Upgrade to Leopard or buy a Kindle?

For Mac users, the question is whether to upgrade to the new operating system, Leopard. When it first came out a few weeks ago, I was not convinced that it was worth the $129. After all, my new iMac running Tiger was great and did everything I needed. But now after I have read a few reviews of Leopard, I think it is probably a good idea to upgrade. Time Machine alone is probably worth the money. If you are like me, I forget to backup my files on a regular basis and have no real system for doing it easily. With Time Machine and an inexpensive external hard drive, backing up your files is easy and fast.

How about the Kindle, Amazon's new wireless reading device? While at Starbucks near UCI for my Thursday morning hot tea, I noticed a person using a Kindle at one of the tables. I asked him how he liked it and he showed me the newspapers he subscribed to on the Kindle. He really liked the ability to carry three papers in the palm of his hand and be able to get them automatically each morning delivered directly to his Kindle.
That sounds good, but my labradoodle would have nothing to fetch each morning!

Google Android???

If you heard the announcement about Google's entry into the mobile phone market and are wondering what it all means, then take a look at this article. Basically, Google is releasing free software so that they can start to have access to advertising on cell phones. In return, the customer gains access to Google tools similar to what they have on their desktop computer.

Google may be working toward releasing a phone of their own as well. Keep checking back for news about the Gphone.

How to save video clips

Youtube and other video websites are often blocked by school districts because of their questionable content. However, there are many good videos clips that would be great for the classroom. For example, Youtube is a goldmine for science related clips. I was searching for clips about photosynthesis recently and found everything from college lectures to school projects.
So how can a clip be shown in class if your district blocks the website? The answer is Zamzar.com. Zamzar is a free program that will capture any video clip and save it for you. When you download Zamzar a button is placed on the menu bar of your browser. When you find a good video, select the button and Zamzar grabs the video, stores it on its website and sends you an email link for the download. Once the video clip is downloaded, you can save it to flashdrive or burn it on a CD to use on any computer.

In other news, Apple released its new operating system, Leopard. Leopard has about 300 new features. One new feature, Time Machine, automatically backs up your files to a another hard drive. If you do not backup, then Time Machine is for you. After spending all that time finding and saving good video clips from Youtube, a easy-to-use backup program is a must!