Overwhelmed By Technology

I've become a lot more interactive with the internet these days.  I follow 800+ people on Twitter (the vast majority are fellow genealogists), and I add new blogs to my RSS feed daily (again, the majority are genealogy related).  Through these new connections, I've been introduced to webinars,  products such as the Flip Pal Scanner, podcasts, previously unknown on-line document websites, and countless new ideas for research.
Lost in all this interaction and technology seems to be my time for fundamental genealogy research.   I'm so busy tracking down the next new thing, that I haven't really pulled together my research plan for 2012 and actually utilized any of the new ideas/technology/websites I've run across while on Twitter, webinars, podcasts, and blogs.
I'd be interested to hear from my fellow family historians how they manage to balance the wonderful discoveries made through social media, with day to day genealogy research.      

Flip Pal Scanner - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my first review of the Flip Pal scanner (which I love, by the way!).  At the time I posted the review, I had only used what I'll call the "standard" scanning feature, but not the "flip" feature.  Since my initial review, I've seen a lot of other blogs mention the scanner and how much they like it.  Now that I've used the flip feature, I can post the second part of my review, which can be summed up in three words:  BUY THIS THING.  The flip feature is easy to use (you snap off the lid, flip the scanner over, and push the green scan button).  I've scanned a couple of larger documents and stitched them together with great results.   Overall, it's lightweight and extremely portable, produces good quality scans, and is very very easy to use.  I highly recommend the product!

Technology Thursday - Flip Pal Review October 20, 2011

When I saw ads for the Flip Pal scanner on several blog sites I follow, I was intrigued. Was it just another gimmick? Could it really do what it claimed? After staring down the huge pile of photographs sitting in my upstairs closet, and fumbling with my current scanner, I decided to try the Flip Pal.

The Flip Pal arrived at my door a couple of days ago, and it was love at first sight. As advertised, it's small (roughly the same height and width of an iPad but maybe double the thickness), lightweight, and extremely easy to use. Set-up consisted of: 1) taking it out of the box; 2) removing a paper tab to activate the batteries; and 3) flipping the on switch.

Since its power source is AA batteries, you can scan virtually anywhere without your computer. Scanning is easy: 1) open the cover, 2) position the photograph or other small document; 3) push the green scan button. There is a small screen on the top of the scanner that previews your scan once it's complete.

Since the Flip Pal is so small, its optimal use is scanning photographs or other small documents. "Small" in this case means 6" x 4". I haven't tried the scanning and "stitching" feature yet, which allows you to scan larger documents, photographs, and other objects in sections, then "stitch" them back together using computer software. I'll review that feature in next week's Technology Thursday post.

The scanner comes with a 2G SD card and USB adapter. After scanning 80 photographs in less than a half hour while watching television, I popped the SD card out, put it into the USB adapter, then plugged the adapter into my MacBook Pro. In less than 5 minutes, I had everything uploaded to my iPhoto library. I opened a few images to check scan quality, and it was great!

The only issues I've run across so far:

1. It does suck battery juice. It takes two AA batteries, so my suggestion is to make sure those are rechargeable batteries. I'll be buying a battery charger and rechargeable batteries this weekend.

2. Make sure whatever you are scanning is flat. The majority of the photographs I was scanning are older (from the '60's, you know which ones I mean) and were curled from being stored scattered in a box. If the object you are scanning is not flat, it's hard to lay it on the scanner bed to get a straight scan. I had a few that scanned crooked, but was able to straighten them with the iPhoto software.

If you have a closet full of photos to scan, but hate the thought of sitting in front of your computer for hours on end, this is the gadget for you.

Next week: Flip Pal's scan and stitch functionality.