Skye Axon in Cyberspace

Droid

OK, I'm intrigued... the geek in me can't help it. 

AOL Image Challenge Woes with Outlook

I finally convinced my best friend to enter the 21st century by purchasing a laptop.  She is the proud owner of an HP Mini Notebook, very cool, even though it is a PC (I'm a Mac Snob).  Inevitably I created an internet/email Frankenstein and have become her very own 24/7 tech support, which brings me to the purpose of this post.

My friend signed up for an AOL email address and I set-up her Outlook Express with POP3 settings.  All was working fine.  After a few days, even though emails sent in Outlook appeared sent, they were not reaching their destination.  What made me crazy as I tried to troubleshoot the problem was why it worked sometimes and didn't others.  All settings in Outlook were correct and test messages were sent but not received.  OK, I signed on directly to AOL and tried to send an email from her account, this "image challenge" popped up to verify that I was a human and not a computer.  I enter the required code and voila, her emails immediately can be sent and are received within AOL and from Outlook.  The bottom line here is that Outlook is not equipped to deal with the image challenge, it has to be done within AOL.  Awesome!  I'm brilliant.  Or so I thought, until a few days later,  when the same problem manifests.  Ultimately, after much frustration, I figure out that this "image challenge" AOL has engaged has some sort of a re-set timer and has to be fed regularly.  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out the pattern nor do I want to spend the time trying to.  It is easier for my friend to blow off AOL email and use Gmail, which at this time doesn't have this obnoxious challenge. 

If you have experienced the same baffled frustration using Outlook with your AOL email, I hope this helped.  You and your Outlook are working just fine, it is AOL creating the problem.  If you are attached to AOL, don't use Outlook, sign in to AOL and do your business within their world so when the image challenge pops up you can feed it.  Good Luck!

iSpy in the iSkye

Here is the spy-bird view of our home via GoogleEarth. Amazing.

It was Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s proposal of geostationary satellite communications that led to the development of this technology. Like most individuals who think outside the box, his idea wasn’t taken seriously when it was published in Wireless World magazine in 1945. Obviously he got the last laugh on April 6, 1965 when Intelsat I Early Bird became the first commercial geostationary communication satellite. Check out NASA J-Track 3D to view a database of over 900 satellites.

What exactly is geostationary orbit? OK, you asked...A satellite in an equatorial circular orbit at a distance of approximately 42,164 km from the center of the Earth, i.e., approximately 35,787 km (22,237 miles) above mean sea level has a period equal to the Earth's rotation on its axis (Sidereal Day=23h56m) and would remain geostationary over the same point on the Earth's equator. Got it? It is just easier to appreciate and enjoy the technology.

Thumbs are not sensual

It is 2 weeks since I succumbed to an iPhone purchase and have not regretted it one bit. Having a phone, the internet, text messaging and an iPod all in the palm of my hand is intoxicating. It’s sleek and I take it out often to touch the screen just because I can and I want to…I can’t help myself. Treo and Blackberry addiction is cheap thrills versus iPhone seduction. Using ones thumbs cannot compare to stroking a smooth screen to satisfy information, video or music pleasures. The future is now and I hold it in the palm of my hand.

Be careful, Mac-geekery is an expensive habit. If you haven’t touched an iPhone yet, think long and hard before you do…once you touch, you want...I warned you. If you have touched one and were able to walk out of the Apple store without one, I know your pain…you will go back…you can’t help yourself…I know.

Buy the 8GB version, hey, what is $100 more when you are spending $500…you will be glad you did. Remember, those video files are large, and you do want to have lots of music and pics with you. Go ahead…you know you want to.

Best In-Ear Headphones on the Planet

OK, they cost $100 bucks...but they are WORTH it. The sound is amazing and they are comfortable. I have tried all different kinds of headsets...these rock.

http://www.bose.com/