FCOM

Pick a Perfect Panel.. Plasma vs. LCD vs. LED

2009-06-19T11:38:00.008-04:00

New York Times writer Eric Taub has written an article expressly to help you, the consumer, figure out which HDTV is best for you. Plasma, LCD or LED.

Myself? 2 years ago I went DLP and have not regretted it. However DLP's are a dying breed with Mitsubishi and Samsung pretty much the only players in the market.

Eric here gives a rundown of the latest marketing angles and some tips on how to make a decision.

~via NYTimes.com

Palm's Comeback: Presenting... The Pre!

2009-06-17T13:17:00.016-04:00

Over the past couple of years, I've given Palm a hard time. I've declared them 'Dead On Arrival'. I thought that the Palm operating system and hardware designs were beyond old and there one time effort to branch into the mini-computing market with the Palm Foleo stupid and misguided (although in retrospect the device, may have been worthwhile if it had been better executed.)

But the all spark in the heart of Palm had not yet been extinguished. Ex-CEO Ed Colligan regrouped, and re-executed new devices that put Palm back on the map.

The Palm Centro turned cell phone users into first time smartphone users. I panned it, but what did my opinion matter, the Centro sales exceeded expectations and kept the Palm brand alive during the lowest period in company's financial history.

Hope returned to my cold heart when palm released the Palm Treo Pro in late November. This ‘smart’ looking smartphone re-established Palm as a worthy competitor to the other smartphone brands (RIM, Nokia, Samsung and upstart Apple with the now 2 year old iPhone).

However this... Is something different.

Introducing - The Palm Pre

With the Pre you'll find Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G high-speed Internet (blindingly fast with Sprint), Bluetooth (including wireless audio), camera with flash, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, tilt sensor, standard headphone jack, 3.1-inch touch screen (320 x 480 pixels).

The Pre sports a brand new operating system (webOS) which has been hailed as the best thing since sliced bre... I mean since the iPhone's touchscreen OS but does it one better a slide out keyboard for texting. Close the keyboard up and rotate Pre for websites, photos, videos or whatever. Yes, it has been tried before by the likes of Samsung and LG, but according to tech guru's such as David Pogue, Palm really got it right this time. He calls the Palm Pre is an 'elegant contender'. It even syncs with iTunes!

Leo Laporte in his weekly netcast praised the Pre for it's size and shape declaring that it is exactly the right size. (He was so enthusiastic in fact that he had to fight off accusations of being bought off for his review by Palm).

A very cool point of the product as well is the wireless recharger called the Touchstone, an angled, magnetic pedestal with an induction charger. Just place the Pre on the Touchstone, it will magnetically attach and begin to charge.

Even upside down!

Palm Pre Touchstone dock's amazing grip from Joel on Vimeo.

Alas one of the few downsides that I have read thus far of the Pre is it's battery life. A full days charge is all that it can seem to hold. But cheer up early adopters, if you recall the 1st gen iPhone's battery life left lots to be desired as well.

Other downsides:

“The Pre’s biggest disadvantage is its app store, the App Catalog. At launch, it has only about a dozen apps, compared with over 40,000 for the iPhone, and thousands each for the G1 and the modern BlackBerry models. Even worse, the Pre App Catalog isn’t finished. It’s immature, it’s labeled a beta, and Palm has yet to release the tools for making Pre apps available to more than a small group of developers." - The Wall Street Journal

"It's not good enough for a smartphone. Each of my thumbs take up the width of four keys, ensuring that only a fingernail approach would get me anywhere near accurate typing. It's a very Centro-like key layout, and each individual key feels slightly too rubbery and sticky to be pleasant. Each key offers lots of resistance and doesn't depress quite enough to get a good tactile feel while typing quickly." - Gizmodo

And the list of grips go on and on...

"It's too sharp" - BoingBoing.com

"The keyboard is too small" - tech.yahoo.com (Reuters).

Yea, I'm dismissing them, because I LIKE this phone, and I'm glad that Palm has proved me wrong and are working hard to place me back on the map. Of course the Jesus-Phone has it's flaws. With the introduction of the (Hallelujah!) model 3GS and OS 3.0 it STILL can't MMS??? and AT&T STILL won't allow it to tether? All still for an arm and a leg? (Okay a finger it is pretty cheap... especially now the 3G). But this smartphone deserves a chance! Because it's... SMART! (like me) Yea, that's it! and better yet. It is the first smartphone that can actually compete in this new iPhone / Blackberry world... Even if it's not perfect... yet.

Overall I think Engadget said it best:

"To put it simply, the Pre is a great phone, and we don't feel any hesitation saying that. Is it a perfect phone? Hell no. Does its OS need work? Definitely. But are any of the detracting factors here big enough to not recommend it? Absolutely not. There's no doubt that there's room for improvement in webOS and its devices, but there's also an astounding amount of things that Palm nails out of the gate."

Specs:
Manufacturer: Palm
Supported email protocols: POP3 , IMAP
Data services MMS , SMS , E-Mail , WAP Push 2.0 Cellular enhancement protocol
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.4 in x 0.7 in x 3.9 in Weight 4.8 oz
Built-in devices Camera , Digital player Operating System / Software
Built-in devices Camera , Digital player Operating System / Software
OS provided Palm webOS Input Device
Input device type Keyboard Messaging / Data Services
Internet Browser
Digital player supported digital audio standards AAC , AMR , MP3 , WAV Display
Display type 3.1 in TFT active matrix Color support 24-bit Max resolution 320 x 480 Expansion / Connectivity
Wireless connectivity Bluetooth, 802.11b/g Wireless LAN

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 out of 5 Very Good
Average user rating: 3.5 out of 5 Very Good

The Good: The Palm Pre's multitasking capabilities and notifications system are unparalleled. The smartphone features a vibrant display with multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration. The Pre offered good call quality and wireless options include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

The Bad: The Pre's keyboard is cramped. Battery life drains quickly and the smartphone can be sluggish at times. Lacks expansion slot, video-recording capabilities, onscreen keyboard, and Flash support. The Pre App Catalog is still in beta with a limited number of titles.

The Bottom Line: Despite some missing features and performance issues that make it less than ideal for on-the-go professionals, the Palm Pre offers gadget lovers and consumers well-integrated features and unparalleled multitasking capabilities. The hardware could be better, but more importantly, Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition but also sets a new standard in the way smartphones handle tasks and manage information.

The Palm Pre is now available from Sprint and rumored to hit Verizon stores in January.

Update! Crunchgear offers a hack tutorial on how to enable tethering and MMS in iPhone OS 3.0.

It's been a long time, Shouldn't have left you...

2009-06-17T13:13:00.006-04:00

March 3, 1942 - February 21, 2009

Right after I promised before that I would never leave again, I went back on my word and I must ask your forgiveness. I realize now that I have to get back to work. She would have wanted me to.

Rest in peace Mom.

Barack's New Blackberry: The Obamaphone

2009-02-20T11:05:00.007-05:00

Someone over at the New Yorker thinks that they have a sense of humor. I think not. Anywho they are in the least imaginative. Check out the Obamaphone's list of features below:
*
1. Oath-of-Office Interactive Memory Game.
2. Press to delete announcements of new Iraq self-government start date.
3. Press to play prerecorded “Love to, but this term’s no good” response to Senator McCain lunch request.
4. Tap to get today’s White Sox 2009 astrological chart.
5. Push for hourly update on Michelle clothing expenditures.
6. Alarm flashes if Malia and Sasha are jumping on Lincoln’s bed.
7. Push to get Rahm Emanuel’s Wisecrack of the Day.
8. Push to set automatic “Line no longer in service” response to incoming Hillary calls.
9. Press to activate simulated busy signal on incoming Caroline Kennedy calls.
10. Push to reset automatic cigarette-break reminder buzzer.
11. Tap once to activate C.I.A. briefing. Tap twice to activate C.I.A.-briefing lie detector.
12. Press to activate simulated nuclear alert ten minutes after Vice-President Biden enters Oval Office.
13. Automatic alert beeps if Al Gore is within one mile of White House.
14. Press to divert incoming Bill calls to Hillary’s number.
15. Press for Mensa chat line.
16. Mute button for twenty-four-hour live CongressCam.
17. Press for Illinois Attorney General’s office Crisis Hot Line.
18. Push once to add another ten billion dollars to bailout plan.
19. Press to refresh current Cabinet roster.

~via Gizmodo

New Hotness: The Swordfish Motorcycle Concept by Alexander Kotlyarevsky

2009-02-19T16:56:00.008-05:00

Hubless motorcycles are the *ish!!!"Bikes with hubless wheels may sound fantastic at the moment, but designers are striving hard at their workshops to make spokeless bikes a reality. Earlier we saw the Hubless monster bike from Amen Design, and now designer Alexander Kotlyarevsky has popped up with a custom motorcycle that too sans spokes and presents a neat and clean look."

"Dubbed ‘Swordfish,’ the new concept bike by the Italian designer presents a curved body with glossy design running on the hubless wheels. I won’t be surprised to see (rather ride) a practical bike with hubless wheels in the days to come."
*

My Verdict?

~via thedesignblog

Deal of the Week: Playstation 3 Gaming Console - $319

2009-02-19T16:14:00.006-05:00

Me and the missus had a light Valentines Day this year. With the recesion in full downswing, it just didn't make too much sense encouraging wanton expenditure with empty wallets.

So we just ordered take out. Cuddled on the floor of our new apartment and enjoyed the time.

However, she did ask me, if I did allow her to buy me something for V-Day, what would I want?

I had only 1 answer.

A Playstation 3 Gaming Console.

Through February 25th Dell is offering an 80 GB PS3 for $319 (use coupon code: PLDWH47D$6BT2J).

Provides a vast array of multimedia activities, all without even inserting a game
Built-in Blu-ray Disc player lets you enjoy high-definition entertainment, including games and movies.

So a couple of days later she wanted to know what I thought about setting aside some cash for a new PS3.

My response?~via Dell

The Cadillac WTF

2009-02-18T16:00:00.002-05:00

Seriously. It's called the "WTF". The Cadillac World Thorium Fuel Vehicle.

"This vehicle was designed with high-quality materials that are build to resist 100-years of daily use. There are redundancies built for all the major systems of the vehicle so even if something were to fail on the vehicle it would continue to function."

"This is why the vehicle has 24 wheels with individual internal induction motors. The vehicle would require the tires to be adjusted every 5 years, but no material would need to be added or subtracted."

Ummm.

Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.

~via Corolot

Whisky Tango Foxtrot!? Humping USB Dog

2009-02-11T17:08:00.009-05:00

It could have been a USB drive if they had used a brain cell or 2 more. But Nooooo! All this stupid thing does is.. You guessed it. Hump. Your. Computer.

"Bizarre and unashamedly pointless."

Whaddaythink Conan?

Columbo??
Kitty???

I guess that says it all? ROTFL!

~via boysstuffuk

Please! Pick my Ride!!!

2009-02-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

In this episode of 'Please!!! Pick My Ride', I receive an email from a man who was in the market for a surprise for his lovely wife. A brand new car! He wanted to know was the best, safe, small car bang for his buck... and he already had an idea of which cars he thought would be best.

I used MSN Auto and Edmunds.com in order to review all of his options (plus some) and created side by side comparisons using the Jetta as the base. I also used Consumer Reports to see which one of the below competitors they believed to be the 'best in class'. I also added the Mazda3 for comparison as it is a favorite among auto journalists as well as a downright hoot to drive. Also, I have actually driven 2 of the cars on his list recently which is a plus.

The 4 rides in question are:
*
The 2009 Honda Civic

I was pleasantly surprised by the Civic. It handled well and was got great gas mileage which the reviewers agree with. However, acceleration is kind of slow (does his wife have a lead foot?) and the 2 tiered dashboard may take time to get used to. Otherwise, I recommend looking at the 2009 Honda Fit Sport as I've heard great things about it.
"The Civic has responsive handling and a steady, compliant ride. Road noise is pronounced. The 1.8-liter engine returned 28 mpg with the automatic and 31 mpg with the manual. The hybrid returned 37 mpg overall. Standard safety equipment includes ABS and curtain air bags, but ESC is available on the EX-L, Hybrid, and Si. Crash-test results are impressive." - Consumer Reports.org Retail MSRP: $15,305 Average: $23,455
Fuel Economy (City): 26 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg
NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.46 star(s)
Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.25 star(s)
Rear Headroom: 35.1 in. Average: 37.11 in.
NHTSA Front Side Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.43 star(s)

MSN Expert Rating: 8.6 out of 10
MSN Auto User Rating: 7.9 out of 10
Consumer Reports Test Score: 60

The 2009 Subaru Impreza Sport

According to the reviews, the Subie's downside (other than the radical face-lift) is the fuel economy which is caused by the standard AWD, which ironically however helps to make the Impreza the safest. Turns out that Mr. Nice Guy has long standing relationship as a Subaru customer, could he possibly use that as leverage and get a deal?
"The new 2008 Impreza uses a carryover four-cylinder and four-speed automatic. Standard AWD hurts performance and fuel economy, at just 23 mpg overall. The ride is compliant and handling remains agile. The cabin is roomier, particularly the rear seats. Materials are somewhat nicer than in the older car. ESC is standard and crash-test scores are impressive." - Consumer Reports.org

Retail MSRP: $17,495 Average: $23,455
Fuel Economy (City): 20 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg
NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.46 star(s)
Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.25 star(s)
Basic Warranty: 36 months/36,000 miles Average: 40 months/41,457 miles
NHTSA Rear Side Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.25 star(s)

MSN Expert Rating: 8.6 out of 10
MSN Auto User Rating: 9.7 out of 10
Consumer Reports Test Score: 89

The 2009 Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a very good value and has always been known to be very reliable.

"The rather bland redesigned Corolla is a good small sedan. The 1.8-liter engine is a carryover, and the 2.4-liter is found in the XRS trim. Electronic stability control is easier to find in this generation, and curtain air bags are standard. We got a very impressive 32 mpg overall in our test of the 1.8-liter, the best for a current nonhybrid or diesel four-door sedan." - Consumer Reports.org

Alternatively, the Yaris is a very cute and roomy alternative although while I believe it is worth a look honestly the reviews aren't as strong as the others in this group.

Retail MSRP: $15,530 Average: $23,455
Fuel Economy (City): 26 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg
NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.46 star(s)
Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.25 star(s)
NHTSA Passenger Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.47 star(s)
Power to Weight Ratio: 20 lb/hp (average: 17.31 lb/hp)

MSN Expert Rating: 8.7 out of 10
MSN Auto User Rating: 8.9 out of 10
Consumer Reports Test Score: 71

And the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta

The Jetta is a good car as well. It holds up well vs it's competitors here, although according to the CR Ratings the Impreza ranks higher. I rented one to drive up to Buffalo to visit my sister recently and I loved it although, I found it to be not as fun as it's sibling VW Rabbit. Also the Jetta is probably the largest of this bunch (more of a sedan than small car) and wouldn't be as nimble or tossable as let's say the Rabbit or the Mazda3.
"The Jetta has a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine and optional 2.0-liter turbo. We found the ride comfortable and handling agile. The interior is very roomy. IIHS crash-test results are impressive. Reliability of the 2.5-liter has improved to average. A new cleaner, more modern CRD (common rail diesel) diesel version returns for 2009 and is available in all 50 states." - Consumer Reports.org

Retail MSRP: $17,340 Average: $23,455
Fuel Economy (City): 21 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg
NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.46 star(s)
Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.25 star(s)
Front Legroom: 41.2 in. Average: 41.86 in.
NHTSA Passenger Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.47 star(s)
MSN Expert Rating: 7.9 out of 10
MSN Auto User Rating: 9.6 out of 10
Consumer Reports Test Score: 84

This is a tough choice. Especially considering all of the other great choices available to them such as:

The 2009 Mazda3

Retail MSRP: $14,690 Average: $20,895; Fuel Economy (City): 24 mpg. Average: 22.15 mpg; NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.5 star(s); Rear Side Crash Test: 3 star(s) Average: 4.51 star(s)

MSN Expert Rating: 7.5 out of 10; MSN Auto User Rating: 9.5 out of 10; Consumer Reports Test Score: 90

The 2009 VW Rabbit

Retail MSRP: $15,600 Average: $17,5795; Fuel Economy (City): 22 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg; NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.5 star(s); Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.51 star(s)

MSN Expert Rating: 8.0 out of 10; MSN Auto User Rating: 9.1 out of 10; Consumer Reports Test Score: 86And the 2009 Honda Fit

Retail MSRP: $14,750 Average: $18,960; Fuel Economy (City): 22 mpg. Average: 22.11 mpg; NHTSA Driver Front Crash Test: 4 star(s) Average: 4.5 star(s); Rear Side Crash Test: 5 star(s) Average: 4.51 star(s)

MSN Expert Rating: 9.0 out of 10; MSN Auto User Rating: 9.5 out of 10; Consumer Reports Test Score: N/AIn the end I advised the client to check out the Corolla and the Subie first to see how they like those 2 cars as I believe that they are designed from very different perspectives. Then move on to the Jetta and Civic if they feel the need to keep looking. Again 2 different perspectives.

The Winner?

Well to be honest the recession has placed my clients purchase decision on pause, however, in my opinion they are all great cars and the decision should come down to one of which ever one his wife is most passionate about about owning. Whichever ride connects her best to the road... and of course makes her look good.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they buy.

*(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

New Hotness: The Apple ModBook Pro.. Sort of.

2009-02-04T11:53:00.006-05:00

Recently I helped a client purchase a Tablet PC. She has really wanted one since they hit the market a few years ago, but never seemed to find one she really liked until recently (I'll post on that one later).

Recently I found a solution for those who want a Tablet with an Apple OS. Markets solution hardware customizer Axiotron has modified the Apple MacBook Pro into Axiotron's award-winning tablet Mac® with system performance improvements and new features.

"It has been re-engineered to offer both pen and touch input, with Axiotron's Quicktouch interface enabling complete control over Mac OS X. Of course, it also packs all the tantalizing technology found in the normal MBP, including an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at up to 2.8 GHz, up to 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics, FireWire 800, Mini DisplayPort, and more."

This thing is HOT!

*Prices starting at $5000...

via Uncrate

Wednesday is Officially 'Whisky Tango Foxtrot!?!' Day

2009-02-04T11:32:00.011-05:00

WTF?!

Bras... That Double as Shopping Bags?!

"When the bra is being worn, the 'shopping bag' portions are folded away inside the bra cups, where they serve as extra padding. The bra quickly converts to a shopping bag by removing the bag portions from the cups and connecting the hooks on the bra?s underwire. The lace cups serve as decoration along with the shoulder straps, which are disconnected and tied to the top of the bag as ribbons."

The company is doing this to promote the reduction of plastic bag consumption, which in Japan is equal to 30 billion bags, or two oil tankers worth of raw materials, 30% of which never gets recycled.
*

I can think of a few jokes right now... But it's probably best I keep them to myself.

What do you think Quagmire?

'Giggity?????'

via TechEBlog

Which Route should I take?

2009-02-02T16:06:00.020-05:00

Well it looks like Mrs. 'ZOMG' needs some accessories to go with her brand new purchase. She contacted me and inquired if I could advise her about purchasing a wireless router to connect her new iMac and her 2 Windows laptops and as well as an external hard drive for backup storage.

This is what I had in mind for a router... As it works well with both Macs and PC's with good reviews all around.

AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n and AirTunes

Lightweight and compact, AirPort Express is built for mobility, so you can create an instant wireless network at your hotel, job site, or wherever you need one.
802.11n Wireless with easy-to-use AirPort Utility — Available for both Mac OS X and Windows. Ability to Print without wires, print documents, photos, and more from any room in the house to one central USB printer.
Play the music from your computer's iTunes library through a set of speakers or stereo in just about any room in your home — wirelessly.

Some of the best storage back up systems I have read about to date are:

The Seagate FreeAgent

Inexpensive, great value for price (range of products and prices vary - The 320GB FreeAgent starts at $100.) The FreeAgent Go drive provides plenty of capacity for comfortably storing all your files. It’s formatted for Mac and is Time Machine-ready, so you can get up and running in a flash. It offers lightning-fast transfer of your digital content with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 interfaces.

Plus, it’s the world’s first portable drive that includes a convenient desktop dock and travel case. Simply pop your drive into the FreeAgent dock whenever you want to access your files - no more fumbling for cables.

"Sleek design for easily carrying photos, music, and data everywhere. Lightning-fast data transfer with FireWire 800 and USB interfaces for convenient travel with durable carrying case and compact FireWire and USB cables. Quick installation and operation with Mac formatting and Time Machine-readiness. Energy savings by using one small drive for both mobile and desktop needs; also supports."

DroboSimple, easy to use, but pricey at $400 to $500.

One to four 3.5” SATA I or SATA II hard disk drives with FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 compatible) and USB 2.0.

Dimensions: 6.0” width x 6.3” height x 10.7” length.
Weight: 6 lbs. 11.3 ozs. (without power supply, hard drives or packaging).
Includes: Drobo storage robot, external power supply (100v-240v) with U.S. 110v power cord, FireWire 800 cable.

"Drobo takes the pain and confusion out of data protection and lets you tailor and expand the drive according to your needs. This so-called storage robot works exactly as promised and is the most innovative storage device we've seen in a long time - Cnet."

SimpleTech Signature Mini 320GB

Good price. Compact. Is it a nice design? Meh.

SimpleTech's range of products and prices also vary. They have large capacities for a travel drive, are very compact and light; bus powered with good bundled backup software. They are also cool and quiet in operation. It comes with a three-year warranty and two free gigabytes of online storage.

Portable, stylish 320 GB Hard Drive with USB 2.0 connection.
Stylish design by Ferrari designer Pininfarina.
Powered by USB bus; no AC adapter necessary.
320 GB capacity, USB 2.0 (4-pin B), 2.5 inch long form factor.
Data transfer rate: 480 Mbs / Rotational speed: 5400 RPM.
Dimensions: 3.0 x 0.625 x 5.0 inches (W x H x D).

My recommendation?

You all may bark at this, but I recommend the Apple Time Capsule.. A combo wireless router / back up storage device. I like convergence and although I usually worry about things like combo TV/DVD's... I like this idea.

Apple's Time Capsule

The combination wireless router and external hard drive provides backup for Mac OS X Leopard automatic backup with Time Machine.
Time Capsule's server-grade storage works automatically with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard to create the the perfect no-hassle backup solution.
There are no cables, so you can back up all the computers in your home to a central location.
The massive 500GB or 1TB server-grade hard drive gives you all the capacity and safety you need for backing up all your Macs.
Connect your DSL or cable modem to Time Capsule and quickly create a new wireless network — or extend an existing AirPort-based network — using the easy-to-use AirPort Utility for Mac and PC.
Time Capsule uses next-generation 802.11n wireless technology to deliver up to five times the performance and up to twice the range of 802.11g wireless networks.
Time Capsule also works great as a wireless hard drive whether you have a Mac or PC.
It sets up in a snap, giving you a networked hard drive you can use for storing and sharing any kinds of files.
Print without wires, Print documents, photos, and more from any room in the home or office to a central printer connected to Time Capsule via USB.
Strong security and access control.
Protect yourself with the built-in firewall and industry-standard encryption technologies including WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP.
Works with iPhone, Apple TV and more.
Time Capsule works flawlessly with Apple TV, iPhone, iPod touch, and all your other Wi-Fi devices that use the 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n draft 2.0 wireless standards.

"Apple's new Time Capsule incorporates both a wireless router and a hard drive into the same product. The Time Capsule, which comes in 500GB (for $299) and 1TB (for $499) varieties is the most advanced product on the market. Its price is also fair compared with a separate router and network-attached hard drive. Mac owners and the space or design conscious should consider the Time Capsule if they're in need of a router upgrade." - CNet

It works with Windows and Macs and will automatically back up data from the Mac machine and works as a print & music server.

What more could you want or need?

Deal of the Week! The Dell Mini9 Netbook

2009-01-30T16:37:00.012-05:00

*Refurbished!

I really like these things. I'm considering buying one for my Karen for Valentines Day...

(Shhhhhh!)

Right now, Dell is selling its refurbished Mini 9 Netbook for $178!

This netbook features a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB solid-state hard drive, and Ubuntu Linux. It's available in Alpine White or Obsidian Black.

While it definitely can't do much (or any) power computing, it can be used as a great secondary email / web surfing device.

Check it out!

Via The Cheapskate

Which iMac should iBuy?

2009-01-30T15:51:00.006-05:00

I received a call from an old colleague. She and her husband were finally ready to plunk down a chunk of change on a new personal computer. In the past when they have come to me regarding thoughts of a new purchase, they have always asked… Should we go Mac or PC?

I have been a fan of PC’s for a looong time, since my dad bought me my first. However, while in college the Apple Macintosh was the #1 favorite for getting our papers in on time. The IBM PC crowd tended to be used only by those whose majors required the use of business tools.

Since then, my required tool for my day job has always been a PC. I grew accustomed to their quirks. I pulled them apart in attempt to repair their physical issues,. I stayed up late often troubleshooting the dreaded blue screen of death.

Like most relationships, I grew used to their flaws and accepted them as members of my family while at the same time bemoaning Apple lovers as misguided fan boys. I even derided the much loved iPod until a little over a year ago when I first decided to cross the tracks to the ‘wrong side’ and seek out the enemy.

Since then, I’ve grown to love all things Apple. While I still appreciate a good PC. Apple PC’s still take the cake. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post:

1)Apple computers actually have a much less incidence of picking up viruses and malware just because there aren't as many Macs as there are PC's on the market.

2)While a fully loaded Mac may cost more than a Windows (or Linux) computer, there's a lot of bang for your buck. Mac computers come loaded to the hilt.

3)Dispelling the myth, documents produced or created on a PC (i.e. Office documents, adobe acrobat files, music) WILL work on a Mac. (My friend's purchase would include Microsoft Office for Apple.)

4)Apple provides up to 3 years of support (and the advantage of on-site service and the accessibility of an Apple-authorized technician at an Apple store or other locations.

5)In store classes for tutorials.

6)No upgrade nightmares.

7)Macs can even run Windows now!

So when people ask? I tell them. If you can afford it, buy a Mac. If you can’t, but a PC.

So then my esteemed former colleague and her husband decided that the day had come to take my advice and made a call.

Her: “Okay. We want an Apple.”
Me: “Great! Macbook?”
Her: “No. An iMac”
Me: “Great! 24inch?”
Her: “Uhhhh.”

Basically the conundrum had then become, which iMac to buy. As there are 4 models to choose from:

…which where I come in.

As usual, I scoured the web for my research:

From MacWorld:

'The new 20-inch iMacs show strong color and contrast shifts when viewed at an angle instead of straight on.'

'The new low-end iMac, a 2.4GHz 20-inch model, had a Speedmark score that was 26 points higher (13 percent faster) than the previous low-end model, a 2GHz 20-inch iMac. Also, the new 2.4GHz 20-inch iMac scored 9 points lower than the older midrange iMac, a 2.4GHz 20-inch model. But as we pointed out in our earlier Macworld Lab benchmark report of the new iMacs, the older 2.4GHz 20-inch iMac that we tested had a larger hard drive and a better graphics card than the new entry-level model, which explains the speed difference.'

'There’s a considerable performance gap between the new $1,499, 2.66GHz 20-inch iMac and the new $1,199, 2.4GHz 20-inch model. The 2.66GHz model’s Speedmark score was 24 points higher than the 2.4GHz model, a 10 percent difference. If you spend the extra money for the 2.66GHz model, you not only get a speed boost, but also more RAM (2GB versus 1GB), a bigger hard drive (320GB versus 250GB), and a better video card (256MB Radeon HD 2600 PRO versus a 128MB Radeon HD 2400 XT). The extra $300 is worth it.'

'The 2.66GHz 20-inch iMac offers a nice blend of price and performance; it’s a better value than the 2.4GHz iMac. The 2.8GHz iMac, in all its 24-inch glory, is a stunning machine and is bound to make an impression in your home or office.'

Unfortunately, the one major thing we didn’t like about the first-generation aluminum iMac—the poor viewing angle on the 20-inch screen—hasn’t changed for the better.'

From LowendMac:

'Comparing the 2.66 GHz and 2.4 GHz Penryn iMacs, we estimate 11% more processing power, not enough to justify the 24% price premium even taking into account the bigger hard drive (320 GB vs. 250 GB) and an extra gigabyte of RAM (about $40 on the open market). Bang for the buck, the new entry-level iMac wins. Spend part of your savings on a 4 GB memory upgrade ($80-100), and buy a larger hard drive only if you need it.'

From PrimateLabs:

'If you’re looking for the best value in terms of raw processing power, the best iMac to get is the base model. Even after upgrading the RAM in the base model it’s still more cost-effective than the mid-range 20-inch iMac.'

That said, this analysis only takes processor and memory performance into account. It doesn’t take into account the extra features you get with each model, like larger hard drives and better video cards. Personally, I’d recommend the 2.66 GHz 20-inch iMac; the extra hard drive space and video memory offset the slight disadvantage it has against the 2.4 GHz 20-inch iMac in terms of value.

A number of folks have pointed out that this comparison doesn’t take into account the differences in screens between the 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs; not only is the 24-inch iMac larger, but it also comes with a better display capable of showing more colors. This was something I thought about when I was writing this post, and I came to the conclusion that if you want larger or better screen, you’re going to get it. You’re not going to even consider the 20-inch iMac.'

From Cnet:

'Apple's smaller-scale iMac remains our favorite all-in-one. And while its looks, its ease of use, and its performance are all selling points, Windows PCs are starting to catch up (at least with the latter). A few components could also stand an update, but in general you'll find the 20-inch iMac a remarkable computer for its price.'

Well, I didn't believe that they were in the market for a 24inch (although I LOVE the size), so the consensus was that the 2.66GHz 20 inch iMac was the better deal for them. If they spent the extra money for the 2.66GHz model, not only would they get a speed boost, but also more RAM (2GB versus 1GB), a bigger hard drive (320GB versus 250GB), and a better video card (256MB Radeon HD 2600 PRO versus a 128MB Radeon HD 2400 XT). The extra $300 is worth it.' However, if they could indulge, the The 2.8GHz iMac, in all its 24-inch machine is a stunner!

After I shared the above, they agreed to go for the 20inch iMac 2.66GHz model.

A week later, I received a phone text message. It seems they had a change of heart.

Her: “ZOMG! The 24inch is FANTASTIC!”
Me: “Wait, you bought the 24?!”
Her: “Yes, ZOMG we love it!”
Me: “ZOMG!”
Her: “ZOMG!”

Time Out!

2009-01-30T10:28:00.003-05:00

I'm baaack!

Sorry all. The end of year is an unusually busy time for my 9 to 5 and it becomes difficult to find any additional free time. I promise never to let it happen again.

During my time out, I've offered advice on some new devices.. Xmas gifts and the like.. as well as provided some technical support for some new clients... A new sidegig? Could be.

In the meantime... Please, read on.

TGI...Black Friday

2008-11-28T04:00:00.000-05:00

The NYTimes Gadgetwise has posted a Black Friday Shopping Survival Guide with some tips to make sure your thanking the big guy above for your deals and not cursing misfortune.

'First, you’ll need to know who has the best discounts. There is no shortage of Web sites offering previews of Black Friday sales, which are often obtained by scanning advertisements that will appear in newspapers today and tomorrow. These sites include Black Friday @GottaDeal.com, iBlackFriday.com, Black Friday Gear, Black Friday Ads, BlackFriday.info, and TheBlackFriday.com. My favorite among the preview sites is TGI Black Friday. It’s well-organized, easy to use, and comprehensive. '

Read on for more tips here.

And don't forget about CyberMonday!!!

via Gadgetwise

Black Friday @ Best Buy..

2008-11-14T16:34:00.002-05:00

Blackfriday.info also has the new ad for Best Buy as well...

Samsung Blu-Ray Player - $199.99

Western Digital 1TB My Book Home Edition External Hard Drive - $149.99

Assorted Blu-Ray Titles - $16.99

Assorted DVD Titles - from $4.99

Samsung 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - $699.99

Can you spare a dime? Or the time? Then it can't hurt to check it out.

~via blackfriday.info

Circuit Sh.. er.. City's Black Friday Ad

2008-11-14T16:24:00.004-05:00

Don't know if the chain will make it to see Black Friday, but blackfriday.info has found the ad for November 28 deals...

SanDisk 1GB MP3 Player Express for $16.99

HP Pavilion laptop for $399

Good deals on video games

DVDs from $3.99

$100 off select Garmin GPS units

$99 Tom Tom GPS

Blu-ray discs from $8.99

SmartParts 5.6-inch digital photo frame for $41.99

To be honest, the smartest deals here? Are the DVD's. If you're into maintaining a movie library (I ain't) here's a good place to start.

Check to see the rest of the ad here.

~via CrunchGear

Bond 22 - Gadgets Galore

2008-11-13T16:25:00.009-05:00

No, that's not the name of Bond's new main squeeze for those of you that remember P. Galore from Goldfinger, although it would be tight if JB could have a cool sexy secretary (MoneyPenny) or a new quartermaster ('Q') to go along with the first female 'M' played by Dame Dudi Dench.

Gadget's galore is what I am hearing can be found in the second installment of the rebooted movie franchise based on the books by Ian Flemming. 'Cool, believable technology'.

Although the reviews I've heard thus far from around the globe have been mixed, I really dug Casino Royale and have already invested myself in anticipation of some cool action, special effects and some Aston Martin hoonage. I'll see tomorrow as I plan to take the missus to check it out. In the meantime, check out the trailer.

Quantum of Solace (Rated PG-13)
Director Marc Forster
Writers (WGA):Paul Haggis (written by) and Neal Purvis (written by)
Release Date: 14 November 2008 (USA)
Plot: Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply.

Daniel Craig - James Bond
Olga Kurylenko - Camille
Mathieu Amalric - Dominic Greene
Judi Dench - M
Gemma Arterton - Strawberry Fields (Seriously?)
Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter

Update 14 Nov 2008: Roger Ebert has written his review and given 2 out of 4 stars. Here's his take on the newest Bond girl...

"In "Quantum of Solace" he will share no cozy quality time with the Bond girl (Olga Kurylenko). We fondly remember the immortal names of Pussy Galore, Xenia Onatopp and Plenty O'Toole, who I have always suspected was a drag queen. In this film, who do we get? Are you ready for this? Camille. That's it. Camille. Not even Camille Squeal. Or Cammy Miami. Or Miss O'Toole's friend Cam Shaft."

I'm still planning to go see it, but I suggest you give Eberts review a read before you go or even only if you just want a good read. The guy is hilarious.

...and I hear he dated Oprah. Good goin' Roger! Who knew!?
*
via imdb & rogerebert.com

iPhone Kicks Butt.. Beats Razr to #1 in the US, Beats Blackberry to #2 in the World..

2008-11-10T14:06:00.007-05:00

A year and a half into the cellphone biz, Apple now has a higher global marketshare than Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of the Blackberry line of Smartphones. Second only to Nokia, Apple's 17.3% share beats out RIM's 15.2% but is belittled by Nokia's 38.9% although the Finnish cellphone giant has seent its share drop more than 12% from last year.

Domestically, for the first time in 3 years, Apple’s iPhone 3G surpassed the Motorola RAZR as the leading handset purchased by adult consumers in the U.S. in Q3 of 2008 according to The NPD Group, the leader in market research for the wireless industry.

Below are the top handset sales in the U.S. in rank order:

Apple iPhone 3G

Motorola RAZR V3

RIM Blackberry Curve

LG Rumor

LG enV2

This is a watershed moment for handset sales in the US

'Hey Razr, there's a pwncall for you... It's the iPhone!'

Ha!

~via Engadget

Let the Black Friday Deals Begin.. with Dell

2008-11-10T11:54:00.006-05:00

With the economy in the crapper, I feel it's kinda not a good look to start posting too many.. 'Oh lookie at this really cool deal on a gadget you can't afford!' articles, but I can't ignore the annual day after Thanksgiving events that people seem to go absolutely bonkers for. I was in Georgia last year and spotted hundreds of people forgoing Turkey-Day altogether to get in line early for some money saving madness.

Well, it's almost that time of year again and it looks like Dell has already posted their Black Friday deals online:

Dell Inspirion 530 Desktop E-Value Code 16254-DDPHDD1 - $479.00

Dell Inspiron 13 Laptop E-Value Code 16254-DNPHWD1 - $699.00

Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop 15.4" Widescreen E-Value Code 16254-DNPHPD4 - $559.00

Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop 15.4" Widescreen E-Value Code 16254-DNPHPD5 - $649.00

Dell Inspiron 518 Desktop E-Value Code 16254-DDPHOD1 - $549.00

Dell Inspiron 530s Desktop E-Value Code 16254-DDPHFD1 - $299.00

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Laptop 8.9" E-Value Code 16254-DNPHXD2 - $299.00

Dell Studio 15 Laptop 15.4" E-Value Code 16254-DNPHUD2 - $699.00

Dell Studio 17 Laptop 17" E-Value Code 16254-DNPHVD2 - $799.00

Dell Studio Desktop E-Value Code 16254-DDPHMD1 - $749.00

Dell Studio Hybrid E-Value Code 16254-DDPHLD1 - $699.00

Dell XPS 420 Desktop E-Value Code 16254-DXPHQY1 - $649.00

Dell XPS M1330 13.3" Laptop E-Value Code 16254-DYPHTE1 - $1029.00

Dell XPS M1530 15.4" Widescreen Laptop E-Value Code 16254-DYPHHE1 - $1029.00

Digital CamerasCanon Powershot SD1100 8MP 3x Zoom Digital Camera - $159.99

DVD PlayersSony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray Disc Player - $249.99

ElectronicsSmartparts 7" Digital Picture Frame - $44.99

GPS Navigation SystemsMagellan 1400 GPS Navigation Unit - Free With Select LaptopsPharos PDR200 GPS - $94.99

Hard DrivesWestern Digital 1TB My Book World Edition Network Storage - $169.99

Home TheaterSony HDX275 Home Theater System - $229.99

MonitorsDell SE198WFP 19" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor E-Value Code 16254-DMPHWC1 - $129.00

MP3 PlayersCreative Labs Zen Mozaic 8GB MP3 Player - $74.99

Networking & WirelessLinksys WRT110 Rangeplus Wireless Router - $39.99

SoftwareNorton 360 2.0 All In One Security Software - $9.99

TelevisionSharp 42" 1080p LCD HDTV - $779.00

Video GamesXBOX 360 Arcade With 7 Games Including Rock Band 2 - $199.00

Looks like they have some good stuff. That X-Box 360 looks like an extremely good deal. Too bad I want a PS3.

~via BlackFriday.info

Circuit Shitty Goes Broke... Last Seen Circling the Crapper.

2008-11-10T11:21:00.010-05:00

I TOLD YA SO!

According to the press this morning, Circuit City, no. 2 electronics retailer after Best Buy*, filed for Chapter 11 protection. This after closing 155 stores last week and firing 20% of their workforce. It looks like they've decided to tread water in an attempt to reorganize against the fierce competition from Best Buy and mega-conglomerate Walmart.

In my opinion, the beginning of the end was when their former CEO decided that he didn't want to pay "senior" experienced and knowledgeable employees and gave them the choice of leaving the company or accepting a much lower salary (duh?). Of course the smart staff left (probably over to Best Buy) and were replaced with inexperienced people who couldn't tell you much about the products the company sold.

An entire city, almost gone.

*Remember kids! No. 2 is just another word for POOP!

~via Bloomberg

New Smartness: The Palm Treo Pro

2008-11-01T20:26:00.008-04:00

I’ve given Palm a hard time lately. And I’ve loved Palm’s past products. The previous few Treo model designs had become dated, the OS old. As a matter of fact, Palm has not released a true update to their operating system in over 4 years.

Last year Palm hit a road bump with the stillborn Foleo, an ultraportable mobile PC device that required another Palm device (i.e. Treo, Centro) to connect with the internet. The price (in my opinion) was prohibitive, but at least it would have opened the door to another market for Palm and they could compete with the slew of other ultra-portable PC’s now hitting the market like the HP Mini-Note or the Eee PC.

Since I last wrote about Palm’s offerings, (and the Foleo’s early demise) they have stated that they were going to go back to the drawing board and come back with something new.

A good beginning to Palm’s comeback was the inexpensive Centro which was quickly penned as a very good introduction to the smartphone market for someone with no experience with one. Even the though Palm incorporated the aging OS 5 (oooooooold!), the cellphone sold smartly.

And now finally, Palm has brought a real competitor to the ring…

The Palm Treo Pro
The new device features tri-band UMTS, quad-band GSM, GPS, 802.11b/g, a 320 x 320 touchscreen display, 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM, a 2-megapixel camera, support for microSDHC cards up to 32GB... and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. A great new beginning for a line of phones that were beginning to lag sorely behind the rest of the pack. Another thing. The Pro will run Windows Mobile instead of a newer version of the Palm OS. The fact that the mobile operating system by Microsoft (12% global market share) has an ever growing fanbase perhaps is a reason. (Nokia’s Symbian is the number 1 OS found in the world – 51% followed by Blackberry - 17%)

I will say this, The Palm Treo Pro is a right ‘smart’ looking phone and for a contract-free $549 here in the States, it immediately becomes a competitor to other smartphones with similar features such as the HTC Touch and Nokia’s N and E lines of intelligent designs.

However, since most people in the U.S. rely on carrier subsidies for phone purchases, it will remain to be seen if the new Treo Pro sells well until that happens. Rumor has it that carrier may be AT&T.

In my opinion this is a very good reboot for Palm’s Treo franchise, but with other smartphones such as the iPhone and a number of new RIM Blackberry and HTC products, Palm may be arriving too late to the party. To be honest, I hope not. I want this one to win.

~via Engadget

New Hotness... Literally! Battery Powered Heated Gloves

2008-10-31T17:01:00.011-04:00

Like I've mentioned in a previous thread, the baby sister is attending college in the North Pol.. er.. Upstate New York and the fam has taken to sending her all kinds of care packages to make her stay more comfortable.

Just last week, me and the S.O. bought her a new down fill coat for the really cold days. Well, while perusing Productdose.com, I came across these beut's...

'Slip on a battery-powered thermal glove liners before you put on your gloves and stay warmer this winter. These glove liners are designed with a built-in heater that will keep your hands warm for up to six hours per-charge'

Each thermal glove liner is individually controlled and has 3 levels of soothing warmth and use three AA batteries per glove.

They seem safe. I would be shocked if she got electrocuted or something while having say... a snowball fight???

Get it?

Shocked! ('Snicker!')

~via Productdose available from Amazon.com

Fight Club! Creative Zen vs. The Archos 605

2008-10-30T16:40:00.009-04:00

My friend Tiwari in Mumbai sent me a quick note recently… He needed to know which would make a better PMP (Portable Media Player) The Creative Zen or the Archios 605. I didn't know but after I looked into it a bit, I realized that they were both pretty good players.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Contender Match-up:

In this corner.. the thrilla’ from… uh… from Milpitas, California weighing in at just 2.3 ounces…
*
The Creative Zen! (Cheer! Yaaaaah!) - 4GB model - Price $85

General

Product type Digital player / radio
PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
Digital player signal-to-noise ratio 97 dB
Flash memory installed 16 GB Integrated
Dimensions (W x D x H) 3.3 in x 0.4 in x 2.2 in
Voice recording capable
Software type Creative ZENcast Organizer, Creative Media Explorer, Drivers & Utilities
Digital storage media type None

Radio

Tuner type Digital Radio tuner
Station preset qty 32
Tuner bands FM

Digital Player / Recorder

Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, WAV, ADPCM, Audible, MP3, AAC
Digital player playback modes Playlist

Video Playback Features

Video playback support WMV9, DivX 4, MPED4, MJPEG, XviD3, DivX 5
Still image format JPEG

Battery

Required Qty Lithium ion
Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable Technology - Lithium ion
Battery Life Details Video playback Lithium ion 5 hour(s), Digital playback Lithium ion 25 hour(s)

Audio System

Sound output mode Stereo
Additional features Voice recording, USB 2.0 compatibility, Calendar, Built-in organizer, Volume limiter, Microsoft Outlook synchronization, Bass Boost

Connections

Connector type 1 x Headphones, 1 x Hi-Speed USB
Slot(s) provided 1 x SD Memory Card
Slot(s) Required None

Summary: A great value.

In the other corner, a heavyweight weighing in at 5.3 ounces also from California… this time hailing from the city of Irvine…

The Archos 605! (Wooooo! Yeaah! Screeam!) - 4GB model -Price $189

General

Device Type Digital AV player
Key Features Video capture from external source, Digital audio player, Digital video player, Digital photo viewer
PC Interfaces Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Features PDF viewer

Display

Display Type TFT 4.3 in - Color
Display Form Factor Built-in
Display Features Touch screen

Memory / Storage

Flash Memory Cards Supported MicroSD, MiniSD, SD Memory Card
Integrated Flash Memory 4 GB

Digital Audio

Supported audio formats WMA, AC-3, WAV, Protected WMA (DRM), PCM, ADPCM, MP3, AAC
Supported bit rate 30 - 320Kbps
Digital audio features VBR

Video

Video Playback Formats MPEG-4, MPEG-2, WMV, Protected WMV (DRM)
Video Capture Supported Yes, via DVR station
Video Capture Formats MPEG-4
Video Capture MPEG-4 - 640 x 480

Connectivity

Connections Audio / video output, Hi-Speed USB, Headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

Battery

Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
Battery Enclosure Type Internal
Technology Lithium polymer
Battery Lithium polymer Rechargeable Internal
Battery Life Details 17 hour(s), 5.5 hour(s)

Summary: One of the best feature laden PMP’s that money can buy.

Size: Creatives Zen is considerably compact at just 3.3 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.4 inch. The Archos 605 is larger, (understandably with all of the additional features) at 4.8 inches by 3.2 inches by 0.8 inches.

Right Cross! Clinch!

Round 1: The Creative Zen!

Design:

The Creative has a user-friendly tactile variety. Main functions are handled by a four-way control square surrounding a center select button. The downside is that it lacks a dedicated volume control button.

It’s been said that only Apple or Sony can create anything even closely as elegant as the Archos. While it is on the large size, it is still small enough to fit in a shirt or pants pocket. small touches such as a built-in kickstand and an internal speaker really put this player over the top.

Jab! Block!

Round 2: The Archos 605!

Extras:
The Creative sports an SD expansion slot, support for a variety of formats including unproducted AAC, voice recording and FM radio with 32 presets.

The Archos 605 also supports a variety of formats including DRM protected WMA and AAC, is available with WiFi an internet radio and the Opera internet browser, a touch screen and the ability to pull content from Cinema Now. Add the DVR Station and record television or play your music and photos via your TV. This would make this player a knockout if not for one tinsey, winsey downside: It will cost extra (upwards of $99 for the DVR Station alone) to have each of these additional items added to the player.

Round 3: The Creative Zen (by a whisper)

Uppercut! Slip!

Screen:
Cnet’s Jasmine France described the screen as ‘fabulous’. The Creative has excellent detail. Video playback is bright and clear,the viewing angle from the side is great and the interface is a winner for sure.

The recessed 4.3-inch touch screen LCD of the Archose is bright, colorful, and glare-resistant. Probably the best screen on the market, it displays at a resolution of 800x480.

Round 4: The Archos 605!

Hook! Cover!

Sound: The Creative provides excellent crystal clear detail. One of the best sounding players out there.

The Archos 605 provides a customizable five-band that offer just the right amount of adjustment without screwing up the sound completely. It is the equal in sound quality to the Creative and many of the best mp3 players on the market.

Bob! Guard!

After reviewing all the data, I determined that this contest was a draw.
The Archos 605 is the qualitative all around buddy. You can take it on long trips and grab it in a pinch if you require an all around entertainer for that get together at your crib. However the initial price is more prohibative that the Creative and the additional cash for the (albiet really cool) acessories can end up being a wallet burner.

I would still however rule this contest a draw.

The Creative is somewhat of a Brawler – it lacks finesse and footwork in the ring, but makes up for it through doing what it does very well. It would be very difficult for a prospective buyer to find anything dislike. Although it lacks the mobility of the Archos, preferring a less mobile, more stable platform, it's great-sounding and compact with an excellent, video-capable screen. The battery live is very good as well (25 hours audio playback / 5 hours video).

The Archos 605 is more of the well rounded Boxer of the two. a combination of technique and capablity, it’s the qualitative all around PMP. You can take it on long trips and grab it in a pinch if you require an all around entertainer for that get together at your crib. However the initial price is more prohibative that the Creative and the additional cash for the (albiet really cool) acessories can end up being a wallet burner.

In the end, after giving my friend a list of all the pros and cons of both devices, it remained a difficult decision to make. Until of couse he found out that the Archos isn’t even available anywhere in in India.

Sheesh.

Winner by default: The Creative Zen!

(Another) Deal of the Week: I'm so Blu!

2008-10-23T16:47:00.009-04:00

Earlier this year, we witnessed the stomping that Blu-Ray inflicted on HD-DVD in the HD format wars (sound like a really, really bad George Lucas movie huh?). At the time I thought (along with the NYTimes) that the future for Blu-Ray was bright but still recommeded holding off until prices of players were more reasonable.

Well, this week according to 'The Cheapskate', ClubMac has a good deal on the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray DVD Player for $194.99.

Why is this only a good deal you ask? Well ok you didn't but I'll tell you anyway. Rick believes that 'player manufacturers need to stop overcharging for these units and drop them to $99. Otherwise, Blu-ray may not live to see the inevitable transition to Internet distribution of movies.'

While I think Blu-Ray is visually frackin' amazing to look at, I ain't paying no $200 for a player. Perhaps a Playstation 3... But not just a DVD player. Not while I have a very good upscaling Samsung DVD Player sitting at home that cost me less than $40 bucks.

But if you don't agree and have been waiting to jump on this kind of deal. You're free go ahead and be Blu... too.

Sony BDP -S300 Tech Specs:

General

Width 16.9 in
Depth 14.8 in
Height 3.1 in
Weight 9.9 lbs

Media Types

BD-ROM
DVD+R
DVD-RW
DVD+RW
DVD-ROM
DVD
DVD-R

DVD

Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 192kHz
Built-in Audio Decoders Dolby Digital
Media Load Type Tray

Picture Modes

Letterbox
Pan and scan,
Widescreen

Cnet editors rated the Sony BDP-S300 a 3 out of 5.

The average user rated the player a 3 out of 5 (64 reviews).

The Good: Excellent picture quality on Blu-ray and DVD; DVD upconversion up to 1080p; HDMI output.

The Bad: Slow load times, particularly unbearable on newer BD Java discs like Pirates of the Caribbean; some minor video performance issues; no Ethernet port for firmware upgrades.

The Bottom Line: The BDP-S300 is a decent choice if you're limiting yourself to a relatively cheap, standard-design Blu-ray player, but everyone else should consider the competition.

~via The Cheapskate and Cnet

New Hotness: 4 Door Super Cars

2008-10-23T15:31:00.013-04:00

While we're busy burnin' cash on ridiculously ostentatious supercars...

How 'bout we just add 2 mo' doors?
The Lamborghini Estoque is named for the sword used by Matadors in bull fighting. The car sits extremely low at just 4.43 feet high, but still provides plenty of interior space for all four passengers due to the long wheelbase of over three meters.
With no hint made regarding production, the Estoque could lead to a third model in the Lamborghini lineup with numerous engine possibilities including the V10 from the Gallardo LP560-4, a turbocharged V8, a V8 with a hybrid mode, or even a high-performance diesel.
*
With sales of Aston Martin's existing sports and GT lineup continuing at a steady pace, one of the first decisions that David Richards and his partners made after buying Aston Martin from Ford last year was to produce the four-door Rapide. Perhaps this is the consummate British secret agent retirement auto?
*
"The first true sports car for four." That's what Porsche wants visitors to take away from its Panamera. Regardless, Porsche will probably have to quell dissent among the brand's faithful with its tagline even more than when they released the Cayenne. The Panamera looks to have the Rapide beat in all kinds of ways. For instance, it should get better gas mileage if you get the V6 or V8, and it has more trunk space with 450 liters. But who quibbles about useability at this price point?
*
~via Autoblog

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?!? A Chrome McLaren SLR!

2008-10-23T13:46:00.006-04:00

Facepalm.

We.. We're in a recession right? Isn't there a financiapalypse goin' down? Well, I guess some people on the planet still have money to waste... burn... flush down the toilet... Eat.

Out in Dubai (of course!) the guys over at Jalopnik have tracked down the above, completely chromed out, Mercedes Benz McLaren SLR. Not weight saving aluminum even. CHROME. With chrome tinted windows for god sakes!!

Effen Obnoxious. More pics after the jump.

~via Jalopnik

Deal of the Week: iPod Touch from $179!*

2008-10-23T13:32:00.012-04:00

(not my hand)

*Refurbished

ProTip: As always, don't forget to check out sites like Buy.com, ecost.com and especially Apple.com for sweet deals on all things electronic.

I mean we are in a recession right? Money's tight? Xmas is around the corner and your baby says she wants a cute little MP3 player that fits nicely in her hand? I say. Be cheap! (Just don't look it).

*
Right now, you can purchase the 1st gen Apple iPod Touch for as little as $179 for an 8GB, $219 for a 16GB and $319 for a 32GB version.

iPod Touch.. Yay or Nay?

2008-10-23T12:22:00.014-04:00

Received an email from a young lady who was interested in jumping into the MP3 player market... Finally. She had been one of those few who, to this day, still carried around their old Sony CD Player on the NYC Subways... Proudly. (Okay, okay. To be fair, it was a present from her sister.)
*

Why was she interested in purchasing one now? Well, her husband convinced her that she deserved it. (Awwww.)

What she wanted... was my opinion.

To be fair, she has owned an MP3 player before. A Rio 500 to be exact.

Although it had only a small market share compared to Apple Computer's iPod, the Rio brand name has been linked with the early days of digital-music history since weathering a lawsuit from the recording industry that aimed to shut down the MP3 hardware business.

The Rio 500 was the first MP3 player to allow file transfer via USB cable, and PC & Mac support. It featured 64 MB of flash memory available for music, had a backlight, ability to set bookmarks, had an expansion card slot (Smart Media card) and was powered by one AA battery. It was roughly the size of a standard pack of playing cards.

Unfortunately, the Rio's music died in late 2005 when it's parent company D&M Holdings announced that the ultra-competitive business no longer fit its market strategy.

Rio 500 Specs

64 MB built-in flash memory, expandable with SmartMedia cards
Over 12 hours of continuous playback on 1 AA alkaline battery
Weighs 2.7 ounces
USB port connector for high-speed downloads - 5 times faster than a parallel port connection (!?!)
Repeats one track, all tracks, or random
Customizable EQ
Create custom on-board playlists
Includes earphones, USB cable, battery and software

History lesson over, I asked if she had any particular device in mind.

She replied, "Well, what is your view on ipod-touch? I heard the wi-fi function eats up battery and it doesn't work all the time."

Now I've considered the iPod touch in it's 32GB form as I think it's almost perfect for me, but I've held off from investing since my current 5th gen iPod is good as new.

Even before embarking on a brief bit of research, I did not find it hard to believe that the wi-fi would be a resource hog on the latest iPod from Apple. However, it would be so for any portable device on the market nowadays no?. Either I advised that the wi-fi could be disabled until she required it, which may end up being almost never unless the user decides to download music via their iTunes Wi-Fi store (which offers no content besides music) instead of iTunes via a computer.

While I had found complaints about the wi-fi, here and there, none of them had been major. Most had been easily rectified by the owner by a system reset. Again, the user most probably would not (or should not) keep the wi-fi enabled unless there is access to a wi-fi network and the need to add music wirelessly or if you happen to be in a Starbucks and wish to download the song currently playing or if you want to surf the iTunes Wi-Fi store for free.

I have come to love Apple products in the past couple of years and fear that they may soon reach their pinnacle as all great companies and products have in the past (read: Sony Walkman). But for now while I still don't think that make the best product.. meaning products with the most useful features, they have the simplest probably most forward thinking design that has been done very well currently.

Microsoft is still a year or 2 behind Apples curve in my opinion. Creative and the other companies still hold their own but I would still go Apple right now simply just for ease of use (more on Creative later).

I normally don't like associating myself with the popular crowd for the sake of being 'in', but in this case 'networking' (get it? Wi-fi?) would be a great benefit as Apple has such a huge fan base the support technically and otherwise is vast. What other product can you buy that will plug in with a sneaker made by the world's most popular shoe designer so that your player and your sneaker synergies to become a sneaker+player+pedometer? How many car manufacturers (or digital clock makers for that matter) create docks for this thing?

*
The hardest time she'll have with the iPod Touch will be how much space she thinks she'll need... there are 8, 16 & 32GB versions, and what song, movie, game, podcast.. to down first.

Long story short. I told her to go for it.

My verdict? The iPod Touch is a definite WANT... um Yay!

Bonus: Cnet's take on the 2nd Gen iPod Touch.

iPod Touch - Tech Specs:

Size and weight

Height: 4.3 inches (110 mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (61.8 mm)
Depth: 0.33 inch (8.5 mm)
Weight: 4.05 ounces (115 grams)

Display

3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch

Audio

Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps)
Protected AAC (from iTunes Store)
MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps)
MP3 VBR
Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4),
Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Capacity

8GB, 16GB, or 32GB flash drive
Holds up to 1,750, 3,500, or 7,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format
Holds up to 10,000, 20,000, or 25,000 iPod-viewable photos
Holds up to 10 hours, 20 hours, or 40 hours of video

Wireless

Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
Nike + iPod support built in
Maps location-based service

Prices - 8GB $229, 16GB $299 and 32GB $399

Deal of the Week: Nano, Nano for $99 Bucks!*

2008-09-30T15:14:00.014-04:00

Sorry. I've had old TV shows on the brain lately. But I'm sure that Mork from Ork was a gadget dork and would appreciate a great deal if he saw one.

Apple.com is getting rid of all of it's *Refurbished 3rd generation 8GB iPod Nano's for $99 including shipping ($79 for the refurbed 4GB version.)

As a reminder, it's a good keep checking Apple for refurb deals. You never know what you'll find.

Mork: 'K.O.!'

Me: Um. That's 'O.K.' Mork.

Mork: 'What's okay?'

Mindy: Nothing Mork. Nothing.

~via The Cheapskate

Circuit Shitty headed for the Crapper! Yea, I said it!

2008-09-29T16:43:00.004-04:00

In April I wrote about Circuit City eventual demise. Since then, the company has had a net loss of $239.2 million a deal with Blockbuster fell through. In addition, the service seems to have just fallen through the floor mostly because they're uninformed and way underpaid. I've even heard a customer service rep from the store admit used that he didn't give a damn about customers because corporate didn't give a damn about us.

So what the hell do they expect?

It's still worth checking out for good deals... Like I say, stay informed, compare, shop around and read the fine print. But in general it looks like the suckage will increase.

Read: Circuit City Continues Death Spiral, Really Wants You to Stop Calling It "Circuit Shitty"
* 'sniff, sniff'... Something smells stinky!

*
~via Gizmodo

iPhone for Verizon? Ehhhh. Coouuuld be!

2008-09-29T16:18:00.007-04:00

According to Engadget, Verizon will be getting a CDMA iPhone that will run Windows Mobile.

The rumor mongers say that Apple will be announcing iPhones for Verizon Wireless in 2009, perhaps as early Macworld 2009. Supposedly, negotiations between Apple and Verizon are ongoing but they expect to hammer out agreements by the end of the year.

The carrier had initially has talks with Verizon about selling the Jesus-phone back in 2005. If this is true then it seems that Apple probably has made the decision to place more efforts into advancing the iPhone platform in the same direction as the rest of the world's more advanced networks rather than to stick itself with one carrier.

~via Engadget via 9to5 Mac

TV Review: Knight Rider 2008

2008-09-25T11:28:00.006-04:00

As if the foul stench of the TV movie pilot wasn’t enough to disuade NBC from pushing this crap any further, the peacock network actually turned the hard-ly har har re-imagined Knight Rider pilot into a full blown TV series. The only thing is? It’s woefully craptastic. Not only does KITT (now known as the Knight Industries Three Thousand) wash dishes and scrub floors, he converts into completely different vehicles… a Ford F150, Ford Focus.. As long as it’s a Ford? He can morph into it. It’s just one big long bad product placement for a major NBC sponsor.

Don’t want to take my word for it?

Check the reviews:

“Everything that made the original fun and unique has effectively been scrubbed away from this new edition that's all about high-tech gadgetry, speed and sex and only the tiniest shred about story and personality. The gambit surrounding KITT the talking car is no longer a gimmick so much as a device to attach a James Bond-ish edge to an hour devoid of soul.”
– Hollywood Reporter

“NBC's new "Knight Rider" series is ever-so-slightly better than the "Knight Rider" TV movie that aired earlier this year. But that's not saying much. "Knight Rider," premiering tonight at 8 on WPXI, is still laughably bad.” – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

“The NBC show… wants to be high-octane fun, something like Matt Damon's Jason Bourne movies with a Batmobile, but it's so poorly directed and listlessly acted it's more like "Get Smart" meets "Pimp My Ride." – Boston.com

“Last night’s season premiere of the re-tooled KNIGHT RIDER series was quite literally unwatchable” – DVRPlayground

The only thing worth watching in this high tech disaster, besides Deanna Russo? Is for all the Ford hoonage and car porn.

That said, don’t waste your time.

I'm rating the show a great big..

Nerds, Phandroids Unite! The Google Phone has Arrived...

2008-09-23T15:26:00.009-04:00

A a year after rumors of the "Google phone" started to spread, the search giant has revealed the first mobile device to run on Android operating system manufactured by Taiwanese electronics maker HTC.

The G1 will be sold via T-Mobile and have both full touch-screen functionality and QWERTY keyboard. It will also include a trackball for one-handed navigation, plus access to mobile Google Web applications like Maps, Street View, Gmail, YouTube, and more.
It will be available in retail stores beginning October 22, for $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement.
Google Android G1 Features: Wi-Fi, 3G (with dual-band UMTS), multimedia messaging, e-mail support (Gmail as well as other POP3 and IMAP e-mail services), instant messaging (read Google), full HTML browser, GPS functionality which will allow you to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by moving the phone around., a 3-megapixel camera, a music player with access to the Amazon MP3 store, Bluetooth, and quad-band GSM support.
The G1 will also offer access to the Android Market, an application store similar to the iTunes App Store for the iPhone & iPod Touch which will include games like Namco's Pac-Man.

For more info... the Giz has done some great full press coverage of the pros and cons.

Update 09/24/2008: The guys over at Gizmodo have a few new gripes about this new mobile OS. The biggest, it seems is in regards to the lack of an Exchange client for corporate email. I agree that it's a bit of an oversight, but the Google guys say that they are waiting for the open source community to develop one for them. I mean, the Jesus-phone didn't have an Exchange client until almost a year after initial launch right?

Anyway... Read 'Why Android Is Bad For Business' here.

~via Cnet

It's Electric! Boogie woogie, woogie!

2008-09-23T14:49:00.006-04:00

Today, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli revealed 3 vehicles operating either partially or entirely on an electric powertrain to be included as part of Chrysler's ENVI electric car program.

The Jeep EV is a range-extended electric vehile that retains it’s rock-crawling capabilities. This Jeep Wrangler Unlimited gets a battery pack, an electronics controller, and a 268 HP electric motor with 295 lb-ft of torque, while the big gas engine is subtracted in favor of a fuel-sipping generator.

The Dodge EV eschews the Hemi engine for a lithium-ion battery pack and is able to charge on standard home 110/220 current fully charging in four hours on 220 or eight hours on 110. It can achieve 0-to-60 times of under five seconds and a range of 150-200 miles.

Lastly Nardelli revealed a Chrysler Town & Country equipped as a Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV). Like the Chevy Volt , the Chrysler EV promises the same 40 miles on all-electric power followed by a recharge from an on-board generator with the possibility of a claimed 400 miles on eight gallons of gas (50 MPG!).

Chrysler will select one electric-drive model to be produced in 2010 for consumers in North American markets, and European markets after 2010. Additionally, approximately 100 Chrysler electric vehicles will be on the road in government, business, utility and Chrysler development fleets in 2009.

~via Jalopnik

ProTip! Jalopnik's Used Car Buying Checklist

2008-09-23T12:11:00.006-04:00

The guys over at Jalopnik have come up with a Seven Item Used Car Buying Guide for those who may be considering used over new in this new inflationary gas market.

1. Decide What You Need In A Car
You may want a Ferrari Enzo, but if a large part of your day-to-day driving experience involves towing a boat it may not be the best choice. Choosing the car you want is a visceral decision that relies mostly on emotions, but picking the car you need is a logical decision that relies on thoughtful analysis. Make a list of the typical driving tasks this car will need to undertake (this is especially important if this will be your primary vehicle). Here's an example list:

I Will Use This Car For:

Driving back-and-forth from work (80 miles roundtrip)
Carpooling with two coworkers
Weekend Vacations
Tailgating

In this situation, the driver needs something that can comfortably carry three people, lots of gear and get reasonable gas mileage given the long commute. An ideal vehicle could be a sedan with a large trunk, a station wagon or a small SUV. If the driver wants something sporty or luxurious there are options for each. If mileage is a concern, you can use sites like Fuelly to determine how certain cars perform in your area. If you haven't memorized the features and offerings of every car from every carmaker, the Perfect Car Finder is an option.

2. Know What You Should Pay For This Car
The old saying is that a car depreciates the second you drive it off the lot, but no two cars depreciate in the same way. Factors such as quality perception, availability and the number of cars that end up in the rental fleet all impact the price. Thankfully, there are many companies that evaluate all of the factors and will give you a price for a specific car based on the mileage, features and condition. These include Cars.com, Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book, which is the industry standard. But there's a catch.

Mileage, features and make/model are all objective measures that are easy to get and hard to lie about. Condition is an important factor but is a subjective measure. Anyone searching on Craigslist knows that nearly every car seems to be listed in "GOOD CONDITION!" despite occasionally not having a motor. Don't take the seller's word for it.

Conditions range from "Poor" to "Fair" to "Good" to "Excellent." Few cars are truly excellent as that rating means the car has no defects, no visible scratches or dents and has never needed nothing other than regular service. The majority of cars are either "Good" or "Fair" and the price will vary based on that determination.

According to KBB a "Good" car means: The vehicle is free of any major defects. This vehicle has a clean Title History, the paint, body and interior have only minor (if any) blemishes, and there are no major mechanical problems. There should be little or no rust on this vehicle. The tires match and have substantial tread wear left. A “good” vehicle will need some reconditioning to be sold at retail. Most consumer owned vehicles fall into this category.

By comparison, a "Fair" car meets the following description: “Fair” condition means that the vehicle has some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing but is still in reasonable running condition. This vehicle has a clean Title History, the paint, body and/or interior need work performed by a professional. The tires may need to be replaced. There may be some repairable rust damage.

Being able to prove the difference to the seller could result in a lower price or, at the very least, help you avoid paying too much. [Source: Autos.MSN.com]

3. Learn About The Car's Seller
One of the best ways to avoid being ripped off is to know more about the person selling the car. You probably wouldn't buy an iPod from someone with a pocket full of them on the subway, so why would you buy something that costs 100 times as much from a random person? The amount of information you can get depends on where you're buying the car from.

If the car is being sold by a major dealer of new and used cars there are numerous resources. Check with friends, google the company and, most importantly, check with the Better Business Bureau. Most large companies will have some complaints, but you can check to see if there are numerous unresolved issues. This is especially important for smaller used car lots along the highway.

If the car is being sold online you've got a few resources. Buyers on eBay have a distinct advantage, as the site tracks "feedback" for buyers. You can search for the seller ID and lookup feedback. Using this feature you can see if they have a high positive feedback rating (over 90% is good), if they have lots of experience selling items (little experience is bad) and will let you see what other people say about them (if it says "They lie about the condition of their cars" beware).

If the car is being sold on an online listing board like Craigslist it is harder to discern if the seller is on the up-and-up, but even here there are a few things to look for. Look out for keyword spammers, people who are unable to use proper English and PEOPLE WHO USE ALL CAPS.

If you're buying the car in person it is hard to know for sure anything about the person unless you ask. This is one of the few cases in your life where it is completely acceptable to discriminate when buying a product. Not buying a sports car from a teenager that looks like he's hooned a car is completely reasonable. If it is a large purchase don't be afraid to ask probing questions about the seller's employment or other details, though try to be tactful about it.

4. Ask The Seller The Right Questions About This Car
Once you've gone through the first three steps and decided this may be a car you want you need to make sure you know all the important details. With the obvious exception of KITT, most cars can't tell you how they've been driven. There are some general questions you want to ask about the driving experience. Basic questions include:

What kind of commute do you have?
How fast do you drive?
What mileage have you typically had with the vehicle?
Where is the farthest the car has traveled?
Do you store the car inside, outside on the street?
Who else drives the car?

Additionally, you may want to ask specific questions for the car. Though all cars experience different driving conditions, most models have predictable faults. Check with your mechanic, online forums, friends and the Consumer Reports car survey to see what faults you should look for. For example: if it is a car with a manual transmission you may want to determine how long the clutch typically lasts so you know if it may need replacement.

5. Make A Detailed, In-Person Inspection Of The Car
If at all possible, you'll want to look at the car in person. It is fairly easy for a used car seller to hide the details of an accident with angled photography and Photoshop. Seeing a car in person and making a thorough inspection can turn up minor issues that you can use to help encourage the seller to lower the price or, if drastic, can help protect you from buying a lemon.

There are numerous lists on the web you can print out and take with you if you're not an experienced used car buyer. This detailed list from MSN Autos covers all of the major details and encourages you to bring a magnet to check for repairs made with Bondo and a flashlight to check unlit sections of the car. If at any point the owner stops you from checking out a portion of the car consider that a big red flag.

If you don't feel comfortable making an investigation yourself then check with your mechanic to see how much they'd charge to look over the car (you shouldn't pay more than $100 for this service).

6. Investigate The Vehicle's History
Someone selling a newer Ford Focus may not have much in the way of historical paperwork, but you'd expect the owner of a classic or even older non-classic car to keep detailed service records detailing the car's history. How many people owned the car before this current owner? Was it ever a rental car? Does it have a clear title? These are all important pieces of the car's history you'll want to know.

The easiest way to get this information is with a CARFAX report, which will often be supplied by the seller. If not, they can be purchased for $25.00 from the CARFAX website. Using only the car's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), the site will deliver a report that will indicate if the car has ever been in a reported accident, the number of previous owners, title status, history as a private or commercial car, service records and previous odometer reading.

Any car that shows a flood, salvage or junk title should be given special attention (if not completely avoided) and should be sold at a large discount. Be concerned if you find a car that has a mileage lower than the previously reported amount, especially if it is a mechanical odometer.

7. Get Everything In Writing Before Handing Over Money
New car buyers are often offered warranties and have the protection of lemon laws to protect them from being sold a non-functioning vehicle. These protections aren't as common for used car buyers.

When purchasing a used car from a dealer they're required by the Federal Trade Commission to give you a Buyers Guide, which must tell you:

Whether the vehicle is being sold "as is" or with a warranty.
What percentage of the repair costs a dealer will pay under the warranty.
The major mechanical and electrical systems on the car, including some of the major problems you should look out for.
This guide becomes part of the contract when you buy the car and can help protect you if something goes wrong with the vehicle.

Private sellers are not covered by the FTC "Used Car Rule" and are not covered under implied warranty laws, so assume that all cars are sold "As Is." If the owner makes any promise when selling over the car, such as offering to replace equipment or fix an item, make sure to get a signed piece of paper stating just that. Anything not stated in a contract will be difficult to enforce. Having all the details of a sale in writing is also a good way to verify that both parties involved in the sale have agreed to the terms of the sale. [Source: Federal Trade Commission]

A used car is a great way to get a car you'd otherwise not be able to afford and to save money. There are risks when buying a previously owned car but it doesn't have to be a crap shoot. With used cars there isn't a guarantee that a vehicle purchase will be without problems, but those who take the time to do their homework can increase their chances of getting a good deal.

Just remember that when you're buying a car - new or used - it's important to get the facts first. Doing so can help you be more certain you're actually getting the car you want at the price that's right.

~via Jalopnik

HTC: Touch me, Feel me, Want me!

2008-09-22T16:11:00.012-04:00

The Touch Family has Arrived...

Late last year when I was in the market for a new smartphone, I took a look at the HTC Touch which I thought was a great phone but I found that for me Windows Mobile was not for me There are just waaaay to many menus; waaaay too many windows... it’s like... XP on a phone except on a much smaller screen and to me that wasn't good.

Now HTC has released a whole new line of mobile phones to replace last years Touch and Touch Dual.
Introducing the HTC Touch Family… Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and Touch HD.
The Touch Diamond (now available from Sprint) is a quad-band smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1 and has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, and HSDPA support. HTC also noted that it will ship the Touch Diamond with a customized mobile Web browser that provides an optimized view of pages and lets you zoom and pan sites with one hand. In addition, the page orientation will automatically go from portrait to landscape mode when you turn the device sideways. The Touch Pro features include a 3.2-megapixel camera and a large VGA touch screen. The whole thing also runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Wi-Fi, GPS and features the same finger-friendly front end TouchFLO 3D as found on the HTC Touch Diamond.
The Touch HD, just released last Monday features a 3.8-inch (diagonal) VGA touch screen, which is pretty darn large for a smartphone. The company designed the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone particularly for heavy Web and multimedia usage, hoping to replicate what you might get on your desktop which may explain the huge screen. Like the other Touch series models, the Touch HD will feature the TouchFlo 3D interface and have integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, and GPS. There's also 512MB of flash memory and 288MB of RAM with a microSD card slot for expansion capabilities.

Would I consider the switch? Well, I'll say that these phones would definitely be in the running.

~via Engadget Mobile

First Look: RIM's Blackberry Javelin

2008-09-22T12:52:00.006-04:00

Seems I missed one the other day. The guys over @ Crackberry.com have reviewed the Blackberry 'Javelin' which looks to be a smaller version of the Blackberry Bold. According to the Crackheads, the Javelin is a more worthy successor to the Curve than the larger Bold.

Sneek a Peek..

2008-09-19T16:32:00.009-04:00

(not a Crackberry)

Why do I love my Crackberry?

Because it means not sitting in front of the laptop all day.
*
If I want to run a few errands mid-day, I know that even if something major happens, I’ll know about it. And if nothing happens, well, that’s all the better, I guess.

My Blackberry keeps me feeling... Connected.

Well, now there's a new toy on the block which has no ambition to appeal to the Wall Street types or any other kind of smartphone type or even to the youthful Sidekick type. Instead, it’s aimed at the world’s simple non-techie type. An iPod type perhaps. An 'elegance appreciator' If you're not interested in a device that does it all... Make calls, view YouTube video's, play games, emails and attachments.

If you are interested in eliminating cost and complexity, then the Peek is possibly for you.

"Meet Peek, the world's first device designed for and dedicated to your mobile email. The lightweight, slim design makes the Peek easy to take with you wherever you go and the large color display, full keypad and simple menus make emailing a breeze."

Features:

Large, color screen makes it easy to read emails
Full keyboard so you can quickly type your emails
Slim, fits in the palm of your hand
Scroll navigation system is easy to learn and use
Access up to three email accounts
Nationwide coverage
Compatible with most major email providers
No contracts, no credit checks & no activation fees
Unlimited email for a flat monthly rate

Basically, the Peek does without functions that most cell phone users would be used to. There are no calendar functions, no alarm clock, Zero games, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and anything else other than a simple email client. You get three screens: your messages list, the open message itself and your preferences.

'Make way for another elegant one-trick pony.. an easy, cheap way for the other kind of people to keep in e-mail contact wherever they go.' - David Pogue, NYTimes

Check it out @ getpeek.com

~via The NYTimes.com

New Hotness: The 2011 Chevy Volt

2008-09-16T12:33:00.019-04:00

There have been a lot of new hot rides arriving and expected to arrive at auto dealerships lately. But due to the latest economic crises.. (despite what dubbya and McAge want may say), some of the most exciting vehicles have been giving enthusiasts pause.

There's the recently released 2010 Dodge Challenger...

The next gen... soon to arrive... 2010 Ford Mustang. And the rebirth of the Transformers (& Transformers sequel) Star... The 2009 Cheverolet Camaro. But with gas prices hovering around $4 to $5 dollars a gallon, it just doesn't make sense to a lot of people to keep feeding hungry V8's.

The Savior?
*
Soon to arrive on the horizon is General Motors production model of the newest generation plug-in electric hybrid vehicle - The Chevrolet Volt.It was unveiled this morning to celebrate GM's centennial celebration, with claims that they have "reinvented the automobile" for the next 100 years. (But, considering losses since 2005 approaching $70 billion, and Toyota having accelerated past G.M. into the No. 1 spot in global auto sales, the company’s staff won’t be dancing in party hats).

The Volt, which will be able to travel 40 miles on electrical power alone, has been designed from the ground up to accommodate the hybrid gasoline-electric propulsion system.
(The Volt Concept)
With a projected top speed of 100 mph and two in-car touch-screen controls. The five-door sedan, which GM calls an extended-range electric vehicle, is scheduled to be available for purchase in the U.S. in late 2010.It will take about eight hours to charge via a household 120 volt outlet and three hours on a 240 volt outlet. GM estimates that it will cost about 2 cents per mile to drive while under battery power. By contrast, it calculates that people pay 12 cents per mile for gasoline at $3.60 a gallon.
It's not a bad looking car... Not the least bit re-volt-ing!

Get it!? Ha!

What? It wasn't that bad.

Oh.

Okay.

I already have my jacket.

The 2010 Chevy Volt is expected to retail @ $40,000 when it goes on sale in the U.S.

via Jalopnik

New Hotness - Errr...Nastiness: Anti-Theft Lunch Bags

2008-09-16T12:03:00.005-04:00

My co-worker Donna is constantly getting her lunch taken from the pantry. As pissed off as this makes her, I try and re-assure her that the thievery is actually a form of flattery (and if you've tried Donna's spinach dip... you'd agree).

While perusing all things techno-geek and trendy this morning, I came across this fantastic, albeit nasty idea.

Fake Mold Anti-Theft Lunch Bags.

"The anti-theft lunch bag is guaranteed to put even the hungriest thief off for it looks like your sandwich has flora. But it’s just a trick - the green stuff is just the pattern on the plastic zip lock! Now that school is back in session, this might be just the ticket for schoolkids. They will be grossed out enough to love the anti-theft lunch bag. It’s also useful for office workers who are tired of having their lunches pilfered from the staffroom refrigerator."

Perfect!

Wait.

Eww.

via Productdose via Trendhunter

Deal(s) of the Week!

2008-09-15T13:26:00.019-04:00

Not too long ago, a friend of mine had a picnic... Kind of an end of summer thing. Only thing is. I pretty much missed it. Not that I didn't try.
*

I woke up. Got dressed. Picked up my cousin. Followed the directions she included on the Evite to the letter. Only to arrive close to the end of the whole shindig. Yea. We got seriously lost.
*

I've been using the GPS Satellite Navigation program for my Blackberry via Telenav since then, which has worked fairly well.

But, I've been in the market for something a little better.

Well, while purusing 'The Cheapskate's' website (a very worthy bookmark). I came across these two deals:

The Magellan 4040 widescreen GPS $99.99 shipped* via Buy.com

It's a 4.3-inch touchscreen, which features text-to-speech (it announces actual street names), a Bluetooth speakerphone (for hands-free calling), and integrated AAA TourBook travel information. Plus, you can add an optional traffic kit to get real-time traffic data. This is a markdown from $500 1 year ago.

Sophisticated and simple -Streamlined, large 4.3 inch touch-screen and icons minimize steps to locate a destination for stress-free navigation
Sleek Design - Integrated GPS antenna can't break off and provides excellent satellite reception in a slim and compact design
Turn-by-turn voice and visual guidance - Enter virtually any address or point of interest to BE THERE™ quickly and safely
Precision navigation - SiRFstar III chipset and integrated multidirectional antennae offer superior GPS accuracy using the Wide Area Augmentation System
Graphical interactive maps - Maps and destinations for the entire continental U.S. are built-in so you can travel the country and always know where you are and where you're going. More...

and

The The Tom Tom GO 510 $124.99 after rebate* via ecost.com

It sports a smaller 4-inch widescreen display - still better than the normal 3.5-inch square screens you find on typical discount models. Like the Magellan, it also doubles as a speakerphone by pairing with your Bluetooth-equipped cell phone and it has a light sensor that'll automatically dim the screen when you're driving at night. It also supports TomTom's optional subscription based traffic and weather services.

Real-time traffic & road condition information: Traffic jam alerts with the best alternative route and road condition warnings that help you put safety first. 1 month trial for free*.
External microphone: To optimize the quality of your voice when you use your TomTom GO for hands-free calling.
Automatic pick-up: Can automatically answer your phone calls, for improved safety and comfort.
Home dock: Our easy-to-use home dock is the smart way to download from your pc or Mac, upgrade your GO and manage your files, all while automatically charging your device.
TomTom HOME: Use TomTom HOME software in combination with the home dock to manage the files on your device (songs, photos, maps, etc), get new updates, plan and schedule journeys on your pc or Mac in advance, and much more.
Buddies: Find, invite and add friends to your GO. And even send each other text messages while you’re on the road. Locate your friends. Instant messaging and navigation merge together. Pre-installed Safety Cameras database: The most up-to-date available list of safety cameras is pre-installed on your GO.
Quick GPS fix: If you use your TomTom GO in combination with TomTom HOME, your GO will download information about where the GPS satellites are going to be for the next 24 hours. With this information, your GO will be able to find your current position very quickly when it is first switched on. More...

*Refurbished:

Both items come with a 90-day manufacturer's warranty.

Good deal no?

Now if I can only figure out where that got-damned smoke is coming from...

via The Cheapskate.com

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?!? How NOT to storm proof your car...

2008-09-14T16:47:00.010-04:00

Now I have friends in the Houston area and they've confirmed for me that some Texans are daft, (read Dubya), but this is just plain stupid.

"It's not funny. Okay, maybe it's worth a chortle. It's also likely not effective, but if you don't want your early '90s vintage Buick Century to be washed or blown away by nature's fury, you try stuff. Besides, if you're in the midst of an evacuation frenzy, what do you really have time to do? It looks like this owner had the opportunity to toss a carpet on the roof and use what looks like a garden hose to hopefully keep the Buick from washing into the next county. Perhaps the carpet is indicative that the car might make a gnarly floating platform once the flood hits, and what better way to show off than by sipping Pepper Eaters on the only carpeted raft in town as the eye passes overhead? Turning a tree into an impromptu mooring will keep the potential party barge in the harbor, too. Since the Century won't float for too long without some aftermarket modifications, and hurricanes are no fun, especially when they're the size of Texas, we'll just hope that this person's car and carpet weathered the storm unscathed."

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. This is hilarious!

People... You've just earned.. The Facepalm.
via Autoblog via Digg.com

Crackberries on the Horizon..

2008-09-11T12:57:00.016-04:00

CrackBerry A nickname for the Blackberry that was coined because of the device's "addictive" nature.
*

Need a new fix? Well check out what's coming soon to your local street corner (cell phone) dealer.

The BlackBerry Storm / Thunder whatever, is due to arrive in Verizon stores in November for $199, the touchscreen-y smartphone has some new (and to some underwhelming) features. An accelerometer, a screen that functions as a button, and an on-screen keyboard. I was excited when I first heard about this, but early reviews have me concerned. An iPhone killer? Perhaps not.

The RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip (aka the Kickstart). is like a candybar Pearl.. that flips, with an an external display for previewing incoming texts, emails and phone calls. Watch for it at T-Mobile soon. A good replacement for my sisters Pearl? I think… Maybe.

News was that the AT&T BB Bold had a launch date around September 1, But I have yet to hear or see it. But according to The BGR, it has a great new look, an updated GUI (virtually the same OS), a crisp new keyboard and better sound and call quality. The Bberry loyalists will flock to this me thinks. Especially those tired of their older models. I’ll stick with my Curve 8830 for a while, but this may be next.

Along with the hot new phones are some hot new future apps:

Slacker Internet Radio

TIVO for Blackberry

AOL Mail, AIM & ICQ

With fall cell phone competition heating up (see the LG Lotus, the HTC Touch, etc.), it looks like RIM is staying well into the thick of things.

~via BGR & Gizmodo

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?! Swarovski Studded Contacts?

2008-09-11T09:11:00.002-04:00

Here we go again...

A couple of months ago, I posted a 'WTF?!?' entry regarding bling for your eyes, basically a piece of jewelry that hung from a contact lens.

Anthony Mallier, a designer from India, has taken the idea one step further and.. admittedly has refined it, by adding Swarovski Crystals inside of contact lenses.

'The ‘Sparkle’ contact lenses are the second place winner in the ‘Crystal Vision’ competition co-organized by Designboom and Swarovski. Mallier took the ‘Crystal Vision’ theme literally when he designed the crystal eye ‘bling’. The competition had 4074 entries from 92 countries.'

Still I have to insist.

And for extra measure... via Luxist.com

Annual Apple Event: No Big Surprises...

2008-09-10T13:25:00.013-04:00

The new Nano line comes in a rainbow of eight colors. The first model, with 8 gigabytes of memory, will sell for $149. The second model, with 16 gigabytes, will sell for $199. A new feature - Shake to Shuffle allows you shake the Nano in order to automatically forward to the next song. But... What if you're running???

Next... The iPod Touch now starts at $229 for an 8-gigabyte model. The new version is thinner, and there are volume controls on the side, along with built-in Nike + iPod software and a speaker for casual listening. It has curved glass over the display and is the thinnest iPod Apple has ever built. It also has the accelerometer that Apple put into the iPhone, so owners can turn the device on its side to see photos and video in landscape mode.
The 80-gigabyte version of the iPod Classic is getting an upgrade to 120 gigabytes for the same $249. The 160GB models will disappear.

In addition, the new iTunes, version 8, debuts a new feature, “Genius.” It automatically generates playlists from similar songs in your library. Let’s say you’re listening to a song byBob Marley. You push the Genius button at the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen and it generates a playlist of similar tunes. The Genius Sidebar makes recommendations from the iTunes store of songs you might want to buy.

That's all folks!

~via NYTimes.com

School Daze!

2008-09-08T16:27:00.017-04:00

Proud.

Like my ‘cum laude’ little brother before her (Okay. He stopped being my ‘little’ brother once he turned 18 but I still prefer to see it that way.) And me before him. My baby sister.. the last of the lot was headed away to college... In Upstate New York to be exact.

We all made the trip in different legs, Pops 2 weeks before, Moms a week before and me and the misses a couple of weekends ago, I suppose because we just had a hard time letting her go. All the while she not the least bit worried or scared (not outwardly anyway) of the journey that lay ahead of her.

We helped her moved into her dorm room which it turns out is quite different technologically of course than what I found had in my dorm room 2 decades ago.

Free internet, free cable, free phone service (what the deuce?!). Wow. The idea of a personal computer in my day believe it or not at most was an Apple Macintosh or a IIc. I had a Commodore 64 (which was never used in lieu of the computer clusters) and an early form of a shelf stereo with a tape deck… A Tape Deck!. Now kids have mini-notebooks, a variety of mp3 players, wireless networking… The works.. We didn’t even have cell phones back then. Jeez.

So, (of course), I took it upon myself to try to equip my little sister with some of the technology would help her time away at school.

My bro did her a solid and provided her with a solid laptop. An Inspiron 1501 from Dell. Cost? He wouldn’t disclose his sources, but he assured me it was cheap. *I’ve found Inspiron 1501 refurbished from $400 via Google Products.

While notebookreview.com & laptopmag.com (3 out of 5 stars) panned it for not being as capable as the more updated Inspiron 1505 or of course they’re latest line of laptops (1525 and above). Most owners appeared to love it (6 users at Cnet.com rated the 1501 an average of 9.3 out of 10).. A great basic laptop.

Moving on.

My sister.. loves to sleep. So the one order my father gave before he left was that I buy her a cheap and simple alarm clock. And he ordered me not to spend more than $10 bucks.

Now I couldn’t just do that, could I?. Would good would such a simple device be? My sister needed convergence!

To be honest. My mind was on the new iPod Nano we had just bought her a few months prior. If I could find some kind of combination, alarm clock, stereo, iPod dock thingy which are abundant on the market today, she’d be good to go. Right?

I searched up and down all the websites. When the misses literally d r a g g e d me to a home goods store near a rest stop on the way up to visit her. She found a wok @@. But I found what I thought would make a great alarm clock.

The iHome iH12BR Clock Radio for iPod. ‘Perfect!’ I thought. But my mind tugged at me to look up the reviews first. So I waited. When I arrived at her school, I whipped out the trusty laptop and looked up the reviews. I found that they were so, so. While the iH12BR worked well, reviewers reported that the sound was not so great (an average of 3 out of 5 stars).

Cnet’s bottom line is that, “While its sound isn't so impressive, the iHome iH12's simple and attractive design gives it an appeal as a budget iPod clock radio.”

Appealing? Yes. Was I happy? No.

I wanted something that would tell time, wake her up, look and sound great. I wasn’t satisfied. The thing is the more and more I looked, the more I found that I would have to spend a lot more than $80 to find a great looking, more than decent sounding device. In addition to that there were other electronics that I needed to buy as well, (a headset and camera so that she could Skype our parents whenever she got home sick and a voice recorder for her to take notes in class). I set wanted to set my budget at under $150 for everything. The other problem was that I had get back home to NY, so whatever I bought, I would have to ship it.

After spending hours perusing the internet and reading reviews, I found that I came a across varying degrees of usability. Many of these products had good looks, but so so sound or poor alarm clock capabilities, like the XtremeMac Tango Studio…
Or the iLive IC618B.

I didn't love it.

Pretty + Useless = Pretty Useless.

Sigh.

I had a dilemma. After researching this for a couple of days, I tripped across a couple of items that I did really dig but wouldn’t fit the bill.

Solution: I split the bill.

While looking at Amazon.com I happened to come across this item..
The Oregon Scientific Wireless Weather Forecaster with Temperature Display and Self-Setting Atomic Clock.. Heh, heh, heh. I’m such a dork.

This thing is kewl. I really dig the idea of looking at one device and getting a whole lot of information necessary to start my day. $43.95 (at purchase time).

Being that my sister is going to be attending college waaaaaaay upstate New York (virtually Canada), she will no doubt see more than her fair share of winter weather. So I figure, what better way to help her out, but to buy her an all-in-one device that can give her an alarm, a clock and the weather.

and

A really great sounding speaker...
The iHome IH10B AM / FM Table Radio with iPod Dock ($40).

This thing got 13 great reviews (an average of 4.9 out of 5) from others that had purchased this item on Amazon. The one thing they especially noted was it’s great sound.

That was a total 80 bones so far. Well below my spending limit.

The rest was a breeze.
The Plantronics PC Headset (Monaural) $13.99
average of 4.2 out of 5 (13 reviewers)
The Microsoft LifeCam NX-3000 for Notebooks $26.99
And a Olympus VN-4100PC Digital Voice Recorder $40 (an Amazon users average of 4 out of 5 stars). The misses actually found her a great deal as well. As noted via The Cheapskate here. While perusing the local Target we picked up a Epson Stylus CX7450 multifunction printer for $29 (plus tax). It prints, copies, and scans.

That purchase took me over budget by a few dollars, but it was a great buy.

I was happy.

And once she received all of her boxes, she was as well. Really happy.

Now if only Amazon sold GPA’s.

Wrap it up!

2008-08-31T16:03:00.000-04:00

No. Not as in the protect yourself, cause you can't really be sure of where this chick has been sense... (Think about it).

Here @ FC0M, I've expressed my like for any way to personalize your tech. Pretty them up. Differentiate yourself from the crowd of i-gadget, notebook or any other techie gear carrying sheep. Impress your geek friends with your fantastic resourcefulness and sense of style I say.

Two companies I have used and recommended for fancy-ing up your tech http://www.skinit.com/ and http://www.gelaskins.com/ will provide you with simple do-it-yourself kits to pretty up your gadgets in less than 5 minutes.

Well, here it is a few weeks ago I am indulging my hunger for all things automotive and I find yet another ingenious way to personalize your technology, albiet on a somewhat large scale.

"When a BMW 335i owner in Munich became bored with his black coupe, he hired a team to wrap it in white tape. Two days later, he drove home in his refreshed "Alpine White" coupe (with an M3-appearing black roof). No, it's not normal tape. It's a special 3M wrap, and the process is known as "foiling." Apparently, the German military has been using the process (with an olive drab tape) for some time now. Likewise, the process is popular with race teams and taxi companies. Available in countless colors, the tape itself is thick enough to protect the paint from minor chips and nicks, and it can be left adhered to the surface for 3-4 years without damage (!). Adhesion isn't a problem either, as the tape can even withstand an automatic car wash without peeling off."

From black..

to white.
Look out Maaco!

via Autoblog

Deal of the Week: SanDIsk Sansa - 4GB $39.99*

2008-07-31T12:49:00.007-04:00

*Refurbished...

Hmm. Timing is everything. Someone just asked me if I knew a good deal on an mp3 player for her neices and nephews... She needs 4. So instead of spending $800 on new iPod Nano's or $400 on refurbished iPod Nano's, she can spend just $120 on a device that features a microSD slot for adding more storage, an FM tuner/recorder, a voice recorder, subscription-service compatibility, and a removable battery.

Cnet Product Summary
The good: The SanDisk Sansa e200 series combines copious features such as subscription compatibility, an FM tuner/recorder, voice recording, and photo and video playback into a compact and durable device. We like the tactile navigation wheel, as well as the well-designed software interface. The user-removable battery and the Micro SD slot are nice touches, and the device has decent sound quality, processor performance, and battery life. Finally, the Sansa e200 series has a maximum base capacity of 8GB, and it offers a competitive price in the high-stakes world of high-capacity flash players.

The bad: No AC adapter in package; the buttons surrounding the SanDisk Sansa e200's scrollwheel can be difficult to press; the mechanical scrollwheel can tire out some thumbs; photos and video must go through conversion with bundled software; the expansion slot can be used with music only, not photos or other media or data; and recordings are made only in WAV. The scrollwheel is not as easy to use as the iPod Click Wheel. Low levels of system noise can heard through headphones at low or zero volume.

The bottom line: The SanDisk Sansa e200 series offers a boatload of features for a reasonable price, in a package that is much nicer than that of past SanDisk models. For those looking for a high-capacity, compact, skip-free MP3/WMA player, start with the e200 series.
*

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Whadda great deal!

~via The Cheapskate from Buy.com

NYTimes: Putting the Dream Car Out to Pasture

2008-07-28T23:37:00.000-04:00

America’s romance with the automobile is being severely tested now that every trip causes financial worry, environmental guilt and self-consciousness about the size of your car.

"Mr. Forsythe had been deeply in love. He had custom-ordered the leather seats and the sound system for his S.U.V. and had waited three months for it in 2005, while living in San Antonio.
“This is the car that I always wanted to have,” said Mr. Forsythe, 31, a software engineer. “It was the car to have when you had reached a certain point in your life, when you were successful.”

But Mr. Forsythe, who now lives in San Francisco, said he could not justify $1,000 a month for gas, insurance and a car payment. The vehicle that had been a source of pleasure now feels like a ball and chain. So, this month, his heart heavy with memories of ski weekends in Tahoe and other good times, Mr. Forsythe sold his dream car. “The love affair is over,” he said. “I’m ready to let it go.”

Exacta-freakin-mundo!

~ via NYTimes.com

WTF?!?! Part Two: This thing is Effen Orochi!!

2008-07-28T10:37:00.009-04:00

And by Orochi, I mean really FUGLY. As in synonymous as in the name of the car has just entered Roget's Thesaurus as meaning a car that is really, really, REALLY UGLY.

The Japanese Mitsuoka Orochi $111,572 is possibly the ugliest, slowest supercar I've ever laid eyes on. With an anemic Toyota sourced 230hp motor also found in the Camry (a Camry sourced supercar!?)

I mean, this thing looks like an insect I squished in my apartment recently.

If you don't believe me, check out Fido's reaction.

~via Jalopnik

P.S. The guys over at TopGear apparently have driven one this season. Let's see what they say. (I hear that James May actually dug the thing... Figures.)

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?!?!: Bling... FOR YOUR EYES?!?!?

2008-07-28T10:09:00.010-04:00

This... This is just... Just... BAD. "Tired of boring old earrings? Think facial piercings pase? If you're ready for a new way to bejewel your body but can't stand the thought of being traditional, here's a look for you:

Eye jewelry. "

Yes, the website really does say that. If any of you think that this is in any way cool? We.. we just can't be friends anymore... Make that never.

Ladies, you've just earned.. The FAIL tag.

~via StyleDash via Fark

New Hotness: The Acer Aspire One

2008-07-26T09:58:00.006-04:00

The baby sister is getting ready to go away to college for the first time and her Dell is fried... Figures. After calculating all the other expenses and what she will need, that MacBook Air she wants is no where near within a reasonable reach right now.

While scouring the web for a good low cost laptop I tripped across the above - The Acer Aspire One. There are currently two models offered online. Both have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor and 1,024x600-pixel resolution 8.9-inch displays. The $379 version (model number A110-1295) has 512MB of RAM, Linux, and an 8GB solid-state hard drive, while another version (A150-1006), for $399, has 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows XP.

The Aspire One will be available in 4 colors. White, blue, (featured above) pink & brown.

The Acer is one of a number of mini-notebooks now hitting the market such as the Sylvania G, The HP Mini-Note or the Asus Eee-PC. For $399 plus the cost of an external optical drive, I think this may just be the kind of notebook an aspiring International Relations major would need.

Now I just have to see if she agrees.

~via Crave

Picture Perfect

2008-07-25T16:28:00.025-04:00

I know an adventurer. She's inspired me to travel and see the world as much as I can. She's hiked Kilimanjaro, gone white water rafting on the Chobe River in Zimbabwe. Yea, I admire this chick.

She called me up the other day. She wanted to know my opinion on a good digital camera. Normally I stay away from this topic because I don't completely understand how a camera works (What the heck is an ISO???).

Anyway, I couldn't turn her down. I decided to enlist the help of an old friend who, along with his son, is really into photography.

Initially, because if her adventurer spirit, I figured she would require a camera that would see a lot of action.. enough zoom for her safari / dolphin swimming / whale watching / Mount Olympus Hiking trips.. It would have to have a quick shutter speed and also has to be pretty rugged and most probably waterproof with a more than decent battery life. I initially recommended a DSLR (Digital-Single-Lens-Reflex) with a caveat that she would lose portability as they can be huge.

"A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and pentaprism or pentamirror to direct light from the lens through the viewfinder eyepiece. The basic operation of a DSLR is as follows: for viewing purposes, the mirror reflects the light coming through the attached lens upwards at an approximately 90 degree angle. It is then reflected by the pentaprism to the photographer's eye. During exposure (when the photograph is taken), the mirror swings upward, and a shutter opens, allowing the lens to project light onto the image sensor." - Wikipedia

Unfortunately, the lady that I often bragged to friends about had slowed down a bit as she has gotten older (60's). She advised that an injury had severely damaged her achilles and she has had to slow down a bit. So she wouldn't be needing anything too fancy shmancy.. Just something to take a few nice pictures. So we would basically be going with a regular digicam.

"A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images on a light-sensitive sensor. Many compact digital still cameras can record sound and moving video as well as still photographs. Digital cameras can include features that are not found in film cameras, such as displaying an image on the camera's screen immediately after it is recorded, the capacity to take thousands of images on a single small memory device, the ability to record video with sound, the ability to edit images, and deletion of images allowing re-use of the storage they occupied." - Wikipedia

Here's what I found after a little research on Cnet.com.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 $299.99

Cnet Product Description

Specs: Resolution: 9.1 megapixels; Optical zoom: 10 x; Display type: 3 in LCD display

The good: Attractive, functional design; generally above-average photo quality for its class; nice, useful feature set; lens can zoom during movie capture.

The bad: Aggressive smoothing reduces detail in indoor shots, even at low ISO sensitivities; modest performance; poorly placed microphone.

The bottom line: Though it's not perfect, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5's compact midrange megazoom feature set puts it in a class with just its sibling, the TZ4, and should deliver a satisfying shooting experience.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz5/4505-6501_7-32848645.html?tag=txt

I've had 2 earlier versions of this (the first TZ1 fell into a bucket of water). The second (The Lumix TZ3) takes fantastic pictures. It's 10x zoom comes in very handy when it's necessary to take pictures of lets say... a lion cub playing with his big brother in the wild?

The next 3 have received good reviews and are compact..

The Canon PowerShot SD750 $179.99

Cnet Product Description
Specs: Digital camera type: Ultracompact; Resolution: 7.1 megapixels; Optical zoom: 3 x

The good: Nicely designed; excellent high-ISO photo quality; relatively fast; above-average movie quality; face detection.

The bad: Photos tend to have purple fringing; no optical viewfinder.

The bottom line: The Canon PowerShot SD750 has an attractive design, large LCD, and excellent photo quality for an ultracompact.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd750-black/4505-6501_7-32365163.html?tag=txt

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120 $189.99

Cnet Product Description
Specs: Digital camera type: Ultracompact; Resolution: 7.2 megapixels; Optical zoom: 4 x

The good: Good picture quality; quick performance; broad feature set.
*

The bad: Small buttons; misses many on-board editing options other models have.

The bottom line: It's not as feature-laden as higher-end models, but the Cyber-shot W120 offers plenty of style and substance for the price.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-dsc/4505-6501_7-32775786.html

Nikon Coolpix S7c (A favorite among buyers) $299.99

Cnet Product Description

Specs: Resolution: 7.1 megapixels; Optical zoom: 3 x; Display type: 3 in LCD display

The good: Great click wheel; attractive, slim design; supports photo e-mail from T-Mobile access points; solid color reproduction.

The bad: Annoying top buttons; no proxy Wi-Fi access other than T-Mobile.

The bottom line: Nikon adds T-Mobile hot-spot access to its slim Wi-Fi camera and continues to deliver the image quality we enjoyed in the S6.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/nikon-coolpix-s7c/4505-6501_7-32059364.html?tag=prod.txt.1

Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS $249.99

Cnet Product Description
Specs: Digital camera type: Full body; Resolution: 7.1 megapixels; Optical zoom: 12 x

The good: Has 12x optical zoom; optical image stabilization; manual exposure controls.

The bad: Noticeable fringing and artifacts in images; noisy images at ISO 800 and ISO 1,600. (Wait. Hold up... Whut?)

The bottom line: Kodak's EasyShare Z712 IS is a nice superzoom, especially for the price, though its image quality does falter at higher ISOs.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/kodak-easyshare-z712-is/4505-6501_7-32412495.html?tag=prod.txt.1

The Winner!!

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 $299.99After my photographer friends approval. The adventuress decided on the Lumix. The truth was that she had her eye on this model coincidentally, but wanted some 'expert' advice.

She's currently planning her next adventure to Lima, Peru. I'm look forward to seeing it... Second hand.

Da na na na na na na na... Bat-er.. Gadget-Man!

2008-07-17T15:14:00.007-04:00

Early reviews are in and they are all pretty damn near a perfect 5 stars. Next to that other Gadget Man over at Marvel Comics, the DC Comics Gadget Guy has some equally awesome stuff such as the above.

"As if there weren't enough hype and heartbreak hovering over The Dark Knight, director Chris Nolan had one more headache facing him, right there in his garage, for his latest Batman film: how to top the Tumbler—a two-and-a-half ton, bulletproof Batmobile that leapt 6 ft. and did a sub-five zero to 60 in Batman Begins. His solution? Ditch the spoiler-and-fin sports car mod of Batmobile lore. Hell, ditch the sports car altogether. After all, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne already has a Lambo in The Dark Knight, which opens tomorrow. "

~via Popular Mechanics

Prizefight: iPhone 3G vs. iPhone Alpha

2008-07-16T14:37:00.004-04:00

What are the differences? Is junking your old iPhone (or selling it for $3000 via ebay) worth the effort? See the below.

~via CNet.com

Additional Deal! Sennheiser CX-300 sound-isolating earphones, $7.99 shipped*

2008-07-16T12:44:00.012-04:00

*After rebate...

Need some headphones to go with your new tunes?

Rick also has posted a deal on a pair of sound-isolating earphones from Sennheiser for only $7.99. I bought a pair of these sometime last year for almost $50 so you're getting a good.. no a great deal.

CNet - Product Summary

Specs: Product type: Headphones; Design: In-ear canalphone; Color: Black

The good: The Sennheiser CX 300 offers solid sound quality, significant isolation from outside sounds, and an ultralightweight design, as well as three sizes of silicon ear tips to ensure a perfect fit--all for well less than $100.

The bad: The Sennheiser CX 300 doesn't come with a travel pouch or any other accessories.

The bottom line: If you're looking for an affordable, decent-sounding pair of earbuds, start with the Sennheiser CX 300. Sennheiser's first in-ear design sounds like a winner to us.

I actually like the sound of these headphones even though I treat them like a step child to my V-Moda Bass Freq and Apple in-ear canal phones. However I do use these headphones when the significant wants to watch her stuffy British TV shows and I feel the need to retreat to the next room with my laptop and my latest Netflix DVD in complete silence.

However, in order to get this deal, you must return an older pair of your own headphones in exchange. If not you'll pay $29.99... Still a good deal to me.

Enjoy!

~via The Cheapskate

Deal of the Week! iPod Touch for $199*

2008-07-16T10:54:00.018-04:00

*Refurbished...

The Cheapskate has informed us this morning that Apple has the certified refurbished 8gb iPod Touch for $199 - 34% off of the original price ($299 for the 16gb & $429 for the 32gb version).

CNet - Product Summary

Specs: Device type: Portable media center; Dimensions (WxDxH): 2.4 in x 0.3 in x 4.3 in; Display type: 3.5 in

The good: The Apple iPod Touch has a large, video-worthy screen, a cutting-edge interface, and Wi-Fi Internet, e-mail, and music download capabilities.

The bad: It has a small capacity for a portable video player.

The bottom line: The iPod Touch is a beautiful product, inside and out.

Hurry up if your interested because these things have a habit of disappearing pretty darn quickly.

Come on and move and get it... Touch!

Get it? Ha!

(Oh yea... Don't forget to pray for Omarion)

via The Cheapskate

Which way is up?

2008-07-15T23:35:00.023-04:00

I received a call from a friend who is heading to the Catskills in upstate New York for a few days.

The first question I had was whether or not her AT&T cell phone was GPS enabled with AT&T's available navigation programming. Navigation supplied by cell phone carriers have proven to be very reliable and in some cases an affordable means of getting from point A to B. I currently use the Telenav program via Sprint and have great affection for it's ease of use and adaptability (Traffic re-routing, turn-by-turn and street name directions).

Unfortunately her latest AT&T upgrade (not the iPhone) is not available with navigation.

"Well then", I said. "How much do you want to spend?"

"No more than $200."

I thought about the navigation systems my friends and I hunted down last November on Black Friday. The deals we looked for and how much I had been impressed with what I thought was a silly indulgence. My cousin's Toyota Camry was the first automobile with built in nav that I had ever used, but it wasn't flawless, there were areas that the maps didn't cover or the navigation system wasn't familiar with. Guess what? I inquired about an update for the built in DVD based Toyota system and they mentioned that the cost was about 3 or 4. "Dollars" I inquired. "Uh, no." They replied. "3 or 4 HUNDRED dollars."

Yea okay. Is the dealer installed GPS Navigation system worth it? I am leaning towards no. Especially with what is available aftermarket. However, most often the built in navigation often come bundled with other goodies that may make the GPS option more attractive so... You decide.

Anyway, I was disappointed because I knew that even though she didn't require the bells and whistles, some bells and whistles are worthy of use. My numero uno requirement? Turn by turn navigation with street names.

First thing I did was direct her to CNet.com to check their editors reviews. Their favorite was an $1000 Garmin $880.

8.3 out of 10 Editors Choice.

CNet - Product Summary
Specs: Destination: Automotive; Weight: 6.2 oz; Audible assistance: Street name announcement, Navigation instructions

The good: The Garmin Nuvi 880 crams in a number of features, including text-to-speech functionality, MSN Direct services, and Bluetooth, into a compact design. The portable navigation system offers the best and most accurate speech recognition capabilities we've seen to date.

The bad: The Nuvi 880 is expensive, and route calculations can be sluggish.

The bottom line: As we've come to expect from the Nuvi line, the Garmin Nuvi 880 offers an impressive feature list and solid performance, but it's the accurate speech recognition that really pushes the Nuvi 880 over the edge and makes it one of the best GPS we've tested to date.

Um. Yea. No dice. I was however, still leaning in Garmin's direction as well as towards Tom Tom and the Dash Express (a newcomer to the market), but they were all too expensive for her.

It turns out that while was perusing the local circuit city ads, I found a deal on a Garmin Nav system that was within her range. The Garmin Nuvi 200W.

The Garmin Nuvi 200 (and 200 Wide) received a very good 7.7 out of 10 rating from CNet.com: CNet - Product Summary
Specs: Destination: Automotive; Weight: 5.2 oz; Audible assistance: Navigation instructions.

The good: The Garmin Nuvi 200 boasts a compact design and is easy to use. It offers accurate directions and some nice tools for the traveler.

The bad: Though the Nuvi 200 is more affordable than other models in the series, we wish the price was slightly lower based on the included feature set.

The bottom line: The Garmin Nuvi 200 series offers drivers and travelers a more budget-friendly version of the popular portable navigation devices, but we think the price is still slightly high for what you get.

Price? $150 after instant rebate.

Was I happy with this deal? Not really. (Despite the above picture), I really think that (from experience) having the voice navigation with street names is extremely useful. However, that option would cost her an additional approximately $200 dollars (found in the Garmin Nuvi 260).

However it is in her price range and the users reviews are very favorable.

I recommended it.

She called tonight... Garmin is updating her new baby with a free update. She's very happy. And for my friends and customers... That's all that matters.

After the iPhone Lightning.. THUNDER!

2008-07-09T22:20:00.012-04:00

Okay so the second coming of the Jesus-phone is less than 2 days away and am I excited? Yes, but just not about the 3GiP.

That's because earlier this week I caught a glimpse of THIS:

Blackberry's First Touchscreen Smartdevice - Nicknamed Thunder (or Storm). We're not sure yet.

But, while a few cell phone companies have invested lots of money attempting to reduce their iPhone "EnV" (get it?), many of them aren't quite as interesting. Even though sales figures imply that people don't mind owning an iPhone imposter (i.e. Sprint's Samsung Instinct).

This however, while not the iPhone killer that many have been looking for, will (I believe) give the Apple darling a run for it's money.

Why?

Crackberry owners love their phones. I LOVE my Curve. I LOVED my Pearl. Now combine iTunes compatibility, a haptic touchscreen done in a way that only RIM can make I suspect amazingly well and voila! You have competition baby!

Features include:

Localized Haptic Technology - when you press on the Thunder's screen, it pushes in "just" a little bit (the whole screen is sort of like a big button) and you get immediate "real" feedback - you hear an audible clickety sound, and can feel a buzz in your finger where you actually pressed on the display.

Full QWERTY and SureType entry - hold the phone in landscape mode and you can take advantage of a full-qwerty keypad. Use the phone in portrait mode and you can enter data on a SureType keyboard. You will be able to choose/change your screen/keyboard orientation at anytime.

I'm seriously looking forward to this.

The Blackberry Thunder (Storm) will hit Verizon Wireless exclusively in the 3rd quarter of '08. (Yea, I know, I know... That's like NOW.)

via Gizmodo via Blackberry Sync & BGR

Update 07/10/2008: "Nerd-fight, Nerd-fight!" There apparantly has been some back and forth on whether or not RIM's new baby will be an Apple Killer or just flat out be a failure. See Blackberry Thunder Leads To A Nerd Fight via InformationWeek.com.

Update 07/16/2008: The Thunder is rumored to actually be called the Blackberry Storm... as in Halle Berry in a tight black jumpsuit I hope.

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?! This time I mean it in a good way.

2008-07-03T13:50:00.012-04:00

Remember that scene from Star Wars where General Dodonna is going over the battle plans and renders the Death Star in cool azz 3D?

Yes! Yes you do!! Just Trust me.

A Japanese company called UbiqWindow has used Google Earth to show off their brand new product.

Holographic Google Earth from Nicolas Loeillot on Vimeo.
"It lets a computer screen be projected in mid-air. They have devised a touchless way to interact with the "hologram", and Google Earth is a great way to show off its capabilities."

Unfortunately, according to their website, it's not actually a 3D projection, just 2D. But dammit, I WANT ONE!

via Fark

Tip! Read the fine print...

2008-07-03T13:16:00.007-04:00

Got a call from a friend recently. He had not too long before asked what would be a great present for his daughters graduation from Johns Hopkins University.

Well since she recently had taken over dad's old Subaru and her laptop was aging, I suggested he get her a new Dell Inspiron 1525, especially since they were having a sale.

Great deal right? So why was he pissed off?

Well, in the end after he added:

Vista Home Premium (vs Home Basic)
250 GB drive (vs. 160 GB)
Integrated Web cam
Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal
56Whr Battery 6 cell (vs. 28Whr 4 cell)

the complete cost of his daughters new toy ended up being $644.

What's worse? He paid almost $753 for the same configuration a couple of months before! My cousin paid a little bit more than even he did.

Why? The fine print. Shipping is not included and tax is as well as a variety of ever changing deals available leads to a variety of costs.

Soooo. He offered this tip for all of you readers... Like I always say - Read the fine print and shop, compare, shop and compare.

Hmmm. This is worth a little more investigation. TO BE CONTINUED!

Got Seoul? Hyundai Genesis vs. M-B E550

2008-07-02T11:42:00.008-04:00

Which one of these would Eric B & Rakim rock today?

Back in the day, no self respectin' rapper would have been caught dead in a Hyundai... Or even a Honda for that matter.

But today's Hyundai is a different animal altogether. Not only have they gained the respect of the automotive community, consumers have been drinking them up (ala Daniel Day), and Consumer Reports of all magazines have been giving their cars dazzling reviews. Okay, nothing CR does is dazzling, but they recommended them nonetheless.

Anyhow, motive magizine has taken it upon themselves to go ahead and attempt to answer a question many auto journalists will be asking themselves over the next few months regarding Hyundai's new baby.

Does Hyundai's new Luxo-Barge Genesis got enough soul?

They pit the new Genesis 4 door sedan (approx. $27,000 list) against a 2008 Mercedes-Benz E550 - one of it's soon to be direct competitors - List price $67,865.

Want to know how the results stacked up?

-Read on after the jump.

~via Motivemag

Seeking Clarity

2008-06-17T12:54:00.006-04:00

With gas prices hovering around $5 per gallon in some areas of NYC, drivers are looking for a new deal. It cost me $90 (!?!) to fill up the Dodge Durango that a friend let me borrow while she was out of town.

Yesterday, Honda Motor celebrated the start of production of its FCX Clarity, the world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle intended for mass production.

Just 200 of the futuristic vehicles will be built over the next three years with an eventual increase in production as hydrogen filling stations became more common.

Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and oxygen from ordinary air to make electricity, in a process whose only byproducts are water and heat.

A few dozen of the cars will be leased for $600 per month (including maintenance and collision coverage) in California.

Perhaps if Americans… no Earthlings… really jump on the alternative fuel and hybrid bandwagon and decrease our demand and reliance, we can not only decrease the cost of fuel which in turn affects the cost of everything not only including gas, but plastics, pharmecuticals, food, etc. And in turn we’ll save the planet.

How about it world?

-via Autoblog

Once again.. The Jobs has spoken!

2008-06-09T15:19:00.014-04:00

The writing is on the wall. Literally.

New iPhone revealed, with 3G, GPS, invisibility cloaking, anti-gravity field, and latte dispenser.

Kidding.

Actually, it will have twice the speed at Half the price - iPhone 2.0 will release 7/11 at a cost of $199 & $299 for the 8gb and 16gb respectively. These prices will make the Jesusphone even easier for the common Joe to get a hold of. GPS - Live tracking on the iPhone. See map and where you go as you move. 3G + GPS so far.

Now available in Black (8gb) & White (8gb/16gb)

Other Apple updates (among other things):

Software Developers Kit 2.0? - Developers can now create their own programs for the iPhone. (Wasn't this what the previously released SDK was for?)

MobileMe - It's "Exchange for the rest of us." Mobile e-mail, calendar, etc. Very similar to what we all can do now with a BlackBerry 'Push' services meaning that everything you do with e-mail, contacts, calendar events can now be done with iPhone and integrated with your PC or Mac.

I personally wanted to see a 32gb version, but at $199, I'm considering putting my BlackBerry out to pasture.

~via CBS News

Kid Need Some Incentive?

2008-05-30T14:32:00.014-04:00

Buy 'em a COBRA!

(No. Not a snake...)

This kind doesn't bite. I swear.

Fred Heiler didn't know what to do to encourage his son to get his grades up. He was distracted by things every middle schooler nowadays become easily attracted to. Girls, video games, TV, cars...

Wait. Cars? Hmmm.

His son Tim had a healthy fascination with all things automotive, so when Fred and his wife decided that they needed to do something drastic to get their sons grades to turn around, they did what I (and most other sons) would DREAM their parents would do.

They offered him a car. Not just any car mind you..

A Shelby 427 Cobra replica.
"In the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby hoped to build an unbeatable race car by squeezing a large American V-8 into a small British sports car. He started with a demure convertible from the AC Company and added large fender flares to make room for wide wheels and tires. Shelby shoehorned a Ford V-8 into the car, along with the rear suspension and drive gears from a Jaguar XKE. The half-breed car was impressive on the track, so Shelby and AC decided to make street versions.

The car’s history has fueled an industry that makes relatively low-cost Cobra replicas. There are now perhaps two dozen companies turning out about 1,200 replicas a year; prices range from about $12,000 for a very basic kit, to $45,000 for a complete, self-assembled fiberglass car like ours, to $110,000 for a ready-to-drive car with an aluminum body. Some are excellent and others mediocre, but most can be screwed together well enough to make it hard to tell the replica from the original. "

Guess what? Tim became an honor student and he and his dad had a great time building it together.

Hmm. I wonder if Fred is willing to adopt.

Oops! Sorry Pop.

~via The NYTimes

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?! Yamaha's Deus Ex-Machina

2008-05-27T18:21:00.007-04:00

Challenged to rethink motorcycle transportation, Art Center College of Design student Jake Loniak decided the idea of a machine as an extension of the body should be taken literally.

Inspired by Biomechatronics and called the Deus Ex Machina, Loniak's concept is an electric, vertically parking motorcycle controlled by 36 pneumatic muscles with 2 linear actuators.

The Yamaha branded Deus Ex concept is worn as an exo-skeleton with seven artificial vertebra as well as the pneumatically attached helmet. The motor is in-wheel, powered by ultra-capacitors and doped nano-phoshpate batteries similar to those already used in hybrids. It's also capable of 0–60mph in three seconds. Top speed is 75mph with a recharge time of 15 minutes and cycle time of one hour. As an exercise in urban transportation, we love the engagement a machine like the Deus would require. That said, the lack of storage or securement for a briefcase, purse or satchel means that even the average urban commute is beyond the Deus Ex Machina's current capabilities.

~via Gizmodo via Hell for Leather

In Want of Your Own Wheels?

2008-05-26T10:26:00.007-04:00

Put yourself in the drivers seat this summer..It seems that due to some downturn in the economy, there have been growing inventories on new vehicle car lots over the past few months, which means that this may be a good time to jump into the new car market if you were considering doing so.

You may have seen the ads from Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep offering guaranteed $2.99 per gallon of gas for 3 years (linking a discount card to your credit card at participating stations). A pretty good deal considering I passed a gas station selling premium at $5.00 (?!?!?) just yesterday.

According to Yahoo! Finance and Bankrate.com, there are some other deals to be had as well:

There have been a lot of stepped-up programs of rebates, cut-rate financing and factory-to-dealer incentives designed to move the metal off dealer lots as the spring and summer buying season approaches.

More than 150 models now can be bought with some measure of low financing, rebates or dealer incentives. And this doesn't include the numerous low-payment lease offers that are cropping up.

The result for consumers is stepped-up programs of rebates, cut-rate financing and factory-to-dealer incentives designed to move the metal off dealer lots as the spring and summer buying season approaches.

Top 10 New-Car Discounts

Chrysler 300C.

The full-sized sedan comes with either a $3,000 rebate or financing ranging from zero percent to 4.9 percent.

Dodge Ram 1500.

Dodge's full-sized pickup truck carries either a $5,000 rebate or zero percent to 1.9 percent financing.

Ford Explorer.

Once the most popular sport utility vehicle, the Explorer carries rebates from $3,000 to $4,000 and financing from 0.9 percent to 6.9 percent.

Mercury Grand Marquis.

A large sedan that can carry six people and their luggage, it can be had with a rebate of $5,500 to $6,500 or financing of zero percent to 3.9 percent.

Cadillac DTS.

The large sedan in the Cadillac lineup is not as quick a seller as the new, smaller CTS. So, GM is offering a $3,000 rebate or 5.9 percent to 7.9 percent financing.

GMC Envoy.

This midsized SUV has been packed with a $3,000 rebate or 2.9 percent to 5.9 percent financing.

Nissan Pathfinder.

Nissan, which is not enjoying the same sales success as some other Japanese manufacturers, is offering deals on this SUV that include rebates of $2,250 to $3,250 or 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent financing.

BMW 7 Series.

While not offering direct-to-customer rebates on its luxury 7 Series sedan, BMW is giving dealers $3,500 to $5,000 in incentives. Such incentives should be a part of a buyer's price negotiations.

Land Rover LR2.

Land Rover is offering a $3,000 incentive on this SUV.

Lexus RX 350.

Lexus is being a little stingier than some other manufacturers when it comes to incentives, but is offering dealers as much as $2,000 on the RX 350.

~via Yahoo

In Want of Wheels?

2008-05-23T11:56:00.025-04:00

About 2 years ago I got rid of my whip. I just couldn't any longer justify the expense. Between rent, utilities, insurance, repairs and fuel, owning and operating a vehicle in NYC just stopped making sense (queue David Byrne). Especially since I pretty much have to take public transportation to get into work, owning an automobile became much more a luxury than a necessity. A luxury whose expense was beginning to rival my room and board.

So, I made a decision. I got rid of the ol' girl. (Sniff!)

1 year ago, I made another decision.

I opened a Zipcar account.

Zipcar is a car sharing service. As long as you are 21 or older and have a valid driver's license (and a clean driving record) you can 'rent' (or more like borrow) a Zipcar.

Here's how it works:

1. Apply. It's easy. A few minutes at most.

2. Reserve. This is the best part. A car can be reserved for as little as an hour to as long as a few days from a number of locations. Not just airport locations, but from down the street, around the corner locations. Near Penn Station locations. Near Lincoln Center locations. Near the supermarket locations. And, there are a large variety of cars to chose from at a range of costs... Mazda's, Bimmer's, Mini's, Volvo's, Toyotas and VW's.... Oh my!

3. Pick up the car. This is quite possibly the coolest part... Well one of them. Once approved, Zipcar will issue you your ZipCard. This card is used to open the automobile you have reserved. Just hold the card over the sensor in the upper right corner of the cars windshield and voila! it's opened. The keys are inside... always inside. They never leave the car.

(Not my hand)

4. Drive. If you need to fuel up, gas (in addition to insurance) is paid for by Zipcar!

As an example, one day, the 'Significant' and I decide to take a road trip upstate. I go online to http://www.zipcar.com/ and search by location. I figure the West Side of Manhattan is an ideal location to start from.

I chose a car. 'Significant' has a thing for the Mazda 3. This can be done just purely by location or by filtering out from the list of what Zipcar has available. I determined how long I would need the car for, and then reserved. In this case, 1 day 2 hours as we planned to do some running around and drop in on our respective peoples.

Before I go on, let me say this... For those of you familiar with the show 'Top Gear'... I swear The Stig's secret identity (super-duper super-car test driver and suspected super-duper race car driver)?

Is my 'Significant'.

Can I say that she drove the 'ish out of that car? Why did I hand her the card and allow her the first stint? Jebezus Christmas. But that's just the point isn't it? Zipcar wants you to use the car and drive it like yo momma bought it for ya, which in her case... was like a bat out of hell being chased by the LA & NYPD, with a herd of angry elephants not far behind, after drinking a can of Road Rage. No.. After 5 cans of Road Rage followed by 6 Red Bull chasers. Yes, I'm talking about you Karen! I'm still shaken up.

Otherwise, the experience was fantastic. These are virtually, mostly new or new-er cars with a few hundred to a few thousand miles on them. The only downside? You ever lend your irresponsible little brother your car for the day? Remember what it looked like when he returned it? Was it later than he said it would be returned? How much gas was left? Well Zipcar asks that everyone be courteous enough to at least clean out each time they borrow it and leave at least 1/4 tank of gas in the vehicle. When we picked it up, our Mazda 3 was a little dirty, dusty, was missing a piece of the rear view mirror (!?!?) and was a few minutes late back from it's previous jaunt. The dude sped in and actually jumped out of the car screaming 'Am I late!? Am I late!?' at us. @@ Idiot.

Of course we called the fully staffed 24 hour hot line, good for all issues including accidents and promptly complained. Zipcar responded quickly and courteously and advised that they would be dealing with the previous borrower about it all. No extra charges or skin off our backs. Of course the other guy? Yea, he would be expecting a call... and a bill.

Better than complaining to your parents, Aye?

We mentioned that we would take Mundy (did I mention that all Zipcars have given names?) through a car wash. And Zipcar insisted that we fax them the receipt when we were through as they wanted to promptly credit us back for our expense. How's that for service?

Need to step outside of the city limits as we were planning to? Most Zipcars in the Northeast corridor (with the exception of university cars ^^) are equipped with EZ Pass transponders (they'll bill you later).

After our spin upstate a quick dash by our families and our stop off at City Island for dinner, we both gave Zipcar a thumbs up, A+ or whatever rating system you chose to use to acknowledge greatness.

With gas prices on the way, waaaay up, and with our economy tightening way, waaaay up. Zipcar (which has just merged with competitor FlexCar and can now be found in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and London) is absatooten lootly (their words) they way to go.
~Zipcar

P.S.
Need to Cycle and Drive? Zipcar is offering a $50 discount off of a new Swissbike folding Montague mountain bike, a free kickstand est. value $19.95, and a free set of folding pedals est. value $29.95.

http://www.zipcar.com/montague/

Rumor Confirmed: iPhone 2.0 Lands June 9th

2008-05-20T16:16:00.010-04:00

We all knew it was coming soon..

With Apple's online store selling out of the JesusPhone in the US & the United Kingdom... as well as this wholesale dumping of 8 and 16GB refurbished iPhone's by AT&T last week... We should have known.
Inside sources are confirming a June 9 date for the 3G iPhone, scheduled to coincide with Steve Jobs' keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

What is unusual about this release other than a new phone with 3G connectivity?

According to another source involved in the launch, this time around the 3G iPhone will be launched globally and will no longer be available at a fixed price point.

What might we expect as far as technological updates?

According to the case rendering below, the 3GiP will be a little bit rounder, a little bit larger and possibly feature a forward facing camera.

Anyone wanna sell me their old one? Cheap? Please?

~via Wired via Gizmodo via Tuaw

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?!

2008-05-16T13:17:00.009-04:00

Ensure. Your virginity. Forever.

iXoundwear (formerly the iSoundCap).

'Getting fed up with all those wires hanging off your iPod shuffle or nano? Now you can hold that player in a perfectly-sized compartment stitched into the iSoundCap. The hat also has a sleeve that stores all the wires leading to and from that iPod, leaving only your earbuds dangling down to your ears in just the right position.

Free yourself and your music from those pesky wires hanging from your ears to your iPod®.Send them up instead with your iXoundWear™ headwear, a revolutionary new way to wear and listen to your iPod®.iXoundWear™ products are designed to hold the iPod® Nano (1st and 2nd generation) or the iPod® Shuffle™ (1st and 2nd generation) in a tight compartment built right into the headwear. They even have a sleeve for the wires and a spool to keep them neatly wrapped up.With your iXoundWear™ cap (or visor) you can be as active as you want and never have to worry about getting tangled up in your wires again.iXoundWear™ will free you from the hassle of arm bands and dangling wires while you are involved in your preferred activities'

Um. Yea.

You've just earned the 'Fail' tag...

~via ixoundwear.com

Crank it Up!

2008-05-13T12:53:00.020-04:00

Sunday May 5th.

Wifey and I wake up at 4.30am and begin our prep.

Padded Shorts? (Discretely worn under our nylon sweat pants) Check!
Bike Helmets? (Required) Check!
Gloves? Check!
Gatorade? Check!
Commerce Bank 5 Boro Bike Tour Vest? Check!

As mentioned previously…

The 5 Boro Bike Tour is a car-free ride through New York City and the largest recreational cycling event in America and the ultimate tour of this great biking town... The journey starts in Lower Manhattan, north through the heart of Manhattan to Central Park and up on to historic Harlem and the Bronx, returning south along the East River on the FDR Drive. From there we'll cross into Queens and then Brooklyn. The route is 42 miles, mostly flat except for the bridges.

This would be my second time.

A friend of mine likes to put these trips together. Horse back riding, white water rafting, hot air ballooning. Whatever exciting thing strikes her fancy, which I think is cool as it’s a way to get some fresh air, socialize, be active and get to do something that most big city folk don’t normally get to do.

So when I received her Evite for this event, I was immediately on board. As a kid, I could always be found outside riding about on my BMX’er. This past mom’s day, Ma talked about that wistfully when I mentioned the tour to her. She smiled as if recalling a fond memory of something she loved seeing me do.

I always had a bike, in college when the big mountain biking faze first started, me and a bud got on board. It was the best way to get to class. After graduating, after my first job promotion, I rewarded myself with a brand new Specialized Hardrock which quickly became a part of my weekend warrior gig. Eventually I got rid of the Hardrock as I moved into a smaller apartment and had very little room for her. (Sniff!)

With the upcoming Bike Tour, I saw an opportunity to jump back in the saddle (in a matter of speaking). So, I sent an IM to the 'Significant'…

‘Bike Tour. 42 miles. U in?’

She replied. ‘I’m down. Definitely’

We had a number of weeks before the tour to purchase our bicycles, train and ride so we got to shopping around right away.

Here’s what we decided we would require:

My first ‘real’ bike was a considered a Rigid Mountain Bike or a Hardtail. Meaning that there were no suspension components at all (front or rear). However it did have very good components for the time...

The Specialized HardRock Sport

Chro -Moly frame
Shimano cantelever brakes
Shimano-Altus front and rear derailer
Sram 21 speed gripshift
Weinman aluminum 26x1.5 wheels
Specialized Crossroads 3 26x1.95 tires
Avocet cyclometer 15

The only drawback were it’s knobby tires which while good for the dirt trails, were not efficient for the road rides especially the one we wanted to undertake.

We decided that we would need a pair of hybrid bicycles.

A hybrid bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads and bike paths, with influence from both the road bicycle and the mountain bicycle. Each manufacturer is free to bias their hybrid closer to one type or the other, making it difficult to define precisely what a hybrid is. A relatively recent type of bicycle, the hybrid aims to retain the features of mountain bicycles which have made them accessible and popular, but are designed to be more suitable for urban use.

In general, hybrids use mountain bike gears to make riding in hilly environments easier, and have an upright riding position similar to a mountain bike. Handlebars are neither downturned like a road bicycle nor flat like a mountain bicycle. Rather, they have a slight upturn, providing for a more upright seating position.

There are 2 types of hybrid bicycles:

Road-biased hybrids
A road-biased hybrid has a frame similar to a racing or touring bicycle, and 700C-size wheels with slick or semi-slick tires between 32 and 40 mm wide . This additional tire width over a road bicycle is intended to give the hybrid some ability to deal with rough surfaces that might be encountered on bike trails, such as gravel, hard-packed sand and shallow mud.

and

Mountain-biased hybrids
A mountain-biased hybrid has a modified mountain frame with a taller head tube for a more upright riding posture, and 26-inch wheels with semi-slick tires around 1.95 inches (5 cm) wide.

So, being that we would be doing mostly road riding (I knew would do some off road), we decided to go for a pair of road-biased hybrid models.

The other thing is that 'Significant' would use a ‘unisex’ frame. Most bikes built today are unisex, meaning that they should fit most people with minor adjustments. This is not always the case. Women are built different than men — the typical woman has a shorter torso, shorter arms and longer legs than a man of the same height. She also has a wider pelvis and smaller hands and feet.

The average woman needs a bike with shorter overall "cockpit" length than the typical man's bike. Cockpit length is affected by three things: top tube length, handlebar stem length, and seat position.

Traditional "women's" frames, with the top tube that slopes/curves way down instead of going straight across, have the shorter reach but are not as strong as the diamond frame. For an entry-level recreational bike a "women's" frame is adequate, but it's performance is too compromised for the enthusiast.

We did our internet research and continued to seek advice and found that what we needed not wanted, should cost us approximately $1000 all together.

As mentioned above, I knew that I wanted to do a little bit of off-roading with my bicycle, I decided that I wanted something that with a front suspension and tires that while tall would have a bit more tread for the dirt.

'Significant' would go with a completely rigid road hybrid which would suit her needs fine.

While walking down 6th Ave one day, we found a pair that we instantly fell for.

The Gary Fisher Utopia for me...

Gold Series aluminum Frame
Shimano M475 disc hubs; Bontrager Ranger disc rims, WTB Interwolf tires, 700x38
SRAM X.7 rear derailleur, SRAM X.5 shifters, SRAM X.5 front derailleur, Shimano M443 48/36/26, Octalink crank, Avid BB5 mechanical disc" brakes, (Full Specs)
SR Suntour SF8-NRX, adjustable w/lockout, 63mm travel
Color: Black
MSRP: $880

Pros: Great bike, Tall wheels. Lightweight.
Cons: Too expensive. Less than robust warranty

and

The Trek Soho S for her...

Frame Alpha Black Aluminum
Fork Cro -Moly w/lowrider mounts
Wheels
Wheels Alloy flip flop high flange hubs; alloy rims
Tires Bontrager Race Lite, puncture resistant, 700x28c; 60 tpi
Crank Bontrager Nebula 44T w/chainguard
Cassette Shimano 17T freewheel/16T cog
Pedals Nylon body w/alloy cage
Components
Saddle Bontrager Select City
Seat Post Bontrager Satellite Nebula
Handlebars Bontrager Crowbar Sport, 25mm rise
Stem Bontrager Soho, 15 degree
Headset Aheadset Slimstak w/semi-cartridge bearings, sealed
Brakeset Alloy dual pivot w/Tektro alloy levers
Color: Black
MSRP $549

Pros: Great Price, Lightweight, Looks good, Very practicle
Cons: Poor Component Selection

While yes, this was in our price range, we had one issue with this bicycle. It was only 1 speed. Duh. More of a messenger bike than anything else. Useless for all the hill climbing we could expect.

As we shopped around, some more we ran into others who were planning to do the tour as well and offered advice about what would suit our needs as well as the importance of warranties and such.

We finally settled on the shop Bicycle Habitat, which is where we decided to test drive 2 models:

For me?

The Specialized CrossTrail Expert:

RST Vouge Comp, magnesium legs, alloy steerer, steel stanchions, coil sping w/ hydraulic lock out, Specialized Body Geometry, super light foam grips
Avid BB-5 mechanical disc brakes, G2 Clean Sweep 160mm rotor
Specialized Crosstrail Disc rims, double wall w/ machine sidewalls and eyelets
Specialized Borough XC tires, 1.9" w/ aramid bead, 60TPI
Color: Silver
MSRP: $940

And for her?

The Trek FX 7.3

Frame FX Alpha Black Aluminum
Fork FX Alloy w/tapered wall thickness, straight blades
Wheels Alloy front hub, Shimano RM60 rear hub; Bontrager Camino rims
Crank Shimano M341 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore
Color Metallic Black
Fathom Duotone
White-Silver Duotone
Color: Black
Color: $549

These bikes were winners! Very light, very fast (The Trek FX was faster than the Specialized which the salesperson told us would guarantee Significant kicking my butt.)

However, the same old problem reared it’s ugly head. The prices of both prices combined were still above our budget.

So we decided to take it down a notch.

The Specialized Crosstrail Sport for me:

Rocks ox Tora fork, 29er
Specialized Body Geometry, super light foam grips
Shimano M-761 Deore XT rear derailleur
Specialized Crosstrail Disc rims, double wall w/ machine sidewalls and eyelets
Specialized Borough XC tires, 1.9" w/ aramid bead, 120TPI
Color: Black
MSRP: $660

And the Trek FX 7.2 for her:

Frame FX Alpha White Aluminum
Fork High tensile steel w/lowrider mounts, straight blades
Wheels Alloy front hub, Shimano RM60 rear hub; Matrix 750 rims
Crank Shimano M191 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Sizes 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25"
Color: Matte Smooth Silver
MSRP: $459

While slightly over our budget, we were still very willing. These were great bikes at a great price.
And we were / are very happy.

The 5 Boro Bike Tour? We did it. Finished in the first 7,000 or so (out of 30,000) and in personal best record time of approximately 5 hours 30 minutes (5 hours if you count that we only actually crossed the start line a half hour after the race actually started.)

Any problems? Not really. I had a front derailer problem that started re-occuring from the day we picked the bikes up. This was resolved by replacing the cable connected to the derailer. On the ride I locked up once or twice, but I think that can be fixed with an adjustment. I don't believe that this is a problem with the line, most probably a defect created when the bicycle was assembled.

We had lots of fun (although somewhere around Williamsburg, 'Significant' settled on cursing me every time we crested a hill.) After a night in the Epsom, we were good to go.

Although she’s swearing off the saddle for a little bit, we are already planning a ride out to Montauk next month. A 30 miler.

Should be a good time.

~Thanks AA!

Deal of the Week: Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset $64!

2008-05-06T16:18:00.007-04:00

Pet peave #306. People who walk around with Bluetooth devices in their ear when they are not in use.

In NYC Bluetooth headsets are everywhere. Even in the subways where cell phones don't even effen work! /see above

After seeing so many people with them, I finally decided to jump into the BT headset game with the Blue Ant T8. With which no one could hear me. It was useful for driving or walking around the house, but after repeated complaints, I just gave up.

While in J&R Music World one day, I asked the cellphone sales person what her opinion was of the current line of Bluetooth headsets. She advised that the Alph Jawbone Bluetooth headset was the best. And my subsequent research turned up reviews by many owners that agreed.

This headset was rated an 8.7 out of 10 and an Editor's Choice by Cnet.com. Yes, it is pretty strange looking, but still somewhat attractive.

Did I buy one? Eh... no.

If only because the price was too steep ($129) to justify in my opinion.

But The Cheapskate has found a sweet deal at eCost where the Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset is currently on sale for $64 (plus shipping).

Most probably because there will be a new device coming out very soon.

Can you hear me now? Yes! Yes! STFU Already!

~via The Cheapskate

Chainless Melody

2008-05-01T13:08:00.003-04:00

The Outback Chainless Mountain Bike

Me and the wifey are doing the Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour this Sunday.

The 5 Boro Bike Tour is a car-free ride through New York City and the largest recreational cycling event in America and the ultimate tour of this great biking town... The journey starts in Lower Manhattan, north through the heart of Manhattan to Central Park and up on to historic Harlem and the Bronx, returning south along the East River on the FDR Drive. From there we'll cross into Queens and then Brooklyn. The route is 42 miles, mostly flat except for the bridges.

We searched high and low for appropriate bicycle choices and ended up with a pair of smart mountain/road hybrids which seem to suit us fine. I'll blog that afterwards in order to do a complete review of the cycles we chose.

In the meatime however, I wouldn't mind having a technological tour de force like the above.

"At one time or another, we’ve all ended up with dirty duds caused by a greasy bicycle chain. The Outback Chainless Mountain Bike from Dynamic Bicycles ($750) solves that problem by using an internal gear system in the rear axle instead of a chain system. Plus, it sports all kinds of rugged features such as 13” of ground clearance and multiple climbing gears — a bit much for a simple ride to work, but then again so is a Hummer."

~via Uncrate

Don't Spend that Rebate Check Yet! Wait 'till May.

2008-04-30T16:02:00.009-04:00

What am I gonna do with my extra $600 mulahs? Bank it. I've already done waaaaay too much spending for the year.

But for those of you just itching to get that burning check of hot love out of your bank account...

...and if you don't already have one... The HD Guru has a suggestion.

Spend it on a TV. An HDTV.

"Here is an example. Sony’s latest 40” 1080p (1920×1080) HDTV the KDL-S4100 will have a (suggested minimum price) of just $1199 making a full $500 less than its lowest priced predecessor.

How about a 46” 1080p set? The new KDL-46S4100 will be priced at $1599 (representing a $400 drop). This is Sony’s “advertised price”. The big box retailers Circuit City and Best Buy have been dropping below this minimum advertised price (MAP) 10% or more, only a week or two after other 2008 HDTVs have debuted, so don’t be surprised to see these Sony prices cut quickly by the big box retailers.

What about Plasma? This price marks the first time a 1080p LCD is priced below 1080p plasma. The HD Guru™ expects a lockstep reaction by the big plasma vendors with 2008 product now available or coming to market in May (Panasonic, LG and Samsung)."

Sounds like a sweet deal to me.

~via Gizmodo via the HD Guru

Update 05/01/2008: Need to calculate your rebate? Figure out your economic stimulus rebate here.

Deal of the Week: Can you hear me now? Hell no!

2008-04-29T16:20:00.004-04:00

I love sound-isolating earphones. Especially while commuting through NYC's noisy underground.

Or for when my girlfriend wants to have one of our "talks". @@

This is an especially great deal.

HandHeldItems has the iSolate Hi-Fi Earphones on sale for $6.99! A great deal considering that they usually cost 10 times as much.

"Because the tips nestle into your ear canal, the iSolate earphones block out a fair bit of ambient noise--meaning you don't have to crank the volume as much when riding a bus, plane, train, etc. They're like earplugs: You have to push them in far enough to create a seal in the canal. It's a little weird at first, but I find them much more comfortable over the long haul and capable of producing much better sound."

~via The Cheapskate