Articles by Joel McLaughlin

The Artwizz Alustand Makes Your Laptop Bouncy??

Reviews

The Artwizz Alustand Makes Your Laptop Bouncy??

Artwizz’s Alustand has some pretty good looks.  It’s got that Macbook like metal and a crystal like plastic piece that connects both aluminum parts together.  It looks like it might be sturdy, but in my opinion, it falls short. I love that you can collapse it down and stick it in your laptop bag.  If you have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, the whole package will go nicely in your bag.  Both aluminum pieces nest and I am not exactly sure where the crystal piece can go, but it’s not difficult to find a spot in your bag. Unfortunately, when it…

Southeast Linuxfest 2010: Building Strong and Lasting Connections

Events

Southeast Linuxfest 2010: Building Strong and Lasting Connections

Friends gathered once again in South Carolina to learn about Linux and check out what is new in the Linux community.  It is a time of learning as well as  time of camaraderie and a over all great time if you are a fan of Linux and Open Source technologies. My trip to SELF started on Thursday as my new found friend, Ed Liddle and I headed down to my Mom’s house for a pitstop.  Mom and Dad put together a great dinner of Smoked Pork Roast and Chicken and all the fixens and we rested up for the rest of the…

Preview: Southeast LinuxFest 2010

Events

Preview: Southeast LinuxFest 2010

Up until this year, I had only attended the Ohio LinuxFest being lucky enough to live in its host city of Columbus, Ohio.  The Ohio LinuxFest is an awesome community driven event that amazes me every year it’s run.  However, in 2010, I will be attending both the Ohio LinuxFest and the second year of the Southeast LinuxFest.  I am totally excited to see what the committee behind the show is planning for this coming weekend. Southeast LinuxFest is in a new location this year in the Marriot at Renaissance Park in Spartanburg, SC.  The previous location at Clemson was not available so they…

Fun with magnetism: Nanodots

News

Fun with magnetism: Nanodots

Back when I was my son’s age, I was a science nut.  I loved learning all about our universe, electronics, magnetism and the world we live in.  My favorite catalog from then was Edmund Scientifics.  They had and still have science products and lots of toys similar to what Nano Magnetics Inc are announcing today in the form of Nanodots. Nanodots are little tiny magnetic spheres that you can build things out of.  It’s also been suggested when you stock them all together in a big ball that you can use them as a stress ball.  They will not come…

Review: Altec Lansing MIX iMT800 Dock for iPhone and iPod

Reviews

Review: Altec Lansing MIX iMT800 Dock for iPhone and iPod

I grew up in the 80’s.  The 80’s was the decade of big hair, hair bands, break dancing and boom boxes.  Never have I seen a dock for iPhone and iPod that brings back memories from the 80’s like the Altec Lansing MIX iMT800. The MIX has big boom box looks like no other dock I have seen.  In the 80’s, the middle portion of the boom box would have been dominated by a cassette deck.  Instead of a cassette deck, this one has port with a dock connector and an arm that slides up to take the iPhone or…

Review: Keurig Elite Brewing System

Reviews

Review: Keurig Elite Brewing System

As a geek and blogger, staying caffeinated is a specialty of mine.  One of my favorite things in the morning is coffee.  However, I am the only coffee drinker in my house.  Making a whole 10 cups when I am only going to drink 1 to 2 cups doesn’t make sense.  That’s where single cup brewing systems come in. I used to have a Black and Decker Home Cafe, but finding the pods it used started to become a problem.  I had heard of Keurig and my friend Linc swears by his so I decided to use some eBay sale proceeds to buy my…

Review: High Sierra Cirque 30 Daypack

Reviews

Review: High Sierra Cirque 30 Daypack

One of my favorite activities during the spring and summer months is to go hiking.  I don’t mean just for a afternoon hike, but all day.  Just pack a lunch, thermos full of coffee and a bagel and head out the door for a long hike in the woods.  Of course you have to make sure that you have a jacket, some raingear, sun block, a hat, water and maybe even a tent and bedroll for a quick overnight in the woods.  Some daypacks barely have enough room for this kind of activity and  if you are a scout leader…

The LandAirSea TrackingKey Pro Micro GPS Tracking System Review

Reviews

The LandAirSea TrackingKey Pro Micro GPS Tracking System Review

I’ve reviewed at least three different GPS Dataloggers.  There were the two loggers from Qstarz which are okay and can perform the function very well, and then there was my favorite logger, the Visiontac VGPS-900.  LandAirSea has brought out one that would probably be much easier to hide than the Qstarz since it is waterproof and has other features I will get to later. The LandAirSea TrackingKey Pro Micro comes with the tracker, a Mini-B USB Cable, the Past-Track Software and a manual. The tracker has only a power button and two LEDs which aren’t very bright.  You could probably stick a…

Review: Etón FR360 Emergency Preparedness Digital Radio

Reviews

Review: Etón FR360 Emergency Preparedness Digital Radio

It is starting to be that time of year.  What do I mean?  Thunderstorm and Tornado Season that’s what I mean.  That is followed by the Hurricane season.  The best thing to do to st?ay safe dur?ing this season is to take time to prepare now before the worst happens.  One device that will help you keep informed during a storm is a radio.  If you have a portable radio, one problem you always have is batteries not being charged when you need it or you only have the radio on your stereo.  If that’s you, then you should pickup…

Go800 Connects SMS to 800 Numbers.

Reviews

Go800 Connects SMS to 800 Numbers.

Ok I am still trying to figure out why this is a good idea.  Go800corp.com has started a service that is kind of neat, but then kind of makes me ask why. What it does is supposedly makes it easier to contact companies with 800 numbers on your cellphone.  You basically text a keyword to 46800 and then your phone will ring and be connected to the 800 number the keyword belongs too.  They call this a Voice Keyword, and yet you can’t just call them and use your voice to establish the call? Plus since smart phones are becoming…

Review: Speck Products Kindle 2 Cases

Reviews

Review: Speck Products Kindle 2 Cases

Speck Products was kind enough to send me one of each of the new cases that they just released for the Kindle 2.  While I have heard of Speck from Dan’s review and Judie sharing her thoughts on some of Speck’s line, this is my first hands on experience with a Speck case.  Will the cases match up to what I have been using? Since I received a Tom Bihn pouch from Judie, I have been using it to hold my Kindle 2 while commuting to work.  While the pouch is perfect in size in most every way, it does nothing to…

Review: Altec Lansing IMT320 inMotion Compact

Reviews

Review: Altec Lansing IMT320 inMotion Compact

I love Altec Lansing products.  I have the inMotion Classic iPod Dock and I use it quite a bit.  However, sometimes you need a speaker dock that is a little more compact and simpler to use than the inMotion Classic.  That’s where the inMotion Compact comes in. The inMotion Compact looks a lot like the Classic, but it lacks the FM Radio, the integrated battery, remote and integrated display.  The only controls on it are power and volume; all controls are on the top near the center of the dock. The rear of the dock hides the power cord’s port,…

Neuros Link Review

Reviews

Neuros Link Review

Imagine being able to watch Hulu, Fancast, Youtube and many other streaming services on your TV.  How about Boxee?  Yes, that too.  What if you don’t want to share your local video viewing?  XBMC is on it too.  What can do the things I am talking about?  The Neuros Link, one of the latest products from Neuros Technology. Setup To setup the Link, you plug a HDMI cable into your HDTV, plug in the power, and then plug in the keymote’s dongle.  If you do not have a HDTV, you can use it with a DVI or VGA monitor, although…

SpiderOak Cloud Backup Review

Reviews

SpiderOak Cloud Backup Review

Backing your data up to the cloud and living out of the cloud is all the rage.  SpiderOak cloud backup has a lot of features that I have been looking for in an online backup solution. First, to get started with SpiderOak, you need to download the software for Windows, Mac or Linux and install it.  The version delivered for Ubuntu works on pretty much any version of Ubuntu.  You can install it with standard dpkg commands or double-click on it and us the graphical package manager, GDebi package installer.  Click on install, enter your system password and it installs….

Marvel Superheros Come to Gelaskins

Reviews

Marvel Superheros Come to Gelaskins

Larry previously reviewed Gelaskins and we’ve recently posted about their release of National Geographic Gelaskins.  However, just this week Gelaskins has gotten a lot more super!  Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Daredevil, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange and others are now available in various forms direct from Gelaskins. The company was kind enough to send me two of the Iron Man skins for netbooks and I decide to apply the skins showcasing Iron Man and War Machine.  The skins went onto my netbook in a flash and looks…

Review: Qstarz BT-Q1000eX Xtreme Recorder

Reviews

Review: Qstarz BT-Q1000eX Xtreme Recorder

For those who do not know what a GPS Data Logger is, it essentially is a GPS that usually has a sole purpose: to keep track not of where you are, but where you have been.  Qstarz has been hard at work trying to improve upon the BT-Q1000x and has brought out the BT-Q1000eX Xtreme Recorder.  What is different about this GPS logger and what makes it Xtreme?  Let’s find out.

Review: Sandisk SlotRadio+ Billboard Hits

Reviews

Review: Sandisk SlotRadio+ Billboard Hits

Some companies continue to try to find a way to replace audio CD’s in brick and mortar stores like Wal-Mart.  For most of the Gear Diary staff, digital downloads via iTunes Music store, Amazon MP3 Store or the Zune store have all but replaced audio CD’s.  What could be easier than downloading a MP3 and putting it on your player? SanDisk is trying again to do this with  SlotRadio+. SlotRadio+ is basically very similar to SlotRadio, but not only has 1000 music tracks on it, it also has 4 Gigs of storage for your own music.  This sounds pretty cool…

Review: Monster Cable Outlets to Go with USB

Reviews

Review: Monster Cable Outlets to Go with USB

After going to many conferences for my day job, one thing I have always stuffed in my bag has been a power strip.  As any geek knows, there is rarely enough outlets in the hotel room where you need them.  Plus most power strips have all the outlets arranged such that you can’t plug to wall warts side by side.  Well, Outlets to Go from Monster Cable is something I’ve always wanted.  It gives you a power strip with built-in cord management.  Plus a little surprise I will get to later.

Review: Wii Pedestal Base

Reviews

Review: Wii Pedestal Base

Sometimes a product does not have to be complex to be great.  Little nifty things like the 3 beads on the Zagg  Smartbuds Dan just reviewed.  It seems so simple, but makes a world of difference in its use.  Is the Wii Pedestal Base one of these products?  Let’s find out.

Review: Altego Clear Laptop Sleeve

Reviews

Review: Altego Clear Laptop Sleeve

Some people decorate and adorn their laptops with stickers or Gelaskins.  Sometimes you can buy a laptop that comes with a design on the back of the LCD that just begs to be shown off all the time even when it’s in the case.  That is exactly what the Altego Laptop Sleeve was made for.