The DigitalRV Blog

If you’ve been looking around the site over the past few weeks you’ve probably noted several changes.  The overall look of the site has changed, and the finishing touches were put on today.

So, what’s new around the Digital RV?

• The Main Page, DigitalRV.net has a new look.
• The main site, the tech blog, and the podcast site now all have the same format.
• We’ve launched the Digital RV Podcast site now.  Going forward both video and audio podcasts reviewing new tech, showing tutorials, etc., will be available at the podcast site.  Take a look.

Sorry this blog has been quiet for a few weeks.  Time has been spent on the new podcast site, and the redesign of the main site as well.  Plus there’s been some new work on Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles as well.  Pop by there too.  That site still has it’s original look, and I’m not sure it will change.

In the next few weeks we’ll have some new reviews up here and on the podast site.  What will they be on?

1. The Invisible Shield:  An interesting product that will help protect your IPod.  Also created for other devices as well, but we tested one for the IPod 60GB Video model.
2. Sony’s latest hard drive camcorder:  If you’ve followed Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles you might have noted a change in the video quality…..
3. Wordpress:  Many how to’s on utilizing wordpress beyond blogging will start to be posted on the podcast site soon.
4. Many more fun items coming soon……

That’s all for today.  Check back soon!

Several updates today while traveling down 81.  Last evening we were lacking Internet connectivity (only miles away from where we were).  So today I got to update the blog, check the forum, and play with a side project.

WheelInterested from the forum and several other folks have been looking for a photo gallery at the digital rv.  Well, we’ve got one…sort of.  There is now a gallery, located at http://www.digitalrv.net/gallery.  The software is functioning, but one annoying catch.

Supposedly it can integrate with the forum software and use the same user database.  This would save people having to create logins for each system.  So far though, all testing has been hit & miss.  Sometimes the shared user names work, sometimes they don’t.  I’ll continue working on a final solution, but in the meantime the photo gallery is available as a “stand alone complex”  ;)  By that I mean, folks can sign up and use it, but you’ll need to create a user name and password.  It is not sharing that data with the forum at present.  Sorry, I’ll keep working on it.

So far the digital gadgetry has been working well.  We’re on the net, sharing photos and stories, the whole 9 yards.  Nothing bad to report, other than my lack of vision regarding a tire.  ;)  For more on that click here.

Off to sleep now.  Did you remember to Spring Ahead?

The Digital RV Blog hasn’t had updates in a few days. A good deal has been happening.

Advertising for the first book on mobile technology, The Digital RV, has started up this month in Highways magazine. Looks like we’ll be seeing a positive review of the book as well in Trailer Life. And the spring issue of Airstream Life Magazine will have something interesting as well. Here’s hoping we see some sales growth to help grow the site, and the community of digital rv’ers.

In other news, the forum will be seeing a new chat coming on line very soon. In addition we’ve been working out integration of a photo gallery for everyone to share their digital pictures from the road and home. So the forum will be adding great features. Keep the requests coming in, and we’ll try to meet them. Pass on the forum info to other RV’ing friends as well. If you tell 5 friends and they tell 5 friends it will be as bad as one of those spoof e-mails that float around the net.

Shortly the inspiration for the Digital RV will be pulling out of Massachusetts and hitting the road for an unknown amount of time. We’ll see where we land! And the whole time blog updates and reviews will be hitting the web. What works on board will be shared with readers, that’s for sure.

On an intersting note, The Digital RV made the Airstream electronic newsletter. I knew nothing about it until a friend passed it along. Too cool! And no, the photo on the page is Johnny Depp, not the author. I know, easy to confuse us eh?
Finally, the author finally got the last big round of medical testing. Not exactly the news I was looking for, but I now know what I must do to manage the medical stuff. If you’re looking for the full update click here to read the personal journals at the “Airstream Chronicles.”

Just a quick site update.  The Digital RV’s main site now has new RSS feeds from several popular RV blogs.  To see the new page, and blog updates simply click here.

If you know of other blogs and RSS feeds regarding RVs, let me know.  Post a comment here and I’ll be sure to update the page.

Sometimes I forget things.  I posted a link to WordPress where you can download the software to run on your own site.  But for those of you who don’t have a site, I neglected to include a simple link for you.

If you’re itching to start your own blog, but lack a site host or the desire to deal with that, you’re all set.  You can setup a blog at WordPress.  To start blogging immediately, click here.

Those who have read the book know I also suggested Blogger.com.  They’re still good too, but I’ve got to tell you, WordPress is pretty slick.  There are a great number of interesting blog software packages out there.  For Digital RV’ers, this is a great way to keep friends & family up to date with what you’re doing.  And I promise, anyone can do it!  Give it a whirl, and tell me when you’ve got your own blog up!

For many years, I was involved with Wireless Telecommunications. In other words, cell phones. I worked in Network Engineering & Operations. There are many networks in New England that I’ve worked on from the ground up, and networks across the U.S. that I helped plan an manage. Don’t blame me for coverage issues, that’s RF, I just ran the switch & network side. In all that time, one of the things I dreaded planning the most were system upgrades.

Normally we’d spend a good deal of time planning “retrofits”. Fancy way of saying software upgrades for the switches that run wireless systems. We’d go into great detail on what the software upgrade was for, how it would be implemented, and the backout procedures if we had some form of disaster during the upgrade. Many MOPs (Methods of Procedure) would be written, massive conference calls would be held, and events short of a parade would sometimes occur. The night of a big retrofit many people would be on calls, watching or executing the upgrade, monitoring other systems, and drinking a lot of coffee.
Not today, and not on this blog. I just downloaded Word Press 2.0, and installed it in under 10 minutes. The blog software has been upgraded without a hitch. Says a great deal about the good folks who make Word Press. Hats off to you. Maybe you’d like to have a conference call sometime just for fun?

If you want to know more about WordPress, check their site out (just made their name a link if you didn’t notice). Don’t have your own web site? That’s ok, WordPress will host you. The cost…..Free. Can’t beat that……

Just a site update note. The forum pages are now RSS enabled as well! If you need to know more about what that means, click here to read about the RSS on the forum, and how to use it.

The main site has been updated to inlcude more links of interest for RV’ers. You can check the links page by clicking here. The links page will be updated often, so check back frequently.

Also, if you’ve got some suggested links, we’d love to post them!

Ok, after some additional tweaking the DigitalRV.net Forum is up and operational! It will still require some more work, and input from users. That’s where readers of this blog come in. If you’ve got questions or ideas about being a Digital RV’er please pay the forum a visit, and become a member if you like.

If you haven’t read or ordered the book yet, that’s ok. The forum is free to anyone who’s interested in the subject. So, the computer novice to the hardcore Digital RV’er is welcome on the new forums. I hope you enjoy the new feature, and return often to add to everyone’s knowledge.

The past few days have been nothing but work. Since the launch of the book & site I’ve been scrambling to add more to the site to make it more useful for all readers.

I’ve been reviewing different CMS programs (Content Management Systems), Blog Software (and I selected Word Press), and Forum Servers. My web hosting company probably thinks something big must be happening with my account. Load a new server, install a new database, test, take down the database, remove the server files, do it again. That’s been the experience since the night before Christmas.

Well, after more than 12 hours of testing stuff yesterday I’ve finally settled on a new forum server. Yes, there are dozens of forums on the net focusing on RVs. And I’ll leave them to what they do best, general RV information. The new forum here will be covering all topics relevant to being a, “Digital RV’er”.

That’s where the readers come in. I’m just starting to structure the forums. I’d love any input potential users would like to offer.

The new forum link will be posted on this blog later today. At that time, feel free to take a look through the forum, and think about how you’d like topics to be structured. Your input will directly affect how the forum turns out.