I just thought I would pass along to all of you a great new website dedicated to the way all live now. The Managing Your Digital Life Podcast & Blog is a great destination for information on how to deal with all the electronic stuff you accumulate during your daily life. The folks there, like Scott Bourne and Andy Ihnatko, answer questions like: What sort of hard drive should I buy? How do I create a backup plan? What’s the difference between backup and archive?
They will provide tips, tricks, news and reviews relevant to the most up-to-date storage, backup and archiving systems. The goal is to help you take care of, manage, access and safely store/backup all your precious homework assignments, videos, photos, databases, music files and more.
This hereby serves as my official notice – just in case you hadn’t already guessed – I am striking out on my own. Yes, I am leaving my current position and going into business for myself providing computer consulting, development, and instructional services. When I walk out of my office on November 7th, I will be walking into the full time (and more) world of Palmettobug Digital. Oh, and I will be spending the next few days painting and cleaning up the new home office.
There are many reasons for this, but the most important thing is that I am totally excited about the future again. I had gotten down in a lot of ways recently, but the old energy has returned and I am raring to go! I already have a number of clients lined up, including doing some work for my current employer, and I am developing ways to gather more. Every piece of this project – from the marketing to the actual work is engaging to me right now. I am actually finding it hard to go to bed and sleep because my mind keeps racing. Truthfully, I haven’t been this energized in years.
So, please wish me well and stay tuned. Also, please check out my site at Palmettobug.com and let me know what you think. It is a constantly evolving work in progress. And if you need any of the services I am offering, or know someone who does, I would love to hear from you!
I am a Mac fan, user, and evangelist. On the other hand I earn my living on PCs and Windows machines. And yes for those of you out there, I have used Linux too and continue to use it from time to time. But truth be told, they are all a pain and each one has its positive points and drawbacks. You have got to admit it — no matter how fond you are of the machine you use, at times you just want to scream at it.
You need to take a look at this video from YouTube. Basically a Southpark style remake of the famous Mac / PC ads from Apple, it hits the nail dead on the head. And in the end I do mean dead.
I work with computers. I am currently and I.S. Manager and System Administrator. I used to be a programmer and web-developer. I have done this type of thing since the very, very old DOS days and have used machines running DOS, Windows, OS2, Mac OS, Linux, Unix, and more. I even taught this stuff at the college level at one point. In other words, I am comfortable around computers. The problem is that often times I am too comfortable and have forgotten how other people feel.
I am now remembering how it feels. I recently bought a nice new camera. I finally treated myself to a digital SLR and got a Nikon D40x. Then for Christmas my wife bought me a telephoto lens and some filters. All very cool, except I haven’t got the faintest clue what I am doing. I don’t even think I know enough to be able to figure out what it is I don’t know. I used to play with photography when I was young. Had my own little darkroom and a few neat cameras, but that was a long time ago. For the past 25 years I have been using point-and-shoot cameras moving from film to digital. So having a nice camera with all the controls is a real education. You cannot treat a good digital SLR like a point-and-shoot any more than you can treat a computer like a typewriter.
But, I have some good books, and I have a good friend who knows his stuff. (You can check out Pat’s photography here.) And next week while I take a short vacation I am going to take the camera, the books, and some time to shoot lots of pictures and experiment. Hopefully I will make some progress in learning this new device. But happily, I have already learned one thing, or more appropriately remembered it, and that is there is no shame in not knowing. And that we all have our areas of ignorance and expertise. You know, little humility can go a long way.
And speaking of feeling ignorant and having things explained to you, I was recently pointed to a great site that has video lessons explaining a lot of the technology that some of us take for granted. Common Craft has short three to five minute videos explaining things such as RSS feeds, blogs, and social networking. You may find it far easier to point some of your co-workers, friends, or family to this site for introduction instead of trying to explain these things yourself.
now. The Managing Your Digital Life Podcast & Blog is a great destination for information on how to deal with all the electronic stuff you accumulate during your daily life. The folks there, like Scott Bourne and Andy Ihnatko, answer questions like: What sort of hard drive should I buy? How do I create a backup plan? What’s the difference between backup and archive?
Then for Christmas my wife bought me a telephoto lens and some filters. All very cool, except I haven’t got the faintest clue what I am doing. I don’t even think I know enough to be able to figure out what it is I don’t know. I used to play with photography when I was young. Had my own little darkroom and a few neat cameras, but that was a long time ago. For the past 25 years I have been using point-and-shoot cameras moving from film to digital. So having a nice camera with all the controls is a real education. You cannot treat a good digital SLR like a point-and-shoot any more than you can treat a computer like a typewriter.
