Xtronics.ch NewsGadget Magazine
Bond-GPS-Montage
Bond-GPS-Montage
Who said GPS Trackers Were Only For Secret Agents?
We’ve all seen the movies where Bond, Bourne or Bauer (why do their names always begin with a B?) attach a tracker to a car, bad guy or shipment of deadly chemical weapons. But have you ever wished you could be like your favourite hero? Well this year your fantasy becomes reality! Xtronics’s new GPS Tracker category has just hit the website!
Hang On. Why Would I Need A GPS Tracker?
gps tracker
Ok, so not all of us are secret agents, but actually GPS Trackers have so many everyday uses that once you start using them you’ll wonder how you managed without them! They’re small enough to slip into a bag, case or even a car’s glovebox. Furthermore they can also be attached to keychains, car valuables and even cheating husbands’ jackets! GPS Trackers have many different functions to cater for a variety of different situations. Let me explain.
The Xtroncis GPS Trackers have one or more of the following functions:
- Tracker
- Photo Tagger / Data Logger
- Location Finder
- Virtual Perimeter
- Emergency Calling
Let’s look at these functions in more detail. Read on.
GPS Trackers Are No Joker!
Batman-GPS-Tracker
Who wouldn’t want the peace of mind that knowing where your elderly loved ones, kids, valuables or expensive new ride are at all times? The tracking function lets you track the movement of your GPS Tracker (and whatever or whoever it is attached to).
GPS Trackers work a little like a mobile phone. After you insert a SIM card into the device, you can send a text message to it at any time, and it will respond with its GPS coordinates and other data. Some GPS trackers can even be configured to send you their coordinates automatically.
Memento
Photographers, joggers, holidaymakers, suspicious spouses. It’s often really handy to be able to keep a record of your movements over a period of time, especially if you want to retrace your steps another time or want to see a full record of your partner’s movements.
“How was your business trip honey?” “Yeah, fine pretty boring; I hate going to Milwaukee.” “Oh, and there was me thinking you’d been in Vegas!” *GULP* Attach your GPS Tracker to your computer and you can display a full, visual history of the tracker’s whereabouts over whichever period of time you request. Sneaky!
Frequent travellers and photographers will also love the ability to put their photos literally on the map.
If you’re like most people your pictures are barely organised. At best, they might be stuck in a folder on the computer somewhere. Well, with the GPS Tracker’s photo tagger feature (software that accompanies the devices), the way that we organise our photos will change forever.
After you have loaded your logged GPS paths onto your computer, use the photo tagger software to paste your photos and captions onto any point along your path. You can then embed GPS info into your photos and upload them to Flickr Maps so that family and friends all over the world can see your pictures and the exact location where you took them!
Dude, Where’s My Car?
dude wheres my car
Ever been in a huge carpark and lost your car? Ever been camping and lost your way back to your tent in the dark? Before now finding your way might have been difficult and stressful. Now, with simply the push of a button, your GPS Tracker can guide you to your location.
First you have to save the target destination into the device, usually just by pressing a button when you’re at the place you wish to remember. Later when you want to return to that location, just press another button, and arrows on the device will light up to indicate the correct direction. It’s easy!
Prison Break
prison_gps
I was a bit crazy when I was younger. My parents were often worried about where I’d gone, but they had no way of knowing! When my parents used to ask me, “Where are you off to tonight?” I’d inevitably reply, “Out, with my friends.” Now concerned parents need to worry no longer, as with many GPS Trackers you’re able to set a virtual perimeter. If the GPS ventures outside of a boundary that you define, then an alert will be sent immediately to your phone. A great way to be sure that your kids are safe without causing an argument! Now I know what to buy my parents for Christmas…
Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane?
Never be out of touch with your loved ones. If you have elderly relatives or children then you’ll be familiar with that feeling of worry if you’ve not heard from them. Today’s GPS Trackers can not only keep tabs on their position, but also have an emergency calling function where you can actually call or text them (they work in the same way as phones remember), or the holder can call or text you (or whichever number is set as the emergency contact).
So you don’t need to be a spy to benefit from 21st Century spy technology after all! In fact, GPS Trackers can benefit everyone from housewives, adult children with elderly parents to photographers! We’ve all got valuables and people that we care about in our lives, so now the time for sleepless nights has passed with Xtronics’s ingenious GPS Trackers!
Super-GPS-Tracker
How Do I Get GPS Software For My New GPS Tracker?
A good question and one that’s been answered for you by the team here at Chinavasion!
If you’re worried about how to use your new GPS Tracker when you’ve bought it, don’t! Here is my 5 second guide to using them:
- First you need to connect it to your computer and use the included software to add a phone number to send the GPS alerts to.
- Secondly, set up Google Earth (requires installation) or Google Maps (no installation!) on your computer (other map software is available) and request an update from your GPS Tracker when ready.
- Finally, type the coordinates you’re given by your GPS Tracker into the above software and they will show you te whereabouts of the tracker, loved one, cheating partner or bad guy clutching the stolen case of your wives jewellery.
Dear customer,
the whole Xtronics.ch team is proud to tell you, that all our products can now be found on Finder.ch
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Solar Battery Charger for iPhones, iPods, and USB Devices By TheIAppleReviewer
Xtronics Customer Rating: 5 Star average from 3 Customers
Apple products and solar chargers are hot right now (excuse the pun) so it’s no surprise our Solar Battery Charger for iPhones, iPods, and USB Devices has been a hit with customers.
It’s small enough to fit into your pocket/purse without dislodging anything but powerful enough to keep anything up to a laptop running.
Mario from TheIAppleReviewer also discovered you can synch files with the computer while charging via computer.
See his review here: Xtronics.ch – reviews
Xtronics.ch Iapple Charger
CRE Loaded Editions
There are three versions of CRE Loaded, the Community Edition, B2B edition and PRO edition.
Community Edition
This is the free version of CRE Loaded, and comes just PCI PA-DSS Validated with CRE Secure PCI Compliant Payment System integrated and with no form of guarantees or support from the company.
Pro Edition This comes with much the same services as the community edition with a little extra support and guarantees (although one commentator had difficulty with this) At the time of writing the pro option cost a base USD$125 (although that was half of the usual US$250 price), plus additional costs to upgrade to the latest version of the software.
B2B Edition This is the super deluxe version of CRE loaded and comes with everything (including a higher level of service) It cost US$297.50 at the time of writing (although this was again half price from the usual US$595) a cost which included install to one domain. Like the pro edition there would be additional costs for program upgrades.
In general, the CRE Loaded platform, like Zen Cart and Magento is an OSCommerce offshoot that in that it doesn’t host any content and won’t be able to used in conjunction with sites like eBay, Amazon or one of the many eBay alternatives.
And, like OSCommece, Zen cart and Magento, this puts it into the more complex basket because it means that users will be required to know code and how to deal with site hosting companies, domain name brokers and the like.
Like OSCommerce, Zen cart and Magento CRE Loaded is very customizable with a number of different shops being created from the same model. And like the two other platforms it has had a number of add-ons made for it to make it do a number of different jobs.
However, unlike Magento CRE Loaded and Zen Cart are often mentioned in the same breath as being the fastest, most user friendly of the OSCommerce offshoots.
Like many open source projects out there CRE Loaded’s strength is in its number of add ons and, besides the Download controller and Gift Voucher/Coupon features that Zen Cart and Magento has, it also has Newsdesk, FAQdesk, Wishlist, a Google Adsense Banner Module and an Affiliate manager.
It is these add ons which, according to Sean Michael Kerner, writer for the very essential ecommerce-guide.com gives CRE-Loaded the slight edge over Zen Cart (ecommerce-guide.com/resources/product_reviews/article.php/3463941).
Both use PHP 4.1+, MySQL, 3.2.3+
So what are the problems with CRE loaded?
Besides being too complex for people just getting into ecommerce to get up and run with Sean Michael Kerner says that, for the community edition there aren’t the necessary file permission warnings that are needed when transferring your store to a web server that may require you to go back to the server.
According to some users the CRE pro (read paid) version also has some largeish holes as well, including the inability apply percentage discounts to product attributes and the inability to add images to attributes. People have said official support for the paid version is also less than ideal.
And Allan, one of our customers, said that he had used CRE Loaded 6.4 B2B (read the deluxe version) in one of his online shops and had found that the system offered regular categories and multiple sub categories as well as creating buyer groups with the capability of setting different discounts for each of the groups.
Like any of the open source ecommerce platforms there is no shortage of support for people trying to find their way around CRE Loaded and anybody trying to fix problems would be advised to visit the following resources:
CRE Loaded Resources
- CRE Loaded Forums:creloaded.org/forum/
- CRE Loaded Wiki (Crepedia):creloaded.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
- CRE Loaded Knowledge Base:creloaded.com/support/tickets/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=view
So, as you can see, CRE Loaded is perhaps worth looking at if you’ve got some time on your hands and are willing to put the work in.
Let us know what you think of CRE Loaded in the comments below or take part in our polls to let us know which ecommerce platform you run your business with.