I recently got in a discussion about how to spell the color gray. I have always spelled it G-R-A-Y. But my friend wasn’t too sure, he thought G-R-E-Y was correct and used the example greyhound, as “grayhound” is spelled incorrectly. So we looked online, and I found that both were correct. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

After some quick research, I found a post that explained that originally the British spell it as the colour grey, while Americans tend to spell it as the color gray. That got me interested. How many other words do Americans spell differently? Good thing I have my spell check set to use American English.

Here is a quick interesting list of words spelled differently

American| British

Airplane, Aeroplane
Color, Colour
Mom, Mum
Pajamas, Pyjamas
Aluminum, Aluminium
encyclopedia, encyclopaedia
curb, kerb
skeptic, sceptic

Wikipedia has a whole list of words that are spelled differently from current British to Current American.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

Google Street Car Is In Town.

While driving on my way to work, I passed the Google street car. So I quickly turned around and met him again at the other end of the street. This time with my phone up, and ready to take pictures. This is the car that is used for Google Maps. It takes “street view” pictures of every building around town.

I wish Google would have let us know ahead of time, as it would have been really cool to have something in front of my house to draw attention. Or even get dressed in some costume.

Notice now many cameras are on the top of the street car. The Google street car uses a specially designed mount to hold a camera that has 15 lenses taking 360 degrees of photos. According to Google it also has “motion sensors to track its position, a hard drive to store data, a small computer running the system, and lasers to capture 3D data to determine distances within the Street View imagery.”

I really suggest going to Google.com/streetview and read about all the different kinds of vehicles they use. You can now explore sections of the Antarctica with their snowmobile, or even several museums, thanks to a push-trolly they designed.

The Best Wireless Headset

My Dad got me a pair of these headphones for Christmas. Probably one of the most used Christmas gifts I’ve ever had. I wear these everywhere. They have a built in microphone for voice calling.

They can connect to any Bluetooth device: your laptop, phone, tablet, iPod, music player, etc. Even a regular phone works with these, as long as it supports Bluetooth.

Sound Quality – Perfect

These sound just like regular headphones. No static, no muffled noise, just rich stereo sound. Perfect for listening to music, but don’t want to mess with tangled wires. Volume controls are built right into the right ear.

Easy to use Buttons

The right ear not only has the volume control buttons, but also has play/pause, call/hangup, skip, and previous buttons. Press the play/pause button, and it auto-launches the default music app. Press the call button to answer a call, or hang up during a call. You can also press the call button to say the name of the person you want to call, and your phone will do the rest. AWESOME!!! There is also a power button to turn the headset on and off. The power button is also used to sync the headset with a device. The skip and previous buttons operate your media player. Holding down on one of these button makes it fast forward or rewind a song.

Size – Perfect Fit

They fit on anyone’s head without a problem. The feel really nice when wearing them. Unlike ear buds that fall out, or cheap headphones that hurt your ears, these are VERY comfortable.

Range – Amazing

They have a good range away from the phone or device. But it still depends on how good the phone’s Bluetooth signal is. My Droid Razr lets me have a good 40 ft reach. I can walk anywhere in my house without a problem. Leave the phone in my room to charge, and never miss a phone call.

Microphone – Awesome

The microphone pics up anyone within a 2 ft radius around your mouth, but no further. So no outside noise, or chatter, will bother your call. The microphone is built into the headset, and is just a hole. So no extra wire hanging in front of your mouth. They look just like a regular headset.

 Here is a review of the headset from Bluetooth review

http://bluetoothreview.info/bluetooth-headsets-headphones/motorola-s305-bluetooth-stereo-headset

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth technology was originally intended to be a wireless replacement for cables and wires between things like phones and headsets or computers, keyboards and mice. It is a big deal for mobile phones, and used a lot of times to share ringtones and pictures. However, it can be put to many more uses as well. The best way I can relate it is that it’s wireless USB. Just about anything that could work with USB, could be designed to support Bluetooth. Keyboard, mouse, headphones, printers, speakers, controllers, and many more devices.

Bluetooth technology has continued to mature and now you can create new connections that weren’t possible using wires, like connecting your mobile phone to your car stereo, or printing a picture directly from your camera phone.

If you have a Bluetooth adapter (USB) on your laptop, (or have it pre-built inside) you can support many Bluetooth devices at the same time. It’s easier to use than USB, because you don’t have to plug anything in to make it work. I have a small Bluetooth adapter that plugs into 1 USBusb port on my laptop. I can sync my phone, tablet, headphones, mouse, and a keyboard all at the same time without using any more USB spots.

Here is a simple Bluetooth 101 Post written by the Bluetooth officials that’s really easy to understand. http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Fast-Facts.aspx/

USB Bluetooth Adapter – AMAZING!!!

A little over a year ago, I got an awesome Christmas gift from my parents. Something I still use every single day. Yet they probably didn’t realize how valuable the gift was to me. That gift was a USB bluetooth adapter. It’s a device that plugs into your PC’s USB port and gives you access to connect to any device via bluetooth.

One of the best reasons for going bluetooth with all your devices is, NO WIRES, NO WIRES and NO WIRES!

What does it do?

This device has several uses for me.

1) It connects to my bluetooth mouse.

I use a wireless mouse all the time. (Read my review here.) Very easy to carry with me, and very portable. It is very responsive, and makes it really nice without any wires. The reason for getting a bluetooth mouse instead of a wireless mouse is the fact that you don’t need to waist any more USB slots. All my bluetooth devices connect to my 1 bluetooth adapter! Leaving room for USB slots to charge my phone, or something like that.

2) It connects to my phone.

For internet, file transfer, and even calling and texting. I can easily tether my Android phone via bluetooth, and share my (unlimited) data plan to my laptop to get internet anywhere. I can also send files straight to my phone from my laptop, or vice versa.

Once connected, I can choose my computer’s speakers to be the output for my phone sounds. So that means I can play music on my phone and listen through my computer speakers. I can also make a call, and hear through my computer. I can also easily record a call as well.

3) It connects to a bluetooth keyboard

That’s right, a wireless, bluetooth, keyboard can easily be connected to my computer. This makes it nice for when I have to move my keyboard somewhere else, I can still use it. I could give a presentation and have the keyboard in my lap as I advance through the slides.

4) Could connect to a bluetooth printer

Bluetooth printers are going to be a necessity in the future of tablets and phones. With a bluetooth printer, I could connect my laptop, phone, tablet, and desktop all to the printer wirelessly. They can each print, and it’s just as fast as USB!

5) Could connect bluetooth headset

Wireless headphones are awesome. Many have built-in rechargeable batteries that will last over a day. The pair of headphones I have, are made by Motorola and allow me to talk through them as well, making Skype calls easier as well.

What to buy…

I got the IOGear USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421. Only about $15, you can purchase here from Amazon.

Also here is a review of the same device on BluetoothReview.com -  the official bluetooth device review area.

This is one of the best adapters in the world!

Micro USB (male) to Full-USB (female)

It allows you to plug full usb devices, such as a game controller, mouse, or keyboard directly into your android device!

NOTE: Only works on Android devices 3.0 and above!

I was able to test it on my Xoom tablet running Android 3.0 (honeycomb). Unfortunately any earlier versions do not have the drivers needed to recognize USB devices. However with the update of Android 4.0, phones should have the functionality as well.

I got to test it with three items, a USB Gamepad, USB Keyboard, and USB Mouse.

Gamepad (Controller)

The game pad was awesome. I could navigate through the home screens, and could even launch an app, but that was it. Only certain games were optimized for a gamepad, and even then I had to spend time to map out the buttons. However there were a lot of good features with the gamepad, that really make me excited. I will post a separate blog about a lot of the gamepad features.

Keyboard

The usb keyboard was instantly recognized, and I was able to simply type anything. It work with any text field that I was given. I could even navigate with the arrow keys, and even use the “Return/Enter” button for any selection, and the “Esc” button as my back key. I can definitely see a lot of people use this feature for their phones once they get their hands on a 4.0 device.

Mouse

The mouse was great on my Xoom. It was displayed as a black pointer with a blue glow behind it. I could click anywhere on the screen to select. It made graphics apps easier to use. Especially drawing and selection. Very nice! If the graphics programs like Photoshop, and Illustrator ever get to be big on the Android, the USB mouse will be a very useful little device!

You heard me right. Verizon is now providing a new “safe” pay as you go data plan for many tablets and broadband devices. This allows you to not worry about going over your data limit. Especially since there is no overcharges or re-connection fee. This “no-contract” plan allows you to use your device until you “run out of data”, or until your month of service expires. Then, once that happens, you simply visit a Verizon store and pay for more data, without any extra charges to reconnect your device.

This is a great deal for those who want to try out a data plan on their tablet. As I understand it, once the month runs out, any unused data is reset, no roll-over GB.

Verizon says that not all tablets are supported right now, however I do know that the Xoom has a new update (HLK75F) that was released over the air this week that allows users to use this new plan. Personally I think this is a good step for Verizon that allows them to cater to those who are unsure about purchasing data plans for their tablet, or are afraid of getting themselves in a contract with Verizon.

This is the best deal, if you are like me, and have bought a 3g/4g device without a contract, but are interested in getting internet anywhere. This allows you to do so without a contract.

There may be a one time activation fee, but after that you just pay for data as you run out. It’s a great deal that is really worth looking into. For instance if you are looking to go on a family trip, or buisness weekend, then pay for the amount of data you think is needed, and your good to use your tablet the whole time.

One senario would be going on a family trip and watching movies the whole way. Instead of spending the money to rent movies, pay $30 for 2 GB of data, and watch Netflix movies the whole way. You could even plug up you tablet to another screen via HDMI. Now your rocking!

Anonymous Followers

Since this is not a blog via blogger, I do not have the luxury of see who follow my blog. In fact, as far as I know, my brother may be my only audience. Hehe. I don’t get any notification if someone subscribes to my rss feed either. I have thought about switching to blogger several times, but I like the features of wordpress better, especially since I can manage my account via my tablet easier on WordPress than blogger.

Now, I have come to the conclusion that I kind of like not knowing who my whole audience is… I can pretend I have a huge amount of readers,maybe 500 or so who can’t wait until I post my thoughts online…. well one can dream anyways..

Anonymous Following

I not only write blogs to anonymous people. I also read blogs anonymously. Although I do have a google account, and even use Google Reader to manage my rss subscriptions, I never “follow” a persons blog. Instead, I go to the bottom and subscribe via the atom feed. Just a crazy preference I have. They probably don’t realize it, but I am subscribed to just about all my friends and family. At least the ones who have a blog.

It started when I fist started to subscribe to blogs. I used to use FireFox RSS reader, and would want to follow a blog, but didn’t want other people to know I was following it. At that time, I was very particular with what people knew about me online. However, eventually, I got my own web page, and relaxed a bit. I even started my own blog then.
But for some reason I just liked to follow people anonymously. And that’s how it has been ever since.

It’s true, this morning Verizon is getting a lot of calls, emails, and forum posts through their customer service. Apparently the whole Verizon network is having issues this morning. People are reporting their phone not connecting to any data at all or sometimes not even being able to place a phone call, or text.

And it’s not just happening in Southwest Missouri. Calls are coming in Nation wide, from New York to Southern California, everyone has lost connection. The folks at AndroidCentral posted a blog this morning, and several people are commenting with their location. One even posted “I just got off the phone with Verizon at 8:50am EST – they stated they just put in a ticket about 20 minutes ago. It’s down everywhere. No ETA as to when it’s going to be up and running again.”

At some points the  connection will just be reduced to 3G, but other times it goes to 1x or even no data at all.

Just another problem that we must be willing to face in order for us to have cell phones.

Old Nes Games on the Android

When it comes down to it, emulators are legal as long as the bios is not provided with the package. Roms on the other head, are illegal to download unless you have a legal copy and/or ripped the rom out yourself. Now, why would google start to remove those emulators? The main reason would probably be legal pressure from the gaming companies. Especially big ones like Nintendo. Since the Wii  came out, it has featured it’s own emulator, allowing people to buy and download old NES, SNES, and N64 games straight to the Wii.

Thanks to Android developer Yongzh for the amazing emulators offered for free to download. After his apps were removed from the Android Market, Yongzh provided them for free on this site. (Only N64 costs.)

https://slideme.org/user/yongzh

These emulaters are really good, but unfortunatelly the on-screen buttons do present a problem. It’s really hard to run, jump, and hold a turtle shell all at the same time on Mario. I personally use a bluetooth keyboard, and have the keys mapped out the way I like it.

If you have a USB controller, you can plug the controller into your android device, as long as you have the right sized USB port on your phone or tablet. One other option is a bluetooth controller, like the one that I blogged about here: http://splog.samuelpaasch.com/2012/02/wireless-bluetooth-controller-by-gamestop/

This controller allows you to play your games without the strain of using the on-screen controls, bulky keyboard, or the wires on your USB controller. You can program the controller keys how ever you like it for the app. Making the controller the best accessory for you Emulator apps.

Android Wireless Bluetooth Controller by GameStop

This is a really cool controller. It syncs to your android tablet (or smartphone) wirelessly via bluetooth. No worries about cords or whether you have a USB port on your device.

Have you recently downloaded a game app, but was disappointed with the on-screen controls that are hard to use to play the game? I have an app that is a NES emulator, allowing me to play a lot of the old Nintendo and Super Nintendo games. However the on screen controlls are very difficult to use, as you can’t use all the features at the same time. For instance I can’t get mario to hold a turtle shell, while running to the right, and jump all at the same time. It’s because that would require me to use 4 controller buttons simontaneously. Although a built-in keyboard does help, it still is difficult to get used to.

This new controller will fix all that. Just pull it out, turn it on, and play instantly on your favorite game app. This changes everything about gaming on your tablet. And for only $40/controller it’s great deal! Considering the price of PS3 and Xbox360 controllers.

http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-bluetooth-controller/97838?affid=9797&cid=ppc_60000001