Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle

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I’m currently camped out in the Seattle airport preparing for an overnight flight to Boston for the Shareware Industry Conference, where I’ll be speaking on how to use video to reduce support costs. I’m excited to see many of the familiar faces I know from the shareware world, but since this is my first trip to the Boston area, I’m hoping some of you will have some suggestions for things to see or do while I’m in town. Fenway Park would have been near the top of my list, but with the Red Sox on the road I’m not sure that’s worth it. I’m considering making their Pawtucket, RI farm team one of my stops instead, having seen them play the Iowa Cubs a few times when I still lived in Des Moines. I will likely save the historical spots for a summer when we can take the kids, so I’m especially interested in anything that’s unique to Boston.

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I’m a size conscious guy, at least when it comes to gadgets. I want gadgets that don’t waste space, so I’m constantly thinking about how the size of gadgets compare to other things I use regularly, especially as it relates to things I travel with. From a travel size perspective, Kindle 2 is one of the most space conscious gadgets out there. length and width match up with a trade paperback almost exactly. The Kindle 2 is actually thinner than the iPhone. Comparing Kindle 2 to my HP Mini 1000 makes the Netbook looks fat, although I wouldn’t trade the productivity of the HP Mini keyboard for the sake of a more sleek form factor.

Kindle 2 vs. Netbook side view:

Comparing Kindle 2 to various book form factors really shows off how much Amazon thought about design. It puts hardback books to shame in a size comparison. Trade paperback size is right on. And those little mass market paperbacks may be smaller length and width, but I never really liked the hand feel of them. All in, the Kindle 2 is a great form factor for the size conscious traveler.

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I’m still wading through video footage from CES, so most of it will start showing up this weekend. I don’t travel with a crew of editors, which means my time at the show is largely spent looking for interesting things and then I scramble to process it all once I get back, this year is no exception.

The most significant change for me at CES this year: how I got there. Steve Broback from Parnassus Group invited me to join a group of bloggers riding on the LoveSac bus from the Bay Area to Las Vegas. If you’ve never had the pleasure of sitting in a LoveSac, you don’t really understand how great this is – these things are comfy. The company specializes in beanbag style chairs and sectional furniture that you mix and match to build your own couch and love seat combinations. The entire bus is outfitted with this furniture, which makes the bus more like traveling by living room.

All was good until the alternator failed about 90 miles outside of Las Vegas, which is basically the middle of nowhere. We exhausted all options for hiring a car to come get us, resorting to Twitter to save the day. The kind folks from 12 Seconds drove 90 miles and picked 4 of the 8 passengers up after reading of our plight on Twitter. I haven’t used their video service, but I’m guessing their support must be phenomenal. The other half of us were rescued by the store manager from the Las Vegas LoveSac retail location. After leaving Burlingame, CA about 3pm, I arrived at my hotel at 8:15am the next day. If the LoveSac furniture hadn’t been comfy, the breakdown would have been far less pleasant.

The rest of the week was far less interesting by comparison. Palm announced their new Pre phone, which is awesome, but it’s just another touch screen phone. Sony announced a new Viao which is incredibly small, but it’s only marginally better than the netbook class of computers because it integrates 3G wireless and a GPS. A personal highlight for me was meeting Dr. Dre during the Beats Tour in-ear headphone announcement. Love or hate hip-hop, Dr. Dre is one of the most influential producers of the past 30 years. The headphones sound great too!

In spite of the troubles on the way to CES, when it came time to leave, I found myself back on the LoveSac bus. The number of riders dropped from 8 to 4, with three of the original crew and one newcomer, along with the two LoveSac representatives who handled driving duties. The return trip was relatively quiet as we all took advantage of onboard WiFi to get work done between stints of watching movies on the 10 screens on the bus. I’m currently debating about ordering some LoveSac furniture for my Seattle office, although that might increase my likelihood of napping.

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A post over on Techmamas (one of the blogs participating in the HP Magic Giveaway) reminded me that we acquired on of Disney’s PhotoPass cards while visiting the Magic Kingdom during Thanksgiving. It’s a truly smart idea, associating all the photos taken by photographers throughout the park with a single card so that you can go online after your trip and order prints or stuff printed with your Disney trip photos on them. The hired photographers don’t take any better pictures than what we got with various family cameras during the trip, but they include a way to upload your photos into their system, so you can customize a Disney PhotoPass printable item without even using their photos.

I might be tempted to use the Disney PhotoPass service, but getting any photos back out of the Disney PhotoPass system is a bit pricey, especially considering my photos are as good or better than the ones they took. Just getting downloads starts at $14.95. A PhotoMug sets you back $19.95. At least the snow globe email card is free. Or maybe the point is I’m supposed to spend money on stuff with my kid’s face on it no matter what the price?

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In preparation for our Thanksgiving trip to Disneyland this year, I’m trying to travel light in the technology arena. Because I’m the go-to guy if anything goes wrong on JakeLudington.com (okay, I’m the only guy), I must have a computer with me no matter where I’m going. Cutting the size of that computer down has always been a goal I’ve met with varied success. I used a Tablet PC from Fujitsu for awhile and found it handy, but ultimately had to return it to Fujitsu. I liked the idea of the ASUS EEE PC when it launched, but ultimately realized I need at least the 1024×600 screen resolution I had with the Fujitsu. HP presented me with the solution in their new HP Mini 1000 line, which comes in either a 10.2 or 8.9-inch screen size. I opted for the 8.9 since the resolution is the same and in theory a smaller screen should use less battery. After 70 minutes of round trip time on the ferry tonight, I’m reasonably convinced the HP Mini will work. I answered some emails, IM’d, edit a couple photos, and uploaded a handful of files, which covers the bare necessities of what I might need to do. With easy connectivity via my Verizon EV-DO card, I’ve cut my backpack travel weight by at least 3 pounds. Makes me wonder if I really need a 15-inch laptop at all, since most of my video editing is done on a desktop system.

The biggest frustration I find in adding a new computer to the mix is managing all the stuff I need to have available. In some ways, this week’s newsletter is dedicated to that problem, because uploading files to a central storage location like makes sure I can always find the files I need no matter what computer I’m interfacing with. Picnik comes through in a pinch for most of the photo editing I might do. And I could presumably do a fair amount of video editing with Yahoo’s Jumpcut service. Not to mention document and spreadsheet management with either Google Documents or Zoho. Still there are things I find convenient to have that all take time to install. Roboform is one thing I won’t be without. I need SnagIt for screen captures. I use Google Talk almost daily, although that’s one I can access from GMail if I need to. And getting all the software updates installed on a new computer can take an hour or two, depending on what software you need. I’d use PCMover for something like this, but I’m not really moving PCs.

Do you have a ritual you go through to setup a new computer? How about when you travel? Are there things you sync with your laptop before you leave? Or do you keep files somewhere out on a network where they are always accessible? Share your thoughts.

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…or at least I’d like to be. Parnassus Group has put together a contest for bloggers to potentially ride on a private jet from Seattle to San Francisco to Las Vegas for the upcoming CES conference. Since I hate going to Las Vegas but generally feel it’s worthwhile to be at CES, arriving like a rock star in a private jet would certainly make the Vegas experience that much better. If you blog, you can enter too (read the rules), just don’t steal my seat on the jet. ;)

The jet sounds wicked awesome, complete with ClearSky Climate Solutions eco-friendly emissions. If I can score a ride on the plane, the next trick is finding someone to drive me around while I’m in Vegas so I don’t have to deal with taxi lines and inconvenient shuttle service. If I could get to the meetings I schedule without hassle, I might actually like Vegas more.

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According to a recent study of Internet service at 147 hotels conducted by Cornell University, if you’re using hotel wireless Internet access, you may be putting yourself at risk of spyware and malware infections, data snooping, and password theft. Knowing that most hotels do a lousy job of protecting your data, a more important question may be, how can I access the Internet safely from my hotel room?

The malware problem is likely solved simply by traveling with a Mac, since there are virtually no known malware threats targeted at Mac users. Data and password snooping is a little more difficult because everyone is susceptible to having their connection sniffed if they are using an open wireless network connection or a compromised wired connection. You don’t have to travel with a Mac to protect yourself from malware (I certainly don’t). Simply making it a policy not to install anything while using a hotel’s Internet connection is likely another option to increase safety.

My own solution is to travel with a Verizon EVDO card, which replaced the ATT BroadbandConnect service I used for several years previously. The nature of cellular data networks makes them harder to snoop than a public WiFi hotspot. Whenever possible I use secure sign in options when connecting to further obfuscate my data. For some things I use the encrypted connection of Remote Desktop to connect to my home computer and transact business from my wired home connection using my laptop as the window to my desktop. I realize a $60/month data plan isn’t in everyone’s budget, but for my own habits it makes the most sense.

Remote Desktop is a viable solution to help securely access information, as long as you have a computer at home you can connect to. Of course this assumes you have two computers. Another viable option for two computers is the Hamachi service from LogMeIn. Hamachi is definitely more of a no-configuration solution than Remote Desktop, with the $4.95/month price being a reasonable solution for most people who travel. You can always turn it off when you’re not traveling and incur no additional expense.

If your only option is to use public wireless at a hotel, here are three key things you can do to protect yourself:

1) Don’t sign in to any accounts with sensitive personal data like bank and credit card information. If you need to get in contact with your bank or check balance information, use their phone support instead.

2) If you need to check your email on the road, change your password when you get back. This won’t protect anyone from reading your email at the hotel, but email is a lousy solution for transmitting secure information anyway.

3) Don’t make purchases from the public WiFi with your credit card. Encrypted links are no guarantee that your data is protected on a public connection.

What advice do you have for protecting your data while traveling?

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While the night markets in Taiwan a packed with food providing instant gratification, the morning market in Danshui is for people who prepare their own food. The closest thing I’ve ever seen to this in the US is the Pike Place Market in Seattle, but even that doesn’t come close to providing the kinds of meat and it certainly lacks live animals. You have to be an early riser to catch the Danshui morning market, which requires a ride on the MRT subway system to the end of the line. Once you’re there, you can browse fish mongers, see pigs being butchered, buy a live chicken to take home for dinner, or simply stock up on vegetables.

While you’re in Danshui, there’s also a boardwalk along the mouth of the Danshui river and the Danshui Fisherman’s Wharf, which is a tourist site aimed more at local Taiwanese looking to escape the city than traveler’s like me. Small passenger ferries provide transport from the boardwalk in Danshui out to the Wharf, which is highly recommended over walking. Even seeing someone washing their pig on the side of the road didn’t quite make up for the length of the walk. Danshui also has a Maritime Museum which covers a great deal of the history of ships in the port town including an aboriginal canoe on display.

You can also take the ferry across the river to Bali, which has another boardwalk area and the Shihsanheng Museum of Archeology.

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Hauxi night market is a stark contrast to the Shilin night market frequented by both locals and vistors to Taipei. Where Shilin feels alive with interesting sites, smells, and people, Hauxi feels like it’s clinging to a past Taipei would largely like to put behind it. Hauxi night market is the one famous for cutting snakes open and serving cocktails mixed with alcohol and snake guts. I saw snakes in cages, but I didn’t see anyone stepping up to try the snake. In fact, while we were in the section of the market with live animals, I hardly saw anyone. There’s no pictures of the snake purveyors here because they don’t want you to take them (presumably because what they are doing is frowned upon). I did try to get a couple of photos on the sly, but the camera I brought was too slow and blurred the images. I did get a picture of a pile of beheaded turtles, which I think are more for some sort of folk remedy than anything a tourist would find exciting. Fish and crustaceans were in great supply in the Hauxi night market, which explains the number of photos focused on fish.

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I needed to escape the confines of the swanky Grand Formosa Regent last night, so I jumped in a cab and headed for the Shilin Night Market. This was similar to night markets I visited in Beijing, offering many foods that go beyond my ability to recognize. In the covered market stalls serve oyster omelets, giant fried chicken patties, squid on a stick, noodles, hot pot, and tons of stuff I couldn’t recognize. There’s also an arcade and shopping for trinkets under the cover of the large market building. It’s what Pike Place Market in Seattle might look like if there were no health inspectors. Nearby the streets turn into an outdoor bazaar, where vendors setup in the middle of the street and shops line both sides. Plenty of photos of food here:

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