Author Archives: Markus

Check Your Bank Statements

Have you ever checked your bank statement and said, “what is this charge for?”  We are very busy, (or at least some of us are) searching the internet and checking out all kinds of interesting things that are floating out  there. Once in awhile we’ll find something that catches our eye, and we’ll want to check out what this thing is that they’re selling. [So we check it out].  Be it a game site, technology site, or something to make our life a little bit easier, etc. Just be aware, when you want to get a free trial of what they are selling, you usually have to give them some info such as your name, address, e-mail, and last but not least, your credit / debit card. They say you will not be billed and if you do nothing after the free trial period, they will start charging your card.

Well recently I noticed a charge that I wasn’t familiar with. So I asked my girlfriend do you know anything about this before I call the company? She said no, but call tMy_Bank Statement_20131219hem anyway. I’m one of those people that hates calling customer service. To make a long story short, I got everything taken care of and hopefully they will refund the charges and everything will be good. [For now].

The reason I posted this, is because sometimes we don’t check our bank statements right away and take it for granted until we notice it. It does seem pretty basic, but we need to be reminded every so often. Including me.

Back To Top ☝

 

Child Safety

I would like to talk about keeping your children safe. Now that I am a new 54 year old dad, and I realize how we all take it for granted (sometimes) how important it is to keep your children safe from all types of hazards around the house. Considering we live in a high tech world and most of us have all types of electronic gadgets such as computers, TVs, stereos, DVD players, etc. It is important that we safeguard our children from thesechild_safety_slide types of luxuries we use to make our lives a little easier.

When I was growing up, my parents really didn’t have to worry too much about electronic gadgets in the house. The most would be electrical outlets and their lava lamp. They really didn’t own alot of electronic equipment such as, computers, cell phones, VCR’s. Although this is a no-brainer, we still may slip [no pun intended] once in awhile and not notice – things happen – some of the dangers we have around the house. Just look around your house and see what kind of hazards electronic and non-electronic exist. You’ll be surprised at some of the things you didn’t notice.

I just hope we can keep it safe for our children and adults as well.

Back To Top ☝

Samsung ST150F Smart Camera with Wi-Fi

I just purchased my very first Wi-Fi camera. [Samsung SMART CAMERA ST150F].  It is a very compact point-and-shoot camera. Some people may ask the same question as I did. Why a camera with Wi-Fi? When you consider there are smart phones that can do the same thing. I figured it was kind of a novelty item and not necessarily something I really needed, (except for the fact that I can now say I have a camera that has Wi-Fi).

I really enjoy experimenting with it. Everywhere I go I like to see if I’m in a Wi-Fi hot spot. When I see thatwi-fi_logo1 I am, it’s kind of neat. I feel like a secret agent that discovered a top-secret classified document.

My other camera is a Samsung ST-66 which is retired to my baby. She likes playing with the camera and she also knows the difference from a toy camera and the real thing.

The ST150F features a 16.2 MP / 25mm lens with a shutter stop of F2.5 for high-resolution images – even in dim light. It has a lot of neat features such as using your smartphone as a view finder, adjust camera settings, preview your images before you shoot them and other features.

Which takes us back to the question, why a smart camera with Wi-Fi versus a smartphone? I figure not everyone has texting capabilities so I think it’s pretty cool that you can e-mail your photos to your family and friends. Also I feel that the images are much better [sometimes] than using your smartphone.

2013-11-06 15.25.07I thought the price was reasonable, ($129.99, not including the 16GB memory card) that I bought a second one for my girlfriends older daughter for a Christmas present. Whether she likes it or not, is remained to be seen.

Anyways, I’m having fun with it. And always learning something new with it.

samsung1

 

Back To Top ☝

FaceTime

I used FaceTime for the first time the other night. It was very interesting. I was at my friends house and we usually call my girlfriends daughter after dinner. Her daughter goes to the University of Hawaii aFacetime-icont Manoa. She told us about FaceTime. I used Skype before and that was my only experience I’ve had with using  videotelephony to communicate with a friend.

Since my friend has an iPad – it is already pre-loaded with the FaceTime app. Also it is on the iPhone 5, and if you have an iPhone 4, you need to update your software to the iOS 7.0  update. It takes about one to two hours to download on your iPhone 4.

This is a fun app to use. My girlfriends daughter saw her baby sister walking for the first time. She said she almost started crying to see her sister walking for the first time. She also was laughing at her Papa (Grandfather) who is growing a mustache and beard. It was a moment that was priceless. We’re going to dinner tonight, so we’ll probably call her tonight using FaceTime.

Back To Top ☝

 

Camera + and ProCamera 7 Apps for iPhone

I just bought two new apps for my iPhone 4. The first app is the Camera +($1.99) and the ProCamera 7 (.99¢). I guess the PC7 includes the update. It’s amazing how a camera app can assemble [configure] a new camera in the phone without having to take the phone apart! I started getting bored with the camera that is already installed with the iPhone. I had stumbled on this app because I was looking for an app to customize my icons on my phone. I saw this icon that had Camera +. I thought it was the icon for the camera. After I noticed it said Camera + (not Camera) (sic).

So I did a search for Camera + and when I saw it was $1.99, I had to decide whether to buy it or not. So being the big spender that I am, I had to break my piggy bank and get my weekly allowance of a $1.99 to purchase this app. I also discovered another app called, ProCamera 7 (.99¢). [Good thing my boss gave me an advance of .99¢] Now it’s time to get to work.

It has some pretty neat features like ‘LightBox’ . Lightbox lets you choose all types of filters and special effects to edit your images.

camera+pro7

Back To Top ☝

 

Downloaded the New iOS 7 update for iPhone

I just downloaded the new update for the iPhone last night.

I was having some problems at first, but eventually figured it out. I did everything that Apple said to do on my iPhone 4. I hooked up the phone to my computer using the USB cable that is used to charge the phone. I opened up my iTunes and searched for the update. I found everything, but not how to install and/or update the software [iOS 7]. Here is the trick (I had to figure it out myself). The modem I use is from Hawaiian Telcom.

Just like when I had to configure my tablet to the modem, I had turned on my Wi-Fi on my phone, still nothing. After I realized I had to type in my password from the modem to start the update. After 2 to 3 hours, the update was installed. After that you have to set-up a few personal settings.

After the update was finished, I rebooted my iPhone 4 to make sure all the apps will work correctly, hopefully. I am going thru some of the apps. (Still haven’t finished yet). The graphics [icons] are quite interesting. Although the fonts for the apps seem a little small for me, itios7_old_new_screens is very clean looking. I like the graphics for the calculator. Even the camera isvery simple not too many settings to mess with.

Overall, I think after messing around with it, I’ll get used to it.

I know that Apple will be constantly updating the iOS 7 software to make it better, I decided I’ll keep it for now.

Back To Top ☝