Your point-and-shoot digital camera ...

IS your video camera! Virtually every decent quality point-and-shoot digital camera features the capability to record both still photos and motion pictures (video). Many smartphones -- including my Apple iPhone 3GS -- feature both a built-in still camera and video camera. So why carry two- or more gadgets? The video quality is admittedly not as good as you would get using a dedicated video camera, but hey, something is better than nothing.

I used my iPhone 3GS to shoot the following short video clips of the Mount Vernon Farmers Market; both clips show the booth of Westmoreland Berry Farm and Orchard. The first video shows farm manager Chuck Geyer (left) talking with Gil McCutcheon (right), long-time volunteer Market Master of the Mount Vernon Farmers Market, then pans left to show the bustling activity at the booth.

WBS_IMG_0527.MOV (9.86 MB) (2.17 MB)

Chuck and Gil (shown left-to-right) talking business.

WBS_IMG_0528.MOV (3.23 MB) (730 KB)

Alma and Pierson (shown front-to-back) working checkout.

Tech Tips: How did I do it? I used the built-in video camera on my Apple iPhone 3GS to shoot the video clips. I uploaded the video clips to my desktop computer by syncing the iPhone with "iTunes" and "Image Capture" (Mac). Next, I signed in to YouTube, clicked "Upload" (located in the menu bar at the top of the screen), and followed the on-screen instructions. I copied the HTML shown under "Sharing options/Embed" and pasted it into this blog post (using "Edit HTML"). Note: Video quality will be MUCH BETTER when videos are viewed on mobile devices using a Wi-Fi network connection rather than a cellular network connection.

Finding Free Wi-Fi

How can you find free public Wi-Fi hotspots that provide wireless Internet access? "FREE Wi-Fi Finder" by JiWire, Inc. is a free app for Apple iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad that finds and maps free Wi-Fi hotspots. (Note: "Wi-Fi Finder" finds and maps both fee- and free Wi-Fi hotspots. See also JiWire Global Wi-Fi Finder.) Launch FREE Wi-Fi Finder and tap "Search Free Hotspots Near Me": the app requests permission to use your current location, searches its database, and displays a "Map View" of hotspots near your location; tap "List View" for an alternate display of the search results. Tap one of the green balloons for the name of the hotspot location, in this case, a nearby Starbucks Coffee shop; tap the arrow for "Hotspot Detail."

Tech Tips: Wi-Fi networks have a relatively small range, typically less than 100 meters. The following directions can be used to join a Wi-Fi network using an iPhone. From the "Home" screen, tap "Settings." On the "Settings" screen, tap "Wi-Fi Off." On the "Wi-Fi Networks" screen, tap "OFF"; "OFF" changes to "ON" and a list of available Wi-Fi networks is displayed. "Choose a Network..." by tapping the name of the network, in this case, "attwifi" (the generic SSID for all AT&T Wi-Fi Access points). What happens next varies from one Wi-Fi hotspot to another, but the process for joining a free public network is usually simple and straightforward. Tap "Wi-Fi ON" in order to disconnect from a network ("ON" changes to "OFF").

Are You SunWise?

A bad sunburn can ruin a good trip needlessly. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SunWise Program provides resources that increase awareness of the health hazards associated with overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun, as well as recommended action steps for safe Sun exposure.

EPA Mobile provides UV forecast smartphone apps for Android and Blackberry, and a generic Mobile Web "app" that should work on any mobile device equipped with a Web browser and data plan. If your mobile device features a built-in GPS receiver, then the Mobile Web app will request permission to use your current location; tap "OK" and your location will be determined automatically. Otherwise it will be necessary to complete a simple form requesting either a Zip Code or city and state. Sample output is shown below.

Tech Tips: Visit the US EPA SunWise UV Index Web page for similar input/output as well as UV Index Forecast maps.

Test: Embed Google Maps in Blog Posts

This is a test. My goal: Embed a map, with added content, in a blog post. In this case, I used Google Earth and Google Maps to create a map (shown below) showing a GPX track geologged with GeoLogTag Free, an app for geologging tracks and geotagging photos.


View GeoLogTag Free Track in a larger map

How did I do it? Follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Launch Google Earth; open GPX track file. Select File/Save/Save Place As... (save file as a .kmz file).
2. Login to Google Maps; click button labeled, "Get Started" (shown below embedded video, left sidebar). ["Get Started" appears the first time you login to Google Maps. Other options: Click "Create new map" or open and "Edit" a saved map.]
3. Click hyperlink labeled, "Import" (see upper-left corner of window); import .kmz file.
4. Click hyperlink labeled, "Link" (see upper-right corner of window); copy & paste HTML to embed in website/blog. [Click "Customize and preview embedded map" (optional).]

Independence Day

With no disrespect intended toward the United States of America, I celebrate my personal "Independence Day" today: 01 July 2010 is the one-year anniversary of my retirement from Fairfax County Public Schools. For 31 years, I traveled along more or less the same road, figuratively speaking; last year, I decided it was time to head in a new direction. Happy Trails to me!