Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti Hotel Montana - Facebook Group - Here is the link.

If you are searching for the Haiti Hotel Montana Facebook Group for information for friends and family of guests that were staying at the hotel, here is the link.

Haiti Montana Hotel Facebook Group - Hotel Montana in Haiti
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haiti-Earthquake-Hotel-Montana/245595172631

Note: The above Facebook group is a perfect of example of the benefits of use of social media and user generated content. This site provides the friends and family of guests that were staying at the Hotel Montana with minute-by-minute updates from members of the group.

The true test of the platform is the respect the Internet Community shows for the friends and family of the guests that were staying at the Hotel Montana during the Haiti Earthquake. Let's hope that everyone uses good netiquette in joining and posting to this group as family members and friends use this site for minute-by-minute news on the Hotel Montana situation in Haiti.

Best List of Twitter Users in Hati - Earthquake 2010

Twitter Users in Haiti - Live Tweets from Port-Au-Prince

If you are looking for more in-depth coverage of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake, check out this Twitter List of Twitter users tweeting from Haiti (Hati 2010 Earthquake).

Live-From-Haiti Twitter List
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti

Haiti Users on the List
Carel Pedre - A popular radio & TV Host in Hati. http://twitter.com/carelpedre
Yael Talleyrand - Blogger in Haiti http://impurple.wordpress.com/
Frederic Dupoux - Blogger and Photographer in Hati http://www.zaboka.net/
Troy Livesay - Missionary and Blogger in Hati. http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/
InternetHati - The Multilink Haiti Twitter account. Here is a link to their Facebook Page.
Firesideint - Fireside International, a non-profit organization http://www.firesideinternational.org/HOME.html

Journalists in Hati
Jacqueline Charles - Caribbean Correspondent for the Miami Herald
Rodrigo - Journalist and VP of BNO News
AndersonCooper - CNN Broadcast Journalist
Ann Curry - NBC Broadcast Journalist

Thursday, January 14, 2010

200 Photos from Haiti from Carel Pedre - Hati Radio, TV Host

Carel Pedre is one Haiti's one of Hati's more popular radio & TV Hosts. See 200 photos he uploaded on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/carelp/ from his Apple iPhone 3GS. I believe you will need to be a member of Flickr to view all of his pictures.



You can follow Carel Pedre on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/carelpedre

Here is a list of other Twitter Users that are tweetering from Hati.

Haiti Twitter User List
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti?s=tp

NBC and Today Show Journalist Ann Curry
http://twitter.com/anncurry

Hati Find Famiy Members - Earthquake - Resources

With so much Internet traffic regarding the Hati Earthquake, I thought I would post the main links or resources for finding information about friends or family members in Hati.

International Red Cross Family News Network Database - Hati Earthquake 2010 - English

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/haiti/people

International Red Cross Family News Network Database - Hati Earthquake 2010 - French

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/WFL_HTI.NSF/DocIndex/locate_fre?opendocument

Miami-Dade Haitian-American community

Edison Little River Neighborhood Center
150 NW 79th St
Miami, FL

U.S. Embassy Resources

People in the U.S. or Canada with information or inquiries about U.S. citizens in Haiti
The Haiti Task Force at 888-407-4747
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.

U.S. Citizens in Hati
Embassy via e-mail at ACSPaP@state.gov to request assistance.

Americans in Haiti can call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.

CNN Find Family Members

http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=381628

Ushahidi Urging Haitians and Humanitarian Workers to Text Information to 4636 Free of Charge

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Citizen-reporting platform Ushahidi has gained international renown this week for its innovative contribution to information-gathering in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti. Now, Ushahidi, in partnership with U.S. Department of State and others, has introduced an SMS shortcode for subscribers on the DigiCell network in Haiti to send text messages free of charge. The shortcode makes it even faster and easier for eyewitnesses to report developments on the ground.

DigiCell subscribers in Haiti can text 4636 with location and description of emergencies and missing persons. Ushahidi's Haiti platform is live at: http://haiti.ushahidi.com.

Please note that the SMS shortcode is dependent on local telecom infrastructure -- if the infrastructure fails, the local SMS service will not work. However, there are several ways that incidents may be reported:

By sending a local text message to 4636 or internationally at +447624802524


By sending e-mail to Haiti@ushahidi.com


On Twitter with hash tag #haiti or #haitiquake


Online at http://haiti.ushahidi.com/reports/submit




Hati Twitter Users Tweeting Live from Hati

With reports on the news that cell phones still do not work in Port Au Prince, Hati and there is no power, I was curious how some users were able to access the Internet to send email or Twitter from Hati. I came across this Twitter list of individuals that are tweeting live from Hati. It includes the Twitter user and blogger Troy Livesay that has power and Internet usage from a generator. The Twitter list was complied by Georgia Popplewell of Global Voices Online.

Hati Twitter Users List - tweeting live from Hati
http://twitter.com/georgiap/live-from-haiti

Troy Livesay
http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/

Georgia Popplewellhttp://twitter.com/georgiap

Reference
http://ghostsofhoratioalger.com/2010/01/haiti-and-communications/

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Netflix Roku Box - 2010 Review

Roku HD Digital Video Player - 2010 Review
For the holidays, I bought a Netflix Roku box for a a family member and me. I subscribed to Netflix for the $8.99 minimum (1 DVD by mail) and now I can watch any of the 17,000 Watch Instantly titles on my Samsung Flat Screen TV with the Roku box plugged into the free HDMI port on my TV using my wi-fi network. It's only a portion of their 100K DVDs but there are plenty of videos in their library that I haven't seen and if I don't like the video, I can move to the next one.

Here are some general notes on my experience:
  • Roku Box - I ordered the $99 Roku HD box with free shipping. Even if you don't have a HD TV, I would order the HD box since you will probably end up upgrading to a HD TV eventually. The HD box supports non-HD TVs.
  • Premium Cables Add On $19.99 - I ordered three premium cables 1) 6' HDMI, 2) 6' Optical Audio and 3) 6' Component Video since you can never have enough cables although my W may argue that point. I ended up using the HDMI cable.
  • Video/Audio Quality - The Roku box plugs directly into my Samsung TV. Since the HDMI cable passes both video and sound, the Roku video quality in HD is unbelievable and the sound is piped out using my Bose Sound System. The sound quality is also outstanding.
  • Internet Connectivity - You can plug the Roku HD box into your either your home wireless network or plug it directly into an open Ethernet port on your router.
  • Setup and Configuration - To activate your Roku box, you will need to link your box to your network and enter your Netflix account. This will require that you enter codes on your computer screen that are generated when you setup your Roku box. The entire process took less than 10 minutes.
  • Roku Remote Control Movie Selection - One of the biggest benefits of using the included Roku Remote Control is that you can easily select titles from your Netflix Watch Instantly Queue that you setup using your computer. It also gives you a summary of the movie if you use the [Down Arrow] and you can scroll through the movies in your queue much like the hotel pay per view video interfaces, the only difference is that you are paying a flat rate of $8.99 to watch any Watch Instantly Movie.
  • Roku Remote Control Movies Fast Forward - When watching a movie, if you want to Fast Forward through some of the scenes, you can can. There is a little lag or buffering time, but I find it's well worth the wait. Especially if you are deciding if you want to continue watching a moview.
  • Roku Remote Control - You can us the Remote Control to delete movies from your queue. This is a great feature.
  • Watching on Other Devices - Even though you buy a Roku, with your Netflix subscription, you can also watch movies on your laptop or your computer. This is a great added benefit.
  • Adding Netflix Movies - You can only do this through your computer. But you can do it from any computer such as your laptop.
  • Other Roku Channel or Services - Using your Roku box, you can also access the Amazon.com Channel and order Pay Per View movies for $4.99 or more. These are basically the same movies you will find on your cable or satellite vendor offering.
  • Facebook Roku Channel - You can also link your Facebook account to view your friends pictures. This may or may not be a great feature depending on what you think of Facebook and if you want to let any of your family members including or W or GF/BF flip through your FB photos.
I'm currently enjoying my Roku Box and Netflix...more later.


Netflix Roku Box 2010 Review, Roku Digital Video Player, Roku HD Box Review

Netflix Roku Box Review - A great service!

Roku Digital Video Player - 2010 Review
For the holidays, I bought a Netflix Roku box for a a family member and me. I subscribed to Netflix for the $8.99 minimum (1 DVD by mail) and now I can watch any of the 17,000 Watch Instantly titles on my Samsung Flat Screen TV with the Roku box plugged into the free HDMI port on my TV using my wi-fi network. It's only a portion of their 100K DVDs but there are plenty of videos in their library that I haven't seen and if I don't like the video, I can move to the next one.

Here are some general notes on my experience:
  • Roku Box - I ordered the $99 Roku HD box with free shipping. Even if you don't have a HD TV, I would order the HD box since you will probably end up upgrading to a HD TV eventually. The HD box supports non-HD TVs.
  • Premium Cables Add On $19.99 - I ordered three premium cables 1) 6' HDMI, 2) 6' Optical Audio and 3) 6' Component Video since you can never have enough cables although my W may argue that point. I ended up using the HDMI cable.
  • Video/Audio Quality - The Roku box plugs directly into my Samsung TV. Since the HDMI cable passes both video and sound, the Roku video quality in HD is unbelievable and the sound is piped out using my Bose Sound System. The sound quality is also outstanding.
  • Internet Connectivity - You can plug the Roku HD box into your either your home wireless network or plug it directly into an open Ethernet port on your router.
  • Setup and Configuration - To activate your Roku box, you will need to link your box to your network and enter your Netflix account. This will require that you enter codes on your computer screen that are generated when you setup your Roku box. The entire process took less than 10 minutes.
  • Roku Remote Control Movie Selection - One of the biggest benefits of using the included Roku Remote Control is that you can easily select titles from your Netflix Watch Instantly Queue that you setup using your computer. It also gives you a summary of the movie if you use the [Down Arrow] and you can scroll through the movies in your queue much like the hotel pay per view video interfaces, the only difference is that you are paying a flat rate of $8.99 to watch any Watch Instantly Movie.
  • Roku Remote Control Movies Fast Forward - When watching a movie, if you want to Fast Forward through some of the scenes, you can can. There is a little lag or buffering time, but I find it's well worth the wait. Especially if you are deciding if you want to continue watching a moview.
  • Roku Remote Control - You can us the Remote Control to delete movies from your queue. This is a great feature.
  • Watching on Other Devices - Even though you buy a Roku, with your Netflix subscription, you can also watch movies on your laptop or your computer. This is a great added benefit.
  • Adding Netflix Movies - You can only do this through your computer. But you can do it from any computer such as your laptop.
  • Other Roku Channel or Services - Using your Roku box, you can also access the Amazon.com Channel and order Pay Per View movies for $4.99 or more. These are basically the same movies you will find on your cable or satellite vendor offering.
  • Facebook Roku Channel - You can also link your Facebook account to view your friends pictures. This may or may not be a great feature depending on what you think of Facebook and if you want to let any of your family members including or W or GF/BF flip through your FB photos.
I'm currently enjoying my Roku Box and Netflix...more later.