After calling the the local camera shop, they said it would probably cost $170 (we heard some people reporting $250) just to send the camera into Nikon to be fixed.

Oh, those were the days before the Internet. After a search on the Internet, we found a video tutorial (shown below) of how to fix this exact problem.

The issue was a small trigger in the flash mechanism came off the hinge it pulled back. Simply taking off the flash top cover and placing the trigger back on the hinge did the trick.

A few tips though, open the flash, turn off your camera, and take out the camera’s battery (you may get a little shock otherwise).

I used the Husky 8-in-1 Precision Screwdriver and found that the Phillipss #000 worked best. It took a while to find out how the precision screwdrivers were rated. With Phillips. 1 is big, 0 is smaller, 00 smaller, and 000 the smallest I found.

Nikon D40 Flash Fix from Northern Light Films on Vimeo.

So thanks to Northern Lights for the video tutorial above!

We just went down to the T-mobile store yesterday, and I believe our discount will be 14%.  You just need to bring your AAA card.  The store still had to call T-mobile to get the discount applied, but it was well worth it.  You’ll need to agree to an extension, etc., etc., but if you’re planning on sticking with T-mobile, it’s a no brainer.

I was also informed that if you have a smart phone, you can upgrade your phone each year at the discounted price.  This is a great surprise because for regular phone “upgrades” you have to wait two years.

So, two bits of good news to kick off the weekend!

Google Chrome (the browser) now supports extensions which are really cool. Extensions can help you block ads on pages, track information such as prices on Amazon.com, and much more.

The second great addition is bookmarking sync. With bookmark sync, you can create a uniform experience across the different computers you use, simply sync your bookmarks (click the wrench in the upper right to get started).

Cool stuff.

Ever approached the security line in the airport and begun to wonder where you placed your passport or boarding pass?  With so many compartments in laptop bags and carry-on bags, it’s easy to misplace your passport or other travel documents and begin a frantic search before it’s your turn in the line.  The Rustic River Ticket Organizer is made to help prevent such embarrassing occurrences.

The ticket organizer has pockets to store your passport, tickets, and boarding passes, business cards, and other travel documents.  The organizer is made from genuine cow skin leather and has an Old West style and feel to it.

The organizer measures 9 1/4 by 5  inches and can be found at Rustic River Leather.

Amazon.com

• Amazon posts dozens and dozens of online specials, and for sure, they’ll be updated hourly on the big shopping days, below is the link to their special deals page.
• You can start now on the deals, or after Thanksgiving.  Amazon shows for how much longer or how much stock is left of the items.

Amazon Black Friday and After Thanksgiving Deals

LLG & Company

• Handstands CD/DVD Binders & Insert Pages
• Old Town Photo Albums
• Journals
• Discounts for bulk purchases
• Free shipping on orders over $25 (gift wrap available)

LLG & Company Black Friday and Deals Page

Rustic River Leather

• Refillable Leather Journals
• Gift journals
• Free shipping on orders $25 or more
• 10% off large orders (see site for details)
• Sports Logs (golf logs, hunting logs, fly fishing log journals)

Rustic River Leather Black Friday and Holiday Deals Page

REI

• Ski Equipment
• Coats, hats, etc.

REI Winter Sale & Clearance Page

Walmart

• Walmart is offering instore deals

Walmart instore deals link (enter you zip code once on the site for store deals)

• Online deals include TVs, cameras, toys, and a whole lot of other items

Walmart online deals page

NewEgg

• TV’s Laptops
• Contests

NewEgg Deal page

Target

• All sorts of home items
• Deals change on the page
• Free shipping on lots of items

Target deals page (2 day sale)

Enjoy!

Visit the Marketplace and download the update to Google Maps.  When requesting directions through Google Maps on your Android phone, simply click Navigation and Whammo!  GPS navigation just like the big boys but for free.

You can also navigate through your phone, check emails, etc. and even have the display turned off and the phone will still speak the directions to you.  Your phone may ask you to install the text to speech engine, but the steps are easy, just press “Install.”

The new LLG Protective Case for the iPod Touch is a great case for the iPod Touch.  I tried it out with a second generation iPod Touch which had the Invisible Shield already applied to the case (the Invisible Shield is a thin, clear, protective film applied to the iPod Touch).  As with any device with the Invisible Shield on it, getting it into and out of the case can be tough, but you don’t want your iPod to slip out!

The LLG Case is made from leather but has a firm and durable form, so hopefully, it will protect against drops much better than other cases.  The iPod slips in though the top and all the bottom connector jacks can be easily accessed.

The only downside is that the light sensor seems to be partially hidden by the case, but alas, so it is with the other case I have, but it hasn’t been that much of a bother.

The real benefit is that the LLG case protects the iPod well but will still make it easy to put my iPod in my pocket.

Some of the coolest features are:

• Voice Search
• View your route by Satellite
• View your route by Street View
• Real time updates (maps are current)
• Find businesses, restaurants, with Google Powered search

If you’ve ever tried to use a regular GPS, it takes a long time to try to type in your destination, with The Google Navigator, you just say it.

I have to say that the Satellite and Street Views are awesome.  You’ll be able to see exactly where you are.

The Navigator works on Android 2.0 devices.  Let’s hope 2.0 rolls out to the rest of us in the very near future, because I need this app!

Update: I purchased the Windows 7 upgrade the day it came out.  The upgrade went very well.  One tip though, you need to de-authorize your iTunes Account on your Computer (not the audible account, but the computer), or else Apple might think you’ve authorized a new computer when you upgrade.

After much anticipation, I received my Google Wave invitation from Google.  The service right now is in “Preview” which means some things may not work quite right until the official release.

Right from the start, I was impressed with how it works, and could see this being a game changer for the web.  Good for Google!  And good for us, since we as web users can benefit greatly from it.

I used Wave a bit but soon discovered that there’s not all that much that you can do until you have some contacts in your contact list.   I’ve started to see some of my Gmail contacts appear in the Wave contact list which means that they’re getting Wave too.  It’s great that they’re being added automatically.

I added pictures into a wave.  This feature will be very, very handy for sharing pictures.

I tested out the Yes/No/Maybe widget and it worked.  I did notice the following day that the profile images in the contacts took a while to load, but no other major irregularities so far.

Right now the extensions list has only a handful of extensions, but we hope that to grow quickly.

Google Wave will be incredible once the user base expands past the preview audience and all Gmail account have automatic access to Wave.

The trick will be how many people switch to Wave once it’s released.