Reviews

I Hate Spam and So Do You!

I Hate Spam! I hate it.  I  hate it.  I HATE IT!  And thus, concludes my review of Spam. Oh wait, no come back.  Just to clarify, I was not talking about the “delicious” faux lunchmeat in a can from Hormel.  Yeah, I love those guys too.  No, I meant the stuff on your computer.  I mean, well…look, I’ll tell you what I mean: I Hate Spam. Get Out of Debt Today. Avoid Bankruptcy. Save Thousands…The Professional Way! I Hate Spam! Prestigious gifts for only the dearest people! I Hate Spam! Low Cost Meds Viagra,Cialis.  No Perscription Needed.  You will…


The Venturi Mini Review

Chris Spera called me the other day while I was driving my Alfa. We talked for a little bit, but then I finally had to admit that I was driving a stick shift in traffic, and holding my mobile phone to my left ear was a little bit tricky…since that was the hand I needed for the steering wheel, while my right hand was working the shift. He, of course, reminded me that they make headsets for that. I, of course, don’t really like wearing one. This review will focus on a compromise for people like me, those who don’t…


First Drive: Lexus LX 570

In my haste to bring you the exciting news about the upcoming IS-F luxury sports car from Lexus, I nearly overlooked the fact that we were in the Mobile Bay area recently to get our first impressions of another new vehicle from Toyota’s luxury division, the LX 570.


DYMO DiscPainter Review

CD Printing at home has been around for several years now, negating the need for sticky labels that make the disc so thick that it won’t fit in a laptop drive properly. Dymo, famous for their many label-making solutions, have entered the market with the DiscPainter, a stand-alone CD and DVD label printer that prints directly onto blank discs in around 60 seconds. In the box is the DiscPainter, a quick-start guide, registration card, ink cartridge, 3 blank printable discs, AC adapter (110-240V, works anywhere in the world) and surprisingly a USB cord. Seems these days the vital link between…


VIA Artigo Review

We’ve all seen the mini PCs like Lenovo’s Thinkcenter Desktops and Dell’s small desktops. We’ve also seen other PCs about the size of a external CD rom. Now, we have one that’s about half that size. VIA had brought out the Artigo Builders Kit. The motherboard on the Artigo is about the size of a credit card but is about as thick as a stack of credit cards. The whole PC is designed to fit in the same slot as your desktop’s DVD drive. You can take multiples of these and install them in a standard desktop case; it is…


My Car PC

When I bought my new car in September 2007 I knew I would be keeping it for a few years, so I decided that I was going to take the plunge, and build a Car PC like those that I had read about on the MP3Car.com forums. The computer would replace the standard audio system, and add MP3 playback, video, GPS, GPS tracking and internet access to my car After months of dreaming about such a setup my Car PC is finally installed. I’ve had the computer on my desk for over 3 mths now but time and money kinda…


The Toshiba Qosmio Review: Better, Stronger, Faster Than Anything You Have Seen Before

[Note: This is the second part of my look at the Toshiba Qosmio.  For my unboxing and initial impressions, take a look at Part 1] When I first started looking at the Qosmio laptop, I thought I was going to have a panic attack.  There were just so many different features here.  How was I possibly going to discuss them all?  Was I in over my head?  In fact, I came close to wondering whether I should have asked for it at all.  Yikes!  Talk about a crisis of confidence.  Luckily, I had a chance to discuss this with Judie,…


The Targus 17″ Trademark II Overnight Roller Review

When Sarah and I traveled to Amsterdam, I was trying to travel with the lightest gear possible, so I brought along my HP TX1327 which easily fit into a sleeve inside my carry on. But when I went to CES, I wanted to bring the laptop I most enjoy writing on – the Toshiba X205. Now here’s the thing: the X205 is a 17? beast, and I knew that it wasn’t a laptop I would be toting on the floor or bringing to meetings; I just wanted my laptop in the hotel room, waiting for me at night when I…


The USB Fever iPhone Aluminum Case Review

Perhaps leather cases just aren’t your style – maybe because you want added drop protection without adding too much bulk, or maybe because you just happen to enjoy hard-edged industrial design. Well for whatever reason, when you want tougher than leather and clear cases aren’t going to cut it, the best option is a metal case such as this one by USB Fever, their iPhone Aluminum Case.


AT&T Palm Centro Review

Last fall, the Palm Centro was launched in the U.S. on the Sprint network. Judie did a review of it and covered everything from the unboxing to her impressions of the device. Rather than repeat covering the basics of this device, I’m going to recommend that you take a look at her review here and here for a basic overview of using the Centro.


Nokia N95 8GB: Everything the N95 Should Have Been

I really liked the original N95, but a few things left me with a sour taste in my mouth. For the price, the build quality was absolutely appalling, the battery life was pathetic and it constantly ran out of memory. I reviewed the N95 just under 6mths ago, and in that time they have released a new version titled the N95 8GB. While it shares a similar design and innards to the original, it feels like an entirely new animal. Note: Due to the server crash, the photos no longer have links to large versions. Right-click them and click “View…


A Perfect Match: The Aliph Jawbone Review

I admit I love wearing Bluetooth headsets for phone conversations (in the privacy of my car). However to wear them publicly, you have to get past the cyborg ribbing and the crazy look that people give you from looking at you like you’re talking crazy. Truth be told, most Bluetooth headsets are not worth the humiliation, let alone the intended quality. After using several Bluetooth headsets (or ear roaches), there are three that I like that perform double duty previously reviewed here, here and here; the rest are a waste of good money. I think a majority of people would…


The Smartphone Experts Screen Protector for Apple iPhone Review

When I first got my iPhone, Vincent said he was going to hook me up with a bunch of cool accessories from the MY iTablet store. I told him no problem, as long as he didn’t mind me writing reviews about the items he sent. I figured he’d send an iPhone case or two, but what I got instead was a box full of goodies. If I didn’t already know this about V, it would have all been confirmed with this shipment – the man does not mess around. What will follow are several reviews about the accessories he sent…


The Smartphone Experts Metal Cover for Apple iPhone Review

This case is for all of the minimalists out there – those who want to put their iPhone in a pocket, who don’t want a lot of bulk, but who are worried about the screen because things can happen inside pockets. Well, there will be one less thing to worry about if your iPhone is in the Smartphone Experts Metal Cover. This is another of the cases Vincent sent me from the MY iTablet Store, and knowing me as well as he does – he arranged to have the hot pink version sent. For those of you that aren’t feeling…


A Open Source Router with more power! The LX800-40 Review

Now, Open Source software has been running on routers for quite sometime, however most routers like the Linksys WRT54GL have limited resources. They have limited ram, limited CPU and limited on board storage. This limits greatly what can be done with the router software wise. So, eventually, you run up against a wall with what you can do with the router. Even if you can get the software setup on the router, sometimes it seems like it’s just slow or you wish it was just faster than it is now. David Samms and New World Data Systems based here in…


The SanDisk Sansa Clip Review: The Smallest Big Music Player Around

Not long ago, I brought you a review of Sansa’s latest and greatest portable media player, the Sansa View.  Today, I will be looking at the View’s younger brother, the Clip.  This is a small, 1, 2, or 4 GB media player, which clips onto your clothing for easy transportation.  Perfect for the user who does not require all of the sound and fury of the feature rich View, but still wants quick and easy access to their tunes. What’s In The Box:  Before we talk about what is inside the box, let’s talk about the box itself.  The Sansa…


The Belkin TuneBase FM with ClearScan for iPod Review

One of the complaints that I’ve heard when doing FM transmitter reviews in the past, was that it can be hard to find a clear station to transmit through in larger cities. My biggest complaint has been that even when I’ve found a good station to hijack, the quality of the streaming music is all too often degraded to a point where it’s no longer a pleasure to listen, or the signal is so faint that I have to crank the volume on my receiver to get any sound – assuming the signal is clear enough to not be loaded…


Setting Up and Using the Roomba 560

Today I unboxed and set up my recently received iRobot Roomba 560 evaluation unit. I figured it might be fun for those of you who are curious to see what’s involved…and then we could send it on a test run together. Consider this part one of its review, because I will be posting initial impressions tonight and final impressions after having used it for a good bit longer. I like the promise written on the box, “cleans routinely so you don’t have to.” Yes, please! This model is supposed to be able to clean four complete rooms, it can be…


Money Honey – The ALL-ETT Women’s Pocket Wallet Review

A while back, I shared about a line of wallets made by ALL-ETT Billfolds. To this day, I’ve have really enjoyed the European Leather version and the various compliments received. Mrs. WonderDawg continues to use the Original “World’s Thinnest Wallet” for its bulk reducing features and quality of the Spinmaker cloth material. Adam Muscat from ALL-ETT recently provided samples of their new Women’s Pocket Wallet and the International Wallet.


LOST: no more – The Navigon 2100 GPS REVIEW

The first time that I ever used a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit was back in 1996-97 while in Denver, Colorado. For $10.00 extra, I upgraded to the optional GPS feature in my Hertz rental car, which turned out to be a fun experience that got me from point A to B in a new city even if I missed the turns. Before GPS, I can recall exhibiting high frustration levels of being unable to find my way to a destination, especially at night. With bad eyesight, unmarked streets, winding roads and no sense of direction along with male pride,…


The Ownersite Vehicle Maintenance Online Log Site Review

People like me, who are used to using a software program such as eWallet, know the value and convenience of having all of their important personal data in an easily accessible and secure location. Once you’ve put out the initial effort required during setup, staying on top of future entries is just a matter of regular updates as new items occur. I mention the concept behind eWallet, because the service I’ll tell you about in this review takes that same basic idea, but then applies it in a much more thorough way to vehicle maintenance, management, and logging. The service…