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FAV5: Podcasts
2006-08-04 04:16:00
I listen to several Pod casts (and watch a few Video Podcast s /Vidcasts as well). These are a just a few of my favorites: [Note that I've linked the title for each of the podcasts to the iTunes subscription link.] This Week in Tech - As a huge fan of TechTV and Leo Laporte, how could this one not top my list? Leo and an ever-changing hodge-podge of TechTV alumni and other tech savvy guests discuss, you guessed it, the week in tech. By the way, there are a multitude of excellent podcasts on the twit.tv site, so check it out. The Daily Giz Wiz - Though it might be an acquired taste (it does actually make its own gravy), I just can't get enough of Leo and Dick DiBartolo (of MAD magazine fame) attempting to review a gizmo while entertaining one another--and us. If only it were the Hourly Giz Wiz.DL.tv - Digital Life TV is another great podcast featuring another of my favorite TechTV hosts: Patrick Norton (with a little help from his bubbly/demented sidekick Robert Herron). DL.tv is ab...
More About: Cast , Casts

FAV5: Stuff Hutch Just Can't Seem to Live Without
2006-08-04 03:30:00
One of the reasons I started this blog was to share interesting and useful tech stuff (READ: sites, tools, articles, etc.) with my friends and co-workers. E-mail seemed to just get lost in the mix, and wasn't all that appropriate when some of the topics might not be work-related. Blogging was the obvious solution. Even though I've strayed at times from my original format, the intention has remained the same: share interesting and useful tech information with a few thousand close friends.There are times that a simple list of these serendipitous findings will do just fine. Such are the FAV5 - five of my favorite tech-related links on a particular topic. Look for "FAV5" in the title from time to time for these tasty tech tidbits. Times change, tastes change, technology rolls on and so I am certain that these lists will continually change (and the links will eventually break), but I hope you'll enjoy them.- Hutch
More About: Just , With , Stuff , Live , Seem

SECURITY: Airport Starbucks Lead to Terrorism
2006-07-31 22:38:00
My headline may be attention getting, but it is hardly far from the truth.  At least according to Bruce Sterling's recent article in this month's Wired Magazine: Barbarians at Gate 8.  I don't often agree with Mr. Sterling's politics, but his writing is always enjoyable and thought provoking.  While that great promoter of anti-Babel, the Internet, seems to be a Westernizing influence at first glance, it is much more akin to the amoral flame.  The same fire that heats your home from the fireplace, can burn it down if not contained.I don't have any great insight in how to resolve this particular issue (both freedom and liberty can be used against themselves--see Rousseau), but I think this article is worth some pondering.- Hutch
More About: Security , Terrorism , Terror , Airport , Port

STORAGE: Drives, Drives Everywhere, But Not a Mac to Sync
2006-07-28 16:19:00
Space. No, not the final frontier, nor an odyssey, space is something we all need. We've got file servers, NAS, thumb drives, firewire/USB externals; you name it, we've tried it. But sometimes you need (or want) that storage to be available anywhere; or perhaps you just want it to be off-site for safe keeping. The web has always had various file storage/file sharing options, but those available today are simpler, more compatible, and often free. Personally, I rely heavily on iDisk. Sadly, it costs me money. The upside to iDisk (for the Mac user) is that it not only is online storage/backup, it also syncs my calendars, bookmarks, address book, etc. Fine, if you have more than one Mac. But all most of us really need is a file backup/storage solution. While we all wait for Google to release its upcoming G-Drive , what are the options? Here are just a few of the one's I've looked at (if you want more, check out the TechCrunch blog):- FolderShare - While technically NOT an o...
More About: Storage , Everywhere , Rage

GOOGLE: Release Your Inner Draftsman
2006-06-16 21:33:00
I loved architecture and engineering in High School. I wasn't great at it, but I enjoyed it. It probably didn't hurt that our teacher, Mr. Woods, was a fantastic and passionate educator. It just so happens that I was learning about drafting right as the transition from pen-and-paper to CAD was taking place, so I saw the best of both worlds. Now Google is allowing me to re-live those salad days and design things that actually look nice with yet another free tool: Sketch-up (http://sketchup.google.com). You've really got to watch some of the demo videos to appreciate how awesome this tool is. Not only can you create three-dimensional objects, you can place them in other spaces, say, Google Earth. While some of Google's recent beta launches have been met with skepticism, perhaps deservedly so, sketch-up may just help Google regain its reputation for giving away really cool tools.- Hutch
More About: Your , Draft , Release , Lease