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Google Drivin

When you're driving from Santa Cruz to Monterey, you don't really need to use Google Maps to find out how to get there, just keep driving with the ocean on your right. But for the sake of mileage and average time, I looked it up to see what Google Maps had to say.

44.4 Miles, about 50 minutes on a good day. Okay...

but wait a minute. I'm supposed to drive where on the 1 South? The must've been taking these Google Street View pictures from a UK Mini Cooper.

I suppose at least the traffic is light on the 1..... Can't say the same about Soledad Drive...

Fortunately, I know that my car would never make it over that Subaru, I'd have to go around anyway..

View Larger Map

Posted at 09:00PM Jul 08, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

CA: Handsfree - cheap/limited

You better have something if you're driving a car in California and using a cell phone.

BEWARE! Some of the cheap alternatives don't work with many current phone models. CHECK THE JACK!

An officer in California can stop a person, regardless of age, holding a cellphone and talking on it, but they may not use checkpoints to enforce the all cell ban for drivers younger than 18.

Wireless Telephones and Mobile Service Devices Operative July 1, 2008

Amend and Add: Vehicle code §§12810.3, 23123, and 23124 (SB 33 Chapter 214)

Prohibits a person under the age of 18 from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone, even if equipped with a hands-free device, or while using a mobile service device, as defined.

Posted at 06:00AM Jul 02, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

CA: Handsfree - Motorola

TODAY's the day... you'll need to get hands free...

California drivers have to use a hands free device to make phone calls in the car. Here in Los Angeles, we do a lot of talking on our cell phones, and far too much driving. Many Angelenos do too much of both at the same time. The new law requires drivers to let go of the phone while driving. (a band-aid solution, but a start in the right direction)

While I've used hands free for several years now, you might be considering it for the first time. There are a bunch of choices out there...
[Read More]

Posted at 12:00AM Jul 01, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Got an iPhone? Get a Tattoo...

iPhone Tattoo Protector Set (Tattoo Screen Protector+Tattoo Backcover Protector+Tattoo Wallpaper) Make You Different Among the Ordinary.To protect your iPhone and give it an incredible style. Show off your iPhone with this iPhone Tattoo Protector Set. It's almost impossible to detect, clear transparent screen guard offers ultimate protection against scratches and dirt for both your iPhone LCD screen & Back Cover. The Set comes with a Graphic printed Transparent Protector, Backcover Protector, with Same Graphic Wallpaper

It's only $12. (you'll need an iPhone tho') ;)

mobilebrando

Posted at 12:00AM Jul 01, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Tiny little charger: Incipio TONIC power up

With all of the little things that you need to charge, and with seemingly MORE OUTLETS than USB ports available, you may want to check out this handy dandy little charger.

TONIC provides quick, effective relief for power hungry devices. Deceptively simple, discreetly stylish, wickedly effective and eminently affordable, the TONIC universal USB charger is one of the lightest and smallest AC chargers available today. The lozenge-shaped TONIC offers an ultra portable, super sleek, compact and easy way to charge devices.

Pretty sweet....

check out their other gear too....
incipio.com

Posted at 06:00AM Jun 30, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

CA: Handsfree - The Jawbone

California drivers have to use a hands free device to make phone calls in the car. Here in Los Angeles, we do a lot of talking on our cell phones, and far too much driving. Many Angelenos do too much of both at the same time.

The new law requires drivers to let go of the phone while driving. (a band-aid solution, but a start in the right direction)

While I've used hands free for several years now, you might be considering it for the first time. There are a bunch of choices out there...
[Read More]

Posted at 12:00AM Jun 30, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

FLUID: dont give up your browser

FLUID..

Fluid gives any WebApp a home on your Mac OS X desktop complete with Dock icon, standard menu bar, logical separation from your other web browsing activity, and many, many other goodies.

Fluid includes Tabbed Browsing, built-in Userscripting (aka Greasemonkey), URL pattern matching for browsing whitelists and blacklists, bookmarks, auto-software updates via the Sparkle Update framework, custom SSB icons, a JavaScript API for showing Dock badges, Growl notifications, and Dock menu items, and more.

The Fluid Thumbnail Plug-in allows you to browse the web with CoverFlow or iPhoto-like thumbnail previews for links on the current page. Watch the screencast in the sidebar on the right to see the Thumbnail Plug-in in action.

AND... IT'S ZERO ALEXES $

check it...

Posted at 04:00AM Jun 28, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Photoshop / Flickr contest

Submit Your Photos and Win
Share photos on our Moment it Clicks flickr group where you have used some of author Joe McNally's techniques. If your image is Joe's favorite, you'll win a print signed by Joe McNally, a one year NAPP membership, the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Power Session DVD by Matt Kloskowski, and your choice of any five Peachpit or New Riders books.

See contest details.
http://www.peachpit.com/promotions/promotion.aspx?promo=136304

Posted at 12:00PM Jun 17, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

TURBOCAD gets more turbo

TurboCAD by IMSI is a great option for those Mac CAD artists, illustrators and architects. IMSI has recently come out with TurboCADDesigner for 2D illustration as well.

To thank Mac users for making the Mac CAD software popular, and to introduce new users to it, you can save a few bucks on each.

CHECK OUT TURBOCAD on CREATIVEMAC
http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=280304

Posted at 05:00PM Jun 16, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

TechSmith for Windows

There are many questions that come up time and time again every month, people ask "What software do you use to make tutorial movies or screen grabs?" Well, you know, I'm on a Mac - - so there's nothing IMHO that touches Ambrosia Software's SNAPZPRO. But that's a Mac-Only application.

On the PC side, when I was on a PC, I couldn't do the stuff I wanted without TechSmith's CAMTASIA. They have upgrades including Snagit9 which, if you're on a PC and you want to make GOOD screen captures: not those printscn grabs that don't help anyone, check out TechSmith's site.

(and for the record: I kinda miss some of the cool features that Camtasia offers - not in SnapZPro, but it's worth the Mac)

http://www.techsmith.com/

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 11, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Boinx supports iMedia Browser

Boinx Software announced today that it will join the development team of the iMedia Browser, spearheaded by Karelia Software. Leading independent Mac software publishers teamed up to bring to the platform a standardized way to access media libraries from software including iTunes, iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom and others. Boinx Software engineers contribute bug fixes and new functionality to the community project. The next version of FotoMagico will integrate the iMedia Browser framework, enabling professional photographers to create great presentations using their photos from Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom seamlessly.

[Read More]

Posted at 05:14PM Jun 06, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Astronaut Speaker - now that's TECH UNIVERSE!

An accomplished pilot with over 6,751 hours logged in over 30 different aircraft, Eileen Collins has numerous accomplishments, awards, and honors to her name.

In February of 1995, she became the first woman pilot of a space shuttle. In July of 1999, she became the first woman to command a shuttle mission. Her final mission came in July 2005 when she commanded Space Shuttle Discoverys Return to Flight mission. This mission was especially prominent since it was NASAs first manned flight after the loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003. As a veteran of four space flights, Collins has logged over 872 hours in space. After retiring from NASA in May 2006, Collins accepted a position on NASAs Advisory Board where she remains active in a variety of programs.

Collins will be appearing at he NVISION 08 conference to talk about visual computing technologies. outta this world! far out, man!

We are extremely pleased and honored to have Commander Collins join us at NVISION 08, said Rob Csongor, vice president of marketing, NVIDIA. As both the first woman space shuttle pilot and first woman space shuttle commander, Ms. Collins is a unique pioneer and expert on space exploration and scientific discovery initiatives. From exploring Mars, to understanding how the universe is evolving, to moving beyond the space shuttle to the next-generation Orion spacecraft, our NVISION 08 attendees will be fascinated to hear and see Commander Collinss view on how visual computing technologies are transforming next-generation space initiatives and strategies.

http://www.nvision2008.com/Professionals/index.cfm

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 03, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Adobe Acrobat 9

Adobe has released their latest version of Acrobat. This is the premiere document creation software. If you read PDFs, chances are you've been reading them with Acrobat READER. Acrobat is the authoring software that allows us to make the PDFs. There are a bunch of new features to help you communicate even better.

...and new support for FLASH technology (so yeah, you can embed applications now).

There are three new flavors of Acrobat: PRO EXTENDED / PRO / STANDARD. Find out which one is right for you at their site. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatproextended/?chapter=0&promoid=CVXLW

Share your ideas
Use Acrobat 9 to create polished PDF files, present multiple documents in a PDF Portfolio, and even add multimedia. And all in a single file.

Control your work
Use Acrobat 9 to apply passwords, set permissions, and permanently remove sensitive information so you can feel confident your work is safe.

Work better with everyone
With Acrobat 9, your entire team can view and respond as comments are being made streamlining your reviews and approvals.

Simplify form creation
With just a few clicks, you can create a form that virtually anyone can fill out and save electronically.

Posted at 12:00AM Jun 03, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

You've got a shadow: NTI backup software

With the advent of larger and larger files, and most of us are putting more importance on digital data - it's important that YOU BACK YOUR FILES UP.

You know, I lost my PC last year, and I couldn't get any of the data off because the RAID controller went down with the ship.... well, if I had just backed up to something as easy as an external firewire drive, I probably wouldn't have spent an additional $750 just to recover those files.

----------------------------

NTI Shadow puts an end to losing valuable data, photo, video, and music files that have been modified in between scheduled backups. It maintains real-time, continuous backup of all changed files without burning up valuable system resources.

By adding new technology we've expanded your options to include backup to any optical media...including Blu-ray.

Now Shadow will back up to virtually any system-attached drive including USB flash, mobile storage devices (micro drives), internal and external hard drives, NAS devices, and more.

You can schedule multiple and concurrent backup jobs in their native file format, which means no additional proprietary software is required to restore files. Restoring is literally as easy as drag and drop.

With Shadow and external storage of your choice folks simply won't lose a photo, a file, a video, a song again. You can download a free demo version of the software - - to make sure that it's backing up, even when you're not.

The demo is FREE, the software is less than $30/US

http://www.ntius.com/shadow_downloads.asp

Posted at 01:00PM May 27, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[1]

Avast! Uploads!

CrowzNest is a simple tool that makes complicated tasks simple and headache free.

It might be an excellent way to ensure that elements that you may be transferring from one office to another get downloaded immediately. No need to keep calling and asking if things are uploaded, just automate it.

Using CrowzNest your websites may be updated automatically or help you make deadlines by sending files the second they are ready to editors, print shops, wherever you need the files to be.

Basically CrowzNest allows the user to create local Hot Folders that will be monitored by CrowzNest. All file changes are updated automatically to user specified remote folders, so if you have multiple web sites they will all be updated instantaneously.

The setup is really easy and user friendly, simply drag and drop folders from the Finder, Desktop or Captain FTP to connect them.

You'll need Captain FTP in order to use CrowzNest. You can find out more about it here:
http://captainftp.xdsnet.de/crowznest/description.html

Posted at 12:00AM May 19, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Google Social

Grow your page traffic when you have people join you as friends on your Google social pages.

At Campfire One at the Googleplex (http://code.google.com/campfire/), Google Inc. announced a preview release of Google Friend Connect, a service that helps website owners grow traffic by enabling any site on the web to easily provide social features for its visitors... [Read More]

Posted at 10:31AM May 15, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Smile, you can cheaply FAX from your Mac

SmileOnMyMac has released PageSender 4.3, an update to its top-rated fax software for Mac OS X. The update adds menu items to clear the Recent Faxes and Recent Email
lists, as well as other improvements and bug fixes.

A fully-functioning demo version is available at http://www.smileonmymac.com/pagesender/download.html. Mac OS X 10.4 is required.

[Read More]

Posted at 12:00AM May 14, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

Sharp has some affordable bright projectors

Incorporating a 3-LCD imaging system, the 4000 ANSI Lumens XGA resolution XG-C435X multimedia Conference/Classroom Series projector represents the ultimate combination of versatility, portability and affordability (depending on what your definition of "affordability" is).

If you're going to be moving around (beware jostling those bulbs), but you might want to have a projector that has different lenses - - this one does).

Also, built in LAN terminal and audio outputs...

With built-in RJ-45 LAN terminal, quick release lens mechanism (for replacing the included "standard" lens with an optional special application lens), four discrete audio inputs, multi-level theft deterrent features and simple connectivity, the XG-C435X helps make brilliant presentations easy. Whether for use as a portable imaging solution or in a permanent "fixed" installation, with its sharp image quality, wide connectivity and flexible mounting options, from classrooms to conference rooms, the XG-C435X is the "Bright" Choice! (well, 4000 ANSI Lumens bright at least)

http://www.sharpusa.com/products/TypeLanding/0,1056,177,00.html

Posted at 12:00AM May 09, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

woody: klipsch speakers

When the Klipsch® industrial design team set out to create the flagship Palladium P-39F floorstanding loudspeaker, their goal was to have it resemble a premium piece of handcrafted furniture. And, by looking at its striking boat-tail silhouette and exotic zebra-striped finish, its quite obvious they hit the mark. But, less apparent is the teams environmentally friendly approach...

http://www.klipsch.com/palladium/Home.html

Posted at 03:10PM May 07, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]

QuickStream DV simple storage

Function dictates form... The QuickStream DV was designed entirely from the ground up to be the second-most important part of a DV videographer's gear and includes features such as a built-in industry standard 1/4-20" screw socket for easy direct attachment to your DV camcorder, rubber armor for durability, and a wide range of input voltages for tying into your existing power sources, if necessary. Read more about these and other features of the QuickStream DV here.. Mac Ready

http://www.mcetech.com/quickstreamdv/index.html

Posted at 12:00AM May 07, 2008 by ko maruyama in Communicate | Comments[0]