The DigitalRV Blog

This post is reproduced in it’s entirety from the Digital RV’s sister site, Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles….

Normally I’d post strictly tech columns over at the Digital RV. Today I’m bending the rules. Why? Well, I want this post in more than one place as it’s really important.

A friend recently made an interesting request. They asked that I put together a full post on making backups. Why did they ask me to do that? Simple. One of their friends had a computer go totally south on them. Photos, music, personal documents, financial data, and everything else that finds its way on to a system was lost. Unfortunately for that poor soul, no backup was ever created.

The person who lost their data is a blogger, like me. And they’re a a little more popular (higher traffic). When they lost their data they posted about it, and here’s where it gets interesting. Many readers commented they too don’t backup, don’t know how, etc.

Alright, when folks who regularly play on the Internet don’t backup, or don’t know how to, I guess it’s worth a sizable tutorial post. And that post can take space here as well as the Digital RV. So, let’s get to it.

A Basic View of Computers

First, let’s over simplify what our computers are. They do a lot, but I’m going to reduce the “computer” to a one trick pony (it has many tricks, but I think you’ll get this one). The most basic function of our computers is data storage. Let’s put that another way.

Your computer is a glorified file cabinet. There, I said it. Engineers across the nation are weeping because that doesn’t sound complex at all. Such a revelation could put them out of work. “Hey, Mr. Tech guy, you’re nothing more than a file cabinet specialist.”

For those who never thought about it that way I bet a light bulb went off just now. Seriously, your computer stores your data. Go back to the 60’s…..what did you store your documents in then? Uh, file cabinets. Today you store documents, music, photos, etc., in your computer. Previously when we weren’t working digital we stored all of those things in file cabinets too. They were physical, and now those documents are digital. Pretty cool.

Now, in the old days if you had a fire in the building where your file cabinet was, you’d loose everything. Unless you made copies (backups) of the contents of the cabinet, and put it somewhere else (a different cabinet). I bet you can see where this is going…….

In order to truly back up your digital data you need a different cabinet. And you need to make copies of your documents in the original cabinet and put those copies in the new cabinet. Fortunately making copies is much easier with digital files (no standing over a copy machine for hours on end).

By the way….it’s an easy leap to conceptualize your computer as a big file cabinet. The manufacturers make it simple really. Ever notice on both Windows and Macintosh that all of your data is stored in cute little FILE FOLDERS? Take a look at the picture to the left…..those little icons look like folders. And what do you put in folders? Files, documents, photos, etc. Yup, it’s a file cabinet alrighty!

I hope this over simplification regarding your computer’s primary function puts things a little more in perspective. If not, feel free to leave comments for clarification. But let’s move on and talk about “file cabinet” options that you can put copies into……

Storage Media for your Backups…in other words, “Your new file cabinets”

Now that we’ve established the need to copy what is in one file cabinet and put those copies in another cabinet (our backup) we need to figure out what type of cabinet to use. There are a few options available, and I think that might be one point of confusion for folks. “What should I use???”

Today we have many ways to store data, and most readers will be familiar with the backup media. Maybe not all of it, but most of it. Currently I personally back my data up in a number of ways. CDs, DVDs, Flash Cards, my IPod, and External Hard Drives. All of these items are in essence new file cabinets, although a few work differently, and we’ll talk about that.

CDs & DVDs

At this point I’m willing to bet everyone knows about CDs and DVDs. Our music and movies come on these little disks. New programs for our computers come on them, fun video games, and more. And all these disks really do is store data (files) for you to use on your computer. When you pop a CD or DVD into a computer the computer can read the files, replay them, or install new programs. They can also be used to store and backup your data if you buy the right types.

Both CDs and DVDs are available as Writable or Re-Writable at this point in time. And if you have a newer computer chances are it has a CD and DVD Burner. That means if you get blank CDs and DVDs you can write files to the disks. And if you make copies from your hard drive (file cabinet), put the copies on the CD or DVD and then burn the disk, you now have a backup of those files.

About CDs…..

CDs have been around for a while. They were great for making backups in the 90’s, but not super now. Why? Not much storage space to be honest. CDs run up to about 700 mega bytes now. Sure, you can store a ton of photos, songs, or documents on them, but not as much as you can on other media. If you have smaller files, few songs, or few files, CDs might be a good backup solution for you.

About DVDs…..

DVDs, specifically writable DVDs, haven’t been around as long as CDs. They can store more data, even though they look just like a CD. How can they do that? Why can’t a CD store as much. Hey, let’s not get bogged down here and pretend we’re engineers…..DVD’s can store more than a CD. Accept it and be happy.

Actually, DVDs can store about 4.5 Giga Bytes. One Giga Byte is the same as 1000 Mega Bytes. Remember, CDs can store about 700 Mega Bytes. So, you can see pretty quickly that a DVD can store about 6 times as much as a CD. If you’re looking to store a sizable amount of data, a DVD will beat a CD.

Burning Questions…..

So, once you’ve selected the documents you want to copy, and decided between a CD or DVD, you simply copy the files to the disk. But you’re not done. See, if you pop the disk out immediately it won’t work. You must BURN the data to the disk. Burning a disk is the process where the data is committed to the disk, written to it, and forever imprinted on the disk (unless you use a re-writable, which does what the name implies).

Mostly, when you use a CD or DVD you’re looking to make a permanent, unalterable copy of your data. Once a disk is burned it cannot be undone. You can’t add to it afterward, edit the file, delete the file, etc. It is there for all time (or until someone tosses the disk into one of those cool new shredders that eats credit cards and disks).

So, if you want a permanent unchangeable copy of your data (files), a CD or DVD might be the way to go.

Other Media Options….Flash Drives, and External Hard Drives

Like CDs and DVDs, I’m willing to bet you’re familiar with flash drives too. Even if you think you’re not. External Hard Drives are another story, and I’ll bet about 50% of the readers have seen them, but probably not everyone knows all about them.

Flash Drives

Do you own a Digital Camera? If so you’re already familiar with Flash Drive technology. The memory cards that go into your camera are “flash memory”. There are many different types of cards, but they all do the same thing. Basically, they’re portable file cabinets that know how to talk to your camera. And when you take a picture your camera creates a document (photo) on the card. It has stored a file in the portable file cabinet!

The fun thing with flash drives is that they’re not relegated to being for photos only. They can be used for any file type. So, when you hook that flash card to your computer you could in theory copy documents to it rather than just downloading your photos. When you copy documents to the card you’ve in essence created a backup once again.

Unfortunately, flash cards, flash drives, etc., can’t store too much data. Right now on the market we’re seeing flash cards and USB flash drives going up to about 8Giga Bytes. So, almost twice the storage space of a DVD. Not bad if you’re backing up personal documents, but lousy if you’re backing up an ITunes Library or giant photo collection. So, let’s say you’ve got huge amounts of files you want to backup…..what’s the option?

External Hard Drives

External Hard Drives are the holy grail of backup in my opinion. Why?

• New external hard drives offer hundreds of Giga Bytes in storage.
• External hard drives are portable.
• They’re dirt cheap at this point in time.
• You can treat them just like your computer’s hard drive.
• You can use them between multiple computers, making it easy to copy large amounts of data between computers.

Only a few years ago I paid $350 for an 80GB external drive. Recently I paid $149 for a 500 GB external drive (more than 6 times the capacity at half the cost). Currently my computer’s hard drive is only 80 GB (older model), and my portable drives are much larger than the computer’s internal file cabinet.

Not only are external hard drives great for making backups, they’re also fantastic for expanding your computer’s storage capacity. As I noted above, my computer’s drive is 80GB. I take about 5 GB of photos per month. As you can see, it wouldn’t take long to fill my computer’s drive…..so I started getting external drives to store my data, as well as make backups.

The latest screen shot shows part of my Macintosh’s desktop. As you can see, there’s a device named “Macintosh HD”. That’s the original hard drive on my computer. There’s also a little folder “webgifs” where I put photos that are going up on to the internet (like all the pictures in this post). Finally there are two more devices, “500GiG” and “LaciePortable”. These are 2 of my many external hard drives. One is used as a regular hard drive (the LaciePortable) and the other is used to back up EVERYTHING else!

See, my computer’s original hard drive is only 80GB, and the external drive “LaciePortable” is 320GB. Totaled, that’s 400GB of storage over all. The 500GiG drive is 500GB. More than enough room to copy everything on my original hard drive and my external that I use for new files!

So, what do I need?

That really depends on what you’re doing. CDs and DVDs will work great if you’re only storing a little at a time, and you don’t want to alter the backed up files (once you burn it, it’s permanent). Flash drives will work well if you’re only storing a little, and if you want to change the files on the drive over and over again. And external drives are great if you want to keep writing to them, and altering the files as you go (just like your current hard drive).

In my case, I do the following backup plan:

1. ITunes Library (music, movies, everything): This library grows and changes. I make incremental backups of the library as it grows to DVDs (ITunes helps me do this). I also backup the entire library to an external drive (500GiG). I’ve got two copies then. One on an easy to access backup drive, the other on a permanent set of DVDs.
2. Photo Libraries: If you’ve followed my site for a while you know I take a lot of pictures. A LOT! My main photo library from August through today has 35.8 GBs of photos in it. Way too much to store on my regular hard drive since it has so many programs on it. My main photo library lives on the external drive “LaciePortable”. It is backed up once a week to the drive “500GiG”. Also, about once a month I copy the latest photo folders to DVDs as well. That way if I have a real disaster (2 drives dying….nearly impossible, but it could happen) I can always restore from my DVDs.
3. The Mac Hard Drive: I have backed up my entire Macintosh hard drive to the external drive “500GiG”. Once a month I back it up again, that way any new files that have been added will also show up on my backup. All of my personal documents, financial stuff, etc., get caught in this backup.

There’s my personal backup plan. In most cases, I copy incrementally to DVD. But mostly I use external hard drives to store backups. Having backups in more than one place is useful. Backing up to DVD is more of a pain, which is why I do it only when I’ve added enough data to make it worth my time. Backing up to the external hard drive is simple and easy. Copy from your main drive and paste to the backup drive. Done.

I thought there were backup programs out there…..more complex, right?

Yes, there are many backup programs out there. And you can get more complex. But let’s tone it down for a moment. All you really want to do is copy your important stuff from one cabinet to another. That’s all….breathe….there you go!

So, what’s up with backup software? Why the big deal? Why do people get paid tens of thousands of dollars to create complex backup plans for big companies??? Oh, I’m going to hyperventilate….

Backup programs can help make life easier. I use one. I know, I just told you copy and paste, that simple. Backup programs do the same thing. You tell them what to copy, and where to paste it. The nice thing about them is they can then do it automatically for you going forward.

My LaCie external drive came with a wonderful program called Silver Keeper. The program asks me what I want to backup (copy), and where I want to back it up to (paste). It then asks me when I want to do it. Once a week. Once a month. Daily? Only when I tell it to…..etc.

Look at the last screen shot. Pretty simple. On the left side I selected what I want to backup. I wanted to backup my music. On the right side I told it where to back up. The drive “500Gig” and into a folder called “Music”. Not so hard, right? The program does a few cool things though. Instead of recopying everything it checks to see what’s already in the backup, and what’s new. It only copies the new stuff, never touching the original stuff. All that does is save me time.

So, I could copy and paste entire folders every week, every day, every hour. Or I could let a simple backup program do it for me. By the way, all the external drives out there come with one form or other of backup software. For me, Silver Keeper meets my needs, and it’s not complex. Without it I’d simply copy and paste files, but that’s just me.

Wrapping up

That’s about it for backing up. Copy from one place, paste to another. Basically, document copies in 2 file cabinets. Not too hard.

If you want to see it in action, let me know. Leave a comment. I’d be happy to do a video podcast or two on backing up. If I do it I’ll post it over at the Digital RV Podcast site. Be specific in your request on podcasts, as I don’t want to go too generic if I do them.

What’s your bottom line? Here’s what you need to do before you run off to make your backups.

1. Determine what things you want to backup.
2. Once you’ve picked the files and folders you want to backup, find out how much space they take (right click in Windows and select properties…the file / folder size will be displayed….similar for Mac, but select Get Info instead of properties). Total up your required backup space.
3. Select the best storage media (file cabinet) for your needs. If you have under 8 GB of stuff to backup, a flash drive, DVD, or CD might work for you. If you need to backup more, check out an external hard drive at your local computer shop. Externals are cheap, run mostly on USB 2.0 connections (almost all new computers have USB connectors), and for under $200 you could backup your entire computer easily.

***Note: If you do an external hard drive, I recommend LaCie’s drives and Western Digital’s “MyBook”. I’m using both products, and I’ve had great success with each.

Yesterday I decided to move my posts about all of the scams that keep hitting my inbox to the Digital RV.  While this site is directed toward RVers, it’s also available to anyone interested in technology and learning more.  So, I decided to move the scam posts here, and keep Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles more about the daily stuff going on at the Airstream. 

In addition to all the scams I’ve posted about at GAC, I see a ton of 419 scam letters again.  It’s downright annoying!  Here are the latest 419 scam e-mails received this weekend.

GREETINGS!

From Mrs Maria Elena Fernandez,

I am the above named person from Philippine. I am married to Mr. Rodolfo FERNANDEZ who worked with Philippine embassy in Kuwait for nine years before we left to Philippine where he was re-appointed as a navy officer before his untimely death in the year 2005.

We were married for eleven years without a child. He died in his home country Philippine after a brief illness that lasted for only four days Before his death we were both born again Christian. Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $7.3Musd (Seven Million Three Hundred Thousand U.S. Dollars) in cash concealed in a trunk box and deposits it with a Security Company in Abidjan Cote d ivoire (West Africa) which he declare and register it as family valuables.

Recently, my Doctor told me that i have serious sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is the high blood pressure sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church or individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church or individual that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavour that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made us to understand that Blessed is the hand that giveth I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I do not want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers. This is why I am taking this decision to contact you.

I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace. I do not need any telephone communication for security purpose until this mission is accomplished.

With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply with full assurance of your assistance, I shall give you the legal proof of this matter and contact of the security company in Abidjan where he deposited the trunk box. I will also issue you an authority letter that will prove you the present and legal beneficiary of this trunk box (fund). I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shepherd. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that wants to serve the Lord must serve him in Spirit and Truth.

Hope to receive your reply.

Remain blessed in the Lord.
Yours in Christ,
Mrs Maria Elena Fernandez

That’s number one.  Don’t you love it?  I don’t  If you get e-mail like this do not respond.  Just delete away.

Here’s number two:

From Mrs.Roseline Annie
Dear in Christ ,

May our good Lord bless you and reward you for your going out and coming in through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.

I am the above named person from Kuwait. I am married to Mr Johnson Annie who worked with Kuwait embassy in Abidjan for nine years before he died in the year 2003. We were married for nineteen years with a child He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. Before his death, we were both born again Christian.Since his death, I decided not to remarry or get achild outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against.

When my late husband was alive he left the sum of $5.5 Million (Five million five hundred thousand U.S.Dollars) in a fixed deposit with a Bank. Presently, this money is still in the Bank.Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next Eight days due to cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a person that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavor that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made us to understand that “Blessed is the hand that giveth.

I took this decision because of my only child that will inherit 25% from this money and help to secure a good education & accomodation and also for the seck of God i will like you take him as your child and been a guidiance to him where by my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers. I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision.

I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that “the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace”. I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health. With God all things are possible.As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank, for you to contact with them directly for onward transfer. I will also issue you an authority letter that will prove you as the present beneficiary of my funds. I want you and your family to always pray for me and my son because the lord is my shephard. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life Any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another person for this same purpose.Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein.

Hoping to receive your reply on (roseline4annie@yahoo.com)
Remain blessed in the Lord.

Yours in Christ,
Mrs Roseline and only son David Annie

I don’t know about you, but my heart strings were really tugged on this one.  No really, tugged.  Ouch, there goes that tugging again.

While I would hope folks would know better than to respond to these, I still think it’s good to post about them.  Folks are looking to scam you from so many angles.  Don’t let it happen.

For several years I’ve promoted the Firefox browser. In the book The Digital RV I advise that it is the best browser to choose when working on the Internet. CNet has given it a big thumbs up. And last night I found one more reason to be a giant fan of Firefox.

The latest incarnation of the Harvey Investment scam e-mail hit my inbox, and I went to check out their latest link (see the last post for more information). It was the same fake site with a new address. Their old fake address has been taken down (hooray).

Firefox did something amazing when I navigated to the new fraudulent site. It told me it was a phony site! I included a smaller picture yesterday, but here’s a larger view today.

I love it! Suspected web forgery!!! Amazing! This is something I’d never seen Firefox do. So I looked further into this latest feature.

Specifically, Firefox has “Phishing Protection” now. It identifies sites that are asking for specific data like your social security number from an updated list of offenders on the Internet (I need to find out who provides that service). To read the whole explanation click this link. I’ll be reviewing my Firefox security settings today to see how much more protection I can get. In a nutshell I’ll quote the second item from Firefox’s page on Phishing….

How does the Phishing Protection feature work in Firefox 2? Phishing Protection is turned on by default in Firefox 2, and works by checking the sites that you browse to against a list of known phishing sites. This list is automatically downloaded and regularly updated within Firefox 2 when the Phishing Protection feature is enabled. Since phishing attacks can occur very quickly, there’s also an option to check the sites you browse to against an online service for more up-to-date protection. This enhanced capability, and other Phishing Protection settings, can be configured in Firefox’s Security settings.

To see the security feature in Firefox, check the next picture. I took a screen shot of it. You can either use Firefox’s downloaded list, or check with Google! Gee, I wonder where you can submit the name of a site suspected of Phishing with Google? Oh, wait a minute, Firefox actually offers a way to “flag” the phishers….

From their phishing page Firefox offers the following when you arrive at a potential phishing site that has yet to be Identified….

How do I report a suspected phishing site, or what if a warning appears on my own Web site?In the Help menu there is an option to “Report Web Forgery…” which will bring you to a Web page that you can use to report a suspected phishing site, or to submit an incorrect forgery report.

Now we’ve all got a place to report this garbage. I wonder if they’ll accept stuff like Veriresume as well since they keep sending out phony job offers just to get you to click their ads? Hmmmm, finally, we’ve got somewhere to turn. Thanks Firefox!

This morning I read one of Rich Luhr’s latest posts with interest. He’d written on his mobile office, and the post’s inspiration came from a recent article entitled “Business in a backpack.”

Both the CNN article and Rich’s article are completely in keeping with the Digital RV concept. With the latest in portable equipment you can work from almost anywhere, and in a variety of industries.

This isn’t a new concept, but it’s new to many readers, and to many companies. While corporate America is aware of the latest technology they have often failed to leverage the technology. Often times companies today do not use technology to it’s full capacity due to fears regarding over site of employees. What do I mean by that? Simple. They want to see you in your cube from 8 - 5. Having a virtual office just doesn’t set right with many bigger companies.

But in some instances it works well. I’ve known for well over a decade that most of my work in wireless telecommunications could be done from anywhere. Each night I’d return home from work, and normally I’d get paged regarding one system disaster or other. I’d take my company laptop, connect to the Internet, and in a few moments I’d be online with the offending system and working on restoring it. This would all be from the comfort of my living room, usually on my couch.

Hand in hand with the Digital RV

Being a Digital RV’er allows for so many possibilities, just like the article “Business in a Backpack” points out. In the book I point out entertainment, communications, and business possibilities with the right systems. At this point in time you can work “virtually” from most any corner of the US. And the article Rich Luhr read points out that you can work from most anywhere in the world if need be.

So, working while on the road and touring the country can actually go hand in hand. Sure, you can be a workamper and take on site hosting responsibilities most anywhere in the US. But how about running your own business instead, or working for a larger organization that allows for virtual office roles? That’s now opened up to RV’ers who’ve gone digital.

What do I do, and what do I carry with me?

In my case I’m currently managing my own business from the road. Each day I work with multiple web sites, updating content, managing databases, and doing generic internet work. My e-mail is one of my lifelines for communicating with family and friends as well as conducting business. Job searches, client updates, and even online conferences.

Here’s the list of items I do every week, from the road in my own mobile office:

• Send and receive e-mail.
• Update 4 different web sites.
• Manage SQL Databases.
• Update client web sites.
• Process new photography.
• Process digital video, create and upload podcasts.
• Submit photography to stock photo sites.
• Manage book sales.

There are certainly more things I could do from my mobile office, but those are the highlights from my personal mobile office.
Let’s not forget, the second edition of the Digital RV was produced while on the road. With my wireless network I was able to upload the latest version of the book, deal with edits, resolve issues with the publisher, and get the book produced.

So, what’s in my “tech grab bag”? Not a whole lot honestly. You don’t need to load your rig up with every gadget under the sun. A few select items will have you all squared away, and like the article “Business in a Backpack,” what you have in your RV doesn’t have to be much.

The key items for my mobile office are:

• A Macbook Pro 15 inch laptop.
• 2 Lacie Firewire portable hard drives (100GB each).
• A Verizon Wireless EVDO card (to access the internet).
• Kyocera KR1 WiFi Router (works with the EVDO card).
• Canon SD550 Elph Camera (can fit in your pocket).
• Canon EOS 30D Camera (a larger SLR digital camera).
• 60GB Video IPod (entertainment mostly).

There are a few other random items here and there, but that’s the bulk of my equipment that gets used every day.  And with the exception of the 30D camera, everything else fits neatly into a small bag.  Just like the author of, “Business in a Backpack.”

So, when you’re considering the Digital RV concept, keep in mind, there’s a lot you can do with a little equipment.  And remember, beyond business needs, the latest mobile technology can save you a ton of space in your RV and expand your entertainment options as well!

Recently I signed up to Blog Carnival. It’s a site that let’s you select categories on what you blog about, and submit your articles to the particular category that interests you. So, I submitted 2 articles from the Digital RV blog regarding mobile tech, and they were approved and added to an interesting “Blog Carnival”. You can see the page at http://odds.endsofthecontemporary.com/2007/07/techblog-carnival-jul-5/

The concept behind Blog Carnival is that you will increase your traffic and the traffic of others through interlinking of blogs. And usually that’s what happens.

I’d suggest to mobile and non-mobile bloggers alike check out blog carnival. If you’re blogging about a particular topic, you might do well linking up with other bloggers who have a similar interest. Go to Blog Carnival and look for yourself.

Recently there’s been more chatter about DRM and the media content we all consume. First off though, what is DRM?

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. DRM technologies are used to keep consumers from making many copies of their favorite CD, DVD, MP3, or MP4 and sharing them with friends. In other words, it’s copyright protection. Nothing wrong with protecting the rights of artists, I’m in total agreement with it.

The stick in the mud here though is that your rights as a consumer also get put aside often. If you want to make a copy of your favorite movie DVD as a backup, shouldn’t you be able to? How about backing up your ITunes library? How about restoring your ITunes library if your computer fails, but your IPod has everything on it? Well, you can’t easily do these things!

While the controversy around DRM continues, there’s one easy suggestion I have for getting DRM free music. Radio Shark & XM.

With my XM radio I have access to so many different types of music and talk radio. It’s great! XM’s “Fred Radio” is a favorite channel. They play “Classic Alternative.” Can’t believe they’re calling music I listen to Classic.

The XM I own has an FM transmitter built into it. So, while in the Airstream I can listen to the XM over my radio. I can also pick up the XM radio with my Radio Shark. What does the Radio Shark do exactly?

Radio Shark is a USB antenna that you can plug into your Windows or Mac system. It comes with a software package that allows you to listen to AM & FM radio through your computer. Pretty cool. It also allows you to pause, rewind, fast forward, and record whatever you’re listening to over the airwaves.

The key to this article is the word “record”. You can record whatever you’re listening to over the airwaves. In my case, I record what comes across my XM. Digital radio gets recorded to my laptop, and when I’m done recording I can export to my IPod.

What that means to me is I can add to my music library through my XM subscription.

Now, this type of recording is also a big issue. But it’s been a big issue for a long time. People can record shows to their Tivo and copy them to their laptop. During the 80’s we all ran around with cassette tapes, recording our favorite songs off the radio (what a pain that was). VHS recorders captured TV content we missed. The list goes on and on.

However things play out with DRM and copyright issues for today’s latest recordings, there’s one way you can record the music you want. The Griffin Radio Shark.

Just don’t record and redistribute what you’ve saved. That’s where the law is clear, and you’ll have trouble on your doorstep!

Being a Digital RV’er means you have more options while on the road, right? Well, yes, it does.

Digital RV’ing also opens you to some issues as well. Your data can be exposed via WiFi networks, shared networks at parks you visit, and more. But you can control that pretty simply.

• Get a good firewall running on your system.
• Use Anit-Virus software.
• Secure your wireless network. Always use a WEP key.
• Backup your data regularly!

There’s the simple steps. But there’s more, and your exposed every day, not by your computer and digital technology. You’re exposed just through your existence!

You’ve probably heard the stories often on the TV or Radio news. Large corporations, the federal government, state governments have lost data. 60,000 employees data gets out into the public. Hackers have gotten into credit card clearing house databases. The list goes on and on. And none of it has to do with your personal digital security measures!

What can you do?

For this author I paid attention to a recent advertising campaign. Life Lock caught my attention, and I researched them, and finally signed up with them.

Now, do you really need an outside service out there to protect your credit and good name? Yes, absolutely. From a friend’s direct experience I became concerned and protected myself with Life Lock.

My friend, “Mr. J” was a full-time RV’er for several years. He and his wife lived aboard a Class A for two years before building a new house. Their travels were very short, and they didn’t do coast to coast as I have over the past year. As a matter of fact, they stuck close to “home”. All the familiar stops, shops, and service spots.

During their time aboard their RV Mr. J’s identity was stolen. A knock came at his door one afternoon, the local sheriff had come with a warrant for his arrest! He was accused of writing bad checks all over town.

With a little research Mr. J found that a person had opened an account in his name. The person opened credit cards too. And he was running a muck with Mr. J’s identity. How did it happen?

9 months earlier Mr. J had his RV serviced at his local dealer. The dealer’s nephew did some work in the rig, and while working in the rig, copied Mr. J’s driver’s license information and registration information. The dealer’s nephew was the criminal. No computer use, no hacking, just someone coming across your hard documents is all you need!

One year later Mr. J is still cleaning up his credit reports.

Knowing his story I’ve remained concerned since I hit the road. When I came across Life Lock I was thrilled. For under $150 a year they promise to keep my identity safe! The service is simple and easy to setup. The peace of mind it offers is priceless.

Life Lock is not a sponsor here.  I paid for their service just like anyone else.  They are a service I’d recommend.  I’d suggest you research them on your own and make your own decision.  For me, they provide extra piece of mind while I’m on the road.  That simple!

Oh, Mr. J is now a Life Lock customer too.

Maybe you’re like me. Severely allergic to half the planet! Part of my year long trip in my RV was to find the right spot where I could live with the least allergens around!

If you’re looking to find the right spots to breathe easy, the Internet offers a fantastic way to track allergens.

Take a look at Pollen.com’s web site. Exactly what you need, when you need it. No additional forecasts, hunting through the latest hurricane reports or blizzard watched. Just listings on where allergens are, how bad they are, and places that are a little better today.

The main page at Pollen.com shows you the overall pollen levels across the U.S. Take a look at the graphic below.

As you can see, they list the best and worst 5 cities in the U.S each day. Talk about convinient!

You can go a little further and also check exactly where you are. Type in your zip code and get the following report….

Now, if you’re full-timing and planning your next move you’ll have all the information you need. Finding the best spot for your allergies in the U.S. couldn’t be easier! All thanks to being a Digital RV’er too!

In a surprising move, Apple launched Safari 3’s Beta for both Macintosh and Windows.  Why would Apple do that, given Firefox exists?

Over the past few years I’ve been using both Macintosh & Windows.  The browsers provided by each of the software manufacturers have never been as good as others available on the Internet.  Both Explorer and Safari always fell behind the curve.  And unfortunately, Safari for Windows (and Mac for that matter) still doesn’t measure up.

Apple claims speed increases in the latest inception of Safari over Explorer and Firefox.  Hunting the web you’ll find many groups that have already done benchmark testing to see if it’s true.  So far, the reviews seem to be mixed.

What is clear regarding the latest version of Safari is simple.  It’s no Firefox.

Fortunately, the latest version of Safari displays XHTML and CSS properly.  After a recent change to Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles I received several complaints from Windows users who browse the web with Internet Explorer.  Amazingly enough, Firefox, Netscape, & Safari could read the new version of the site perfectly.  Explorer choked, and it seems it was dying on the updated Style Sheets.  Geeze, Microsoft still can’t get it right, even if industry standards comply with the updated site.   Safari on Windows does in fact display the updated site properly, so there’s a plus in Apple’s favor.
Why the big software vendors think it’s necessary to create their own browser is beyond me.   My simple suggestion to everyone out there.  Get Firefox, enjoy your web browsing experience!  Sorry Apple, sorry Mircrosoft……you’re still not getting it in the browser space, and that’s fine, there are other people who do get it.

Need to read some reviews?  Here you go:

http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/2007/06/wwdc_safari_3_o.html 

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070612-afirst-look-safari-3-on-windows.html 

Take it from me, both Windows & Mac users:  Stick to Firefox!

A year and a half after the successful launch of the first book on mobile technology for RV enthusiasts, The Digital RV Blog is happy to announce the Second Edition is available for purchase!

Currently “The Digital RV“, the second edition is available direct through the publisher, LuLu.com. The book lists for $15.95 hard copy, and $7.95 e-book. With 4 additional chapters, direct on the road experience from the author, The Digital RV is an excellent introduction to using mobile technology to enhance your next RV trip.

In order to purchase the Digital RV, simply click any of the links in this article, or click on the Orange button in the right hand bar on this page. Or click the new cover image below to begin ordering!

Of course, the second edition of the book will be available once again at several Internet resellers as well.

• Airstream Life Magazine’s Web Site
• Workamper.com
• RVBookstore.com
• Amazon.com

Within the next two weeks resellers should have the second edition available, but if you must get a copy now, feel free to order through LuLu.com.  The author gets to keep a little more income that way too!