Like that Idea has been an online associate for Amazon.com for some time. When Bryan, Karen, or their son like a particular product and recommend it for your family…we talk about it here. Because we like the product so much, we often provide a link to it which gives you an easy option to buy a similar product that we have liked so much. Now it’s time for something slightly different!

We are starting something new as associates with Amazon…it’s called aStore. Basically, aStore allows us to have a store at Amazon for those visiting our Website. From Amazon you get the same service and support for your purchases as you always have. At the same time, we can now offer a store that is Amazon plus our own Like that Idea style added to the mix.

Check out our new Like that Idea store at Amazon. We hope it is an idea that you’ll like!

This is a classic case of constantly learning something new about computers. In fact for those that know more, if you see any mistakes in what I have to say here…feel free to comment and correct me!

A few days ago I mentioned that we optimized the Virtual Private Server that Like that Idea runs on with Zend Optimizer. We didn’t see many improvements, but I think that I made the mistake in assuming what the optimizer did and didn’t do. From my online readings it appears that the Zend Optimizer works best for those applications encoded on a Zend platform (something we do not have). So I went looking elsewhere and found the open source application, eAccelerator.

eAccelerator is a free open-source PHP accelerator, optimizer, encoder and dynamic content cache. It increases the performance of PHP scripts by caching them in their compiled state, so that the overhead of compiling is almost completely eliminated. It also optimizes scripts to speed up their execution. eAccelerator typically reduces server load and increases the speed of your PHP code by 1-10 times.

I installed eAccelerator from the source on the Apache server. Although not as easy as installing the Zend Optimizer, any Web administrator or computer geek worth his or her grain of salt shouldn’t run into any problems installing eAccelerator. Wow, what a difference! Since the install, the server has been running very well and I think everyone should notice the improvements this time around. The VPS contains a variety of Wordpress, Drupal, and SMF sites…and they all are performing well. If I have a need in the future I’ll bring back the Zend Optimizer since eAccelerator is suppose to be compatible with Zend Optimizer.

Why are we seeing eAccelerator perform so much better than the Zend Optimizer? As the product’s name says, Zend Optimizer is an optimizer for your Web Server.? The eAccelerator package on the other hand is not only an optimizer, but also an accelerator, encoder, and caches the dynamic content (like the pages you see here at this site). So we’re not only seeing the CPU work less because of the code being optimized, but we are also seeing less hits to the database on the server because of the caching. In essence, the server is providing pages faster to our readers but having to work less in providing those pages.

Documentation and support for eAccelerator is rather weak, so I can see why those needing more dependable support may want to purchase the Zend products.? However, so far for this little ‘ol VPS from Dakota Hosting is keeping us happy. If we run into problems with eAccelerator or the VPS I’ll let everyone know. Otherwise, this is the last computer geek article for awhile and we return to normal programming. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a book review or product recommendation for the family…one of the original purposes of this site.

If you are like me, you can’t help but use your cell phone while driving. Driving safely with a cell phone in the car is of course a big concern. A few months ago I purchased the Motorola HS850, a wireless (bluetooth) headset for my LG VX8100 cellphone. My eyes are on the road a lot more now than they had been. I’ve tried normal wired ear pieces, but I’ve found that everytime I moved my head I would just feel enough of a pull to glance back down at the cell phone. However, the wireless headset is so light that I forget it’s there even when I’m talking to someone.

What is really neat is that I just press a button on the side of the headset and ask my phone to “Call Someone” and it will right after asking me who to call. Surprisingly, the headset holds a good charge. I only have to recharge the thing about once a week. The headset is bluetooth so in order to use it with your cell phone you’ll need to make sure your phone is also bluetooth compatible.

The Motorola HS850 is my first wireless headset which makes it difficult for me to tell you whether this is the best headset to get or not. I will tell you I did my research and the headset came highly recommended. The sound is is good on my end, but I’ve had a couple people tell me they had some difficulty hearing me. To confuse matters, I’ve also had others said I sounded great…so it’s difficult to know if the problem is with the headset or possibly how far I’m from the cell towers. Either way, I like this headset and I’m very happy with my purchase.

This has been a great, fun learning tool for my son! It was a gift when he was 15 months old and he thoroughly enjoys it. Although he doesn’t yet grasp the enunciation of all the letters, it has given him a good start and he sings the tune of the alphabet song quite well. His only frustration with it was turning the letters to get them to fit for the first year we had it. That is no longer a problem. This is a gift that I am likely to buy for others since it has been so beneficial to us!

Being my first pregnancy, I wanted to do all I could for my baby, to include reading to him and playing music while he was in my womb. I read in one of my pregnancy magazines about Babyplus and was intrigued! I conducted further research and, although a bit skeptical, felt that if it did what it said it would do, it was well worth $150.00. Now, convincing my husband of that was a totally different story!!!! He was very skeptical and felt I was being ?taken? but eventually agreed to a mutual decision to purchase the system.

It is a device that you wear on a belt around your waist. It puts out a ?thump, thump? sound which changes each week. It is recommended that you start just after 4 months (since that is when the baby?s hearing is developed). The theory behind it is that your baby is developing millions of brain cells and, if not utilized, many of them will die. The first week, it sounds very similar to your heart beat but, as you advance each week, the rhythm varies in different tempos; this utilizes those brain cells as the baby is processing the different rhythms he or she is hearing. I wore it for 1 hour at a time, morning and evening. My husband did not like the sound and worried that it was too loud for the baby. I got used to it pretty quickly though, especially since it was supposed to benefit my baby.

After it was all said and done, I had a very healthy boy via natural delivery (no drugs) and his apgar score was 10! He nursed readily and was calm as well as very aware of his surroundings. Initially, he woke up about every 3 hours. At 6 weeks, he would sleep one 5 hour stretch and at 10 weeks, slept one 8 hour stretch. Now, I never knew if that 8 hour period would start at 6 pm or at 11pm so I remained flexible! At 5 months, he would sleep 12 hours and he just turned 2 in September and still sleeps 11 ? 13 hours every night; waking up between 8-9 each morning (which I’ve heard is absolutely not the norm)!

He is very curious and learns very quickly. The things that he picks up on is amazing! We traveled quite a bit with him during his first few years and everywhere we go (even now), people comment on what a good boy he is and how happy he is. As he is starting the terrible two?s, it has not been bad. His temper tantrums are short lived (a minute at the most) and very infrequent (maybe 2 times a week at most), he listens to us and rarely defies what he knows our wishes are. He is so good natured that when he is sick and even has a fever, I rarely know that he is sick by his behavior (i.e., he doesn?t cry and get fussy). I can?t think of a single time in his life that he has cried for more than 2-3 minutes except when we were going through the struggle of teaching him to go to sleep in his bed (at naptime) without one of us there. That struggle only lasted 3 days as well; then he would lie down and go right to sleep without a fuss. I just can?t believe that his behavior and good temperament are totally coincidental or strictly based on good parenting!

All in all, I am convinced that this product works well! It is the BEST money I have ever spent and I recommend it to all my friends who become pregnant. Even just for the hours of sleep I?ve gotten when I know other parents who have one year olds who aren?t on a schedule, it was well worth it! I would not even THINK of having another baby without using the Babyplus!

I would be very interested in hearing from others who have used this product during their pregnancy. Feel free to use the comments box or link below to share your thoughts on Babyplus! Also below, is a link to Amazon where you can purchase the Babyplus!