…

Except when it doesn’t work at all!

I’ll be reading my email, or reading a blog or other website and all is well.  Then, I’ll try to browse to another website and I’ll get that message, ‘Cannot Display webpage.’ Usually this means that I don’t have an Internet connection.  Nothing has changed, but I see that my Vista Network icon has lost it’s little globe.  That means that I am no longer connected to the Internet. 

Always, the first thing to try whenever something unexplained goes wrong with your computer, is to restart the computer … reboot.  So I tried that.  No change.  Ok, how about rebooting the phone?  I turned the phone off, turned it back on, and waited.  It reconnected, and the little globe came back on my network icon.  All is well.

Just a little tip I thought I’d pass along for anyone else who uses the Tethered Cell phone method of Broadband Internet access.

Chris Guld, www.GeeksOnTour.com
Computer Education for Travelers

1. Satellite
2. Cellular
3. Wi-Fi

www.GeeksOnTour.com
Computer Education for Travelers

What is a Data Card?

You get it from a cellular provider, it connects to a nearby cell tower. It receives and transmits data. Think of it as a cell phone for your computer. The card pictured below fits into the Express Card slot in your laptop computer. Be sure your laptop *has* an express card slot before purchasing the card!

Recommended data ‘cards’ today connect to your computer’s USB port. Like the device pictured at right. Every laptop has a USB port.

Cellular Data Cards are also referred to as Mobile Broadband Modems. A ‘modem’ is a device that connects your computer to a communications network. In this case, the communications network is one of the cellular carriers like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or TMobile.

Why are Data Cards so popular?

In the short time that they have been available, the Cellular Data Cards have become the primary way that travelers connect to the Internet. They are SO easy. The first time you use it you will need to install some simple drivers from the disk provided. From then on, getting online can be as simple as plugging in the device and booting up your computer. If there is a cell tower within range, you’re online. You may have to click on a button to ‘connect’, but even that can be set up automatically.

Data cards are the only technology that allow you to be online while driving down the road.

Coverage has improved dramatically, the cellular providers have been busy adding towers all over the country. If you tried this in 2006 or 07 and didn’t like it, you should try again! We talk to RVers all the time who say they’ve traveled the entire country and *almost* always are able to get online with their cellular data cards. They love their data cards.

How fast are they?

The speed of your Internet connection will depend on the cell tower that you’re connecting to. If you’re close to a fast tower, you’ll be thrilled with the speed you get - it’s as good as the DSL you’re used to at home. If you’re not in a digital coverage area, you’ll be lucky to get dial up speed.

How do you know you’re in a high-speed area? We use Verizon, and when we see a Verizon Wireless, 1X-EVDO indicator on our phone with more than 2 bars, we know we’re in a high-speed area. If we’re on ‘Extended Network’ or see 1X without the EVDO indicator, we can connect but it will be slow. My litmus test is to watch a video. I am currently connected with Verizon (tethered cell phone) and I just watched a 5 minute video on Youtube.com without a hiccup. That’s a good connection! For those of you who like numbers, here is a speed test I just performed at TestMy.net:

You’ll have to learn what the indicators are for your provider and equipment. Other terms that indicate high-speed include HSPA (AT&T’s network) and 3G. Actually, 3G is used to describe high-speed mobile internet in general. It means 3d Generation. You may already be hearing rumors about 4G!

Why would you use anything else?

Price is the first limiting factor. Mobile Broadband services usually cost $60/month and require you to commit to a 2 year contract. Wi-Fi is $1 - $5/day, no commitment required and, in many places, it’s even free.

Usage limits is the other specific factor. Most plans limit you to 5 Gigabytes per month. This has nothing to do with minutes - it has everything to do with what you’re doing on the Internet. If you read email, browse websites, upload and download pictures, 5 Gigabytes is more than enough for a month. If you share your connection with one or more other people, and any of you watch videos online - you could go over. A full length movie is often 2 Gigabytes.

There is a charge per megabyte of overage. We know people who have been billed $1,000 and more in a month where they were over and didn’t realize it! Rarely does a Wi-Fi hotspot have any bandwidth limits. When you’re at a good Wi-Fi hotspot, that’s when you can get those big downloads like Windows service packs and full length movies.

Coverage is still limited. If you want to boondock in the middle of a National Forest in Wyoming, odds are you will not be within range of a cellular tower. Satellite is still the only way to insure that you have an Internet connection *anywhere.*

Do The Geeks use a data card?

Yes, and No. We have a Datastorm Internet satellite dish, and we love our satellite dish. Last fall, our 5 year old system needed some new parts. We planned to spend the winter in a park with good Wi-Fi, so we opted to turn off the Satellite service. Since we got back on the road this spring, we have been able to make do with a combination of Wi-Fi and our Verizon phone ‘tethered.‘ So - we are using Verizon for an Internet connection, but we don’t have a data card. The cell phone cannot connect at the highest EVDO speed - Rev A - but we do get Rev 0.

We’re getting by with the combination of Wi-Fi and tethered cell phone, but we do miss our satellite Internet. We find that some of our itinerary is based on knowing where there is good Wi-Fi, or good Verizon signal. When our dish was active we could go wherever we wanted.

What’s New?

This technology is a fast-moving field. There’s lots of recent news.

1. Verizon’s price for overages has been lowered from 25¢/Mg to 5¢/Mg
2. Verizon’s price for tethered cell phone Internet access has lowered from $59/mo to $49/mo
3. Verizon has introduced a Data Card/router combination device called the Mi-Fi,
4. Walkinghotspot.com is a software solution that turns your SmartPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot with unlimited broadband access. Not available for Verizon phone. Pretty magic stuff.

I feel like I’m walking into a room where there are lots of people milling about and talking.  The cool part is that these are all people I’ve chosen for one reason or another, it’s my special party room.  And they aren’t too talkative, just a few words about what they’re doing or what they’re thinking.  In less than a minute of glancing at my Twitter home page, I’m up-to-date with all the people I’m ‘Following.’

Let me introduce you around.  The first person you see at my party represents Public Earth.  These are people we met at The Rally.  They are launching a special website about places.  You can find and view these places using a Google Maps interface, store your places in your Public Earth account, and download them to your dashtop GPS for directions.  I think it’s something I’m really going to like – and I won’t forget about it because I’m following their ‘tweets.’

Next comes GypsyJournal – this is Nick Russell, a fulltime RVer, and a friend.  I usually follow his blog, but that takes a lot more time than just seeing him at my Twitter party!  Because of this post, I see that he’s getting ready to go to the Escapades – and we’ll see him there.

Now you see Charlene Li – I’ve never met Charlene.   She is an author and a speaker; a recognized expert in the new Social Media and what it all means.  I value her opinion.  She liked the new Star Trek … I’ll bet I will too.

EMasie is Elliott Masie.  I know Elliott from back in the 80s when he produced the Computer Training and Support Conferences and I was a speaker there.  He is a top thinker and trendsetter in the education field and I love being able to see what he’s up to in such an easy, quick, unobtrusive way.  I’m sure I’ll enjoy his tweets from India.

If you want to start your own party, just go to Twitter.com and sign up for a free account.  Then you can find other people who are on Twitter and click the ‘Follow’ button below their names, voila!  instant party.  If you also start writing some of your own tweets, you may find that some people start following you.  If you have a business, this can be used for marketing.  My latest tweet was about how I was looking for membership site software for my latest website … within minutes, I received an email that a membership site software business was now ‘following’ me on Twitter.  That means that I’ll show up in their party room, but they’re not in mine unless I follow them.

Do you need to be on Twitter?  Of course not.  But, if you’re already spending time online visiting people’s blogs and otherwise browsing – you may actually find that Twitter saves you time.  The RV.net blog can be followed on Twitter – as can the Family Motor Coach Ass’n.  Once you’re looking at RV.net’s Twitter page, you may want to check out who’s at their party!  See who RV.net is following, and you may want to follow them too.  It is so quick and easy to fill your party room with people you enjoy.

So, what’s the difference between Facebook and Twitter?  Facebook is a lot more complex.  I haven’t figured out Facebook yet.  Twitter is nice and simple – at least so far!  It allows you to write short snippets (tweets) about what you’re doing or thinking, it allows others to follow your tweets, and you to follow others.

If you’re interested in learning more about the phenomenon that Twitter is becoming, you can watch this video by the founder of Twitter, Evan Williams.

Chris Guld, www.GeeksonTour.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GeeksOnTour
and http://twitter.com/chrisguld

In the example above, I selected the original photo on the left, clicked on the Effects tab and selected Graduated Tint.  It automatically uses blue and covers the top 1/2 of the picture, using a feathered edge at the bottom.

 Usually, the automatic settings are just perfect for a touch of blue sky.  You can, if you want something more dramatic, change the color, change the amount of the photo that’s covered, and change how the bottom edge appears. In the example above, I increased the darkness of the blue a little to be sure you can see it. 

As with all Picasa fixes and effects, if you don’t like it, just undo!

Geeks on Tour
Picasa Video Tutorials

A new feature in Picasa 3 is the ability to Synchronize a folder or Album on your computer with an album on the Web. What that means is that you don’t even have to click the Upload button! All you have to do is add a photo to the folder or album in Picasa, and as long as you’re online, Picasa will automatically upload that photo to the Web Album.

Here’s how I use it. We have a membership to Thousand Trails (TT) and Resorts of Distinction (ROD), so we like to stay in those parks whenever we can. If we stay in a TT park in January, the pictures will go in my January folder, stay in an ROD in June and those go in my June folder. Then, I will add the best ones to my TT-ROD Album. This is just to have them all together for organization. You can see the web album at this link.  I have another one for State Signs.

With the Album selected in Picasa, all I have to do is to click on the ‘Sync to Web’ button. It will pop up a dialog box, but if you don’t want to make any special settings, you can just click Yes. From now on, any picture in the album on my computer will be automatically uploaded to the one on the Web.

Not only will it upload the picture once, but, if you change the picture on your computer, it will re-upload the picture to the Web.

It truly boggles my mind how easy this is. Try it. You’ll like it!

Chris Guld
www.GeeksonTour.com

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Geeks on Tour Members can watch hours of tutorial videos on using Picasa.

In case you don’t know what a blog is … it’s like a travelogue that anyone can create on the web.  Your own personal journal/photo album/travel map that you can allow anyone to see.  It’s a fabulous way to keep in touch with friends and family you’ve left behind.  And it’s surprisingly easy.  Whenever you visit a Blog – you will see the most recent post (article) on top.  As you scroll down, you will be going back in time.

Greg started blogging after taking one of our ‘Every RVer Needs a Blog’ class in  November 2006. He’s kept up his posting every few days ever since.  Every part of his blog is a good read – but the part about Alaska is full of a special kind of passion – a fever even.  Their 2007 trip is chronicled in 37 posts (web pages) where they discuss more things to see and do in Alaska than you can imagine.  As it turns out, they got the Gold Fever bad!  They’ve even joined the Gold Prospector’s Ass’n of America.

Read the Current Blog – en route to Alaska:
If any of you are interested in the trip, I highly recommend reading the Gundyville blog.  Just go to  www.gundyville.blogspot.com to follow along with their current journey.  Their plan for this summer is to Work-Camp at the Gold Camp in Chicken, Alaska. 

Read the 2007 Blog – a complete Alaska RV trip:
To get the background, or plan for your own Alaska trip, I recommend you read the 2007 story by starting at the first post - the day they were at Mile 0 on the Alcan highway.  When you get to the bottom of that one, just click on the link for ‘Newer Post’ and that will take you to the next page in the story.  You can keep reading and clicking on ‘Newer Post’ to read the blog just like a book.  (If the link doesn’t work for you, it may be because you’re using the Firefox browser – it works fine in Internet Explorer – no clue why?!)

Do you have an Alaska blog?:
I know that several others out there have blogs from their travels to Alaska.  And even more will be going there this year and blogging about it.  If that’s you – please leave a comment with your blog’s address so we can all enjoy the trip with you!

Chris Guld, www.GeeksonTour.com

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You need to know that the text will not wordwrap, so you must end each line with Enter.  It also helps to have a solid background for the paragraph.  But, notice that you can control both the fill color and the outline color of the text.  If you play around with making the fill a light color and the outline dark (or vice versa depending on your background), you can usually make the text pretty readable.

Geeks on Tour members can watch the following ‘show me how’ videos:

Using the Text Tool
All the Basic Edits
Tuning
Overview of the 12 Effects

For Members, login to the online classroom, choose Picasa and then the individual videos you want to watch.

Happy faces of Google Earth Audience From Geeks on Tour April 2009

It was great fun.  Most of the people in the audience had already used Google Earth a little, but I know they learned a lot by the end.  At one point during the seminar we mention that ‘some people think that Google Earth is just a way to look at a satellite image of your house.’  That brought a lot of nervous giggles from the crowd – apparently we were talking about them :-)  Although we did show how to look at a satellite image of your house, we spent the rest of the hour and a half showing all the other things you can do with Google Earth, and exactly how to use it. 

Chris Teaching Google Earth at The Rally From Geeks on Tour April 2009

If you missed the seminar, you can download the seminar handout from our website for free.  Actually, you can download all of the seminar handouts if you’d like.  Just, please respect that this is for personal use only – if you’d like a seminar presented you can contact us with the email link also on our website.

• Google Earth handout
• Every RVer Needs a Blog handout
• High-Speed Internet on the Road handout
• Managing Digital Photos with Picasa handout

Here’s a video overview of the seminar:

Now I am afraid of closing and losing the work I did.  What do I do - close and don’t worry - go back and save each one individually?  Help?  “

Answer:  The message you’re getting has nothing to do with the edits to individual photos.  It’s referring to other processes that you began and didn’t close … like importing photos from your camera, … or making a collage.

Look at the top part of your screen and see if you see multiple tabs:

Usually, when you complete an import, or a collage – these tabs close, and we never even notice they appeared in the first place.  When they get left over like this … just click on the tab to be sure there is nothing there that you do need to finish … then you can close the tab by clicking on the little x at the right side of it.

In any case, you can close Picasa without any worries about losing the work done on your photos.

Picasa Tutorial Videos