Some of my concerns when taking mass transit are the schedules, station locations and travel times between stations.  This is where iBART comes into play.  iBART is an iPhone application. 

Its purpose is to be helpful to anyone who is using the BART system.  iBART is also a one-stop reference source to help passengers locate nearby stations, provide contact information for BART, station maps, BART advisories and a Trip Planner.  It also tells you how much your trip will cost you.

I am surprised by the functionality and intuitive user interface of this sofware.  There is also a paid version, which includes more features like up-to-the-minute information related to the BART trains.

iBART is definitely a keeper in my book.  To read more about it visit www.pandav.us

iBART helps you get there is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. iPhone App keepers
2. iPhone app Stick It – helps with goals
3. Multi-platform notes application

User Interface: I am very impressed with the user interface.  It is very easy & intuitive.  I intentionally left the manual inside the 2″ x 3″ x 5.5″ box.  I wanted to see how much of the features I could access without any hints.

Display: My experience watching the high resolution 3.5″ diagonal widescreen display was great.  The screen was viewable from many different angles.

Multi-touch screen: It took a little getting used to.  But I’ve seen other people use it before, so it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. 

Sound:  The sound is very good.  I’ve listened to it with & without headphones.

Phone Service: So far, I have no complaints.  The phone is usable as a phone   I haven’t had any interruptions in service.

Connectivity Networking: The 3G network and WiFi have been reliable and easy to use.

Connectivity BLUETOOTH: I paired the iPhone with a BLUETOOTH Car Kit – Jabra Cruiser  SP710.  The pairing was flawless.  I didn’t need a manual to do this.  Of course prior knowledge of how to pair BLUETOOTH devices with phones helped.

Connectivity USB: I’m currently using it with a Windows XP computer and iTunes for updating information.  So, far so good.

GPS: I tried out the maps using the built-in GPS.  This is very cool.  Especially when you’re trying to figure out where to eat in close proximity.

Camera:  it was very easy to use.  When it launches, it asks if you want to record the location information.  Geotagging, what a great concept.

Slide Unlock: I have one issue so far.  The slide to unlock feature is inconvenient.  It’s not so easy to do it as a one handed operation.  Is it calibratable?  It would be nice if you could do a throw slider button gesture across the slider so it would be a simple operation.  This is my only complaint right now.

App Store: I have downloaded a few free apps.  So far the experience has been painless.

iTunes: I have watched some of the education videos available from Stanford University.  The audio & video quality has been excellent.

iPod: I own a lot of my CD’s.  After I figured out how to download the Albums into the iPhone they’ve been working fine.

Summary:  In a word, “WOW!!!”  My first impression of the iPhone has been an excellent experience.  I love the User Interface.  I’m still learning of course, so my opinion might change.  As I explore the features and applications, I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the experience.

To see all the details about the iPhone 3GS visit Apple iPhone Technical Specifications

iPhone 3GS review is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. iPhone insurance aka OtterBox Defender
2. Review: Insignia NS-WBRDVD Connected Blu-Ray Disc Player
3. Magellan Roadmate 1412 review

No USB FlashDrive

Most of us take for granted how important USB flash drives have become in our lives.  We use flash drives for storage and transportation of everything digital in our lives.  We store all kinds of documents on them; presentations, resumes, spreadsheets, eBooks, pictures, music, etc.

Recently, public computers have been infected by flash drives that had viruses on them.  The IT departments have modified their security policies by removing access to USB flash drives.  So, how does this effect you and your digital life?  What do you do, if you need to use a public computer in an environment that does not permit access to flash drives or FLOPPY drives? Hopefully, your IT department will allow an Online Storage solution to be used.

FREE Online Storage Options:

Over the next few posts I will be testing out and reviewing the FREE Online Storage Solutions.  Hopefully, one of these will meet your needs for online storage.

Did I miss any that you would like for me to include?

No more USB access to public computers is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Free online storage showdown
2. More reasons for online storage
3. The invisible resumé

At first, I thought the USB port was just going used as a simple audio player option.  However, as I looked into it further, I was pleasantly surprised with all the functionality the USB port feature brings to the table.

Audio

If there are audio files present on the USB drive when plugged into the unit, you will see an Audio menu option.  I tried out MP3 files and WMA files.  Both formats played just great.  The menu allows you to create a playlist to listen to or play a song individually.  The audio file played very nicely through my home theatre system.

Image

If there are image files present on the USB drive when plugged into the unit, you will see a Pictures menu option.  I had JPG and PNG files on my drive.  You can create a slide show, by adding images to a play list.

Video

If there are video files present on the USB drive when plugged into the unit, you will see a Video menu option.  I had MPG and WMV files on my drive.  These are playable on the Windows Media Player.

Notes:

The focus of this post is about the USB feature for the Insignia NS-WBRDVD.  I am very happy to report that the Player performed very well.  I never expected to see so much functionality packed into the USB feature.  If you want to see more details on the supported file formats.  This information is located in the Specifications section of the manual.  Around page 23 of the manual that came with my unit.

Insignia NS-WBRDVD (USB feature) is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Review: Insignia NS-WBRDVD Connected Blu-Ray Disc Player
2. 8 Steps to avoid feature creep
3. How to: Create pdf files for FREE from digitized images and Word docs

• Below $150
  • closer to $100 would be even better
• NOT brand X or brand Y
  • When it comes to customer loyalty, some customers will not forgive a slow user interface
• User Interface
  • No Flaps or doors (control cover)
    • They’re too easy to break
  • Start video without the remote control

Believe it or not many of the issues the Blu-Ray Player vendors think are issues are non-issues.

Some non-issues:

• Don’t need composite video, I can use component video or HDMI
• Don’t need NetFlix, I currently use TiVo for my NetFlix needs.  At some point in the future I may compare the performance/user interface.
• Don’t need wireless, I have wired access
• Wasn’t planning on using USB, although I might try out that feature

Connectors:

• Video Out (Yellow)
• Audio Out (Red, White)
• Componenet Video Out (Red, Green, Blue)
• HDMI
• Ethernet
• Optical Digital Out
• Coaxial Digital Out
• USB port
• WiFi antenna

What comes in the box:

• Blu-Ray Disc Player
• Standard Audio/Video cable (Yellow, Red, White)
• Remote Controller & Batteries
• Manual

What’s missing from the box:

• HDMI cable
  • I understand leaving the HDMI cable out, maybe the user has component video
  • It’s better to not charge for it & have the customer decide what type of video or audio connectors to get

Features, I’ve checked out so far:

• Standard DVD 1080p upscaling
• HDMI interface
• Component Video
• Digital Audio
• Blu-Ray playback

Features I plan to check out in the future:

• USB
• Audio CDs
• NetFlix

Out of the Box experience

• Power-up – fast
• Power-down -fast
• Connection to Ethernet – easy
• Connection to Display – easy
• Connection to Power – easy
• Connection to Audo – easy
• Software upgrade – easy
• Play standard DVD – easy
• Play Blu-Ray DVD – easy
• Drive Door open – fast
• Drive Door close – fast
• Disc recognition – fast
• Drive noise
  •  made loud noise during SEEK operations
  • noise not detected during PLAY operation

 Recommendation:

If you’re looking for a very functional well connected entry level Blu-Ray player this is it.  It is ready to connect to upper end systems as well as lower end TVs.  The only feature, it lacks is S-Video.  I would have used S-Video instead of composite video.  It’s definitely a great buy in my eyes.

Review: Insignia NS-WBRDVD Connected Blu-Ray Disc Player is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Insignia NS-WBRDVD (USB feature)
2. What is a Blu-ray Disc Player and why should I care?
3. Blu-ray Disc Player for Christmas, around $100

Some of the features in Avast:

The one feature I have been impressed with the most has been the Outlook integration.  It catches viruses before you have a chance to open the file.

WARNING! A VIRUS HAS BEEN DETECTED

It has this alarm that goes off like an industrial accident that warns you of eminent danger that must be addressed now.  I really like this interface.  I can’t tell you how many times it has saved me from emails with embedded viruses.  I have avast! Home installed on my wife’s computer and my laptop.

You should check out avast Home.  I’m sure you’ll agree, it does a great job.

My First choice

When friends ask which anti-virus software they should use, I always tell them to use Avast over anything else.  It’s quick & easy.  It’s thorough.  It has never let me down.

When all else fails just use Avast

There have been people who have asked me for help with cleaning up their computer due to a virus that has rooted itself in the system pretty good.  The first thing I always do is install a fresh copy of Avast onto the questionable computer.  One thing that Avast does that some others don’t is it scans the system before anything else in the boot cycle.  This helps it to find viruses before they have a chance to get setup & disguise themselves. How cool is that?!

If you couldn’t tell, I really like Avast.  I realize it’s not the only Anti-virus software that exists.  But it is the only anti-virus software I use.  I’ve tried many other anti-virus software packages, but I really like Avast the best.

Avast matey! Thar’s trojans in them emails is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Does your Windows PC have a virus?
2. Safe Social Networking and Computer Policies
3. Mind Mapping Software, creating a ToDo list

Here are a few things to consider when choosing a theme:

• Is the theme easily customizable without programming?
• Will it support the widgets I’ve been using?
• Will it support my plugins I’ve been using?
• Is it compatible with the latest version of WordPress?
• Is it following the documented API to ensure future compatibilty?
• Will this theme meet my present and future needs without customizing?
• Is there a large community of users that endorse this theme for their own websites?
• What is the performance like?  Does it load quickly?
• Is there a support forum for it?
• How quickly do the developers respond to issues? 

At the time of this post, there were 1,029 free themes to choose from just on the WordPress.org website.  That doesn’t even include any of the premium themes available.  The premium themes range in price between $5 and  $100.  Some are priced a little higher but you get more support.

I think the major decision boils down to the kind of customization you are willing to do.

Things you might have to customize:

• CSS (Style elements)
  • background color
  • font color
  • font size
  • positioning
• content
  • images
• PHP (Logic)
  • how content or comments are being displayed
  • disable code that isn’t necessary
  • adding scripts for plugin support

So, what am I going to do?  The themes I am currently looking at are all FREE themes.  The only problem is that these themes kind of meet my needs, but not exactly.  I have chosen one that will suffice until I find one that meets my needs. I have been avoiding the premium themes, but I have a gut feeling if I start looking into the premium themes, I’ll quickly find exactly what I’ve been looking for.  If I put a price on my time, the cost of using a premium theme isn’t so bad.

Finding the right WordPress Theme is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. WordPress in my future
2. Some programming required
3. The journey begins

I just finished reading a book titled ”WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson.”  The first half of this book was mostly a review for me.  It covered many things I had discovered the hard way.  It was good to read another point of view on WordPress.  It reinforced what I had already learned, plus I picked up some new tidbits along the journey.  The second half of WordPress for Dummies covers all the stuff under the hood; the details of WordPress themes and Plug-ins and how to customize the user experience.  This was the main reason I bought the book and wasn’t disappointed.  I have already learned many new things I plan to utilize in the future.

One of my goals for the next 100 is to focus on the user experience.

With my website I plan to:

• Learn how WordPress themes work
• Learn how WordPress Plug-ins work
• Customize a WordPress them with my own style and photos
• Develop a WordPress plug-in or two that has a great feature everybody wants and needs

WordPress in my future is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Finding the right WordPress Theme
2. MrWes celebrates 100th blog
3. For Dummies books are for brains too

Faster harvest option

Improved harvesting User Interface in Farm Town

They have added a Faster harvesting option.  In the past you would take 2 clicks for each field you wanted to harvest.  You would click to select the field, then you would click to sell or click to store the harvested crop.

Now, after you select a crop to harvest and a method (sell or store) you are presented with this dialog.  Asking if you want to use this option for the rest of the session.  This is already making the harvesting more fun.

One thing is still missing, you can’t queue up the harvesting.  You still have to do it one field at a time.  So, when you measure this against FarmVille, they both take approximately the same number of clicks.

FarmVille Hot Air Balloon

Special Weekend Balloon Sale

While we were working one of the FarmVille properties there was a notice that said a Hot Air Balloon was available during the weekend.  We jumped right on that opportunity to have a really cool decoration for the farm.

Networking at it’s best

When there are features that have been added or special purchase items in your favorite application, it’s always nice to know that your friends are looking out for you and will let you know that these opportunities exist.  I’ve shared these with you, now share this information with your friends.

Happy Farming !!!

Farm Town / FarmVille news is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Farm Town or FarmVille
2. A few more Farm Town tips
3. Farm Town – Social networking between generations

In the past, I never bothered with setting the time and date on the camera.  I never printed out the timestamp of the camera on the pictures.  So what was the point?  It just seemed like a waste of time.  Today, I had a revelation, the date really does matter.

Flickr cares

I joined flickr today, I posted some of our recent photos from our vacation.  When I did a search for “Sundial Bridge” to see the most recent pictures I posted along with the others, my images didn’t show up.  I was perplexed, I knew I should see them at the first of the list when I clicked the most recent link.  I had to figure out why these pictures weren’t showing up.  I went back to my photostream and clicked on one of the pictures that should have shown up, then I clicked on the more properties link.  The properties is the EXIF data embedded inside the JPEG file. 

EXIF data

 The EXIF (Exchangeable Image File format) data is used by digital cameras to embed camera and image information inside the JPEG file.  Just a few examples of the kind of data stored is Image  (Height x Width), Resolution, Image Description (Camera), Software, Compression information, GeoLocation and last but not least the date the image was taken and digitized.

The Timestamp fix

The problem was my images were timestamped with a date of 2000.  This date corresponded to a default date of the camera.  1/1/2000.  It had never been changed, so it kept it.  NOTE to Camera User Interface designers, if you’re going to store the date in EXIF data, then set the default to a year before the software release and have your users set the date at least to a year software is released.  ie. If your software was released in 2009, you would set the default date to 2008.  Then remind them every time the camera is turned on to set the date to a date beyond your software release date.

I eventually fixed the EXIF problem by using software to change the date taken tag.

Problem resolved

Unfortunately, I had to delete then upload these pictures again.  Fortunately, there was only a dozen of them, so it didn’t take too long.  I executed a search as I had done a few hours before and got the results I had originally expected.

I have learned my lesson, loud and clear.  I have set my date and time in the camera, and will do so forever more.

Till next time, don’t forget to set the time and date in your camera.

Your camera date really does matter is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

Related posts:

1. Don’t forget to date it
2. Olympus C-3000 Zoom
3. More reasons for online storage