Well, the answer that quickly came to me was tinting the windows on my new car. I’ve always been of the opinion that cars are black holes for your wallet. Gas, insurance, maintenance, parking, tolls, cleaning, and of course accidents. Above all else, I thought that ‘customizing’ a car could get really expensive really quickly. At the same time, I thought it was stupid that people who had cars worth $4000 were spending that amount or greater in customizing the vehicle. It didn’t make sense to me. However, when I thought of tinting my windows, I didn’t just think of the aesthetic value, I thought of what it would accomplish.

I’m a night person, except when I want to be in the sun. If I’m on the beach, playing sports outdoors, working at my outdoor patio bar, or on vacation, I absolutely love the sun and the light. However, if I’m in my room trying to work on the computer, or trying to sleep, or on the road trying to drive, I would prefer less light – I feel like it’s easier on the eyes when the sun isn’t glaring down on you when you’re trying to be functional. Rationalizing to myself for a second I thought: “hey, well I can tint my windows on my car, and not only will it look really good, but it’ll be easier for me to drive.”

In the morning when I’m on my way to work, I’m on the road for half an hour and the sun is shining hard, and sometimes when there’s snowfall the reflection of the rays increases that shine ten fold – it’s unpleasant. I wear sunglasses almost exclusively when I drive because of this. I quickly load google, and search ‘car tinting toronto’ and as a first response I get a small establishment known as the Tint Guys.

I phoned them and they told me that most vehicles get a full tint for $149.95. + taxes This includes front & back driver & passenger, and the rear window.

I made an appointment for Sunday morning (their hours of operations vary), showed up, and was out of there within 2 hours, car all tinted and ready for the road.

Couple things you should know if you’ve never a vehicle before:

• There are three levels of ‘darkness’ for the tinting. 35%, 15%, and 5%. The darkest film is 5%, and it gets lighter as that number climbs.
• In Ontario, legal limits for the rear window, and back passenger and driver side windows is 5%. Legal limit for the front passenger and driver side windows is 35%.
• In Ontario, we enjoy the highest legal limits for vehicular tinting. We’re allowed to go darker than anywhere in the United States, and many other provinces in Canada.
• After having your windows tinted, it’s recommended (required if you don’t want to risk the good job that is done) to not roll your windows down for 5 days (120 hours).
• After having the tint applied, you can no longer clean the inside of your windows (anywhere tint has been applied) with any product that contains ammonia. This means no windex, if you want to clean the tinted windows, you can just use water and paper towel. You can use soapy water if you want, but I’ve had good results with plain water.
• You should be careful; having 5% tint applied to your car is considerably dark; the visibility in your rear view will be comparable to having your rear-view mirror “flicked up” at all times, and even darker at night.

A couple people asked me, not knowing very much about the benefits of tinting your vehicle, why I would want to spend money on it? Let’s explore the benefits listed on the Tint Guys site, then a couple additional ones that convinced me before even having read their list.

• Reduce Heat & Glare – Stop the sun from intruding into your vehicle and enjoy a more comfortable, safer drive.
• In the event of an accident, Tint can help hold shattered glass in place and reduce injuries from flying glass.
• The tinted film rejects a full 99% of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays, and repels up to 55% of the total solar energy.

In addition to the aesthetic appeal, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that less-than-considerate drivers who blast their high beams now have zero effect on me.

Tint Guys provide a lifetime warranty of their tint jobs, they guarantee no bubbles. Head on over to www.tintguys.ca to learn more.

If you have any questions you care to ask before getting in touch with Tint Guys, in regard to the experience or what else you can expect, get in touch with me and I’d be happy to answer a couple questions.

My iPhone 3GS playing music through iTrip

Second, I wanted to play the music from my iPhone 3GS through my car’s stereo; I did this with my old car by connecting it directly, through the means of a cassette tape adapter. Unfortunately, my new car didn’t have a tape player, but only a CD, so I had to go the route of the FM Transmitter.

note: FM Transmitters are devices that block out external radio stations, and broadcast a frequency that you choose, which your car picks up. So when you have your music players FM transmitter set to 92.5, and your car tuned to the same station, your car transmits music from your music player, rather than the native radio station that’s broadcasting.

Previously to purchasing the iTrip, I hated the FM transmitters, all of them. I had tried 2 or 3 of them in the past and they all worked horribly. Constant static interference, poor reception plagued proper use, so I always ended up returning them, and just keeping the tape adapter. Audio quality on the tape was also superior… it was an easy decision.

A view of CBHSOL2 solar powered speakerphone, and Griffin Windshield mount from outside the car.

Third, I had to purchase a bluetooth hands-free solution for telephone calls. I got Scosche’s CBHSOL2 device. A hands-free, bluetooth, solar-powered, speakerphone device designed to simplify in-car use. I have another article which speaks solely to this device in a little more detail. One push button to answer and hangup on calls, turns off automatically when I leave my vehicle (with my phone), and charges automatically with the sunlight (even if there’s no direct sun) so I rarely have to charge it. It also comes with a car charger (just in case) which I’ve only had to use twice in 4 months. The device speaks the names or numbers (if they aren’t a saved contact) that are calling me, and can hold up to 1000 contacts.

Interior view of the car - iPhone 3GS, iTrip and CBHSOL2 in the top left corner.

I strongly recommend all of the products that I’m using above, as a tech geek and as regular consumer who’s extremely happy with his purchases. Any further questions can be directed to me, I’m happy to help.

Front & Back picture of Scosche's Solchat, Bluetooth Speakerphone.

When this new law came into effect, I was working at the Apple Store, and I first tried out a bluetooth headset, but didn’t like it for numerous reasons:

• Small, easy to lose (which would need to be replaced), liable to fall off my ear while I’m driving.
• Difficult/inconvenient to charge; likely to bring it back and forth from your car and home… which would raise the risk of losing it.
• Uncomfortable, and inefficient – always having trouble understanding or being understood during conversation.

After trying and return one of the headsets, I picked up one of Scosche‘s bluetooth speakerphone units. Much to my surprise, it was actually solar powered too – something that turns out is incredibly helpful.

I’m sure there’s more than one kind of solar powered bluetooth speakerphone unit, but I’m going to focus on the one that I have. The model I have specifically, is called the Scosche solCHAT II, CBHSOL2.

• Hands-free bluetooth speakerphone.
• Integrated solar panel re-charges the internal lithium-ion battery.
• Includes two mounts: one visor, and one suction cup for the windshield.
• Address book import, name announce when receiving phone calls (Up to 1000 contacts).
• DSP echo cancellation ensures a crystal clear conversation even in noisy vehicles.
• One-touch voice dialing (majority of phones).
• Comes with usb cable and car charger… just in case!

The CBHSOL2 mounted on my car's visor.

I have to firmly recommend this device if you’re looking for a bluetooth solution for your car. This device charges with the sun (even with the cloudiest of conditions). You hold the button when you get in the car to turn it on, click it once to answer or to hang up, and if you want, you can just leave it on when you leave the car. As long as the phone and the unit are in range, it’ll stay on perpetually. If you leave your car, after 5 minutes the unit will just turn itself off.

The two mounts are in place, and I slide the device back and forth between them. I put it on the windshield whenever there’s any light, or I’m parked in the light, and when it’s dark out or cold out, I slide it into my visor so it’s closer to me, and so that the cold doesn’t take as much of a toll on the battery.

CBHSOL2 mounted on the top left corner of my windshield. Picture taken from the outside driver side of my vehicle.

For $109 you can buy the device from Scosche’s website, or from your local Apple Store

For the past little while they’ve been on the move; executives, young professionals, students – all need to use a computer, and require it to be portable most of the time. The fact that a computer is portable means that engineers have to make some concessions when they’re designing units; obviously this means draw backs. Typically: a smaller display, congested and less than full keyboard, no external mouse, smaller hard-drive, and an audio system that is nothing to brag of.

Sometimes, it’s best to be working at a desk, sitting up right, instead of slouching and lounging on the couch. A more professional and/or formal setting helps you work a little more efficiently; at least that’s what I’ve found. I can’t use Adobe Photoshop or Premiere (image & video editing) as efficiently as I could without a mouse and full keyboard, let alone the desktop space.

My solution is what you see before you:

My Macbook setup with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse

A wireless mouse and full keyboard ($39.99) attached via USB (operating through the wireless transponder). A 21.5″ Samsung LCD display ($149.99 a year ago, bought it on sale) allowing me to take advantage of dual display – attached via DVI to my MacBook’s Mini-DVI to DVI adapter ($25.00), and a 1TB external/portable hard-drive ($109.99, again on sale) to store all my television shows and movies.

Everything you see above, I find to be nothing short of a necessity for a good workspace. Personally, I find that I do my best work when I’m at a desk and using a full setup. My Macbook is great on the road, but when I’m home and want to get into ‘work mode’, the desk with a complete setup is where I need to be. On top of that, without that portable drive, I wouldn’t be able to store the hundreds of hours of entertainment that I have so readily available.

Front & Back View of the Airport Extreme Base Station

With a USB slot, you’re able to connect a printer turn your wired printer, wireless. You can also choose to connect an external/portable drive and turn it into an extra hard-drive for everyone on your WiFi network. If you feel like having one or the other (or several of each), you can go out and also buy a USB switch, and turn one port into four or more. Share a printer, and a couple hard-drives on your network. Did I mention that you can also share your drive over the Internet? It isn’t just for local networks, you can choose to broadcast your drives over the internet, so they aren’t just local.

One extra perk that Mac users get, is the ability to use ‘Back to My Mac’ if you’re a MobileMe subscriber; allowing you to remote back into your Mac connected to the router at home, from wherever you are; it’s pretty sweet.

Other features you might find useful include the advantageous latest Wireless-N protocol, parental controls, guest wifi networking, true dual band, and an incredibly aesthetically pleasing look and feel.

Can't argue with beauty.

The Airport Extreme Base Station is available for purchase in any of Apple’s retail locations or online at their Web Store.

Your Apple TV unit connects to your television either by HDMI, DVI or High/Standard definition composite cables, and to your home network (wirelessly, or directly via ethernet). For Mac OS X users, you’ll be happy to know that the interface much resembles (if not replicates) the Front Row application experience. For Microsoft Windows users, don’t you worry; Apple does a great job of making this little piece of technology as easy to use as your microwave.

The unit comes in two sizes, 40GB & 160GB, which allows for local storage, accessible regardless of your computers status. You manage the media on like you would any other device connected to iTunes (iPod, iPhone) and select what you want to synchronize. If for some reason, you have more media than Apple TV allows you to store (which I do), you’re forced to stream the rest of it live, through iTunes (meaning your computer must be connected at the time of viewing).

The remote that comes along with it is one you may also recognize if you’re a Mac user; the same remote that came stock with the old Macbook and Macbook Pros comes along with your Apple TV for easy to use enjoyment of all your home content. No struggling with hundreds of complicated functions – It’s easy, and it’s fun.

Now to finish it off with a little honesty – I download all my movies and television shows using Bit-Torrent, convert them, and store them in iTunes for easy browsing. At this moment, I have more than 94 seasons, from 15 different tv shows, and close to 200 movies available (for those of you who are curious, that’s more than 1000 hours of video) to view at the touch of a button; no waiting, no loading, and best of all – free of charge. If you’ve got a passion for TV or Movies, this is definitely something you should be spending money on.

iCan't Internet - All About The Internet

After viewing it I immediately thought to myself “No, this one doesn’t appeal to me at all…” but as I was taking a look around, and found that the content was actually extremely useful. As I had just started putting a website together, and was looking to sponge up any useful information I could get my hands on, I found that iCan’tInternet had a ton of information on search engine optimization, setting up and using Google’s popular Adsense, as well as a great way to go about internet marketing and advertising for a cause you’re passionate about.

I visit this site a couple times a week to see if there’s anything new & useful going up, and at the same time to browse through old material. Lots of iPhone discussions which pleases me, and always something new to learn about advertising which I’ll soon be vesting some time into – this keeps me happy. This nifty resource is definitely worth a bookmark, and if you ever get into web development (which I urge you to), definitely search through some of their archives for tips & tricks you’re sure to find helpful.

I visit this site a couple times a week to see if there’s anything new & useful going up, and at the same time to browse through old material. Lots of iPhone discussions which pleases me, and always something new to learn about advertising which I’ll soon be vesting some time into – this keeps me happy. This nifty resource is definitely worth a bookmark, and if you ever get into web development (which I urge you to), definitely search through some of their archives for tips & tricks you’re sure to find helpful.

RedFlagDeals.com - Bargain Hunting Galore!

Forums give you the opportunity to find trades, make your own sales, and even check-out the freebies section for items that people feel would do others some good. You’re even able to advertise an upcoming garage sale as well as browse some that may be happening in your area.

I could go on and on about all the cool stuff you’ll find, but I’ll allow you to explore for yourself. Take a look, spend 15 minutes and you’ll see for yourself that it’s a great resource, one you’ll surely bookmark, and may find yourself cruising through when you’re bored and looking for boxing-day deals on an ordinary afternoon.