The Technology Behind Almerimar Life

This is a ‘chicken or egg’ type post in a way. I thought it would be interesting to detail all the technology that we use in running Almerimar Life. I am guilty as charged in that I love technology, but not just for the sake of technology ……. it has to serve a purpose for it to excite me. I am guilty at times though of buying the technology and then creating a need to justify it! In many ways that is how I got into blogging with my own personal site. I wanted a Mac so after giving up on the full time work gig, I bought a PowerBook. I then needed something to do with it so I started my own blog which at the time focussed pretty much 100% on reviewing Apple applications and associated hardware etc.

I got invited to a regular slot on a US based podcast so bought a mixer and microphone, then thought I better do a bit more with it than that so have dabbled with our own podcast.

When I wanted a DSLR camera I promised Sands that I would make it self funding, i.e. use it to generate a revenue stream that would ensure that it paid for itself.

In many ways this blog was the same …. another way of using the technology that we had, and a way of injecting some direction and focus into our life here. Of course, as the blog has got bigger it has required more technology (well that is what I tell Sands), and of course with the new technology we have new opportunities – the chicken and the egg!

So what is all this technology that I am referring to?

Server

We have our own virtual server, which means that we have 100% control and responsibility over it. For us this is crucial as it means we are not slowed down by the content of others on a shared server, and we can implement any additions or changes to the site immediately without waiting on a server administrator. If the server goes down (as they all do) we can initiate a restart ourselves, and we receive an alert whenever there is a problem.

It also enables us to add domains as we want, so we are able to offer very affordable hosting rates. Our sponsors and advertisers can get free hosting with us! At the moment we have over 30 domains hosted on the site and still have a lot of capacity left, and if start to get full we can upgrade immediately which is another major benefit.

It also means that we are able to host sites for advertisers and users of the site. If you host with us we will build your web site for free!!!

Computers

After years of frustration and wasted time on the dreaded Windows PC’s we are now 100% Mac users. Well that isn’t totally true as I still have a Windows desktop running XP and Vista so that I can still do the odd (reluctant) PC support, and more importantly check any web design on the disgusting Internet Explorer!

As you can see from the pictures both Sands and I operate in dual screen mode i.e. we both have two screen connected to our Macs (a Mac Pro in my case and a very sexy iMac in Sands case). This is probably the single best use of technology that I have used in the last 10 years. The productivity gains are amazing, and they enable you to spend far more time at the computer without getting eye strain. If you haven’t tried dual screen you should – trust me it will revolutionise the way you work.

Why did we chose the Mac as our computers of choice? Well apart from the fact they look great they are unbelievably easy to use, have much more intuitive applications, and take about 1/10th of the maintenance of a PC. So again productivity was the main reason. The applications for anybody that is into photography, audio, design and development are second to none. Anybody that is at all serious about being creative just has to have a Mac.

Of course all of them run Windows as well these days so for the odd occasion when we have to use a Windows only application we can still use the Mac.

In addition to our desktop Macs, Sands has a MacBook notebook and I have a MacBook Pro notebook, so we have a great combination of light and portable notebook and a serious bit of kit that we can carry around.

As you would expect they are all networked together and we use a service from Apple called MobileMe to keep our respective Desktop, Notebooks and iPhones (see below) synced at all times.

We also use a number of online services so that when we are working on posts and articles we can both work on them from wherever we are and not get clashes or create confusion.

Photo

Photography is a big interest or mine that unfortunately I don’t get as much time to indulge in as I would like. The blog is a double edge sword in that respect …… it is a great outlet for my photography, but frustrates the hell out of me as there is so much more that I could do, and want to do!!!

Still that hasn’t stopped us (well me) indulging myself with a Nikon D80 DSLR (12 megapixels) with a number of lenses:

• 10-20mm Macro Lens
• 20-135mm Standard Lens
• 135-400mm Telephoto Lens

Add to that a extra battery grip, polarisation filters, Nikon flash, a tripod and several other bits and pieces and we have a pretty impressive set up.

The above is great for planned photo shoots, but you can’t beat the convenience of a good point and shoot and we have a couple of those, a very slim Sony DSC-T9 (5 megapixels), and a somewhat chunky but amazingly powerful Canon G9 (12 megapixels). It is very rare that either of us venture out without at least one of the above, but for the times that we do we can always fall back on the Nokia N95 camera (5 megapixels) or the iPhones (2 megapixles) )(see below).

For processing the photographs we use a range of application ranging from the professional Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, to a couple of very useful Mac applications called iWatermark and Picturesque.

To see the photographs we use Flickr, MobileMe and of course the blogs own Gallery.

Video

We are using Video a lot more on the site these days, primarily for short clips taken with the Nokia N95 or the iPhone.

The camcorder that we use is a JVC Everio that has a 30GB internal drive and a 10GB memory card. To process the video we tend to use the Mac software iMovie and a application called VisualHub to convert to DVD. We do have Final Cut Pro, the professionals application, for the bigger projects that we get involved in.

Audio

To capture audio we have a mini studio set up with a Alesis Multimix and a Kel HM-1 Microphone and Heil Boom. We tend to use Adobe Soundbooth for post production and Audio Hijack Pro to capture interviews over Skype.

At the other end of the scale the iPhone has an application that allows us to capture brief snippets, and the iPod has an attachment that we can use to record good quality audio on the go.

Communication

Let’s start with the mobile phones – iPhone’s and a Nokia N95. They all allow us to do email and Internet browsing on the go, and the N95 will double up as a Bluetooth 3G modem (the iPhones will in due course with a hack that is being worked on). They all provide 3G (well not Sands iPhone), WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The iPhones allow us to post directly to the blog ‘on the go’, and allow us to take notes and sync them with the computers at home, so for example Sands can capture a image and make a note on her iPhone while she is out and it will sync with my Mac at home so that I can create and post the article before she even gets home.

We have two USB modems that have been hacked so they will accept SIM cards from any country. We use these when we are traveling, or in the marina when we can’t get WiFi access, or at home on the odd occasion that the Internet goes down.

Effectively the Internet is our office, so although it may seem excessive 3 ways of accessing the Internet either remotely or when the ADSL goes down is a sensible precaution for us.

To blog successfully you do not need anywhere near as much technology as we have. But ……. if you want to blog successfully and turn your blog into a viable business then you have to do as you would do with any other business and that is invest! We have invested a lot of time and money into the site, and had a very clear vision as to where we wanted to go.

The technology has certainly helped us get to the current stage we are at, and without doubt is going to be invaluable as we move onwards and upwards.

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