Computer Gear

The WirelessGround USB Leather Hand Strap Review

I never thought I would be one of those people that used a hand strap, but at some point over the last year, I decided that I really like having one. I’ve been using a little freebie strap that came with a PQI flash drive, but the WirelessGround USB Leather Hand Strap I was sent convinced me to try something new. Why would I want to add a 7.5? long x 0.3? wide leather strap with a 0.6? square near its end to my Mogul? Well…check it out!


The Tuniq Tower 120 Ultra Silent CPU Cooler Review

Everyone knows the phrase, “Bigger is better,” and that phrase applies to almost everything except cell phones, so logically it should apply to as well…right? Well, that’s what I was aiming to find out in this review. Trust me, CPU coolers don’t get much bigger than this little behemoth…at least, I hope they don’t. If so the gravitational pull from it could cause the wires in your case to get tangled in its fans. Generally, I consider that bad, but luckily this model doesn’t suffer that complication.


Soothing the savage beast: the DLO iBoom Travel Review

English playwright William Congreve wrote in 1697, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast / To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” There may have been a Freudian slip when Congreve meant beast. Fast forward to the 21st century. We can certainly be savage grumps when it comes to waking up to an alarm clock with an obnoxious buzzer or worse, annoying morning chatterboxes with Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs as the musical selection to reside in your head all day. Get you someone really to pull the wool with you What?I say it’s…


The LTB 5.1 USB Headphones Review

Up until 3 months ago when I would play computer games (like Call of Duty 2 and Counter Strike) using just a normal pair of earbuds, which worked fine, but I wanted something a little better. LTB produce a pair of 5.1 headphones that connect up over USB, and they sent me a pair to try out. Included in the box are the headphones, USB-to-3.5mm adaptor, driver CD and manual. There was a second driver CD taped to the outside of the box with newer drivers, but I just downloaded the latest ones (for Windows) of their website. The headphones…


The Tornado File Transfer Tool Review

In my day job as a computer technician… one of the things I work with is computer data, moving files from one place to another. Depending on the situation, there is more than one way to move said data.? It could involve using, USB flash drives, making DVD-R’s, USB external hard drives, taking apart the computer and removing the hard drive to connect to another computer as a secondary hard drive. All these methods vary in length of time needed to complete the transfer. And as always, a direct A to B is the quickest way to get it done….


The JetArt Cooling Review Part 2 and 3: HDD and CPU Coolers

A few days ago I posted my review of the JetArt VC2600 VGA Cooler, which I was very happy with. I have decided to roll the HDD and CPU Cooler Reviews into one as the HDD Cooler review is fairly short. JetArt HCA06 HDD Cooler Review The HDD cooler is quite simple, attaching to the HDD with four screws and powered by a molex plug. Included in the package is the cooler and 4 screws. The cooler is specifically designed for a standard 3.5? HDD, and is screwed onto the bottom of the drive. It doesn?t extend over the sides…


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…


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 JetArt Cooling Products Review Part 1: VC2600 VGA Cooler

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about building a new PC. My current PC is fine, but that it part of the problem. It is running too fine. I am afraid if I do anything to it I might mess it up. That and the fact it cost me a fair bit sees me resisting the urge to do anything like modifying it. I decided the best way to get into PC modding was to build a cheap PC, that I could do anything to without worrying about loosing a lot a of money on it. The…


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,…


Logitech VX Revolution Laser Mouse Review

When I bought my MacBook Pro back in December I was excited that it had built-in Bluetooth, something that I gave up with my previous notebook. It was great being able to sync my PDA/Phone and use a wireless mouse without cables or dongles. The Logitech MX900 has for several years been my favourite mouse because of its excellent shape, multitude of buttons, rechargeable batteries (with charging dock) and Bluetooth. No other mouse had impressed me since, or made me want to replace it. I figured it would be no problem to pair it up with my Mac and get…


iSkin ProTouch Keyboard Protector Review

With the increasing amount of time that people are spending on their computers these days, be it for work or pleasure, eating and drinking in front of the computer is commonplace. With this comes the risk of spilling that coffee or cup of Diet Coke (Judie :P), or dropping crumbs of that cookie into your keyboard, where they will literally put a spanner in the works. Enter the iSkin ProTouch, a product designed to help keep all those nasties off and out of your vulnerable keyboard. The iSkin is a rubber cover that sits on top of your keyboard that…


The i.Tech Virtual Keyboard (VKB) Review

[Ed. note: this review picks up where the Unboxing left off. If you haven’t already read it, read the i.Tech Virtual Keyboard Unboxing first.] This past month with the i.Tech Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me. During this time, I have managed to learn way more about Bluetooth Stacks and Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrades than I ever wanted to know…but I’m getting ahead of myself already, and we wouldn’t want that… 😉 As many of you will recall from my previously posted unboxing, the Virtual Keyboard (VKB) is a futuristic…


The Brando 1GB USB Flash Card Review

Some days it seems as if I have seen just about every form a USB flash memory device could take, but every now and then a product will come along and make me think “hey, that was a great idea!” The Brando USB Flash Card is just such an item. Measuring 3.4″ long x 2.1″ wide x 0.15″ thick, the USB Flash Card is the exact size of a credit card, and the approximate thickness of three. The USB Flash Card is available in 1GB size, and unlike the Walletex memory card I reviewed last year, it does not have…


The i.Tech Virtual Keyboard Unboxing

The i.Tech Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard has been on my list of must-try items ever since I first heard about it – which if I remember correctly was in 2003! The first time I saw pictures of a keyboard which worked by beaming a red laser display on any flat surface, my inner geek did a happy dance! This is a product that looks like came straight out of a Philip K. Dick novel, out of a Star Trek episode, out of a…you get the picture. 😉 Like many new technologies, the VKB had a few false-starts and took longer to…


The Purosol Plasma Molecular Screen Cleaner Review

Have you got a filthy television or computer screen lurking somewhere in the house? I do, or rather, I did. While my laptop’s screen is usually kept as spotless as possible – because I am obsessive like that – Sarah’s looks like it has been pulling weekend duty in a public library. Those that hate fingerprinted screens might want to cover their eyes…this is a scary, scary sight… 😯 That’s why when I was approached about trying the new Purosol Plasma Molecular Screen Cleaner, I jumped at the chance. Can you blame me? So why hadn’t I just taken a…


The Atech Flash PROGear-G5 28-in-1 Card Reader Review

One of the downsides of trying almost every type gadget known to man is that they all seem to take different memory cards. Why is that? (A rhetorical question if there ever was one, I don’t really expect an answer. ;-)) As each new memory card format comes out, all I can do anymore is?be grateful that they come with SD adapters so that I can at least access the card’s contents from my laptop’s built-in reader. However there are plenty of cards that won’t play nicely with SD, either because they are too big or because they are too…


The Case Logic 6 Capacity USB Drive Shuttle Review

While I was at CompUSA one day… I came across the USB flash drive case made by Case Logic (model JDC6). Case Logic calls it the “Case Logic”. I thought what a neat idea. My USB flash drive collection is growing and carrying more than one is proving to be some what of a problem, so I bought the case. The case is 5.25″ x 3.75″ x 1″m and weighs in at 4 oz, which makes for easy carrying. As the product name implies, there are 6 pockets and are made of a mesh material with elastic edges to keep…


The 256MB Ikura Sushi Memory Disk Review

It should be no surprise that because I live in the middle of dry and dusty West Texas, I don’t often get to partake in good sushi. One night while I was talking to G-A of Akihabara news, he was lamenting that there was no good meat in Japan. I assume he wasn’t talking about Kobe beef, but he was basically making the remark because I am in cattle country. 😉 So I smarted back that at least he had good sushi, and he said no problem, he would send me some. Yeah, right! And sure enough, he did… About…


The Datexx Sentina Outback Rechargeable PowerBank Review

I’m always looking for alternative sources of power for my electronic devices, which is why the Datexx Sentina Outback Rechargeable PowerBank caught my eye. Billed as a super bright LED flashlight, a motion detector / emergency light, a USB charger for electronic gadgets, a power generator, and an SOS siren, the Outback almost sounds like it tries to take on too many properties, a “jack of all trades” if you will. Let’s take a look and see if this device lives up to its billing, or if as the famous other half of the “jack of all trades” saying goes,…


The Vaja Motorola Q Classic MO111 Case Review

The Motorola Q is a very thin, yet wider than usual Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone which was designed to be held to the user’s face when making calls. It also sports a full QWERTY keyboard for thumb-typing and a bright 2″ wide x 1.5″ tall screen. Making a case that would keep the screen from being unnecessarily scratched, protect the majority of the device’s plastic body, and yet allow unfettered access to the keyboard and other ports was the challenge. If anyone could rise to the occasion it would be Vaja; read on to see how they did… There are…