Trail Maps App for iOS 4 devices

Great topo program from National Geographic.  I wouldn't call it Trail Maps.  I would call it Topo Maps.  The topo maps are very clear and excellent quality.  The maps can be downloaded to the unit to use when you don't have a cell signal.  I might break down and take my iPad on my next backpacking trip just to see how it does.

Recycling computer stuff at Goodwill

I just took four monitors, a laptop that I formatted twice, 2 desktops without the hard drives and a big printer to Goodwill. Dell is very cool to partner with Goodwill to enable recycling of computer equipment

Smart phone while backpacking or hiking

I have the original Droid but I use Peter Alfonso's operating system instead of the stock one.  Seems to have extended the life of this but I am wanting to get an iPhone now after watching the Apple announcement about iOS5.  I already have a MacBook Pro and iPad 2 so I figured I was destined to have an Apple device as a phone.

I have a Spot Connect, which is a personal locator beacon that sends your location to a website that you can share with family and friends.  You can also export all your waypoints to Spot Adventures where you can include a description of your trip, pictures and videos.  Pretty cool and the device stays connected to my Droid through bluetooth.  I can send messages to my family and Facebook.  Most of my trips have been one and two day backpacking trips so my phone seems to last to the end of the trip.  I keep it in "Airplane Mode" most of the time and take a few pictures.  Sometimes when I'm on a high ridge, I'll put the phone into normal mode so I can text my family.

There is an app on my phone called "Backcountry Navigator Pro" and another called "GPS Status" where I can get my GPS coordinates and even see where I am on downloaded maps.  I'm afraid to use them when I'm on these trips because I think the GPS will drain my phone all the way.  I've been toying around with the idea of a solar charger.  I hate having awesome phone features for backpacking but being afraid of running out of battery life because I'm using all the cool features away from an AC outlet.

Just got some Bose speakers for my computer

Great price at Sam's and the sound (of course) is very good.

Steripen Adventurer Opti (Water purifier)

I guess this is becoming a electronic gadgetry blog. This product worked great when augmented with antibacterial wipes.

You fill up a 1 liter Nalgene or water container in the river or stream. Push the button once to purify a liter (quart). When the green light starts flashing, you stick the glass tip into the water up the handle, the UV light turns on (take the lid off first). You swirl the water every once in a while and 90 seconds later, all the bad stuff is dead by the ultraviolet light. I could never figure out how you killed the bacteria and viruses on the rim so I use antibacterial wipes on the rim, threads and inside of the cap of my Nalgene. I used it for 2 days while hiking Segment 3 of the Colorado Trail (http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=256318). At 4oz, it is a lot easier to use and a lot lighter than my pump type filters.

I had a little trouble at first, green light turning red. I think it was because I wasn't putting it into the water all the way up to the handle.

You can use the same device to kill the bad stuff in your water in 3rd world countries.

My Review of SPOT Connect Personal Locator Beacon

Originally submitted at Eastern Mountain Sports

Combining the technology of the Smartphone with the communication ability of the SPOT satellite system means you can keep everyone updated and safe when out of cell signal range.

SPOT Connect Personal Locator Beacon

Love the product overall

By ManiacJWJ from Colorado Springs, CO on 5/16/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Share trip with friends, Tracking, SOS ability, Sends messages to family, Analyze trip later

Cons: Missed sending one messag, Tracking inconsistent

Best Uses: Hiking in remote areas, Backpacking

Product tracked most of the time. It had two gaps where it didn't send. My first message that I sent to my family was never delivered. It did send my second message to my family and posted it on Facebook. It sent coordinates. I liked being able to export my trip to Spot Adventures, document things I learned and add pictures.

I'll have to figure out what to do with my cell phone's battery life going down quickly even though it was in Airplane Mode most of the time. I took my Droid out of airplane mode to check my status. It took too long to turn back on if I turned it off completely so I only turned it off completely a few times. Note later: I found out that turning it on and off was what drained the battery. Staying in Airplane Mode made it last a lot longer.

(legalese)

Mac Migration Assistant

The Mac's Migration Assistant, found at /Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant, can transfer your software, settings and data from one Mac to another. You can actually transfer from another Mac, another volume on your Mac or from a Time Machine backup.

Mac OS X installation DVD

Following methods can be used to start your Mac from the Mac OS X install DVD:
1. Put in the DVD while your Mac is running, then select it as the startup destination
2. Turn on your Mac while holding the C key with the DVD inserted
3. Turn on your Mac while holding down the Option key while the DVD is inserted. It will fire up the Startup Manager.

With the Installation DVD, you can also reset password, set the firmware Password, check out your System Profiler and restore your entire system through a Time Machine backup.