In the high tech world that we live in where we live by the code of ‘technology for technology sake’ there should be little surprise at the 512MB USB drive for your doggies collar.

So if an engraved tag with the name and address or a capsule with a piece of paper just does not cut it for you, now you can store your dog’s important information on his or her own 512MB USB drive. You could also include some pictures, a list of favorite foods, how they like to be exercised, his favorite pooch parlor etc etc all on this bone shaped chewable USB drive.

Ah, how sweet.

Via [gadgetell]

This doggy army looks like it’s straight out of Lord of the Rings as described by this recent post from Gizmodo and it looks like it would be a perfect Halloween costume:

[Organic Armor via Gizmodo]

Thanks to Photojojo I was introduced to Animoto. This service takes your slideshows to the next level and is super easy to use. Simply upload your photos, select a song (or upload your own) and magically comes a professional produced video.

Animoto analyzes your photos and the music and spits out a music video quality result. 30 second videos are free, but if you visit Photojojo before Sunday and follow their link to Animoto you get a free credit towards a full length video! Don’t fret, signing up is simple - no credit card information is needed upon registration.

Literally 5 minutes after reading the article on Photojojo I produced my first video. I’ve got a free full-length video credit stored up for future use - but check out what a couple clicks will get you:

I just watched a fascinating documentary about dogs on Joost (www.joost.com). It really puts you inside a dog’s mind and shows how a dog suppresses his genetic wolf-like code to be a perfect pet.

I think Joost is invite only still. I have some Joost invites if you wish. Joost is online TV. There are always more channels being added. There’s sure to be something of interest to you.

After numerous reports of this page not displaying properly in IE6, I finally tracked down what the problem was.  I was looking for a way to break up my paragraphs in my posts (I use WordPress).  I wanted a line break between the paragraphs.  For some reason the <br /> tag was getting stripped out.  I found a work around - I added a <pre></pre> between my paragraphs.  That looked perfect in every browser except for IE6.  I removed the bad code and now this site finally displays properly in Internet Explorer 6.

Thank you all for reporting the issue.  If you have any more issues please put it in the comments of this post and I will address it as soon as I can.

Since I’ve gotten into the blogging game, I’ve learned the value of ads on the Internet. I have Google ads on my site and I get money for each click.

Advertising is a big deal on the Internet. Why be a click that earns someone else money? You’re going to use the Internet anyway - why not control who gets that money… Why not YOU earn that money?

AGLOCO (A Global Community) is a new community that does just that. It doesn’t require any changes to your browsing activity at all. You install an AGLOCO Viewbar (toolbar) on your computer which includes the text ads and a search box and easy access to your Internet Explorer and Firefox favorites. It takes minimal real estate on my desktop - when I look at it I am not bothered by it… because when I look at it I know that I’m earning money

I know I’m making this sound like a pitch… it is… but it’s something I believe is a great idea. I will get money for the browsing that I would be doing anyway… and the browsing that you will be doing… and your friends… and their friends… and you can do the same!

It’s simple to start - just go to AGLOCO and sign up, download the Viewbar and earn money. Go to http://www.agloco.com/r/BBFV2823!

The subject of my first ever iPhone picture was, of course, Layla!

 

Having owned many cell phones that take pictures - this is the highest quality one yet. It’s 2.0 Megapixels (.7 higher than my Samsung Blackjack).

I was immediately impressed at how responsive the display on the iPhone was while scanning around the room trying to catch Layla still for a moment. The huge 3.5 inch screen was crisp and smooth as real life as if looking through a window. There was practically no delay when snapping the photo. The screen simulated a shutter spiraling closed like a James Bond film and my newly snapped picture was there on the screen and all it’s glory. I think the colors picked up well (for a phone), not nearly as good as my Kodak Z740 - but way better than my Blackjack phone.

The iPhone’s camera offers no digital zoom - I suppose due to Apple’s intent on keeping the phone thin. Surprisingly though, there wasn’t even any digital zoom. Not that I would ever use digital zoom because it degrades the quality of the picture, but it was interesting to see this feature not included. My thought on this is that Apple wants to ensure that every photo taken from its iPhone is at optimal resolution.

There are also none of the ‘fun’ features that I’ve seen in so many camera phones… like putting a silly frame around a picture or writing text or adding antlers or an eye patch to your subject. There is also the lack of ability to adjust the white balance or any other settings.

There is no FLASH! How hard would it have been for Apple to put an LED light on the back of the iPhone? Geez.

In case you’re wondering - the camera on the iPhone does NOT double as a video camera. You only have the option to take still photos.

It may seem like I’m bashing the iPhone and its camera. That’s not the case. The camera on the iPhone is just that - a camera. No bells, no whistles, no happy foo-foo flare. It’s just a camera… but a darn good one… for a phone.

The fact that there is no way to superimpose a clown nose with the camera, there is no digital zoom, there’s no flash (grr), no video capabilities, it doesn’t iron my clothes and it doesn’t cook me breakfast - is irrelevant. The iPhone’s camera is snappy and functional and I’m a fan.

I showed up at my local AT&T store yesterday at 4:15… 1 hour and 45 minutes prior to the launch of the iPhone. I was 13th in line. Not a lucky number, I thought, but in this case it turned out great.

Normally when I get a new phone, I get to the car and anxiously pop it out of the box and coo at it for a bit… and charge it on the way home. This time, however, I decided to contain myself. I left it in the bag which AT&T securely sealed as if to prevent a mugging on the way to the parking lot. Actually, the iPhone box was very solidly constructed - and about the size of a brick. I suppose I could of swung it like a sock full of nickels to protect my new toy from thievery.

I made it home and downloaded iTunes 7.3 as fast as possible while I opened the box like a hungry monkey devouring a banana… only slightly more careful.

Apple really knows how to design a product and its packaging. Upon opening the box you see simply the iPhone sitting there in all its shining glory. Of course the phone is just a paperweight before you activate it with iTunes. Activation was very easy to do and once it was complete I was able to play with it.

My first worry was that the phone would not be as quick as the commercials and perhaps a bit sluggish. After playing with it for a few hours, loading it with music, podcasts, videos and TV shows I was not disappointed. What a sweet phone! It reacts so fluidly. Web pages are loaded epically fast over Wi-Fi.

Now that I approve, I wanted to see how the dogs responded to it.

Frampton was apprehensive at first.

 

 

Frampton is disappointed that it doesn’t taste like anything, however I was happy that it held up quite nicely to this test.

 

 

Layla would only play with the iPhone if it squeaked.

 

 

Overall verdict - We love it!

 

Today’s Tech Tip… What is RSS?

I’m not going to go into all the technical details of what RSS is… this is just a brief overview on what RSS can do. BostonRockDog.com offers RSS feeds as an alternate way to keep up with what Layla and Frampton are up to.

I like to read a lot of websites daily - So many in fact, that I can’t possibly visit them all every day. What I CAN do though is subscribe to their “RSS” (Really Simple Syndication) feed. There are a lot of RSS readers out there, but my favorite is Google Reader.

Instead of going to all my favorite sites every day, I just need to go to Google Reader. It pulls all the newest posts from my subscribed sites where I can easily read them in one spot.

This video is a very brief and entertaining description of RSS.