Around Christmas time I was in the market for a new MP3 player and had decided on the Microsoft Zune (www.zune.net).  I know that this was against most of the commercial wisdom of the day since I heard recently that 59% of all MP3 owners have an iPod (store.apple.com).

A day or two after I ordered the Zune online through Microsoft I received an email from them saying that it was on backorder and I would get it sometime in the next couple of months.  Being driven by instant gratification right that minute, I decided to go to the local stores and buy one.  However, since it was right after December 25th they were all out.

I did; however find an Apple iPod locally.  After talking to all of my iPod friends and checking out how they work…I switched and became an iPod owner.

Armed with my 80Gb iPod Classic I loaded onto it every CD my wife and I owned (about 100 hours worth).  Then I added five movies, three or four unabridged books, my standard seven podcasts and hundreds of digital family photos.

After doing all of that I checked and had used less than 20% of the hard drive space on the iPod.  I thought, “Hmm, what else can I do with all of that empty computer space?”

A friend then told me about free software out call “MojoPac For Individuals” (mojopac.com).  This software allows you to carry data files and computer applications (such as Word, Excel, Solitaire, Firefox, Maxthon, many games, IMs, etc.) on most any USB storage device or iPod. 

What is neat is that once those programs are installed on your device you can then plug your USB device into another computer and run the device as your own computer.  For instance, I could be traveling and need a spreadsheet from work off of my work computer.  As long as I have copied it to my iPod using MojoPac, I can hook up to the hotel computer and open that file in my own Excel (must be licensed) then edit/save that file and even email it right from my iPod.

I don’t really need to lug around my notebook computer any longer (which only has a 40GB drive), as long as I have access to another computer.  I know this is hard to believe for some of you geeks out there but go to the site and check it out.  You don’t even need an iPod.  I first installed it on my 2GB flash drive to test it out and it worked like a charm, I just ran out of space.

P.S. Microsoft delivered my Zune 5 days after they told me it could be a while but I stuck with the iPod.  Also, MojoPac will work with the Zune too!

Tags: Double Click, iPod, microsoft, mp3, mp3 player, Ron Doyle, zune

WOW according to the emails that I received the last couple of weeks there are apparently many of you who read the column…and really remember what I write.  First off, thanks for the emails; I always appreciate them even when you want to disagree with me.  That counts for something.

The thing that many of you reminded me of was that I didn’t write a column this year which reviewed the sites I commented about last year.  So here it is.  You asked for it, you got it with short descriptions when necessary!

• Speakeasy, speakeasy.net/speedtest – determines your connection speed to the internet.
• City of Harrisonburg, harrisonburgva.gov.
• MyDatabus, mydatabus.com – Online file storage facility 10GB free.
• Free Fonts, betterfonts.com.
• Daylight Saving Time, support.microsoft.com/kb/931836 – too late if you haven’t been here yet.
• Free downloadable games at pinheadgames.com.
• DoubleClicks.info – site for this column.
• Google.com – you know this one.
• Spam Calculator, emailsorting.com/SpamCalculator.aspx – find out approximately how much money spam costs your company.
• Amazon.com & PayPal.com, a site where you can buy things and another where you then pay for them.
• McAfee, anti-virus software – mcafee.com.
• Snopes.com & urbanlegends.about.com – find out about fake stories that you get in emails, etc.
• CNN.com – news of all sorts.
• Orbitz.com – buy airline tickets, vacation packages, etc.
• Guestprivileges.com – hotel membership.
• Jott, jott.com – leave voice notes which are converted to text and emailed.
• TigerDirect.com – good technological prices.
• Avast! 4 Home Edition, avast.com – free dependable antivirus software.
• Ad-Aware SE, lavasoftusa.com – free dependable spyware protection.
• Trip Advisor, tripadvisor.com – vacation planning/organization site.
• Jaiku.com, pownce.com, tumblr.com, and twitter.com - my personal twitter – mini-blog sites.
• Project Gutenberg, gutenberg.net – text copies of many books.
• Podiobooks.com – free books in MP3 format by unknown authors and Audible.com – well known books for sale in MP3 format.
• Wikipedia.org – an encyclopedia site that is written by the public.
• Wayback Machine, archive.org – historical copies of web sites.
• Geocaching, geocaching.com – sport or game where you find hidden “things” all over the world.
• Ubuntu.com – a free computer operating system.
• Google Documents, docs.google.com – you can store documents online and then edit them there or on your computer.
• Flash Padlock, corsair.com/, Yego, ritekusa.com & Kingston, kingston.com – different types of flash drives with various features.

If you have read my column in the past you know that I am a big Google devotee.  I have written about Google’s abilities in math, directory assistance, alerts, etc.  And that doesn’t even hit the tip of the iceberg related to its extraordinary search capabilities.

The latest Google product I want to mention is entitled, “Google Maps”.  There are many ways to get to Google Maps online but the easiest for me is by typing maps.google.com into the browser.  Once you land there your first view is generally a map of the continental United States.  But this is where the fun starts.  I know there are many map sites on the internet; however, not all of them allow you to click and drag them around.  Click the main map and see our other two states, Mexico, Canada and some other surrounding geography as you test it.

Before you start using it you can click on a link on the left side of the window to try a multitude of “tricks”.  One even shows you how you may be able to use Google Maps on your phone.
 
One trick that I learned while researching this column was that you can type in the search bar, above the map, a business category and the zip code, or city and state, for locations.  For instance I typed “pizza 22801″ and got a listing of four pages of restaurants serving pizza in the area.  This included addresses and phone numbers along with a map where they were located.

Once you get a listing of the businesses their locations are displayed in the map with “bubbles”.  The names are listed on the left side of the window with phone numbers.  Click on the names or the bubbles and a large comic book-like balloon opens with the name, address, phone, website (if available), a number of sites it is listed on and a close “x” button.  There is also a “To here” and “From here” link for directions to and from the business.  Oh it allows you to read and write reviews of the restaurants and maybe even see pictures about them.

Oh and for a REAL TRIP try earth.google.com.  Once there you can download and try out Google Earth.  What a trip, but sorry I don’t have space here to tell you about it.  Let’s just say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Try it and if you don’t like it I guarantee you will at least appreciate it!

This week I will probably make a group of readers angry, but hey, that’s life in the fast lane.
 
I am not a fan of social networks like MySpace.com, Facebook.com or most of the others.  One aside here; I am a Twitter user, if you want to check my posts at twitter.com/rondoyle to prepare for bedtime feel free…boring.

I don’t have time to read about other peoples’ experiences.  They just aren’t really that exciting.  I read a couple about someone standing in line at a store and getting mad at the slowness of the line…well boring.  I realize that is all my personal opinion and there are many millions of them out there being read so I am apparently in the minority.

I worry about them mainly for people who do not always think about the possibilities.  A large portion of the population who doesn’t always think about the future is young people.

They will be warned by their parents, teachers, preachers, etc. about not giving out personal information so that a stalker could cause them horrifying problems.  And like me at one time, having been a young person back in the Stone Age, would have said, “OK, don’t worry; I know what I am doing!”  Then they proceed.

There are many examples of them and one or two I know of where people will start out strong.  They give a fake name, age and location.

I have heard of one preteen who gave her location as another state and an age a little older than she was.  Over several months she would give other non-specific information.  For instance, her number on the school basketball team seemed like a safe bet.  At a later date she mentioned the school’s name that she attended.  One day she posted a picture of herself and some friends near where she lived.

The stalker put this together and researched immediately finding that the school she went to was near where they lived, in the same state.  Then he got her jersey number and figured out her real name.  Then they started chatting with the girl through her social networking site and became “friends”.  In the end he set up a place to meet with her at a local baseball field…whap, the trap was sprung.

This turned out well, which is sometimes rare.  This particular person was being watched by the authorities who formed a special team to investigate online stalking.  The authorities met with the girl and her parents to set up a trap.  The stalker was caught and dealt with…but these stories many times don’t have a happy ending.

You must warn your kids to be cautious if they are on one of these many networks and check up on them.  Be nosy and ask what they are doing.  Be tricky if needed; set up your own account and become a friend to your kids to know what’s going on.  It could be a lifesaver.