A little over 19 months ago, my daughter was born. Time went by so quickly. It feels like she was a newborn only yesterday and now she’s a running, climbing, chatty toddler. Capturing her milestones is important to me, so I try to have a camera handy at all times. Usually it’s my handy point and shoot or my iPhone, but I am trying to make it a point to use my DSLR more often. It takes a little more effort, but the photos are so much better than with a p&s.

With digital cameras, it’s easy to snap hundreds of photos of a single event. Of course, not all of them will be gems, but a lot of them will be decent enough to save for posterity. I rarely, if ever, print my photos, but I am diligent about archiving them on my computer. I have been searching for a good photo storage/sharing site online with privacy controls so that I could lock-down my personal photos, while at the same time, allowing friends and family to view them without having to create an account. Although you wouldn’t think so from looking at my blog, I am somewhat concerned about privacy and these issues have been on my mind lately. My friend Claire mentioned that she started using SmugMug and mentioned the privacy features as one of the selling points. This piqued my interest and I checked it out.

There’s a 14-day free trial, but I assure you, after test driving it for a day or two, you’ll likely want to subscribe even before your two weeks are up. (I signed up on day #2 of my trial!)  If you decide to subscribe, enter my referral code: EbWS8kCMCZTCG to get $5 off your subscription. (Standard level is $39.95/year, but well worth it for the functionality, privacy features, and unlimited storage of your photos.)

I have mainly used Flickr in the past, but ended up letting my subscription lapse. I wasn’t very happy with the way Flickr handles privacy settings. (Visitors must sign up for an account to view protected photos.) I used Picasa for a little while, but didn’t like the Picasa app very much — and all my photos were already in iPhoto, so I didn’t want to recreate the wheel. SmugMug has a plug-in that allows you to upload directly from iPhoto, which makes it very convenient for me. There are other methods of uploading as well, offering options for both Mac as well as PC users.

That’s part of the reason for my absence around here. I’ve been busily uploading photos to my SmugMug account and re-living all of those wonderful memories. (Client work has been keeping me busy, too, but no complaints about that! Bring on the work!)

This is not a sponsored endorsement. I am just so stoked about this service that I wanted to share the news with you in case you’re looking for a similar online solution to sharing your photos online. Check it out and enjoy!

Thanks to @lavagal, I recently rediscovered the wonders of Alltop.  They were kind enough to feature my blog in the Moms topic; it’s a great honor to be included in the illustrious Alltop directory.

I’ve created a custom MyAlltop page which features the feeds to the news/blogs on topics that matter most to me. My topics run the gamut: world/national news sites, parenting blogs, tech buzz, Mac stories, blogging/writing tips, social media tidbits, and Photoshop information.  You can create one for yourself, too.  They have feeds for practically every topic under the sun to feed your need for information.

Just when you thought you were already champuru’d out, here I am with another vehicle for my never-ending quest to overshare.  This time, I’ve created a moblog (mobile blog), where I’ll be posting random photos and videos from my iPhone.  Heck, I’ve got an unlimited data plan on my iPhone that needs some exercise, so why not?

If you look at my sidebar, you’ll find a widget for Champuru Posterous which will show you a thumbnail of my latest entry.  Mind you, it’s all in fun and I don’t promise that my posts will be informative, helpful, or even worth your time – but it’s a slice of my life, pretty much in real time.  And, if you’re following me on Twitter, whenever I create a new posterous entry a tweet is automagically posted with a link to it.  How cool is that?

Do you have a Posterous account?  If so, leave me a comment (or email) and let me know what it is so I can subscribe to your blog.

I’m a total sucker for the latest and greatest gadget.  If it’s made by Apple, it automatically increases the temptation factor by 10.  Truth be told, I had been plotting and planning to eventually get an iPhone, moving our cell phones one by one to AT&T when the contracts with Verizon had expired.  I honestly didn’t think I would be getting an iPhone this soon, since I am a stay-at-home mom and didn’t feel like I could justify the cost of having one, but I wanted to position ourselves accordingly for when the time was right.  After much hemming and hawing, then discovering that the cost wasn’t as exorbitant as I had thought, and with blessings from Hubby who assured me that I “deserve it,” I pre-ordered the iPhone 3GS online.

Some folks love the excitement and anticipation of a launch day but I have a strong aversion to lines, so I decided that I could wait for my iPhone to be delivered by the good old US Postal Service rather than do a pickup at the store.  In my old age, I’m finding that instant gratification isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  Sometimes waiting can save you a good amount of inconvenience.  This was certainly the case here. My iPhone arrived in the mail today, the day after the launch.

I must say that I am impressed by the speed of delivery by the US Postal Service’s Priority Mail service. It was shipped out on June 18 from Ft. Worth, Texas and arrived in my hot little hands in Hawaii only two days later on June 20!  I was expecting to receive it by Monday at the earliest, maybe even Tuesday, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it in the mail today.

Having been an iPod Touch user for quite some time, the iPhone reminds me of an iPod Touch on steroids. I’ve been playing around with it since Baby Champuru went to sleep, prepping my Contacts List, photos, downloading new apps, etc.

I’m hoping that having the iPhone will enable me to push more content to my blog and, of course, to Twitter.  I am especially excited about the new video feature on the iPhone as well.  Imagine being able to shoot, edit and upload video to YouTube from anywhere! Oh, the possibilities!  Right now though, it’s past my bedtime and I should stop playing with my new toy so I can get enough sleep before baby wakes up.

Not only can Martha Stewart show you how to put on the perfect dinner party, but she can also give you tips on how to start your own blog!

Thanks to NEENZ, champuru.net now has a place beside the Internet’s top Mom Blogs at Alltop.com, a new Guy Kawasaki brainchild. What is Alltop, you ask? It’s an aggregating service that brings you the top picks of popular topics such as celebrities, fashion, sports, gaming, Mac, moms, and much more.

Be sure to check it out. You’re sure to discover a ton of new websites to add to your favorites list.

It’s no secret, I love gadgets. Especially those that promise to make my life more convenient and entertaining — both of which the Vudu promises to deliver. The Vudu is an internet-based movies-on-demand system, currently offered by Hawaiian Telcom.

I’ve done the Netflix thing and I’m a card-carrying member of Blockbuster, but there’s nothing like being able to turn on your TV and have 5000 movies available for instant viewing at the scroll and click of a remote. Besides that, there’s the added benefit of not having to return the videos on time and avoiding those late fees.

The factor that differentiates the Vudu from other video-on-demand services is that you can own your favorite videos. No need to buy another rack to store your DVDs, it’s all stored electronically on your Vudu box. Buying a video will cost you between $4.99 to $19.99. A 24-hour rental will cost between $0.99 and $3.99, and you can replay the movie as many times as you wish during that period. No subscription or monthly fees apply, it’s pay as you go. The box normally costs $399, but Hawaiian Telcom is running a special: get 50% off and a $50 movie credit.

So, let’s talk about the equipment. The beauty is in its simplicity.

The “getting started” sheet is nicely illustrated and the instructions are concise and simple that anyone, no matter how low-tech, can follow. Even if you can’t set the time on your VCR, you can hook up the Vudu. Promise!

Inside the box, you get a power cord, ethernet cable, composite video cables, and an HDMI cable. If you’re like the droves of crazies who went out an bought a big-screen LCD HDTV to watch the Sugar Bowl (like me), you would use the HDMI cable. Non-HD folks, the composite cables work just as well. Other connection options also include component video and S-video.

Pukas galore!

Basic hook-up: 1) power, 2) video connection (HDMI, composite, component, or S-video), and 3) ethernet cable. How easy is that? As easy as 1, 2, 3. Literally. The hardest part was getting an ethernet connection to the television, and even that wasn’t too difficult. You just need to find a long enough cable — and borrow a staple gun, if you’re particular about that sort of thing.

The ergonomically-designed remote control is compact and only has 5 buttons and a scroll wheel. Again, sleek and simple. So zen, I love it.

The clickable scroll wheel is like the one on your computer mouse, except you use your thumb to fly through Vudu’s menus and movie listings. While you’re watching a movie, the scroll wheel is a variable-speed rewind/fast-forward shuttle control. It’s so intuitive and handy. Why every remote doesn’t utilize a scroll wheel is beyond me.

Within minutes, the Vudu was up and running. Take the short tutorial and follow the on-screen instructions as it takes you through the process of checking your network connections and downloading updates for the box.

With our high-speed connection (clocked at 4.5 Mbps), the videos are available for viewing immediately. If you’re running a slower connection (less than 2 Mbps), video delivery will be slightly delayed. Picture quality is good — and for HD folks, don’t worry, you’re covered!

My take on the Vudu? Convenient, simple to use, awesome movie selection (it’s Blockbuster in a box!), and cost-per-movie is reasonable. My nephew who works at Blockbuster may not be seeing us around the store much anymore. Now all the entertainment we crave can be found in that little black box.

[tags]Vudu, video-on-demand, gadgets, television, Hawaiian Telcom, Hawaii[/tags]