Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

The Digital Innovations cleanDR Refresh Wipes for Electronics Review

Fingerprints and face grease are a fact of life when using a mobile phone; and unless you are a fan of cloudy screens, you probably spend quite a bit of time wiping yours with a shirt tail or microfiber cloth. As well as that may usually work, nothing can really take the place of a good cleaning. But what’s the best way to clean an electronic device that has an inherent dislike for water?? Well according to Digital Innovations, it’s with a cleanDR Refresh Wipes for Electronics. I guess it was only a matter of time before an electronics cleaner…


The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Microsoft Windows Vista Book Review

Dear Frustrated Windows User, Want to make my blood boil? Just tell me that someday, in the not-too-distant future, my refrigerator will include a computer that alerts me when I’m low on milk. Just tell me that someday my microwave oven will feature a computer that “senses” what’s inside and cooks it accordingly. Just tell me that someday my car will include a computer that lets it repair itself by “downloading” some kind of software off the Internet. The crazy thing is that there are scientists and engineers actually working on these kinds of pie-in-the-sky ideas. Don’t these eggheads know…


The i-mate JAQ3 WM5 Pocket PC Phone Edition Review

[Ed. note: If you haven’t already, then take a look at the first part of this review, Unboxing the i-mate JAQ3, in which Judie opens the JAQ3’s box and takes a quick look at this PDA phone and its other box contents.] For this jointly written and jointly posted (on each of our sites) review, Judie’s comments will be in black, and Clinton’s comments will be in blue and italicized. One afternoon about a month ago, I received an email from an i-mate executive assistant saying “Jim Morrison wants to send you an i-mate JAQ3 Windows Mobile phone, can you…


The Gennum nX6000 Bluetooth Headset Review

When I recently reviewed the nXZEN PLUS 5500 BT Headset, I was very impressed by its noise cancelling capabilities, so much so that even though the 5500 was larger than the AX2 I was using, I started using it instead. Well, now the one thing that I missed about the AX2 has been replicated in a Gennum device: Meet the nX6000, a very petite BT headset which combines the excellent noise cancelling properties of the larger nXZEN models with the tiny size I like. Included in the box are the headset, a miniUSB charging cable, a USB AC Adapter two…


The Purse Hook Review

When I was in college, one of my sorority sisters had a saying that went “Purse on the floor, always poor.” While I used to snicker every time I heard her say that, I just loathed setting my bag any place on the floor where it could be easily kicked, stolen, or worse. I’ll never forget the time that my brand new Louis Vuitton Ellipse sat steeping in a puddle of water on a restaurant’s seemingly clean floor before I realized what was happening. Even though it was just water and my purse dried without any problems (or ugly stains),…


The Otterbox 1920 Treo Case Review

Let’s say that the place where you need to use your Palm Treo 650 or 700 series is not in an office in the middle of the city; perhaps it is at a bivouac in the middle of a desert, in an arctic outpost, or maybe on board a crabbing vessel in the middle of the Bering sea. These are not the places where a stylish wrap will protect your PDA adequately, these are the type places that call for an OtterBox 1920 Palm Treo Case. This thing is a beast!


The Logitech V450 Laser Cordless Mouse Review

What kind of mouse do you like to use when you are working at your desktop? Mine is a Logitech MX 1000 Laser which I’ve had for a couple of years, and it’s still going strong. I like it so much because it fits my palm, tracks exceptionally well, has multiple scrolling and button features, and it has a long-lasting rechargeable battery. Today I am going to take a look at a mini laser mouse, also from Logitech. This one is the V450 Laser and it is specifically for notebook computers – although it will also work as a regular…


TSA Nudie Show at the Airport: Perfect Dieting Incentive

So let’s say that you haven’t exactly kept up with your New Year’s Resolution of doing 30 – 50 minutes a day on the treadmill, with a little bit of upper body weight lifting every other day. You didn’t think anyone would ever notice, right? Well the TSA will notice, so if you travel, you’ll now have a new reason to get your butt back on track…and as quickly as possible! According to Yahoo News, “Sky Harbor International Airport [in Phoenix, AZ] became the country’s first to begin testing a controversial new federal screening system that takes X-rays of passenger’s…


The Digital Innovations airDr. Air Blaster CO2 Review

I’ve mentioned before what a problem dust can be in my workspace, and nothing aggravates me more than watching it try to settle into the crevices of my keyboard. One of ways I regularly combat this unwelcome desktop addition is by blasting it with compressed air. When the folks at CO2 asked if we would be interested in taking a look at some of the items on their site, for obvious reasons the Digital Innovations was one of my first choices.


The MP4 Watch Review

We’ve all seen watches that can play MP3s before, heck – I’ve reviewed two of them, and both could even serve as voice recorders. Well, today we are going to take a look at the MP4 Watch, which is the first watch I’ve tried that can not only play MP3s and record voice memos, it can also display photos and replay movies. Pretty crazy, right? Are movies on your wrist something you’ve always dreamed of? Or something that you’ve never really thought about, but the idea of being able to intrigues you just a little bit? Or maybe you are…


The Proporta Treo 700 Lateral Case Review

For some time Proporta has been known for their custom molded aluminum PDA cases as well as their Alu-Leather case line, which consists of hand-crafted leather cases with an aluminum “screen saver system”. Today wer’e going to take a look at the next generation case from Proporta: one that was created especially for the Palm Treo 700 series, and one which blends the protection and industrial design of their aluminum cases with the classic leather style of their Alu-Leather case line, fusing them into something new – the Treo 700 Lateral Case. Included in the box are the case, a…


The Logitech Alto Review

I bought a brand new Toshiba Satellite A-105 laptop in late September 2006, and by the time my new Fujitsu T4215 had arrived in mid-January, I had already managed to start wearing the left leg off of the Toshiba keyboard’s silk-screened “A” button. I have no idea what my problem is, but I am really hard on keyboards; I have commented before that I must just bang on the keys or something, because it is common for the regularly used keys to eventually lose their label. While this might not be a huge issue on the typical desktop keyboard (“Hey,…


The OtterBox 7000 Series Laptop Case Review

I’ve reviewed quite a few OtterBox PDA Cases in the past, and one of the main traits they all shared was their near indestructible tough design. Today I am going to take a look at Otterbox’s answer to the traditional laptop case. Obviously their version wouldn’t be made of Cordura, leather, or any other “girly” material. To stay true to past design, an OtterBox laptop case would have to be made of heavy duty plastic, be waterproof, and be tough enough that it could carry its contents though the harshest environments without compromising their safety. When I unboxed this review…


The Tom Bihn ID Messenger Bag Review

Back in 2003 I reviewed the Tom Bihn Absolute Shoulder Strap, and while I may have thought that it was a nearly perfect bag at the time, Tom Bihn and company were not content to rest upon their laurels. The ID Messenger Bag has recently undergone some major renovations, and now we’ll get to decide if the updated version is a worthy successor. While some things have definitely changed since 2003, other things have thankfully remained the same. Most of Tom’s products are still manufactured in the Pacific Northwest at their Seattle factory. But don’t worry: those that aren’t made…


The FlexiSnake Hair Clog Tool Review

A healthy head of human hair sheds approximately 100 strands a day. Since there are an average of 110,000 other hairs on each person’s head, those lost are never really missed. Hairs are dropped everywhere we go, and for the most part – unless you are perpetrating a crime – there is no harm in losing them. That is unless they are inadvertently being caught in an undesirable location…such as the drainpipe in a bathroom sink or shower.This review has such potential to include some of the most graphic descriptions and disgusting photos ever published this side of Rotten.com…but we’re…


The Belkin TunePower for Zune Review

So far I have been averaging about 11 hours of battery life from my Zune; and while that’s decent, it doesn’t inspire confidence for those long stretches of time when tunes are desired but there is no ready power source available. Well, Belkin has a solution, and it’s called TunePower. According to Belkin, “TunePower keeps the music playing even when your Zune player?s internal battery is drained. It offers a great solution for long flights, train rides, hikes–any time you want to extend your music and video playtime. A foldout kickstand positions the Zune at the perfect viewing angle, and…


The Jetart NP7600W Aluminum Notebook Cooler Review

One of the first things I noticed about my new FujitsuT4215 was that it gets pretty hot while running in laptop mode. See, there’s this vent on the left hand side, and it cranks out heat like there’s no tomorrow…and the bottom of the laptop get’s pretty warm, too. Which is why it seemed particularly timely when I received a review sample of the new Jetart NP7600W Aluminum Notebook Cooler.


The Mobile Edge Monaco Notebook Case Review

I’ve always enjoyed reviewing the laptop bags offered by Mobile Edge, because they make some of the best looking and most reasonably priced computer totes available. Today I am going to take a close look at the Monaco Notebook Case, which from the outside appears to be a stylish but still somewhat conservative laptop bag, but its brightly colored interior holds a few surprises. The Monaco’s exterior is composed of quilted black nylon with faux leather trim, and it is available with either white or pink contrast stitching. From the outside, it very much resembles the Hermes Plume bag, with…


The Altec Lansing M604 Powered Audio System for Zune Review

One of the first things I realized after getting my Zune was that although listening to it through a premium set of earphones was nice, there were going to be plenty of times when I wouldn’t want to hear my music that way. Times when I would want to hear it playing over a better sounding system than the craptastic speakers on my laptop. Figuring out how I was going to accomplish this became my goal, because the fact of the matter is that there is a certain other digital music player that currently enjoys most of the after-market accessory…


The Gennum nXZEN PLUS 5500 Bluetooth Headset Review

Alright, alright, settle down! Just because you are looking at a picture of a pink headset, there is no excuse to dismiss the product as “not something I’d be interested in.” It’s also available in a unisex silver; I just wanted to try something different. 😉 With that out of the way, let me tell you about how I gained first-hand knowledge of the? Gennum nXZEN PLUS 5500 Bluetooth Headset‘s noise canceling properties. My buddy Vincent likes to call every time he gets a new headset, so I can tell him how he sounds on it. Generally I’m able to…


Unboxing the Fujitsu LifeBook T4215 Tablet PC

How did you ring in 2007? At about 11:50, I got online and placed my last gadget order of 2006 at the Fujitsu site, buying the T4215 Tablet PC. It has been an agonizing 20 days waiting for my first non-UMPC tablet to show up, but it finally shipped from Osaka Japan on the 15th and arrived late last night. My original intention was to film an unboxing, but since I had already given up on delivery for the weekend and was in my pajamas with my hair piled on top of my head, the video idea was waylaid. 😉…