Articles by Wayne Schulz

Palm Centro: A Wise First Smartphone Choice For Those With Tiny Fingers

Sprint recently introduced two new colors to their lineup of Centro by Palm smarphones. These new colors, olive green and vibrant rose, don’t add any new features however they create a different look to the phone which may attract someone whose criteria in phone selection is color. The question I had when Sprint asked us to take a look at the phone is not whether a power user would like the phone (I think the answer is no). Rather I was curious to know if the Centro would be a good phone for your wife, kids or significant other to…

Reviews

Verizon BlackBerry Storm Video Review

Jason D. O’Grady of The Apple Core posted up a nice video of the soon to be released BlackBerry Storm (11/21 release date via Verizon) which is Research In Motion’s eagerly anticipated entry into the world of touch screen devices. I’m still in the “wait and see” camp on this device. I’m concerned about a lack of innovative touch applications and think most early purchasers will buy on impulse not realizing there’s no App Store (yet) and a real lack of applications. To get a sense of my definition of “lack of innovative applications” compare FaceBook for BlackBerry to FaceBook…

Reviews

Blackberry 8220 First Impressions

T-Mobile just sent us an evaluation Blackberry 8220 to test and review. While I’m just getting started on using this and won’t be ready for a full review until a couple more weeks – I wanted to post some of my initial thoughts on where this device fits (and where it doesn’t). You may know that prior to the iPhone I was a diehard Blackberry user. Ultimately I gave up the Blackberry in May 2008 due to these 10 reasons. I’m always open to taking a fresh look at the latest devices and the Blackberry 8220 was intriguing to me…

Reviews

Griffin WindowSeat for iPhone & Touch Review

When I’m driving in the car typically my iPhone sits loosely on my seat. This means that when I take a sharp turn suddenly my phone slides all the way across the seat — sometimes on the the floor. So I was interested to see how Griffin’s WindowSeat would work to keep my iPhone firmly in sight – and in place in the car.

Reviews

Griffin Aircurve boosts your iPhone audio without power

I’ve been testing the new Griffin Aircurve with my iPhone for the past week. My primary alarm clock each morning is my iPhone which I’ve set to wake me at the same time each weekday. Usually I just leave it flat on my nightstand. Sometimes I plug it into a power cable and other times I forget. Here’s a new product from Griffin that does three things – (1) Acts as a stand — (2) Amplifies the iPhone sound and (3) allows for powering your iPhone through your charging cable. How well does it work?

Gear Bits

Study say’s Sharpies can be reused over and over in surgeries without risk of infection – still unsafe to leave inside patient

I just spotted this story over at physorg.org which describes an interesting study. These days it’s standard surgical practice to outline the area being operated on with a magic marker (typically a Sharpie). When I had hernia repair surgery (an impressive hernia according to my doctor) I recall the surgical assistant asking me to take a Sharpie and outline the area. I also briefly think I remember a lot of laughter and some flashbulbs, though I’m not sure if that was the effects of the anesthesia or some practical jokers in the operating room. Apparently these Sharpies are used once…

Reviews

(Why) I Hate to Date (Online)

(Why) I Hate to Date (Online) is a new publication from MaryAnna Donovan which outlines her 5 years of online dating. I thought it might be fun to look at this book since Judie had just finished writing a series about online dating in July. In the book MaryAnna provides commentary about a few of the men she met as well as the online dating sites themselves. The book summarizes the online dating experience very accurately and provides excellent points about the world of online dating. If you’re thinking of online dating – could you benefit from the book?

Reviews

Balanzza digital airline luggage scale reviewed

Prior to using the Balanzza digital luggage scale I had an awkward way of weighing my luggage before leaving on a trip. In order to meet airline weight limits (typically 50 pounds) I’d try to position my fat suitcase on the bathroom scale. This was an imperfect method because it was nearly impossible to read the weight without shifting the suitcase around on the scale which in turn produced inaccurate readings. When I found the Balanzza luggage scale I had to give it a try to see whether it was a better method than the old bathroom scale.

Editorials

TuneRanger iTunes Sync from Smithmicro – let the buyer beware

I received an email offer about two weeks ago from SmithMicro. They advertise a software product called TuneRanger which promises to “Sync, manage and protect all of your iTunes libraries …with the click of a button”. I have my main iTunes library on an iMac and would like to synchronize all of the iTunes music over to my MacBook Pro so that I’d have an identical copy including playlists and any ratings that I’d created for my songs. SmithMicro was offering over 30% savings if I bought within 10 days of the mailing – which seemed too good to be…

Reviews

Urbantool Sportholster – extra pockets during workouts

I am in the midst of a 6 month training to complete my first half marathon. When I began my more serious training in the spring I was often faced with a few logistical issues; such as where to put my keys, my phone and iPod? If I was running in my neighborhood the keys weren’t an issue, but I often travel to different parks and cities to keep me from getting bored and give me a good reason to see places I have not seen before. I have tried “hiding” my key on my tire, tying it to my…

Reviews

We take the iStik magnetic 3G Nano case out for 26 miles of road testing

When the people from iStik contacted us to test a new magnetic iPod Nano cases I was intrigued. They claim it holds your Nano tightly to your clothes via a set of four magnets that attach through your clothing. I was a little skeptical. Would these magnets really hold an iPod Nano 3G with all the jolting that occurs during a run? Even worse, if the magnets didn’t hold the case – you’d be left carrying an iPod during a lengthy exercise session. Since I’m not a runner, I had to rely on two eager volunteers. First up – my…

Reviews

LapStrap Review

Lapstrap is a simple concept. Take a length of wide nylon “strap” (comfortably padded – with a nice inner rubber grippy surface), buckle the strap for form a big loop. Now sling the loop through your laptop and close it. What you have is a quick and easy way to carry your laptop without the hassle of opening and closing your laptop bag. What you don’t have is any of your laptop accessories like the charger or external drives. The makers of this device sent me one yesterday, and I’ve been trying it around the office. My initial impression: Great…

Editorials

Livescribe Pulse – Don’t Head Back to School Without It!

I’m a terrible note taker. Half the time I’m focussed so intensely on what the other person is saying that I forget to take notes for brief periods of time. Later when I get back to the office I rack my brain trying to remember what was said. Here’s a solution to fill in the blanks on those notes you forgot to take. It’s a regular sized pen with a built in audio recorder(1GB or 2GB of memory) – plus it digitizes your notes for upload to your computer or the web. This is a PERFECT back to school item…

Reviews

Purebuds earbuds one word review: Amazing

We get a lot of requests to review earbuds, headsets and earphones. Usually I can’t really tell the difference between one set and another. This time there were several things that made me sit up and take notice of the Purebuds earbuds. These promise to use something called “Reverse Sound Technology” to deliver safe and clean sound.

Reviews

LED light bulb replaces your halogens – reduces room temperature from tropical to comfortable

Thomas Edison…It was nice knowing you, but the days of the incandescent light bulb are numbered! Ok, so here’s my scenario. I’m definitely not your classic Al Gore save the spotted clam type. So when I tell my friends about this purchase, at first they don’t get it. I often work out of a home office that is about 12 feet by 12 feet and is located in my basement. Due to that, it is a naturally cool area to work. We do have air conditioning that was piped in from the main system via a thermostatically controlled gate so…

Gear Bits

Temporarily tattoo emergency or contact info onto your kids – the one thing they can’t lose

File this under “Why didn’t I think of it first”….identity and emergency contact labels that you apply to your children as temporary tattoos. As anyone with younger children knows – they lose just about EVERYTHING. Including any type of stick on label or card that you put on their shirt or (shudder) in their backpack. Enter the Eyedentity Label. This interesting new product allows you to create up to 4 lines of text which is then used to create a tattoo for your child. These are the tattoos that you apply with vegetable oil (parents who’ve used these types of…

How to Do It Yourself!

DIY Mini Desktop Air Conditioner with Ice, a Burger Box and Small Fan

Yesterday here in Connecticut it was hazy, hot and humid. Then thundershowers passed through. Afterwards it was still – hazy, hot and humid. If you’re stuck in an enclosed space trying to fight the heat – check out this do it yourself mini-desktop air conditioner. It runs entirely on batteries and is fueled by ice. If you have a spare hamburg box, some ice and a small battery powered fan – you’re in business. More photos follow. Here’s your parts list: — Burger styrofoam box — A small exhaust pc brushless DC fan the thicker the width the better!!thin fans…

Travel

Paper shampoo avoids carry on baggage hassles when traveling

Last year when I was on a business trip I tried avoiding an extra charge for overweight luggage by taking out some of my heavier shampoo and other toiletries and putting them in my carry on (which had no weight limit). Of course airline regulations forbid carrying anything liquid (over a certain size). Turns out I forfeited half of what I tried to carry. Due to my aversion to the nasty hotel shampoo bottles I was forced to make a hasty 1am shopping trip to pick up shampoo when I reached my destination. Had I brought along some of these…

Gear Bits

Sweetslap.com offers the Top 20 Things Not to Say During Sex

Here’s an aptly named web site for the romantically clueless. Sweetslap.com bills itself as a site that provides the “refreshing, light slap in the face that all couples need once in a while to stop and remember to appreciate one another”.

Reviews

Tanita KD 400 Digital Scale Review

If you’re looking for a compact scale that’s easy to use and simple to store – here’s a nice option from Tanita. With only two buttons on the front, the Tanita KD-400 is easy enough for people of all ages to use. You can measure weight in 1g increments – up to a maximum of 11lbs. How well did it work?

Gear Bits

Put some sizzle in your flossing habits – Bacon flavored dental floss

This one’s too bizarre to pass up. Is there really a market for bacon flavored dental floss? Every time I visit my dentist they trot out the “so, do you floss regularly?” question. And every year I duck it by lying about my flossing frequency. I’m not so sure that bacon flavoring would get me to floss any more regularly. If you have a bacon fetish – check out bacon mints, and bacon toothpicks. Good gosh, how I wish I were making this all up.

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