hours of recordable time. The GZ-MG70, GZ-MG50 and GZ-MG30 models have a 30GB hard drive with 37 hours of recordable time. To give you an idea of how much you would save, it would take 22 DVDs to fill a 30GB hard drive. You could probably store your entire video library on your Everio’s hard drive and then transfer the best scenes to your computer or DVD burner.

The latest and greatest release of Everio G series is the GZ-MG70 which has the capability to record at MPEG-2 quality. This is the highest quality (Ultra DVD Movie) it can record at, and it basically means you can record at DVD movie quality (seven hours of storage). The fine (DVD) mode gives you 10.5 hours,
Norm (TV) 14 hours and Eco (Internet) gives you the full 37 hours.

The Cyberlink DVD solution is bundled into your Everio G purchase. It comes with PowerProducer (video author your video clips), PowerDirector (video editing) and PowerDVD (plays back clips and DVDs with Dolby Digital audio).
JVC and Apacer also developed a DVD burner that connects directly to your Everio G camera without having to use a computer.

The Everio G series range in price from about $600 to about $1,000, depending on which one you buy. Keep in mind GZ-MG70 is the top of the line and the most expensive, but in the long run you will save money on not having to buy DVDs or tapes anymore. Look for it at www.jvc.com, Shirokiya or any other authorized JVC dealer.

Monitor Your Home From Afar With A Web Camera

Sometimes while I’m at work I’ll wonder what my mischievous pets are up to. . . which cat is throwing up on the vacuum cleaner or how many pellets my parrot is really throwing out of his cage. I guess it’s sort of like how a parent would think about what their kid is up to. Well, it’s easy to monitor “the kids” with a web camera.

Web cameras are nothing new, but people are increasingly using them as security cameras or to just curiously monitor activity inside the home. To get started with an effective web camera you can actually monitor online, you need a broadband Internet connection and a camera kit bundled with the proper hardware and software. Camera setups can be wired or wireless, but wireless offers more flexibility since it’s not tethered to your computer. Once your camera is installed, it will have its own IP address (a number that identifies the camera on the Internet). You type this number into any web browser (with your given password) and you’ll catch Fido in the act of chewing a chunk off the couch.

There are a variety of web cameras specifically designed for home monitoring with a wide price range. The most economically effective one is probably the Linksys WVC54G Wireless G Internet Video Camera. The camera includes its own web server, which means you can connect directly to a network without being plugged into a computer. Putting the camera in security mode automatically sends you e-mail alerts (up to three e-mail addresses) with video clips upon motion detection. The WVC54G comes with an easy to user Linksys Viewer and Recorder with a Snapshot feature (lets you take still pictures). This allows you to record video and audio to your computer’s hard drive. It uses Wireless-G (802.11g) networking with advanced MPEG4 video compression, giving you up to a 640x480-pixel audio/video stream. The WVC54G sells for about $190 from CompUSA/ www.compusa.com or www.linksys.com.

A higher-priced alternative is the D-Link DCS-5300G Internet Security Camera.
It is more than double the price of the Linksys WVC54G at $440 per camera, but with the added capability to pan the camera up to 270 degrees horizontally, tilt it up to 90 degrees vertically and a 4x optical zoom to view the action close-up. You can also monitor up to 16 cameras simultaneously on a single screen with the option to connect it to your television and VCR (if you even still have one of those). As with the Linksys, it records using MPEG4 compression, video is recordable to your computer’s hard drive and e-mail alerts can be sent to you. It is available at www.dlink.com.

Enjoying High-Speed Internet On TheBus

I admit that I haven’t used our wonderful transportation system since I learned how to drive many years ago. But now I actually have a reason to actually ride TheBus with high-speed Internet available onboard.

Sprint Hawaii recently launched its 3G EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) secure, wireless high-speed data service. The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services allowed Sprint to equip one of its buses to demonstrate how public transportation could be a more attractive option by having high-speed Internet access available while commuting.

“I’m excited about EVDO’s potential, and will be directing my administration to look closely into how this type of service could be made available to public transportation patrons,” said Mayor Hanneman. “While the recent spike in gas prices and costly parking fees make public transportation increasingly appealing, EVDO would enable commuters to jump start their work day before ever stepping foot into the office,” Hanneman added.

The American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle has also been equipped with EVDO service. This donation allows the Hawaii Red Cross to have a fully functioning mobile office at the scene of major disasters, such as last year’s Manoa flood.

You may remember my recent story on the EDGE technology having average download speeds of up 70 to 135 kilobits per second (Kbps), but EVDO definitely beats it with a faster average download speed of 400 to 700 Kbps. That means it would basically take you an average of one minute to download an mp3. Sprint is expanding its Power Vision EVDO high-speed wireless network to about 200 markets and more than 400 airports nationwide. Some of the airports include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas McCarran, Honolulu, Kahului, Kona and Lihue.

The demand for wireless data is growing. Wireless data subscribers in the U.S. are expected to grow from 9.1 million in 2003 to 31 million by 2007. EVDO is secure – it uses CDMA. It’s a technology that encodes, scrambles, encrypts and modulates data in multiple ways to ensure critical information can only be accessed by authorized users.

EVDO phones available are the Sprint PPC-6700 with Windows 5.0, Sanyo MM-9000 and Samsung MM-A940. You can also use EVDO-ready Sprint PCS Connection Cards – the Sierra Wireless AirCard 580 and the Novatel Wireless Merlin S620.

Order your own EVDO service at any Sprint Store, the Sprint sales office (841-4144) or www.sprint.com. There’s a promotional plan going on now for $59.99 per month if you sign a two-year service agreement, contact Sprint directly for more details.

Saving Precious Photo Negatives

I’ve been using digital photography for years so I haven’t had the thought of photo negatives cross my mind for awhile. I’ve always been a photography nut and love to take pictures, so my collection of photo negatives (before owning a digital camera) stacks up to my eyeballs.

In the past, a photo negative scanner was expensive, but the Epson Perfection 3590 Photo provides an affordable way to save all your favorite photo negatives before they disintegrate. The scanner can be used to scan regular pictures and your other documents, but it’s an easy way to save your 35mm negatives. It comes with an easy-to-use automatic film feeder and the scan quality for film is good at 3200 x 6400 dpi (for enlargements of up to 8” x 10” or larger).

As with other Epson scanners, the 3590 emphasizes ease of use. All you need to do to scan a strip of film is insert it into the autoloader slot and sit back and wait for it to scan. Unfortunately you can only load in one strip at a time, so if you have a whole box to scan, it will definitely take awhile. It hooks into your computer via USB 2.0, and has buttons on the front that allow you to scan directly to PDF, an e-mail program or your default printer.

There are three scan modes: fully automatic, professional and a third mode that falls in between the two. The full auto mode does not give you many options with fewer options to customize your scans. The professional mode gives you the opportunity to set grain reduction when scanning transparencies. If you’re unhappy with the results of automated edits, the settings are easy to modify in the configuration menu.

The included software includes a photo editor, a business card program and more importantly, color restore and dust removal features for the negative scans. The business card program is not the best, as it’s known to have a few errors for every business card it scans in. As a whole though, this is an excellent simple to use, “entry-level” scanner with good color and clarity. The discriminating photo professional may not be totally satisfied with the color quality in the default modes, but it’s good enough for me.

The Epson Perfection 3590 Photo works with both Windows and Mac and is available for about $150 on www.epson.com or at your nearest CompUSA.

Guide To A Merry Techie Christmas - Xbox 360 Is Here!

With Christmas upon us right around the corner, I just thought I'd share a few of my gift ideas:
Xbox 360 Is Here
Yes, after so much hype, Microsoft's Xbox 360 is finally here! That is, if you can get your hands on one. If you were smart enough to pre-order it or stood hours and hours in line to wait for one, then consider yourself lucky. It's the hottest thing on the block this Christmas. Over 25 Xbox 360 games are available for the holiday season, and of course new ones will keep popping up in the near future. Don't get rid of your old Xbox games because you can play those on the 360 too.

The Xbox 360 can also be used as a complete digital media source. It can play DVDs, music, view pictures and play other video media. You can plug your iPod into it and listen to your favorite songs. You can also copy songs over to your 360’s 20GB hard drive. If you have a Windows Media Center PC you can stream video/movies and televisions shows to your 360. The wireless controller makes it convenient to navigate through all of this with your lazy butt on the couch.

The Xbox 360 retails for $399. Hopefully you will be able to find one at one of the following: CompUSA, GameStop, KMart, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Sears or Best Buy. If you're really, really desperate, cannot find one anywhere and have lots of money to burn, www.amazon.com has them available for an insane $1,500.

Logitech Harmony 880 - A Smart Remote Control

With all the electronics I have in my house, I don’t enjoy having to keep track of a million remote controls floating around. I just need one remote to control everything. The Logitech Harmony 880 is the perfect solution for people like me who need remote control management.

The 880 can be programmed to match all your advanced audio-video equipment, and anything in your house that uses a remote control, including your Xbox or PlayStation 2. All you need to do is plug it into your computer and the web wizard walks you step-by-step through a setup procedure that allows you to enter in model numbers for your components. The Harmony Remote database is constantly updated, but if your device isn’t available for some reason, you can manually program the 880 to learn from your device’s remote. If you don’t understand the remote or your entertainment system, there’s a convenient HELP button to get you through it, and it’s so simple that just about any age level can use it. You can program up to eight custom controls on the bright color LCD screen and the remote has the capability to track the current state of 15 devices simultaneously.

One of my favorite things about the 880 is that it uses rechargeable lithium ion batteries (replaceable when worn out) and comes with a docking station. I can’t stand it when a remote runs out of juice, and you have hunt down replacement batteries. Depending on how much you use it, the batteries will last about one week off of one charge. If you just keep it on the charging dock, you don’t have to worry about it, plus you will always know where the remote is. The buttons on the 880 are flat and therefore more difficult to chew on for my parrot. It is also equipped with a motion sensor so when you move the remote it automatically turns on.

Last year Logitech acquired Intrigue Technologies, the manufacturer of Harmony universal remotes. The 880 is the first Harmony remote fully designed by Logitech, and the first to feature a color screen and a built-in rechargeable battery with a docking station.

To get the perfect remote for your loved one, the 880 is available for $250 at your CompUSA, Best Buy or www.logitech.com. It’s a bit pricey for a remote, but it’s well worth it for a high-end remote and those who are convergence-minded will truly appreciate this.

Leapfrog FLY Pentop Computer

The Leapfrog FLY Pentop Computer is the perfect educational toy for the keiki in your life. It is aimed at ages 8 to 13 years, but regardless, I had fun playing with it at the store.

The FLY is a leading edge computing platform that is designed to bring together computer interactivity with pen and paper. It combines a scanner, computer and a pen together so that it sees what you write and responds appropriately. This is the first consumer device that gives real-time audio feedback as you draw on the special FLY paper. If you draw a piano keyboard, tap the keys and a small speaker in the FLY will playback the correct sounds. If you draw a calculator on the paper, tap the numbers and you can actually use it from what you drew.

FLY could be considered a pocket tutor. It helps keiki through guided instruction and practice with math, science, social studies, spelling and has a pocket translator. Additionally it offers quizzes for these topics.

The basic package comes with learning tools and games that can also be entertaining for adults. Add-on cartridges and games extend the FLY’s capability, making it excellent for study and play. The Leapfrog’s FLY Pentop Computer is available at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Best Buy or Circuit City for about $100.