Author Archives: koppg

Home Automation Made Easy with WeMo

Posted on by
Reply

wemo1WeMo is a family of simple, easy to use products that allow you to control home electronics from anywhere. Turn them on or off, trigger them with motion, even put them on a schedule.  WeMo lives on your smartphone and uses your home WiFi and mobile internet. Setting up and using it is a snap. In fact, all the setup happens from your smartphone.

So, what can WeMo do?

Almost anything. WeMo can make your house a more convenient, easy place to be. When you return home, your lights are on. Leave the room, and the TV turns off. Turn off a light downstairs after you’ve already turned in.  Put your house on a schedule-bedroom and living room lights go on in the evening, the kids’ playroom gadgets go off at bedtime.  With WeMo you run your home right from your iPhone. The free WeMo app lets you control individual or multiple devices. Turn off a lamp from the other side of the house. Turn on the lights in the living room, from the other side of town.

Schedules are easy to set up too.  You can put multiple WeMos together in your wemo2scheduled events with ease. The beauty of the way these devices work is that the unit itself is able to trigger the control.  Rather than having a home automation server, each device learns its program and can independently act or perform functions with other devices.  An example would be having a WeMo Switch + Motion that detects the garage door opening and then instructs other WeMo devices to turn on lighting in the house.

There are two types of units available now: WeMo Switch and WeMo Switch + Motion.

If it plugs in, you can turn it on or off with WeMo Switch. Just plug your lamp, or fan, or stereo (almost anything) into the WeMo Switch, and you’re ready to control it with the WeMo app. And WeMo is completely modular. With multiple WeMo Switches, you can control as much or as little of your home as you like.

WeMo Switch + Motion is a great way to trigger it with motion. Just place the WeMo Motion sensor wherever you like, connect it to a WeMo Switch controlling a light, and that light goes on whenever you pass by. With WeMo Motion, appliances wake up and perform their tasks when you get near them, and go to sleep when you leave. Just like they should! Learn more

These units are not inexpensive but they provide great functionality for the money.  The WeMo Switch runs $49 and the WeMo Switch + Motion costs $99.  The iPhone app is free and available now.  AN Android application is also available for free but is still in Beta and only works with newer android operating systems.  It is available on Google’s Play Store.

There are videos on how these units work on Belkin’s website.

New Logitech Keyboards can Light Up Your Life

Posted on by
Reply

LK MacKeyboards are a matter of taste and preference. I still run in to a few people, usually older now, that pine on about the teriffic IBM keyboards of the early PC era. But keyboard technology has moved on to provide a much better yet different experience.

I have tried many keyboards over the years. Some better than others and had basically settled on using an Apple wireless keyboard with my Mac and a Dell wired keyboard on my PC. All of that has changed with a new entry in the keyboard space from Logitech.

The Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard and the Logitech Bluetooth® Illuminated Keyboard K810 are nearly twins. THe feature set is exactly the same for both units with the major difference bring the keyboard layout. The Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard has a keyboard layout for the Mac with Mac control and command keys in the correct locations while the Logitech Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810 has a keyboard layout for a PC with a windows key in the correct location. The other differences between the two are color with the Mac version sporting a bright color and the PC version a smoked aluminum color.

With the differences described above, the rest of the functionality is common to both keyboards. One of the best features of these units is the ability to press one button to switch in an instant between your Bluetooth devices. Logitech allows you to quickly toggle between typing an email on your Mac or PC, to taking notes on your iPad, to replying to a text on your Phone. Thats right, the keyboard can be paired to 3 different devices at the same time and switch between the devices with a simple press of a key on the keyboard. Think of the possibilities.

With a single keyboard you can move from your PC to your ipad and then to your AppleTV all without any repairing or making any setting changes. If you travel with your spouse, each of you could have your phone paired to the keyboard and trade the keyboard back and forth as needed throughout the trip. Or better yet, the keyboard could also be paired to your computer at home so that you just pick it up and bring it along when you travel. How cool is that!

These keyboards have another feature that I really like. Being an Apple laptop user for years, I have grown accustom to the lighted MacBook keyboards. I love to get that additional light from the keys to assist me in typing in a darkened room. Well Logitech has provided that same keyboard, behind the key, lighting in this keyboard. Now weather at home in a dark room, or on a darkend flight, you can get that lighted keyboard experience for your iPad or Android tablet. The illumination automatically adjusts to suit the light conditions in the room. You can also manually adjust the brightness of the illumination using the F5 and F6 keys. A motion sensor detects your hands as they approach the keyboard and turns the backlight on/off to help you save power when you are not typing.

You charge these units with the included USB cable and you’ll enjoy between 10 days and up to a year of power, depending on the intensity of illumination and time spent typing. As a plus, particularry when you travel, there is an On/Off switch to ensure the keyboard does not come on in your travel bag.

Both keyboards are priced at $99 so it is definitely not the least expensive keyboard you can find, but if it is used for 3 devices, the cost doesn’t seem too bad.

There is lots more to like about these keyboards. Check out Logitech’s website to read more about the Mac version or the PC version

How to Migrate to a New Mac Quickly

Posted on by
Reply

imagesMoving large amounts of data requires a dedicated connection.  Firewire or Thunderbolt target disk mode is the answer for this.

Important: Unplug all other Thunderbolt or FireWire devices from both computers prior to using FireWire target disk mode. Do not plug in any FireWire devices until after you have disconnected the two computers from each other, or have stopped using target disk mode. If using Thunderbolt, it is ok to leave your Thunderbolt display plugged in.

To use FireWire target disk mode

  1. Make sure that the target computer is turned off. If you are using a MacBook or MacBook Pro as the target computer, you should also plug in its AC power adapter.
  2. Use a FireWire cable (6-pin to 6-pin) to connect the target computer to a host computer. The host computer does not need to be turned off.  If you do not have a firewire port on your new computer, Apple makes a Thunderbolt to firewire adaptor.
  3. Start up the target computer and immediately press and hold down the T key until the FireWire icon appears. The hard disk of the target computer should become available to the host computer and will likely appear on desktop. (If the target computer is running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or newer , you can also open System Preferences, choose Startup Disk, and click Target Disk Mode. Then restart the computer and it will start up in Target Disk Mode.)
  4. When you are finished copying files, drag the target computer’s hard disk icon to the Trash or Eject from the File menu (Mac OS X).
  5. Press the target computer’s power button to turn it off.
  6. Unplug the Thunderbolt FireWire cable.

The process of making this connection is exactly the same if you are using the migration wizard that runs on a new mac or using the Migration Assistant application in the Utilities folder.

D-Link DCS-930L – Wireless N Network Camera: Camera & Photo

Posted on by
Reply

Stay connected to everything that you love 24/7 with the D-Link DCS-930L Wireless-N network camera, which is compatible with the mydlink portal (mydlink.com)–allowing you to easily and securely view and manage the camera from virtually anywhere over the Internet. With its small size and easy installation, the DCS-930L is a discreet and flexible way to check on your home, children, or pets in real time–even on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

D-Link DCS-930L setup
The DCS-930L is ready to be viewed over the Internet in just three simple steps (larger image). Simply connect the cables, plug in the camera, run the short installation wizard and setup is complete. To view what the camera is seeing, simply log on to mydlink.com, choose your device, and start viewing–there is no need to configure your router to open up ports or remember hard-to-memorize Internet addresses.
D-Link DCS-930L

The D-Link DCS-930L Wireless-N network camera.

D-Link DCS-930L

The image above is the mydlink.com portal. Unlike a traditional USB-connected Webcam, the DCS-930L is a complete system with a built-in CPU and Web server that transmits high quality video images for security and surveillance directly to the network without the need for a PC. Simple installation and an intuitive Web-based interface offer easy integration with your Ethernet or Wireless-N (802.11n) wireless network.

Convenient Access, Anywhere, Anytime

As a mydlink-enabled device, you can access the DCS-930L anytime, anywhere you have Internet access. Get peace of mind by keeping an eye on your kids, pets, home or office from almost anywhere by simply logging on to the mydlink Website and selecting your camera. Since the DCS-930L comes with a built-in microphone, you can see and hear for yourself that everything is well at home.

Here ia a new camera I am taking a look at to see if it makes setting up a remote webcam easier. So far, it has allot of promice.

Change screenshot format on your Mac

Posted on by
Reply

Ever thought you would like the built in Mac screenshots to be in pdf format? Here is an easy way to do it.

First off, open the Utilities folder inside Applications and double click on Terminal. Now, don’t get to concerned about the command line. You are only going to type one command. At the prompt, type:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type pdf

Don’t want pdf?  I tested tiff, jpg and png is the default. You’ll then have to logout/login to make the change take effect.