Today I talked a little bit about technology! Yes, I do have a geeky side! I love computers, and I love gadgets, and I love trying out all of these things!

Here is a recap!

• Flip Video  Cameras!  I’ve been lucky enough to have been  given the opportunity to try out the Ultra, the Mino and the MinoHD cameras, and there are significant differences  between all three of them! I do like them all, but for very different reasons. 
  •  Flip Ultra. Comes in different colors. It’s a little bit bigger & heavier than the Minos. It takes up to 60 minutes of video the video quality isn’t bad. It’s resolution is 640×480, video at 30 frames per second. The video is recorded as an AVI format which makes it pretty easy to use between different players. It takes 4 AA batteries. $149.99 at theflip.com. 
  •  Flip Mino. It’s smaller and more light weight than the Ultra. It comes in two colors, black and white, BUT it’s also DESIGNABLE! You can choose from the design gallery, use your own image, or use a pattern generator. It takes 60 minutes of video, with a resolution of 640×480, and takes 30fps video in AVI format. The buttons on this camera are touch sensitive and battery is an internal rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Up to 4 hours of use as opposed to only 2 with the AA batteries on the Ultra. $179.99 on theflip.com
  •  Flip MinoHD. It also takes 60 minutes of video, and it comes with 4GB of internal Memory.  This video is stored as MP4. The quality is so much better, in my opinion, than the previous cameras. It comes in black, but is also highly customizable like the Mino.
  • The biggest thing about all 3 of these cameras is that they are so simple to use! Anyone, including my 3yo girls can use it, and take great video footage! Transferring video from the camera to the computer is very easy with it’s own built in USB connection. Video can be viewed on a TV with the included A/V cables.

• Organizational tools:
  • Today: 
    • From Second Gear lets you view, in a compact window, all of the chosen date’s calendar events, as well as all to-do items (tasks) due that day. (Today considers tasks without set due dates to be “perpetually due,” so they appear in the list, as well.) A quick glance gives you an easy-to-read overview of what you’ve got planned for the day.
    • See the detailed review here.

•  Basecamp:
  • by 37 Signals. It’s web software, but it’s awesome for keeping your projects organized! 
  • This project management software is easy to set up, free to use, although you can pay to upgrade your storage. 
  • It gives users the basic tools needed to post messages, tasks, and schedules. you can add or remove people you want on your project, customize the layout and colors, and even put your own logo on it! 
  • Allows you to export items to XML, which can me used with other sites, and applications, and even arrange it to send updates an RSS reader every time a change is made to your project.
  • There are other project management programs out there like Backpack and Action Method. I’ll write more about them on Mommy Brain Reports and you can check them out for yourself! 

• Apple has already released iWork ’09, and will be releasing iLife ’09 soon. They have made major improvements to the software, it’s hard not to talk about them! If you saw the keynote address at Macworld this year, then you know what I’m talking about. I’m very excited to see the changes, and can’t wait to try them out for myself! I use my Mac every day and love these programs. Check out all of the cool new features for yourself!!! 
  • Pages ’09
  • Numbers ’09
  • Keynote ’09
  • iPhoto ’09
  • iMovie’09
  • Garage Band ’09
  • iWeb ’09
  • iDVD – Of course iLife comes with iDVD so you can burn all of your creations to share!