The Gadgets Page

Matthew Reinbold over at Muted Noise has written an excellent review of Google’s new free 411 service.

• mutednoise » 1-800-Goog-411

I’ve been pretty skeptical about the service because I usually would rather pay 75 cents for information than have to listen to an advertisement, but I realized something that made me pretty depressed. Now that Google is going to be sucking up all the 411 calls, the telecoms are going to lose business and to increase revenue, they’ll probably start putting advertisments on their own 411 service. So, I’ll have to pay my 75 cents AND hear a commercial in the future.

I guess I’m willing to try 1-800-GOOG-411 now…

While other companies are desperately competing for content for cell phones, Catholic Mobile has jumped right in to provide guidance… for a fee.

Catholic Mobile provides families and individuals with inspiring Catholic content that will enrich their daily wireless experiences.

Bring your faith to your cell phone. Bible readings, prayers, saint of the day and more…

For $4.99 a month or 49 cents a pop, you can have devotionals sent to your cell phone, but is it the Catholic Church that is providing the content? This is the info from their “About Us” page:

Catholic Mobile is a partnership between Denver, Colorado based JP2 Media and The Missionaries of Faith Foundation (MOFF) , headquartered in San Diego, California.

What do I think about this? I’m not Catholic, so advertising phrases like, “Make your phone 100% Catholic, too,” don’t offend me. Would I like daily inspiration sent to my cell phone? Maybe? Am I willing to pay 5 bucks a month for it? Nope.

I have enough friends on Twitter to have daily inspiration sent to my phone for free.

I AM disturbed that everyone featured in the advertising is so very, very, white. Most of the models are so blond, that even I feel excluded, but don’t fear, they have segregated the races in a Spanish language edition: Móvil Católico.

Via: Adrants – Catholicism: Not a Religion but a Lifestyle

Kevin Garrad’s Kevlar body armor stopped a bullet, but not before it destroyed his iPod. You can read the full story here:

• HavanaLion » Blog Archive » iPod tells soldier he was shot – the real story

This reminds me of the bible that I saw in a WWII museum that stopped a bullet for a soldier. As a child, I was told that the bible stopped the bullet because God was protecting the soldier. What does that mean about the iPod?

Thank you, our holiness, Steve Jobs, for protecting our soldier’s life with your abundant and fervent technology. Thank you also for not asking whether I wanted my music folders screwed up by iTunes and for saving the original photo after I drew all over it using iPhoto. I accept your will regarding file management, photo protection and musical armor. Please spare me as you have spared others.

Via: iPod takes one for the team in Iraq by Home of DigitalThom

Gadgets Page,

If I were going on a trip to Europe, what is the best way to ‘store’ lots (thousands) of digital photos…I have a new HP 425 digital 5.0 mp camera…is this compatible with a SanDisk Standard SDHCâ„¢ Card 4GB…and would I then need another portable storage device (flash or reader) into which to temporarily ‘empty’ those photos (without any access to a PC)…so I can re-use the ‘empty’ memory card again?

Andy

Andy,

Firstly, according to Amazon.com, your HP camera can only use the SD cards that are 1GB or smaller, so don’t spend money on the SDHC cards because your camera won’t recognize them.

Secondly, when you take pictures with your 1GB card, you can put that card into a card reader on a computer, transfer the photos to the computer and remove them from your SD card. After you do this, you CAN use it again. That’s the beauty of digital photography. I hated taking pictures when I knew it would cost me money to have the film developed. Now, I can reuse the film over and over again and only have the photos that turned out developed.

Next, If you are away from a computer and you need to empty out your SD card, there are some devices that will store your photos. This Wolverine ESP 120 GB Portable Multimedia Storage Player looks like the least expensive storage device with the largest amount of storage. You could empty your card 120 times into this device by just putting the SD card into it and transferring the photos. For those of you who DO have SDHC-compatible cameras, I was unable to find any portable media storage players that support SDHC, so these wouldn’t work for you. They cost between $299 and $399.

Funny thing is, Dell is selling refurbished laptops for that same price, so maybe a cheap computer like this pre-owned Dell Latitude would be better for those with SDHC-compatible cameras than a portable media storage device. Then you can just use the card reader that comes with your SDHC card AND check your email while you’re gone.

Finally, Europe is on a different power standard than the States, so you won’t be able to plug in your favorite devices unless you have a converter. This converter from Kensington looks like it would be compact and easy to use. Unless you have a plug adapter, you won’t be able to charge your batteries, run your hair dryer or do anything else with electricity, so this might actually be MORE important than any storage devices because if your camera battery is dead, you can’t take any pictures.

For more information on how to make your digital photos last forever, see this entry:

• Gadgets Page » 10 Ways to Make Your Digital Photos Last Forever

Have fun in Europe!

Laura Moncur

Once again, Apple has released a couple of PC & Mac commercials. This commentary by Chris Pirillo is right on:

• ‘Get a Mac’ Ad Videos ~ Chris Pirillo

The commercials are kind of hit and miss. This commercial, “Security“, is funny and very, very true.

He likes this commercial:

“This is an example of someone in the marketing department understanding a perceived annoyance in the competition’s product. This is an example of a GOOD Mac commercial.”

“Computer Cart” is a little more iffy.

“By watching this, the viewer is led to believe that only PCs have cryptic error messages that halt productivity – or that Macs never need the IT department’s attention. Wrong! Microsoft Windows does not have a monopoly on software errors.”

“Flashback” is just more of the same.

“Genius, especially for those of us who remember playing in DOS. That said, I’m not so sure that my parents would understand why this is funny. Apple should have concentrated more on the aspect of Microsoft apps being all over the map in terms of usability (not to mention the overwhelming lack of lifestyle software in the OS, itself).”

In the end, Macs and PCs are so similar that there is hardly a reason to compare them. They’re just computers. They are both computers and they each have their own way of dealing with things. You get used either one and the other starts looking like voodoo.

If you have some important gadgets floating around in your pockets, you might do some good by protecting them. This company, ShieldZone, has prepared a video that describes the process for you.

Via: Scratch-Proof Your Gadgets – Ash Buckles – Blog A special thank you to Ash for suggesting this! He asked why I haven’t reviewed products like these before and I am ashamed to say that it’s because I’m a slob and just let my gadgets get scratched.

Update: Actually we have previously posted a review of Invisible Shield products last year. Check it out.

If you have seen an episode of Pimp My Ride, then you’ll find this commercial for Zima pretty funny. You’ve got three kids and a loving husband, but from the look of your brand new mini-van, no one would be able to tell. The Zima team is willing to Mom Your Ride and turn it into the mini-van that SCREAMS, “I have three kids and a loving husband!”

Via: Adrants » Zima Doesn’t Pimp, It Moms Your Ride

Hey, all you people who think video games are just a bunch of people shooting each other and driving cars really fast, try Sims 2 for Nintendo DS. I know, I know… I tried The Sims back when they came out and hated them too. I had one of those zen moments when I was making my Sim wash the dishes and I could see the dirty dishes in my own sink from the computer. I never played that game again. Sims 2 for Nintendo DS is different, I promise.

Firstly, there is a lot less dish washing, showering and sleeping in this game than in the original Sims version. I don’t know if it’s because they had to simplify it for the DS system or if they realized that watching your Sim wash her dishes isn’t all that fun. Either way, the Sim maintenance is still part of the game, but it usually happens when I have to go to the bathroom, so it’s just fine with me.

Secondly, they have added a simple story line to the game. In Sims 2 for the DS, I have to run a hotel and get its score higher by building guest rooms and other attractions. I have to deal with a mobster in my Penthouse. I have to deal with invasions of aliens and robots (I’m building a Rat Cave next so I can create weapons to fight off those meanies). Strictly open game play like the original Sims was just not fun for me, but I love having a list of little tasks to achieve.

Now, Sims 2 DS is not perfect. I am particularly disturbed by the angry and loopy Sims. It’s my responsibility to calm them down. If I don’t do it right, they take a swing at me. I really don’t like that the only way to stop them from punching me is to “beg” them. It is even more disturbing to me when the Sim is male. In “real” life if a man acted like that around me, he would be evicted from my hotel and barred from ever coming back in. That’s not an option in this game, so several times a day, I have to beg Sims not to punch me. I took a video of an interaction so you could see what I mean:

The angry Sim apologizes and gives you a gift after you calm him down, but I am disturbed by the punching. I know people get angry in real life, but begging them isn’t the way to stop them from punching you. I think it bothers me because it’s my job to make people happy, calm or stop acting so drunk. In real life, I have found that I can’t really change other people’s emotions. Their emotions are strictly under their own control. I like how Animal Crossing does it instead. When my animal friends are angry or sad, they tell me to leave them alone for a little while while they work through their feelings. That seems a little more realistic to me.

I was also bothered by the fact that the first thing you need to do to revitalize your hotel is to build a casino, but I haven’t seen the entire story arc. I have purposely stayed away from walkthroughs and spoilers as much as I can because I want the game to surprise me. I don’t want to know everything about the game before I even get to play it.

On the whole, this is a great game for adults. If you kept hearing about how The Sims is a wonderful game, but couldn’t understand what everyone was so excited about, try Sims 2 for the Nintendo DS. It’s almost good enough to draw my attention away from Animal Crossing.

I’d like to say that I don’t really care about my bras, but to be honest, they are damn expensive. I hate to wash them by hand, but the washing machine messes them up. The little hooks on the back catch on other articles of clothing. Garment washing bags are even worse and end up in a tangled heap with the hooks. That’s where the BraBABY Bra Washing Holder is supposed to save my day.

The only problem is: I suspect that if I’m too lazy to wash my bras by hand, I’ll probably be too lazy to put the bra in this caged protector. Sure, the Brababy is really inexpensive (a 2-pack for 17 bucks), but it just doesn’t look like something I am willing to use for the rest of my life. I guess I’ll just keep forking over my cash to the lingerie store instead of bothering to take care of my undergarments. Buying new frilly things is fun, right?

Right?

Via: Shiny Shiny: Look after your bras with BraBaby

This online gadget review show is over thirty minutes long and they review a lot of products. The segment that was most interesting to me, however is the review by Hahn Choi of the new wireless “standard” 802.11n. If you let the episode download and fast forward to 28:49 minutes, you’ll get to the wireless segment:

My current wireless router is having problems and is requiring a reset every day or so. It looks like it’s time for us to buy a new one. Should we just replace the old one or go with the newer and faster wireless routers that do 802.11n? I don’t know much about wireless routers, but faster is better, right?

Not necessarily…

The 802.11n standard has been around for over a year, but they still haven’t finalized the standard. That means the one company’s router might not work with another company’s computer. That’s a big “might” but that is still a risk of adopting right now.

If that’s the risk, what is the benefit? How much faster is it? That’s the cool part of Hahn’s review. He tested three routers:

• Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station

• Linksys Wireless-N Broadband Router

• Buffalo Airstation N-finiti Wireless Router

He sent a huge file to all three routers and here were the results:

• Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station: 2 minutes

• Linksys Wireless-N Broadband Router: 3 minutes 41 seconds

• Buffalo Airstation N-finiti Wireless Router: 4 minutes 29 seconds

The same test with 802.11g routers took between 5 and 7 minutes, so you could potentially cut your wireless transfer time in half with the new wireless routers. This could make a big difference if you just bought yourself the new Apple TV and want to send over that new movie you just bought on iTunes. For normal surfing the web with your laptop, however, you might not notice the difference. If you are a power laptop user in your home, then the new wireless standard will probably be a good investment for you. If you just casually use the wireless in your home, then you can probably wait until your old router breaks down before upgrading.

I don’t have that option, however. My wireless router is on its last legs now and the appeal of half the download times is enough to entice me to get the Apple AirPort Extreme, even if it’s more money than the other two. I won’t have to worry about compatibility with the MacBook Pro and I’ll be able to take advantage of the quicker download times.

Thanks for the review, Hahn!

Via: WWdN: In Exile: InDigital episode 13 – The Rear View Mirror