Richard John Jenkins
K12 Education Solutions Engineer
Company
Adobe Systems
City/State:
Ventura, CA
Your blog/website?
Adobe Education Technologies: EDTechTable
Favorite Gadget(s):
Cork screw
Shorter cables are better for travel
As a frequent traveler, one of the things I'm constantly trying to do is to reduce the amount of time it takes to get through airport security. One of those ways is to either reduce the amount of electronics I travel with (not likely to happen) or make them more TSA friendly.
If you have a cable mess in your bag it's going to be harder to xray therefore likely yield you a "bag check" so that they can take a closer look.
Three Cables I Can't Live Without
I've narrowed my cable usage down to 3-4 cables that I can't live without. One is a Firewire 800 cable and the other two are a USB Mini Cable and a USB Micro cable. There is actually a 4th cable and that's an iPhone/iPod sync cable, but I haven't found a short one that I really like yet. However, I was able to find all 3 shorter cables (in most cases 6 inches or less) at usbfirewire.com
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My recent trip to Europe: What worked and what didn’t?
Nothing beats real-world testing and during my last international trip it was like having a mobile testing lab to actually put all of the things I've been writing about over the past year to the test. I visited Germany, London, and Paris over the course of two weeks. In many cases I was only in a given city for one night. So there were multiple trips to the airport, and multiple hotel stays as well as getting around on the ground in places that I've never been before. So I thought I'd spend a few moments highlighting the gear and gadgets that I depended on during this trip and talk about the ones that came up short.
What worked?
I would have to say that just about everything "worked". There weren't really any pieces of technology that totally failed me. Of course I took my MacBook Pro, my iPhone 3GS, my Nikon D5000 DSLR, my Kodak Zi8 HD Video camera, a multitude of cables and accessories as well as the necessary luggage to carry it all. So with the understanding that nothing really failed me miserably, let's talk about the devices that really made a difference:
The iPhone 3GS was the star of the trip
Now granted my MacBook Pro was really the tool that I depended on to get my work done, but the iPhone was actually the gadget that made the most impact on this trip. I can't believe how much I depended on it throughout the day. I used it for just about everything, including keeping my flights and schedule together. I used it as my GPS for getting around. I used it of course to make calls, but more importantly I used it to make very low cost VoIP calls. I used it to snap photos and of course instantly share those photos with friends and family. I even used it for language translations. While I'm sure other smartphones do a great job too, I just couldn't imagine travel without my iPhone, especially internationally. There is an App for just about everything! For a list of the Top 10 Travel Apps that I used and that totally rocked, go here.
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You’ve chosen a winner! The best USB mic…
Last Monday I asked for your help in choosing the USB mic that sounded best to you for my podcasting. I already had my favorite choice, but I figured my choice isn't as important as what sounds best to my listeners. Well as luck would have it, my favorite choice was your favorite choice too 🙂
You chose the…Rode Podcaster Studio Kit (Sample 1)
I have enjoyed using this mic since day one. My only complaint has been that the volume/gain level isn't as high as I would like. However, I did think it was the best sounding and apparently so did many of you. However, it's also clear to me that different ears have different tastes. So although the Rode Podcaster got the most votes, it doesn't mean that the other two choices aren't good. Apparently they are because they each got votes too.
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Tech Profile of Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
Sole Proprietor
Jack Beckman Software (ok, not as my day job)
Sterling heights, MI
Your blog/website?
Blog: MacGroup.org/blog
Website: www.beckmanjm.com
Favorite Gadget(s):
Traveling with too many electronic devices?
I just got back from two weeks of international business travel. The trip involved traveling through multiple airports over the course of two weeks. While my new Skooba bag performed extremely well and made it so that I didn't have to take my laptop out (except once on the return to the US), I still ran into the "too many electronic devices – bag check!" scenario.
Lots of little gizmos
I carry lots of little devices and cables when I travel. Unfortunately this is sometimes too much for the TSA agent to try to see through and the easiest thing for them is to yell "bag check" and let someone else have a closer look. I knew this would be a problem so I started putting several items in two mesh bags and taking those bags out of my laptop bag so that they go through separately. This works most of the time, however, the two bags don't hold everything and it started to become an even bigger hassle to take out both bags and still have to take out individual items.
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Tech Profile of Chita Hunter
Chita Hunter
Software Instructor, Technology Writer
Company
Hunter Designs
Southfield, MI
Your blog/website
Favorite Gadget(s):
iPhone, Tennis racquet
Apocket proves that technology doesn’t always have to cost a lot
Every now and then I come across a deal that is simply too good to pass up. I subscribe to the DealMac RSS feed in Mac Mail and 99% of the time I hit delete on each deal. However, there are those times where I click to buy within a heartbeat.
I was already quite happy with my TruePower IV external battery for my iPhone 3GS. It easily doubles the battery life and provides charging to other USB devices. It also gives me an LED light to take photos in low light situations. Great! The only downside to this case s that it's big.
The alternatives like the popular Mophie Juice Pack are smaller, but cost almost as much as my more capable TruePower IV.
Apocket iPhone 3G/3GS Multifunction Case/Charger for only $25???
So when I saw the deal on the Apocket case for only $24.99 I jumped on it. Not only did I jump on it for me, I bought 5 of them for friends and family. I didn't know what to expect. I surely didn't expect it to be great for almost 1/4 the cost of similar products, but when it arrived, I was actually quite pleased. First off it has a 30 pin doc connector on the bottom. So you just charge it using your existing cables and chargers. That's a plus right off the bat and of course reduces costs. No need to include a separate charger. Although 30 pin connector is backwards on the bottom (plug you cable in the opposite way that you would into your iPhone), it works great.
The top of the case is spring loaded for easy insertion and removal of your iPhone.
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Tech Profile of Larry Becker
Larry Becker
NAPP Executive Director
Company
Natl. Association of Photoshop Professionals
Tampa, FL
Your blog/website
Favorite Gadget(s):
iPod Touch, Nikon D200, MacBook Pro
International Power!
Frequent international travelers have got the power thing figured out. When you travel from the US to another country the question becomes what do you need to charge/use your electronic devices. My friend Michele who was headed to the UK asked me this very question. So I thought I spend a few minutes here giving you some tips along with my favorite power adapter.
Converter vs an Adapter
Many of the electronics designed to be traveled with (like notebook computers, iPods, iPhones) are already geared to be used in different countries. An easy way to know is to look at the description on the power adapter for your gear. If it says that it can handle 100-240 volts then you're all set. All you need is a plug "adapter" so that you can plug it in the wall of the country you're going to.
However, if your power adapter has a max input of 120 volts. That means that it was designed to work in the US only and in order to use it in another country that has 240 volt wall outlets you're going to need a power "converter" something that can regulate the 240 volts down to 120 volts. Or you might just go with a compatible 3rd party adapter like the ones from iGo.
For your Mac, iPod or iPhone
If you have a portable electronic device from Apple, your supplied adapter already works in other countries. All you need is an adapter and Apple sells a nice kit called the Apple International Travel Kit. This kit has everything you need to adapter your MacBook/PowerBook adapter as well as a USB power adapter (actually it's there older version with the removable prongs) and sync cable With this kit you'll be all set in the US, UK, Australia, Korea, etc. You can get the Apple kit here.
