The DigitalRV Blog

Being a Digital RV’er means you have more options while on the road, right? Well, yes, it does.

Digital RV’ing also opens you to some issues as well. Your data can be exposed via WiFi networks, shared networks at parks you visit, and more. But you can control that pretty simply.

• Get a good firewall running on your system.
• Use Anit-Virus software.
• Secure your wireless network. Always use a WEP key.
• Backup your data regularly!

There’s the simple steps. But there’s more, and your exposed every day, not by your computer and digital technology. You’re exposed just through your existence!

You’ve probably heard the stories often on the TV or Radio news. Large corporations, the federal government, state governments have lost data. 60,000 employees data gets out into the public. Hackers have gotten into credit card clearing house databases. The list goes on and on. And none of it has to do with your personal digital security measures!

What can you do?

For this author I paid attention to a recent advertising campaign. Life Lock caught my attention, and I researched them, and finally signed up with them.

Now, do you really need an outside service out there to protect your credit and good name? Yes, absolutely. From a friend’s direct experience I became concerned and protected myself with Life Lock.

My friend, “Mr. J” was a full-time RV’er for several years. He and his wife lived aboard a Class A for two years before building a new house. Their travels were very short, and they didn’t do coast to coast as I have over the past year. As a matter of fact, they stuck close to “home”. All the familiar stops, shops, and service spots.

During their time aboard their RV Mr. J’s identity was stolen. A knock came at his door one afternoon, the local sheriff had come with a warrant for his arrest! He was accused of writing bad checks all over town.

With a little research Mr. J found that a person had opened an account in his name. The person opened credit cards too. And he was running a muck with Mr. J’s identity. How did it happen?

9 months earlier Mr. J had his RV serviced at his local dealer. The dealer’s nephew did some work in the rig, and while working in the rig, copied Mr. J’s driver’s license information and registration information. The dealer’s nephew was the criminal. No computer use, no hacking, just someone coming across your hard documents is all you need!

One year later Mr. J is still cleaning up his credit reports.

Knowing his story I’ve remained concerned since I hit the road. When I came across Life Lock I was thrilled. For under $150 a year they promise to keep my identity safe! The service is simple and easy to setup. The peace of mind it offers is priceless.

Life Lock is not a sponsor here.  I paid for their service just like anyone else.  They are a service I’d recommend.  I’d suggest you research them on your own and make your own decision.  For me, they provide extra piece of mind while I’m on the road.  That simple!

Oh, Mr. J is now a Life Lock customer too.

In a surprising move, Apple launched Safari 3’s Beta for both Macintosh and Windows.  Why would Apple do that, given Firefox exists?

Over the past few years I’ve been using both Macintosh & Windows.  The browsers provided by each of the software manufacturers have never been as good as others available on the Internet.  Both Explorer and Safari always fell behind the curve.  And unfortunately, Safari for Windows (and Mac for that matter) still doesn’t measure up.

Apple claims speed increases in the latest inception of Safari over Explorer and Firefox.  Hunting the web you’ll find many groups that have already done benchmark testing to see if it’s true.  So far, the reviews seem to be mixed.

What is clear regarding the latest version of Safari is simple.  It’s no Firefox.

Fortunately, the latest version of Safari displays XHTML and CSS properly.  After a recent change to Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles I received several complaints from Windows users who browse the web with Internet Explorer.  Amazingly enough, Firefox, Netscape, & Safari could read the new version of the site perfectly.  Explorer choked, and it seems it was dying on the updated Style Sheets.  Geeze, Microsoft still can’t get it right, even if industry standards comply with the updated site.   Safari on Windows does in fact display the updated site properly, so there’s a plus in Apple’s favor.
Why the big software vendors think it’s necessary to create their own browser is beyond me.   My simple suggestion to everyone out there.  Get Firefox, enjoy your web browsing experience!  Sorry Apple, sorry Mircrosoft……you’re still not getting it in the browser space, and that’s fine, there are other people who do get it.

Need to read some reviews?  Here you go:

http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007/06/wwdc_safari_3_o.html 

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070612-afirst-look-safari-3-on-windows.html 

Take it from me, both Windows & Mac users:  Stick to Firefox!

Over the course of the past year I’ve gotten to talk with many readers. And I’ve heard observations on the book regarding most everything covered.

One theme has popped up several times, and I’d like to address it here. A reader recently wrote in a simple to the point observation. “You seem to have a very strong bias to Macintosh.”

The short answer is, “Yes, I do.”

I’ll always be happy to write Windows how to’s, create podcasts for Windows users as a tech demonstration, etc. But when push comes to shove, you’ll find me working on my MacBook Pro, or my IBook, not my HP Windows system.

Ah, he’s another one of those Macintosh hardcore followers. That’s got to be it. Actually, no, it’s something more than that. The truth of the matter is that the Digital RV is all about recomending technology that works for RV’ers. On the road things are very different from home. If something breaks down or is hard to use while in a remote spot, who can help you out. Normally, nobody. So, in the interest of sharing the best avaialble with readers, I always lean toward Mac now.

So, has this author always been a strong Mac proponent? No, not at all. At one time I urged people away from Macintosh and towards the Windows operating system. And there were good reasons to do so then. Now there are good reasons to move away from Windows only systems back to Mac.

In the early 90’s while in undergraduate I worked in the campus computer lab. It was a pretty even split. IBM clones, and little rectangular Macs. No strong preference at that point in time. My biggest issue in that lab was keeping the printers running near the end of each semester.

While in grad school doing my thesis on the Economics of Digital Networks I moved toward Windows. Windows NT was out. Stable system. Web servers were easy to install. Roaming packs of hackers hadn’t hit the scene quite yet. Windows was robust, memory efficient, and the software / hardware was cheap compared to Mac.

The first job out of grad school was with a small magazine / internet publisher. They had installed a Windows NT server in an office full of Macs. I got to compare the systems first hand, and Macintosh lost out in my mind. That was 1995. The Macs were memory hogs, the equipment was expensive, and the software was equally expensive. Windows NT and 95′ offered everything Mac didn’t. Cheaper hardware, better memory usage, cheap software, and lots of freeware available on the Internet. On a daily basis I urged the owners of that business to move away from Mac and to Windows 95.

In my opinion, Windows 95 & 98 were fantastic. In the early days of the Internet there was so much available for those systems. I ran Windows NT networks, worked with 95 & 98 clients, and found the operating systems to be fantastic. At the same time, it looked like Macintosh was in real trouble.

But a big shift occurred. After 98 there was ME. That was my next OS. And it was terrible. Drivers didn’t work, hardware incompatibilities cropped up, and I found myself spending more time dealing with glitches than using the Windows systems for work. If you spend 6 hours fixing the software, and 2 hours working, you’re really hurting productivity.

In 2002 my ex was having some really big troubles with her custom Dell Laptop loaded with Windows. She didn’t get what she paid for, and she’d spent well over $2500. Driver problems, video problems, and a system that served better as a paper weight than anything else. And oh yes, she was a tech professional as well.

I suggested checking into Macintosh again, as I heard the system was powered by a Unix operating system. Given her unix expertise I thought it might go well. So she picked up a Mac, and that’s when my change began. As I tinkered with her system and looked around I found it stable, easy to use, reasonable software, and found that Mac gave you everything you needed to be productive off the bat!

I bought my own system several weeks later.

5 years later I’m extremely pro Macintosh. I don’t work for them, get no income from them, but will happily advise readers to strongly consider them at their next PC purchase. Why do I continue to be so pro Mac? Here’s the list:

• They work.
• Plug & Play really is plug and play on a Mac.  In test after test while writing the Digital RV, new equipment used on the Mac took under 10 minutes to setup.  New equipment on a brand new Windows system often took much longer (sometimes into hours).
• Macs can now run a split system with Parallels, allowing you to run Mac & Windows at the same time.  If you HAVE to run Windows, you can.  Then when you want to enjoy your experience, just hop over to the Mac interface again.
• Mac includes all the software you need to be productive.  Windows, with multiple versions / levels, does not.  By the time you’re done loading software on your inexpensive laptop, you’ve surpassed a mid-range Mac setup.
• Mac is user friendly.  Period.
• 1 year on the road, 0 tech issues with my MacBook or IBook.  Several failures with my HP Windows XP system.

So, yes, there’s a Mac bias here at the Digital RV.  I’ll make no apologies.  I advise readers on what will work best for them while traveling.  My requirements are simple.  Devices need to work, add to the travel experience, take little space, do more than one thing, be easy to maintain, and not consume all of your time as you’re traveling not working in an office.  And Macintosh fits very well within my digital rv.  This Digital RVer wouldn’t have it any other way.

Does that mean I’ll never go with Windows again?  Absolutely not!  If a new stable system comes along from Windows again that meets all my requirements, I’d switch back.  So far though it seems that’s not in the cards, and Mac will remain in my Airstream for a while.

Over the past few months the Digital RV Podcast site has hosted several new tutorials. Some of the tutorials have my voice over, guiding viewers through setting items up, or using a specific software package. So, how do I get the voice over on there?

Quite simple actually, a microphone. The laptop I have comes with a built in microphone. And one of the eariliest videos used that mic for the second half of the podcast. The quality wasn’t superb, so I searched for a new higher quality microphone. And what I finally settled on was the Blue Snowball USB mic.

The mic itself is pretty slick looking. A small snowball shaped microphone with a tripod for setting on your desk. The microphone uses a USB connection to your computer for recording, as well as to power the microphone as well.

The mic is extremely simple to use. There’s a switch on the back which can toggle between cardioid, cardioid with a -10 Db pad (to help take out background noise), and an omin setting. Once you’ve plugged in to your computer you can test between the three settings to see what will work best for your recording requirements.

One really great feature of this mic…..no software to load. Plug it in to a Windows or Mac system and you’re ready to go. No fussing with drivers, or 3rd party software like a few other USB mics I’ve looked at. That means you can get recording immediately, rather than having to fuss with drivers and software that don’t load properly, and take the fun out of podcasting quick.

If you’re thinking about doing your own podcasts, or want to start sending audio e-mails, or even want to use a VOIP service like Skype, this mic might be of interest to you. It retails under $200. For some that might be a bit pricey, but if you’re looking to put high quality sound out of your system for any number of purposes, I’d suggest checking out the Blue Snowball.

It’s been a while since I’ve written on the Kyocera KR1 and Verizon’s Wireless Data service. Today I put together a podcast on mobile internet, and thought I’d also post further on my experiences.

It’s been a little over 6 months of “Full-Timing” in my Airstream. During that time I’ve gotten a ton of use out of Verizon’s Wireless Data network, and my KR1. Both have done extremely well!

During my travels I’ve found myself without appropriate network coverage less than 2 weeks total. What does that mean? That means less than 14 days out of 6 months I haven’t had Verizon coverage, or a roaming partner’s coverage, that allowed me access to a wireless data network. So, 1/12th of my travel time I had issues with Verizon’s coverage for data. Put another way, 91% of my time on the road I was able to use my Verizon card. I’m not complaining at all.

While using the card, it was almost always running out of the KR1. The one outstanding glitch with the KR1 came when I updated the firmware on the system many months ago, and found myself with a dead KR1. Once the replacement arrived I’ve had smooth sailing.

Has everything been perfect with the equipment? Pretty much, yes! Has everything been perfect with the network coverage? Are you kidding me? No, not at all. But what do you expect. Running off of a “digital cellular network” is going to have issues. If there are no towers, there will be no service. Not all the towers have been converted to high speed network. Often I found myself getting between 100 & 200 Kbps. Not super fast, but better than dial up.

Now the big question….Would I change anything today if I could? Sure, if someone gave me a satellite setup I’d start using it. But if I had to choose between satellite and my current setup today, I’d still pick what I have. Why? Price first off. Secondly, while satellite download speeds can beat my wireless card, satellite upload speeds aren’t much better. With that in mind, the gains do not out weigh the costs (for me at least).

Months ago I walked my friend Rich Luhr into the Reno Apple store. He was in need of some more hard drive space. More importantly, he was in need of backing up some of his work.

We looked at LaCie drives, Fire Lites, and Video IPods. Of course, I egged him on and suggested a Video IPod given his initial backup needs. Long story short, he walked away from the Apple Store with an IPod (wish I got a cut of each Apple sale I’ve initiated). But he didn’t leave the shop with everything he needed.

Before we left I suggested he check out the IPod cases. He didn’t want to spring for a case at the time, and said he’d be careful with the IPod. Famous last words.

By the time we got to International Rally in Salem, OR he’d put a scratch on the window of the new IPod, and it didn’t seem so new any longer. Meanwhile, my IPod was safely tucked inside a Countour IPod Case, and looked as new as the day I got it. The case on the other hand looked thoroughly abused.

At about the same time I was contacted by the makers of Invisible Shield regarding their IPod protection product. They don’t make cases, but instead a clear film product that is supposed to protect your IPod. The big thing you really need to protect on the latest IPods is the screen, as Video IPods get used for Video after all. Who wants to watch an episode of Lost with a giant scratch through the scenery?

When I got into Cortez Colorado this summer I got my hands on an Invisible Shield for my IPod Video. So I popped my Ipod out of its Countour case and applied the Invisible Shield to it. Then I crossed my fingers. Experimenting with your own personal hardware, and a favorite item no less, can sometimes be a little unnerving.

The product provided, The Video IPod Full Body Shield, came with several sheets of sticky transparent material. It also came with an applicator spray, and a little piece of plastic to help push bubbles out of the sheet once applied to the IPod. You might think that’s a little over kill, but I’ve applied other IPod screen protectors, and left a bubble under the sheet every time. This time I actually didn’t.

With the kit I protected the front of the IPod, the selector wheel (be sure to use the wheel protector), and the back and sides as well. The sheet for the back and sides was a little harder to handle. Keep in mind, I’m one of those kids who failed cut and paste in first grade.

I’ve now traveled cross country from East to West, and then West to East. My IPod has remained “factory new” the entire way. And it’s been used heavily every day. Taking it out of the Countour case made me a little nervous, but as I’ve found from Colorado to Florida, the Invisible Shield actually protects my Video IPod fine.

This is one of the first times I’ve been contacted by a manufacturer directly. Usually I contact them, and let you know when I’ve been given something for review. 9 times out of 10 I write about what I’ve personally purchased. While the Invisible Shield wasn’t a purchase I made, it is an item that I’d recomend. It works, and it really sticks to my IPod.

I’ve had other Invisible Shield like products. Walk into any Apple Store and you’ll see several sticky clear film products that go over the face and sometimes back of your IPod. I’ve tried several. The reason I’ve tried several is they usually stop sticking in a few months and fall off. So far in about 3,000 miles of road abuse, and now Florida humidity, the Shield has stayed on.

This is definitely a recomended product. If you don’t like walling your IPod off in a heavy awkward case, or you need to be able to drop it into other devices quickly (which you can’t do when it’s in a case), check out the Invisible Shield.

My one regret when I first talked to the folks at Invisible Shield…..I should have asked more questions about what else they made the product for. They’ve got protective film for Laptops, PDA’s, Cell Phones, etc. My cell phone has taken a lot of abuse over the past few months of traveling. And my laptop has been used round the clock daily. They could both use some additional protection. I suppose if I ask nice, maybe I’ll get to review their MacBook Pro Full Body Shield.

Several weeks ago I posted information regarding ripping DVD’s with Handbrake onto a Macintosh computer. That was a good start to get readers thinking about a space savings technique where you still can bring all of your entertainment with you, without consuming any additional space.

And only a few days ago, the first demo posting on ripping DVDs to hard drives was put up on The Digital RV Podcast. That demonstration took Mac owners through what I consider to be an extremely simple program, Handbrake.

Finally, today another video post has been put up at the Digital RV’s podcast site. The newest video demonstrates AOA DVD Ripper for Windows (see folks, I do use Windows too).

Now readers and viewers can see for themselves, DVD ripping is possible, and in many cases can save you a fair amount of space.

Personal Assesment on Ripping DVD’s and the available software today

Pulling video off of a DVD and popping it on your hard drive is pretty simple. It’s exceedingly simple on Macintosh, and not quite as simple on Windows. There’s no two ways about it, and that does not imply a bias toward Mac on this author’s part. I’ll get more into that whole concept in an upcoming post. In a relatively short amount of time, any user with basic computer skills can begin ripping DVDs and making a “soft copy library” of their favorite movies.

For Mac users, the choice is crystal clear. Go download a copy of Handbrake and have at it folks! You don’t need to search around for the perfect ripping software. It’s Handbrake. Why is Handbrake just so darned cool?

• It’s FREE
• Easy to use (watch the tutorial)
• Doesn’t choke on DVD lock codes.
• Formats the video for viewing on an IPod, but the video can still be displayed full screen on your Mac.
• It compresses the video very well, and if done right you can get a video to 1/10th the original size! Space savings indeed.

In the Windows world it’s not that straightforward. There are many software packages out there that can rip or copy DVD’s. Some will not function on DVDs with certain copyright codes. Others will function and rip the DVD, but their compression stinks and you’ll fill up your hard drive fast. Finally, others like AOA DVD Ripper do the job, and have other tools that you can use to further compress the video.

Several months ago I worked with a client who was trying to rip his DVD collection to his windows machine. He’d purchased a product at Best Buy, and paid over $100 for the package. In the end, the software went back to the store, as it kept choking on copyright codes on the DVDs. Well, didn’t work with all DVDs at all! That product was InterVideo DVD Copy 4. It claimed to copy DVDs to new DVDs, or to your hard drive. Well, apparently not all DVDs.

For readers of this site, I request your recomendations on your favorite ripping software. I could spend a fortune going through the “pay for products” that don’t do a great job ripping. So, if you know a great one, let me know and I’ll try it out and post a demo on the podcast site.

In the meantime, AOA DVD Ripper was a pretty decent ripper. I didn’t like the fact that IPod / PSP / MP4 features weren’t integrated into it. AOA does supply another product that will support that functionality, but wouldn’t it be nice to have all the features in one program?

Oh, wait, there is such a program. Handbrake for Mac….and it costs a whopping $0. Haven’t found anything comparable for Windows, even spending over $100.

The software is out there folks, help me find the best one available to pass along to readers and viewers everywhere.

As a follow up to the recent blog entry, Copying DVDs…., I’m happy to let readers know that an 11 minute tutorial has been created on The Digital RV Podcast site.  In order to check out the tutorial simply follow this link.  If you’re a Mac user, this tutorial will have you ready to copy your DVD collection to your hard drive in no time.

For Windows users, I am working up a demo on a Windows system.  Don’t loose hope.  Unfortunately the Handbrake program on Windows just doesn’t work as well as the Mac version.  There are several Windows applications that are available at a cost of course.  And what I’ve found with those programs is hit or miss.  Some will copy certain DVDs and not others based on copyright protection built into the DVD.  I haven’t found one program that I can recomend as a package that always works 100% of the time, and that’s why there hasn’t been a tutorial on this blog or the podcast site.  I’m certainly not going to send you out to buy a $50 - $100 software package that only works 50% of the time at best.

If readers are aware of a great ripping package for Windows please pass it along.  I’ll be happy to test it, do a tutorial on its use, and create a video tutorial as well.  Just leave a comment here to let me know if you’ve found such a program.

My dad brought the replacement KR1 up over the weekend. Glad to have it back, as it will be useful this week. I’ve got appointments all week long, and while I sit and wait in offices, I can still be productive. That’s why I like a portable EVDO Router over the fixed setups that are permanently mounted in rigs. Right now the new KR1 is sitting in my truck, providing me WiFi while I sit in an office.

I’ve got to say, I was disappointed with the firmware failure on the KR1. Uploading a vendor recomended package shouldn’t do that. But if I already had a problem on my KR1’s original firmware (as the level 3 tech suggested) I can see it.

I guess there’s a positive. Even with an existing problem, the KR1 worked very well.

A final note. I’ve been on EVDO at Salisbury Beach State Park for the past week. Fantastic. Almost like being at home. I’ve been seeing download speeds in the 600K range, which is just superb for a “cellular” setup.