Gavin Campbell Online

Free Ebook: Ultimate Weight Loss Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:19:00 +0000

I am a person that loves the word free. I happen to stop by www.myfit.ca this morning and saw that they had a free ebook for everyone to download. Take a trip over to the link below and download your copy today.

I have already printed it out for my next late night reading session.

Free Ebook Ultimate Weight Loss Bible

Motivation: The Biggest Loser

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:04:00 +0000

Sometimes you need some motivation just to get your ass out of the house and into the gym. One recent motivational thing I found was watching episodes of The Biggest Loser.

I just recently finished watching the entire season 6 of The Biggest Loser and was blown away by the before and after results of the winner. I was FLOORED!!!!

This is the first time I watched the show and am now looking forward to season 7 that starts January 6th, 2009 at 8pm.

Every time I watch this show I want to go to the gym or avoid eating bad things. That is a good thing I guess.

Give it a try.

Windows 7 Performance Test

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:41:00 +0000

I was never a big fan of Vista. I gave it a shot when it was beta and again when the final code was released. I never liked the interface or the performance of it. I guess I am one of those users that just love XP and it will be hard to get me off of it.

However the next MS operating system named Windows 7 seems to be looking much better. It still will have a vista like interface but it looks like a lot of the annoying things with Vista will be fixed up.

I really hope they fix up explorer. In Vista, explorer is unbearable to me. Its just way too slow.

Here is an article where they did speed tests between the new Windows 7, Vista and XP SP3. The results are really impressive and I am starting to look forward to the new OS.

I hope it isn’t as much as a hardware hog as vista was. I still think my current cpu I have should be perfect enough to run any Os. However it isn’t good enough for Vista.

Windows 7 build 7000 outperforms Vista and XP

New Poker Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:40:00 +0000

I was looking for a new set of poker chips for my home games for a while now. But if I was going to get a new set I had some specific requirements.

After doing a lot of planning I decided to go with a set of 14g chips and put together a set with the denominations 25/100/500/1000/5000 and 10000 if required.

I started doing some searches and ended up on a site that offered everything I wanted for a good price and they were also Canadian which saves me a lot of money as well.

I highly recommend Straight Poker Supplies to anybody looking for poker stuff. They don’t only have chips but tables and other things as well. If you live in the Toronto area as well you have the option to pick up which always saves you some money. Nothing to worry about though if you require shipping. The prices are really good as well. My set came to much cheaper than I expected.

Now I have a new set that not only feels good but sounds good as well. And I no longer get the question “What is each chip worth?”.

Shoveling Snow as a form of Exercise

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:33:00 +0000

I was curious as to how much calories I burnt when relocating the snow on my driveway to off my driveway. So I pulled out the trusty Polar F6 and decided to wear it for a session. The results were pretty interesting.

I left the snow blower in the garage for most of the session and used my scoop and shovel.

By pushing most of the snow to the side and lifting as much as I could onto the lawn I discovered that in an hour session I burned about 600 calories according to the watch. The watch also informed me that 65% of those calories were fat calories.

Now that I know this I have made a workout out of shoveling the drive way. And the bigger the driveway the more calories that get burned up.

Here are a few tips to make it easier and more enjoyable.

Make sure you are very warm. Get really high, warm and comfortable boots. I have a pair I picked up from Mark’s Work Wearhouse for very cheap. I also have a very warm coat, very warm gloves and a really warm hat. I the end I may look like I have no fashion sense but I could stay outside for hours and never get cold. I was even thinking of picking up a ski mask and goggles for those days the wind is really blowing and really cold.
Load up on the music. I put on the old Blackberry or iPod and run the cables in my jacket to headphones under my hat. I’m usually listening to a recorded radio show and it helps the time go by much faster.
Be aware of your back. You do not have to ditch the snow blower all together. Just reduce the use of it. If the snow is extra heavy just push it to the bottom of the driveway with a snow scoop and then use the snow blower to move it to the side. If you do decided to lift it all ensure that you lift with your knees and be very careful with your back.
Take a break. If its a lot of snow and you are feeling some ache’s and pains then take a short break. It won’t kill you to stop for a few minutes.

Just as a comparison I burn about 400 calories in a 33 minute session on the elliptical. So this is worth a workout to me.

Happy New Year!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:02:00 +0000

I just want to wish everyone a happy new year and all the best for 2009.

Now is the perfect time to set your new years resolutions and start something new for the new year.

A few of my new year resolutions have been made for the last few months and are already in execution. So basically it will come down to maintaining them.

Good luck to all.

My Weight Loss Challenge: Week 14

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:32:00 +0000

Things are looking good. It looks like I was successfully able to reach my 10lb goal this month and that with some time to spare. Why I am unable to say for sure yet is that I didn’t weigh myself yet on my “official” scale that I use with consistency at the gym. But I’m pretty certain I am.

I picked up a new scale on the weekend. This one not only measures your weight but also measures your Body Fat Percentage. This is a pretty useful measurement to keep track of as well as weight and I have significantly lowered that number since I started this task. The scale was fairly cheap and now has a new home in my bathroom.

A lot of people have noticed the weight loss more recently and have been asking what I have been doing. I will basically sum up what I have been doing up until now.

Motivation. I found something to work forward to. This keeps me getting up and going. Also if you have a good supporting cast around you to help you eat healthy and encourage you to go to the gym it helps out a lot.
Food intake. I have been keeping my calorie intake to under 2000 calories per day and my sodium intake to under 2000mg per day. Its not really that hard to do. Once you get an idea you can keep a ruff estimate in your head as to how far along you are. For some reason I find that I still have 1000 calories to spare once I reach dinner. And I did have a good breakfast and lunch with snacks in between to keep me full. Once you start reading the labels you will start to understand what you are really putting into your body and how bad it can be. Eat slower and you may find you already feel full before you want the 2nd plate. Studies have proven that this works. I have also been drinking a lot of water. I stopped drinking any other type of juice. I only drink water and flavored water. Of course I still have a cheat day every now and then but its very minimal with me. I replaced my morning coffee with a nice mint tea and I like it with nothing added.
Cardio exercise. I aim to do at least 1hr of work on the elliptical machine 5-7 times a week. Usually on weekends thought I only do 30 minutes. But its better than nothing. And if you shovel the drive way feel free to count that as a 60 minute session. Unless you used a snow blower.
Weight lifting. I do 4 sessions a week and each session consists of 3 exercises that focus on a specific body part. Not everyone has to do this but it does feel good.

All the above got me to lose my 2lbs a week and I haven’t been hungry at all. Actually I barely even notice much of a change in the way I eat. I still have certain foods I just cook them differently and eat a little less.

Getting started wasn’t easy but now its pretty much a part of life.

Calorie Counting using the Watch or the Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:58:00 +0000

A number of people are curious as to how well the watch heart rate and calorie counters compare to the machine’s built in counter. I decided to compare them.

I have a Polar F6 watch that has a built in heart rate monitor and calorie counter and I use the Precor EFX546 elliptical machine.

In terms of the heart rate monitor I can’t really tell because once I have on the watch, the machine will use the signal from the chest band to monitor the heart rate. So they are the same.

However the calorie counting is a totally different thing.

I have notice that on 3 different occasions the machine came out with way more burnt calories than the watch.

Machine: 525 - Watch: 424
Machine: 576 - Watch: 392
Machine: 555 - Watch: 415

As you can see the machine gives a much higher number than the watch.

After doing a little research I have read that the watch should be trusted more than the machine as it does take into account such things as your gender where the machine does not do this.

I have also read the some manufactures make the machine give a higher number because it makes people that use the machine feel much better.

I would just like to know the real number. So I will trust my watch from now on.

Girlfriend vs the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:47:00 +0000

My girlfriend just discovered what a blog was and how its used. So naturally the first question from her was “How come you don’t talk about me in your blog?”. Well here you go. Now back to work.

Monitoring My Heart Rate and Calories with My Polar F6

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:14:00 +0000

I picked up the Polar F6 unit this weekend as I planned to get into running for the new year and one good thing to monitor is your heart rate and calories burned during that workout.

I picked up for around $120 CDN at our local Running Room store and it was recommended to me by one of the employees once I gave her what I was looking for.

The unit monitors both heart rate and calories burnt. But it also does a lot more than that. It also allows you to setup a zone for your heart rate and alerts you when you are outside of that zone. It will also tell you at the end of the workout statistics such as the percentage of the calories burnt that were fat calories. Amount of time in the zone and many other things.

The unit comes with a chest band that you wrap around your chest and it transmits the heart rate data to your watch. So there are two pieces in the box that you require to use it.

Today I used it for the first time on my elliptical machine and noticed that the machine I use (Precor EFX 546) actually was taking the heart rate from the transmitter on my chest. I didn’t have to hold onto the sensors the whole time. This was an added bonus to me that I found really cool. Other things I noticed I will write about later.

One thing I really wish it has was a vibrate feature. Most people work out while listening to music so you won’t hear the beeps from the watch. It should vibrate to warn you of the range. For now I just turn off the audible notification.

The unit also saves your last week of workouts in a file on the watch. You can then upload this to the web through your microphone later on to keep track of your progress.

You can head over to www.polar.fi to take a look at all of their watches and compare the features.

I highly recommend getting one of these so you can carry your monitor with you when your not on a machine. Or even if you want more accurate tracking than what the machine offers.

My Weight Loss Challenge: Week 13

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:27:00 +0000

This week once again I lost two more lbs. So since a month and a half ago when I was at my heaviest and I have lost a total of 17lbs and well on my way to hit my January targets.

I did suffer one night this week when I ate a bit too much for dinner. It was nowhere close to what I use to eat which I found shocking. But when it kicked in I was FULL! I immediately hit the gym to try and get rid of it but still had that WAY TO FULL feeling for the rest of the night. I will try to avoid that in the future for sure. But it was good to know I can’t eat the same amount I use to anymore.

An interesting fact I found out is that 1lb of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Something I now keep in the back of my head.

I also picked up a new watch this week that measures heart rate and calories burned. It is the Polar F6 watch and I will be writing about the interesting things I have found with it so far.

Exercising and Dieting vs The Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:22:00 +0000

Now that the holidays are here there is no doubt that you will be hit with many temptations to eat and many excuses as to why you can’t work out. This is the easiest time of the year to put on quick pounds. I don’t want to go into January up a few pounds so I made a list of a few things I am going to try during the holidays to help.

If the gym is open use it. Its too easy to make up a reason not to go because its the holiday season. If your going to be busy during the day go for a quick session in the morning or evening. Even a 30 minute session is better than nothing at all.
Get the gym holiday schedule to help you plan when you can go. Some gyms open later and close earlier or are not open at all on certain days. At least if you plan in advance you know when you can go.
Eat before you go out for that Christmas gathering. If you have a healthy snack at home before you go you won’t be as hungry and tempted to eat at the venue things which will not be as healthy for you.
Avoid going back for 2nds. I have been told that it takes about 15-20 minutes before your brain knows that your stomach is full. Give a bit of time after the first plate and you will more than likely already be satisfied and will skip on the 2nds.
Estimate calories in what your eating. Knowing how many calories are in things like eggnog (343 per cup) or your other holiday favorites will help you avoid form having too much. I always like to associate it with the amount of time it will take me to burn it off on the elliptical.

Hopefully these tips will help you get through the holidays and keep you on track for the new year. If you have any tips feel free to share them.

Pre and Post Workout Nutrition

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:04:00 +0000

One of the things my dietitian gave me after meeting with her were a couple slides on Pre and Post workout nutrition. These were very informative when I was trying to organize my eating habits before and after my workouts.

To sum it up with less detail.

Before a workout you want to eat a snack 2hrs before that his high in carbohydrates and low in both protein and fats. You also want to make sure you hydrate yourself.

After a workout you want to re hydrate yourself to replace all the fluids you lost. This is important. Also you should eat something with carbohydrates and protein in it to restore the energy you need and help repair the muscles.

The slides I provide below go into more details and give you examples of things you should eat. You should find them very informative.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

Post-Workout Nutrition

Monitoring My Progress with GymTechnik

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Since I have started I have been using GymTechnik to track and monitor my progress.

GymTechnik is an online program that allows you to setup your workout routines and record your sets and reps and weights as you do them online.

With this data you can graph out your progress online and see how you have done over the time.

Since I have started I easily see on my graphs that I have more than doubled the amount of weights I am lifting. Its nice to see this visually.

It works as follows.

You set up your workouts and exercises. You can select from exercises already in the system with pictures and descriptions or you can create your own exercise that is not in the database. You can group these exercises into your routines that you do. I have 5 groupings for each day as I do a different work out each day.
Once that is all done you are ready to start entering in your workout data and body stats (weight and body fat percentage).

Its that easy.

I think the most powerful part of this tracking tool is that you are able to use it from your mobile phone.

I workout with my blackberry on my side. Not to keep up with emails at the gym but I use it as my music player as I am able to sync it to iTunes with the Blackberry Media Sync. So instead of carry around a 2nd device I use my Blackberry Curve and a set of good headphones. Since I already have this I can also logon to the GymTechnik mobile site and enter my workout stats. While doing this I also see my previous stats so that I know where I left off on the previous workout. It also works with the iPhone as well.

The service is currently free but they will be introducing a paid service in the future. I’m not sure what will be included with this but I’m sure it will be worth the fee.

One thing I would like to see added is a method to record your calorie intake with the meals you eat. It would be so nice to easily enter the information via your Blackberry as you eat. I’m pretty sure they are working on it.

My little review probably doesn’t do it justice so head on over to www.gymtechnik.com and try it for yourself.

My Weight Loss Challenge: Week 12

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:26:00 +0000

This week I have started off on a good note. After pushing myself through a hard workout today I jumped on the scale and discovered I was 5lbs lighter than last week. That’s good considering my main goal is to average 2lbs a week.

I think the surprising part about it is that I did have some cheat days last week where I ate a bit more than I wanted. Temptation is a pain! At least I was still enjoying some good food that wasn’t too bad for my cause. And since it is now Christmas time there will be a lot of temptation all around. I will have to deal with it.

Also I only got in 3 weight lifting sessions (instead of 4) but still went to the gym 5 days of the week.

I have also had to bump up the resistance yet more on the elliptical machine. I have noticed that I have to work harder and harder to get my heart rate up into the zone I want to. That is a good thing. It just shows that its working.

So in the last month and a half I have lost a total of 15 lbs. Still on track and going strong.

Me vs The Elliptical

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:54:00 +0000

I’ve started to see the greatest results when I added the elliptical machine to my routine. I’m starting to actually enjoy it and I encourage those thinking about it to go for it.

Elliptical machines are very easy on the body unlike the treadmills which can be hard on the joints. With the elliptical you barely feel like you are working out while at the same time you are burning fat.

My tool of choice is the Precor EFX 546. Actually its not by choice as my gym only has 2 different kinds and I don’t really like the machines with the swinging arms so I chose this one.

When I first started I was pedaling at the speed of life. Feeling like I could go on forever. I got a good sweat and at the same time my heart rate was up and going. I finally jumped on the net and did a little research.

For weight loss on an elliptical its not how fast you go, you basically want to aim to keep your heart rate in a certain zone that promotes the burning of fat.

So I run a specific weight loss program that is programmed on the machine. It is 33 minutes in length and the resistance and incline increases and decreases every 4 more minutes and as long as I keep my heart rate in the weight loss zone I should be doing things right.

Well so far it looks like its working well. I run this program twice a day while listening to my favorite radio recordings on my blackberry and the time goes by quickly.

My Weight Loss Challenge: Weeks 1-11

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:52:00 +0000

Since I have already started my program and am already into it by 11 weeks I just thought I would summarize what has happened up until now.

It all started on Sept 19th and the first thing I did was go down to my local gym that is close to home (Premier Fitness) and sign up for a membership. Of course you have to sign a 1 year contract and all but I plan to get the most out of this so I had no problem with that. To be honest I got a good deal on the membership and it works out less than a lot of people I know at other gym’s. However its always different for everybody.

Now I have the membership I booked a fitness test in the gym to check out where I am at now. Of course they told me what I already knew… I’m out of shape. Duh!! But it was free and made me know where I was starting off. They took measurements such as body fat index, weight and body measurements.

I was planning to get a personal trainer to get me started. And before I could even ask the gym was already pushing one on me. At first I was ready for it, but after they told me the price I had to rethink my options. I did notice that the more I said “NO” the cheaper it got. I pushed it as far as I could go and eventually got 6 lessons for a price much cheaper than my golf instructor. I’m happy once again. I only need 6 to give me the kick in the rear to get going. I worked out heavily before and I can do it again. This guy will just push me in the right direction.

Weeks 1-4

The first 3 weeks were with the personal trainer. I met with him twice a week and he put me in a routine that worked twice a week. The goal was to do both weights and cardio. 1 day we spent on lower body and 1 day on upper body. Each day we did some high intensity cardio work.

I have never felt weaker in my life. We started low with the weights and I fought to get them going. At the end of every session I was drained. I remember the 2nd session I nearly puked when I got back home. IT WAS RUFF. Whenever I worked a muscle for the first time I felt it for two days. The first day it hurt, the 2nd day it hurt even more. It took a while to recover. I started slow.

Weeks 4-7

Now I’m on my own. I got my basic routine, I got my starting weights to work from and I’m off. These next few weeks I started to increase the number of times I go to the gym. I went from 2 times a week to 4 times a week. Each session included weights and cardio work. It started to get easier and each time it did I made it a bit harder but upping the weight or the reps. I noticed this was happening pretty fast.

Unfortunately one of those weeks I had vacation so I was only able to make it to the gym twice. Already a bad start, but I will recover. It was just bad timing. The goal is to not let that time off grow and make you get lazy again.

In terms of the weight, I didn’t see it drop much. Maybe a few lbs up and down. I was told to only check once a week but I like to check every day after my workout. If it goes up I work a bit harder the next day. I don’t mind.

Maybe its just to early to see any progress yet I’ll give it time.

In this time I did however modify the routine. Instead of doing upper then lower body on each day I split the routine into 4 parts. I do arms, chest, legs and then combine back and shoulders on each day. I also do a high intensity cardio workout with each session. This way I have something different to do on each day.

Weeks 7-11

This is when I started noticing more changes. I felt more energetic, I started to enjoy going to the gym more but because I didn’t see much change in weight I had to do more. So once again I made some small modifications to the routine.

I took out the high intensity cardio exercise on the step and replaced it with some lower intensity work on the elliptical machine. At first I was trying to kill the machine and myself by going as fast as I can and sweating as much as I can. But after doing some more research I found out that the machine I use (Precor EFS 546) has a weight loss program built into it. I looked into it more. It makes you target a certain heart rate that is geared towards weight loss. Its not hard and doesn’t have you gasping for breath but it does feel good. The program runs for 33 minutes and the incline and resistance on the machine changes throughout the 33 minutes. I planned to start doing that instead after reading as it sounds much more like what I need.

I also decided within this time to start going to the gym twice a week. I do one session at lunch which includes my weight work and the elliptical and I do a 2nd session in the evenings which is just elliptical. You can’t do too much. Its either this or sit on the couch watching TV which I started to get bored of.

Another thing I looked at was my eating habits. Up until now I didn’t modify them as I figured now that I am working out I didn’t really need to. Boy was I wrong. If you are going to work out you might as well eat right as well to help it along.

I made an appointment with a dietician and she explained the proper way to eat and what I should eat and how to count calories and all that fun stuff. It was very interesting. I now look at labels on everything and am shocked at what I find on a lot of them. I now have my eating off to a good start and have cut out a lot of things. Small changes like drinking mint tea instead of coffee in the morning. Not cooking with any more salt, or butter. And portion sizes. I can’t even eat the same amount of food I use to eat.

After 11 Weeks

I have been doing well.

I have modified my workout habits to now be twice a day for 4 days which include 1 weight session and 2 elliptical sessions. And the other 3 days of the week I do just the elliptical so my muscles can heal for the next week.

I am eating much better and much healthier. I have not been to any fast food joints since I started and even cut out Coke which was my kryptonite. I have learned to enjoy fruits and vegetables. I still have cheat days but I don’t crave the unhealthy food as much. I also know how hard it is to work it back off.

I have lost 10 lbs in the month that I started focusing on everything as a whole. This is exactly what I wanted. My belt has to be tightened a lot more and muscles have started to show in places I did not expect. Even though its been a few months since I started all these changes occurred in the last month when I bumped up the gym sessions and focused on my eating habits.

With these positive results I have even more encouragement to continue.

I am on track to reach my goal.

Feel free to drop me an email if you want more details on anything I am doing. I will be posting more details each week as an update.

My Weight Loss Challenge: Intro

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:14:00 +0000

3 months ago I challenged myself to lose a bit of weight. Actually I challenged myself to lose a lot of weight.

Over the next little while I will be posting hopefully weekly updates as to my progress, observations notes etc just for fun.

I currently work out of a home office and sit in front of a computer all day or on the phone. This type of work environment is very convenient for the lazy (me) and allows you to easily add on the pounds. Therefore I needed to get out and get more physical activity.

My plan is to lose 10lbs a month fore the next 6 months at least. It may not be easy but that is my plan and I plan to stick to it.

Since I have already put this plan into action for a few months my next blog post will be about the first 11 weeks and what I have done. So far I have seen very good results.

Look out for the updates.

Goodbye Outlook, Hello Gmail

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:29:00 +0000

For years I have been using Microsoft Outlook as my primary mail program. I have become pretty efficient with it. I used it to manage two email accounts. Then in 2007 I used the built in RSS feeds to manage all my RSS feeds. This worked pretty good but was quickly replaced by a Newsgator that also synced with the online version and my Blackberry.

Well recently I made the jump to get off of Outlook all together. I use Gmail for my two accounts now and the online version works really well. I don’t even need to keep a browser open. I use the Gmail Notifier to let me know when I have a new email.

For RSS feeds I use the online version of Newsgator when I am at my desk. On the road I use my Blackberry.

So far this new setup is working pretty well. I have extra free memory on my system as I have one less big program running.

The hardest part of the migration was getting all the email that I have filed in Outlook folders migrated to my Gmail account. To do this I:

Added my Gmail account to Outlook as an IMAP account.
Dragged each folder over to the Gmail IMAP account.

I did run into some problems doing this as I had too many nested folders which are translated into labels in Gmail. I guess the labels were getting too long, but with a few renames I got by it. It also did take a long time to complete (450meg) but I let it go over night. I do recommend you cleanup anything you don’t need before you start this.

As online programs are starting to get better and better I find myself willing to move my data to online services. Its one less headache when I have to rebuild my PC. I’m going to start to look to move my journal online. That program is always a pain to backup and restore. Any suggestions?

How To Pick A Lock With a Bump Key

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:46:00 +0000

I’ve heard of this before and I’m shocked that its still just this easy to create a bump key and pick a lock. This guy makes it look really easy.

This is why I have a monitored alarm system.

Randy Pausch and The Last Lecture

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Randy Pausch gained world fame with a lecture he gave, called The Last Lecture, in September of 2007 after finding out that he had a terminal case of pancreatic cancer the summer before.

This lecture is very motivational and a good lecture and if you have not seen it before you will enjoy it.

He recently died from the cancer on July 25th, 2008 and his memory will live on through this lecture.

Please take the hour to watch it and enjoy.

Mobile Car Chargers Are Not Good for the Phone Battery

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:54:00 +0000

I constantly hear people complaining about how fast their battery dies. As the phones and their batteries get more and more expensive we need to take more care of them.

I have gotten into the habit of plugging in m y phone whenever I go to bed. I usually only have to do this every two days but I always like waking up with a full battery.

I was recently going to buy a car charger for my phone just in case and saw this article. Very interesting reading.

To sum it up it basically says:

Car chargers are the worst thing to use for your mobile battery. It should only be the last resort.
Get in the habit of charging the phone at home every night.
The cheap $10 home chargers are even worse for the battery than the car charger.

Read the full article here to get more information.

[ Full Story ]

BlackBerry Bold vs. iPhone 3G (BGR Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:05:00 +0000

So the iPhone 3G is now out. The Bold is on its way. The guys over at BGR decided to put them head to head.

I really enjoyed the review. They broke down the comparisons into parts and analyzed them in details.

I was a little disappointed by the conclusion but understand why it ended up that way.

I won’t ruin it for you but go ahead and enjoy.

[ BlackBerry Bold vs. iPhone 3G: yeah, we definitely went there : Boy Genius Report ]

Help Your RSS Addiction with NewsGator

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:03:00 +0000

I consider myself a heavy RSS user. Whenever I come across a site with useful content I instantly look for an RSS feed and add it to my list. If it does not have one chances are I may not visit it it in the future.

This also includes forums. More and more forums these days have RSS feeds that report the new or updated posts. Some forums work better than others but I’m just happy if a forum has one.

In the past I used a plug-in for Outlook (pre 2007) called NewsGator. I loved it so much that after purchasing my copy it probably became the most used application on my computer. Then along came Outlook 2007 with built in RSS feeds so I really saw no need for NewsGator and unfortunately the program I used so much was put aside.

Recently I got a BlackBerry and was looking for a RSS reader that I could load on it. The only catch I had is that I wanted something that would sync with my desktop so I didn’t have to do the same work twice. After a few Google searches along came NewsGator again. I quickly surfed over the site and was excited at what I saw.

They have an online RSS management system where you can centralize all your RSS needs and all of your clients will sync to it so you don’t have to read the same feeds over and over again. You can download clients for your PC/Mac or for your mobile devices to read news on the go. I use this heavily and the clipping feature allows me to mark articles to read in more detail when I get to my PC. The articles are added to a special folder that I can access later. I LOVE THIS.

I have listed some of the pro’s and con’s I have noticed so far.

Pros

FREE
Centralized management of feeds online.
Sync all changes including read/unread, deleted, folder changes (rename/move) done on any of the clients.
Online feed reader.
NewsGator Inbox for Outlook.
NetNewsWire for Mac.
FeedDemon for PC.
IE/Firefox plug-in.
NewsGator Go for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Java Mobile
Clipping feature to mark items to be read later.
Much more …

Cons

Require a data plan for NewsGator Go.
The NewsGator Inbox for Outlook seems to cause my outlook to take longer to startup. I remember this way back when I used it in the past but its a small price I pay for such a good program.
Can’t think of much more as I am still getting use to this.

The best way to learn more about this program is to just give it a try. Let me know what you think. Did I say I LOVE IT already?

Can You Improve Upon the iPhone Keyboard?

noreply@blogger.com (Gavin) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:07:00 +0000

Apparently Blackberry will be. Yet more rumors are coming out about how they are improving on the touchscreen keyboard with their Blackberry Thunder device.

The touch keyboard was one of the main reasons I did not like the iPhone in the first place but if this is as good as they are claiming this will be a HUGE selling feature.

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