Misc Gear

The Wicked Lasers Blu-Ray Sonar Advanced 100mW Violet Laser Review

Reviews

The Wicked Lasers Blu-Ray Sonar Advanced 100mW Violet Laser Review

I am not sure exactly why, but lasers fascinate me. Maybe I’ve watched too many Jedi movies over the years or maybe it’s a by-product of the times in which I grew up, but lasers, and the idea of what some of them are capable of doing, give me a thrill. Wicked Lasers, a company that was recognized in the 1997 Guinness Book of World Records for producing the world’s most powerful hand-held green laser pointer (they also have a flashlight under consideration for being the brightest and most powerful), has long been synonymous with professional quality, high-powered lasers. These…

The LandAirSea TrackingKey Pro Micro GPS Tracking System Review

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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…

The Skooba Design Cable Stable DLX Review

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The Skooba Design Cable Stable DLX Review

You can always get a laptop or a gearbag to handle your larger electronics, but what about the little things — the cables, cords, chargers, memory cards, flash drives, dongles, batteries, and miscellaneous doo-dads — all of the “stuff” that winds up getting lost or forgotten when you’re traveling? Say hello to a possible solution – the Skooba Design Cable Stable DLX, which features “over 15 intelligently organized, flexible spaces hold cords and cables, AC power blocks, adapters, batteries, USB drives, office supplies, even compact cameras and MP3 players.” Similar in style to a zippered binder, the Cable Stable DLX…

The Clipa Instant Handbag Hanger Review

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The Clipa Instant Handbag Hanger Review

Any time I go out to eat, the first order of business after being seated is finding a safe place to stow my purse. If I’m lucky, I can set my bag on an empty seat next to me; if the seats are large enough, my bag goes right next to me. If there is no better spot to place it, then my bag goes on my lap … and if that’s impractical, my bag goes on the floor. Quelle horreur! Placing my bag on the floor is always accompanied by much anxiety on my part, as restaurant floors can…

Review: World's Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub

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Review: World’s Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub

Have you ever actually looked at how many USB devices you own or use?  I recently had this realization while moving my desktop computer set up around.  My mid-2007 Mac Mini does not have near enough ports to connect all of my gear so I have a standard USB hub which is full and only leaves me with one hard to reach port for a drive or other item.  That also led me to realize that my MacBook Pro only has two ports.  Of course, this is not usually a problem except when you need to attach two items and…

The UrbanTrim Squidarella Color Changing Umbrella Review

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The UrbanTrim Squidarella Color Changing Umbrella Review

Although I live in Eldorado, which sits only a few counties away from the ever-creeping-towards-us edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, we have been enjoying the El Niño effect this year, which means a wetter spring than usual. In celebration of our recent (and hopefully continuing) monsoons, I’ve been sporting one of the most unique umbrellas ever seen in Texas or anywhere — the UrbanTrim Squidarella Color Changing Umbrella.

The Wilson Electronics MobilePro Wireless Cellular/PCS Dual-Band 800/1900 MHz Amplifier Review

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The Wilson Electronics MobilePro Wireless Cellular/PCS Dual-Band 800/1900 MHz Amplifier Review

Many of you know that I live in the country, several miles outside of the thriving metropolis of Eldorado, Texas — population much less than 2000. We have fairly decent EDGE wireless coverage here, but there are areas where the signal typically dips to one bar — and it seems like many of those places are either on the highway between San Angelo and Eldorado or in various spots on the ranch where we typically drive. I took care of our low signal issues at home when I installed the Wi-Ex zBoost, but signal strength in our vehicles has continued…

The Hillcrest Loop Pointer Review: a Mouse for Your TV

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The Hillcrest Loop Pointer Review: a Mouse for Your TV

It never failed that when someone would visit while I was testing the Hillcrest Loop pointer, they would invariably pick it up and wear it like it was an over-sized bangle — because at first glance, that is exactly what it resembles. But the Loop is much more than just a piece of giant plastic jewelry. The Loop pointer actually got its start as an “iconic concept product to showcase Hillcrest Lab’s Freespace technology and HoME system solutions.” People who saw it liked it, and they wanted one; so Hillcrest, whose primary focus remains “licensing interactive media systems software for…

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 - Review

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Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 – Review

A number of years ago I wanted to begin moving toward having a “paperless” life. I was tired of being swamped by piles of paper. It was getting out of control. The first step in my trying to unclutter my life (it is still “in process”) was to purchase a high-speed scanner. I did a good deal of research and eventually ended up with one of Fujitsu’s products, a ScanSnap scanner. It blew me away. It had the ability to handle up to 40-50 pages at a time. It did two-sided scans. It scanned fast, Created high quality scans and…

Super Notebook Stand - Monitor Combi

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Super Notebook Stand – Monitor Combi

My man cave/guitar room/sports memorabilia room/computer room is not the largest room in the house.  Last summer we decided to replace a large computer desk with a small one on wheels.  My only problem with new table was finding a place for everything.  I liked the smaller footprint, but needed a way to organize my desk while making it still look good.  One morning on my summer break I headed out the shop and built a small shelf out of some scrap wood.  I painted it black and slapped a couple of Apple stickers on it and had me a…

Hookette with a Twist Purse Hook Review

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Hookette with a Twist Purse Hook Review

Photo courtesy of The Purse Hook website Over the past few years, I have fallen in love with higher-end leather goods, specifically pretty (and functional!) purses and bags.  I’ve always been a bit of a purse girl, but I eventually realized that buying one or two nice leather bags a year makes much more sense for me than buying a lot of bags that fall apart on me within 3 to 6 months of carrying them every day.  I started collecting Coach bags one Christmas when I got a particularly nice bonus from work, and it all slid downhill from…

Skooba Design Wants to Stable Your Cable ... Among Other Things

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Skooba Design Wants to Stable Your Cable … Among Other Things

Tell me that you haven’t been bothered when it came time to pack for a trip, and you didn’t have an organized and protective way to carry your cables, chargers, and miscellaneous gear. I’ll tell you what I usually do with mine – charging cables get put in the side pocket of my carry-on, syncing/charging cables go into my laptop bag, and camera chargers and other items that don’t get put in my laptop bag usually get shuffled into the cracks and crevices of my carry-on. This arrangement works fine for the most part, but I have accepted that anytime…

StarTech DisplayPort KVM Switch Review

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StarTech DisplayPort KVM Switch Review

Watching the Winter Olympics reminds one of the stamina required to perform at a high level for long events. In reviewing the StarTech DisplayPort KVM switch, I feel like I just completed a marathon, due to the length of time that it took to complete. Read on for impressions of this unique DisplayPort KVM which allows sharing of a DisplayPort monitor and USB mouse and keyboard with two computers. StarTech graciously lent me a review unit of their DisplayPort KVM switch since late November. Why did it take so long to do a review of it? I’ll get into more…

Darktide Tees, Historic and Gothic Inspired T-Shirts Review

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Darktide Tees, Historic and Gothic Inspired T-Shirts Review

I probably wear t-shirts more than any other piece of clothing I own.  It’s what I’m most comfortable in and it allows me to wear a wide variety of colors and designs.  T-shirts go with anything too and that makes planning my wardrobe all that much easier. Darktide Tees makes historic and gothich inspired t-shirts for both men and women.  The t-shirts are some of the best quality shirts I’ve come across.  They use a special digital transfer process to place images on ring-spun cotton shirts.  This results in a multi-colored, high quality image that both looks and feels amazing….

Dog-e-Minder for the Absent Minded Pet Owner

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Dog-e-Minder for the Absent Minded Pet Owner

I have mixed feelings about the Dog-e-Minder pet assistant. On the one hand, it looks like this device could be an invaluable tool for remembering pet medications – especially when they have to be administered more than once a day, or it could serve as a way to remember the last time you took your puppy outside during potty training. On the other hand, it seems like the type of person who needs help remembering when the last time they fed or walked their dog might be better off with a cat.  Was that too judgmental? Anyway … The simple,…

The Urbantrim Squidarella Brings Color to a Rainy Day

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The Urbantrim Squidarella Brings Color to a Rainy Day

the dry Squidarella Like much of the country, West Texas has been experiencing a wetter than usual late winter. Rather than snow, we have had rain … nearly 6″ in some parts of my county alone. Due to the weather, I’ve found myself reaching for an umbrella more times in the last couple of weeks than I had in the last few years. And since my umbrella has basically become a regular accessory, I can’t help but wishing that it was as colorful and interesting as this one. Urbantrim has just launched a new collection of color changing umbrellas. “The…

DocuPen X Series- Review

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DocuPen X Series- Review

We saw a lot of neat stuff at CES last month. One of the most interesting, at least to my mind, was a small hand-held scanner from PlanOn. At just about 9 inches long and a tiny bit thicker than an iPhone, the DocuPen X05 isn’t cheap… but it’s pretty impressive nonetheless. The company sent me a loaner unit, and I’ve been using it for the past week or so. Despite some frustrations when I initially tried to get it set up, I have been more than a bit “wowed” by this little gadget. Let’s take a look.

Wilson Electronics Sleek Cell Signal Booster- Review

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Wilson Electronics Sleek Cell Signal Booster- Review

Every now and then you come across a product that promises to do things exceptionally well for a lower price than you would otherwise expect and… it actually exceeds your expectations. That’s the case with the Sleek cell phone booster for Wilson Electronics. We had a chance to meet with representatives from the company when we were in Las Vegas for CES and, thanks to them, I’ve been using a review unit of the Sleek for the past week or so. The unit is small, surprisingly inexpensive and it works phenomenally well. I live in a part of New Jersey…

The Callpod Chargepod 6-way Charging Device Review

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The Callpod Chargepod 6-way Charging Device Review

It seems to be a never-ending issue for me, having more devices that need charging than I have outlets available. The Callpod Chargepod touts itself as a “charging device that allows you to charge multiple cell phones, PDAs, headsets, and most other mobile electronics with a single power cord.” Without tripping a breaker or messing something up? This I’ve got to see …