Think on display.

{Update: June 20, Think has filed for bankruptcy. Looks like we won’t be seeing towns full of Thinks. That’s a shame!}

I was walking through the the Indianapolis airport the other day when I ran into this little number. This is the Think Electric Vehicle. An all battery powered itty bitty 2-seater that has a range of 100 miles. The cost is a cool $34,995 before rebates. If you live in Indiana, you can pick up this little baby for a mere $19,995 once you factor in tax rebates and state incentives.

Oh to have a some spare change lying around. I could easily use this vehicle for my commutes to work and save a chunk of change on fuel. Anyone else tired of paying over $4/gallon? Any reader own this vehicle? Drop a comment below and share your experience. Now...where do I get me a test drive?

Posted via email from Doc’s Tech Notes' posterous

Learn about Alfred Custom Search by installing the Doc’s Tech Notes custom search

I’ve been playing around a bit with Alfred. Specifically, I’ve been experimenting with Alfred custom searches. During my experimentation I wondered how easy it would be to create a custom Doc’s Tech Notes search that would allow me to search all Doc’s Tech Notes content from Alfred.  It turns out that this is a very simple process. It also turns out that it is extremely easy to share custom searches.

In this Tech Note I’ll demonstrate how to download the Doc’s Tech Notes custom search, use the custom search and then add a custom icon.  During the process, you will learn a few things about Alfred and how Alfred custom searches are created and shared. I won’t go into the specifics of creating a custom search in this Tech Note. I’ll save that for a potential future note. Consider this a “for familiarization only” task.

Install the Doc’s Tech Notes custom search:
You won’t believe how easy the developers of Alfred have made this step.

• Download the free Alfred app (If you want to experience the real power of Alfred, you can purchase the PowerPack although it is not required for custom searches)
• Click the following link: Install the Doc’s Tech Notes custom Alfred search – the Custom Search: Doc’s Tech Notes... install dialog will display as shown in the image below

• Select the Oh Yes! button - the Doc’s Tech Notes custom search will install

It’s done. The unique aspect of this install is that custom search criteria is installed via a simple URL. No file download.

Now that you have the Doc’s Tech Notes custom search installed, after the link below we will use the custom search and then personalize it with a custom image.

Five ways to reduce iPhone personal hotspot data consumption

While on a business trip this past week, I was stuck in a building that did not have Internet access for my MacBook Air. This was an extreme productivity killer. Then I remembered that the latest iOS for iPhone 4 now contains the ability to create a personal hotspot similar to MiFi units.

Adding the service was extremely easy using the AT’T iOS app and the charge was only an extra $20 per month. I thought this a fairly reasonable charge and was surprised that it was prorated for the current month, incurred no activation charge and added an extra 2GBs of data to my current 2GBs/month plan. It also appears that I can turn this service off at any time without any additional deactivation charges.

4GBs might sound like a lot of data, but I began looking at my data usage and found I was burning through this pretty quickly. Then I noticed a few things about my usage. It became apparent that I was not practicing good data conservation. I noticed some patterns and decided this was a good time for a Tech Note.

After a click of the link below, I’ll share a five six ways you can dramatically reduce your data consumption when using the personal hotspot feature of the iPhone 4. Some of these tips also work well when using your iPhone alone and I’m sure these tips will also work for those of you using MiFi units.

{Update: I’ve already received an excellent suggestion in the comments and have modified the original five to six. If more suggestions are added, I’ll include them in the list.}

BimP Book Review: LEGO Technic Idea Book Series

I just posted a review of the LEGO Technic Idea Book series over at sister site Bricks in my Pocket (BimP). Since LEGO bricks are sort of tech related and these books focus on mechanical/electrical/pneumatic creations, I thought I would share with Doc’s Tech Note readers. You can read the review using the link below:

http://goo.gl/3vfJ0

Bottom line: good series. So I’m curious, should I keep these post to BimP readers only and not bother Doc’s Tech Notes readers? Drop me a comment below and let me know.

Don't duplicate your MacBook Air and iOS iTunes library

I think I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I love my new MacBook Air! I have the 11.6” version which includes 2Gb of RAM and a 64Gb SSD. It is FAST, FAST and FAST! I purchased the MacBook Air as a supplement to my 15” MacBook Pro and my 27” iMac.

Initially I thought the 64Gb SSD would be a bit cramped; however, I was able to install everything I need while on the road. I won’t be doing any Final Cut video editing or heavy 3D modeling on the road, but for basics tasks, not a problem. What I didn’t have room for was my iTunes library. That was a shame as I like to fire up songs from my iTunes library while I work or while relaxing in a hotel room.

My iTunes library is around 20Gb. 20Gb of music would take one third of my MacBook Air’s SSD storage.  I have around 17Gb left. I want to keep 10Gbs for wiggle room. That leaves me around 7Gb for music and video. I could download a subset of my iTunes library, but then I’m guaranteed not to have a particular song or video when I want it.

Then it came to me. I have a 32Gb iPhone 4. I sync this with my iMac and it contains my entire iTunes library. It travels everywhere my MacBook Air goes. So I wondered if there was a way to play this content on my MacBook Air. There should be no reason to duplicate this library. Right? Right. You can learn how to play the iTunes library content from an iOS device on a Mac by clicking the link below.

Go Daddy versus Hover in Images

Yesterday I mentioned an issued that occurred when transferring my domain name from Go Daddy to Hover. I also mentioned that I have become a fan of Hover and their minimalist interface. Today I thought I would stress that point with a series of images that demonstrate the differences in the user interface between these two domain name registrars. Check it out after the hitting the link below.

And we're back! After a move from Go Daddy to Hover

Some of you (Thanks Colin!) noticed that Doc’s Tech Notes was down for a couple of days. I know some of you may be wondering, how could you not know your own site is down. I blame it on Blogger. I use Blogger to host Doc’s Tech Notes as well as several other sites because of their hosting cost – FREE!

So why did Doc’s Tech Notes go down and why do I blame Blogger (cuz I can't believe it was actually my fault!)? Find out by hitting the link below.