Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle

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I purchased my first copy of Adobe Acrobat (the PDF creator, not the PDF reader) back when it was in version 5. At the time, it was the best solution for creating PDF ebooks. I need many of the indexing features and annotation tools included with a pro level product so using a free PDF creator isn’t really an option. Adobe Acrobat versions 6, 7, and 8 didn’t include anything I felt I couldn’t live without and when it came time to buy another PDF tool, I went with PDF Converter Professional from Nuance because it had competitive features and cost hundreds of dollars less. I took the plunge and purchased
Acrobat 9 Pro specifically because it adds some new features that make PDFs a fully engaged multimedia experience.

I’ve long been frustrated that PDF publishing couldn’t also include video, providing text relevance and the ease of showing someone how to do something with a video all in the same package. I realize PDF wasn’t originally intended to do that, simply being a way to describe how a document should appear when it is printed. Just because it wasn’t originally supposed to work that way doesn’t mean it shouldn’t. Adobe finally married text and video in Acrobat 9, which has been on the market for awhile. My existing ebook library is in need of some updating, along with a couple of new products that are coming in the next couple weeks as well. All of these PDFs will now contain video because it makes sense to include video for a more complete experience.

PDFs with video can still be printed. The video gets left out of the printing process. The advantage is I don’t have to send you off to a Web page if I want you to watch a video as part of the learning process, creating a complete learning package. If you previously purchased any of my ebooks like Convert Vinyl LPs to CD, Converting VHS to DVD, or the Podcasting Starter Kit, you’ll be notified of the new version and have the opportunity to download with all of the new features. If publish ebooks of your own, I highly recommend using this integrated approach to information publishing because it extends beyond what I’ve seen most people doing with downloadable info products.

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This is one ringtone I’ve never heard in the U.S., possibly because its target to an HIV awareness program in India. The ringtone is an a cappella number that repeats the word ‘condom’ in a style reminiscent of one of those big Bollywood dance numbers. If you’re going to annoy people with a custom ringtone, it might as well be silly nonsense. ;) It’s an MP3, but with a little effort you could probably put it on your iPhone too. The whole HIV awareness campaign can be found at condomcondom.org

 Condom a capella rington: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The pro version of Spyware Doctor is my top recommendation for spyware defense because from what I can tell it works better than anything else. There’s a free feature limited version of the app distributed with Google Pack, which recently placed 5th in the 2008 reader survey, but that version isn’t nearly as good as the pay version. With Symantec announcing its acquisition of PC Tools (makers of Spyware Doctor), I’m left wonder what will happen to this great app.

Symantec isn’t known for buying great products and making them better. They are largely known for acquiring things like the Norton utilities and mucking them up, or simply absorbing companies into their gigantic brand, causing them to effectively disappear. Spyware Doctor successfully kicked Symantec’s and McAfee’s butts in the anti-spyware game, so it makes sense that one of the two giants would buy PC Tools out. It’s unfortunate to think a great product might get killed as a result.

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Awhile back I wrote about a USB key that works as a vehicle tracking device. It had gotten some press as a tool for solving a murder. Beyond helping the crack force of CSI:Miami, the device is actually a compact useful GPS for more mundane functions. It’s Google Earth Compatible, meaning you can visually map data collected while the GPS is in yoru car. The small size is easily concealed, meaning you could use it to track your spouse, teens, or anyone else you happen to distrust in this paranoid world. I could certainly see this coming in handy for rental car companies concerned about you taking their car out of state (although I’d hope they are required to disclose such tracking). If you do travel frequently, carrying a USB key GPS tracking device would be a convenient way to track mileage without having to write everything down (just be sure to turn it off before driving the company car to the local strip club). Tracking is accurate down to 2.5 meters, or about 10 feet, which goes beyond the accuracy of most cell phone GPS solutions. At the time I originally wrote about these, the options for getting one were fairly limited. Now there are a number of options listed in a handy directory of dealers selling GPS Vehicle Tracking hardware.

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I’m sure Apple will receive undeserved credit for creating the visual voicemail concept when the iPhone launched. Several companies beat Apple to the punch, saving us from wasting time listening to our messages without needing an iPhone to get the job done. I first started testing visual voicemail in 2007, but didn’t find a service I liked until PhoneTag came along. I was enamored with their service fairly early on (when they were still called SimulScribe) and have kept a PhoneTag account ever since.

Recently Vonage added a visual voicemail feature for $0.25 per message. I already get my messages from Vonage delivered as audio files to my inbox, which dramatically decreases the amount of time required to review messages. Adding visual voicemail makes a huge difference, because I no longer need to write down phone numbers. The numbers are conveniently stored in Outlook, where I can easily retrieve the information at a later time without looking for the scrap of paper I used to write the number down. The 0.25 fee represents an extra $3-5 on my phone bill (based on the past several months message volume), which is an acceptable fee for the convenience.

If you haven’t tried visual voicemail yet, I highly recommend giving PhoneTag a test with your cell phone. The time savings is definitely worth it.

If you’re already using a visual voicemail product, which one is it? Do you love it? hate it?

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If you haven’t been to a live performance by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus you really should go next time they pass through your town. It’s a throwback to traveling performances with all the fire eating, contortion, and other oddities you could ever hope for. They performed at my bar about 10 years ago and it was one of the most entertaining shows I ever hosted. They recently launched a new video show, simply called The Bindlestiffs, offering a behind the scenes look at the artists who perform in the Cirkus. Video will never do the live show justice, but the behind the scenes POV is excellent.

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I promised to give away a Zune in June this year and for various reasons it didn’t happen. The Zune has been here the whole time waiting to be given away, but I never got around to announcing the giveaway. With August rapidly approaching, here’s the scoop:

To be eligible to win the Zune you need to be subscribed to my newsletter and/or RSS feed and you need to follow me on Twitter. On August 31 I’ll post a question in my Twitter feed with the answer being in the newsletter from the day before. The first person to respond reply on Twitter with the correct answer will get the Zune. (Trust me, it will make sense when you see it)

The Zune is a brand new, never opened 80GB black model, which include the “premium headphones”. They genuinely are the best sounding headphones I’ve gotten with any portable player because they fit in your ears instead of the ear buds that seem to sit in your ears. They aren’t Etymotic or Shure quality headphones, but they aren’t bad. The Zune is, well a Zune. If you haven’t already, sign up for the newsletter and follow me on Twitter.

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Jake Signs a Random Dude’s Shirt

Originally uploaded by LeeLeFever

I’m not sure what kind of drugs you’d need to be on to ask me to sign your shirt when Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard are standing by (along with Mark Arm and the rest of Green River), but this guy was insistent enough that I went ahead and signed his shirt.

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Since moving out of Seattle and buying a house on Bainbridge Island in April, I’m finding that the types of gadgets in my life have taken a dramatic shift from consumer electronics to the home improvement variety. While we rented a house for the past three years, I did very minimal handyman type stuff because I never felt particularly motivated to invest time and energy into improving someone else’s property. Now I’m constantly on the lookout for the right tools for minor home improvements. My friend Tim Carter’s site, Ask The Builder, has become a regular destination for me.

I’m also cooking more than I ever did when we lived in Seattle, which is a good thing. Growing up, I always loved helping in the kitchen both at home and at my grandparent’s house, where my grandma would tease me about being unsure if my left-handed mashed potatoes could possibly be good to eat. The bowl was generally empty by the end of the meal.

Before moving from Des Moines (the IA one, not the WA one) to Seattle, I remember having converstations with my friend Harry from Sausage Software about both of us finding the kitchen to be a great place to releive stress. Sometime after leaving Iowa, I forgot that I really love being in the kitchen. Or maybe I just got lazy because I’m married to an amazing chef and Seattle has some of the best restaurants in the country. Regardless, it’s great to be spending time in the kitchen again.

This summer I’m encouraging Wyatt to cook too, finding some fun summer recipes that keep him entertained while he’s on a break from school. He shows great enthusiasm for almost anything we try. Knowing there’s food coming at the end of the process is certainly a great motivator.

I also finally convinced Robin, my wife the chef, to work with me on starting a new food-themed site, which further provides me with an excuse to keep cooking more frequently. The result is a work in the work in progress, Daily Munch, which combines some of her great recipes with many of the simpler things I’m making at home with her much needed assistance from her chef skills when I don’t get things quite right. There are also some great contributions from Seattle food blogger Keren Brown, aka the Frantic Foodie. Ultimately I’d like to get a few more people writing about food, so that the site updates more frequently. There will be video in the future as well. In the meantim, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far.

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I got burned out on floor installations after finishing the hardwood throughout most of the house and opted to hire someone to install the the remaining bathroom floor. The installers were going to tack on an extra charge to remove the toilet in the bathroom and expect me to hire a plumber to put it back. This seemed a little silly considering how easy removing and installing a toilet is in general. To remove the toilet, you basically just need to make sure the water to the toilet is shut off, you get all the water out of the toilet bowl and toilet basin, and you carefully remove the toilet from the floor by removing the floor bolts and breaking the caulking seal around the bottom of the toilet.

Installing the toilet is just as easy - you scrape the remains of the old wax ring from the flange on the floor and from the horn on the bottom of the toilet. Seat a new wax ring on the toilet, then carefully place the toilet over the floor bolts and tighten back in place. Connect the water, check for leaks and you’re back in business.

Here’s a video showing you all the steps of both removal and replacement:

At the same time, I decided to also swap out the flapper valve on our other toilet because the old one frequently required jiggling the handle to make it stop running. My friend Tim Carter of Ask the Builder has a great video on this if you don’t already know how to do it:

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