While I was at the baseball field this week, watching my son’s practice, I took a quick glance through my new issue of Real Simple. They recommend new products from time to time, and I spotted a quick blurb on the Eye-Fi Card. You can check out the neat video demo at the site I linked here, but in a nutshell, the Eye-Fi is a wireless memory card for your digital pictures and video. You insert the card reader into your PC, and the Eye-Fi card goes into your camera. Without cables or camera docks or waiting, each time you snap new pictures, the Eye-Fi card uploads them to your computer, or if you choose, to your favorite photo website. I could have SO used this on my Las Vegas trip. Instead of returning to my room each night and uploading countless pictures to Flickr, the Eye-Fi card could have been doing it FOR me through out the night!

I was in the craft store last month and happened to stop in front of a display of sewing and embroidery machines. I learned to sew on an ancient Singer sewing machine from the 60’s that was built into an end table our house, so that it could be hidden away when it wasn’t in use. Sewing and the craft of embroidery have gone a lot more high tech since my days with a bobbin and thread. Oh sure, sewing supplies and your typical sewing kit may not have changed much, still containing thread, needles, and scissors, but the sewing machines are quite geeky.

The Brother PR-600 (hey, don’t they make printers?) costs $6000+ and has 6 needles, automatic top and bottom thread trimmers, a large embroidery area, and sews at 1000 stitches per minute! The machine reads floppy disks and compact flash cards and can hook up to your PC via a USB cable. Other machines, particular those that embroider, read CD’s of designs and practically do the work for you!

I just saw the weirdest thing in my neighbor’s yard. You’ve probably seen a Roomba, right? It’s a an automatic vacuum that’s designed to clean your floors while you’re doing something else. We have one, and it’s amazing. It’s got a sensor in the front so it avoids running into furniture and walls, and getting stuck in corners, and it sweeps up a ton of dirt and dog hair.

Anyway, what I saw was similar to a Roomba, but it was going around in my neighbor’s front yard! I’m guessing it was some sort of machine that can fertilize your grass automatically, or a fancy new fangled lawn aerator. I wonder how you keep it from fertilizing your neighbors yard? Can it spread grass seed, too?

Ooh, I just googled it, and it’s an Auto Mower from Husqvarna! I didn’t realize it could actually cut grass. It must mulch it and drop the grass as soon as it’s cut, since there’s no bag storage on the machine. Neat! (Still wondering how you keep it from cutting your neighbor’s grass, though!)

One of the things I could have used on our trip last week was a GPS tracking system. I normally have an excellent sense of direction, but Amsterdam is a confusing city! The streets are narrow and winding in most cases, there are alleys with storefronts and restaurants that don’t appear on maps, and when you throw in canals and bridges on every other block, things tend to get a wee bit confusing. To our cab driver’s credit, he made it from the airport to our hotel in 20 minutes flat, without a GPS vehicle tracking system, quickly navigating down the one way streets of the red light district. Of course, he did charge us a pretty penny for the ride - about 60 Euros!

I’m off tomorrow for a week long vacation, and due to the fact that it’s a trip to Europe, we’re leaving our cell phones, cell phone accessories, and the laptop at home. This is the first trip I’ve made in a LONG time without guaranteed internet access. I’m sure I’ll be able to find an internet cafe at some point to be able to check in…not with all of you necessarily, but with my kids, who aren’t coming along on the trip. I also left the number of the hotel, so that my kids can call us if they really feel the need to talk to us during the week that we’ll be gone.

We could have taken our cell phones if we were so inclined to do so. I know that when we had our T-mobile plans we were told that our phones could be user overseas, provided we called up the cell phone provider and asked for that service. I don’t have a clue what it costs per minute for those calls, and I really don’t WANT to take my cell phone, so we opted to not do so. We did it when we went to Canada this summer though, and we were able to use our cell phones anywhere, just like we were at home.

I’m betting that the iPhone will be on of the big Christmas gifts this year. Safe bet, eh? I read an article in the paper today about a man who had an extra Wii, and he traded it to someone for a brand new iPhone - that’s definitely trading up! Even though the iPhone isn’t on my list, I’ve seen it, and it is impressive. I can see why 1 million iPhones had been sold not even 3 months after the release date. Once the price was cut, sales tripled…and Steve Jobs is well on his way to selling 10 million iPhones in 2008.

With the success of the iPhone, it makes sense that new technology is being developed for use with the iPhone…like Avot mV. This new mobile video service gives you access to thousands of videos at the touch of a button. The intelligent search behind Avot mV allows you to easily discover new video content that’s to your liking, and the point and click interface eliminates the need for you to attempt to type out a URL on your phone. Once you select your video, it’s transfered to your phone in seconds, and the playback is almost in real time.

The neat part is that you can organize the videos into playlists, much like you would with songs, and then watch them on your phone…making it much more than just a phone. The thumbnail display makes it easy to navigate through the video choices and select the footage you wish to view. Share your favorites with friends though a messaging application included with the service. Click here to visit the site and learn more: Avot mV - Product Site

By the way, Apple liked this new video platform so much, that they named it a staff pick - I picked up that tidbit on the official blog of Avot. At the corporate site, I learned that the brains behind this technology come from Apple, Motorola, and Palm - here’s hoping that they continue making the mobile experience this entertaining!

Desktop PC users - never fear, Avot has something for you too. Just visit their site to click and point your way to the video content accessible to Apple users on the iPhone, and see what it’s all about. I watched a few quick clips and I’m was very impressed by the speed at which the video loaded and played (no buffering or delays in play), the available video options, and the quality of the images.

We’ve been hearing about GPS in personal vehicles for a few years now - more & more manufacturers are offering built in GPS as an option to car buyers, and you can also buy a GPS as your local electronics store and install it on your own. For me personally, I’ve got a good sense of direction. I pay attention to the direction I’m headed in, I look for landmarks, and I eyeball street signs. That probably explains why I get so easily disorientated when we’re out on the water. When you’re boating or enjoying a day on a personal watercraft, there typically aren’t landmarks, or signs telling you which way the marina is. You’ve got to pay attention to nautical charts and the shoreline and buoys to figure out how to get from point A to point B on the water.

GPS technology is now being used to provide boats with marine navigation made easy! Planning a trip from Tampa down to Key West in your cabin cruiser? Stow your nautical charts and use NavQuest.com to plan your trip. Simply input information about your vessel, where you’ll be starting, and where you hope to end, and NavQuest.com will provide you with a custom trip plan that you can email to yourself or export to your marine GPS. The site also provides information on marine conditions, trip checklists, points of interest, and up to date marine charts. You’ll be able to easily find places to stop along the way, or sights to see with the points of interest locater. Download marine charts or check the radar before planning a day on the water to ensure a safe & fun time for all. This won’t get me behind the wheel of a boat anytime soon, but it make me feel safer about being directionally challenged on the water!

With each year, my son gets more and more interested in video games. We gave the kids a Playstation 2 for Christmas last year, and while the girls do play on it, it’s my son who plays it the most. On his list for Santa this year, he asked for an Xbox, and I had to break the news to him that Santa isn’t going to bring him a second gaming platform.

Santa IS going to bring him more games and gaming accessories though. Last year, shortly after we got the PS2, I bought myself a wireless controller so that I could play from the couch. A few months after that, it was Guitar Hero, and a wireless guitar to go along with the game. This year, we’re adding Guitar Here III to our collection, with TWO guitars. What’s next? Probably something like this AudioFX Pro 5+1 Headset. Designed by BenHeck, this headset features surround sound in a sturdy unit, which is especially important when an 8 year old will be one of the primary users. It’s got a microphone which will let him enjoy multi player games down the road, or I can borrow the headset now and test out that feature on his behalf. (Call of Duty, anyone?)

At the very least, it will keep me from hearing the noise of his games, especially his latest - Kill All Humans. That game is working my very last nerve, and I’d very much like to hear it silenced, without him missing out on any game time.

While I was stumbling last night, I came across a blog entry about Jeremy Schoemaker (aka Shoemoney) and a huge Adsense check he earned 2 years ago. How huge was it? How about $132,994.97? Nice payday, huh? I wondered how one guy made that much cash with advertising in a month, and the answer dropped into my lap this morning. Shoemoney is the guy behind NextPimp.com, a site devoted to supplying users with completely free ringtones. It’s quite the success too, with 3 million ringtones in the database, and half a million users of the site.

I’ve been paying upwards of $3 for ringtones, so I checked out what the site had to offer. You’ll find free ringtones for Nextel, Sprint, Cingular, T-Mobile, & Verizon phones. I’m assuming since Cingular is now AT&T, I’m covered. So are these crappy midi tones that no one wants…not even for free? Not even close. I found ringtones featuring the Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, Guns N’ Roses, and Maroon 5. Sweet! Amp up your free membership by becoming a premium member and enjoy access to more features, options, support, and exclusive downloads.

It’s the kind of site I wish I had thought of first!

Our neighbors have started putting up their holiday light displays, and some are pretty amazing. We’ve got one neighbor who is a little OCD about his lights, and everything is even, symmetrical, and laid out with a careful plan. We’ve got another neighbor who has 3 lit trees in his yard that are hooked up to music, and the lights on the trees go off and on and change color with the beat of the music. It’s pretty amazing! Our own light situation isn’t so great - in fact, out lights are painfully sad. They’ve fallen down off the roof twice already due to the rain and storms, and I’m sure we’ve broken a few bulbs. I’m ready to toss them all and start off fresh with the new LED holiday lights I’ve seen in the stores. They last longer, use less electricity, and they don’t get hot, so the house won’t burn down. LED lights are encased in a special expoxy plastic bulb that’s virtually indestructible, which is just what we need with the weather we’ve been having.

Until we get our lights hooked up (again), I’ll just enjoy everyone else’s. I’m definitely getting a lot of great ideas on how to take our holiday display to the next level.

As you all know, I’ve been running a few contests here and there on my blogs. I’ve been buying prizes at the local big box chain in town, but I’m sure I’ve been over spending on things by not planning ahead. Buying at the last minute usually equals paying more money! I found a source online for discount MP3 players, as well as cell phone accessories and other discount electronics. I think you’ll definitely be seeing prizes in the future from this site. The more money I can save on prizes, the more prizes I can offer, and that’s what Michael Scott would call win-win-win!

I’m thinking my son would be most appreciative of the Sony PSP Value Pack there for just over $200. What a great Christmas gift! Or perhaps Santa will finally bring him the MP3 player he’s been begging for?

I hadn’t heard of US NationalTelecom (YIWA) until today, but I’ll bet we’ll be hearing about this new player in the VoIP market a lot more. They’ve got a long term goal / strategy of buying successful companies already generating revenue. They’ve decided not to go the start up route and fight for recognition and funding in an ever changing market. Why bother when you can simply snap up companies who would otherwise be your competition?

They’ve already purchased Vitelity, and will absorb the founders into their business.

DENVER, CO, Oct 25, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — US National Telecom (PINKSHEETS: YIWA), a rapidly growing VoIP telecom carrier, concluded the negotiations yesterday on a previously announced wholesale voice traffic services contract. This high volume contract allows the Company to reduce its per-minute costs by up to 10%. The same day, the Company was notified of a record-breaking 1.2 million share trading day in YIWA shares, which may indicate that investor interest may be increasing as the Company’s profile in the $30 billion VoIP and telco marketspace continues to grow. The Company recently announced a novel 3-for-1 share dividend plan.

US National’s VoIP technology network and its world-class, easy-to-use customer web portal is proving to be very popular with the new breed of VoIP provider. This one-of-a-kind portal allows VoIP providers, from very small to very large, to manage all aspects of their account. In essence it allows the VoIP carrier to essentially “take control” of a very expensive nationwide network and order all services including telephone numbers, toll free numbers, VoIP traffic circuits and telephone number change requests.

By all accounts, the VoIP telecom marketplace is expected to increase and many small companies have already experienced great success — the eStara VoIP services company was recently sold to ATG in 2006, in a transaction valued at $43 million. The Company believes it is in a position to capitalize on opportunities in the VoIP marketplace with its own VoIP business strategy.

About US National Telecom - Yi Wan Group

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, YIWA is a publicly traded company, symbol YIWA. Information at: www.USnationalTelecom.com The Company focus is on building a large VoIP services conglomerate expanding to process international voice traffic and international calling cards traffic.

Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the PSLA of 1995, that involve major risks and uncertainties based on what may be inaccurate assumptions. The Company is not obligated to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

SOURCE: US National Telecom - Yi Wan Group (YIWA)

Copyright 2007 Market Wire, All rights reserved.

A family member recently left her job to work with a new branch office of a firm she’s quite familiar with, as they are an industry leader in her career. It was a good chance for her to make a smart move, and for more money, but the new branch office is so new, they don’t even have a branch office yet. She’s working from home this week, and spending time assisting her new boss on finding a location, picking out office furniture, and taking care of all of the things needed to open up a new business.

One thing her new branch office doesn’t need to spend a lot of cash on is a traditional business phone and internet package. With the Packet8 Virtual Office, you get the same communication capabilities and added flexibility with great features designed specifically for the small business. One of the extras offered that I love is the ability to get an email alert each time you receive a voice mail. I work remotely a lot, and knowing I have a voicemail waiting would be so handy. How about the Follow Me, Find Me feature? You can program in up to 5 different numbers you can be reached at, instead of having your callers go straight to voicemail.

This business VoIP service is hardware free and self-installable, so it’s the perfect option for a small business who wants to look professional, but also wants to stay on budget.

Ever since I got my new phone, I’ve been wondering why my home number, which I programmed into the phone manually, doesn’t show up on the caller ID. While I was adding a few more numbers to the phone tonight, I realized why. The new numbers I’ve been adding aren’t going in as SIM card contacts. Not a big deal, as long as I’m using this phone, but should I switch phones, I’ll lose those contacts. And on top of that, all of the contacts coming from my Outlook email that I access with the phone aren’t coming in as SIM contacts either. I need to find out how to change that.

When we bought a new TV in 2005, it was the first my husband and I had purchased together, in all of our years together! Suffice to say, when it came to DLP versus Plasma, I was completely clueless. We spent a lot of time shuffling from store to store, looking at brands, looking at features, and listening to clerks tell us why one feature or brand was better than another. Of course, you never know if the guy at Circuit City really knows what he’s talking about, so it’s a good idea to seek out sites with electronics reviews so that you can become informed on the differences between lcd and plasma. Knowing a bit about TV’s before you buy can mean you avoid making a $2000 mistake. It would stink to spend that much, only to realize you don’t really like what you bought.

And, since HDTV is the next big thing (with all programming eventually going to high-def), this is a great time to read a few HDTV reviews and learn about how the technology works, before you purchase.

As for us, we have a DLP TV now, which involves a light bulb and hundreds of tiny mirrors. I don’t know how it works, I just know that it does!

In the past month, I’ve seen 2 different TV shows / movies that briefly dealt with in home security cameras. In “The Nanny Diaries”, a nanny cam was placed in a stuffed animal, where it was discovered by the nanny, and used to tape a rant against her soon to be former employer. In the 2nd example, on the TV show “Psych”, a nanny agency was using high resolution camera to spy on the neighboring homes in order to rob them.

In home security cameras typically aren’t so exciting. You may never capture an irate nanny or a burglary on your home camera security system, but it will provide you with piece of mind. I was asked to briefly review HomeCamera.com and to provide a fair and impartial review - no problem!

The pros:

• The system is free.
• You can turn your webcam into a home surveillance camera with the software
• You can remotely monitor your home or business using a PC, a PDA, or a mobile phone
• The system allows for fancy bells and whistles like motion detection, time lapse recording, and mobile phone alerts

The cons:

• No one is monitoring the system but you. If there were a real emergency, you’d still need to call for help.
• Because you’re using your webcam, this won’t be high resolution video. Think “convenience store security camera quality”.
• The HomeCamera.com people spell neighborhood like “neighbourhood” on their website. Are they Canadian, or poor spellers?

I think the pros outweigh the cons, obviously. Since the system is free during this beta period, you’ve got nothing to lose. If you like it, but it’s not high tech enough for you, it’s certainly easy enough for you to upgrade to a better camera, but this is a good way to test the waters without any cost to yourself.

This is a paid review.

Would you put a GPS tracker on your car? Some may say it’s too much “big brother”, but as a mom with children who will be driving in a few years, I’m all for monitoring where my kids are when they’re out with MY car. Hey, if it’s good enough for Hulk Hogan, then GPS real time tracking is good enough for me! Seriously though, while I can’t see monitoring my child’s every move, it would be a handy tool to ensure that your child is where they say they are, simply because a kid who knows you CAN see where they are 24/7 is less likely to go astray, right? I believe in giving kids room to make mistakes, but I also believe in letting them know what’s expected, and if they say “I’m going to the library”, well, the car should be at the library, right? I know all of the tricks - I’ve tried everything at one time or another…LOL!

Did you hear about the teenager who hacked an iPhone and traded it for a car?

I guess that’s reason #1 I wasn’t in line for an iPhone - all it took was a 17 year old to hack into the phone and unlock it so that you can use it with networks other than AT&T. That doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence in the iPhone. George Hotz traded the modified phone for a car and 3 8GB iPhones. The project took him 500 hours - he’s been working on it for about 8 hours a day since he got the iPhone. Not bad for a summer job - I’m betting most teenagers can’t work enough over the course of a single summer to get a new car out of the deal!

I’m still in that honeymoon period with my brand new cell phone, the AT&T 8525. It’s got its quirks, but so do I, and it’s nothing we can’t work through. Not like my old phone, that I disliked almost immediately. The Motorola Razr I had was unbranded, and wouldn’t work properly with Cingular, despite it being sold to us by one of their “authorized retailers”. I couldn’t send pictures, I couldn’t sent text messages, and I couldn’t download ring tones. I thought the phone was cumbersome to hold and use. I dropped it ALL the time! So yhy should I recycle my cell phone?

Well, I know other people who have the Razr from Motorola and absolutely love how thin and compact it is. If they’re dying to have a phone like that, who am I to stop them? And there are others who just want a phone - maybe they’ve changed plans and their old phone doesn’t work with the new plan. Why should all of those phones we get rid of be thrown away and end up in a landfill, when they’re usable? That’s the idea behind CellForCash.com - you can visit their site, locate your cell phone by the manufacturer and model, and view the value of that phone when you sell it to CellForCash.com. Isn’t making money off that old phone a lot cooler than dumping it in the trash? And even if you can’t make any cash, you can still donate your phone for free and keep it from the landfill!

Did you know that each year, over 140 million cell phones are retired - and less than 5% of those phones are recycled? That’s a lot of cell phones in the trash.

In order to recycle your cell phone, the phones should be in working condition. Junk belongs in the trash can, not being shipped to this company, so please don’t abuse their offer by sending non working phones. You won’t get paid! You should include the battery, battery door, charger, and other accessories, if possible. Once you mail in your phone (in their free, postage paid mailer) you’ll get payment in 30 days. I can send in my old Razr and get $23. Not bad for something I was going to toss!

This is a sponsored review.

I’ve been using the texting option on my new phone a TON. I’m just so giddy about being able to text again. I just signed up for a new site called CellFish.com that allows you to share anything on your cell phone, and they also have free ringtones. It’s kind of like social networking for people addicted to texting and sharing pictures of things they took with their phones.

The pictures you want to share don’t have to be on your cell phone either. I took this picture of Marisa and I with my digital camera when I met her in Pittsburgh last month, and I was able to upload it from my laptop to my digital locker on CellFish.com:

Aren’t we cute?

You can even put that picture in YOUR phone with the send to my phone option in the corner. That is - if you’re that into the two of us. HA! Maybe I should have uploaded another picture of my rear end? I’m sure that would garner more interest.

I also went to check out the free ringtones, cause At&T seems to think their ringtones are worth $3 each. I’m too cheap to pay $3 for a ringtone, so if it’s free, it’s for me. There were 9 pages of ringtones, but most of the file names seemed to be in Spanish? Not sure what’s up with that - I was hoping for some good old American rock n’ roll. I did find out that I can upload and share ringtones too though, so maybe that expains why the content seems a little skewed for now - someone possibly uploaded a ton of his personal ringtones?

The neatest function is to be able to share photos quickly - when I snap a picture with my phone, I can send it to my CellFish page and friends who have subscribed to my profile can instantly access it. Much faster than blogging pictures I take!