I previously posted a review of the i-GotU GT-200 GPS Data Logger and that article is by far the most popular post I have on this site. I’ve never really been happy with this device and I had planned to sell it, but I never actually got around to it. I recently started using it again because I went on a couple of photography outings for which I really wanted to be able to record my track and to geotag my photos. Since then I have been using it regularly again and so I thought I should post an updated review. Here are a few comments that I have after a few more weeks of use:

The things that I dislike the most about this gadget haven’t changed:

• The indication lights on it are hard to see and difficult to interpret.
• The on/off button is not a tactile switch, and it is easily pressed unintentionally.
• There is no battery indicator so it’s really a guess as to its charge status.
• The device can’t be mounted directly as a drive on the computer.
• It uses a proprietary USB cable instead of a standard cable.

Honestly, most of the things I like about it haven’t changed either:

• It is very small and lightweight.
• It is accurate enough for my needs.
• The battery life is good.

There has been one major improvement that I have to mention; there is an updated version of the @trip PC Suite management software for the device (that is used both to setup the device options and also to download the data) that actually installs correctly. When I first got the gadget, installation of the included version of the software repeatedly failed, miserably, and I had to jump through hoops to get it to work. The new version installed easily. Note that if you have the 64-bit version of Windows 7 you need to download a beta version of the @trip PC software. I can’t see how it’s any different from the full version, and it also installed perfectly on my laptop.

So that’s about it. I’m going to continue to use the device for now, but I am looking at other devices that will mount directly as a drive in Windows. This would speed up my workflow enough that I would be more likely to use it all the time. I’ve read some pretty good reviews of the Amod AGL3080 and that will likely be the next GPS Datalogger that I pick up.

It occurred to me that in recent posts I’ve talked about what kind of rechargeable batteries to use, how to charge them, and how to store them, but I haven’t actually talked very much about WHY you should use them. I’ll do that now!

This might be obvious to some of you, but for others it’s a pretty hard sell when they see price tags of $10-20 for a set of 4 AA or AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries (I prefer Sanyo Eneloop batteries) when you can buy a huge box of alkaline batteries for less (here’s a box of 48 AA’s for only 6).

Here are 3 reasons why you should use rechargeable batteries in all your electronic gadgets and camera equipment, especially in your Speedlite flashes:

1. Better for the Environment: Millions and millions of batteries get disposed of every year and most of them go into landfills. They all contain heavy metals and they really aren’t very good for the environment. Even when recycled they take lots of additional energy to reprocess, which is simply wasteful when their are excellent rechargeable alternatives available.
2. Cheaper in the Long Run: although alkaline batteries are relatively cheap to purchase, you can reuse your rechargeable batteries hundreds of times and they quickly pay for themselves. For the full time pro or the advanced amateur this is probably a no-brainer. But it’s still true even for a beginning photographer. If you use a Speedlight Flash that takes 4 AA batteries, I’m willing to bet that you have to replace your alkaline batteries at least once a month, and maybe even more often if you use it a lot (even spectators at a wedding often can’t make it through an entire event on one set of batteries). So even if you only replace your batteries 12 times per year, a set of 4 Eneloops for $13 is already cheaper than that big box of alkalines for $16, and you can save even more by buying the rechargeables in bulk packs. If you are using 2 or 3 flashes plus a few other electronic gadgets that use AA batteries these savings multiply (and you can share your spare batteries amongst all the devices!).
3. Better Performance: I find that NiMH batteries recycle my flashes faster and last longer than alkaline batteries. This is counter-intuitive since rechargeables are typically only 1.2v vs. 1.5v for alkalines, but they are different technology and it really is true. You may find that alkaline batteries work better than NiMH’s when they are both fresh, but that alkalines drop off very quickly. I find that NiMH’s continue to perform very well until they simply stop working; alkalines work well initially but then performance quickly drops off to the point where it might take 10 seconds to recycle a flash (compared to 3-4 initially). This was honestly the main reason that I switched in the first place, but in retrospect the other reasons are just as important.

Note – if you haven’t read it yet, you really owe it to yourself to read my earlier article about Better Rechargeable Batteries before you actually buy any NiMH batteries. They are not all created equally…

Amazon has announced a new version of the very popular Kindle eBook reader, officially called the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device. The new version of the device has access to Global Wireless services and is available in over 100 countries.

The major difference between the new product and the older version is the size of the screen; it was upgraded from 6 inches on the earlier Kindle to 9.7 inches on the DX. It has storage capacity for over 3500 books and lots of other really cool features. The 6-inch Kindle is already the bestselling product across all of Amazon, and I expect that the Kindle DX will also be extremely popular.

The 9.7″ Kindle DX with Global Wireless is available for pre-order for $489 at www.amazon.com/kindledx and starts shipping on January 19th.

There are over 400,000 Books in Kindle eBook format available for download at Amazon!

I love my Popcorn Hour PCH-A110 media player and I use it all the time to watch TV Shows and Movies. This is just one of a class of devices known as a Networked Media Tank, or NMT. I can save my shows on a hard drive or USB device that I’ve installed in or connected to the player, or watch content from any of my other computers that are connected via my home network.

If you want to learn more about this kind of device, I’ve reviewed my PCH-A110 previously on this site.

This is an incredibly useful device, and recently I found a couple of tricks to make the user experience even better!

• MediatankController 1.0 for Adobe AIR – browse and control your NMT from your PC. This is a remote control application for your that runs on any PC desktop. This is actually a cross platform App (built using Adobe Air) that can be installed on almost any computer. It provides a fully functional remote control that sits on your computer. You can also browse the media files available to your Popcorn Hour from a slick window on the desktop. Better yet, the popcorn hour responds faster to the controls on your desktop than it does using the remote, and the app provides keyboard support as well, which is far better than trying to type using the numeric keypad on the remote. This is a must have tool for any NMT owner. Although the app was built and tested on the PCH-A110, it should work on any NMT device.
• MediatankController 1.0 for iPhone – browse and control your NMT from your phone (or your iPod Touch). I actually haven’t been able to get this one to work yet, but many other people have, so I’m sure I just didn’t configure it properly. It promises essentially the same functionality as the the similarly named PC desktop app, but built as web based app formatted for the iPhone. This app has also been tested on the iPod Touch and the Android phone, so any web enabled gadget or computer with a web browser should also work just as well.
• Pure Web Remote Control. This one is a little bit less functional than the others, and a whole lot less pretty. It is a web based app that provides some of the same functionality as the two apps above. The main difference is that its design goal was to provide access to content on the NMT, via a browser based remote control, so that the user could listen to audio with TV switched off. This app also works on any web enabled phone, computer, or other gadget, and I had no problem accessing it with my iPod Touch. I have to say that it’s really ugly, but it works very well. When you consider it within the context that it was designed, it’s actually a pretty cool little app.

This is just one more way to make my life faster and easier. If you know of any other great improvements to make your Popcorn Hour media player (or any other NMT for that matter) even better, please drop me a comment and let me know about it!

Reactions from the mainstream media went from surprise, to shock, to outrage when Amazon recently opened up the Kindle for shipping to a large list of countries, that did not include Canada. The Kindle is a “Wireless Reading Device” (commonly known as an eBook reader) that includes free global wireless coverage and doesn’t require a computer to access new content from the Kindle Store.

I personally don’t really understand what the hype is about this class of device. I much prefer reading my books in paper form, or to have all the other features of a mini computer that are built into my iPod Touch. But there are many people out there who rave about these things, and they love the convenience of having nearly instant access to hundreds of thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs on a device with a screen that “Reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight”. I’d love to give one a try, if only to see what the hype is all about.

For any of my fellow Canadians that have been waiting to get their hands on one, your time is now. For only $259 US you can order one now and have it with plenty of time to spare before Christmas!

The Kindle Store: More Than 360,000 Books
At Amazon, we’ve always been obsessed with having every book ever printed, and we know that even the best book reader is useless without the books you want to read. We are fortunate that we have tens of millions of book customers at Amazon, and as a result, we know the books customers want to read and we prioritize getting those titles. Today, the Kindle Store has more than 360,000 books available, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Our vision for Kindle is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds.