Friday, Jun 26, 2009
I have been looking for a way to add video to my blog to make it more exciting, and I recently discoved the Flip Mino HD camera. The camera shoots in HD and is about the size of a deck of cards, so it is about as portable as they come. You can also buy a simple tripod in order to shoot still shots like interviews and such.
I am moving to South Korea to teach English in August, and I want to chronicle my experiences with adjusting to a new country as well as all the cool things I get into while I am there. I have a friend that is moving there with me, and I think it will be a very cool project to keep track of all our shenanigans on Youtube. Hopefully it will end up being both entertaining and useful information for other people looking to make the move to South Korea to teach English.
There are many advantages of Using Digital Photography. I’ve been using my Canon Powershot to shoot videos down here in Argentina, but I need a dedicated solution if I want to shoot videos that people will actually enjoy. They’re cool videos to have for later, especially of places like Iguazu Falls and Florianópolis, but the quality is not there like it would be if I had an HD camera. I have about a billion pictures from my travels, but in order to make my travel blog stand apart, I really feel like video is going to be an essential aspect of it. Also, I really enjoy the creation and editing of videos, and this would allow me to hone my skills a bit while creating a lasting archive of my experiences in Asia. I think it is a grand idea all around, and the Flip Mino HD seems like the perfect camera for my current needs.
Posted in Cameras
Tuesday, Jun 16, 2009
One of my favorite technological innovations of the last 5 or 6 years is the portable mp3 music player. I have become hopelessly addicted to my Apple iPod Touch since I first bought one almost 4 years ago. Their convenience and massive storage space has sent the CD player the way of the dodo. No longer am I shackled by a massive CD binder, as I can easily fit all of my music onto my portable hard drive or the player itself, since my current iPod holds 30 gigabytes of music.
I use my iPod for almost everything. Anytime I have a long commute or plane ride, I plug in with my sound-isolating headphones, and say good night. Having music on demand whenever I want it is amazing, because I often use music to influence my mood when I am feeling down. Bad day at work = Bob Marley on my iPod, and my bad mood just melts away. Heck, newer versions of the iPod can now play video and store photos as well, so I can watch TV shows on them if I am so inclined. I tend to stick to music just because the screen is a bit small for my viewing pleasure, but it is nice to know I can store my favorite photos on there as well.
Just last month I was traveling in Brazil and my bus home to Buenos Aires was delayed, by almost 5 hours. This was in a bus station that had almost no forms of entertainment, and I had just finished my very last book that I had brought for the trip. Luckily for me, my iPod had a full charge and I was able to jam out on some tunes until the late bus showed up. I may well have died of boredom had I not had my iPod available.
Posted in Portable Devices
Friday, May 15, 2009
One of my favorite technologies to emerge since I started traveling abroad extensively is Skype. There is no better way to keep in touch with family back home on the cheap than Skype. I think there is a good chance that phone cards may go the way of the dodo eventually, with Skype costing only cents on the dollar per minute. Right now I am living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and to call my folks back home in North Carolina costs only 5 cents a minute. That is magnitudes cheaper than what I paid for phone cards when I was studying abroad in Spain 3 years ago!
Skype has steadily improved the usability and voice quality of their technology, and I can now have crystal-clear conversations with people around the world. I do not even have a dedicated mic, I just use the one that came built into my laptop. And the best part about the technology that I have not mentioned yet is the fact that it is completely free! It costs cents on the dollar to call a land line or cell phone, but if you and the party you want to reach are both on Skype then your call is completely free of charge. If your friends are at all technologically savvy then you can keep in touch for free, all the time.
I have been living in Argentina for over 7 months now, and to call my folks at home on their land lines has cost me a little over $20 US. In other words, almost nothing when you divide that by 7. Once I can teach my parents a bit about all this new and scary technology, I bet I can make my communication costs down here drop to almost zero.
Posted in internet
Tagged as skype , voip