EduTechie.com » Tech Stuff http://edutechie.com Where Education and Technology Intersect Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:38:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 How to Back Up your Data – Mozy.com http://edutechie.com/2009/01/how-to-back-up-your-data-mozycom/ http://edutechie.com/2009/01/how-to-back-up-your-data-mozycom/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:32:51 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2009/01/how-to-back-up-your-data-mozycom/ Let me start this post off with a little story.  I started working in IT about 5 years ago.  One of the downfalls of working with technology is that sometimes you think you can fix anything.  Well… I knew I should be backing up my data and made some paltry CD backups, but never really took it seriously.  I told myself “I am a techie and can fix anything.”

Well… let me just tell you that there are some things I can’t fix.  And hard drives DO FAIL!

Since my unfortunate hard drive failure and the resulting loss of pictures and data I have researched dozens of back-up options.  I now have a complex techie solution I use for my pictures, videos and documents that involves a script and automated backups to my own personal off site server where it duplicated the data once more on a Raid network device.  But that is obviously not for everyone.  :)

That being said I have long looked for a good solution that I could recommend to others.  I finally found it.  It is the Mozy.com folks.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have signed up for an affiliate program that gives me a little bit on money when people do sign up so if you are going to sign up, please consider going there from any of the links on my blog.  I figure this can help pay for the domain name and space I use to maintain this blog out of my own pocket. :)

Versions

Check out this comparison page for more information.

They even have a Mac version!  How awesome is that?  I have it installed and running now and it is GREAT!

How it Works:

You install it once, leave it and you can sleep at night knowing you have a backup.  The first time takes a while, but it uses slow network time.  I could still surf and even watch streaming video while it did the initial backup.

Restoring Data – There are three easy ways to restore data with the Free version.

  • Use the client version to restore it right on machine.
  • Web version to restore
  • DVD sent to your home ($)

Overall, I am VERY pleased with this and highly recommend it to everyone!  Even if you only use it for the free version to back up the important documents… give it a try!

]]> http://edutechie.com/2009/01/how-to-back-up-your-data-mozycom/feed/ 1 Force Imput on Computer’s http://edutechie.com/2008/04/force-imput-on-computers/ http://edutechie.com/2008/04/force-imput-on-computers/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:27:23 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/04/force-imput-on-computers/ A friend of mine sent me a link to some research at Microsoft that would let you bend/twist/stretch or even squeeze your computer as an input. Sounds pretty sweet…

Not quite haptic, but still a step in the right direction with more natural input method’s!

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/04/force-imput-on-computers/feed/ 0 Novint Falcon IGN Review http://edutechie.com/2008/03/novint-falcon-ign-review/ http://edutechie.com/2008/03/novint-falcon-ign-review/#comments Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:26:30 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/03/novint-falcon-ign-review/ The whole review deserves a look, but I especially like the part below.

This is so true. If we don’t get behind this device and push it, it may just fade into the background as something that was a great idea, but never got off the ground..

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/03/novint-falcon-ign-review/feed/ 0 Alternate Uses of the Wii http://edutechie.com/2008/03/alternate-uses-of-the-wii/ http://edutechie.com/2008/03/alternate-uses-of-the-wii/#comments Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:00:47 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/03/alternate-uses-of-the-wii/ So a colleague of mine asked if I had come across any unique uses of the Wii… I had indeed and thought I would post my findings here as well. Here are the video’s. Isn’t it AMAZING! (Note: The first three are from Johnny Chung Lee at Carnegie Mellon University and the applications can be downloaded here.)

Head Tracking for Desktop Virtual Reality Displays Using the Wii Remote

Low Cost Multi-Cost WhiteBoard System Using Wii Remote

Tracking Fingers with the Wii Remote

There is also one more I found regarding Croquet.

Controlling a Wii Remote using a Wii Remote.

This last one was done using a program on a Mac called DarwinRemote (GlovePIE for PC)(which I used for my Croquet Haptic Project). It basically turns the Wii into a mouse on a computer. You can use it for any type of program that uses a mouse. Good stuff.

Anyone else seen any cool Wii applications?

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/03/alternate-uses-of-the-wii/feed/ 4 Control Computer with Brain Waves http://edutechie.com/2008/03/control-computer-with-brain-waves/ http://edutechie.com/2008/03/control-computer-with-brain-waves/#comments Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:00:11 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/03/control-computer-with-brain-waves/ A couple of months ago I heard about a monkey that could control a computer with their brain.  Here is a video. 

Of course this required implanted electrical nodes in the monkey’s brain and months, if not years, of learning the monkey’s brain-waves and then mapping them. Not really possible for humans yet.

Then a couple of days ago I heard about a gaming system that is starting to do the same for humans.

If you think about computer peripherals like the mouse in their infancy and look at the advances they have made in the past decade it is amazing. If you now apply that same rate of advance to devices like this, 10 years from now this might actually be useful…

What do you think? Scary? Cool? Interesting? Amazing?

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/03/control-computer-with-brain-waves/feed/ 0 Pen Projection Computers? http://edutechie.com/2008/02/pen-projection-computers/ http://edutechie.com/2008/02/pen-projection-computers/#comments Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:34:22 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/02/pen-projection-computers/ It’s Friday, so I am going to jump out on the edge a bit and write about something fun and out there… You may have seen the e-mail going around as of late about “AMAZING TECHNOLOGY FROM JAPAN” about a pen that projects a keyboard and a screen.  It includes this image.

It then goes on to say something to the effect of…

In the revolution of miniature computers, scientists have made great developments with bluetooth technology… This is the forthcoming computers you can carry within your pockets.

This “pen sort of instrument” produces both the monitor as well as the keyboard on any flat surfaces from where you can carry out functions you would normally do on your desktop computer.  Can anyone say, “Good-bye laptops!”

When I first saw this I was super impressed… then I did some digging.  Apparently this has been around since at least 2006.  And some people say that it doesn’t exist at all.

I know for a fact that the infrared type keyboards do exist (I have personally played with one), but what about the projection monitors?  I heard a rumor that they exist… but I have not been able to find a reference for them… so I turn to you dear reader’s.  Does anyone know if this exists?

If it does exist, this is pretty awesome.  I’m not sure it is any better than mobile phones, in fact, it is probably not, because not as many people will have these as people that have mobile phones, but it’s cool. :)

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/02/pen-projection-computers/feed/ 4 Google Chat Badge http://edutechie.com/2008/02/google-chat-badge/ http://edutechie.com/2008/02/google-chat-badge/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:23:00 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/02/google-chat-badge/ Just read about a new Google Chat option that I think is pretty sweet.  You can now embed a widget on a blog that will allow ANYONE, even those without Google accounts to chat with you.  I have embedded one on my blog, so feel free to chat with me. :)

Uses in education?  Could be used by teacher’s as another way to get students to talk to them… then again… maybe we don’t want that. :)  

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/02/google-chat-badge/feed/ 0 Make Synergy Work with gOS http://edutechie.com/2008/01/make-synergy-work-with-gos/ http://edutechie.com/2008/01/make-synergy-work-with-gos/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:06:42 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/01/make-synergy-work-with-gos/ I have been super excited about gOS as of late and installed if finally on my spare machine.  It is snappy and honestly pretty nice.  Anyway, I wanted to get Synergy working and though for a while there it wouldn’t… then I finally got it going.  YEAH!  Here is what I did!
  • Click on the desktop anywhere to bring up menu – Run Command
  • Type ‘xterm’ to open up a terminal window.
  • Install synergy by typing ’sudo apt-get install synergy’
  • Enter your password and let the app install.

Then to run synergy

  • Open terminal window (see above)
  • Type ’synergyc [IP address] where the IP address is the IP of the computer you have set up as the server.

Notes:

  • The name of the gOS has to be the same as what you have configured it to be on the server set-up.
  • To get more options after the install type ’synergyc -h’ to bring up a help menu.
  • To set up the gOS as the server, type ’synergys -h’ for instructions about how to do this. 
]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/01/make-synergy-work-with-gos/feed/ 0 Macword 2008 in 60 Seconds http://edutechie.com/2008/01/macword-2008-in-60-seconds/ http://edutechie.com/2008/01/macword-2008-in-60-seconds/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:47:24 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/01/macword-2008-in-60-seconds/ As a follow up from my post yesterday about MacWorld and the new MacBook Pro.  Here is a 60 second video of all the important announcements made yesterday.  Good for keeping up to date about what is going on.  Enjoy.

]]> http://edutechie.com/2008/01/macword-2008-in-60-seconds/feed/ 0 Database Service for the Masses http://edutechie.com/2008/01/database-service-for-the-masses/ http://edutechie.com/2008/01/database-service-for-the-masses/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:50:22 +0000 Jeff VanDrimmelen http://www.edutechie.com/2008/01/database-service-for-the-masses/ There are a lot of cool things you can do with databases!  Almost all of our modern webpages use some sort of database backened, and pretty much all good applications need one of some type or another.  Just like the WYSIWIG editor brought HTML editing to the masses, perhaps some tools of the future will bring database creation to the masses. :)

This morning I came across this article on TechCrunch about a new startup called LongJump that helps businesses create their own databases.  It is focused more on businesses and costs money, but it is a start…

What do you think?  Could you see database creation in 10 years on the scale we see people posting on blogs nowadays?  People creating their own powerful database driven applications?  

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