Living a Digital Lifestyle Newsletter - May 11, 2009

LIVING A DIGITAL LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Volume 1, Issue 63 May 11, 2009

Today's issue will be tips and articles all courtesy of Kim Komando. You can go to her website here. There will be several links that you can click on for yourself, to take you to different articles. I may include those articles in this newsletter, but then again, I may not. If I don't then you can follow the links yourself. If you happen upon a link that is closed to you, then that means you have to be a Kim's Club member to get access to that information. You can become a member very easily and the information is on the site. (By Kim Komando)

Create your own crossword puzzles

What is the best part of Sunday morning? Curling up with the Sunday paper, of course. And what's the best part of the Sunday paper? Finishing those fantastic crossword puzzles.

Those crossword puzzles are enough to keep me satisfied. But you may have already mastered that kind of puzzle. You might be looking for more of a challenge.

Why not create your own crossword puzzles? You can make them as fun and difficult as you like. EclipseCrossword makes it easy to do.

You make a list of words and accompanying clues. It builds the crossword for you. Then it can be saved in a number of formats. You can print it out for traditional use. Or you can save it in an interactive Web-ready format. It will work some JavaScript magic and spit out an HTML file.

Cost: Free

Link: www.eclipsecrossword.com

Find electronics deals

You have your eye on a Blu-ray Disc player. Or, maybe you want to purchase an iPod or camera. But money is tight. You need the best deal possible.

The Internet makes comparison shopping easy. You can check prices at your favorite shops in  minutes.

Or, you can use a price-comparison site. It will search multiple sites for the product. You can then see the least expensive prices.

That's great. But prices fluctuate. You'll need to check frequently to see if prices are falling.

Or, you can take an easier approach. Gazaro will monitor prices for you. You can browse its product listings. Or, search for a specific product.

You'll see the current price at major online retailers. Click a product, and you'll see a historical price chart. This helps you decide if you should buy now or hold off.

Register with Gazaro, and you can save your products. When you return, you'll get your own sales flier. This lists deals on the products across the Net. Or, sign up for e-mail notifications!

Gazaro only lists electronics. But it is working on more product types.

TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE:
gazaro.com/deals

Simple and free way to burn CDs and DVDs

Our digital media is becoming more portable every day. You carry data on thumb drives, MP3 players, cell phones and more. With all of these available to you, CDs and DVDs must be dead.

Nope. CDs and DVDs remain one of the simplest ways to transport data. All you need is a really good burning program. And that doesn't have to cost you a penny.

InfraRecord has been a trusted program for years. And it's free. It can do everything for-pay programs can do. It can burn CDs and DVDs. It can copy discs on the fly with two optical drives. It can create audio, video, data and mixed-mode projects.

Cost: Free

Link: infrarecorder.org

System: Windows XP and Vista

Using a GPS unit with Google Earth

Greg in from Des Moines, IA, is buying a GPS unit. He wants to use it with Google Earth. He says that Google Earth is compatible with Garmin and Magellan units. He wants to download the satellite imagery to the unit. How does he know which units can handle this?

It is true that Google Earth is compatible with some GPS units. That's if you buy Google Earth Plus ($20 annually). Google Earth will let you import data from a GPS unit. However, you can't download the satellite imagery to a GPS unit. Google Earth simply does not support this. And a GPS unit probably couldn't handle all that data.

There is a solution, though. Google Earth Plus supports Real-time GPS tracking. You connect your GPS unit to your laptop. Then, open Google Earth. Select Tools>>GPS>>Real-time. Then select your GPS unit. You'll see the imagery as you travel. Of course, connecting the laptop to the Internet poses problems.

There's a solution to that, too. You can load a cache of Google Earth images onto your computer. Just pull up driving directs for the trip you'll take. Then, play a tour of the trip. You'll want to adjust the tour speed. Make it slow enough to load all the imagery into the cache. Adjust the tour speed by clicking Touring>>Tour Speed.

For more on using Google Earth with GPS, visit Google's site. You'll also learn what GPS units are compatible with Google Earth.

Have you tried Google Earth yet? If not, download the free version from my site. You'll love it! For more fun, add sounds of habitats to the program. I have a download that will do just that.

And for help selecting a GPS unit, check my buying guide.

Getting up and going with a TV tuner card

Rejeana wrote from Manchester, MO, because she has a computer with a TV tuner card. She would like to use it to watch and record television. She plans to receive programming over the air. The computer is running Vista.

Well, Rejeana, setting up your computer for watching TV is easy in Vista. That's provided you have Home Premium or Ultimate. These versions of Vista include Media Center. This program is designed for managing media on your computer. It also lets you watch and record television. I recently wrote a tip on setting up Media Center.

If you have a different version of Vista, things become more difficult. You'll need to find software to use the card and record television. Often this software is included with the card. Or, if the card came with your computer, the software should be on the machine. If not, you'll have to buy a program. SageTV ($80) and Beyond TV ($70) are two popular ones.

Check the instructions that came with the card. Be sure it is capable of receiving digital broadcasts. It should have an ATSC tuner (not NTSC). Otherwise, it won't work after the transition to digital television.

Are you ready for the transition to DTV? My column will explain how the transition affects you. You don't want to miss it!

Copyright 2009 WestStar TalkRadio Network. Reprinted with permission. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her free e-mail newsletters at:www.komando.com

That's all for today's edition, folks.

Until next time -

Digitally yours,

Andrea