Connect Your Camera and Pictures to your iPad

One complaint that I often hear about the iPad is that there are no ports or card reader slots. One device that helps with this is the Camera Connection Kit. The camera connection kit allows you to import pictures from either your Camera (via PTP protocol) or straight from the SD card. The USB adapter in the kit also allows you to connect other devices like a USB microphone. It is also possible to transfer photos from your iPhone to your iPad using the USB adapter and your iPhone charger cable.  Importing your pics couldn’t be easier. Just plug in an SD card or connect a device with the USB adapter and then connect it to the iPad.  The iPad then auto detects the photos and gives you the choice of importing all or just the ones you select. Once you’ve imported it also gives you the option to delete the pics from the card or device. If you decide not to delete the original pics from the card or device, during the next import the iPad automatically detects pictures that have already been imported and will not duplicate their import saving space.

** Special Note – You can also (if formatted correctly) import a video from an external card to your iPad and delete it once your are finished viewing it. Taking several videos on a card for a trip or vacation just got easy!!**

Priced at $25 this is an easy choice. Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit (MC531ZM/A)

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Insert card into adapter then the adapter into your iPad:image

The iPad auto detects the photos:image

Once the photos are detected, you choose the ones you want to keep or delete:image

One trick that people have discovered is to use the USB adapter to connect a microphone and other audio devices that can be used with Garage Band and audio recording software. This opens a whole new world of potential especially for podcasters on the go.
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You can buy the camera connection kit here

Bosch DLR130 – Laser Guided Measurements

The Bosch DLR130 is a unique measuring tool. It measures using a laser pointer and it is very accurate. For as long as I have been in the contracting business I have used a tape measure for my estimating and field work. Well, things have changed a bit and I must say for the better. The DLR130 enables me to effortlessly walk a room and obtain just about any dimension I need. It can measure a straight line, area of walls (length x width) and volume of rooms too (length x width x height). Just choose to the type of measurement, put the red laser on the target and push the button. Once the red laser dot shows up it gives you a dimension right away. I have tested this at close range and it is accurate to within about a 1/16 of an inch. I have also measured items as far as 150 feet away although I cannot vouch for absolute accuracy at that distance.

Walking around the room playing and measuring the distance from me to my children (cautious not to shine it in their eyes) a lightbulb went off. This is not only a good tool for construction and estimating but perfect for a video or movie set. You can shoot a distance for just about any object and determine focal lengths and subject distances in a flash. The possibilities are endless.

The DLR130 has several memory buttons enabling you to add up distances or keep critical measurements to use for other calculations. I have included the DLR130 user manual for more details and information.

The DLR130 is priced at $79 and for my line of work its an easy choice to buy one of these. It makes the estimating and overall sales process so much smoother without the noise and hassle of a steel tape. The next time I shoot a Wedding or a video event I will take the DLR130 with me so I can nail down those tricky distances and depth of field calculations I always struggle with. Once you have one of these you won’t regret it.

Your can buy one here. Bosch DLR130K Digital Distance Measurer Kit

Bosch DLR130

Buy one at Amazon here

Micro Media Center – Raspberry Pi and we’re not talking desert

An in depth video series explaining how you can make your own Micro HTPC is coming SOON!

raspberryIf you’re like me (your typical guy) then you love watching movies. Bluray is great and there is nothing like watching a hi def movie on an HD television or projector. When you need to move from one viewing location to another then the problems begin. You need multiple bluray players and you need to physically drag the movie around with you. With home networking now being fairly easy to set up, a good media streaming player will make it possible to view your movies at any location in the house. Now, almost all DVD players and TV’s have some sort of media playback solution integrated right into their circuitry. The problem is that some work well and some don’t. That’s why having an independent media player/streamer can make life a lot easier.

There are many players on the market…Roku, Apple TV, Boxee Box to name a few. While all of these have their strengths it seems like none of them can do everything. The Raspberry Pi comes close and at a size and price that is hard to believe…around $40, wow!

You can buy the latest Raspberry Pi release here: Raspberry Pi Model B Revision 2.0 (512MB)

The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer that was developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK for educational purposes. This small computer with some slick software called Raspbmc enables you to run a full fledged home theater with the XBMC interface. I know if you are unfamiliar with some of these terms I just mentioned then your eyes may be rolling back right now but truly it’s so easy to set up its silly. I am going to provide a multi-video, step by step tutorial on exactly what you need to do to build a really cool home theater device.

This Kit contains the Raspberry board, the case, SD Card and Power Supply. A complete kit that you will need to follow along with my upcoming video tutorials.

Bluetooth Audio – The BOP is music to my ears…and my wallet (with sound sample)

Sometimes the smallest and least expensive toys can be the most satisfying. Enter the “BOP”.

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I was at my friends lake house not long ago when he brought out this little blue rubber gadget and said “lets listen to some music”. At first I wanted to laugh seeing how small it was I really expected it to sound terrible like most devices this size often do. To my surprise it had a pretty decent sound. I was impressed but when he showed me how it would stay suctioned to his forehead…I was SOLD!

The BOP is available in multiple colors. It is comprised of a speaker, some sort of small amplifier (built in) and a rubber housing. The rubber housing doubles as a suction cup and will stick to almost any flat surface making it very flexible for placement. It communicates with any bluetooth device and will play music or audio from that device. The price is only $30 which I think is a great buy.

Bop Bluetooth Speaker

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Set up of the BOP was a cinch. Turn it on and it immediately showed up on my iPhone as an available bluetooth device. I selected “bop” on my bluetooth device page and it connected in seconds. Once connected it will reconnect when the two devices see one another again. If there are several devices nearby that have been connected to the BOP prior the BOP will randomly select any device to connect to which can be a little bit of a nuisance. This is not unlike other bluetooth devices though.

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The controls for the BOP are simple. There are three buttons. The center switch is the play/pause button while the two buttons on the outside change tracks if clicked once or act as volume control if you hold the buttons down. Once the BOP reaches its loudest volume an indicator beeps to let you know its maxed. There is also a pinhole mic on the upper rim but my experience is that the device needs to be fairly close to your mouth to be truly useful. The BOP charges via a micro usb port and will last more than 4 hours on a single charge playing music. Along side the micro usb port is the on/off switch.

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The sound quality may surprise you and if you need a compact audio device this is a no brainer. Once the suction cup is tightened down to a surface the sound quality actually improves a little. It is only a mono sound source but compared to the iPhone speaker it is 10 times better and much louder. Camping, beach trips, boating there are just too many places that someone could use one of these.

You can buy a BOP here: