Rants and Raves

I’ve already posted that I’ve moved my web hosting over to JustHost.com and that  I’m happy with JustHost.com; but I decided it was well worth actually going through what makes JustHost.com a reasonably good choice for hosting.

UNLIMITED would have to start the list.

Web hosting with JustHost.com has unlimited storage, unlimited transfer, unlimited domain hosting, unlimited email accounts, unlimited email storage, unlimited MySQL databases, and unlimited database size.

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE would have to be the second item on the list.

Not a 30-day money back guarantee, but an any time money back guarantee.  If you pre-pay for two or three or four years to get the best price, you can still get a pro-rated refund if they ever fail to meet your expectations; and within the first 30-days you get a full refund (I believe they will charge you for domain registration if they provided or extended your domain’s registration, but that’s reasonable).

COST would be the third item on the list.

And honestly I shouldn’t say cost, but rather value.  After all, you’re not looking for a cheap web host, you’re looking for a reliable web hosting company that won’t break the bank.

FEATURES would be the forth item on the list.

Web hosting plans include one domain (they will pay the registration fee, but they don’t provide private registration — so you may well find that you can get a better deal using another service for domain registration).

They use a fairly standard cPanel for controlling web hosting, domain, and email features.  Though, one thing to note is that just because you see something on their cPanel demo does not necessarily mean that it will be included with the hosting package you order (it may be an extra charge item — though realistically none of the “must have” features are extra charge items).

They have a fairly complete list of applications that can be installed directly from their control panel, and likely any LAMP based web application will run without issue (you may need to change some of the default Apache settings via .htaccess in order to make a LAMP application run optimally).

They support Server Side Include (SSI), PHP5, cron jobs, private/custom CGIs, SPF/DKIM, custom DNS records (you have to request customer service to add records for you on a shared hosting package; but they entered a CNAME for me in just a few minutes) and just about everything else other than Apache Tomcat (Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages framework isn’t include on shared hosting packages).

SUPPORT would also need to be on the list.

Their pre-sales support is great; they’ll answer any question you might have, and generally they’re right on the money (I always test pre-sales by asking them some moderately difficult questions that I already know the answers to along with any real questions I need the answers to).

Their technical support staff is good; I probably should rate them very good.  They generally take care of any issue immediately; occasionally you’ll end up having to provide them a little more detail in a response to the original ticket in order to get a resolution, but even then I’ve yet to have any issue that took them more than a few hours to resolve (though keep in mind, when it involves DNS changes they don’t control how quickly that propagates through the net).

By default they organize your hosting account with a primary domain and all secondary and external domains are “under” that in the directory structure.  To avoid this you can do what I did and register a fictitious domain as your primary domain <your name>.justhost.com works well since you can be sure there’s not likely to be any collision with a real domain / zone (it would be great if they would just give you this as an option).

RATING would also be on the list.

And by that I mean that you don’t have to blindly trust what I’m saying, JustHost.com consistently ranks high on comparisons with other hosting providers.  While you might find some negative comments out there, overall the reviews are positive and when viewed side-by-side with their competitors (many charging far more for less) they get great marks.

One note, the price you see advertised on the web site isn’t the lowest price you can get… if you decide you are interested, when you attempt to navigate away an automated “bot” will offer you a lower price (potentially a very low price).  There may be different restrictions with the promotional price than the normal packages (I could only get the price I paid per year for a maximum of three years, but it was substantially lower than their normal four year plan — in fact, three years ran me a little more than the published rate for 12 months and a little less than the published rate for 24 months).

When you decide to buy hosting from JustHost.com, please use the advertising panel on my site so that I get a referral credit (it won’t increase the price you pay in the least) or use this link:  JustHost.com.

Tags: Blogging, Communications, Deals, Email, Technology by roger
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Around the end of last November I ordered a Kingston DataTraveler 150 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (DT150/32GB Orange/Black).  When it came in it seemed to work, and I didn’t really think anything of it, but when I started to try and copy large files to it, or put a significant amount of information on it (which actually wasn’t until around the first of this year) I continually had issues with it.

I contacted Kingston the first week of March to try and get a handle on the problem or an RMA to return it for a replacement.  Kingston then requested that I send them some identifying markings from the metal USB plug — well my unit didn’t have any of those identifying markings, and since those marking would have been covered by the cap I couldn’t have told whether a new product I was interested in purchasing had them or not without opening the package in the store and taking off the cap (and of course mail order there’s no way to do it).

What was really alarming is I had a few other Kingston USB flash drives, and I took a look at them — they also didn’t have any markings on them.  So from that I would have to conclude either Kingston just implemented this and the units I have are from before that time, or all the units I have are counterfeit.  The truly alarming thing is I’m 99.9% positive that all of these units came from Fry’s Electronics, Microcenter, and Amazon.

This indicates to me that there’s a severe problem with the distribution channel of Kingston products, and that the Kingston name brand (and the Kingston warranty) is worthless.  Which means, the purchase of Kingston products should be avoided since they are frequently counterfeited and Kingston appears to be only interested in protecting themselves, not the consumers of their products (since consumers really have no way of knowing if a product is counterfeit).

As Nancy used to say “JUST SAY NO” to Kingston products.

Tags: Computers, Hardware, Shit List, Shopping, Technology by roger
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It was sunny (but cold) on Saturday, so I did get a chance to get outside and shot some bright daylight footage.

The color was excellent, the motion quality was very good.

With adequate lighting I don’t think you can touch the quality of this camcorder for twice the price.

Panasonic HDC-SD10 High Definition Camcorder

Tags: Digital Media, Shopping, Technology by roger
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I purchased a Panasonic HDC-SD10K High Definition Camcorder from B&H a little over a week ago for $299.00 delivered.  The K suffix means black; which is I believe the only color available in the US.

I had originally found this model camcorder on Amazon for the same price as a customer return, but I was a little hesitant to purchase it, and by the time I decided it was worth the asking price it was no longer available; but as luck would have it a few days later B&H was offering brand new units for the same price.  The B&H price is good through 16 January 2010 while supplies last.

First, let’s keep in mind that $299 is less than half as much as the nearest comparable camcorder; so if it doesn’t seem like this is a Rolls Royce, perhaps that’s because you’re paying Yugo prices.

The HDC-SD10 was announced last year at CES, but didn’t ship in the US until this past Summer, and it was never really a very popular model since Panasonic offered an almost identical model with 8GB of internal memory (the HDC-SD10 has no internal memory) for $50 more.  Other than the internal memory, these models are identical.

A quick overview of the HDC-SD10 (for those who don’t want to just look up the specifications for themselves).

1920×1080i MPEG4-AVC/H.264 video, 2.1MP JPEG stills, 1/6″ CMOS, 16x optical zoom, 2.7″ touchscreen LCD, image stabilization, auto focus, built in light and flash.

When the unit arrived, I opened the box and allowed the battery to charge for a couple hours before trying it out.

While the batter was charging I looked over the unit.  It seemed reasonably well constructed, and it looked like a good deal of though had been put into positioning the controls.  The only thing I don’t care for is how the cover on the SD slot opens — I’m very partial to how Nikon did the SD cover on my D40, and this just seems far less well done.

I popped a 2GB SD card into the camcorder (I expected it to complain about the slow speed rating, Panasonic recommend Class 6 SDHC cards); but to my surprise it worked.  I would recommend that you use at least Class 4, and that you use at least a 4GB SDHC card.  But if you have other cards around, try them.

Unfortunately, by the time the battery had charged, the sky was cloudy and I was robbed of my opportunity to get some bright daylight shots — but I figured taking shots in overcast would give me an idea of how the camcorder worked.

I took two videos outside at the second highest quality setting (that’s the default); and I snapped about a dozen still images.  Then I went inside and did pretty much the same test.

The two video tests were:

• walk back and forth with the camera
• stand stationary and rotate around

Both tests involved using the zoom in and out (both moving and stationary).

I should note here that I did all of my initial testing without reading the documentation — this should be considered a testament to how easy this camcorder is to use for anyone who’s used a camcorder (or digital camera) before.  The controls were easy to find and use and there was simply no confusion about how to accomplish my task (which is good; my old JVC camcorder always seemed awkward to use, even after having it for several years).

With my test data collected I sat down and the computer.

I didn’t bother installing any software on my computer, I just popped out the SDHC and slipped it into the computer.

The digital stills were easy to find; same directory structure as most digital cameras.  The images are JPEG files, and contains EXIF data.

The video sequences took a little more looking to find, and they are standard AVCHD (MTS) files.  Both Windows Media Player and Live Movie Maker are able to deal with these files.

Let me pause here and remind you that what follows is my first impressions of the HDC-SD10; not a complete review.  My personal feeling is you need to use a camera or camcorder for several shoots before you’ve got a good feel for what it does and how well it does it.

The outside stills were good.  Certainly they don’t compare with either of my DSLRs or my high-end point-and-shoot… but then again, this is a camcorder, not a camera.  The only weakness I found with the digital still was that focus cycle requires a few seconds and the shutter release is not locked out during the focus cycle.  Which means you can snap a picture that is out of focus fairly easily if you’re not patient.  You can snap a still image when the camcorder is recording or when it isn’t.

The outside video was amazingly clear.  The color was very good, and the motion was acceptable.  Quickly panning produced some motion artifacts, but normal movement was far clearer than on my JVC miniDV camcorder.  I will have to say that my feeling is that the zoom is too fast; but I guess it’s better to be too fast than too slow; and for most people I would expect they want a fast zoom.

The inside still images were fine.  The flash works very well.  The colors were about what you expect from a mid-range point-and-shoot.  Nothing to write home about, but acceptable if you need to snap a still and you have the camcorder in your hands.

The inside video was actually quite impressive.  The reviews I had read of the camcorder indicated that low light performance wasn’t very good.  From what I saw low light performance was quite good.  In rooms with no lights on the camcorder was able to register a moderate amount of detail just using its built in light.  In reasonably well lite rooms the level of detail was quite good.  However, the color under LED lights or CF lights was definitely off (I don’t have any incandescent lights in my house, I suspect the color balance would have been better).  Comparing the performance of this camcorder to my JVC miniDV it is definitely better.  Better detail in low light, and equal or better color.  Obviously if I wanted to shoot any video that I was going to show someone I’d turn on some incandescent lights (bounced off the ceiling).

The sound quality on the recordings were fine.  There was quite a bit of wind outside, but the camcorder didn’t seem to be able to deal with it.  Obviously the stereo separation on any camcorder without external microphones is poor — and not a metric I’d concern myself with.

At this price point, the HDC-SD10 seems like a keeper.  You’d pay as much for a standard definition digital camcorder, and half this much for a standard definition miniDV camcorder; or twice as much for a camcorder with substantially better specifications.

I’m hoping the weather here warms up some so I can get out on a sunny day and really shoot some footage to fully evaluate how the camcorder works; and I’d like to do some shoots on the river and at the beach as well.  My expectation is that this camcorder will be fine for me, and I’ll be looking to purchase a few accessories in the near future.

If you want a really high end camcorder; this isn’t for you.  If you want a good quality high definition digital camcorder for hobby use and your not foolish about throwing your money away, perhaps it is worth consideration.

Sensor

1.47 Megapixel 1/6″ CMOS

Lens

2.95-47.2mm f/1.8-2.8

Zoom

Optical: 16x
Digital: 1000x

Filter Size

30.5mm

Recording

System

NTSC

Recording Media

SD/SDHC

Recording Time

Not Specified By Manufacturer

Video Format

High Definition
MPEG AVC/H.264
1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080

Still Image Resolution

JPEG: 2.1 Megapixel

Audio Format

2-Channel Stereo

Display

Display Type

LCD

Screen Size

2.7″

Touchscreen

Yes

Features

Image Stabilization

Optical

Lux

1400^{Standard illumination}
9^{1/30 low light mode}
1^{Magic Pix}

Built-in Mic

Yes

Built-in Speaker

Yes

Built-in Light/Flash

Light – Yes
Flash – Yes

Accessory Shoe

None

Tripod Mount

1/4″

Input/Output Connectors

Inputs

None

Outputs

1x A/V
1x USB 2.0
1x Mini HDMI
1x Component Video (out)

Microphone Input

No

Headphone Jack

No

General

System Requirements

Windows System

• XP, Vista, Windows 7

Battery

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

Power Adapter

Battery Charger / Battery Eliminator

Dimensions (WxHxD)

1.87 x 2.48 x 4.51″ / 47.50 x 62.99 x 114.55mm

Weight

0.5 lbs / 226.80g

HDC-SD10K Product Information

HDC-SD-10K Support Information

Tags: Digital Media, Shopping, Technology by roger
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Microsoft is offering students Windows 7 Home Premium (well, Windows 7 Professional if you say you must join a domain) for $29.99.

The offer requires that you have an email address ending in .EDU (which of course many schools provide lifetime email addresses for their students; my Alma Mater [GaTech] only started doing that in 2003 [a little after my time]).

So if you’re interested in Windows 7 at a good price, and have an email address in the .EDU domain follow the link below; but hurry, the offer is only good until 3 January 2010

Offer Web Site

Which will redirect you to a Microsoft page

Microsoft Order Page

Tags: Computers, Deals, Shopping, Software, Technology, Windows by roger
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I got two calls from the local Lowes store regarding my ceiling fan issue, and I have to say I was quite impressed by how efficiently the local store handled the issue.

They had a replacement fan ready for me when I stopped by, and they actually had no problem just putting the purchase price of the fan onto a gift card so that I could select a different model.

I would say the greatest failing of Lowes in this entire incident is that the corporate offices has put together an online system that poorly reflects on the ability of local Lowes management to handle problems; perhaps the best thing for Lowes to do is simply forward online request to local management and not ever try and resolve issues at a corporate level…

NOTE:  I actually purchased a Hunter ceiling fan at The Home Depot since Lowes didn’t have a suitable replacement fan in a brand I trusted.  The Hunter fan’s motor is easily three times the weight of the Harbor Breeze’s motor, and like the other Hunter fans I have (and have had in the past) it’s totally silent (and was much easier to install).

Tags: Shit List, Shopping by roger
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If you’re a savvy consumer you can save a great deal of money at BigLots! (of course, that’s true of any surplus store, dollar store, clearance sales, etc).

And while I’m not going to stay away from BigLots! because of what I’m about to tell you… I’m just going to continue to watch the prices that are rung up on the register (and you can easily watch while they ring up each item there — not like some stores where you can’t see the price they actually charge until you get the receipt [which is after you sign the credit card slip]_.

At the end of each and every season, BigLots! further reduces seasonal merchandise; however, they don’t actually change the prices on the items (for the seasonal reductions – though they do sometimes change prices for items they’re clearing out) they just post a sign that says extra XX% off such-and-such items.

What they don’t make clear (nor do I really think they want to) is that only some of item in that class are marked down; not all of them are.  And there’s really no way to know what’s marked down and what isn’t except to either find an employee that will check (or happens to just know) or take it up to the cash register.

I found this out a while ago; but it bit me again the other day when I was going to buy a pack of LED Solar lights, the sign said “30% off Patio Lighting”, and sure enough the package I liked the best (well — I really wanted ones made from metal not plastic — but at least these had the solar cell under the lens so that it was protected) wasn’t marked down at all… and I certainly wasn’t going to pay that price for an item that wasn’t really what I wanted.

So, remember, always watch what you’re charged for items, and go over your receipt — and don’t be the least bit shy about asking why it’s more than you expected, and having them void out the item (or the transaction) or returning the over-priced item.  Retailers in general do what ever they can get away with — and my advice to you is not to let them get away with anything ever.

Tags: Shopping by roger
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Just a quick post to follow up on my service issue with Bed Bath and Beyond.

First, the replacement parts for my order arrived in about a week (which means they processed the outbound replacement order within 48-hours).  The parts were packaged extremely well and there was no damage.  I, of course, haven’t installed the replacement parts yet — but it’s on the list.

Second, the return I made to the store was handled equally well.

No doubt about it, Bed Bath and Beyond knows how to treat customer’s right — and they’ve certainly earned my repeat business.

Original Post

Tags: Shopping by roger
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You think those CF (Compact Florescent) bulbs you’ve been buying are green???

Well — think again!

CFs do use considerable less energy than a comparable incandescent bulb, but they (like all florescent bulbs) contain a number of hazardous materials that negatively impact the environment when disposed of improperly (no — you can’t just throw them in the garbage can).

What’s a better choice?

Easy… technology from the 60’s comes to the rescue — LED based bulbs.  They’re made now in a number of configuration and bases to replace virtually any bulb you might have in your house.

OUCH — they’re kinda expensive.

I knew you’d say that… yes they cost substantially more than CFs (especially if you’re in an area where the utility companies are subsidizing CFs); but the thing you need to keep in mind is they consume substantially less energy than a CF and they last much longer.

I would love to tell you that if you factor in the energy savings and the longer life that they’ll work out to be less expensive than a CF; but if you’re buying subsidized CFs that’s not going to be the case.  One question to ask is why are utility companies subsadizing CFs and not LEDs?

LEDs have a much lower impact on the environment; and if enough people start using them we’ll see the prices come down… but doing what’s “right” often has a slightly higher price tag than what’s in “vogue”.

You can purchase LED bulbs at Sam’s Club.  They are selling “Lights of America” (see the link below) and “GE” LED bulbs — it’s rumored that a new Sam’s Club located near Cape Kennedy will use LED lighting throughout the store!

For the best pricing, check your local retailers and wholesale clubs as well as do a search online (consider sales tax and shipping when you compare).

GE Lumination

Lights of America

And maybe we should not only bring pressure on our utilities to subsidize LEDs rather than CFs (or at least in addition to); but get them added to the energy tax credit.

 __________

For background information on LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) you can checkout the article on Wikipedia or do a search.

NOTE: LEDs lower power consumption make them the ideal choice for a home solar lighting system.

Tags: Energy, Shopping, Technology by roger
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I’ve been looking at several solar lighting products to potentially light my driveway, my walkway, and areas.

The first thing you notice is that prices are all over the map — for products that have very similar specifications.

You will find that some of the products have plastic housing, and some have aluminum (or even stainless steel) — but interestingly enough, that doesn’t seem to track their prices.  In fact one of the least expensive models for driveway/walkway lighting I’ve found is in a stainless steel case (now you do have to buy a six pack, but that’s actually about the right number even for short driveways).

For area lighting there’s a huge different in styles; and these are much harder to compare.  The biggest disappointment thus far with the area lights is the amount of light (Lumens) that they produce — they’re so low, in fact, that they seem like they’d be fairly useless without a backup light (run from AC).  In fact since I can run AC to all the locations I want area lights I’m considering just putting in motion/photo sensors and using outdoor LED lamps (that will use electricity, but it’s fairly energy efficient, and produces much more light).  One thing’s for sure, if you like the light your HID (like the sodium lamps I have) gives off, you’re not going to be happy with what you can get from a solar lighting system (or even an LED lamp).

I’ll do a little more “testing” and provide some brands (and where I found them) that you might want to consider; but keep in mind that everyone will have a slightly different set of requirements and there’s likely not going to be one model that’s right for every need.

If you want to buy something right away; make sure that you shop several different vendors before you decide — it’ll surprise you how much essentially the same item varies in price; and the “discount” stores don’t always have the best price!

Tags: Energy, Shopping, Solar, Technology by roger
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